The facility proved to be an even bigger labyrinth then the one in the royal garden. At first, it was only the one corridor they started at, but then the first junction came. Unable to decide which way to go, they picked the right one to follow the golden rule of escaping a labyrinth. Always pick one side and follow it till the end. But as they kept walking, even more junctions came, some went left and right, some in front and left or right or all three ways together. It became clear that this way of going would only lead them back where they came from just because there was no way to identify each junction. All the doors they passed had the same design as first two they found, while the one that could be opened to both sides was only rarely used, and that didn’t help at all. Even the walls had the same pattern and a metallic looking color. And so they went to the last room they had passed and did a thorough search, but now looking for something specific. The last few rooms they passed on their way here were all unlocked, and all of them were empty as well. How could such a huge facility, with so many laboratories have no one doing anything there? No researchers, no engineers or technicians, not a single soul. Also, the rooms they explored were fully equipped for whatever they were used for, or would be used for if anyone was there. Besides the first room with the screens and the laboratory, they found something that looked like a chemical lab, with all the chemical glasses, burners and chemicals themselves, another room with screens, which was smaller than the first one and without a printer. The next two ones were double rooms with a window separating them, one side having a few chairs and the other one surgical equipment and tables. They also found one room which was completely empty.
The room they were now searching was the monitor’s one. At first it seemed like they would have to go even further to find what they needed but luckily, they didn’t need to.
“Got one.” Spike said raising his arm. In it, he was holding a bright orange marker. “There are some more here as well. Should I take them all?” he asked while handing the marker to Twilight.
“This one’s great. Good job Spike. And I think it might be a good idea for everyone to have one. Just in case.” she said and helped Spike give each of them a marker with a bright color. They were really lucky with their find. The metallic walls and doors were too dark for any pencils or pens, and finding crayons here would be impossible. These markers on the other hand, had colors which would show on most of the surfaces here, if not wiped off. And since they haven’t met a single other person here, there was little possibilities for that to happen.
Continuing their search, now also marking their path, they continued to take the right turn on each junction, but still no people or rooms with something important for them.
“Argh! This is taking too long. I wish I had my flying back. I would just zip through the rooms and come back if I found something.” Dash said with a frown. She had been trying to get her flying back ever since she found out she was able to float a bit. She made some progress, but even with trying, she wasn’t able to float more than a few centimeters higher.
“And what would you do if you met someone? What if you got lost, or something happened to you? We’re not as fast as you.” Twilight scolded her. Dash was the only one with part of her abilities back, if you don’t count Pinkies jumping around as an ability, and that gave the other girls hope their powers would be back sooner or later. Twilight was just glad that Dash didn’t have her flight fully back yet. Holding her down and calm would prove to be a challenge without magic.
“I would just fly away? You know I’m the faster flyer ever, don’t you?” replied Dash with pride in her voice
“Well now you’re not sugarcube, so stick with us for now ok?” AJ joined in
Dash didn’t reply to that. She just floated next to them as they continued.
After the next junction, where once again they took the right path, the corridor seemed to become endless. There were no rooms on either side of the wall, which made Twilight wonder a bit. How could humans build such a huge facility underground, or at least she thought they were underground since there weren’t any windows anywhere, and without magic at that. But she had time to think about that later on because now interest shifted at what was in front of them.
All seven of them now stood at the end of the corridor. Before them stood a massive double door, not unlike those before, but this one seemed to be even sturdier then those before. AJ and Dash didn’t wait for any orders. Both grabbed a handle on both sides and pushed. Nothing... The door didn’t even move an inch. They tried again but with no success. The door was either too heavy for both of them or was somehow barred. Breaking it down wasn’t even suggested this time. What was behind the doors that needed so much protection?
“What about this?” asked Pinkie and pointed at something none of them noticed before. It was a small black box, approximately in the middle of the wall right next to the doors. Its colors were hiding it well and it didn’t seem to have any buttons on it. Only one thin part of it was missing, going from top to bottom.
