The afternoon dragged on in Sweet Apple Acres, with work to be done all around the farm. Big Mac, as the day rolled on, spent most of his time in the fields, gathering hay and fixing the wagons. Applejack spent her time collecting the apples, as was her chore, and Granny Smith rocked back and forth in her old, rickety wooden chair, sleeping as two of the children did their work, while Applebloom played with her two other friends, running around the trees like wild hooligans as the sun drew on overhead, heating the day with it's magnificent rays. Meanwhile, as Applebloom and her friends played a game of 'tag' amongst the trees, zipping and winding amongst the tall foliage without a care in the world, and full knowledge of all the trees' locations, so as they wouldn't crash into one by accident.
However, as Sweetie bell caught up to Applebloom in her bid to make the other of their trio 'it', none of them saw the hill through the wind in their eyes, and over their laughter, did not hear the sound of the trees over the hill being uprooted and tossed aside in violent fits, and they even did not feel the ground quake as something monstrous stomped over the hill, not noticing the smaller, distracted fillies, just as they did not notice it, until, at last, it was far, far too late.
"Give up, Sweetie Belle! Y'all's time with Rarity's gone an' made you soft, while I can keep runnin' all day!"
"Yeah... *huff*... until you hit... those trees in front of you!" Sweetie sarcastically called back to her much-faster friend between her gasps of breath, pointing ahead of the sprinting filly, and causing said filly to turn around, just in time to, indeed, find two large, thick trees right in front of her, and without even a second to gasp in shock, Applebloom rammed right into one of the massive, shining trunks head-first, with a sound akin to a rock hitting metal, and an audible groan from herself.
"Owww... uhn, what in the WORLD...?" Applebloom asked nobody in particular as she got up, not remembering anything about two trees ever being there before... or any trees, for that matter. Suddenly, Sweetie Belle finally caught up to her friend as she lay, gazing at the odd trunks in curiosity.
"Gosh! Applebloom, are you okay?" Sweetie Belle asked her friend, who simply sat there, gazing at the twin trees she had the misfortune of crashing into in curiosity.
"Yeah, I'm fine. But what is up with these here trees? They're not supposed to be here, I'm sure of that. And why do they look... shinier than I think they should be?" Applebloom asked, tapping the 'trees' with her hoof, resulting in another, softer 'pang'. Finally, Sweetie Bell walked over to them herself, and proceeded to inspect the fronts of each odd, twisted, metal trunk, gazing at her reflection in each one curiously, as if testing a mirror.
"I don't know, but I remember Rarity telling me something about copper, which this looks a lot like... maybe... these aren't trees?" Sweetie Belle finally asked in affirmation, unaware of the shadow that now grew over the two as they inspected and prodded the metal structures they once thought to be trees. And soon, the light of the sun was dimmed drastically as something hovered over the two fillies, though they paid it no mind. After all, they were under trees... right?
"I dunno, but if these aren't wood, then they sure as heck aren't trees... But what..?" Applebloom only managed to get out her theory and little else, before a massive, deep, growling voice interrupted her, stopping them both dead, and causing them both to look up, feelings they had before then all but replaced with absolute dread.
"Quite astute, little one. But perhaps you shouldn't be running about here with trees about, hmm?" The gargantuan, menacing voice above them said, and the two stopped, and hesitantly looked up, afraid of what they might find. Thankfully, though, what they found, hovering over them with a hateful, deadly grimace wasn't at ALL what they thought it was...
It was several times worse.
"Uhhh.... uhh...." Applebloom stammered, her vocabulary and thought process diminished to nil as the towering, metal behemoth leered at the two with glowing, orange eyes like those of a wolf, and even Sweetie Belle tried to back away from the colossal, lumbering creature that now loomed over the two fillies in an attempt to flee, but before the two could react further, the gargantuan, angry monster snatched the two up by the scruffs of their necks, fast as lightning, and held them close to it's monstrous, snake-like head where it could glare at the two with greater ease. And at that point, each of them fell silent, internally praying to Celestia that somepony, ANYpony would come and save them from whatever fate this great, hulking monster of scales and metal had in store for them.
Thankfully, nearby, Scootaloo finally meandered her way out of the trees they ran through while playing, having gotten lost herself after losing Sweetie Belle in their game, and saw her two friends, caught in quite an incriminating mess, and a potentially lethal one if she was to dawdle any further.
