//------------------------------// // Part 2: Colts in civilization // Story: The Equestrian Takeover // by Fariz 'TheWaVe' Amir //------------------------------// The Equestrian Takeover Part 2: Colts in civilization Written by Fariz 'The WaVe' Amir Chapter 5: New colts in Canterlot CloudWork opened his eyes to see that he was out of the forestland. This time, completely. No trees, no mountains, no grass. He was even looking at a ceiling. He also noticed he was on a bed. An actual, soft bed! He rolled off the bed and saw the room he was in. Elaborate, royal looking designs lined the room. The White tiled floor paired a gold painted wall. Opening the window of the room, CloudWork was awestruck at what he saw. More ponies crowded the streets. All of them, unique with different colored manes and coats. In the distance, more buildings towered, it made CloudWork Disbelieve that this was the same world that he was just in last night. From a Nature nightmare to this metropolis. A sign across the street, said: Welcome to Canterlot, Capital of Equestria! Visit our famous doughnut stores today! Behind him, the door opened and a pony slowly walked in. she said, “Oh, you're awake. Here, come with me. Princess Celestia will see you know” CloudWork followed closely behind her and asked, “Umm, Who's Celestia?” She turned her head around with her mouth open with a few other ponies and colts around gasping to what CloudWork just said. “Princess Celestia is our dear ruler. She rules this land: Equestria. How can you not know that? Where are you even from?” CloudWork, still surprised from the reactions he got, replied, “Well, I’ll be honest, even I have no idea. Let's just see this Princess, okay?” The pony led him to a room a large hall that also had a massive Gate decorated with pictures of the sun and the moon. Hank Sat next to that Gate on a small couch. Hank flashed a quick, sheepy smile as the pony told them to stay quiet. An awkward silence took over, but neither of them didn't seem to mind. They were to busy analyzing the place they were in. The hall boasted another massive gate at the other far end of the hall. Towering pillars with spiraling décor were paired with potted ferns around them. Ponies and other colts walked around chatting with each other as others were rushing here and there. It almost seemed as though they didn’t notice the tall window panes showing the outside. The hall seemed to have four main features; the huge sealed gateway beside CloudWork and Hank, the large doorway opposite them, two redirecting hallways leading to other parts of the building, and a giant, gold and silver statue. It featured a Unicorn Standing on its hind legs, with its head tilted towards the ceiling; its horn seemed to be glowing light blue. Beside it, a regular pony stood firm, its front right hoof up; it looked towards the Open doorway. Behind the two, A Pegasus colt was lifted slightly, supported by its tail; His Wings spread open and his head looking towards the ceiling. As CloudWork admired the statue, a stallion wearing gold approached the gateway beside them. He stomped on a button nearby and Gears began to work. At the bottom, the floor folded away briefly, Gears on the side of the gate slowly creaked the gates open. A bright light Flooded down on the gold-plated stallion. He then turned and said to CloudWork and Hank; “Princess Celestia would like to see you now. You two may enter.” And enter they did. Chapter 6: Royal welcoming CloudWork stepped in first and was surprised to see a wonderful sight. Hank stepped in and was glaring at the ground. “Can somepony please turn down that light?” Hank complained. “Um, Hank, Just... open your eyes... Now.” CloudWork said, His eyes wide open from what he saw. “Pfft, No way!” CloudWork, still staring, grabbed the top of Hank's head and forced it up. Hank at first complained again, but he began to see why CloudWork was so excited about it. A tall mare with a beautiful, flowing mane stood at the top of a pedestal. She was wearing a gold Barrel plate, encrusted with emeralds and Sapphires. Her wings were folded, but still showed a picture on her flank. A small Sun. What really got their attention was that she also had a majestic horn atop her head. Behind that, a golden tiara was showed off. Cloudwork's and Hank's Eyes widened as they began to understand they were with Royalty. “Gentlecolts, I am Princess Celestia. Ruler of this fine land; Equestria. And who, may I ask, are you two?” The Tall mare said from the pedestal. “Umm...I am CloudWork. This is my friend, Hank” CloudWork said out loud, trying to sound as masculine as possible while he did. “Yeah... Er, hi...” Hank replied lightly. “Well, Hello, CloudWork and Hank of..?” Princess Celestia asked once again. “Uh... I would answer that if I could, Princess,” CloudWork answered, cocking his head to