Rune Factory: Friendship is Magic

Chapter 3

Welcome to Ponyville

Part 2

After the meeting with Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres, Hope and her guides continued to walk down the path that lead toward the edge of the Everfree Forest. They passed two hills before they came across a grove at the end.

"Here it is, Hope. Your new home." Twilight spoke.

Hope took a few steps forward and caught a surprised breath.

The barn and the house were carved within the bases of two of the thickest trees she had seen ever since she arrived in Equestria. There was a large field in front of the two trees and next to the field was Soren, who was catching forty winks in the sun. As she looked at the house-tree, she was reminded of her hometown of Sharance and the Sharance Tree. But instead of a stairway that would lead to the upper part of the tree, walls of the house were visible, even though it was surrounded by the tree's roots.

"It's absolutely charming!" Hope exclaimed.

Twilight chuckled as Spike decided to look around the farm.

"Really? I thought it looked a little modest."

Hope smiled at Twilight as she headed toward the house.

"Well I'm happy to tell you that you were wrong."

Twilight chuckled as the fun/explorer side of the Earthmate as she followed her to the house.

Once at the door, Twilight handed Hope a silver key with the handle in the shape of a heart. Eager to see inside, Hope inserted the key into the lock and turned it, granting the Earthmate and the pony admittance to the home.

Upon passing the threshold, they could see the inside of the house. Like the outside, the inside was carved from the giant tree, with the den at the entrance, followed by a bathroom, kitchen and dining room. To the left of the house was a set of stairs that lead to the upper floors. It was empty because Hope had to go into town to get furniture, but there were no signs of dust or cobwebs, letting Hope know that it was cared for before her arrival.

After climbing the stairs, Hope was now on the second floor of the house, which held the bedroom. Like with the rest of the house, it was empty until Hope removed her bags from her back and set them on the floor.

"Good thing I brought a sleeping bag." She spoke.

Twilight spoke up.

"Well, we can find a bed when we go into town. Come to think of it, we'll have to get you some groceries, too."

Her stomach growling at the sound of groceries, Hope blushed as she giggled at the sound, joined by Twilight.

"Well, come on. I'll take you someplace to eat before we can begin the tour."

"Thank you." Hope thanked Twilight as the two left the cottage, the latter telling Spike to head home, and headed into the direction of Ponyville.

They had to walk a ways to get to their destination, but when they got there, Hope saw that it was a charming town of ponies of various kinds.

But her anxieties return as they enter the town. Upon seeing the Earthmate, the streets of ponies parted for them like the Red Sea, staring and whispering. Seeing that the attention was making Hope nervous, Twilight spoke.

"Come on, everyone. This is the Earthmate that Princess Celestia told us about. There's no need to make her feel so unwelcome."

The ponies remained cautious as they went about their business, unsure what to think of the girl as she and Twilight made their way through the town.

Just then, an unbalanced scream caught Hope's ears.

"Whoa! Look out!"

Hope was quick to react and jumped out of the way just in time as a speeding rainbow managed to pull up at the spot where Hope originally stood. Hope then looked up to see the rainbow slowly coming to a stop, revealing, to Hope's surprise, a light blue Pegasus with a rainbow main and tail. She had a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt on her flank.

Twilight immediately recognized the pony and scolded at her.

"Rainbow Dash! What were you thinking? You could've hurt somepony!"

The Pegasus, Rainbow Dash, hovered down until she touched ground.

"Sorry about that, Twilight. I was practicing some new awesome moves when I went out of control. Thankfully, I didn't hit that pony that jumped out of the way just now."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at her as Hope helplessly stood still.

"Rainbow Dash, that wasn't a pony you nearly hit."

Rainbow Dash tilted her head in confusion.

"Huh? It wasn't?"

"No. It was the Earthmate I told you about. You know, the one who can take care of this monster crisis?"

Hearing that this 'legendary' Earthmate was here, Rainbow Dash looked around quickly to find them, but found no one. Just a strange creature standing idly by.

"Huh? Where?" Rainbow asked.

