Chapter One: Arrival
Chapter One: Arrival
It’s rather breathtaking how much can change in just a short amount of time. If somepony had told Watcher that the four princesses of Equestria, formerly relegated to fairy tales and bedtime stories for foals, were actually real and trying to rescue their old domain, he would have called them crazy. He would have gone on a rant, as studied stallions usually do about such things, dismissing the entire idea as a foolish piece of fiction. However, his view was turned upside down in recent days, when a desperate mare claiming to be Princess Celestia herself wandered into his life, and raised the sun before his very eyes. Of course, the local government known as The Order found the sudden appearance of a former powerful alicorn to be a critical threat, despite Celestia’s demotion to a mere unicorn. They narrowly escaped a tragic showdown with former friends who had turned on them in hopes of winning favor with the state currently controlling what was formerly Celestia’s home. Watcher’s thoughts still swirled in his head, having just barely accepted his new reality as a wanted stallion on the run with a disgraced princess and a strange inventor.
It was like he was in a nightmare, but the only things reminding himself that it wasn’t, were the sensations that seemed to overwhelm his waking mind. His best friend was gone, the love of his life, dead. All he had left was his dignity or what little remained. ‘Why did everything have to go so horribly wrong? Everything was fine, my studies in the academy were finally about to pay off! Why did I throw my future away for a friend who stabbed me in the back!’
However his thoughts were soon disrupted, looking behind him to see Celestia talking with their new guide, whose name they found to be rather strange. Techorse, who discussed the difference between classical music and the new modern music that the stallion loved so much. “So this… J-Pon Pop is something of a new artist? I still think the classical music two thousand years ago is still superior in it’s own way.”
“Perhaps, Princess. But we’ve got some amazing hits in today’s age too, and I promise you that you two won’t regret it if you give her a chance.” Techorse responded, not noticing Watcher glaring at the pair as they both trotted along surprisingly fast.
“Maybe Tia isn’t regretting it, but I already am!” Watcher shouted, trying to shut the pair up about the new singer on the rise. It was fine the first few minutes, but it soon got old after ten minutes... then thirty, and finally it became such a headache that time seemed like a silly thing to keep track of. “Please, can you shut your traps for five minutes!? I can’t even hear myself think!”
“You don’t need to yell at us, Watcher! Besides, didn’t you tell me before I needed to get accustomed to this era? I’ve already learned a bit about modern day music from Mr. Techorse. The more I know, the easier it’ll be for me to blend in like you wanted.” She replied, walking up to the charcoal stallion, who turned to scowl at her.
“Sorry if I’m not as enthralled in this stranger’s weird obsession with pop music.” Looking back at the stallion who looked through a bag he had pulled from that saddle gadget of his before pulling her close to him and whispered something to her, “We don’t know him, so try not to get attached to him, okay?”
“Hey, you were the one who asked me to join you!” Tech responded, calling him out on his aggression, “I understand that you’re going through… rough patches, Watcher, but I’m doing my best to try and help you.”
“Spur of the moment… I am grateful for your help. Really I am, but we know nothing about you! Which is what should have been the first red flag, but the fact that you… followed us before we met, is setting off major red flags for me. So sorry if I’m not willing to give my trust to you. I’ve already had my closest friends stab me in the back. I won’t make that same mistake again.” Watcher explained, towering over the earth pony as he held his glare on him. Celestia, however, separated the two with her magic and shot both of them a similar look that surprised even Watcher.
“This isn’t the time to argue about this! Now, I understand Watcher, but he risked his life for us, and I do agree that we did jump the gun , but he does deserve a chance to prove himself. Right, Techorse?” Celestia asked, turning to the engineer as she smiled at him. “Everypony deserves a chance.”
“Thank you for being reasonable, your Highness,” Techorse said, which Watcher knew was a hidden jab at him, “I know we just met, but I hope you’ll eventually come to trust me.”
Rolling his eyes, he let out a loud ravenous growl and turned away, trotting ahead of the two as he continued to push through all the bushes in sight, before making his way to a clearing. Wondering how Celestia could trust him so suddenly, though he also knew that she was a bit naive at times. ‘I really hope you know what your doing Celestia, cause for once I don’t know at all...’
