As the human awoke from his long slumber, a loud yawn resonated throughout the ship. He slid out of bed and put his boots back on with a loud "creak". Instead of going directly for the bathroom he shouted:
"Security System, how far are the repairs for the ship?"
"Ship's previous condition of functioning was at seventeen percent. Current condition now at thirty-five."
"That fast? At this rate, I'll be gone from this world in three days."
"Incorrect."
"The hell you mean by incorrect?"
"There is an anomaly in the system as well as energy fluctuations disturbing the Yohiz energy flow throughout the ship. If source of fluctuations is not detected and streamed out, the probability for ship repairs rises from three days to five months."
"WHAT?! And none of the scanners have found anything?"
"Affirmative."
"I feel like being a truck driver for a few seconds. No. I'm too educated for such language. Prepare the Crusader knights and my equipment while I do my business."
"Roger."
A few minutes later, and the man had come back to the front of the ship, where his bodyguards were waiting for him. Templar following with its innocent looking red "eyes", Hospitaller staring its creator down with it' serious white "eyes", while Teutonic simply gave the feeling of emptiness when looking at where the "eyes" should be. Their creator put on his back-device as well as the wrist machine and activated the cloaking systems to check if they were working again. His pocket watch was aready in his pocket, and he needed to check the time again.
"Perfect. My mobility pack has never truly failed me before. And my multi-purpose wrist gauntlet is always useful. I just hope my arm doesn't start acting up again. Alright then..where are-of course...there we go. Follow me closely this time. I can't afford to have any of you captured this time. When I freely gave your...less-potent blueprints out, that ended in catastrophe. I don't want anything here to copy you directly. Got it?"
The bots expulsed steam once more. The door opened without a sound as the gears moving it along worked perfectly, like they had just been recently oiled. The human couldn't help but compliment SS on its good work, and jumped out. Still staying near his ship, he checked his MPWG for the location of this "data reserve".
"Found it." whispered the creator. "Do not engage once out of this forest. If we are seen directly in the city, we are doomed. I just hope that these beings aren't too dangerous in themselves, or too violent. Let's head out."
Following the same trail he did the previous day, the human passed by the house he was unfortunately found in to see that the wall was already repaired. However, the yellow pegasus looked more terrified than she was before. Unlike the others who chased him and his bodyguards down, she seemed rather sensitive. Instead of happily feeding her pets and singing joyfully like she did yesterday, she was now crouched in fear, and the animals surrounding her started to reassure her about something.
"What a fascinating relationship. But what's with those tattoos on...hmmm... 'her' posterior? Strange. It might be tradition to bear one, although I've only seen these sort of things with the males of the human race. I wonder how those one works?
The group reached a path behind the house which seemed to lead directly to a stone bridge over-looking a stream.
"...what's the point of making an "arc" bridge for something so small?" the man whispered to himself."
He checked the surroundings and soon departed, his mobility pack ticking ever-quietly as it continued to bend the light around its host. The town was already in view, and its designs looked daringly similar to the cottages of humans during the late medieval era, albeit, with some "slight" changes.
"What a peculiar species." he whispered to himself." They even have similarities to our ancient culture with some more modern aspects. Now then, where is that place? Oh no. Against that wall, quickly!" the creator issued to his creations.
The man started to panic somewhat, but the Knights placed their hands on his chest to have him calm down slightly. What he saw made his heart skip a beat. There were three tiny ponies. One was orange and had very tiny wings and a rebellious purple mane and tail. Another was white and its mane and tail looked like they were well attended to. Streaks of both pink and purple comprised the coloring. The last one looked the most adorable. This one was of vanilla coloring with a red mane and tail, although she had a giant bow in her "hair". That one spoke to her friends with a country accent. The creator obviously noticed the lack of marks on their posteriors. This confirmed his theory for those "tattoos" to be given to those becoming adults.
He easily overheard their conversation:
"So what're we gonna do ta get our cutie-marks taday?" said the one with a bow.
"I don't know. We've tried almost everything." responded the orange filly in annoyance.
"I've heard that there was a monster sighted near Fluttershy's house." said the white one.
The three stopped.
"What? Where did it go?" asked the country filly.
"Um, I think it went into the Everfree forest."
"That's dangerous! You all remember what happened with the cockatrice, right?"
"I've heard about that too. I think Rainbow Dash said that when she and the others chased after them, there were no monsters in the way, and they were destroying everything just to slow them down. They eventually got away , but Rainbow was SO CLOSE to catching them."
