//------------------------------// // An Interesting Arrival // Story: An Interesting Arrival // by Moongaze14 //------------------------------// An Interesting Arrival It was a rainy afternoon in Canterlot and most of the citizens were not taking it very well. Contrary to most cities in Equestria, Canterlot rarely had weather complications such as rain days. Despite its lower number of weather changes, the city was not immune to them as they were still a necessity, not that the Canterlot ponies cared about that. Most of them could not fathom the thought of getting wet or dirty so they often locked themselves in their homes until the rain has ceased and the streets were completely dried. Fortunately, some of them had the precaution of scheduling their activities in such a way as to enjoy their day. An example would be the Elements of Harmony having a lunch date with Princess Celestia in a casual get together. Excluding the aforementioned examples, one particular pony did not seem to mind the rain that was falling in Canterlot, even as he walked by the streets in the middle of the storm. His only garment was a brown hood, which was surrounded by a green magical aura that was coming out of his horn. Curiously, despite the raindrops falling on top of the cloth, it was not wet at all. The little drops of water that were assaulting the stallion slipped away across the surface of the hood, not even dampening it in the slightest. Paying no attention to the weather, the stallion walked across the fanciest city of Equestria and looked at a classy looking building. Just looking at the employees inside let the stallion know that he was standing in front of a restaurant. Its sheer proximity made his stomach growl, demanding nourishment. “This seems like a good place to eat,” the stallion said as he walked into the restaurant. “What could possibly go wrong?” With that said, the hooded stallion entered into the restaurant, ready to eat a nice meal. “It’s so nice to have lunch with you, Princess Celestia,” Twilight Sparkle stared at her mentor, grateful to have the chance of chatting with her after not seeing her for so long. “I think the same of you and your friends, Twilight,” Princess Celestia nodded at her former student, now her equal as a princess. Next to Twilight Sparkle sat her closest friends, all of them were having a blast. Twilight had brought her fellow Elements of Harmony, the ones who taught her the Magic of Friendship, to her appointment with Celestia. Even though she became a princess, Twilight still preferred to live in Ponyville to stay in close contact with her friends and she always found a way to bring her friends along with her despite her duties as a princess. Pinkie Pie was eating cupcakes like a machine. Her cerulean eyes were tearing up at the sweet sugary flavor of the pastries she was wolfing down in seconds. The mare was fun impersonated as she always put a smile on the faces of everypony with her cheerful personality and good humor that made her worthy of being the Element of Laughter Applejack was a hardworking mare and the most honest pony in her hometown, making her the Element of Honesty. Rainbow Dash was talking with Applejack about some new air tricks that she was working on. She worked on weather duty in Ponyville but her true ambition was to join the Wonderbolts, a team of pegasi that consisted of the best flyers in Equestria. Despite her large pride on her flying skills, Rainbow Dash was always a reliable friend and the first one to come to her friends’ rescue whenever they needed her. Her devotion is what earned her the Element of Loyalty. Rarity was nodding her head to what her friends were saying and was slightly more focused on admiring the restaurant’s silverware. The unicorn was a drama queen and an attention seeker, but she had a good heart and was willing to help those in need. Her selfless behavior when it came to others despite her aversion of getting her hooves dirty marked her as the Element of Generosity. The last one was Fluttershy, who was just content with sipping her tea quietly. Fluttershy was the shyest pony in Equestria and somewhat fearful of everything, yet she was also a caring and helpful pony that believed in aiding others, even if that meant facing her fears with a surprising amount of bravery that nopony expected her to have. Her pure heart allowed her to tame even the most dangerous animals and made her the Element of Kindness. Twilight stared at them with affection, remembering all the adventures that they had together and everything that they taught her. Back then, she was only a unicorn who believed that friendship was a distraction from her studies. She came to realize her mistake and how important friendship could be when they first used the Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon and redeem Princess Luna. Ever since that victory, Twilight took her first step towards unlocking her potential as the Element of Magic. It was because of her friends that she ascended and became an alicorn. Although she was still uncomfortable with being treated as royalty, she was still happy that her friends were treating her with the same affection that they gave her when she was just a unicorn. “You want some cake Twilight?” Spike, a purple baby dragon with green spikes and eyes, was offering her a plate with a slice of chocolate cake in front of her. Back when she was a filly, Twilight had a magical overload during a school test that resulted in Spike being hatched from a dragon egg. Since that day, both of them had been inseparable with Spike being her best friend and her number one assistant. “No thanks,” Twilight politely shook her head to the sides. “I’m not hungry.” “I want cake!” Pinkie Pie popped out of the air and ate it in one gulp before disappearing in an instant. Twilight and her friends giggled at Pinkie Pie’s random outburst. At first Twilight was confused with Pinkie’s behavior but learned