Chapter 1: Creatures
-Twilight-
"Hey, Twilight, ya in here?"
Twilight snapped her attention out of the novel she was happily reading to the voice downstairs. Twilight sighed, marked the page she was on, and set the book down on the bed as she trotted down to the main room. She felt a little put out that her quickly dwindling private time was being interrupted, but being a Princess hadn't really changed her day job as Ponyville's librarian. She perked up a little when she noticed it was Rainbow Dash that was lazily hovering in the air, browsing some of the books on the shelves as she waited.
"Looking for a specific book?" asked Twilight. Rainbow Dash jumped back, trying to cover up that she had even been looking at the books even though it was obviously useless.
"No! I mean, yes...I mean....darn it," she swore, giving up and landing on the ground. "I was wondering if you had anything that talked about strange weather."
Twilight looked quizzically at the pegasus for a moment. Rainbow Dash was young but had been the weather manager for nearly three years at this point. She knew practically everything there was to know about the weather, especially being from Cloudsdale. Twilight brought her mind back to the moment when she realized how long she had been staring without saying a word
"Hmm, I think I can help you," she said, glancing up and down the shelves. "What's it for?"
"It's nothing," said Rainbow Dash. "I just saw something kinda weird from the direction of the Everfree and I was just....curious."
"There's nothing wrong with learning new things, Rainbow," said Twilight, chuckling a little at her friend's discomfort.
"Hanging out with you is turning me into an egghead, I swear."
Twilight laughed out loud in response before calling out to Spike. The little dragon bounded out of the kitchen, his little pink apron still tied on and smudged with cookie sprinkles.
"Spike, you remember that Weather Phenomenons Guide? I need to find it."
"Sure thing, I remember where that one is!" he replied as he jogged over to a ladder. He scaled it quickly and reached across a shelf just below the top before pulling out a small, blue book. Spike slid down the ladder and brought it over to Twilight, who picked it up with her magic and floated it to Rainbow Dash, who muttered a thanks. Spike nodded and waddled back towards the kitchen.
Twilight watched with interest as Rainbow flipped open the book right there on the library floor, skimming quickly through the pages. The book was filled with drawings of different clouds and diagrams of pegasi interacting with them, something that was most unusually a subject that Twilight knew very little about. It only took a couple of minutes, which passed in an awkward silence, for Rainbow to flip through the whole thing and close the back cover.
"This all you got?" asked Rainbow Dash, in an expression of concern that Twilight had never seen from her before.
"Ok, Rainbow, what's up?" she asked sternly. Twilight felt herself get a little chill, trying to shake the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong and pass it off as her usual paranoia.
"Ah it's nothing, just saw some weird looking clouds headed our way and I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't something crazy so I could bust it," explained Rainbow, who was apparently embarrassed. "Thanks, Twilight, I'll see you later."
Before Twilight could ask anything more, Rainbow Dash practically burst from the Library, taking off immediately after opening the door. Twilight contemplated flying after her, but she didn't quite feel confident enough in her new wings yet to risk it. Instead Twilight returned to her upstairs loft and up to her telescope balcony. She swiveled and adjusted the lenses towards the Everfree Forest. It wasn't uncommon for the wild clouds of the forest to wander over to Ponyville. Even powerful storm clouds made their way over occasionally, always a tricky job for Rainbow Dash but a task she seemed to relish.
There was indeed a large cloud bank moving in, dark, ominous, and obviously a storm cloud. She couldn't see anything especially unusual about it, so she wondered what had gotten Rainbow Dash worked up about it. It wasn't like her to be nervous about something like this. She had even once tackled a rogue tornado the forest had sent spinning their way, stopping it just in time to save the Apple Family barn.
"Spike! Could you send a letter to the Princess?" Twilight hollered.
"About what?" his voice trailed back.
"Just mention that there is some weather moving in from the Everfree forest and that I'll be getting everypony ready for it, okay?"
"Sure thing!" the dragon replied. Twilight, satisfied that he would accomplish the simple task, once again trotted down the stairs and out the door into Ponyville. It was a gorgeous day, and the town was busy getting ready for the Summer Beginnings Festival. We sure have a lot of festivals Twilight thought, looking around at the busy ponies decorating and setting up the stands and games. Hopefully Rainbow and the weather team won't have any trouble stopping that storm cloud. It would be a shame to have these decorations ruined.