Shaking her head, Twilight spoke as she pointed a hoof to Hope.

"Rainbow, she's the Earthmate. Her name's Hope."

Raising an eyebrow with suspicion, Rainbow Dash flew around Hope, examining her. Hope nerves were going haywire until Rainbow Dash spoke.

"Hmm. You don't look like you can handle those monsters. Are you sure you're the answer."

Feeling she was insulted, Hope narrowed her eyes and placed her hands on her hips.

"I'll have you know that I am more than capable of handling a few monsters. My papa had trained me to fight since I was little. I can prove it if you like."

Twilight was startled by Hope's protest, but Rainbow Dash grinned and chuckled.

"Ha-ha! You got spunk, kid. But~ let's see what you got."

Before Twilight could tell Rainbow to stop, the fast Pegasus charged at Hope, only to miss as Hope moved to the right with a sideways turn. Rainbow Dash hovered to a sudden stop as she tried to charge Hope again. The Earthmate once again moved with a sideways turn to the left. She ducked and jumped when Rainbow tried to go after her feet and head before Hope grabbed a rope from nearby and used it as a lasso to tie up Rainbow Dash's wings and another to have at her hooves.

Rainbow blinked a few times before she realized what happened.

"Hey! What the-? How did you-?"

Hope smiled at the flummoxed pony athlete.

"Told you. I wouldn't have come to this world if I didn't know how to fight."

Twilight was shocked. She had never seen Hope in combat before. She was worried that this would affect Hope's current status negatively, but became even more stunned as Rainbow Dash began to laugh.

"Ha-Ha! That was awesome! You're alright, Hope. Now, can you untie me?"

Hope smiled as she freed Rainbow Dash from the ropes she tied her up with. Once she was free, Rainbow shook herself to relax her muscles. Once done, she hovered in the air.

"I'll be looking forward for a few matches, kid."

Hope smiled on as Rainbow Dash flew off.

She then blushed as she noticed that Twilight was staring at her.

"Uh…Sorry about that."

Twilight shook her head to straighten her thoughts and spoke.

"I-It's alright. It's just that I never expected that you the fighter, what with you being so shy and all."

Hope scratched her head as she chuckled sheepishly.

"He-he. Well, I've only been here for an hour. Surely you knew that there would be a few surprises."

That sentence made Twilight laugh at herself. She did know that there must be more to Hope than meets the eye. She just wasn't expecting the girl to be such a combatant. "You're right. But anyway, let's continue the tour. I'm pretty sure Rarity will be surprised at a new customer." Hope walked with Twilight, raising an eyebrow. "Rarity?"

Twilight answered her.

"Oh. She's the town's fashionista and a great seamstress. She's volunteered to make you new clothes as soon as she gets your measurements."

This interested Hope. She wasn't much of a girly-girl, but she did like new clothing. And she wondered what this Rarity made. She found out once she entered a unique-looking shop in the outer ring of the town.

Inside were the loveliest dresses Hope had ever seen. All of them were clearly created for the ponies of Ponyville, but each one was of a different beautiful design in various colors. Some of them even had actual gemstones embroided on them, giving them a glistening shine. Hope was marveled at this and wondered what kind of clothing this Rarity was going to make for her.

Twilight lead Hope to a room on an upper level of the shop which, after seeing the various fabrics and other material in it, was the sewing room. And working with a piece of pink fabric on a sewing machine was a pretty grey-white unicorn with a curly violet main and tail. Her mark on her flank was an image of three diamonds. She was also wearing red-rimmed glasses as she concentrated on her work.

The lavender alicorn cleared her throat, getting the grey-white unicorn's attention, though it wasn't shown as she still had her eyes on the fabric in front of her.

"Yes?" "Rarity. It's me. Twilight. I've brought the Earthmate here like you asked."

Hearing that the Earthmate was in her shop, Rarity stopped her sewing and removed her glasses from her sapphire eyes.

"Oh! My apologies, you two. I've been so busy with an important order I need to fill before the end of tomorrow. But I can stop for a few minutes to—oh! My heavens!"

