They Walk Among Us

"So, Rarity... You're a human...  That must be hard, huh?"

Rarity looked back at Twilight, and Steven could swear he saw her eyes shining like it had been covered with glitter while she grinned like an excited schoolgirl first going into an amusement park. Then again, did ponies have amusement parks?

"Hard?" asked Rarity. "HARD?"

"I'm sorry, Rarity..." said Twilight. "I-"

"Being a human is absolutely FABULOUS!" she exclaimed, squealing in excitement. "I get to make things that I couldn't have made with only hooves! With my fingers, I can do all different types of sewing and knitting, and I can make so many more things that I couldn't have made before, I can also-"

"Is she always like this?" asked Steven. Rarity was still going on about the fabulousness of being a human.

"Yeah..." said Twilight.

"Just give it an hour or so." said Rainbow Dash. "But I think it's good that Rarity likes being a human. You really don't want to see her complain and whine. It can make your brain explode!"

With Rarity still talking, she led Steven, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to a large door.

"So, Rarity..." said Twilight.

"-but of course, I would now have to walk around to take things from across the room, since I have no magic and all, but it was but a small price to pay for-"

"RARITY!" said Rainbow Dash, shaking Rarity violently.

"Oh, um... Yes?"

"Where are we?" asked Twilight.

"Oh!" said Rarity. "Of course. I was so deeply immersed in explaining how good a life as a human was that I forgot to tell you where I was taking you! I'm sorry, darlings. Anyway, this is the Ox-Bow Office."

"The Ox-Bow Office?"

"Yes." said Rarity. "Inside here are the three leaders of the Resistance. The Triumvirate. They have been waiting for you since they heard news of your coming. We mustn't keep them waiting."

Rarity then opened the large doors, to reveal a dimly lit room. All Steven.could see was a large amount of space in the middle of the room, and large walls surrounding it shaped like an Ox-Bow. If it was oval, then it would've been the Oval Office. Steven laughed at his own silly joke.

"What's a Triumvirate?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"It's a political regime controlled by three powerful individuals." said Fluttershy. "I mean, if you don't mind me answering..."

Rainbow Dash put one arm around Fluttershy's shoulder. Twilight, on the other hoof, raised an eyebrow at Fluttershy.

"I never thought you were one for politics, Fluttershy."

"Oh, I use politician tactics to talk to and persuade animals all the time." said Fluttershy. "And if that doesn't work, then I'd have to use that."

Steven wanted to ask, but he thought better of it and entered the room with the rest of them. Steven saw Rarity enter the room and close the door behind her.

"Leaders?" said Rarity. "I brought you the um... Leaders of the small group that suddenly appeared in our Control Center a few minutes ago."

"Very well, Ms. Rarity." said a male voice. "Please introduce them to us."

"Well, the purple mare, the yellow mare, and the human are my friends from back in Ponyville."

"Hi." said Rainbow Dash.

"Well, hello to ya too!" said an old woman's voice.

"Granny Smith?" asked Twilight, her pupils shrinking and her mouth widening. Then again, the same thing was happening to Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy was trying to hide her body with her mane.

"That's me!" said the old woman, who was apparently Granny Smith. "And aren't ya little Applejack's friends?"

"Is she here too?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Sadly, she's not." said Rarity. "She was captured by humans right before she reached our base."

"Then we've gotta save her!" said Twilight. "And Pinkie too!"

"Not yet, Twilight." said Rarity. "We don't have the resources yet."

"Wait!" said Rainbow Dash. "I though Pinkie was dead!"

"Pinkie is DEAD?"

"No, turns out she wasn't dead, but she-"

"Well, why didn't you tell us earlier? It would've been great if-"

"I'm sorry, but there was just no time! We had to-"

"Eep!"

"Guys, please stop fighting. You're scaring Fluttershy."

