Anon's Herd

Chapters

The Arrival (Final Edit)
A Most Unwelcome Guest (Final Edit)
Journey of the Past (Final Edit)

The Arrival (Final Edit)

CHAPTER I

THE ARRIVAL

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“Spike! I know what I’m doing here! You don’t have to lecture me on the implications of summoning something in the castle throne room!” Twilight Sparkle slammed the crystal floor putting her proverbial ‘hoof’ down. Spike sulked and backed away from the humming circle on the floor. The sound coming from it made him nervous, who knew what was going to happen! Even though he knew Twilight could handle almost any spell.

“I’m sorry Twilight! You’ve never tried to summon anything like this before, and I was just concerned that you might not know what you… were… doing?” As the words left Spike’s mouth he knew it was a bad idea to question the Alicorn’s capabilities when weaving the magical arts.

“You think I can’t handle this!? Spike, it’s me! Twilight Sparkle the Element of Magic and Princess of Friendship! Besides, I have to try this spell I found in that book that appeared with the castle. I looked over everything and the calculations are flawless. Plus, it’s the safest spell in the book. A simple summoning spell should be easy peasy.” Twilight increased her magical output causing the circle to pulsate quicker and the hum to grow louder. Soon it began pulsing so fast it was as if it were a solid color. The blue glow suddenly flashed as bright as Celestia’s sun causing the occupants of the room to shield their eyes. Twilight teleported herself behind her throne taking Spike along. Maybe she over did it she thought, and maybe she wanted to avoid direct contact with the light as well as the spell. A loud squeal emitted from the circle causing Spike to scream at the top of his lungs.

“Twilight!!! What did you do!?” Spike’s voice seemed so far away to Twilight and yet they were in each other’s embrace.

“Hold on Spike! It should be almost over!!!” Twilight lied. She didn’t know if it was almost over, but was hoping herself. As if by her command the light dipped in intensity and the squeal returned to a humming noise. Once it passed the room sounded with a dull hum. Spike picked at his ear fins trying to clear the invisible obstruction from them. Twilight lifted her hooves from her own ears and listened for anything out of the ordinary.

“Well, you managed to make us deaf, but I don’t think that was your intent was it?” Spike sat down on the floor noting that it was slightly warm to the touch.

“Very funny, but no I don’t think it was supposed to do that Spike.” Twilight shook her head at the smart mouthed dragon and stood up. The ground was warm to the touch to her as well. “Interesting, the heat from that spell warmed the whole room! I will have to make a… note… about… this?” She trailed off as she beheld the area where the spell circle was. Spike sat up to see why she was so shocked.

“Twilight, What is it? Did you destroy the throne… room… again?” In the center of the table that Twilight inscribed the summoning circle, a cloud of smoke was warped around a figure. It stood up startling the pony and dragon slightly. It was fairly tall and it stood on two legs that were long compared to the rest of its torso. It heaved a deep breath filling it’s lungs with smoke holding for a moment before exhaling through its nose. That made Twilight a little nervous but Spike was enthralled as if it were one of his kin. “Cool.”

The being snapped its head at the sudden noise making Twilight and Spike cower at its piercing eyes. They had an unnatural green glow reminding them of dark magic or perhaps Timber wolves. Twilight was about to grab Spike and run when the creature turned completely facing them freezing her in her tracks. Fight or flight was racing through her head as she started calculating the possibilities of the situation.

“Hello?” A baritone voice called out. Twilight pushed Spike behind her and made a ‘be quiet’ motion with her hoof. The smoke was too thick for the creature to see them she thought. “Hello, is somebody there!?” It started moving towards them obviously seeing or sensing them much to her chagrin. “Where am I? I was just… wait what was I doing? Either way, I saw this big flash of light and…” Twilight had to think fast, what should she do? Answer the thing? It knew her language, but it was possible it was reading her mind to lure her into a false sense of security just like those old Alien comics Spike had lying around the castle! Then it would strike and eat her and Spike! The pure unadulterated horror!

“Oh my Celestia, I sound like those flower girls in town.” Twilight slapped a hoof against her face in disgust at her childish behavior.

“Who’s there!?” Twilight clapped her hooves over her mouth again realizing she said that out loud. Slowly turning she came face to face with the creature looking down at her. He towered over intimidatingly eyeballing her. Maybe he really was going to eat her? “Huh, I thought I heard someone over here. I guess I was wrong.” The creature moved past her towards the door looking around at the castle décor. Wait, she thought. I can’t let him escape outside to terrorize Ponyville! Also, did he ignore me on purpose? Could he not see me? It was time to find out.

“Um, excuse me?” Twilight slowly moved towards the imposing creature debating if she really was as smart as she thought she was.

“Now I know I heard someone! Show yourself!!!” The sudden scream shook Twilight to her core and she stopped her pursuit of the creature. He loomed closer stomping as he approached, she started to lower herself to the ground. The creature looked down at her and noticed she was afraid of him. “I’m sorry little horse; I didn’t mean to scare you. Someone here is playing with me and I don’t appreciate it!” It was screaming at the ceiling as if somepony was up there. So strange, it seemed like it couldn’t see her until just… wait did he just call her a HORSE!?

“WAIT! I am not a horse! I’m a pony you, you… whatever you are!” Twilight bumped the being in the leg drawing its attention. She glowered at it intensely as it blinked dumbfounded at her. The creature leaned in closer getting within inches of Twilights face studying her features. It was horribly uncomfortable for her and she leaned back. Twilight went to say something to it but was interrupted.

“This is crazy but, did you just talk tiny horse?”

“I said, I’m a pony! P-O-N-Y, PONY!” Twilight slammed her hoof down for emphasize.

“A talking pony huh?” The creature leaned back and scratched its chin thoughtfully. “A TALKING PONY!?” Screaming at the top of its lungs it moved surprisingly quick backing away from her. Twilight put out a hoof to stop its momentum before the creature slammed against Fluttershy’s throne falling backwards and tumbled down over to where Spike was standing with a thud.

“Um, hi there?” Spike spoke quietly hoping the creature wouldn’t find him threatening. It sat up staring at him with saucer sized eyes.

“Talking lizards as well? There are talking ponies and lizards here…”

“Um, I’m a dragon actually.” Its eyes rolled up and it fell over onto the Harmony Map table smashing it and promptly passed out. “Twilight? What in Tartarus is that thing?” Twilight shook her head. She approached the ‘thing’ that had been brought through her summoning spell making sure it was actually unconscious.

“I’m not sure and don’t use that language Spike! I’m going to have to tell Rainbow Dash to stop speaking like that around you. Oh Celestia, It broke the Harmony Map! How am I going to fix that!?” The creature snored bringing her attention back to it. What was she going to do with it? Something told her she was going to have to restrain it. That way it didn’t escape or freak out again.

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A few hours later there was a slam at the front door to the castle as Twilight’s friends arrived for their weekly get together. The 5 ponies had been going about their daily lives before heading to the castle. Applejack had finished her chores at the farm. Rainbow Dash got her work with the weather team done quickly for once. Rarity put the finishing touches on her new spring line of mare ware. Finally, Fluttershy was in town helping Pinkie Pie baby sit the Cake twins. The group chatted as they walked in to the throne room stopping in their tracks noticing the scorch marks all over the place and the broken prized Harmony Map table. The ponies began to panic hoping nothing had happened to Twilight and Spike and began calling out to them.

“Do you think they’re okay?” Fluttershy meekly asked. Just the thought stirred their worry even more and the shouting began again.

“Twi’! Con sarn’it where are yah!?” Applejack looked at the broken table. Something bad must have happened for sure. Twilight would never have done this willingly. It meant too much to the lot of them, it was their work after all.

“Oh my, this room is in shambles! If we knew they were all right I would begin refurnishing immediately!” Rarity huffed as she scuffed at a particularly dark scorch mark.

“You would prissy pony…” Rainbow flew up to the memory tree to make sure it wasn’t completely destroyed. Thankfully it seemed the ground took most of the impact.

“Wowee! It looks like a party that was totally out of control whipped through here!” Pinkie was just slack jawed at all the broken furniture and other various damage.

“Girls!? I’m in my lab downstairs girls!” Twilight yelled out to them as they ran down stairs to her private laboratory. The 5 ponies in their haste all slammed into the room getting stuck together between the door frames. “Oh! Hello girls, are you okay?” Twilight made a small snicker at the pile of ponies in her doorway.

“Twilight darling, we saw all the damage in the throne room! Is everything all right dear!?” Rarity popped out between Rainbow Dash and Applejack dusting herself off, pushing her mane back into its quaffed perfection. Spike got little hearts over his head as he beheld her.

“Everything is fine; I had a bit of trouble with a spell that caused the damage but Spike and I are alright. I needed to handle something before cleaning upstairs. Sorry if we worried you. How was your day girls?” Twilight helped pull the mares apart and sat back down sweating a little.

“Typical snooze fest of a day, are you sure you’re okay? You sure are sweating a lot Twilight.” Rainbow cocked her head at her crossing her arms. “Did you just get done working out or something?”

“No! No, no, I was cleaning up after myself down here and you five just walked in on me and my work that’s all!” Twilight tapped her hooves together nervously at the questioning.

“Darling you look as if something is making you nervous, are you sure there isn’t something you’re not telling us?” She placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder in a comforting manner.

“It’s okay Twilight. You don’t have to tell us, um if you don’t want to that is.” Fluttershy fiddled with her hair as she looked away.

“If’n yah don’t mind mah asking, what’s in tha’ extrah room thar’ Twi?” Applejack pointed at what she thought was a window to another room but was actually a two way mirror behind Twilight, noticing the lights were out in the other room.
Twilight sighed and moved out of the way so the girls could see. Flicking the lights on the creature lay upon a table strapped down. It tried to shift causing all of them to recoil in fright. It was something none of them had ever seen before. Rarity shivered at the sight putting a hoof over her forehead before fainting onto her drama couch. Applejack put her hoof up to her hat placing it over her chest. Rainbow Dash just gave a disgusted face. Pinkie Pie just looked at it confused. Fluttershy just stared at the new creature.

“Sake’s alive, what in tarnation is that Twi!?” Applejack placed her hat back onto her head trotting forward a little apprehensively. “I ain’t ne’er seen anything like it.”

“Did you make some kinda Frankenstallion Egghead? I knew you’d dabble in creating life once you read the new Daring Do.” Dash giggled as she pointed and laughed at the thing.

“No I didn’t make it Rainbow! To be honest I’m not sure where it came from! I was using a summoning spell I found in an old tome and it was only supposed to bring something small to my location! Instead this... thing showed up and went a little crazy when it saw me. I tried to stop it, but it ended up fainting so I brought it in here. I’ve strapped it down so it doesn’t go crazy like it did last time! Also, do you really think I’d do that Rainb-”

She didn’t get an answer as its eyes began to flutter open taking in the sudden light. It was too bright out to be morning it thought. Shifting around it couldn’t move its arms or legs. That wasn’t right, moving around some more it found it couldn’t move anything but its head. Looking around it was still waking up so it couldn’t see quite right. A few shadows danced around slowly coming into focus. 6 multi-colored ponies stood in front of it through a window with varied looks on their faces. One smiled and waved a hoof in its direction. Another was on a couch of some sorts making a small racket. The one it had seen before was looking sternly in its direction. The orange one looked confused as if it was working a test question out. There was one flying!? Finally the yellow one’s eyes were as big as saucers staring through its soul.

“Okay, why can’t I move?” One question at a time it figured.

