Chapter Two
Unity
Chapter Two
Fallow Meadows. At the sound of the scream, which Bert recognized as Flo's voice, he and Carl turned and ran back towards the crowd. Sheriff Tucker stayed behind with the ponies. Bert reached the crowds, which parted ways to let him through. Somewhere amidst the milling people he could hear Flo again, calling out "Someone help!" Using the shout to get his bearings, Bert changed course and soon found the source of the cries for help.
A large circle had opened up in the crowd. At the center, Flo was on her knees next to a prone form on the ground which Bert recognized as the diner's chef, Herbert Clark. "His heart?" Bert asked.
Florence nodded. "I don't know what to do!"
"I do." Bert sat his gun down and started CPR. "I can buy us some time, but we need a defibrillator!"
Someone shouted back "There's a portable one at the market! I'll grab it!"
"Good, let's hope she gets back fast." Bert said. Looking up he noticed a familiar face. "Roger! Get in here, do breathes while I compress!" Roger scrambled to help.
"It just happened out of nowhere!" Florence whispered. "He was fine and then..."
"Not your fault Flo... Herb's ticker's been in bad shape for years, I guess the stress of this just pushed it over the edge... Where the hell is the defibrillator!?"
"Here!" A young girl muscled her way into the circle. Bert guessed she was still in High School.
"Know how to use it?" Bert asked.
"Yeah, I volunteer at County General on the weekends." The girl said. Her mention of the hospital made several of the adults realize an unfortunate truth: Even if Herb survived this, there was no hospital bed waiting for him.
Bert's ruminations on that were broken when the girl exclaimed "Shit!"
"What? What's wrong?"
"Battery's dead!"
Bert sighed. "Well damn..."
xx
Twilight's ears perked up at the sound of a scream, the analytical portion of her mind noting that it sounded almost identical to a pony's scream. She watched as two of the creatures departed in a hurry back towards the sound. "They rush to help each other out..." She said. "Maybe they're not so different from us."
"I hope so." Applejack said. "But, why'd they get so upset over a simple spell?"
"Maybe they've never seen magic before!" Pinkie suggested.
Rolling her eyes, Rainbow said "C'mon Pinkie, who's never seen magic?"
"She might have a point Dash." Applejack said. "They're not even from Eqqus after all..."
"Maybe... Though, I think it's more likely that they just mistook my translation spell for an attack spell." Twilight mused. "Ugh, this is horrible! If I could cast the spell we could communicate, but in order to cast the spell I need to tell them what I'm doing in advance..."
"You'll figure it out." Rainbow said. "You're not the egghead for nothing."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."
Suddenly, another shout was heard from the crowd. None of the ponies could understand the words, of course, but sometimes the tone of a voice can convey it's meaning as clearly as the words themselves. And this was clearly a cry of a being in distress.
"Somepony needs help!" Fluttershy exclaimed, and before the others could react she was off, running towards the massed crowd of creatures.
"Hey! Stop!" Rainbow shouted, before taking off in pursuit. The others followed close behind, with the tall creature chasing after them.
"A shrinkin' violet until she sees somepony in need, then look out!" Applejack said.
"But this isn't somepony, it's something." Pinkie said.
"It's Fluttershy." Twilight said. "That just makes her more determined."
With their pink-maned friend in the lead, the ponies reached the crowd. The creatures reacted with surprise to their arrival, stepping or jumping back out of the way, allowing them to quickly reach the source of the trouble. One creature was on it's back on the ground, others kneeling around it. One, fiddling with some machine, let out a single sharp word, followed by a terse comment from another.
Fluttershy didn't hesitate, but ran to the scene, startling back those trying to help. She turned her head, laid one ear on the creature's chest, then after a moment looked at Twilight. "It's heart isn't beating!"
"Assuming they have heartbeats." Rarity said.
"True, but it makes sense they would." Twilight said, joining Fluttershy. She looked closer at the machine one of the creatures was holding. "That looks like..." She hopped over the prone creature, looked at the one holding the machine. Sitting, rearing back on her hind legs, she pantomimed holding paddles to her chest, acted like she was shocked, then pointed questioningly at the machine. The creature nodded.
"Then why isn't she using it?" Twilight wondered. She held her forelegs apart in a questioning manner.
xx
Bethany Stanz had never expected a day like this. What had started as a normal school day went south in a hurry with a weird storm, a town fixture having a heart attack, a powerless defibrillator, and now an alien horse-thing doing charades to her. She quickly realized it's meaning though: It was asking if the machine was indeed what it was, and she nodded, hoping that gesture meant the same thing to these creatures.
