Chapter Eight. Down Time
Scientists of two different species met in a small hall in Canterlot.
"Have we consolidated the journal entries?" One scientist asked another.
"Yes, The Equestrian Ministry of Magic and Sciences has its entries ready." another answered.
"The AEE has its journals as well." yet another scientist responded.
"Well then, lets begin."
The Consolidated Journals of The Anomalous Energy Event Team, and The Equestrian Ministry of Magic And Sciences.
This journal begins with what we will call "day one" The first day successful travel between the worlds was accomplished, Just a week ago.
First Entry. on "day one"
The first anomalous transport occurred. Captain Lenard Greene, 1st Lieutenant Gerianna Reed, and 2nd Lieutenant Micheal Kaiser of the United States Air force, entered Equestria on board three modified F-15C fighter aircraft. Because Captain Greene's aircraft was leading the flight, his aircraft encountered more aerodynamic turbulence as the flight entered. Due to the violent shaking that resulted from this, Greene's aircraft took damage and lost power, crashing into a cloud. The aircraft impacted a cloud rather than the ground, but without Lenard in it. It is unknown how he managed to exit the craft without ejecting. But we will question him more on that later.
There are several questions regarding the nature of human-pony relations. Chief of which, is how do humans and human built objects have the ability to rest on clouds. According to the Equestrians, this trait is a "magical" trait that is believed to exist only in pegasai and other flying Equestrian creatures. According to the sensors of all three aircraft, the clouds were just that, clouds. They are the condensation of water vapor, not a solid surfaces. Yet Greene spent the first few hours after his arrival unconscious on a cloud, where pegasai later found him. This has stumped the finest minds in both our organizations, and brings us to the next subject.
Magic: notes form the AEE.
The very concept of magic has been a very interesting subject. As far as we understand, magic is an aura of energy which surrounds this planet and its sun and moon. (Note: There don't seem to be any other planets in this solar system. This is highly irregular.) There doesn't seem to be any analog way of measuring magic, but magic users can detect it to a degree. Unicorns, (and by default, alicorns,) can harness this magical field and utilize it to move objects. As for "spells," we really don't understand how this works. Powerful unicorns seem to be able to bend reality slightly, during this use of magic, in ways we don't yet understand. The laws of physics still seem to apply, but not like we are used to.
Pegasai seem to be able to use magic in the form of what we will call "Aero-magic" Unknowingly using trace amounts of magic to surround themselves with an aerodynamic cone of air. This allows them to dive at tremendous speeds, some can reach speeds just faster than the speed of sound. This cone protects them from the adverse affects of traveling this speed. This, however, is extremely dangerous for a pegasus, as it is very taxing, the cone only lasts a few seconds, and entire process is quite unstable. There are instances of this cone deflecting a pegasus if supersonic speeds are not reached in time, hurtling said pegasus in the opposite direction at tremendous speed. Because of the cone's inherent instability, a pegasus can only maintain supersonic speed for a short time before the heat and tearing effects begin to occur around the cone. This is why most pegasai tend to fly at much lesser speeds, similar to the various birds of this, and our world.
Our studies of earth ponies have revealed that earth ponies, despite visual observation, are not simply pegasai without wings or unicorns without horns. They are their own race, with their own abilities. First, earth ponies are extremely strong. A fit earth pony can exhibit twice the physical strength of a pegasus, and almost two point five times the strength of a unicorn. They also seem to have tougher immune systems and increased resistance to physical injury. Most of this strength is natural, but in extreme cases, earth ponies unknowingly draw strength from magic to boost their power even further, though this is based of off historical records, and we have not observed this directly. Between the three pony races, earth ponies seem to rely on magic the least. Though they do seem to have some kind of special connection to the earth.
Alicorns.
Not even the inhabitants of Equestria know much about the alicorns. All that is known, is that they seem to be a combination of all three pony types, and exhibit power beyond what even the most powerful unicorns understand. The only two known alicorns are the governors of this land, Princess Celestia and her sister Princess Luna. We will discuss further studies of the Equestrian system of government in subsequent reports.
In all, the concept of magic escapes us and we will probably have to research it for years to begin to understand it. It is quite amazing stuff.
Humans and Human Technology:
A Report From The Equestrian Ministry of Magic and Sciences.
