//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: Dawn // Story: Ponyville, USA // by Rox //------------------------------// - MSNBC - "- crews are currently making sweeps of the affected areas, searching for injured and for potential danger. While the event was widespread it is still currently believed that the only two metropolitan areas that were directly affected were Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale-" - FOX - "You saw it?" "Yeah I saw it! Lightning was just shooting down like crazy and it was like...one minute it's quiet and the next there's a freaking town in my backyard! I saw some of those things up close, ya know! They screamed at me!" - ABC - "We're still awaiting word out of the White House, so for now all we can do is speculate." "In my view, even if this isn't some sort of invasion we have a very serious problem. What if space-time is falling apart?" "Ok, calm down! The last thing we need-" - StudMuffin0368's Youtube Channel - "Are you getting this? "Of course, man! Get out of the way!" "Dude, we're gonna be famous! We're like, documenting history, man!" - Pinkie Pie - Pinkie's eyes fluttered open, some noise she wasn't familiar with buzzing her awake. The TV thingy in the middle of the room was on with a funny looking guy talking on the screen. She stretched in a big yawn as she looked over to the other bed. Twilight was snoozing on top of the covers. She had probably fallen back asleep after turning on the TV, the silly goose. Welp! It's time to get ready! Pinkie Pie leaped up (as quietly as she could) so she was standing on the plush, bouncy bed. That was so much fun she ended up bouncing in place until she remembered that, oh yeah, she was getting ready. There was no time to waste, a super duper fun day was planned in the land of the hand. Woo! Adding the word "hand" to her vocabulary was opening up a whole new world of rhyming possibilities. Ha! A whole new world! The TV suddenly got pretty loud with somepony shouting something about news. "Wai- Wha-?" Twilight snapped up blinking groggily. "Hey, you rude TV person! Don't you know ponies are trying to sleep?" Pinkie Pie said in a loud admonishing whisper, swooping up the remote and poking the little red button. She peeked back at her sleepy friend, who, despite the rude awakening fell back into her pillow. Good. Her tummy growled, so Pinkie stood still for a moment waiting to see if any twitches came along to make a Pinkie Sense combo, but when none did it was concluded that she was hungry. Pinkie Pie slunk out the door and closed it quietly, making her way down the hall. If she remembered right, there was a place to get breakfast on the first floor. But wait! She didn't want to go alone! Eating alone was never fun. Pinkie Pie considered going back and rousing Twilight to come with her, but before she made any steps back in that direction another door opened. "Oh, good mornin' Pinkie," Applejack said with a bright, chipper attitude. Well, she's ready for some fun. That makes everything easier. "Morning, Applejack!" Pinkie returned brightly. "Wanna come with me for some breakfast?" "Sounds good ta me!" Applejack answered. "Come on, Dash, let's get the day goin'!" Pinkie watched patiently (by which it's meant she rocked back and forth on her hooves) as Dashie trotted slowly out the door. "I wouldn't have roomed with you if I knew you got up this early," she said grumpily. "You'd prefer Rarity?" Applejack asked with a wry grin. "Aw, cheer up Rainbow Dash! I smell waffles!" Pinkie Pie said. Having gathered company for the meal, she once again made for the elevator with her friends right behind. They didn't have to wait for the doors to open as a little, joyful "Ding" sounded and let them inside. Once on board, Pinkie pressed the "1" button with her muzzle and giggled when it dinged again to close the doors. There was soft music playing. A quiet little ditty, but when Pinkie was just about to make up the words for it the doors opened again signaling their arrival. Pinkie rocketed out and honed in on the breakfast buffet. It was like someone was throwing a morning party. Ohmygoshohmygosh that's a great idea! I should remember that! Who wouldn't love a morning party? Okay. Maybe not Rainbow Dash... It was a long table filled with all sorts of breakfast goodies. Muffins, apples, oranges, those oat-thingys that Anne said were called cereals. Oooo a bunch of those were colorful. Pinkie Pie also found the waffle station on the very end. The batter was already made so that was easy. All she needed to do now was open the iron, pour some in, close the iron, flip it over, and somehow wait patiently for it to cook. Now stuck waiting for her morning delectable she happily turned to other parts of the buffet, scooping up a plate to slip in behind Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Both already had a couple of items and and were browsing for more. "Hmm. These apples don't exactly look fresh-picked but they look decent