Just Have Faith

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Chapter 1

The City. One of the most heavily government-monitored places on Earth. The media and Internet are heavily censored. Even phone calls are monitored. The buildings touched the clouds and hug one another closely. People went about their daily lives on the streets below.

None of that mattered to Faith Connors right now. All that mattered was getting to her friend and partner, Celeste, nicknamed Cel, and receive the package Cel had for her. Faith and Cel were runners. Runners saw the City in a different way. They saw the flow of the rooftops, the pathways between. Runners are paid to transport items and information without the government knowing. Faith ran along a rooftop, vaulting over some low pipes. Faith ran to the edge of the building, a taller building looming in front of her. Faith leapt over the gap, her momentum allowing her to reach the building's fire escape and climb up to the building's roof.

As Faith steadied herself to catch her breath, she heard Mercury, nicknamed Merc, over her earpiece. "Nice moves, Faith. Alright, Cel should be at your position with the package any minute now. Oh, and Faith? This package is particularly fragile; just make sure it doesn't see the light of day. I repeat, DON'T OPEN IT."

"Alright, thanks for the heads-up, Merc." Faith replied.

Faith, now a young woman, brushed her short, black hair out of her face, which spoke of an Asian ancestry. Faith wore her usual today; a black tank top, some white cargo jeans that complemented her slim figure, and some red sneakers and one red fingerless glove on her right hand.

After a few minutes of waiting, Faith called Cel on her earpiece and said "Cel, where the hell are you? I've been here for ten minutes!"

She heard over the radio "Sorry, Faith, but you heard Merc. I gotta go slow with this."

After two more minutes, Cel hauled herself up over the side of the building. Cel was about the same age as Faith, with blonde hair and a more European face. She wore a red tank top, black jeans, black sneakers, and black gloves. She walked over to Faith and slung a metal canister from her back.

"Here, Faith. Now, get going." Cel said as she handed the case to Faith and flipped off the edge of the roof.

As Faith was adjusting the case onto her back, some police officers, dubbed Blues by the runners, burst through the rooftop door and turned to face Faith. One of them yelled "There she is! Don't let her escape!" A guard ran up to Faith and took a swing at her with his baton, but Faith was quicker. Faith grabbed his wrist with her right hand, used her left to disarm him, then took the butt of the handle to his gut. The Blue doubled over in pain, allowing Faith to knee him in the face, knocking him out cold.

Faith ran away from the other Blues as they were drawing their pistols. Faith jumped and grabbed a steel cable connecting to a support on a lower, farther away building. As she sped down it like a zip line, the Blues were still shooting at her with less than stellar accuracy.

One bullet, however, managed to pierce the shell of Faith's package. The hole started to leak gas and sparks. Faith dropped onto the roof below and rolled behind cover.

As she was fumbling to take of the package, she frantically called Merc and said "Merc! One of the Blues shot the case! What do I do?"

"Faith, get out of there! RUN!" but it was too late. The package burst and released a blinding ball of light. When the light faded, all that was left was a mangled scrap of metal. There was no sign of Faith.

Chapter 2

Faith woke up with a headache worse than the morning after her 'loose sneaker incident'. She woke up, the events with the case slowly coming back to her. It was only when she managed to get up on one knee did it hit her. She couldn't hear any cars or helicopters.

Did I go deaf? Faith thought.

She lifted her hand and snapped her fingers. She heard it just fine. Faith decided to take some time to her observe her surroundings. For starters, Faith was no longer on a rooftop, but a stone tower. Upon standing up and turning around, she noted that the tower was, in fact, part of an entire Medieval-era castle. The walls of the castle were all adorned with banners depicting the sun. Faith then looked around more carefully, and saw a small city surrounding the castle, and said castle and town were built into the face of an enormous mountain.

