A light mist seeped over the Everfree Forest in a seemingly perpetual haze. It finally lightened up as the sun got just a little higher in the sky, and then disappeared entirely, revealing a small hut. It was made of brick and wood, and had a shingled roof, as well as a chimney.
Its door opened up with a creaking noise, and large, non-pony figure with a wide girth peaked out of it. As it partially left the abode and stood in the doorway, the creature revealed its full appearance to the world.
Covering his green, coarse, and rough-textured body like a shell was an impressive suit of armor he had forged himself in the past, and despite how long he bore it since that time, it didn't look even the slightest bit tarnished. Long spikes littered it, offering as much offense as the defense it provided. In truth, he almost never took the thing off, and slept with it regularly.
Such was part of the ponderous, though no less exciting life of the mighty Rammus. Yes, Rammus is his name. A strange, but powerful being from the desert land of Shurima. He traveled the land of his homeworld, Runeterra, showcasing his hulking strength and unparalleled durability to those that crossed him. And now, after a fairly strange mishap, he was here in Equestria.
How he got here is a different story entirely. Mind you, it wasn't one he was focused on at the moment, for he already had a plan for the day formulating in his simple-minded skull. His stomach rumbled, and he thought to the nearby town of Ponyville, and how its four-legged, equine inhabitants usually served good food. And so that's where he was heading, to satisfy his late-morning hunger.
Rammus loved this new land. Sure, he missed a few things from back on his world, most importantly perhaps being his closest friend; a kindly, intelligent steam golem referred to as 'Blitzcrank'. But here... away from that war-scarred terrain of Runeterra... there was such a lazy peace and comforting warmth that even a being with such a thick head as he knew that he wanted to stay here. Away from constant conflict. Away from the arduous politics he never understood. Away from that vexing rat, Twitch, whom he never got along with.
The armordillo left his hut and looked to a brown path of flattened dirt that stretched for as far as he could see, until the trees of the forest eventually blotted it off from his eyes. It was a path that lead to town, and that was his destination.
"Hmm," he grunted as he stepped fully out of his door and began to traverse the path. These typed of walks to the town were always a pleasure. The birds were singing their delightful tunes, the temperature was nice, and the sky was clear, save for the occasional white cloud. A kindly breeze went about as well, pushing the nearby tall grass over slightly.
Surely this one wouldn't be any different.
Pinkie Pie was currently showing her sister, Maud Pie, around Ponyville, allowing her friends to introduce themselves to her individually. She had high hopes that any of them would have a connection with her sister and befriend her as she did them. So far it seemed fruitless, but now it was Rainbow Dash's turn to see what they could have in common, and the competitive pegasus had an idea.
A rock-throwing contest!
Bellowing, Rainbow Dash spun around in the air rapidly, and then threw the rock; her velocity helping to charge how far it would go. The rock flew to the other side of the bank of the pond she, Maud, and Pinkie were standing at. It went over the water, and directly across from each of the ponies, landing in the dirt with a thud. All in all, it was a good throw; better than many ponies could probably do.
"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash grinned and hoof-pumped in triumph, happy with her accomplishment. She spun around in the air and looked to Maud. "Let's see you beat that- whoah!"
The blue pegasus let out a surprised shout as Maud, having already picked up a significantly larger boulder as she spoke, heaved it with what appeared to be minimum effort. This betrayed the amount of force actually used though, as the sizable object went sailing through the air, then the sky in the span of only a few seconds. Dumbfounded, Rainbow Dash could only watch as it began to disappear over the horizon, and wait to hear the inevitable crash it would make.
Rammus continued on through the forest. The trees were many, but the path held firm. Another few minutes from now and he would be in Ponyville, snacking on something. He hadn't really though about what he wanted to eat yet, but such was that odd mind of his.
Perplexingly, the birds around him stopped singing and chirping their carefree little tunes in just a few seconds, and went silent. Some were even heard flapping away from their perches in the trees, scattering green leaves through the forest. Suddenly, a whistling sound went out from somewhere above. As it grew louder, Rammus found his eyes drawn upward.
There, falling from the sky, was a large object. When it got close enough, he noticed it was dark-colored, and rock-shaped. The armordillo soon came to the realization that it was heading right for him.
And yet, Rammus just stood there, an expression that could be only described as bland on his green face, waiting for the inevitable impact that was about to take place. Its whistle now more like an eerie screech, the object sailed closer, just about to hit and cause untold devastation to the area, and...
A loud echo from the crash expanded through the air like thunder, and a thick mushroom cloud of dust and debris was sent briefly into the sky. The way the rock had landed, wherever that was, sent out an enormous shockwave that affected the landscape, causing trees to move as though a hurricane-sized breeze had just passed by. The water in the pond was affected as well, and a giant wave; reminiscent of a tidal wave, formed from the power it experienced. Rainbow Dash flinched back as she braced herself for the oncoming water, and the three ponies were soon engulfed by it as it splashed down.
When the water receded back into the geological body it was previously held in, Pinkie Pie emerged on top of a floating log, utterly soaked. "That was amazing!" she cried out with a giant grin as she ran on top of the wood she stood on, causing the log to spin and carry her across the pond. Rainbow Dash also emerged, sticking her rainbow-maned head out from the blue murk.
"Whoa," the mare said in awe, turning around to look at Maud, who still stood on the shoreline; her clothes, mane, and gray fur as wet as the other two. "How'd you do that?"
"I threw it," she said in her typical deadpan way, rolling her eyes.
There was a large, smoking crater where the rock had landed. Trees were flattened, boulders were upturned, and bushes were uprooted like mere weeds. Yet, as the smoke disappeared, a bulky upright shape could be seen in the direct center of it.
Rammus was utterly unscathed by the impact. A faint cloud of steam rose from his form, but other than that, he looked as normal and calm as his typical demeanor was. Bits of the rock that so ineffectively hit his armored form were strewn about nearby; now naught but jagged pebbles. He brushed some dust off of himself and looked around indolently.
The armordillo thought about what he just underwent with a roving mind, scratching his chin with a long claw. Surely, the thing in the sky must have been a meteor. Or, perhaps someone threw it. Maybe even the weather in this land occasionally called for falling rocks. Either way, whatever that object truly was didn't really matter. He had experienced far stranger than big stones falling from skies.
Rammus walked out to the tip of the crater and looked around at the landscape, soon rediscovering the path. Hopping down, he headed for it right off, still hungry for something to eat. Blueberries, possibly? An apple? He would figure it out when he got there for sure.
"Hmm," he grunted, and was once again on his way.
