Banner had to admit, despite everything that had happen to him as the Hulk and with the Avengers; this purple horse surprised him greatly. He sat up and the horse stumbled backwards, uncertainty in its eyes. It was afraid of him. Smart horse. Banner looked up at its head and found that it wasn't a horse, but instead it was a unicorn. It had an odd purple mane with a magenta strip down the center of it. Since it was half turned away from him, he saw that it had an odd marking on its flank. Some sort of star perhaps?
"Amazing, I've never seen a unicorn like this before. I wonder if this world is full of them?" Banner mused out loud. He watched as the unicorn’s eye widened in shock and it gazed at him in an expression of interest.
"Incredible," the unicorn whispered in a female's voice as it got closer. Both Banners’ eyes widened in shock and he slowly approached the unicorn.
"You can talk," they both said at the same time. The unicorn backed away again, while Banner stood up to his full height and began to ponder out loud.
"I never seen a horse of any kind like you before. Not only are you amazingly different than any other horse or unicorn that I’ve seen before, but you are also capable of human speech and seem to comprehend what I'm saying. Your intellect must be far beyond any other horse that I've ever seen." The horse seemed to take some offense to what Banner was saying and stepped forward with a huff.
"Actually, I'm a pony not a horse. Second, I have a name. I'm Twilight Sparkle, apprentice to her majesty Princess Celestia, and I am an Element of Magic," Twilight said with some indignation. Banner realized that he had probably just offended the first talking horse...er, pony that he had ever met.
"I'm terribly sorry, Miss Sparkle, where are my manners? I'm Doctor Bruce Banner," he introduced himself, holding out a hand. Twilight looked at it for a moment before reaching up with her hoof and shaking it.
"Well you seem friendly enough. So, you're a doctor, huh? Never seen you working at the hospital," she said, causing Banner to correct her.
"No, Doctor as in a scientist. I'm a scientist," he explained.
"A scientist?" Twilight asked in growing interest, her eyes starting to shine. "As in, you love to learn and study?"
"Well, I suppose those are some of the things scientists do...so yes." Twilight let a huge smile cross her face. Another...thing that loved to learn? It was too good to be true!
"So, what are you? And why are you wearing that?" she asked, looking up and down at him. Banner looked down and turned red with embarrassment, realizing his torn pants had almost come off.
"Well, I am a homo sapien or a human being. I come from a planet called Earth, where other beings like me are the sentient creatures. As to why I'm dressed like this...the fabric's cheap and rips. This isn't the first time I've wound up like this," he explained with an embarrassed smile. Twilight was paying attention to every word, but a few questions still nagged at her.
"How did you get here? You're the first...human I've ever seen before. Nothing in the books on mythology even mention you." Banner rubbed the back of his head, trying to think of a way to explain to her how he had arrived. He decided to go with the truth.
"I fell from space and crashed into the forest," he said in a joking tone. Twilight raised an eyebrow at him.
"Hold on. You, fell from space and crashed landed in the forest, without so much as a scratch on you. Is that what you're telling me?" she asked in a dry voice.
"Well...yes." Twilight looked at him seriously for a minute before she burst out laughing.
"That's funny, Doctor Banner. Glad to see you have a sense of humor." Banner chuckled with her, glad to see that she had believed he was telling a joke, even though what he said was mostly truth. After she finished giggling to herself, Twilight looked around at the forest.
"So why are you here at this time of night? Shouldn't you be inside?"
"Well, I was actually planning to sleep here," Banner replied. Twilight's jaw hit the ground.
"What? Sleep in the Everfree forest? Are you crazy?" she asked him in disbelief.
"Would you be surprised if I said yes?" he said in a joking tone, but Twilight was serious now.
"The forest is filled with enough dangerous creatures during the day! Who knows how many deadly things come out at night! You were lucky I was the first thing to find you. If a timberwolf or a manticore had discovered you sleeping there, you would've been done for!" Twilight explained with wide eyes.
"I'm not afraid of anything this forest has to throw at me," Banner said in a serious tone. If anything, the creatures of the forest should be afraid of him--or to be more precise, what was inside of him. Twilight shook her head and continued to speak.
