The Element Knights of Harmony

by Scootadasher13

The Strange Unicorn

Chapter 2

Twilight awoke the next morning to banging on her bedroom door. Sitting up, with her mane all tangled and in serious need of a brushing, she asked “Who’s there? It’s not even 10:00 yet.”

Her door burst open and in rushed Rainbow Dash looking extremely flustered.
“Twilight,” Rainbow said “I was headed home to get ready for this morning’s weather and I came across something strange on the steps outside!” Reaching down she grabbed Twilight’s sheets and flipped them down then grabbed her friends hoof and started to drag her out of bed.

“What was weird? You seeing the sun rise because IT’S 7:30!” Twilight roared, yanking the covers back up, covering her head and trying to go back to sleep. Twilight never was an early riser when the occasion didn’t call for it.

“No,” Rainbow stated, addressing the lump that was Twilight. “I always get up this early. Why do you think I take naps in the middle of the day? Anyway, I was heading out and I saw something on the steps of the castle, so I flew over to check it out. It was a unicorn, Twilight”

Rainbow again tried to get her friend up and moving, this time with a little more success. At least now Twilight wasn’t throwing the covers back over her head and grumbling about how annoying she found ponies that always woke up early. She was finally up and out of bed walking towards her mirror as she levitated a brush through her hair.

“What’s so weird about a unicorn on the steps? He probably wanted to ask me something, or look around at the castle,” Twilight said looking at Rainbow through her mirror. “I told everypony at the celebration that they could come here any time and explore”

“I know you did Twilight,” said Rainbow now trying to push Twilight through the door into the hall. “But he wasn’t moving. I got worried and so I dragged him inside. He’s lying on the benches in the entryway right now. Fluttershy is trying to wake him up but when I came up here she hadn’t yet succeeded”

“Well, while I’m glad you are so calm in stressful situations, I do have a couple of questions for you,” Twilight said. Rainbow Dash was now pushing her along the hallway towards the stairs. “First, why didn’t you take him to the hospital, they would probably be better equipped to help this strange unicorn?”

“Derpy was heading home after her night weather shift and saw me trying to carry him inside,” Rainbow was now saying. “She helped me carry him in and told me of something strange that happened over the castle last night. Some kind of void opened up over the castle and then a ball of fire flew out of it, and then the hole just sort of disappeared”

Rainbow started to push Twilight over the stairs. “What was your second question?” she asked.

“Would you please stop pushing me?” Twilight cried, causing her other friends to look up at the two of them. “Oh, sorry girls” she said sheepishly.

As Twilight started walking down the steps she looked at her friends. Rarity seemed to be the only one wearing pajamas and somehow her main looked perfectly styled with not a hair out of place. Twilight made a note to ask her how she always seemed to keep her hair in perfect condition. Pinkie Pie seemed as tired as Twilight was, her usually poufy mane seeming to have lost some of its puffiness. Applejack looked completely awake and alert.

I guess that makes sense, what with her having to wake up at the crack of dawn every morning to perform her chores at Sweet Apple Acres Twilight thought. Fluttershy was bending over the stallion unicorn attempting to wake him up. Spike was nowhere to be seen, but Twilight heard clattering coming from direction of the kitchen and assumed he was in there getting breakfast ready.

When Twilight reached the bottom of the stairs she walked over and examined this strange unicorn. He had a red coat similar in shade to Applejack’s brother Big Macintosh and an orange, red, and yellow mane. The end of his mane and tail closest to his body was in an orange hue which faded into red further down. Yellow was by far the most color on this unicorn’s mane, and looking closer Twilight could see a small line of blue along the very tip. It looked like his mane and tail were made of fire.

When Twilight got up closer she noticed something else. This unicorn looked to be a full grown stallion but with one thing missing. This unicorn didn’t have a cutie mark.

The oldest ponies that she knew of that didn’t have symbols that represented their special talent were the self-called ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders’ composed of Rarity’s and Applejack’s sisters Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, with Rainbow’s honorary sister Scootaloo rounding out the trio.

At this point Spike walked out into the main foyer carrying a tray with six cups on it and a pot of fresh brewed cider.

“Oh, good morning Twilight, I can’t believe you are up this early,” Twilight glared at him. “I brought you guys some hot cider to enjoy while I make breakfast. How is he?” Spike said, putting the tray down on a table nearby.