Thirty Minutes Later
“It took us longer than expected, but welcome to the gates of Everfree City.” Techorse responded, turning back towards both Watcher and Celestia who both stared in awe.
“I don’t think the hard work of ponies will ever cease to amaze me.” Celestia said, unable to contain her smile as her eyes sparkled at the mere sight of the metropolis beyond the open gate of Everfree City.
A tall cement wall covered in thorny vines ran around miles and miles of terrain, interrupted only by a great river which ran on the south side of the city. Tall-rise buildings formed an urban center towards the middle of the space carved out by the walls, and hundreds of smaller buildings surrounded it, forming a blooming suburbia which housed thousands of ponies who had lived their whole lives there. Stores, theaters, and restaurants dotted the neighborhoods, neon lights pointing the way to all kinds of entertainment and thrills to seek. A big casino on the west side of town in particular seemed to draw far too much attention with a massive fountain out front that shot geysers of light-infused water into the air. Everything that a pony could want in their lives was present in the sprawling metro, a fact that startled Celestia, who had known only twisted trees in the place where all of this development stood.
“I won’t disagree with you on that Tia… Now, we better get moving, We still haven’t informed Umbra about us coming yet.” Watcher stated, giving her a weak, but genuine smile as he offered his hoof to her. “Ready to see the city?”
Smiling back, she couldn’t help but reach out for his hoof, but was soon interrupted, by Techorse trotting past her.
“You guys are going to love this city, plenty to do, and plenty to see! Even though I haven’t seen everything yet,” he went on, “although I guess not leaving my laboratory very often makes that pretty easy to believe, huh?”
“Yeah, I’ll say,” Watcher answered, rolling his eyes, “so can you recommend our first stop, at least?”
“Absolutely!” he nodded affirmatively, “Our first stop will be...”
“Food,” interrupted Celestia, “please.”
Watcher poked fun immediately, “Ah, I see. The royal belly needs another gorging, huh?”
“Well, life threatening situations make me hungry, so I see the Princess’s point,” chuckled the inventor, “all right you two, food it is! I know this great place to get fried mushroom sandwiches by the river.”
“I take it you’ve been here more than once I take it? Considering you spend most of your time both figuratively and literally boxing yourself inside with those machines of yours?” Watcher asked, mocking the inventor. “Must be pretty nice to not interact with real ponies. So please do show us the way.”
“As if boxing yourself in with books is any better,” came the words with the traditional eye roll.
“Hey! who told you that?! Have you been filling Tech’s head with garbage about me already, Tia?” Watcher growled at the former sun princess while she held a smug look across her face.
“Innocent until proven guilty,” she teased, gently running a hoof through Tech’s mane to try and garner some jealousy, “now if you’ll please Mr. Techorse, take us to this fine establishment.”
“At the very least I had friends to interact with…” He mumbled to quietly for Tech to hear him as he glared at the earth pony.
Techorse showed a bit of pain on his face, but tried to ignore his “companion” as he led Celestia through the gate. At least in her eyes there was a hint of compassion for him, although he didn’t understand it. Maybe it has something to do with him saving them from being taken out by The Order, but he couldn’t quite put his hoof on it.
Riverbank of Everfree City
The restaurant turned out not to be as fancy as what Watcher had hoped, being more of a food truck parked outside of the riverbank. A long boardwalk had been built alongside the water, with strings of pink and white lights tied to the posts every couple of meters. Attractions such as roller coasters and even a ferris wheel were set up to grab attention quickly with their bright colors and promise of a good time. Everywhere Celestia looked, there was somepony with a sparkle in their eye that reminded her of the era of Harmony long since gone. It felt more like a home than a riverside carnival.
“All right, I’ve placed our orders,” Techorse announced, holding the food receipt in his surviving mechanical arm, the other stump sticking out from his saddle and still sparking, “gotta find a place for this paper since, well… the other arm’s a shock hazard right now.”