What shocked Faith the most, however, were the town's inhabitants. Not people, but….. ponies. Colorful ponies that seemed to be talking and going around as if they were humans. There were some with horns, and objects appeared to float around a few of the horned ones. Other ones had wings, and a few winged ponies were hovering around the street instead of walking. Faith looked up, and saw a few winged ponies soaring around the sky.

The sun was setting, soon to give way to night. Then, faith noticed something odd. Some of the ponies that were white were also wearing golden armor, with helmets reminiscent of helmets used by the ancient Roman army. Faith was pretty sure that wherever she was, these were this place's equal to the Blues back home. Faith made a mental note to avoid them.

Faith saw a few armored ponies patrolling the walls of the castle. Faith decided that she needed someplace out of the open to compose herself and figure out where she is. Faith looked around and saw a balcony with a door on the opposite wall. Faith looked at the walls for ways to get over there, and then she got an idea. Faith leapt and grabbed a banner hanging from the wall, and ran across the wall with the banner as an anchor. She leapt to the next one and repeated the process a few more times until at the last banner, she let go at an angle, allowing her to slide across the balcony, kicking the door open as she went, then quickly getting up and shutting the door.

She looked around, and saw she was in a lavish bedroom, with a double-size bed, a large mirror with several sets of jewelry in front of it, and a chandelier made of a glowing crystal.

"Wooooooow" Faith breathed.

Suddenly, she heard out on the balcony "In here! I saw it go through this door!"

Faith heard another voice, a deeper one, say "Are you mad? That's the Princess's room! We can't go in there!"

Faith knew one of those guards must have spotted her. Quickly thinking, Faith ran over and opened the main bedroom door, then shut it loudly. She then slid under the bed.

In the darkness, she heard the first voice yell "It's gone into the rest of the castle! Warn the rest of the guards and sound the alarm!"

Faith wasn't sure what the alarm was, until she heard a deep, sonorous horn resonate across the castle.

After a few minutes of lying there, she heard hoof beats come into the room, and a deep male voice say "Don't worry, Princess. That thing will be found and apprehended immediately."

She then heard the voice of a woman. "I trust that you will do just that, Commander. Just be careful, we don't know what it is." Faith lay still, hoping she wasn't found.

Celestia's POV

The Princess was looking for a nice, quiet day in the castle. She had no meetings or public appearances to attend, no paperwork to sign. Just a day with a good book, a cup of tea, and perhaps some catching-up with her sister.

Not today.

Just as she was entering the library, the alarm horn was sounded, and two guards appeared at her side and ushered her through the halls to her room.

Commander Stonehoof bowed to her as she entered her bedroom and said "Don't worry, Princess. This thing will be found and apprehended immediately."

The Princess nodded her head and said "I trust that you will do just that, Commander. Just be careful, we don't know what it is."

The Princess thought that the guards had seen just a trick of the light, or a bird of some kind. The guards were always so jumpy. After the guards left, she closed her door and put a soundproof spell on the door. What she said next would need to stay to herself.

"Oh, dear, these guards are so jumpy. Why, they would jump at a rat, for crying out loud! Though, on the off chance the guard did see an unknown creature… Why, that would be the best and most wonderful-" Celestia stopped.

She heard something. A sound almost inaudible if you weren't listening for it. She heard a tiny buzzing sound, and an even tinier voice that sounded like it belonged to a mare. And it sounded scared. "Merc, come in, Merc! Merc? Merc!"

Faith's POV

As the door shut, Faith peered out and saw four large white hooves wearing gold ankle-high slippers. Faith crawled back to the middle of the bed and tried her earpiece.

"Merc! Come in, Merc! Respond!"

Merc responded. "Faith! Thank God you're okay! I can't find you on the radar. And if your earpiece is working… then that means you're not in the City anymore." He said gravely.

"What! That's not right! How can I just vanish of the face of the Earth?"

"I don't know, Faith. Faith? Faith, I- losi- signal, Faith. Don't wor-, Faith, I'll fi- thi-. Stay shar-, kid. And st- out of troub-"

Faith tried desperately on her earpiece, her voice franticly rising. "Merc, come in, Merc! Merc? Merc!"