“He still hasn’t woken up and I don’t know why,” said Fluttershy as the others walked over and poured themselves some of the cider. “I’m starting to get worried. I mean I’ve never seen a pony in a coma before,” Rainbow came over with a mug of hot cider for her which she accepted gratefully.

“Maybe we should take ‘im to Ponyville hospital,” said Applejack. “I’m pretty sure it ain’t good for ponies to go so long without havin’ anythin’ ta drink”

“Ok I suppose we could try moving him,” Twilight sighed, looking at the unicorn. “Well if we’re going to take him there we should probably do sooner rather than later” Twilight’s horn started to glow the color of raspberries as she levitated the stallion up.

All at once several things happened. Spike came in announcing that he was finished making breakfast, which happened to be hay pancakes and oatmeal with apple slices, and as soon as Twilight’s magic started to lift the stallion up, a savage wind started to blow through the entire room.

“What in tarnation is goin’ on Twilight?” Applejack yelled over the sound of the wind.

“I’m not sure,” yelled back Twilight. “Wind magic is completely different from levitation magic”

“Well whatever you do, do it fast” cried Rainbow, barely able to stay in one spot due to the hurricane force winds. Fluttershy was being blown all over the place.

Twilight cut the magic and set the stallion back down on the bench and as suddenly as it started the wind stopped.

“Well,” said Rarity, her mane all tangled up and looking like she had let the Cakes twins style it. “Clearly something doesn’t want us to move him”

“But that freaky wind didn’t pop out of nowhere when Derpy and I brought him inside”

“Maybe it’s because I was using magic to lift him,” Twilight observed “Applejack, you and Rainbow try picking him up. We should all gather around him and hold on tight in case that wind picks up again”

As the six friends (Spike had decided that breakfast could wait a little and went to go keep it warm) converged on the unicorn, his eyes suddenly shot open. The ponies all jumped back huddled together and clung to each other in case the wind picked up again.

“What in the name of Áed happened?” the strange unicorn said. He had piercing green eyes that seemed to flash as he took in everything around him. Twilight approached him.

“My name’s Twilight Sparkle. You’re in Ponyville. What’s your name? What do you remember?”

“I remember that sword piercing my chest and, the next thing I know, I woke up here,” said the unicorn placing a hoof on his chest as if to feel for a stab wound. “My name is Ben. Did you say Ponyville? Where is that?”

“It’s in the land of Equestria,” said Rainbow. “Where are you from?”

“Not here” said Ben. “I guess I’m from a far-away land, a land so far it’s not in this dimension”

“We’ve got a dimensional traveler ourselves,” said Rarity. “Our good friend, Twilight here; why she has just returned from a world where the inhabitants walk on two legs and pick things up with… what are they called Twilight?”

“Hands,” Twilight said. “It’s populated by what are called humans. Is that what you were where you come from?”

“Yes, but I’ve traveled through so many worlds that it doesn’t seem strange to me to walk on all fours” Ben said, standing up and moving around. Indeed it seemed he mastered walking with four legs almost instantly, however as soon as he took five steps he groaned and started to fall. Rainbow swooped down to steady him.

“We should probably get you to Ponyville General Hospital” said Twilight, walking over and using magic to open the main doors.

“There’s magic here?” Ben asked. Rainbow lifted him up and flew towards the open door.

“Of course, magic exists here silly. Without it the princesses wouldn’t be able to raise the sun and moon?” said Pinkie, bouncing along with the others as they headed out the doors.

As the friends walked down out of the palace Ben was able to finally look around at this strange world he had landed in. He noticed that there seemed to be only three species of equines populating this world. On the ground were unicorns and regular horses, going about their daily business. He noticed that the unicorns’ magical auras’ seemed to be the same color as the color of their eyes. Ben heard movement above him and looking up he saw multiple groups of pegasi fly around and bust through several clouds that were overhead.

Strange Ben thought. It seems as though the inhabitants of this world are tasked with controlling and maintaining everything. I wonder why this purple unicorn is the only one that has wings as well.

“Is it normal for ponies to be in control of everything around here?” Ben asked, wanting to know as much as he can about this world.

