Impressions

Chapters

Grabbing a bite to eat
Not a chicken
What is it?
A hunting we will go
The door
Through the looking glass
Fragile
Consumed by chaos
Sleepless night
Pillow Talk

Grabbing a bite to eat

The mixture of sawdust, sandalwood and the unmistakable musk hanging in the air meant I could smell them as soon as I entered the clearing. I reacted instantly; by standing perfectly still as I tried to slow my breathing, wishing I could somehow turn invisible. Strangely, a small part of me felt that the wish might be completely doable, what with everything else that had happened since getting stuck here, wishing just might work. I subconsciously clutched the metal handle in my right hand tighter, ears strained to pick up any sounds while my eyes tried to make out movement in the undergrowth. Even the hair on the back of my neck stood up, as if to try and pinpoint their location.

I say 'they' because I still didn't know what 'they' were. They always kept out the light and line of sight, but as they looked close enough to wolves in both shape and movement that I was willing to bet their stalking was not to come over for a game of fetch or a belly rub. Besides, with the experiences I had already had with some of the local denizens of this forest, I was not about to let them get near enough for a full inspection just to quench my curiosity. Thankfully, since finding out they had an extreme disdain for loud sounds made by metal, they tended to avoid me as much as I tried to avoid them now. They hunted their prey, I hunted mine. Even so, I was reluctant to bang the cooking pot in my hand against the nearest rock or tree. True it would scare them off, but it would have the added effect of attract other hunters… bigger hunters, and they were not so easily frightened away, and as my guardian angel, whom I affectionately called George, was currently not talking to me, there was no hope of his help either.

It was still strange to me how much I had adapted to this place, especially as it seemed to defy all the laws of reality that I had ever known. What with mythical animals and plants that tried to eat you faster than you could eat them. Truth be told, I was still amazed that I was alive, even with the state I was currently in.

I was a mess and I knew it. Scratched from head to toe with a bandage on my left shoulder where I had tried, and failed, to climb an old apple tree two days past. Several lines of scars, all varying in age and size, webbed all over my arms and legs, those, thankfully, were from nearer the beginning of my time here, wherever here was. Lately I had been gaining fewer 'lessons' on survival. I had adapted and learned the dangers of whatever fantasy world I was in but every time I learnt to avoid something, something else would try and take a chunk out of me. Even my clothes were more patches sewn together then anything that had originally come from Earth, and my hair... well, that brown tangle of mess could rival the forest and vines around me. My feet, in particular, had been reduced to using former T-shirts as protection, and were completely soaked from the sodden ground. I would have preferred going barefoot, but there were too many strange plants on the floor for me to risk putting my skin on offer.

The feeling of the water moving around my toes with each step made me increasingly miss my trainers, but I had lost both of them to quicksand just two weeks into this nightmare. While it was true that I did have other shoes back at the house, they weren’t suited to this sort of terrain. Besides with how little I had left from my world I didn't want to risk losing anything else to this hell hole. Every time I did, I felt too much like my connection with my birth world was weakened and that connection was all I had to keep alight my hope of going back there someday. This could of course all just be some sort of mental breakdown, that had been my initial theory for the first month but, real or not, it didn't seem to matter. Tired - sleep. Hungry - eat. Something trying to eat me - run away.

A growl off to my right made me stop my existential pondering and hold up the small cooking pot in front of me. I tapped it once with one of my few remaining nails, letting it give off its dull metal 'tonk' sound as a warning. Rattling bushes leading away from me gave the impression that the warning had done its job, but it was still a full minute before I could will myself to move and take a real breath. Looking around, I took stock of my surroundings and picked the path that lead away from where the shadow wolf had gone, there was no need to push my luck with those creatures. I had my own hunt to get to, though I was far less enthusiastic about it then the wolf creatures tended to be with theirs. What I wouldn't give for a proper meal that I didn't have to forage or catch myself. At this point, even a Pot Noodle would be a relief.

Alas, if I wanted to eat and have a full belly then it was up to me to sort the problem out rather than wishing for the comforts of home.

Less moping, more doing.

That had become my mantra lately to stop myself falling into depression or madness, and I think I had staved off both for the most part so far. If I gave up now, then I would never get back home. I would never see my mom or dad again. I would never finish my college degree, and I would never find out if Mark really was the guy for me. Besides George would never let me hear the end of it. ‘One day at a time’, I told myself. It was just a pity that the days were mounting up now. This one would be two hundred and seventy three by Earth standards. I only hoped time flowed the same way here. Maybe it was like Narnia and if... when I get back home it would be as though I had never left. Well at least then I would get to enjoy a proper twenty first Birthday party.

Focusing on more present needs, it was not that long before I found a nice spot where a few shafts of sunlight were able to break through the dense patchwork of leaves and branches. With any luck the Gobblers in the area would also be attracted by the warm light and open area.

Gobblers, as I have come to call them, are about the size of a baseball with small legs, big eyes and dragonfly like wings. They look fluffy, cute and are relatively harmless compared to most things in these woods. Their only downsides were their appetite, which was huge, and that they bred faster than the Energizer bunny on Viagra. How I came to find out these facts happened when I had tried to keep a few as company, as well as planning to use them as bait for other animals. That endeavor had left me with almost no rations after just two days of catching five of the creatures. It was only then in desperation that I resorted to trying to eat the little things, which by that time had numbered in the hundreds, both to get rid of them and to feed myself.

To my surprise, they actually weren’t that bad. A little chewy if they weren’t stewed for long enough, and you had to watch out for the razor sharp teeth, but after a diet of mainly what I could forage from the plants around me plus what little I had left from my Earth food stores, the bland meat was a welcome addition. Gobblers however, proved to not be as stupid as they first looked and quickly fled when I started cooking them up for food. Now I had to catch some wild ones that were far enough down the generation line to not to know about the big bad human who no longer saw a cute fuzzy bug but instead a flying meatball. Now if I could just find some sort of living hamburger or a spaghetti plant. All this thought of food was starting to make me hungry... er.

From my pack, I pulled out a small string of cheap, glass crystals that glittered in the light and casted rainbows and fractured colours onto the trees and plants around me. It was really quite a beautiful sight for what was, in all intensive purposes, a trap. I didn’t stop to admire the show and went about the task of securing lengths of braided vine fibers, with small yellow berries threaded along their lengths. They give off a slightly rotting citrus smell which I knew attracted the Gobblers. Once about ten had been secured and tested for their strength, I pulled back and opened the drawstring bag at my side that had once been a pillowcase. The makeshift bag had also once been cream, but was now stained green and brown, a change that had also happened to most of my clothes by now. While it was not an intentional colour change, anything that helped me blend into the surroundings and keep hungry eyes off me was good thing.

With the trap set, I found a good spot to stand in the shade and began to make a purring noise, imitating, as best I could, the sound the Gobblers made most often. About ten minutes later, and ready to give up, I was rewarded for my efforts when three Gobblers buzzed in to view. They trilled and flitting around in a way that said they didn’t have a care in the world, my heart was pulled a little but my stomach pulled harder. I quickly stopped my purring and let the bright colours from the crystals necklace draw them in the rest of the way. There was a pink, a yellow and a brown one, all with with green eyes.

Once the Gobblers started eating the berries from between the braids of the vines, I began moving towards them slowly purring as I did so. My movement caused the trio to look my way, but they were soon ignoring me and back to eating. Under normal circumstances, the berries would have been long gone by now, but I had made things a little more difficult for the critters. After lots of tests, I had found that Gobblers were not keen on the fibers in the vines so instead of eating quickly they had to slow their devouring down enough so that I could get close enough without wasting a bucket of berries. Once the Gobblers had finished the berries on the vines, and were now looking around for more of them I showed that I still had a palmful of the treats in my hand before tipping them into the bag. The Gobblers were hesitant at first, but with a little more purring, the yellow one went inside before being followed by the other two who had no intention of being left out of a meal. Quickly knotting up in the sack and trying to ignore the panicked buzzing inside, I returned the vines and necklace to my bag, and was soon ready to take my cargo home. With any luck, I would have 12 or so by the time I was back, and if I kept them secure in what had once been a shower, I should be able to generate enough food for a while. Maybe I would try Gobbler meat with apple sauce tomorrow night. Today was actually turning out to be a good day.

Walking back home, I made sure to collect the bright ribbons of cloth I had tied to mark my path and prevent myself from getting lost. These woods were not the easiest to navigate and I was still pretty sure that the paths changed at random. Then again I had never been the best at navigating even in my world. A sound caught my ears as I walked - voices, cheery and chatting, though I couldn't make out any individual words. Ducking low, I tried to work out which direction they were coming from, but they sounded far enough away that I could get home before they got anywhere near.

The owners of the voices were the strangest part of this world. For some unknown reason, brightly colored horses, unicorns and pegasi seemed to be the 'humans' of this world, or at least they looked to fill in the same roles as human did back home, as I had unfortunately seen nothing that even came close to my own species in this world. The equines had houses, used tools, and could talk. Truth be told from what limited things I had seen of them, they also seemed quite friendly and fun loving. I had been tempted several times to go down into the town that was not far from the edge of the forest, but it was just too...weird.

Shadow wolves, Gobblers, man-eating plants and even the Manticores were one thing, but they were just animals and plants, weird yes, but natural to a point where even my brain could handle them. The bright horses, on the other hand, were more like aliens to me. Every time they did anything remotely human or un-horse like, it just gave me the shivers as to how 'wrong' it was. Still, wrong or not, my house was here, and the last thing I needed to have was intelligent horses taking me away for study or worse. I had seen Planet of the Apes enough times, and there was no chance I was going to end up in a cage. Besides, with the way I looked I would likely cause a mass panic, and as fun as that might be, the resulting mob of torches and pitchforks would be less enjoyable. I didn't belong here so it was best for everyone if I just kept out of the way and didn't interfere. My life was already messed up, I didn’t need to mess up the lives of those that called this world home.

Turning around I walked to a now very familiar bramble patch. Being fooled a few times before by other bramble patches, with a very painful outcome on each occasion, I first reached forward with my hand to check it really was the right spot. I watched with relief to see, or perhaps, not see, my hand disappear in front of me. ‘At least this world, with all its strangeness, does have some benefits,’ I thought before stepping forward and disappearing without so much as a flash of light or a puff of smoke, not even the plants swayed to mark the passing of a creature so out of place.

Author's Note

So lets kick this off.
Thanks to Smelly_SockZ for his editing skills, he is likely the reason you have reached the end of this chapter and are hopefully ready to read the next.

Not a chicken

"So if we find a plant we can name it? Like anything we want?" asked a little orange filly who was trying to find something cool in her latest endeavor. It was true that she had been the one to suggest that they go to the Everfree Forest to find their cutie marks, but she had pictured that they would be fighting monsters, not picking flowers. Although having a plant named after her wouldn't be so bad...so long as it was something cool looking, maybe with thorns.

Zecora nodded to the three youngsters in her care who, had so far not stopped asking her questions about her home in the forest since she had caught them near its outskirts. She had guessed correctly that they had been planning on some sort of venture, but instead of sending them home, she had invited them to come along and help her collect some herbs she had been getting low on. A few extra hooves were never a bad thing, and hopefully it would teach the youngsters a little about the plants around them and what they could be used for. Plus, if she went the long way around she could tire them out and bore them enough that they would never consider the Everfree Forest as a playground again.

"An honour indeed to name the seed, but don't rush ahead, for you must watch where you tread. For some trees within this wood, might find fillies taste quite good," the Zebra said in her thick accent as she secured the last pouch to Sweetie Belle's back and tightened the buckle with her mouth. However Applejack's younger sister was not to be deterred from her train of thought, even with the warning, which Zecora could only guess had fallen on folded ears.

"So we can get our cutie marks AND become famous!?" Apple Bloom's statement quickly grabbed the other two fillies’ attention, and before Zecora could quell the rising, the trio had already announced their intentions.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders Plant Finders!" they said together, making enough noise to frighten several groups of birds out of the trees around the Zebra's home. Zecora winced and waited for both the fillies and the birds to settle down in their shrieks before smiling and attempting to lower their expectations.

"While true you get to give a name, I've never heard it lead to fame." The three lowered their heads, groaning in disappointment, until Apple Bloom broke the mood.

"But...we can still get our Cutie Marks, and that's what really matters. Come on girls. There's bound to be some plants that no one has ever seen in the Everfree forest." Apple Bloom moved to start off down the path, but Zecora wasn't about to let the little filly just head off. After all, the only reason she had agreed to take them with her to collect herbs was to stop them from going into the forest on their own.

"Not so fast or so quick, there is a path to which our hooves must stick. Keep close to me and do not stray, or your crusade might end today." This time Zecora's words of warning were heard as all three of the fillies stopped and looked into the depths of the woods. Their initial excitement fading as they snapped back to reality. Strange sounds could be heard from within, and movements between the trees caused the girls to huddle closer together as they each took a step back. Their excitement dampened down to a dull glow as they each thought back to the stories they had been told about the place. A shiver passed down each of the girl's backs.

"Miss Zecora?" asked Sweetie Belle, who had made her way closer to the Zebra. She was still keeping her eyes on the woods, though none of the girls seemed to want to turn their back on the twisting shadows. "There aren't really plants that eat little fillies, are there?" Her voice was nervous and unsure, and Zecora wondered if she might have gone a little too far with her warnings. It was Scootaloo that replied however, before she could offer any soothing words.

"Well if there is, then I want to be the one to find it and give it an awesome name!" The thought of looking for flowers and plants wasn't really her idea of a good time, but a plant that could eat fillies? Now that was cool!

