The Mother City

by Quicksear

3. Answers

Most people would have welcomed the bright and lucid beams of energy the friendly sun above Cape Town bestowed upon our company the next morning. The tall glass doors and wall of the bedroom had remained unshuttered the night before, allowing me to be bathed in warmth and light of the arriving day. I should have rejoiced in it, and been happy to be alive on such a day.

Instead, I rolled out straight and tried to ignore the weight of so many thoughts attempting to drive me into depression and pain. I ignored my headache admirably, only so as to attempt ignoring all the other, less self-imposed factors of my sensitive position. Instead of tackling the day with witty strength, I allowed myself to drift in between the realms of waking and dreams.

A minuscule moment (or perhaps an hour) later, I heard a rumbling loud enough to wake the hills coming from the foot of the bed. Great, Andrew was up to his old performances again. I swear, no nation has ever produces such loud nocturnal vocalizations as the Afrikaans peoples of Southern Africa. I groggily tore a pillow from my face and attempted rolling further from the grating sound, but failed, not because of my own frailty, but because of the weight pressing down upon my chest.

My eyes snapped open. I stared up into an enormously bright pair of magenta eyes under a halo of bright colours that filled my vision.

“<-Hi alien dude. Wake up, I’m hungry!->”

It was not anger that drove me next, but sheer and utter confusion.

“Gah!”, I exclaimed as I threw the offending weight from my body. Rainbow Dash fluttered her now full-sized wings ineffectually as she scribed a short arc through the room, calling out in surprise, “<-What the hay-!?->”. She landed quite gracefully on Andrew’s torso before, in a spluttering performance similar to mine, the poor guy leapt up from where he lay on the ground and catapulted the room invader through the air yet again.

Her grace did not survive a second flight. Rainbow Dash crashed awkwardly into the door head first, before sliding down to the floor to the sound of her own groans. But it did not end there. There was something surpassingly comical in watching someone else go through such a streak of bad luck. Which is why, when the door was hurriedly flung open, Twilight Sparkle charged into the room to see me gurgling in laughter while Andrew held himself wide-eyed against the far wall. It didn't take the surprisingly large alicorn long to follow our gazes to where Rainbow Dash lay sandwiched between the heavy door and the wall.

“<-Oh Celestia! Rainbow, are you okay...?->” Twilight’s voice dripped with a concern I understood more than her unfamiliar language as she stooped to help the dazed Rainbow Dash to her hooves. I was chuckling all the while, but as I shed the last remnants of my mirth, I made the same realization that Andrew must have made, because I soon found myself wearing the same expression as I inspected the two characters in the doorway.

To think that not even one day ago, these creatures were small enough to fit in my hand suddenly seemed inconceivable. But here they were, at what I could safely assume to be their full size. Both stood about shoulder high on all fours, but in the confines of the room, they seemed enormous. More than that, I immediately began to see distinct features that were hidden before by their miniature statures. Rainbow Dash was everything one would have expected from the descriptions I had read and sometimes written; Lithe, lean and muscular, but in the smooth way one would usually associate with a professional swimmer. Even in her hunched state, I could instantly see the legacy of a marathon lifestyle.

But it was the alicorn that drew my attention: perhaps it was the fact that by this time she was glaring daggers at me, or the fact that I knew she was about to invade my head yet again, or maybe it was just her rapid movements...No, it was her; whereas Rainbow Dash wore the marks of her years of work like badges to her athleticism and wore them well, Twilight was, in this instance, blank. She was in every way as lithe and powerful as the Pegasus she supported, but in a totally different – unnatural – way. As if she was sculpted not by worthy years of effort, by the hands of god...

Or the hooves of a goddess...

“What were you trying to do to her?!” I felt Twilight’s anger wash over me, exposing me yet again to her alien mind. She stormed up to the bed as I scrambled off the other side to stand against the glass with Andrew. Twilight reared up and slammed her forehooves into the soft mattress, forcing her question through our brains as she flared her wings.“Just tell me what were you going to do!”

Just as the pressure on my mind began to force the light out of my eyes, I heard another voice; “<-Come off it, Twi! I snuck in here on my own! I was just so hungry...->”

I didn't understand the words I heard spilling from Rainbow Dash’s mouth, but I thanked her silently all the same as the pressure lessened on my mind. I stood woozily and looked straight into Twilight's’ eyes, her perch on the edge of the bed putting us at the same level. I didn't try to hold her gaze, but instead ducked under her glare and slip all the way out of the room. What I didn't account for was the gathering of ponies at the door.