"I can't allow you to sleep in such a dangerous area. You can spend the night at my home," she told him. Banner's eyes widened and he tried to refuse.
"Oh nonono, I couldn't impose myself on you. It would be too much trouble," he lied. In reality, he was afraid of what would happen if he got...angry while he was in the pony's house. He had a history of destroying structures while he was angry.
"No back talk. You will spend the night. I refuse to let somepony be forced to sleep outside in the Everfree forest," Twilight said sternly. Banner tried one last time to dissuade her.
"But...I'd just be too much trouble. Besides, it's a nice night out. I'm sure I'll be perfectly fine out here." Twilight wasn't having any of it and looked him in the eyes with a stern look.
"I insist."
Banner knew that when someone like her said, 'I insist,' that there was no arguing with them. So with a sigh, he gave in. Twilight clapped her hooves in delight and indicated for him to follow her. As the two began walking, Twilight was thinking about what to ask the human. Twilight was naturally very curious about this human, although she hadn't told him the whole truth. While humans weren't mentioned in the book of mythology, some still speculated that humans could exist. She knew one mare in particular that would be thrilled by Banner's arrival. Twilight also wanted to see what he knew and if he could teach her anything.
"So what are you doing up at this time of night?" Banner asked, interrupting her train of thought.
"Well, I was in my home studying, when I saw an incredible green meteor heading for the Everfree forest. But when I got to the crater, I found that the meteor must have disintegrated in the atmosphere. I was heading back home when found you lying under a tree. I have to admit, you really surprised me," she said with a smile.
"Not as much as you surprised me. I've never seen a horse--pony like you before...And the fact that you can speak my language just makes it that much better," Banner replied, returning Twilight's smile. Twilight looked at him in confusion for a moment.
"You mean you have ponies on your world to?"
"We call them horses, but they are nothing like you. They can't talk for one thing and are nowhere near as intelligent." Twilight took interest in that statement, wondering why the horses on Banner's world wouldn't be as smart as the one's here. Her thoughts were interrupted by a deep howling. Fear shot through her body as she started to look around the forest.
"Timberwolves," she whispered in fear. The moment she said this, five odd looking wolves burst through the trees surrounding Twilight and Banner. While Twilight looked at them in fear, Banner was taking a more scientific approach.
"Unbelievable! These wolves have somehow developed some sort of exoskeleton made entirely of wood. Was there some sort of natural disaster that forced them to adapt? Or maybe it was--"
"Banner, I know you'd like to study them, but trust me when I say we are in danger. These wolves are vicious and will try to eat us," Twilight whispered in fear, watching as the Timberwolves circled her. Banner wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't particularly afraid of the wolves, but what he was afraid of is what would happen if Twilight was there when the other guy came out. Would the Hulk be able to tell she was a friend? Probably not. Banner did have one idea, however.
"Don't worry, I've got this," he whispered to Twilight, before walking straight up to one of the wolves and offering it his arm. Twilight looked at him in disbelief and tried to motion for him to back up. The Timberwolf looked at him in confusion, before sniffing his arm. The moment his scent hit the wolfs nose, it growled and drew back, not liking its prey. Something about Banner smelled...dangerous. It turned to the other wolves and shook it's head. The pack turned away from the two and headed off into the woods. Banner waved goodbye to the wolves as Twilight stared at where the wolves had left in shock. She slowly looked at Banner who had a huge grin on his face.
"How did you do that?" Twilight asked, eyeing Banner cautiously. Banner laughed at the look on her face and smiled.
"My body gives off a certain radiation that makes predators stay away from me. It's essentially telling them that I'm dangerous to eat," Banner explained, pointing at his skin. In reality, the wolves had sensed his gamma poisoning and knew that he would be a lethal meal to eat. And that was if they could eat him without his other half tearing them apart.
"Shall we be on our way?" Banner asked, giving a small bow to let Twilight pass. Twilight smiled and walked past him. An uneventful walk followed and soon Banner found himself in the quiet town of Ponyville. He glanced around at all the cozy-looking homes, imagining what would happen if the Hulk were to be let loose here. Banner and Twilight walked down the deserted streets until they came across a massive tree in the center of town.