“I can’t have you freaking out and breaking things like you did last time. You could hurt yourself or others, as a Princess I can’t let you do that. So you are strapped to that table for safety reasons, ours and your own.” Looking at the creature it nodded and set its head back down. It looked a little sad and huffed.

“Huh, so there are talking horses wherever this is? I don’t like being confined; it’s a bit of a phobia of mine. So can you let me out of here?” Twilight shook her head and sighed.

“I can’t let you go just yet, you are an unknown variable and there is too much I don’t know about you. Also, we’re PONIES; you’ll have to learn that. I’m going to ask you a few questions before I decide if you can be released or what to do with you okay?” It nodded slightly, fidgeting from the uncomfortable straps. “Again I am sorry about this.” Twilight felt bad that she had to tie it down especially since she knew now that it had a phobia of it.

“Just make it quick please.” He asked, Twilight nodded and produced a list from thin air. “How… How did you just do that? Making the paper appear I mean?” The creature was fascinated by the use of magic, she giggled at that but continued.

“I’m asking the questions here, it was just a little magic after all. Now, where are you from and how do you know our language?” The creature looked confused but shook its head clear of the information so that it could answer the question.

“Just a little magic it says… I’m from… uh, well. I guess Earth is the best way to put it since this obviously isn’t my home.”

“You’re from the ground? What the buck?” Rainbow Dash did a little flip looking annoyed.

“You sounded unsure there. You don’t know?” Twilight prodded the quill she had floating into her teeth focused on the creature’s answers.

“It’s strange, I can’t remember where on Earth I’m from but I know that much at least. Earth is the name of the planet I’m from.” Twilights eyes lit up at the information she’d received.

“You’re from a different planet!? Fascinating! I thought I was summoning something from Equestria, not another planet entirely!” Twilight giggled incessantly like a school filly enjoying the new information that she could share with all of Equestria. “This is going to require more questioning but for now we’ll move on. Now, how do you know our language?”

“I’m speaking English.”

“English? Ponykind call it Equis, a dialect of it but no matter.” She marked something on the paper she had and cleared her throat. “Next question, what are you? I mean, what species are you?”

“Equis? That’s different but, um, species? I’m a human and my sex is male.” There was a small giggle from one of the other mares but he wasn’t sure who it was. The purple pony marked something else down and looked him in the eye.

“Hugh-man? That’s a funny word! Also, he said ‘sex’!” Pinkie giggled bouncing in a circle around Twilight as she glared at her childishness.

“You don’t know what a human is?” The creature asked looking puzzled.

“We don’t have anything that looks like you here and can you calm down Pinkie!? Now, what is your name? Do you have one?”

“My name is… I’m… give me a second. I… I… I don’t remember.” He frowned looking off to nothing in particular. “I can’t remember my name!”

“Oh no, you poor thing!” Fluttershy jumped up and put her hooves against the glass. “It’s okay, if you can’t remember, I could give you a name if that would make you feel better!?” He looked at her confused and shook his head.

“No it’s okay, I may not remember but I can see a name in my head. Not sure why but it’s in there. Anonymous, you can call me Anonymous.” Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth gasping a little.

“Anonymous!? But that means your nopony! You’re not a nopony mister, everypony has a proper name! We can’t call you something so sad!” Fluttershy slid down the window in despair.

“Don’t worry about that, if it makes you uncomfortable you can call me Anon for short. It doesn’t sound as bad does it?” Fluttershy thought about it a moment then smiled and nodded. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he couldn’t stand to see her upset. Thankfully he could appease her easily enough.

“Well I guess that works, Anon it is then!” Twilight wrote it down on her paper. “I guess we can tell you where you are now. This place is called Equestria, and you are currently in the town of Ponyville. This is my castle, it’s new but it’s home sweet home you know?” She smiled broadly proud of her home. Anon looked around as much as he could considering his mobility was hindered. It was made of stone, or something else? He wasn’t sure. Lots of books on the shelves behind them, the purple one liked to read obviously.

“Nice place I guess. Can’t really see much in this room you got me in. We have castles too; none of them are made out of this material though.” Anon lays his head back down and sighs. “I can remember things like that but not who I am or where I am from? This is confusing…” He closed his eyes and the ponies all looked at each other with similar faces of sadness.

“What was the last thing you remember before you showed up here?” Twilight put quill back to parchment.

“Well, I don’t know that either. Whatever it was, it was something routine? Food or work, something like that? I remember a sudden flash of light and feeling like my whole body was on fire. My clothes disappeared and then a tingling sensation crawled down my spine, and here I am.” Twilight cringed when she heard the description of his arrival through her spell. The girls looked on in sympathy and Applejack rubbed her back soothingly. It was so much better having them here, she didn’t know if she could have done this without them. Friends made life so much more.

“Let me introduce you to my friends. This is Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and I am Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship.” Pointing to each of the ponies Anon makes mental notes of them for the future. Applejack is an orange coated mare with long blonde hair tied at the ends with red ribbons. She also wears a Cowboy hat it seems. Rainbow Dash is the flying pony. A Pegasus in real life huh? A cyan coat with rainbow hair. Gee, Anon wonders where she got her name… Pinkie Pie was pink, like ALL pink! Also an obvious choice for the name, do these ponies have any originality in naming their children? Rarity is white coated with purple hair done up in a fashionable manner. Obviously Rarity is a very girly pony. Fluttershy was yellow coated with long pink hair. She seems very concerned with his wellbeing which is a nice change of pace since he came to this strange magical talking pony world. Twilight with purple coat and mane, a few highlights running through her hair. She said she was a Princess, and of friendship? How can you be a princess of a relationship between others?

“How did I get here Twilight, you seem like a smart pony, do you happen to know? You were in the room with me when I arrived after all.” Anonymous questioned.

“Thank you for the compliment.” Twilight blushed a little before continuing. “Yes I can explain that to you. I summoned you here, accidentally through a spell. I was simply trying to summon an object or small creature from somewhere in Equestria. I’m not sure how it happened, but I managed to bring you through the portal instead. I will look into that but for now it seems you must remain here for the time being until I can figure out how to send you back. I’m very sorry about all this…” Twilight focused her magic and removed the straps from Anon’s body. Fluttershy lets out an interesting sound and flies behind Twilight in a panic. Getting up Anon took in his surroundings now that he wasn’t confined.

“I put some blankets on you so you would be warm in that cold room. I noticed you don’t have much fur or hair on your body, is that something that all humans have in common?” Anon wrapped the blankets around his body hurriedly realizing Twilight had seen him naked. Now securely wrapped only his face was exposed.

“Yes, we don’t have fur we have hair. Head, chest, back, arms, legs and… *ahem* privates. Some have more and some have less.” Looking around, Anon notes how small the ponies are compared to him.

“Is everything all right darling? You look flushed.” Rarity approached the mirror looking him up and down fully enveloped in his blanket cocoon.

“Um, well, I am naked under these blankets in front of a bunch of magical talking ponies. So I’m feeling a little exposed.” The others giggled at Anonymous’ shyness. Rarity on the other hand felt his plight.

“Hush all of you! Can’t you see he would prefer to be clothed? I for one like a fashion forward stallion.” Rarity gave Anonymous a flirty wink. “I will whip something up for you until I can give you a proper ensemble befitting my skills. We’ll need your measurements for all of this of course.” She sat down beaming a smile back to Anon.

“Thank you Rarity, that’s very generous of you.” Rarity waved Anon’s kind words off as she started thinking of all the new fashions she would be creating.

“Well now that your clothing problem has been solved let’s move on. The reason you’re still in the room is I can’t have you wandering around town. I hate to say this of ponies but they aren’t the most welcoming to new creatures. They have to get to know you before they’ll accept you.” Twilight set her quill and parchment down and looked back at Anon. “I have one more question, you seemed curious of my magic. Do you have magic in your world?”

“No. We know of it, but only from old fictional stories. It doesn’t exist in our world.” The girls were beyond shocked. Twilight looked the worst for wear; magic was her element and practically her reason for being.

“That… That’s impossible, magic is everywhere! It’s what everything is and isn’t, the driving force for love and friendship and... I can’t… I…” She sat down rubbing her head. It was too much to take in. No magic! How did they function!

“How do you fly in your world!?” Dash slammed against the glass startling Anon.

“Humans can’t fly themselves; we use planes to do that instead.” Dash wilted and sat next to Twilight lost in thought.

“What’s a plane Nonny?” Pinkie tilted her head in confusion looking very much like a dog.

“It’s a vehicle we made that transports humans around our planet quickly. We fly that way because our world is so big. There are people that need to get around quickly and go to places that are around the world within 24 hours.” Twilight perked up at that.

“24 Hours? How big is your planet?”

“I think it’s about 24,000 something miles? …Another weird fact I know?” Twilight gaped at him.

“24,000 miles and you can fly around it in 24 hours!? That’s not possible!” Dash was brought out of her stupor now.

“Well, when a plane reaches cruising altitude which is about 35,000 feet a passenger flight goes about 575 mph and WHY DO I KNOW THESE THINGS!?”

“Five… Five hundred… Not possible. That’s IMPOSSIBLE!” Rainbow Dash was beside herself. “I can’t accept that! The fastest pony ever only went 200 mph! There is no way some, machine went faster!” She slammed her hooves down on a table.

“Well that’s only a passenger jet. The fastest vehicle we ever made was a space shuttle that went 24,000 mph.” The room went silent. Nopony moved save for their mouths grasping at nothing. Anon just stared at the little ponies as they tried to make sense of what they were just told. Rainbow Dash trotted up the stairs and walked out of the lab slamming the door. Twilight looked at the human dumbfounded still.

“Are you even real? You’re not lying are you!? Aj!?” Twilight grabbed Applejack by the withers and shook her a tad bit too hard. “Tell me he’s lying!”

“N-no, he ain’t Twi. I cahn’t believe it either, but he ain’t lying t’all.” Applejack is the element of honesty and wouldn’t lie; she could tell if ponies lied as well if she tried. Twilight sat back down and just stared into space. It was too much to handle, no magic, technology that allowed flight beyond anything anypony ever thought possible.

“Okay, I am going to say that’s enough for now. I don’t think our minds can take all this at once. I’m going to let Rarity in to get your measurements for the clothing she’ll make. Does anypony wish to join her in watching over Anon?” Twilight opened the door to Anon’s room after he backed up.

“I would like to go in Twilight, if Rarity doesn’t mind that is?” Fluttershy surprisingly raised a hoof.

“If you’re sure darling, I don’t mind in the slightest.” Rarity and Fluttershy walked in together.
Twilight placed her quill and parchment down on the lab table to look over later and walked towards the stairs with Pinkie, Applejack and Spike. “When you’re finished with all that we will see about getting you something to eat, in the meantime we’ll all be waiting upstairs.”
Rarity stood in front of Anon looking him up and down. “Alright darling, please stand over here and remove those blankets so I can take the appropriate measurements.” Rarity floated over some measuring tape and a checklist to begin as Anon stood firmly grasping his coverings. “You must remove those for me to do this Anonymous. It’s the only way, do not worry though, I have done this for many clients. It’s all professional here.” She smiled brightly up at Anon as he fidgeted. A crimson blush across his face indicated that this was more than uncomfortable for him. Rarity waited patiently as he looked at Fluttershy with puppy dog eyes.

“She is the best tailor and dress maker in all of Equestria Anon, it’ll be okay.” Fluttershy made a go on gesture with her two front hooves. Anon sighed and nodded knowing that if he wanted to get something to wear he would have to grin and bear it. Slowly he let the blankets fall to the floor and crossed his arms in embarrassment.
Rarity was writing something down while he ‘disrobed’ and noticed the blankets fall in front of her. A gasp came from the chair Fluttershy was in catching her attention.

