In the Middle of Chaos

by Agamer

Ch.4 Pinkie Pie Party

The sun was just barely peaking over the horizon. The pegasi were moving the clouds to get ready for the storm later in the evening.

Cadmium blinked, got out of bed, trotted out into the hall, down the stairs, and to Twilight's desk.

Twilight had written everything down that was discussed in Canterlot. The papers covered the entire surface as if she had stayed up late studying them. Cadmium chuckled as he went to the kitchen, “That girl err... mare sure likes to keep all the knowledge she can,” Cadmium chuckled to himself.

“You never know when you'll need it.”

Cadmium nearly jumped into the door frame, “Twilight, you scared me!”

Twilight smiled, “That was my goal. So, want some breakfast?”

Cadmium smiled, “Yes please.”

“Why don't you help me out and try to use magic?” she nudged with a smile. “It takes some concentration and practice,” she instructed as she went about making toast. Cadmium was surprised to see that there was an actual toaster.

“Wait, you have electronics here in Equestria?” Cadmium asked, shocked.

Twilight looked at Cadmium funny, “Of a sort. Unicorns use their magic to control them.”

“Hm. Twilight, you realize, I still don't know how to use magic?”

Twilight smiled, “Watch me, then when were done eating, we will begin with the basics.”

Twilight made breakfast nearly all with magic, telling Cadmium how she did things. They were nearly done eating, which was actually some time later since Twilight continued to tell him about magic so her mouth was occupied with talking instead of eating, when the door slammed open, and Rainbow Dash flew inside.

“Hey,” she greeted. She stopped when she saw only two ponies. “Where's the little blue pony I'm supposed to be teaching?”

Cadmium smiled, “Hello, Skittles. How are you this fine morning?” Cadmium could not help himself.

“Skittles?” Rainbow asked. “I've never heard that nickname before. What's Skittles?”

Cadmium chuckled, “I could have called you Ms. Zap Apples, but I figured Skittles was a nicer nickname. As for Skittles, they are a type of little, roundish, rainbow colored candy. And to answer your previous question, she's still asleep like always.”

“No, I'm awake,” they heard a sleepy mumble, just before several thuds as Kloverfield slipped down the stairs. “I'm okay,” she called, giggling groggily as she appeared. She clearly had forced herself to get up, not looking fully awake. Her orange and turquoise mane was a wild curly frizzy mess, having not been brushed since she came to Equestria, but she wasn't awake enough to notice. She smiled at Rainbow Dash. “Morning.” She trotted over to the plate of toast and awkwardly took one with her hoof, loosing her balance and stumbling with a yawn.

Rainbow Dash looked at her incredulously. “Good morning. Maybe you are clumsy.”

“Told you,” she said sleepily before biting into her toast. “I also just woke up,” she added through a mouthful of toast.

“Fall down the stairs, I'm OK! You are so predictable,” Cadmium smiled.

Rainbow Dash snickered, “I guess he knows you well, then, yes?”

Cadmium turned to Rainbow Dash, “And I know more than enough about you, Rainbow.”

Twilight gave Cadmium a worried look.

Rainbow Dash frowned at Cadmium, “What do you mean?”

Cadmium grinned, “Where to begin? You are Rainbow Dash. You are the only pegasus who can break the sound barrier, and call it the Sonic Rainboom. You are the Element of Loyalty. What else? Oh! You also want to become a Wonderbolt. You were the first in your class to get your cutie mark; in the process, sparking a series of events that would allow the other elements, including Twilight, to get their cutie marks. Your childhood friend was Gilda the griffon from Junior Speedster Flight Camp, and just recently, you had a little quarrel with her that ended in her barging out of Sugarcube Corner calling you a Flip-Flop. You call Twilight an egghead because she reads; and for the record, that is rather rude. Should I continue?”

Twilight looked at Cadmium with a clear questioning worried but thankful look all the same on her face.

Rainbow Dash looked between Cadmium and Twilight, “How do you know that much about me? Are you a spy or did Twilight tell you?”