"Stop fighting? If Pinkie is dead, then... Well that would be horrible! But she's not-"

"She's not dead. Princess Luna-"

"Wait. Princess Luna is on our side now? But-"

"PLEASE BE QUIET!" said the male voice. Where has Steven heard this voice before? "We have many things to discuss, and we don't have much time. The war between ponies and humans are growing more intense as we speak."

"That's right, William." said a new voice, also obviously male.

"What?" exclaimed Twilight, a little louder than needed. "Donut Joe?"

"That's me." said the third voice. Should Steven call him Donut or Joe?

"That's enough." said the first voice. Who was this guy? "We need to know about where you are from and how you got here, right in the middle of our Control Center."

"Well..." said Twilight. "We held a full stage riot inside Canterlot Palace..."

"Turned the whole place upside down!" said Rainbow Dash.

"And then Princess Luna teleported us here." completed Twilight.

"Now, that's what I'm talkin' about, dagnabbit!" said Granny Smith.

"I certainly agree that what you did was... brave." said the first voice. Steven was now growing frustrated with not knowing who this man's voice was. But his first name was William. "But how did you get so many of them to defect against the Queen at the same time?"

"Oh, those guys?" said Steven. He felt anger bubbling through his blood as he remembered the scene. "They were prisoners. And they were being very ill-treated. We had to save them."

"Prisoners?" asked the male voice. WHOSE VOICE WAS THIS? "And had it never occurred to you that they were imprisoned for a reason?"

"Well..." said Steven. "They were in a separate prison. Their cages were only for those who openly defied her orders and views."

"You know, son," said the first voice. "Miss Rarity has accounted for all of the others, but we don't know anything about you yet. How can we be sure to trust you."

Steven thought for a while before he answered. To be honest, he didn't have an answer. But he had no choice.

"You can't." said Steven. "Nopony can trust anypony in times like these. But if we can't trust each other, then who can we trust? Who can we depend on? Trust is hard to build, but it is necessary for survival. Wouldn't you think so?"

"Very well said, young pony." said the first voice. "I also haven't introduced myself to all of you. My name is Bill Gates. Software developer and philanthropist. Nice to meet you."

Bill Gates? He was talking to Bill Gates? Didn't he die a few years ago?

"I'm sorry, Mr. Gates, but..." said Steven. "Aren't you supposed to have died?"

Steven could just imagine Bill Gates raising an eyebrow at him at that moment.

"Another human-turned-pony?" he said. "Well to answer your question, yes. Yes, I should have died. However, many people, along with me, have come back to life after the crash. Much like another man- Gordon Freeman ,now known as Gordon Freemare, who is now a spy in the midst of Black Wesa."

GORDON FREEMAN? He was also a human-turned-pony? Steven couldn't begin to describe the glee he felt at that moment.

"Anywho, what is yer name, sonny?" asked Granny Smith.

"Urm..." said Steven. "I'm Steven Reilly. Astrophysicist and now Unicorn."

"Come on, Steven!" said Rainbow Dash. "He's also an awesome fighter, an awesome strategist, and an awesome leader!"

"So I'm guessing you're the one who led the riot, eh?" asked Donut Joe.

"Well, not exactly, but-"

"Are you kidding?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Not only did he lead the group, but the whole riot was actually part of his plan to escape the Palace altogether!"

"I agree." said Twilight. "Steven was the mastermind behind everything."

"I agree too." said Fluttershy. "I mean, if you don't mind, Steven..."

"C'mon, guys... I-"

"Well, from what they have said, Steven Reilly," said Bill Gates, "I certainly seem to think that you are really a notable pony. In fact, I believe you might just be ready to lead a team."

"A team, sir?" asked Steven.

"We here in the Resistance do not have a star team to do what no one else can do. You certainly have the potential to lead your own team, but none of us here seem to fully trust you with that responsibility yet."

"It's fine, Sir..." said Steven. He didn't exactly like being in a position of power. "It's really fine sir."

"So for now, I motion to put all of you, including you, Rarity, into a whole new team. That would mean that you would have to leave Carrot Top's team, Rarity."