to just get along with it. Nowadays, she just enjoyed her friend’s antics. “I trust that our guests are having a nice stay,” said Princess Luna as she entered into the room. Her cyan eyes were happily scanning the guests at the table, happy to see each and every one of them. Princess Luna was Celestia’s younger sister and fellow ruler of Equestria. A thousand years ago, she felt a strong jealously towards her sister and turned into Nightmare Moon, forcing Celestia to seal her to the moon for a millennium. After returning, she was once again defeated, this time by Twilight Sparkle and her friends, as the Elements of Harmony destroyed the darkness within Nightmare Moon and returned Luna to her former self. Since that day, Luna has harbored a strong affection for Twilight and her friends, as they were the ones who saved her from the darkness and returned her to the side of her beloved sister. “I am so glad that you made it here, Luna,” Celestia stood up from her seat and nuzzled her younger sister. “Did Cadence and Shining Armor arrive to the castle?” “Not yet,” Luna shook her head. “Cadence is a little busy at the Crystal Empire, so she will arrive a little late. But Shining Armor will come soon.” “I am so happy to hear that!” Twilight stood up from her seat, not noticing that she knocked it behind her as she did so. Princess Cadence was another alicorn and Princess of Equestria. Cadence used to be Twilight’s foalsitter and one of the few friends she had in Canterlot. Some years later, when Twilight was an adult, Cadence eventually became her sister in law when she married Twilight’s brother, Shining Armor, but not before fighting together to save Canterlot from a Changeling invasion. Shining Armor was Twilight’s older brother. Both siblings were very close to each other and shared the same dedication to follow their dreams. Just like Twilight became Celestia’s student, Shining Armor became the Captain of the Royal Guard and married Cadence, making him a prince in the process. The married couple ruled together in the Crystal Empire, a kingdom made of crystal and that had Crystal Ponies as its citizens. Both of them were very loved by the Crystal Ponies as they were the ones who saved them from King Sombra, the previous ruler of the Crystal Empire that made it disappear for over a thousand years until he was finally defeated for good. “I am delighted to bring cheer to you, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna nodded her head at her fellow alicorn princess. “Let us enjoy this feast and talk about our good fortune as friends.” Before any of the ponies could say anything an explosion was heard. Fluttershy immediately yelped and hid under the table. Rarity fainted at the sudden commotion. Spike held onto Twilight like his life depended on it. Rainbow Dash flew into the air in surprise, an instinctive reaction for a pegasus that was ready for battle. Applejack fell out of her chair as Pinkie Pie tackled her into a hug. Only Celestia and Luna were shown to be calm, although adopting stern frowns at the possibility of somepony invading their kingdom. “What was that?” Twilight asked as she used her levitation spell to pull Spike away from her. “We are not sure!” Luna spoke gravely. “But whoever is the culprit for this must be a possible threat if such action was done within our vicinity. It may even be the GREATEST threat that Equestria has ever seen!” Meanwhile, outside of the Canterlot, the true cause of the explosion was running away with several Royal Guards after his tail. He was a green unicorn with a mane and tail colored in red, blue, purple, white, and yellow. His golden eyes had a calculating gaze as they measured the distance between their owner and his pursuers. His cutie mark was a purple flower of lightning-shaped petals with a yellow center. Now that he had discarded his hood on the restaurant, everypony that was looking for him was bound to find him. “Darn it, Statice!” the stallion cursed at himself. “How did you get yourself into this? This is the fifth time this month!” I'll be lucky if I don't add Canterlot to the list! There were a couple of answers to that question. The first one was that he probably jinxed himself when he asked himself what could possible go wrong at the restaurant. The second answer, and perhaps the most obvious one, was that he assaulted some Prince Blueblood character at the restaurant. “Worth it,” Statice said to himself. He didn’t try to pick a fight in the first place. He entered into the restaurant and paid the owner. He even gave him a very large tip just to remove his dressing policy on him. Then this Blueblood came into his business and started complaining to him about not following the dress code. He kept going on and on until he finally started insulting Statice, angering him. Statice didn’t give him a warning as he blasted him with magic across a wall. The only problem was that he overcharged the spell and created an explosion that made a large hole on the wall. From there on to this moment, Statice was literally on the run. “I better add royal assault and property damage to the list,” Statice muttered as the royal guards were getting closer. His answer came up as he tripped on the road and slid down the city at a speed that surpassed the guards. And here I thought things couldn't get any worse. Who am I kidding? I didn't even think things could get any worse and they still did! Statice screamed in fear as his body slid down the city. He was afraid that he was going to crash into a house or captured by the royal guards. He looked down and noticed a green aura around his hooves and his body. He cursed at himself when he realized that his Insulating Spell was still active despite the fact that the sky was no longer raining. The spell was designed to create a thin layer of magic around Statice to let anything physical or magical slip from Statice’s body. He realized now that the slippery factor of his