What a Friendly Introduction
Oh, hello there. I wasn’t expecting company, but not to worry. Stay! Sit down, read a book or something. Whatever it is you mortals do, enjoy yourself! What’s that? Mortals? Why yes, that is what you are correct? I am a goddess after all. Immortal being, live as long as time, you lifespan a few mere seconds to me, you know, that goddess.
Still confused? Okay, okay, let me start from the beginning. And I mean the beginning, beginning of time and space, beginning of life, you know, that beginning. I helped create this little planet called Equus. I and a bunch of other gods and goddesses had nothing better to do so we basically decided to create a planet with each of our species. Most of the others are pretty strict, not me though, I just like to flow with nature. I usually hang out with Zeki, the Zebra god, we’re the best of pals. That Draco guy isn’t bad either, Dragon God’s got a monster-
Am I trailing off again? Sorry, I seem to do that often, what with nothing really to do up here. Although you may think I’m a bit of a chill god, there are times when I fall in line and act like a ‘proper’ Goddess, I know when to be serious. I’m just not serious most of the time. I trailed off again, didn’t I?
Well anyway, when we all created this world, we each decided certain rules for it. I actually was able to turn the tables in my favour, a lot of stuff having to relate to my species. The Sun and Moon and weather, all bend to my will, that’s pretty cool.
So we each got a piece of land, and we were free with what we wanted to do with it as long as it didn’t effect anyone else. I decided to give some mountains, a few deserts, and just for shits and giggles, one forest where everything acted on its own. Everything so far so good, although that whole rule about not affecting others was quickly broken, the Wendigo bitch decided to fuck with my land and bring eternal winter to my land. Luckily my ponies kicked them out before I could get Draco to light the Wendigo Goddess on fire.
Oh, and you heard me right, ponies. Now you may be thinking I got the short end of the stick, what with dragons and gryphons and wendigoes and all. But actually, I think I got it good. Magic, Flying, Strength, I think I’ll be good.
Now after the whole three tribes of ponies’ war, which I was too distracted with Wendigo bitch and trying to find her, I decided it was time to send my daughters down to Earth. My little Celestia and Luna. So precious those two. I sent them off by the time they were teens, but they forgot everything about living with god’s thing and took my place as the main rulers of the ponies. They got a huge castle built in the forest and everything was good for a while.
For a while, you see after I sent those two down one of our own suddenly disappeared. It was Discord, god of chaos, and that said he was basically a teenager, for the most part, grew up along with Celestia even. I think he may have had a crush on her but I never knew, he was a god of chaos you couldn’t read. But to put it simply, I think he was pinning for my daughter, and I think he still does.
So yeah, after he, Celestia and Luna basically grew into young adults, Discord started running the place. He ruled the land through chaos while Celestia and Luna tried to fight him. I knew they could probably beat him alone but I didn’t want my ponies to suffer, I’m not cruel! So I created the tree of harmony and gave to my daughters the elements of harmony. Laughter, Kindness, Honesty, Generosity, Loyalty and Magic. All of which I wanted to rule the little land I had. And with that, Celestia and Luna used the elements of Harmony on Discord, locking him up in stone and restoring peace and harmony to Equestria. My country.
Now some of you might be thinking that locking someone in stone for eternity is a little overkill, to those people I say this…
Shut up unless you want to spend eternity in Tartarus. I’m the Goddess remember?
Ever since then I’ve had to do very little, the tree of harmony was like a little communication beacon from me to Equestria and the elements pretty much handled most of the future issues. From Discord to Sombra to Tirek and even the Nightmare Moon (My poor little Luna, mommy still luvs you! And Celestia too!).
Yes, everything was going easy for me and my ponies, nothing really happened for a while, just a few wars and a new Alicorn who was chosen to be the princess of love. Then things changed once Nightmare Moon returned.
When Nightmare Moon did come back, I was actually considering going down to Equestria there myself and hug her until Luna returned back to normal, but I didn’t need to. Six ponies all became the new bearers of the elements, two Unicorns, two Pegasi and two Earth ponies. Two of each race, Celestia really impressed me that day. And I was so glad to see Luna back to normal, I even visited her in her dreams and hugged her to death.
But it was just the beginning, as soon villains kept popping up left and right. Discord returned, Chrysalis invaded Canterlot, Sombra and the Crystal ponies returned, and Tirek returned. Each time a villain showed up to threaten Equestria, these six ponies would show up and stand in the face of evil, and sometimes their little dragon friend. I think Spike’s his name, I have to ask Draco again, that and also what is his son doing serving a pony princess?
Oh right, Celestia also turned one of the Unicorns into an Alicorn after a mix up with the cutie marks, Twilight Sparkle I believe. Purple bookworm reminds me of Starswill, decided to give her a castle after Tirek destroyed her treehouse. Funny thing about her and her friends, they’ve had very little to no dating experience, which is interesting for me to say the least.
After another incident with a unicorn named Starlight and another Changeling invasion, I began to think about something. With the bearers, or former bearers now, they are essentially the most important ponies in Equestria behind Celestia, and have had very little to no protection or guardians. And I know the Spike kid tries but he’s still young, I don’t think he even knows about Draco. So I have been thinking, as a self-proclaimed matchmaker (having a princess of love as an Alicorn makes this clear to the other gods and goddesses.) and although I was and still am trying to do something with Celestia and a reformed Discord, I wanted to give these girls a chance on the dating scene, but they also needed someone to protect them. I didn’t know who to pick but then I remembered something.
Another planet exactly. You see when God’s get bored they like to explore the cosmos a little bit, get to know the universe. And during my search, I came across another planet, similar to Equus but it only had one sentient species. They looked like tall, shaven monkeys with a few key differences, these monkeys could talk, and they could wear clothes and farmland. I recently came across the planet once again, the last time I was there the monkeys were wearing robes and doing some weird tribal stuff all over the planet, kind of like how my ponies started out. When I returned a few decades ago, they had apparently reached the moon, by themselves, without an Alicorn to send them or any magic at all. And these guys went back to the moon several times, now I hear they’ve sent balls of metal as far as their solar system’s edge. These guys know what they’re doing when it comes to technology, but also war. Now I was no stranger to war, trying to kill the Wendigo bitch as stated earlier (I never really got over the whole ‘eternal winter’ thing thousands of years ago.), but what they have done to each other, in the name of family or country, sometimes sends shivers down my spine. But the majority outweigh the minority with them, most of them weep and laugh rather than enjoy the cruelty of it all. They were perfect to be guardians.
Now I’ve selected six people from around their world and sent them all to the Everfree forest, where the tree of harmony rests, and when the time comes, I’ll give them the weapons necessary to defend the bearers. But really they're there because A. I want to experiment and see how a relationship between these two will play out and B. Because I’m a goddess and I can do what I like. So why don’t we watch together and see just how good at matchmaking I am.
_________________________________________________________
“Ergh…”
In the Everfree forest, a place located in as much danger and shrouded in darkness and mystery, teeming with unseen life. This was a place many ponies feared to enter, for they knew of the creatures that lived here and the dangers it possessed. The only equine that lived out here was a zebra, in here little hut creating potions.
But the forest had a new visitor today it seemed. As the night sky had just entered its early period and clouds began to gather around the forest, a strange being lay against a large tree in a small clearing surrounded by trees and bushes, the local wildlife leaving it alone.
This creature looked to be bipedal in nature, but it wasn’t a diamond Dog or a Minotaur before the only hair it had was straight short brown hair it had on the top of his head. It wore clothing, which was a rarity for the rulers of this world, but not unusual. It wore White sneakers, dark blue jeans, a black jacket and a purple shirt.
