Chronicles of an Unknown World - The Awakening

by Blue Blaze {COMET}

Chapter 2: Chasing Answers, Part 2

{*Omniscient point of view, Ponyville Library*}

Griffin watched with slight curiosity as he traced the pompous-sounding female voice back to the figure of a mare standing outside the library doors. He couldn’t tell much about her from the angle and the light. Light from the fire reflected off of some glistening surface on her, and she was clearly wearing a flat hat, but he couldn’t notice anything else.

“Rarity! It’s good to see you! Please come in!” Twilight greeted, a smile on her face. Griffin switched his focus to try and gauge Twilight’s expression before the guest took two steps into the room.

A pearl white pony stood on top of the welcome mat, her blue eyes vibrant and her eyelashes long. She was wearing a white rain jacket that was a tad bit tight but kept well to the curve of her neck and lengthened to drape over her deep purple tail. Her mane was curled in a single swirl that hanged over one side of her head and carefully poked out beneath her white rain hat. The very bottom of her hooves appeared to be shined and smoothed by some kind of polish even though the bottom of her legs were wet with water. Surprising Griffin, it appeared as if she barely walked through the storm, much less trekked through it with Applejack to Twilight’s home. The soft sound of magic rang in the air as a light sapphire glow surrounded her cap and grabbed it off her head, revealing a horn underneath that was currently ignited with energy. The buttons of her jacket undid themselves under the influence of Rarity’s spells and she began wiping the bottom of her hooves on the mat.

“Thank you, Twilight.” Rarity said, subconsciously stepping out of her jacket as her clothes and her hat were hung on a wooden coat hanger near the entrance, dripping wet. “It was getting quite cold and dreary out there.”

“The weather’s pretty bad, I have to admit.” Twilight agreed.

Applejack sat on the floor and began wringing out her hat, being careful not to wreck it in the process. “Ah’m sorry Twi, but ah couldn’t shake off Rarity. She just had to see what was goin’ on and follow me back to eur place.”

“Applejack!” Rarity exclaimed, taken aback. “Your bluntness is truly cutting! Do I not have the right to go out and see one of my dearest friends on a horrible, rainy day like this?”

“You have the right, alright.” Applejack muttered under her breath just loud enough so that her listener could hear it, a scowl on her face. “The right to keep eur trap shut.”

“How rude! Why, I never!”

“Applejack, it’s ok. She’s welcome in my house any time of the day.” Twilight reassured, trying to defuse the situation.

Rarity smiled. “Thank you, Twilight. You’re too kind.”

“So you saw Applejack out in the street, I’m guessing?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, well, I was sitting in my workroom, planning out the next dress to sweep up the market when I spotted poor Applejack trodding outside in the pouring rain heading back to her farm with an empty apple cart attached to her back, missing her hat! That struck me as odd, seeing that the market today would be closed on account of the terrible weather, and I would have never have thought that Applejack would lose her Stetson of all things, but I thought nothing more of it. Then, about twenty minutes later I find Applejack again trotting outside towards inner Ponyville, this time without the cart and with her hat sitting properly on her head. That’s when I just had to know what was going on. I managed to put on my rain jacket and catch Applejack before she left sight of the Carousel Boutique.”

Griffin noted Applejack’s downcast, if not grumpy, appearance.

“When I asked Applejack what was going on, she refused to tell me anything, but there was nothing stopping me from following her, so I did. What I didn’t know was that it would lead me to your house, Twilight.” Rarity explained as she approached the ring of cushioned seats beside the fire.

Twilight released her gaze from Rarity as she saw Griffin nervously glancing in Rarity’s direction, the unicorn quickly approaching his position. “Rarity, you’re welcome in my home and all, but before you go in any further there’s just one thing we have to–”

Rarity made a blood curdling scream as she backed up a few steps after noticing what was already sitting on the red sofa. Griffin had his hands on his ears, wincing as he tried to make the ringing in his eardrums cease.

“What in dear Celestia is that!?” Rarity exclaimed, flinching away from Griffin but keeping her eyes on track.

“Greaaaaat.” Griffin thought to himself.

“Rarity, Applejack, this is Griffin. Griffin, this is Applejack and Rarity.” Twilight said, gesturing to each other with a forced smile. Fluttershy rested her empty cup on the coffee table, letting go of the blanket that was wrapped around her and watching the situation play out intently. Applejack stared at Griffin, the realization sinking in that the alien had woken up and was sitting in Twilight’s living room.

“It looks like some kind of hideous, malformed Diamond Dog!” Rarity noted, still backing away from the human.