spell made him a target for slipping in moist surfaces such as the road that was still wet from the rain. Statice kept on screaming as he reached the end of a street and was heading to a wall. If he didn’t do anything he was going to crash head first into a wall. He gulped as he imagined the pain and the injuries that he would sustain should that happen. Narrowing his eyes in determination, Statice channeled his magic into his horn as he came up with a solution. A green circle formed on the floor, just in front of the wall on which Statice was bound to collide. As soon as he entered into the circle, the unexpected happened. He suddenly vanished and then shot forward into the left road. The royal guards who saw that gasped in shock at the fugitive’s escape before they continued their pursuit. Despite their professionalism, their curiosity still showed up in their conversation. “What do you think was that?” one of them asked. “I guess that it was some sort of teleportation spell,” another one answered. “Boy, I wish Captain Shining Armor were here,” a third one said. “He would probably come up with a solution to catch this punk!” Statice kept on sliding, trying to ignore the ponies that were chasing him. He wondered how ponies like them could be guards when they were speaking loud enough for him to hear. It was a good thing that these guys didn’t know squat about his Warp Spell. The Warp Spell differed from teleportation in the fact that it bended the forces around the user and redirected them to propel the pony in a different location. It was like some short ranged teleportation at the time being, although Statice still had some suspicions that the spell had room for improvement. He used the Warp Spell repeatedly as he kept reaching dead ends. Much to his delight, the royal guards were getting tired from the chase, so he eventually lost them by repeating the spell a few more times. He kept on sliding around Canterlot, enjoying its beauty now that there was nopony around to act as a potential obstacle to his course. His earlier fear of crashing or being caught was replaced with a sense of adrenaline and excitement as he burst into laughter. Belly sliding in the rain was fun now that he thought about it. As he laughed, he could have sworn that there was somepony else laughing with him. “Wee!” a feminine voice was heard beside him. Statice gasped as he saw a pink mare sliding on her belly, a huge grin plastered on her face. Closer inspection revealed her to be an earth pony with a light pink coat and a darker shade of pink on her curly mane and tail. She had some innocent cerulean eyes and her cutie mark consisted of three balloons, two of them were blue and the third one was yellow. He assumed that she was some party girl based on the design and the fact that she was having fun sliding in the rain...ignoring the fact that she was sliding near a criminal on the run. “Who are you?” he asked demandingly. “I’m Pinkie Pie!” the pink mare grinned. Some sort of squeaky noise was heard along with her name and grin. “There was some sort of boom outside and me and my friends went to check it out. Twilight suggested splitting up to find out what happened. I was going to put on my detective suit and ask some questions around when I saw you belly sliding on the rain and saw how much fun you were having so I gave it a go. What’s your name by the way?” Statice stared at her in shock as she spoke entire sentences so quickly in one go. He barely understood what she said but knew that whoever that Twilight was meant bad news for him. Despite this, he saw no danger in presenting himself to her. “My name is Static.” “Ooh!” Pinkie Pie was interested as she scooted closer to him. “Do you have anything associated with electricity? Your name sounds very sparky. Maybe I should call you Sparky as a nickname”. Statice frowned at her nickname choice. Static was a nickname that he chose, mainly because his name was feminine. Who wouldn’t laugh at him if they knew that he was named after a flower? At least when he was Static he received respect from others and avoided ridicule from his real name. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw another wall incoming to him and Pinkie. “Look out!” Statice yelled as he grabbed Pinkie Pie on his arms and warped to change their direction before they reached the wall. “Wee!” Pinkie Pie squealed with delight as she was shot safely into the air of Canterlot at greater speeds than before. She giggled as she hugged Statice, unintentionally or maybe intentionally, nuzzling his face. The green stallion blushed at the close proximity of the pink mare. “Cut that out, Pinkie Pie!” He sounded more embarrassed than angry at her hugging and nuzzling him. What's with this mare getting so close to me? I don't even know her! “But you are so fun!” Pinkie Pie whined before nuzzling him again. She stopped her nuzzling to gaze at the air in front of her. “Hey, I can see Sugarcube Corner from here!” To accentuate her point, she grabbed his head and turned it to the side a little too roughly, letting him see a village located under Canterlot. Although he didn’t see the building that Pinkie was mentioning at least he knew where to find it. They landed once again on the streets. “I didn’t see anything,” Statice told Pinkie as he wrestled his head out of her hooves. “Aww,” Pinkie Pie moaned in disappointment before chirping. “Well, at least you know where to find Sugarcube Corner. We sell cakes, pies, and cupcakes, and parties, and balloons, and candies…” Statice had a twitching eyebrow from the constant chattering. It was unbearable to tolerate so many words from a stranger. He was about to answer her when he saw another ramp close to them. He smiled smugly as he used his magic to remove the pink bother out of him and then used the ramp to launch himself into the sky. Despite being cast aside, Pinkie Pie still smiled at Statice and waved at him. “Good luck, Static! I