Chapter 20:Day one (Off to a nice start)
Chapter 20:Day one (Off to a nice start)
Warning: Long Chapter... (I don't know if you guys like these kinds of chapters but it's really out there...)
Celestia and Luna trotted through the corridors of the castle in silence, they noticed Dusty trotting along the same corridor cleaning small things and well dusting. They slowly began to near the throne room, when a sudden small burst of blue flames erupted in front of them along with a scroll. "Let me handle that sister." Luna said as her magic instantaneously grabbed the scroll out of the air and scanned the lines of text. "I will be right back. Something has come up in the neighboring kingdom...,You know which one."
Celestia turned towards her sister. "Use only the necessary means. I shall be in the throne room awaiting for further updates." She replied.
"Understood." Agreed Luna as she trotted away with a smile on her face.
"Is everything alright your Majesty?" Dusty questioned approaching Celestia from where she was cleaning a second ago. "Where is Princess Luna going?"
"Oh good evening Dusty. It's nothing of concern. As for Luna, I'm going to be giving her a chance to take care of royal business. It seems to please her better than staying cooped up all day in her chambers." Replied Celestia. Dusty followed her as she entered the throne room. Several of the guards bowed and wished her a good morning as she passed them. Strangely though something sat upon her seat. "Another?" She levitated the weirdly packed scroll up in front of her and pulled its bow. Two purple tickets popped out along with a few pieces of confetti. She held up the two tickets in her golden glow as she read the scroll.
"Dear Princess Celestia I'm glad to inform you that Rarity has invited yourself and Princess Luna to partake in Ponyville's very own version of a Grand Galloping Gala.
-Your faithful student Twilight Sparkle.
P.s I hope this scroll arrived in your study. Spike has been disappearing on me and I had to send this through a teleportation spell."With that she rolled up the scroll and giggled at the reason. Her smile lasted for a while until an aged familiar unicorn showed up.
"Ahem... Excuse me your Majesty?" Said an old voice.
"Good morning , Did you wish to inquire about anything?" She responded using a more concerned expression.
"Yes your majesty. I understand that you had mentally probed this human as you all call it. Perhaps you can educate me on anything you found interesting?" He asked with a rather intrigued hum to his monotone voice. "What have you seen from his memory? What kind of technology, civilization, and their behavior? What did his kind value?"
Celestia simply smirked at his barrage of questions knowing full enough what he truly wanted to learn. "Well... Now that you've mentioned it... I did learn a few intriguing ideas that his world provided me with." She replied continuing the smirk.
"Oh really? Well then to start off, I did see a vast amount of confectionary delights, a beautiful landscape, and several amusing pieces of music. Also out of all the cakes he had seen the double chocolate ice cream cookie cake that was topped with strawberries and the most delicious looking frosting anypony would die for. I must try to have this made." She began. "Their architecture isn't that different from what I can tell but they have some odd looking buildings completely illuminated by tiny beads of lights-"
"Your highness?... Is there anything a bit more technological that I may be able to research maybe weaponry? War strategy? Anything of the sort?" He interrupted.
"I believe that I can only say so much that he would wish to be explained. I do not think he would want to talk about the extremities of his world." Celestia said in reply.
Dr. Kiesel sighed in disappointment. "I understand your majesty. I still must say that he could prove most useful if we utilize him properly." He added before he exited the throne room.
That final remark still displeased Celestia even with her previous answer. Though the idea seemed harsh to an extent it was a worthy plan to consider. "I will be watching you Doctor..." Celestia whispered to herself. She turned her attention back to the scroll from Twilight and returned to her formal posture on the throne and to her duties.
At the fields by Sweet Apple Acres...
Spike watched as Red magically fashioned a soccer goal out of rope and wood. "Hey that don't look too bad. It actually looks like the real thing." He ran his claws lightly against the net. "Very sturdy, nicely knotted and the size is perfect. You know you could make a lot of bits from making things like this. How did you know how to make this?" Asked Spike as he continued to test the goal until he finally kicked the ball in and watched the rope net perform as it should.
"I sorta figured we'd need one so I used a bunch of rope I found laying around and a few pieces of wood I use for small fires." Red replied. As he did a few last touches. "There all done now let's get started!"
"Alright!" Exclaimed Spike as he went out into the wider portion of the field with the ball. He got into a running position and charged his way backtp the goal while kicking the ball about a foot in front of him. He lined up his foot and gave it a mighty kick. The ball flew up a good bit but bounced off the wooden portion of the goal and into a row of bushes. "Oh... Uh looks like I'm gonna need a bit of target practice.
"I've got it." Red yelled as he went over to where the ball bounced to. The ball laid by a tree with a few big baskets underneath it. He levitated the ball up but wondered what the baskets were for. "Hmm..." Looking at the position of the sun he gave up and returned to the field.