"What in the..? Oh man, What is THAT!? I gotta get help, fast!" Scootaloo at last noted, and without another word, the small pegasus quickly turned around, and sprinted back to the farm, eagre to spread the news of how a monster that she'd never seen before had her friends in a stranglehold, and was probably about to eat them (which, knowing Ripa's track record, likely wasn't that far-fetched an assumption, anyway).
The Arbiter glared balefully at the two small creatures that he now held in his hands by their necks, writhing and squirming to escape his grasp, though neither of them cried out, oddly enough. Just as well for Ripa 'Moramee, though, for to him, these small creatures seemed to be further miniaturized ponies, like the ones he'd had the misfortune of meeting on his first day on this horrible, fetid planet. Briefly, Ripa pondered if, in fact, these two had any relation to the ponies he's seen that day, but he ultimately dismissed the thought, and kept his attention on the two squirming ponies he now held, growling audibly as they struggled to escape his grasp, and finally shaking them both once to get them to stop.
"Enough movement, both of you! Now... I demand you explain to me why you IDIOTS charged head-first into me, and then insulted me by comparing my glorious plating to your flimsy, low-grade peasant metal!!!" The Arbiter roared, his patience worn all but out by the trip he had endured to get here, as well as the reasons he took to this stupid journey in the first place. But now, his patience was further being whittled away by the two grunts he now held, both whimpering and cowering as he scolded them. But then, at last, one of the pathetic, miniature creatures finally overcame their fear of the massive, thuggish elite, and replied to his demand, voice shaky, but still audible.
"I-I-I... I mean we... we didn't mean no harm, w-we were just p-p-playin' around, when you g-got in our way..." the little, red-maned one answered, and the Arbiter growled at her, narrowing his orange, fiery eyes at the little nuisance, and before either of them could say any more, Ripa blurted out his response, his anger ill-concealed as he scolded the two to the fullest of his ability.
"I was in your way!? I am THE ARBITER, you little ankle-biting, milk-drinking, infantile excuses for wastes of life and air!!! MY way is what YOU have obstructed, and you DARE not apologize correctly for your transgressions!? Have you no idea, no INKLING of who I am, and what I will DO TO YOU, you sopping, sniveling, runty excuse for a thinking lifeform!?" the Arbiter ranted, his orange, glowing eyes growing brighter as his rage built up into higher levels, and unbeknownst to either him or his unfortunate captives, on the massive armor plate on his back, a burning sigil began to form, seemingly from nowhere discernible, and as his rage grew, the sigil itself began to glow a dull, pale blue, and it seemed to shimmer with heat as it grew in strength, as the Arbiter scolded and shook the unruly runts before him. However, the Arbiter had no knowledge of this, and continued to focus on the small, red-maned filly, who had previously headbutted him without so much as an 'I'm sorry. Well, she was sure going to be sorry in a moment, the Arbiter would be sure of that.
"I-I-I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to headbutt ya! Please let me go!!!" The small filly sobbed, her shrill voice causing the Arbiter to cringe in pain, but he did not relent, and tightened his grip on the fillies further, securing his place over them, and at last spoke, once the two had stopped crying for long enough that he could fairly and accurately punish the two for their crimes, however insignificant they might have seemed. Indeed, for insulting, let alone ATTACKING, the Arbiter, the right arm of the Prophets, was a sin normally punishable by death. But through his mercy, Ripa 'Moramee prepared to spare the two sinners before him, and punish them as he saw fit, without killing them. How nice of him! So, shaking the two into stopping their ear-splitting sobbing, Ripa 'Moramee finally garnered the attention of the two fillies, and prepared to make is final judgment on their fates.
"Bah, Listen up, you damp, spineless infidels! Stop crying NOW, before I tear out the tear ducts from your oversized, vulnerable eyes!" The Arbiter shouted, stopping the two from crying further, and he then loosened his grip on their necks, and continued.
"Better... Now, as Arbiter, it is my job to decide whether you two scum-sucking atrocities live or die. But fortunately for you two little hell-spawn, I find killing children too... tedious, for my tastes. So, instead, I'm going to put you two down, and you're going to lead me to the nearest settlement to here. Comply, and you will remain... alive. If you two keep bawling your worthless, oversized eyes out, however..." the Arbiter said, emphasizing his point with a light squeeze to their necks before continuing, "...Then I will slowly cut you both open, and let your entrails flop out of your fat, overfed bellies, and onto the dusty ground for any low-life scavenger to come and feast upon! Are we clear, maggots!?" The enraged Arbiter roared at the two, and without anything in the way of options, the two simply looked at each other, whimpers emanating from their quivering mouths as tears of fear streamed from their eyes, and they finally turned back to the Arbiter, nodding. At this, the Arbiter grinned a wide, toothy, murderous grin, and replied, his voice deeper, and dripping with malicious glee and blood lust.