enough," Applejack commented as she picked up a couple of the fruits, smelling each as she did so. "I gotta have some of those bananas. Don't see those often." "Sure, why not?" Rainbow Dash muttered as she picked up a couple of muffins and placed them on the plate she balanced on her right wing. Pinkie Pie followed behind them and grabbed at least one of everything each of them did, leading to a small mountain of fruits, muffins, and one hot, gooey cinnamon roll. Beeping from the other end of the room sent her scurrying back to get her waffle. She managed to burn her tongue a little as that was the only way she figured out to get the waffle off, but that was all good. She zipped over to a table, placed her pile of goodies and lathered it all in syrup. The syrup wasn't hot like the last time with Anne, but it still smelled soooooo good. "What do you think this is?" she heard Rainbow Dash ask. "Think what is? Whatcha looking at?" Pinkie Pie temporarily abandoned her meal to run over and find out what AJ and Dashie were looking at. She planted her front hooves on their backs to that she could see over them. They both suddenly moved, and Pinkie forgot to catch herself again as she face planted into the floor. Oops, silly me. Undeterred Pinkie Pie shot up and got a closer look. It wasn't like any food Pinkie had ever seen. "It kind of looks like bark," Applejack remarked, leaning in close. Wrinkled bark maybe. "I dunno. It looks a little too light to me. Besides I've never seen bark that color. Or in three colors for that matter," Rainbow Dash said, sniffing it. "Smells like...... I have no idea. Never smelled that before." "Hmm. Well there's only one way to solve this mystery," Pinkie announced dramatically. Both her friends looked at her in wonderful anticipation. Pinkie Pie always loved that look. "We have to try it!" Rainbow and Applejack exchanged a glance, then nodded assent. "So who goes first?" Rainbow asked. "Nope, the best way to try something is together! All at the same time!" Pinkie Pie argued, carefully picking up the stiff, yet somehow floppy, greasy, burnt food item. The other two quickly went and set down their breakfast plates at the table where Pinkie had unloaded hers and came back to pick up their own. Pinkie stared uncertainly at the morsel. It was hot to the touch like a cinnamon bun, but felt more like a burnt cookie. "We probably should only take a bite, just in case," suggested Rainbow Dash. "Sounds good ta me," Applejack agreed. "Okie Dokie! On the count of three: One, two… THREE!" Pinkie Pie chomped down on one end, biting straight through the crispy surface with unexpected ease. She chewed once, then twice. And... It was super gross! Ick! Ack! Pinkie quickly swallowed the bite before spitting whatever was left of the taste. She zipped over to the drinks and filled up a glass of orange juice before and downed it in a single chug. Applejack was right behind her, practically gagging. "Ew! Ew! Ew! That wasn't fun at all!" Pinkie Pie lamented, wiping her tongue over and over. "You said it," concurred Applejack. "It wasn't that bad." Pinkie Pie rounded on Rainbow Dash in total disbelief. "I mean it wasn't great but not the worst thing I've ever eaten," Rainbow Dash defended, shrugging and tossing what remained of the food strip into the trash bin. "What else has she eaten?" Pinkie Pie whispered urgently into Applejack's ear. The fellow earth pony shrugged. "How 'bout we get to eating what we do know what it is," she suggested, climbing into the human sized chair. Glad the episode was over, Pinkie leaped into her seat and immediately began digging into the syrup covered edibles. Applejack and Rainbow Dash followed suit, beginning to devour their breakfast and talking about some of the things they had planned for the day. "Well you're all up early." David walked by the table as he said so, heading for the breakfast table himself. Pinkie and the others said good morning as they also looked around to see if anyone else was up yet but David had apparently come down alone. To Pinkie's surprise, she noticed that right after he grabbed a sesame seed muffin that David also grabbed a bunch of the gross, burnt stuff. She was even more shocked when he grabbed one off his plate and took a bite of half of it as he walked to the table. Pinkie Pie really wanted to protest but held back when she realized he seemed to be really savoring it, deciding instead to cram two muffins in her mouth to try and erase the very memory of it from her tongue. While she was thus stuffing her cheeks, she listened to the following conversation as David sat down. "Mornin' David," greeted Applejack. "Sleep well?" "Yep, best hotel bed I've ever slept in." "I'll tell you this, those things are sure bigger than any bed I've been on," Applejack noted. "They were a'ight," said Rainbow Dash. "Not as good as cloud but not bad. So what's that you're eating anyway?" David looked at the half strip he had just bitten off of. Pinkie Pie noticed a