//------------------------------// // Issue #1 // Story: My Little Patriot: Freedom is Magic // by Freedom Filly //------------------------------// Freedom Filly Comics presents: My Little Patriot: Freedom is Magic Issue #1: Trouble with Teleports! In the distant dimension of Equestria, within the small town of Ponyville, a lone unicorn scholar rummages through shelf after shelf of mysterious tomes of knowledge... She was so close. Just one more book, and Twilight Sparkle would have enough information to complete her latest project. "Spike! Bring me my copy of Predictably Problematic Portals!" Spike walked down the stairs, eyeing Twilight nervously. "Wait a minute... portals? Twilight, please tell me you're not trying another teleportation spell?" "Don't worry, Spike, I've figured out what went wrong last time." Twilight explained confidently, failing to convince her assistant. "Really, Twilight?! You say that every. Single. Time!! Every time you try a teleportation spell, we all wind up in some alternate reality for Celestia knows how long!" "But Spike, I just need to-" "You know what? Here!" Spike threw Twilight her personal copy of Predictably Problematic Portals. "I'm going to Canterlot. Let me know when you're done with this mess." The dragon storms out of the room, leaving the mad magician to her work. Meanwhile, elsewhere in Ponyville, an orange pony brings a package to the local bakery... "Here's those apples y'all ordered, Pinkie Pie." Pinkie bounced cheerfully into the room. "Thanks Applejack! These'll be great in the-" Suddenly, Pinkie Pie stopped and stared at her hooves. Applejack walked over to her friend, a concerned look over her face. "What's wrong, sugarcube? Is it yer pinkie sense again?" "My forehooves are twitchy. That means somebody's writing a crossover fanfic about us!" Applejack stared at Pinkie, failing to comprehend this explanation. "Crosswhat now?" "Basically, Twilight's about to try another teleportation spell." "Whoa nelly... we'd better get everypony over there, fast. This ain't gonna end well." Now, in Twilight's laboratory, five ponies have gathered to witness Twilight Sparkle's latest magical experiment. A white unicorn with an elegantly styled mane walks forward apprenhensively... "So let me get this straight, darling... you've developed another teleportation spell that you think will allow multiple ponies to travel over a long distance." "That's the gist of it, Rarity." "Well, I suppose we should get this over with. The sooner we get back to Equestria, the sooner I can continue working on my outfits." Rainbow Dash hovered in the air, her forelegs folded in exasperation. "What would happen if she tried a spell that was supposed to send us to an alternate universe? Would we get sent back here?" "Hey! No comments from the peanut gallery!" Twilight snapped. "Wait a minute... where's Fluttershy?" Fluttershy peeked out from her hiding place behind Applejack. "Um, Twilight, is it okay if I stay behind this time? I mean, what if we end up somewhere scary? I don't think I should go... if that's alright with you, that is..." Pinkie Pie bounced over to Fluttershy. "Aw, c'mon! It'll be fun! Maybe if we're lucky, we'll see more aliens! I love aliens! Aliens are my favorite! Well, that's assuming you're talking about "alien" as in extraequestrial, and not "alien" as in illegal immigrants, like the ones from Mexicolt, who keep sneaking across the border and taking jobs as housemaids for stuck-up rich ponies – no offense, Rarity – thus siphoning income away from Princess Celestia's citizens, damaging the economy and causing increased inflation, eventually leading to a nation-wide reces-" Twilight interrupted. "Yeah... I'm gonna go ahead and start the spell now." Concentrating all her magical focus on the ritual, Twilight's horn begins to glow with a brilliant violet light. A small orb of glowing energy appears in the air before her, slowly expanding into a large portal, rippling nearby space as it struggles to stay open. One by one, the ponies walk through the precarious portal, crossing the precipice, the threshold, the very brink of space-time itself! But the question remains... to where does the glowing gateway lead? What perils await our little ponies on the other side of this arcane aperture? Find out the answers to these questions and- "Ooh! Ooh! I know this one! -ahem- 'Find out the answers to