Faith wasn't aware that someone had heard her. She felt a pressure on her legs, and had no time to react as she was dragged out from under the bed. She found herself face to muzzle with a large pony with a rainbow mane that was constantly flowing, despite the lack of any wind. The pony was wearing a crown, had both a horn and wings, and had the same picture of the sun on its flank as outside on the banners. It bent down and looked her in the eyes. The pony's eyes were filled with not hate, but curiosity and kindness, far from what Faith was expecting. Its voice was soft and caring as it said "Fear not, you are safe now."

Celestia's POV

"Fear not, you are safe now." While Celestia was saying these words, she was screaming like an excited filly on the inside.

EEEEEEE! The guard did see a creature, and here it is, in my room!

She took a breath to calm herself, and then attempted to lift the creature off the floor with her magic. At the touch of magic, however, the creature panicked and started flailing. A creature that fears magic? Celestia quickly moved the creature on to her bed, and got on the bed next to it.

Celestia nuzzled the creature lightly, and asked "Now, where did you come from?"

Then, the creature did something Celestia wasn't expecting. It spoke. "The City. And for the record, you are the first pony here that hasn't searched me out to capture me. So… Thanks, I guess."

Celestia was taken aback by the statement, but quickly regained composure and said "You are very welcome. Tell me, do you have a name? I am Princess Celestia." She said in a friendly tone.

The creature looked at her, a whirlwind of confusion and fear in her eyes, and said one word. "Faith."

The Princess smiled. "You have a beautiful name Faith."

The Princess came to a conclusion that Faith did not mean any harm. She was just looking for a way home. Celestia did have a few questions, and she was sure Faith did too, so she came up with an idea.

"Faith, I have an idea. We both have questions, and this will be the best way to get them answered. You get to ask me a question, then I get to ask you a question. Then you ask another question, and so on and so forth. Sound good?"

Faith nodded, and asked "Where are we?"

"We are in the land of Equestria. More specifically, we are in the city of Canterlot. Okay, my turn. Where are you from?"

"A planet called Earth. I lived in a city that a lot of people-"

"People?"

"Humans. That's what I am. A human. As I was saying, I lived in an enormous city that many people called New Eden. But I just call it the City. So, I assume the guards are going to be back soon. How will we explain me to them, or the rest of Equestria?"

"You will stay in one of the guest bedrooms tonight. Tomorrow, I am going to have my guards take you to a small town called Ponyville, where my student, Twilight Sparkle is staying. You will have a better time adjusting over there than here in Canterlot. I will explain your presence here to them. Oh, I forgot to ask, how exactly did you get in Equestria?"

Faith looked down and said "I'm not sure. I was carrying a case, and then it was punctured and it exploded. What the case had in it…? I don't know."

Celestia looked over, and saw Faith just staring into space. She walked over and nuzzled her. "Don't worry. You'll get back home, I promise."

Faith responded by hugging her new friend and stating simply "Thanks."

Faith's POV

As Faith walked out of the room, she heard Celestia say "If you need anything, talk to my sister Princess Luna next door."

Faith waved in acknowledgement, then walked down the hall to find a plain bedroom with a comfortable-looking bed. She closed the door and laid down, trying to get some sleep. She heard Celestia talking to other ponies. Faith was facing away from the door, but she heard it open a crack and she knew some guards were gaping at her.

She stated over her shoulder "You mind?" But a feminine voice spoke back, like Celestia's but younger. "Sorry, it's just…Wow."

Faith sat up, and looked at who entered. It was another alicorn, but this one was slightly smaller than Celestia, all dark violet and black, with a mane of stars, also constantly flowing. It had a picture of the moon on its flank.

Faith said "You must be Princess Luna."

"I see my sister has told you about us… I mean me. I hope you enjoy your time here."