"Maybe ah can find a new type of apple tree like my Granny Smith did. Ah could call it um...the Blooming Apple tree!"

Zecora shook her head slowly and chuckled to herself. Those fillies jumped from one mood and idea to the next in the blink of an eye. It was no wonder they had yet to find themselves and earn their cutie marks, when they were too busy looking at the outside world instead of within. With their enthusiasm restored, Zecora started off down the path that lead to where she could gather the plants she needed, taking the slightly longer route to tire them out.

About twenty minutes later Zecora found herself very tired...

"A’m thirsty," whined Apple Bloom.

"I'm hot," whined Sweetie Belle.

"I'm bored," whined Scootaloo.

"Are we there yet?" chorused all three fillies for the fifth time. Zecora's left eye twitched as she gave a frustrated sigh and carried on walking. She had regretted taking the long path ten minutes ago, but it had been too late by then, still they were back on track now.

"Come on now girls, it's not much more, but please no more whining, my ears are sore." Zecora generally enjoyed her peace and quiet. It was one of the reasons she lived outside of Ponyville. So it was no surprise that she was beginning to question her idea of ever inviting the little fillies along with her.

"What's that plant, Zecora?" Apple Bloom broke the silence again. The plant in question was a thick brown and red vine with yellowish warts along its length. Ants could be seen all along it, mainly clustered around the yellow warts.

"That little vine is the ant seed, for wherever it grows, ants come to feed. To the ants it gives a yellow feast, so ants protect it from every beast." Apple Bloom looked a little disappointed that the vine already had a name. After all, she had never seen anything like it before. Maybe she was wrong to think that since very few ponies went into the Everfree forest, then there would be lots of plants for them to discover.

"What about this one, Zecora?" Scootaloo pointed to a bush with drooping blue berries and silver green leaves. It wasn't that she really wanted to know, but asking about the plants would at least fill the silence.

"The lover's tears tells a story so sweet, that-" Before Zecora could go on to tell the story that had grown up around the plant's discovery, Sweetie Belle butted in and drew the other fillies away, who were clearly only asking to find a plant that had not yet been discovered.

"Is that a ribbon tree?" asked Sweetie Belle. Zecora frowned and walked over to the small sapling that the young unicorn was asking about. The tree itself was just a sycamore, no more than a few years old, but it did, in all fairness to Sweetie Belle, have a red ribbon tied onto one of its thin branches.

"Rarity said that ribbons didn't grow on trees the other day. With this, I can show her they do." said Sweetie Belle. In the white unicorn's mind she already envisioned bringing the tree back to her sister. She would be shocked, but would then be grateful that her little sister had found the plant. Then they would then plant it in front of the boutique, and it would grow into a huge ribbon tree with all different colours of ribbons swaying in the wind.

"That is not a ribbon tree you found, It's just a tree where a ribbon is bound," laughed Zecora. She found it funny that the filly could not only mistake a sycamore, but also honestly believed the ribbon was naturally growing on it.

"Who ties ribbons in trees?" Scootaloo sounded a little disgusted. Trees and plants were boring as they were, but to have someone dress them up in bows and ribbons just made them worse.

"The ribbon could be there to mark this spot, though who placed it there I admit I know not." Zecora was a little baffled. As far as she knew, she was the only zebra or pony who ventured into this part of the forest. However further thoughts about the origins of the ribbon were put on a hold as Apple Bloom found something else and announced its discovery rather loudly.

"Girls, take a look at this!" They all quickly formed a semicircle around a patch of soft, damp ground. Indented into the forest floor were a few large sausage-shaped prints, with water already settling into the hollows. Next to the two deepest prints was the mark that had caught Apple Bloom's eye. The main part was about the same size and shape as a hoof, but there were five long furrows leading off from half of it. Zecora noticed something else, there was a strange smell in the air, made up of sweat and a perfume of some sort. The girls, however, were too busy trying to work out what had made the mark to notice the scent.

"It looks like a rat print," Apple Bloom said confidently. She had seen plenty of the paw prints that rats left out in the barn when it was raining outside. She knew to look out for them so Applejack could get Winona to chase them out. This was more rounded than the ones she had seen, but it looked about the same.

"It would have to be an epically big rat. I think it looks more like a chicken," Said Scootaloo, pushing Apple Bloom out of the way so that she could get a better look.

"Well, maybe rats are bigger here than back at home. Besides, it looks nothing like a chicken print." Apple Bloom pushed Scootaloo back out of the way, and soon the two were head to head, pushing one another angrily.

"Rat."

"Chicken."

"RAT."

"CHICKEN."

"OK maybe it is a chicken; let’s check it against your prints, Scootaloo, and see if they match."

"I am NOT a chicken!"

"And neither are those prints."

"Enough! Both your creatures I must rebuff." Zecora sounded both angry and annoyed which caused all three fillies to stop what they were doing and look at her with their heads lowered and their ears down.

"This print is not from chicken or bird, of that I'm sure, so take my word. And I do not think not for one moment, that this print is from an unusually sized rodent."

"So, it's from a creature you've never seen?" Sweetie Belle was the first one to understand what this meant, while the other two members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders spent the time sulking over being wrong. They were both quick enough to catch on though.

"That means if we find it..." said Scootaloo, looking at the other two fillies with a smile forming on her muzzle.

"Then we get to name it!" finished Apple Bloom. Zecora, knowing what was coming next, tried to hush the three girls but it was all in vain.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders Creature Capturers!" they said once more as a team. Even as she cringed, Zecora had to admit that despite all of their arguments and disagreements, the trio of friends always made up in the end, particularly with this new challenge laid out before them. She did wish that they could be a little quieter, as they were no longer in the outer rim of the forest. There were bad enough known creatures loose without adding something that she didn't know about to the mix.

"I dare say the creature has run away, for who can hear that challenge and stay?" The birds had certainly left the area quickly enough.

"To right it had better run because we're going to catch it," said Scootaloo. The orange filly looked much more enthusiastic about this cutie mark gaining idea then going around and looking at flowers.

"That's right, it must have run because it knows we'll be able to wrangle it."

"Yes! Umm... how are we going to catch it, again?" It was Sweetie Belle that noticed the slight flaw in their plan. After all, they had come out here to find and collect plants, not catch a creature.

Zecora saw her chance to steer the three fillies towards a much better plan of action.

"Clearly a friend is needed to help you, maybe one who is used to living in a zoo?" The zebra could only smile as she saw all three girls get the same idea.

"Fluttershy!" they said together, "She would know what to do."

"She might even know what sort of animal makes prints like this."

"One problem, girls," said Apple Bloom, who saw a hole in their plan. "Fluttershy hates coming into the Everfree Forest, remember?" The other two girls gave a disappointed 'oh' as Zecora watched her careful guiding fall apart. She had to act quickly if she was going to get the girls out of the forest and into somepony else's hooves. Of course, she could just tell them all that it was too dangerous and that they must stay away from the forest, but she knew that that would do no good. No, what she needed was for them to have the idea themselves. That way, they wouldn’t see her as the adult that was there to spoil their fun, thus encouraging them to come to her whenever they wanted to go into the Everfree Forest instead of in secret.

"Surely with the three of you, you can draw this mark so well it's true." Within moments, Zecora saw that she had solved her problem with just a few words. The perfect way to solve a problem. She could see it in the eyes of the three fillies as all their plans fell into place. Watching them take rough measurements, they were soon heading back and on their way to her hut and then out of the forest. They didn't even notice that it only took half the time that it had to get to the strange marking, because they were too busy designing trap ideas. With any luck, Fluttershy would be the one to deny the three fillies their chance to go hunting in the forest for the strange creature. If that didn't stop them, then at least Zecora would be safe in the knowledge that the three would come to her first before heading off. The zebra just hoped they would give her enough time to do her own exploring. She was sure she had seen prints that looked similar in one of her books back at home.

Zecora could hardly keep the three fillies from running off with her bags still attached to their backs once they saw her hut. Apple Bloom ended up taking her bag off herself while still trotting with the precision only gained from practice. As the zebra led them to the edge of the forest, she made sure to give them all one last bit of advice,"Before you go I must make it clear, for each of you I am always here."

The three fillies smiled and gave thanks, with Sweetie Belle even giving her a quick hug before trotting along with her friends to head to Fluttershy's house.

With the three noisy little ponies gone, Zecora could not help but feel relieved that she had her peace and quiet back. Now, the only question was with who - or what - was she sharing it with?

Author's Note

These three fillies are so much fun to write, I will have to come up with a story just for them at some point. Thanks again to Smelly_SockZ for Editing.

What is it?

As the three fillies made their way to Fluttershy's cottage they continued to try and work out how they might catch whatever it was that had left those marks. After all it had to be pretty big, so they were going to need more than just a box or a net. Each design quickly became more and more elaborate so that by the time they were walking through the animal filled yard in front of the Yellow mare's house it involved six metres of rope. Two jars of honey. A net. One over ripe banana. Three green wigs and a bell. Scootaloo was about to add that they would need to get a cart as well when they heard voices inside the cottage, well, they heard a voice as well as the barest of whispers, which was likely Fluttershy. The owner of the clearer voice, however, seemed to be making sure that she was being heard. Apple Bloom was the first to recognized the louder of the voices.

"Hey, that's mah sister Applejack. What's she doing here?" They were far enough away so as to make it hard to hear what was being said, but Apple Bloom and the other girls could tell that Applejack did not sound happy. The three fillies slowed their gait down and walked quietly up to one of the open windows, where a few squirrels and birds were also sitting and watching, and where they could also hear the voices more clearly.

"Maybe she found out we went into the Everfree Forest and is now blaming Fluttershy," whispered Sweetie Belle as they approached. She sounded worried, and the other two clearly mirrored her fears with their sheepish looks. None of them wanted to be on the receiving end of a telling-off from Applejack, but they would all feel worse if Fluttershy were taking the blame. The three took a deep breath, before reaching up onto the window ledge.

"Well, if it weren't one of those critters o' yours, then who was it? Certainly weren't nopony. Not the way those there trees were stripped." The fillies each gave a sigh of relief. Applejack was not talking about them, so they were in the clear, however that left them with the question as to just what had gotten Applejack so wound up. They stayed where they were and watched as Fluttershy tried to stand her ground in the conversation, which was a lot like watching a fish try to fly. Angel, the shy mare's white rabbit, stood his ground very well. He shook his paw at Applejack and seemed to say something to the yellow pegasus pony, which involved a lot of shaking of his head and swiping of his paws like he was clearing something in front of him away before crossing his paws.

"Oh my, I'm sorry, Applejack, but Angel said it was none of the animals in my care. They know not to take apples from your orchards, not after the last time I had a talk with them all." Fluttershy was as apologetic as always in her cotton-soft voice, though Applejack and the three nosy fillies all noticed that at least half the animals around them all gave a little shudder. Clearly the talk had involved 'the stare'. "From what you described, though, it might have been a young bear, but I don't know of any cubs in the area. Oh dear, I hope it's not lost." The yellow pegasus tapped one hoof against her lip in worry. She would have to ask the local bears if they had seen anything, maybe the squirrels as well, they always liked to gossip.

"Don't get ya self in a state there, Fluttershy. Whatever is pilfering my Pippins will quickly find the Apples don't take too kindly to thieves." This statement however only upset Fluttershy more, as she quickly explained that the baby was likely just lost and hungry, and it should be taken care of, not scared off. Applejack however felt that all that mattered was they got it out of her orchard before it did any more damage.

As the two mares went back and forth between what sort of methods could be used to remove - or deter - the thief and vandal, the three fillies dropped back down to the ground to whisper amongst themselves.

"You girls thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Scootaloo with a twinkle in her eye. Sweetie Belle frowned for a moment before answering.

"That Fluttershy might be too busy to help us now with this lost bear loose?"

"No Belle," Scootaloo said shaking her head. "If Applejack and Fluttershy are going to catch a bear, then all we have to do is watch how they do it and then we will know how to catch our creature." The orange pegasus looked proud of her idea as Sweetie Belle nodded to the new plan, which she liked more then having to try and convince her sister Rarity to let her borrow three green wigs. Apple Bloom, however, was still looking up at the window deep in thought.

"Applejack said it was the Pippin trees that were hit." Apple Bloom's words were clearly meant to have a lot of meaning in them, but neither the unicorn or pegasus filly could see what it was supposed to be, so they just looked back at her with blank faces. Apple Bloom sighed and then spoke a little slower to make sure her friends were following her. "The Pippin trees are right back against the Everfree Forest, because they can handle the cold winds that sometimes blow in from that direction. What if it wasn't a bear that took the apples but our creature?"

"And what creature would that be then?" All three fillies looked up to see Applejack looking down at them from the window as the front door opened and Fluttershy peaked out. "Nothing to worry about, Fluttershy, it's just my sister and her friends. Now, what's this about some sort of creature?"

********

After a fair bit of clumsy story telling, in which they first had to cover as to just why they were in the Everfree Forest in the first place, and that they had only been there to help Zecora, so they had not been in their on their own or without permission. Applejack still had a look on her face that said she was going to have a long chat with the zebra, whereas Fluttershy looked even paler than before at the mere thought of the place. The three girls were eventually able to explain the prints they had found in the Everfree Forest, as well as the ribbon tied onto the tree.

"There are lots of strange creatures in them woods, any number of them could have made those prints," said Applejack, who was not about to draw conclusions with so little to go on. The girls, however, were not about to be deterred, and after some paper and pencils had been found they tried to draw the rat/chicken/creature print they had seen. All three pictures looked different, but there were enough similarity for Fluttershy to work out that it did look a little like a rat's paw or...
"A squirrel. See, they have paws just like that to help them climb and grab things. They are just the cutest things when you see them eating a nut in their paws." Fluttershy pointed to a pair of gray squirrels who were chasing each others' tails between her stair banisters, but now stopped to chatter when they saw they were being looked at.

