Chapters Though the edges of Sweet Apple Acres did not play host to the cryptic mire that was the Everfree Forest, Applejack still prepared herself for the occasional eventuality that something might come creeping out of the forests just beyond the farm’s edge. After all, a prepared mind was a level one, and some days Applejack felt as though she was the only level-headed one amongst her friends. Not that that made her love them any less, of course; it was just another component of their group’s dynamic.
It was a quiet autumn afternoon. The farm pony was working on some late harvesting towards the edge of the farm, putting in a bit of extra work. Not for any particular reason; she just had a bit of extra pep in her step today, and wanted to put that energy into something productive.
Surprisingly, however, the creature slowly floated towards her. The closing distance allowed Applejack to get a better look at the creature, and was surprised at just how alien it was.
Applejack had never seen such a creature in her life, and halted her approach as she stared at it, taking it all in. It appeared honestly and truly alien to her, and truthfully, it rattled her a bit. Usually, alien-looking creatures tended to be dangerous.
“Ah’m sorry, I didn’t get a lick o’ that,” She admitted, as if expecting the creature to understand her.
Again, Applejack lacked the necessary knowledge to interpret this. It did, however, make the creature a bit easier to handle. Applejack could see it was at least trying to communicate, and it seemed to understand her. She only wished she could understand it in return.
Applejack smiled reassuringly at the alien. “She’ll sort it out,” She promised, “C’mon, follow me.” She turned and trotted with some haste towards Ponyville; Fluttershy’s cottage was on the other side of town, and Applejack didn’t feel like spending her whole day walking.
The creature looked at her curiously, slowly flitting forth. Applejack turned to the side to give the creature a shot at her torso.
Fluttershy squeaked as she heard a knock on her cottage’s door. She wasn’t expecting company today, so such a disturbance shook her some. Despite this, she took a breath and walked to the door; it would be rude not to answer, after all.
“Come in; I’ve never seen an animal like that before, but I’ll do my best,” Fluttershy offered gently.
Applejack attempted to crane her neck to get a good look. Sure enough, there were some small scars riddling its neck and tail; it looked like a mixture of burns and holes.
The creature whistled a bit and wiggled its four feelers. Fluttershy still failed to glean any meaningful information from the noise. “You’re… A worker?” Fluttershy asked.
The creature shook its head and briefly looked around, eyes settling on the coasters and teacups on the table. It very particularly stacked them, teacup-then-coaster, to form a tower.
“Okay, so you’re an engineer,” Fluttershy said softly, “Are you hurt?” She asked, opting for questions that could be answered more simply.
“Do you remember where you came from?” Fluttershy asked gently.
The alien followed Fluttershy to the kitchen, and she opened some of the pantry for the alien to look through. It rummaged around some, it shook its head and, again, trilled apologetically.
The alien nodded and followed the two mares out the door, perching on Applejack’s back as they got outside.
Given that they were going to a place in town, now, looks were unavoidable. Many sets of eyes fell upon the creature, though it didn’t seem to mind.
The alien had a scared look on its face, and one of its feelers had curled into a blue orb, which was projecting the pane via a thin arc of electricity.
“Well, we don’t know much yet,” Fluttershy admitted, “But they’re an engineer, and they’re very lost… We’re trying to find them something to eat.”too much to eat around here!” She giggled, turning and bouncing toward the counter.
Applejack smiled. “Come look at some food, you,” She remarked, lightly gesturing towards the glass case containing all manner of confectioneries that Pinkie was now standing behind.
The alien eyed the cake slice and wobbled one of its tendrils as if it were a wavy ocean.
“You want the cake blended?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head.
Fluttershy blinked. “I wonder if it’s the sugar,” She supposed, “Some creatures need a lot of energy to live.”
Fluttershy stepped forward and gently patted one of the alien’s balloonish parts. “Are you okay with staying here with Pinkie?” She asked softly.
Fluttershy nodded. “Okay,” She replied gently, “Good night, the three of you,” She bade softly as she prepared to leave.