The alien spread it's forelegs apart, a confused look in it's eyes. "Asking why I'm not using it..." Bethany understood. "How can I explain the batteries are dead?" She asked.
Florence reacted with admirable speed, taking the machine from Bethany, turning it over, and popping the battery case open, spilling out the batteries. She pointed to them, then made a slashing motion across her neck.
To most everyone's surprise, the purple pony's eyes went wide with understanding, and it began motioning at the machine and then the ground. Florence sat the defibrillator down next to where Bert was still attempting CPR, then jumped back at the sight of what happened next.
A murmur passed through the surrounding crowd as the pony's horn began to glow, along with an identical glow around the defibrillator. "Whoa..." Bethany whispered. She found the courage to step closer, look at the machine. "It's got power!" She exclaimed.
"Well don't look a gift-horse in the mouth girl!" Bert shouted. "Use the thing!"
"Right!" Bethany drew the paddles from the machine, checked to be sure it was fully charged, then shouted "Clear!" and pressed the paddles to Herbert's chest, shocking him.
The chef's body jumped from the jolt, but didn't react further. Bert and Roger resumed working while the machine charged up for another try. The second jolt had no more effet than the first, but no one was willing to give up yet. Waiting, Bethany looked over at the purple pony, who was still sending power into the defibrillator. She noticed with some concern that her mane was now sopping wet with sweat and a strained look was spreading over her face. "We're not gonna get too many more chances!" Bethany exclaimed. "Come on Herb, work with us here... Clear!"
The third shock jolted Herbert's body off the ground again, and this time it was followed by a sudden sharp breath as the man's body responded. "Oh thank God... Herb! Herb you hear me!?" Sheriff Tucker asked, kneeling next to him.
"Wha... Wha happe?" Herb managed to slur out.
"Just a little scare buddy, you're gonna be alright..." Bert said. He asked "I know we don't have a hospital... What about doctors?"
"Doc Burn's office is just a couple blocks from here." Florence said.
"Okay good... Someone run and get him... A stretcher too..." Bert stood and stretched, noticing as he did that Roger was grinning at him. "...What?"
"'A gift horse in the mouth' Bert? Under these circumstances?"
"No, see, I didn't..." Bert face-palmed. "Oh God I did..."
xx
As soon as the sick creature started breathing again, Twilight halted her spell and slumped to the ground, exhausted. Converting Thaumic energy to electricity was simple in theory. In practice, it was like juggling swords. By hoof. Behind your back. While blindfolded.
"Are you okay?" A soft voice asked.
Twilight looked up to see a concerned Fluttershy standing over her. Rising to wobbly feet, she gave a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I'll be fine 'Shy... That's not fun though."
"Well I guess you having to do it was kind of my fault for running here. But I'm glad you did."
"Me too." Twilight agreed. "The power was out in their machine, I think he'd be dead now if we hadn't came."
Applejack said "Ya did a good thing Twi... And not just for him, this might help us all get along... But for now, I can tell you're dead on your feet. We should go home, come back and try again tomorrow."
"Yeah, I think so." Twilight agreed. She reached out and pulled on the pant leg of the creature in camouflage, getting it's attention. When it was looking, she motioned to her friends and back towards Ponyville, then put both forehoove together, laid her head on them sideways, and pantomimed being asleep. The creature nodded, and said something to it's compatriots.
As the ponies walked away, they heard a shout. Looking back, Twilight saw that it was one of the two in uniforms that they had first met, not the one she had tried the spell on. He said something, then smiled. Assuming it was an expression of gratitude, Twilight waved and smiled back...
xx
Deputy Carl Harner couldn't believe what he was seeing. Observing from the edges of the crowd, he watched as the unicorn, the same one that had tried to do something awful to him, (Bert be damned, he knew that's what it had to be), used it's freaky alien powers to help save Herbert's life. Like he was falling for such an obvious ploy. Yet to his distress, it seemed like everyone else was falling for it.
The purple menace tugged at Bert's pant leg, and motioned to him. "Hey Sheriff! I think they say they're going home now!" Bert shouted.
Bethany said "I'm not surprised... Whatever the purple one was doing, it really seemed to drain her."