“Would you like to go see the others while I am busy Fluttershy? This won’t take long.” Fluttershy’s mouth was slightly open in surprise and her gaze was fixated in Anonymous’ direction. “Are you alright Flutters-” Rarity had turned to Anonymous to see what had put Fluttershy in a trance, but found herself in one as well. Anon was fully naked on the pedestal waiting for Rarity to take his measurements. His body wasn’t something that Rarity or Fluttershy had ever seen before; his muscles were well defined. His skin was smooth and mostly hairless save for a few patches here and there. Rarity’s blush grew as she noticed his genitals were out for them to see. No sheath? Funny, they hadn’t thought about all this when they were speaking to him through the two-way mirror.

“Hey Rarity, I um, don’t want to sound rude but I don’t want to stand here naked all day.” Anon had snapped Rarity back into reality, clearing her throat she started taking the required information for her outfit. She didn’t look directly at him most of the time finding it embarrassing to do so. As quickly as she could, she finished up and placed her paper and tape on the table next to Fluttershy.

“Okay! You can put the blankets back on Anonymous!” Rarity refused to look at him until he grabbed the blankets back up. Once he had she looked back to Fluttershy to see she was still in the same state she was a few minutes ago. Tapping her in the withers Fluttershy squeaked and sprang in the air. “Sorry dear, I just wanted to tell you to take Anonymous back to the others while I work.” Fluttershy floated back down to the ground and coughed a little bit.

“Okay Rarity, sorry I got lost in thought… I think.” She looked down at the ground ashamed of her own feelings. She trotted up to Anon and guided him out of the room towards the dining hall where Twilight and the others were.

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The ponies were gathered around a dining table conversing on the new arrival to Ponyville. Twilight had sent Spike off to make some sandwiches and tea for them while she explained, but failed, in detail what her spell had done.

“If it worked correctly, I would have brought something around the size of an apple or maybe a watermelon from our world to here in the castle. This was just something else completely, I can’t explain why this happened. I know I conducted the spell as it was written down, it should have worked fine.” She tapped her hoof to her chin in thought as the others listened intently.
Fluttershy and Anonymous walked into the room bringing all attention to them. Fluttershy squeaked and backed behind Anon’s legs trying to make herself unnoticeable. Applejack chuckled and shook her head at the behavior; no one could understand why she still acted this way even around them. Anon approached the group looking at Twilight, he felt confused on how to speak to them. Twilight was a princess, and where he was from, you bowed and only addressed them as such. The others, he couldn’t find a relation to anything in his limited memory. It seemed a little easier for them at least.

“Hello again everyone.” He looked over at Twilight and bowed slightly not sure if it was appropriate. “Princess Twilight.” Twilight cocked her head in confusion at him, he must have been wrong then he thought.

“Anonymous, I’m not your Princess. You don’t have to address me as such. No need to bow either, I’m not uptight like some upper class ponies. I’m just like anypony else here.” He nodded understanding her wishes. “What did you mean, ‘everyone’ though?”

“What do you mean?” He was a bit confused as to her question. “I was simply saying hello to you as a group.”

“Think he’s trying tah say ‘everypony’ Twi’.” Applejack gave a knowing look to Anon. “Sounds ‘bout tha’ same… almost.”

“Ah, I guess that would make sense since he is from another planet. Why would your people say, ‘everyONE’ when meaning more than one though?” Twilight placed her hooves under her chin to use as a brace in deep thought.
Anon scratched his head thinking for a moment about her question. “Not sure really, I guess it is a little weird huh?” Anon looked around the table with a confused expression, Twilight noticed this rather quickly.

“Are you looking for something Anonymous? Maybe I can help?”

“Yeah, can you tell me where the chairs are at? I would like to sit down if we are going to eat and chat here.”

“Oh, we don’t have chairs at this table, we sit on cushions while eating. Let me get one for you.” A raspberry colored glow enveloped a large cushion from under the table. It floated over to Anon and settled at his feet next to the table. “There you go, or would you prefer a chair? I don’t know if I have one big enough for you though.”

“No it’s okay, I think this will be fine since you’re probably right. I’m a might bit bigger than you all.” Twilight nodded continuing her lecture to the four ponies that were next to her.

“Lunch is served!” Spike walked out from the swinging doors to the kitchen with a cart full of sandwiches and tea cups. After placing them all around to the occupants he noticed Rarity was missing from the group. “Hey, where’s Rarity at Twilight?”

Twilight lifted the tea kettle and began pouring for all the girls and Anonymous. “She’s still making an outfit for Anonymous before joining us. She shouldn’t be too long.” She placed the kettle down on the cart as she finished. “You can join her in the other room if you want?”

“Oh, okay Twilight; if you need anything just give me a holler!” Spike had little hearts of crystal over his head as he dashed off in search of Rarity.

“Has quite the crush on Rare doesn’t he?” Anon thumbed towards the door Spike left from.

“Just a little, you can pick that up easily huh?” Twilight smiled a sad look on her face.

“How old is the little guy, if you don’t mind me asking?” Anon took a sip of his tea after blowing on it.

“Almost 14 years old. He’s had feelings for her since he was 10. We don’t have the heart to tell him it more than likely won’t happen, so keep it to yourself please?” Anon nodded and made a zipper movement over his mouth.

“So…” Anon sighed as he set his empty tea cup down.

“So…” Twilight did the same.

“Awkward!” Pinkie shoved her muzzle back into her cup after the announcement nobody intended to make. It was difficult to speak to another species, let alone a being from another planet. The small gist of it was taken care of, but now the hard questions were left in the open for everyon… everypony to think about or ask. Where to start?

“What kind of sandwich is this?” Anon broke the silence first.

“Um, daffodil I think?” Twilight looked to the girls for help and they nodded. “Yes, daffodil.”

“I can’t eat this, I don’t eat flowers.” Anon pushed the plate that contained the sandwich away from him lightly so as not to offend.

“Oh my, we didn’t think to ask you what your species eats. That was unbecoming of us, what does your kind eat Anonymous?” Fluttershy placed a hoof on Anon’s arm trying to be comforting.

“Well, we are omnivorous, so we can eat almost anything. We just don’t eat flowers.” Anon pulled the flowers off and began munching on the bread slices.

Fluttershy pulled her hoof away quickly and slid closer to the others. Rainbow cocked an eyebrow at her. “What’s wrong Shy?”

“Yah jumped quickerin’ a jackrabbit spottin’ a fox!” Applejack petted the mares back as she cowered into the touch.

“You don’t know what an Omnivore is do you?” She said to the confused girls. Everypony but Twilight shook their heads in the negative. “It means he eats vegetables and… Meat.”

For a moment the room was still and quiet other than Anon’s chewing. The girls all looked at one another before scooting towards Twilight. Anon finished his bread and yawned loudly. His canines were visible for them to see, and all of them shuddered at the sight. After a light stretch, Anon looked at the cowering group and raised a brow.

“You girls okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Twilight composed herself and pushed the girls away.

“We didn’t realize you were a predator Anonymous. It was a bit shocking is all.” Anon blinked a few times looking at each of the ponies as they nodded.

“Oh? Oh! Well I don’t eat anything that talks or at least is sentient if that helps?” Pinkie Pie sat up and bounced towards Anon.

“You won’t eat us then?” she asked.

“No, I don’t think I could ever look at animals the same way ever again after meeting all of you.” The tension lifted in the room a little as Fluttershy scooched back over to her original spot.

“Well, eating me a little wouldn’t be bad…” Pinkie trotted back to her spot muttering.

“I deal with all sorts of animals at my cottage; I have a bear there that eats fish. Can you eat fish Anonymous?” Fluttershy asked.

He nodded affirmatively at her. “I have been known to partake of the aqua buffet, though I prefer a nice juicy steak to it any day.” Twilight coughed bringing all eyes on her.

“I believe we can accommodate your diet without much problem. However, I don’t think we can help in the steak department.” The mares all agreed to that sentiment as well.

“I take it from your tone bovines talk here as well?” Twilight nodded at Anon.

“Damn…”

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Rarity had finished the crude garment for Anon; it was not her best work to say the least. If she had her way it would have had more pizzazz, or some kind of accessory. A plain white short-sleeved shirt with some black shorts was as basic as it got. Anon was still appreciative of the ensemble but Rarity insisted she would make something much more befitting later on.

With that done, the girls went about getting Anon comfortable for the night. “So we have everything set for now, we will move on with deciding what to do tomorrow. Anon you will stay in this room in my lab for now but I promise you that it’s temporary.” Twilight set a makeshift bed into the room where Anon was interrogated previously.

“That’s fine Twilight. It’s better than be tied up on a table right?” He chuckled to himself. Twilight and the girls didn’t find the joke very funny but smirked and tittered anyways.

“We will all come to see you tomorrow, won’t we girls?” Fluttershy said back to the others. With affirmative nods from them all they walked out of the lab on their way.

“I know it will be strange sleeping somewhere you’re not familiar with Anon, but I hope you get a good night’s rest for tomorrows activities. I’m sure we will have a ton of questions for each other.” Anon nodded and laid down for the night adjusting his pillow. “Good night Anonymous, welcome to Equestria.” Twilight closed the door and headed off to her own bedroom.

“Good night Twilight.” Anon said thinking she was still able to hear him. Finally in silence, his mind began to wander. (Who was he? What was he doing in this world? How come ponies were the dominant species? Oh no, would he survive without bacon!?) Laying there staring at the ceiling for what seemed like hours, his thoughts turned to nothingness as he drifted off to dreamless slumber.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With an audible pop, Twilight teleported into her library. A candle lit itself at her presence by a scroll and quill near her writing desk. Picking up the quill in some of her magic she started to write a letter.

Dear Princess Celestia,

On the day of this writing, I found an interesting tome in the crystal castles library. In it were some spells that I had not heard of, nothing from the Canterlot archives compared. Not even Starswirl the Bearded’s collection had anything like this. I carefully looked at the various spells, picking the one that seemed the simplest; a mere teleportation spell that would bring a small foreign object into our dimension.

I know it may have been foolish to attempt any of the spells without taking the proper precautions, or even talking to you, Luna or Cadence. I figured I was more than capable of performing it. I mean, I’m Twilight Sparkle! Element of Magic and Princess of Friendship! I can hear you now though, sighing and shaking your head in disapproval. You would be right to do so.

The spell has proved more than I could handle, first and foremost I am not hurt, nor is anypony else! I know you would be worried about that mostly. The actual problem is that it brought a living being here! I’m not sure if I may have put too much energy into the spell, or perhaps using the Cutie Mark Map table as a staging point inadvertently amplified the spell. Either way, the creature is here now and I would like you to meet it. It is a fascinating creature that I believe we can learn much from. I look forward to bringing him to Canterlot as soon as I can.

Faithfully yours,

Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight rolled the scroll up and stamped her personal seal onto the center. After a short walk, Twilight arrived at Spikes room. “Got a letter to send off to Princess Celestia, Spike!” Twilight smashed open Spike’s door waving the letter around.

“Aw Twilight! I was asleep, can’t this wait till tomorrow?” Spike rose from his bed rubbing his eyes.

“No Spike! This is important information for her about what happened today! I’m sorry I woke you though.” Twilight rubbed her shin in embarrassment at the outburst and for interrupting Spike’s sleep. With a poof, the dragon’s breath engulfs the scroll into green fire and disappears.