This creature was indeed new to the land, as it appeared to resemble only one other race. Humans. This creature was a human, probably male from his image. And he started to wake up, having this new world revealed to him slowly as his eyes and mind started to function at regular speed, his mouth widening as he let out a yawn. He rubbed his stinging eyes as he looked around at his surroundings.
“Wha…What the hell?” He said, his eyes widened as he pushed himself away from the tree and stood up, brushing the dirt and twigs stuck to his body. He looked around, the fauna brushing in the night wind, the clouds moving slowly over the forest and the stars shining brightly in the sky.
“Fuck!”
The human yelled out, in his native accent as he began to pace around in a circle chanting the word over and over.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUUCK!”
The human soon stopped, and took a deep breath, rubbing his temples and he calmed down.
“Okay, Okay…calm down Martin, you need to calm down, reassess the situation…Alright, you just woke up in a mysterious forest, a night, in god knows where, after you passed out trying to pull an all-nighter. Your probably still asleep, that’s gotta be it! I’m gonna wake up any second now, this Is all one weird dream.” The human named martin said. He closed his eyes and pinched his arm tight.
“Okay, I’m feeling some pain, so I should be back ho- I’m not back home…fuck me.” Martin said, lowering his head and sighing. He looked down to see he stood on a dirt path, leading further into the forest.
“Well, let’s see where the fuck I am.” He said as he began to walk down the trail.
Just as he did, it started to rain, heavy droplets falling onto the poor human, drenching him.
“Oh, you are fucking kidding me.”
Martin grumbled as he walked faster down the trail, holding his jacket close to him. The rain continued to pour and Martin shivered more as he got further and further into the forest.
“Well, this is just fucking perfect. Wake up in some godforsaken forest, no clue where the fuck I am, it's starting to fucking rain, I am drenched to shit, what else could you possibly do to try and fuck me over more!?”
A loud growl stopped Martin right there, he turned around to see a lion with a red main, two giant paws, wings and a large red scorpion tail, kneeling to the ground and eyeing him with an intent to kill.
“OH FOR FUCK SAKE!”
_________________________________________________________
Meanwhile in the centre of a town called Ponyville, on the edge of the Everfree forest and where a giant crystal castle stood, a purple alicorn and a baby dragon were currently in the castle library.
They were Princess Twilight Sparkle, Equestrian Princess of Friendship, the Former bearer of the element of magic and leader of the Friendship council and her number one assistant/best friend/brother/dragon Spike respectively.
Twilight was reading a stack of books on astronomy, and old subject that was one of her favourites and one she had visited so many times, laying down and a soft red body cushion, a warm cup of hot cocoa with two marshmallows next to her. Spike meanwhile was leaning out of the window, looking out towards the south, staying in deep thought.
Twilight finished her current book and placed it atop those she already read, about to pick the next book on her stack when she saw Spike.
“Thinking about Thorax?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah, I just hope he’s gonna be okay, now that he’s King of the Changelings and everything,” Spike said. Twilight smiled and stood up, walking over to the dragon.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure right now he and the Changelings are working together to create a better kingdom, and don’t forget he has friends like you and me if he ever needs help,” Twilight said, coming up and resting a wing over the dragon. Spike looked back at Twilight and smiled.
“Thanks, Twi.”
“No problem Spike.”
“Sure is pouring down over the Everfree tonight,” Spike said, trying to change the topic. Twilight looked out the window to see a huge cluster of clouds raining over a part of the forest.
“Well it is the Everfree Spike, the weather is random as ever,” Twilight responded.
“You think Starlight’s doing okay in the Crystal Empire?” Spike asked.
“Sure, why wouldn’t she be?” Twilight questioned.
“Oh no, I’m not doubting she’s having a bad time, I’m just curious if Sunburst’s making it better or worse,” Spike said.
“What do you mean by that?” Twilight asked Spike, who looked back at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Seriously, you haven’t caught on yet?” Spike asked.
“About what?” Twilight said, frowning a little at her assistant's tone.
Spike was about to speak, but his gut rumbled as he quickly looked away and let out a green belch of dragon smoke that transformed into a scroll. He grabbed it and held it out for Twi.
“Message for you ma’am,” Spike said. Twilight grabbed the scroll in her magic and began to read the message.
Dear Twilight,
I do hope you are recovering from our encounter with Chrysalis because I have a task for you and the council of friendship.
As of now, we have captured both Changelings that impersonated me and my sister, however, Cadance reports they have only caught one Changeling, the other two seemed to escape before they were captured. The only Changelings left that are loyal to Chrysalis were those that impersonated you and your friends. You reported that once you arrived back that the Changelings had already fled, but my sister and I have picked up strange readings coming from the Everfree Forest, readings that we have rarely seen.
I ask that you and the council of friendship search the Everfree for these strange readings and find what is happening. Report back to me what you have discovered once you found what it is, whether it be Changelings or something else.
Best of wishes to you and your friends
Sincerely, Celestia.
“What does it say Twilight?”
Twilight immediately wrapped the note up and began to place the books in an orderly pile, grabbing her cocoa and taking a sip before explaining to Spike.
“Celestia thinks the Changelings that trapped us are in the Everfree Forest, so tomorrow we and the girls need to investigate what exactly is happening in the forest.”
“Does that mean we have to go to bed now?” Spike asked, eyeing his pile of comics he had assembled.
“Yes Spike, we need to be up early if we want a good chance of catching these Changelings,” Twilight said as she shelved her books away into the correct order.
“Oh, okay,” Spike said as he let out a sigh.
“But I’ll give you the day off tomorrow for helping us,” Twilight said.
“Yes! Thanks, Twi!” Spike said as he picked up his comic stack and rushed to put them away, Twilight looked at her assistant and smiled.
“OH FOR FUCK SAKE!”
Twilight’s ear twitched as she picked up the distant yelling and looked out the window and at the Everfree forest.
“What was that?” She asked out loud.
She stared out the window for a few more seconds before she shrugged her shoulders, grabbed her things and left for bed.
“Must have just been the storm.”
_________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, Martin was currently running for his life, pushing through branches and vines while he was chased by the Manticore, all the while cursing at the top of his exhausted lungs.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Fuck me! Fuck you! Fucking bastard!”
The Manticore roared in response, and Martin continued to curse as he ran. At least the rain had stopped. The Manticore was getting closer, Martin could feel the breath and slobber on his back, and it didn’t help he would see a giant scorpion tail narrowly miss his head and blew a tree branch into pieces.
“Shit!” Martin screamed as he was blinded from the shrapnel of a nearby branch, the muddy ground causing him to slip up and crash onto the ground. Martin groaned as he rolled over onto his back, covered in mud and splinters. He tried to quickly get up but he was pushed against a tree as the Manticore let out another roar. Martin looked up to see the Manticore walking very close, scorpion tail ready to strike.
“Ah fuck…” Martin said as he closed his eyes, waiting for the sting.
Instead, he heard another roar, except it seemed to sound like the Manticore was in pain. He opened his eyes to see two arrows sticking out of the Manticore’s face, on in the eye, one on the nose. The Manticore backed up as Martin pushed himself up onto his feet, two more arrows flew past him and made an impact in the Manticore’s skull. The creature let out one final cry before he fell onto his side, blood dripping from the head down onto the dirt ground.
Martin let out a deep breath, quick to catch his breath after he had just run halfway through the forest. He pounded his chest, a few coughs coming out of his mouth before he turned around to see his saviours.
