Humans in Equestria

Humans in Equestria

Chapter 3

Intruder

“It's really nice here. I wish we had a place this tidy and big back home. If we did, I might actually move back in with my family.”, Petra chuckled.

“You are welcome to stay at the palace for as long as you want. You are royalty here after all.”, Luna responded, as she levitated several books onto the shelves in the room.

“I don't know... Zeo and I get along pretty well, but our old man? I guess it depends on either or nor he decides to get his own place. If I had to guess, he wants to have an eye on Zeo, now that he knows that his son plays an important role here.”, her sister in law sighed.

“Oh? What do you mean by that?”

Petra put the clothes she was unpacking onto the bed, and turned to Luna who was helping her to settle in.

“It's just... Back home Zeo has barely ever accomplished anything. Not that he is dumb or something, cause he's not, but he used to be pretty lazy sometimes. Especially when our father tried to force something on him. Now that he has an important position, he might decide that he wants to make sure Zeo does not “embarrass the whole family.”, she explained, sitting down on the marvelous four poster that had been provided to her.

“Embarrass... No.. Surely not. Zeo may have had his escapades in the past, but those lie over a thousand years in the past by now.”, Luna said, a little angry at the thought someone would think of her husband as an embarrassment. Petra began to chuckle again.

“You know... I still can't believe that my “little” brother is now supposed to be so much older then me. But I am glad that he has finally found a purpose in life. I guess... you are the right wom... ehm mare for him.”

Luna blushed a bit and waved her hoof dismissively.

“Ah come on. He's sweet, and he has helped me during a time in which I needed a friend. But I must say... he does have quite the temper... Is that normal for humans? I mean, your fathers reaction when he first saw me was not really a reason to hope.”, Luna asked, sitting down on the bed next to her sister in law.

“No, not really, but it does run in the family. We all have short tempers when it comes to certain things. Zeo is usually ticked off by anything regarding his family or friends, our father climbs the walls when we do anything he does not deem normal and I myself can't stand if people are impolite. Grandfather... I don't know what it is that he reacts to, but I have heard stories. He used to be a miner you know, and after that he ran his own Bar. There is this one story, where he threw all his customers out by himself, because one of them had started a brawl.”, Petra explained, tapping her chin with her left index finger.

“Sounds dangerous....”, Luna half joked. She had seen Zeo and Celestia go at it, and she sure as Pie never wanted to see something like that happen ever again.

“Oh don't worry! We are usually a very tame bunch. Zeo in particular. He's... what would you call it... Ah! He's as tame as a kitten, even when he is angry, compared to the rest of us.”, Petra laughed.

This statement did not reassure Luna, and Petra saw it in her eyes. Immediately she tried to take a verbal step backwards.

“No, no, no. Don't get wrong. It's usually just shouting matches if someone of us gets really into it. That our father actually took a swing at Zeo surprises me though.... He hasn't done that in years. Probably because Zeo is bigger then him now. He know that there is a good chance he would loose, if my brother decided to fight back.”

Luna thought for a moment, before speaking again.

“You know... that doesn't sound anything like the Zeo I know. I know him as a kind and gentle person. The only times he got really mad was, when I was targeted by rebels.”

“Yeah, he told me all about that. I still can't believe he actually killed another intelligent being.... But it was to be expected, if I am honest. Did he tell you that he once broke a guys arm, and sent another to the hospital because one of them slapped me?”, she asked, looking Luna directly in the eye.

“No... he never mentioned it...”, the Princess of the Night said, looking a little confused.

“Well, we were out for a drink. I didn't want to go along you see, so I took Zeo with me. When he was in the bathroom, these two guys approached me and....”, Petra started to tell the tale, how she had seen her brother loose his cool for the very first time....

*~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~*

Celestia, Silk and Zeo sat on one of Canterlot castles many balconies. While Celestia and Zeo were enjoying the sun, and a light conversation, Silk was trying to figure out her homework. Ever since she had gotten her cutiemark, she was attending medical school to gain more knowledge on the subject. Some parts however, did not come to her as easily as other.

“Daaaaaad.... I don't get it.... Why can't I just use my regeneration spell and be done with it?”, she whined for the millionth time. Zeo sighed once again, turning to face her.

“Dear, it is important that you know as much as you can about a subject. Your regeneration spell is a wonderful gift, and I would do almost anything to be able to use it myself, but it is no wonder weapon against illnesses. You can heal ALMOST anything with it, that's true, but what about those things that you can't? Poisoning, for example, can not be healed by it, because there is nothing to regenerate. Do you get what I mean? What if your little brother or sister eats a poisonous plant, and needs medical attention immediately? What then? Will you bring him or her all the way to the hospital wing, because you are unable to perform a detoxification charm? I think not. If you need any motivation, then think of me. I am over a thousand years old, and I can also heal almost any injury or illness. Yet I do everything to deepen my knowledge on the subject, in case I encounter an illness one day, that I don't know yet. If you miss the knowledge, you might miss what you need to save a patient. Do you understand?”, Zeo explained, again.