“Yeah, yeah well there you go. Now, can I get back to my dream about Rari- I mean, Gemland!” Spike threw the covers over his head. Now he was embarrassed too.

“Yeah go ahead Spike. Again I’m sorry…” Twilight closed his door and walked back to her room whistling a tune. “I can’t wait for Celestia to meet Anonymous!”

END CHAPTER I

Author's Note

So here is the final edit of the first chapter, a long wait for you all! I'm sorry about that, hopefully I will have more motivation to continue this sooner.

A Most Unwelcome Guest (Final Edit)

CHAPTER II

A MOST UNWELCOME GUEST

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It’s been a week since arriving in the pony world known as ‘Equestria’. Anon was given a crash course in Equestrian history as well as cultural heritage. While staying at Twilight’s castle the other girls visited him often. They would talk about themselves and their families, their jobs and whatever came up. Twilight kept the conversations simple as to not make Anon feel overwhelmed. One of the things Anon noted is that Twilight REALLY likes to study and learn new things. The questions have come at a quick pace over the past few days, given they had a decent amount of time to talk… or so Anon thought.

“Ok, so we have covered the basics pretty thoroughly. Now I think it’s time we move on to the advanced history of your world!” Twilight used her magic to pick up a quill and parchment.

“Whoa! Twilight, I don’t think we’ve gone over most of the basics. I understand the majority of your world’s most recent events but that isn’t all of it, is it? I know I haven’t told you a lot about my world other than the cliff notes.” Anon stood up and paced in front of the window. The conversations had begun to quicken so much that he lost track of a lot of information. He knew magic existed and that all ponies had it inside them, but knew nothing of how it worked. Especially when it came to ponies that weren’t unicorns, how did an Earth pony use magic? With Pegasi it was the ability to fly but even that didn’t make much sense to him. On top of that, he hadn’t explained much about his world’s technology. The topic devolved into them speaking in hypothetical's and moved on shortly after. His memory was sloppy at best, making his thoughts jumbled and flip flopping around.

“I’m sorry Anon, I am trying to get as much out of you as possible! It’s not often you get to talk to an alien, am I right?” She had placed the quill and parchment aside knowing that this conversation was going to take a while, after all they had it the past two days three different times.

“Why is that Twi? Is something so imperative that I not understand everything? You aren’t getting half of what my world has to offer, I know that you want to know everything about me and my world. It would benefit you to slow down and let me explain! You need to do that as well!” Twilight pulled back from Anon’s harsh tone, he was getting louder by the second.

“I’m sorry Anonymous, like I said, it isn’t often something like this happens in Equestria. I guess I am just so curious that I want the information as quick as possible! Considering the circumstances and all…” Twilight’s eyes did a double take at that last statement and she covered her mouth with a hoof. She didn’t mean to say that…

“Circumstances, what circumstances Twilight?” Shoot! She was caught, what could she do to avoid this now?

“Ok Anon, I will explain.” She sighed through her teeth and did a pose with her arm that Anon thought he had seen before. “I am trying to get as much information as possible because… I contacted Princess Celestia and she wishes to meet you! This is super important as you might guess, and I don’t want to go in there without knowing enough about you to not answer her questions! That would be horrible! I can’t do that to my old teacher, it isn’t good for a princess to go into a situation unprepared!” She was starting to hyperventilate.

“Whoa! Twilight calm down! I understand that this is important, from what you told me, she is the ruler of all of Equestria and the… can’t believe this, the Sun! That’s a big deal, but you can’t expect to learn all about me and my world in just… Wait, when are we going to meet her?” Twilight tapped her hooves together at the tips nervously. “Twilight, how long till we go meet her!?”

“Eep! Tomorrow! We’ll see her tomorrow!” She retreated back to the couch embarrassed at her outburst. “I’m sorry Anon, I thought it would take longer than a few days. Usually the princess is so busy that her meetings, barring anything devastating, don’t happen for a month or so! I guess she really was interested in meeting you!” She sat up looking more her chipper self.

“I see, well why did you freak out about telling me? I don’t mind seeing her so soon, she sounds like a benevolent ruler from what you told me.” Anon sat back down and sipped from his tea Fluttershy had prepared for his and Twilight’s session.

“I just wanted to be prepared Anon. She is a wonderful pony, and a great ruler. I just don’t like disappointing her, it’s a bit of a pet peeve of mine.” Twilight floated her cup over to her mouth as well giggling under her breath.

“That’s okay Twilight, I think we need to just talk about the trip instead of freaking out over all this. I can tell her anything she wishes to know anyways, or is there a rule that would prevent me from doing that?” Anon quirked an eyebrow at her.

“Oh no, she would welcome you with open wings and hooves.” Twilight laid her cup down onto the table.

“This is the stuff we need to be talking about. Is there anything else I need to know before heading in?” Anon placed his empty cup onto the tea set plate and took Twilight's as well heading to the kitchen.

“Well I can explain all that easily, first things first…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ponies hustled and bustled around the train station doing their daily activities. Most were getting ready to board the Friendship Express to Canterlot for various reasons. Vacations, business affairs and such that only the capital of Equestria could handle. Twilight along with Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Applejack all waited at the ticket master box for the train to begin boarding.

“So, I gottah ask Twi’, how in the hay are we gettin’ Anonymous tah Canterlot without ponies freaking out like Opal in a room full of rocking chairs?” Applejack’s euphemism got a shove from Rarity.

“I agree with Applejack darling, it would be in poor taste to parade him through the city.” Twilight nodded before turning towards four of her best friends.

“Don’t worry girls, I used a nice little spell that will conceal him from everypony but us. He and Fluttershy should be here any minute.”

“This is so weird Twilight…” Anon walked up behind the girls with Fluttershy in tow looking around at the ponies as they said hello. “… What do I look like to them?”

“You look like a stallion that I devised from somepony we all know.” She smiled broadly obviously very proud of her spell hoof work. “To us you look like yourself, but everypony else sees a pony that looks like Big Macintosh with a green coat and black mane and tail. If anypony asks, you are a cousin of Applejack's that is visiting Canterlot for the first time to possibly open a shop!” She obviously thought this through.

“Ok, that makes sense to me a little more. You should have told me sooner so I didn’t look like a fool in front of the other ponies though.” Anon huffed and turned his head upwards to the sky.

“Don’t worry Anon, I was able to keep ponies from seeing through your disguise.” Fluttershy patted his leg comfortingly.

“Yeah, I know, thank you Shy.” Anon returned the pat with a smile getting a blush in return from her.

The train whistled for all the ponies to board breaking the conversation. Once on board the group filed into a private car that was reserved for them. When trying to follow them into it, a pony blocked Anonymous’ path.

“That car is for the Princess and the Elements of Harmony sir, nopony else is allowed!” One of the ticket inspectors said.

“No worries sir, he is with us!” Twilight spoke from behind them.

“Oh, my mistake Princess, do forgive me.” With a curt nod the inspector trotted down the aisle taking other ponies tickets. A few glances of jealousy are thrown Anon’s way as he heads into the car.

“This is horrible…” Anon just put his head in his hands sitting next to Fluttershy.

“What’s wrong Anon? Are you still embarrassed about all this?” Shy’s wing drapes around Anon’s back in comfort.

“It’s not just embarrassing, it’s… I don’t like having special privileges, I’ve always tried to stay in the background and not draw attention to myself. I recall that after all this.” Anon sighs as Fluttershy leans into his side.

“Don’t worry Anon, it will be all over soon enough. I’m sure Princess Celestia can work something out for you if she can’t send you home.” Twilight sat down on a seat across from Anon and Fluttershy. “It will be ok, I promise.”

“Yeah, IF she can send me home.” Anon looked out the train window as everypony got settled. Soon the train started up and the group was underway to Canterlot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2 Hours pass as the train finally pulls into Canterlot Train Station. As everypony departs and heads off to their new destinations, four guards stand at attention for Princess Twilight and her friend’s arrival. They wear the armor of Princess Celestia, gold with blue star crests upon their chests.

“Welcome back to Canterlot Princess Twilight Sparkle! Also to you Elements of Harmony! We have been sent to escort you to the castle, seeing as you have a… ‘Alien’ with you.” The guard whispered the last part as to not raise alarm. “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor await your arrival.” With that the guards salute.

“Luna, Cadance and Shining are there!? I was under the impression I was meeting with Celestia alone…” Twilight looked thoughtfully for a moment as the rest of the group got off the train.

“Things just got more interesting!” Rainbow Dash fist pumped at the prospect of all the Princesses being together in one meeting. It was rare and only for emergencies or diplomatic endeavors.

“Twilight, is everything alright darling?” Rarity placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder to break her from her thoughts.

“Yes, I don’t see why this could be a problem. Princess Celestia probably wanted to make sure all the Princesses were aware of Anon. Though I wish she would have informed me.” Twilight motioned for the guards to move ahead.

“Excuse my brashness Princess…” The Captain spoke up.

“Not at all Captain.” Twilight allowed him to continue.

“I was curious where the… ‘creature’ was?” The Captain looked around for a creature that would be out of the ordinary for Equestrian society.

“He is right here Captain.” Twilight pointed to Anonymous. The Captain looked him up and down and gave a confused look to her.

“All I see is a stallion Ma’am. A big one mind you, but nothing I haven’t seen before.” A few giggles come from the girls.

“Don’t worry Captain, I have disguised him for the trip up to the castle. We wouldn’t want the ponies to go into a panic walking him up there would we?” The Captain looked back to Anon again before nodding.

“That was very clever of you Princess, I’m glad you took the city into account. Shall we be off?” Twilight nods as the group begins its walk towards Canterlot Castle.

Anonymous surveyed the city as they walked, it was a beautiful place. Fountains and gold adorned nearly everything. Not to mention that there were statues of ponies all over as well. As they walked further into the city, more and more posh upper crust types showed themselves. Anon noted that the city was very much like places on Earth, high society seemed to be towards the center of Canterlot as the lower to poor class were on the outskirts. Some of the braver ponies would come over to Twilight and say hello, the guards would show their disdain but not get violent. She was the Princess of Friendship, it was common for ponies of all types to come see her and get a response. It seemed to make a lot of ponies’ day as they walked off with large smiles adorning their faces.

Eventually they made it to the castle entrance where more guards welcomed them. Walking through the halls a few servants and political ponies went by without much acknowledgement. They couldn’t be seen fraternizing with the Princesses during work hours anyways. As they approached the doors to the main hall Twilight stopped in front of them.

“OK here we go. Are you ready Anonymous? We will go in first and then you’ll be brought in after introductions, understand?” Anon simply nodded staring at the large doors in front of him, a sudden feeling of overwhelming power rushed through him. Had he just felt what was on the other side of the door, or was it simply the pressure building? He couldn’t say for sure, but it still felt like he was in for a wild ride.

The doors opened and the guards announced the arrival of Princess Twilight Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony. Princess Celestia sat on her throne in the middle with Luna to her right and Cadance on the left. Down below Cadance was Shining Armor who smiled at Twilight as they met each other’s eyes.

“Hello Twilight and hello to all of you as well my little ponies. Welcome back to Canterlot, I hope your travels went well?” Celestia smiled down at the group as they approached and bowed.

“Yes Princess, the ride was rather uneventful. I don’t mean to sound rude or unwelcomed, but I was wondering why Princess Luna and Cadance were present as well? Your letters gave me the impression that we would be meeting with you only.” Twilight approached the Princesses taking the front for the group.