Pinkie got to work mixing together some batters she wanted to sit overnight; sourdough starter in particular. She hummed softly as she worked, but frowned a bit as she got to the proofer. The machine hadn’t been working correctly; it always seemed to be over- or under-proofing things.
Pinkie watched with wide eyed intrigue, trying to play along with the creature’s thoughtful whistling.
The alien whistled softly, one of its feelers sparking.
The alien whistled and nodded in agreement.
After a few moments of gently rubbing the alien’s head, Pinkie stood up. “Alright, I’ve still got until moon-up to watch the counter,” She said gently.
Pinkie smiled at the alien once the unicorn had left. “Look at you! First you fix the proofer, now you’re good for business,” Pinkie said contently, “I think someone’s earned another bowl of cake soup before bed.”
Pinkie then led the alien up the stairs to her room, helping them inside.
Chapter 2: Alien Diplomacy
As the rush died down, Pinkie finally noticed the alien sitting contemplatively in the doorframe and walked over. “You can come out now, big guy,” Pinkie said with a small giggle.
Pinkie looked at the alien and smiled gently. “You want some food before Fluttershy gets here?” Pinkie asked.
Pinkie eventually brought over the bowl of milky cake to the creature, and it contently slurped it down, trilling in thanks.
Eventually, Fluttershy walked in the door.
“We! I wanna be there when Twilight does magic stuff and figures out how to get the big guy to talk!” Pinkie expressed excitedly.
They eventually came to Twilight’s castle, and Pinkie knocked on the door.
Pinkie bounced in, and Fluttershy followed, finding it a bit cumbersome to move with the alien perched on her back, but not painfully so. The two ponies followed Spike into the castle.
The three were led to a library with a large desk, where Twilight was sitting and doing the most important thing a princess could do: Reforming tax laws. It was just as riveting as it sounded. She almost wasn’t falling asleep.
Fluttershy nodded. “It does, but please be gentle with them. They can be skittish,” Fluttershy admitted.
The alien nodded and floated over, gazing at Twilight intently.
“...Love?” Twilight guessed. The alien shook its head.
“Hugs Ceiling?” Twilight asked. The alien floated down, nodding, but then circled the area between the hugging ponies and the cube.
Twilight nodded a bit and looked at Hugs the Ceiling. “Is that right? You’re called Hugs the Ceiling because you float?” She asked.
“Alright, just a minute,” Twilight thought aloud, horn illuminating to bring a book from her shelf: An Extensive Guide to Understanding Creatures you Can’t.
Twilight began to read aloud, with Hugs the Ceiling lightly following along with one of their feelers. Twilight could feel a smile creeping across her face; it was quite endearing, really, having a reading partner that followed so closely.
Twilight looked up. “That’s… What I just read,” She remarked, “Pinkie, stop messing around.”
Hugs the Ceiling nodded a little, slowing their signing to a more deliberate processable cadence. “U-N-D-E-R-S-T-A-N-D-I-N-G,” They signed.
Hugs the Ceiling seemed ecstatic at the opportunity to soak up some fresh knowledge, beginning to pour over the volumes right away. They started signing assorted words as they read them.
The three mares flinched a bit at the sudden acknowledgement, but then came another set of signs:
“Or Pinkie could just bring a bunch of cake soup over,” Fluttershy suggested.
This left Twilight and Fluttershy alone with Hugs the Ceiling, and the two mares struggled to think of conversation topics with the alien so focused on their work.
“Did the Great and Powerful Trixie just hear her name used in vain!?” A voice echoed through the castle.
“Oh, that’s Hugs the Ceiling,” Fluttershy introduced, “They’re very busy learning Ponish right now.”
Trixie huffed a bit. “As usual, you bare your shortcomings on your sleeve, relying on common Ponish to communicate,” Trixie huffed, “Trixie will have to show you proper communication skills.” Trixie walked over to the desk where Hugs the Ceiling was reading, carefully eyeing the alien for a moment.