It wasn't long before she reached town hall and trotted inside. Meadowlark was working at her desk, the spectacled unicorn humming to herself as she went through paper work. Twilight politely got her attention and asked to see the Mayor, to which Meadowlark replied that she would go get her.
After a brief moment, Mayor Mare appeared and walked up to Twilight. She quickly filled in the mayor about the approaching storm.
"Oh dear, what does Ms. Dash think?" the Mayor asked.
"I believe she thinks she can handle it, but we may want to warn everypony to prepare just in case," Twilight responded calmly. The Mayor agreed, and immediately sent a nearby staff member out to spread the word. Content that she had done what she needed, Twilight thanked the Mayor and cantered back towards the Library, hoping to squeeze in a few more minutes of reading into the waning afternoon.
She was almost to the doorstep when the loudest clap of thunder she had ever heard stopped her in her tracks. Around her, all the ponies screamed at the sudden noise, but Twilight only barely heard them as her ears were still ringing with the sound. Twilight looked wildly around the sky, but saw nothing that could have caused it. Out of the corner of her eye, she did catch a multi-colored streak arching towards her, and screaming.
Rainbow Dash skidded to a halt, leaving a long skid mark on the dirt road, just inches from Twilight and breathing heavily.
"Rainbow! What's happening!" she asked, her fear rising.
"I can't even get close!" Rainbow yelled. Twilight recoiled from the close proximity. Rainbow's ears must have been ringing too. "I knew I felt something funny about those clouds!"
Twilight turned in the direction of the clouds, which were now approaching at an alarming rate and seemingly growing larger by the second. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her surroundings. Sure enough, she detected massive amounts of magic radiating from the onrushing weather, but it was unlike anything she had ever sensed before.
"What do we do?" Rainbow asked, who looked like she was on the edge of panic herself. Another clap of thunder, less loud but accompanied by a flash of lightning, shook the air. Ponies started scrambling for shelter indoors, but Twilight stood transfixed. She was a Princess now, an alicorn for Celestia's sake, but she was drawing a total blank on what to do. The magic coming from that cloud was immense, and Twilight could feel it dwarfing her own as it bore down on the hamlet.
"Rainbow! We need to get to Applejack! Sweet Apple Acres is already under that storm!" Twilight finally said, grabbing the pegasus' attention. Rainbow Dash nodded, and they both shot off to the south. They were soon under the dark clouds, which completely obscured the sun and shadowed everything below. There was no rain, but the lightning inside the cloud was dancing furiously, the thunder getting more and more frequent until it was practically a constant rumble.
They crested the hill where they nearly ran into the entire Apple family. Applejack was carrying a very frightened Applebloom, and Big Mac and Granny looked shell shocked.
"It's all gone!" Applejack exclaimed loudly and out of breath. "It just.....lightning....and the barn...the house....just disappeared.....gone in a blink!" she stammered. Twilight screamed in fright along with everypony else as lightning struck a tree a few strides from them. Twilight watched in both horror and fascination as the tree seemed to be enveloped in light, and then vanished like it had never been there. Another strike produced the same result on another neighboring tree.
"RUN!" Twilight yelled, rearing up on her hind legs and then galloping as hard as she could back towards town. The lightning was getting more intense. A stolen glance revealed that almost every tree seemed to be getting hit, and the fence, and even the road behind them. She bore down, running faster than she ever had in all her life.
"NO! BIG MAC!" Applejack screamed behind her as they reached the bridge into town. Twilight screamed herself when she turned. The big, red earth pony was being covered in the same light as the trees before. He couldn't say anything before a small flash, and he was gone.
"BIG MAC!" the apple family screamed again simultaneously, Granny Smith clawing at the ground where he had been standing desperately.
"No time! We gotta go!" Rainbow Dash pleaded, looking wildly around as lightning flashed in every direction. In town, Twilight watched a house get struck, and then it too disappeared along with anypony still inside it.
"Look out!" Twilight whipped her head back just in time to see Rainbow Dash knocking Applejack and Applebloom down, and in time to see a bolt strike her square in the back. Twilight barely heard herself scream as shock registered on Rainbow's face. Then a flash of light, and the loyalest of friends vanished into thin air.
Twilight didn't even have time to call her name before more lightning blazed down and caught the shocked earth ponies, snatching away Applejack and Applebloom in a single flash before another seconds later dealt the same fate to Granny Smith. Twilight whirled around in shock. Ponyville was being consumed by lightning, and it seemed there was more of the blazing archs then buildings or ponies. The thunder was a continuous roar.