“It seems that they were interested in this creature you summoned as much as me Twilight. I merely told them of the time and place of our meeting, they came of their own accord.” Celestia trotted down from her throne and hugged the young Alicorn tightly.

“I apologize for the abruptness of our arrival Twilight I was informed just yesterday of this event and wished to meet this ‘alien’ you spoke to Auntie Celestia about. Your brother was also very interested to make sure he wasn’t a threat to you.” Cadance gave a warm smile to her sister in law.

“I was worried about Equestria’s safety as well.” Shining armor spoke up. “Mostly you though.” A light blush ran over his face.

“I was also informed merely a day ago, my sister forgets that we are also involved in the affairs of our kingdom.” Luna gave a frown towards Celestia as she sat back down on her throne.

“I am sorry sister I did not have a moment to speak to you these past few days.” Celestia frowned back to Luna.

“I am merely chiding you sister, I have not had moments peace to one’s self lately either.” Luna smiled at getting under her sisters skin a little.

“Well now, with the frivolities through, shall we begin this meeting?” Celestia looked to all the Princesses present for approval. All of them nodded in affirmation, Celestia held out a hoof for Twilight to begin. “If you would Twilight?”

Twilight cleared her throat and moved forward to speak to all present. “As I am sure Celestia has informed you, I found a tome in the Crystal Castle that seemed to come with it when it arrived. After some time with it, I made the decision to try one of the easier spells that it contained. The description informed that the spell would summon something from another place on Equestria. It would also be something no bigger than an apple or other small fruit. However, upon completion of the spell it seems my calculations were incorrect. Instead of a small object it summoned a creature of substantial size. Also, it was a being from another world entirely!” Twilight paced as she spoke making sure to speak too all present.

“You are sure you made incorrect calculations Twilight? That isn’t like you to do.” Cadance pointed out.

“Yes, I was under the assumption that when charging the spell, I would only need to fill the rune circle with enough power to summon the object. Instead nothing happened, and when I noticed this I made the error of feeding it more magic. When I did, the spell was increased to the point of critical mass. It dispelled and the alien was brought forth.” Twilight looked ashamed as she stared at the floor.

“While it wasn’t a good idea to add more power to the runic circle, I don’t believe you knew it would not react immediately?” Celestia questioned. “The spell had a delayed reaction that was not spoke of in the tome, am I correct in that assumption?”

“Yes, it did not speak of that, rather it was written in a simple manner. I chalk it up to the writer using it for his or her own personal use, or perhaps someone that would understand their method.” Twilight stated.

“Then we cannot in good conscience blame you for the result Twilight. Rather we would hope this would prove to be a learning experience for you. A tender hoof is needed when spell casting, let alone for something that you have no prior knowledge of.” Twilight nodded at Luna’s assessment. She knew she should have taken a more careful approach towards the tome’s spells. The excitement of learning a new spell was overwhelming for her. She would keep this lesson in mind next time she wished to try a new spell.

“Thank you for your understanding Princesses, I will be more careful in my studies next time.” Twilight bowed again at the three older Princesses wisdom.

“We believe you will Twilight, now, I believe we would like to meet our visitor from another world.” Celestia nodded for the guards to bring Anon into the hall. As they opened the doors to fetch him Twilight approached the Princesses again.

“I placed a spell on him to make sure nopony saw what he looked like as we traveled here. I will remove it so you all can see his true form.” Twilight turned to face Anon as he walked into the great hall. “Princesses, I would like you to meet Anonymous of Earth!” Twilight started to remove the spell she had cast on Anonymous as he walked closer.

“Hello Anonymous of Earth, I speak for all the Princesses of Equestria when I welcome you to our Kingdom. I hope your stay over the past week has been pleas---“ The spell finished removing itself to reveal Anon’s true form to the court. Celestia’s speech was cut short and a face of shock replaced her former smile. Luna joined her and had to rub a hoof into her eyes to see if what she saw wasn’t a figment of her imagination. Cadance had remained more neutral though curiosity was definitely there. Shining Armor’s brow furrowed as he looked at the strange being in front of him.

“No…”

A flash of light filled the room exploding brilliantly blinding everypony in the room. A loud crash could be heard by all present but the light had not subsided.

“NO!!!”

The light faded enough for all in the court to see what had happened. Standing over Anonymous with a hoof to his throat was none other than Princess Celestia herself. Her mane which was normally a billowing cavalcade of colors was now blazing furiously like the sun, hot, red and yellow flames licking across her face. Her eyes red as well, showing the fury that has only been seen by a few beings in Equestria.

“Sister stop!” Luna pounced from her throne charging towards Celestia and Anonymous.

“Princess!? What are you doing!?” Twilight couldn’t believe her eyes; her mentor and friend was attacking another creature without provocation. She had never done so, even to her enemies. What had happened to cause such a reaction? All of the others in the room were frozen in their place. Shining Armor held Cadance as she clutched his form, frightened by her Aunt’s power and rage. The girls could do nothing but watch as their princess screamed at Anonymous’ face again.

“I won’t let you harm them, or us again! NEVER AGAIN!!!” Celestia pressed harder into Anon’s throat causing him to let out a gargled noise. Blood began to trickle from the corner of his mouth as her hoof crushed his larynx, he attempted to gain purchase on her hoof to alleviate the pressure. Darkness started to overtake him, his vision blurring ever slowly as his air depleted.

“CELESTIA! STOP THIS AT ONCE!!!” Luna used the Royal Canterlot Voice to get her sister’s attention finally from Anonymous.

“STOP!? STOP!!!??? DO YOU NOT SEE WHAT LIES BENEATH MY HOOF LUNA!” Celestia’s eyes were wild with hate, tears streamed down only to evaporate on her skin that would melt steel. The pain in her voice made Luna pause before looking to the other ponies in the room.

“TIA! Stop and look at our beloved ponies…” Luna spoke only loud enough for Celestia to hear. Celestia looked around at Cadance and Shining Armor frowning slightly. Turning to the other side she saw the elements staring in horror, flinching when her gaze rested on them. Finally, she looked Twilight Sparkle in the eyes and saw the pain and anguish. She was crying profusely and was laying on the marble floor staring up at Celestia. As if she were a monster.

“I… I… I was only trying to--!” Luna placed her hoof over Celestia’s mouth silencing her reasoning before she spoke it. Luna shook her head slightly hoping her sister would understand what was occurring and bring herself out of the madness she was displaying to her subjects. “I see…” Celestia’s rage petered out and her form returned to normal. Looking down at Anonymous she saw the fear in his eyes and lifted her hoof from his neck. Slowly she made her way over to her throne as Luna supported her the whole way. Anon gasped for air that he was so desperate for but it was difficult to say the least. Coughing and sputtering small globs of blood as his vision returned to normal slowly. Twilight and the girls all hurried to him barraging him with questions of his health. He stopped them with a lift of his hand just trying to gain more air. A moment passed as he stared at Princess Celestia as she spoke with Luna to quiet for anyone to hear.

“I… I’ll be alright girls. Give me some room will yah?” Anon stood up wobbling a little without taking his eyes off of her. He hadn’t even see her move towards him, it was like she teleported to him in an instant throwing him to the ground. Twilight had said how she was the most powerful being on their planet, but was she truly that fast and really that strong?

“Pardon my prench, but what the BUCK was that Princess!” Rainbow had flown over and got into Celestia’s face. She was quickly removed with Luna’s magic and placed back with her friends.

“Refrain from exacerbating the problem Loyalty! We shall take our sister outside for a moment to clear the air, we will return shortly!”

“But Luna!” Celestia shrunk back as Luna turned and stared into her eyes. It was all she needed to refrain from speaking or acting out again. Luna walked Celestia whose head was low to the ground out through the back of the main hall. Once the door clicked shut the ponies of the room sighed as if Celestia’s mere presence had pushed them down before leaving.

“Twi’, are you okay?” Applejack placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder bringing her out of her thoughts.

“No, no I’m not. What was that reaction? Why did she attack Anonymous even though he just walked into the room!? What did she mean, ‘I won’t let you hurt them, never again’? She was so angry, I’ve never seen her that way!” Another hoof placed itself on her shoulder. Cadance sat down next to her and sighed.

“I’ve only seen Aunt Celestia like that once, and it was after our honeymoon when I returned to speak with her. She was so incensed that she couldn’t defend her ponies from Chrysalis’ attack, she screamed and slammed her hoof so hard it broke the tile in her room. I wasn’t nearly as scared as I was just now though.” She started brushing her hoof through Twilight’s mane soothingly. “I’m sure we will get an explanation, but we might not like what we hear.”

“Excuse us Princesses, but should we take the Alien from the hall and place him in a secure room until this is sorted?” Nopony had noticed the guards that burst into the hall when Celestia started her attack. They had their spears pointed at Anon as if he had been the one to instigate the attack.

“I don’t think that will be necessary gentlemen. Could you not point those at me?” Anon said as he rubbed his throat.

“We call them Gentlecolts Anonymous, and yes, stop pointing your weapons at our guest!” Twilight corrected reverting back to her teaching ways as she processed everything that happened.

“Anon maybe you should get some medical attention?” Fluttershy said as she floated up to him.

“No, I think I will be fine. I know it might not look it but she didn’t press hard enough to hurt me permanently. Just cut off my air for a moment.” Fluttershy lifted a cloth to wipe the blood off his mouth and cheek.

“Are you sure Anon? You’re bleeding.” Anon pushed the cloth away lightly and shook his head.

“Thank you Fluttershy, I’m alright. I think that was more from the coughing than her.” He lied not wanting to make the girls worry more about him and make Celestia look worse than she did right now.

“That was not something I ever want to experience again.” Rarity deadpanned as she comforted Pinkie Pie. “Will you be okay Pinkie?”

“Yeah, it was just scary. Sometimes we forget she is the pony who raises the sun you know?” Everyone nodded except for Anonymous and Shining Armor who were staring at each other. Shining stood up and trotted to face him.

“I don’t know anything about you Anonymous of Earth. However, if Celestia has a problem with you, we may not see eye to eye. I will wait for their judgment before I do anything else. Figured I’d let you know.” The girls all turned and shot Shining Armor a glare of surprise.

“I understand. Regardless, it’s nice to meet Twilight’s brother and sister-in-law. She talks a lot about you two.” Shining snorted and nodded slightly before returning to his place next to Cadance’s throne. The girls all looked at Cadance as she merely shook her head and shrugged.

“Guess old guard habits die hard.” With that she returned to her throne and started chatting with Shining Armor over everything.

The sound of a door opening sent everypony back to their places and Anon locked his eyes on the Princesses as they reentered the main hall. Taking their seats as every eye bored into Celestia she sighed deeply before starting.

“Firstly, I want to apologize to everypony for what I did. There was no call for it, I let my emotions take hold of me and acted without considering the consequences of my actions. Secondly, I… apologize to you Anonymous of Earth. Without provocation, I attacked you as if you were to blame for… well we’ll get to that. I am afraid that a previous situation clouded my judgment when I first saw you.” Celestia bowed her head even lower letting a tear drop from her muzzle. “Lastly, I am sorry for the fear I invoked from all of you present. I should be above such things, and couldn’t control myself appropriately. I will strive to do so from now on and learn from this experience. Again, I am so sorry my little ponies…” Softly she sobbed in front of them, causing them to be taken aback. None of them had seen her at such a low moment, not even after she was defeated by Chrysalis.

“We are afraid that this new turn of events will change this meeting everypony.” Luna spoke above Celestia’s quiet crying. “First, Anonymous of Earth, we would ask your forgiveness for our sister’s poor judgment a moment ago.” She patted her sister’s back as she spoke.