“Yes, for the love of all good things, don’t electrocute us,” Watcher grumbled at him.
“Thank you for also providing us with dinner,” said Celestia humbly, “you’ve already been way too kind to us as is.”
Techorse stowed the robotic arms with a mechanical whirring noise, his saddle’s bay doors closing as the mysterious machinery ceased operations momentarily. He then pointed around, this time with his hoof, at the various sights and sounds at the boardwalk.
“So, this is Freshwater Frolic, the boardwalk here in Everfree City. They’ve got all your typical carnival stuff, rides, games, food with questionable nutrition. My favorite’s the Howling Manticore, that wooden roller coaster you can see over there!“
“As entertaining as that would be, we don’t have the time to be fooling around. Besides right now, wouldn’t it be better for Celestia and me to get… you know… disguises?!” He shouted, but his mouth was quickly clamped shut by Celestia’s magic. Noticing a few ponies pass by with their brows raised.
“You don’t need to shout Watch, but he’s right. Any day now word about me and Watcher will make it to Everfree City. Tartarus, word probably already made it here, so we need something to at least hide our appearances.” Celestia explained to the technician, now realizing the situation. “For a moment… I… forgot that we were still in danger.”
Techorse smiled, “I haven’t forgotten that they’re still after you. Everfree City is pretty disconnected from The Order’s announcements, so they thought that the extra sunrise was a mistake by the sorcerers responsible for the day-night cycle. We do get The Order’s troops and officers down here sometimes, but there’s limits to what they can do since peace negotiations are underway.”
“I don’t care, if we get spotted, they’ll ignore just about anything to get to us,” insisted Watcher, “we’ve got to stay out of the public eye, period.”
“All right, all right,” he said, trying to calm him down, “let’s pick up our sandwiches and I’ll take you to the department store nearby. The Order rarely places anyone in that shopping district, so we’ll be safe to change your appearance.”
“May I wear a feather boa?” asked Celestia, eyes beaming, “I’ve always wanted to try one.”
“Absolutely not,” Watcher said, “way too obvious.”
“You don’t have to be a stick in the mud about it.” Celestia muttered under her breath as she made a rather cute pouty face.
“If we’re going to blend in, then we’ll need to make sure our cutie marks are hidden. Manes too, so you’ll need to wear a hat or something. With your mug, a paper bag will do just fine,” Watcher commented, seeing the princesses many expressions of anger that couldn’t keep him from smirking at her.
“Watcher, I swear you can say the meanest things!” She shouted, hitting him in the chest, watching him groan in pain as both the princess and Techorse trotted past him.
The green stallion issued them onward, “Follow us when you find your lungs, okay Watcher?”
“Go to Tartarus…” He muttered, coughing as he began to follow the pair to one of the local department stores nearby. As they went inside, Celestia couldn’t contain her squeals of delight as she saw all assorted clothing for mares in so many different colors and styles, Watcher growled in annoyance as he covered his ears with his hooves.
“You could at least try to get along, you know,” Techorse responded, but received no response from him, but a glare instead.
“First off… What do you know about us? You’ve only been with us for a few days and make it sound like you’ve known us for awhile.” Watcher retorted, watching Tia pull out a few dresses, shirts, skirts, ect… And dashed into the dressing room with squeals of excitement. “Celestia and I do get along if you must know. We’re friends.”
“I didn’t say you weren’t, although I guess you got me about not knowing you for too long,” he shrugged, “anyways, there’s a ton of outfits to pick from here, and I’m curious as to what you’ll come up with.”
“Well,” interrupted Celestia as she jumped out of the changing room, “I believe we ought to pick outfits as far away from our usual tastes as possible to avoid even the slightest suspicion of being ourselves!”
Totally disobeying Watcher’s idea of dressing casually and stealthily, Celestia had gone for a dorky look that, had he any fashion sense, would make him gag. A long tan skirt covered up Celestia’s hind legs to the hocks, tucked into it was a traditional white shirt, buttoned up and complete with a pocket protector. The princess had chosen a fairly simple black belt to keep the skirt in place, but for some reason had also selected a large pair of rectangular framed reading glasses, bojangles for her front legs in blue and pink, and several scrunchy ties to keep her mane in one messy bundle.