Humans are a race of bipedal creatures from a world that shares the same name a ours. Earth. Though lacking magic, they have more or less created it for themselves, in the way of advanced technology. Physical differences include five fingered hands on their forelegs, or arms, and five toed feet on the rear legs, which humans refer as simply "legs." Internally, ponies and humans share common physiology. The heart, lungs, brain, and digestive systems. seem to be similar to ours. However, it is possible that humans are omnivores, instead of herbivores like ponies. More on that, later.
In comparison, Humans are more agile, dexterous, and have greater endurance than ponies, but ponies are typically stronger and faster than humans, (with very bizarre exceptions.) It's possible that blood may even be compatible enough for transfusions between the species, but this has not fully been confirmed.
Human Technology.
Though we have seen very little of it, human technology baffles us just about as much as magic confuses them, so we are all mutually confused. In all seriousness, human technology is quite impressive, and challenges what we believed to be possible.
Heavier than air flying machines. "Airplanes," and "Aircraft," as they are known.
In truth, this concept was at one time seen as impossible without magic. There are reportedly several types of aircraft. The jets that entered our would are powered by volatile fuels, which are burned inside the craft. The resulting explosions are channeled to produce thrust. This is an extremely simplistic description as this is the only aspect we've been able to understand. Humans have somehow channeled electricity, the power of lightning, in ways we are still trying to figure out. Our "electronics" as the humans call it, seem like child's play in comparison. More on this in subsequent reports.
Back to the subject of aircraft. These jets can travel ridiculous speeds, routinely breaking the sonic retainer and thus traveling faster than the sound they create. This was observed when Mr. Greene flew his aircraft at top speed after he freed it from the cloud it crashed into on "day one." This particular aircraft has a top speed slightly faster than three times the speed of sound, a speed so fast, that as the craft passed, is took several seconds to actually hear it. The applications of such craft are enormous! Journeys that would take a full day, would take minutes on board these aircraft, and various services, such as the mail system, would become much more efficient. As of now, the humans are working on some sort of inter-dimensional array, which would allow sustained contact and transport between our worlds. We have dispatched pony scientist and resources to help in this effort, as a bridge between worlds would be mutually beneficial to both our peoples. Princess Luna has personally commissioned a team of scientist and ambassadors to travel to the human world to begin diplomatic relations once the array is complete.
End Journal.
"Is that seriously all we know?" A human scientist scratched his head.
One of the pony scientist though a moment.
"Eeyup."
*********************
\
Most of Ponyville's pony and human workers were working on the ACSD array, but Lenard Greene had secured a few to help repair the stricken aircraft he'd bravely flown in on.
"Is that wheel supposed to be attached like that?" a construction pony asked a human.
The human construction worker examined the object in question. "Ah don't know. I don't know nothin' bout planes. Ah'm here to work on the array."
"Whatever then, It's our break anyway." the pony replied.
The two walked towards town, passing a human and a hard hat wearing earth stallion.
"You sure this rig is safe? I'm not sure rope was the best option to suspend this thing." Captain Greene nervously observed.
"Look, I've seen small ships get serviced like this. The ropes will hold. Don't worry, we did the math." the hard hat clad stallion explained.
"Yeah, I guess so, but I'm not going under there any longer than I have to." Lenard scowled.
"How far along are we anyway?" the stallion wondered impatiently. "I've got other jobs to do."
"Don't fret Cinder, you'll get your chance to work on the array soon." Lenard joked.
"Hey, it's not everyday that you get to work on something like that. The array is huge! It's my dream to build something like that." Cinder replied.
"Hey Cinder Stone! I need you hold this a second." the forepony called out. "Now would be nice!"
The stallion groaned and rushed over to help the worker move a large boulder.
"I'll catch up to you later, Lenard." Cinder Stone called out to the pilot. "You're on the doughnut run."
Lenard rolled his eyes. "Alright, I'm on it. Hey! watch out for that-"
"My hoof! My hoof! You just rolled over my hoof! You idiot foal!" The injured construction pony's speech degenerated into angry mumbling.
"Yeah... later Cinder." Lenard replied.
********************
Lenard walked into Ponyville Square with one mission. Junk food. After talking to many of the Ponyvillians, he was directed toward two places. Sugar Cube Corner, and Bonbon's Best, a confectionery store run by an earth pony of the same name.
"Rations are fine and all, but its been almost two weeks since I've had something worth brushing my teeth after." the pilot thought to himself.