The Princess turned to leave, but Faith called out. "Luna?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I just say one thing?"

"Yes?"

"The guards are idiots."

Luna chuckled and said "No kidding." She turned and left the room.

Chapter 3

Faith's POV

Faith woke up and got out of bed, ready to get to running more packages… Then she looked around, and saw she was still in the guest bedroom.

How is this not a dream? Faith thought. She looked out the window of the bedroom and saw that the sun was just beginning to rise.

Might as well check in on Celestia. Faith decided. But when Faith stepped into Celestia's room, she saw that the Princess was already awake. She was standing on her balcony, looking at the sunrise. But that wasn't the confusing part. The confusing part was that Celestia's horn was glowing, and she was concentrating.

"Uh… Princess," Faith began. "Is this a bad time?"

Celestia remained silent. Faith watched the sunrise; only this one was much, much faster than on Earth. Faith was amazed at how fast it had risen. Celestia broke her concentration, and turned to face Faith.

"There we are. What can I do for you, Faith?"

"Ummm… What… were you doing?" Faith asked uncertainly.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Raising the sun."

At this, Faith snickered, but when she looked at Celestia, she was still calm.

"You're serious…" Faith said.

"Yes," said the Princess. "I raise the sun every morning, and set it every evening. My sister, Princess Luna, raises the moon every time I set the sun, and vice versa. Why, don't they do the same thing on Earth?"

Faith stood there gaping. Finally she managed to utter "N-no, it just… Goes by itself."

The Princess tilted her said and asked "Can you elaborate, Faith?"

Faith walked over and sat down on the bed. "Well, uh, the Earth rotates on its own axis, our moon orbits the Earth, and the Earth orbits the sun. Only, the Earth's axis is tilted, so one side is not constantly exposed to the sun. That's really all I know."

Faith finished. Princess Celestia looked satisfied, and then said "I should probably tell you, Twilight Sparkle will want you to tell her EVERYTHING about you, your human race, and about Earth. She's very inquisitive."

Faith gave a cocky smile and said "She'll have to catch me first." When she said that, she felt a strange pressure lift her off the ground, only this time she felt all around her body and her vision was blurred by a white, sparkly mist.

"HOLYHELLWHATHEFU-"

Celestia put her hoof over Faith's mouth, and looked her in the eye, and very calmly and slowly stated "Faith, two things. One: Drop the language. Two: I am holding you up with my magic. I assume by your reaction there is no magic in your world?"

Faith nodded to confirm her assumption. "Okay, so, get used to this feeling, because magic is very commonplace in this world."

Faith nodded, and Celestia set her down. "So, when am I leaving for Ponyville?"

Celestia looked at her clock. "Right now, actually. Just take a left out of this room, take another left, and continue down the hall until you see a set of double doors. Go through them, and you'll be in the courtyard. The chariot should be waiting across the courtyard for you." Faith nodded and walked out of the room.

Faith turned left and continued down the hall. She decided to hum one of her favorite songs as she walked, Still Alive by Lisa Miskovsky. As she hummed, she didn't notice a white stallion walk into her. She stumbled, and looked to see the white stallion stare bug-eyed at her with disgust.

She crossed her arms and said "Can I help you?"

The stallion spoke "Ah! It talks! Guards, guards! Cage this vile beast!"

At this, Faith chuckled. "Don't bother. I'm under orders by Celestia to head to a chariot that's going to take me to Ponyville. If you have a problem with me being here, take it up with her."

The stallion looked furious. "That's Princess Celestia to you! And I am the one and only Prince Blueblood!" He stated placing a hoof on his chest.

Faith chuckled again and walked past, but not before throwing over her shoulder, "Never heard of you."

Blueblood was ready to snap. He charged at her, horn lowered. Faith anticipated this, and jumped on a wall, performing a wall run. When she reached the turn in the hall, she leapt off the wall, continuing to run without loss of momentum. Prince Blueblood had to slow down and turn in his charge. By the time he turned the corner, Faith had already burst through the doors to the courtyard. She saw the chariot waiting, and ran over to it.

