Chapters The start of something musical
Spike opened his eyes. He felt the ground beneath him. Grass.
He rubbed his eyes and stood up. He looked around to find a forrest.
Is this Everfree?
Spike looked around once more. This wasn't everfree. For starters, the trees were green and luscious with fruit, ranging from sweet apples to sour lemons. Above him, the sky looked bright blue, and the sun shone as bright as it did in Equestria. The sky had what Spike expected: Birds, clouds, an air vehicle with a strange creature in it.
Wait, what?
Spike did a double take. It was some kind of blimp, followed by what looked to be a griffon. In desperation, spike ran after the flying things, hoping to find an answer to this predicament. He ran past the trees and through the rocks, when he found quite a peculiar sight.
It was a human.
The human was about the size of what he read in the books, about, six feet. It had dark brown hair, a dark brown aftershave, and blue eyes. It wore jeans that sagged down to his boots and a shirt that read "Music is my life." Currently, it was looking at a clipboard, checking off various items.
Beside the human was some kind of fiery hawk, with wings as front legs and fire at the tips of its tails. It almost looked like Gilda, except that it had an expression of great enthusiasm.
Only one thought came to Spike at this moment: I am definitely lost.
"Alright," said Steven, "We've got all these orders completed, and we should get payment in two to five business days."
Glowl beamed in excitement. "And then we can find more friends!"
Steven chuckled. "Yes, Glowl. Then we can see if there are more elemental combinations." He looked down at his order form. "We just need to --"
Suddenly, they both heard a rustle in the trees nearby. Glowl and Steven exchanged looks. Steven signaled Glowl to check the forrest. She stepped towards the sound with hesitation. Stepping closer and closer, her heart raced faster and faster. She moved aside a branch and found something amazing.
"Steven," she called out, her eyes focused on the newly found thing, "You might want to take a look at this."
Confused, Steven headed towards where Glowl was, and found what looked like a new monster.
This monster looked like a purple lizard with green spikes. Its green eyes were locked onto Steven in fear.
Steven gave the creature a friendly smile.
"Hey there, little guy," Steven said, kneeling down to better see the creature, "Who are you?"
"I-I'm Spike," it replied, nervously.
"Are you lost?"
"Yes."
Steven's head was filled with questions at this point.Who is he? What is he? Is he...one of THEM?
Though now was not the time for speculation. Now was the time to sing.
"Follow me," said Steven, "I may be able to help you."
"Spike!"
Twilight looked around the castle. There was no sign of Spike. She called out his name again. No answer. She creaked open the door to his room. There he was, sleeping under the covers of his bed. Twilight gently closed the door. She went to the kitchen to make gem pancakes. That would wake him up for sure.
She heard the steps of Spike enter the kitchen.
"Good morning, Spike," she said.
"Who's spike?" a young voice answered back.
Puzzled, Twilight turned around. In place of Spike was a furry green creature, about the same size of spike. It had two beady eyes, two feet, no arms, several teeth (none of them sharp), and a single antenna with a flower bud on top.
Twilight stared at it in fear. She had no idea what is was or what it wanted.
The creature hopped onto the table and started devouring the pancakes. It seemed to enjoy the meal.
I need to get the others, thought Twilight.
Furcorn liked the pancakes that this new friend had made. He didn't know who or what she was, but he still liked her. He especially liked her cooking. He never thought of putting rock candy into flapjacks.
Suddenly, his new friend reentered the room, along with several others. These creatures, like the one he had met, had four legs and a picture on their butts. They came in all different colors ; one of them even had rainbow hair. He noticed that the rainbow creature didn't want to be here, as if it had just woken up from the middle of a nap. The pink one, however, looked like she would explode from excitement. An orange one wore a cowboy hat, and a white one was grooming its hair. The yellow pony seemed nervous, as if something would happen to her.
"Alright, girls," said the purple one, "Does anyone know what this is?"
The creatures saw Furcorn and gasped. Then they all looked at the yellow pony.
"What?"
"You're good with animals, Fluttershy," said the purple one, "Maybe you can convince it not to attack us."
Wait, thought Furcorn, they see me as a THREAT?
The yellow one seemed scared as it looked at Furcorn. "Okay," it said, "I'll try."