strange expression of recognition come over his face before he said, "Oh, nothing you'd like." "Well, if you think it doesn't taste good than why are you eating it?" Pinkie Pie demanded. "There's waffles over there! Waffles!" "Try us," Rainbow Dash said with an edge of dare and curiosity. "Uh.... we call it bacon," David said quickly, finishing the strip off and picking up the buttered toast off his plate. Pinkie shot lightning quick glances at AJ and Dashie but neither obviously had any idea, both shrugging. Then Rainbow Dash asked the one question that should never be asked about food after the fact that said substance has been ingested. Even Pinkie Pie knew that, but she was so curious it felt like her stomach would explode with butterflies. Or with any potential poison. "Well, what's it made of?" David looked at them with the expression of a mouse cornered by a cat, which looked really silly to Pinkie Pie so she naturally started giggling. "Uh....Okay, what the heck, you already know we eat meat. It's pig meat," he said quickly with surrender ... I...ate...wha- Pinkie Pie dead fainted as Applejack bolted to the trash can and promptly hurled while Rainbow Dash looked somewhere between stunned, fascinated, and sick as she stared at her half eaten breakfast. David, meanwhile, sat in befuddlement with his still waking up brain trying to process exactly how he would explain the suddenly semi-chaotic scene before him. - Paint Louis (now located near Wildwood, Missouri) - Luna - We were right, it was a transportation spell after all thought the Princess. She let out a sigh of relief, grateful that her impulsive decision hadn't led to her untimely demise. But the next question was; where was she? Paint Louis appeared to be in relatively good condition, though the ponies were understandably panicked. A few of them had already spotted her, and with a mixture of surprise and fear they approached her. She did her best to reassure them that she would get to the bottom of the issue, though she wasn't confident in her ability to do so. Comforting subjects was definitely a skill Celestia bested her younger sister at. After instructing them to return to their homes and to not panic, Luna took to the air. The air was hot and muggy and the landscape a lush green. Though it wasn't quite the exact same as the local Geography they had just left in Equestria, it was strikingly similar. From her vantage point above the ground, she could see a town to the southeast. It was logical to assume it wasn't Equestrian, both in location and in the architecture, but if they were to discover the secret of this spell talking to the locals was a must. So, without hesitation, Luna flapped her wings and began gliding gracefully towards that goal. The town had the set up of a large city despite it's diminutive size, with square blocks instead of a centralized circle, that much was plain from the air. The streets were buzzing with two different creatures, one large, colorful species that moved smoother than anything that size Luna had seen before, and smaller, yet still tall creatures running the sides. She revised her assessment as she got closer. Several of the thinner, tall species started pointing up at her and they started moving a lot faster, while Luna realized, to her inner embarrassment, the other "species" was some sort of strange vehicle. The creatures were all standing on two legs and had monkey-like arms, although they appeared mostly hairless except for head manes. They didn't have any tails and all of them were wearing clothing. More importantly, all of them were staring at her with a wide-range of expression. Up front four of the creatures were pushing the others away, shouting orders to that effect that Luna could hear clearly. And unless she was much mistaken these four creatures were police officers, which she deduced from them wearing uniforms that were strikingly similar to police forces in Equestria. Perfect. Local authorities. Luna descended slowly, not wanting to frighten them or engender a violent response. She had no idea what the nature of these beings was, so she could only hope it was similar to equine behavior and play it safe. Caution was also prudent seeing as two of them were holding objects that Luna had to assume were weapons, albeit strange in appearance. Landing gently a few paces from them, she stood at her full height with wings folded, doing her darnedest to appear both regal and unintimidating. Such was always a difficulty, even after multiple "lessons" with Twilight Sparkle and her friends. However many of the creatures were her height and even taller in several cases. Perhaps such size difference would help to allay any fears. "GREETINGS CITIZENS! I AM PRINCESS LUNA OF EQUESTRIA!" The creatures all suddenly flinched back, most of them retreating several steps. She tensed as she noticed the two with weapons twitch their arms upward, though they never pointed them at her. Perhaps the Royal Canterlot Voice was