Silk nodded, rolling her eyes at her fathers lengthy speech.

“Can I at least go to that show later? Diamond Shine has already bought the tickets....”, she asked, hoping her father would let her off the hook. Giving him her best puppy eyes stare, she waited for an answer. When Zeo finally turned away to face Celestia again, he sighed and waved a hand.

“OK, young Lady, you are dismissed for today. But if you are in later then ten tonight, I'll have the Nightguard look for you, do I make myself perfectly clear?”

“But Daaaad! I'm over a thousand years old!”, Silk protested.

“I think your father is right, Silk my dear.”, the Princess of the sun interjected.

“You may be over a thousand years old, but your living experience is almost non-existent. He just wants your best Silk.”, she added, throwing her niece a smile. When Zeo didn't see it, she added a wink, that told her that she should let Celestia worry about her father.

*~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~*

The twentieth floor of Canterlot castle was deserted. The only Ponies that came here, were the maids, to keep in everything nice and tidy, and the guards, to make sure no intruder was hiding in the guest rooms.

Suddenly the thin layer of dust that had gathered on the white marble floor, began to clear in one place. It swirled upwards like a miniature Tornado, until it had reached roughly the size of an average sized human. On that point it split apart as if invisible hands were parting it like a curtain. Immediately, the hallway started to fill up with dark, black smoke that smelled like hot metal. A wave of heat followed, giving the impression that the palace was actually on fire.

A foot, that wore a black leather boot, stepped out of the newly formed portal. It was soon followed by another one. Attached to those, were two beautiful legs which belonged to an equally attractive woman. The ash and sud that covered her from head to toe, did nothing to hide her features. Her Ponytails, that reached all the way to the floor, drew tracks into the ash and dust that was now covering the white marble floor as she came through.

On a belt around her shoulders, she wore several strange looking items. One a tube that looked like a pipe with a sharks mouth on one end. Another a cylinder from which several smaller pipes stood out.

The woman stretched lazily, as if she had just gotten up from a particularly good nap, and looked around. After confirming that she was indeed where she had intended to go, the portal closed behind her.

“You.... will.... pay... for.... your.... crimes..... bitch....”, a robotic voice croaked, and the woman began to laugh as she took something from her belt, that looked eerily like a human head.

“Oh... you are such a sore looser Franky.”, she giggled, before giving the metal head a kiss on the forehead.

“The... core... will... destroy.... you.... one... day...”, the artificial head added, the slid that was where a mouth should have flashing red with each word.

“Oh? I don't think so. Newsflash Franky, your “source” is nothing but a pile on metal now. The next guy to visit your world will make a fortune with scrap metal, that much I can assure you.”, the woman chimed like a little girl.

“My.... Production....number.... is F.....R....8...7...23...A, not.... Franky....”, the head croaked indigently.

“Ah shush. Your name is Franky. I say so, so it is so!”, the woman waved a hand dismissively, before reattaching the head to her belt.

Franky had been the very first of those Robots that she had destroyed. After finding out that she could power his head with her magic, she had decided to keep him as a souvenir. After all, she did feel lonely sometimes, and talking to him was always so much fun! The woman knew that he was just DYING to make her laugh. DYING to make her smile. That was why she liked him so much after all.

For a moment, she had forgotten what she had wanted to do and put a finger on her chin, tapping it lightly as she looked around.

“Mhmmm... Why did I come here again? Oh! Yes! To have fun of course!”, she laughed manically as she started to bounce down the hallway, like a little kid on it's way to the toy store.

*~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~*

“.... and then he said.....”, Petra said, but was interrupted by a ruckus outside of her room. It sounded eerily like gunshots to her, which made her flinch involuntarily. Luna also perked up, sensing that something was amiss.

“What... what's going on out there?”, Petra asked no one in particular, as she heard a scream of pain, followed by more gunshots.

“I don't know. I have never heard anything like it, especially inside of Canterlot castle. You stay here, while I go and check it out.”, Luna replied, making her way to the door. Petra sprang from her bed to block her way.

“Luna, that sounds like gunshots! If that's true, then it's dangerous out there. Think of your foal.”

“I am capable of defending myself. I'm an Alicorn, remember? There shouldn't be any other being, short of another Alicorn, Discord or your brother that could pose a real threat to me.”, Luna said, gently pushing Petra away from the door.

