It started off as a normal day in Ponyville. Well, as normal as it got around there. With Twilight's castle of friendship looming over the whole town it could get pretty weird. Or at least, it used to be. For the past several weeks not much in the way of trouble, havoc, or general insanity had happened. It was a rare time of peace for the ponies. No giant dangers were trying to take them all out. At least, until a loud thunk interrupted Twilight's afternoon reading and brought her back to reality. Unfortunately, it was a thunk she was used to hearing. It happened at the old library as well.
Thunk! It happened again, and again. She was able to catch up on a lot of reading in this time of peace. She wanted to get back to it. Thunk! But she could not as one of her latest spells was still in effect and she had to deal with that.
The spell was designed to do just one specific thing. Twilight had to read three separate books on old magic to find all the information needed. Then she cast this spell over every window in the castle. She did it all at once to save herself a lot of time. And to spare Rainbow Dash the cost of having to pay to have them fixed or repaired or replaced.
Rainbow Dash just smacked into the window for the fifth time. She just could not figure out why it was not breaking. It should be. She had broken many of Twilight's windows in the past. So why wasn't this one breaking. Dash had urgent news to bring to Twilight's attention and she couldn't wait around for the window to break itself. Then Twilight appeared in the window. She held up a sign so Dash could read it.
Quit knocking and come in already.
Dash was not amused. She began to frantically wave her hooves around and shout at Twilight through the spelled window. Twilight opened the window from the inside to keep Dash from hurling herself at the glass again, which is exactly what she did.
Dash was expecting to hit glass, but instead soared through the open window at a much higher speed than she anticipated. She crashed through an empty bookshelf and skid to a stop along the floor. Then she sprang back up like nothing was wrong and raced back over to Twilight.
“Twilight!. Thank Celestia you're here. We are in big trouble. I mean some seriously big trouble.” Twilight saw that her friend looked actually worried. Like, for real. That was unusual.
“Rainbow Dash. What is going on? How are we in trouble?”
“You will not believe it, Twilight. I am not joking when I tell you this, I swear. This is not me playing some sort of prank. You have to trust me. This is for real trouble.”
“Just get to the point, Dash.”
“The sky is falling! The sky is actually falling.” Dash raced around like a lunatic off their meds before Twilight caught her and held her down with some magic.
“Rainbow Dash, I could delve into an incredibly long and boring lecture on how it is both scientifically and magically impossible for the sky to fall. . . ,or you could just take my word for it. Which one sounds better to you?”
Twilight was holding Dash upside down with her magic. Only her mane and tail were hanging down freely. She still had control over her mouth as well and she was using it.
“But Twilight, that is not even the worst part. Not the worst part, I tell you. It gets even worse.”
“What could possibly be worse than the sky falling?”
“If the sky is falling, and it is on fire. On fire, I tell you. I swear it is the truth! I am not lying to you.”
“The sky is falling and it is one fire.” Twilight pondered over it for a moment, leaving an annoyed Dash still hung up in the air. She was still upside down too. She yelled at Twilight about it, but she was too deep in her thoughts to bother with it. Meanwhile, Dash was suffering from prolonged rushing of blood to her brain. When did Twilight get a twin sister? She was practically delirious when the sound of Twilight's hooves brought her back to reality.
“Flaming pieces of the sky are falling. Am I getting that right?” Dash did her best nod. “Are you sure it wasn't just a meteor or something?” Dash did nothing.
She did nothing. Absolutely nothing. And she wasn't going to until the room stopped spinning and the blood that was filling her head went back to where it belongs. Dash unknowingly moved her head around. It was just a wobble, but it was noticeable. Twilight saw it and realized the problem. She put Dash right side up and released her magic hold.
Dash dropped like a rock thrown from a Cloudsdale window. Her face hit first even though Twilight put that right side up. Twilight went to pull her up when she moved. Dash pulled her face out of the floor and seemed unaffected. Did anything hurt this pony? She just stood up and looked at Twilight with a blank face.
“Twilight, you might be right.” Dash NEVER admitted she was wrong. Whoa. “But that really doesn't matter now.”
Before Twilight could say anything back. A bright light washed over them both. It came through the window and nearly blinded the both of them. This light was followed by an thunderous booming sound that could be heard all the way from Canterlot. The two pony friends saw a lingering dust cloud moving in. They had to act fast. Dash grabbed Twilight forcefully and threw her as hard as she could out the window. Dash followed her out and was met by an angry princess, not that she cared.
“You might want to go find out what that was,” Dash suggested. “I'm gonna go and keep that dust cloud from ruining everypony's day. Okay? Sound Good? Okay. Good.”