too much thought Luna ruefully, reminded of her first experience with Nightmare Night. She mentally inched back her voice down to normal speaking volume. "A-hem. It appears myself and many of my subjects have been transported to your world by a powerful magic spell. I wish to contact your leaders so that I may negotiate for assistance," the Princess of the Night explained carefully. It suddenly occurred to her that perhaps they didn't even speak the same language. In fact to assume so would probably be far too much to even ask. Her half-thought out plan was getting harder by the second. The officers exchanged several glances that Luna could not fully read, particularly as it appeared confusion was part of it, as they slowly approached her. The crowd was mostly quiet, the majority of them staring in what was unmistakably awe. "Um, are you with Princess...er, what was the name again?" One creature began with a masculine voice in clear Equestrian, leading Luna to mentally note that he was probably male. Doing that, of course, while covering up her shock that they did indeed speak the same tongue. That was good news. "Twilight, I think," offered another with a bunched up yellow mane and a feminine voice. So that must be a female that'll be easy to- "PRINCESS TWILIGHT IS HERE? Luna blurted loudly. So it was the same world after all! And they were alive! The good news was doubled! The lead creature still looked confused but nodded, which Luna hoped correctly assumed meant the same thing it did in Equestria. "Officer of the Law! Can you please tell me where I can find her?" The four keepers of the peace leaned in and conferred with one another quickly, with the lead officer stepping a little forward and speaking first, "We'll get word to D.C. quickly. They should know where she is." "I thank thee!" Luna said genuinely, giving a little bow. "Pray tell, where am I?" "Er, Missouri." Misery? That did not bode well. - Twilight - The last time Twilight had felt like being sick and laughing her head at the same time was on a carnival ride she took with her brother. She chose to laugh at the unfortunate circumstance three of her friends had found themselves in. Applejack was insisting to Rarity that she was just fine, while Pinkie Pie was busy scarfing down muffins despite Fluttershy's protests to take it easy. The pink pony had puked as well when she woke up, but was probably just denying anything had happened. The only one who hadn't surrendered her breakfast was Rainbow Dash, which made some sense. "Thousands of years ago pegasi had trained themselves to eat meat as a last resort," Twilight explained factually, when Rainbow asked why she hadn't hurled yet, through a couple of lingering snickers. "After Equestria was founded the practice was discontinued. But biologists theorize that pegasi could still digest meat. Guess it looks like they might have been right." "That's...kinda awesome," said Rainbow Dash uneasily. The look on her face said that the jury was still out on the outcome but at least it was unlikely that she'd get really sick. "What? I didn't know they'd actually eaten some of it!" Twilight turned to see David being given stern glares from his mother and older brother. "Would you rather I didn't tell them?" "Like I said, don't worry 'bout it none!" Applejack said to his defense. "We really shoulda asked before eatin' somethin' without knowin' what it was." "I'd say that's sage advice," Twilight added, still smiling at how funny it struck her. "For future reference, if it's brown and cooked, you probably shouldn't eat it," Asher said with a sigh. Twilight made a mental note to talk with him about what other animals were eaten in their world. Twilight had already gathered several days before that humans were the only sapient race present on their world, and fortunately pigs were not among the sapient races in Equestria either. But it would be good to know if certain residents of Ponyville were sometimes on the menu so that safety could be assured. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry," Twilight said, deciding to forge ahead and continue on with the day, with agreement from all around. Even Pinkie Pie jumped up enthusiastically, ready to do her best to demolish the entire collection of edibles. Twilight made sure she budged ahead of the pink pony just to make sure she got something. The breakfast itself was pretty enjoyable with everypony and everybody there. There were even some other hotel guests that wandered in and some even said hello, though none stayed despite any insistence that they join them. Soon, bellies were full and minds were fully awakened, and the morning's misadventures mostly forgotten. The humans were dressed far more casually today, including the return of Asher's ballcap. This was much to the relief of Rainbow and AJ, and even Twilight had to admit it would be nice not to have to worry about keeping a dress in tact. And Twilight suspected Rarity would suffer a lot less stress as