"Wow it went farther than I thought it would. It went all the way into the Apple's Orchards." Spike thought to himself.
Red readied himself as he lined himself up for a shot. "Crap... How the heck do I do this? Which legs am I supposed to use?" He asked himself. "Hey Spike quick question. Which leg or hoof am I supposed to use to kick the ball with?"
"Hmmm... I'm not too sure...try your hind legs." Spike replied trying to imitate a pony kicking a ball. "Or maybe you can try it like this." He got on both of his claws and began to buck wildly like a horse.
"I... Think I'm just gonna stick to using my hind legs..." Red quietly replied before he tried stretching his right hind leg as if he was actually going to kick. He took a few steps back then charged into a kick. He missed the first, second and third kick. Out of anger he got up on two hooves awkwardly making his way to the ball and then kicking it as if he were actually a human. The ball flew high over the target, into the apple orchard and back over their heads. "No you don't!" His magic quickly stopped the ball's momentum flat in its tracks as it slowly was lowered back to the ground and away from the open sky.
"What was that?" Spike questioned as he walked over to the ball and picked it up.
"I have a feeling ponies play soccer a bit differently than I do back home. I never had to deal with hooves also I don't want to send any more balls into space." He answered rubbing the back of his neck with his hoof. His hoof snagged itself to the Unicorn Pendant. "Dang it... Not again." He sounded slightly annoyed as his red aura began to glow around the Pendant.
"Hey wait! Are you sure it's a good idea to take that off? What if someone sees you?" Spike warned cautiously looking around.
"It's okay based on what I've seen, nobody ever passes through here and the grass is tall enough to remain hidden. The pendant slowly levitated off his neck and into his hand. "Let's try it this way." He said turning into his original self and popping his knuckles.
"If you say so." Spike passed him the ball and almost immediately he began to bounce the ball with his legs.
"Okay here's one." Joe bounced the ball once more then kicked it straight into the goal. "There we go."
"Nice one! Let me give it a go." Said Spike as took the ball out from the goal and began to make practice shots.
Feeling satisfied, Joe walked himself over to a small hill and laid on it and sighed. He pulled out a little pocket book and began to read up on a few of the spells he had learned. He pointed a finger into the air and a few fireworks sparks flicked into existence. He drew a big red circle that floated into the air and slowly fizzled away. He continued doing this as Spike practiced a few more times.
Not too far away
Applejack and everyone had separated and had gone to do their daily routines before starting on their Gala jobs. One good thing about having fellow Apples work on building a barn, is that when they work together it makes the work go by faster. Applejack stood in awe as a few of her family members were still painting the barn.
She took a large inhale and whistled to get their attention. "Listen up ya'll we got a big job tomorrow so as soon as we're all finished up here, I want all of you to take the rest of the day to right yourselves and be well rested."she said loud enough for them to all hear.
"Hmm... What kind of job sis?" Asked Big Macintosh coming out from the house.
"In a few days Ponyville will be having its Grand Galloping Gala. But this time it's not gonna be all uptight and full of finicky, fancy hoofed, and the most boring group of ponies that they had in Canterlot. This is just all us town folk and Princess Celestia all having a good time. Also we still have a surplus of bits left over from the bits so I'm pretty sure we can cover this." She contently shifted the position of her hat as she finished.
Big Mac had a look of concern but took a little time and eventually nodded in agreement. "Shoot lets do it." He simpler said and every other pony there gave an "Eeyup" in agreement.
"Okay then it's settled. We start tomorrow after breakfast so see y'all around here. I need to go take some inventory and see if we need to get more ingredients." Applejack happily said as she disappeared into the cellar of the house.
On Ponyville's side of things
Rainbow Dash zipped through a number of ponies with a large line of signatures on the clipboard she carried in her mouth. "Good job Rainbow Dash!" Cheered Twilight as she sat at a row of small restaurant seats reading through a small record of ponies in the town. "That's about one hundred and sixty ponies so far. Hey Spike can you fetch me another bottle of ink?... Spike?" Twilight looked around for her little assistant. "Oh that's right. I wonder that has that dragon been getting into?..."
"Okay Twi I've got twenty more RSVPs for ya now what else can I do?" Rainbow Dash suddenly bursted into conversation.
"Wha- Oh yeah, can you bring this to Applejack's? I need to go get another bottle of ink. "Twilight briefly responded trying not to show concern. "Oh and if you see spike could you tell him I'm gonna need his help as soon as soon as possible."
"You betcha!" Rainbow quickly answered taking the small scroll and flew off with it.
"Hmm it can't be helped I need to find Spike." Twilight said to herself as she pulled all her papers into her saddlebag. "I think I should go check over at Rarity's then maybe later check if the Princess answered my invite."