“Dammit Dash.” Twilight was barely able to keep herself from falling to the ground. She was still getting used to her wings. Sure, she could fly well enough and land and take off without a problem. But every time Dash gave her a surprise lesson like that Twilight almost always got hurt. Not this time, however. Ha. I hate it when she does that. I guess I better go and find out what that was. OOH! If it really was a meteor maybe I can study it! Twilight flew off with a new happiness towards the sight of the crash landing.
Just a bit earlier. . .
Three little fillies. They were a little ways away from Ponyville. They could still be seen from town, but were enough away to consider it away from town. They saw it first. And like all little fillies they were terrified of the giant flaming ball of doom headed right for Ponyville. Oh, and these three little fillies were the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but I'm sure you guessed that already. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. Luckily, Rainbow Dash was floating on a cloud nearby.
“If only I could fly, I could reach her,” Scootaloo whined.
“I could throw an apple at her. Applejack says I gots the perfectest aim ever,” Apple Bloom suggested.
“No, no, no. Let me try something,” Sweetie Belle pleaded.
She waited for a response from the two and got only waiting stares. She stepped up and pointed her horn at Rainbow Dash. She struggled to activate her magic, but eventually got a good flow going. Her horn flares up and a small glow appeared before Rainbow Dash. Then it was gone. The glow kinda, sorta exploded and pushed Rainbow Dash off her cloud. That was the first time she dropped like a rock from a Cloudsdale window. However, she did not reach the ground.
Dash slid off her cloud and fell toward the ground. She slowly opened her eyes. She felt the wind rushing past her face and through her wings. What the hell? I'm taking a nap on a cloud, not flying. Wait, no I'm not. I'm falling! Dash was awake at that point and she managed throw her wings out and skid to a stop right before the Cutie Mark Crusaders. She did not have a happy look when she looked at them.
“Alright, what is the big idea waking me up like that? Who did it?”
Two hooves from two fillies all pointed at Sweetie Belle. The white of her cheeks turned to red in sheer embarrassment and utter horror at Rainbow Dash. Every pony in Ponyville knew not to wake her up from a nap, but she did it anyway.
“Why did you kick me off my cloud, Sweetie Belle?”
Sweetie Belle responded with a hoof of her own. She pointed it at the sky and two more hooves followed suit. Dash looked down at them and then followed their hooves to the object they were pointing at. Her entire attitude changes just like that.
“Uhh, is that what I think it is?” Dash was actually kinda scared, not that she would ever admit it.
“The sky is falling!” Apple Bloom belted it out as loud as she could.
“Okay, okay. Umm, what do I do?” Dash paced around nervously for a moment. Then it came to her. There was an incredibly smart pony who just so happened to be a Princess living right here in Ponyville. If any pony knew what to do it would be her. “Okay. I am gonna go get Twilight. Should be back soon. You three. . . . . do something else. Holler if it, I dunno, sprouts wings or something.”
She turned around, trotted a few paces away, and then took off like a Flutterbat outta Tartarus. The three young fillies were left to their own devices after that. Yeah, that was going to end real well.
The three of them just stood there and watched. The giant flaming death ball that was the falling sky was getting really close now. Dash had only been gone about ten minutes. The Cutie Mark three were getting pretty good at keeping an eye on that thing.
“Dash isn't back with Twilight.” Sweetie Belle stated the obvious.
“Yeah, Sweetie Belle. We know that already.” Scootaloo replied.
“What do we do?” She asked.
“I dunno, but ahm getting bored.” Apple Bloom said.
“Do you think we should warn Ponyville?” Scootaloo threw the thought out there.
“No, that would just cause too much trouble, and that's if any pony believed us in the first place.” Sweetie Belle added.
The three of them never took their eyes off the flaming falling sky. Except when they yawned. In unison, they let out a synchronized yawn that took their eyes off the thing for just a moment. That is when they heard the crash.
Mid yawn and before they knew it a bright light nearly blinded them. They ducked behind the closest tree as the light faded and that thundering noise sounded off from the thing. The dust cloud rolled through and coated everything from them and the animals to the trees and the bushes. A thick layer of dust and dirt and a few other things now lay over everything.
“Whoa. That was unexpected.” Scootaloo stated with awe.
“We just spent the past ten minutes staring at a ball of fire coming from the sky, and this was unexpected?”
“Hey, I member Granny Smith telling me something bout this once.” Apple Bloom got all excited and that got the other two all excited. “I think she said the first ponies to find and get to whatever falls from the sky gets to name it.”
“You want to name a piece of the sky?” Sweetie Belle asked with slight disbelief.
