What's a Gary?

by Reykan

Code Red

Twilight flinched slightly as several flickers of power made themselves known nearby. They were well-muffled though and if it wasnt for the fact that one was nearby, she would have dismissed them. But the closest aura felt familiar, one that she'd come across recently.

Walking out the door of her library, she was surprised to see a simple red unicorn with orange mane approaching.
"Princess, if you don't mind, I'd like a moment of your time."

"Who-what-how did you get in?"

"Storm, your majesty," the mare replied with a smile. "I'd prefer if we stay in the library for the next hour or so."

Twilight nodded blankly, recognizing the aura now. She stepped back into the library just as Spike came waddling down the hallway, carrying a note from Celestia that he was reading.

"Oh good, we don't have to track him down," Storm said, closing the door behind the drake.

"Um, Twilight? Who's this? And does it have to do with the Princess asking me to check on you?"

Instead the uicorn approached him.
"It's nice to meet you, Spike. I'm Solar Storm. I, well, I'm here to make sure nothing hits the castle."
Seeing Twilight's look of confusion she smiled.
"While your friends are either in out of the way areas or, as with Miss Dash, not even in Ponyville all the time, your home is visible from a good distance. It's a landmark in and of itself."

"And why is there a problem with ponies...something happened, didnt it?"

Storm nodded.
"We have several teams spread out over this area right now while we find out where he went, but for now we don't know how strong he is or where he's going. Normally you wouldnt even notice my presence, as you havent the last several times we've done this, but alicorns are a bit more sensitive to magic. I didn't think it would help anyone to hide my presence."

"I-thank you, Storm. That means a lot to me," the purple alicorn said. "You're pulling out all the stops, so this...person must be strong. Will you need help?"

"We should be fine. The teams all have anti-magic arrays and have had training in apprehending even the most beligerant of beings. I even let them try to capture me, and while it was dangerous, they still managed it with a little help from a dragon-team."

Seeing Spike staring at the two of them with a blank expression, Twilight moved to a small table and began pouring tea for herself, Spike, and Storm.
"Storm, I trust Spike. If you would?"

The mare looked to the dragon for a moment before shrugging and releasing her disguise.

The dragon's jaw dropped.

"Spike, this is Solar Storm. She's here from a city in the Everfree that Princess Celestia has asked me to help govern. Since some things require a princess's signature, it saves her a much longer trip and allows me some experience in some things that don't reach pulbic ears."

Storm giggled as she cast a spell over the room, looking to Twilight with a sly grin.
"Did you even make certain there were no recording spells before that, Twilight? You know the rules."

At the floundering and sputtering, Storm burst into a fresh fit of giggles. She then turned to Spike, offering a hoof in greeting.
"Good afternoon, Spikoran. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Spike shook her hoof, still staring with his jaw slightly ajar.
"So uh...alicorn..."

"And I'm not the only one. There are a few more back home, as well as a few dragons that I know. I don't think I've met one of your size though. Most are at least as tall as my current form. I think it has to do with how old we were before. I'm not certain though, and we really don't have a good way to be check."

Spike's mood soured as he took a sip of the tea.
"I tried talking to a bunch of dragons. They weren't very nice. Even Princess Ember was pretty mean even if she became better afterwards."

"Well sometimes it depends on the individuals, and sometimes it depends on the situation. From what I've heard from Twilight, you approached a bunch of teenagers who were looking to be cool in front of their friends, and the second time they'd already tagged you as a wimp. I know many species, from griffons to dragons to humans, that would treat a small child the same way."

"But I'm not-"

"Age is relative," Storm interrupted, setting a hoof on his shoulder. "Celestia's much older than I am, Spike, but we are mature enough to speak on a...relatively level field. Both of us know not to speak down to the other, and because of this we get along. Same with her sister. The drakes you approached saw you as a youngling, not worth the time. In truth, you're a lot more mature than they are, but it won't stop them from acting out. In fact, it's a sure sign of their immaturity."
Leaning closer, she smiled conspiratorily at him.
"In fact, how much would you bet that a few of those drakes couldn't spell 'immaturity'?"

The hatchling gave a shy smile at her joke, nodding in agreement.

"I'm sure Twilight here would be happy to get you a few books from our library on dragons if you'd like, or maybe you could ask Pinkie to introduce you to Verdant or Night Fury. They're not the best examples of dragons, but they know their species and they know what dragons experience."

"Would um, would those happen to be the dragons that showed up to speak to the dragon lord and then left?"