Within moments, I was surrounded by shapes, forms and colours. They all backed away from me, towards the kitchen directly opposite the bedroom, but I was immediately shoved forward by Andrew as he pushed his way out behind me, in an effort to escape the menacing lavender pony behind us. Andrew tripped, and found himself accidentally looming over the terrified Rarity. Luckily, Pinkie Pie bounced the frozen unicorn out of the way before headbutting Andrew square in the chest with squeak, realigning his balance.

He could have had it worse. He could've been me. In the moment that Andrew crashed into me, I found myself cannoning towards a very surprised looking hat. I mean Applejack...That moment will forever be a blur to me, I’m afraid, because immediately after that I found myself being bucked in the jaw before crashing down yet again in the middle of the lounge area. I take it that this was karma slapping me for laughing at Rainbow Dash earlier.

Actually, in hindsight, it was the best thing that could have happened. For one, I was not seriously injured, and neither was anyone/pony else. But it broke the mood, for as I regained cognitive function, I was surprised to see a field of concerned faces staring down at me, not the least of which belonged to Applejack herself. “<-Hey, there! Are ya okay? Is he okay ‘Shy?->”

I jumped a little I felt a gentle prod to my ribs. I pulled myself to my elbows and scrambled backwards until my head hit the couch. I saw Fluttershy giggle a little as she replied in their incomprehensible language, “<-I’m sure he’ll be okay...just don’t do that again, it was all quite...distressing...->”

“<-Hmph, well, tell that beanpole alien to not jump out at me like that!->” Applejack, seemingly secure in the knowledge that she had done no permanent harm, became aloof to me once again. I felt the ringing in my ears subside, but it was replaced immediately by a growling sound from directly above me.

I glanced upwards, straight into a pair of sky-blue eyes framed in shades of pink. Without thought, I leapt away from the offending figure, spinning to glare at the incredibly innocent face of Pinkie Pie as she stared at me curiously. “<-Hey, mister! I was just wondering if we could have something to eat, cuz we’re all really REALLY hungry after yesterday!->”

Her beaming inquiry fell uselessly upon my ears, but the growling sporadically making itself known from the depths of her stomach made things pretty clear. I consciously forced myself to relax; no one wearing that expression of expectant hope could mean me any harm.

I felt another unwelcome touch from the ring of ponies around me. I turned, slowly this time, to the next face. It was one I was far more familiar with, and far less soothing. Twilight’s stony features translated into a carefully measured thought, like slick ice over raging waters. “Pinkie is asking for food. I told you last night that we would need food this morning.”

I nodded and pointed at the fridge and grocery cupboard. “Uh huh. And I think I pointed those out.” I looked at Andrew, who wore a bemused expression, obviously not privy to this conversation. “Mate, we gotta feed ‘em. All of them. I think it’s time to crack out the industrial amounts of instant oats, we got a lot of feeding to do.”

To think that all that happened in less than ten minutes. I wove my way through the gathered ponies towards the kitchen and the safety of another human for company. Andrew was scrabbling around in the cupboard already, pulling out boxes of good old Jungle Oats, landing them under the beaming faces of the ponies gathered there. Considering the events of the morning, even the ponies couldn't help but chuckle.

So that was how one gets woken up by ponies. They scare you witless and then force you to make massive amounts of breakfast for them to shovel down in the after-effects of magical shape-shifting. The next hour and a half was, though, hilarious. As it turned out, they really were terrifyingly hungry. I have quite an appetite on good days, and I can manage eight sachets of instant oats. But even Rarity snarfed at least a dozen. Gracefully, of course. Pinkie Pie managed nearly an entire carton! Andrew and I broke out the spare kettle and every bowl in the place just to keep up with them. Twilight, though, didn't eat a bite.

“Hey, mate, do ya want a cup of coffee?” I was so caught up in observing these ponies chasing bowls around the counter with their noses that I missed Andrew’s question at first. I turned to him and saw that he had laid eight coffee cups across the counter. I looked at them blankly for a second, which was answer enough. “Uh, yeah mate, thanks. Though you should ask Twilight if she’ll allow you to feed stimulants like caffeine to her little ponies.”

Twilight’s head shot up from over by the balcony door, where she had been watching the world. Andrews face froze up for a second in silent communication. A few seconds passed, then the two parties turned away from each other, Twilight back to her narrow view over our world, and Andrew, with a confused shake of his head, replaced the coffee tin and pulled out a jar of hot chocolate.

I cast an eye over the group, taking a small glimpse of Twilight’s world just as she did of mine. Fluttershy had managed to eat her breakfast slowly and without mess, which I imagined she far too shy to even consider allowing. Rarity was much the same, though her poise slipped at times when her hunger overcame her sense of self. The other three, though, were another story. Applejack scooted around the counter still, licking out her bowl without even trying to hold it down, while Rainbow Dash even went so far as to put her bowls (Yes, plural) on the floor before chowing down heartily. And Pinkie, well, she just sat under the edge of the counter with her mouth open and I poured the porridge straight on in.

