Chapter 3 - For whom the bell tolls
“This creature you speak of, I have not seen. For how long in the Everfree, has it been?” Zecora asked as she lowered Twilight's and Fluttershy's cups of tea on the table, before taking her own seat.
“Well, Fluttershy saw it almost three weeks ago, some ways in to the forest, and Rainbow saw it yesterday on the west edge of the forest. Apparently, it had been collecting mushrooms.” Twilight responded as she took a sip from her tea.
“Ahh, on a trek in the forest, I noticed that many had been taken. A pony I had suspected, but it seems I have been mistaken.”
“What mushrooms were those? Hopefully not something you needed for one of your concoctions.”
“They were tasty and perfect for a meal. So, worry not, they were not that big of a deal.” Zecora said with a smile.
“But if it was just looking for mushroom, why would it wear camouflage clothes?” Twilight asked and turned towards Fluttershy, who had been content to just sit and listen for now.
“Well, many creatures use camouflage to hide from predators. For many it is their only way to protect themselves.”
“I…I guess that makes sense. So, it forages for food in the Everfree and hides from monsters with clothes that blend in to the environment?” Twilight hold her hoof to her chin in contemplation.
“That is possible…although I don’t know any animals that make clothes…or hats.”
“Yes, that does seem a bit weird.” Twilight admitted.
“Perhaps Everfree is not its home, and instead, it likes to roam?” Zecora interjected helpfully.
Twilight hummed and tried to find something, anything from the vast amount of information in her head to help shed light in their current situation. Nothing came to mind.
“That is possible, but without being able to talk to it or even see it up close, all we can do is speculate.” Twilight finally admitted. She finished the last of her tea and got up with Fluttershy.
“Thank you, Zecora. If you see it, please let us know.”
Zecora offered them a smile and a nod.
********************
“What’s wrong Twilight?” Fluttershy asked as they made their way out of the forest. Twilight had been silent and in deep thought from the moment they had left Zecoras hut, and her head was low, as in shame. Twilight looked up to her friend and sighed.
“It’s nothing Fluttershy, I just…it’s just starting to get frustrating that we know nothing about this creature. Nopony seems to have any idea what this creature could be, none of my books have mentioned anything at all and even when I visited Canterlot last week, I couldn’t find anything from the Royal Archives. It’s like this creature doesn’t exist at all!” She finally stopped and threw her hoofs in the air.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Fluttershy said meekly and hid behind her mane.
“It’s not your fault, Fluttershy.” Twilight let out another sigh and they continued walking.
“You’d think that there would have been at least something, even rumors or old tales, but I couldn’t find anything that matched this creature.”
The two continued in silence, Twilight going back to thinking and Fluttershy feeling sorrowful for being able to help her friend. She had tried to search from her books on animals too for something, but there hadn’t been any mention of a creature like this. Not that there was much information available on creatures that lived deep in the Everfree forest in the first place, but to find absolutely nothing was unexpected.
After some time of walking, Twilight and Fluttershy emerged from the forest and were greeted by a raspy voice.
“There you are! I have been waiting for you for ages!” Rainbow exclaimed as she swooped down next to them. Twilight looked up at the sun. It was a little past its zenith point, so she and Fluttershy had been gone for little more than an hour.
“We haven’t been gone for that long.”
“Never mind that, look!” She said and showed them what she had been holding in her hoofs. It was a rectangular, gray object with some weird markings on it. It had cracks going across its glassy looking face, while its sides were made of metal.
“What is it?” Twilight asked as she studies the weird object.
“I don’t know. I went back where I saw the creature yesterday to see if I could find something, and this thing was where it had been sitting!” Rainbow explained energetically.
“This…this belongs to the creature?” Twilight asked and examined the thing with more interest.
“I think so, yeah. And that is not the best part. I found it because it was making a noise, like ringing a bell! It stopped after a while, and I don’t know how to make it do it again. I do however, know how to do this.” Rainbow said and pressed what looked like a button on the face of the object. The face lit up with bright colors, weird symbols, and a picture of a field full of flowers.
