Well, this is new...

by CommunistTaco

Chapter 2: First Contact (v2)

Note: This is not the original version of this chapter. If you wish to view the original it can be found here: http://pastebin.com/cELSirUC

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Three Hours Earlier in Ponyville, Equestria:

*Burrrp* "Twilight! Letter from Princess Celestia!"

"Oh, Oh! Give it here Spike"

Twilight Sparkle, local Ponyville librarian, personal protege of Princess Celestia, and Element of Magic was having a normal day. She had woken up at sunrise, ate a delicious breakfast provided by her number one dragon assistant Spike, and had re-organized the library. A letter from the princess was not unheard of but still unexpected so Twilight was anxious to hear Spike announce that he received one.

*Ahem*

Dear Twilight,

My sister reported that last night at around 22:00 she detected a magical anomaly in the Everfree Forest about three kilometers east of Ponyville. Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances, most of the Solar and Lunar Guard are positioned in Manehatten for security purposes. I now regretfully have to ask that you and the other Elements of Harmony to investigate. Please stay safe because you and I both know how dangerous the forest can be.

Yours Truly,

Princess Celestia

Twilight gave the letter a second once-over to confirm what she had just read. Although it was quite unusual for Princess Celestia to task her with such a strange assignment she wasn't one to argue. "Spike! Help me gather the other Elements. We'll meet back here in an hour." Twilight half stated, half ordered.

"You got it Twilight! I'll be back soon!" Spike said as he ran out the door at full speed.

"Oh I hope this isn't something to worry about" Twilight stated nervously.

---

One Hour Later

---

Twilight was pacing nervously in the library when Spike burst into the library with the other elements in tow. They had quite mixed expressions on their faces most likely because Spike didn't have time to brief them on the situation.

"Twilight was is so urgent that you had to so hastily gather everypony?" Rarity asked obviously annoyed after being interrupted in the middle of her work.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted any of you from something but Princess Celestia needs us to investigate something in the Everfree Forest" Twilight stated apologetically.

"Thhhe. Eeverrfree.. Forest?" Fluttershy stuttered.

"Yes Fluttershy, the forest," Twilight repeated bluntly oblivious to her friend's terrified state.

"C'mon 'Shy you live right next to the Everfree, don't be a scaredy pony," Rainbow Dash stated boldly.

"If yer so brave why don't y'all go into the forest by yerself," Applejack sated smugly.

Rainbow Dash suddenly lost her bold posture and said rather defensively, "Nah I need you guys to back me up in case I sprain my wing or something."

"Uh Huh," Applejack said while glaring at Rainbow.

"Girls, now is not the time for bickering we need to get going!" Twilight interrupted the competitive pair.

Rainbow stuck out her tongue at Applejack while Twilight wasn't looking adding to the farmpony's annoyance. Rainbow Dash was as loyal as they come but her attitude was often too competitive and immature.

"Ooh Ooh! I brought cupcakes in case we get hungry!" Pinkie Pie stated as hyper as ever.

She then proceeded to pull a tray of cupcakes out of her mane. To somepony viewing this for the first time this might seem like an impossible feat but with Pinkie Pie, seemingly everything was possible. She just didn't seem to follow the laws of physics, reality, or any other universal truths that applied to everypony else.

"Um... Ok, thanks Pinkie. Now lets get going," Twilight said as she stood up and started walking towards to door.

Twilight, although quite used to Pinkie's antics, still hadn't a clue about explaining them. The last time she tried to figure Pinkie out the situation got rather... heated.

And so the six mares set off in the direction of the Everfree still unsure of what exactly they were doing.

---

After about an hour of walking (or in Rainbow's case flying and whining about the others being too slow) the six ponies neared the edge of the Everfree Forest already in discussion about the task ahead. While the forest skirted the edges of Ponyville to the north, the location the Princess had described was a good walk to the east of the town where the forest gave way to two kilometers of gentle rolling hills before reaching the hamlet.

"Apparently, a strange magical anomaly appeared about a kilometer into the forest last night and that's why the princess wants us to investigate," Twilight explained.

"Ah still don't know why the princess wants us to investigate this magical anomaly thingy. Ah would assume that it was just the Everfree Forest being its normally unpredictable self," Applejack stated.

"I don't know, but what ever it is, its gonna have to deal with me!" Rainbow Dash said arrogantly.

"Calm yerself Rainbow Dash, we don't even know if whatever caused this anomaly thingy is dangerous," Applejack firmly stated.

"Whatever," Rainbow said rolling her eyes, "Danger is my middle name!"

The group approached the edge of the forest cautiously. The forest had a large population of dangerous creatures including timberwolves, manticores, and ursas, all of which they had encountered at some point or another. The Everfree was considered one of the most hostile places in Equestria and not many ponies were brave enough to even step within a few hundred meters of it. This was a great exception for the Element's friend Zecora who was the local resident shaman zebra and lived about a kilometer inside the forest.

After confirming there were no potential dangers lurking nearby, the group slowly made their way into the Everfree. They walked slowly and cautiously and tried to ease their nervousness by talking about their days before Twilight summoned them.

Rainbow Dash had apparently been napping after doing her weather job and wasn't very keen on being woken up. Rarity had been working another one of her 'latest fashions' in her inspiration room and was also annoyed that she couldn't finish her work before being rushed over to the library. Pinkie had no complaints for being dragged out of Sugarcube Corner as the Cakes were happy to have the overly hyper pony out of their hair even for just a little bit. Fluttershy didn't say much about her day but said she had just finished feeding her animals and had nothing else to do anyway. And finally was Applejack who had been doing farm chores but was able to get brother Big Mac to take over for her whilst she was away.