Back at the field
Joe was already switched back into his Red body and playing with his magic by levitating the ball away from Spike. "Try stealing the ball." Yelled Red as the ball circled Spike making him a little dizzy.
Spike spun out but instantly got back up kicking wildly at the ground aiming at non existent balls until he kicked a cyan hoof. "Ouch!... HEY! That hurt!"
Spike'a world stopped spinning and he noticed what exactly he had kicked. "Ra-Ra-Ra-Rainbow Dash?! Wh-What are you doing here? I didn't mean to do that..." He stuttered in shock.
"It's alright. Twilight asked me to look for you because she needed you help with Rarity's Gala." Rainbow answered. She then eyed Spike suspiciously. "Hey what are you doing out here all alone?"
It took Spike a moment to notice that Red had disappeared and his ball had rolled into the bushes. "I was uh practicing hoof ball... Uh Twilight needed me? Where is she at?"
"She's at the town Square want me to bring you there?" Rainbow asked still suspicious of the dragon. "Just give me a second I need to go give something to Applejack then we'll leave." With that she soared into the air and away to the farm.
Spike made his way to the ball to find That Joe had hidden himself under a big bush. "I think it'll be better if you go help out your friend." Joe said overhearing the conversation.
"Why are you hiding?" Spike wondered. "That's just Rainbow Dash."
"I told you before I think she was one of those ponies that were out looking for me." Joe responded levitating the ball into his claws. "Now hurry she might get suspicious and find me."
"Alright Spike ya ready?" Rainbow's voice came from above. She came back in her usual ten seconds flat speed. "Were you talking to somepony?"
"Uh no I was just grabbing the ball." Spike replied. He ran up to Rainbow and hopped onto her back. In a few seconds they vanished towards Ponyville.
Joe sighed as he gathered up some of his stuff. "Now what the heck am I going to do?" He placed the saddlebag by the side and pulled an apple from off one of the trees nearby. He laid back on the little mound of earth he was on earlier. He ate through the apple and threw it into a small pile of debris. The sound of nature echoed all around him but something didn't sit too well with him. Something was headed his way...
A few hours earlier...at the core of the Everfree
"C'mon Sweetie Belle this'll be easy." Said a certain orange filly.
"Yeah there's nothing to be afraid of it's just like walking through the orchards except the trees are bigger and the grass is really really tall and there are creatures running around... *gulp*... We should be still safe though..." Added a little farm pony.
"I really don't think this is a good idea at all." Said the last member of the group. "This could be really dangerous you guys... I think we should turn back."
"This'll be a piece of cake. Those ropes and stuff you got us made a pretty strong net. There's no way some Canterlot monster would be able to break out of it." Replied Scootaloo carrying a small bag on her back. "Besides as far as we know there's only one of it against three of us so getting a monster hunter cutie mark will be a piece of cake."
"C'mon now what if this Canterlot monster is just like those ones from before." Sweetie Belle replied.
*Squawk!* The sudden sound of the forest spooked them into a huddle. Another sound echoed around them.
"What was that?!" Scootaloo cried out climbing to the top of the group.
"Aww no!... It couldn't be..." Apple Bloom whimpered. A loud howl came from pretty close by causing all three of then to get spooked and galloped off. "Don't just stand there! That's Timberwolves a howling! We need to get out of here!"
"Timberwolves?! Ahh!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle screamed in unison quickly following Apple Bloom's lead. Right behind them were big glowing green eyes staring at them with violent intentions.
"I thought you said this'll be easy!" Sweetie Belle shouted as their voices faded into the rest of the the Everfree.
Now...
Red approached the entrance of the forest with caution understanding the reason why the Princesses gave caution of why not to enter. the forest looked more like an eerie jungle overrun with foliage. He looked up at the sky and noted the disorder that it was in. The sky over Ponyville was nice and clear while this one was just everywhere. He took another step forward and at that very moment he could feel how Alive this forest really was. "What the heck is this? It feels just like when... Just like when I got here..." He said to himself. The sounds of howling caught his attention drawn to follow wherever it originated from.
"Wow... This place really reminds me of home." Red whispered in a reassuring voice to... Well I guess himself. He took in more of this natural scene and took note of a few well rounded paths that were visible. "This place isn't as scary after all. I really don't get why the heck they'd mark this place as dangerous." Just then the bushes around him seemed to vibrate with what sounded like a really big rubber band being stretched to its limits. Like an ant drawn to sugar he walked over to it curiously wanting to see what was making such a noise
"What is that?" He asked moving closer. He grabbed the side of the bush and gently moved the bush aside. "Aww what?" Instead of finding a little animal a rather large red tulip bud covered in white polka dots sat there. In disappointment he pulled himself away from the bushes. Surprisingly he was being held in place by vines with similar flowers. He was ready to scream but another vine quickly wrapped around his mouth. "NOPE NOPE! NOPE! NOPE!" His mind repeated the tulip bud from earlier slowly began to bloom in front of him exposing a large fang bearing mouth he panicked causing his horn to glow red. He noticed and fired a large beam at the plant eradicating the entire area of the bush and beyond.
