//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: After Alice: The Hatter In Equestria // by Barrel-of-fun //------------------------------// Twilight was left staring in shock at the Hatter’s sudden appearance and equally sudden departure. He had appeared like the a whirlwind of energy and curious ideas. She was still pondering what he had said about names being just a form of identification when she noticed her friends arguing about him. “He seems like a nice pony, he looked so fun!” Pinkie Pie was saying, she was clearly in support of the creature, along with Rarity. “Nopony so well dressed could possibly mean any harm” the fashonista reasoned “I mean, that hat alone has given me so many ideas for the most fabulous outfits” “Ah, maybe, but did you see the size of him? Something that big could do serious harm to another pony if they wanted to” Applejack was clearly wary of the unusual creature. “And the speed that he moved at” Rainbow Dash exclaimed whilst gesturing with her fore hooves “I didn’t think anything on two legs could move so quickly…I mean he’s not as quick as me, of course, but he could probably catch up with another pony if they ran away from him” “…I like Cheshire…but Hatter scares me…he looked like he really wanted to hurt the poor cat” Fluttershy added quietly The debate continued for some time, with Rarity and Pinkie believing that Hatter and Cheshire seemed peaceful and could be trusted whilst Rainbow and Applejack argued that they should be watched carefully for the safety of other ponies. Their argument was interrupted by an outburst from Twilight. “ENOUGH! Regardless of what we think of Hatter and Cheshire you are all missing one very obvious fact” “Oh and what’s that?” Rainbow Dash said belligerently, put out at being interrupted by the egghead unicorn. “That they are headed straight towards Ponyville!” The ponies all looked at each other, then towards Ponyville, then back at each other. “Didn’t he say something about tea before he left?” Pinkie announced “Oh yes, he must be quite hungry after walking through that horrid forest” Rarity said with a smile, which quickly slid off her face at Applejacks word. “yeah, but what does ah creature like that eat?” “…you don’t think he eats ponies do you?” Fluttershy whispered nervously “I don’t know, girls, but it’s clear what we have to do. Follow Hatter and defend Ponyville if we have to!” Twilight reared up on her hind legs for a moment before galloping off towards the town, followed by her five friends. -In Ponyville- Hatter walked slowly through the town lost in thought. It reminded him so much of his own hometown, which was now a charred ruin after the Red Queen’s coup. If he closed his eyes he could still see his friends dancing and hear the children laughing. He took a deep breath and released it with a sigh. He knew that he should forget those memories as they only held pain for him. But he couldn’t. He could distract himself from them by losing himself in the world around him. He could wear the mask of madness so that no one would see the pain in his eyes. But he could not forget them. To do so would be a betrayal of their memory. He would always feel guilty after enjoying himself, he felt that he almost didn’t deserve to be happy when they were all dead. He gently removed the hat from atop his head and held it in front of him. He had considered throwing the hat away a few times as it too brought on the painful memories of his deceased town. But he never could. Like the memories and the madness, it was a part of him, it made him who he was. What was a Hatter without his hat? He reached into the hats recesses and quickly found where he had concealed the White Queen’s final gift. To feel it in his hand felt comforting and right. He quickly released it and looked around guiltily, making sure that no one had seen the precious gift. With a swift motion he placed the hat back upon his head, still thinking of the friends he had once abandoned. He took another deep breath and tried to banish such negative thoughts from his mind. He adjusted the hat upon his head and observed his surrounding, wondering where his wandering feet had taken him. He appeared to be in a large square in the centre of the town probably used for meetings and festivals. He would have thought the town to be deserted if it wasn’t for the twitching of curtains and the scared voices coming from the houses around him. With a start he realised that the inhabitants must be afraid of him. Well the six mares at the edge of the forest did seem quite surprised at his appearance apart from that pink one, a smile lit up his face at the memory of her introduction, she seemed to be very welcoming. It had been quite a while since any creature had greeted him so warmly, he always seemed to be the one welcoming others. He frowned in thought as he considered how he could repay her for such a fine greeting. He snapped his fingers and turned to address Cheshire, who was hovering in the air behind him. “Come along Cheshire, I shall require you assistance” “Oh? With what exactly?” the cat replied as he lazily spun in the air. “A surprise” Hatter responded as he got to work. -Twilight and her friends- As they galloped along the roads of Ponyville the six friends couldn’t help but notice the quietness of the town. Doors were locked and curtains were closed. Doormats had even been dragged inside. The streets were completely clear of the usual crowds of ponies going about their business. “…you don’t think he got them all, do you?” Fluttershy said, her voice breaking in fear. “I don’t think so, look that curtain just twitched! Berry Punch, are you in there? Is everything okay?” Twilight inquired as she approached the house of the mare in question. “Twilight? Oh it’s horrible! A large scary creature