well, so it was a win-win situation for all involved. Twilight was also in a good mood, not only because she got a good night's sleep for once, but because she was excited for what was in store. Her friends had agreed to go to the Smithsonian first, and from what Asher had told her it was one of the largest museums in the entire world, a practical treasure trove of human knowledge. Even Rainbow Dash became interested when she heard about the Aero-Space part, and since the pegasus being interested in going to a museum was probably a once in a lifetime event barring it being a Wonderbolts museum, Twilight was quite ready to enjoy a complaining-free educational trip. "Hey, let's get going," Mr. Burgess suggested and everypony spilled away from the tables in response. The plan for the day was set and double checked, the trusty list tucked away in a saddlebag on Twilight's back. Mayor Mare, Meadowlark, Comet Tail, and Caramel all planned to take a separate tour of the National Mall while Twilight, her friends, and the Burgess family would first go to the museum then would split off afterwards. They had learned that there was indeed a baseball game being played and a quick call the night before had confirmed that, with security, they could buy tickets. Twilight had been asleep for all that but she imagined that Rainbow Dash among others had been ecstatic. But Rarity, Fluttershy, and the two Burgess women didn't have much inclination to go to such a setting, so they would spend the evening shopping in the city. Twilight considered joining them, but she admitted she was curious what it would look like to see 40,000 humans together in one place. Rapidfire had expressed something similar out loud, so she felt justified in her desire. She still couldn't believe just how many of them there were in that kingdom alone, not to mention a world population at least triple that of Equestria's earth. Anyways, it was a good plan for a day. Albeit a day on a strange alien world, but still, a good plan. They were told that they would be picked up and escorted to their destinations for security, which made Twilight both sheepish and grateful. Even in the weeks since becoming a Princess, Twilight had turned down having units of the Royal Guard follow her around or even guard her home in the library. It just felt too weird to her to have somepony do that yet. Having it now was no different, but it did help her feel a little less exposed. Though she hoped that should their’s be a lengthy stay that it wouldn't remain a necessity whenever they wanted to leave Ponyville again. The entourage of 11 ponies and 7 humans made their way out of the doors of the hotel to the front sidewalk. No vehicles were yet there, though there were several sharply dressed security agents near the doors. They were talking under their breath into their sleeves and giving sideways glances at the group simultaneously. "Asher, what are they doing?" Twilight asked quietly, tapping the human in the leg to get his attention and motioning with her eyes. Asher spared a casual look in their direction for a few seconds then turned back towards the parking lot with a thoughtful expression. It wasn't one of alarm, thank goodness, but the wheels were definitely turning. "They're probably just giving an update to their superiors about what we're doing," Asher answered with a tinge of dismissal. That should have calmed Twilight down. Her experience thus far had shown Asher to be very perceptive and trustworthy. But something about the way they were looking at them was unsettling, and taking another look at Asher showed a slight frown, suggesting that he was probably getting the same feeling. Several vehicles finally appeared from around a corner and whipped into the lot; coming to a stop not far from where they stood. Several uniformed humans quickly exited and walked with purpose towards the group. "I call shotgun!" Patrick called out, taking a couple steps forward. "Please stay there, sir," one said gruffly, extending a hand and flattening it in a gesture that seemed to mean something to that effect. Patrick took a couple steps back with a juvenile smile as the man approached her directly. "Princess Twilight Sparkle, I have orders to ask you to come with me," he said in a tone that plainly said she didn't have a choice. Twilight's heart plummeted. Something was wrong. "Hey! Whoa! What'd she do?" Applejack and Rarity had simultaneously slid in front of her, standing shoulder to shoulder, while Rainbow Dash had jumped into a hover right above her and shooting a defiant glare. It had been her who had issued the challenge. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy had also inched closer to her sides on what could have only been impulse. To her slight surprise, Asher had taken a step or two forward as well. He had one hand up and on Rainbow Dash's chest, holding her back gently. "Calm down, Dash," he said evenly, giving the pegasus a serious look. Twlight looked past her friends and saw that when Dash had jumped up, that several of the soldiers guns were now pointed in her direction. Probably also a trained impulse, but Twilight's heart skipped as she realized that they had just came very close to tragedy. Asher's expression of concern said that plainly enough without words. Turning back to the man he queried carefully, "Sir, may we ask what the reasoning is?" "I'm not authorized to say," was the terse answer. The human looked older and experienced, and held all the poise that Twilight would expect from a Royal Guardpony "The Secretary of Defense wishes to speak with the Princess about an urgent matter. I also have orders to bring you along as well." Twilight nudged Rarity and Applejack as she pushed past them to look up at the human unobstructed. "May my friends accompany us?" The man nodded, motioning to the vans. Twilight agreed and followed the soldiers, closely followed by her friends turned body guards. Asher had a short discussion with his family in which he adamantly argued that they shouldn't come along this time, which ended quickly without much argument when his father agreed, before he climbed into the same vehicle Twilight had clambered into with Rainbow, Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy occupying the other seats. The ride was quiet, seeing as how the human guards weren't allowed to say anything, Asher just stared out the window deep in thought, and her friends kept glancing at her in concern with almost irritating frequency. Twilight had expected to be taken to the White House or perhaps the Capital, but this time they were taken to a broad building which was oddly named. "Why is this called the Pentagon? It looks more like a rectangle to me!" Pinkie Pie said as they passed sign that announced their destination. "It looks more like a pentagon from above, Pinkie," Asher explained as he continued watching out the window. The next several minutes were a stressful blur as agents escorted the Equestrians plus one through several doors and finally to a room that was bare save for several chairs and a white projector screen. It was there that another man in military uniform explained that the Secretary wanted to speak directly with Twilight alone. Twilight silenced the protests quickly, agreeing and promising her friends that everything was going to be fine. Besides, she may be outside the magic field but her magic level felt as strong as ever. Twilight could take care of herself if it came down to it. Twilight followed the guard, trailed by two more, to another small room with a single desk and two chairs on opposite sides. There was also a long mirror, though Twilight couldn't imagine what for. Sitting in one chair was the woman Secretary they had already met with on a few occasions. She looked as stern as ever, though she was cordial as Twilight entered the room and climbed onto the human-sized chair. "Your Highness, forgive me being blunt, but do you have any leads as to the cause of your present situation?" What the hay happened to bring on this urgency? "Sadly, no. Why, have you found something?" Twilight asked optimistically, hoping that was what this was all about. Secretary Grant's expression didn't change as she regarded the pony. Her eyes were cold just to look at, and they told Twilight that her optimism was in vain. Something was very wrong. "Our research has only begun and turned up nothing," she stated more than admitted. "Has your homeworld experienced any major disasters that could prompt a mass exodus?" What kind of question was tha- It clicked. It had happened again. "No, Equestria is prospering, but what's going on? Did another town appear?" Twilight petitioned worriedly. The woman shuffled in her seat a little bit as she looked over some papers in her hands and basically ignored her, asking another question. "Are there any dissenting factions that challenge your position in government?" "What? No!" Twilght responded, taken aback by the strange question and rapping her hoof impatiently on the desk. This was an interrogation not a discussion, and it wasn't revealing anything. "Why would you ask that? If another piece of Equestria is here I should go see it! It might give us a clue -" "Princess, it wasn't just another piece," Secretary Grant interrupted with a frown. Twilight stopped short and sat back in the chair, thoroughly confused. "At 7:45 Eastern Time..." - Asher - Asher was in another room being given the same recap of what was going on, with news stories playing on the TV set of a tragedy of some scale playing out in California and Florida. It was too much all at once for him to comprehend everything. The implications physically, socially, politically, and a whole lot of other possibilities all jockeyed for position in his young psyche. And he had thought just one town of alien, pony like creatures materializing in his backyard was the greatest most mind-boggling thing that could ever happen. Not for the first time since everything