Twilight felt tears begin to flow as her mind registered the library flashing away, probably taking Spike with it. She closed her eyes and only waited a second. A warm bolt of lightning finally found her. A powerful, buzzed feeling rushed all over her body from hooves to horn, and then the sensation like she was being sucked away took hold. She shut her eyes, praying for whatever help that could come to her and her friends.
Twilight felt the something wet land on her nose. The cold tickle caused her to sneeze just as more droplets contacted her. Twilight opened one eye, and then the other. Above the clouds were gray instead of black, and there was rain falling. She looked around in bewilderment.
Rainbow Dash was staring at her from the ground, shaking her head in confusion and alternating spreading and folding her wings. Applejack was right next to her, struggling to her feet with Applebloom limp but awake on her back. Another pace over Big Mac was helping Granny Smith to her feet, who was trying to hug him at the same time.
"What in tarnation just happened?" Applejack asked, looking around. Ponyville stood behind them, with occasional flashes of light that were slowly dwindling. Even the apple trees looked as good as ever, lined in a row with the fence separating them from the dirt road.
"I don't know," was all Twilight could muster. She continued to slowly rotate, taking everything that she could in the evening rainstorm around her. She couldn't put her hoof on it, but something was different though she couldn't exactly tell in the fading light.
"C'mon, let's get into town and find everypony else."
- Asher -
Asher Burgess stretched as he walked into the family kitchen, the bright morning light streaming through the window. His mom was in the process of making some oatmeal for anyone that would want it, but he had never particularly liked the stuff so he walked straight to the cereal cupboard. He thought to himself how glad he was to have access to so much food again as he looked over the many choices.
He had just come back home from college from the summer break only the day before, and having something edible instead of the frozen meals he'd been living off of for the last three months was the best thing so far. He had finished his associates, just an easy Political Science curriculum, with plans to return at the end of the summer. But he didn't have to worry about that now, because he was home.
"Mornin' son, heck of a storm last night," remarked his Dad sauntering up behind him.
"I know, it kept me up at first," said Asher groggily, rubbing the last of the sleep from his eyes. "Looks good out there now, though."
Asher looked out the window at the beautiful view they had, the sun barely reaching over the top of the tall mountains that towered above their home. Only two years before, his father, a successful business man, had retired and moved the family to his parent's dream home. A ranch style house with plenty of room for their five children (four boys and one girl at the end, with Asher being the oldest), and more land than they really knew what to do with. Seriously, they still had done nothing other than hike and four wheel on it since they bought it. It used to be government owned, this piece of rugged hills just south of Cripple Creek, Colorado, but the government had been selling land out of desperation for more money and the Burgess family was more than happy to oblige.
They built the house not especially far from the main road passing through, but it had a fantastic view of the backside of Pikes Peak and the surrounding Rocky Mountains. And if they really ever needed civilization, Colorado Springs was just on the other side of the mountains to the east, and Denver an hour up the interstate. And here they had several square miles of pine forested land miles from anybody else.
Asher lingered at the window as he poured Lucky Charms into a bowl. Everything looked so green this time of year, with June coming to an end the summer was getting ready for the full swing. And boy, did it look GREEN, especially on a couple of hills just to the north that marked the entrance into a valley.
Asher sat down with his fresh bowl of cereal, chatting a little with his family and watching the daily activity go on. His three brothers, David, Patrick, and Jonathan were devouring their breakfasts. David was also fresh back from his second semester, while Patrick and Jonathon had just finished up their Junior and Freshman years of high school respectively. At the end of the table, doodling on a piece of paper, was his eleven year old sister Anne.
"I think I'm gonna take a four-wheeler for a spin this mornin', Dad," Asher said as they cleaned up breakfast and got ready for the day. It was already shaping up to be a lazy Tuesday.
"Ok," his dad said, not looking up from his tablet as he read the news. Asher went and got dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans and his favorite Colorado Rockies baseball hat and headed for the door. As he walked out, his Dad got his attention.
"Ash, we saw a couple of bears around here last week, so will you...." his dad said.
"I got it," answered Asher, knowing what his dad wanted. He grabbed what he needed and went over to the family's garage, which was in bad need of a clean out. Asher pulled the red four wheeler out of the garage, brushing some dust and junk off of it as he did so, then started the engine and rode off.