“If it ain't in the sky then it ain't the sky no more.”
That was good enough for them. The three fillies stomped their hooves in excitement, sending even more dust and dirt up and into their faces. Bad idea. They all coughed up enough dust to fill their rooms and leaped out toward the impact point.
The crater was huge, but not as enormous as they thought it would be. Smoke billowed out from the crater still, but it was dissipating fast. Soon after the three got there it was gone enough for them to venture a look inside. All three leaned in close to see what was inside the crater. They were expecting a rock. Maybe even a giant rock. They were not expecting the weird strange thing they found inside.
It was something they had never seen before. It looked like an animal perhaps. It had two long legs that led up to a body. The body was thick, but not fat. Two arms came out from the body and a head topped it all off. Whatever it was it had long hair, and it was covering most of it's face.
“What should we do?”
Sweetie Belle asked the question they were all thinking. Apple Bloom responded by running back to the tree they all hid behind and returning with a stick. Scootaloo beamed with happiness as she took a part of the stick in her hooves and aimed at the creature in the crater.
Twice the poked at the creature. Right in the body. The small tip of the stick poked it just below the ribs. Twice. The body reacted to the poking by retracting slightly, causing the three fillies to drop the stick and jump back. They heard a small groan come from within the crater as they slowly crept back to the edge. Scootaloo grabbed the stick again and aim it at the creature again.
This time she was not aiming for the body. She carefully positioned the stick to poke and prod him right in the face. She smiled wickedly as the stick darted forward. No response. Scootaloo poked again a couple more times and got the same response of nothing at all.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Again, all three of them jumped back, and they left the stick in the crater again. Twilight lighted down next to them. She tried to look all official and stuff, but the three little fillies looked too cute trying their best to put on their most innocent faces. They were all covered in dust and dirt and looked almost unrecognizable. Especially Sweetie Belle who normally had a white coat.
“Were you all here when that thing hit the ground?” The three fillies nodded in unison.
“What happened?” They all gestured to the area around them and the dirty, dusty mess that lay over it all, including them.
“Did you look in the crater?” Again, they nodded in unison.
“What was in it?”
“A strange thing from the sky.”
“Something from far away that we ain't never seen before.”
“An alien!”
None of those answers helped Twilight at all. She shook her head and looked over at the crater. The smoke was all gone by that point and Twilight spotted something a bit out of place.
“Were you poking whatever is in that crater with a stick?”
Nothing happened. The three young fillies all stared back up at the Princess with their most innocent looking faces still up. It was like they were Cutie Mark Crusader Statues.
“I am not mad at you. I just want to know what happened.”
It wasn't even close to a true scientific experiment, but they had done something and gotten some sort of result. Twilight could appreciate that, even if it was just a stick and a poke.
She listened as the three of them told her the small movement they saw. She was interested in the groans they heard coming from within the crater. As they were talking they were joined by more ponies.
Applejack ran up and scooped Apple Bloom up like she was a little foal. She held her close to her with an iron grip that little Apple Bloom could not escape from. She squirmed and she struggled, but it was no use.
“Oh, Apple Bloom. I was so worried bout ya. Dash said the sky was fallin' and it was on fire and I didn't know where ya were. Ahm just so glad you are okay.”
Applejack squeezed her little sister so tightly that Twilight was sure something was going to break in her. She was already turning blue. Rarity came up after her and Sweetie Belle dived behind Twilight's legs to avoid the same fate as Apple Bloom. It did not help. Rarity used her magic to bring her little sister to her and she wrapper her own hooves around her.
“Sweetie Belle, there you are. I was so worried. Rainbow Dash went on and on about the sky being on fire and falling all around Ponyville. Then it happened, and I had no idea where you were at. Ah, I am just so glad I found you safe and sound. You do need a bath, though.”
Scootaloo looked on as her friends were taken in to the loving embrace of their sisters. She felt sad that she didn't have her own sister that would do that. She didn't have anypony that would just run up and hug her like her other two filly friends. She didn't have anypony that would freak out if they didn't know where she was. She sighed to herself at the same thought that occupied her mind more often than she would ever admit to. She turned to leave and let the two sets of sisters have their moment.
Scootaloo turned to leave and bumped into something. It was hard- no, firm. It was firm. And yet, it was soft. She fell back on her butt and looked up to see a the blue column she just hit. There were four of them. She followed them up to see a rainbow blazing across her view. Two reddish pink eyes looked at from beneath the rainbow.
“You crying, kid? What for?”
“I am not crying. I just got something in my eye.”