Luckily, they both looked human. One stood roughly the same height as Martin, although he had longer hair coloured blonde. He wore a green shirt, with a pair of cargo shorts and what looked like a pair of hard sneakers. The other stood a good few inches taller than the other two. He had similar hair as Martin, but it seemed to be cut shorter and was black in colour, and he wore a pair of camouflage cargo pants, a grey shirt that showed off his muscular build and a pair of army boots.
The two lowered their makeshift bows, made with nothing but sticks and spare string, or what they could find as a substitute for the proper string. The three stared each other in silence for a while, before Martin broke the silence.
“Thanks for saving my ass…” He said, the two walked closer and out of the bush.
“Wasn’t hard to find you, we could hear you from camp.” The taller one said as he walked over to the dead Manticore.
“I wasn’t that loud was it?” Martin asked, looking back as the other human pulled an arrow out of the Manticore’s nose.
“Don’t worry about it. Glad we could find someone else in this forest.”
Martin looked in front of him to see the human in the green shirt walking up to him, his hand out offering a handshake.
“I’m Andrew, the tall guy behind you is Richard.”
Martin took the hand and shook it, finding this Andrew to have a damn strong handshake.
“I’m Martin, nice to see something that isn’t trying to kill me.” He said, putting in a little humour.
“Well let’s keep it that way and get back to camp, no doubt something’s going to come along looking for some meat,” Richard said, his bow slung onto his back, bloodied arrows hanging from his belt.
“Alright, let’s head back,” Andrew said.
The three humans all left the Manticore corpse for something else to dine on and began to take a slow walk through the muddy ground.
“How far is your camp?” Martin asked Andrew.
“Not that far, we shouldn’t be too long, the others are probably waiting,” Andrew said.
“Others?” Martin asked.
“Yep, three more guys,” Richard answered from upfront.
The three continued to walk in silence, as the sun finally when down and the night sky began to shine.
Martin, Richard and Andrew soon arrived at a clearing, clean cut grass an oddity as it was surrounded by trees, bushes, long grass and strange looking plants. A river cut the clearing in two, flowing easy and shallow water allowed for good fishing conditions.
Martin looked over to see some logs set around a makeshift campfire, the fire providing some light within the forest. There he saw two other guys sitting around the fire, one poking it with a stick to keep the fire going, the other looking a bit impatient.
The one poking the fire had some light brown hair, with a fringe that fell to the right side of his face. He wore a pair of black track pants, a blue shirt, a light blue hoodie and some white sneakers.
The other one was messing around with his straight black hair, trying to get it organised. He wore black pants, a white buttoned up shirt, a blazer jacket and a pair of black shoes.
“Hey guys, we’re back with the company,” Richard said, causing the two to look up to see Martin, Andrew and Richard walking towards them.
“Welcome to the party. Except this is anything but pleasant.” The one in the white shirt said.
“Let me introduce you to Arnold and Edward,” Andrew said as he brought Martin over and sat him down on one of the logs.
“G’day.” Martin simply said.
“Hello,” Edward said as he fixed his hair.
Arnold just simply smiled and waved before he went back to poking the fire.
“Nice work keeping the fire going during the rain Arnold,” Richard said as he sat down, putting his bow on the ground.
“T-Thanks,” Arnold said.
“Well, now what? I assume you didn’t find anything to eat on your rescue mission.” Edward said, who finally stopped playing with his hair.
“Don’t worry guys, I have fish!”
Martin jumped forward and yelped as he looked behind him to see a man with a grey hood over his head. He wore a grey hoodie with some loose fitting pink pants and some loose loafers and was currently dripping with water, holding some fish in both his hands.
“Vince, no need to scare the new guy like that,” Andrew said, frowning at the crazed man.
“Whoops, sorry pal.” Vince apologised.
“Yeah, its fine, no worries,” Martin said, sitting back down.
“Here ya go Richard, now I don’t have to do any more work,” Vince said as he handed the fish over to Richard before he walked over to a log and laid back against it.
Richard soon and the fish sitting over a fire on sticks that they had washed in the river. The group all remained silent as the flames sparked the midnight sky. Martin took his eyes off the skies before he spoke.
“Well, how about we talk about where we are from?” Martin suggested.
“Why would we need to do that?” Vince asked an arm draped over his eyes.
“Because apart from the fact we may not even be on Earth anymore, if we’re stuck in this forest, may as well get to know each other,” Martin said.
“What makes you say that?” Edward asked.
“Two things. First, since when did lions live in forests and had giant Scorpion tails? And secondly, look up.” Martin said pointing to the stars. All the boys looked up to see the stars.
“I can’t find the southern cross,” Martin said.
“The what?” Andrew asked.
“The Southern Cross. It’s a constellation that can only be seen in the southern hemisphere, and since I can’t find it, we’re either in the Northern Hemisphere, or somewhere completely different.” Martin explained.
“Are you saying we’re on another planet?” Edward asked.
“Probably,” Martin responded. The group was silent, no one doing anything but Richard who was rotating the fish over the spit.
“Moping won’t help us. Let’s just do what Martin suggested for now.” Said as he stopped spinning the fish.
“Alright, who wants to go first then?” Martin asked.
“I’ll go, someone’s gotta,” Andrew said as he cleared his throat.
“I’m from Seattle, Washington state. I’ve lived in the US all my life. I used to work on the farm as a kid but my family moved to the city for work.” Andrew said.
“Huh, small world, I’m from the Northwest too,” Richard said.
“Wow really?” Andrew asked.
“Yeah, although when I was born I lived in Singapore for two years because my grandma is from Singapore and my grandad is from Korea, but my parents moved back to the US,” Richard explained.
“Name’s Vince, I’m from New Zealand, and that’s it.” Vince quickly said, still lazing along a log.
Eyes went to Arnold, who had barely talked throughout the whole discussion. His eyes went wide before he twiddled his fingers and finally talked.
“Hi, I’m Arnold…I’m from Montreal…I’ve lived there my whole life…Sorry, I’m not very social, and I’m very shy…” Arnold said, looking down.
“Dude, it's fine,” Martin said.
“Yeah, no one’s gonna looks down on you here,” Andrew said.
“…Thanks…” Arnold said, a little smile.
“Right, I suppose it’s my turn. I’m from London myself, born and raised in the United Kingdom.” Edward said.
“Alright, so we have two Americans, a Canadian, a Brit, a New Zealander and an Australian,” Martin said.
“Yep,” Vince said, simply ending the conversation.
The group made small talk for the rest of the night, Martin explaining how he didn’t ride a kangaroo to school while Richard cut the fish with a Swiss army knife and handed it out to the group. They ate silently while the flames roared and crickets chirped during the night, the group soon agreeing to head to sleep to wake up at dawn tomorrow. They used the ground and the logs as beds, some using their jumpers as makeshift pillows to sleep on. As they slept and the flames died, a pair of eyes watched them from the river, before they dived underwater and swam away.
_________________________________________________________
As Celestia’s morning sun shone brightly over the Everfree, birds chirped as they flew over the tree’s, a morning cool breeze passing through, an aftermath of the rain the previous day. It seemed all was quiet, nothing disturbing the forest.
*snap*
“Shh,” Twilight said.
“Sorry.” Rainbow Dash apologised.
Twilight Sparkle trotted through the Everfree, followed by her five closest friends and her favourite baby dragon.
“Why do we have ta be so quiet Sugarcube?” Applejack asked.
“Because if we make too much noise, those Changelings might hear us and try to make a break for it.” Twilight explained.
“Yeah, but how do we know the changelings are still here?” Rainbow asked.
“Celestia said she and Luna sensed a rare magical occurrence out here, it could be Changeling magic,” Twilight said.