“What do you think it is?” asked Pinkie excitedly
“I have no idea.” replied Twilight while checking the box out
“Try the card.” said Fluttershy from the back so quietly she was almost overheard
“You mean this card?” asked Twilight while taking the card Spike took from the man before “How?” she asked with confusion
“Let me show you.” Fluttershy said, taking the card from her and then swiping her through the part that was missing. The box beeped silently and then a unlocking sound could be heard from the doors.
“How did you know that?” asked Twilight, now with even more confusion in her voice
“I’ve seen something similar in one of the hospitals I once went to. It looked differently but I thought it might have been the same.” she explained
“Good work darling.” Rarity praised her
“Thanks.” she replied, now a bit louder
AJ and Dash took the handles just as before and pushed again. Now the door flung open with ease. But what they were now looking at was something none of them could explain or understand. Just outside the now opened doors was a thin passageway going to the right, as well as left, but it wasn’t a corridor. On the other side of the path was now a railing instead of a wall, and behind was a huge room spreading into every side, horizontally as well as vertically with none of the ends visible. Only the wall on the opposite side of them could be seen, as it was glowing in a bright green color. There were also numerous rails going from side to side, which after closer inspection seemed to be moving the green lights from place to place.
All seven of them stepped into the room, with Dash and AJ going right up to the railing, with the rest following them only for Rarity to take a step back once she looked what was below. Just as the ends on both sides couldn’t be seen, neither could be the bottom.
“Whoa. This place is huuuge.” said Dash
“What is this place?” asked Rarity while looking around and squeezing the wall. None of them knew, but soon they would find out.
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With the help of their guide, they arrived not longer than half an hour later at the castle. Not that they wouldn’t have found it without him. The path they were taking was the one the guide led them on the whole way, not once changing paths on any of the junctions. This little detail didn’t bother them at all. It just proved Boss to be right once again. But what they were led to, they just didn’t anticipate. In front was the castle they were looking for. They knew that from looking at it, but its condition was horrid. They thought that the castle would be only damaged a little, or not at all since every structure like this was built to withstand a lot, and in a magical land even more, but this?
The castle stood on a patch of land, floating in the middle of deep pit, which was half full with the green ooze they saw in the forest before. They could clearly see the castle move slowly up and down, which either meant that it was floating on the ooze, or was held up by magic. Either was possible. The draw bridge was long and wide enough to support at least one wagon with an escort on its sides, but that would be hardly possible now. The bridge had no chains, which would keep it from falling or drawing the bridge up. Also, parts of the bridge were missing or were broken, making it look extremely unstable. The castle itself was in the worst condition. Made from a dark grayish stone, the structure stood tall on the land with two towers on each side. The wall itself was build from one tower to the other, making the castle walls spherical. The damage the castle has received made the magnificent structure look even older that it probably was, and also, as if it was besieged by an huge army with either explosives or catapults. Parts of the wall were missing completely, holes could be seen everywhere, some only a few centimeters small, others big enough for a human to stand in. The top of the wall closer to the left tower had a part missing, which looked as if something had bitten it off. The towers weren’t spared from the holes either. While the left one had a chunk missing right in the middle, the other one was missing its roof.
Upon entering of the castle grounds, the four could see the damage better. The houses that were scattered asymmetrically and at random were also damaged. While still standing, most of them didn’t have any doors, parts of their roofs, or any roof at all. The few stores they saw had basically no merchandise. This made the four wonder, what they have gotten themselves into. Everything looked as if it was just waiting for the last push to fall apart completely, yet still, something was odd. The changelings that were living here seemed as if they didn’t mind at all. Could have been by the fact that seeing any emotion in their faces was almost impossible, but still the feeling lingered in the air. Not even the presence of four strangers would cause a reaction, just as if it was all normal for them.
They moved between houses, following their guide who was making sure they wouldn’t get lost. After a while in the house labyrinth, they arrived at the only building in the castle grounds that wasn’t missing anything. It still looked ragged and unclean, but it had a door and a roof, even windows and a chimney. Clearly a house of someone important.