Rainbow Dash leaned her head down to Scootaloo's level. She looked at her in her eyes and just stared for a second. Then she gave the little filly a wink and pulled her head back up.
“No duh. You're a mess. You are so dirty, I almost didn't recognize you under all that stuff. But I did. Because I'm awesome.”
Scootaloo smiled happily as Rainbow Dash smiled back and did her usual to support her ego. Not that that was a bad thing. She was a good friend no matter what. But she was a little bit more to Scootaloo. She may not have a big sister by blood, but she had something better. A pony who wanted to be her big sister, no matter what. Just then, an oddly loud noise ended the moment.
The noise was coming from the direction of Fluttershy's cottage. It was at that very moment the pony in question burst through the trees. She was almost as filthy as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. She darted around the area frantically for a bit. She did not even seem to notice the other ponies there. Really, they were right there and she had no idea.
Fluttershy had a look of worry in her eyes as she darted around, seemingly searching for something. Or, as it was more likely for her, some animal friend. She looked at every branch, every hole in every tree. She looked under every rock and pebble that she could find under all the mess. At one point, she even darted up to the group and picked up Applejack in a most surprising show of strength.
“Ahem, Fluttershy, could ya set meh down now.”
Fluttershy looked up at the pony in her hooves. The same pony she was currently holding above her head. “Applejack, when did you get here?”
“You got her after we did, dear. Did you not notice our presence? I thought I myself would have stood out against all this filth, but that is just me.”
“Fluttershy!”
Fluttershy apologized as she set Applejack down back where she was. Apple Bloom ducked for cover behind Twilight's wings to avoid another choke hold from her sister. Twilight herself was too busy with Fluttershy to notice.
“Fluttershy, what are you doing here? And why are you covered in this stuff?”
“Yes, quite,” Rarity agreed. “You look as if you have been wrestling with an oversized dust bunny, Fluttershy.”
“Well, before all this I was with Angel for a picnic, but that is the only bunny I've seen today. Now I am trying to go around and find all the birds and their little bird families. They live in the trees, and the trees are covered in this. . . this. . This filth!” Fluttershy resumed her freaking out as she thought about the birds suffering from the dirt and dust that clogged the air.
“Hey, Fluttershy! I found one!”
The voice came from the same set of trees that Fluttershy came from. It was hard to miss just what pony had the voice. Pinkie Pie came prancing out of the bushes with a smile on her face. She looked as dirty as Fluttershy did, if not more. She came up to Fluttershy and held her head down. Fluttershy was a little confused until she saw what was in her mane.
In Pinkie's mane, snuggled up tight and quivering with fright, was a small bird. Fluttershy urged him out and he ever so reluctantly emerged. One look a the little bird and you could tell that he was covered in the same mess that covered the entire area around them. Fluttershy cooed him to as peaceful sleep as she could manage and he nestled into Pinkie's mane once again.
“You can't tell right now, but he is a pink feathered songbird. They are quite rare and very attracted to the color pink. You might have a new friend for while, Pinkie.”
Pinkie beamed with joy, but was easily distracted as her attention turned to the large crater just a few paces away. The Mane 6 and the Cutie Mark Crusaders all circled around the crater and looked inside. None of them quite knew what it was. This thing was new ever to Twilight.
“So, is it dead?” Rainbow Dash asked the question that was on all their minds.
The answer came to her and the rest of them in the next instant. For in that crater, the thing stirred. It shuddered and came to life. The eyes shot open with confusion and shock filling them. A huge gasp erupted it he struggled to find it's breath. It thrashed out and clawed at the walls of the crater until it was roughly sitting up. Still heaving with heavy breaths, but definitely not dead.
Fluttershy had leaped behind Twilight and joined Apple Bloom. They were now peeking out from under her outstretched wings. Sweetie Belle retreated further under the body of Rarity. Rarity herself was hiding behind Applejack's body, as if to make sure the monster of the crater got her first.
“So, what do we name it?” Scootaloo asked, now the only one of them who hadn't leaped back.
The crater creature woke in that moment. It sprang to life. The eyes flew open fast in an unexpected move. The chest heaved as breath struggled to find the way to the lungs. His face appeared through the mess of hair. It clawed at the crater walls until It found itself in a position that was as close as sitting up as it could get. It looked on, dazed and confused at what was going on.
Fluttershy jumped up as this happened. She darted to hide behind Twilight's wings with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Rarity was still behind Applejack with Sweetie Belle. Everybody else had their eyes locked on the crater creature. Pinkie Pie was the first to react.
“It. Is. . . ALIVE!”
“Yeah. Of course I’m alive.”