"Who would be our leader, then?" asked Twilight.

"You will meet him tomorrow, by the Sand Dune Bars. At around 11 o'clock." said Donut Joe.

"Very well, then." said Bill Gates. "That concludes this meeting. You will receive your assignments through your Team Leader when it comes. And we're expecting good results. Dismissed."

"Well, see ya later, young'uns!" said Granny Smith. "Be sure ta come over and have some apple pie back in my place if yer hungry!"

"Thanks, Granny Smith." said Twilight. 'Well, we'll be taking our leave now."

As soon as the door closed behind them, Steven dipped his head down and sighed.

"Guys, please don't do that again." said Steven.

"Do what?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Tell people of power about what I did." said Steven. "It makes me uncomfortable."

Rainbow Dash shared a glance with Twilight, who shrugged ans whispered: "Let it go."

"But what I really want to know is why you didn't tell me that Pinkie died when we first met?" asked Rarity.

"She's not dead, Rarity." said Twilight.

"But three days ago, you were absolutely sure that she was dead!" said Rainbow Dash. "You even wanted to kill yourself!"

"I know, but apparently Princess Luna says otherwise." said Twilight. "Something about we would know if Laughter was gone."

"Okay, now I've gotta ask." said Steven. "What are the Elements of Harmony?"

Everyone stared at him. Was that like... Basic knowledge in the pony world?

"You don't know about the Elements of Harmony?" aked Twilight. "You mean I haven't told you about it yet?"

"No." said Steven.

Twilight sighed and facehoofed (That seemed like a nice word to start using).

"I should've told you earlier!" said Twilight. "How did I forget?"

"It's fine." said Steven. "You can make up for it by telling me now."

"Well, the Elements of Harmony are magical artifacts that can basically solve any problem." said Twilight.

"Um..." said Steven. "That's it?"

"Yeah." said Rainbow Dash. "But we all have to, like, put our hearts and souls into it. And we have to be whatever our Elements says we are."

"I don't understand." said Steven. "Elements like Air, Water and Earth, or..."

"No." said Twilight. "Elements like Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, Loyalty, Kindness and Magic."

"Magic?" asked Steven. "That seems a little out of place."

Twilight looked up.

"That's funny." said Twilight. "Now that you mention it, it does seem a little out of place."

"It's good that you realized it." said Steven, somewhat sarcastically. "So, um... Rarity?" Where will we sleep?"

"Oh!" she said. "That's right! Silly me..."

Rarity took out a stack full of cards from her coat pocket and gave one to each of them.

"The cards show the exact place where each of you are sleeping." said Rarity. "Rainbow Dash, you will be sharing a room with Scootaloo, correct?"

Rainbow Dash dropped her card in surprise.

"How did you know?"

"Let's just say I have a trained eye for this sort of thing." said Rarity. "But first, you MUST get something to eat! There are a lot of good places here, and you can pick any one."

"Thanks, Rarity." said Twilight. "But I think we'll go to our rooms first."

"Very well then" said Rarity, looking over all of them. "I'll see you at around te-AAAAAAH!"

Rarity's eyes stopped at Rainbow Dash, who was looking around awkwardly, both arms in the air.

"Rainbow Dash!" said Rarity. "What is that you're wearing? It's so... dirty! You must come with me and we'll get that little problem over and done with."

"No problems, Rarity. It's fine."

"No no no, Rainbow Dash!" said Rarity. "I insist that you come with me. Take it as a... Welcome to being a human present from little ol' Rarity."

Rarity then grabbed Rainbow Dash strongly by the arm and went. Rainbow Dash was trying to fight back, but the power of Rarity's 'Must!' beat her. She reached an arm out for them to help her, but they all stared in silence at Rainbow Dash being outpowered that easily by someone as, for lack of a better word, fashion-conscious as her. Guess it was important not to judge somebody by their vocabulary.