the side. Celestia leaped from the pedestal, landed right in front of the two. “Hmm... you, CloudWork, look a bit like a Manehattan-nite. Are you?” Celestia asked. CloudWork shook his head. “And you, Hank?” Celestia asked once more. Hank shook his head too. “Very well, then. In that case, how did you two wind up in the Everfree Outskirts, where my guards found you?” CloudWork, now seeming confident with the Princess, replied, “I'll be honest, Princess. All I remember is a big, silver oval that I stumbled out of. Then, I knew I could fly, met Hank here, and then, a lion-scorpion thing, now I'm here. That’s... about it, actually” “You seem like a noble colt, CloudWork. I will take your word for this. In the meantime, I presume you both do not have a place to stay?” The two of them shook heads. “Right. Of course. For now, well... It would be better if you stayed in the Castle. No offense, but you two did pop out from nowhere. Furthermore, it was from the Everfree!” “No problem, Princess. We understand.” CloudWork said, trying to be as noble as he could again. “Well, in that case... You two will be on your way to Ponyville now,” Celestia said happily with a wink. “But... Why?” Hank asked, puzzled. “Because, understanding is a key principle of a good colt. You two seem good enough to be in a town, right?” Celestia said, bowing down slightly. CloudWork and Hank nodded, happy that they have been accepted in the eyes of royalty. They smiled at each other and thanked the Princess. “Twilight! Come over here, I have a task for you,” Princess Celestia called into a distant hallway. “Coming..!” A distant reply was heard. When a pony opened the door, Cloudwork's eyes widened once more. Chapter 7: Trip to Ponyville: The Express way. A light purple pony stepped out of the hallway door. She was a unicorn with a flinched mane on her face. The rest of her mane curled halfway round her neck. She spotted a white and pink 6-point star on her flank. “Yes, Princess Celestia?” She said. Music to Cloudwork's ears. “Ah, Twilight... I hope I am not intruding on any of your studies, but I was wondering if you could help these two gentlecolts ease into Ponyville,” asked Princess Celestia. Twilight looked over Celestia's shoulders to get a glimpse of CloudWork and Hank. “Why, sure! I mean, why not? But... I don't think I've seen these colts before...” replied the now curious Twilight. “Their arrival... well, let us just say that they are...’new' to the kingdom,” Celestia answered. “Well, okay then! I'll get the Chariot Riders, okay, Princess Celestia?” Twilight replied. With a nod, Celestia agreed to Twilight's idea. Celestia's horn gave a faint pink glow and a pair of Silver armored Stallion pegasi flew into the room carrying a Royal looking open carriage. Twilight signaled to CloudWork and Hank to get in, which they did. Hank turned and looked at Celestia saying, “take care, have a safe flight!” “Okay you two, hold on!” Twilight shouted while she gripped the handlebar in front of her. CloudWork, who was beside her, did the same. “Pfft... why? Its not gonna b- WHAAAA!!” Hank cried as the pegasi Sped off out of the castle and into the Canterlot skies. As Hank struggled in the Back of the chariot trying to get a proper hold, CloudWork was mesmerized by the sights. He could see multiple cities in the distance. All of them very much like Canterlot below them. His mane flowing in the wind and his face washing in the coming winds. His fascination was then blocked for a moment when Twilight's voice came out. “Well, I guess we should properly introduce ourselves. Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle, proud student of Princess Celestia. What's your name?” she gleefully asked CloudWork, who's face was beginning to redden at the sight of Twilight's warm smile. Hank was still struggling behind them. “Well, I am CloudWork. And this is my friend, Hank. We both met when we somehow ended up in the Everfree Outskirts. Sorry, not much of an intro, I know,” Replied CloudWork, who was now comfortable at speaking next to somepony whom he thought, was an angel. “Oh, probably that's why I never recognized you two.” Twilight Continued. “But, how did you end up here?” “I'll be honest, all I remember was a giant silver oval that I ran out of,” CloudWork answered. “Oh... I guess I get it...” Twilight said. “How about you, Hank-” Hank's little activity (Gaping his mouth open, trying to gather wind and flailing his arms around in excitement) was quickly stopped when Twilight and CloudWork Looked back at him. Hank blushed a little and asked, “Umm... yes..? How may I help you two?” while darting his eyes from CloudWork to Twilight. “Umm you know what? Never mind! We are going to reach our destination anyway!” Twilight exclaimed. She pointed a hoof to her right, and true to her word, she was pointing at a small town with a