“Of course it is,” said Rainbow Dash. “The only place that’s different is the Everfree Forest. The weather, creatures, and trees all look after themselves. It’s actually kind of weird”

Several minutes later the little group arrived at Ponyville General Hospital and headed in. Once inside Twilight signed in and went over to sit with her friends who had gone straight to the waiting area.

The waiting area had around thirty chairs and every few chairs was an end table that had several different magazines and newspapers on them. The walls were painted an eggshell color with a beige wallpaper strip that ran around the length of the room

“It will be about ten to fifteen minutes before they can see us” she said as she dropped down into a seat at the end of the room closest to the door leading into the hospital.

A question had been forming in Ben’s mind and he asked it now. “Why are you helping me? We don’t know each other; I don’t even know your names. What is it that makes you want to help a stranger in a strange land?”

“Well as ta who we are; I’m Applejack. That there is Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy,” she said pointing at the two pegasi. “Over here is Rarity and Pinkie Pie; and right here is the princess of friendship, Twilight Sparkle” Twilight blushed at the use of her formal title.

“As to why we are helping you, we couldn’t just leave a poor defenseless unicorn outside and unconscious,” said Rarity. “What sort of friends would we be if we did that?”

“Ooh, I know, I know” said Pinkie Pie. “Ummm… Friends who aren’t friends”

Ben looked at her incredulously and the others just laughed at his reaction.

“That’s just Pinkie Pie. She does what she wants” said Twilight as a white earth pony with a red-cross cutie mark came out.

“Twilight Sparkle,” she called “The doctor will see you now”

The little group all got up and aided Ben into the examination room. It was in the same color as the waiting room but instead of a beige strip it had apples all along the wall in a strip. The doctor was already in the room waiting for them.

“Well now what seems to be the problem?” he asked. He was a middle-aged earth pony with a yellow coat and a green mane. He had a cutie mark of two needles crossing each other.

As the group recounted the strange events that had started with the hole over the castle, Ben tried to put together everything that had happened before that. The last thing he could remember was that horrible battlefield and lunging in front of that sword, then pain and a feeling of being compressed and the next thing he knew he was on that bench with these six ponies standing over him. When the doctor asked him if there was anything to add, he lied.

“No, I can’t remember anything before that”. Ben figured it would be best not to scare his new friends and risk causing a panic.

“Well as to his state of weakness I would say it’s probably just exhaustion,” the doctor said. “His lack of a cutie mark on the other hand, most likely comes from the fact that he was not born in this world and so never had to learn what his special talent was”

“What do you think we should do?” asked Twilight.

“Maybe the best thing for him is to learn a bit about the history of Equestria,” the doctor said. “That might help him fit in a bit and give his body time to recharge its energy”

“Ok thanks again doc” Applejack said as they prepared to leave.

“Anytime. Oh, by the way Applejack, Apple Bloom has her checkup next Wednesday to get her booster shots,” said the doctor. “I wasn’t sure if she had told you”

“She did, but thanks for remindin’ me doc” Applejack said waving a hoof in farewell.

On the way back to the castle Ben was able to start walking on his own. He still staggered a bit, but at least he didn’t fall down.

When they finally reached the castle Twilight had already thought of twenty books that would help Ben in learning Equestrian history.

“First we’ll start with the founding of Equestria by Chancellor Puddinghead, Princess Platinum, and Commander Hurricane,” Twilight said as the two entered the library and books started to levitate off the shelf and stack themselves onto a table. “Then we’ll move onto the fall of the Crystal Empire and next we’ll cover Discord’s reign and the finding of the Elements of Harmony by the Regal Pony Sisters, Celestia and Luna. Finally we’ll cover the rise, banishment, and return of Nightmare Moon, the return of Discord and his reformation and the defeat of Tirek. I have personally seen those last eight pieces of history”

As the hours ticked by, Ben absorbed as much as he could about the history of this land. He was surprised to learn that the royal line of Equestria was passed down the mare side and as a result all females of the royal line were Alicorns, powerful flying unicorns with a type of magic that only they could control.

At three o’clock they stopped for the day and decided to go on a walk. As they walked Twilight quizzed Ben on all that she had taught him. He got every question correct.