Cadmium simply smiled, “No, I had that knowledge and more before I even met Twilight, and, No, I am not a spy. All will be explained after your pink friend's party. Oh, by the way, if Pinkie Pie offers you a cupcake and you are alone; DO NOT EAT IT! GET AWAY AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!” Cadmium nearly screeched the last part.

Rainbow winced at the sudden urgency in his voice, “Why?” She asked after she recovered.

Cadmium bore a strait face, “Let's just say 'Thank me for the warning that could save your life.'”

Rainbow looked shocked, “Um, Thanks?” Rainbow turned back to Kloverfield who had fallen back to sleep on the ground, her half eaten toast laying beside her hoof.

“How does she sleep so much?” Twilight wondered.

The door opened, and a little purple baby dragon pulling a wagon filled with odds and ends. “I'm back!” he called out, finally stirring Kloverfield, who sat up sleepily but curled back into a ball, deciding that it was probably a dream and she could afford to go back to sleep. When the baby dragon saw the sight he stopped. “Hi, Rainbow Dash. Who's this?”

“Oh, Spike, this is Cadmium Core, and his sister, Kloverfield. They'll be staying with us for a while, and I'll be teaching Cad magic,” Twilight introduced. “Cadmium, this is my assistant, Spike.”

“I'm not dreaming, am I?” Kloverfield mumbled sleepily, realizing that she was probably not dreaming and should get up. She stood up groggily, picked up her toast and went to throw it away. When she saw the dragon, she smiled. “Hello, Spike.”

Cadmium smiled, "Nice to finally meet you, Spike."

Spike nodded to them, "Hello."

Rainbow eyed Cadmium, "Well, now that Sleepyhead's awake, time to teach you to fly. Come on." She was clearly anxious to get away from the big green pony.

Kloverfield nodded and trotted outside following Rainbow Dash.

Twilight walked them to the door. She waved them off and turned towards Cadmium with a frown on her face, “What was that?”

Cadmium looked up, “Trying to prove my point.”

Twilight frowned as she looked out the window towards the two ponies walking down the street. “You realize that none of my friends know about you yet?” Twilight asked with a sigh.

“Ya, I know,” Cadmium mumbled through the plate clenched in his mouth.

Spike had just finished putting the wagon away and walked into the kitchen. Twilight turned towards Spike, giving Cadmium an unsatisfactory stare.

“Where's Kloverfield and Rainbow Dash?” Spike asked.

“Rainbow took Kloverfield out for flying lessons,” Twilight began, hoping that Cadmium would not do that again.

Spike nodded, “I saw Pinkie on the way into town as she was running around shouting something about a party. Are they why she's throwing a party?”

Twilight laughed softly, “Pinkie doesn't really need a reason to throw a party, does she?”

Spike nodded, “You're right about that.”

“Oh, Spike, I know you did it before you left, but would you organize the bookshelves again, please? Cad and I are going to start magic lessons as soon as breakfast's done.”

o.O.o

Cad had just started wondering where his sister was once Twilight had told him that afternoon that he could take a break since they would be going to the party soon.

He wasn't actually surprised when she came through the library door with a wrapped wing.

“I crashed,” she mumbled, letting Rainbow Dash come in behind her.

“You don't look as clumsy as you are,” she snickered.

“I am clumsy. And you didn't tell me how to stop,” Klover sighed.

Rainbow snickered, “Well, I forgot, OK?”

“What happened?” Twilight asked.

“I was finally getting off the ground, and I was starting to get altitude and actually flying. Something went wrong, and I wasn't staying up in the air. I was going faster, falling, and I fell into a tree, hitting every branch on the way down. Doctor says it's snapped.” She circled, showing off her splinted wing.

Cadmium chuckled at his sister's clumsiness, “You are so unlucky. We haven't even been here for three days yet, and you broke your wing. How many bones is that now, two? Wow, just wow. All I've broken has been my clavicle, and that was when I fell of the bed when I was a baby.”