sparse forest around it. “CloudWork and Hank, Welcome to Ponyville!” Chapter 8: A warm welcome As the pegasi lowered down to the ground of a large town square, other ponies began to look at the carriage. Twilight thanked the pegasi pair and they flew back off to Canterlot while CloudWork and Hank looked around. Not as complex and sophisticated as Canterlot, but they liked it! The town had a cozy atmosphere to it. “Well, this is Ponyville... Our first 'destination' huh, Cloud?” Hank joked. “Haha, I know right? Can’t believe we're actually here. Longer than planned, but... What the heck!” CloudWork exclaimed. Soon, Twilight called out to somepony in the distance. “AppleJack! Come over here!” A light orange pony wearing a rather large hat looked over to Twilight and came towards her “Well, howdy there Twilight! Who're your friends there? Never seen em' before..! Hey there, boys! I'm Applejack. Pleasure meetin' yall!” AppleJack said with a western accent. Hank smiled as CloudWork introduced him. “Well, Hey there, AppleJack! Pleasure meeting you too! I'm CloudWork, and there's my friend Hank over there... Erm... Oh, there!” CloudWork pointed to Hank, who wandered off to munch on an apple that he got in a barrel nearby. “Erm...*munch-Munch* yeah... Hey..!”Hank said while munching on apple flesh. “Oh, fancy apples do ya?” AppleJack asked Hank. Still munching, Hank nodded his head really quickly. “Well, why don't you two head on over to Sweet Apple Acres? We happen to have a few barrels extra! You don't mind do ya, Twi?” AppleJack Offered, happily. “Well, it is still quite early... Okay then! Ooh, just let me grab Spike from the Library, he has to be starving! I'll meet you guys at the farm!” Twilight exclaimed. AppleJack nodded in agreement as Twilight Turned and headed down the street. “Well, come on, you two! Let’s get our move on!” AppleJack Called from up street. Hank popped his head out of the barrel and galloped towards her. CloudWork followed from behind, “Sweet Apple Acres, here we come!” On the way there, CloudWork noticed the lifestyle of Ponyville. Casual, maybe a little bit laidback, but really cozy. He loved the atmosphere; other ponies raised a hoof and a smile to greet him and Hank, showing their friendly sides to everypony everywhere! He loved it. The houses were sitting cozily next to each other, a very nice balance of nature and buildings. CloudWork also soon noticed a weird lack of other colts like him and Hank… Weird. He knew that wherever Princess Celestia told them to stay in, He really wanted it to be nearby. Maybe it was a little bit… Girly to his taste, but maybe his place could be more customized! Soon enough, they arrived at the Acres. CloudWork and Hank met Hank Met Big Macintosh, AppleJack’s Big brother; He was the first stallion in Ponyville they met. He was really a stallion of few words. AppleBloom, her little sister and Granny Smith made them really feel welcome by offering them some apple pie! After a little chat with them, Hank Barraged right into some Apple-filled barrels to start munching away. CloudWork soon joined Hank in his apple eating, after more talking with AppleJack. While eating in the massive mess of barrels, they didn’t notice Twilight come back with a little purple and green dragon, along with another one of her friends. CloudWork stopped after he noticed them trotting towards a table nearby. Apparently this pony was quite alike to CloudWork. She was blue, only more obvious… and she had wings! Chapter 9: So Much Speed, So many Ponies, So little Time… “Haha, I see you and Hank are having a great time!” Twilight said, smiling at CloudWork. He secretly embraced those words while he replied,” Well of course! Sweet Apple Acres have the best Apples I’ve ever tasted!” The Blue Pegasus turned towards him and said,” Well, You must be the ‘mysterious-Pegasus’ Twilight has been talking about just now! Name’s Rainbow Dash, The greatest flyer in Equestria!” CloudWork Replied, “Well, Rainbow, I’m CloudWork! Pleasure meeting ya!” A small, purple and green dragon called to CloudWork, “Hey! I’m Spike, Twilight’s faithful assistant! Good to see another guy around here, it’s about time!” “Heya Spike! Name’s CloudWork, don’t worry, I’m probably gonna hang out with you... Erm… Ponies a lot! Can’t wait to get to get to know you better, Spike!” CloudWork Replied as he noticed a few other ponies coming from behind AppleJack’s barn. They all quickly noticed CloudWork and began asking him where he was from. CloudWork also began getting nervous and started to hope that Hank would get out of the barrel he was in! But he managed to get to know the ponies anyway. There was Rarity, another Unicorn with a really awesome hair- umm… mane-do? She apparently owned the local dress store. Pretty cool for a boutique in a little town, CloudWork thought… Soon afterwards, he met