"Hmm, a squirrel that big could do the sort of damage I saw on the trees, maybe there is something to this creature of yours after all." Applejack was glaring at the squirrels now as though they were the culprits, and both quickly scampered up the stairs. The three fillies smiled and looked at one another in triumph.
"Now, don't you three get ahead of ya selves. I still think it is more likely a bear or something that's been at my trees. Maybe we should ask Twilight about this here creature, one of her books is bound to have something to help. Fancy a trot down to the Library Fluttershy?" asked Applejack, but the yellow pegasus shook her head gently, her long pink mane swaying like a waterfall in the wake of the movement.

"I think I am going to ask around the animals to see what they have heard. Just promise me you won't scare the poor creature away." Fluttershy held her to hooves together in front of her pleading.

"Ah can't do that sugercube. I've got to protect the family farm, but I promise I won't hurt it." Fluttershy sighed gently and nodded her head before seeing the four ponies out. Her first job before the search for the creature's origins would be to check on the squirrels that had run upstairs.

********

Twilight Sparkle was having a very good day, having just finished stocking the five new books she had been sent from Canterlot's grand library. Of course, it had meant that she had had to take off all of the books from her shelves to make sure everything had been placed the the right order now that there were more additions to their numbers, but that just added to the fun. Right now she was reading through the second of the new books: 'The Eastern Skies: Gryphon Weather Practices', which she was sure Rainbow Dash would love if she could just convince her that Daring Do books were not the only ones that could be 'cool'. Spike was currently taking a nap in his bed, so that meant the purple unicorn had nothing but peace and quiet.
'Knock, knock.'

'So much for that,' thought Twilight. "Door's open. Come on in." Twilight took a mental note of the page she was on, and walked over to greet Applejack and the three fillies who had just entered. She had to admit, she was a little worried that her friend might have brought them round for her to foalsit, and with the excitement in their eyes at this moment she knew no sitter would stand more than a few hours against them.

"Afternoon, Twilight. Sorry to come over like this, but these three found some strange marks in the Everfree Forest and I thought one of your books might have an answer for them." The three fillies smiled angelically.

"Well, I am always happy to help ponies find the information they need. What sort of marks are we talking about?" Twilight also knew that by helping she could make sure the three fillies were not going to put her books back in the wrong places, or worse...dog ear them. The unicorn listened as the three went over their story, which Applejack noticed had grown a little more exaggerated than when they had last told it, making her question just how big these marks had really been. They showed the pictures they had done and then went on to talk about how it had savaged the trees in Sweet Apple Acres.

"Now whoa there, fillies. I had three trees torn up a little, that's all, and both Fluttershy and I think it was the work of a lost baby bear rather than your mystery critter." The three fillies looked a little embarrassed having been caught in their 'embellishments' but went on to say that Fluttershy had pointed out that the creature looked like it could climb like a squirrel or a bear which would explain the damage to the trees.

Twilight looked at the pictures and frowned. She was not an expert on animals or on the things that lurked in the Everfree Forest, but she was sure she had seen these sorts of marks before. Pulling three books down from the shelves she quickly found what she was looking for.

"This is not good," said Twilight, who realized that her very good day had just ended quite abruptly. This was one of the few times she was hoping to be wrong. Applejack and the three fillies moved over as the book was lowered gently by Twilight's magic so that all four could see it. On the page showed a print almost identical to the one they had seen pressed into the mud in the forest. The three girls all shouted out that it was a perfect match and were clearly happy that they had an answer to their mystery. Twilight sighed and turned the page back over to show a full picture of the prints owner.

It stood on its hind legs without any sort of fur covering it other than a shaggy mane that didn't even go down its neck. There was no tail to be seen at all but it did have strips of what might be clothes hanging off it. The prints were from its forelegs, which had hands hanging like bunches of bananas, much like a Minotaur's or Diamond dog’s. Two tusks stuck out upwards from its lower jaw, while the face itself was flat and flabby, with little beady eyes and a nose that looked more like a lump of dough had been pushed into the middle of its face.

"Yuck! What is it?" said Scootaloo, who was clearly having the same reaction to the creature as the rest of the ponies in the room.

"It's a troll."

Author's Note

Now here is a new take, after all we have horses and ponies in our world so why not something similar to a human in theirs. All my thanks to Smelly_SockZ for his editing skills.

A hunting we will go

Quick and nimble fingers continued to push and pull the needle along a torn seam, slowly bring the two edges back together.
"There we go, and this time you had better stay closed," scolded the stitcher, as she tied off the thread and cut the extra away, before carefully placing the needle back with its cousins, the pins, in a small cushion that rested on the arm of her rusty red sofa.
"What's that? If I used real thread, you might have a chance to hold together? I know, I know, but it's not like I can just pop to the shops and get some, so you will just have to make do with this. Remember, if you can't stay together, you will have to be turned into thread yourself." Feeling that she had gotten her point across to the red T-shirt, which was now ribbed with a blue scar down the right side, it was gently placed onto a hanger and then put up and out of the way with the rest of her clothes on the curtain rail. It was a messy sight, but at least it kept the cold from pushing its way into the room.

Pulling back one of the closed curtain edges, a single eye peaked through the dirty window. "Looks like Mark is having to work a Sunday again, and he still hasn't learned how to fasten a belt to those jeans. What do you think, George? Will it be two more days or three before they fall down while he is out on his paper round? It would certainly give Mrs Cartwright a shock." The solitary figure stood still in her living room and listened, but the smile on her face slowly faded as the freed curtain edge fell back into place, rocking a few of the clothes on top of it before coming to a rest.

"Still not talking to me?" Another pause was also met with silence until the human sighed, and reached up with her two hands so she could bury her face in them. "Maybe I really have just gone off the deep end and I'm just mad." A shiver ran up her spine followed by laughing of such enthusiasm and mirth, you would think someone had just told a very good joke.

"Not mad, at least not by any decent standard." said a voice behind her. "Now, cheer up, it looks like we might have guests for tea."

*******

"What the hay is a troll doing in the Everfree Forest? I thought they only lived in mountain caves and places like that." Applejack was now really worried. A bear was one thing, but a troll running around and getting into her trees, the sort of damage it could do was unthinkable. The orange mare's eyes suddenly grew large with worry as she grabbed Apple Bloom. "I told you to stay out of that there forest, you could have been troll food!"

"Get off. I'm okay. What's so bad about trolls anyway?" The young earth filly was still trying to pull herself out of her sister's hooves as she spoke to Twilight.

"Apart from them being really, really ugly," said Sweetie Belle who pulled a disgusted face at the picture in front of her.

Twilight Sparkle brought the book back to her face and read from the pages:
"Trolls are most often found in high mountain caves, either solitary or in small family groups. They are mostly scavengers and live off a diet of anything they can find around their home, from plants to insects, though they favour meat when they can get it and are known to push travellers off mountain ledges in the hope that the fall will either kill them or cripple them enough to-"

"Twilight! There are foals here." Applejack had now put her hooves over Apple Bloom's ears.

"Aww, don't stop. This is just getting good." Scootaloo was already seeing the praise they would get for capturing this dangerous creature. True, they couldn't name it, but if it was dangerous then they could still prove themselves and save all of Ponyville.

"Sorry. Um, I will just skip to the important bits." Twilight slipped into scanning the pages to pick out what information was needed, and what was best left out for the younger ears.
"Sometimes trolls get lost or they run out of food which can bring them down from the mountains. It probably likes the dark closed in nature of the forest, and is living off the plants and animals there. The book says they are gluttons and will continue to eat anything they can find until there is nothing left, forcing them to move on again. Which means-"

"Which means we have to make it move out before it eats all my trees!" Applejack had lost her scared tone and was now confident in what had to be done. No hulking great troll was going to make a meal out of her farm and family.

"Cool! Cutie Mark Crusaders Troll Trappers!" shouted the three fillies together. Both Twilight and Applejack winced while a shocked shout could be heard upstairs as Spike was woken up from his nap. The following bang also meant he had likely fallen out of his bed.

"Not on my watch you ain't. You three are going to stay away from that forest until this troll has been sent packing. Y'all hear me?"

"Yes, Applejack," the three deflated fillies said as they hung their heads. A troll was one thing but an angry Applejack - now that was scary.

"Good. I'm gonna take these three to their homes and make sure they stay there. Think you can come up with some sort of plan to drive off this varmint?" Twilight looked down at the book and then back up at Applejack.

"Well, it's going to take some time. I will have to plan out where we can drive the troll, there are the supplies we need to gather, and getting everypony round to go over how we can get rid of it. Spike?" At her call a purple baby dragon poked his head from around the stairs rubbing at one eye.

"What's going on Twilight?"

"I need you to take down a list on the things we need to get ready to relocate a troll." Spike yawned and headed over to grab a quill and some parchment before his sleepy brain was able to brake out of autopilot and make sense of what had just been said.

"What did you just say? A troll?"

"Twilight, I don't have time for you to go all listy on me. What if last night was just a light snack and tonight he'll be coming back for seconds. We need him out now!" Applejack was herding the three fillies through the door, while also ignoring their suggestions on how they could help. The orange mare, however, was not about to leave until she was sure her friend was not going to go and over plan things so much that Sweet Apple Acres would be nothing more than a collection of stumps by the time Twilight had completed all her lists.

"Right, okay. I can do this. No list." Twilight tapped her hoof on the floor for a moment. "If you can grab Rarity and Fluttershy, I will get Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash."

"Now that's my sort of plan. See you just outside the Everfree forest by the path that leads to Zecora's. Giddy up, girls." Applejack closed the door behind her as Twilight grabbed her saddle bag, and put the book inside for reference. Spike stood watching her, still with quill and parchment in hand.

"What troll?"

*******

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash had proven fairly easy to round up, though neither seemed too happy that they were going to have to spend any amount of time in the Everfree Forest - again. They had also managed to convince the Cakes to let them have some of the stale breads and flapjacks to be used as bait for the 'problem'. They didn't exactly tell the Cakes what it was they wanted to use the food for, however, feeling it best that Ponyville wasn't in a panic about something that would, hopefully, be gone by the morning. What surprised both Twilight and Rainbow Dash however was that Pinkie Pie had had dealings with trolls before, though being surprised by Pinkie Pie was hardly new.

"Every few years the trolls would come down from the mountains to steal the rocks from the farm. You see our rocks were the best in the whole area because we kept them free of moss and any lichen that might spoil them," explained the particularly bouncy pink pony.

"What would trolls want with rocks?" asked Rainbow Dash

"These weren't just any rocks, Dashie. These were our super special basaltic and Sphalerite mix, silly." Both Twilight and Rainbow Dash exchanged looks and shrugged.

"I think what Rainbow Dash meant was what did the trolls want with the rocks. What did they do with them?" Twilight could see the edges of the Everfree Forest coming into view now. Applejack and the others were not in sight, however, so they still had a bit of time.

"Oh, well, they would take them all the way to the tippy-top of their mountains, push them off, and then watch them fall all the way to the bottom. I think it was some sort of a game but they never invited me to play, which was quite rude now that I think about it, because they were using our rocks."

"Okay, but how did you stop the trolls, Pinkie?" Twilight knew she would never get the answer in time if she was not direct with her questions.

"How am I supposed to know? My dad always got rid of them." Rainbow Dash groaned and slapped a hoof against her forehead.

"So the plan is to just go in and either chase, or be chased, by this hungry troll until it finds a cave to call home?" Rainbow Dash did not sound very convinced and, truth be told, neither was Twilight.

"Okay, so maybe it's not the most well thought-out of plans, but I was hardly given much time to think and come up with anything. The book I have on them mostly just says to keep out of their way." Twilight levitated the book from out of her saddle bag and held it out in front of her as she trotted flicking the pages back and forth in case she had missed anything. She hadn't, and it was frustrating. Still, maybe this encounter could shed some light on trolls, then maybe she could ask for a revised version of this book to be printed with the information she gathered. "The six of us should be able to handle one troll though."

"Five," corrected Rainbow Dash who was looking along the path that lead to Fluttershy's cottage.

"I can see Applejack and Fluttershy, but no Rarity. Looks like Little Miss Fancy has managed to weasel her way out of this one."

A few minutes later, the five mares were making their way into the Everfree Forest and, more importantly, to Zecora's cottage as she was the only one that would be able to show them where the prints were.

"I left the girls with Rarity. Thought it best to make sure somepony was keeping an eye on them. Ah tell you, ah don't know what goes through those fillies' heads." Applejack shook her own head at the thought of the little fillies trying to take on a troll. Even she was having a few doubts as to how they would deal with this creature. Thankfully, she had not come unprepared, and was loaded up with a lot of thick rope, just in case they needed it.

Getting to Zecora's cottage didn't take too long, now that a path had started to be worn through the trees from the traffic that now made its way to and from the herbalist. As soon as the group got close the door opened with a very agitated zebra beckoning them inside.

"The five of you I'm glad to see. Come in quickly, I have boiled the tea." The girls could smell the green tea wafting out from behind Zecora, and were happy to get inside and rest their nerves a little, even without a troll living here the Everfree Forest was not the most relaxing place to be during the dusk hours. Inside Twilight could see numerous books scattered about Zecora’s tree home, which lead her to believe that the Zebra had realized that the prints were not from any of the normal oddities found in forest.