Carl nodded. He had thought so too... Assuming it wasn't just another part of the act, it was useful information: These aliens could do impressive things, but they ran out of juice quickly.
He continued to watch as the aliens walked away. "Hey!" Sheriff Tucker called out. The aliens looked back, and he smiled and shouted "Thank you." The lead alien returned the smile before continuing on.
"Never thought you'd be fooled so easily Sheriff..." Carl though, "But no matter. I know they're not what they seem to be. And I'll stop them. They bought us here. And one way or another, those damned horses are sending us back home..."
XXXX
Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle rose early the next morning, disturbed by an annoying sound she couldn't identify. Trotting down the steps, she saw Applejack and Apple Bloom asleep on the couch. By orders of the Mayor, all ponies except those assigned perimeter guard duty were to spend their nights inside the town itself. This meant that Sweet Apple Acres was off limits at night, except to Granny Smith who couldn't be budged from her rocker by twenty strong stallions, and Big Mac who had volunteered for the guard to keep an eye on her.
Thus Twilight had taken in the two Apples, along with Farmer Corn Yield who was drowsing away in an easy chair, and Rainbow Dash who was... Where was she anyway? Twilight looked all around, seeing nothing until she again heard the noise that had woke her. She looked up. Rainbow was near the ceiling, laying on a cloud, snoring vigorously.
Chuckling in spite of herself, Twilight trotted to the kitchen. The smell of food would surely wake everypony, and none too soon, for there was much to do today...
A half hour later, Twilight, Spike, Rainbow, and the Apples were seated around her table. The farmer had declined the offer of breakfast, insisting that he had work to do in what was left of his fields. "So what's the game plan?" Rainbow asked.
Twilight buried her head in her hooves. "I'm at a loss." She admitted. "We've got to go back and try to communicate again... But it's such a mix-up! We have to be able to talk to them in order to tell them it's safe to use the spell that'll let us talk to them, but since we can't use the spell first we can't talk to them to let them know and arrgh!!!!!!"
"That mime stuff was workin' pretty well." Rainbow argued.
"No, that's no good... How do you mime 'This won't hurt you' to a being that's terrified of magic?"
"They're afraid of magic?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Afraid or somethin' like it." Applejack told her. "We don't know why."
"Weird."
"Weird and problematic." Twilight said. "I mean, do you see where this could go? We can't communicate so we can't help each other out which means neither of us will survive as well as we would otherwise which means we're stuck here until we all die and then someday the Princess figures out how to bring the town back home but all she gets is a graveyard and then she blames herself and gets too depressed to raise the Sun and then there's no light and everything freezes to death and our whole world dies all because I couldn't talk to these beings and oh my Celestia that makes me guilty of genocide and how will I ever live with-"
Applejack slapped Twilight. "Easy there sugar cube... That's too far ahead... Think one step at a time."
"Right... Right... One step... Okay, maybe I could do word comparisons, get one of them to say the words for basic things like numbers... It's not much, but it's a start."
"See? Told you you'd figure it out." Rainbow said.
"I've hardly 'figured it out.' It would take years to bridge the language barrier that way."
"Y... Years?" Apple Bloom asked. "But we're going home to Equestria aren't we?"
"Bloom, I guarantee you the Princesses have noticed Ponyville's gone by now and started working on figuring out where we are and how to get us back... I assume our neighbor's leaders are doin' the same for them... And I know Twilight'll be on the case too, soon as we're secure. So of course we're going home... But, I can't lie to you, it might be awhile." Applejack hugged her sister, who accepted it happily.
"Thanks sis."
A knock sounded at the door. Spike rushed to answer, expecting the other Element Bearers. Instead he found the Mayor and a pair of the town's guards. "Mayor!" Twilight exclaimed, rushing to greet her.
The Mayor held up a hoof. "There's no need for the usual pleasantries. I have so much to do I can only stay a moment. I just wanted to inform you of a couple of things before you go, assuming that you're going to try to communicate again?"
"Yes, we're leaving shortly."
"Good. So, the first thing is, they've been watching us. Nothing overt or threatening, and I can hardly be upset when we're doing the same to them with a pair of pegasai, but that flying machine has hovered over Ponyville most of the night. And the second thing, as I already alluded to, we've had a pair of guards keeping watch from a safe altitude."
Twilight nodded. "Anything worth reporting?"