“I suppose I might not have a choice if I am going to stay here. Though she will have to work at gaining my trust and my vision of her back. Agreed?” Luna thought for a moment and nodded. “Then yes, for this situation I forgive her. As long as I get an explanation.”

“That is why I ask your forgiveness. This situation has changed enough, that we must start on even hoofing. Then we can explain the crowns side of it.” Luna sat up showing off her regal features to all the ponies present. Not many of them thought they would see Luna like this, while Celestia seemed the scolded child. “We are asking a big favor, especially after what has transpired. It is necessary however, the crown would ask that Anonymous of Earth would remain in this hall alone with myself and Celestia.”

A multitude of arguments against this request were immediately hurled her way. Shining Armor didn’t feel comfortable leaving Royalty alone with an unknown creature. The girls complaining that after what happened Anon shouldn’t be left with Celestia. Cadance and Twilight arguing that they too were Royalty and should be involved in the discussion that would transpire. A large thunder like clap was heard silencing all of the challenges to Luna’s request. Anon stood with his hands together after he had clapped them together. It wasn’t something that the ponies were used to hearing so it was startling at the very least, and Anon knew it worked on Twilight during their more heated discussions and would bring them at attention.

“I accept this request.” Everypony looked shocked as Anon agreed to stay with Luna and Celestia alone. “If this is how I find out what happened then I will do it. You girls wait outside for me.” Anon pointed to the large entrance to the Grand Main Hall.

“Anonymous, are you sure you want to do this!? Aren’t you afraid of what they might do?” Twilight’s eyes shot back and forth over Anon’s face looking for anything that seemed wrong with him.

“Yes Twilight, don’t worry too much. I’m sure Princess Luna won’t let anything happen.” Anon looked back at Luna for confirmation receiving a nod. “I’ll call for you if something changes.” Anon patted Twilight on the head reassuring her of his decision. Celestia bit her lip as he did this even though nopony saw it.

“Okay, if you’re dead set on doing this then we have little choice, don’t we? I don’t like it, but I accept your judgment. C’mon everypony.” Twilight chauffeured everypony out of the hall, including Cadance and Shining Armor. Anon watched them leave as the doors began to close. Twilight stared back at Anonymous worry plastered on her face as the doors closed completely.

“Okay Princess Luna, where should we start?” Anonymous moved up towards the Eternal Princesses to speak face to face. He noticed that Celestia seemed to shift back into her throne as he moved up to them. Something was definitely wrong with all this. Celestia wasn’t acting anything like she did a few moments ago.

“We believe that it best to start from the beginning. However, I must ask another favor from you I’m afraid.” Anon sighed. “What is going to be said in this hall must NEVER be spoken outside of it. The kingdom of Equestria is not privy to this information and we would have it stay that way. As such, we would ask permission to place a spell on your body. There is no pain and it is merely a precaution for me and my sister.” Luna stepped off her throne and approached Anonymous slowly.

“Is this the only way?” Anonymous asked.

“We are afraid so. Should you choose not to accept this request, we would have to place you into custody and you would be unable to leave the palace until further notice. What will be said here is very personal to me and my sister and VERY private.” Luna waited as Anon contemplated shortly.

“Very well, I guess if I want to leave here it is a necessity.” He sighed again and let his shoulders drop in defeat.

“Again, we are sorry Anonymous. Thank you for understanding our secrecy on this matter.” With that, Luna charged her horn and placed it upon Anonymous’ chest above his heart and then on his forehead. “The heart speaks what it feels, while the mind speaks what it wants. With these words, I place a ‘Geas’ upon you Anonymous of Earth. Do you solemnly agree to not speak of these proceedings to anypony or any creature of Equestria? Lest you be brought before us for a judgment most foul?” She stared at him so seriously that he felt a lump in his throat catch. After a little effort, he gulped it down and sighed again.

“I do.”

“Then I place you under our spell, and your heart and mind will never speak of this again.” A slight tingle goes from her horn on his head down Anonymous’ spine and stops at his heart. Finally, the feeling stops and Luna returns to her throne. “Thank you again Anonymous. Now, we shall tell you the reason my sister reacted to your presence so strongly.” Luna lies down comfortably in her throne joining her sister. A moment of silence passes before she speaks again bringing Anon’s tension up.

“When the world was young, there existed three tribes of ponies. Earth, Pegasus and Unicorn all separate from one another. We are sure Twilight spoke of this to you?” A nod was given for her to continue. “Yes, what most ponies believe is that we came to power to help the tribes coexist with each other. We were asked to raise the Sun and Moon since we were powerful enough to do so on our own. Also as Alicorn’s we represented all three tribes. This history has been passed down for generations to ponies so that they understand that we are all one in the same. However, this is a fallacy concocted by our teacher Starswirl the Bearded to benefit our ponies. Not many of them survived the war before the tribes came together. When it was over, he along with us and a few of the leaders made sure that we would not befall the same mistakes that preceded us. A story was fabricated to give hope to our ponies and make our futures brighter. The history that Twilight Sparkle gave to you is that story.” Luna drank from her cup to quench her thirst.

“You lied to them? For purpose of harmony between tribes?” Anon was a bit flabbergasted. No wonder the Princesses didn’t want him blabbing this to anypony.

“No, in actuality it was to protect them from the truth. That the great war was not started between the three tribes quarreling among themselves over trivial matters.” She looked at her sister for a moment to get approval to continue. Celestia noticed and thought for a moment. This would change everything, even if Anon was the only one to know. She stared at him gauging him as best she could without knowing him. Turning to Luna she nodded slightly for her to reveal the true history of Equestria. “Anonymous, the tribes fighting over land, food and the skies was not the reason for the major migration to Equestria. In truth, the Wendigos are a creation of Starswirl the Bearded and us to keep ponies from finding out the truth.”

“Which is?” Anon saw them avoiding the question and prodded them on.

“The truth is that the war and migration was started by another race.” She looked deeply into his eyes, burrowing into his soul. “The Human Race.”

END CHAPTER II

Journey of the Past (Final Edit)

Author's Note

No excuses why this is so late, read if you want.

Journey of the Past (Final Edit)

CHAPTER III

JOURNEY OF THE PAST

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The trek up the mountain was arduous, but the mission the four ponies had could not wait for better conditions. Not many would willingly go up Canterlot mountain without a serious reason. The home of the Alicorns was far beyond where most ponies could live, but their magical prowess and flight ability was enough to make it to the top without much effort. Pegasi could not handle the gale force winds that reached 100 mph or more on irregular intervals. The Unicorns could not teleport or use any spell that wouldn’t deplete their magical reserves on the way up. Earth ponies could handle the weather, but the inability to find food would make it difficult to reach the top. Some had made it; how else could the ponies know about the Alicorns that made the precipice of ‘Alicorn Mountain’ their sanctuary.

“How much farther to the top Master!?” A voice called out over the howling winds to the Unicorn leading up front. He turned to look at the group following him. They were nearly frost bitten and looked like they had trouble keeping their balance from the lack of food and uneven ground.

“Not far now my little ponies! A half days walk and we will reach our destination!” He plodded on using a small shield over his face to block the howling winds. The group groaned in exasperation of the situation. A week of walking with three days of this grueling snow and wind had taken a toll on their moral. Numb muzzles and frogs for over two days would deter many of the most hardened earth ponies. They continued on though, trusting in the old unicorn who led them. He was the most powerful of all unicorns, nearly capable of moving the moon on his own. It would take many unicorns to do even the amount he was able too. His apprentice was always in awe at his achievements, he could only hope to touch some of the power he displayed so freely.

“I don’t… I don’t think I can go on!” The Pegasus of the group fell forward into the snow collapsing from exhaustion. She was the frailest of the ponies and she held out longer than the others thought. The Earth pony trotted over and laid beside her trying to warm the little Pegasus’ wings. “I-I can’t… I can’t feel my w-wings…” She shivered and laid her head down on the Earth mares light cream forelegs.

“We need to take a break! She can’t even move anymore!” The Earth mare screamed to the two unicorn ponies who were a bit ahead.

“We cannot stop now little ones, this storm isn’t going to get better. We need to get through it before it claims us this night!” The older Unicorn used a shield to block the group from the storm so they could have a reprieve. “I am powerful yes, but even my magic reserves are near their end. I cannot maintain this shield for long. Rest, but we move in 15 minutes.”

“We will do as you say Master.” The tan Unicorn with brown hair cast a small flame spell to warm the ponies for a while. The older Unicorn walked over to the ledge leaving the three small ponies alone. “I know he can seem rough, but he isn’t wrong about the storm. We will be at the top soon and then we can rest.”

“Are we sure that these Alicorns will help us?” The Earth mare said concerned, brushing her mixed green hair from her face.

“What do you mean? From the research I’ve done, the Alicorns are a peaceful race. They will help us, I’m sure of it.” The Unicorn said as he looked off towards the top of the mountain that was hidden behind snow clouds.

“I hope so, I don’t think Pansy is going to make it much farther.” The Earth mare petted her Pegasus friends orange and yellow hair lightly trying to comfort her as best she could.

“I know Cookie and if what my Master said is true, then we will have help down the mountain and won’t suffer through all of this again.” That fact seemed to help Pansy’s worries, she smiled at the thought of all this being over.

“I hope so Clover, I don’t know if I could take all this again.” Pansy sighed basking in the warmth of the fire getting a little feeling back in her cream feathered wings.

The old Unicorn sat near the edge of the mountain looking out towards the direction of the small town below. He could see a small amount of it when the clouds parted briefly. He sighed as he knew if the path they’d chosen wasn’t fruitful he could not protect them from what was coming. He alone wasn’t enough to stop the war and who knew what would happen to the ponies he watched over. Only the Alicorns could help them, the power they wielded was unmatched and the war would be tipped in their favor. At least that’s what he was hoping for, he knew that the Alicorns were peaceful and asking them to join a war would be a hefty request. He sighed once more and looked back at his apprentice and his friends. They needed to reach the top before night fell lest they be caught in the storm with no way to move. They were young and inexperienced, but that didn’t stop them when they found this new land together. A perilous journey wasn’t outside of their realm and he knew they could continue on. They were stronger than they knew. After all, they represented the very things that made harmony in Equestr---

A large rumble resounded through the mountain causing the ponies to stir. Quickly the old Unicorn joined the three mares and increased his shields strength.

“AVALANCHE! BRACE YOURSELVES!!!” He screamed as the group cowered under his shield. The snow approached faster than they thought possible and crashed around them. It pounded his shield straining it severely. He grunted as his magic tried to maintain itself from the onslaught of nature. If it had happened earlier on in the journey he might not have a problem, but he was already at his limit and he knew it. The shield began to fail and the old unicorn threw himself over the group hoping that his larger body would be enough to protect them. As the snow fell over and over again, the four were buried beneath many feet of snow powder. Clover the Clever, Private Pansy and Smart Cookie braced themselves and watched as the darkness slowly formed around them leaving them to their snowy fate.

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A hoof pushes the snow aside quickly as yellow magic takes a large rock away. Eventually a pointy blue hat springs forth revealing an older pony with two mares and a stallion.

“What dost thou suppose possess’d them to climb our mountain sister?” The smaller Alicorn asked.

“We knoweth not sister, we shalt findeth out soon. We shalt taketh these ponies to safety first.” The larger Alicorn enveloped the 4 ponies in her yellow aura lifting them up as they soared towards the top of the mountain. For a moment, Clover opened her eyes to see the outline of his savior. It is the single most beautiful thing he has ever witnessed in his short life.