Twilight sipped her tea. "Zecora, I wish we had longer to stay but we need you to take us to where the girls and you found those strange prints." Applejack was tapping one hoof on the floor, her tea drunk in just a few gulps and she looked ready to push them all out if they didn't hurry up and get to the task at hoof.

"Those marks are strange - of that I'm sure, but I know I've seen them once before." Zecora was grinding something in her mortar that smelt hot and spicy, and seemed to give the air a buzz.

"We think they might be from a troll. Are theses the marks you saw?" Twilight levitated the book in a magenta glow over to Zecora who studied the picture carefully.

"The print looks about the same, but the one we saw were from smaller game." Zecora now carefully brushed the orange powder into a cloth pouch and fixed it to her own saddle bag.

"So, it might only be a little one, then?" Fluttershy spoke up a quietly though still barely a whisper. She hated the Everfree Forest, but her friends needed her help, so it was not like she could just say no. Besides, the troll might just be lost, and needed help to find its way back home.

"Small is good," said Twilight, feeling like a layer of stress had been lifted from her. "But, it will only get bigger the longer we wait to move it out of the Everfree Forest."

"So what are y'all waiting for? Lets go wrangle us a troll!"

Author's Note

Smelly_SockZ did a great job on this one making sure the dialog flowed well. Now for a little bit of adventure.

The door

A short while later, the six ponies were standing around the print that had started all of this. Zecora made sure to also point out the ribbon that had been tied to a tree close by, but none of them could think for what that particular tree had been marked, or how. If it had been a troll to place the ribbon then it was also a mystery how the creature had managed to get a hold of a ribbon in the first place. After all, the material didn't look old or like it had been thrown away. In fact it was hardly frayed at all, and looked to be of good quality.

Rainbow Dash leaned against a nearby tree and crossed her forehooves. "So, now what? Are we going to do something, or just wait 'til the troll fancies a pony snack?" The pegasus hated just standing around. She also hated how she didn't have a clear flight path to maneuver - nor get up any sort of speed - so had to keep spending time walking on the ground when the trees got to thick around her. Fluttershy didn't mind being on the ground and walking normally, but here in the Everfree Forest, she was shaking and keeping close to everypony else.

"Trolls d-don't really e-e-eat ponies, do they?" she asked in the barest of whispers.

"The book just says they push travellers off cliffs, so I'm not sure if they are able to kill without that advantage." Twilight decided against answering such an horrific question, and chose instead to offer a silver lining to their thundercloud. No matter how small.

Pinkie Pie walked over to her pale yellow friend and gave her one of her winning smiles. "Cheer up, Fluttershy. I am sure anypony that likes to decorate trees can't be all bad. Maybe it didn't get along with all the other trolls, so it came to Ponyville to make new friends." Pinkie always knew how to look on the bright side of life and managed to coax a small smile from her pegasus friend. They just had to hope that the party expert was right, though how a troll would go about making friends in Ponyville, without frightening half the residents to pack up and move, was something none of them could quite work out. Well, apart from Pinkie, that was.

Looking around, Twilight noticed Zecora had walked a little away from the group, and was smelling the air with her eyes closed. She, in turn, took a lungful, but found it hard to pick out anything new from the strange smells that made up the forest. It just smelt like trees, rotting leaves and flowers to her.

"Zecora, have you spotted something?" The purple unicorn decided to leave the smelling to someone who was used to the area and its odours.

"It was stronger before What it is, I'm unsure. But a smell that should not be, seems like a good lead to me." Zecora could still not describe what it was she was smelling It was certainly floral, but with a harsh bite to it. Mostly it just smelt unnatural, like a flower that was made by someone who had never smelt one before.

The rest of the group sniffed the air, and Fluttershy let out a very petite sneeze.

"Sorry, it makes my nose itch."

The yellow pegasus took another quick breath and sneezed again. None of the other ponies could smell anything or had any sort of reaction.

"Looks like you will have to keep leading the way, Zecora," said Twilight, as there was no other clue they could follow. "If the smell is still around, after this many hours, then maybe the troll is close by." The purple unicorn suddenly jumped when something grabbed her, but it was only Fluttershy who had been startled by somepony's hooves snapping a twig.

"Relax, Fluttershy. Nothing is going to get you; not while I'm around." Rainbow Dash cleared the floor and flew up as far as the tree branches would let her - which was only about two metres off the ground - but it still gave her a vantage point to see anything coming. "Even with these trees in the way, I will be able to see any troll coming."

Applejack looked around, but couldn't see any signs of damage to the trees or brush around her. She was sure there would be some signs since the damage to her own trees told her that the troll was hardly the most stealthy of creatures.

"Hey, Dash, you think you can check the area for any busted-up trees?" Maybe all they needed was to widen their view.

"Sure thing 'Jack. I will give the place a fly round." Rainbow Dash saluted with one hoof before raced forward...and promptly vanished mid-flight.

The rest of the ponies shouted out her name in shock, apart from Fluttershy, who just screamed. The missing pegasus also screamed at the same time, before she suddenly reappeared and fell to the ground. "There's something there. A wall or something but I flew right through it. What the hay WAS that?!" Rainbow Dash was clearly shaken, though, to be honest, so was everypony in the group. Walking forward, Twilight used her magic to try and find what was ahead of them, and just where Rainbow had gone for that split second. As her magic roamed out in the same direction her friend had flown she suddenly was met with different sensations that made her dizzy. It was like trying to pick up an apple only to feel a wet sponge in its place. Shaking her head, the unicorn ignored the questions coming from her friends and instead focused her magic with her eyes closed. Without the feedback from what she was seeing Twilight managed to 'see' that whatever it was that was in the thorns. It was certainly real and solid. A second scream from Fluttershy snapped Twilight out of her concentration, but this outburst had merit.

"Go away and leave this place. OOOOO!" The voice that boomed in front of them was deep, distorted and like nothing they had ever heard.

Twilight fell back on her rump and pulled away at the sight before her. An horrific creature's head hung in the air without any sort of support at all, and no magic glowed to hold it aloft. Its mane was wispy and white and its skin was green and rubbery with boils and warts.

"I said LEAVE!"

Fluttershy was gone with just a trail of dust marking her path. Pinkie Pie, however, was rolling on the floor laughing, while pointing at the face. She was clearly trying to say something, but it was hard to make out as the pink pony also tried to breathe at the same time. Twilight took a breath and tried to swallow her fear. She looked closer, and realized she could see that the face - or whatever it was - didn't actually move its lips or features; all it did was hover mid air. Taking a chance she tried to grab at the face with her magic, and was surprised to find that it was both light and completely unattached to anything. The face came to rest on the ground with a light thump. Nothing more than a mask.

Twilight looked over her friends, Fluttershy was still missing. "Zecora, do you think you can find Fluttershy before she gets lost? I have a feeling this is going to be easier than I thought it would be." The zebra nodded, and headed off to follow the pegasus' trail. The area grew quiet again as the hoofsteps faded into the forest, but Twilight was sure she could hear movement coming from the brambles - at least, where she could see brambles.

"What in tarnation is going on?" asked Applejack, who could make no sense of any of this.

"I will explain after, if I am right that is," said Twilight. The others noted her tone - she had a plan. "Rainbow Dash, keep high and watch for anything leaving the brambles. You will see it leave at the edges, not in the brambles themselves. Applejack, you're with me. Keep close, I'm not sure what is on the other side." Twilight was about to say something to Pinkie Pie, but as she had just picked up the mask and was pulling faces at it, the unicorn decided to leave her as she was. Two ponies should be enough. After all, if it was having to resort to scare tactics, then it couldn't be that dangerous...she hoped.

As she walked forward with Applejack at her side, she noted her friend had a lasso ready in her mouth. Twilight knew roughly what to expect, but she was still shocked when she passed the bubble wall and saw what was on the other side. Applejack decided to show her shock with a few choice curses behind the rope in her mouth.

They were in a room of some sort, though it looked as if most of the furnishings had been taken down or moved. The walls were painted in a cream colour, while the carpet under their hooves looked like it had been a chocolatey colour, even before all the mud and dirt had been tracked into it. There was a partly open door in front of them, tall enough to let even Princess Celestia pass through it without a problem, but strangely very narrow. Twilight thought she saw something through the gap in the door before it quickly closed, followed by sounds of a locking mechanism falling into place.

"We don't want to hurt you, we just want to talk," shouted Twilight, but she was met with no response.

"Twilight, where in Equestria are we?" Applejack was finding this all very unnerving. She had put her lasso back in place; there was not much point having it out in an empty room.

"I'm pretty sure we are still right where we were. See?" Twilight walked backwards a few steps. To Applejack and her, it looked like the purple rear end was now missing. A fresh batch of laughter erupting behind them let them know that Pinkie could see the missing half. "There is some sort of bubble. A barrier between what we can and cannot see. It is nothing more then a painted picture on either side. So, some of this room is real while the rest is just an illusion. I have seen a few instances of this sort of spell used to hide objects, and once a door, but never something this big."

"Well, ah don't like it" Applejack moved over to one of the walls but before she could reach it her head went through the barrier. Backing up she waved her forehoof in the air in front and saw it vanish.

"What I want to know is how this was all made." Twilight moved over to the door and tried to look underneath it, without any luck. Frowning at the round lump of metal on one side of the door, she guessed that it must be some sort of handle - though how it would be turned without magic she didn't know. The lock seemed to be set into the handle, and it came as a surprise when she found she was able to make quick work of it with her magic. The door, however, refused to move - it was being held in place from the other side.

"I'm sorry if we scared you. We just want to talk." Twilight was becoming more and more intrigued as she looked around the room. There were thin white...things with three holes in a triangle shape around the edges and some sort of glass ball hanging above them that looked like it held bits of metal inside. It could be a light, but she felt no magic stores inside it. Indents on the floor told her there had once been quite a lot of heavy furniture in this room, and she found herself wondering just what they had been.

"Out the way, Twilight." The unicorn stepped aside and watched the earth pony turn around and buck the door with enough force that the hinges gave way a little.

"Wait!" shouted Twilight, who didn't want to scare the creature on the other side into running. Applejack, however, was not really interested in diplomatic relations - they took far too long.

"Just go away." The voice that came from the other side was no longer loud and distorted. In fact, it just sounded like a mare. Twilight pushed Applejack out of the way - or at least she tried to - but thankfully the earth pony complied, but with a look that told Twilight that if she didn't get this over with quickly, then she would do it her way.

"Please, we only want to talk." Twilight and Applejack waited. Just when the orange pony was about to restart her own methods, the voice answered.

"Then talk. What do you want?"

Twilight fumbled, not quite knowing what to say next. Thankfully the situation was saved by a still laughing Pinkie Pie, who had grown bored of the trees outside.

"Wow, this place is amazing. How did you get the walls to do that mirror thing?" Pinkie Pie was still not quite in the room, she was having too much fun standing half in and out of the barrier, before a switch on the wall caught her eye. It was a little hard to reach, but the earth pony was no stranger to being agile on her hooves. Much to her disappointment, no matter how many times she flicked it, the switch did nothing.

Whispering could be heard behind the door and for the first time Twilight wondered if they were not dealing with one creature but more. That could be more problematic. After a little bit of silence there again came an answer.

"I don't know."

That was hardly an informative answer, but at least they were starting to get a bit of a conversation going. Both Twilight and Applejack chose to stay out of the conversation, and let their friend work her 'magic'.

"That scary mask thing was great. Do you have any more of them? I would love to borrow one to use for the next Nightmare Night. Oh, by the way, I'm Pinkie Pie. What's your name?" Twilight might at times worry about her friend Pinkie, but she had to admit that at this moment she realised that she was watching a true master of their art at work.

"Alice." The name was said after another long pause.

"Hi, Alice. You know it's not much fun talking to a door, and I bet you have tons of more cool stuff to see. Can we come in? Please?" There was a lot more whispering from behind the door as well as some banging and a groan.

"You're not going to leave, are you?"

"Nope," Pinkie said with a cheerful smile. Both Twilight and Applejack looked at one another with a mixture of surprise and awe.

"Fine, but I warned you to leave. Stand back, I'm...I'm coming out."

"Okey-dokey-lokey!"

The three mares moved back away from the door as it reluctantly opened.

Author's Note

Poor little Fluttershy, at least she has Zecora to stop her from getting too lost.

Through the looking glass

The three mares watched as the door slowly creaked open. Plaster fell from around the hinges, thanks to the buck Applejack had given them, and a few dents in the front of the wood told them that the door was still fairly solid, and would have likely taken quite a while to get open by any other way than Pinkie's. Applejack noted that she owed her friend an apple pie once this was all over.

The first thing the three saw were four long, peach fingers gripping the edge of the now marginally open door, like a spider ready to jump. They sat a few hooves above the waiting pony's eye height, and warned Twilight that this thing was big. Pinkie Pie was more interested in seeing the owner of the fingers right away, so moved round to get a better look. A wall of mismatched cloth stood in the way of the curious blue eyes. Nothing beyond it was visible, no matter how hard Pinkie scrunched up her eyes.

Soon part of a round, flat, face peaked round the corner, with a single beady eye looking each of the mares over before the door opened a little more to reveal a tall, gangly-looking troll. The face was bald of any hair, and reminded Applejack of the pigs back at home. It did, however, have a messy tangle of brown mane on top of its head. Unfortunately, the mane was in such a state that it would have likely given Rarity a heart attack. That was, if the tattered and hastily repaired clothes didn't first. Twilight could see Alice looked a lot thinner than the troll in her book, and was maybe some sort of forest troll instead of the trolls found up in the mountains.