“Woah.” Twilight and Fluttershy said with wonderment, and Rainbow smiled smugly. Soon the face of the object went dark again.
“Isn’t it totally awesome?” She asked.
“It was very pretty.” Fluttershy said.
“How did it do that?” Twilight said and gently tugged at the object with her magic so that she could examine it more closely. After a moment, Rainbow let Twilight take it.
“Be careful with it. It is already cracked, we don’t want to break it!” She said, but leaned closer nonetheless in case Twilight could understand the thing better than her, which was more than likely, and which was also the reason she had been impatiently waiting for them to return from Zecora. Fluttershy also took a step closer.
Twilight spun the object around, looking at it from every angle. There seemed to be two more buttons, one on each of the long sides, different shaped holes on its top and bottom and weird squares on the back of it. There was also the button on the bottom of the front side, in relation to the picture of the field. Pressing one of the other two buttons made the thing lit up again, while the other didn’t seem to do anything.
Then there were also the markings. Weird symbols both in front and in the back, that seemed to be the same thing. Most likely it was some sort of language, but it wasn’t anything that Twilight had ever read. And when the buttons were pressed, there were even more symbols, some of which she could understand. There was tiny little alarm clock in the top right corner and what looked like a camera on the bottom right corner. There were more of that same language, and what must have been numbers, because some of them kept changing and Twilight was sure she had seen something similar before.
“Well, what is it?” Rainbow finally asked. Twilight turned to her and blinked.
“I…I don’t know. I don’t recognize this language, if it is one. I haven’t seen this kind of a device before.”
“What? But you are the smartest pony I know, and this thing looks totally like something an egghead would have.” Rainbow said.
“I’m sorry, but whatever it is, I don’t- “
The device lit up again, and soon started making sounds like a ringing bell. Twilight was so surprised that she accidentally dropped it, but Rainbow's quick reflexes saved it from smashing against a rock. She lowered the thing on the ground before anything else would happen to it.
The three of them looked at the device expectantly, as if the ringing would give them all the answers they so desperately wanted. The picture of a field had changed, and there was now more weird marking, numbers and things that Twilight didn’t understand.
“What do we do now?” Twilight asked, nervously hopping in place.
“I don’t know.” Rainbow admitted. “It did the same thing when I found it, but it just stopped after a while.”
“Maybe it’s an alarm clock?” Fluttershy interjected. She had seen the small picture of a clock in one of the corners too earlier.
Rainbow gently nudged the thing with her hoof, but nothing happened.
“Well, how do we turn it off then?” Twilight asked. As if by command, the device went quiet again. The three of them gave each other looks of uncertainty.
“What do we do with it?” Rainbow eventually asked.
“We are going to study it of course.” Twilight replied immediately, the prospect of studying some kind of never seen before device bringing a smile on her muzzle.
“I mean, how does it work? What is its purpose? What else can it do? How was it made? There’s so many questions! It is so sophisticated yet I cannot detect any kind of complex spell work from it you’d expect! Ohh, there’s going to be so many interesting avenues I can explore that- “
“Shouldn’t we return it?” Fluttershy said. Twilight snapped out from her excited rant.
“What?” She blinked at Fluttershy owlishly, as if she had spoken a different language.
“Oh…umm, sh-shouldn’t we return it? I don’t think the creature left it on purpose, it seems like a very important, umm, device. So, it must have dropped it by accident. Oh, it must be worried sick for having lost it.” Fluttershy gently picked the device up from the ground.
“Oh…but, but I…”
“Maybe it’s looking for it even now in the forest. We should return it to where Rainbow found it, if the creature comes looking for it.” Fluttershy said and turned to Twilight with a rare kind of determination on her face.
“But, but…studying…new discoveries…” Twilight tried weakly, but Fluttershy wouldn’t budge.