"Is this where you live?" Banner asked in wonderment. Twilight gave him a look.
"Don't like it?" She asked with some emotion. Banner smiled.
"Are you kidding? What beats sleeping under a tree? Sleeping in one," he replied and opened the door to the tree house. When Twilight flicked on the lights, Banner had to admit that he was stunned. It wasn't just a home; it was a library and on the shelves were an incredible number of books. Just thinking of all the knowledge of this world stored on these shelves made him feel like a kid in a candy store. Twilight had a smile on her face when she saw Banner's reaction.
"I thought you'd like it. Wait here while I get you a sleeping bag." Twilight headed upstairs, leaving Banner to look around. The library was as impressive as it was big. He looked at the books on the shelves and found the strangest titles on them: 'Daring Doo and the Valley of the Lost?' and, 'Gnomes: Are They Real?' Not only were these odd book titles, but they were also not alphabetized as well. Banner turned around when he heard Twilight come back down the stairs, sleeping bag in tow. Much to Banner's surprise, he found that Twilight was somehow levitating the bag with some sort of magic.
"Alright, you can sleep down here for tonight," Twilight told Banner, dropping the bag at his feet.
"You didn't tell me you could use magic," Banner said with a smile.
"Well you didn't tell me you were predator proof," Twilight retaliated with a smirk. Banner gave her the point and stretched out on the sleeping bag. Twilight turned off the lights and headed upstairs. Banner lay on his back staring at the ceiling, recounting everything that had happened to him today: Battled a swarm of aliens bent on destroying the Earth? Check. Fall through space in a battle to the death? Also check. Met a talking pony? Wow.
Even if it had happened, Banner still couldn't believe it. He was in a land with what he assumed were magical, talking ponies. Sure it wasn't the strangest thing that had happened to him, but it was definitely up there. With all the things that had happened, Banner was unable to sleep. So he walked over to one of the bookshelves and picked out a book called 'A History of Equestria.' He sat down by the window so that he could read in the moonlight. Banner flipped it open and began to read, just skimming at first, but growing more and more interested with each page. Apparently the ruler of the ponies was called Celestia, the pony Twilight had mentioned earlier, and she was an alicorn, a combination of a pegasus and a unicorn. That told Banner that there were also pegasi in this new world. He read on to find that Celestia had been alive for thousands of years and had a sister that at one time tried to over throw her rule.
'So even these peaceful ponies have problems, huh.' Banner thought to himself. He sat by the window and read the book cover to cover in the span of a few hours. Banner could devour books when he felt like it, and he had nothing better to do. He continued to read through all the different books that Twilight had, until he was well caught up on the history of Equestria and what its current state was. Banner was surprised that for such intelligent creatures, they had no electricity or self moving vehicles. It was almost as though they were trapped in time. He looked out the window at the now rising sun that was apparently raised by Celestia herself. A new day was dawning, huh?
"I have to admit, I've liked this world so far. It seems...nice. Maybe this will be the place where I will finally find peace," he mused to himself with a smile. Then he shook his head. 'I can't think like that,' he decided. The best way to protect the ponies from the Hulk would be to leave. He knew that Twilight wanted to ask him some questions, but for her safety he should go. Banner quietly stood up and tip toed to the door. He checked to make sure that Twilight hadn't heard him and then he opened the door.
Standing at the door with hoof raised to knock was an orange pony.
Oh snap! AJ vs the Hulk if Banner is not careful with his temper!
I've got a bad feeling about this.
2806157 It's Bruce Banner.
You severely underestimate him.
Shit, meet fan.
Yup, that's Banner's personality all right. Hungry for knowledge and fearful of the Hulk to the extreme. Though Hulk would know that Twilight was fearful if he did turn and fight the Timberwolves, unless she tried to attack him he wouldn't try to smash her.
2806157 You want Hulk to fight AJ?
Ahem...
i.imgur.com/1soDlQl.jpg
I'm sorry, It had to be pointed out.
Anyways I am REALLY LIKING DIS STORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
oh boy! dis gon b gud
2806157
I'm more worried about a Hulk vs Rainbow Dash. . .
If they are anything like this, I certainly hope not.
So... Banner smells like the inside of a can of whoop ass to predators?