The mane six and Spike had entered the forest early morning, Twilight briefly explaining to her friends the situation, eager to capture those Changelings that had impersonated them. They had trotted as silent as possible, Pinkie Pie somehow bouncing without making a sound and Rainbow and Fluttershy agreeing to not fly unless spotted. Spike walked beside Twilight, his backpack loaded with a map and some supplies, and Applejack carried some extra rope in her saddlebags at Twilight’s request. The group soon arrived at a river, the same one the six had come across when they went to fight Nightmare Moon.
“Do you see anything Twi?” Spike asked.
“No, nothing. Let’s keep moving forward.” Twilight said.
The ponies and dragon walked slightly forward before a blue serpent burst out of the river, orange hair and a big, bushy orange moustache.
“Hello, my friends!” Stephen Magnet said, arms wide open in acceptance.
The ponies yelped in surprise before they realised who it was.
“Hello Dear, I see the Moustache has grown quite well.” Rarity greeted.
“Thanks to your generosity dear, now what are you doing back in the Everfree?” Stephen asked the group.
“We’re looking for a group of Changeling’s, have you seen any?” Twilight asked.
“Changelings? I don’t believe so but I did see something weird last night.” Stephen said, twirling his moustache.
“Really? Like what?” Twilight asked.
“There were about six weird things sleeping around a campfire upstream, just that way, I don’t believe it to be far,” Stephen said, pointing to where a small trail of smoke was rising.
“Thank you so much, this really helps us,” Twilight said.
“Not a problem Princess, good luck!” Stephen said before he ducked under the water, swimming downstream.
“Alright, you heard him, girls. Let’s move.” Twilight said, her friends nodding their heads before they walked up the stream.
They soon found themselves crawling through some trees and bushes. Much to the contempt of some.
“Eww.” Rarity said as she stepped in wet mud, she quickly shook her hoof before she trotted on.
“EEP!” Fluttershy said.
“Fluttershy, are you alright?” Spike asked, checking on the slightly scared Fluttershy.
“I-I Think s-s-o. It’s just some rain water.” Fluttershy said, shaking her wings to get the excess water off.
“Shh. Girls, I think I hear something.” Twilight said.
The group immediately went quiet, Twilight listening out for noise. Her ears soon pictured something up, and she waved her hoof, the group slowly crawled ahead.
The Mane Six and Spike soon came across a clearing, they all got in a line and hid behind some bushes, their eyes widening at the sight in front of them.
It looked like a regular campsite on the other side of the river, logs surrounding a smoking campfire, but who they saw shocked them. There were four bipedal creatures, one was sitting on a log, poking the fire, another was lying across a log, and it appeared to be sleeping. The other two were walking in the river, holding large spears, they both appeared to be hunting for something.
“Twilight, what are they?” Spike asked.
“I don’t know, I’ve never seen anything like it before,” Twilight said.
“What the hay are they wearing?” Rainbow asked.
“Oh dear, I hope they haven’t harmed any fish,” Fluttershy said.
“Maybe there a buncha saved Diamond Dogs?” Applejack asked.
“I don’t think so, diamond dogs aren’t as tall as they are.” Rarity said.
“Oh, Oh! Maybe their aliens? What do you think Twilight?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“Hmm…” Twilight said, rubbing her chin.
“What is it Twilight?” Spike asked.
“I was wondering…They could be the Changeling’s we’re after.” Twilight suggested.
“Huh?” Everypony and dragon said.
“Well, it could be. Changelings are known to create their own personas, Like Thorax did in the Crystal Empire, so it isn’t out of the question they would try a new disguise, even if it appears to be completely random.” Twilight theorised.
“Maybe Twi’, but we can’t just accuse ‘em just with that.” Applejack said.
“Applejack’s right dear, they haven’t said anything that could give them away as Changelings.” Rarity said.
“What do you mean?”
The ponies and dragon quickly shushed as two more creatures walked in from the forest carrying sticks.
“What I mean is I don’t really keep up to date on what the queen does.” One said his accent one that they couldn’t recognise.
“Why ever not? Do you have no respect for royalty?” The other said, his voice similar to some of Canterlot Nobles.
“Oh no, I do respect the queen, especially for what she did back then. But I’m not obsessed with her like others are.”
“Whatever do you mean?” The other asked as they both placed sticks near the fire.
“Hmm…well, you know the royal wedding?”
“How could I forget, I was there myself when it happened.”
“Yeah, everyone was making a big deal out of it. I honestly couldn’t care less about it, I’m sure you do and that’s fine but I’m just not a fan.”
“Well I personally love the Queen, and I always keep up to date with the latest gossip.”
The ponies quickly tuned out the conversation, focusing more on Twilight, whose face portrayed a deep hate.
“There’s no doubt about it, they are defiantly Changeling’s.” she said.
“So what do we do? Because I’m ready to give them a good pounding.” Rainbow said, crunching her hooves.
“Save some for me Sugarcube.” Applejack said to Rainbow.
“Oh dear, we don’t have to be too harsh do we?” Fluttershy asked.
“I agree with Fluttershy dear, perhaps we shouldn’t be too harsh at first.” Rarity said.
“Girls, focus. We need to capture them. If we bring them back to Canterlot, then maybe we can get them to tell us where Chrysalis is hiding.” Twilight said.
“How do we do that?” Spike asked.
“Simple, we go out and confront them. I’ll fire a few warning magic shots, and we’ll try and convince them to give themselves up.” Twilight said.
“Are you sure that’ll work?” Rainbow asked.
“I’m a powerful Alicorn, Spike’s a dragon and were the famous elements of harmony. There are six of them and seven of us, and they have very little places to go.”
“Wait, wasn’t there supposed to be seven, not six Changeling’s” Spike asked.
“Yes, but he’s either lost, still in the forest or escaped by himself. Either way, we have to move now before they suspect anything.” Twilight said.
“You girls ready?” Twilight asked.
“Ready.” The elements and Spike said.
“Well I personally love the Queen, and I am always keeping up to date with the latest gossip,” Edward said.
“Good for you mate,” Martin said as he walked over to Vince.
“Still sleeping?” Martin asked Arnold
“Yeah…” Arnold said.
“Think we should wake him up?” Martin asked again.
“Maybe, but he’s not hurting anyone,” Arnold said.
“Hey, guys!”
Martin, Arnold and Edward looked over to see Andrew and Richard both walking back up to the camp, both holding empty sticks.
“Looks like we might have to go foraging, something upstream must be blocking off the fish,” Andrew explained.
“Well, what exactly can we forage? With what Martin encountered last night I trust the wild berries here as much as I trust the wildlife.” Edward said.
“I think I saw some apple tree’s when I woke up on the edge of the forest, if we head down south we will probably find an apple farm. Maybe we can actually find out where we are.” Andrew said.
“Sure, I was hoping to get out of this forest anyway,” Martin said.
“Still a little scared?” Richard asked.
“I was almost eaten by a lion scorpion, so yeah, not disappointed to leave this fucked up place,” Martin said.
“Well, let’s make a move then gents. Time is wasting-“
Edward was interrupted as a purple beam shot out of the forest and struck him onto the floor, purple beams of light holding him down onto the floor. All the boys looked in shock as Edward struggled to break free from the magic chains.
“What the fuck!?” Richard said.
“Freeze!”