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The sun rises and its gentle warming light basks upon the ponies. Clover stirs from his slumber feeling more content than he has in days.

“Where… Where am I? Am I dead?” Clover looked out the window to see a lavish kingdom built of gold, whites and purples. Spires higher than anything he had seen built by pony kind. It was warm and comforting, far different than what he last remembered before losing consciousness. Suddenly he recalled who he was with, taking a quick glance around looking for the others. He was alone in a bedroom decorated with similar colors and materials of the buildings he saw outside. Velvet blankets upon the bed with silk sheets and pillows. He knew he had to be dead.

“Thou art awake?” Came a soothing voice from the doorway. Clover turned and gaped at what stood there. A pony that was taller than anypony he had ever met with long pink hair and white fur. A slender build with wings tucked to her sides. Her horn was longer than his own, but similar in size to his masters. “Doth thou speaketh?” The Alicorn approached him slowly but Clover still tensed and backed up to the window. He was frightened but he didn’t know why. Perhaps it was the new sight, or maybe the overwhelming power rippling off of the being. He stopped as he felt the window sill tap his flank. With nowhere left to run he sat down and got as low to the ground as possible a sign of submission. “Please, do not be frightened. Art thou well little pony?”

“Who – or what are you?” It was the only thing he could think of, his curiosity winning out over his fear, if only slightly.

“Thou may call us Celestia, we art an Alicorn.” She sat down in front of Clover to act non-threatening. The small pony was obviously intimidated or scared of her and she didn’t want him jumping out the window in fear. Clover nodded and let out a breath that he had been holding.

“I’m sorry, I thought maybe I was dead. I remember being crushed by the avalanche and then… nothing.” Clover was now transfixed on the Alicorn taking in all the details he could.

“We found thee and thy companions buried on the mountain side. We thought the worst when we dug thee out.” The Alicorn walked over to the nightstand and brought out a tea set. “Wouldst thou like some warm tea?” Clover nodded without taking his eyes off her. He sat down at the little table with Celestia watching her make tea in an instant floating a cup over to her.

“My friends that were with me, are they alright?” Clover asked before lifting the tea to his lips.

“Thy friend’s art resting downstairs, the older stallion twas injured though not severely. Pray tell, why hast thee cometh to our mountain little one?” The Alicorn sipped her tea as well seeking answers from Clover.

“My master wished to speak with your kind over an urgent matter that may involve all ponydom. If he is capable to do so, I’ll let him explain if you don’t mind?” Clover finished his tea enjoying the warmth that it brought.

“Master? Thou hast a master? Nopony should rule another, tis unnatural.” Celestia frowned and finished her tea as well.

“He doesn’t own me! I am his apprentice in magic, he is merely a teacher!” Clover was off put by the notion that his master was a slave owner.

“Oh! We apologize, twas our mistake to assume thy master wast thy owner.” She bowed her head down to Clover his frown growing deeper.

“It’s alright, I should have just called him our leader or my teacher. You couldn’t have known what I meant. Can we go see him now?” Clover stood up from the table and looked to the door that Celestia had entered from.

“Aye let us reunite thee and thy friends.” Celestia opened the door to a hallway. They moved down a set of stairs to a hall where Smart Cookie, Private Pansy and his master waited.

“Thank the creators you’re all right!” Clover dashed over to his friends embracing them in a tight hug. He turned and bowed to his master as well to acknowledge him. “I’m glad you didn’t suffer any severe injuries master.”

“Yes, the Alicorns healing magic seems to be above anything our Unicorns have come up with. My ribs were broken and healed within hours apparently. Miraculous to say the least.” He placed a hoof to his chest admiring the handy work done on him.

“We believe thou art this little one’s ‘master’?” Celestia approached him from behind pointing to Clover.

“Ahem, yes, let me introduce myself and my companions. I am Starswirl the Bearded. This is my apprentice Clover the Clever whom you’ve already met, along with Private Pansy of the Pegasus tribe and Smart Cookie of the Earth Ponies. We have come with urgent news that I wish to speak with you about.” Starswirl stood in front of the group as he introduced them one by one. Private Pansy hid behind Smart Cookie as she was introduced, intimidated by Celestia’s size and appearance. Smart Cookie nodded her hat in recognition. Clover blushed as he was introduced and made a little wave with his hoof.

“We art Celestia Sol the Alicorn, thou can call me Celestia. Tis a pleasure to meet all of thee. Twas under less than stellar circumstances, but we wish to welcome thee to our home of Canterlot.” Celestia bowed and then waved to the heaven’s showing the ponies her home. It was a tad intimidating since the closest thing to compare it to was the home of the Unicorn Kingdom the Unicorn Castle. Every building in the city was like this! “Young Clover informs us that thee wish to speak of an urgent matter. I will take thee to the Alicorn Council, our wisest and highest order in the kingdom.”

The group follows Celestia out into the city staring at the magnificent beauty of it all. Alicorns busy themselves around everywhere throwing glances at the newcomers. It isn’t often that ponies from below the mountain show themselves in Canterlot. Eventually they arrive at a small structure with 5 Alicorns speaking to each other on the day’s events.

“Excuse art intrusion on this fine morn Council, this one would ask of thou’s time on a matter of urgency.” Celestia spoke to the 5 Alicorns who turned their focus on her. The group made their way to seats at a horseshoe shaped desk before they all nodded together for her to proceed. “Thank you for thou time. We wish for thee to hear these ponies plea.” Celestia moved aside letting Starswirl the Bearded to come forward. The 5 Alicorns seemed to work as one as they furrowed their brows at him all at once taking in his appearance.

“Thank you for listening to me Gentlecolts and Gentlemares, I come baring grave news for all of pony kind!” Starswirl took his trademark hat off as he bowed before the 5 Alicorns.

“Not Gentlecolts, not Gentlemares young pony, we art known as Council. Though we may seem separate, we speak as one.” The Alicorn 2nd from the right spoke.

“Young!? My, I have not been called that in a long time! You don’t seem that much older than I gent- um, Council was it?” Starswirl was confused at the Council’s words.

“What thou judge as old is merely perception. Council is timeless, since the land wouldst appear from the oceans hath we existed. Young Celestia eclipses thou even now.” The lone mare 2nd from the left pointed a hoof towards Celestia.

“Tis true little ponies, We art four hundred and fifteen of thou years. Barely a foal to Council.” The group gaped at her and the Council unable to fathom their agelessness. Starswirl was already in his 70’s and considered old among the ponies. How old was Council if his looks compared to theirs?

“What do you mean ‘since the land appeared from the ocean’s?” Clover inquired.

“Not now apprentice! We came for a reason; we can ask questions later if the time allows. It may be perception here but for us it is precious.” Starswirl hushed Clover’s questioning nature in favor of their real goal. “Council, the news I have may not only affect us but you all as well. As we speak a force plots against all of the ponies below here. Should they have their way we will all be destroyed and then they will move against you and every creature on this world!”

“Whom dost thou speak of pony?” The Alicorn 1st on the left asks.

“Let me start from the beginning if you please? When we moved to this land below the mountain we did not know we would share it with another intelligent species. Should they have been friendly we would not have any quarrels. However, they seem intent on removing us from where we have settled. The creatures feel they own all the land below this mountain to the Everfree forest!” His hoof stamped in frustration. “No matter how much we speak to them they care not for compromise. Action seems to be the only thing they care about. Worst of all, every pony we have sent to speak with them has disappeared and we fear what has become of them.”

“Again we ask thou, whom dost thou speak of pony?” The Alicorn 1st on the right asks.

“They call themselves, Humans.” Starswirl looked down in disgust as did the group he was with. Celestia tilted her head in confusion before looking to the Council for any ideas. They all nodded solemnly before the Alicorn in the middle sat back.

“We knoweth of these creatures thee speaketh of. We hath met them in some of our expeditions to the main land below. They wast a small tribe that mostly hath kept to themselves. They wast afraid of our presence at which hour we revealed ourselves to them. What thee speaketh of? Sounds nothing like them.” He leaned forward and clopped his hoof onto the desk they were sat at.

“I am not sure when the last time was you interacted with them but they have expanded exponentially! I would put their numbers in the thousands!” Smart Cookie said looking between the five ponies. “Some of the Unicorns in the kingdom used scanning spells to find all of their locations. About 3 cities in total with a lot of them in each.”

“Regardless. What maketh them a threat to all of thee? Didst thee do something to anger them? Also, the species hath no magic. Unicorns would defeat them easily no?” The 1st Alicorn on the left said.

“We didn’t do anything to them! We didn’t take anything that they couldn’t have shared. They claim we stole their land and have been using resources they laid claim to. We had no idea, and they didn’t approach us when we arrived in Equestria. Nor did they say anything to us before we built our first city.” Clover the Clever stamped a hoof on the marble floor. “They are savage, they know nothing about harmony or co-existence. Selfish is the nicest word we can find for them.” He turned his nose up at the thought of the humans.

“Thee speaketh as if 't be true thee hath met them ‘fore little one?” The 2nd Alicorn from the left inquired.

“I have Council, I was part of the first conference with them. The 3 representatives they sent were all males of the species. Kings of the Humans is what they called themselves. They looked down at us from the start and told us to leave Equestria immediately. When we asked for a peaceful resolution to the situation where we could all live in harmony and peace they scoffed. They claimed what I said earlier, then said if we didn’t leave there would be consequences. After they left we sent 4 more envoys to speak but as my master said, they haven’t returned. We fear the worst.” A single tear ran down his cheek after the explanation.

“While we concur that they has't no claim on the land, if 't be true they wast there first they can do as they please.” The 2nd Alicorn from the right placed his hoofs under his chin. “What would thou has't us do?”

“Please, we ask that you speak with them. Maybe if you do, they will listen to reason?” Pansy bowed before the Alicorns hoping that prostrating herself would help a little bit. They stared for longer than she wished but she didn’t move. If this was needed to get the help of these powerful beings, she would do what is needed.

“Nay we shalt not speak with them.” All of the ponies were shocked, mouths agape.

“Did you not hear us!? They threaten not only us, but all creatures!” Clover shouted.

“No, thee only told us they wast against thee living on their land. Where wast the threat to others? Us?”

“Is there nothing we can say to convince you to speak with them council?” Starswirl asked.

“Nay, we wilt not leave our station for anything. We has't gazed over the land hither for thousands of years and wilt continue so.” The Council all clopped their hooves onto their sound blocks signaling their final verdict.

“That is that then. If it is your decision we won’t argue further.” Starswirl hung his head in defeat.

“MASTER!? We can’t leave without their help!” Clover was beside herself.

“Apprentice! Hold your tongue, this is their land and their rules. They have made their choice and we have to abide by it.”

“Thee didn’t alloweth us to finish. We wilt not speaketh to them but we wilt has't an Alicorn represent us. Thee wilt accompany them, Celestia.” The Alicorn in the middle nodded in her direction.

“Me? Why me Council?” Celestia proceeded forward moving in front of the ponies.

“Thy political skills must be tested, if 't be true thou art to join Council in the future. A prime opportunity hath presented itself meeting these ponies. Council trusts in thou’s ability to diffuse this situation.” The middle Alicorn informs.

“If 't be true thou trust in me then ’t shalt be done. I has't but one request though?”

“Indeed?”

“I wouldst ask that mine sister Luna accompany me, so as she too will learn from the experience. She hath shown a desire as of late to join the political game. Would this be too much to ask?” Celestia bowed her head a little.