(yeah i know its the gamma radiation but I like the lie he told her better)
2806329
I didn't say I wanted too
Oh shit! AJ, don't freak out, for the good of everything you hold dear DO NOT freak out!
Better hope Hulk doesn't surface. Because if that happens, Hulk's personality would overshadow Bruce Banner and it would be hard to break out of it.
Oh Crap
five bits says she is going to kick him across the room and the "other guy" will kick her across the bucking town
*aj starts screaming and prepares to buck him*
Bruce banner: well, fuck.
2806513
i'll throw in a few bits.
Hulk meet ponies! Hulk meet too many ponies!
derpicdn.net/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMTMvMDEvMDIvMTFfNDFfMzdfMjE2XzIwMDA2NF9fVU5PUFRfX3NhZmVfdHdpbGlnaHRfc3BhcmtsZV9yYWluYm93X2Rhc2hfcGlua2llX3BpZV9mbHV0dGVyc2h5X3Jhcml0eV9hcHBsZWphY2tfdG95X2h1bGsiXV0/200064__safe_twilight-sparkle_rainbow-dash_pinkie-pie_fluttershy_rarity_applejack_photo_toy_hulk.jpg
AJ: Well, howdy pardrner! What in tarnation are you s'pposed ta be?
Bad grammar right there. You only use "an" before a word that begins with a vowel. Try saying it aloud, and you'll realize it's incorrect. Should just be "a".
An instance where you could stick with "an".
Wonder how Bruce will handle the human fanatic that is one Lyra Heartstrings?
2806355 yeah I'm reminded of a HiE where he describes ponies having a very schizophrenic level of technology
Awsome, simple as that.
Because a theoretical physicist would immediately jump to the conclusion that it was magic, and not a form of telekinesis that has been adapted for use by the ponies. Right. Even if he does know the marvelized Aesir. If it wasn't so funny, I'd drop this story now.
EDIT: I'm almost prepared to drop it now that I've finished the chapter. I mean really? You need to work on your pacing, your dialogue is choppy at best, and you portray a scientist as one who blindly accepts what happens to him rather than one who actually wonders how the hell any of it is possible. If I were in Banner's place, I would have thought I was reading a book on mythology if it said someone 'raised the sun.' I will give you one more chapter on this story before I drop it completely. I do hope you can actually improve. Seriously. Imagine yourself in your characters shoes, assuming no foreknowledge of Equestria. Imagine the events if they were happening to you. That should help the pacing a little bit. It should flow, not jump, from one idea to the next. As for dialogue, say them out loud as you type. See if it feels like a conversation or a bunch of words strung together to give readers an infodump. Hopefully my advice helps.
Assuming that Bruce Banner gets out of the way in time, this might not end up with Hulk coming out.
Unfortunately, there will eventually be a Rainbow Dash encounter.
Calling it now, the first encounter with the Hulk will be because of either Rainbow or Pinkie. Also, just thought I should point this out. Bruce Banner would probably go with telekinesis before magic.
2806673
That image must be the cover image instead really!
I hope AJ doesn't think his an apple tree and tries to buck him, because then, shit will hit the fan hard.
2806393 yes, VERY bad but also funny to think about up to the point where Hulk rips off her wings
nice second chapter, glad I'm following this one
If either one loses their cool, this will be a very short battle.
Oh, dear... IT looks like we be in for a wee fight laddy.
Technically speaking there are no typos in this paragraph, but the repetitive use of the word 'before' really detracts from the overall read of the story.
Also, just banners luck. Try to run from one problem, simply to run into a greater problem.
I rather hope Banner doesn't Hulk up for a little bit at least. Banner probably has a decent control over his temper, so isn't going to just Hulk out at random. On top of that I would hope AJ has enough sense to not jump to conclusions... As good a work out as that is.
Hmm, seems a bit rushed, no? Maybe you should work on only one story at a time. I'm afraid I must agree with the whole magic-telekinesis thing. I don't think Banner would so readily jump to such a conclusion.
But never mind that, I believe it's a minor inconvenience at most. Really looking forward to seeing AJ settle down and resolve things peacefully like a respectable farm pony. Or not.