Alice looked over the three brightly-coloured horses as she held onto the door hiding her right arm and leg. Feeling very unsure about this whole turn of events, she was not quite ready to leave the safety and security of her hallway. Quick to try and aswhat sort of threat she might be in, Alice saw that other than a rope on the side of the orange horse, they didn't look to have any weapons. Truth be told, they all looked quite cute and harmless. The three equines were smaller than she had thought they would be - about the size of a very big dog or a Shetland pony. That, however, didn't help her relax much, she had dealt with both big dogs and Shetlands in her life, and neither could be considered harmless just because of their size. Besides, the purple one had a horn, though she found she loathed to call it a 'unicorn'. Unicorns were, in her eyes, meant to have cloven hooves and a lion's tail and, other than the horn, this one looked no different to the other two. It was a strange thing to bother her, considering she was looking at brightly-coloured, talking Shetland ponies, but details like that always bothered her in fantasy stories, much like when people put up fewer than eight - nine if you counted Rudolf - reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh.

The fact that there were only three of the equines currently in her former bedroom was also bothering Alice. She knew there were more, after seeing them approaching earlier. "Where are the others?" Alice realised that she sounded a lot more forceful than she had wanted to, but the last thing she needed was someone breaking into her house from one of the other rooms and wrecking her apartment. Everything had to stay where it was. Everything had to stay safe.

"The rest of our friends are outside," said Twilight, trying to sound as non-threatening as she could. The truth was, she was having to fight back both her own fear and her wonder. Here was some sort of sentient troll that was capable of speech, and she and her friends were the first ponies to find and interact with it. This was truly a momentous occasion, - she just wished she had a notepad with which to take everything down. What would the Princess think when she told her? Would she come down to see Alice herself, or would they need to convince the troll to come with them to Canterlot?

Pinkie Pie however had visions of Alice meeting more, immediate, ponies.

"I can't wait for you to meet everypony, Alice. Oh, I have never been friends with a troll before! Well, now that I think about it, I don't think anypony has ever been friends with a troll. This is going to be so much fun! Do trolls have parties? Oh, I hope you do - I would love to see what a troll party was like." The excitable mare was now bouncing up and down as Alice slowly shrank back into the doorway, clearly unnerved by the over friendly pony in front of her.

"Er...sorry about Pinkie Pie. She just gets a little overexcited. I'm Twilight Sparkle and this is Applejack." Twilight tried to salvage the situation before they all ended up talking to a door again. Alice, however, frowned.

"Wait. You think I'm a troll?" Alice sounded confused and Twilight was starting to wonder if maybe she had made a mistake. Maybe her kind and trolls were not the same? Maybe they didn't even get along? Trolls were well known for being stupid beasts, whereas Alice here was clearly at least close to an average pony's intelligence. Twilight knew she would have to do some tests to be sure, though. Perhaps calling her a troll was like calling a pony a goat - or worse - a horse.

"If ya ain't no troll, then what the hay are ya? If ya don't mind me askin'." Applejack was not really of a scientific mind on this whole encounter. Sure, they had somehow found a sort of intelligent creature hiding out in the Everfree Forest, but weirder things had been found in these woods. All she wanted was to find out who was responsible for wrecking her trees and, if this was the creature that had done it, Alice had better get ready to cough up some bits.

Alice bit at her lip for a moment before taking a chance.

"Have you ever heard of a human?" The question came out of the blue for the ponies, and none of them were really sure what Alice was talking about, but the words were filled with hope. Hope so fragile that Twilight almost felt bad when she shook her head, and watched the others do the same. Alice sighed and looked down at the floor before slowly sinking back through the doorway. "Never mind."

They were losing her.

"No, wait. Please," Twilight pleaded, begged. She had to find out more about her. "Is that what you are? A human? Are there more like you living here? Please, we need to know." 'I need to know,' thought Twilight truthfully.

"The only thing ah need to know is who has been vandalising my trees and stealing mah apples." Applejack was not about to sit on her rump while Twilight played twenty questions. They had come here to do a job, not go on a nature study.

Twilight panicked when she saw Alice try to close herself off from them, both in conversation and via the door. The mare quickly tried to halt the retreat by grabbing the door with her magic, however this turned out to have the added effect of startling the human holding onto it.

Alice, having to face the reality that she really was the only human in this world, suddenly felt the door in her hands pull away from her. It was surrounded by a magenta glow and seemed to hum under her touch. Not knowing what was happening, she quickly let go of the door and looked at her hands to check they were okay before wiping them down her patchwork T-shirt. With the door now wide open, the human female stood frozen. Behind her, the ponies could see a corridor with two other closed doors on the opposite walls. Buzzing could be heard from behind one of them. With her rational brain currently taking a little nap, Alice grabbed the broom off of which had hung the mask, and held it out in front of her - bristle side forward.

"Get out. Just leave me alone and get out." The human backed up, eyes darting from one pony to the next before muttering to herself, "Why are you never around when I need you."

"Easy there, sugarcube. We done told you before, we just want to talk." Applejack edged forward, watching both the human creature and the broom. Unfortunately, an impatient pegasus decided to poke her head through the barrier at that very moment. The sight of a troll looking ready to attack her friends did not go over that well.

Alice only had a second to look up and see a very angry looking blue horse before she found herself on her back with the back of her head and her shoulder screaming out in pain.

"Rainbow Dash - no!" Twilight rushed forward and started checking the human over. She was still conscious but dazed, having hit her head on the opposite wall when the teal tornado had rushed her. Alice had tried to back away without anywhere to go, only to end up falling over herself in blind panic, the broom likely didn't help matters either. What was worrying however was how she was holding her her left forearm and the sounds of pain that were coming from her.

"That thing was attacking you, what did you expect me to do?" Rainbow Dash had not really meant to hurt the creature - just scare it away. How was she meant to know that it would knock its self out? "Is...is it going to be okay?"

"Poor thing was just scared. Living in a place like this would likely put anypony on edge." Applejack grabbed the broom in her mouth and moved it out of the way, before stepping into the hallway. The floor was, again, covered in a brown and cream carpet while the walls were decorated with floral wallpaper of more creams and pastels. The apple farmer noticed Pinkie Pie jumping up and down to look at the pictures hanging on the walls.

"Wow, look at all these. Who is this human, Alice? Oh, and this one? Is this one you?"

"Pinkie, please. She is hurt. Can you go find any where we can lie her down at all?" Twilight was trying to get a better look at Alice's shoulder, but every time she got close, Alice would flinch or tell her to go away. The hallway was also not really helping either, as it was fairly cramped.

"Eww, there are Parasprites in here!" Pinkie had opened one of the doors to a room that was mostly white and blue and had what she guessed was a bath (or a very large mixing bowl for making huge cakes), a sink, a white seat that didn't look very comfy, and a big tall glass box filled to the brim with Parasprites.

"What the?!" Another door had been opened and then quickly closed with a slam. A slightly green-looking Applejack stood very still in front of the door, her eyes closed as she took a deep breath. "Ah don't ever want to see nothing like that again"

"What's in there, Applejack?" Rainbow Dash moved to open the door, but she was blocked by the earth pony. Applejack shook her head slowly, before nodding her head towards Alice.

"Looks like this here human eats more then just apples, those Parasprites are on the menu." Rainbow Dash paled a little and backed away from the door at Applejack's words. That was not something she wanted to see.

"There's a bed in here." Pinkie Pie poked her head out from a doorway on the same side as the one out of which they had come.

"Alice we are not going to hurt you, I promise, we just need to ask you some questions. Can you stand?" Twilight heard a pained 'yes', before the human started to shift. "Girls, give us a hoof."

The four mares found it surprisingly easy to help the biped stand. She was a lot lighter than they had thought she would be, and was soon resting upright on the settee. Alice had dismissed the bed that rested along one of the walls, as well as any help they had offered her with her shoulder which she was now rubbing or massaging with her free hand. Unsure of what they could do to help the four ponies found their attention being pulled in different directions by all of the strange sights.

The room itself was a jumble of different furniture and objects, with just a few narrow paths leading between it all. Most items were covered with blankets and sheets, which Pinkie Pie was now lifting up to look at what was hidden beneath, leading to a chorus of questions as well as cries of 'Ooo' and 'Wow'.

"Look at all these books." Twilight had walked over to a large bookshelf, which was filled to the brim with books of all shapes and sizes. She tried to read the titles written down the spines, but whatever it was written in she was not schooled in. Taking a chance, she grabbed one of the books with her magic and brought it down to her, but the same spidery script adorned the pages. Far from disheartened, Twilight only found herself more excited. This was a whole new language, from a race that had never been documented. In fact, everything in this room was amazing. There were so many questions buzzing around in her head that she wanted to ask, but it was Rainbow Dash that asked her one first.

"Twilight, what do you make of this?" The pegasus was hovering at the far side of the room, with her hoof pulling back a covering to what looked like a window. Strong sunlight shone through and onto the floor, which should have been the first clue that all was not right - it was supposed to be evening inside the thick woods of the Everfree Forest. Walking over, the view from the window slowly came into focus as Twilight got closer. She could hear Alice suddenly shout out to stay away from the window, but the unicorn found she was unable to look away.

It was not possible...it was just not possible. Twilight's mouth stood agape at the the view beyond the window. A street - wider and with less greenery than any she had seen before - stretched out from one side to the other, with huge houses all along its length. Strange, completely covered carts sat along the centre of the street in two rows. It was only then she noticed that, inside each one, there was at least one other human inside. A smaller human was riding a bike with a bag of what looked like newspapers inside, while others walked along the street...or at least they looked like they would have been walking if anything she could see was moving. The whole scene before her was just that - a scene; a painted picture, like the images they had seen on either side of the barrier.

"Alice." Twilight walked away carefully from the window, as the other two mares came over to take a look. The unicorn walk over to the still slightly dazed human carefully, and looked her over again in a very different light.

"Alice, where are you from?" Twilight's words were slow and carefully placed. She sounded a little scared, but it wasn't the human in front of her that scared her.

"I think...I think I'm from another world." That was what Twilight was afraid of.

Author's Note

Quite a few little changes were made to this chapter and I feel it flows much better, let me know what you think. As always a big thinks to Smelly_SockZ.

Fragile

“Now hold on there, sugarcube. What do you mean by another world?” Applejack turned away from the strange scene at the window, and looked the human over in a slightly new light. Pinkie Pie, on the other hand - or hoof - was waving to the static humans on the other side of the glass...if there was another side of the glass, that was. The view didn't change, but that was hardly a reason for the party mare to give up.

Both Rainbow Dash and Twilight had moved closer to the now very fragile-looking creature as it sat on the settee with its hind legs draped off the edge. With more time to study the human, and less door to get in the way, Twilight was able to notice other strange traits it had. Its arms, which were like a Diamond Dog’s, only much smaller and slender, were wrapped around their owner's torso, as though she was trying to stop something from breaking out of her chest or to protect herself.

Twilight noticed the human’s claws - looking like a single scale set into the end of each digit - were digging into the upper arms they were holding. Alice, however, didn't seem to notice. In fact, judging by the glassy expression on her face, Twilight didn't even think the human knew they were still there. The act of having to admit to her situation, that she was in a completely different world, as well as everything else that had happened in less than an half an hour had caused the human to go into shock. At least, that was what it looked like, if she remembered the symptoms from her studies.

“Rainbow Dash, can you find a cup or something, and get some water?” The cyan pony was confused by the request for a moment, and then realized that Alice was not simply just ignoring them. She still felt a little bad for scaring the thing into a wall. Twilight, meanwhile, levitated one of the many blankets from the bed to drape around Alice’s shoulders. The human jumped at the feel of the cloth - her eyes wide and darting - but Twilight moved round to face the creature she had only just met, and try and give her something to focus on.

“Its okay. Just take deep breaths.” Twilight, herself, knew how easy it was to become trapped by your own fears and stress. Normally, she had her friends around her to break the cycle before she fell too deep, but here was Alice, lost and alone, from a completely different world. How long had been been keeping these thoughts and fears locked away?

“Maybe, if you told us what happened, we can find a way to help you.” Twilight sounded far more hopeful than she felt. Time spells were hard enough to manage, but actually bridging the gap between two worlds and sending somepony through it? Not to mention that if there were other worlds out there, then how was she meant to find the one that Alice belonged to? Still, if it had happened once, then maybe she could find a way to reproduce it.

Alice was still glassy-eyed, but she now moved to grab hold of the blanket and wrap it around her.

“How I got here? Right. I had just come back from holiday. Mark had driven me back to my apartment from the airport.”

Pinkie Pie was about to jump in with a question, but Applejack managed to keep her mouth closed with a hoof. Alice, however, didn't skip a beat, and kept on talking while staring off into space, like she could see the events right in front of her.

“I would have asked him to stay, but we were both tired. So I said goodbye, and closed the door.” Alice looked over in the direction of the hallway.

“It’s not there now...it looks like it is, but my hands pass right through it. I don’t know what is real any more.” The human’s voice grew shaky as her hands twisted the blanket within them.

“What happened next?” Twilight needed to keep Alice on track. Maybe, if she could get her to talk about how she got here, it would help the human come to terms with everything. Rainbow Dash came in with a bottle of water, after not being able to stomach the thought of going into the other room and looking for a cup amongst this thing’s food. At least, she hoped it was water, since the stopper on top was not very easy to remove. The pegasus placed it on the table by the chairs in the hope that the human would be able to use it. Noticing Applejack hushing her, as well as how Pinkie Pie was now holding her own mouth closed, Rainbow Dash took the hint and remained quiet as Alice continued.

The human pulled her eyes away from the hallway and blinked a few times before carrying on.