“Hey!” Griffin shouted, flipping his middle finger up and showing it to Rarity, much to the confusion of Twilight. “Up yours, lady!”

“Griffin!” Twilight countered, shooting him a glare before apologetically smiling at Rarity. She had no clue as to the meaning of Griffin’s words or the gesture he just displayed, but she knew it was without a doubt rude. “I’m sorry Rarity, but we have a bit of a situation at the moment. Griffin here came from outer space and landed in Sweet Apple Acres, and we still have to figure out what to do with him.”

Griffin could not believe what he was hearing. “Figure out what to do with me? Excuse me? That topic is not up for debate! We’re finding a way to get me off this crazy planet A.S.A.P.!”

“S-So that thing, sitting right there on your couch, is an alien?”

“To put it simply, yes.” Twilight answered.

Griffin scowled. “I thought we were past this ‘alien’ thing already!”

Rarity turned to look at Applejack. “Applejack, was… Was that why you had the apple cart with you? You were carrying an ALIEN from Sweet Apple Acres to the Ponyville Library?”

Applejack gave a solemn smile, shutting her eyes. “Eeyep. There ain’ no lyin’ about it.”

Rarity’s legs gave out and she sat on her flanks, grabbing her face. “I don’t believe this!”

“Trust me Rarity, I found it hard to believe too.” Twilight reassured, walking up to Rarity and putting a hoof on her shoulder. “But once we started talking to him and got some questions answered, it became a little bit easier to handle.”

“Hellooo!” Griffin yelled, grabbing the two mares’ attention. “I’m right here, you know! Could we please stop acting as if I’m some kind of horrific realization?”

“How rude.” Rarity stated, glaring at Griffin.

“Well, excuuuse me, but when I have someone in disbelief, pointing fingers at me and shouting ‘He’s a freak! He’s a freak!’ I think that I’m allowed to get a bit ticked off!” Griffin said, folding his arms. Applejack struggled to keep her laughing to a minimum as she covered her smile with a foreleg.

“Griffin,” Twilight began, her patience wavering as she tried to handle the increasingly stressful situation as best as she could. “I’m asking for a little bit of your patience and time. Do you think you could give a little bit more while I sort things out?”

Griffin rolled his eyes and turned to look at the fire, resting his head on his fist that was perched up on the rim of the sofa. “Fine. Do what you need to do. Whatever. I’m sorry.”

Twilight wasn’t completely happy with his response. “But I’ll be good enough for now.” she reasoned with herself. Her attention went back to the collapsed white unicorn sitting in front of her, staring up into Twilight’s eyes expectantly.

“Rarity, I know this is a lot to take in at the moment, and learning that aliens do actually exist is something quite literally out of this world, but I need you to keep this a secret. This is something that we cannot afford to let out. If ponies in Ponyville found out that we were keeping a real, live alien in the library there would be a mass riot on our hooves.”

“Have you sent Princess Celestia a letter already?” Rarity asked.

“We already tried,” Twilight began. “But something kept the message from reaching her. The Dragonfire spell wasn’t working, and instead kept sending the message back to Spike every time he sent it. There is no way Pegasus Post is delivering any letters today, so I can’t really reach the Princess.”

“But isn’t there some kind of emergency back-up that you and the Princess set up just in case something like this happens?” Rarity questioned, her tone growing desperate.

Twilight scratched the back of her head. “No, not really. I’ve already have Spike to send my letters for me. When I was younger we would always be together, so when I needed to tell Princess Celestia something I would just have him send the message. The Dragonfire spell isn’t supposed to fail, but I think there’s something in the storm that’s messing it up.”

“There is one way,” Twilight noted in her head. “But that would be a one-way trip and would require a lot of magic, not to mention that I would be leaving Griffin all alone with Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Spike.”

“I knew that the storm was, to put it in the words of Pinkie, a doozy,” Rarity said after thinking it through for a moment. “But in reality, of all of the things that could possibly happen, this is the.”

“Oh, heavens.” Applejack complained, tilting her hat over her eyes.

“Worst!”

“Possible!”

“Thing!” Rarity finished as she grabbed a couch out of nowhere and collapsed on it.

“Where the crap did that come from?” Griffin wondered, jaw loose at the antics before him.

“We’ll get through it, Rarity.” Twilight reassured her friend. “We’ve got it all under control. All we have to do now is gather a little more data and format it so that it’s ready to be delivered first thing as soon as the storm ends. With a little luck from Rainbow Dash, hopefully that time will be soon.”