He quickly backed away gasping. "Okay I really don't like where that was heading..." He held his hoof to his chest feeling for the pendant and took it off. "Screw that I think it's safer to have less restraint when walking in here." Not to far away the sound of eerie wailing caught his attention and sent chills up his spine. He turned towards it and began walking towards it. Whatever it was was getting closer the pounding of something loud, heavy and quick.
He hid himself along the side as a trunk and watched as a big wolf like creature pass right by him. It's stench filled the area with what smelled like rotten fish mixed with vinegar and old socks. It's body rattled like thin pieces of lumber being knocked together. The wooden wolf glowing yellow eyes pierced the forest as he watched it make it's way towards the tree across from him. "Holy crap! What is that... And what is that SMELL?!" He whispered.
The wolf didn't seem to hear him over its body clunking giving the speculation that it's body is made of wood and it was probably bad at hearing. Suddenly, a makeshift net fell over Joe's head.
"Gotcha!" Yelled a small voice above him. A small familiar trio hid above him in the trees with the orange one smiling victorious while the yellow one still stared in fear at the creature an the other smiles knowing full well who they had captured.
"Shhhhhh!" Joe loudly shushed pulling the net off and dropping it behind him. He looked at them confused unaware that the creature stood about a foot away from him growling loudly and breathing his noxious breath all over him. He slowly backed away in fear. Ironically the net he had carelessly thrown behind him caught his leg causing him to land on his rear. The girls screamed just as the creature nearly bit the human in two but the sound of someone whistling caught its attention. Out of no where a green stone suddenly struck the creature on its head causing it to fall off. "What the? It is made of wood!" Joe exclaimed relieved of the threat. Not soon after he took his eyes off the creature he noticed another not too far away wearing a cloak with it's gold glowing eyes staring back at him.
"What are you doing?! It's a Timberwolf we've gotta get away from here. He's gonna wake up any moment now." Apple Bloom shouted sliding down the tree along with the others. The three fled in fear while Joe followed behind them. Slowly the Timberwolf's head began to assemble itself enough to a point it was able to let out a howl.
The little trio continued to scream as they ran. Pathways seem to merge as the group made their way to a small clearing. The Crusaders panted hard as their legs shook in exhaustion. "I don't know how long we can last this way...*pant* I knew it was a bad idea to come here..."Apple Bloom whispered to the others. Scootaloo surprisingly didn't look too fazed as she was trotting after herself in a circle trying to check her flank as well as everyone else's.
"Aww come on! We caught him didn't we?!" Scoots complained. She huffed her chest out and crossed her forelegs and pouted. She then noticed Sweetie Belle as she sat there sitting in the path as if happily waiting for something. "Let's go home guys we failed."
"Gladly!" Apple bloom agreed already walking off in another direction.
"Wait! We're forgetting Mister Joe he still back there." Sweetie Belle replied. She quickly grabbed Apple Bloom by the tail and dragged her back towards where they had come.
They paused as the sound of quick thumping headed their way. They quickly hid under a small plant. "Hey I've got a plan get that vine over there and-" Scootaloo whispered. Apple Bloom took a position opposite of Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle and laid the vine along the path. They got ready as the thumping got even louder. The moment something moved they pulled on the vine turning it into a trip wire.
"Ouch... C'mon!" Joe yelled sitting himself up from the ground. He noticed the three of them huddled together seemed to have removed the fear of the Timberwolf behind him. "It's you three again..." Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom stared back at him in bewilderment. Until the third one jumped at him.
"I've got you now! You monster!" She bravely attacked. She knocked him onto his back and began to attempt to actually hurt him with her hooves. "Take this! Take that! And that!" She continued her little onslaught.
"Oww! Stop it! Hey!" Joe quickly pulled her off his torso. "That hurts you know!" He held her up like a small sized dog.
"That's not fair!" She shouted still trying to strike him with her hooves. Joe put her on the ground and Sweetie Belle instantaneously incapacitated her from continuing her attacks. "Not fair..." She answered muffled.
"Mister Joe it's you! Thank Celestia you made it out of the cave!" Sweetie Belle happily exclaimed as she grabbed onto his arm. In a tight hug but while still keeping Scootaloo down on the ground. "Where did you go?! What happened to you after we got rescued?" She began assaulting him with questions like how Scootaloo had attacked him.
"Wait wait stop... What are you three doing here?" He asked slightly bothered as to why they were running around in such a dangerous place. "You all need to go home that thing is after us."