“You stay in here. If anything unforeseen happens, use that device of yours to alert Zeo.”, she added before stepping out into the hallway, and closing the door firmly behind herself.

Almost instantly, another loud booming sound echoed through the hallway, as something struck her left flank. It was painful, but did not draw any blood. As Luna looked up, she saw a woman standing in a circle of corpses. Only the shredded armor on them made her identify them as royal guards. The white marble of the floor was nowhere to be seen, since it was covered with a thick layer of red.

“Interesting!”, the blue haired woman giggled manically.

“Who are you, and what is your business here?”, Luna demanded, not interested in the slightest in what was interesting to this murderer.

“That you are not bleeding. I just hit your ass with a bullet and it just dissipated. Looks like you will be a much more durable toy then these guys.”, the maniac said, winking at her and waving her weapon around to indicate the dead guards.

“LET'S PLAY!”, she added, before Luna had any time to say anything more. Instead the Princess quickly evaded the charging woman. She could see that it was a human woman, but something about her seemed to be off. Just as she wanted to analyze what this could be, she was distracted by flying shards of marble. The floor where she had stood just seconds ago, was gone. Luna could see all the way into the hallway below this one, through the hole the womans fist had created.

“Oh, I see we will have soooo much fun!”, the woman laughed, while charging her again.

*~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~*

Petra wanted to follow her sister in law into the hallway, as she heard th dull thud of Luna being shoved against the door, but decided against it. Luna had been right. Yes, she was pregnant, but she was still an Alicorn. Any foe that would be a danger to her, would be able to tear her apart in an instant. Petra listened for a moment, with her ear at the door. She could hear loud noises, but no further gunshots. What was unsettling however was, that she could hear Luna galloping around the room frantically. Not being an experienced fighter, she was still able to guess what was happening from the footsteps she heard. Luna was obviously fighting a bipedal creature, and was running away from it.

As soon as this realization hit her, Petra grabbed her Tablet and connected it to the Intranet that her father had set up. It took a moment for the small device to establish a connection, but finally she had a way to reach her brother. She opened the “Vicinity” App on it, selected her brothers Cellphone, that was also logged in, and hit the call button. She just hoped that he had not forgotten it somewhere again....

*~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~*

Zeo was checking his daughters homework, when his cellphone began to ring. Startled by the sound, he almost fell over with his chair. It hadn't rung in over a thousand years! Then he remembered the little WiFi his father had set up a few days before. With an APP the family members were now able to communicate with each other, as long as they were in it's range. Looking at the screen of his phone, he started to get a little puzzled.

“Unknown number? How can THAT be? There are only three Cellphones here in Equestria, for gods sake!”, he murmured as he picked up the call.

“Zeo?”, his sisters voice sounded panicked, and he could hear shouting in the background.

“Nah, here is the pope, so what is it I can do for you my child?”, he answered jokingly.

“Stop goofing around, and get your sorry ass up here! I don't know what's going on but....”,the connection broke off with a thunderous boom, and his sister screaming in fear. Almost simultaneously, debris started to rain down from the higher floors of the tower. Zeo cast a shield spell to protect himself from the chunks of stone, as he looked up. His blood began to freeze in his veins, as he saw a dark blue figure plummeting to the ground. It was not moving, and was falling with it's legs upwards. Dropping the shield, Zeo ignored Celestia, who was coming out onto the balcony again to check what had happened. Enveloping himself in a pale blue light, Zeo cast two blasting spells, that exploded right under his feet. The small explosions incinerated his daughters homework, and threw the table off of the balcony.

He didn't care for any of that right now. Instead he triggered four more of them, to gain even more speed. With a tremendous effort, Zeo managed to catch his wife in his outstretched arms, even though he had a hard time holding her. She was much heavier then him after all, and he had to use his magic to keep himself in the air, so he could not levitate her. As if on cue, Silk Light appeared out of a nearby cloud, looking utterly shocked.

“What in Equestria....”, she stuttered upon seeing her unconscious mother. There were some smaller cuts on her body, and one of her legs seemed to be broken, but she seemed to be fine otherwise.

“I don't know, but I am eager to find out!”, he growled, placing Luna gently on Silks back, before adding, “You go and bring her to the hospital wing, I will check out whatever did this to her.”

Nodding, Silk Light dashed off, careful not to loose her mother. She didn't want to use her regeneration spell on her mother either, since such high level magic might have harmed the foal. Just then did she understand her fathers words from before. If she were to rely solely on her regeneration spell, she would be utterly helpless in a situation like this....

Zeo on his part, used another spell to dash towards the hole in the tower. It was exactly where his sisters bedroom should be, which was one more cause for concern for him. He wondered what might have happened, but his train of derailed when he reached the hole.