"Wait, "THEY"? What do you mean by "They"?"
"There were four of them, Sweetie Belle."
"So they are smart enough to have names. The white one's name is Sweetie Belle, and the pegasus chasing me is called Rainbow Dash...hmm...quite befitting. I need to move, but I'm afraid they will hear us. Damn it!"
"Four? Well, maybe we'll have ta get permission from our family members."
"We won't, Applebloom." replied the orange pony.
"Well, we have gotten through worse... do you know your way around the forest Scootaloo?"
"Yup!"
"Then let's get our backpacks ready." said the Sweetie Belle.
The human leaned closer as he saw them put their hooves in what looked like a "group hand-shake."
"What are they doing?"
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER HUNTERS!
"OW! MY EARS!"
The three little fillies started to gallop away in an unknown direction, but at least they were now gone. Another quick peek around the corner and two more, much larger ponies walked by. At last, the coast was clear, and the group sprinted in the direction the holographic map was pointing them. Once they were near the location, they hid in the shade created by a tree, a very big tree.
"Okay...let's see...what? The data says it's in this tree? That can't be right!"
Templar shoved its creator's shoulder and pointed upwards.
"What is it? What in god's name?!"
They were sitting under a tree that had been hollowed out and was being used as a building, yet it was still alive. The man couldn't help but step back as he gazed at this towering marvel of science. He just HAD to acquire a piece of it for studying. Who knows what kind of technological marvel it could lead to! However, he had no time to take a specimen, and asked Hospitaller to check for an entrance and make sure no one was in there. It had only been a few seconds that Hospitaller returned and confirmed that the area was devoid of any presence. Upon entering this marvel, the human awed at the sight. This was a library! And it was packed with books! Although it wasn't as big as he had hoped.
"Alright. Spread out. Try and find encyclopedias and books related to history and the geography of this place. Keep your cloaking devices on. It might take longer to recharge once we're back to the ship, but it's best that we don't ignite anymore problems."
The bots gave out another release of steam and started to fumble through the shelves, carefully only picking out the books that gave the best impressions of relating to the information that was needed. Everything was placed on a table in the middle of the room. The human started fumbling through those he found unnecessary and placed others he found interesting within a pile on the ground. Checking his watch, the man saw that twenty-three minutes had already past. He was very stingy about time indeed. However, voices could be heard outside. Instead of expecting the creatures to pass, the voices came closer, and the order of spreading out and not making any noise came to be.
In came a lavender colored pony with a dark blue mane which had a pink and purple stripe going through it. She had...a horn? She was a unicorn, therefore, she must have some form of "magical" power. Next to her stood a small bipedal lizard who was carrying paper bags that were obviously too big for him. By judging his voice, one could easily tell that it was a male, although a very young one at that. The four intruders carefully followed the creatures entering the library.
"Wow. Pinkie really makes the best pastries." set the little dragon as he entered another room to rid himself of his luggage.
"Yeah. Too bad she eats them all. What?" Obviously, she spotted the books and maps that were out of place.
"Hey Spike, did you forget to place the sign on the door again?"
"What? No! It's on the door. Look."
Twilight turned around and opened the door to see that her assistant was right. But then, what made this mess?
"Besides, it's not like everypony comes to the library. I mean Zecora comes every now and then, and Rainbow Dash practically stays here when she starts to read her "Daring-Do adventures", but those are the only two I know who come here."
"Spike."
"Yeah, Twilight?" The pony started to eye the room frantically.
"Did you hear about the new creatures spotted in the forest after that giant thing crashed into Cloudsdale?"
"Yeah...why? Oh no...are they here?"
"I don't know, but I sense a presence. Stay in the kitchen."
Spike moved away from the open doorway, but kept one eye around the corner to see what exactly Twilight Sparkle was going to do. Her horn glowed bright as the windows and doors were shut tight.
"I know you're here. I can sense you. What do you want with my books?"
She started to look carefully around, until she sensed something and threw a bolt of energy at the bookcase.
"OW!" yelled a voice.
A little bit of what looked like static electricity started to spruce up into the air as a giant fear-inducing being came into sight. Twilight's jaw fell open as she stared at this giant. What was it? It looked so...werd. But before she could regain herself, she felt something hit her in the neck, causing the lavender pony to feel light headed and fall to the ground. The sounds of Spike's voice only rang hollowly within her now blackening mind. She was knocked out.