They regretted reintroducing that Timberwolf as Apple Bloom screamed in fear. It towered above them as he turned around. It's green eyes stared at him greedily and hungry. Thinking quickly he used his magic to swiftly move the three fillies away. Luckily for them it saved them from the Timberwolf's large tail swatting Joe away. It slowly turned its attention towards the girls.
"Mister Joe help!" Sweetie Belle cried aloud. Suddenly a big tree came tumbling down on the Timberwolf and splintered all over its path. Out of the dust the girls continued to huddle in place as if waiting for their doom. Sweetie Belle opened her eyes to see something red surrounding them and though it were pieces of wood and leaves falling all around. They were amazed to see that the three of them were inside a small dome. The dome slowly dissipated revealing the rest of the destruction that the one tree caused. The Timberwolf was completely submerged under neath the tree.
"What in tarnation happened?!" Apple Bloom asked aloud. Hopping out of their small clean circle they walked their way towards the fallen tree's lower trunk led to. Joe stood there panting and rubbing his head. On the bottom of the tree were his hand prints etched into the trunk splintering out of the outline.
Joe quickly grabbed up the three of them and ran. "It's not gonna stay down we've gotta get out of here quick!" He yelled as the sound of lumber echoed behind them. The worry I his eyes alerted the three of them of the situation.
Just as quick as the wolf did before it reconstructed itself again except this time with the remains of the tree making it larger and it's howl louder.
"Crap..." Joe whispered as the three watched the path behind them. The Timberwolf once again began to gain on them destroying trees and plants alike in its titanic fury. They rounded a corner into a scorched pathway. "Hey I know this place. We're almost out of here!"
Right as they reached the exit, the Timberwolf ceased its pursuit and watched them as they slowed their pace. "Hey it stopped chasing us!" Scootaloo shouted in relief. "Looks like it's smooth sailing from here on out." The other two fillies still appeared scared with their eyes fixed on the last place the Timberwolf stood.
Finally there it was, the exit stood no too far away from them. Immediately the panic that they all felt vanished from their minds. Joe put all three girls on the ground before he collapsed right by them.
Sweetie Belle Immediately rushed to his side. "What are you doing Sweetie Belle get away from him. You saw what he did to that tree he could be dangerous." Scootaloo whispered not knowing exactly what to do.
Apple Bloom watched as Sweetie Belle tried to wake him. Suddenly she gasped in realization. "It's that thing! The thing from that time we got captured. Get away from it!" She shouted in fear. She hopped onto Sweetie Belle's back and pulled her away.
"What are you doing?! Don't you know who this is?" Sweetie Belle retaliated holding Apple Bloom's head towards Joe. "Don't you remember? I told you about him this is him." Apple Bloom seemed to get less tense and more taken by the thought.
"Well I wasn't there so how do I know he isn't just brainwashing you guys like he did the Princess. What if he only saved us because he wanted to cook us and eat us himself?" Scootaloo asked still bearing a confused and untrusting look on her face.
"What were you three thinking?..." Asked the downed human as he turned over allowing him to prop himself up in a sitting manner. "You shouldn't be hanging around in a place like that with those things running around in there."
"Mister Joe! You're awake! Are you okay? Mister Joe?" Sweetie Belle excitedly asked until she had took notice of the glare he was giving her. "Mister Joe please don't be mad... We just thought- ahh!" Joe had quickly gotten up and grabbed her forcing a little scream out of her.
Joe held her in his arms like she was a puppy and ruffled her hair in a playful manner. "I'm not mad at anyone... Now tell me exactly what this little trek was about." He asked making a rather idiotic face. Sweetie Belle looked confused. "Not talking huh? Okay then." He quickly began to tickle the little pony's chest causing her to giggle uncontrollably.
"It was Scootaloo's plan! It was Scotaloo's plan! She wanted to come here to try to catch the Canterlot monster!" She yelled in between laughs.
"It was her idea was it." Joe menacingly asked as he put the little unicorn on the ground gently. "So that's what the little net was for wasn't it?"
"Hey what do you think you're doing you!-" demanded Scootaloo until she slowly noticed what was going on. He quickly picked her up as well and began tickling her furiously.
"She wanted to catch you because she thought we'd earn our cutie marks this way." Sweetie Belle answered. "And we completely forgot about the rest of the creatures running around here. Also Scootaloo was thinking those stories about Canterlot were about you making you somepony evil."
"You guys think I'm evil?" He asked in a funny voice and tickling her until Scootaloo started saying "I'm sorry" in between laughs. The laughter didn't last long as Apple Bloom freaked out again pointing her hoof by where Joe was standing.
In a bush nearby them were the giant glowing green eyes. In an instant motion the Timberwolf clamped its wooden fangs down on Joe's right foot and began to drag him back into the forest. The three little fillies began to pull back on the human trying to keep him from going back.