The five humans turned around and were shocked at what they saw on the other side of the river. Six multicoloured ponies, and what looked like a purple lizard on two feet. The lead pony stood with a purple glowing hue around her horn and her wings spread out in a threating stance, who had lavender fur and a violet mane with a pink streak. Two ponies with wings were flying above the rest of the ponies, one with a rainbow mane and cyan fur and the other with yellow fur and a pink mane. There was one unicorn in the group, who had sparkling white fur and a curly purple mane, her horn glowing a light blue. And then there were two more ponies that had neither wings nor horn, but one did have a hat and the other was bouncing on the spot. The one with a hat had orange fur with a blonde mane in a ponytail, while the other one was completely pink with a poofy mane and tail.
Martin quickly slapped Vince in the head, knocking him off the log and waking him up.
“OW! The hell is your problem…” Vince said as he rubbed his head and looked up, only to shut up and stand up as he saw the ponies.
“What the fuck is this?” Martin whispered, not believing what he was seeing.
“Stand down and we won’t have to use force,” Twilight said.
“Hey, hey, what the hell did we do?” Andrew asked.
“Don’t ya go actin’ innocent ya vermin.” Applejack said, gritting her teeth.
“Hold on, let me try to get you out, Edward,” Arnold said, sneaking over trying to pull the magic chains off of the British man.
“Thank you, Edward.”
“Give Arnold some time lads,” Martin whispered.
“Stop whispering!” Twilight yelled.
“Well, that wasn’t very nice miss,” Vince said.
“And who are you to talk pal?” Rainbow said, eyeing the humans before she noticed Arnold trying to pull the magic chains off.
“Hey! That one’s trying to free his friend over there!” Rainbow shouted, pointing to Arnold. Twilight cast her eyes on the small human before she fired another trap spell, the other humans hitting the deck, Arnold watching as the bolt of magic came towards him, before he quickly jumped out of the way, the bolt hitting a tree, causing a black singe on the bark.
“Even if you tried, there’s no way to break the spell. Now tell us what your names are.” Twilight stated.
“Oh well, that’s easy, if you allow me,” Vince said as he bowed quickly before he began to introduce the rest of the group.
“This young man right here is little old Arnie.” Arnold looked away and rubbed his arm.
“Mr Crocodile Dundee here.” Martin flipped Vince off.
“Muscle man, Richie Rich!” Richard just stood defiant, facing the ponies.
“Jolly Ol’ chap Mr Edwards, Pip pip!”
“Not helping Vince!” Edward said, giving up on escaping the chains.
“Strapping young Andrew over here.”
“Um…Howdy?” Andrew said, unsure how to respond.
“And lastly, the one, the only, the master of all, the sexiest, strongest man alive and leader of this fine group of men, Vince the Wonderful!” Vince said loudly, bowing before the ponies in a grand finale. One pair of hooves clapped, everyone looking over at Pinkie Pie who was on her back, laughing and clapping.
“Again! Again!” She said through her snorts.
“Thank you, thank you,” Vince said as he stood up.
“So you’re in charge here?” Twilight asked.
“That’s right, these guys would be lost without me,” Vince said, all the humans giving him deadpanned looks.
“So you’re the one who co-ordinated our kidnapping?” Twilight asked again.
“…On a second thought, Martin is the leader of the group.”
“Oh fuck you,” Martin said.
“That’s what you get for waking me up,” Vince said, walking behind Richard.
“Does he mean buck?” Rainbow whispered to Applejack, who just shrugged her shoulders.
“What was that weird thing he did with his fingers?” Spike asked.
“Did that lizard just talk?” Richard asked.
“I’m a baby dragon, not a lizard,” Spike yelled.
“A dragon…we are so fucked.” Martin said to himself.
“Look, ma’am, we don’t know what you’re talking about. We didn’t do any kidnapping.” Richard tried to explain.
“Nice try, but your friends over their already gave you away,” Twilight said, indicating Martin and Vince.
“Guys, this looks bad,” Andrew whispered said.
“What do we do?” Arnold asked.
“I don’t know, I can’t move,” Edward said.
“Y’all wanna stop talking an’ make up yer mind?” Applejack asked ready to use her lasso.
“Whoa hold on a minute-“ Martin said.
“You have ten seconds to give yourselves up before we use force.” Twilight threatened, her horn glowing slightly brighter.
“Okay, don’t listen to me then.” Martin said, frowning at Twilight.
“Ladies we mean no harm,” Edward said.
“Five seconds,” Twilight said counting down.
“Um, guys?” Arnold said.
“Four.”
“Look we didn’t do anything okay!” Martin said again.
“Three.”
“It seems nothing’s going to work Martin,” Richard said.
“Two-“
“RUN AWAY!”
Vince screamed as he dashed straight for the forest, Arnold and Andrew soon following him while Richard was trapped in magic chains.
“Alright, looks like we’re back to running,” Martin said as he ran into the forest, chasing his three companions while the mane six and Spike galloped up to the trapped humans.
“Rarity, Fluttershy, Spike, you three stay here with these two, make sure they are tied up,” Twilight said as she pulled the extra rope out of her saddlebags and gave it to her number one assistant. The three nodded their heads in understanding as Twilight turned to the rest of her friends.
“Alright girls, looks like we’re gonna have to hunt them down. Stay together and be careful.” Twilight said before her, Rainbow, Applejack and Pinkie Pie all chased the four human boys.
_________________________________________________________
Martin gasped for breath as caught up with the other three, the group running as far as they could until their lungs gave out. They stopped by a nearby stream to quickly refresh themselves and breath, trying to think of what to do next.
“Do you think those two will be okay?” Arnold asked.
“I don’t know Arnold. Although it was pretty shitty of us to just leave them back there.” Martin said, struggling to talk while gulping the air around him.
“They probably understand, I mean, we were facing unicorns, so we couldn’t beat their magic with what we have,” Andrew said.
“Are you going to be okay?” Arnold asked Martin.
“Yeah, just not exactly the most physically fit guy around,” Martin said, his breathing less rapid now.
“Well, I think it’s safe to say we’re in the clear,” Vince said, walking towards the group after having a quick look around to make sure they weren’t being traced.
“Speaking of which, what the hell is going on around here? Just where the hell are we?” Andrew said.
“Defiantly not Earth,” Martin said.
“Maybe we're in an alternate reality?” Arnold proposed.
“That still doesn’t answer Where we are, like what the planet or country is called, or how big exactly this damn forest is,” Andrew said.
“Well, I don’t think we have anything to be scared of,” Vince said, getting sceptic looks from Andrew and Martin.
“Really, getting chased by magical horses and unicorns that seem to want to end our lives as we run in a dangerous forest with wooden wolves and manticores doesn’t scare you at all?” Martin asked.
“Nope, because what you guys don’t see that I do, is it’s just an illusion. There is probably some trick to the whole purple things that was holding Eddie down, but we just couldn’t find it. Trust me, those ponies won’t lay a single hoof on me.” Vince said with a smug smile.
Suddenly, a pink blur came out from nowhere, which quickly slammed into Vince’s body, knocking him over and dragging him into the forest shrub in a matter of a second.
“Oh shit run!” Andrew yelled.
“What the fuck was that!?” Martin screamed as his breath was soon lost as he ran faster down an open path.
The three ran as fast as they could, trying to again flee the scene.
“What the fuck was that thing!?” Martin yelled.
“I don’t know, probably that pink pony we saw earlier,” Andrew answered.
“OWW!”
Martin and Andrew looked back to see Arnold on his gut in the dirt, gripping his leg as he groaned in pain.
“I’m hurt, I think I sprained my ankle!” he said.
“Shit, come on and help me, Andrew,” Martin said as he ran over to the downed Canadian.
Martin and Andrew both wrapped their arms under Arnold’s, their arms connecting on Arnold’s shoulders as they began to run while carrying the injured boy.
“Sorry guys…” Arnold said, hanging his head.