Upon entering they realized that not everything was as it seemed from outside. What looked like a simple house from outside was a huge hall on the inside. Tall black pillars were supporting the ceiling, the floor was covered in black and gray tiles clean enough to reflect an image of the one looking into them, the wall were not decorated by various dark colored fabrics, paintings as well as suits of armor, which weren’t meant for ponies, nor any creature the four could identify.
At the end of the long hall was a throne with a dark purple carpet leading right to it. Behind it was a huge glass mosaic depicting a once green forest with a black sun and its dark rays in one corner, and the yellow sun in the other? And on the throne sat the person they were looking for.
“Wait here!” the guide ordered them and then walked towards his queen. Once he was close enough to her he bowed down and said
“My Queen. I bring you the intruders.” he then waited for his queen to nod in approval and then walked back to them
“You may approach her.” he informed them and proceeded to stand by a nearby pillar
As they started walking towards the queen, who was now watching them from her throne, they once again noticed the buzzing sound, but this time they knew who made it. At first they didn’t see anything until they realized that the ceiling was even darker then before. And then it hit them. The whole ceiling was covered in changelings, all of them watching them to make sure they wouldn’t try anything. Boss led the way, just as before, and once he was as close as their guide was he kneeled before the queen and so did the others.
“My queen, me and my companions are grateful that you had accepted us into your castle.” he then looked her straight in the eye and waited. To his surprise, she smiled.
“Stand up! And don’t lie to me again, or you’ll ruin my mood. I can see through you so before we get to business, since that’s why you’re here, why don’t you tell me the truth. And nicely from the beginning.” as she finished, she straightened up in her throne, making her look even more terrifying and dominant. Boss swallowed. He knew he had to tell truth once, and he was ready for it.
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“So you crashed and lost you memory? How unlucky can a pony get?” asked Big Mac
“Tell me about it…” Mark replied while sipping his cider “At least I didn’t loose all my memory. I still recall bits and pieces, like my name for example.”
“You’ll get your memory back eventually. No need to worry.” Marksman assured him
“Well see.” Mark replied
It has been two days now that they were working with Big Mac in the orchard. The work was hard, even more for someone who was just getting used to his new body, but it came with a feeling of satisfaction which he just couldn’t understand. But that wasn’t the only thing that he had to get used to. This whole world was different and discovering it whole would take him more than what time he had spent here. Working for almost the whole day didn’t help either. They both woke up early in the morning, Marksman being always the first one, and went to the orchard while the sun was still slowly rising. Most of the day consisted of preparations for the applebuck season that was nearing and of some training for the two, so they knew how to actually buck the apples down. Those that went by the orchard were looking really confused when they saw a green pegasus, one who they never saw in Ponyville before, learn how to buck apples, but Mark didn’t mind. He still wasn’t able to fly so getting a job as a weather pony was out of options for now. The day before they ended working late in the evening, while the sun was already setting, just because they were still getting something done and they could end sooner the next day. And since today went without a problem too, Big Macintosh decided to invite the two new ponies for a drink.
“So Mac, tell me…” Mark said “What do you think about me not having a cutie mark?”
“Well…” Big Mac started but he was interrupted
“I’m just asking because this guy totally freaked out.” he said with a smile and pointed at Marksman
“No I didn’t…” Marksman replied and quickly took a sip from his drink, blushing mildly
“I find it weird that a pony as old as ya are doesn’t have one. But I’m not one to judge… Ya just need to find that one talent that yer better at the rest.”
Mark nodded, accepting his answer. He knew Mac noticed it while they were working but never heard any comment about it, nor did he see a reaction on the stallions face. He just hoped that there would be more ponies like he was, because one day he would walk in Ponyville during daylight, and he didn’t want to become the center of attention.