started, part of Asher wished for his old life back. The one where stuff like this was in science fiction and all he had to worry about was resting up for going after a bachelor's degree so that he could get a good paying job. He was freaking 20 years old! Most kids his age were eating pizza by the ton and getting busted for underage drinking! They weren't sitting in the pentagon as an officially hired adviser to a sapient species from another dimension being told that life as they knew it was coming to an end like he was some big shot who could actually do something about it. Asher straightened his hat out of habit, a little smile breaking across his face at that last thought. Yeah, actually, that last part alone made it all pretty awesome. Not to mention that he realized he couldn't even bring himself to think the words I wish I had never met them. He totally did not regret that one bit. He was even feeling like he could call them friends. "What is the plan sir?" Asher asked his informer, a uniformed General Harvick. If worlds were colliding, then something had to be done. "I want to help in any way I can." The General regarded him for a few moments. He obviously wasn't used to dealing with people as young as he was like a diplomat. He probably usually had them standing at attention shaking in their boots. "We need information. The events stopped altogether at once at exactly 7:52 Eastern Time, only 7 minutes after it started. This is not to leave here except to those on a short list, namely your employers, but we have no leads to the cause. From your observations have you seen any technologies or abilities that could contribute to such an event?" Asher took a deep breath, about to have a conversation that he never once even considered he'd ever have with someone not wearing a discount Harry Potter costume. "Well, sir. They are honestly almost as lost as we are, though they do have appreciation for the sciences and certainly know a few things that we don't. They just use a, er, different vernacular." The General's expression told him to continue. Asher took another deep breath. "They call it magic," Asher said. "I've seen levitation, accelerated growth, and one of them actually walking on a cloud. And that's not forgetting that Sonic Rainboom Rainbow Dash pulled off at the airshow. And the entire time we were studying the event ourselves they would speak in terms of spells and magic. I thought it was just their words for science at first, but I'm running out of explanations." A single raised eyebrow. That was pretty much the response Asher expected. Personally, he couldn't even really make eye contact because he knew just how ridiculous it sounded to have anyone try to convince a general of the United States Military that the X factor was magic. "Son, you want me to go to the President and his scientific advisers and tell them that magic is causing this?" "Not exactly. I don't know exactly how, but I think their science, what they call magic, may be the real key here," Asher explained. "But either way, I think it's safe to assume that their world is falling apart at the seams. If you're saying that not one but no less than nine more incidents have occurred, then wouldn't it be smart to explore every option?" Asher hadn't talked like that to an adult so much his senior, well, ever. Not even his pain in the butt english teacher in 10th grade. "Sorry, sir," he apologized quickly. "I think our best hope for stopping this thing will lie with the Equestrians. I can't explain how they do anything, but I want to find out. Because when it comes down to it if their home falls apart, the pieces are gonna land on my home." Harvick regarded him again silently, staring directly with eyes that seemed to drill deep. "Son, on any other day I would have said you really were crazy," he finally said. "But from what I've been seeing today, I'm ready to accept just about anything." He walked around the desk so he could stand directly above the seated Asher. "Do you know about their cloud manipulation?" "I've seen them build a permanent house out of it." Surprisingly, the General didn't appear surprised. Why do I get the feeling things are going to get really weird? Like, Pinkie Pie weird? - Lightning Dust - "Ow! Who taught you to tie bandages? A dragon?" Lightning Dust winced in pain as the strange creature, which had called itself a human, used it's spindly appendages to dress a deep laceration on her front leg. Her unexpected trip through two thick panes of glass had not gone well, leaving her with cuts, some missing feathers, and a swelling bruise from the shattering impact into the kitchen table "Hey, most people woulda just called the cops instead of helping you out," the human, named Jay, spat. "And why would you do that?" Sand Hill was standing in the house too, watching the human warily. The creature gave no response as he finished tying off the bandage. "So is this an invasion or what?" Jay demanded. Lightning Dust looked