//------------------------------// // Encroachment // Story: Enlightening Circumstances // by ExoskeletalEccentric //------------------------------// Chapter 6: Encroachment Ow... I can't believe that I actually did that. I thought as I woke up, rubbing my head gingerly where I had knocked it after (sigh) passing out. God, you actually fainted. I mean, sure, this is pretty stressful, but come on girl! You've got your image to keep up! I opened my eyes to see a the same yellow pony as before, who I now remembered as Fluttershy, looking down at me from behind my bars with a small smile on her face. In front of her, a bunch of flowers. Blue...sunflowers? Are they for me? Fluttershy started to say something, and my suspicions were confirmed: the shy Pegasus was definitely speaking a different language. Although, she didn't seem all that shy now, chatting away to me. Then it hit me: To her, I must be an animal, or just another strange creature. I'll need to handle this carefully. I was clearly in another universe now; the arrival of this pastel coloured Pegasus pony confirmed it. I don't think we're in Kansas anymore... I thought dryly. However, this didn't change the fact that I couldn't understand a word that came out of the pink maned pony's mouth. I shook my head and attempted to communicate this fact to her. "I don't understand you!" I exclaimed, putting my hands up. Fluttershy stopped speaking when I said this, confusion plastered across her face. "Yup, don't understand you. Not a single word, actually. Not one. She seemed more confused at this, so I stopped talking. There was a pause, and then the Pegasus asked something else. I sighed. "I still don't understand you." At this the pony seemed thoughtful, then suddenly looked as if she had remembered something. She spoke quickly at me, and then dashed out the front door. After a few seconds, she poked her head back round and said something firmly that had a definite "Stay here" vibe to it. Yeah, like that's happening. I waited until I was sure she was gone, then immediately set about trying to get out of the cage. I wasn't going to leave the house, but I really did not care for being in a cage. Besides, I could see my top, and so, my gem, lying on a table to my right. At first I tried using lightning to blast out of the cage, but it became clear that this wasn't working after the first 12 or so tries, so I abandoned that pursuit. Then I realised something. The door did not have a lock. It had a latch, as if this were a giant birdcage. Mentally facepalming at both mine and Fluttershy's inattention to detail, I lifted the latch and fluttered out of the cage. I took a moment to look around the cottage. There were many, many animals, with one rabbit in particular that kept following me around with a vaguely annoyed look on its face. I thought a little bit about my predicament. This was very strange, being in a television programme. I had watched it a fair few times, and had rather enjoyed it, being that it was much more tolerable than the pink sparkly vomit of most other "girls" shows. I realised that this would be a rather detrimental decision to me, as I would not be able to navigate through the world of Equestria as easily as, for example, my brother. A prime example of a brony, if I ever saw one. And boy had I; there were some seriously weird people in the world. Sigh. My brother would have loved this; he's the one who likes the show the most out of both of us. My mood turned sober as I thought of my brother, and of home. I didn't miss them yet, I had not been away long enough for that, but I was worried. I liked this world, so far. The past few days had been some of the most fun that I had ever had, if not the most painful and dangerous. I had accomplished things, made a small life of my own, by myself. The truth was, I felt more at home here than I did back at my home. My new powers and wings, they made me feel so special. And isn't that what anyone ever wants? To be special? In fact, if I had to choose whether to stay here or to go back home...I wasn't so sure that I wouldn't choose to stay. I shook myself out of such thoughts. That was a long ways off. After I had my fill of snooping, I went to the table to retrieve my apparel. As I reached for it, I felt a stab of agony run through my leg, and I cried out and clutched at it. I whipped round to see who could have done it, and there sat that white rabbit with a smug look on his irritatingly adorable rabbity face. I growled at him and snatched him up, holding him close to my face. I did not need any sass from a freaking bunny. "Listen, bunny. I know you can't understand me, and I don't care. I have beaten a dragon. A freaking dragon." I snarled. I attempted to mime killing a dragon with one hand, to limited success. "You know, enormous, wings, sharp claws, breathes fire? I killed it. And!" I suddenly realised. "I killed and ate a cockatrice. Do you think that you are going to prove a problem?" I threatened, lightning crackling in my hand. The rabbit said nothing, being a rabbit. However, I considered his shivering and terrified expression to mean that he was suitably nullified, so I set him down and pat his head. "Good boy." I turned back to the table, and picked up my top by the gem. It's...grey? Indeed, the once vibrant blue surface of the beautiful jewel had faded to a silvery grey. I must have used up all the power inside of it against that dragon. That's a bit of a shame. I shrugged and pulled on the top. Halfway through the process, I heard the front door open, and after I hurriedly finished putting it on, there stood a shocked looking Fluttershy and a purple unicorn-Twilight Sparkle, I remembered. A terrified and shivering blur of white shot past me and huddled up to Fluttershy, looking at me with fear. "Ummm. Hi?