"Oh! Yes, Verdant told me about that. It's not as much of a pull for them, but they still feel that resonation when the dragon lord calls. Verdant spent the next few weeks studying the call and seeing if there was a way to cut himself from it. He didn't like the idea of being commanded. Said it reminded him too much of the Dragon Soul, an artifact of fiction that could control dragons. Most of us aren't fans of things that can alter our minds in any way. Even the changeling hives are careful about those sort of connections and accidental theft of free will.
"Chell and I have spoken on that sort of topic extensively. She needs to remain calm as even simple whimsy on her part can translate into an order to the drones she's linked to. She's been called back from many a daydream to find a food she was craving being offered by an irritated changeling."

"It's that easy?" Twilight asked. "I never did get around to studying the information you have on changelings. There was just so much to learn and there are only so many hours in the day even with those wonderful drinks that make you all tingly-"
"I heard they had to cut you off. Even alicorns can have too much caffiene in their blood."

The purple mare gave a dismissive wave of her hoof before her ears perked at the sensation of a distant spell being fired.

"And that's that," Storm said with a smile. "It seems they found him. Well, it's been a pleasure but-"

A sudden sound of shattering glass, or more likely crystal, cut the mare off, leaving all present to look to the door. Before the other two could so much as respond, Storm tossed a crystal to Twilight.
"Get yourself and Spike clear. It will take you to our recall room. And dont stand on the pad, I may need it after this."

Twilight fumbled the crystal before nodding, pulling the young dragon to her before activating the crystal. Not a full minute after the two were teleported out the door exploded inwards, showering Solar Storm with crystal shards.
"Oh Princess, your Prince has...you're not Twilight..."

Storm looked over the stallion, barely surpressing a laugh. He was baby blue alicorn, with a rediculously detailed cutiemark as if the guy hadn't been able to decide what to put there. His mane was flourescent orange and his wings had yellow tips, while his eyes were bright green. He was also one of the stockiest alicorns she'd ever seen, and she'd seen a few who'd let themselves go in a bout of depression. No, every step had fat jiggling across his form.
"Oh my god, i don't think i've ever seen such a fat pony in my life."

The stallion flinched but puffed himself up.
"What have you done with the princess, cur?"

That cooked it. Storm burst into laughter, rolling along the ground and kicking her hooves with glee.
"And he's cheesy as fuck, oh my god this is beautiful! If you were any cheesier I'd be grabbing my fondue forks!"

The stallion, at a loss and having no real idea where else to go, scuffed a hoof at the ground nervously.
"This isnt at all how i imagined this going. Um, I mean alicorns are the good guys, but uh, did you, did you order those guys to try and track me?"

"Those people, who I know for a fact didnt initiate, are friends of mine. As for why I'm here...do you think you're the first idiot to get it into his head to go after these mares? Do you know how many ponies we've had to stop before they hurt those girls?"
Taking a breath to settle herself down, Storm stood to her full hight, which left her a good deal taller than the fresh alicorn.
"They tried to talk to you, didn't they? Did you listen to a word they said?"

"It doesnt matter," he said, shaking his head. "It doesnt matter because it's a dream. Nothing's hurt me, even when those guys tried. I can do whatever-"

Storm drew back, a small enchanted dagger floating in her magic as she watched the stallion. The smaller alicorn was now staring at the small cut on his foreleg, all color draining from his face.

"This is not a dream, my friend. This is a very real situation. Unfortunately, it seems either the teams have gotten stale or you appeared much closer to the castle than we anticipated. Now, are you willing to listen, or do I need to show you why the dragons call me Blister-Scale?"

"I-I'll protect this land from you and save-"

"The only threat is people like you," Storm interrupted as she approached, towering over him. "Idiots who think this is some sort of dream and that they can do whatever they like without consequence. I ask again, do you think you're the first? Do you know how many deranged 'dreamers' we've intercepted? Sometimes they're just confused, as I hope you are. Other times they've snapped from the stress of this change."
She let her wings sag a little, staring at him with a weight he couldn't fathom.
"Sometimes we can't save them. Sometimes we have to choose between the safety of our neighbors, those that have lived here peacefully for their entire lives, and the lives of those who have broken under the pressure."

She looked him over, idly noting that his horn was flickering uncontrolably. It wasn't his magical power that was allowing him to elude their teams and that left many more questions. The stallion shouldn't have been able to make it this far. They'd stopped these sorts of incidents before much more quickly, so what made him special?
"If you really want to help Twilight, you'll help us better prepare for others like yourself. We can't let people who have no grasp on reality near her and her friends. You promise to do that and to listen to me, and we'll teach you how to use magic. More than that, we'll teach you about your new world and new form."

He looked around the room, his eyes taking it in before settling on the abandoned tea set.
"You swear the Princess is alright?"