"Why does this whole forest hate me?!" He yelled through the little match of tug of war. He took a glance at the wooden wolf and quickly got the same thoughts he had with that evil tulip. "Nope!" He shouted holding his hands out as if he was to push his pursuer away. Just like the plant a beam of red energy shot out propelling the creature far over the forest canopy and leaving a large sum of lumber from the larger tree from earlier. Awestruck of what had occurred the three just sat there. "How the heck did I do that again?!" He tried to mimic the same poses as before but to no avail it wouldn't fire again. Feeling disappointed he began to check himself for injuries. "Nooooo! That's not cool!"
Sweetie Belle shook herself out of the shock and quickly ran up to their savior. "Did you get hurt because of us Mister Joe..." She sadly asked feeling a tad guilty.
"The dang thing destroyed my right shoe..." Joe replied holding up what remained of his black Converse he sighed as he slipped the other pair off along with his socks. He then rolled his slacks back like shorts and proceeded to stand. Ok let's go. We better get out of here. I'm pretty sure a few would've noticed that.
"But wait! What about what happened at the cave?" Sweetie Belle asked insisting that he answer it all.
"We'll talk about that later. Let's just get out of here before another shows up... And before I step on something sharp..." Joe responded picking them up again and heading straight out of there.
"Hey what ever happened to those dog monsters?" Asked Sweetie Belle poking her head out over the others. "What happened with the eplosions, the big pony versus dog fight, that big story about Canterlot and do you eat... Ponies?" She shuddered at the last bit.
Joe looked rather confused about this not wanting to tell them the full truth. "Oh uh those guys the princess sent them home. I don't think I'm able to say anything else about that."
"Then do you know anything about a Canterlot monster?" Asked Scootaloo. "Rainbow Dash said that it walked on two legs and could do magic."
"Uh... I don't know anything on that." Joe lied.
"So then is it true about the Canterlot monster being able to eat ponies in one bite?..." Asked Apple Bloom.
This question put Joe in yet another fun little mood. "Oh... You heard about that eh?..." The three of them tensed in his arms. "I bet you want to know the real reason why I came to save you three then huh... But first I need to tell you all a little something." They all audibly gulped in fear while beginning to shudder. He looked down at them menacingly and almost hungrily. "I haven't eaten... In a while and I'm beginning to feel a bit... Famished..."he tightened his grip around them and pulled them a bit closer. "I'm going to take you three all home and then... I'm going to go eat some apples at home." The three instantly dropped their worries and sighed.
"So I guess that's a no... Thank Celestia..." Whispered Apple Bloom to the others.
"Well the real reason was because I felt something pulling me here. I just didn't expect to find you all here. And I hope this is a good lesson for you three to stay out of danger." Joe explained m[
The four of them finally made it to the fork in the road heading to Sweet Apple Acres and Ponyville. "I guess this is where we say bye." Said the human as he pulled them off his shoulders and his neck. He had a sad look to what was left of his shoes and threw them off to the side.
"Aww... Why don't you follow us to the farm? Applejack could probably try to get the rest of the town to like ya if you show them you aren't all evil. I mean you saved our tails more than once." Apple Bloom complained sadly. I betcha once they get to know ya, you'll be somepony famous for all the things you could do." Scootaloo just ignored them as a display of discontent.
"Yeah Mister Joe you'd get a house, a bed and maybe my sister can make you new clothes if you wanted to." Added Sweetie Belle. "Don't you want to have that?"
"I sort of already have something going on and I don't think I can get out of it for a while. Just like what I said at the cave. I'm still trying to find my way home. " he sighed in his reply. The sounds of hooves approaching quickly alerted him. "Crap... I've gotta go..." He said quietly. "You can't say anything about me and what happened with that wolf thing alright? I think that's the Crazy purple Unicorn Spike kept talking about earlier." He pointed down the path distracting them.
"Oh that's just Twilight and Fluttershy probably coming to see Appleja-..." Explained Apple Bloom as they all turned back to see that Joe had disappeared.
"Aww pony feathers... He escaped now how are we gonna prove we caught the Canterlot monster?" Scootaloo finally spoke.
The other two fillies laughed as Twilight and Fluttershy approached them in wonder. "Oh hello there girls. What have you three been up to lately?" Twilight asked happily to see them. "I hope you three haven't been getting into trouble. I wouldn't want any of you to get hurt before the Ponyville Gala."
"Ponyville Gala?" The three asked in unison.
"Wait I think it's that thing Rarity kept talking about. I bet we can get another chance to earn our Cutie Marks helping her out." Scootaloo immediately jumping at the opportunity.
"Yeah that's right we better go find her. But..." Sweetie Belle replied."what about Mister Joe?" She whispered at the end.