“Maybe ya’ll get your cutie mark during the applebuck season.” said Marksman, no longer blushing
“Who knows? I never did it before so I anything can happen.” he replied, thinking about it. He definitely needs a cutie mark if he wants to stay here without an incident, but in what? On earth, he was just a normal guy who did what he was told to, and following someone’s orders isn’t a talent at all.
“What about Applejack?” he asked after he remembered that she and all her friends have been gone “Heard anything about them?”
“Not yet. I just hope shes ok.” Mac replied with a sad look on his face.
“Now you’ve done it Marky. You made him sad.” was the only thing that was now in Mark’s mind
“Don’t worry, mate. How many were they? Seven? And they already did some dangerous stuff if I heard correctly, so they’re probably just somewhere without post or somethin’.”
This lame attempt of cheering someone up would normally not work, but for Mac it did. He smiled and the sadness was completely gone.
“You’re right. Lets have a drink on them, so they’ll be safe and successful in whatever they were doing.” he said and raised his glass, and so did the other two. After finishing their glasses they started looking at each other with a serious expression on their faces, only to burst into laughter after a few seconds. Maybe it was from the situation, or from the cider that was really well made, but Mark knew one thing. He had found another friend.
Time flies by really fast when you’re having fun with friends. The three didn’t even notice that the sun was long gone, and now the moon was ruling the sky. Not even the bar getting emptier stopped them from having a good time. What brought them to a halt was something they totally forgot and that was the fact that Big Macs wallet wasn’t bottomless. Since the two haven’t been paid yet, and this was Big Macs idea, he was the one leaving with the lighter pockets. But he didn’t mind. Mac knew this would happen that’s why he only brought so much and once they got their paycheck, they would be the one inviting him. That’s what friends are here for, aren’t they?
Once the tab was paid, and the bar behind them closed, the three split to go home.
Another peaceful night, another sunny morning. Just as the days before Marksman was up early, making breakfast. How he was able to wake up so early Mark had no idea, but at least he had breakfast ready when he came down. “This would be a day like before.” he thought while eating, but he was wrong.
“You want me to do what?” Mark asked confused
“Fly up to the barn roof and fix that wheel. You just need to tighten the screw, that’s all.” Big Mac explained to him once again
“Uhmm….Well….That could be a problem.”
“How could flying be a problem for a pegasus?” now Mac was the one being confused
“You know how I told you I lost my memory right? Well I also forgot how to fly.” Mark lied while trying to look as ashamed as he could muster. The truth was that he just didn’t have the time to even try it, mostly because he thought he had all the time he needed.
Mac just looked at him, not knowing how to react to this. After a while, most likely after thinking this through, he said.
“Hmmm. I’ll need a ladder for this.” said Mac calmly and then headed to the barn to get one
“Wait. Ya know I can use this don’t ya?” Marksman said while pointing as his horn
“Forgot you were a unicorn there.” Mac replied with a smile and so did Mark. It wasn’t hard to not notice Marksman’s horn. His frizzy hairstyle made sure it was hidden in the mane and his strength, which was much bigger than that of a normal unicorn made him look even more like an earth pony.
The fact that they both forgot about him was just too funny not to laugh at. After calming down, Marksman walked up to the barn and concentrated on his spell. A faint greenish aura appeared the wheel and weak creaking noise could be heard from the screw getting tightened. Once done, the aura simply faded away.
“Yay. You did it.” Mark cheered
“Thank ya. Thank ya.” Marksman bowed.
After this simple display of Marksman abilities, and Marks sad disabilities, the three of them returned to other work they had that day.
“Ya should probably find someone who could teach ya how to fly tomorrow.” said Marksman while they were taking care of the animals.
“Yeah... Why don’t I just go to the town square and shout: Who can teach a blank flank how to fly?” replied Mark a bit irritated
“Not a bad idea.” Marksman smirked “But I think ya would just get laughed at.”
“That I would.” he agreed. He only had two options. Either learn how to fly alone or find help. And tomorrow was a good day for either, since they had a day of. And maybe his luck would help him at least this one time.
