The Witch Of Ponyville

by Grey Ghost

Chapter 1

---

The train ride from the capital was long and would have been boring if not for my Vita. Thank God for that little piece of technology. There I was, splayed out in my seat, thumbs going a mile a minute. Currently I was playing Borderlands 2, desperately trying to kill Hyperius the Invincible. Bastard killed poor Gaige about a dozen times before I just rage quit.

“Stupid raid boss,” I said with a grumble. I shoved my Vita into its case, disturbing the fox sleeping on the seat next to me.

“I take it that you’re stuck?” he asked, stretching out and giving a cute little yawn. Oh yes, I should probably introduce my little companion. This adorable ball of fuzz is my familiar, Kaz. Kaz is like a miniature sun, being half-kitsune and half-phoenix. Yeah, don't ask me how that works.

“Yes, I'm stuck.” I crossed my arms and huffed a bit. I'm a sore loser – hell, I broke a controller once because of that bastard Jinpachi from Tekken 5. Cheating ass.

“You take games way too seriously.” Kaz rolled his eyes as he climbed into my lap and licked my hand. I smiled a bit, petting his head gently and giving his ears a light scratch. That always makes him melt like butter.

“Hey, I think we're here,” I said with a smile, thanking whatever deity is listening as the train station came into view.

“Come on, lets get out of this coffin,” I joked, placing Kaz on my shoulder. I quickly grabbed my backpack and made sure not to forget my staff. Grabbing the rest of my luggage was easy enough and soon we were stepping out into our new town.

It was a quaint little place, not unlike the one we just left. “Okay, the house is somewhere around here...” I rambled off, pulling a piece of paper out of my pocket and frowning at the chicken scratch that was my handwriting. “Best get on the good foot,” I mumble, beginning our search.

***
About half an hour later we were hopelessly lost, and getting a lot of stares... either because I was a human (there weren't many of us here yet) or because of my clothes – probably both. I mean, it'd be strange on Earth for someone to go around in a black and orange dress with a witch hat on. Yes I wear a witch hat, sue me.

"Are you new here?!" Suddenly a voice shouted from behind me, nearly making me reflexively fire off a spell.

I let out a small shout, spinning on my heels with my staff ready to bludgeon some fool when I saw my ‘attacker.’ She was a little taller than me, with pink fur, a tangled mane and a smile that didn't look anatomically possible. “Um... yeah we're new here,” I said, slowly lowering my staff.

“I just knew it! I know everypony in Ponyville and my Pinkie sense was telling me that somepony new had arrived!” she shouted, somehow jumping up and down without bending her knees. That's just... creepy. “Oh! My name is Pinkie Pie, what’s yours?” she asked, pausing in her bouncing.

“I'm Terra Jaclyn and this is Kaz, it's nice to meet you,” I said slowly, noting that the strange pony was setting Kaz on edge. “Hey um... maybe you can help us, we're trying to find this address,” I asked, showing Pinkie Pie the address on my note.

With a quick glance, she exclaimed, “Oh I can do that! Follow me!” and started to bounce down the road.
“Well she's... strange...” I said, rubbing the back of my head before following after her.
***
It didn't take long for us to find the place, and I admit it wasn’t in the best of shape. It was two stories, with the bedrooms on the second floor and a shop floor underneath. It used to be a trinket shop, but that had long since gone out of business. It'd need some handiwork, for sure.

“Well, thanks Pinkie Pie, but we need to get settled in,” I said, pulling out my new set of keys and opening the door. Dust blew into my face, earning a bit of a cough. Pinkie, however, didn't seem too affected.

“Okie Dokie Lokie! I have to go plan your welcome party!” she declared, throwing her arms out before taking off in a blur.

“D-did she just say Loki?” I asked in confusion. I shrugged it off and walked into my new home, closing the door behind me.

The inside wasn't nearly as bad as the outside. The previous owner had left their furniture behind, so that was one less thing we had to worry about. I animated my broom and a feather duster, commanding them to clean up the store area. With that taken care of, Kaz and I went up to the living area to get our things unpacked. Thankfully, Mom had taught me that expansion spell, which made the inside of my luggage bigger.

“Well this place does have power, just no internet,” I told Kaz, while plugging in our TV and gaming consoles. “And that finishes off the living area,” I said with a smile as I brushed off my hands.

“Good, I thought that was going to take forever,” Kaz said as he hopped onto the bed and curled up.

“I can tell that you’re bored, why don't you go out and explore the town, maybe do a little hunting?” I suggested, petting his head gently. He opened his mouth to respond, but I cut him off. “I'll be fine Kaz, you go enjoy yourself. I still have to set up the shop and I can do that myself.”