He pulled out a map out of one of the many pockets in his new clothes. "It's just good to be in a flight suit again." he thought. "Bet Rarity's got even more of them in the works."
She had made sure he had one for every day of the week, and to his chagrin, she'd made them as "fashionable" as possible. He'd tried to explain that just because it was a "suit" didn't mean that it had to be fancy.
"But why the sequins?" he shuddered to himself. "Just why?"
Faced with no other options, he'd shrugged it off for the time being. After all, as long as no one else had anything like them, these clothes were a...
....Rarity.
He chuckled at the brilliant joke he'd just come up with, and knocked on the door of Sugar Cube Corner.
"It's a store, dear. You can just walk in." a warm voice came from the other side of the door.
"Oh."
As he opened the door, he marveled at just how pastry-like the building looked.
It's like you could just eat the plaster right off the walls!" he thought. "That's some pretty creative design."
"Hi there, I was told that this was the place to get pastries. Is that true?" Lenard asked.
The older mare behind the counter chuckled. "Yep, this is the place! Why, you're Captain Greene! Its an honor to meet you. I'm Mrs. Cake, my husband and I run this store, but he's out on deliveries. What would you like?"
The pilot had to actively keep himself from salivating like a dog. It had been far too long since the sweet aroma of chocolate had graced his nostrils.
"The entire building looks good! I'll have that case of Doughnuts and maybe one of those cupcakes." the pilot pointed.
"Go ahead and try one." Mrs. Cake offered.
"I'm not one to refuse free food." the pilot joked.
He picked out a cupcake, and bit into it thoughtfully. Her reasoning for allowing a free sample became quite clear. His eyes widened.
"I'll take the case." he quickly added. "How much will it be?"
"Usually five bits-"
Lenard began to dig into his pockets.
"But for now, it's on the house." The proprietress smiled.
"Thank you!" the pilot grinned. "Here, they gave me a few bits to work with, I want you to have some."
He gave Mrs. Cake three bits, and bade her farewell, right before smacking into a light orange earth stallion.
Lenard's newly acquired treats flew out of his hands like ballistic missiles, impacting the wall in front of him.
The stallion shook his head, trying to regain his composure, then looked up at the human with a surprised look on his face.
"I wasn't aware that we we're attraction business from humans! We must be moving up in the world. Mr. Cake, at your service. I see you're going to need more pastries." He grinned sheepishly. "I'll get on that now."
Mrs. Cake desperately tried to hold back a giggle fit as Mr. Cake dashed behind the counter into the rear of the store.
"I'm sorry," she started, still stifling giggles, "He can get a bit exited at times."
The pilot rubbed the back of his head. "It's alright, but It kinda looked like he was running from something." the pilot observed.
Just as he said it, a pink streak came bouncing toward the store. Lenard instinctively took cover behind a shelf and braced for impact.
"Heeeeelo Mrs. Cake! You seen Lenard anywhere? Somepony told me he was coming here for some treats and I wanted to tell him about- Lenard! There you are! Those weird scientist guys told me to find you! They said to come quick! Something about "maximum power" or something. I don't know what its about, but everypony is really exited so you should come!
The pilot blinked, then realized that she had stopped talking. "Oh, yeah. I'll be on my way immediately!"
*******************
"I thought you said we could go now!" Pinkie uncharacteristically whined. "They could be having a really awesome party down there!"
"You didn't have to follow me. You can go back to the array site anytime you want." the pilot explained.
The pink earth pony put a hoof to her chin, then shrugged.
Lenard walked into Bonbon's Best followed by a rare sight, an annoyed Pinkie Pie.
"Good morning, Ms. Bonbon. Someone told me this was an awesome place to get candy." he greeted.
Pinkie trotted into the store and immediately forgot about whatever it was she was worried about before.
"We'll take everything!" Pinkie yelled out in glee, throwing her hooves up in excitement.
"Uhh maybe not everything, but enough for a small group of construction workers." Lenard corrected.
Bonbon thought for a few moments. "I'll see what I can do. Any preferences to what they might like?"
A realization struck the pilot.
"You wouldn't happen to sell Bon-"
The pilot was interrupted by a grey maned blonde pegasus crashing through the door.
"Forthcoming letter!" the pegasus announced with a dopey grin.