Hope flinched at Rarity's reaction to seeing a non-pony in her shop. But she was soon surprised at what the alicorn said next.

"My dear. What happened to you? Forgive me, but you look like you were in quite a scuffle."

Hope blinked a few times in confusion before looking down at her outfit and realized what Rarity was talking about. Her challenge with Rainbow Dash had gotten her and her cloths dirty and she was a mess. She didn't even want to know what her blond hair looked like.

Embarrassed, Hope smiled sheepishly as she answered the unicorn.

"He-he. Sorry about my appearance. I was in a spar with a pony named Rainbow Dash a few minutes ago."

As Hope left the room to brush herself off, Twilight explained to Rarity about what had been happening since Hope arrived in Equestria. By the time Hope finished dusting herself, Twilight had finished the tale. Rarity approached Hope with somewhat of a motherly look.

"My word. You've really had quite the day, Hope. Let me take your measurements and draw out your body sculpture and as soon as I am finished with my order, I will get to work on your new wardrobe immediately."

Shaking her hands in defense, Hope spoke as Rarity used her magic to levitate a measuring tape to take her measurements.

"N-no, Rarity. I don't want to keep you from your work."

But Rarity just smiled as she gave a good-natured scoff.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, darling. I've already got two-thirds of the order done. Besides. I did promise to provide you with new clothing for all occasions and I intend on keeping that promise."

Once Rarity had taken Hope's measurements and drew out her body structure for a new mannequin, the Earthmate was free and left with Twilight.

"Well. That was interesting."

Twilight understood Hope's confusion and chuckled.

"That's Rarity for you. Always the generous one. I, for one, can't wait to see what she's going to make. You've probably gave her a project she was looking for so long."

Now Hope was really interested in Rarity's future creations.

The entire day was spent touring around Ponyville and introducing Hope to each pony. By the end of the day, Hope and Twilight were exhausted. But there was one pony Twilight was unable to show. A certain hyperactive pink pony. But knowing her, Twilight knew that she would be at Hope's farm with her greetings ready to go.

"That should be just about everyone. Let's head back to your farm."

It was then that Twilight thought of something of interest. Turning to Hope, Twilight asked her question.

"That reminds me. What are you going to call your farm?"

It was an easy question for Hope. She had the name picked out long before she met Princess Luna.

"I'm thinking of calling it 'Blossom Farm.' What do you think?"

Twilight smiled as she answered.

"I think it's a great name. That area is known to having some of the most beautiful flowers in Ponyville during the springtime."

Hope smiled at Twilight's approval of her farm's name as they entered the farmland, the time being dusk.

What they didn't expect was the place becoming crowded with most of the citizens of Ponyville and the area all decked out for a party. Chinese lanterns were hung from the tree to the barn and along the outer trees and some posts, there were various tables with foods that Hope had never seen before with one table filled with little bags of party favors. There was a banner that said 'Welcome to Ponyville' in pink glitter with glittery blue curls around the words.

Hope was absolutely speechless as a pink pony with a wild and curly mane and tail 'bounce' towards her and Twilight. She had three balloons on her flank.

"Twilight! You made it! After I heard about the Earthmate's arrival, I decided to throw a party to greet her!" The pink pony spoke rapidly.

She then took Hope's hand and shook it faster than Applejack's hoofshake.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Pinkie Pie. Welcome to Equestria and to Ponyville! Hey! Do you like sweets? I like—"

Twilight placed a hoof over Pinkie Pie's mouth to stop her from talking.

"Breathe, Pinkie Pie, breathe."

As Pinkie Pie calmed down, Twilight introduced her and Hope to each other. As soon as Pinkie Pie left to tend to the party, Hope looked to Twilight.

"I take it that her specialty is partying?"

Twilight chuckled sheepishly, confirming Hope's question as they joined the party.

As the party went on, Hope couldn't help but feel extremely welcomed as she chatted with the ponies and checked on Soren, who was sleeping in his monster hut. She learned more about the other ponies and hung out with her neighbors. She learned from Spike that the dragons here eat gemstones instead of meat, like what she was used to. She also found out that Spike had a crush on Rarity, which Hope thought was cute.