This was a favorite past time of his, but something he hadn't gotten to do in months. Mornings in Colorado were usually clear and pleasantly cool, and this summer morning was no exception. Asher gunned the gas as he went over the first small rise, sticking to the makeshift path his family had carved out from many uses.
He breathed in the smell of morning dew mixing with pine, which he often admitted was one of his favorite smells in the world. After several, pleasant minutes of riding he saw something that caught his eye as he reached the bottom of one hill. He stopped the four wheeler to get a better look. Either he was seeing things, or that was an apple tree, full of huge and ripe apples. He was about to dismount when he noticed there were more up the hill.
In fact, almost every tree except for a stray pine or two was a flourishing apple tree.
"When did ya do this Dad?" Asher mumbled to himself. Apples didn't grow particularly well in Colorado as far as he knew, but man these looked delicious, even from a distance. Asher jumped off the four wheeler, shutting it down and walking into the dense orchard. He couldn't even see the end of it, as the trees went up and over the hill, too close together to ride any further. You'd think they'd mention doing something big like this thought Asher. His family could be forgetful and even downright silly sometimes, but this stretched even that limit.
He walked up to one of the trees and plucked a low hanging apple, a shining, red one. Taking a bite of it, he couldn't believe just how tasty it was. It was by far the juiciest apple he had ever tasted. He was going to have to take some with him.
A loud rustle in the bushes behind him snapped him to attention, his father's warning about bears coming to find. But he saw nothing. He could hear something moving though, somewhere to the left among the trees. He bent low out of instinct, trying to look around the trees to figure out what it was. Probably just a deer he reasoned. Asher walked up to a tree in the direction of the noise and worked his way around it, stepping over low bushes.
A high-pitched squealing sound grabbed his attention straight ahead, and an orange-ish object about the size of a dog flung past him and directly into the tree. Asher jumped back in surprise, barely suppressing a yelp of his own. He couldn't quite process what he saw immediately. He had never seen an animal like this before. It was orange in color, but had pink hair on its head and for its tail.
Asher was about to move closer for a better look when a low growl from his left stopped him cold. He turned slowly towards the noise, and had absolutely no idea what the heck he was looking at. It was big, about the size of a bear, but it looked sort of like a large dog. Except it was so covered in sticks and leaves it looked like it was made out of them. The creature was moving slowly towards him in a stalking crouch, slobbering and growling all the while.
Asher moved his hand slowly but deliberately towards his back waistband. The creature reared back to charge just as he found what he was looking for. He pulled out his 1911 .45 from its hidden holster and leveled it in a single, practiced motion. He had gotten his carry permit just after high school, and had only used the gun his dad had given him on a range since then. Until now that is.
Asher fired, ignoring the recoil entirely as adrenalin took over. The first shot struck the creature in the face, splintering wood. So did the second, third, and fourth. The creature staggered back, and let out a frightening snarl. But Asher didn't flinch as he fired twice more. The beast shuddered in place, trying to comprehend what had happened, and then fell to pieces.
Asher just stared, slack-jawed, for what felt like several minutes. There was a pile of random sticks and leaves lying before him where a huge monster had stood, and his brain was not having any of it. Asher shook his head and blinked several times to try to get himself to focus. He clicked the safety of his gun back on and holstered it, mentally noting he only had one shot left in the clip. After a few more moments of staring, he turned back to the small orange creature from before, which hadn't moved at all.
Glancing around to make sure there was no more danger, he knelt down to look closer. At this point, Asher felt his mind ready to implode. It had wings. Small, probably unable to lift a creature even that diminutive in size, but nevertheless, wings. It was hoofed, though even those were orange and were unlike any he had ever seen before, and the only thing he could connect in his mind was "horse."
"Holy crap," was all he could say as it clicked in his mind. Asher reached down and felt the animal's neck, and feeling a pulse made a decision. He bent down, and scooping it up by its legs carried it back down the hill to the four wheeler. He started the engine and headed for home, hoping that he was dreaming and not going crazy.
- Twilight -
"I don't recognize anything around here!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, hovering a few feet in the air and looking around. Twilight agreed. The rain had finally stopped by midnight, but it wasn't until the morning that they finally got a look at the landscape around them. Honestly, it was all vaguely familiar, with the hills and mountains looking like they were where they were supposed to be. But they looked different. Most were either broader or looked more rough than before, and on top of that one of them certainly looked taller. The one were Canterlot was supposed to be was massive, but there was no castle built into its side.