Rarity sat up from her position. “Oh yeah. I guess Rainbow Dash is up there trying to calm things down. I’ll bet you a bundle of gems that she is giving that storm two for! Although, it is a bit strange that the Pegasi in Cloudsdale would let the weather accelerate to such a disastrous degree.”

Twilight gave an uncertain look to Fluttershy and Applejack, who all gave it in return. “Uh, Rarity, I’m not sure if this is the Pegasus Ponies in Cloudsdale’s fault.”

“Now what would give you that idea, Twilight?” Rarity asked, one of her eyebrows raised.

“I have my hunches, but haven’t had the time to test anything out. For now, my main concern is with Griffin over here and how we’re going to send him back to his home planet, if we can do it at all.”

“Hmm, I didn’t actually think she had been considering the thought.” Griffin pondered. ”I thought she was considering to throw me into some deep, dark dungeon, to be honest.”

Rarity smiled, getting off of her fainting couch. “Well, yes. I suppose that is the most logical point of action at this point, isn’t it?”

Twilight trotted back to her spot near the coffee table. “We have to continue questioning, but you’re welcome to stay and watch. You too, Applejack.”

Rarity tapped her chin, pondering the offer before her. She traveled over to a large white chair that was right beside Griffin’s sofa near the fire. “I will happily accept, Twilight. But would you mind getting me a spot of tea? I have become a tad bit parched after my march over here.”

“Oh, yeah! Certainly Rarity!” Twilight said, picking up the tea pot that was already set on the table. She frowned as she pulled the pot towards her, opened the top and took a look inside. “The water’s gotten cold already. I’ll be right back.”

Twilight quickly made her way towards a doorway on the far side of the room opposite to the front door that led to the kitchen. Applejack trotted to the front of the fireplace and plopped herself right down in front of it, taking off her hat and setting it beside her right side. She grinned and let out a happy sigh, closing her eyes and enjoying the warm waves of the flames dry off her soaked body.

Rarity turned to Griffin, clearing her throat. “So, from what I understand, you come from a different planet?”

“Yes.” Griffin acknowledged.

“How did you get here?”

Griffin’s eyes trailed downward to the wooden floor of the tree. “I don’t know.”

Rarity tilted her head. “Don’t know?”

“Don’t know? Don’t remember? There really isn’t a difference.” Griffin clarified, shifting on the couch so that he was sprawled out on his back with his arms and legs spread out but still able to sit up with ease. “There’s just a big blank spot in my head between the events of yesterday and today. Almost makes me wonder if I got hit on the head or something. Brain trauma would be a lot easier of an explanation of how I got here.”

That made Rarity even more confused. “Why would you want to have a head injury be your explanation as to your arrival here?”

Griffin smirked, folding his arms. “Because right now, this very moment, feels surreal to me. The colours of my surroundings are all wrong, light has different physics in this world, most of the detail in my vision has all but disappeared, and magic exists. Magic actually exists! On my world, magic is nothing but stage tricks done by the sleight of hand, smoke and mirrors. I still can hardly believe it, even after seeing it with my own two eyes. If I were to tell anybody at home about this, they would never believe me and I would have been sent off to the loony bin.”

The mention of a stage with tricks reminded Rarity of a certain deep blue Unicorn that briefly turned her head into the fashion disaster of last week. She shuddered and opened her mouth for a rebuttal, but the kitchen door slammed open for Twilight to come trotting into the resting room with a tea pot filled with steaming hot water. She got to the coffee table and started pouring into one of the clean, empty cups on the surface while picking up a teabag from a plate. She placed the bag in the cup in which the scolding hot water was entering and stirred it lightly. Once Twilight was finished, Rarity picked up the tea cup with her own magic and sniffed the mixture.

“Mmm.” Rarity hummed with satisfaction. “Thank you, Twilight.”

“No problem, Rarity.” Twilight responded. “Now, where were we, Griffin?”

Griffin was interrupted by his thoughts by Twilight’s call. “Huh? Oh, uh…”

Just then, something hit the window with a loud slap, rattling the glass hard enough to almost make it pop out of the frame.

Author's Note:

I can't tell you how much fun this part was to write. I found myself at intervals of typing snickering at what I had just put down on the screen. I have to admit, Rarity's a pretty entertaining character to write.

Comments

[dakingofmuffins]

lols

[b300mussolini]

Griffin must be a more common name then i thought because this is like the 10th HIE fic i have read with the human named Griffin. Also flip floppy Twilight. What exactly did Griffin do to change twilight view of him from distrusting him to trusting him here? he answered some questions after trying to be witty with her to which she snapped back at him. not really realistic if you ask me. i like the story though.