“That’s something else!” grinned Techorse, unable to hide his joy at the crazy outfit.
“Well, I’ll agree with you on that Tech. For the love of… Well you Celestia, please change. I said to dress casually, not like you… Well… I’m not even sure what to say about this mess.” Watcher replied honestly, taking a look around at the mare’s selection and picked out a normal black turtleneck and a tacky skirt and a pair of random glasses. “Put these on.”
Before the princess could respond, she was quickly shoved in by the stallion back into the dressing room and quietly groaned, before making his way back to the colts section where Tech was standing.
“It’s your turn, Watcher,” he said, giving him the expected smug expression, “I’d like to see you do better than her. Just remember, the shoes go on after the pants.”
“Oh ha, ha,” answered the unicorn, rolling his eyes, “Just make sure Celestia doesn’t cause any problems.”
While he waited for Techorse to leave, Watcher began looking through the many different shirts and noticed a dark red vest with a black hood on it and decided to try it on. Slipping it on, he noticed that it had two front pockets on it and thought it was rather handy. However, there was the issue with his obviously long, spikey, white mane. It was a dead giveaway for him and as much as he liked it… ‘I’m gonna have to cut my mane don’t I?’
“So you went with the brooding jacket, huh?” Techorse teased, his reflection visible in the mirror left standing on the shop floor for customer use, “Not a bad choice. Would have picked something a little sunnier, but I like it.”
“If I wanted to go for dark and brooding, I would have gone with a trench coat instead. I think the red makes me colorful. However, there is one issue and I honestly don’t want to do it.”
“What’s the problem?”
“I’m most likely going to have to either get my mane cut… or dye it a different color. I prefer the former.” He responded bluntly as he turned to the earth pony.
“Hey, I mean, white manes aren’t exactly rare. Could be worse, you could have a green coat,” he said in a self-deprecating manner, “I guess I see your point though.”
“First off… Nothing is wrong with your coat… Just reminds me of a green pea. Secondly, white manes are indeed rare. In fact I was the only stallion in my class with a white mane.” Watcher responded, trying to move his mane back a bit to make him look different but would flip back.
“Shamrock green. My doctor said my coat is shamrock green,” he went on, “but never mind. I know this salon, they can work with my messy hair, so yours will be no issue.”
“I’ll take your word for it then.” He responded, almost wanting to give him a smile, but soon realized something. “Techorse… where is Tia?”
“Lost track. She’s probably still back there trying on other outfits,” he said.
“Looking for me, boys?” she asked, walking forward.
Unfortunately, this outfit was just as tacky as the previous one. A big warm turtleneck tucked casually into a long plaid skirt, although the pair of glasses Watcher selected this time were a bit more acceptable, being smaller and hugging her muzzle. The goading pose she was making really did not match the outfit, though.
“It’s… better,” Techorse casually lied, “once we get the manecuts done, you’ll both be hidden well enough.”
“That’s the idea… and I think it looks rather… good on you.” Watcher replied, remembering the times he had to help Stardust and Umbra when they forced both him and Midnight to go shopping with them two years back. “Anyways… we shouldn’t have to worry about cutie marks since Celestia’s is covered and mine is pretty generic.”
“So a manecut? But I think mine could just use some dye is all.” Celestia responded, soon noticing Watcher was avoiding his gaze from her for some reason. “Something wrong Watcher.”
“N-nothings wrong… Let’s just find a barber shop.” Watcher responded, trotting past Celestia at a rather fast pace. “What did you say to him Techorse?”
“Nothing important,” answered the inventor, finding his behavior curious as well, “ready to get your hair clean and colorful again?”
“Actually! My mane should restore back to its usual hue once I recover enough magic to turn back into an alicorn.” She responded, following after Watcher. “So I think picking any color will be fine. Maybe orange would be nice.”
“Hopefully it’s a good enough substitute until we can get you back to your original strength,” he agreed, knowing they’d all get a kick out of the orange mane.