“Only two bones, my entire life. I'm not unlucky. Just clumsy.” Kloverfield plopped onto floor, sulking.

Twilight was trying to remember all the bones in a unicorn's body then realized, 'They aren't even ponies, of course they won't have the same structures as us.' “What is a clavicle?”

Cadmium looked quizzically at her, “Twilight, a clavicle is a bone supporting our arms for a greater range of free movement. It is at the base of the neck and there are two of them, one for each arm.” Cadmium lifted his hoof and brought it up towards his neck.

Twilight simply nodded. “You're still coming to Pinkie's party?” Twilight asked. “She'd drag you over if you don't go willingly.”

“Yeah. I'll just have to be careful of my wing. I wasn't planning on missing it.” Klover twitched her wing and winced. “I wouldn't miss a famous Pinkie Party.”

o.O.o

Kloverfield regretted saying that. There was literally every pony in Ponyville at Sugarcube Corner that evening. Although Klover was usually an incredibly cheerful person, when there were a lot of people, or in this case, ponies around, she grew very quiet and reserved and overwhelmed. Hardly five minutes in, Kloverfield had quickly retrieved a plate of food, and she had found a quiet corner to eat and watch and try to calm down so she wouldn't run out of the little shop in a tizzy. She entertained herself by seeing how many of the ponies she could name, and she was proud of herself at how many she could.

Cadmium had a rather different experience, though. It is a well-known fact that mares outnumber stallions five to one in all of Equestria, and Ponyville is the worst culprit. A new stallion, especially one as large as Cadmium Core, was the center of attention for all the excited mares. He nearly always had one talking to him and smiling at him and asking about him.

Kloverfield nearly burst into giggles when Apple Bloom dragged Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to meet him. He was huge compared to the little fillies, but they adored him. They were entranced with his blank flank, and soon enough, the big green pony had been drafted into the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Cadmium and the Cutie Mark Crusaders trotted up to Kloverfield, “This is my older sister, Kloverfield.”

Apple Bloom was the first to speak, “Nahse ta meet ya, Kloverfield.”

Sweetie Belle was the next to say hello, “Nice to meet you.”

Scootaloo wasn't even paying attention as she was still gaping at the fact that she's standing next to a giant pony that did not have his cutie mark. Cadmium noticed and used the little magic Twilight managed to teach him to turn her around. “Hiya,” Scootaloo said as she noticed his sister. “What happened to your wing?”

“Hi, girls,” Kloverfield nodded with a smile. “Flying lessons with Rainbow Dash. I crashed into a tree.” She stood and circled for them to see her wing.

“Aww, I was hoping you wouldn't have your cutie mark either,” Sweetie Belle said dejectedly.

Kloverfield smiled and noticed that she wasn't much larger than the fillies. She was somewhere between the size of these three little mares and the size of Rainbow. She didn't mind, though. She liked to be around little kids the best. “Sorry,” she said. “I quite like my cutie mark, though. It fits me perfectly. So let me make sure I've got this straight,” she said, standing awkwardly up on her hind legs so she could look at the three. “Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo,” she smiled. “Yup, I've got you right.” She plopped roughly back on her flank, smiling at them. “So you've hijacked my brother? Aw, isn't that cute? You have a whole little troupe of fillies at your fff-hooves.”

“He's gonna help us find our cutie marks!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“And we're all gonna help 'im find 'is cutie mark, too!” Apple Bloom said with a nod in her cute little southern accent.

“He's our newest Cutie Mark Crusader!” Sweetie Belle added.

Kloverfield put her hoof over her mouth to hide her snicker. “I'm sure you'll all find your cutie marks in no time!”

Apple Bloom nodded eagerly. “Yeah! Maybe Cad's a party pony or...” She dragged the Cutie Mark Crusaders off into the crowd still prattling on about plans.

Kloverfield smiled and shook her head, settling back into her comfortable corner, and she started to try to eat a cupcake, which became very messy, but during all of this, she heard a pony starting to talk, and looking up, she saw a pegasus couple heading towards the food.