“That’s very impressive Ben,” Twilight said as they entered Ponyville Park. “It’s so much easier to teach you than it is to teach Rainbow Dash. When she was trying out for the Wonderbolts Reserves, all the answers she gave for my quiz I gave were related to food”

Suddenly the quiet of the park was broken by three separate shouts of “LOOK OUT!” as the troublemakers known as the Cutie-Mark-Crusaders came flying through the air on a zip-line.

Twilight used her magic to freeze Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo in mid-air just before they slammed into Twilight and Ben.

“Oh, hiya Twilight,” said Apple Bloom who was somehow hanging upside down. “Thanks for stoppin’ us before we slammed into y’all”

“It’s no problem girls, but I thought you already tried getting a zip-lining cutie mark” twilight said, using her magic to unclip the three young fillies and set them on the ground.

“We did, but we didn’t try a ‘delivery system by zip-lining’ cutie mark before” said Scootaloo pointing to the packages that had landed in the pond when the three of them lost their grip on the line.

“Who’s your friend Twilight?” asked Sweetie Belle. “Are you two on a date?” All three of the fillies giggled at this.

“No,” said Twilight. “He’s a new friend and I’ve been teaching him history”

“Oh yeah,” Scootaloo said. “You’re already in a relationship with that Pegasus named Flash Sentry, aren’t you?”

“Who told you about that?” demanded Twilight. “I’ll bet it was Rainbow Dash”

“Nope,” said Apple Bloom. “It was Pinkie Pie. She seemed to think it was funny”

“Anyway,” Twilight said, wanting to get the topic off her love life. “This stallion just arrived in Equestria today and he’s asked me to teach him about the history of our country. Ben,” she said, addressing the stallion. “These three are Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle. They’re the younger sisters of Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity”

“Hello you three,” Ben said, looking at the three young fillies. They were each one of the three kinds Ben had seen around town.

Scootaloo was the orange Pegasus with a purple mane and small wings. Ben wondered if she was even able to fly. Apple Bloom was a little Earth pony who had a red tail and mane tied up with a large red bow. Sweetie Belle was the young white unicorn with a pink and purple mane and green eyes.

“I’m very glad to meet you all” Ben said turning to each of them in turn. When he turned to Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, whom he had acknowledged first, gasped.

“You don’t have a cutie mark!” exclaimed Scootaloo. “I thought everypony in the world got cutie marks eventually at some point in their life”

“I’m sure they do, but you see”, Ben said. “I’m from a place where they don’t have cutie marks and so I've never had one.”

“Where are ya from?” asked Apple Bloom. “I ain’t never heard of a place with no cutie marks.”

Twilight, feeling that the presence of other worlds shouldn’t become common knowledge, interceded before anything was said about it.

“Why don’t you three take him around town and show him more of Ponyville,” Twilight suggested. “Maybe take him to Sugar cube Corner or maybe The Hay Burger.”

“That sounds like a great idea, Twilight,” said Scootaloo. Suddenly her eyes light up and she got a huge grin on her face. “But how about we go and explore the Everfree Forest. Our sisters said we can’t go in there unless we’re with an adult, but if Ben here comes with us then they can’t get mad.”

The other two crusaders agreed with their friend and, before Twilight could stop them, they grabbed Ben by the hooves and tore off in the direction of the forest.

“Wait, my little ponies”, Twilight yelled after them. “It’s dangerous in the forest.”

But it was too late, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, along with their ‘chaperone’ had already left the park with a giant cloud of dust behind them.

As the three fillies ran through town they told Ben about their group.

“We try everything we can think of ta make our cutie marks appear,” said Apple Bloom. “We’ve tried zip linein’, scuba divin’, cupcake eatin’ and just ‘bout everthin’ in between”

As the crusaders regaled Ben with some of their more noteworthy attempts to make their special mark appear the group approached the edge of town and the edge of the Everfree Forest.

“Well, we’re here,” said Sweetie Belle. “For some reason our sisters don’t let us go in very far into the forest, even during the day. They seem to think we might get in trouble and cause Ponyville to be destroyed”

“It may have something to do with the fact that the last time we went into the forest alone we caused Twilight and one of Fluttershy’s chickens to be frozen in stone by a cockatrice” said Scootaloo sheepishly.

“What other kinds of creatures live in these woods?” asked Ben as they walked under the first few trees.