Once again, work was done once the sun started setting, and so they went straight home. No invitation from Big Mac tonight. Neither of the two minded, since both of them were tired. One because he spent more energy on thinking about his flying then on working, and the other because looking proud while working hard isn’t as easy as he had thought.
After a light dinner and then a quick shower both of them just couldn’t wait to go to bed.
Mark opened his window, just like he did the nights before, so he could watch the stars from his bed before he fell asleep. This night though, his sleep didn’t come as fast as it normally did. His mind was too busy thinking about his wings and what would happen tomorrow. It was clear to him, that staying inside the house the whole day would be just weird, which also meant he would have to show his blank flank to the whole town since everyone would notice a new pegasus in town, even more when he wouldn’t be flying. And that was another thing he had to take care. He had no idea what he would do, but eventually, he decided that he would just let luck help him improvise.
Once his mind calmed down a bit the sweet sensation of sleeping finally enveloped him. His thoughts drifted off into his dreamland and all was now quiet.
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“What in the hay is this place?” asked AJ while trying to find something that would let them know.
No answer came. There simply wasn’t an explanation for what they were able to see from there. Only thing clear to them at that point was that the facility was huge in all dimensions, and that finding a way back home would take more than they thought. That’s when Dash walked over to the rail and leaned over it.
“Guys look how deep it is.” she told them while leaning over it, a bit too much at that. If not for a Fluttershy’s quick reaction, Dash would now be falling into the deep pit.
Now both on the ground, one with eyes wide open with an image of what could have happened if not for her friend, the other still holding her tight, not letting go for anything in the world.
“Thanks Fluttershy, but could you let me go now? I kinda can’t breath.” asked Dash with a weak smile
“Ok” replied Fluttershy but didn’t want to let her friend go. Only after a little push from Dash she finally stood up.
“Are you insane Dash? You want to die?” Twilight scolded her “Don’t ever do that again.” she finished, but then added a silent “Please…” which she thought no one heard, but was mistaken. Dash stood up and was still shaking a bit. The image of her hitting the bottom must have made an imprint in her mind.
“I’m sorry.” she finally said once she managed to rid herself of the thought “Kinda forgot I still couldn’t fly.”
“Just be careful okay?” said Twilight “We still have no idea where we actually are and this…” she pointed at the lights in the back of the room “…doesn’t help at all.”
“Can we get moving?” asked Rarity while still at the wall, but with a bit more courage now.
Since there was nothing note worthy there, they started moving again and once again they took the right path.
The more they walked, the creepier it got. The light from the corridor was long gone, and now the only lights showing them what was in front were small green lights, too small and spread for them to chase the dark away. The color didn’t help either. The place simply gave the feeling or something bad, somehow familiar to them but they just couldn’t figure it out. Whatever it was might have been caused by the lights on the other side. They clearly covered the whole wall, and were too close to each other and far bigger than those next to them, so they weren’t part of a walkway. Also there was something weird.
“Guys wait!” Dash ordered them and hurried to the railing again causing Fluttershy to move closer almost instantly. Dash noticed this but she didn’t mind. She grabbed the railing with one hand and pointed with the other.
“Can you see that?” she kept pointing but her finger was moving from side to side. The rest of them all came closer to the railing, except for Rarity who still didn’t get used to the height, and started following her finger.
“What are you talking about? There’s nothing there.” said Spike trying to figure what her friend saw
“Oh…. Do you mean that?” asked Fluttershy and pointed at something
“How can you two see something while we can’t?” asked twilight
“Uh... I can see it now! Look, look!” Pinkie jumped from joy as she finally found what the two were now pointing at.
After a bit more focusing and finger following, the rest managed to notice it too. What they thought were simple lights on the other sides, were actually moving. From side to side, switching places, some going as far as they could, before they disappeared and some coming back from the sides. If the place was weird before, now it was just ridiculous. But watching the lights didn’t give them anything and so they once again continued.