Fluttershy. A Pegasus just like he and Rainbow Dash, But way different. She was a very shy type, which Rarity quickly told him, but he already figured that from her name… She lived in a cottage a little distance from town, and took care of a huge variety of Woodland creatures. Fluttershy managed to get comfortable with CloudWork after a while after his fascination of animals got her attention. Last, but most definitely not least, he met Pinkie Pie. A very exciting and hyper pony, she was! She was talking about how weird CloudWork happened to pop up and that he was a Pegasus. CloudWork knew she was the type of Pony who just loved Partying. He was obviously right. Pinkie came with a basket containing cupcakes and balloons, celebrating CloudWork’s arrival to Ponyville. Soon, she raised an interesting proposition. “What? No way, Pinkie! I’m not racing this Colt!” Rainbow Dash snapped. “Oh, come on, Dashie!” CloudWork Giggled at the nickname, “It would be fun!” “Actually, I kinda like that idea, come on, Rainbow!” Twilight Chipped in to Pinkie Pie. “Well, I must admit, I’m with Pinkie!” Exclaimed Rarity. CloudWork soon said, “Well, come on, Rainbow Dash, Let’s have a go! You did say you were ‘The Best Flyer of Equestria!’ Let’s just have a go!” Suddenly changing her mind, Rainbow Dash said, “Well, would be fun, anyways… You’re on, CloudWork! But don’t say I didn’t warn you!” “Alrighty then! Here’s the plan, From the Barn, to the ends of the Farm, and back. Basically, a huge triangle over the acres!” Declared AppleJack. Rainbow Dash and CloudWork shook hooves in agreement and took their positions and unfolded their wings. Instantly Everypony began looking at CloudWork’s distinctive Three-pronged Wing, Towering and poised to thrust him off. Rainbow noticed it too and began thinking about the wings. They seemed powerful, but were probably slow because of their size, anyway, she thought. Moments later, Pinkie Pie signaled the start and the Pegasi were off! CloudWork Immediately took first place as his wings propelled him forward. Rainbow Dash began frantically chasing him. CloudWork told himself not to be too overconfident, but Rainbow Dash immediately overtook him. Literally, She just glided over him. CloudWork’s wings began to flap a bit more smoother with each speeding minute. The first turn was coming up fast and Rainbow Dash was holding the lead pretty good. CloudWork began gaining altitude for a better chance at overtaking Rainbow Dash. The turn came up and Rainbow Flawlessly did a near 90- degree turn, leaving CloudWork behind in a rainbow-coloured trail. But CloudWork had his own cunning plan. He just needed more height. Back at the barn, Twilight was asking everypony what they thought CloudWork’s Plan was, He seemed to be dragging behind more and more. Rainbow Dash Spun to her back and began poking fun at CloudWork. “Watcha doin’? You know, to WIN, you’re supposed to be in front of me? Not ABOVE me, you know?” “Heh, I know exactly how to win, Rainbow, You’ll just see, soon enough!” CloudWork Shouted as he Soared into the clouds, out of sight. Rainbow Dash Decided to focus more and sped towards the second turning point, taking her time, but keeping her speed high and constant. It was a very quiet but fast trip, and Rainbow Dash Turned into the final Stretch to the finish line. Everypony at the Barn began scanning the skies for CloudWork when Rainbow Dash hit the half-way mark of the stretch. At that second, Hank Emerged from the now empty apple barrels and Shouted: “FLIGHT-NING CLOUDWORK!! YEAH!!” As Everypony turned in shock, a loud boom rocketed from the skies as Clouds were vaporized from sight and A massive shockwave of lightning pulsed through the skies. Rainbow Dash, along with everypony else was hypnotized by CloudWork’s Ability while Hank was cheering and screaming from where he was. Funnels of energy pulsed from behind CloudWork as he Rocketed past Rainbow Dash and flooded the air around him with pulses of electricity and strong yellow light. He began soaring to the ground to show off a little bit more. He crossed the finished line and made gusts of strong winds that tossed dirt and benches around. He immediately climbed back up to let the energy escape from him and to begin losing speed. The energy funnels spread from where CloudWork left them, charging the air all around it. Rainbow Dash slowly trailed back to the barn to meet the rest and instantly exclaimed, “CloudWork! That was the most Awesome thing I’ve ever seen a Pegasus do! What do you call that Move there?!” “Flight-Ning, My own Trademark! It’s my specialty!” CloudWork exclaimed, Beaming with pride. Hours Passed while everypony talked and ate Apple crumble. Hank introduced himself and They became closer and closer as friends. In due time though, they would be putting it to the greatest test known to Equestria.