Twilight wings sprung out from her sides, forcing the ponies hiding behind them to duck. She thrust a hoof out towards the crater creature. “It can talk?!” This was a moment where the thing Twilight said was all together a statement, a question, and an announcement. Not that anypony listened to her. They were all busy talking with the three little fillies who were there first.
“I like the name Buster,” Sweetie Belle suggested.
“What?”
“How bouts we call it Crash?” Apple Bloom threw it out there.
“What?”
“No. For obvious reasons, we are going to call it Crater.”
“What?”
“I like what Scoots said.” Rainbow Dash stated proudly.
“Hm. I don't know. It seems rather. . . unoriginal. Don't you think?” Nopony cared what Rarity thought.
“Um, hello? Did anyone hear me?” No. Not a single pony was listening to Twilight. Or even paying attention to her for that matter. “I am sure it already has a name.”
“I do.”
Everypony was too caught up in the naming process to even realize the crater creature had climbed out of the crater and was now standing at the rim of the crater on the far side from them.
“Oooh! What do you think the name should be, Fluttershy?” Pinkie was practically bouncing with excitement, but had to limit it so as to not upset the bird in her mane.
“Oh. Um, I think Twilight may have been right. Maybe it already has a name.”
“THANK CELESTIA! Some pony was actually listening.” Twilight shouted out. All her friends stopped what they were doing and looked back at her. They saw the crater creature standing just over her shoulder. With arms crossed and an eyebrow raised he looked at them.
“Can I say my name now, or are you just gonna keep trying to name me yourselves?”
Pinkie gasped the gasp of a lifetime. “IT CAN TALK?!”
At that moment the hand of the crater creature collided with its face, accompanied by a loud smack. It was a smack of epic proportions.
“That sounded like it hurt.” Fluttershy said with concern. “Um, I'm still not sure what to call you.”
“I have had worse.” And then after a moment it added, “I already have a name. Tessla. And I am a 'him', just so you know.”
Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo both raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Uh, what?”
“My name is Tessla. T-E-S-S-L-A. Understand?”
“I got it,” Twilight said from the side. “Hello, Tessla. My name is--”
The crater creature chose that moment to interrupt her. “Twilight Sparkle. Princess of Friendship for all of Equestria. Nice to meet you.”
Twilight's jaw dropped a bit, no matter how much she tried to hide it. It was the same for the others. Except for Pinkie Pie. She jumped out from behind and smiled at Tessla.
“Ooh, ooh. Do me. Do me next!”
Tessla gave a sly smile and gave a slight bow. “Pinkamena Diane Pie. Born on a rock farm before moving to Ponyville. You have a sister named Maud Pie. You are the premier party pony for Equestria.”
Pinkie Pie's smile became even wider. Who knew that was even possible? Then they remembered it was Pinkie Pie. She hopped up down for a moment and then tried to jump. She moved to clear the whole crater in one leap, only to be held back by the strong jaws of Applejack.
“You hold on just a sec, now, Pinkie Pie. Somethin' ain't right about this Tessla fella.”
“What's the matter, Applejack? You don't trust me? Well, you can trust that I am far better than Flim or Flam.”
“Apple Bloom. Throw some apples at him. Aim where you think it will hurt the most.” Applejack said this flatly and rather coldly.
Tessla's hands immediately moved to cover the area in between his legs. With his crotch covered with one hand he held one up to signal that he was done. The joke was over. With pleading eyes he looked between Applejack and her little sister.
Before Apple Bloom could throw the apple ammo she had ready it was levitated out of her hoof. It moved over the crater and landed in Tessla's hand. He looked over at Twilight, whose horn was powering down. She looked at him and they shared a brief look of thanks.
“The next one comes from her, and now we know where your weak spot is,” She said with a very librarian, yet threatening tone of voice.
“Point taken. Joke over.”
“Wait!” Pinkie Pie shot a hoof up in the air. “There was a joke?”
“Anyway, how the hell do you know so much about us?” Twilight demanded the answers to her questions. Apple Bloom followed this up with an apple flying just past Tessla's head. It skirted the fringes of his shoulder length hair.
“Warning shot. Don't you lie now.”
“Um, Twilight. Do you remember Canterlot High? Sunset Shimmer? All that stuff?”
Twilight rubbed her head as she thought. Canterlot High? So much had happened to her and around her and to the ponies around her, she was having trouble remembering. Then it hit her like a Rainbow Dash at a window. The glass of her mind shattered and all the memories of that place and what happened flooded back. Twilight's eyes widened at he realization.
“That explains so much, yet so little at the same time.”
“Twilight, dear. Would you mind cluing us in on this whole debacle.”