After walking for a few more minutes, some of them started thinking that there might not even be anything on this side of the path. But returning and going the other way might not bring anything either and splitting up, just as before, was out of option. If not for Spike, who just as always didn’t really get join arguments like this, they would have missed something important.
“Girls stop arguing and look at this!” he ordered them and stood next to something that was on the wall. Once they came closer, they noticed it was another black box, but this one looked a bit differently. This one was a bit smaller and had rectangle piece missing, starting from the swiping slot and spreading up to the corners of the box.
“I wanna try!” Pinkie squeaked, grabbing the card from Twilight, who just took her out from her pocket and without hesitating swiped the card in the slot. This time though, there was no sound of doors unlocking. Only a beep and after it, the rectangle missing lighted up. Confused, all of them just stared at it until it went off.
“That wasn’t there before.” said Pinkie with a sad voice
“Maybe we have to do something to it?” suggested Spike
“Yeah but what?” asked Dash
“Lemme try.” said AJ and took the card. She swiped it in the slot and once the lights went back on she made tried tapping on it with her fingers, hitting it with a fist even drawing on it with her finger. Nothing helped.
“I give up.” she said and tried to lean onto the wall with her hand, but miscalculated her distance and landed straight on the rectangle. The box beeped once again and suddenly, a door shaped piece of the wall slid to the side, revealing an entrance. The six just stared at AJ with mouths wide open.
“You are the luckiest mare in whole of Equestria, you know that?” said Dash, to which AJ just blushed. That something like this happened, and that someone wasn’t Pinkie, just made this day even more confusing.
Since Applejack was the one who discovered it, she decided shed go in first. The hallway she discovered didn’t seem long, but it had no lights, except the one on the end, and it was too narrow for more then one person.
At the end of it was a room, quite big in size. It had two doors on the left and right side of the hallways they just came from, four bookshelves right in front of the passage with many different books, scrolls and stacks of paper. There was a wooden desk as well, with an old lamp on it and even more scrolls and papers. On the opposite side from the table, right on the wall next to the door was a huge map. The girls started looking around and noticed that behind them, right next to the hallway they used to enter this room, were windows showing the green lights on the other side.
Not wasting a second, they split up to search the whole room for anything, their hopes high because of how well hidden the room was.
The first discovery, that was even hidden, was the map.
“Girls look. It’s the map of Equestria!” Spike said while examining the map “It even has its border countries.”
The map that was on the wall did indeed show equestrian, with many details like location of towns and their names, lakes and rivers, even the Everfree forest, but it was not correct. Twilight noticed the differences instantly, because she already saw a map of Equestria, even maps from neighboring countries. The map was missing some minor mountains, rivers and a few towns that were close to the border. The neighboring countries only had their capitals noted, but those were also in the wrong place or had a wrong name.
“How did they get a map of Equestria?” Spike asked. Twilight didn’t know, but an answer might be somewhere in the room.
“Look guys! I found our pictures.” Pinkie said with a smile, giving them a stack of photos she had found. Not only were they there, but many other ponies from Ponyville, Canterlot or other cities they had visited. There were also ponies that they never saw, even dragons and other species they hadn’t met yet.
“What’s wrong with these people? Why do they have these?” Rarity asked with a clear disgust in her voice
“I…I think they might have been studying us.” said Twilight slowly. She was now browsing the scrolls and papers on the table. The pile seemed even bigger, which proved to be right once the girls noticed that some stacks from the shelves were missing. The speed she was able to flip through them amazed all but Spike, who had seen this before. When she wanted, Twilight was able to read a whole book in a matter of seconds. A few papers would take even less.
“What do you mean by “studying us”?” once again Rarity asked
“I’m still not sure why, but look at this.” she said while handing her a think book. Rarity opened it and she was shocked. What she had in front of her was info about most of the ponies they saw on the photos. All their names, abilities, personalities and others.
The girls flipped through the pages to see if they were in it as well, which they were. How these people could find so much information?