From a distance, Twilight also thought a lot of the distant trees looked more like pines, something that wasn't especially common around Ponyville before. So where in the wide world of Equestria were they? All of Ponyville, including Sweet Apple Acres was present and accounted for, with every pony checked on.
"Maybe we should start scoutin' the land," suggested Applejack without conviction, scratching the side of her head.
"Perhaps, but maybe we should wait to see if somepony comes looking for us," offered Rarity, equally uncertain.
"We can't just sit around," complained Rainbow Dash, who was now restlessly pacing the sky back and forth. Twilight looked to Fluttershy, then to Pinkie Pie, then to a very stressed looking Mayor Mare who all remained mute with any of their ideas. Once again, Twilight agreed with Rainbow. They needed to figure out where they were and what was going on.
"TWILIGHT! APPLEJACK! RARITY!"
The circle of ponies whirled to see Sweetie Bell and Applebloom running full pelt towards them, and Twilight's heart skipped a beat when she realized how scared they looked.
"We went explorin'..." Applebloom began.
"....and we were going through the orchard...." added Sweetie Bell.
"...then a huge timberwolf just...."
"...came out of nowhere and....."
"....we ran but it caught Scootaloo..."
Both fillies took in a deep breath.
"...a-a-and then some...."
"...tall..."
"...thin...."
"...thing..."
"...it was wearing clothes...."
"...just stepped up a-a-and..."
"...there were these loud noises..."
"...and it killed the timberwolf without touchin' it!"
Twilight and the others tried to process this as the fillies took another deep breath, and kept going in unison.
"...But then it picked up Scootaloo..."
"...and took her away!" they finished together.
"What!?" the six ponies replied at the same time.
"What were you thinkin' explorin' at a time like this!?" demanded Applejack, with Rarity not saying anything but giving her sister a hard stare. Both ponies also looked worried sick to their stomachs, a sentiment Twilight shared
"Never mind that! Where!?" Rainbow Dash asked the fillies urgently. They pointed to the south, Applebloom saying, "The far side of the south orchard."
Rainbow Dash nodded determinedly and was about to fly off when Twilight grabbed her tail with her magic.
"No, Rainbow, we need to do this carefully!" she pleaded.
"What? Are you kidding me!?" Rainbow Dash shot back, glaring at her.
"Whatever this....thing... is it is apparently powerful. We need to be careful and make a plan!"
"I have a plan! Kick some serious flank!"
Twilight saw the powerful determination in Dash's eyes and knew she would have to compromise, but spoke back firmly, "We'll plan as we go. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy, come along with me. (Fluttershy looked like she was about to have a heart attack but nodded). Mayor, you stay here and keep the ponies calm. We'll be back soon with Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash, stay with us! Let's go!"
Twilight galloped off with Rainbow Dash flying just barely ahead and the others barreling after her. So wherever they were, it was inhabited, and it wasn't a pony. That thought scared her more than anything else as she charged ahead down the path to Sweet Apple Acres.
- Asher -
Asher called out for his parents as he pushed the door open, careful not to bang the small creature's head against anything. He could feel it breathing steadily as he had been holding it, but he was pretty stunned that its headfirst run in with the tree hadn't killed it so he wanted to look it over.
Asher stalked to the kitchen table, grabbing a blanket as he passed the living room couch and laying it on the table with his free hand before carefully laying the animal down.
"What is that? I don't want wild animals in my house, Asher," his mom said as she walked in.
"Mom, please just come look at this thing and tell me I'm not crazy," Asher asked exasperatedly. His mother looked at him a little quizzically, before stepping forward to look. He watched as her expression changed to a confused wonder. This both relieved and terrified him at the same time. He wasn't crazy, but he wasn't dreaming. There was what looked like an orange and pink, mini pegasus on the table, and he had saved it from a giant monster made out of wood.
"Oh wow....Andrew! Come look at this!" his mom called to his dad. Moments later, his dad, trailed by two of his brothers as well as his sister came in from another room, all wondering what the ruckus was about. They gathered around the table, and individually started thinking out loud as they looked at it.
"What is it?" Jonathan asked.
"Kinda looks like a little horse to me." offered Patrick.
"A pony!" Anne exclaimed.
"Where'd you find it?" asked his father, looking up at Asher.
"In that apple orchard over that way," said Asher, pointing out the window. The family simultaneously looked at him, all gazing at him like he had just told them he had changed his name to Paprika.