“De- what?” Scootaloo was confused again. “Sweetie Bell, can you translate?”
“She means issue. Problem. What is going on right now. Get it?”
Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash traded a glance with one another and then turned back to Sweetie Belle. They nodded simultaneously and both with a smile. They learned a new word that day. Alrgitghty then, back to Twilight.
“Hold on, why didn't you just come through the mirror portal?”
“This might get confusing and take a while. Could we possible go somewhere else to talk this over?”
Twilight agreed that the impact crater was not the best place to hold this discussion. And since she was an Alicorn princess she had a castle they could all go back to. She gathered all of them around and went to teleport them, but not all of her friends wanted to go. At least, not with him.
“Uh, Twilight. We're gonna walk back an' meet up with ya at yer castle. Kay?”
Twilight shrugged and stood next to Tessla. Now that she that close she realized she only stood at her tallest up to his shoulder. Damn, he was tall. With a hop, a skip, and a jump Pinkie Pie joined her and stood at his other side. She was a little bit shorter then Twilight, not quite reaching the shoulder. Apple Bloom scooted over with a whole bushel of apples. Applejack did not stop her. A fact that made Tessla worry.
“Ahm keeping an eye on you.”
She pointed a hoof at her eyes and then at Tessla to emphasize her point. Tessla slowly moved his hands to cover his crotch again before giving the young Apple filly a nod.
“Duly noted.”
With that, Twilight was finally able to take them all back to her castle. She decided on a teleport because it would have been way too much work to take Tessla all the way back through Ponyville and have everypony between here and there freak out at the sight of him. One light green pony in particular came to mind, but Twilight could not remember why. If she couldn't remember then it must not be important.
Twilight stood in the middle of the group. She powered up her horn as she activated her most used spell, besides levitation. There were a few more passengers on this trip, but it was nothing she couldn't handle.
She weaved the magical energies around all of them. Pinkie Pie and Apple Bloom and then Tessla. He could feel the magic flowing around him. A tingle ran through his body whenever the magic touched him. It was like the tingle one got right before a static shock. Tessla smiled at this. Right then an intense, bright flash of purple light blinded him for a moment. When he opened his eyes again he found himself standing in the throne room of the Twilight's castle.
The rest of them were there as well. Tessla knew Twilight could do it. One thing was missing, however, much to Apple Bloom's dismay.
“Hey! Where'd mah apples go?”
“I couldn't take them with us, Apple Bloom. Deal with it.”
“But how am I supposed to throw 'em at him if they ain't here?”
“I could have left you behind and brought the apples here instead,” Twilight said rather deviously.
Apple Blooms sits down right there and starts pouting. With this going on Tessla feels it is safe to uncover his crotch. He removes his hands from that area and smiles at the thought of not being victim to a storm of apples. Apple Blooms sees this smile as an act of war and makes the first move. She pulls out one apple that she had stashed away behind her bow. She takes aim at the area he had covered most of the time. His hands weren't covering them now, though. She smiled evilly and took aim. She drew her leg back. She threw it forward with all the force she had. She missed.
“STOP!”
Thanks to the interruption of one pink party pony Apple Bloom messed up her throw. The apple left her hooves on the wrong trajectory. It flew through the air wildly until it collided with Tessla. He was hit hard with an apple in the side of his head. His hair took most of the damage, but he still felt it in his cheek.
Pinkie Pie hopped the two steps up to Tessla, who had hit the floor. Not because of the apple hit, but because he had horrible balance and the apple hit forced him into an unbalanced state. He tripped over his own feet and stumbled.
“Whew. Thank goodness that apple didn't hit you that hard. That would have really hurt. Apple Bloom should really be throwing cupcakes instead. They are soft and delicious and I just realized throwing them would be a huge waste of cupcakes. Apple Bloom! Do not ever throw cupcakes at any pony ever. Just eat them instead!”
Okay then. Apple Bloom slowly backed away from Pinkie Pie. She was about to make a run for the doors. She never got the chance as they opened before she could. Applejack, Rarity, and the rest of them filed into the throne room. Without even glancing at Tessla they walked on by and took their seats on their perspective thrones. Each of the little sisters stood next to their big sister's throne. Well, now that the council of six had arrived the interrogation could begin. It started with Twilight of course, who was also taking notes.
“So, you are from Canterlot High then?”
“No, not really. I am from a world similar to that, but mine is quite different. In my world, Equestria and all that live within are only real in TV and stories. I am a fan of all of you. Especially Pinkie Pie at the moment. She's nice to me.”
“Yay! I have a new friend.” Pinkie Pie smiled joyfully as thoughts of a new friend filled her head. “Wait. Whats TV?”