One of the guards, Twilight thought his name was Storm Rider, said "Not as such... Armed guards have patrolled their perimeter through the night, just as we've done. And just after sunrise three of them started through the streets in those mechanical carriages they've got, announcing something over loudspeakers though of course we have no idea what they were saying... Honestly, given the size of the town and the number of individuals we've seen, I suspect most of them are still hiding away in their homes."
Applejack said "Which makes sense... I figure most of us'd still be hiding too, if we'd not been gathered at town hall to begin with."
"Okay, well let's gather what we need and go." Twilight said. "The sooner we sort this out the better..."
XXXX
Sheriff Tucker stood at the front doors of the police station in the early morning light, listening as the drivers headed out to announce the mandatory emergency meeting in two hours. He frowned. So many of the townsfolk had stayed hidden in their homes since the storm, and without power or phone service most of them probably still didn't know what had happened. Telling them was going to be a nightmare.
Of course, that was just the first hurdle. After they were told, there were so many other logistics to be worked out: Power, communications, food, water, medicine, trash and sewage... And then there were the ponies. Cautious though he still meant to be, the Sheriff really didn't think they meant any harm. Certainly, one of the things they had seen with the drone strongly indicated that they were also victims bought here from their true home. He planned to use that to convince people that the ponies were not responsible for the abduction.
Or try to convince people... He thought back to his conversation with Carl the previous evening. The man was convinced these ponies were evil incarnate and nothing was going to tell him otherwise. Tucker knew that at least a few people would side with the deputy, and that sooner or later they would be trouble. At least Carl had resigned his position. Not something Tucker would normally allow in a crisis, but it seemed prudent to let it go given how unhinged the man was becoming.
Tilting his head back, Tucker looked up and caught sight of a pegasus high overhead. It was green, unlike either of the ones watching through the night. "Shift change?" He wondered. With a sigh, he started walking towards the High School, where the town meeting was to be held in the auditorium. It was going to be a long day...
XXXX
In Ponyville Twilight Sparkle trotted out of her library home accompanied by Applejack and Rainbow Dash. She wore a pair of saddlebags heavily loaded down with parchments, quills, and stoppered bottles of ink, along with several other items she thought might be useful. "Are you sure you don't want me to come along?" Spike asked.
"If these beings are leery of magic, how are they going to react to a fire-breathing dragon?" Twilight replied. "You'll get a chance to meet them, don't worry, but for now we should take this slow."
"Same reason I'm leaving you here Bloom." Applejack said. "I know you wanna come, try t' get an 'alien helping' cutie mark, but until we know for sure it's safe..."
"That's okay sis, me and the girls can find something to do in town."
"Like goin' to school?"
Apple Bloom's eyes opened wide. "What!?" She exclaimed, "We're stuck on an alien planet and they still didn't cancel school!?"
"Learning is important." Applejack said.
"And fun!" Twilight added.
"But... But... But how could they... on the first day even! And..." Apple Bloom continued to stumble over her thoughts, getting more and more worked up, until she noticed the adults snickering. "...What?"
"Fooled you!" Rainbow Dash laughed.
"Ha." Apple Bloom deadpanned.
Still chuckling, Applejack mussed her sister's mane. "Aw come on Bloom, it wasn't that bad was it? Besides, we're meeting Pinkie and Rarity and Sugarcube Corner. Tag along, I'll get you a cupcake..."
xx
A bell dinged as Twilight stepped though the bakery door followed by her friends. Working away behind the counter, Mrs. Cake called out "Pinkie, your friends are here!" then moved to serve Apple Bloom. A moment later the Pink pony came trotting down the stairs accompanied by Rarity.
"Are we all ready to go?" Rarity asked.
"What about Flutters?"
"She's meeting us on the way." Rainbow answered.
Twilight said "Then I guess we're ready."
"One more thing!" Pinkie said cheerfully. She stepped behind the counter, picked up a large white bakery box with her mouth, and balanced it on her back.
"Donuts?" Twilight asked.
Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. "A gift for our new friends. Donuts, yes, and also a bran muffin... Derpy insisted. Something about how 'Most beings are happier and more friendly when they're regular.'"
"Pinkie what!?"
"Eww.."
"Disgusting."
"How could she say something so uncouth?"
Mrs. Cake looked up from her work. "She's a mother dear... We tend to think in those kinds of terms."
That answer took everypony be surprise, silencing them until Rainbow finally said "And that settles it once and for all.. I am never having foals..."