"Well, that's the Element of Generosity for you." said Twilight. "So generous that she'll give you things even if you didn't want them."

Steven laughed.

"I'll see you both back here in an hour?" asked Steven.

Both mares nodded and left their separate ways. Steven looked down at his card to see where he would be staying.

Room No. 17, Bedrooms #2, Floor B3.

Everything seemed simple enough. There was only one problem.

How was he supposed to get there? He didn't even know which floor he was in now! Hell, he didn't know what country he was in!

He had to ask somebody. But being as late as it was, that wouldn't be surprising. He tried to look around for signs, maps, anything that could show him where he was right then and how he could get to his room.

Just then, he saw an aged, brown stallion walk right out of a nearby shop and began to walk towards him. Steven decided to ask him about his problem, since there really was no one else around. He quickly ran towards the stallion and showed him his card.

"Excuse me, sir?" asked Steven. "Could you please tell me how to get to this address?"

The stallion looked at the card, and gave a smile.

"You're new around here, are you not?" asked the stallion. "All you need to do is walk straight ahead, and then turn right at the nearest turn. You should reach Bedrooms #2 by then."

"Ok." said Steven. "Thanks, um..."

"Doctor." said the Stallion.

"Dr..." said Steven, confused as to why the stallion was giving his credentials rather than his name. "Doctor... Who exactly?"

"Exactly." said the stallion.

Steven watched in confusion as the stallion entered some kind of old British telephone box. It was only then he saw a strange hourglass cutie mark. What special talent makes an hourglass cutie mark to appear? Timekeeping easily came to mind.

This truly was a strange stallion. Then again, the world of ponies had never been, dare he say it, 'normal'. But the stallion seemed to be trustworthy, so he slowly walked to the the nearest turn and then turned right. Sure enough, a large sign saying 'BEDROOMS #2 THIS WAY. ROOMS AVAILABLE: 47'. seemed to jump right at him. He quickly entered the hallway, and then looked for Room No.17.

In his dedication to find his room as quickly as possible, looking left and right to search for it, he crashed into somepony.

"Steve!"

"Alan?" asked Steven, rubbing his head. "You're sleeping here too?"

"Yeah." he said. "Room number 4."

"I'm in room number 17." said Steven. "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Wait, wait..." said Alan. "Do you have a roommate?"

"Not that I know of..." said Steven, trying to remember if Rarity had said something about roommates. "Why?"

"Cause I got one!" said Alan.

"G'day, Steve!"

"Bush!" said Steven, delightfully surprised to see an ex-Royal Guard accepted that easily into the Resistance. "You're sharing a room with Alan?"

"Sure thing, mate." said Bush. Instead of wearing his Royal Guard armor that he was wearing just a few hours ago he was now wearing a sleeveless shirt and a baseball cap. It seemed like he had no idea what he was wearing, though.

"Nice to see you guys." said Steven. "But I gotta go now, so I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, Steve." said Alan. "See ya."

"G'night, Steven." said Bush.

Steven then went on through the hallway, looking for his room. After about four minutes of walking, he finally found it. Steven  put the card inside the slot of his door with his door, and then pulled it out again. There was a sudden green light, and the door unlocked.

The room was brilliant. Not very spacey, but very clean and beautiful. Everything was painted white, and there was a comfortable-looking bed with a counter and all next to it, and there was even some complementary food on a desk right in front of him!

Not too shabby.

In contrast to all of these things however, Steven just realized how dirty he really was. Then again, it should have come to no surprise, considering that he hadn't even taken a single bath since he rose from the remains of his Observatory five days ago. Sure enough, he quickly ran to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

As he entered the bathroom, however, he realized that without fingers, he couldn't turn that nozzle in the shower. He tried to use his hoof again and again, but the hoof easily slipped off that nozzle. Annoyed, he began to use his mouth. Again, he couldn't grab hold of that nozzle properly enough to turn it, and instead he left the shower nozzle full of his spit.