“TV is like a moving painting. It's pictures that move on their own.”
Twilight looked up from her notes. She could easily do that magically, yet decided to do it by hoof for some reason. “You mean, like magic?”
“Kinda. It's science. Sadly, magic doesn't exist in our world.”
The thought of a world without magic brought Twilight to a state of speechlessness. Her mind overflowed with each and every possible thing that could have or would happen to her if she was in such a world. She shook herself out of the near nightmare she had while she was still awake. She felt a sort of sadness for Tessla. His world was one without magic. She spared him the pity, knowing that he did not need or want it. She just resumed her questioning.
“Tessla, how is that you came to Equestria in the first place? You didn't come from Canterlot High, therefore you didn't use the mirror portal. Is there another portal here from your world?”
“Actually, I . . . don't remember. I haven't thought about it, and now that I am. I don't remember.”
“Hey. Don't start lying to us now!” Rainbow Dash slammed her hoof down against the hard surface of her throne. Scootaloo copied her from the floor beside the throne.
“I swear by the honesty of Applejack: I am not lying.”
With that said all eyes turned to Applejack's throne. She was sitting in it like all the others. Only she was kinda glaring at Tessla. She looked like she was trying to stay wary of him, for he was still unknown to her. At the same time she was trying to grasp the concept of swearing by her and her honesty. She scratched her head, lifting her hat up a little bit and almost causing it to fall off her head.
“Ya swear by me? And by my honesty?” Applejack mulled over the words of Tessla. She had no idea she was thinking out loud. “Why in Equestria would he do a thing like that? What does he know 'bout my honesty?”
“I know you have only lied twice. When Discord turned you all against your own Elements of Harmony, and when the Flim Flam brothers sold Granny Smith that fake cure all tonic.”
Applejack looked up from her thoughts. What was he talking about? How did he know those things? The other five ponies all pondered over the fact that Applejack has only lied twice. Wait, no. That was not correct. A fact Rainbow Dash was all to happy to point out.
“WRONG! Applejack lied to Pinkie Pie to make sure she didn't figure out about the surprise birthday party we were planning for her. That makes three times, not two. HA!”
“It is not a contest, Dash,” Applejack said flatly with a hoof in her face.
“Alright, enough!” Rarity shouted out with an unusual raise in the volume of her voice. She looked around at the ponies that sat in thrones with her. Then her eyes came back around and set on Tessla once again.
“So let me see if I understand this,” Rarity started. “You are from a different world, separate from our own. You came here, on fire and falling from the sky, and you know nothing of how that came to be.”
“Yep. That's about right so far.”
Rarity was not done. There was still some things she had to work through. “And not only that, you claim that we ponies are just. . . just stories in your world?!”
“Yeah, that's right. I'm a big fan of the stories.”
Rarity shook her head. It was going to take her a while to get used to this. She sat back in her throne and Sweetie Belle waved a fancy rag in front of her sister's face. The topic moved from Rarity back to Twilight.
“So, Rarity pretty much just summed everything up. Now all we have to do is figure out what we are going to do with you, Tessla. Since you seem to know so much about us, do you have any suggestions?”
Tessla thought about this for a moment. He had been thinking about it all along in the back of his mind. He had so much going through his mind that he was actually drawing a blank when it came to finding an answer to Twilight's question. He had so many questions and so much he wanted to know and learn. But when he looked down at himself he settled on much simpler request.
“If it's okay with you, Princess Twilight, I would like a room to stay in and a change of clothes.”
“A reasonable request. I can grant you a room in my castle here to stay in. That will actually be good while we try and figure out where you came from and how you got here.”
Tessla smiled happily. This was kinda like living a dream for him. Pinkie smiled even more at his smiling and declared a party in the honor of her newest friend. And yet, something was bothering Tessla. It wasn't something that came across his mind until just then. His smile faded, not that any of the others noticed. They were too busy talking amongst themselves. Well, all of them. One pony did notice.
“You okay, sugarcube?” Applejack had gotten off her throne and approached him. She still kept her distance a bit, but she was closer now than she had ever been before. “I can't rightly say I know much of anything 'bout your kind, but I can say you look mighty troubled. What's wrong?”
Tessla looked at her. She was genuinely curious and concerned about him. “I'm just thinking about a friend of mine. He is a fan of you, just like I am. Maybe even more so. He would really like to be here right now. I'm just wondering where he is.”
As if on cue, like reading from a script the doors of the throne room burst open. The doors opened with a loud bang that rang out and bounced off the walls of the castle. Another person entered the room. A small, purple person.