The creature started walking towards Furcorn. "H-hello," it said, "What's your name?"
"I'm Furcorn," he replied, "Who are you?"
"My name is Fluttershy."
Suddenly, Fluttershy didn't seem scared anymore. It seemed...curious.
"Where did you come from?"
"I'm from the continent."
Now Fluttershy seemed puzzled, as did the other creatures.
"Um, you don't want to...hurt us, do you?"
"Not really, no."
"Oh, ummm..."
Fluttershy seemed scared. This worried Furcorn. Fluttershy had nothing to be scared about. He LIKED her. He walked up to Fluttershy's long hair and snuggled up in it. "It's fine," he said in a comforting voice, "It's all going to be okay."
Fluttershy, after some hesitation, hugged Furcorn back.
"You're not scary at all, are you?" said Fluttershy, "You just need someone to look after you."
Furcorn smiled. He was in a safe place now.
He felt at home.
Measuring The Alternatives
Spike was nervous. He didn't know what this human wanted with him. Did he want to help him or hurt him?
As they were walking through the forrest, the human looked at Spike. He seemed confused and shocked at him.
"So Spike," he said, "Do you know how to sing or play an instrument?"
"Well," Spike replied, "I can sing, but I don't do it often."
"Why not?"
"Why should I?"
"Because it's fun."
Spike was confused. He didn't understand why this human liked music so much. He pondered as to the motives of his reasoning. Did he make music? Was he a music artist?
The human stopped. "Alright," he said, "We're here."
Spike pulled aside a branch and was in awe with what he saw. There were many creatures, big and small. A fluffy white one was making apple juice by a strange machine. Another that looked like a potted plant with two mouths was crushing a coconut in another machine. A majority of them were by a big portal that was glowing blue. Suddenly, the monsters turned around. They were cheering "Steven! Steven!" Some even went up to hug him.
A creature who looked like a volcano girl started to study Spike. "Who is this?" it asked.
A tree-like being crawled up to him with its four tentacles. "It looks like another monster," it said.
"Everyone," the human said, "This is Spike. Spike, my name is Steven, and these are my singing monsters."
Twilight looked throughout the library. None of the books had ANYTHING on this "Furcorn" creature. She almost called Spike to help her, but then she remembered that he was missing. She continued to search.
She sighed. "What IS this thing?"
She flew to Furcorn, who was riding on top of Fluttershy, and tried to ask him some more questions.
"So...Furcorn, what is the last thing you remember before ending up here?"
"Well," he began, "I had just finished brushing my teeth, and I was getting ready to go to bed. I was snuggling up with Entbrat, when I had a dream about this blue orb of light. It was speaking to me, urging me to 'find the elements, protect both worlds'. When I woke up, I was here."
"Who's Entbrat?" asked Rarity.
"Entbrat is my best friend," Furcorn said, "We've been together from the start."
Rarity was confused.
"Here, let me show you."
Furcorn then ran into Spike's room. The other ponies quickly followed. As they were entering, Furcorn had already gotten out crayons and paper. He started drawing a creature with green fur, large brown horns that stuck to the ground, and a big grin. The drawing seemed very detailed. Furcorn then started drawing more creatures. He drew a fluffy white creature, a plant creature, a rock creature, and many more. After he was finished, the ponies looked at all the art he had made. These were creatures that he obviously cared about.
Applejack looked at one titled "Yelmut" It was a green and blue blob with an ancient looking helmet. It seemed to be yelling at the top of its lungs.
"This is weird," said Applejack, "I ain't never seen anything like THIS before."
While the others looked at the many pictures that Furcorn drew, Twilight was still trying to piece together everything Furcorn had said. Blue orb of light? What in Equestria could -- Suddenly, it hit her. This glowing blue light might be a creature in of its own. She raced back to the library, and the others soon followed. She grabbed a book titled "Creatures 101" and opened up the book to a page with a glowing creature.
"Furcorn," she said, "You said that there was a blue orb of light, correct?"
Furcorn seemed puzzled. "Yeah."
"And that it spoke a cryptic message to you, right?"
Furcorn, still confused, replied with the same answer.
"That orb of light was a wisp."
