//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: One Tiny Drop // Story: The Elements in Harmony // by No One and Nobody //------------------------------// Chapter 3: One Tiny Drop It all began with a single drop. Falling… Falling… Never losing shape… Never losing sight of the inevitable destination. Then, Destination-Destiny-Home-Expanding-Exploding. Name… Was it Lucas? Was that who I was or who I am? Was I? Am I now? Beginning… Learning… Changing… Growing… Living……… I am Lucas. And I really have to go to the bathroom. He looked around, or rather went around. He didn’t so much see as feel. I’m not home that’s for sure. I wonder where I am. Water. He was underwater. I can feel it all around me. In me. Of me. The water, I am… the water. With this conclusion Lucas felt a measure of relief, which was immediately followed by confusion. Since when have I been water? I was human, right? He thought back as far as he could remember. Last night. He had been doing something. Studying? No I don’t study… That much. Before he could think about it anymore he felt something below him, and the next thing he knew there was a large SLURP! and everything around him went dark and slimy. Tube-Pipe-Conduit… Ergh-Butterfly Valve! What am I Johnny freakin' 5? As Lucas passed through the valve and into calm water again he could feel a definite difference to where he was last. It was much brighter here. Brighter, cleaner, louder- ok enough of the narration. I understand I have a vocabulary… And now I’m going to use it. Lucas opened his mouth and yelled out into the surrounding water, “WHAT THE *%$!?” “Language!” said someone behind him and he turned to see something pink leave back through the surface of the water. He darted over to it. But even though it was obviously the surface of a body of water. It didn’t feel any different than sitting on top of a pane of frosted glass. He couldn’t see anything but blurry multicolored shapes beyond the surface. “HELLO!” he yelled, “WHO’S THERE?” He sank into the water until he hit the bottom. Concrete-Stone... He darted around and discovered, to his horror, that he was stuck. I’m trapped inside of a… A FOUNTAIN!? Something grabbed his foot and he was sucked into another pipe once again. As he traveled up the pipe Lucas could feel the pressure building until at last he reached the top and with a small explosion he found himself up in the open air. His mind was assaulted with a barrage of sounds, smells, and bright, blurry images which sparkled and danced in front of him for a second before it all ended and he was once again in the bottom basin of the fountain. What the … What did I just see? He could remember bright happy sounds. Laughter, talking, definitely English. The voices were almost like music, and the images that he could remember were like a kaleidoscope of the inside of a rainbow. Rainbow… Rainbow-20%-Dash-Ponies… He made the connections in a flash and suddenly he knew, or thought he knew, where he was. I’m stuck in a world of pastel-colored ponies. When I told my pal William I was going to give the show a try, I didn’t mean anything like this… Lucas lay against the side of the fountain thinking, and listening. “So then I said ‘Monsters?’ like that’s anything new.” “You mean she was scared?” “Never been to Ponyville before if you ask me. I told her we get a couple every month or so. She thought I was joking…” Lucas listened to the conversation as best he could before the two ponies were gone. “-And before the cockatrice could get us it came out of nowhere.” “The size of a house-” “And really scary.” “Thank you girls. I guess I’ll have to look into that monster location spell I discovered last Tuesday. I sure hope Fluttershy’s free today if we’re going to go vanquish some more…” Lucas moved over to the other side of the fountain as two ponies stopped and actually started to argue. “-Too much to ask that when you finish the milk you go get some more? I take out the trash, do the laundry, and clean the entire house.” “Heh, I don’t know why; it’s fine as it is.” “It’s a mess and you know it.” “Four subwoofers, some left over glow-sticks, a couple slices of pizza, my old cannon and you say it’s a mess.” “Yes. Unlike some ponies, I have standards.” “This isn’t still about the dishwasher is it?” “Hmmf! It has nothing to do with the dishwasher.” Lucas listened as the first pony walked (or would that be trotted off) and the second said to herself, “Totally about the dishwasher. Wub a dub dub,” and trot off after her friend. Sure doesn’t sound like a kid’s show. “Some extra fabric, more jewels, some ribbons… Oh this dress is going