All this reminded me of something from earlier, something that my curiosity only thrust forward now that I was no longer was in imminent danger of a hoof to the head. Again...Right. I walked over to Twilight, and just asked out loud, knowing that the second she heard me, she would be scanning my thought processes in an effort to understand; “Twilight, I have a question to ask about earlier. Rainbow Dash sat square on my chest this morning, did you know that?”

Twilight glanced at me. “Yes, she told me what happened.”

“Hehe...” I chucked dryly, “I’m sorry about that, it was the weirdest way I think I've ever woken up. But that’s just the thing; she stood flat on my chest, and she weighed so little! She couldn't have weighed 40 pounds. Is this some backlash from the spell or what-?”

Twilight turned away before I could finish and sang out, “<-Applejack? Do me a favour and jump on this human for me.->”

I can’t say I understood until a heavy, warm mass collided with my back, knocking my clean over, into the glass in front of me. THAT was definitely not 40 pounds worth...

I turned and glared at Applejack, who simply shot me a mischievous grin. “You know, I wish we could understand each other, just so I could tell you how much I hate you right now...” My dagger glares had no effect on the earth pony. Instead, I turned back to Twilight, who wore smug look.

“Pegasus” Twilight stated.

I gave her my very best deadpan.

“Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are pegasi, of course they are lighter, they need to fly. Earth ponies are much heavier built, so of course weigh more. Unicorns sit in between.” She expanded.

“And what about you?” I asked, just to keep the conversation going, “Alicorns should be somewhere in the middle, too, right?”

Twilight just watched me as I regained a standing position. “I am whatever I choose to be.” She answered cryptically, before getting up and walking slowly over to where Andrew had finished making the hot chocolate.

Her attitude and moodiness was getting on my nerves. She was the only way I had to communicate with these ponies, creatures which, to be fair, should have been a pleasure to meet. A little bit of coldness after yesterday, sure, I could take that, but still ignoring me and treating me like a servant to her cause was seriously pissing me off.

And I let her know it. “Hey, Miss High and Mighty, I’m trying to talk to you here! Least you could do is listen to me now that you’re full of our food, in our place!”

Twilight spun to face me and threw her mind at mine. It sounds weird to describe it like that, but how else could one describe suddenly being surrounded by waves of searing emotion that one can’t understand? I had no idea what was happening for a second, the world being blanked out by a vast ethereal force pressing inwards from all angles, manifesting itself as a pressure attempting to collapse the mass of my very soul.

Wow, that got melodramatic...

But as soon as I found a way to conceptualize this agony without pain, it ended, and the abrupt freedom left me feeling as if I was floating. The euphoria of freedom was short-lived, as anger flooded me. I forced myself straight and glared at the damned pony in front of me.

Some markedly strange things suddenly found themselves in my perception. For one was the veritable wall of ponies in front of me, surrounded by small puddles of hot chocolate, some facing me in anger, others facing Twilight in confusion. Another was Andrew tearing his way over the kitchen counter with a loud exclamation and grim expression. Even more: Twilight’s bright-burning eyes, radiating a deep angst that stemmed from a source I knew was wholly apart from my words. But one thing stood out for me, above all this; the random babbling of small, almost melodious voices that didn’t seem half as alien now as they did before. I almost felt I could recognize their words...almost.

“<-Twilight, calm the hay down! What did he say? C’mon Twi, don’t leave us in the dark...->” Rainbow Dash’s voice may not have made sense, but I suddenly felt as if I recognized its tone: Pleading.

Applejack's tones cut the air alongside those of her friend’s; “<-That crazy alien, knew we shoulda kept a closer eye on ‘I'm! Wha’d he do, Twi...?->” Her voice was awash with anger that was complemented by her gnashing teeth, but not her confused eyes.

I heard Rarity, making soothing sounds while trying to bring Twilight back to herself. I heard Fluttershy making sounds I knew meant nothing in either language, other than fear, and Pinkie Pie shouting questions overhead, trying to bring a semblance of reason to a senseless situation even her comprehension could not fathom.

Andrew barreled off one of the couches to land dexterously beside me. “Mate, you good?” He questioned, grabbing my shoulder “You’re zoning again! C’mon, man, what is she sayin’?”

I rocked back and forth, listening to all the voices, before saying dazedly, “Mate, is it just me, or are those ponies speaking Welsh?”

Andrew stared at me blankly. “Welsh...?”