"He already said not to say anything. So we gotta play along with this okay?" Scootaloo quickly placed her hoof over Sweetie Belle's mouth to keep Twilight and Fluttershy from hearing them. She quickly turned to the older mares and forced herself to smile innocently.
They quickly bought it. "Alrighty then have fun. We're going to be checking in with Applejack." Twilight said as they continued on their way.
"We'll probably find him again. Let's just go ahead and help Rarity with this Gala thing. I know Applejack and Granny got the baking down without me messing it up." Apple Bloom said as she began trotting down the Ponyville path.
"Next time we see him we'll be sure to get him some help." Sweetie Belle added.
"I'll be sure to bring a bigger net next time." Scootaloo whispered to herself as she followed them to Rarity's.
Back in the field.
Joe quickly patted his pockets desperately searching for something important. "Where the heck is that pendant?! Don't tell me I left it back there..." He panicked. He pulled the innards of each of his pockets to find only a few bits a couple of leaves and a small little net he pocketed during the wooden wolf attack. He finally patted the rear pocket and temporarily felt relief it was there. He pulled the pendant out and put it on transforming him into a Unicorn. "Now to head back home before something stupid happens."
In no time, he was already back at Ponyville's entrance. He sighed as he looked at the decorations that had been put up all over town. "Wow that's different I wonder what's going on here." He asked himself as he walked through the welcome to Ponyville sign. But, something was wrong he could feel the pointy bits of gravel poking at his bare feet. The image of Red quickly flickered as if it were glitching out on a screen. He quickly took noticed and made a dive into the bushes. Luckily the bushes were big enough to hide him as the image quickly glitches out until it was just him sitting there on all four. "What? What and why?" He pulled the pendant out and grimaced at what he had seen. The pendant had been damaged to the point that it was missing its horn and that it's neck was bent at a lethal angle for anything alive except for maybe a sponge, and owl and maybe a few flexible animals. He tried to place it back on his neck. Nothing but a few golden bolts of Celestia's magic sparked from it.
"Tsk tsk tsk the princess is gonna be disappointed with you. She put some very sophisticated magic into that and I'm pretty sure you're gonna stick out like a hedgehog in a balloon factory like that." Suddenly whispered the voice of the man with the scarlet suit.
"Dang it old man.. Even now?" Joe retorted in his mind. "Now is not the time to be messing with my head now get out of there."
"Oh okay... I came out here to help get you out of this little predicament but I guess you don't need my help do you?" The old man replied in a mocking singsongy voice.
"What do you mean? Help me how?" Joe replied loud enough for a few of the ponies to notice.
"Well I remember doing a bit of reading about a temporary shapeshifting spell that could return your disguise but you need to be careful in order to retain the shape and it doesn't last long so you have to be quick." The old man explained. " Wanna try it out now? Before I change my mind." He snickered a bit at the end.
Joe made a small opening in the bush to see that his ramblings caught the attention of a few of the ponies. "Hey are you okay over there?!" One of them asked getting close.
Thinking critically he quickly answered. Yeah!.. Yeah I uh just dropped something! I'm fine!"
"Oh okay just checking on ya." The same pony who first spoke up answered.
"Okay! Okay! Just do it!" Joe's mind yelled. An audible snap of the fingers was heard. In a flash the human fell out of the bush once again as Red.
"Now was that so hard?" Mocked the old man. "Now don't forget be careful you just need to get back to the windmill. Oh yeah and you're welcome." Finished the voice. Before Red could turn and leave another voice came up behind him.
"On my are you okay?" Asked a generous voice. Red turned to see a white Unicorn with a strange purple mane behind him. "Are you a part of the decorations group? If so which one?"
"Huh? The what? Groups?" Red stammered getting up. He noticed the big stack of parchments that she had piled on her back along with an over stuffed saddlebag. The load seemed a bit too much for her seeing that she looked somewhat strained. "I don't think I am part of any yet but I'm willing to help if you need anything." He seemed to forget what needed to be done once he had noticed she needed help. "Do you need any help carrying those? They look a bit heavy."
"Oh yes please that would be quite generous of you. Do you mind if you could help me place these around the town?" She asked seeking a moment of relief.
"Sure." Red answered taking the load of her back and placing it onto himself. "Where to Miss?..."
"Rarity. The name is Rarity and you are? If you don't mind me asking." She answered looking towards the bare walls of the homes and businesses that she had yet to decorate.
"Just call me j-... Just call me Red." He caught himself.
"Why thank you Red. What a peculiar name..." Rarity nodded in thanks. "Shall we begin?" Red nodded yes as he followed her into town placing the banners up as they walked along other ponies who were also setting up various decorations. Some basic and a few frilly.