One of the pegasi looked at her and said "You Faith?" Faith nodded, and leapt in. The pegasi reared up, and took off into the sky. Faith turned in her seat to see a steaming Prince Blueblood looking up at the chariot. She looked back and gave him a troll face impression before she went out of sight.

***

The chariot slowed and came to a stop in front of Ponyville town hall. Faith thanked the guards, and the chariot flew off. Faith looked around to see many ponies staring at her and giving her odd looks. She ignored them, and remembered what Celestia said. Faith needed to go to the library, built inside of a tree.

She saw the library down the street, and started to walk to the library. She stopped when she noticed a set of small boxes next to a store with a high up flagpole hanging out. Faith got an idea, and she grinned. She ran and used the boxes as a springboard, launching herself at the flagpole, and swinging off towards the library. She rolled with her fall and continued running up to the library. She stopped at the door, took a deep breath, and knocked. The door opened, and a small purple and green dragon opened the door.

"Hey, come on in… YAAH!" He yelled, slamming the door. Faith rolled her eyes and opened the door. She saw a lavender unicorn closing a book and talking to the baby dragon.

"Spike, there's no monster here to eat you."

"Bu-but, Twilight, its right outside the GAHHH!" Spike turned to see Faith standing beside the door, skimming a copy of The Unabridged Guide to Equestrian History. She looked up when Spike exclaimed to see both of them staring at her.

She turned to look at Spike and stated "If that's the only sound coming out of your mouth, then we are not going to have a good conversation. By the way, don't you know it's rude to slam a door in someone's face?"

Twilight spoke next. "Wow! I've never seen something like you before! What are you?"

"I'm a human. Name's Faith."

At this, Twilight started bouncing around like she was a filly again. "A human! They're not just a myth! They're real! Wohoo!"

Faith walked over to the couch and sat down to continue reading. Spike tentatively walked over to the couch and sat down as well.

"Hey, uh, Faith. Sorry about the whole 'monster' thing."

"It's okay, no hard feelings. Say, is she always like this?" Faith asked, watching Twilight bounce around the room.

"Not too often. Let me see what I can do." Spike said, getting up and grabbing Twilight by the tail before she bounced again. Twilight composed herself and walked over to Faith and held out a hoof.

"Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle."

Faith shook Twilight's hoof and stated "Faith Connors."

Twilight sat down and looked at Faith's book. "I see you like to learn." Faith nodded.

"Perhaps I should show you to my friends." Twilight offered.

Faith closed the book and said "Let's get some lunch first."

Chapter 4

Faith and Twilight walked out to Sweet Apple Acres, where Applejack was having trouble hauling a particularly large carriage full of apples. Faith went over and pushed from behind, allowing Applejack to pull the carriage into the barn, where she unhooked herself and turned to see Faith leaning against the door, catching her breath while Twilight was walking up.

Applejack trotted up to Faith and asked "Excuse me, but were ya'll the one who helped me pull that there cart?"

Faith looked over and said "Yeah, I'm Faith. Twilight brought me here."

Applejack smiled and grabbed Faith's hand with her hoof and shook vigorously. "Well, howdy do, Miss Faith. Any friend o' Twilight's is a friend o' mine. Ahm Applejack. "

Applejack let go, and Faith had to catch her arm from swinging any further. "Quite a grip you've got, Applejack. I guess it comes from working all day."

Applejack stated "Sure does. I work day and night to keep this farm in line, and nopony ever gonna make me do otherwise."

Twilight spoke up. "Applejack, we were hoping to join you for lunch. You are stopping for lunch, aren't you?"

Applejack's stomach rumbled. "All right, Twi. Let's go to the café. Sound good?"

Twilight nodded, and the three friends walked back to Ponyville.