The room still needed to be searched more, just as what was behind the doors. But the girls, although creeped out by their recent discovery, knew they were getting closer. But would they find the truth, and if yes, could they handle it?
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Telling her the truth might be a challenge. He didn’t want her to know more then she needed to, but on the other hand, he had no idea what shed to if she found out he was keeping something from her. She did see through them instantly before, so risking it might end more than just their plan. He had to improvise.
“My queen. Just as you have guessed, we aren’t real ponies. Were not even from this world.” he started to spark her interest
“We come from the planet earth, which you could never have heard of. You probably want to know how we could get here, well I’m not going to bother you with the details.” he said but quickly realized his bad wording when he noticed her face “Not that you wouldn’t understand. Its just that we aren’t completely sure how we did it, so trying to explain it would be useless.” he added, safe for now. He was good at talking, but having an entire army above his head was something new to him.
“What we did was, we managed to open a portal in our world that allowed us to cross over to yours.”
“Silence!” Unlike before, the queen now had an expressionless face. Was she thinking about what he just told her, or about the most entertaining way of their disposal?
And then she smiled. It was a smile that sent chills down the spine but a smile nonetheless.
“Interesting.” she said while piercing him with her green eyes. “Now tell me…Why would you go through so much trouble to come to this world, and most importantly, right into my domain?” she asked.
This was what he was waiting for. No more pointless explanations, just the continuation of his plan. Now the smile was on his face.
“What would you say, if I offered you not only this whole world, but also ours as your own personal kingdom?” he asked and watched her carefully. And he saw it. The spark he was waiting for.
“So you came here to take over two worlds and you need my help? You are one brave man.”
He was. His plan worked, he had her where he wanted to and she didn’t even realize.
“I take it you like the idea of this?“ He asked, even though he already knew the answer
“Sounds fun.” she replied
This simple proposal of something so big was of course not enough. The queen needed to know more. The details, the whole plan, everything they needed to prepare and get before they even began this. After almost two hours of discussion, the boss had said and explained every single piece of his plan, apart from the ending of course. He knew that the queen of changelings was power hungry, even more so after her last bitter defeat and he would use it against her. He had something in stock for her, and she wouldn’t enjoy it as much as he did.
Their plan was now in full motion. They made it to a different world, found their allies and managed to convince them to help and it didn’t even take them as long as they thought it would. Boss just couldn’t wait to see the expressions on the royal faces once he stood above them, and he certainly didn’t have to wait much longer.
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Morning came faster than he could imagine, mostly because his mind was thinking only about this day. Even his dreams were playing out various different scenarios, which could never happen in reality, but his mind thought they were possible. In one of them he ended up being the new king of Equestria. Even after waking up, his first thought was “Oh no. Its morning already…” Not even the sun smiling at him from his open window helped. At least not right away. What made his mind forget his “small” problem was the smell of breakfast. As always, Marksman’s cooking was top notch making Mark wonder how he could wake up so early and then manage to make something so delicious.
“Slept well, mate?” he asked while still in the kitchen, getting some more apples for himself.
“Meh. Couldn’t really fall asleep.” Mark replied
“Why so? Don’t tell me ya were worried about yer wings.”
He managed to hit right in the middle, which he knew once he saw the look on Mark’s face.
“Ya shouldn’t worry about stuff like that. Not everypony is perfect, and there are some who are just like ya. I think I heard about a girl who couldn’t fly yet either who lived here.”
“Yeah. A girl. Do I look like a filly to you?” he asked a bit irritated.
Marksman looked at him, as if analyzing him, and then said “A bit.” with a wide smile on his face.
“Thanks…” Mark replied and finished his breakfast “So what are we going to do today? We got the whole day free.”
“Well, we need to get some groceries and we might go look at the town a bit. Ya didn’t see it yet, did ya?”
“Only in the morning and evening when we went to work.”
“Didn’t have time for sightseein’ while falling did ya?” another funny comment from Marksman, but this time taken better.
“Naah. Fell too fast to notice anything.”