"Okay now, let's place these according to color." instructed starting before him. He followed the pattern from lavender, violet, rose and to azure until the buildings were decorated in a spectrum between blue and red.
"These are pretty amazing they feel so light yet they look so much bigger than they weigh." He held the last big banner up with magic. "And the designs they look like the ones at Canterlot."
"So you've been to Canterlot?" Rarity asked taking an interest in the topic.
"Yeah... Why?" Asked Red pinning up another banner.
"This whole event is based on the Big Gala that the Princess hosts every year. And Canterlot itself is a marvel is it not. The class, the sophisticated ponies, the glamour they're all alluring." Rarity answered she took out what looked to be tinsel out of the Saddle bag and began to tie bows on the street posts. "How long were you there?"
"Well not too long. The Princesses had me move down here for awhile mostly for lessons-" he suddenly stopped as his body began to shake. "Oh crap!"
"Did I not tell you to make it quick?" The old man's voice echoed in his mind once again. "I leave for a moment to recharge my batteries for this? You need to pull out of there now! Pronto! A.S.A.P! The spell is fading."
He looked at his hoof as it quickly popped into a hand. He panicked and pulled off one of the banners he just hung up. "I think I'm gonna borrow one of these. I will bring it back later I've got an emergency!" With that he gently placed the saddlebag on a nearby bench and bolted out of sight.
"Oh umm... But... I guess I can make another or whenever you're done with it you could just bring it back and hang it back up." She replied as he dashed away. "Hmm Red... Wasn't the pony Twilight stalking named something like Red was he not? Or was he?" Rarity pondered to herself.
Red flashed down the streets with his body slowly regaining its human attribute and to the point that the walkway's gravel were beginning to feel like they were jabbing into his palms and feet. He sped up and covered himself up with the banner like it was a cloak of sorts. With one final flash he was half way to the windmill but his transformation was complete.
"Crap!" The human said hunkering down by a small shop. He was out of bits and in the open without shoes. Luckily though the path ahead leads into the grass and the less populated portion of town. "C'mon not too far now..." He tried to stand up but his height exceeded the banner and exposed his bare feet. "Dang this calls for desperate measures. He tied the poor banner tightly around his neck and bent over trying to awkwardly walk like a pony. "This looks stupid..." He thought to himself making himself look inconspicuous and smaller than he should. Several of the ponies that hung around either just pointed and whispered to each other or just straight out just started laughing.
A little further down the path was a very enthusiastic pink pony with a cart carrying a tower of dry goods and eggs. She happily hummed herself into a frenzy of hopping along the path causing the cart to wiggle. She instantly noticed the walking purple banner and gave it a strong stare trying to notice a face. "Hmm what's this?" She asked watching the thing approach even closer.
Joe took just as much caution as the staring pink pony as they passed each other he passed her just giving a nod of acknowledgment. He continued down the path but shortly stopped to shake the pain of the gravel from his palms. He turned to see that the same pony continued to follow him giving the same wide eyed stare. He continued to walk and she continued to follow with the cart in tow. "Uh yes?" He asked the pink pony.
"You're hiding something... I intend to find out." The pink Pony replied rather sternly. "Do I know you you don't look too familiar... Probably because of that pretty banner Rarity made. I hope she knows you're using it."
"Uh yeah she knows and I'm just heading back home now." Joe replied honestly. He continued on his way but the pony continued to follow making the already awkward walking even more awkward. "So... I'm gonna be heading this wayyyyy... Please stop following me that's very uncomfortable."
"Okie dokie! She replied in a chipper change of tone. But she continued to watch out of curiosity. "I wonder who that was... But then again I wonder what the universe means and how and when we will be able to traverse into the cosmos. *sigh* I love space. Spacccccccccce... Oh well gotta go start the baking."
The grass was a much more manageable terrain since it did not consist of little stones. Seeing that no body was around he began to walk on his own two feet. He quickly made his way past a few of the remaining homes and into the windmill.
He closed all the curtains and took off the Banner carefully folding it and putting it off to the side. He tore his jacket and pants off leaving him only in his boxers and white T-shirt. He also gave a look at the now ruined unicorn pendant and sighed. "I'm gonna be in trouble tomorrow..." He said to himself as he picked up the already worn out pieces of clothes and placed them on the table. He levitated a needle and black thread from the kitchen drawer and began a few repairs on the rips and holes made from today's adventure.
Back at the fork in the road going to Ponyville and Sweet Apple acres...
A certain Rainbow Pegasus flew over scanning the area for anything of interest. "Hey what are those?" She asked herself quickly descending towards "aren't those... Oh my gosh!"
She picked up the objects by their laces and departed at a super sonic speed.
Stats
Page generated in 0.016 seconds
Total duration
972 users online
2,220,109 hits today, 2,707,512 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®