The man looked over the bodies and scanned them with his MPWG, cataloguing their biological information. He then saw a basket on the ground. This is where he placed the lizard, and his bodyguards had seen a bed on the shelves further away. Teutonic picked her up and placed the small creature in its bed, not bothering to place the blanket over her.
"Damnit. How did she know? Well, at least the cloaking device is working again. I hope that these books won't be a real nuisance to us while we return to the ship. Try and keep a low-profile now. I hope this machine over cloaks-yes!"
It seemed that the light bending affected whatever object the four beings held. This was perfect, and there were few to be carried within the lot. A quick look back and forth again outside of the library, and the group sprinted back to the location of the ship. It took awhile, but they had finally reached the crashed vessel. As the knights automatically went to the engines room, "Steamlord" went to a terminal close to the cockpit, and took a copper colored cord and placed it within an insertion point. Security system reacted almost immediately.
"Hmm?"
"What is it?"
"Both biological readings match the descriptions of dragons and unicorns."
"So I arrived in a fantasy world?"
"Somewhat. Scanners have detected some manner of technology, such as trains and electrical appliances. Yet technology seems to be the lesser focus point for these beings. Further study is required. I shall analyze the books that you have retrieved as well and narrow down the data to more crucial information required for understanding this world."
"You sure you'll be able to handle it?"
"Affirmative. The Crusader Knights have taken over repair operations for engines, and further repairs concerning secondary systems have been halted until a counter-measure is produced for energy disturbances."
"Fine." sighed the man as he let his gloved hand slide through his hair. "Any leaks detected with the generator?"
"Negative. Will you be resting for the day?"
"Yes."
"Would you like some music?"
"Mmmm, I'd like something ancient-like this time. Something that would SEEM cultural for music."
"Choosing...choice found. Playing."
"Ahh. That's a good beat. It reminds me of the invasions of the mighty vikings and other germanic tribes. Well, while I'm resting for the day, I might as well go in my room and read some of the books I've managed to save."
Going into a door next to the cockpit, yet again, the man found himself in his rather ubiquitous room. It might have stretched everywhere in one way, but it was also very small. It just had a screen embedded with thin the walls facing his bed. Above this bed was a small, circular window. Just enough to get a perfect amount of light inside it. The human jumped humorously on his bed and stretched a bit on it. He then bent over and pushed a button on his short night table and a small shelf lowered itself from the ceiling with "tchoofs" and gear rolling. He started to finger through them, allowing each row to go back as he fumbled through the next one that would lower itself.
"Pum pum pum...aha! Perfect. The history of the Teutonic order. Nothing like a good history book to calm the nerves."
Apparently, this man liked history quite alot. The most interesting aspects for him being the crusading orders. However, night time had fallen, and, based on his pocket watch sitting on his night table, it was already ten P.M. He was about to stretch and call it a day when the alarms went off in his room.
"AUGH! Deactivate the alarms! What's the emergency?"
"Three locals are approaching the ship. Are they looking for us?"
"Yes and no. They seem to be looking for us, but they also seem lost. Okay then, let's see what we have here." said 'Steamlord' as he stretched a bit more and twisted his back.
After reaching the exit of the ship, he sighed, rubbed his eyes, and lazily fell against the wall and looked outside the window. He immediately sprung back to life as he saw the three infants from earlier today looking around, seemingly stranded. That "Scootaloo" did indeed know her way around the forest. A few minutes of looking at them, and decided that they stayed in the forest long enough. It was no place for a child, especially three. Thinking up a quick plan to get them out of here and into safety, two came to mind.
The first consisted in taking them inside the ship. That was out of the question. The second would be to send one of the bodyguards to attract their attention and have them follow it until they reach the end of the forest. The latter option was more appropriate. So, the man called upon Templar, who appeared at once.
"Templar, you see those infants outside?"
It responded in the usual fashion.
"Good. I want you to get them out of the forest indirectly. Attract their attention with your red lights. Once you leave the ship, deactivate camoflauge and drag them out of the forest. Preferably near the cottage that we had encountered yesterday. Think you can do that?"
The robot nodded.
"Good! Then get going! I don't want to know that I'm the source of even MORE deaths in yet ANOTHER world. I have enough weight on my shoulders."
"I thought ya said we were near the exit of the forest!" yelled Applebloom.