“Now now Twilight, we can’t just take things that belong to others without permission. I’m sure that if we ask really nicely, we can ask the creature to lend it to us.” She gently placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder.
“I’m sure you wouldn’t like it either if somepony took one of your books without asking first.” Twilight looked at the mysterious device sadly for a moment before sighing, her ears drooping in disappointment.
“I guess you are right, Fluttershy. I’m just not sure if it will allow us to study its device…”
“I’m sure we can sort it out.” Fluttershy offered an encouraging smile.
“Then what are we waiting for?” Rainbow asked as she took to the sky. “Let’s take this thing back.” She did a couple of lazy loops in the air.
“Yeah…let’s go.” Twilight agreed, not as enthusiastically as her daredevil friend.
“Aww come on Twilight. Maybe if we are lucky, we can return it, hide somewhere and see the creature come pick it up.” Rainbow tried to lift her spirits as she started to lead her friends back to where she had found the device. It didn’t quite manage to make Twilight as excited as moments before, but it did manage to bring a small smile to her face.
********************
The walk to the west edge of the Everfree forest was uneventful, if a bit more enjoyable than walking in the forest itself. At least you could enjoy the sunlight and feel the wind in your mane. The friends passed the time by pondering why the creature would carry an alarm clock with it, if the device was actually that.
Eventually they started to near the place where Rainbow had encountered the creature yesterday.
“I think it was around here somewhere…” She muttered as she flew slightly higher so that she could see around her better. Twilight and Fluttershy took a moment to look around. They were some ways away from Ponyville, and with the trees in the way, they couldn’t even see the town. The Everfree forest seemed to keep on going, the tree line clearly marking where the forest ended and the open fields and hills started. For a brief moment, they wondered if the picture in the device had been of this field during spring.
Suddenly, Rainbow zoomed back down from the sky and pulled them in to a nearby bush without any warning.
“Ack, Rainbow, what are- “ Twilight tried to ask what was wrong before Rainbow quickly jammed her hoof in her mouth.
“Shh!” She shushed and motioned towards further along the tree line. Twilight pulled Rainbows hoof from her mouth, and with a frown, looked what Rainbow was motioning at.
There, amidst the trees, was the creature. Twilights eyes widened, and she glanced towards Fluttershy, who nodded, confirming that it was indeed the one she and Rainbow had seen, before focusing back on the creature. It was walking around with two legs, circling the trees, and looking every which way, clearly looking for something. All three ponies turned to look at the device Fluttershy was holding.
“What do we do now? The creature is already here!” Rainbow whispered.
“Umm, we could just go and umm, give the device to it?” Fluttershy asked unsurely.
“Are you crazy? We can’t just walk to it! We know nothing about it, what if it’s dangerous?” She shot back exasperated.
“Rainbow is right. What if it is angry that we took its possibly very important device? It might never let us study it.” Twilight said and turned to look at what the creature was doing. It was kneeling on the ground, still searching.
“Well maybe we umm…leave the device somewhere where it can find it?”
“I could fly close to it and leave it somewhere easy to see.” Rainbow said and flexed her wings.
“But what if it sees you? There isn’t much to hide in between here and where it is.” Fluttershy noted. There creature was far enough from them that it hadn’t seen or heard their approach, and there wasn’t anything in-between for Rainbow to hide in. And since it was constantly turning around as it searched, it would be difficult for Rainbow to time her flight.
“Well, how about Twilight teleports it next to the creature. Or floats it?” Rainbow asked after a quick look to confirm that it would indeed hard to do this without being noticed.
“Or I could go back and circle closer to the forest so that- “
“What is it doing?” Twilight suddenly asked. Fluttershy and Rainbow turned to look at the creature, who had stopped searching and was holding something. Rainbow narrowed her eyes as she tried to see what it was.