"But you already delivered the mail, Ditzy." Bonbon began.
"Not for you, for human!" Ditzy explained.
"But how did you know I was here-" Lenard began.
"No time! Read letter! Important!" Ditzy announced.
"How do you know its important? Did you read-" Lenard began again.
"Just read!" Ditzy scowled.
"Ok! Ok!" Lenard exclaimed. He snatched the letter from the pegasus's mouth, and read it.
"Let's see what's so important." he mumbled.
Dear Mr. Greene,
You and your associates have been invited to attend this year's Grand Galloping Gala! Enclosed, are ten tickets of which you will be able to gain entry into this extravagant event. If more are needed, write back explaining your reasons.
With regards,
-Silver Sale, Director of Events. Canterlot.
P.S. If you are unaware of what any of this means, consult Rarity.
"Ooooookay. That's a bit strange, but I don't see whats so urgent about it." Lenard spoke.
"Didn't say urgent. Said Important." Ditzy corrected.
"But you said there was no time." Lenard explained.
"Right, Gala Tonight. Sorry, late delivery." she grinned sheepishly. "Sill offer muffins?"
If it was possible, Lenard's heart would have melted from the adorable sight in front of him.
"Like I could say no to that." he smiled.
"Yes!" Ditzy cheered. "Delivering messages to Greene's friends now."
Lenard watched as she fluttered out of the small shop.
"The Gala! I forgot about that! Time to get serious!" Pinkie explained, a look of determination on her face.
She sped off in a similar fashion.
Bonbon trotted back up to the counter.
"I've got two cases of peanut butter bites, a case of licorice, and a special batch of my famous coconut, walnut, sugar, and chocolate balls!"
"I can't help but think that there's a better name for those..." Lenard trailed off.
Bonbon looked at the pilot with a look of confusion.
He smiled. "You wouldn't believe this, but back home those are called B-"
He was interrupted by a timer alarm.
"I completely forgot, Rarity is supposed to be done with my Gala dress!" Bonbon exclaimed.
"You've been invited too?" Lenard questioned.
"Yes. You wouldn't mind watching the store for a little bit, would you?" Bonbon asked and smiled sweetly.
"Well I..."
"Great! I'll be back soon!" Bonbon yelled back to the pilot as she trotted towards town.
Lenard opened his mouth to speak, but only senseless babbling flowed forth.
******************
Mike Kaiser and Gerri Reed walked out of Carousel Boutique. A cream colored earth pony merrily trotted into the store as they exited, nearly knocking the boxes of clothing each was carrying out of their hands.
"I heard the array is almost finished." said Mike steadying his boxes. "That'll be something."
"It seems so unreal." Gerri thought out loud.
"What do you mean?" Mike wondered.
Gerri paused to think. "Its just so strange; aliens, another planet, magic. None of this is supposed to exist, yet here it is, right in front of us. This world looks a lot like ours, but it's somehow different."
"That's why we volunteered, to see weird stuff, and save Lenard.
"I guess so. That, and to get away from work." Gerri chuckled.
"You volunteered to enter a possibly hostile alien world to get out of paperwork?" Mike mused, dumbfounded.
"Joking Mike." Gerri rolled her eyes.
"If you weren't, I'd be worried." Mike chuckled. "And what about this gala thing, it's tonight? Who sends out invitations for a party the day of the party?"
"It was a mail screw up. And they weren't exactly expecting all of us. Just be glad we didn't get them tomorrow." Gerri explained.
"True. That mail pony, you know, the one with the eyes? Just plain adorable. "My little sis' would love her."
"Good to know your entire family is strange." Gerri deadpanned.
"The apples don't fall far from the other apples you know." Mike explained.
"Whatever. We should probably get changed, we're supposed to meet the others soon." Gerri warned.
Mike dug through his box. "Now I know how Cap feels. I can't believe I actually have to wear this."
"It won't be that bad. It's a royal party, I'm sure it will be quite tame." Gerri reminded him.
Mike thought it over. "Sure. I got to go get my grand entrance ready anyway."
"Mike, what are you talking about?" Gerri spoke fearfully.
"You'll see." Mike grinned.
*******************
Steven Mace quietly slept under one of the many trees in Sweet Apple Acres.
A small impact to his head jolted him awake.
He snapped awake, ready to go to war with his attackers.
"Ow! What was that fo-"
No one was there.