"I Solar Storm, do swear on my magic and on my soul, that the alicorn known as Twilight Sparkle is currently safe to the best of my knowledge. I sent her somewhere safe, somewhere ponies won't be alone with her."

"You, you thought i was going to-!"

"I can't make that assumption. If we're wrong once, well, once is all it takes. You want to help her, than swear on your own magic that you will accept my offer for help without attacking anyone where I live, that you will help us figure out what we did wrong this time."

The alicorn stallion shuffled quietly, his wings sagging as he mulled over his options. Finally he turned to Storm and sighed.
"...I don't know how."

The older mare smiled. A willing alicorn was always preferable to an unwilling one, after all. Less property damage.

<-(0)->

"-want his balls on my wall. How did he get that close? There were six teams deployed and we've stopped dragons with less."

"Solar Storm still hasn't responded to comms but that's nothing out of the ordinary. If we don't hear anything within the next five though, we assume the worst."

"I said no, you've got a split carapace and this just went to code black. You're in the way, Pill. Get to the infirmary or I'll have someone drag you there."

Twilight sat off to the side as the command staff of Stewtopia's military were going balistic, with ponies, dragons, griffons and changelings of all shapes and sizes running around or even flying around to try and get their job done as quickly as possible.

A sudden flash of a unicorn teleporting momentarily blinded her but soon a new shout reached her ears.
"Janice, I'm going to box those fuzzy ears of yours if you teleport again! You know the rules!"

"They're all insane," Spike whispered as he watched a large group of heavily armored dragons, alicorns and ponies walking in formation towards the large telepad in the center of the command room. They split into several smaller groups, each double checking each other's armor and weapons before returning to formation and readying their weapons.

"Telepad ready for mass teleportation. Destination: Crystal Castle Throne Room. Charge at 89%, five seconds. Charge ready.
"Pad is ready, waiting on the- recall in process, everyone get clear!"
"Incoming teleport in three, all weapons ready."

Twilight leaned forward a little, hoping that the older mare was alright. The people here were taking this seriously, as they apparently took all alicorn arrivals. After all, if he chose to hurt somepony in Ponyville, there wouldnt be much the ponies would be able to do. Even the guard would likely have trouble.

A flash from the pad left two alicorns standing there, one she recognized from only a few moments ago and the second was an odd looking stallion that was currently the focus of every weapon in the room. Storm leaned close and whispered something to him before he nodded and slowly lowered himself to the floor.

What happened next was a blur of barely discernable activity. The stallion was fitted with a surpressor, wing-clamps, and leg-clamps before he'd even finished lowering himself to the ground. He was also pinned by several dragons, each holding down a limb as the rest of their group leveled their weapons at him. Three more people of different species approached Storm, each casting a spell over her head to presumably make certain no mind control spells were in place. Then once they'd cleared her, they rushed her off of the platform and off towards the medical facility.
Twilight looked back to the platform only to find the smaller alicorn was already gone, the group of armored dragons and alicorns already leaving through a large door, their weapons still trained on the now unseen stallion.

Spike shivered in her grip, having watched the entire scene take place in less than a minute.
"I don't think I like these ponies, Twilight."

"It's fine, Spike," she whispered back, petting his spines. "They're not normally like this. They're worried. Scared. They dont want ponies to get hurt and they didnt know what was happening."

"Twilight?"

The purple mare jerked at the voice, while Spike immediately jumped to his feet and rushed to the source.
"Princess Celestia!"

"Oh thank goodness. I recieved a notification that something had gone wrong and...well, I'm glad you're all safe. You are all safe, correct?"

"The...pony came to the palace, princess. Storm spoke to him and brought him back."

"Good. I- oh, I'm so sorry, Spike. You have no idea what's going on and this must be terribly confusing."
Leaning down to give him a loving nuzzle, Celestia smiled warmly
"Have no fear, you're perfectly safe, as is Twilight."

"Princess?" another voice called, this one belonging to a zebra. "If you have a moment, we have a timeline. We'll be getting answers from the new guy soon, so if you have anything you'd like to add-"

"I think that would be for the best. The holding facility, correct? Please escort Twilight and Spike to a dining facility. A think a hot chocolate would do them both some good."

<-(0)->

"It seems you have settled down, how is Spike?" Celestia asked as she approached her ex-student. The purple alicorn was currently in the city's library, which didn't surprise her at all. What surprised her was her student pointing to a beanbag chair nearby, where Spike was currently sleeping with a book resting on his chest like a makeshift blanket while a comic sat over his eyes.

Celestia leaned closer to the drake and smiled.
"Dragon Development and Justice League?"