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ For a moment, everything stood still as two worlds stopped and stared at each other. And then, all hell broke loose. Twilight lowered her horn and moved in front of Fluttershy protectively. "Stay back, Fluttershy! We don't know what this thing can do!" ("Whoa, hey now! I just wanted my things!") The flying thing jittered strangely. Twilight saw the creatures forelegs go up, and decided that she wasn't taking any chances-she lit up her horn in a violet glow, and grasped the thing in her powerful telekinetic grip, preventing it from moving to harm anyone. Or at least, that was what was supposed to happen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It was a thoroughly unpleasant experience, being grabbed by magic. It felt as if an invisible hand was squeezing me, which I suppose is actually what was happening. However, even as I felt myself being crushed, I felt a strange sense of power, similar to when I was using the energy of the sapphire. I latched onto this, following the power to its source. Twilight. I could feel her magic, flowing within her, just ready to be used. Sorry about this, but you are really hurting me. I pulled on the connection, and I saw Twilights purple eyes widen as she felt her magic being drained away. She was stunned for a moment, but she quickly let go of me, and the connection was severed. I saw her looking slightly below my head, and I looked down to see what it was. There, hanging on my neck, was the gem, glowing as blue as when I had found it. Well, that explains where all that power went. I looked up to see the two ponies looking at me with something approaching fear. Twilight said something to Fluttershy, who gasped when she heard whatever it was. There was a tense moment of me and Twilight having a staring match, and then Fluttershy tentatively stepped forward. She started making "Gootchi gootchi goo" noises that, no matter the actual language, would always be heard as "Come on, little fella. It's okay, I won't hurt you." You could just tell, it was the way she was talking. Besides, it was Fluttershy. I could make an educated guess. Rolling my eyes, I extended my hand to her outstretched hoof, slowly so as not to alarm the two of them, and grasped her hoof in my hand. I suppose it must have been a historic moment, two separate sentient species shaking hands/hooves, but at the time, I felt rather silly. As it was, Fluttershy broke into a warm smile, which made it impossible for me not to smile. This in turn caused Twilight to smile, and there we were. Ponies and a not-quite-human. Grinning like idiots. I have to say, it was refreshingly relaxing. Twilight broke the moment by saying something, then gesturing to her horn, then me. I wasn't sure what she was getting at, but I assumed that it was permission to use a spell off some sort on me. My guess was healing magic, to show goodwill, and I wasn't going to say no to that! I nodded to her, and she lowered her head and her horn became bathed in a purple light. Then, I lit up with the same light, and I felt a tendril of magic work its way into my brain, then a sudden sense of clarity. "Hello? Did it work? Can you understand me now?" I looked at her in shock. I could understand her! ("Yeah, I can! What did you do?") Twilight shook her head. "I can't understand you, just nod once for yes." I nodded, and the amaranthine unicorn beamed at me. "Wh..what did you do, Twilight?" Fluttershy said in her oh-so-adorable voice. Twilight turned to her. "I used a spell that I researched just in case the creature couldn't understand us.” She gestured to me. "It can understand us now, though!" I bristled at this description. ("It? I'm a she, darnit! Anybody can see that!") Twilight frowned. "But I can't understand it. ("Her!") I'll soon fix that!" The horn ignited once more, and Twilight blinked, and then asked me: "Hello, can I understand you?" ("I don't know, can you?") I retorted somewhat snappily, still sore about the improper pronoun usage. Twilight looked taken aback, but soon smiled again. "It worked then! Greetings, I am Twilight Sparkle, Most Faithful Student of our benevolent ruler, Princess Celestia. Who might you be?" She paused, and then added: "And what might you be?" Alright. This is it. I am about to decide what our future negotiations are going to be like. I am definitely not telling her where I am really from. That would end in disaster. I will have to be clever... ("My name is Ka-") Katie Eldon, I had been about to say. My birth name, the name I had back at home. I liked it. But it didn't fit me, here. Here, I was a different person, so to make a start in this world, I would need a new name. One that fits me. Then, I knew it. ("My name is Ashni Skye. I am a...Sylph.") I said, quickly remembering the name I had made for myself earlier. Twilight seemed pleased with this, and I