“Yeah, my trip was fine,” a pretty cinnamon colored pegasus said as she took a cupcake from the refreshment table.

The teal stallion beside her shook his head. “You don't look fine, Swirl,” he said. “Something's wrong with you. What happened? The griffons were nice to you, weren't they?”

Kloverfield busied herself with her cupcake. She didn't want to eavesdrop, but the two ponies didn't seem to even notice that she was there. Kloverfield didn't really recognize them anyways.

“Dewdrop,” Swirl sighed anxiously, “Helga didn't even look at me,” she whined, starting to tear up. “She didn't say a single thing. She didn't even acknowledge that I was there! She must be mad at me! I don't know what I did wrong!”

“Cinnamon Swirl,” Dewdrop said with authority in his voice. “You've been friends with Helga since flight camp. How can she suddenly ignore you?”

“But it wasn't just her,” she whimpered sadly. “The whole town seemed not to even notice I was there. Not a one!”

“Cinnamon Swirl, eat this cupcake, and smile, right now,” Dewdrop ordered, and Kloverfield quirked a smile at the cute couple before trotting over to retrieve a napkin.

Out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie appeared with a gorgeous white unicorn in tow. “Rarity, this is Twilight's house guest, Kloverfield. Kloverfield, this is my good good good friend, Rarity!” She finally looked at Klover and gasped. “You're all by yourself. You must be timid like Fluttershy! I'm sure you'll love her! I'll be right back.”

Kloverfield looked back to Rarity, quickly wiping frosting from her muzzle before smiling. “Hello,” she greeted cheerfully.

“It's wonderful to meet you, Darling,” Rarity greeted. “Your mane is a wonderful color. It matches your coat beautifully.”

Kloverfield grinned, “Thank you,” as she reached up to touch her mane, and realized that she hadn't brushed it all that day. She didn't get a chance to before going flying with Rainbow Dash, and she was sure that it was now a mess of frizzy curls and knots. “awww. I haven't brushed it at all today,” she lamented, embarrassed.

Rarity fidgeted, “So, Darling, How long have you been in Ponyville?”

“Three days,” Kloverfield nodded.

Promptly, Pinkie Pie reappeared, dragging a little pale yellow pegasus with her. “Kloverfield, this is Fluttershy! Fluttershy, this is Kloverfield!”

Koverfield waved softly at her. “Hello.”

Fluttershy nodded timidly.

“I'm sure you two will be great friends!” Pinkie said confidently, suddenly having Kloverfield and Fluttershy in a hug.

“Ow!” Kloverfield squeaked.

Pinkie jumped away. “Oh, did I hurt you?”

“No,” Kloverfield cut off before Pinkie could say anymore. “Rainbow Dash was teaching me how to fly and I crashed and broke my wing. You just jostled it. No harm done.”

Cadmium trotted up behind Pinkie, “Howdy, Pinkie, How ya doing?”

Fluttershy squeaked and ran infront of Pinkie.

Cadmium chuckled, “Sorry Fluttershy. I didn't mean to scare ya.”

Fluttershy squeaked again.

“He's not going to eat you,” Kloverfield teased. “My brother's just a bit big. What happened to the Cutie Mark Crusaders?” she asked her brother.

“They ran off. I couldn't keep up, but I did run into a really baffled Lyra.”

“Oh, fun,” Kloverfield nodded.

“Darling, I just must do something with your mane. It is quite beautiful, but I really must do something with it,” Rarity insisted, already directing Kloverfield to sit as she magicked the tangles and knots out of it.

“Alright,” Kloverfield obliged. She looked to Fluttershy who was just starting to peek around Pinkie Pie. “Fluttershy,” Kloverfield called out softly. She smiled and waved at the little yellow pegasus as she waited for Rarity. “Hi. You're adorable,” she cooed softly, trying not to frighten her.

Fluttershy smiled a little and came out from behind Pinkie, “You think so?”

Cadmium smiled, “Of course. You're just shy. I don't blame you. How's Angel doing?” Cadmium asked trying to make smalltalk with the little shy pony.