“Let ‘t be done. If 't be true Luna truly wishes to learn, then far be ‘t for Council to forbid. Thy request is granted Celestia Sol. Do us proud.” Council banged their wooden blocks again and dispersed in different directions.

Celestia took a deep breath and thrust her front leg out in a sweeping motion in front of her several times. It seemed odd to the others gathered but they waited until she had finished her little routine. She turned and faced Starswirl and nodded in affirmation. “It looks as though I wilt be thy support. Allow us see if 't be true Luna wilt join us on our journey to the lower land’s, shalt we?” She motioned for the group to follow her.

“Celestia, I must say I appreciate this more than words can describe! I wonder though, is your sister truly interested in any of this?” Clover wasn’t named clever for nothing it seemed.

Celestia tittered as she turned and looked down to the little pony who had a look on his face that told her all she needed to know. “She is interested in mine work, but is she interested in joining the Council? No.” Clover nodded in understanding.

“Then why are you inviting her along?” Pansy floated over into Celestia’s view.

“She wants her sister with her to be her 'rock' as it were.” Clover answered for her.

“Huh?” Smart Cookie shook her head. “What do you mean 'rock'?”

“Please take no offense with what I am about to say here Celestia; she is nervous about this mission Council has given her and needs support from her family girls.” Celestia smiled as they entered a small homestead.

“Thy name sake is a valorous one Clover the Clever and no offense taken. I must admit you’re right in that I am rather intimidated by this request Council hath given me. T'will be mine first true test in the political game. Having mine sister with me wilt maketh the situation a gross amount more bearable. She is also not a bad negotiator herself.” The group sat down in a quaint little living space. A small fire crackled in the corner and the sound of humming could be heard coming from upstairs.

“If you believe you need the support then I see no reason why she cannot come along. The more the merrier in this situation I say!” Starswirl smiled her way giving his own support.

“We’ll support you as well! Right everypony!?” Pansy rarely got loud but she was happy the Alicorns decided to help with the Humans. The group nodded and smiled at Celestia as well. She smiled in turn realizing these ponies were quick to friendship and that wasn’t a bad thing. It was one of the main tenants of the Council’s teachings after all.

“What’s with all the noise down hither! I am trying to work on mine spell forming!” Luna barged down the stairs looking around at the group gathered. Her sister giggled as a blush formed over Luna’s face. “OH! Mine most humblest apologies. We didst not knoweth there wast going to be anypony hither besides mine sister.” She shuffled forward and bowed to the ponies in the room before throwing Celestia a glare of indignation. “Why wouldst thee bringeth guests and not inform me Tia!?”

“Mine most humblest apologies sister, twas a spur of the moment thing. We cometh with news from Council pertaining to these ponies from the lower lands.” She sat next to Luna on a lounge.

“Oh? I thought they wast merely wayward travelers like those that cameth before. Hath something happened Tia?” Luna had calmed.

“Forsooth sister, alloweth me maketh introductions first though. This is Starswirl the Bearded, Smart Cookie, Private Pansy and Clover the Clever.” Celestia pointed to each of the ponies each giving a curt nod in response. “When we saved these folk from the snow we assumed they hadst gotten lost but we wast so wrong. These ponies has’t a situation going on that they needed to seek out our help. However, Council saw fit to sendeth me in their stead.” Luna nodded and furrowed her brow.

“Thee will needeth provisions for the journey I’m sure. I wilt help thee prepare for this new quest sister.” Luna sat up and started towards the stairs only to have her shoulder pulled back slightly with a bit of magic.

“Nay sister, this journey is not mine and our new friends alone. The council hath seen fit to sendeth thee with us. Isn’t that wonderful?” Celestia gave a crooked smile as she nervously chuckled to no one in particular. Luna stared at her wide eyed for a few moments before inhaling deeply.

“WWWHHHAAATTT!!!???” The room shook and the ponies in the room were sure the entire city had heard her cry. Also, they were now probably deaf. “Sister! Thee hast better not be joking with me!” She stamped her hoof cracking the ground below it.

“Please Luna, not in front of the guests.” Celestia trotted over to her and pulled her along up the stairs. “We’ll discuss this in private and wilt return shortly okay?” She flashed the crooked smile at the small group of ponies and shut the door at the top of the stairs.

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Private Pansy nervously tapped her front hooves together as everypony felt a tad uncomfortable.

“Well, that was intense huh?” Smart Cookie huffed.

“Yes well, we will let Celestia sort it out and then get on our way.” Starswirl stroked his beard as he contemplated their next move.

“I’m sure she was just surprised and will be okay after their talk.” Clover patted Pansy on the shoulder to comfort her.

“I hope so, she sounded REALLY angry. I wonder if Luna wants to leave at all.” She got her answer as Celestia and Luna came back downstairs none the worse looking. Luna gave a shy look at the group before coughing into a hoof.

“I apologize for mine outburst earlier, I wast caught off guard by mine sister’s proclamation. I wilt be happy to accompany thee all on this endeavor.” She smiled though a bit halfheartedly.

“That’s wonderful!” Clover exclaimed. “I have one question though?”

“Yes, mine little pony?” Celestia asked.

“How will we be getting down the mountain? We had so much trouble getting up it and the time we took was more than we could afford!” Clover pointed towards the edge of the mountain looking as worried as Pansy.

“Oh, well we can get us down in no time. We’ll simply teleport down to the base with all of thee in tow.” Luna smiled walking around her and Celestia’s home gathering supplies.

“Teleport you say? Oh well…” Starswirl hummed as he continued to stroke his beard.
“WWWHHHAAATTT!!!???” He jumped from his seat in alarm causing the others to jump as well from his outburst.

“That’s impossible! Teleporting such a distance has never been done before! The farthest anyone ever did was Starswirl, and he only went several hundred feet!” Clover shook his head in disbelief. There was no way it was possible that these Alicorn’s could do that… Was there?

“When we travel down the mountain side to the base of ‘t we always teleport. If ’t be true we wast scouting the mountain itself we would fly, but we can’t doth that with all of thee either so…” Celestia picked her saddlebags up and placed them on herself and Luna. The ponies just gaped at them as they were rounded up and escorted out of the little home.

They were taken to a platform near the edge of the mountain and city. The Council was there waiting along with a few other Alicorn’s to bid them farewell. The platform was made from a crystal none of the ponies could identify, when they stepped on it they could feel a deep hum go through their hooves. Clover and Starswirl guessed it had to have been a magic amplifier of some sort. After some short goodbyes to the Council and others gathered they all stood in the center of the circle. Celestia and Luna charged their horns and the platform hummed even more. Pansy grabbed onto Smart Cookie nervous something bad would happen. Clover watched in awe as the Alicorn’s powered their spell up noticing that the magic in the air was different from his own. Not only that but it was different than any Unicorn’s he had ever encountered before as well. It was more raw and powerful, it tingled down his own horn and made him feel an immense pressure. It was as if he were in the presence of something unpony like. No not even mortal… Gods.

The tingling sensation suddenly vanished along with them from the platform. It took only a moment but they reappeared alive and well at the bottom of the mountain at the edge of the forest that the ponies had camped at before heading up. What took them nearly a week had taken the Alicorn’s all of seconds to traverse. It seemed impossible but there they were, Clover looked around shocked. Smart Cookie let out a low whistle nodding in approval while a stiff as a board Pansy let go of her leg and fell onto the grass. Clover looked to his master to see his reaction but didn’t find him in the same spot he stood seconds before. He quickly caught sight of him as he walked up to the two Alicorn’s.

“I must say that I am beyond impressed! Was it your own magic that brought us here, or was it a combination of that and the platform we were on?” He seemed awestruck as Clover did but was capable of gaining his senses much faster. Celestia smiled and turned to him.

“Twas a combination of the two. Very perceptive Starswirl, you’re very well versed in magic I see?” He gave an affirmative as she sighed. “We could only maketh ‘t about three quarters of the way down by our own power. The platform wast madeth of mithril and helped in fueling our magic to maketh the last quarter of the way down. When we returneth we must fly our way back up after we teleport as far as our own magic can taketh us.” Starswirl nodded looking to his apprentice and back to Celestia.

“Do you suppose you could teach that spell to me or my student? It could prove useful in the future.” He smiled at her.

“I suppose a long-distance teleport could be possible for a powerful unicorn. Though I am not sure if ‘t be true thee could get the distance we can achieve. I don’t see why not though?” She smiled back. “However, we could not doth so now under the circumstances. Even if ‘t be true we wanted to, we art now drained of magic for at least half a day. I’m sure thee all are eager to returneth home after such an arduous trip.”

“Yes, for another time I suppose. We should be heading to the Equestrian border then before nightfall.” Starswirl pointed in the direction they were to head to. Everypony gathered themselves and began the slow trek back to the pony city of Equestria.

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It was close to nightfall as the group entered the city of Equestria. Not a single pony was out as a curfew had been instituted in the wake of the Human’s ultimatum. Starswirl figured it for the best so as not to alarm anypony with the presence of the two Alicorn’s. Arriving at the small castle that was built in the center of the city the guards at the gate were startled by the group.

“Gentlecolts, please allow us passage so we may speak to the tribal leaders. We have brought help back from our journey up the mountain.” Starswirl announced to the two guards. They simply nodded not taking their eyes off the two Alicorn’s as they passed by and through the gates. Celestia and Luna gave each other a look of worry as they walked in behind the ponies. It seemed the group they were with weren’t the norm for the little ponies.

Upon reaching the main gate Starswirl stopped the group before entering. “We will meet with the tribal leaders now, they were the ones to make the decision to send us up the mountain. Just a warning for you two, they are pretty headstrong. In the end though, they want what’s best for all of us here.” The girls nodded and Starswirl opened the gate to the main hall.

It wasn’t very large but there was an upper balcony for spectators to watch below as the main petitioners met with the three tribal leaders. A table in the center with three chairs were the only decorations save for a flag on the back wall that had a symbol representing each of the pony tribes. In the chairs sat three ponies who were discussing something other than what was about to come. The white Unicorn with pink mane and green eyes saw their approach and looked up. She gasped when she spotted the two Alicorn’s coming behind the group of four. A pink colored Earth pony stallion with brown colored mane looked over and shot up out of his chair in surprise. Finally, a white Pegasus stallion with yellow mane looked over and made a grunt.

“Honorable ponies, we have returned from our journey up the Canterlot mountain and have brought back help. As requested we met with the Alicorn’s of legend and they saw fit to send two of their own to see if they can assist in the current situation.” He moved aside as the two Alicorn’s moved up and bowed.

“I am Celestia Sol of the Alicorn’s.” She introduced herself.

“I am Luna Selene of the Alicorn’s.” She did as well.

“It is an honor to meet the two of you.” The Unicorn stood up and moved from behind the table. “I am the representative of the Unicorn tribe, Princess Diamond Platinum.” She bowed in return.

“Oh! Me next, me next!” The Earth pony jumped over the table and landed in a bowing position as well. “Chancellor Swirly Puddinghead at your pleasure!”

The Pegasus grunted and sat up out of his chair before coming over to where the others were bowing. He saluted in a militaristic fashion. “I am Commander Hurricane Force.”

Celestia and Luna both smiled at the three ponies. Celestia stepped forward motioning for them to stop bowing and saluting. “It’s a pleasure to meet thee all as well. There is no needeth to posture yourselves for us, we art just ponies like thee. Now then, I believeth we has’t much to discuss tonight. Shalt we begin?”

END CHAPTER III