"We...we are..."stuttered Scootaloo.
"Yer lost aren't ya?"
"N-no..."
"Then how come we haven't gotten out yet?" whined Sweetie Belle. "We've been here for hours!"
"I don't know! Everything changed ever since that gigantic...metal thing came crashing through Cloudsdale."
"It was made of metal?" wondered Applebloom.
"Yeah! I was nearly hit by it when it fell through Cloudsdale. I was at one inch to being swept away."
"Hey girls..."
"What?"
"What is that!?" Sweetie belle said shakingly as she pointed to what looked like a short creature with two glowing red eyes."
"It m-might just be another cockatrice. We need ta keep our eyes clo-" before the little bow-maned filly could finish her sentence, the small figure stood very high, little pieces of tree branches chipping and bouncing off it in the rustling of dead leaves. It seemed to have several portions of its body that glowed red. Most notably was the one on the main body, which looked like a red cross.
"That must be one of the things Rainbow was talking about."
"It's huge!"
"I ain't never seen somethin' like that before. Hey, wait!" exclaimed the small country filly as the creature started to walk away.
"Hold up. We don't want ta hurt ya!"
"But I thought we came here to capture it." said Scootaloo, determination in her eyes.
"We're lost. It might be able to help us out."
"Then let's just hope it isn't evil. Rarity is going to kill me if we ever get out of here."
The three fillies started to gallop after the creature through the devastated part of the woods. Unfortunately for them, the closer they got to it, the faster it went. Soon, however, the three fillies started to tire and the created went out of sight.
"C'mon girls. We've almost got it."
What happenned later could be considered a two-sided blade. Applejack, Rarity, and their four other friends were near the entrance to the forest and had been searching for any clues as to the whereabouts of the three little fillies. Scootaloo announced their presence first:
"Hey Rainbow Dash!"
Everypony turned around to see the three fillies finally out of the forest and galopped to their location. Applejack and Rarity, at first, were quite happy to see their little sisters, but quickly started to scold them.
"Applebloom, do ya know what could've happened ta ya three in there?!"
"But Applejack we-"
"There are no buts. What you did was irresponsible and dangerous. You didn't even talk ta use 'bout your little expedition."
"That's right. You could have been gravely wounded."
"Rarity!"
"No! I will not have that from you. When we go home, you are grounded."
"Yeah. I know you want to be cool like me, but these sort of things are out of your league. You're too young."
Scootaloo started to pout.
"Didn't you even hear about the creatures that have appeared suddenly in the forest? I don't know what could have happened to you three if it caught a hold of you." said Twilight with worry.
"But we went in there to find them and take a picture to prove that they exist." yelled Sweetie Belle.
"Yeah. We even found one of them. It...it helped us out of the forest. Ya must've seen it. It passed right through here!"
The six mares looked at each other.
"I didn't see anything." said the soft voice of Fluttershy." Even the animals here say that there wasn't anything coming out of the forest besides you three."
"Yeah! And my Pinkie sense didn't feel anything either! You must be really tired. How about a party to help that?"
"Pinkie, now is not the time." sighed Rainbow Dash as she face-hoofed. " You girls are coming with us. You're in big trouble."
The three fillies bowed their heads in shame and replied to all six ponies:"Yes m'am.", and followed the mares back to Ponyville. They looked back one more time, sadness painted on their faces like the stars in the night sky overhead, until the saw the creature standing right at the edge of the forest and watching them. It soon disappeared within the confines of the forest. This just proved that they weren't having hallucinations. Unfortunately, a frightening yell from Applejack brought them scurrying back to those responsible for them. Well, "somewhat" responsible in the case of Rainbow Dash.
The inventor was waiting patiently at the entrance of the ship, only to see it open and have Templar jump back inside, still clean and effective. The robot turned to face its creator, who stared back. His eyes were impossible to decipher behind the goggles.
"I trust your mission was a success?" he said in a very serious tone.
The robot nodded. The tension coming from the man suddenly disappeared as a smile formed on his face.
"Great! Then I can get some peaceful sleep. You did good tonight Templar. You did very good."
The creator returned to his room as the robot followed him with its "eyes", only to return into its own capsule for ITS rest and recharging.
"Today was a great day" the man thought to himself."Now I'm freakin' grateful to myself for creating those three. I certainly couldn't do anything outside the ship without them. Well, time to get some shut-eye."