All of a sudden Twilight, who was scanning for any kind of magical residue, detected something about 100 meters straight ahead. "Girls, I think I got something," Twilight stated.

"What is it...? Is it dangerous...?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

"I can't tell yet but it's about 100 meters straight ahead, lets keep going," Twilight said firmly.

The group continued, even slower than before, towards what looked like a small clearing. The clearing was empty except for what looked like hoofprints. "I think whoever caused the anomaly was a pony to say the least. They seem to have walked around in circles for quite a while before walking off," Twilight reported

"I wander who it was. I hope the dear didn't get lost," Rarity said sounding slightly nervous.

"Well maybe we should follow the tacks to see if we come across anypony," Twilight suggested.

"Ah guess that would be the best plan of action. C'mon y'a..."

Applejack was interrupted as a loud crashing noise followed by a loud "Oomph" was heard not far behind them.

---

Switch Back To Vladimir's Point of View

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I followed the group back into the forest being careful to maintain a good distance behind them to avoid being noticed. They seemed nervous for some reason. 'Really? It's just a forest, not a giant pit of doom or something' I mentally exclaimed in annoyance.

They walked for about 30 minutes or so before they came to a clearing. Peering out the bushes at the edge of the clearing I recognized it as the clearing I first woke up in about 16 hours ago. It appeared my arrival had not gone unnoticed and if anyone found out that I was involved it likely wouldn't go down very well.

From my vantage point it seemed like they were investigating something on the ground. My curiosity got the best of me and I attempted to move to a bush about ten feet to the right. As I moved from one bush to another, I suddenly felt my front-left hoof smack into a small rock protruding from the forest floor.

Losing my balance, I fell face-first right out into the clearing with a audible "Oomph" as I hit the ground. All I could think at that moment was 'SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!!!!' I closed my eyes knowing full well that the 6 ponies not 10 feet in front of me surely had noticed me at that point.

Finally I gained the courage to slowly open my eyes. All six mares (I had determined they were all female based on their voices) stared at me with looks of confusion, nervousness, and a slight hint of anger. We just sat there and stared at each other for what seemed like eternity. I decided to attempt communication just to end the awkward staring contest. "Uh... hi?" I manged to stutter out.

Almost immediately after the words left my mouth the blue pegasus by the name of Rainbow Dash snapped out of her frozen state and flew at impossibly high speeds towards me. I closed my eyes expecting an impact but when none came I cautiously reopened them.

I found myself staring into the magenta eyes of Rainbow Dash who had a very angry expression on her face. "Who the hay are you?! Why were you following us?! Are you a SPY?!!" She angrily spat in my face.

I shrank back after being assaulted with interrogative questions. I eventually was able to squeak out "Please don't hurt me!"

Rainbow Dash seemed to shrink back at this but continued to glare at me like I was the devil himself. "Rainbow Dash give 'im some room, yer terrifying 'im!" the orange, southern mare from earlier barked.

Rainbow reluctantly backed off and the purple unicorn stepped forward. "Hello, I'm not going to hurt you. Can you tell us who you are and why you were following us?" she said obviously trying to sound as gentle as possible.

I decided it would be best just to tell them rather for Rainbow or any of the others to try to force the information out of me. "Um, my name is Vladimir Korzhakov but you can just call me Vlad. I was following you because I thought you would know something about why I woke up here last night." I quickly sputtered out.

"I've never heard of such a strange name before," the purple one said, "but anyway, I am Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia, Ponyville town librarian, and Element of Magic." I could hint a large amount of pride in her voice as she said her title.

"Ooh what a wonderful accent. You must be from Stalliongrad! Oh where are my manners? I'm Rarity darling, nice to meet you," said the white unicorn from before.

'Oh she must of heard my barely noticeable Russian accent' I determined.

"Um well Stalingrad was a city in the Soviet era its now called Volgograd or something. I'm from the city of Novgorod personally though," I stated.

"Um what?" Rainbow sputtered out.

"Ever heard of Russia?" I asked.

They all shook their heads no.

"The United States of America?"

Another no.

"Planet Earth?" I asked praying they would at least know my planet's name. Certainly I wasn't that far gone was I?

"Um sorry, but I haven't heard of any of those places. Were currently on Planet Terra, and in the Kingdom of Equestria." Twilight stated.

"Well, shit."

My day had certainly took a turn for the worse...

Author's Note:

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. To clarify any confusion, Vlad having lived in the U.S. for most his life uses the U.S. measurement system and as such all first person references will use that. However, ponies us the metric system as is probably way more plausible considering the manner in which the U.S. and Imperial system were developed on Earth. If I'm rushing the story too much feel free to say so. Also feel free to leave recommendations and opinions! Until next time...
-CommunistTaco

Comments

[IkioStar]

....Boil my intestines in C'thulhu's cunt! I can't continue on with this! There are more errors than even multiple fortnights of work wouldn't abate! THE HORROR! THE HORROR!

[Anyne]

Oh she must of heard my barely noticeable Russian accent' I

Must have, must of is wrong

[leontrollski]

"Well, shit"

I'm with you, Vlad!

[damnaion]

yay and good chapter

[Hawkx1]

Earth ponies on a planet not called Earth? What?

[Erik the Enigma]

The last time she tried to figure Pinkie out the situation got rather... heated.

HA.