Hours Later
After what felt like an eternity, both Watcher and Celestia exited out of the final store in the boardwalk strip. Their appearances had radically changed, as planned, with Watcher’s once proud mane chopped to a shorter cut that tucked into his selected jacket neatly. Celestia’s hair was now road cone orange, which stuck out like a sore thumb, but would more likely serve as a classic case of hiding in plain sight. Techorse had failed to change as single thing about his appearance, which bothered Watcher immensely given his unfortunate sacrifice of his bountiful mane.
“Tech, you didn’t buy a damn thing that entire time, you’ve got to hide too,” he said rather crossly, “I hope you’ve got a disguise figured out.”
He tried to defend his choice, “I don’t need one. The Order already stays away from me undisguised.”
“What, why?” asked the unicorn curiously.
Having realized he made an error, Techorse tried to backpedal, “I’m armed and they don’t like picking fights in the streets. But I guess I can go get something to hide my face if we’re going for pure stealth.”
Thankfully, Watcher was too much in a hurry to question him, “You know what, nevermind. They won’t be able to recognize Tia or myself, so whatever.”
“Watcher, if you please, guide us to the address you mentioned earlier,” Celestia urged, running a hoof through her completely dyed hairdo, “I’m sure we’ll make it now with this kind of cover.”
“Alright then, we need to start heading west towards the center of the city and head up north uptown. From there Her mansion should be easy to locate since it’s the only one in this city.” Watcher replied, recalling the written direction and address he was given by Umbra before she left Baltimare. “It shouldn’t take us too long if we all hurry.”
The center of town wasn’t very far from the shopping district, and the heavy pedestrian traffic through the area made it fairly easy to sneak around without being noticed. There were even a few mares with wackier hair colors than the disguised princess, much to Watcher’s chagrin. At the heart of Everfree City’s town square stood a tall statue of a petrified tree bearing fruit, perhaps a tribute to what the land looked like before the metropolis was built. The circular streets around the statue made it clear via tiles built in which direction was north. Celestia was awed by just how tall the buildings were, and just how many electric lights were in use. Technology had advanced for centuries, and she was enjoying every moment of it.
“Hey, careful, patrol,” said Watcher, pointing to a pair of soldiers clearly wearing Order colors and uniform.
The two stallions were randomly checking the crowd, a holographic enchanted crystal around their necks displayed images of themselves.
“That announcement about the sunrise really was sent to everypony,” Celestia whispered, barely audible over the sound of hooves on concrete, “we must be famous!”
“Hey, you two!” snapped one of the guards, pointing with his wing, “Get over here!”
“Oh, way to go,” whispered Watcher back, “they heard that.”
He thought about how the scenario might play out as they stepped over to the two soldiers, fairly low-ranked troops based on their lack of markings on their armor and fabrics. Neither pony seemed to be carrying a weapon, but the unicorn of the pair had red sparks occasionally flick from his horn, which gave away that he was sitting on a prepared ray attack, which, not that it mattered, was absolutely illegal in the city bounds.
The first soldier looked over Watcher and Celestia, their eyes coming awfully close to the image he was projecting in front of his face. But the wacky clothing and hair changes were throwing him off based on his confused expression and continuous double-takes at the virtual wanted poster.
“These guys don’t match, Longshot,” the pegasus said, “it’s just crazy how close they are though. Proper height and size, eyes look the same, but...”
‘Oh for the love of… they’re going to arrest us anyways,’ Watcher thought.
Taking a quick look at his companion, Techorse could see signs that Watcher was planning a way to get them out of the situation. Usually that involved violence or something else that would attract attention, so he needed an alternate way to get past these two soldiers blocking them.
“Excuse me, are you profiling my relatives?” Techorse said, pushing past and standing as firm as possible in front of them, “I’d hate for that to be the case...”
The guards suddenly seemed to doubt their suspicions a bit, “Oh… uh… relatives? Of yours?”
“Yes, that’s why I stepped over here,” he continued, giving them a tense look, “these are my first cousins, officer. We saw the rogue sunrise today and freaked out.”