"Good... now... Show me where it is." Ripa asked the fillies menacingly, and the white one managed to get her mouth open to speak, but before a sound could exit her lips, another voice called out to the trio, stopping them all in their tracks.
"Stop right there, and put down mah sister, you pig-headed varmint!"
Ripa stopped as he stood, his left eye twitching ever-so-slightly as the voice rang in his head, and without any thought to his actions, he suddenly dropped the two fillies he held, leaving them gasping on the ground as the Arbiter growled ferociously, his mind aching as the gears turned, and he remembered the voice all too well...
"Impossible... To think, of all the places..." Ripa 'Moramee growled as he stared at the familiar, orange pony before him, standing beside a tiny, orange, winged filly and a gargantuan, red stallion, neither of which looked happy to see him, especially not the orange mare in the middle. But then again, Ripa wasn't happy to see them either. Then, after a brief reunion, the orange, unsuspecting mare then looked up at Ripa 'Moramee, her green eyes blazing with anger at his actions, and replied to his previous reaction with much the same tone and set of mind as he used as he growled and glared at her, seeming to tear her apart with his gaze alone.
"Ah had ya figured fer a bad apple when ah first laid eyes on you, ya big, ugly brute, ah could see it in yer eyes that your soul was no good. But threatening an' beatin' up fillies? That's a whole level of low I just ain't gonna touch with you, pal. Now, ya can either apologize to those their fillies you done almost killed an' leave, or ya can answer to me an' mah big brother over here. What's it gonna be, ya hecklin' goblin?" the orange mare went on, glaring at Ripa 'Moramee with a seriousness that almost made the massive sangheilli respect her for her courage... if only he could understand what the hell that blithering, inbred horse just said.
"...I'm sorry, but could you repeat that whole sentence, please? I'm afraid I don't speak INBRED PEASANT." Ripa 'Moramee requested, and the orange mare then reeled back in shock, eyes wide with surprise, and finally, she lowered herself into an offensive stance, hoofing at the dirt like a bull about to charge.
"What was that 'bout bein' inbred, ya great big thug?" Applejack threatened, her green eyes practically ablaze with hate. But, undeterred, the Arbiter simply smiled at the anger he was causing the little orange workhorse, and activating his inner, as the humans call it, "troll face", Ripa 'Moramee stepped forward, arms out, and beckoned the two peasants before him to attack, so that he could finally show them both the errors of their ways.
"I meant what I said, you simple farm animal. Are you deaf? Or simply too thick-skulled and uneducated to understand my words? I suspect both. Maybe you should ask your mate beside you to translate, Hmm?" Ripa tried again, loosing his words in an attempt to draw the two infidels to his waiting blades, and that seemed to do it for both of the ponies before him, for as soon as those words left his mouth, Applejack's vision turned red, and she snorted once, like a mad bull, before replying to his comment one last time.
"Oooohhhhhh, now 'yer gonna get it, you varmint..." Applejack finally growled, her feral transformation disturbing even her own brother. But still, Ripa 'Moramee drew his blades, eager to, at long, long last, spill the blood of the impetuous locals upon his waiting swords.
"Come to me then, whelp, and prepare to BEG for your death, like the rest of your pathetic world!" Ripa 'Moramee roared last, and at that moment, without a single thought, Applejack pulled a rope from her saddle, spinning it into a lasso as she prepared to fight the massive behemoth that was Ripa 'Moramee. And so, at that, Ripa bellowed a mighty battle cry, and charged the waiting pony down below with abandon and zeal. Smiling, Applejack simply prepared her lasso as the Arbiter charged, and as she prepared to release it, she called out to the charging elite, sigil burning upon his back, getting his attention surprisingly quick.