He sat there confused for a few moments until a familiar sight explained everything. A small apple was rolling away from him on the ground.
"Now I know what Newton felt like." he mumbled under his breath.
"Who's Newton?" A voice rung out, nearly launching the marine a full ten feet.
"Oh, it's you," the marine spoke to a little yellow filly with a red bow in her mane. "I'm a soldier, you really shouldn't
sneak up on me like that, little one.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Applebloom cocked her head to one side. "And Ah ain't little!"
"Never mind. What are you doing out here anyway? Aren't you supposed to be in school?" the marine inquired.
"School ended like, four hours ago. You been sleepin' all this time?"
Steven looked up, expected to see the sun at high noon. Instead, he saw the orange glow of the afternoon.
"I guess so." He mumbled and scratched his head.
"Oh!" he suddenly realized. "You're here for the apples. They're over there." He pointed to a large crate.
"Picked them myself. Then I realized that I had no way of moving 'em, so I fell asleep under a tree thinking about it." the marine chuckled.
"But how'd you get em' off the trees?" Applebloom wondered. "Can humans kick that hard?"
"I don't know. I climbed up and grabbed them." The marine joked, realizing that ponies probably didn't climb trees very often.
"Can you tell AJ or Mac to bring the wagon around?" he asked. "Got to get these things into the holds before nightfall.
Applebloom youthfully nodded her head, and trotted of in the direction of the barns.
Steven sat back down under the tree, and put a small sprig of hay in his teeth.
"Wasn't there something I was supposed to go to today?" He thought.
He shrugged and fell back asleep.
********************
Luna was busying herself with the seemingly unending scrollwork that a ruler typically deals with, when an alabaster alicorn floated into her chambers. Luna looked up and smiled. "Good Evening, sister. Art thou well? You look exhausted."
Celestia's mane and tail seemed uncharacteristically dim, or so the lunar princess thought.
"You know what tomorrow is, right?" Celestia spoke, unusually grim.
"I was not away that long, sister. And we started the tradition of the Gala to forget what transpired upon that day. Why bring it up now?
"No reason." Celestia shook her head. "Are you ready?"
Luna flinched. "Sister, the Gala was one of the few things I was glad to be away from while I was deposed upon the moon."
"Luna, the ponies need to see both their leaders, It reminds them that we care." Celestia explained.
"My apologies, but I must complete these task." Luna spoke with mock regret, pointing to her stack of paperwork.
Celestia smirked. "Don't make me summon the guard to drag you there." she joked.
One of the chamber guards chuckled, remembering that very same occurrence the previous year.
Celestia's face returned to a concerned look. "You need to be social If you want them to accept you."
"I would love to go, but I am feeling under the weather, and would like to rest." Luna lied.
"Listen, just spend a few minutes there, just to greet them. Then you can cower in your room for the rest of the night."
"Cower!? I do not Cower! I am simply tending to royal duties! You should should partake in them some time!"
Luna quickly regretted what she just said.
"Excuse me! I partook in them for a thousand years! By myself!" Celestia challenged.
Luna sighed. "I will grant you that. You hath suffered the Galas longer than anypony."
"The least you can do is say hi to our special guests." Celestia chided.
"Luna's expression brightened slightly. "Yea thee I say! And there are questions I would like to ask them. I hear word that yonder gate nears completion. This is why I have so much work to do."
"And you can do it later. For now, let's enjoy our time with the humans before diplomatic relations begin." She joked.
Luna chuckled. "Let us get this over with."
A smile found its way onto Celestia's face.
The two sisters took flight.
*******************
"Let's get this over with." Lenard Greene spoke to Gerri and a few other gala invitees. "Has anyone see Mike or Steve?"
"I was with Mike at Rarity's, but I haven't seen Mace all day." Gerri shrugged.
"The carriage is on its way, and I'd rather not be late to a royal party. We might get banished or something." Lenard spoke with fake horror.
Six familiar mares trotted over a hill.
Rarity shrieked. "And just why are there chocolate stains on your suit?!"
"I don't want to talk about it." Lenard muttered.
"Did you say you wer' lookin' for Steve-o? Applejack drawled. "He was-"
Applejack stopped when she saw a figure she'd become quite used to, sprinting over the hill.
"Sorry-" *huff huff pant* "I was-" *pant huff* "Asleep-" Steven Mace hyperventilated. "-sorry."