“I went to bed. It was still morning, but I was tired after the flight. The sign of a great holiday, my dad would say.” A smile ghosted across the human’s face. “I remember thinking how great it was to be able to sleep in my own bed, after a week of missing it. I don’t know how long I slept, but it felt like a while. My alarm clock was blinking with an error when I finally opened my eyes. I’d thought it was just a power cut. So I got changed, put on my coat, and decided to head out and get some food for the week. But the door...I thought I was still dreaming, or maybe having one of those out of body experiences, you know?” Alice was now looking around at the ponies around her, though her mind was still focused on the past. “After a little while, I plucked up the courage to stick my head through door. And there it was. A creepy-looking forest. Right smack where the rest of the ground floor of the apartment block should be. I panicked. Anyone would, right? I think I must have blacked out at one point to. Then I...”

Alice suddenly jolted like she had just been stung or zapped by something. She frowned, as did the rest of the ponies in the room. However, whatever had just happened seemed to have helped Alice to snap back to reality, as she was now looking at them rather than through them. Noticing the water bottle, Alice unscrewed the lid and took a long gulp. Her hands were shaking a little, but she felt a bit more stable.

“How long ago was this?” asked Twilight, when she realised that Alice was not about to continue with her story.

“Um, about nine months, if you have the same sort of calendar here. Over 200 days.” Alice watched as all three ponies stood with their mouths hanging open.

“Let me get this straight.” Rainbow Dash flew until she was directly in front of the human. “You have been living in the Everfree Forest - on your own - for nine months?! That’s crazy.” Realising what she had said, especially after seeing the human act a few feathers short of a wing, Rainbow Dash felt her choice of words might not have been the best. “Umm, no offence.” The pegasus tried to avoid eye contact, as she rubbed the back of her head with a forehoof. Applejack, however, caught her eyes and gave her a disapproving look.

“What Rainbow Dash is trying t’say,” butted in the orange mare. “Is that this ain’t the place for nopony to be all alone. There’re carnivorous plants, timber wolves-”

“Quicksand, Manticores, strangling vines...yeah, kinda learnt all of that the hard way. But it's not like I had any choice in the matter.” Alice rubbed at her arms again; at the scars that covered them. She was glad of the blanket around her to hide the state she was in. The last thing she needed was her past failures to be put on display.

“Of course you did, silly. Ponyville is really close by. You could have-” Pinkie Pie found herself cut off and the large smile she had held, faded.

“I could have what? Asked when the next train to reality was leaving?” snapped the human. “What am I even doing? Get out. Forget you even saw me. I can’t deal with this.” Alice covered her face with her hands, then slumped in her seat. Pinkie Pie looked confused, then had an idea.

“Well, maybe Twilight can help you get home. She is super-duper when it comes to spells. I am sure she has something to help in one of her books. Right, Twilight?” The pink pony had a great big grin on her face as she looked expectantly between her friend, Twilight, and her future friend, Alice.

“Pinkie I..I mean.” Twilight was not expecting to be put on the spot like this. It was true that she had told Alice that she might be able to work out how to send her back and maybe - if she knew how she had gotten to this world - she could, but even Alice was in the dark on that fact.

“Okay, then send me home.” Alice stood up and waved her right arm around. Her left was still held close to her chest. Suddenly, this human did not look so harmless. “Send me back to my own world, or get the hell out of here.” Seeing these ponies in the middle of her living room shattered her thoughts. This was her world, the only piece she had left. They didn't belong here. She knew it was just a fantasy to make her believe that inside these four walls, everything was still normal, but it was all that was holding her together.

“Hey, you can’t tell us what to do!” Rainbow Dash flew a little higher so she was ‘taller’ than Alice.

“Err, Dash, we are kinda, in her home.” Applejack watched as the cyan pony huffed and lowered herself a little.

“Yeah, well.” Rainbow Dash couldn't really argue with that fact. Twilight also seemed to become a little more uncomfortable when she realised that they had pretty much just barged their way in. They hadn't meant to, things had just happened. But, it was not exactly winning them any favours with this other-worldly being.

“Applejack is right.” Twilight bowed slightly to Alice before looking at each of the other ponies. “I am sorry if we caused you any distress, it was rude of us to come in uninvited. Please, don’t hold it against us, we have just never seen anything like you before. We...I kinda got a little caught up in the excitement. We will leave you alone for now but...” Twilight stumbled a little on her words. Alice had asked them to just forget her but...they couldn't. Even without the threat of Pinkie Pie telling everypony she met that her new friend was a being from another world, there was the simple fact that this was too much of an historic event. What could they learn from Alice and her world? It was clearly very different but, in a lot of ways, very much the same judging by the furniture, books and Alice’s mannerisms. There was also the fact that they simply could not leave Alice to her fate here. Twilight wanted to help, even if she didn't know how yet.

“Come on Twilight, ah think we've more than overstayed our welcome.” Applejack was the first to move out, with Twilight and and Rainbow Dash following behind. Pinkie Pie, however, was still sitting on the floor.

The human slumped back into the chair and sighed. She had caught the words that the unicorn had said - ‘leave you alone for now’. All the stories and movies she had seen told her exactly what was going to happen next -experiments, imprisonment or maybe they would stick her in some sort of zoo as an attraction. But what could she do to stop it? Get rid of the witnesses? Like she could ever manage that. She had a hard enough time killing the Gobblers. Leaving was not an option, without her home she had nothing. Maybe George could help her...he had gotten her out of some tight spots before, and he had been the one to tell her that these ponies were coming. What was the world coming to, when the only person she could count on may or may not be a figment of her imagination?

It was only then that Alice realised that the pink pony was still in her living room, fidgeting. Actually, it looked like it was shaking a little, though the smile on its face stopped Alice from thinking it was from fear.

“Umm, what?”

Pinkie Pie suddenly exploded.

“WhoisMark? Isheyourspecialsomepony? Orwouldthatbesomehuman? Ohwhatisanairport?Wheredidyougoonhiliday? Wasitwarm? Werethereparties?Whatarepartieslikeinyourworld?Whatdidyoumeanaboutyouralarmclockhavinganerror? Diditshandsfalloff? Thepowerwentout?Dosethatmeanyourmagicgoesonandoff? Ohyouhavemagic.” Alice watched with disbelief as the Pink motor mouth took in a great big breath and then... ”Whoarethepeopleinthephoto?Aretheyyourfamily?DoyoureallyeatParasprites?Whatdotheytastelike?Whydoyouwantustoleave?"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down I can’t understand a thing you are saying." What was up with this pony? Other than the fact it could talk and was bright pink. It was like it had eaten a bag of coffee with a side order of sugar.

“I said...”

“STOP, PLEASE.” Alice knelt down on the floor, so that she was closer to the same height as the cotton candy pony.

“I don’t think I could manage any more. Look, I'm tired, it's late, you’re a talking pony. There are only so many things I can deal with at once. So, just go join the rest of your friends, please.” Alice pointed to the door but the pony didn't move.

“Oh, I can’t do that, silly. My back itches and my tail is twitching, which can only mean one thing - SLEEP OVER!” Pinkie Pie leapt onto the single bed in the room. “This is going to be so much fun!”

“Wait...what? Oh, no no. You are getting out of here right now. What the hell have itchy backs and twitchy tails got to do with whether you can stay here or not.” Alice didn't get a response, because at that moment Twilight gingerly walked back in through the living room door.

“Pinkie? Oh, there you are. Um, sorry about Pinkie Pie. She means well, but she can go a little over the top.”

Alice frowned as she noticed that the unicorn was dripping wet.

“Is it raining out there?”

“Oh, I am so sorry. I'm getting your floor all wet. Hang on, I can fix it.” With no small amount of awe, Alice watched as Twilight closed her eyes while her horn began to glow magenta. In a flash of light, the small damp patch that had formed around the purple pony's hooves was gone - as was the water from her coat and mane.

“Wow, you really can do magic.” Alice had found it slightly hard to believe what the others had said about the unicorn’s magical abilities and, though it was hardly surprising after all of the things she had witnessed in the past nine months, it still proved to be strange. Curiosity tugged at the edges of her mind, but the human pushed them back. She had long since learned that curiosity was not a good thing to have around here.

Twilight smiled and rubbed the back of her head with a forehoof. It was Pinkie Pie that spoke up though.
“That was nothing. You should have seen the time she took down an Ursa Minor! The Princess even made Twilight her own personal student when she was just a filly.”

“Maybe I can show you some more some other day.” Twilight hope she was correct in the interest she had seen Alice show. Maybe, if she could get the human as interested in their world as she was in hers, then they could have some common starting grounds.
“But, right now we need to get going before the rain really starts coming down.” Pinkie Pie, however, didn't move from her spot on the bed, but instead looked over at Alice and pulled the most adorable puppy dog eyes.

Alice raised both hands in a sign of surrender.

“Fine. Look, if you want to stay until the morning you can.” Pinkie Pie yelled out ‘YIPPEE’ and bounced up and down on the bed.
“But you are sleeping in the other room, not in here. I have some spare blankets and you can use the cushions off the settee.” Alice started collecting everything she would need, while Twilight helped and continued to thank her. ‘It was all that pink pony's fault,’ thought the human, who realised this was probably not the brightest idea. Then again, maybe she could convince the ponies not to turn her in; to keep her secret.
Everything was changing...she just hoped it was for the best.

Author's Note

This chapter almost didn't happen, though I am very glad it did. What had been planned was for Rainbow Dash to go over what had transpired through the night as she flew back the following morning, after running an errand. I even have most of that written out. But it felt...wrong, skipped over, especially as a lot of people seemed to want to see Alice take back control and deal with the 'little invaders'. So here you go. Enjoy this long time coming chapter.

Consumed by chaos

The stars shone brightly in the night sky to make up for the new moon's dark form. However, no matter how tightly the shadows cloaked Canterlot, the capital city still gleamed brightly. Scattered windows glowed with the flicker of candlelight from ponies still awake, but those slowly blinked out as the night progressed. Princess Luna watched from the observation balcony as her night grew longer. Something was not right; something was out of place. Narrowing her eyes, she scanned the stars. There, that was it. With her horn glowing as bright as the stars about her, Luna shifted three of the lights over to the right slightly and rearranged them to fit in their new position. "Much better," she thought to herself. The night of the new moon was her chance to give the stars a tidy up, to make sure none had strayed too far off course, as well as to try out a couple of new arrangements. Unfortunately, changes meant she had to deal with the backlash from the astrological sociality. Those dusty old ponies seem to think that the stars should remain in the same configuration every night, simply because that was how they had been left when she had...when it was how they had been for such a long time.

"Let them moan," thought Luna with a smile, as she shifted the stars that had been called Orion for much too long. This was her sky until the morrow, and she would craft it as she saw fit.

As the dark one played with light, the light one sought out the darkness, and only in the royal gardens did true darkness live. No lights lit the way for the pale Princess as she walked through the greenery that was now nothing more then darker shapes within the night. Grey forms, just a shade darker then her own hide in this light, stood out sharply against the night sky, blocking out her sister's stars. Celestia noticed a few of her sister's children had shifted, so stopped to admire the view the position granted her. With no lights to compete with, the sky was truly at its most magnificent. As much as Luna might envy all the colours and light of her own day and Sun brought with them, Celestia envied the artistic flare that she herself would never be able to compare with.

Practised steps lead the eldest of the two ruling sisters to the one statue in the garden that did not hold the form of a pony and the only statue that was more then just stone. Discord. Even his form was chaotic and had no rhyme nor reason to it - simply different parts of animals stitched together with no effort to blend them, no attempt to harmonise them. The garden lay still all around Celestia; nopony had seen her enter the sanctuary and none saw her lower herself to lay beneath the spirit of everything she tried to fight against. Closing her eyes, she exhaled and let her mind drift as her body remained as still as the statue above her.

"Another new moon. You know it gets boring when you are so predictable." The male voice snatched at the wisp of thoughts and drew her in close, just as a fisherman would draw in his net. "Tell you what," Discord said, clapping his mismatched hands together. "Let's play in your mind this time, instead. I am sorry to say I have just not had time to clean up - the place is simply a mess at the moment." To emphasise the fact, the Draconequus clicked his fingers, and was now wearing a black and white, laced French maid's outfit - complete with an ostrich feather duster which he used to 'dust' the top of the swirling green and teal, pink and purple mass - the only issue being that the duster was piling dust onto the wisp, rather than off. Slowly, the coloured light moved and formed the shape of a white horse, though the spectral colours remained around her edges, as well as forming her more recognizable mane and tail. Celestia shot Discord a glare as she shook the dust off herself, to which Discord blushed with a single eagle claw at his lips.

"And you are getting predictable with that request, Discord." Aside from the spectral haze, Celestia looked more or less like herself. Her horn and wings, however, were missing.

"Moi - predictable?" Now losing the maid outfit, Discord was doing a back stroke in mid-air alongside Celestia. She walked through a field of orange and green polka dots that made fart noises with every step. "Such insults! Here I am offering my help night after night and what thanks do I get?" The drama queen dabbed at his eyes with a cooked chicken wing, while Celestia carried on walking, granting him barely a glance as she went.

"I can leave, if that is what you wish." Celestia now found herself walking up a flight of stairs, they curved round so she was eventually upside down - or maybe the pink sky had decided to try being the ground for a change.