2807685
Both stories are already written. I just posted them at the same time for fun.
2807699
Huh. How's that for a plot twist?
Wait... You must secretly be the Riddler! Yes, it all makes sense now!
took notice of this when i read a different comment on here. ill show you a good way to fix this up, and maybe you'll get some ideas
the >< is pointing out a changed punctuation. it works well as a compound sentence with some editing, soooo...
oh, and the // is an indication of word removal. the (X) is an in bold change. i pu it there cause it was in the some bolding as a punctuaion change.
Mmmm... alright.
Clearly we just need to introduce Hulk to Fluttershy, and everything will be fine.
"Who's an adorable green mountain of radioactive destruction? You are! You are!"
"Awwwwww, Hulk like little butterpony."
*snugglies*
2808004 YES SO MUCH YES
Oh Jesus...
Well, it's been awhile since I've last had something to keep an eye on.
Let's check shall we, Banner who is easily offended to a degree vs. AJ with such a mighty pride and a slight high strung vision of her being better...
yeah, I think this will end badly... for AJ.
"It turned to the other wolves and shook it's head." That should be its.
Daring Do's name isn't spelled "Daring Doo". And book titles should be italicized, not in quotes.
"they had no electricity or self moving vehicles" Except that they do. We've seen a hydroelectric dam, electric lights with switches, an electric fan, and motorized parade floats.
2808473
So... you're saying... that we win?
2806792
First of all, he's a scientist from a world in which superpowers exist. Second, he's a scientist now in a world which apparently has a talking unicorn, who talks casually about magic. Having accepted both of those makes it far more likely to say "OK, pegasi exist too". "Magical winged unicorns move the sun and the moon through the sky" is still a stretch, but far less of a stretch than it would be for a scientist from a world without superpowers who hasn't already seen evidence of magical talking unicorns.
Look up the concept of "prior probability". In the absence of any other information, your prior probability for magical winged unicorns moving the sun and the moon through the sky should be vanishingly small: it's a very specific hypothesis for which you have zero evidence, and it's inconsistent with how everything else in the world works. However, once you encounter a magical talking unicorn, your probability for "magical winged unicorns move the sun and the moon through the sky" goes way up. You have to go a lot further to get from our reality to "magical talking unicorns" than you do to get from "magical talking unicorns" to "magical winged unicorns move the sun and the moon through the sky".
So, that explains why he's readily accepting how this new world seems to work. As for not trying to learn more about it: he's sitting in a library, and he just read books until dawn. What better way to learn about it? There's a lot of background information he'd need to go through before starting to figure out this world's version of physics, and he might as well do some background reading before he starts grilling people with questions. As a narrative technique, it also shortcuts the less interesting questions, allowing more time for the more interesting ones ("So, wait, magic, what is it, how does it work, and what can it do?").
I fully expect that Bruce and Twilight will get along really well; there are already signs of that. I'd love to see more of their interactions as fellow scientists.
(And on that note, anyone know if there's an MLP equivalent of Methods of Rationality anywhere?)
2806792
This particular theoretical physicist happens to be from a world where magic is a relatively well established phenomenon. To people in the Marvel universe in general, and Bruce Banner in particular, magic is no more a mysterious unknown force than is magnetism.
2806792 What these guys said 2809298>>2809520
Also don't forget about the Sorcerer Supreme Dr. Strange whom Banner has both fought with and against. His magical incantations using his hands causes a glow that could be seen as similar to how Twilight's aura looks. Dr. Doom also uses magic along with his technology, not to mention Ghost Rider,Thor, and even the Juggernaut, so Banner has seen magic in action and he has seen Telekinesis, thus meaning he could probably differentiate the two. When faced with a Unicorn, who have in mythology been associated with magic (and Mythology in the Marvel Universe is usually fact, such as Thor or Hercules), he would come to the logical conclusion of magic use. In the Marvel Universe, Magic = Logical/Possible.
2809962 Yep, the good ol Marvelverse where Science, Norse Mythology, Magic, and Christianity are all simultaneously true.
awww shit...
I like how I was thinking, "How's Banner gonna react to magic! "
Then it happened and I was like, "Oh yeah he's seen ton of magic already "