“Just be safe Terra,” he said, licking my hand before hopping off the bed and trotting downstairs.

"You too," I replied as I grabbed the last suitcase and take it downstairs. First things first, the back room had to be set up. Within half an hour the dingy old office had been transformed into my workstation, complete with a hammock, the desk by the cauldron serving as my enchanting station. If you’re wondering about the hammock, enchanting is a tiring process in which a magic user pours their energy into an object, carving runes into it. It also leads to naps, lots of them. Hm... I'm going to have to hire an assistant.

Anyway, once the back room was handled, I went about stocking the shelves and whatnot. Potions, charms, and enchanted jewelry, all of them handmade, were placed around the shop. It took me a bit to figure out where to put everything but eventually I got it all sorted.

I stood in the middle of the shop, a bright smile on my face. I had done it, I had my own shop. Of course, it was empty at the moment, but that didn't mean I couldn't be proud of myself. “Well, that’s all done, might as well go see the town,” I said to myself as I headed for the door. “Wait...” I said softly, reaching out with my magic to teleport my staff into my hands. “Can't leave without you now, can I?” I headed out into the street to explore.

It was pretty late, with the sun setting on the horizon, casting the sky in a beautiful shade of pink. I found myself just staring off into the sky with a serene smile on my face. I was so out of it, I didn't hear Kaz pad over to me.

“Everything ok, Terra?” Kaz, my ever faithful guardian, asked, rearing up on his hind legs to give my hand a lick.

“Oh, I'm fine, just watching the sunset,” I said, kneeling down to allow Kaz to jump onto my shoulder. “So meet any nice vixens?” I ask with a smile as I start down the street.

“You know full well I'm not into females that I can't hold an actual conversation with,” he huffed, getting himself comfy on my shoulder and curling his tail around my neck. It feels kinda like a scarf, only not itchy.

Oh relax, Kaz,” I said, rolling my eyes. I reached up to scratch his ears. “So what did you find on your little journey?” I asked, my eyes wandering around the town as I walked.

“Oh, I found myself a mouse on the edge of town.”

“You didn't torment that poor thing did you?”

“Of course not Terra, I'm not a sadist.”

“Good... is that a... gingerbread house?” I ask, suddenly changing the subject. In front of us was what appeared to be a gingerbread house, straight out of Hansel and Gretel. “Well that's... strange...” I said, making my way over to it. “It looks empty.” I peered into one of the windows, seeing nothing but darkness.

“Oh there you are I was just about to come looking for you!”

I hate to admit it, but I screamed a bit. I spun on my heels, my eyes wide, expecting a witch hunter or something, only to be greeted by Pinkie Pie. “Geez, you freaking scared me.” I glared a bit at her, but noted the grin on Kaz's muzzle. Traitor.

“Oh, I'm sorry,” Pinkie apologized, reaching out and grabbing my hand, “BUT-COME-ON-YOU-GOTTA-PAAAAAAARTY!”

“Wah?” I asked dumbly, only to be shoved into the dark gingerbread house. “Um, Pinkie?” I asked as the door was closed behind me, leaving us in pure darkness.

“Surprise!” A chorus of voices called out, causing me to let out a scream of my own. I sent a surge of magic into my hands, feeling them pulse with power. Kaz jumped down from my shoulders, taking a stance in front of me, growling at our attackers, who turned out to be a large group of rather stunned ponies.

“Everypony, this is Terra! She’s our first human!” Pinkie shouted, suddenly appearing by my side and wrapping her arm around my shoulders.

“Um... hi everyone...” I give a sheepish smile, relaxing my stance. Kaz does the same, sitting down by my feet.

“Well go on and get to know everypony!” Pinkie commanded, giving me a gentle shove forward, causing me to stumble. I fire a small glare back at her, but she just smiles in return.

“Come on Kaz, lets try to enjoy ourselves,” I said with a sigh, moving into the crowd of ponies. Almost immediately, I was set upon by a group of mares, each with a smile on their face.

“Well howdy there Terra, ah’m Applejack. I run Sweet Apple Acres,” an orange earth pony said. She was clad in stereotypical farmer attire, topped off with a Stetson.

“I’m Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in all of Equestria!” a rainbow-maned pegasus spoke up, a cocky smirk on her muzzle.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you dear, I’m Rarity,” a purple maned unicorn said, her accent chafing me a bit.

“Oh... I’m Fluttershy,” a timid yellow pegasus whispered, before her eyes locked on Kaz. “Oh my, such a cutie!” she squealed as she snatched him up and hugged him tightly.
I chuckled at his misery as the last of the group speaks.

“I’m Twilight Sparkle, the town’s librarian. It’s nice to meet you Terra,” a purple unicorn said, extending her hand.