Fluttershy perked up, “Angels doing fine, just fine.”

Cadmium chuckled again, “That's good.”

Rarity looked Cadmium over, her eyes stopping on his flank, “Darling, if you don't mind me asking, where's your cutie mark?”

Cadmium smiled, “All will be explained after the party.”

“We'd like it if you would stay after the party, you, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash and Applejack,” Kloverfield told them. “We think there's some things about Cadmium and me that you should know.”

“Then we'll make an after party out of it,” Pinkie Pie said cheerfully.

Kloverfield giggled. “It will be fun, I'm sure.”

o.O.o

The rest of the party seemed to drag on, but soon enough, the last straggler, a pony that Kloverfield recognized to be Berry Punch, wandered out the door.

“Now what do y'all wanna tell us 'bout yerselves?” Applejack asked.

The mane six and Spike were looking at the siblings curiously while the Cutie Mark Crusaders finished off the food at the refreshment table.

“I think my brother would want to tell you,” she asked looking up at him. “Or I could tell them, but you're the one who knows what you want to say. I don't have a preference.”

Cadmium motioned for Kloverfield to do it, and she nodded.

“Alright, I'll tell.” She looked at the ponies confidently. “We're not ponies.”

“What do you mean? Of course you are,” Pinkie giggled.

“No, we are not ponies. Yes, we look like ponies, but we are actually a race of bipedal sophisticated primates called humans, or Homo sapiens,” she explained. “We were somehow...what, transported?” she tried to figure, looking up to her brother. “Transported to Equestria, and for some reason we were transformed into ponies. We don't know how or why this happened.”

Twilight had trotted away and by then had returned with a piece of paper, Klover's drawing of humans. She floated it so that the ponies could see.

“We look basically like this,” Kloverfield said.

“Maybe I could try that spell again to show them?” Twilight asked.

Kloverfield lit up, “That would be perfect!”

Twilight nodded and cast the spell. The familiar puffs of smoke appeared and condensed to show the siblings to the mane six. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were promptly right next to Spike, gaping along with all of the other mares.

Kloverfield smiled and waved. She winced and saw that her shoulder had been bandaged, just like her wing had been. “Well, it looks like that injury carried over.” She turned around slowly for them to look at her.

Cadmium looked down at the amazed mares and dragon, “We are bipedal. I am about six feet tall; however I don't know if you know what a foot is.” Cadmium puts his hand in his pocket. “Huh? What's this?” Cadmium asked, pulling his hand out his pocket. “My iPod. How did you get here.” Cadmium looked at it and put it on a table a fair distance away from the gawking ponies and himself.

Twilight looked up, still under the strain of performing the spell.

Cadmium noticed Twilight and quietly thanked her for being this kind. “My real name is Aidan,” Cadmium declared, “and my sister's is Kyrie, but please call us by our pony names. We are not from this world. We come from a world locally known as Earth. Dash, to explain my knowledge of you and this world, I would like to say six words: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.”

Dash looked Cadmium and Kloverfield over, “I still don't know if I trust you...”

Cadmium looked at the sky blue pegasus and smiled, “I don't blame you. After that stunt I pulled when you came to pick up Kloverfield was rather uncalled for. Not to mention, I wouldn't trust someone who pops up out of nowhere and knows my whole life story, but what I said does have a basis.” Cadmium looked over at his iPod, “Twilight, how much longer will you be able to hold that spell?”

Twilight looked at Cadmium, “I should be able to hold it for at least another five minutes,” Twilight said, sounding a little strained.

Cadmium nodded and walked over to his iPod, “I am going to let you listen to something that should prove that we are not from here, and let you know how we know of your world.” Cadmium started a song.

Three months of winter coolness
And awesome holidays

Rainbow Dash examined the strange device that was somehow emitting her voice.

We've kept our hoovsies warm at home
Time off from work to play

Pinkie started jumping with glee as she heard her voice.

But the food we've stored is runnin' out
And we can't grow in this cold

Applejack stared at the device with clear apprehension.