these questions and more... in the next issue of Freedom Force!'" -sigh- ...Pinkie, that was my line. *** Applejack found herself in the middle of some sort of city. She was standing on a paved sidewalk, with cars going up and down the adjacent street. The buildings were rather tall with large glass windows. All in all, this place reminded her of Manehattan. Even the fashions were similar - the men wore business suits and fedoras, while the women wore pastel colored dresses with matching hats and gloves. If the locals weren't clearly human, Applejack might've believed that Twilight's teleport spell had worked for a change. Well, ah guess ah better find out where ah am. The passing humans just sort of looked at her before going about their business. They didn't even stop to stare. It's almost like they were used to weird stuff spontaneously appearing in the middle of the street. Ah s'pose ah could just ask one of 'em. She walked over to a couple - husband and wife, presumably - who just sort of stopped and looked at her curiously. "Uh, 'scuse me, could y'all maybe tell me where ah am?" The husband gave Applejack a shocked look. "She can talk?" The wife rolled her eyes. "Of course she does. Honestly, dear, I don't know why this sort of thing surprises you anymore." She turned to the pony. "Patriot City. You're in Patriot City." "Ah'm lookin' fer mah friends, have either o' y'all seen-" Applejack stopped as she noticed the husband eyeing her nervously. "...Are you going to eat me?" "Eat you?" Applejack asked incredulously. "Why would ah do that?" "He's just a little nervous about weird creatures ever since the city got attacked by time-traveling dinosaurs." the wife explained. "Ah see. That sorta thing happen a lot 'round here?" "Pretty much." "Well, ah'd better go look fer mah friends. Thanks fer the help." Applejack continued down the street. After much walking, she heard what sounded like an alarm and galloped towards the source of the noise. A trio of humans were fleeing a bank, one of them carrying a bag of money. The police hadn't arrived yet. "Those no-good thugs are tryin' ta rob that bank! Alternate universe or not, ah can't let 'em get away with this!" Building up speed, Applejack charged into the alleyway the robbers were using as an escape route. "Whoa there! Y'all didn't think ya could get away with this, did ya?" The thugs nearly burst out laughing. "Hey look, a tiny horse! What'cha gonna do, tiny horse? Bite my ankle?" one of them mocked. "Y'all asked for it..." Applejack jumped onto her front legs, then spun around and kicked the robber square in the chest, knocking the wind right out of him. "Augh! Don't... feel... so... good..." Another thug hefted a baseball bat in the air. Before he could strike, Applejack kicked him in the face, causing him to black out. In the commotion, the thug with the bag had jumped onto a fence and was trying to climb over. "Consarn it, ah can't reach 'im! Wait a minute... mah apples!" reaching into her saddlebags, she threw an apple into the air and kicked it, launching it directly at the last thug and knocking him off the fence. Giving him a quick kick across the face, Applejack picked up the bag in her teeth and brought it back to the bank. Approaching who she assumed was the manager, she asked, "Ah take it y'all are in charge here?" The manager nodded. "Ah think this is yours." Applejack said, handing (mouthing?) over the recovered money. As the police showed up to arrest the thugs, the squad leader entered the bank to congratulate Applejack. "Good thing you showed up, those goons almost got away!" "Aw, no sweat, sugarcube. Ah just couldn't stand lettin' those no-good varmints steal all that money." The officer extended a hand in gratitude. "Thanks for the assist, uh... orange pony with a cowgirl hat. Do you have a name?" "Ah'm Applejack", the cowpony said, grabbing the officer's hand with both hooves and shaking heavily. "Glad ta be of assistance!" And so our little ponies find themselves in Patriot City, separated from each other, and no sign of any other ponies. Where is everypony else? How do they find each other? What will they do then? How long before they can get back home? Can I get through one scene of dramatic narration without Pinkie Pie upstaging me? ...Evidently, the answer to that last question is 'yes'. As for the rest, find out in the next issue of Freedom Force!