Cursing, he went out of the shower. It was only then did he wish for magic just like Twilight's, which could help him turn that nozzle. But he didn't. And thus he couldn't. He then went to the bath tub to see if he could use that as well, but the bath tub was far too short for him. It struck him as weird as to why a shower would be made to fit a full-grown stallion whereas the bath tub couldn't even fit a young mare.

Steven sighed. His dreams of having a nice shower were now far from reachable.

If only he could create fingers with magic.

And then it hit him.

He immediately went back inside the shower and faced the nozzle. He then summoned his magic to make the 'gauntlets'.

Let's hope it works...

As the magic created the gauntlet, he adjusted its shape to create fingers out of his magic. Sure enough, he could move them! Ecstatic, he rose his hoof and turned the nozzle. Water immediately sprayed out from the shower.

After about ten minutes of cleaning himself up, he turned off the water and stepped outside. There was something that he had been wanting to try ever since the Wolf incident. He turned to face the mirror, and then he quickly shook himself.

Sure enough, droplets of water sprayed out in all direction, spreading into the mirror, the shower door, the tap, the bath tub... He was going to have to write an apology letter to whoever was cleaning this room later on. At least he was dry though.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Steve?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Are you in there?"

"Coming!" said Steven, as he opened the door.

"Hey, RainWOAH..."

Right in front of Steven as he opened that door was the most radiant woman he had ever seen in his life. There stood Rainbow Dash, wearing a cyan colored half-hoodie that only extended to only above her midsection, wearing a black crop top underneath, showing off her midriff. She had suspenders of the same color that buttoned up to her very short jeans with what looked like a thundercloud shooting out multicolored-thunder. Her black, fingerless gloved hand was playing with the cyan colored wristband on the other hand as she stood there in silence.

"Wow..." said Steven, not bearing to look away. "You look awesome."

"You think so?" asked Rainbow Dash, blushing softly. "Well it is 120 percent cooler than what I was wearing before. I have to thank Rarity for that."

"Wow." said Steven. "I... I seriously can't look away."

"Come on, Steven." said Rainbow Dash, playfully punching his shoulder. "You're making me feel embarrassed."

"And you don't seriously think that walking around wearing that will not attract attention?" asked Steven, not as sarcastically as one might have hoped. "Anyway, what's up?"

"Well, the rest of us are all back at the meeting point already." said Rainbow Dash. "We were just waiting for you."

"Okay." said Steven, taking the key card and putting it inside his small saddle pack. "Let's go."

"HEY, STEVEN!"

Steven jumped back in surprise, landing with a loud thud on the floor. When the panic of the moments stopped, he saw a bright and smiling Scootaloo staring at him.

"Hi, Scootaloo." said Steven.

"Scared you there, didn't I?" asked Scootaloo.

"You sure did." said Steven. "So you guys are officially sisters now?"

"Yes we are!" said Scootaloo, hugging Rainbow Dash tightly. Rainbow Dash was surprised for a while, but she quickly recovered and put a hand on Scootaloo's head.

"We sure are." said Rainbow Dash, ruffling Scootaloo's hair. "We're even sharing a room!"

"Yeah!" said Scootaloo. "I'm so excited!"

"Me too." said Rainbow Dash. "I was practically born in flight school, so I had never met my parents nor any relatives before either. Guess we have much more in common that I thought."

Strangely, even after Rainbow Dash had messed it up, Scootaloo's hair easily jumped back into the original standing position that it was in just then.

"You really do have tough hair, don't you?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Come on, let's go."

They then continued to walk through the hallway to go back outside. It was already very late, and Steven wondered if there were any restaurants still open at this time of night.

"Where are you guys staying?" asked Steven.

"We're staying here too." said Scootaloo. "Room number 22!"

"Really?" asked Steven. "That's like, next door!"

Scootaloo then tugged at Rainbow Dash's hand, and Rainbow Dash bent over while Scootaloo whispered something into here ear. It was a pretty loud whisper, but Steven couldn't hear it all the same.