"He asked about dragons and then mentioned comics. The librarian called this earth pony in who almost immediately started going on and on about the hundreds of comics they had and well, when Spike mentioned Power Ponies, they started arguing over which was done better. I'm still not certain they ever came to any agreement, but both admitted to bias. Which is more than I've ever gotten from him."
"So the new pony?"

"Prince is currently being treated for a minor case of shock and going through some basic medical checkups."

Twilight's eyes widened in surprise.
"Prince?"

"According to Storm he introduced imself as Prince, but cut himself off mid-title. So now his name is Prince until they can nullify the connection to his name. And they will, as that name is apparently one a pony isn't supposed to use. Something about insulting a musician."

"I'm sure that went over well," the smaller mare giggled. "I'm just glad nopony was severely hurt. I was worried when I saw them all getting riled up."

"He had some very powerful avoidance magic running passively through his body. A magister called it a Wallflower Effect. Sometimes ponies just don't want to be bothered and because he was focusing on a goal and didn't want to be found, only a changeling was able to spot him. Or rather, only a changeling noticed his emotion."
"It's not something they anticipated before, so now they're going to spend the next month or so working that scenario into their rules and regulations. He's still interested in seeing you because you're a celebrity, but otherwise I think he's calmed down a little. As have the rest of the people here."

Twilight nodded.
"I'll see him during the introduction class, so he'll still get his wish."

Celestia lifted the sleeping dragon and set him on Twilight's back while carefully collecting the books and comics in a stack.
"We'll get these checked out for him. Would you like to return to Canterlot with me for dinner or would you prefer to just take the telepad back to your castle?"

"I think I'm ready to go home, Princess," Twilight replied, setting a book on changeling connections on the librarians desk.
"I want to check on my friends and make sure they're all alright."

"Very well. It was nice to see you again, Twilight, even if it was in passing. Don't be a stranger."

Twilight checked out the books, smiling softly at the simple reminder of her old job. Back when things were so much simpler.
'Maybe I should...no, I can't do that to my friends. Maybe if they knew beforehoof, but...I don't even know any of the queens well enough to ask for such a thing.'

"Maybe that's what I need," she mumbled to herself as she left the library with her large stack of books. "Maybe I can open the Crystal Castle's library to the public, or even see to the construction of a library next to the castle- no, it will be part of the castle. I already have a ton of- but not all of the books are things ponies can borrow. Darn it, how does Princess Celestia have the Canterlot Library set up?"

Walking towards one of the nearby public telepads, she made up her mind to send a message to her old teacher on the rules and regulations used to keep the Canterlot Library running and funded. She'd been a librarian once, working in a crown-funded library. What would it be like to be in charge of one? To have one that answered to her?

---

In a flash of light, Twilight's hooves touched down on the floor of her throne room. Spike was still sleeping on her back, while a large saddlebag of books was strapped under the drake. She signed as she allowed her magic to flow into the castle, feeling for the damage caused by the break-in. It was very focused, surprisingly, like the stallion had known exactly where to go.
'Considering I'm still finding new rooms every now and again, that leave me with an additional question. How did he find me?'

"Twilight! Oh my gosh, you're back! What happened? The first thing we heard was some shadow-pony had kicked in your door and the next thing we know the door to the library is broken, the place smells like smoke, and the door to that room is shattered as well!"

Looking at the blue pegasus, Twilight winced as her friend noticed the sleeping dragon and the big stack of books she was now carrying.

Rainbow Dash crossed her arms as she hovered, giving Twilight a suspicious look.
"We worry and you're out getting new books? What the heck, Twilight! It looks like somepony kicked in the front door and outright shattered the door to the library! What were you doing?"

Looking behind the blue pegasus to her approaching friends, she swallowed hard. She'd probably need to wake up Spike to get a letter to Princess Celestia. She wasn't sure how to deal with this situation at all. What was she supposed to tell them?

Keeping secrets from the public was one thing, but keeping it from her friends?

Comments

[Nagel Navari]

"Oh my god, i don't think i've ever seen such a fat pony in my life."

Was expecting a 'Your princess is in another castle' joke.

[Reykan]

8765085
Dammit, that would have been perfect too.

[LordMentat]

Heh, love that subtle poke at those very cheesy oc's that are out there.

[HoneyBadgerr]

Loving this so much

[Reykan]

8765123
Nah, i just didn't think of it. And while it would be considered "Over-used" that's never stopped me before

[Nagel Navari]

8766111
What are the chances Fluttershy already knowing about the Sue's due to Discord hosting a draconequus get together at her cottage?

[fractalman]

"I think that would be for the best. The holding facility, correct? Please escort Twilight and Spike to a dining facility. A think a hot chocolate would do them both some good."

and suddenly Celestia was applejack.

[Shattered_Moon]

Gary~.