“Don’t worry about it mate, we just gotta keep moving,” Martin replied.
“You should just put me down, that way you guys could have a chance at escaping-“ Arnold began.
“No way mate. We’ve already lost half the guys, not leaving you two behind.” Martin said, the determination in his voice even though his body was screaming from not doing this type of exercise, the adrenaline pushed him on.
“Martin’s right Arnold, we gotta stick together,” Andrew said.
“…Thanks, guys.” Arnold said a small smile on his face.
“No worries. Thank god you a light bastard.” Martin joked.
The three boys had a good laugh but were interrupted by some unwanted company.
“I see ‘em! One’s injured!”
The three looked back to see the Rainbow maned Pegasi looking down on them with a glare.
“Shit, move,” Martin said, as the three quickly sprinted down the track. Martin heard flapping wings, and he heard them getting closer. He looked back to see the blue pony quickly gaining on them.
“Incoming!” Martin yelled, Andrew quickly glanced behind him before he and Martin ran faster.
“Nice try, but you’re not outrunning the fastest Pegasus around.” Rainbow Dash bragged as she held her hooves out in front of her, flapping her wings harder giving her the boost to ram into the three humans. She pushed her hooves under Arnold’s shoulder before lifting him off the ground and into the sky, knocking Martin and Andrew away who quickly slowed down and watched as their friend was taken away.
“Arnold!” Andrew screamed.
“No!” Martin said as he reached out to Arnold, looking in shock as Rainbow Dash flew away with Arnold in her hooves back, disappearing from Martin and Andrew’s sight.
Martin lowered his arm, clenching his hand into a fist. He let out a deep breath before he bellowed out,
“FUCK!”
Andrew grabbed Martin’s shoulder, trying to pull the Australian out of his fit of rage and frustration.
“Martin, snap out of it.”
“I’m fucking tired of this shit Andrew. I can’t take it, we keep leaving everyone behind. Even if we try to save them they get taken anyway.” Martin said, his tone shifted from anger to tiredness.
“I know dude, I know. But we gotta keep going, we have to find a way out of this forest, and then we can try and get the others back, okay?” Andrew said. Martin let out a sigh before looking back at the beaten track they had just run through.
“Yeah…Alright, let’s go.” Martin said
“Hey, you gonna be ok?” Andrew asked.
“Yeah, thanks mate…If we’re doing this, we’re sticking together, alright?” Martin said.
“Of course. I’ve got your back if you’ve got mine.” Andrew responded.
“Okay, let’s just take it slow for a while then. Need to catch my breath in case we get found again.” Martin said.
“No problem dude,” Andrew said, and with that, the two soon began to follow the forest path once more, their footsteps the only sounds heard in the dense forest.
The two walked on and on, the trail always twisting or turning, tree roots sticking out of the ground forming natural stairs as the earth moved up and down. They continued to push on, right until they had to stop.
They had come across a huge gap between them and the rest of the path, looking up they could see a mountain close by. It almost seemed like a force of nature had drawn a huge line through the forest, as the tree’s and shrub covered each side apart from the path, the remains of a wooden bridge seem down below on jiggered rocks.
“Well, that explains where the bridge went,” Martin said as he kneeled close to the edge to have a look.
“Maybe we should look for another way around?” Andrew asked, looking behind to see if anypony or anything was following them.
“Probably, I’d take my chances with an actual bridge or solid footing than a chance at death,” Martin said, standing up.
“The gap isn’t that far is it?” Andrew asked another question, squinting over the horizon of the small dirt hill they had walked over before, which was quite a few metres away from where they stood on the edge of the cliff.
“Nah, we could probably jump it, but better safe than sorry,” Martin said.
“Hey Martin, be quiet for a second,” Andrew whispered, scanning the hill.
“What is it?” Martin whispered.
“Do you hear that?” Andrew said.
The two remained quiet, and the forest seemed to become eerily silent, apart from a gentle breeze that blew through the trees. Martin looked over the cliff to see if anything on the other side was coming, in some poor judgement they made that they had run in circles back to near the campsite.
Andrew however, eyed the dirt hill as he heard something else in the forest. He heard dirt kicking up from the ground, and a faint stomping noise in the distant, something was coming towards the hill. Before he could warn Martin, he saw it, the orange pony with the Stetson hat, and she saw him too.
“Crap, Martin we’ve been found.”
“What!?” Martin said turning around, also seeing the pony on the hill.
“It’s that cowboy pony from the group,” Andrew stated.
Before they could react, Applejack put a hoof to her mouth and let out a huge whistle.
“Hey, Twi! Ah found da last of ‘em!” Applejack said, calling her alicorn friend over.
“Shit, Andrew, we gotta jump,” Martin said, walking away from the cliff so he could perform a running leap.
“Okay, you go first, then I’ll-Holy shit she’s running straight for us,” Andrew said, looking as Applejack was galloping towards them, her eyes glaring at Andrew underneath her hat.
“Don’t need to tell me twice!” Martin said as he sprinted across the ground before he pushed himself off the ground right before the cliff, flying across the gap before rolling over to land and push himself to his feet.
“Come on Andrew! Jump!” Martin yelled, eyeing nervously as Applejack was catching up quick.
“I’m hurrying, I’m hurrying!” Andrew said frantically as he turned around and prepared to make the jump.
“Ya ain’t getting’ away from me ya vermin!” Applejack said, pulling her lasso from her saddlebags before preparing to lasso Andrew from behind, she was only a few metres away.
“Quick, jump now!” Martin said.
“Here I go!”
Andrew’s legs kicked into action, his feet pushing hard across the ground as Applejack prepared to strike. She was a few feet away from him when he jumped off the ground. Time seemed to slow down as Andrew flew through the air, his legs and arms flailing to try and grip the ground approaching him, Martin had a look of optimism and hope as Andrew got closer and closer to the ground, maybe they could get out of this sticky mess. Martin’s eyes shrunk as the lasso seemed to fly over Andrew’s body, passing his chest and stomach before Applejack pulled in time to catch his legs in a bind, making Andrew slam onto the edge of the cliff as time speed back to normal.
“Andrew!” Martin cried as he slid over and grabbed Andrew’s hands, struggling to pull his friend up. Andrew tried to help, but his legs seemed to be stuck, looking back he saw Applejack have a firm grip on the rope with her teeth, slowly pulling Andrew back towards her.
“Come on, I’m not letting you go, come on,” Martin said he put all his effort into pulling Andrew up, but Applejack was much stronger then Martin and Andrew saw this as Martin began to lose his grip, his feet were being slowly pulled, leaving dirt marks on the ground as he tried to dig himself in. The two humans also had their hands covered in a sweat, their bodies put under pressure from the labouring task, causing Martin to let go of Andrew’s left hand, using both his arms to try and pull Andrew’s body up.
“Martin, you have to let me go!” Andrew yelled.
“No! I am not leaving you behind!” Martin said, stubbornly continuing to pull and pull.
“If you don’t let go I could drop you!” Andrew said.
“I don’t care! I’ve already left everyone else behind, I’m not going to do the same to you! I don’t leave my mates behind!” Martin said, putting all his efforts and strength into one last big pull, stalling Applejack for a little while before he was getting pulled again.
“Martin, dude it’s okay,” Andrew said in an understanding tone.
“Don’t say that! We’re gonna get through this together!” Martin said, struggling to hold on.
“It’s okay Martin…it's fine if you can’t hold me. I understand. But you have to let go of me now.”
“No, don’t you dare…” Martin said, growling at his friend.
“Go on, make a run for it.”