allowed myself to breathe. "Okay, Ashni. Where do you live? In the Everfree Forest?" Asked the unicorn curiously. I latched onto this. ("Yes, in the Everfree Forest. Definitely.") "Are there any more of you?" I thought more carefully about this question. ("Yes. I come from a very distant land. I came here to see if there was anyone else out there. I came across this settlement, and have been quietly studying you and your habits from the forest for a while now.") At Twilights slightly disturbed look, I added: ("I had to make sure that you were not violent.") The pony seemed slightly more at ease with this explanation, and Fluttershy piped up with a confused expression on her face. "Um, excuse me Twilight, but what are you talking about?" "Oh, sorry Fluttershy! I forgot that you couldn't understand us." Twilight apologised. "Here, hold still...there!" ("Welcome to the conversation. Ashni Skye.") I introduced myself, getting a feel for the name. Fluttershy did the same. "O..oh, nice to meet you, Ashni. My name is Fluttershy." An awkward pause. "Oh, those injuries look painful, how did you get them?" Now this I figured that I could answer truthfully. Nothing wrong with a bit of boasting. (I got them getting this.") I said, holding up the gem for them to see. ("I had to kill a dragon to get it.") "A-a-a dragon?" Squeaked Fluttershy. I nodded, enjoying the stunned reactions. ("Yes. I accidentally wandered into its cave, and it wasn't taking sorry for an answer.") Twilight seemed a mixture between surprised and impressed. "Well, if you don't mind me asking, how did you defeat a dragon? I mean, no offence, but you don't look like the fighting sort." It was true, I supposed, so I didn't take offence, and smirked. ("Well, let's just say that unicorns aren't the only ones with magic, Twilight Sparkle.") I held up a hand and pushed the lightning into it; making sparks play about my palm. Hey, we're all allowed a little bit of showmanship, aren't we? "Ah, I see! Magic really does make up for shortcomings, doesn't it?" Twilight smiled at me. ("Well, I'll admit that I had a little help.") "From who?" I pointed to the gemstone hanging around my neck. ("From this.") At their intrigued looks, I elaborated. ("The dragon had me pinned. He was about to unleash his fiery breath! Then...I used the power inside the gem and merged it with my own, frying the dragon with a giant lightning bolt!") I told them excitedly with accompanying actions. Twilight in particular seemed excited by this. "You merged your power with that of your...crystal? How is that possible? May I see it?" I untied the jewel and reluctantly relinquished it to Twilight, who examined it, turning it over with her telekinesis. "This...this is a Lightning stone, isn't it? That's quite rare. I've never heard of anyone harnessing magic from them before, though..." I shrugged. ("Well, I don't know how it works, exactly. I just connect with it-and other things with magic-and use their power.") Twilight seemed thoughtful. "Aha! I have it! We could ask Spike! He's a dragon, so he should know more about gems than anyone! We'll go right away." She turned to leave, but Fluttershy called to her, making her turn back. "Um, Twilight?" "Yes, Fluttershy?" "Shouldn't you introduce Ashni to more ponies first? They've never seen anything like her before, and we don't want to scare anyone. Oh, but, whatever you think is best is fine..." Twilight shook her head. "No, Fluttershy, you're right. I keep letting myself get caught up in my research." She turned to me. "You should definitely meet my friends. I'm sure that they'd love to meet you!" I was, of course, all for this. It's not every day that one gets to meet fictional characters. Although I suppose that this proves that they are not fictional. At least, not in this universe. But I digress. I said that I would meet them, and Twilight, in one of her trademark adorable little OCD moments, arranged a meeting for all of them at 2.00 pm. (Time apparently works the same in Equestria) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fifteen minutes later, and all of Twilights friends were at Fluttershy's cottage, with me out of sight of them. I wasn't being shy; I just felt it would be more dramatic. I could hear Rainbow Dash complaining. Or just talking. It was difficult to tell. "So, what's this all about, Twilight? I should be training! Or sleeping!" Rarity stepped forward. "Yes, why ever did you call us all out here?" Twilight seemed pleased at the question, and began to explain. "Well everypony, you are all here to meet somepony. Or rather, not somepony, and not a griffon, a donkey, zebra or dragon, either! In fact, she is something that has never been seen in Equestria before!" I rather thought that she was milking it a bit at this point, but I let her have her fun. Pinkie Pie was predictably getting excited, but then, is she ever not excited? "Ooh! That sounds cool!" Cheered Pinkie, bouncing up and down. She looked around the room. "So where is she? I wanna meet her! *gasp* oh my gosh! If she's never been in Equestria before then she's never been to Ponyville before which means she's never met me before which means I haven't thrown her a party yet!" Before Pinkie could get too excited, Applejack laid a hoof on her shoulder. "Now hold on there, sugar-cube.", said the hat-clad Earth pony with