The both of them burst into laughter and once Marksman was done with his breakfast and the dishes were clean they set out for the marketplace.
It was still a bit early and not many ponies were outside, which gave Mark a bit more time to try and cover his flanks with his wings. He knew that no one would really mind if he was walking, but after they would see his flank, they would know he was different. Sadly, his wings weren’t as long as he had thought and they didn’t reach far enough without looking awkward. He gave up before he would hurt himself.
Getting to the marketplace didn’t take more than a few minutes, but it was long enough for more ponies to fill the streets, all of them trying to get what they needed while it was still fresh and available. Another good thing since no one cared about anyone who they didn’t know, and just hurried from stall to stall. So did they.
The marketplace was just like any other he had seen before. Ponies of all shapes, sizes and gender all trying to sell their stuff, just a bit smaller then he had expected it to be.
Being able to somehow dodge everyone and not bump into them, they were able to get all the food they wanted and needed. Since Big Macintosh gave them some money the day before so they could go shopping, so he paid the half just as he had promised the first day, and he still had a lot left. Food was much cheaper then on earth, which made him feel a bit rich, even though he didn’t have that many coins, or bits how they called money here. And then he saw something he didn’t expect to even exist in this world, even less likely in Ponyville. It was a gaming house, or so the title indicated. Not wasting a second, he hurried over to the building as fast as his hoofs could carry him, which was quite fast even though he still carried some of their groceries. When Marksman realized what was happening, Mark was already standing in front of the doors.
“Oh… My… gosh. Please tell me I’m not dreaming.” he said, clearly excited about his discovery
“Well no, ya aren’t. Ya’ve awake for some time now.” Marksman replied with a smirk on his face “But I think ya might be referring to the place in front o’ ya, so no, yer not dreamin’.”
“I didn’t think that it would be here in Ponyville. It’s not something you see everyday.”
“So from all the things ya remember, it’s a gamin’ place? That’s kinda funny.”
Once again he was right. He completely forgot about his story from all the excitement.
“I told you, I remember some parts, I just didn’t mention it.” he managed to save the situation since Marksman seemed to accept this explanation.
“All I know about this place is, that after the royal wedding, some rich ponies decided to build it here as a thanks for helpin’.”
“Oh. So that’s why it’s called The mare six game house.” now he knew why it was here, all that was left now was to go in. “Sooooo… Can we go in now?” he asked while trying to make a small filly’s voice
“Well, we did buy everythin’ we needed, so why not?” Marksman agreed and they both went in.
The place looked almost as he had remembered them from earth. Bigger on the inside than from the outside, full of different machines to play on, music playing all over the place with the lights a bit dimmed to create a better atmosphere. It was like a dream come true, since back home he used to love going to places like this. But then he realized something. How was he supposed to play anything without hands? Improvisation would have to be used here.
Not knowing where to start, they both just walked between the machines to find something that would catch their interest. And they saw a lot. Many games he knew just by seeing them, some he had never seen before. There were many copies of the games he played himself, for example a game like Pac-man was on a few machines but instead of a yellow ball eating things, and it was a little filly’s head.
Finally they found something they could play together and against each other at the same time. It was a racing game with its own car-like booth. It had pedals and a steering wheel, only the seat was shaped in a weird way, so a pony could sit on it. Both of them sat down in one and threw in their first bit to start the game.
Without even knowing how, Mark was able to beat Marksman with ease, even though at first it looked like he would loose, since he didn’t know how to grab the steering wheel. After coming up with sticking his hooves into the wheel he was all set to win.
“Oh yeah! I win!” Mark yelled with joy
“Ya were just lucky. Another one?” Marksman replied to him while trying to look like a fighter
“Of course. Beating you is just too much fun.” Mark said and started to laugh, not just from the victory, but also because Marksman’s face looked funny, and not fierce as he wanted to.
Who would have thought that he would be able to find a place he would love to visit so soon in his new life. Or even more, what else waited for him that day.