Spike ran into the room at full speed. He was to busy reading a scroll to look ahead of him. He knew the castle well enough to know his way around without looking, but he was in for a big, hairy surprise.
“Twilight! Twilight! Celestia just sent a really important letter that you nee-”
Spike stopped in his tracks. He had put the scroll down to talk to Twilight. The first thing he saw was not Twilight. The first thing he saw was a very large creature that stood a head taller than almost every pony he knew. It was hairy and covered in some very strange clothing. Well, Spike assumed it was supposed to be clothing. And now this creature had turned around. It was looking right at him.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Spike screamed so much that even Pinkie Pie was about to tell him to shut up. Tessla covered his ears to give him some protection against the noise assaulting his eardrums.
Spike screamed out and then a new noise came out of him. A hiccup. He hiccuped, but that did not stop his freak out.
“AH!- hiccup- Twilight, what- hiccup- is that- hiccup- that thing?”
“Hi, Spike.”
“AH! It- hiccup- knows my- hiccup- name! Why does- hiccup- it know my- hiccup- my name?”
Twilight managed to calm Spike down enough to give him a short explanation. It ended with the words, “I'll explain later.” Not exactly the way Tessla had intended on meeting Spike, but that is how it happened. Nothing he could do about it.
Once Twilight was done with her short explanation she let Spike process it for a moment. It took a moment of eye twitching and mind racing for him to process it. He trusted Twilight to explain later, but he was still left with this strange crater creature who went by the name of Tessla looking at him. He decided it was best to change the subject back to the matter he ran into the room with.
“Twilight, Celestia sent a letter. It seems something happened in Canterlot.”
Twilight's floated the letter from Spike's hand over to her. She unrolled it and read through it with the thoroughness she was known to have. It was a rather lengthy letter. Much longer than Celestia was known to write, and surely longer than anything she had ever written to Twilight in the past.
Rainbow Dash acted on Twilight's look of confusion.“What is it, Twilight? What do the princess's want now?”
“They need our help. Apparently, something has happened with Luna. Celestia didn't go into detail, but it is enough to warrant us visiting the Royal Palace. She asks that we leave as soon as we can.”
“We can't do that!” Rainbow Dash jumped off her thrown and moved closer to Tessla. She thrust her hoof out at him quickly. “We cannot just leave him here by himself. No way!”
“And we're not going to,” Twilight responded. “As a princess I cannot ignore this, nor would I even if I was not a princess. So I will go. I would like it if you and Applejack joined me.”
“Sure as sugar, me and Dash will go withya, Twilight.”
“What are the rest of supposed to do, Twilight?” Pinkie Pie was still in her own throne. She hadn't said anything in a while. Now she was looking kinda sad. “We can't have the welcome to Ponyville party without all of you here.”
“Well, Pinkie Pie, I was hoping you would get the party ready for when we come back. I'm sure you can do that,” Twilight told Pinkie with a smile. Pinkie, in turn smiled back happily. Then she pointed a hoof at Rarity and Sweetie Belle, who was still waving a fancy cloth in front of her sister's face. “What about Rarity? What is she going to do?”
“Well, I was hoping Rarity would be able to make some clothes for Tessla to replace what he's wearing now.”
“I'M DOING WHAT?!” Rarity burst out of her own little world, sending Sweetie Belle to the floor. The fancy cloth floated down and landed on her, covering her face. Rarity leaped off her throne and went up to Twilight's throne. She pushed her face up into Twilight's before speaking.
“Twilight, dear. You cannot expect me to work with this thing. It is just too much. I cannot do it. I wouldn't even know where to begin on new clothes for him.”
Tessla turned to Rarity with an annoyed glare. “Really? You called me a 'thing' again. You do know my name, don't you?”
Twilight's talking to Rarity made it impossible for her to answer Tessla. “Rarity, look at him. Look at his clothes, or at least what is left of them. They are nothing but the tattered remains of what he was wearing. Plus, you are always looking for a new challenge. And you could be the very first pony to make clothes for a new creature of Equestria. This could make you even more famous.”
“Famous?! You think this will make me famous?! NO, Twilight. Everypony will look at him and me, and think that I have sunk so low I have to make clothes for every thing that falls from the sky. It will ruin me!”
“I was wondering when the drama would show up,” Tessla whispered under his breath. He was speaking to no pony in particular, just to himself really.
The ponies ended their little debate, or discussion, or whatever it was shortly after that. Twilight took Tessla and showed him to one of the many spare rooms she had in her mostly empty castle. It was nothing fancy. Tessla liked it. After that Twilight headed for Canterlot with Rainbow Dash and Applejack by her side.