“I don’t know Twi, it seems like it’s doing something with a thing it’s holding…strange, it almost looks like- “
The device sprang back to life in Fluttershys hooves, the gentle, but loud, sounds of a ringing bell filling the air. All three ponies turned toward the device, horror etched on their faces, before turning to look at the creature.
It was staring right at the bush they were hiding in.
Oh Zecora whyyyyyy. 
I don't know why I ever thought it was a good idea to try writing her dialogue. Somehow I managed to write something passable, but from now on, I will avoid it like parasprites. 
Again, critique is welcome, and if you spot any huge grammatical mistakes that I missed, do say so, so that I can fix them. 
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The direction this is going in is nice so far, though out of curiosity wouldn't Celestia be curious too by her actions? Also we cannot wait to see more. ^..^
... Magic cell phones that work with no satellites and across dimensional boundaries?!?!?
7900178 That's why they are magical, see? ;D There is a reason why it works, hopefully I remember to explain it at some point.
7899742 Curious by whos actions?
7900370 Didn't Twilight visit Canterlot's royal library to try finding books about him?
7900907 Oh you meant that. I was just a bit confused.
She might be yeah, but maybe she is expecting to find the results of what ever Twilight was searching for in the archives in one of her friendship reports. Celestia doesn't have to know every little thing her most faithful student does. That would be crazy. 
7900944 Hmmm, what about Bon Bon? she's a 'retired' agent of the crown. XD
7901161 Can't be a retired secret agent if you keep sticking your muzzle to other ponies stuff.
Besides, she is too busy making kissy faces with Lyra to notice such things. 
If Twilight wants to know more about this strange creature she should ask her old friend Lyra.
I'm guessing it was tough to write Zecora?
Lucky that it's not an iPhone, otherwise they would have thought it belonged to someone of the Apple Family.
is he calling his cell phone with another cell phone? why does he have two of those? xD
7903350
Could be a smart watch with a ping feature.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Nice. Flutter shy being the voice of reason. You can't just take other things stuff twilight!
Um, Twilight? You have a magic mirror with a portal that leads to a world populated with creatures who precisely match the description of this one. You've been one of those creatures. You should know exactly what it is.
You should also be at least casually familiar with smartphones.
...I guess writing HiE these days sorta requires you to ignore Equestria Girls, huh?
7969916 Given that Twi still lives in the library, it's not too big an assumption that Equestria Girls hasn't happened yet.
7997330
I know, but that's kinda my point.
In the current setting, the realistic outcome of a HiE would be Twilight going: "Oh, I know these guys. No worries, they're basically just over-dressed two-legged ponies."
7969916
Ignoring EQG is a good thing, namely because it is garbage
7997330
7998419
Well, given the story still has Twilight as a unicorn means EQG hasn't happened yet.
I'm loving the story so far and their funny moments with an IPhone
7997330
That's not actually true - Princess Twilight still lived in the tree-library at the time Equestria Girls (the first one) happened - Rainbow Rocks occurs after Tirek's defeat, and thus the library's destruction.
7969916
Or have it take place before Magical Mystery Cure, or immediately afterwards, since the first movie canonically takes place after that episode.
...Though that would raise the question of why Twilight didn't recognise what 'humans' are when she went through the portal...
7903350
Backup. In case one gets lost or broken or runs out of power or whatever, use the secondary phone.
...Though don't iPhones have a 'Find My iPhone' feature? Then again, no cellular/GPS satellites here, so it wouldn't wor - that would also mean phone calls wouldn't work. Huh.
8354573
Pretty much.
Canon keeps messing with us.
It's not hard to write for her. Well, if you're any good at writing poetry, anyway.
8801715
That's the problem.
Do it Fluttershy return it
What ever this phone is i want one! 3 weeks of what seems to me standby time and the ability to "ping" it like an iPhone?!? Must. Have....
7903350
Work phone and personal phone? My real question is how they're able to function without cell towers or satellite.
🐉❤