just came straight into town! Please, you’ve got to get rid of it” a voice pleaded from inside the house. “Alright, Berry, It’s going to be okay. My friends and are going to go and talk to him. Do you know which way he went?” “It’s a he? Well he was heading towards the town hall last I saw. Celestia bless you girls, thank you so much” The group headed off again with a newfound determination, they knew where the Hatter was and they knew that he was scaring Ponyville, something had to be done. They were galloping over the bridge when they skidded to a stop and beheld the mayhem that the Hatter had caused in such a short time. Banners and streamers off all colours adorned the square, large striped candy cane poles stuck out of the ground and buildings at random, haphazard angles. The town hall itself was covered in enough tinsel that it resembles a Hearth’s Warmth Eve Tree. In the centre of the square, and the centre of the crazy decorations, was a long table. The table had two chairs at either end with six chairs in the middle, three on either side. Cakes of every size and description sat upon the wooden surface along with cups, saucers and tea pot. At the head of the table sat the cause of the mare’s distress himself, the Hatter, along with his ever present yet sometimes invisible companion, the Cheshire Cat. “Welcome, welcome! Please, do take a seat” the Hatter exclaimed from his position at the end of the table “it’s almost time for tea, and I thought, well since you all went to the trouble of welcoming me. I thought I should welcome you right back. Of course I do appear to be welcoming you to your own town but regardless of that annoying fact, I hope you enjoy the tea party” At the mention of the word ’party’ a pink blur zoomed past the other girls and quickly took a seat right next to the Hatter. Pinkie was vibrating in excitement at the thought of someone throwing a party for her and she chose to announce this. “Yay! This is the most super duper rupa-scooter party ever! I mean I’ve thrown some pretty good parties in my time, and this one is a doozey! It’s really nice of you to throw this tea party for us Hatter, it’s rare that a party is thrown for me. I always seem to be throwing them for others. Not that I’m complaining, I love to see others smile. I even wrote a song about it. But it’s nice to receive a party as well” “I’m glad you feel that way, Pinkie, I hope you enjoy the party. There are a few more guests to arrive though, so lets wait before we get stuck in shall we? The other girls hesitantly took their seats around the table. Twilight sat next to Pinkie with Rainbow Dash next to her. On the other side of the table Fluttershy took a seat next to the Cheshire Cat, who looked at her warily should she try to hug him again. Rarity placed herself elegantly in the seat next to her whilst Applejack practically leapt into the final seat across from Rainbow. This left the two seats at the foot of the table free for whoever else the Hatter was expecting to arrive. Their was silence for while as the Hatter stared straight ahead, waiting for his guests to arrive. Cheshire had closed his eyes and appeared to have gone to sleep. The girls exchanged nervous glances, who exactly where they waiting for? The Hatter had only just got here, as far as they knew, they were the only ponies he had met who hadn’t fled at the sight of him. “I’m sorry to ask Hatter but who exactly are you expecting to come?” Twilight asked The Hatters broke away from his staring at nothing to turn his eyes on Twilight. She shuddered as she was those yellow eyes staring at her. They looked unnaturally deep set into his muzzle-less face and she thought she caught a flash of pain and anger inside the pale orbs. He stared for a moment before grinning again, his eyes lighting up alongside his smile. “Oh, just some old friends. They do so enjoy to be late…between you and me, I think they believe it to be fashionable” the Hatter had dropped his voice into a stage whisper at this, which got a giggle from Pinkie. A load noise suddenly began to emanate from inside the Hatters coat. he jumped with surprise and reached inside, pulling out the pocket watch he had looked at earlier. It appeared to be buzzing at him in alarm. “Hmmm, I don’t recall setting the alarm on this thing…in fact I don’t recall it ever having an alarm…or any mechanism for producing sound” he looked up from the timepiece “someone is playing silly buggers…or should I say somepony?” he announced to the empty air at the other end of the table. The six mares seated around the table stared at where the Hatter was looking and were surprised when a gentle giggling began to come out of the air. An very familiar soft laughing followed it. Then, with a flash, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, Regents of the Sun and the Moon respectively and the two most important and respected ponies in all of Equestria, appeared in front of them. They were both laughing like two school fillies now. The Hatter, also laughing, leapt up from his seat and jumped onto the table. Bounding swiftly along it, knocking tea pots and cakes in every direction, he approached the royal ponies. Tea cups broke under his tread and the table groaned in protest as he made his way across it. He jumped down from the table and approached the two princesses. Throwing an arm around either one’s neck he dragged them into a crushing embrace. “Princesses’, it has been far too long since I was allowed the honour of beholding your majestic visages” Both Princesses blushed at his quietly whispered words. He broke off from the hug and rose to his full height once more, towering above even the alicorns. He was about to sweep off his hat to go into a low bow when he was rudely interrupted. By a cyan blur smashing into his side.