“Hey, we aren’t looking to do anything crazy, we’re just on patrol like every other enlisted,” explained the unicorn, his prepared spell vanishing from his horn, “we just saw the eye colors and had to check. There’s nothing on us!”
“I didn’t think there was,” Techorse said, smiling, “just wanted to let you know that you’re way off track. Creamsicle and Gloomvise are family.”
“Okay, keep moving then,” nodded the pegasus quickly, “please.”
Techorse ushered his “family” away from the pair of nosy troopers and to safety up the street towards Umbra’s estate. Once they were safely out of earshot, Celestia could no longer contain herself and let out a hearty giggle.
“Gloomvise, hehehehe!”
“Oh shut up!” snapped Watcher, “Couldn’t think of anything better, Tech?”
“I was on the spot!” defended the stallion, gritting his teeth, “Creamsicle is a pretty dumb name too, you know… I just needed something quick.”
“Whatever… T-t-thanks for helping us.” Watcher strained, almost looked like he hurt himself just saying that, but that didn’t stop the mare beside him from poking his side and giggling.
“I know that was difficult for you, but you did good Watch.” Celestia responded, giggling as she trotted past the two. “Well, aren't we going to Umbra’s Mansion?”
Both Watcher and Techorse couldn’t help but chuckle at the princess. “Umbra’s Mansion is that way,” the two said simultaneously, much to their surprise.
“Ohh… hehehe… Right, shall we then?” Celestia asked, blushing a bit as she followed Watcher and Techorse towards the mansion and made good time in reaching the front entrance.
Umbra’s lavish estate sprawled over 10 acres of land, with the primary residence taking up a solid 20 thousand square feet. An imposing Victorian styled masterpiece, the mansion had been built centuries ago by Umbra’s ancestors with no expense spared, nor any humility shown. Conic shingled turrets rose four stories high at every corner and bend in the architecture, faded but lovely yellow paint paired well with the strong ivy that had made the dark colored seams of the building its home. Bullet-shaped windows as tall as trees let the sun flood the house during the right time of day, and Watcher could count at least 5 fireplaces in addition to the power lines running into the estate. It would be considered a breathtaking place to live, if it weren’t for the eerie fog coming off of the Everfree river and the full moon overhead, making it a little foreboding.
“Oh Watcher, look at the garden!” Celestia marveled, ignoring the slightly creepy vibe, “I haven’t seen such a beautiful one since my own...”
Despite the “dreadful” atmosphere, Umbra had kept the grounds of her home very well by hiring a top team of landscapers and gardeners. The sides and back of the mansion featured an expansive rose garden, with all sorts of pink and red blooms arranged in neat little rows. A fountain of a unicorn mare pouring water out of a jug kept aloft in the air by a special stonecutter’s enchantment gave the effect of the pony statue using her own magic on the container. How the water actually got into the jug to produce the effect was a mystery.
Of course, Watcher was well aware of the actual reason for Umbra keeping so many roses, and he could smell them all from where he was standing. He brought his friends to the front door of the home, ascending the stone stairs carved neatly out of granite. The twin doors were carved out of cherry wood, but had aged significantly, and brass knocking rings dangled from the middle. Techorse extended up his remaining robotic arm from his saddle, and banged on the door using one of the rings.
Techorse and Celestia soon noticed Watcher was sweating a little while they waited for a response, “Something wrong, Watch?”
“It’s nothing, just… be prepared for what may or may not happen.” He responded, being rather vague, but from the sounds of it. It was more like a warning for himself, but before he could knock on the front door, it was soon opened and they were greeted by the sight of an old grey stallion who had dark grey mane with a mustache, noticing that he was wearing a tux.
“Good evening, Master Watcher… Mistress Ink has been expecting you.”
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I sincerely hope that Watcher gets use to the fact that he'll need more friends if he and Celestia are going to survive the Order's pursuits.
9826184
That will be difficult, but who knows what may happen.
9826770
Very true.
So....where book 1?
9826848
Is in the description, or you can check my page for it as well.
Looking forward to reading more.