Furcorn seemed even more puzzled. "You mean like the legendary ethereal monster?"
Now Twilight seemed confused. "I don't know what that is, but THIS wisp is an ancient spirit that guides lost souls to the afterlife. This must have been the thing that took Spike. And what brought you here. The only thing I'M wondering is how and why this wisp would send you here."
"And what it did with Spike," replied Rainbow.
A silence filled the room.
"Wait," said Twilight, "are you saying that the wisp took Spike?"
"It's possible," said Rainbow, "If this Furcorn thing is in OUR world, then maybe Spike is in FURCORN'S world."
Another silence filled the room.
"It will be tricky," said Twilight, "But I may be able to find Furcorn's world."
"How?" asked Furcorn.
"With a letter."
"Furcorn's MISSING?!"
"We looked everywhere, Steven," said Bowgart, adjusting the strings on his instrument, "But he's just not around."
Steven was worried. He already lost someone close to him. He couldn't lose someone else. Not today.
Steven sighed. "Where was he last?"
"He was next to me," said Entbrat.
"Did he say he was going anywhere?"
"No, he just said 'see you tomorrow, buddy' and just went to sleep. When I woke up, he was gone."
Steven started to think. First Spike shows up, then Furcorn goes missing. Something was going on. But what? He knew that THEY wouldn't risk losing a creature, even if it was to get his monsters. At the same time, THEY might be able to risk a creature they already had. There was only one way to find out.
"Spike," said Steven, "What kind of creature are you?"
"A dragon."
Steven knew that THEY had plenty of dragon skulls, but not a living dragon.
"And the people who take care of you," Steven continued, "what do you do for them?"
"Well, I do LOTS. I write notes, write letters, organize books, go on adventures; the list goes on."
"Do these 'adventures' include fighting any...monsters?"
"Sometimes. Once, we fought of a--"
"Grab him."
Without hesitation, Tring grabbed Spike by his tail, holding him in the air.
Steven continued to question him. "And who is the one in charge where you come from?"
Spike was silent in fear.
"Alright, you purple pansy," Steven said, now in Spike's face, "I will ask you again, and you had BETTER give me an answer I like. Who do you work for?"
Suddenly, Spike Burped a green flame. A scroll with a strange star symbol dropped to the floor. Steven picked it up and opened it.
To whom it may concern, it said, The purple dragon you see before you is named Spike. He's the best assistant you could ever ask for, and we will be arriving to your world tomorrow to get him. Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle.
Now Steven had a target. All he needed was an arrow.
"Alright, monsters," he said, "Get ready to go on a trip. We've got an invasion to stop."
"What about Spike?" asked Tring.
"Leave him with the celestials. They can PROPERLY deal with him." Steven looked back at the symbol. "Whoever this 'Twilight Sparkle' joker is better be ready for a battle."
"Alright, everybody," Steven announced, "If we want to get Furcorn back, we need to get to Spike's world and TAKE him back. Barrb, you take this letter to the portal, see if you can find Spike's home world. Tring, you take Spike to the Celestials, let THEM take care of him. As for the rest of you, get ready to sing. We've got a friend to save."
Spike was confused. He didn't think that humans were capable of attacking other worlds. At the same time, he was worried for his friends in Equestria. He didn't know what this human would do.
Suddenly, Steven looked at Spike. "Take him away," he said to the creature holding Spike.
With a silent nod, the creature took Spike to the portal. Spike closed his eyes, scared of what he was going to see. When he opened them again, he saw some sort of machine, along with twelve other creatures surrounding him.
The creature dropped him. The creature walked back through the portal. "Good luck," it said before departing.
Spike didn't know what to do. He and everypony in Equestria were doomed. He couldn't help but blame himself.
So he cried.
Galvana looked at this new creature. She couldn't help but feel sorry for it. It looked as if it had lost its family. She raised her hand over the creature. Her intuition was correct.
His name was Spike. He was a dragon who lived in a land named Equestria. He was clearly loved by his caretaker, Twilight Sparkle. He was lost. Afraid. Needing comfort.
As she delved deeper, she saw a vision of a past dream he had. It was of a wisp, telling him to "find the elements, protect both worlds". No , she thought, It couldn't be. A wisp only shows up when...fate needs to be changed. But now was not the time for thinking about wisps. It was time to sing.