"Uh, Did you just run all the way back from th' acres?" Applejack spoke in disbelief. "You should run the leaf races a few weeks from now."
*Pant huff huff* "What?" Steven choked, ready to fall over.
"Why are you wearing your work clothes!?" Rarity demanded. "What do humans have against fashion, anyway!?"
"Nothing." Gerri spoke, wearing a stunning red ball gown that Rarity had spend a full day on.
Rarity grinned and clopped her hooves together like a little filly. "At least one of you understands!"
"Steve, you know where Mike is? Gerri asked, waiting for the marine to catch his breath.
He shook his head.
"Then we wait." Lenard mumbled.
******************
Thirty minutes passed.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew back to their waiting friends.
"Uhm, sorry, We didn't find him." Fluttershy mumbled, just barely loud enough to hear.
"It's like he's hiding from us!" Dash spoke in a clearly annoyed tone. "He better have a good reason, too!"
"Maybe he is hiding from us!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "Like hide and seek! I'll find him! I'm the best at hide and seek!"
She gallop/bounced into the surrounding foliage. Everyone and pony rolled their eyes. Even the human guests had become accustomed to Pinkie's tomfoolery.
A few minutes later, a low grumbling sound came from the direction of the Ponyville inn.
"Y'all here that?" Applejack warned. "Doesn't sound friendly, whatever it is."
"Eep!" Fluttershy ducked for cover under a fern.
Everypony turned their head to the approaching sound, and gave each other nervous looks.
The growl continued, then was joined with an otherworldly light.
Lenard cocked his eyebrows. "Wait. That sounds like a-"
Zoooooooom!
A metallic beast hurled itself over the hill, swerved around a startled group of ponies, then reared up on its hind...
...wheel?
"The hay is that?!" Rainbow Dash questioned, trying to follow the strange creature with her eyes.
"A better question," Gerri mused. "is how did Mike sneak it into the capsule?"
The "creature" began to circle around the group, kicking up a cloud of dust that hid it from view.
As the dust cleared, the human members of the group quickly realized what had just attacked them.
"Hey guys. I'm not late am I?" a triumphant Micheal Kaiser spoke as he jumped off of his mount of choice: a custom built, black and flame painted motorcycle, with the words: "Master Mike" painted on the gas tank.
Everyone groaned.
"Now that was a rush!" Pinkie Pie cheered as she climbed off of the back of the machine, a shiny black helmet matting her mane. "I want one!"
All of the other ponies and humans looked at the bizarre sight with total disbelief. Most bore expressions that could only be asking one question:
"What is going on, Pinkie!" Twilight exclaimed.
Pinkie pointed a hoof towards Mike.
Mike took of his helmet, and straitened out his hair with a gloved hand.
"Planes aren't the only cool way to get around back home. In fact, most prefer cars-" he Trailed off.
"You don't know what a car is. Yeah. Uhm, basically they're carriages with machinery powering them-" He trailed off again, realizing that the ponies were still confused.
"That's called a motorcycle." he pointed to his bike. "That's all you really need to know right now, I guess."
The ponies nodded in agreement, and began to murmur amongst themselves.
"I knew you were sneaking something!" Gerri exclaimed. "I saw you putting a lot of parts into the cargo holds before launch, but you're lucky that I or no one else figured out what they were.
Mike grinned sheepishly, and involuntarily began to scratch his back. "Think of it like the moon rovers. It beats walking around on foot."
"You won't be able to get that thing into the carriage." Rarity pointed out.
Mike grinned. "Who needs carriages when you've got a hog!"
"A what?!" Rarity sputtered, disgusted. You're going to ride a pig to the gala?!"
Mike doubled over in laughter, and the other humans shared a round of chuckles.
"What is so FUNNY?!" Rarity demanded.
Mike picked himself off of the ground "Relax" He chuckled one last time. "It's just a nickname for motorcycles."
"Oh." Rarity's cheeks went red. "Should have just said "motorcycle" then." She mumbled.
"Hey, looks like our ride is here." another human in the group stated.
A large, lacy white and blue carriage gracefully flew overhead, pulled by several pegasai.
The females of the group squealed with glee.
The males of the group, human and pony, winched at the sight of it.
"How did I just know it was going to look like that." Lenard complained.