Andrew let go of Martin’s hand, causing him to fall back onto his bum while Andrew began to fall down, swinging towards the dirt covered cliff, bracing himself for the impact. He smacked against the wall, causing some loose dirt and rocks to fall down, but Andrew simply hanged upside down as Applejack pulled him, grunting as she pulled the human up. Martin quickly got back up and looked down to see Andrew smiling.
“Andrew!” Martin yelled.
“What are you waiting for Martin!? Go! Run, run away!” Andrew yelled back.
A purple beam of magic hit the ground next to him, causing Martin to back up. He looked above to see Twilight flying towards him, her horn glowing with magic. Quickly he turned around and ran into the shrub, ignoring the track in front of him as purple beams hit nearby trees and shrub, always missing him.
Twilight groaned as she saw the Changeling run away, but quickly turned around and used her magic to help Applejack to pull Andrew back onto solid ground. She gracefully landed while as Applejack walked over Andrew who found himself frozen in purple magic, unable to talk or move. Twilight was going to greet Applejack but noticed a look of uncertainty on her face.
“Applejack, are you ok?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah, Twi…ah’m fine.” Applejack answered, her voice saying otherwise to Twilight.
“Are you sure?”
“Doncha worry none Twi’, I’ll be just dandy.” Applejack said a smile on her face.
“Okay, there’s only one left. Do you think you can take this one back to the others?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah, ah can take 'em back.”
“Good. I’ll go find the last one, I’ll see you and the girls back at the campsite.” Twilight said as she took flight.
“Stay safe Twi’.” Applejack said as she tipped her hat.
“Thanks Applejack.”
_________________________________________________________
Martin gripped his knees as he coughed viciously, his lungs fully depleted of air, his legs feeling like jelly, and his whole physical body ached. Not a particularly good day today for Martin.
He had just broken through the forest shrub to find himself below the base of a mountain, its path to the top clustered with dirt and rock, creating a very loose natural gravel path to the mountain’s top. He had gotten some scratches along his arms from branches while running, but he was already in too much pain to notice them or they were so small he couldn’t feel them unless he slept for several hours.
“Goddammit…All alone again…In the middle of this goddamn forest, my legs are going to give out, my throat has run dry, and I’m out of breath. Everyone else is already caught, and the flying purple unicorn is still after me for some reason.”
“Fuck me…” Martin said, taking deep breaths, trying to get as much air as he could.
“Why did I have to have such a weak body? Not fat but I’m defiantly not fit for running for my life. Then again getting chased by ponies wasn’t high on my list of potential threats.”
Martin let out a sigh as he pushed himself so he was standing tall once again.
“Well, seems like I’m not leaving this anytime soon, I’ll probably run into one of them and get caught anyway, soooo…”
Martin looked at the mountain path with a small grin.
“May as well go out with style then.”
_________________________________________________________
“For the last time, we didn’t kidnap any of you.” Richard said, calm even though he was currently tied up and sitting up near the river.
“La la la la la la! Not listening.” Rainbow Dash said as she put her hooves in her head and shook it around.
“Really Rainbow, must you result to such childish acts?” Rarity said, eying Rainbow with a look of scepticism
“Well he doesn’t seem to understand that his lies won’t work on us, I’m just trying to get it through his thick head.” Rainbow Dash defended.
“Sorry about Rainbow, s-she’s really n-nice once y-you get to k-k-know her,” Fluttershy said to Richard, trying to make up for Rainbow’s attitude towards the group.
“It's fine, she’s not the most difficult person I’ve had to deal with,” Richard said to Fluttershy, looking over to Vince who was currently leaning against a log and talking to Pinkie Pie.
“Oh my gosh, your favourite flavours chocolate to!?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“Of course, I always enjoy a refreshing taste of chocolate milk,” Vince said with a smile.
“OOH! I have a friend who makes cotton candy clouds rain chocolate milk! I’ll ask him to make one for you, or I can share you mine.” Pinkie Pie said.
“YAY! Cotton candy!” Vince said, stars in his eyes.
“He is probably the laziest, most unrefined person I have met in my life,” Edward said, his purple chains replaced with rope.
“Really? What makes you say that?” Rarity asked.
“When we first met, he didn’t help at all with helping set up our camp. He just laid down and slept next to the river until we were down, then proceeded to sleep on one of the logs. Richard was able to convince him to get dinner for us. But as you saw, he just slept while the rest of us did work.” Edward explained.
“I must say, although I am no expert on campsites, It seems to be very well put together.” Rarity commented.
“Thank you milady, I planned out the placement myself,” Edward said.
“Hey, back off pal,” Spike said, giving evil eyes to Edward.
“Oh it’s alright Spikey-Wikey, I’m just complimenting him on his work in design.” Rarity said.
“Yeah, sure…” Spike said, pointing two fingers to his eyes than pointing to Edward, who just looked confused at the dragon.
Andrew let out a sigh as he lay on the ground. After all the running he did, it was good to finally relax. It would be better if he didn’t have his hands tied behind his back but it was resting none the least.
“I just hope Martin’s okay, wonder if we’re waiting for him now.”
Applejack sat across from Andrew, and she was also doing some thinking of her own. She looked back to the scene at the gap where she tried to pull Andrew and Martin didn’t let go.
‘I’m not leaving you!’
‘I don’t leave my mates behind!’
Now as far as she knew, the old changelings didn’t share the love like Thorax and his Changelings did, they never really gave a hoot about each other unless it benefited him in some way, no way a Chrysalis Changeling would endanger their life to save another rather than the Queen’s.
“So then why did he?” Applejack asked herself as she did some more thinking.
Arnold had mostly been quiet, trying to lay back and rest his injured ankle. The pain had got down a lot, and he could start to walk again but would limp if he ran. He watched as the clouds went by, looking up at the mountain, his mind elsewhere. But he soon saw something on the mountain, it looks like someone was running up the mountain. At first, he couldn’t tell what it was, then he saw who it was, and his eyes went wide.
“Umm…guys?” He said.
“Yeah, Arnold?” Richard said.
“Is that Martin running up the mountain?”
“Hey, are you trying to distract us so you can try and escape again?” Rainbow asked, getting into Arnold’s face, who looked in fear and began to stutter.
“Hey, why don’t you back off you prick?” Andrew said to Dash.
“Ya’ll stop calling mah friends name’s if ya know what’s good fer ya.” Applejack threatened, standing over Andrew.
“Well, your friend better leave Arnold and the rest of us alone if you know what’s good for ya.” Andrew countered, getting closer and looking Applejack in the eyes, the two staring each other down, determined to make to other back down first.
“Hey, it is Martin,” Vince said.
“Oh yeah, Hi MARTY!” Pinkie said as she waved her hoof in the air.
“I don’t think he can hear you Pinkie,” Vince said.
“Ah nuts, I left my megaphone back in Ponyville.” Pinkie said.
“Pony what?” Richard asked.
“What’s he doing?” Spike asked, the whole group stopping what they were doing to look up at the mountain.
_________________________________________________________
Martin huffed and puffed, his lungs crawling for a breath, his legs numb, the pain of his body was becoming more and more overwhelming, but he pushed on up the mountain path. He spoke to himself in his mind to save what little breath he had.
“Oh god, oh god…come on Martin. Come on…Little bit more to go, just keep pushing…Come on, you’re almost there, just keep going…push…”
_________________________________________________________
Twilight scanned the forest, flying overhead looking for any sign of the last Changeling. She found nothing and frowned as she looked around but couldn’t find a trace of it anywhere she looked below.