"Spike," she said, "Wake up."
"Please," he replied, "Don't hurt me..."
"We're not going to hurt you. We're going to send you back."
Spike got up. Rubbing the tears from his eyes, he looked at Galvana, who gave him a reassuring smile.
Spike was confused. "W-what?"
"We're celestial monsters," said Attmoz, "We don't hurt the innocent."
"How did you--?"
"Galvana scanned your brain," interrupted Scaratar, "Then sent the message to us."
"We ARE celestials," laughed Hornacle.
Spike was worried. "What is Steven going to do to my friends?"
The celestials frowned.
Galvana tried to explain. "He's going to...try to use force to get one of HIS friends back."
"Why?"
"He thinks you're part of The Hunter Corporation."
"The what?"
Furnoss replied, "They're a group of inter-dimensional poachers. They want to capture creatures and put them up for display."
"But," said Galvana, "We can still get you to your friends; you just have to trust us."
Spike hesitated for a minute. "Okay," he finally said, "I trust you."
Scaratar started to play her instrument. The portal began to whiz and whir, like a machine booting up. Some of the other monsters started to play, and the portal became bigger and brighter. With each beat made by Torrt, the portal echoed along. Finally, as Vhamp started her tune, the portal was complete. With a "Rooty-toot-too", Galvana escorted Spike. Without a second thought, Spike entered the portal. Then it closed.
"I hope we did the right thing," said Plixie.
"Yeah," said Galvana, "Now, let's find those Wisps."
Twilight peaked into Spike's room. Furcorn was there, snoozing with Fluttershy and the rest. She smiled as she gently closed the door. At least Furcorn was in good hooves.
She flew to her bed. With the letter she sent, whoever had Spike was BOUND to find her. But what if that was a problem? What if she had made a mistake? No. That couldn't be possible. If Furcorn was from a bad place, he wouldn't be the way he was. As she fell asleep, she continued to ponder. However, her pondering and resting was soon interrupted by a strange sound:
"Bummm. Ba-dum-bummm, bum bummm. Ba-DUM-BUMMM, BUM bummm. Ba-dum-bummm, bum bummm."
She looked out her window. No pony was there. She went back to her bed, and heard another voice:
"Dup, diddy-dup, diddy-DEY-DA-DEY-DA-dup, diddy-dup, diddy-dup, diddy-doo."
Puzzled, she went out to the window again. Before she peaked out, a small boulder crashed through. She looked closer at the rock and noticed it had hands, feet, eyes, and a mouth. It looked at Twilight angrily. Then, it began to pat its head, creating the sound of bongos. Soon after, more creatures arrived through the broken window. They all looked at Twilight with the same anger as the rock creature. They began to harmonize with their voices and instruments as they moved closer and closer.
In fear, Twilight ran, and the creatures soon followed. She hurried to Spike's room and slammed the door shut, waking the others.
"What in tarnation is going on?" asked Apple Jack, rubbing her eyes.
"We're under attack," Twilight replied. She held the door to keep the creatures from entering.
"No," said Furcorn, "We aren't."
"Wait, what?" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.
"Those are my friends," Furcorn continued, "They just want to take me back."
Furcorn went to the door and opened it. A strange and quite large creature loomed over with an unamused face and crossed arms. It was a human.
"Hi, Steven," said Furcorn, "How are you?"
"Not good," replied Steven through his teeth. He stepped into the room. "First, I found this 'Spike' creature in the forrest. THEN, I find out that you went missing. And NOW, I have to show these--" Steven looked at the ponies. He seemed confused, but still enraged. "Wait, are those PONIES?"
"Yeah," said Rainbow Dash.
"And do they work for THEM?"
"Them?" asked Twilight.
Steven snapped to Twilight. "Don't play coy with me," he said, "You know who I'm talking about. The Hunter Corporation."
Twilight looked at him in confusion. He rolled his eyes in disgust and motioned his hand to a rock-like creature with six heads. The creature gave him a knife, and he pointed the knife at the ponies. Stepping closer and closer, he got angrier and angrier.
Then Furcorn stepped in front of him.