"What's this about an apple orchard?" David walked in the room, and his attention was quickly drawn to the table. "Whoa, what's this?"
"Ash, we don't have an apple orchard," his mother said. Asher began to worry about his own sanity again and was once again praying that it was all a vivid dream. A very vivid dream.
"Well, there's a whole mess of apple trees on that hill, and I was walking through them when I was attacked by this.....thing. Didn't you hear the gunshots?"
All of them immediately switched expressions to shocked. Asher sighed inwardly as he tried to explain what had happened, but as the short story went on it just felt more ridiculous.
"It was made of wood?" asked David, more a skepticism than a question.
"I'm telling ya, that's what I saw," said Asher adamantly. His dad was about to respond when the creature, or pegasus, or whatever it was, began to stir. Asher went straight up to it, putting his hand on its head to steady it and try to keep it calm as it woke up. Asher tried not to freak out when it opened its eyes, which were much larger than he had expected, looked more human than animal, and were an amazing, deep purple. What happened next succeeded in freaking out all of them.
It jumped up quicker than a cat, its tiny wings spread and suddenly cried out, in a voice that sounded a lot like a young girl's, "What!? Where am I? Who are you?"
The whole family backed to the wall, stunned at what they had just heard.
"It talked," said Jonathon. The creature looked horrified and was scared out of its wits. Asher quickly buried his shock and carefully approached it.
"Sorry we scared you, my name is Asher, just calm down," he soothed, inching forward slowly. It didn't respond, but put its full attention on Asher, it's eyes full of fear.
"You were attacked and I saved you and brought you here," continued Asher slowly. "We aren't going to hurt you."
The creature stayed on its guard and was still shaking, but it did appear to relax a little bit.
"Do you have a name?" Asher asked calmly, stopping a step or two from the table.
"S-Scootaloo," it stammered. Well that's sure different thought Asher. It definitely was talking, and it had a name like he'd never heard before. He caught himself wondering if it meant something in another language before bringing back his attention span.
"OK, Scootaloo, you hit your head. How do you feel?" asked Asher, leaning to the table and keeping eye contact just a couple of feet away from Scootaloo. He really wanted to ask where she came from and what she was and why she was here, but Asher sensed the little thing could pass out from shock if it didn't calm down.
Scootaloo paused a moment, regarding him closely as it (was it a he or a she?) stood up straighter and began to look with more curiosity rather than just fear. "My head hurts a little but I think I'm okay."
Asher was at first skeptical but from where he was standing she (he decided it was a girl from the voice) really did look alright. She didn't look dizzy or disoriented at all, even though it had taken such a hard blow, and she was speaking mostly evenly. She still looked very frightened though, and he wondered what she had against humans to make her that way.
"Where did you come from?" It was his Dad that spoke. Scootaloo looked up at him, and after a moment answered, "Ponyville."
Asher exchanged a quick glance with his Dad, confirming that he didn't know what she was talking about either.
"What are you exactly?" Asher asked carefully. This time Scootaloo looked at him like he was from Mars, as if it was a no-brainer question.
"I'm a Pegasus, but I'm not alone!" she said quickly. "I wasn't too far from town and my two friends were with me when we went into the orchards to explore."
"Two more? I didn't see them," said Asher, concerned that he hadn't.
"I told them to hide once we saw the Timberwolf and I ran so it would chase me instead," said Scootaloo. Timberwolf. Of course it would be called that. But then this little....pegasus....lured it after herself? She was either brave or crazy, because that thing had been easily ten times her size.
"So there is an orchard?" asked his mom interestedly.
"Told ya," said Asher a little bit smart-alecky. Even at 20 years old he had never outgrown sarcasm.
Then there was a knock at the door that startled all of them. The Burgess family looked at each other for a moment, before Patrick strode quickly through the room and around the corner to the back door.
- Twilight -
"I must be crazy," Twilight muttered to herself as she stood at the doorway. Here she was knocking on the door of some creature that she didn't even know what they looked like or if they could even talk, and was planning to ask if they had seen a little, orange pegasus. It was a little comforting to have Rainbow Dash hovering lightly above and to the right, and Applejack to her left, as well as Rarity and Fluttershy standing a ways back just in case, but it didn't make it any less insane.
She rapped on the door again, and this time it opened. Before them stood a very tall....thing....that stood on two legs and had two arms that kind of resembled a monkey's but with no hair. It had a brown mane on top of its head and somewhat small blue eyes. Twilight stopped herself from running away. The creature wore a very strange look, which as far as Twilight could tell was total and utter confusion.