As Scootaloo finished whispering to Rainbow Dash, however, Rainbow Dash quickly straightened up, blushing heavily. Scootaloo then looked at Steven, and jumped happily.

"Oh my gosh!" said Scootaloo, a wild look in her eyes. "Steven, Rainbow Dash-"

"Scootaloo!" said a voice in front of them.

"Ya guys better hurry up! We're starvin' over here!"

Scootaloo then dropped whatever she was going to say and ran after her friends, who were waiting outside for them.

"I guess we'd better pick up the pace too." said Steven, as he began to run.

"Hey!" said Rainbow Dash, who also began running. "No fair!"

In almost no time at all, Steven and Rainbow Dash managed to catch up to the rest of the group. For some reason, however, Twilight, Fluttershy and Rarity were huddled up in a conversation, giggling and laughing.

"What are you guys laughing about?" asked Steven.

"Nothing, darling." said Rarity. "Now, what should we go eat?"

"Well, from what I understand, humans have a very different diet from ponies." said Twilight. "So we should go to a place which serves food for both our species."

"I know!" said Rarity. "Let's go to 11 Herbs and Spices! They serve many types of food there!"

11 Herbs and Spices? Where had Steven heard that before?

As they were about to depart, however, a sudden pink cloud appeared in between them all.

"What's this?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"it's a pink cloud!" said Scootaloo.

"Well of course it is!" said Apple Bloom.

"It's a pink cloud, but..." said Fluttershy.

"How did a pink cloud suddenly appear in between us?"

As suddenly as it had appeared, however, the pink cloud rapidly enlarged and exploded, blowing everyone back towards the wall.

"What..." said Steven.

Right where the pink cloud used to be was a pony. A very peculiar looking pony.

It was a pink-coloured pony, with cloud-like purple and white hair that seemed to be floating away from her body. She had the strangest eyes Steven had ever seen, even by pony standards- Her iris was divided into layers, from a dark shade of purple to a light shade of pink, much like how eyes would look like when they were hypnotized like in cartoons. But what was the strangest thing of them all was that she herself...

Was floating.

She had no wings, nor a horn, but she was still floating like a cloud in the air. There was absolutely no way to explain this floating except by what she wore on her head. A propeller cap.

"What the..."

"Greetings!" said the strange little pony. "I bring you a message from 'an old friend', one whom you know as well as I myself do. One whom all of you here is very familiar with. All of you, except for Steven Reilly, of course."

Everyone nervously looked at one another. They were all daring each other to ask the messenger what the heck she was talking about. Twilight, however, took the baton and kept it.

"Excuse me?" asked Twilight. "Erm... Who is this person who sent us a message."

"An old friend." said the messenger.

"Who exactly?" asked Rainbow Dash.

The messenger turned to look at Rainbow Dash, who didn't back away at all. They stared straight into the other's eyes, waiting for each other to say something first.

"Loyalty." said the messenger, then looking back to face the others. "Kindness, Generosity, and Magic."

"Who is the message from?" asked Twilight.

"An old friend." said the messenger. "Not all of the Elements are here. But the sender of this message wishes all of you to be here. However, he can help all of you find your friends, lost as they are."

"What are you talking about?" asked Rainbow Dash. "We don't trust you! And we can find our friends ourselves, without your help!"

"But you are mistaken, Loyalty." said the messenger. "You have absolutely no idea as to where your friends are. And without my master's help, you most likely never will."

"For the last time," said Twilight, looking frustrated. "who is this master of yours?"

"An old friend." said the messenger.

Just as Twilight looked as if she was about to kick Fluttershy to the moon, the messenger continued talking.

"Bringer of Chaos, Master of Anarchy." said the messenger. "The message I bring upon you is from non other than your old friend."

The messenger paused to look at each and every one of them in the eye, although Steven felt that she looked at Steven's a few milliseconds more than the others'.

"Your old friend, Discord."