When they reached the café, they sat down at an outside table. The waiter swung by, and gave Faith an odd look, before asking "What will you be having today?"

Twilight stated "A daisy burger and hay fries."

Applejack said "I'll have the same."

Faith did not find the idea of grilled daisies or fried hay appealing, so she said "Just a salad for me, thanks."

The waiter wrote down the orders and walked off to the kitchen. That's when a rainbow-colored blur flew by, then about-faced and stopped at the table.

"Say, who and what are you? Why are you wearing those sleek clothes? I mean, other than the fact that you're near hairless?" Rainbow asked consecutively.

"I'm Faith, I am a human, and I am wearing this kind of clothing because I am a Runner, and I need to have tight clothing so it doesn't get caught on anything." Faith answered.

All three ponies looked at Faith oddly. Twilight asked "What exactly do you do as a Runner?"

Faith answered "Where I come from, the government is very oppressive. They monitor all types of communication, so Runners get paid to transfer information and goods without the government knowing. Of course, if the police force catches us, Runners nickname them Blues, they open fire and try to capture us dead or alive."

Rainbow grinned and stated "So, Faith, you live dangerously? I like that. I think we are gonna get along fine."

Faith smiled back and continued "Of course, here in Ponyville, the buildings are too short, and thus other ponies would be in the way. Where I come from, the buildings are tall enough to touch the clouds, and not many people are up there. It is across those buildings I run."

The waiter showed up with their meals, and Faith grabbed a fork and began eating. The salad was very good, and all three finished their meals within a few minutes.

Rainbow Dash asked "Hey, Faith. Wanna race?" She pointed at the town square, bustling with ponies.

Faith shook her head. "I can't risk running into and hurting someone, sorry."

Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight. "What if you use her cloud walking spell on Faith?"

Twilight nodded, and began casting the spell. Faith felt the magic wrap around her, and then… Nothing.

Faith said "Okay, so how am I going to get up onto the clouds?"

Twilight said "We could use Pinkie's balloon. She wouldn't mind."

Everyone nodded. Twilight left the payment for the meal, and all four walked to Sugarcube Corner. Twilight knocked, and a pink pony answered the door.

"Hey, guys! Welcome to the *GASP*" Pinkie caught sight of Faith. "Hi, what's your name? I'm Pinkie Pie, and I know EVERYpony in Ponyville! But I don't know you! That means you're new, and- Oh my, gosh, I have to get it set up!"

Pinkie was about to run off, but Twilight stopped her and asked "Can we use your balloon?"

"Of course you can! Now, I gotta get it set up!" She zipped off, and Faith looked back at the three ponies.

"What's with her?" Faith asked. They all giggled, and Faith decided not to push. They went upstairs and climbed in the balloon, and once they were in the air, Rainbow Dash put together a cloud course for the race, a simple straight track with hurdles.

Faith got out and landed at the starting line. Rainbow Dash landed next to her, and got into a running position, as did Faith. Twilight raised her hoof, silently counted to three, and swung it down. The two runners bolted, and Dash was surprised at Faith's speed out of the starting line. Rainbow Dash leapt hurdles and kept momentum, but Faith vaulted them and actually gained momentum. Rainbow Dash inched ahead, but Faith was not giving up so easily.

She put on one final push, and with a couple of well-timed speed vaults, got a two-inch lead on Rainbow Dash. The finish line was coming up, and the two runners were neck and neck. Twilight moved into position to judge the winner, and with a keen eye, saw Faith's sneaker break the line a literal split second before Rainbow's nose. Both runners stopped and panted.

"And the winner is Faith by a foot!" Twilight announced.

Rainbow looked up and stuttered "W-what? I lost?" She seemed to almost lose it right there, but she composed herself and walked over to Faith. "Nice job." She said with a smile.

"You're fast. I haven't had a good run like that in a while." She stated with a happy, tired smile. Faith put her hand on her