It turned, facing back into the house before yelling clearly, "Mom, Dad, Asher, you're gonna want to see this."
Well we speak the same language, that's promising. I hope thought Twilight. Two more creatures came to the door, both just barely shorter than the first and all three with brown hair and blue eyes, as well as the same, pale, hairless skin, though one was wearing a black ball cap with ornate letters on it. The one with the hat moved in front of the others
- Asher -
There's more of them. Outside. A purple one, an orange one, and a blue one with a rainbow mane that is hovering on our back porch.
Asher pushed his way without really realizing it to the front, which Patrick allowed without any resistance and stepped back. Asher tried to think of something to say but his brain had officially had it for the day.
"Excuse me, we think that you may have taken our little friend," the purple one said in a feminine voice, which Asher could see had a single horn (a unicorn?).
"Sure, come in," said Asher a little too enthusastically. "Why not? This day could not possibly get any weirder."
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The heck? How'd this get into the feature box so fast?
I love this. This is a great way to start a 'ponies on earth' story, and a quite unique one at that. The interactions between the characters are really well done, and you did a great job showcasing the emotions of the characters as they experienced the story. While I was reading, I did notice a few sentence errors, so it might be a good idea to go back and take a look through it. They're minor, but the fewer and smaller they are, the more they interrupt the flow of the story. Regardless, great story, and I can't wait to see more.
*click's favorite button*
Um, wow. Did not expect the feature at all. No pressure. No pressure at all.
You now have my attention.
I would like to say that I don't think this exactly qualifies for the 'random' tag, though. Maybe Adventure, but that conflicts with slice of life (which it is both, but not like the administration gets that sort of thing)
I went down to press the next chapter button, but it wasn't there... D:
This is interesting, I want to see where this goes. Keep up the good work.
I like how know ones freaking out or nothing. Not even a "HOLY CRAP!! THERES A BUNCHA TALKING PONIES STANDING ON MY DOORSTEP!! WTF?!" lol.
I look forward to your next update! Liked and favorited.
If the government finds out about this, they'll probably spread propaganda to the public saying:
troll.me/images/rent-is-too-damn-high/the-end-is-too-damn-nigh.jpg
Then they take them all in for dissection.
It's official; I'm intrigued. A promising start to an epic tale. I'm following this.
Well, that's interesting. I've kinda been looking for an "entire town dimension swap" story for a while (kinda like the Ring of Fire series, which I recommend ... mostly). Could be cool.
But I have to say, I'm a little concerned about where you're going to take this. That comment
It makes me think that you may not be planning to take full advantage of the situation you've developed. I think it would be a mistake to focus too narrowly on just a single character, like this Asher guy, or Twilight.
You've got a whole town, a whole family, and a whole planet to work with. That means there's a huge number of different reactions and character POVs that you could use to tell (and greatly enhance) the story. It would feel like a real waste if nobody but one or two humans or ponies was ever used, and would basically relegate the story to a standard "human meets pony" category instead of what it really has the potential to be.
4667851 After they saw Scootaloo, they were like: "Since this little pegasus is real, nothing can surprize us anymore."
Good start so far. Interested in seeing how this goes.
Well this looks promising. You sir have my full attention.
4667933 Na the political backlash for treating the first sapient species that humanity has come into contact with poorly would be too great. There would be protestors forming human walls around ponyvile, I know I would be there with them.
So far very interesting. Keep going.
Oh really?
You haven't met everypony yet.
very interesting, you have my attention as well. I love how you are writing your OC's as characters instead of as if you ARE them a huge plus in my book
hope to see an update soon 
4667531
But seriously, I hope this works out for you.
Just don't use this story to push your political or religious views. Bad things will happen.
~TheWraithWriter
That's... that's a LOT of acreage. o_O
1. I hope Anne is as absolutely giddy about all the OMGADORBZPONES as I would be.
2. Solid first chapter.
3. Describing Scootaloo's mane as pink threw me off. I always called it purple, but now that I look at it, holy crap it actually changes quite a LOT, especially depending on the lighting. Sometimes its very clearly purple and sometimes it almost looks like Fluttershy's pink.
th04.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2012/207/1/e/scootaloo__2_by_baumkuchenpony-d58jpbo.png
fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/343/f/0/motivational_____scootaloo__unhinged_edition__by_darkonshadows-d5niayz.png
I guess its ... Magenta?
dis gun be gud
4667997 Here's another town dimension swap story if you want
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/152815/my-little-pony-arceus-and-the-displaced-village
Heh I wonder what will happen if the Crystal Empire appears in Russia.