But suddenly, she felt a familiar tingling sensation within her nose. Her eyes widen with fear.

"Oh no! Not now!"

Knowing what was going to happen, Hope started to creep away to the woods behind the tree. But Twilight and her five friends saw this and began to worry.

"What's with the kid?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Maybe she's super happy about the party that she needed a cry." Pinkie Pie inquired.

But the other knew that something wasn't right.

"Come on. Let's see what's up." Twilight spoke.

They just entered the woods when they saw Hope sneeze.

"Ah-achoo!"

Just then there was a flash of gold light and when the light dimmed, a golden colored Wooly with multi-colored feathers amongst the wool, two blue rose barrettes in her wool at the top of her head, and wearing a smaller version of Hope's outfit took the Earthmate's place. The Wooly wiggled its nose in response to the sneeze.

"I hope no one's noticed I've crept away." The Wooly muttered in Hope's voice.

But when she looked up, the Wooly saw the Mane Six gawking at her.

Twilight was the first to speak.

"Hope. Y-you're—"

But she was cut off by Pinkie Pie, who squealed with delight.

"Ohmygosh! Hope's turned into a cute little golden sheep! Isn't she just cute?!"

Though cautious, Rarity agreed.

"I must say. That golden wool looks absolutely stunning. And those feathers. Gorgeous."

Hope blinked in confusion as Rarity examined her feathers and wool. It was Applejack who asked the question.

"Hope? What are you?"

Gulping down her nerves, Hoped looked down and answered them.

"W-well, you see…I'm…half-monster."

It was the Six's turn to blink in confusion.

"Half-monster? How can someone be half-monster?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Hope answered her.

"Well. The thing… My papa and my mama were both half-monsters. Papa is where I got my Wooly looks. The feathers belonged to my Mama, who was a phoenix-type half-monster."

Fluttershy noticed the word pattern the half-monster Earthmate spoke.

"Was? Is your mother no longer half-monster?"

Hope shook her head sadly.

"No. She…she passed away when I was little."

The words stung the six like a million bees. Fluttershy apologized greatly, but Hope raised her paw to stop her.

"It's ok. It happened a long time ago."

"But why didn't you tell us that you were half-monster? Do the princesses know?"

Hope shrugged her shoulders at that answer.

"I'm not sure. But I do have a reason for why I didn't say anything."

The six listened in.

"With what I've heard about what's been going on here, I felt that everyone would be too frightened of me if I had revealed my monster-half. So I decided to wait until everyone got to know me a little more before I showed this form. But…there's one problem."

"Problem?" Twilight asked.

The Wooly/Phoenix nodded.

"I don't have full control of my transformation abilities yet, so every time I sneeze, I lose the control I have and 'poof', instant monster. That's why I came out here. I felt that I was going to sneeze and I didn't want to do it in front of every pony at the party. I was just going to sneeze, transform back, and return to the party. I didn't expect any of you to follow me. Please don't be scared."

It was then that Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy both gave Hope a tight bear hug, surprising the half-monster.

"Aww. Why would we be scared of someone as cute as you?" Said Fluttershy.

"And who cares if you're part monster. That just makes you ten times cooler!"

Rarity spoke up as well, still eyeing the wool and the feathers.

"I agree. And your wool and feathers have given me many new fashion ideas. I couldn't thank you enough, darling."

Rainbow Dash gave a smirk as she hovered over the group.

"Well I agree with Pinkie that it makes you cool. Not as cool as me, but cool."

"And don't you worry about me. I'm purdy much ok with this." Applejack spoke.

Seeing how her friends had changed since the Zecora incident, Twilight couldn't help but smile at her friends.

"And we'll keep this a secret until you're ready to tell, Hope."

Hope couldn't help but happily smile as her new friends accepted her despite one major flaw. And so, Hope returned to her human form and returned to the party with her friends.

This was going to be great.