There stood a woman, in skimpy clothes, with blue hair and something that resembled a Minigun in her right hand. In her left, she held his obviously unconscious sister by her throat. The business end of the Minigun pressed into Petras stomach. Without thinking, Zeo cast another eruption spell, propelling himself forwards just in time to knock his sister out of the way, as the woman pulled the trigger.

For a moment the blue haired woman looked perplexed. Her left hand opened and closed, as if she was sure that something should be there. Then, she looked around to look at Zeo. Her expression was indignant, like a child that has one of it's toys taken away.

“Hey!”, she pouted. “I was about to have a little fun with her!”

“Not with my sister, you bitch! Who are you, and why did you attack my wife and sister?”, Zeo growled, while placing Petra on the ground gently.

“Bitch? Who do you think you call a bitch? I don't see any doggies here.”, the woman said, looking around excitedly, as if she was expecting a puppy to come around the corner at any moment. Zeo was shocked by her antics. The destruction she had caused, and the fact that she had taken out Luna without being seriously hurt herself, spoke of an immense power. Her behavior however, was that of a child that wanted to play.

Thinking about this, had been a mistake. He had left his guard down for a second, and before he knew it, the woman had slithered over the ground like a snake, only to wrap herself around him. It was then that he realized that this was no ordinary human woman.

“Awww... No doggies here, but I think I've found something else to play with for a while. If your good, I might even stop before you die. What do you say?”, the maniac whispered in his ear in what seemed to be an attempt to sound seductive.

“What the hell?”, Zeo croaked. He had a hard time breathing, since that womans hold on him was quite strong.

“Oh, you know what I mean. I haven't met a human man in centuries. I can make it worth your time, so what do you say?”, she added, caressing one of his cheeks with her left hand.

“I think....”, Zeo replied, and the woman leaned in closer. “.... THAT YOU ARE FUCKING NUTS!”, he added, head-butting her as hard as he could. The shock caused her to loosen his grip on him long enough to escape his predicament. Tumbling to the floor, she lost her weapon and looked up at him with anger in her eyes.

“You don't know what you are missing.”, she pouted again.

“Oh, excuse me if I am not too interested in sleeping with a woman who almost killed my wife and sister!”, Zeo retorted.

“Awww... you're no fun! Let's see how long you last.”, she spat a bit of blood, before attacking Zeo in close combat.

*~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~*

Celestia had followed her niece to the hospital wing, to check if her sister was alright. To her relief, Luna was not seriously injured. Aside from the bruises and cuts on her body, the only had two broken ribs. Nothing that a bit of rest couldn't heal. Now that this matter was off her chest, she had to take action against whoever had caused this.

“GUARDS!”, she shouted, and in an instant several Unicorn and Pegasus guards heeded her call.

“You highness.”, they said in unison, bowing before her.

“Princess Luna has been attacked, and Prince Zeomak is investigating the scene in the humans tower of the castle. The culprit may still be there. Go and see if he needs any assistance. I want the Pony that has done this in chains before me, and I want it five minutes ago!”, she ordered them fiercely. They nodded and dashed off.

*~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~*

Zeo dodged several blows from this mad woman, who had somehow infiltrated the palace and attacked his family. She was skilled, that much he had to admit. It had been ages since he had fought another human, and her attacks were so fast that he had no time to concentrate on a spell either.

Then his back hit a wall, and he suddenly knew that there would be no way to run anymore. The tiny fist of the woman came rushing towards his face, when something amazing happened. He remembered how his father had insisted on teaching him some basic techniques, that he remembered from his martial arts classes. Clumsily, since he had not done it in centuries, Zeo grabbed the hand that was about to strike him down, smashed his other hand against the shoulder of the attached arm, and twisted his body around like a Ballerina. As a result he used his attackers momentum to throw her to the ground. The expression on her face was one of utter surprise. She had obviously never encountered someone who could put up a fight.

“You... are fun after all.”, she grinned, while Zeo let himself fall to one knee, burring it in her stomach. Instead of the groan of pain that he had expected however, the woman grinned.

“Too bad that it's over already.”, she grinned, and Zeo suddenly realized his mistake. Something round and cold pressed against his right shoulder. It was the Minigun....

Even though he was on top of her, Zeo knew that he was at a disadvantage. He had never bothered to learn how to teleport properly, so he could not get away fast enough to evade a speeding bullet. He sighed, knowing that he had most likely forfeited his life. Would Celestia be able to defeat this woman with her guards at her side? Would Luna and Silk be OK? What about the new foal that was growing inside of his wife? Had this woman eventually killed his unborn child?

Zeo closed his eyes, as the woman beneath him pulled the trigger.....