“How hard is it to find one alone Changeling? Maybe I should go back to the girls and see if Rainbow or Applejack can help me track-“Twilight stopped as she heard something. Rocks falling, a crunching noise as the grains of dirt and rock crushed each other underweight. That’s when a lightbulb flickered over Twilight’s head.
“The Mountain, it must be trying to hide in the mountain cave!” She said, she smiled as she flew down to the mountain path, flying above the rocks to see footprints and marks left in the first, she was on the right track. She rocketed up the path, following it all the way until she stopped when she came across a very peculiar sight.
The Changeling slowly running up the mountain path, continued to keep his disguise, and looking like he was about to stop himself near the edge.
_________________________________________________________
Martin looked at the land below him. He stopped at a point on the path where he could overlook the forest, he wasn’t going to the top, and he had no plan to die today. He took deep breathes as he views the new world he was in.
Below him was the forest he had stayed in yesterday and the one he had run through today. He could barely see much of the ground below, just tree tops and more tree tops, but he could still see some of the smoke rising from the campfire.
After that, he saw what looked like a town. He could see a large apple farm, he could see cottages of straw and wood, he could see a town hall, he could see markets and shops, café’s and restaurants. A giant gingerbread house sat in the centre of town, a boutique of some kind sat just on the town outskirts. But the largest structure in town was the crystal castle. It almost seemed like an eyesore really, compared to the humble town before him this was a massive castle, with a tree-like structure, it seemed to be made of pure crystal, two double doors being its main entrance.
He looked even further and saw an even taller mountain in the distance, but no only that, it seemed as though a white castle had been built onto the mountain. It looked large and magnificent, sturdy even though it hung off the side of a mountain, a feat of engineering. Even further he swore he could see a lot of floating clouds, rainbows spewing from the clouds, like a city's rivers.
He now knew that he was on an alien planet, with alien ideas, alien culture, alien technology, with the aliens instead of being green had magic, wings and were coloured rainbow. No one here apart from the other five humans knew where he was from.
That wouldn’t stop him from using the last of his energy to pronounce it to this new world.
“I COME FROM A LAND DOWN UNDER!!!” He yelled out, arms in the air
“Where woman glow and men plunder!
Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder!?
You better run, you better take cover!”
Martin heard hooves touching the ground behind him turning around he came face to face with Twilight.
“Thank you ladies and gentlemen for listening, I’ll be here all…” Martin droned on until he fell face onto the floor, thankfully onto dirt as he passed out from exhaustion.
_________________________________________________________
“HAHAHAHAHA!”
“Why are you laughing so much?”
Vince wiped a tear away as he looked at the angry Rainbow Dash.
“You wouldn’t get it, it’s an inside joke,” Vince said, his laughter turned into chuckling.
“…Right, so how long til Twi shows up with that Martin fellow?” Applejack asked.
Right on cue, Twilight appeared in a flash of purple, along with a passed out Martin.
“Girls, and dragon, mission accomplished.” Twilight stated proudly.
“Martin!” Andrew, Edward and Arnold yelled as they saw the passed out friend.
“What did you do to him?” Richard asked, his tone noticeably changing from his calm voice to threatening.
“Nothing, he passed out after he yelled out those weird words,” Twilight said while she rolled Martin onto his back with her magic, wiping the dirt from his face before placing him down.
“I think it’s best if you just reveal yourselves now so we don’t have to do it in front of the Princesses,” Twilight said.
“Umm, okay, but I’ll need help taking off my pants,” Vince said.
“Not that type of reveal Vince,” Edward said, groaning at his friend's humour.
“What do you mean?” Arnold asked.
“Duh, you disguise, stupid.” Rainbow Dash said to Arnold.
“What disguise?” Andrew asked.
“The disguises ya got on right now.” Applejack said.
“We don’t have disguises,” Edward said.
“Dear, the ruse is over, you can stop pretending now.” Rarity said.
“Um, excuse me m-mister? C-c-could you p-please take off y-your disguise? T-that is i-if y-you want t-t-to.” Fluttershy said to Richard who looked at the pony sitting next to him.
“I would if I had one,” Richard answered.
“Alright, I see you’re not going to change willingly. So looks like I’ll just have to make an example of your friend here.” Twilight said as she walked over till her horn was above Martin’s head.
“Thanks to some help from Thorax and some experimentation, this spell with dissolve any Changeling disguise, matter how powerful it is. So you better just stop the facade now before I have to use force.” Twilight threaten the five conscious Changeling confused humans.
“Changeling?” Richard said with a raised eyebrow.
“What the hell is a Changeling?” Andrew asked.
“Isn’t that a fairy that swaps itself out with a child?” Edward also asked.
“Fine, I see how it is. If you still won’t give up, I’ll just take your friends disguise away.” Twilight said, horn glowing.
Everypony and everyone watched in anticipation and fear as Twilight glowing horn touched Martin’s forehead. Purple magic twitched through Martin’s body, revealing…Martin.
“What? Um…I must have done it wrong, hold on.” Twilight said as she cast the spell again. Once again, nothing happened but Martin twitching due to the magic.
“Okay, maybe if I try one more time?” Twilight said, her horn touching Martin’s head, equalling the same result as the last time. A sudden realisation was beginning to set on the ponies and dragon.
“Why didn’t it work!?” Twilight asked.
“We keep telling you, were not Changelings!” Andrew said. Twilight’s brain, unfortunately, unprepared for this scenario, was going into critical thinking mode, meaning she was about to freak out.
“But-but, those two were talking about Queen Chrysalis!” Twilight said, pointing to Martin and Edward.
“Who the hell is Chrysalis? We were talking about Queen Elizabeth II.” Edward said.
“What about the royal wedding he talked about? The one Chrysalis ruined between my brother and my foal sitter?” Twilight said again.
“We meant Prince William and Catherine Middleton,” Edward said again.
“Ah, ah! He also screamed he came from ‘the land down under’, he must be talking about the Changeling kingdom in the south, so-”
“Land Down Under means Australia.” Vince interrupted. Twilight’ jaw hung as she tried to come up with another response, but she just stammered letting out unknowledgeable noises before she sighed and walked away to think.
“What’s Australia?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“It’s where Martin's from,” Arnold said.
“Didn’t you guys hear the song?” Vince asked sarcastically.
“So you captured us based on something those two said?” Richard asked.
“No, Princess Celestia sent us a message about strange magic readings in the Everfree, she thought it might have been the Changelings that kidnapped us,” Spike explained as he pulled out the note, reading it out to the group while Twilight tried to recalibrate.
“I’m gonna guess and say that was caused by us arriving here,” Andrew said.
“Probably,” Vince said.
“So what exactly are y’all anyway?” Applejack asked.
“OH! Are you diamond dogs with no fur? Are you very tall monkeys? Are you Ponies that got bored of walking on four legs, fur and muzzles and decided to be different?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“We are called humans. My name is Edward, and could one of you please untie me?”
“Not yet,” Twilight said, turning back to the group.
“What do you mean ‘not yet’?” Andrew asked.
“First, we’ll bring you back to the castle, once your there, I’ll write a letter to Celestia and Luna, explaining the whole scenario. Then when they arrive, they can decide what action may be needed to protect Equestria.” Twilight explained.
“I assume Equestria is this country and this ‘Celestia’ and ‘Luna’ are your leaders?” Richard asked.
“Oh yes, but Twilight’s also a princess too. “ Fluttershy explained.
“I see.”
“Alright, may as well see this castle, if it means I can finally get out of this rope,” Vince said as he stood up.
As the humans and the ponies all got up, preparing to leave the forest once and for all, Twilight looked down at the passed out Martin, and a question popped into her mind.
“Who are you, and why are you here?”