The comment broke the mood, and once everypony was finished laughing they continued on their way...
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There is expected to be issues, but who will be the trouble makers on the pony end? I wonder how the pony's will have trouble adjusting,, the humans have lost electricity and we are very dependent on it, so what are the issues that they will struggle with? Keep up the good work and looking forward to how the humans react when they get caught in the CMC actions in the later chapters!
NUCLEAR WAR!
5564513
I doubt that lol, but some brawling could happen~
I see Pinkie Pie saving the day, I mean who can run away in terror from aliens when they have doughnuts.
5564398
The pony-side troublemaker will make his debut in the final scene of chapter three, though it'll be awhile before he kicks into gear. Meanwhile, the Crusaders will be in the thick of the action beginning in chapter four, though in the end their actions will actually be beneficial... Stay tuned :)
forgive my ignorance but i dont get the regular statement, what does it mean?
5600318
Think about what bran does to you when you eat a lot of it...
Imagine if a city the size of New York City came here.... the ponies would certainly be in for one....
Well on the logistics side of things, an apple farm will be priceless, given that the local food on planet where-ever is almost certainly toxic to humans and ponies. (Assuming of course that human and pony foods are identical, which logically is really unlikely, but what was shown in the show.)
*Equestria
Good story so far, engaging, intriguing. That said.
Point one: defibrillators do not work that way. You should be ashamed of yourself. SHAMED I SAY.
Point two: this is actually a vital time for school to be in session. You do not want foals underhoof with this much madness. You can turn class into permanent recess, but do you really want "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ALIEN INVESTIGATORS YAY!"
5697049
She was talking about planet.
5564513 your avatar and comment fit perfectly
5564398
Ponies shouldn't have as much issue with the humans, since they're used to multi-species civilizations.
But it's too late for me to advise the writer, since this story is already far ahead...
I don't get that.
6070038
"Regular" refers to pooping consistently.
Why would it take years to breach the language barrier conventionally? A dedicated effort to translate means they would be able to effectively communicate within weeks if not days. And if you mean the conveying of abstract concepts and have smooth streams of conversation, just get some people to travel to the other groups, and they'll learn the language in a couple months. It only takes years to learn languages in schools because of class times and the fact that you don't get immersed in the foreign language.
Didn't understood the 'most beings are happier when they are regular ' part...
6128361. I don't get it either
6128361
6130771
6130808
"Regular" refers to bowel movements and constipation, which fibre-rich foods like bran muffins are good for. It's a poop joke, basically.
I can already tell he's going to be a big problem later on.
Nice job!
Always that one guy...
6230064
He's probably a brony hater
6230064 It's a rather easy catch-all for drama. Not the worst, but below average.
Noooooooooooo!
5803446
While defibrillators are not the "magic jump-start kit that brings dead people back to life" as movies and TV always portray them, in cases of sudden cardiac arrest CPR and early defibrillation is, in fact, the correct method of first aid to increase the chances of survival. Sadly, the broken-down state of the defibrillator is also very accurate. While keeping defibrillators in various public places, such as airports, malls, etc. has become gratifyingly common, maintaining them in working order unfortunately has not. Checks of such public defibrillators have shown that the majority are poorly or not at all maintained, leading to flat batteries, dried-up or contaminated gel, and other problems.
As for the CMC... of course they're going to do the retarded thing and get themselves into mortal peril sooner rather than later. It's practically the law.
6789800 It doesn't actually have anything to do with the CMC, really. I'm an undergrad teacher, but on the way I spent a few years as a substitute. In training they really hammered in how we weren't babysitters: we take more responsibilities for more kids for longer hours with less pay and less respect. Part of that included the quick and brutal overview of child behavior, and damn if it isn't true all across K-12. Kids will do dumb things. They will try to be helpful, they will try to be obstructive, they will try to show off, and if you're very lucky they'll just try to take a nap. They react very badly to changing circumstances where they are not given guidance and have a distinct tendency to panic when presented with danger.
The fact that Ponyville also houses the CMC makes containment an exercise in futility, but if that's the reasoning AJ should have just handed Bloom a hard hat, a lion tamer's chair, and a thing that makes fire and told her to have fun.
ih0.redbubble.net/image.14709244.0576/flat,800x800,075,f.u2.jpg
Yeah Bethany, quit staring at Twilight!
I'm waiting for Flo to shout "Kiss my grits!"