“There are Timber Wolves, which are exactly like they sound, that is wolves made out of wood, sea serpents, dragons, ursa majors, hydras. Basically all kinds of monsters,” Sweetie Belle said. “Thankfully they’re usually only active at night, so as long as we’re out of here by sundown, we should be okay”

“So, where are we going anyway?” asked Scootaloo. “Do we want to go try and find that mirror pond that Pinkie told us about, or maybe go see Zecora?”

“How ‘bout the Castle of the Two Sisters” Apple Bloom suggested. “We ain’t never been there.” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both agreed and headed off towards the ancient abode of Celestia and Luna.

After about ten minutes of walking, Ben and the three fillies arrived at the bridge that led to the castle. Once they reached the other side they paused and looked at the castle. Both the main doors were gone and a large portion of the castle roof had collapsed in over the 1000 years since Celestia’s and Luna’s battle. With Ben in the lead, the four ponies entered the castle.

They spent over an hour exploring every corner of the castle as they could. The first place they looked in was the throne room and then into the kitchens. Finally they looked at the library. This was the only place that had remained somewhat protected. As such, Ben found several books about the history of Equestria and sat reading for another hour while the three fillies explored, hoping to get their castle-exploring cutie marks.

When Ben finished reading about Star-Swirled the Bearded’s defeat and banishing of the three Sirens he looked up and noticed that the sun was starting to dip below the horizon.

“Alright you three,” he called. “I think it’s about time we got back. It’s almost nightfall”

Ben heard three young fillies groan and acknowledge him. As Ben walked out of the library he saw the three young ponies come down the hall towards him. They were completely covered in dust and cobwebs. Their flanks were still blank.

“We didn’t get it for castle-exploring either” said Sweetie Belle dejectedly.

“I’m sorry,” Ben said as they walked out of the castle and towards the bridge. “Perhaps you might-“

Suddenly a giant shadow fell over them and a deafening roar, like the roar of a lion, sounded from the direction of the sky.

Looking up Ben was startled to see a large shape drop out of the sky and land in front of them. Ben stood protectively in front of the three young ponies.

“What is that thing!” exclaimed Apple Bloom. Ben recognized it immediately. It was a gargoyle.

The gargoyle had greyish skin with foot long claws. From its head four large horns protruded towards its wings. The wingspan was over six feet in length with a horn protruding from the crease of each its wings. As Ben watched it opened its mouth six inches and let out a booming roar even louder than the first. Spit flew out and landed on the ground where it immediately started sizzling.

Ben instinctively let out a yell and charged the monster. The gargoyle hit him with a powerful back sweep of its claws and he went falling over the cliff. With a thud Ben landed on the ravine floor in front of the Tree of Harmony. On the edge of the cliff, the gargoyle turned and advanced towards the three terrified fillies who were screaming in terror as the monster approached them with saliva dripping from its mouth.

Ben heard the Crusaders screams and he felt something awaken inside him. As he rose to his feet he felt power surging through his body; power he had not felt since arriving on the steps of Twilight’s castle earlier that day. With a sudden explosion Ben was surrounded by a ball of fire similar to the one in which he had arrived. The orb lifted out of the ravine and flew to stand between the terrified fillies and the gargoyle. The three young ponies looked on in first terror then wonder as the orb dissipated to reveal Ben standing with fire crackling at his hoofs and from his horn. The gargoyle stopped its advance, it had not expected to be challenged after knocking this unicorn into the ravine.

“You shall not harm my friends or anyone else EVER AGAIN! Go back to the darkness from whence you came” Ben said in a loud booming voice. Suddenly a ball of fire erupted from Ben’s horn and struck the gargoyle.

A massive pillar of fire erupted around the gargoyle, completely incinerating it and leaving nothing but ash. After the pillar disappeared the three fillies got their first good look at the stallion who had saved their lives. They were shocked to see a pair of wings had sprouted from his back right behind his shoulders. Ben had become an Alicorn. The fillies then noticed his flank and saw an image appear there. It looked like a flame with three tongues at the top, his cutie mark.

“Whoa,” said Scootaloo. “Are you two seeing what I’m seeing?” the other two nodded, completely lost for words. Ben turned and looked at them.

“Are you three hurt?” He asked. When they shook their heads he smiled and said, “I’m glad” He then fell over unconscious.

Author's Note:

Well, here's my second chapter. if you read this please, please, please give me feedback. Even if it's negative. if you like something please let me know as well.