"Oh, that's okay. I forgive you!" Discord's tone flipped once again to a friendly, happy note as he threw the chicken wing over his shoulder. It swam away into a cloud of green feathers. "You know, you could ask Luna to join us on our walks one night. I am sure she could spare time from her busy schedule; you certainly find time to visit your little pony friends." Celestia bit back a reply. "And, she is far less of a stick-in-the-mud then you are. Speaking of which..." Discord grabbed a long thick stick that was upright in a pile of purple mud. "Would you like one milady?" he asked, while floating past the mare's face, brandishing the stick as one would a bottle of wine.

"Not tonight, thank you." Celestia waved the Spirit away from her face as she stopped for a moment, looking at the large gap that now lay ahead of her, since the stairs had decided to stop. She had given up trying to work out if she was upside down, and instead decided to just think of her as self right side up.

"Suit yourself. I happen to know that this is an excellent brand of A-sharp" Discord took hold of a handful of the floating, multi-hued mane, and held it at one end of the stick while he puffed away at the other.

"You know you are completely mad, don't you?" Celestia stood and watched the Draconequus blow multicoloured musical notes out of his ears as he enjoyed his 'stick'.

"If I'm mad then what does that make you, Sol-solis-no-viscus? What do you call a something that seeks solace in madness?" A throne had formed from the notes that still exited Discord's ears, and he lazily leaned back in it with his legs crossed; his eagle clawed hand supported his head. Gone was the whimsy from his voice, and gone was the playful glint in his eyes. For the first time since entering his mind, Celestia had to fight back her fear.

"Please, Discord, I can't sleep. My heart aches for the freedom..."

Discord slammed his lion's paw down onto the throne, causing it to ripple out of shape before reforming, while his stick exploded into bubbling sludge that fell into the sky below them.

"And what of MY freedom! You come to me to plead and beg for your brief moments of oblivion, and what do I get out of it?" Discord's face was now a snarl as his hands gripped both arm rests crushing notes beneath. They screamed and hissed, before leaking a yellow fluid that formed itself into flies, that buzzed around the mare before them.

"You get a glimpse of the world outside your prison." Celestia tried to ignore the yellow flies that bit at her hide. They were not really there, but that didn't mean the pain was any less.

"Pah, a glimpse." The Spirit slumped back in his throne and crossed his arms in a sulk.

Celestia waited in silence for as long as she could stand the biting files before turning away.

"Fine. Have it your way, Discord." Making her way down the steps, the royal mare found the floor under her hooves was moving backward. She turned to face Discord - who had quickly outgrown his throne - and now had a head currently on par with a decent sized house.

"You win, Celestia - let's enjoy our sentences together." Snap! With the closing of his jaws Celestia was gone in a single bite.

********

A grey shape stirred beneath the statue of Equestria's former King, as it felt her Sun gently touch the horizon's edge. It burned there, softly awaiting her call, though she knew she still had a few moments before she needed to raise it. Stepping up from the ground, Celestia felt both lighter and renewed, like the air after a thunderstorm - and thunderstorm was about right from what she could remember of last night's encounter. Looking up in the dark, the pale mare tried to make out Discord's now ever-frightened face in the gloom, but all she could see was his outline.

"I am grateful for the peace you give me. I wish there was another way." Before Celestia could open her wings to fly towards the observation balcony and resume her duties, she saw a light burning its way towards her.
"Philomena, what has gotten you up so early?" Clutched in the phoenix's claws was a scroll, which she dropped down to the Princess, before landing on an outstretched foreleg and grooming her wing feathers. Celestia picked the scroll out of the air with her magic, and unfolded it carefully as she brought it closer to read.
"Why is it always Ponyville?"

Sleepless night

Alice stared at the ceiling above her in the half-light that seeped through her covered windows. She could hear the rain outside, but the view would never change from any of her windows. It would always be a sunny Tuesday morning in her world, there to see but never touch. She toyed with the thought that the view meant her world was frozen in time, that when she got back everything would be like she had never left. The thought was a comforting one, but even she knew she was just clutching at straws.

Sounds of others sleeping could be heard in the room adjacent for the first time in ages. The ponies had finally left her alone to sleep - correction, the pink one had finally left her alone to sleep, though she had moved one of her cabinets against the door to make sure she didn't end up with a horse head on her pillow by the morning. The pegasus pony however had decided not to stay, instead opting to search for the two that had run off due to the mask incident. The problem now was that Alice herself couldn't sleep - her mind was racing, and she was stressed as hell.

“So, what do you think of the locals?” The male voice drifted from close by, but was kept quiet, so that none of her ‘guests’ would hear.

“George, my favourite delusion. Like my life was not weird enough already without the magical disembodied voice.” Alice pulled her blanket over her face and tried to will herself to sleep. As much as she had wanted George to give her some advice earlier, she now found herself reluctant. Meeting and talking with those ponies had been the first real bit of socialising she had done since getting here. It was weird - well, that was an understatement - but at least they were not just voices in her head.

“You forgot to add charming. Oh, and witty.” There was no change to the voice, even with the blanket in the way. However, he was being much more chatty than normal - most of the time, it was a simple snarky comment said in passing, or sometimes - rarely - advice on not eating a particular plant. First the warning and now this banter? Never had he spoken this much in one day, though it was likely past midnight by now, so technically it was a new day.

“How did you know they were coming? The ponies.” No matter how many times Alice might say to herself that George was simply a part of her psyche created to keep her sane, there were always times that he would do or say something that completely went against what she knew herself. It scared her in a way that clawed at her stomach and made her go cold.

“I have my ways.” The words were spoken with an air of humour and cockiness. It grated on Alice - he made it sound like he knew so much and enjoyed her ignorance.

“That’s not answering my question.” She didn't plan on giving up this time. She had had enough of sitting in the dark. She wanted answers. So, if George wanted a little night chat, she might as well use the time wisely.

“And you didn't answer mine. What do you think of the little ponies?” There was a warning to the voice now; this was not a conversation she was going to be able to steer, so she might as well go along with it for now.

Alice took a moment to think. The ponies had acted so, well...human. The four she had met had certainly all been different from one another, in the same way each person was. From what she had seen both today and from the glimpses she had gotten at the forest edge, these ponies were - aside from how they looked - people.

“They are interesting. Like humans seen from another angle.”

“So then, I take it you will be moving from this little shack. Maybe find a nice little cottage with a garden and a picket fence?” George sounded bored, but there was something else to the tone of his voice.

“What? I said they were interesting, not that I wanted to move in with them. As much as I have enjoyed having my life ripped away from me, turning every day into one long nightmare, all I want is to go home. Twilight, that purple unicorn pony, said that while she didn't know how to send me back, she thought that their Princess might.” That was one of the thoughts that was keeping her awake. Could she really have a chance at being sent home? Magic seemed to be the only real option at this point - though how she had gotten here in the first place, since her world didn't have magic, was still a mystery.

“And you believe her?” Now George was mocking her.

“I don’t really have much of a choice any more. Truthfully, I think it is just her way of getting me to go to see whoever is in charge of this place. But, if there is even the smallest chance I can get back...then I think I need to try and take it. It’s not like sticking around here has done me any good, or gotten me any closer to going back.” Alice looked around her room. Since getting here all she had done was survived (and it was a miracle she had managed that), but if everything stayed as it was, then could she really just sit back and hope that whatever fluke had brought her here would happen again?
“I can’t really wait and hope for another tornado, Toto. Time to go and see the Wizard, I guess.”

George chuckled and his tone grew much more...playful.
“Well, I am glad you have finally decided to stop sulking in this little hidey-hole of yours and live a little. Such a pity that the Princess won’t be able to help you.”

“What, how do you know?” Alice pulled the covers off her and looked around the room to try and find George but - as always - she was alone in the half-light.

“I would keep your voice down, unless you want to wake our little guests.” That was another warning; one that send a very real - almost painful - shiver up Alice’s spine.

“Fine.” The human crossed her arms, though winced as she pulled at her left shoulder a little too hard. She lowered her voice and tried to remain civil to the voice in her head.
“How do you know that this Princess won’t be able to send me home?”

“Because, my dear, I know how you got here, and I know who can send you home.”

***********************

As the Sun finally started to come up, Rainbow Dash closed her eyes for a moment, and enjoyed the warmth that spread across her tired and aching flight muscles. She hated flying at night, especially in a storm, though that had thankfully died out about an hour ago. The morning mist still caused her wings to become damp, and send a chill right to her bones. Plus, there was so little to see at night - everything was just shades and shadows, black and grey. Below her stretched out one of the largest shadows in the area, but with the new day's light starting to touch the tops of the leaves, a tint of green began to creep back into vista below her.

Smoke was rising from Zecora’s cottage, though she doubted either occupants would be up at this hour. Rainbow Dash had made sure to check in on both the Zebra and Fluttershy first thing after leaving Alice and the others. Both had been fine, though Fluttershy had not stopped sobbing and asking for her forgiveness for being such a terrible friend and leaving them all. Turns out the zebra had figured out - at the same time as Twilight - that for a creature to go to so much trouble to try and scare them off it could not be that dangerous. It had been her that had stopped Fluttershy from coming back to help them with Alice after she had realised that she had left them. Zecora might not be a pegasus pony, but she could sense the change in the forest and the oncoming storm. Rainbow Dash had given them both a brief overview as to what had happened, but she couldn't really stay long. The herbalist said she would be round to lead the others back first thing in the morning, as apparently paths liked to change in the Everfree Forest after a storm.

After making sure Fluttershy and Zecora were both safe, Rainbow Dash had raced over to the the library. Spike had not been happy when he was woken up, but after reassuring him that everypony was A-okay and it was all just a bit weird, he settled down to being just annoyed that he was missing out on yet another adventure. Twilight hadn't been able to give Rainbow Dash a letter so she had had to dictate to Spike what had happened, though she kept it brief:

Dear Princess Celestia,

Sorry to send this so late, but we have a situation just outside Ponyville - in the Everfree Forest. Some weird creature called a human claims to be from another world. It doesn't seem to be dangerous, but we are not sure what to do with it, and hoped you might be able to help.

Your Loyal Subject, Rainbow Dash

Having to wait for a reply, Dash had opted to sit with Spike and read the fourth Daring Do book out loud to help him settle down. He was asleep before she was half way through the second chapter, so at least he had managed to get some rest. She, on the other hoof, had made do with some light dozing till the reply had arrived just a few moments ago.

Now the scroll sat in a saddle bag at her side, urging Rainbow Dash to carry on and quicken her pace and get the message to Twilight. It had surprised Dash just how long it had taken the Princess to respond to the letter - but then again - even royalty needed sleep. Taking stock of her bearings, the pegasus found the clearing she had memorised when she had left earlier that night, she adjusted her flight path accordingly, before making her descent.

With her hooves back on the ground, the rainbow mare trotted through the barrier, shaking off her wings to clear them of the last droplets of morning mist. She looked around to check that everypony was still okay and not hurt (or eaten), but all seemed well. Pinkie Pie was sleeping with her hooves in the air; a thick blanket curled around her like a nest and Applejack was resting in one of the corners with her hat tilted over her face. Twilight, however, had her ear pressed to the left wall, and was clearly trying to listen to something. In fact, she was so engrossed she didn't even notice that Rainbow Dash had returned.

"Twilight?"

"Shh - OH!" It had taken a moment for unicorn to realise it was Rainbow Dash, but she quickly came over to take the letter from her friend. The unicorn had a glint in her eye, that told a certain pegasis she had been working all night without brakes - and that always made for a slightly scary Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow Dash edged away and flopped down on one of the cushions with a yawn, as her friend opened and read the letter.

"What was with the whole ear to the wall thing about?" Knowing Twilight, it was quite likely she was simply hearing things due to lack of sleep, thought Dash.

"The Princess wants to meet us just outside the Everfree forest at noon...hmm, what did you say, Dash?" They were both whispering to try and not wake the other two ponies.

“I said, why were you listening at the wall?” Rainbow Dash fidgeted, before turning to punch the cushion a few times. It was hardly a cloud but, for now, she was too tired to care.

“I was sure I heard voices coming from the other room.” Twilight went back to pressing her ear against the wall again.

“So? With how nutty that human acts, I would not be surprised if she talks to herself. Besides, it is hardly strange to talk in your sleep. On cue, Pinkie Pie began mumbling about cupcakes wearing top hats and not standing still while she ate them.

“See?” pointed out a very sleepy cyan pony.

“But I am sure I heard a different voice.” She couldn't have been mistaken, could she?

“Twilight, have you slept at all?” Rainbow Dash was already starting to close her eyes; it was way too early to be up.

“How can I sleep at a time like this? We are on the cusp of one of the biggest discoveries in centuries. Ah! I should have asked you to bring back one of my notebooks.” Twilight suddenly found herself hit in the face with a pillow.

“Get some sleep, egghead.”

Author's Note

I told you I almost had this chapter done.

Pillow Talk

“WHAT?! Tell me! Tell me right now!” Alice had jumped up and out of her bed, her voice no longer quiet; her mind now - with an almost painful clarity - cutting through her fatigue.
How could George know how she had arrived here? Was it just some trick? How could George know anything when he was just a voice in her mind? Could she really go home? The girl’s head felt like it was going to explode as the thoughts came flooding in all at once, causing the already unstable human to come tumbling down.

“George! George?” There was no reply. The human stood alone in her room, her arms slowly and unconsciously coming round to hold herself, partly from the cold air that could now reach her skin, and partly not. Had she been dreaming? She didn't feel like she had just woken up and she certainly didn't feel like she had gotten any sleep. A knock came from the door, causing the human to jump slightly. It was followed by a different voice, a very real, female voice, full of concern.

“Alice? Alice are you okay?” That was one of the ponies; from what she could remember it was likely the purple unicorn, Twilight.
“The door is stuck.” Said door glowed purple as it tried to move, but the cabinet prevented it from opening more than a crack. Magic - that was something Alice was still not sure she wanted to get used to, but at least it seemed safe enough, and had limits.