And even though I love my boots
This fashions getting old

Rarity blushed after her part.

The time has come to welcome spring
And all things warm and green
But it's also time to say goodbye
It's winter we must clean
How can I help? I'm new, you see
What does everypony do?
How do I fit in without magic?
I haven't got a clue!

A bright violet cloud enveloped the group, and Cadmium found himself on the ground feeling dizzy.

Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up!
Let's finish our holiday cheer
Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up!
'Cause tomorrow spring is here
Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up!
'Cause tomorrow spring is here
'Cause tomorrow spring is here
'Cause tomorrow spring is here!

Cadmium moaned and tried to get up, “What happened?”

Twilight ran over to Cadmium and helped him up, “Oh, my, I'm sorry everypony. I guess I lost control of the spell.”

Cadmium smiled at the little mare, “It wasn't you fault. I should have chose a song that was not centered around you.”

Twilight blushed, “Is everypony OK?”

Kloverfield nodded. “Perfect. But you didn't have to choose that song, Cad. Now it's gonna be stuck in my head. Anyways.” She gestured her hoof to the iPod on the ground. “That is called an iPod. That holds things like music, videos, and games. That's my brother's, and he has nearly all of your songs on it. Uh...Wait. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is a TV show...TV, a box that shows videos and shows, pictures and sounds. Like a bigger iPod, except, it's more like a radio.” She plopped onto her but, trying to figure out what else she needed to explain. “Well, anyway, we watch My Little Pony, and it is the most awesome TV show! I love it! We both do. And...There's art! There's so much art! And fanmusic. And toys! We know all about you! We know all about how Twilight came to Ponyville and made friends with all of you. And we know about...Well, we know A LOT! I haven't quite seen all of the episodes yet, but Cad has. He's seen every single one!”

It was Cadmium's turn to blush now, “Ya, I know It's a TV show about a bunch of talking ponies. But who cares. The animation is great, you guys are portrayed beautifully, and the fact that the executive producer was Lauren Faust; known for her work in PPG and Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends. Hay, at least we didn't end up in the other generations.”

Twilight looked inquisitively at Cadmium, “Cadmium, what are you saying?”

“About what?”

“Other Generations, executive producer?” Twilight asked, confused by his comments.

“My Little Pony was originally a line of little pony toys. I never liked them. I thought they were fat, and they were,” Kloverfield said. “The first generation of toys came out in the '80s. Oh...sorry...20, 30 years ago. There was a TV show and toys. Nothing fancy. It fell out of popularity, then came back, fell out, came back. Lauren Faust is the person who took over and started generation four, Friendship is Magic. That just started two years ago. Since then, there's been over 50 episodes. It's been so awesome! The Canterlot wedding was my favorite episode!”

All the real ponies looked at each other awkwardly. Twilight smiled slightly, “I think I may know what you're referring to, but could you please elaborate?”

Cadmium spotted the others starting to eye them suspiciously, 'When are they gonna give us a break?'

“With the changelings? And Princess Mi Amore Cadenza? Your foalsitter. She's the sweetest. And I absolutely adore your brother. The royal guards are great,” Kloverfield said with a nod.

Twilight looked at the others, still unsure of the reason these two strange... humans... were brought to Equestria, “OK, Just wanted to make sure.”

Kloverfield noticed. “I promise we're not lying. We really don't know how we came here or why.”

Pinkie Pie jumped up. “You're supposed to be our friends!” She squealed.

Everypony smiled and giggled.

Apple Bloom wandered up to Cadmium. “You're still gonna be in the Cutie Mark Crusaders, aren't yah?”

Cadmium looked down, “Of course I will, Apple Bloom. I already have some ideas for you three to try.”

Apple Bloom smiled widely and pulled Cadmium to the other crusaders.

Kloverfield smiled. “Are there any questions you want to ask?”

And soon enough, between questions, Kloverfield's head drooped, and Cadmium proudly levitated his sister onto his back, wanting to show off his magic.