a smile. "I think we better actually meet this gal before going and throwing her a party don't ya think? I know your parties are great an' all, but they tend to be a mite overwhelming for those that ain't used to them." "Fiiiine!" Pinkie huffed. "Okay, Ashni! You can come out now!" Taking my cue, I buzzed out into the gazes of the assembled ponies. There was an assortment of gasps. Despite myself, I flinched at all the attention. Pinkie, as always, was the first to act, rushing up to me and giving me a vigorous handshake with her hoof (A hoofshake?) "Hello Ashni! It's really nice to meet you 'cause I love meeting new ponies, and even though you're not a pony you're still new 1 out of 2 isn't bad! I'm Pinkie! Do you want a party? I'm only asking because Applejack says that my parties are 'overwhelming' but that is totally not true because everyone loves parties, but Applejack thinks that you wouldn't want one which is just silly! Don't you think that's silly?" The pink earth pony's hyperactive antics were even harder to keep track of when you were actually talking to her, but just as in the show, she had a bubbly likeability about her that counteracted the difficulty in speaking with her. I was puzzling over a way to get my views across, when Twilight came to my rescue. "She can't answer you, Pinkie. Only me and Fluttershy can understand her because of the spell I cast, and I've used up my magic for today." Not to mention all that magic she drained from me "She can understand you, though." "She speaks another language, huh? Well, what is she, anyway?" Rainbow Dash was looking at me suspiciously. "She says that she's a 'Sylph', and that she comes from a land that's really far away. The implications are exciting, don't you think?" Applejack peered closer at me, and then winced. "Those wounds look mighty nasty. How’d ya get 'em?" ("Oh, you know. When you bump into those pesky dragons, it's difficult not to get hurt.") Applejack blinked, and turned to Twilight. "Uh, what did she say?" "It doesn't matter; she's told me this story already. She got these wounds fighting a dragon." "A dragon?" Everybody exclaimed at the same time. Twilight nodded. "Yes, a dragon. She managed to defeat it, but was very injured in the process. She managed to crawl her way to the edge of the Everfree Forest, where I and Spike found her. We took her to Fluttershy, who bandaged her up." Rainbow Dash was looking at me with a new respect, which I thoroughly appreciated. "Taking on a dragon, huh? Well that must have taken some serious guts! Think you're as good as Rainbow Dash?" Oh dear. I think that I would prefer suspicion. I thought worriedly. Twilight once again saved me, thankfully. "Now, Rainbow Dash, she's only just gotten here. Besides, you should at least wait for her injuries to heal, don't you?" The competitive Pegasus deflated. "Oh. Right." Rarity was next to introduce herself, walking up to me with a flick of her mane. "Well, welcome to Ponyville, dear! I'm absolutely certain that you'll find it lovely." She smiled at me. Then there came a glint in her eyes as she noticed what I was wearing around my neck. "Oh, and you have a simply fabulous taste in jewellery, darling! We're sure to get along." She looked me up and down. "Although, I will have to do something about the rest of your ensemble." After Rarity, it was Applejack, who greeted me relatively simply. "Howdy. I reckon y'all have had quite enough excitement, so I'll just wish you luck in our town and leave it at that. I look forward to learning more about 'ya!" After the introductions, I answered questions and chatted with the ponies for a bit. Then it stopped, and Twilight delivered a final message. "Okay girls, thank you for coming! I know that you'll make Ashni feel at home!" Everyone said goodbye, and went to go do...whatever it is that they do, and I was left with Fluttershy, Twilight, and a warm fuzziness. I had a good feeling about this. Perhaps living in Ponyville would be better than I thought? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It skulked between worlds, eyeing the world of Equestria with what passed as frustration. This was a setback. But no matter. It had waited a long, long time. It could wait a while more. It sent a small tendril of itself into the world, all it could fit, and snaked through the forest, searching for the appropriate catalyst for its plan. There. In front of it, the corpse of a dragon, touched by the power. It may have grinned had It had a mouth to grin with, and glowing petals bloomed all around the fallen beast. Yes... This would do nicely. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Authors Note: The plot thickens, eh? Sorry about the actual delay this time, guys. School and all. Still, the stage is set for my much-more-exciting-plot-than-before to take place. What could be happening? Wait and see! Remember to like if you liked it and favourite if you thought it was one of your favourites! And do leave a comment. Feedback is appreciated! Even if you don't like it! Remember, I can't change it if you don't tell me what it is! Predator20 out. P.S: About the name, Ashni means "Lightning", so it's appropriate. Don't worry! And Ashni is speaking in brackets because not everyone can understand her. It's easier to put in translations than to keep switching perspectives all the time.