"Just so you know, ya big, ugly snake, I've been wantin' ta put you in your place since I laid eyes on ya! Take... this!" Applejack cried, and with a mighty yell, she tossed the lasso toward the massive charging elite, though, instead of surprise, the elite took on a look of predatory glee, and without warning, his eyes simply burst into orange flames, and he leaped over the lasso, sailing through the air as every pony in the vicinity watched him, and as he reached the climax of his jump, at least 48 hooves into the air (24 feet, by human measurement), the Arbiter then pointed his swords downward, and dashed at the offending orange mare, sending her flying as the elite impacted the earth, and the resulting explosion heaved up trees, stones, and even Big Macintosh found himself tossed aside by the shockwave produced by the homicidal Alien's impact on the ground. Finally, after a while, the dust finally cleared, but neither Applejack nor Big Macintosh could see their new adversary at first, until Applejack heard a roar from behind her, and she ducked as a single, giant energy-like wave sliced over her, slicing five gallons off of her favorite hat. Despite her loss, though, Applejack could not even notice that the hat was missing, for no sooner had the first blade swung, that the next blade jabbed right at her, forcing the orange mare to jump backwards to avoid being skewered. The dust still floated in the air, depriving her and her brother of vision, but the elite they faced was loud, and he roared as he struck and swung, so he was, at least, easy to avoid. Finally, once the dust had settled, the three stood, brother and sister, versus massive, deadly sangheilli warrior.
The three stared for a good while, each side patiently waiting for an opening from the other, until the Arbiter's patience had, at last, run out. Eyes blazing once again, Ripa 'Moramee charged at Applejack, the focus of his insatiable rage and anger, until he was simply blindsided by her brother, Big Macintosh. Under most circumstances, the large, red pony would have stood no chance against the far-larger elite, who easily dwarfed him at least by two times. But as Big Mac hit the charging elite from the side, the two were soon locked in a bid for domination, each one forcing all their weight onto the other, in order to successfully push their opponent over, and finish the fight for good. But, unfortunately for Big Mac, despite his endurance, Ripa 'Moramee was easily two times his size, and with that said, pushed much, much harder than poor Big Mac could ever have hoped to.
Sensing her brother's imminent defeat, though, Applejack came into the fray to try and help her brother, but as soon as she got within range for a buck, Big Mac's footing slipped, and with a mighty roar, Ripa 'Moramee picked up the struggling, red stallion, and flung him into his own sister, sending them both tumbling away from the massive elite, who laughed loudly as the two laid there, their energy drained in that one fight, and he began to stalk toward them coldly, like a wolf hunting a fawn... or, in this case, TWO fawns, his orange, hate-filled eyes burning themselves into the siblings' visions as they looked at his hard, rugged, scowling face, his many teeth shining as he clicked his jaws in annoyance at the short-lived nature of the fight. But honestly, what did he expect? He was a trained, murderous, giant of an elite. They were farmers, PONY farmers, no less. In the end, Ripa thought, his victory was assured the moment that these inbreeds declared their aggression. And when he at last approached the two downed opponents, he simply stared coldly down at them, as they looked up at him, silently pleading for their lives through their gazes. But the Arbiter... was fresh out of mercy.
"You fought well, you little dirt-mongers... but this fight is mine, as are your lives." Ripa announced as he stared down at the tangled brother and sister, who then sighed, before the sister spoke herself, surprising Ripa 'Moramee at least a little bit.
"You don't know what you're doin', you big bully. Why don't you just phone home already, and leave us alone?" Applejack asked, practically spitting at the Arbiter's feet, but this was ignored by him, despite the implications. Instead, the Arbiter simply moved past the two as they laid there, and to the two's confusion, he hoisted Granny Smith's chair up off the porch, the aforementioned granny still asleep upon it even as he lifted it into the air, and set it next to them, moving back to the house afterward. Then, at last, as the Arbiter made his way to the too-small door, he spoke once more, causing the family's heart to sink as he spoke, his heartless, cold tone warning enough to them to stay away:
"I have won this fight, worms, and as a prize, I'm taking your home. Leave now, and I may decide against hunting you all down and skinning you while you still draw breath. Now, BEGONE!" Ripa roared, moving toward the door tiredly, as if going into his rage simply sapped all the energy from him. But despite his mercy, Applejack still found the energy and audacity to get back up, and questioned the alien's authority, much to his chagrin.
"Hey, you can't just take our home!" She cried, but as if in response to her argument, Ripa simply slammed the door in the orange mare's astonished face, and proceeded to lock the door, preventing them entry to their own home. Astonished, shocked, and confused as to what to do now, the family simply sat there, jaws slack in surprise. And there they waited for at least an hour, and as sorely tempted as Applejack was to rush in her home and kick the alien out... she knew that she needed more than her and her brother, as Ripa 'Moramee made perfectly clear moments before. So, without further delay, the whole family (sans Granny Smith, who was still out and had to be carried) set out to Ponyville, to find and beseech help from the one person that they knew could do it...
Princess Twilight Sparkle.