4668684
I wonder what happens if Canterlot appeared on Camano Island in Washington state.
I didn't notice mention of Pinkie in this. Found that odd. But still, great start to the fic.
t0.rbxcdn.com/c7f464c47fada7f7757f2597a64b3fa8 It's a magazine! Not a clip!
Anyways, I love the way this story is turning out. I can't wait to see more, but please, don't ever call a magazine a clip ever again.
4668776
They should learn the difference between a clip and a magazine. They're not the same thing.
Just to clear it up, I was fully aware about the difference between a clip and a magazine (been hunting since I was 8) but in typical American slang clip is used more often (because we are lazy). not mad, just answering.
4668776 a magizine is out side the gun a clip is inside the gun is what i was tought by my grandfather
More! I must have more!
Good writing keep writing more.
I guess that's all, I couldn't see any error's so yea.
4668963
Only civilians use that slang. Anyone in the military gets that idea, metaphorically after the '90s, beat out of them (I've seen vets visibly flinch when people confuse the two). My old battalion's Master Sergeant told us his story of how his training back when he kept using the word "clip" instead of "magazine", and what he was forced to do as punishment ensured that all of us never confused the two
4669274 ... why? It's not a mistake I tend to make myself, but aren't there more important things that could use more focus in basic?
4669446
That's actually the point. It is a small detail, but those things can easily get you and your squad killed on the battlefield. It's more of a "instilling discipline" and "paying attention to detail" kind of thing than actually caring about the difference.
4669471 Alright; I'm pretty detail-oriented myself, so I can understand the logic in that.
4669486
This was another one of the things that the Battalion Master Sergeant loved to quote when he found someone not paying attention to the small things. He never did tell us who that DS was, but the point is valid.
NEED MOAR MOAR MOAR
Awesome chapter,can't wait for the next one!
makeameme.org/media/created/YOU-HAD-MY.jpg
4668977
xtremerecoil.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/clip_vs_mag.jpg
4668963 "I'm an American so I don't count" isn't a valid excuse for being lazy with your terminology, especially in writing.
4667997
Yep, I considered Cloudsdale over Allentown myself (that was the working title of a little idea of mine) -- it pretty much did not get done because I was frightened of the sheer number of characters because you have the ponies, the residents, the government reaction -- it just seemed like the story would become too busy too quickly. You sure tried something difficult this time around.
What is funny is that TWO stories from my story bin had similar stories started by other authors today.
I can just hear the U.S Army mobilizing from Colorado Springs. There are a shit ton of military bases around the area, and I would be horribly disappointed if the military didn't get involved. Nice first chapter!
4669841
They would probabley be stationed around Ponyville until they are certain there is no threat, and I wouldn't be suprised if the town was quarantined to prevent the spread of alien diseases.
4669868
...and even if it proved to be entirely harmless, having foreign people in large masses on American soil? They'd go ape shit! Drones, constantly in the air. Barbed wire everywhere. That's my hypothesis at least xD
I can't wait for the ponies to learn about Earth culture!global3.memecdn.com/edd-and-eddy_o_1904793.jpg
Nice to see an ISOT story here. I'm surprised there aren't more. Of course, using that plot device makes it hard to write a short story.
4669841 Sound like a normal day in the stargate universe then.
4669896
).
As a former US Army soldier, not really. US law prohibits any federal military personnel from being deployed on to US soil (save for an act of Congress clearing them to do so temporarily, which would have a lesser chance then having an act of God appear and take care of the problem). The Colorado NG would likely be deployed to establish a no-fly zone over the area, secure a perimeter, and then have ungodly strict ROEs in place to enforce the quarantined, both ways (meaning the soldier that opens fire better have his life in immediate danger or he's going to be spending a few decades in Fort Leavenworth). After that, the CDC and Department of State would have to get there and try not to screw everything up (like civilians usually do, especially diplomats
Most of Hollywood wouldn't even recognize the real military if they "knocked politely" on their front doors.
And then every Ponyville citizen died due to exposure to forgin pathogens from earth.
THE END.
jk, love the story, fave'd and liked.
(But it could happen you know)