up at him (that was uncomfortable for Dust, who never liked looking up to anyone) with a confused glare. Why would he think that ponies would invade anyone? This was definitely some magical accident. She had heard what had happened to Ponyville but never once did it occur to her that it could happen to Cincineighti too. Even after Rainbow Falls was sucked up too. In hindsight she should have been ready. "You sure are jumpy. First cops and now asking if we're invading," Lightning Dust drawled, pulling her hoof back to examine the bandage as it soaked up her blood. "Well it's all over the news. You guys are everywhere all of the sudden!" Jay defended, sitting down in a chair much too tall to be useful to any equine. "But now that I think about it there's not much of military value around here is there. Maybe Cincinnati but that's not even the state capital." "Cincineighti," corrected Sand Hill. "What?" "You pronounced our town wrong. It's Cincineighti," Sand Hill repeated. "How would you know that anyway. How do we know this isn't some plot to capture all of us?" Sand had a point, as usual. Lightning Dust matched his challenging look. The human just looked confused. "I wasn't talking about your town," he said, motioning out the shattered glass towards the pony town now abuzz with her fellow townsponies trying to figure out what happened. "What did you call it?" "Cincineighti, What did you call it?" Sand answered back. "Cincinnati." Dust looked from Sand to Jay and back again. "If I'm being pranked I'm going to kick somepony's flank into next week." - Discord - Reno, Nevada - Wow, that took even more out of me than I thought Discord pondered as he literally crawled on his belly through some poorly manicured bushes. I must be getting old or something. He hadn't even felt this deflated of power when he was imprisoned in stone. He probably couldn't even use a little chaos magic to change rain into chocolate, and that was the first thing he had ever learned to do! Discord chuckled a little at the memory. He'd gotten in trouble then too. The sun was becoming merciless since it had risen, scorching Discord's back to the point that he was sure he was going to get sunburn. And with his depleted magic level would hinder his regeneration so that it'd probably take just as long to heal is it would for a normal being. He really needed to get inside a magic field. Frankly he should have thought of that, but oh well. Living in the moment of chaos sometimes bites you in the flank, that's for sure. Maybe he should be less whimsical. … Nah. The sound of a door slamming jarred Discord out of his exhaustion-induced stupor. He was in a backyard now, still mostly concealed by bushes, but a human girl had just wandered out the back door. Well, he was pretty sure it was a girl. She had black hair that was shorter than most, black lipstick, black fingernails, and dark clothing. Not to mention more piercings than a minotaur. She had her hands and attention on a little device in her hands, and hadn't noticed him yet. Taking advantage of his serpent body, Discord slithered slowly towards the fence. It wasn't until he reached it that he realized there was no way that, one, he could climb it without being seen, and two, that he even had the strength to do so. Time for a new plan. Now I should think through this carefully and - "Hello there, can I trouble you for some assistance?" Discord mentally slapped himself. He really needed his magic back so he could outlet his chaotic impulses. The girl looked up from her device and her eyes widened. But only for a second, before her deeply uninterested expression took over. "What're you supposed to be?" she deadpanned. "Some sort of alien experiment gone wrong?" "I wouldn't say gone wrong even if I was," Discord responded coolly. "However, I do find myself in the embarrassing position of being too weak to move anymore. Seeing as you're the only one around, my options are somewhat limited." The girl looked up and down all ten feet of him before making eye contact with him, during which Discord made his best puppy eye impression. Then she heaved a sigh that dripped with a lot of depressed emotion and said, "You're not heavy are you? We've got some water inside." "I have wings, and besides, I've been on a diet!" Discord joked. Normally he would have snapped his fingers and transformed into something like a feather to make the situation humorous but it was a no can do. The girl rolled her eyes as she walked over to him and heaved him up, as he flapped his wings weakly to help the best he could. "Do..oof, you at least have a name?" she grunted as she half dragged him towards the house. "Discord, Lord of Chaos, though recently reformed," Discord said proudly as he could. "And yours my dear?" She pushed open the cracked door with her shoulder as she answered, "Phoebe, queen of my life is boring." Discord lifted his head around to get a better look at her, "Well, once I'm better I'm sure I could help with that."