I didn't answer, for Twilight too had heard me, and I could feel her now all-too-familiar touch as she sucked the meaning of me words straight from my brain. Her eyes widened, but I was too lost within a train of thought that took me careering into a new epiphany.

The situation had once again suddenly morphed right under my nose. This morning, I woke up to a comic mad scramble that ended almost jovially, in chuckles for some. Not two hours later, we were all reasonably content with our breakfasts warming us through, enough for the ponies to trust us at an arm’s length. Hell, Pinkie had even let me feed her! Now, though, not even ten minutes after that happy moment, Twilight and I were glaring daggers as we tried to...

What were we trying to do?

All morning, I realized that all of the unique characters in this room had been experiencing the same chaotic scenes I had, but in a different way. In this, Andrew was my inspiration; He had been jumped on, brain-invaded, forced into breakfast duty, and now into taking sides in an argument he hadn't even heard half of. Through it all, he hadn't fought the series of events, but and moved through them. The other ponies, too, had shed the labours of their previous experience to live comfortably today. All except Twilight.

All except Twilight and me.

She was protecting her friends and I was fighting for control. Damn right, too, but I couldn’t get her to trust me when I was the cause of her nearest anxiety. Unfortunately, it looked like I realized all this too late. Twilight locked her jaw and lowered her head, pushing her friends aside like so many pieces of loose furniture. “<-Step back, girls, I need to show this human these arent ponies to mess with...->”

I heard her. Worse, I understood her, for her presence was surrounding my mind yet again. This wasn't the Twilight I had been led to expect, but I knew even thinking that was incredibly foolish. Cartoons and powerful extraterrestrial equines were bound to be different, after all.She was privy to this realization, but it did nothing to calm her. Luckily for me, I wasn't the only one trying to divert disaster.

It was Rarity who leapt forward, much to my surprise, followed by Fluttershy. They attempted to calm the raging Alicorn. I heard her almost musical voice, but the words were still meaningless: “<-Twilight dear, stop! All this noise is going to call endless attention! Whatever has gotten you so worked up, I’m sure we can help you...->”

Twilight elbowed her aside, nearly shouting, “No, girls, I created this mess, and I'm a Princess, I'm supposed to protect you! It’s my fault we’re all here to begin with... ->”

Fluttershy tried to give Twilight a soothing nuzzle, but just like Rarity, she was pushed aside, whimpering, “<-Twilight, we’re your friends...T-This whole thing was just an accident. Let’s just calm d-down and try to find a solution. Maybe if you would let us talk to the humans...->”

I didn't want her to stop talking; for half a second I thought her lyrical voice just might calm down Twilight, but I was wrong. Twilight’s eyes dimmed, but then she fortified herself with some conviction. “<- No. I-I brought you all here, and I let us be pawned off to these aliens...we just need to stay hidden for a while ‘til I can cast a counter-teleport and then we’ll be fine. You don’t need to be exposed to more of this chaotic world. I WILL protect you.->”

Rainbow Dash hopped in next, fluttering her wings agitatedly. ( I wondered when she’d stick her nose in...) “<-Stop keeping us in the dark, Twi, we can handle ourselves! We've seen a lot, but you keep blocking us out! Let us help you, too!->”

I didn’t know what was happening, but I sensed the redirection of Twilight’s anger, for I could see her mind now, just as she could see mine: she was dropping her guard.

I tried to take a step forward, but Twilight acted first. “<-You want to talk to him? You want to be to see what they can be like? Well, I've tried to keep you safe, but go for it, I’m tired of carrying this on my own! Now you can talk to him as much as you want!->”

I felt her last words rumble around my head, and froze. Twilight reared up over the ministrations of a panicked Fluttershy, and stomped down, lowered her horn yet again and loosing a blurry flash of magic into my eyes.

I can’t say that her zap felt all that zappy. It felt rather warm, actually, like dozens of butterflies were washing over my face and wafting my consciousness away. In the final moments that my ears were attached to my comprehension, I heard Applejack shouting “Whoa Nelly! What’d you do, Twi...?” but I failed to grasp the implications as I faded away.

My body could be someone else’s problem for a while, I had a lot to avoid thinking about...

Author's Note:

Slightly revised, not too major. Hope I fixed the mess I made of the dialogue!
Any tips for this chapter? SHARE and you will be HEARD!
hehehe...

Comments

[GallantNavy]

Quite an interesting concept, this thing is. Do continue: I wish to know more.

[dargondarkfire]

hmm what did she do to him?

altered his mind to understand them? a translation spell in anger? or.. maybe turned him into a pony? yes that last one will inconvenience him to no end lol.

[Razalon The Lizardman]

Is English not your first language? Because there's a large number of odd spelling & grammar mistakes strewn throughout this.