to be simply divine!” Then again… “Oh hello Twilight. You’re looking smashing today.” “Speaking of smashing, do you have any time today? The girls saw some kind of monster in the Everfree and after I get a spell or two I was going to go round up our friends so we could go vanquish it.” “Oh darling, whenever I turn around it seems there’s some new villain looking to take over Equestria. Don’t worry though, Dashie might be the element of Loyalty but, no matter what, I’ll always find the time to lend a helping hoof as it were.” Who are these ponies, Spartans? “Well see you later for some Friendship Magic. I’m off to fix my hair so it looks perfect when we zap the ruffian.” “Goodbye most magnificent one,” said a smaller voice after the other pony had left. “Let’s get going lover-boy. You can help Rarity after I locate that spell-book and we put a stop to this monster.” The two other ponies (at least he thought they were ponies) walked off and Lucas was left alone again for a while. If the show is anything like this, I’m definitely going to give it a look if I ever get home. “HHEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!” yelled someone as they dashed past the fountain. There was silence for a few seconds and then… “THIS WWAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!” and the pony dashed by the other way with more ponies in tow. I wonder what that was all about. Thomas had been talking to Maud for a couple of minutes now and he was no longer worried about being pulverized. Maud was actually doing the majority of the talking since Thomas could only write very short words or phrases in the dust. “So where did you come from?” ? “You don’t know?” YES Maud was quiet for a second, then, “Have you always been a rock?” NO. WHY? “It’s just you don’t seem very rock-like to me.” If anyon-anypony knew rocks, it figures it would be Maud. “What were you before you became a rock?” Don’t mention Bronies. In fact, don’t even mention humans at all… NOT PONY “Griffon?” … “Yak?” … “Minotaur?” … “What then?” I'm amazed by how calm she is. Twilight Sparkle would probably be four different kinds of crazy right now, talking to an alien creature like me. But Maud's treating me like I'm no different than any other pony she might meet. Actually she’s probably being nicer to me since I’m a rock. He didn’t answer the question and Maud was forced to ask him something else. “Why are you out here?” HIDING “From what?” RAINBOW SMASH He slammed his right fist into his left hand to emphasize the point. “But you’re a rock.” RAINBOW DANGEROUS! Since he had been standing still for a little while, Thomas was finally able to make out a little more of Maud. It helped that she was so strongly rooted in the earth. As he expected her face was as blank as ever. Her heartbeat was like the rhythm of a metronome. “If you come with me I’ll introduce you to my sister, and keep you safe from Rainbow.” If anypony could protect me from Rainbow it was Maud. THANK YOU We headed off towards what I guessed was Ponyville. I can’t wait to meet the Mane Six. This is going to be so awesome!!! Pinkie had spent most of her day showing her sister Maud around Ponyville. Sure she had seen it all last time she visited but why wouldn’t she want to see it again. Maud was, after all, a very kind loving sister who adored making new friends. How come none of the other ponies in Ponyville seemed to see that? Pinkie stopped by the fountain in the middle of Ponyville to keep the story moving in the correct direction and then did an about face to go see how her sister was doing. Last she had checked Maud said she wanted to be alone for a little while. Pinkie understood this and let her wander into the Everfree; there wasn’t anything in there that could hurt her big sister anyway. But now Pinkie decided that her sister had been alone long enough. There were ponies to meet, places to see, rock candy to eat, and so many other delightfully wonderful things which would make an incredible story. Too bad he was probably going to skip it all. Like that... Pinkie hopped through the forest. Normally she would be calling out for any of her friends, but Maud was her sister and she wasn’t overly fond of Pinkie’s faux pas. As Pinkie rounded a large tree she froze in mid-air. Her sister was talking to the big monster. That means that she had solved the mystery. Oh yay! Now I can go tell my friends, and then we can throw a Sherlock Maud party for best mystery solving, or maybe a Scooby-dooby-Maud party for best monster-finding, or maybe… Her mind trailed off as she darted back towards Ponyville to tell her friends the good news.