“Nice to meet you,” I said with a smile as I grasp her hand and shake it.

“So what brings you to Equestria, dear? It must have been a big decision to leave your whole world behind,” Rarity asks, to which the others agree.

“Well it was mostly my parents’ idea. They wanted me to get away from home and when the portal was opened to the public, well, they managed to pull some strings for me.”

“Your parents must have some pull with the government,” Twilight commented, sipping her drink.

“You could say that.” I leaned on my staff while watching Fluttershy continue to baby an increasingly irritated Kaz.

“Pinkie told us that ya’ll moved into Knick Knack’s old house, ya’ll planning on opening a shop?”

“Oh I am! I’ve been hoping to open my own magic shop for ages!” I said with a happy smile, perking up.

“Magic? You mean like that stage stuff?” Rainbow Dash asked rather boredly.

“Don’t insult me,” I huffed, a frown forming on my face. “I’m a witch, I use actual magic.”

“Terra dear, humans can’t use magic,” Rarity said, a bit of a worried look on her face.

“Look here,” Applejack said, a stern look on her face. “Yer new here so ah’ll cut ya some slack, but we don’t appreciate hucksters round’ here.”

“Ok fine, I see a demonstration is in order,” I said as I clutched my staff tighter. I focused my power, sending it into my staff. I noted with a smirk that both Rarity and Twilight flinched back, obviously able to sense the magic. I manifested said magic as a magelight, which floated above my staff, bathing us all in an eerie white light.

“T-thats not possible!” Twilight said, staring at me in awe. “Humans can’t use magic!”

“Well I just did, Twilight,” I said, dispelling the magelight. “So please, don’t insult me again, I am a very capable witch,” I huffed.

“I have to study this!” Twilight shouted, her eyes still wide, though instead of shock, they now held a look of curiosity and determination.

“Please don’t treat my charge like a lab rat,” Kaz spoke up, causing Fluttershy to drop him in shock. He padded over, climbing up to take his place on my shoulders while Fluttershy hid behind Rainbow Dash. “She is my responsibility.”

“Your fox can talk!? Thats awesome!” Dash exclaimed before catching herself and returning to her ‘too cool’ attitude. “I mean, that’s cool.”

“I’m sorry if we insulted you dear,” Rarity said quickly, and I note, sincerely, “From what we know of humans, you come off as magicless...”

“Most of us are... or at least most of our population doesn’t even realize the magic inside them,” I said, frowning a little. “It’s not something I want to get into now...” Kaz senses my discomfort and licks my cheek. I give a smile, petting his head.

“Ah don’t know how ah feel about this,” Applejack said, scratching her head, “Hay, ah still don’t even really trust unicorn magic,” she said, giving me an uncertain look.

“As long as you don’t try to burn me at the stake, we’ll be alright,” I said, realizing my mistake a second before six pairs of horror filled eyes were on me.

“Oh there sugarcube!” Applejack nearly shouted, putting her hands up, “ Ain’t nopony said anything about burnin’ anypony!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie shouted, putting her arm around my shoulder and pulling me close, “What kind of friends would do that?”

“Hey look,” I said, pulling away from Pinkie, “It was nice meeting you gals, but I’m gonna go talk to some other ponies,” I started to walk away, but paused and looked back toward Twilight. “If you want to talk magic, come by my shop tomorrow,” I walked away at this point, grabbing a few treats from a nearby table as I went past.

---

I stepped into my new home, carrying a few boxes of leftovers that Pinkie had insisted that I take home. “Well... that was fun,” I said to Kaz as I walk into the kitchen,

You could say that,” Kaz said. He jumped onto the table, watching me put the food away, “I can’t say if you made a good impression or not.”

Yeah well... we’ll deal with that tomorrow...” I said, moving into the bedroom. I toss off my dress, not really caring as it hit the floor, “ Right now.., I just want to sleep... “ I crawl under the covers, getting comfy. A familiar weight jumping onto the bed alerted me to Kaz’s presence. “Good night...” I said softly, letting the gentle grasp of sleep pull me under.

Comments

[Moongaze14]

This story looks interesting.

[GrandSpear]

Alright I'm I'm what's next?

[Slayer 10321]

This story looks very promising so please continue it!!!!

[Time Squid]

I am watching you, mortal. Most impressive.

[Lancerlot]

I've just read chapter 1.

Did Terra spend any time at all in Canterlot before taking the train to Ponyville? She seems utterly ignorant of anything related to Equestria, even expecting to find witch-hunters, in a land where a magic is ordinary, and potions are fairly common.

[Grey Ghost]

8334339
It's more a force of habit for her, than her actually thinking witch hunters are in Equestria