hope to see you soon!” Well, I hope I don't. Statice did not even bother to hear her words. He was busy trying not to fall to the ground. He lighted his horn on magic and used a spell that he recently developed… the Air Walking Spell. A trail of green magic materialized in the air beneath Statice’s hooves. He smiled as the spell took effect and started running away. The Air Walking Spell worked by using the ambient magic found in the air to create a solid path on which Statice could thread on by using his own magic to adhere himself to the magic path. He invented the spell to have an idea of how flying was like and now it helped him to run away from his pursuers. The problem was that he needed a lot of wind in order to create the substance needed for the spell to work, fortunately him flying around by the sky at maximum speed was probably going to work good enough. “Nopony can catch me now!” Statice bragged at himself. “We will see about that!” a brash feminine voice responded to his claim. Statice turned his head around to see a cyan pegasus mare flying straight at him at a speed that surpassed that of the royal guards. She had cerise eyes and the most notable attribute was the rainbow that she had for the colors of her mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a cloud that was releasing a lightning bolt that came in red, yellow, and blue color. In a few seconds, she was already flying by his side, glaring at him with hostility. “Who are you and why are you running away from the royal guards?” she demanded angrily. “Who are you and why are chasing me?” Statice retaliated as he kept running, not liking the tone that she was using with him. “What business do you have with what I am doing? You’re not even a member of the royal guards!” “The name is Rainbow Dash!” the mare said with a mixture of pride and determination, and a little hint of vanity. “I’m the fastest flyer in Equestria and a future member of the Wonderbolts!” Statice rolled his eyes. “This is just what I needed! Nothing makes a chase better than some braggart with no skill at all!” Rainbow Dash gasped in shock at his insult before snarling at him. “I will show you no skill, punk!” She flew around him until she was a few feet in front of him and immediately launched herself with an extended hind leg, ready to kick him for his insult. Statice yelped as he used his magic to make a trail that would help him move vertically at the air, narrowly dodging the kick for a second. He looked around and watched as Rainbow Dash bowled through the royal guards that were previously chasing after him, gulping as he saw the strength of her kick. “It’s official,” Statice told himself. “This mare is more skilled than I anticipated.” He focused his magic and teleported himself into the entrance of Canterlot. There was no reason to stay here any longer. Before he could give a step forward to his freedom, he saw a magenta glow surrounding his body, stopping him from moving. He gasped as he turned around, trying to see who was his captor. Much to his surprise, he saw the two mares he met before, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. The first one was waving at him playfully while the second one was cracking her hooves as if she were about to pound him. Next to them, there were four other ponies. Great, as if I didn't have enough with those two already. One of them was an orange earth pony with green eyes and a blonde mane and tail that were tied in a ponytail. She wore a Stetson hat over her head, making her the only pony in the group wearing an artifact of clothing. Her cutie mark consisted of three apples, probably meaning that her special talent was related to apples. She spread her forelegs to the side, ready to charge, although not as violently as Rainbow Dash appeared to be. Just what I needed, another angry mare! What did I even do to this one anyway? An alabaster unicorn with a curly purple mane and tail and azure eyes was staring at him with disapproval. Her cutie mark consisted of three diamonds, probably meaning that she was a miner or something. Although he had to give her credit in that she looked pretty and elegant for a miner. She probably found lots of gems that gave her a decent lifestyle in Canterlot. Well, if I'm lucky, at least this one will just yell at me. I can deal with that. It's not like anypony has never yelled at me before. A yellow pegasus with cyan eyes and a long pink mane and tail was staring at him with fear, hiding her eyes behind her mane. Her cutie mark consisted of three pink butterflies. Did that mean that she was a social butterfly? She looked like she didn’t want to be in this situation and seemed to do so out of peer pressure. What the hay is that mare doing here? She looks like she's gonna run away any second now. Maybe she's just a witness that got caught up in the moment. Poor thing...I better end things quickly to avoid traumatizing her more than necessary...if that's even possible. However, his eyes wandered to the last pony. She was a purple winged unicorn with a long dark purple mane with a little streak of pink on the side and matching purple eyes. Her cutie mark was a magenta star of six points that was surrounded by five smaller white stars. He stared at her wings, which looked realistically like a pegasus, and then at her horn. She was probably a big shot unicorn who used a spell to give herself decent wings. How else was a unicorn going to obtain such beautiful yet realistic wings like that? He felt her strong magic power through the aura around his body and the aura that was surrounding her horn. Who is this mare? Is she friends with those other five? Is she their leader? How strong is she? What kind of spell did she use to get those wings? Not even i could make myself wings like that. Something tells me I'm about to have a bad time. “You are not going to leave Canterlot that easily,” she said. “You have a lot of questions to answer to me.”