“I'm okay. You don’t need to come in.” The human found her voice again; the last thing she needed was a unicorn talking to her right now. Just the thought of it was almost enough to send her over the edge. Still, at least she could see the unicorn and the other ponies, and that put them a step above her previous talking partners. Carefully sitting back down on the end of her bed, Alice took a deep breath as she ran her hands through her hair and tried to sooth away an oncoming headache.
“I just had a bad dream.” The human was not really sure if she was telling the truth. For a long time now everything had felt like one long, bad dream. “Is it morning yet?”

“The sun is just starting to rise, but it will be a couple more hours before it is high enough to really be called morning. Are you sure you are alright?” Twilight was worried. She really wanted to check on Alice but it was clear that the human was in no mood for visitors. Was there somepony else in there? Twilight was almost certain she had heard another voice just a few moments ago, and Alice had just been shouting to somepony - or something - hadn't she? It could have been a dream, like the human had claimed, but at the moment Twilight Sparkle was willing to bet something else was going on. After all, creatures didn't suddenly find themselves transported to other worlds without some reason, right?

“Other than being stuck here, then sure, I'm okay.” Alice sighed. The purple pony was only trying to be nice - and she had just been shouting to thin air - more than likely causing her guests next door to wake up. It had been a long night for everyone.

“Look, I'm going to try and get some more sleep,” she said, though it was not hard to get more than nothing. “I'm sorry I woke you.” Alice really was genuinely sorry to have woken her, unexpected, guests. It was true that she still wanted them to leave, at least that was what her head was telling her, but being able to talk to ‘people’, even non-humans, was something she hadn't known she had missed so badly.

“That’s okay. I haven't really been able to sleep much to be honest.” The questions; the theories, there was just so much to think on, but Twilight had to remember that Alice was more than just something to study. Despite not really wanting the human to leave them before she had learnt everything there was to know about her race and her world, she did still hope that Celestia might know a way to send her back home. The unicorn looked up at the pictures hung in the hallway. Alice had a family, friends and a life - just like everypony in Equestria. To have all that ripped away from her…

“Twilight?” The word was little more than a whisper.

“Yes, I'm still here.”

“Do you really think your Princess can send me home?” The question hung in the air for a few moments and Twilight Sparkle wished she didn't have to answer it.

“Honestly, I don’t know. As far as I am aware, nothing like this has ever happened before; but if anypony can do it - it will be her.” That was the truth of it. There was still a lot about magic that was unknown, so maybe there was some way. Alice was evidence that it had happened before, so all they needed to do was work out how to make it happen again.

“Get some sleep, then maybe we can have a conversation that doesn't involve a door in-between us.” Twilight cheered up when she heard a laugh filter through the wood. She herself yawned as she walked back to the other room. Today was going to be a very long day so a couple of hours' sleep herself might not be a bad idea.

Alice shivered as she sat on her bed. There was no heating, so her room was pretty much the same temperature as outside. Crawling back under the covers and settling her feet into the warm spot of where she had been sitting, the human tried to let everything go and simply drift off to sleep.

“I'm sure even Twilight Spangle is getting tired of your imitation of a broken record right now.” George’s voice was a whisper at Alice’s ear. “Send me home. Oh please won't you help me?” He was copying her voice now, but gave it much more of a whiny, damsel in distress tone; at least, Alice hoped she didn't really sound like that. Alice stayed silent, hoping that if she paid the voice no attention it would simply just fade away.
“Aww, is the human not talking to me now? And here was me thinking that you might actually want to know how you got here.” The tone had condescended down to an artform.

Alice was determined not to take the bait - he was nothing more than a bad dream.
“I just want to sleep.”

“I guess I was right, then. You have given up and are now happy to spend the rest of your days living in this world. How utterly boring.”

That was it - Alice had had enough; she didn't care if she was just talking to herself, clearly this part needed to learn its place.
“None of this is ‘boring’. I wish for boring. I pray for one more day in my boring, normal life.” The words were kept quiet but the strength behind them held power in the half-light of the room.
“I would do anything to get home; to get back to my own world where everything makes sense, and if that means I have to go along with some magical rainbow ponies, to go see their princess, so she can somehow click her hooves and whisk me home, then fine. Sitting around here has certainly not done me any favours. I am DONE listening to you. Maybe if I had walked down to that village the first day I saw it I would be home by now; instead I listened to you. Your warnings. Your caution about being seen. So that's it - I am through listening to you. Go find whatever psychotic part of my brain you sprung from and crawl back inside.”

Alice was left with silence when she finished and for the first time in months she felt like she was truly in control of her own life.

“Hold out your arm.” The words were spoken with force. This was not a request.

“No. Didn't you just hear... ow.” Alice felt a pins and needles sensation down her right shoulder, and it took her a moment to realise that it only subsided when she stopped talking. No, this was just some sort of mental breakdown. Maybe something that was leftover from when she banged her head earlier.

“Hold out your arm.” With more than a little fear, the human held her right arm in front of her with her palm facing up. As soon as she did so, the tingling lessoned and then worryingly seemed to move along the hidden topside of her outstretched arm. She was too afraid to turn her arm over; the sensation felt real, even if it no longer hurt. Then something dark oozed its way around her arm and into sight on the upturned part of her skin. They were irregular shapes, yet seemed to move together as one on her skin. No, it was worse than that; the black shapes were under her skin, moving beneath the top layer. Alice couldn't move, she couldn't breathe. She was frozen in terror as the shapes arranged themselves into something she recognise yet could not place.

“Hi.” The voice was George’s. His greeting was joined by a wave with what could have abstractly been called a clawed hand, constructed of thick, black lines and interlocking shapes. In fact, the whole thing was just a vague shape contorted into some sort of snake-like dragon.
It was the familiar voice coming from this... thing that broke Alice out of her frozen terror as her left hand lunged out, ignoring the pain from her hurt shoulder, to try and scratch the thing from her skin. She felt sick at the sight of it moving and alive inside her, and this only became worse when it all but swam through her skin and up her arm. Alice could feel it moving like a prickling sensation which rested around her throat, only then realising that, while she was doing everything required to scream, nothing but rushing air was leaving her mouth.

“Now, now, there is no need for those sorts of dramatics. Getting all worked up will do no one any good and I would rather your little guests next door did not come a-knocking.” The voice had changed from its demanding tone to one of a disappointed parent. Alice was shaking and clutching at her throat, desperately trying to call for help or produce any sort of sound.
“Oh, hush. I have paralysed your vocal cords, for the time being. Don’t worry - it will all be in working order as soon as you have calmed down and stopped acting like a fool. I mean really, was all that necessary? You know I'm your friend. Have I not always helped you when you needed it? So what do you do when I finally give you proof that you are not crazy; that I am real? You try and mutilate me! Act as though I am some sort of monster, after all we have been through. I'm hurt, hurt to the very core.”

Alice tried to calm down; she was still shaking and her stomach felt like it was doing back flips, but George - or whatever he was - was right that panicking right now would do her no good. He was not hurting her, and despite her outburst just a few moments ago, he had always kept her safe. Still, right now she felt she would rather be insane listening to voices then now knowing this truth. At least she now knew why George kept himself hidden. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, the human lowered her hands away from her neck and clutched onto her bed sheets for support.

“Better?” He asked. Alice tried to speak but there was still no sound coming from her voice, so instead opted to nod. She felt the sensation of whatever George was moving from around her throat to drape himself like a necklace just below. The feeling was like the sensation you get on after clapping - it didn't hurt, and was easy to ignore, but if you focused you could clearly feel it.

“What are you?” Her voice was a whisper but that was Alice’s own doing, for there was no pain from whatever had happened to her vocal cords. Honestly, she was not sure whether to feel relieved that he had been true to his word at this point; it was so much easier to be afraid of this thing after seeing what he was but… he had been her only companion for so long that she now found it hard to summon up that fear again with the same intensity.

“Now, where is the fun if I give you all the answers?” George was back to being vague again, which was normal and his usual stance when it came to helping her. Most of the time, Alice was sure he actually enjoyed watching her stumble about.
She sat and tried to remember what she had seen. She thought she had seen him - it - before, but every time she tried to picture the thing on her arm, she was left feeling sick at the recent sight of it moving under her skin. It looked sort of like a… suddenly she had the answer.
“You're that dragon tattoo I got on holiday, two days before all of this; but... how?” Alice’s mind floundered. None of this made any sense; none of this could be real. Tattoos were not alive. Then again, magic was not supposed to be real either - nor unicorns, pegasi or talking ponies for that matter. How was she supposed to make any sense of anything around her. After nine months, this world was still a living cartoon. The human took a deep breath and tried to think things through the tired fog that hung on the edge of her mind and threatened to smother her. After exhaling slowly, she tried to once more put her thoughts straight.
“I can understand that this world works differently to my world, what with magic and everything, but I got the tattoo done in my world.”

“And the artist did a lovely job - why, he even managed to capture my beard perfectly.” George sounded very pleased with himself and Alice imagined, for a brief moment, that he would be stroking said beard.

“I meant how can you be talking and,” Alice fought back some bile. “Moving?”

“Of all the questions you could ask me, that is the one you chose? Oh well. The answer is because I am alive. Next?”

“That’s not... I... you are not helping.” Alice was more frustrated then she had ever been in her life and to top it all off, she now felt sick again at the thought of something living under her skin.

“I beg to differ; I think I have been very helpful. You are the one who keeps asking the stupid questions - don’t blame me.”

“Okay, then, how about this one? How do I get home?” If George wanted better questions, then she was going to go for the big ones. Even so, she was not going to forget that he kept dodging the question as to exactly what he was.

“Ohh, now that is a better one. Let's see - how do I explain this in a way you’ll understand?” The human crossed her arms in frustration, before flinching back as her left shoulder twinged again. At least the brief flash of pain kept her from snapping back at George. As much as she wanted to get back into another argument, she really did want to get some answers - and sleep.
“In this world there are a lot of powerful beings. Some control the seas, others the weather and some the sun and moon. All carefully trying to keep the world in balance, and all extremely boring.”

“I don’t see how-” started Alice, but she was not allowed to finish.

“Don’t interrupt. It’s very rude.” George waited for a moment, but when Alice kept quiet he carried on. “So, lots of dull powerful beings; very little going on. You would think they would be grateful when someone came along to take away all that responsibility and let them get on with leading normal lives. Better yet - he knew how to have fun. After all, who wants to have a sky the same colour everyday, or a day the same length every cycle? Why wait for trees to have ripe fruit when you can simply have them raining from the sky?”

“Sounds like chaos,” added Alice, who was picturing a Doctor Seuss story. Like this world needed to be any weirder than it already was.

“Exactly.” The human gave a slight shiver; George sounded far too happy at her thoughts on the world he described.
“But instead of embracing a world of possibilities and freedom, they chose to imprison their saviour in a statue. I mean, can you imagine the nerve of such a thing.”

“George, as lovely as your bedtime story is, can you please just get to the point?” Alice was tired, and the headache she had so far managed to keep at bay now was taking hold, and seemed to be trying to make up for lost time. She was not sure if it was just her current state of mind that was stopping her from seeing whatever the living tattoo was trying to say but, right now, he didn't seem to be getting anywhere near to answering any of her questions.

“Well, someone is certainly cranky when she don’t get her beddy-byes.”

“George.” Alice warned. Though a small part of herself did have to agree with the frustrating fellow - Alice did not have a very long fuse when she was tired.

“Fine, fine. All powerful being gets locked up in stone; thousands of years pass; powerful being gets out; everything looks set to be put out of balance again and wham - a group of six little ponies shove him back into a statue. Happy now?” There was silence between the two voices as they each waited for the other to speak. The human frowned in the dim light as she closed her eyes and tried to put the pieces of the story together, but she could still not see any sort of answer.

“How does any of that have anything to do with me? I asked how to get home.” Why did she always feel like she at least three steps behind George? He never seemed to make any sense at first, though over the months of coexisting together she had found his answers to be helpful...eventually.

“And I just told you. Weren't you listening? You need to ask the statue.”

“The what? You have got to be kidding me George. You want me to go ask a statue that supposedly contains an all-powerful being who, according to your story, tried to throw this world into complete chaos?”

“Finally. It took you long enough and here I thought humans were meant to be bright.” Alice yanked at her hair and fell back on bed, her head bouncing once on the pillow before coming to rest in the soft - and currently very alluring - surface. This was getting her nowhere.

“Forget it, George. I am not going to start an apocalypse. I will find another way.” Alice spoke with her eyes closed as she pulled her covers up and around her. She just needed to rest her eyes for a few minutes.

“Well, it’s your choice. I can’t make you.” George was sounding tired now. This was the longest Alice had ever spoken to him, ever. Maybe talking tired him out? It certainly tired her out. There was a warm comfort at the thought that whatever he was he was not going to make her do anything she didn't want to. The statue could not be the only way, could it? There was still a chance that this princess could help her after all. She would get back - one way or another. But it would be her choice. Thoughts of home tugged at her and for a brief tired moment she could imagine that she was back in her world, with her bed back in her room.

“Good,” whispered Alice, already feeling her thoughts start to fall away as sleep took her.

“Very.” Was the reply.

Author's Note

I know, I know, it took me long enough. Still new chapter is here now! I hope you enjoy it - it is rather a large leap in the story. Make sure you give a big thanks to Smelly_SockZ who has gone over and edited all of my previous chapters as well as this one. Without his help this would have likely taken even longer. Give it a re-read and see what you think ^.^