"Could be worse." Mike shrugged. "It could've been a pumpkin."
"If it was," Steven realized. "Then I could eat the insides on the way there!"
Lenard chuckled and rolled his eyes, as the carriage daintily landed nearby.
"You know, this is a complete subversion of the laws of physics." Mike noticed as they all filed in.
"Doesn't seem to bother them." Lenard pointed to the pegasai.
Mike shrugged. Despite Rarity's warning, the pilot wheeled his mechanical beast into the carriage, and the group took their seats.
"You know," Pinkie began. "We could sing like we did at the first gala..."
Everyone in the carriage, including the pegasai pulling it, began to show varying degrees of revulsion, as the craft took to the skies.
As they gained altitude, the passengers noticed a small crowd of ponies gathered throughout the countryside, having parties of their own. Some of the them looked up and took pictures with huge, clunky cameras as the majestic craft soared through the air above them.
"Why can't we go ta one of them parties?" Applejack complained. "I'm not a big fan of the gala you know."
Twilight smiled. "I think this gala will go much bette-"
She froze.
"Better than what, Twilight?" Lenard began.
No answer.
Lenard felt an unnatural chill run through his spine.
Everything seemed to get strangely quiet. He turned around to see a terrible sight.
Twilight's eyes had become wide and bloodshot.
Rarity looked like she'd just been hit with a buck from a heavyweight boxer stallion.
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were violently scratching at their wings.
Twilight let out a scream of pure agony, and began shaking her head, clearly in pain.
"What's wrong!?" Lenard demanded. "Whats wrong with all of you!? What's happening?!"
"Gals? Applejack frantically asked."Yer worryin' me."
She then clutched her head, appearing to suffer from the worst migraine imaginable.
Pinkie Pie held up her hooves and looked at them like they were on fire. Her scream was one of the loudest things Lenard had ever heard. And he flew jets for a living.
Far below, the ponies in the fields and towns seemed to be suffering the same, clutching their heads and screaming.
"What is going on!"
A terrible roar filled the air, causing the humans on board to cry out in pain.
"WHAT IS CAUSING THIS? "Gerri screamed. "Please! Make it stop!" she cried.
No one could answer.
Then, just as sudden as the pain began, it stopped. The hills were silent.
Mike rubbed his head. "Anyone want to tell me what did that?"
Lenard silently pointed ahead.
In the distance, a massive object streaked through the sky, moving deceptively fast. The carriage riders looked on as the strange comet like object arced slowly toward Canterlot, leaving a sickly blood red trail in it's wake.
The panicked reactions of the ponies nearby made the humans quickly realize that this was not a common occurrence.
"What is that thing?!" Rainbow Dash yelled out.
Twilight shrieked, then covered her mouth. "It's magic! But like nothing I've ever seen or read about before!"
The humans and ponies could only stare as the crimson comet struck the glorious capital city, a white flash blinded all who watched.
When his vision returned, Lenard found himself staring at a massive tsunami of pure red energy. The wave struck the carriage, knocking the ponies into the rear of the craft.
"Why isn't it hurting us?" Lenard called out to the other humans on board. The wave's energy seemed to be bending around them, while the ponies seemed to be caught up in it.
Another bright flash made everyone on board duck for cover. As it subsided, the humans stood up, any sign of the incredible event now gone.
Lenard took stock of his surroundings.
Twilight and Rarity were unconscious, slumped over in the rear of the carriage.
Rainbow Dash feebly tried to stand, then she too passed out.
Fluttershy could only tremble on the floor of the carriage, tears filling her eyes.
Applejack and Pinkie Pie looked dazed, but somehow managed to stand, and began to tend to their friends.
Mike's voice snapped Lenard back to attention.
"Whatever that was, it looks like its over. The capital looks fine!" Mike called out.
Lenard squinted his eyes and found that the city did indeed appear to be intact.
"Yeah, lets just-"
Lenard was cut off by a sudden lurching of the carriage. His eyes widened in a simple realization. He looked out of the window of the carriage, and his fears were confirmed.
The pegasai pulling the carriage were all unconscious, and the carriage was slowly tipping toward the ground.
Lenard looked over the side.
"We're about two thousand feet up!" he thought.
He turned to the other riders in the carriage and spoke one final warning, as the cart began to free fall.
"Everyone brace for Impact! We're going down! Hold on!"