“Trixie, Hugs the Ceiling can-” Fluttershy attempted, cut off by Trixie leering at the alien and speaking.
Hugs the Ceiling trilled at her one final time; it was a much louder noise, almost like a plea.
Trixie grunted as she hit the floor; she landed on her hooves, but it was still quite sudden. Trixie stared at the alien, who was now scowling at her; the best the alien could scowl, at least.
Fluttershy gently set a hoof on Hugs the Ceiling’s side. “It’s okay, Hugs,” She said gently, “You were just trying to protect me, right? Like when Pinkie scared you for the first time.”our friend, but… Well, she’s Starlight’s friend, and Starlight is our friend,” Twilight explained.
Fluttershy thought for a moment. “Do you want to go apologize to Trixie?” She asked gently.
“Wh-what do you want!?” Trixie asked, staring wrathfully at Hugs the Ceiling.
Trixie sniffled a bit. “You called Trixie impatient,” She snorted, shying away from the light touch of the tissue on her face.
Trixie froze a bit. “...You are not throwing Trixie again, right?” She asked.
Starlight smiled. “I have to admit, I’m impressed. Trixie doesn’t usually forgive easily,” She remarked.
“Huragok?” Twilight asked, tilting her head a bit.
The four mares exchanged worried looks. Judging by the Huragok’s expressions, what they once thought of as a wanderer might be more of a refugee.
“How are you so sure in your observations?” Twilight asked.
Twilight, Starlight, and Fluttershy all shared looks.
Their conversation was cut short as Pinkie and Spike returned from their errands, the former with a few large jars of some beige-pink sludge and the latter with a box of antacid tablets.
Twilight smiled. “Well, whatever the case, Hugs the Ceiling is welcome around Ponyville for as long as they desire,” She expressed.
The rest of the night went fairly nicely; food (or cake soup as the case may be) was shared amongst the small group of ponies, dragon, and alien, and the mood was jovial. At least for the evening, Twilight and Trixie even seemed to put their differences aside.
Hugs the Ceiling trilled softly and floated down, feelers wrapping around Pinkie gently.
Starlight yawned a bit. “Well, I’m beat from traveling over the past few days,” Starlight remarked, “Night, you four,” She bade as she stood up to leave.
Trixie moved to leave, but Hugs the Ceiling looked at her and whistled softly.
Hugs the Ceiling briefly hung in the air for a moment, before lightly floating down the hall, entering the guest room they’d been given, and picking up one of the blankets, draping it over themselves, sinking as they deflated a bit to rest.
Interlude β: Sleep That Refuses to Come
I can’t sleep. I rested for a little while, but sleep refuses to come to me. I feel an incomprehensible pang of illness in my stomach… And a larger such pang in my heart. I remove the fluffy blanket the purple one provided to me, and slip out the door, heading for the front of the castle again. Opening that door, I move outside into the cool night’s air.
Sure enough, there’s a large cart just outside. No doubt the magician’s. I do not wish to disturb her, but it would be a nice spot to set myself, so carefully, I float up and settle myself lightly on the top of the cart, two of my feelers drifting over the edge. I have never had problems with altitude sickness, but sometimes it is nice to settle myself on a solid object. A feeling of sturdiness the air fails to provide.
My parents said it’s because I was born with a very high buoyancy quotient… I used to have issues settling myself like this. Sometimes I would invert myself, and rest my body on the ceiling instead. My parents…
“Who’s there…?” I hear her voice, shock mixing with grogginess.
What I have most noticed about the magician is how sharply she perceives things, when not bogged down by her own emotional investment. When she was seeking to prove herself to the other ponies, she was borderline stupid. After she took confidence in herself, however, she became very smart. These ponies amaze me with all the ways they can be dumb.
She groggily climbs the ladder on the side of the cart, sitting next to me. “You cannot sleep,” She supposes.
The magician thinks for a long moment. “And you do not know where the pain is coming from?” She asks.
My eyes widen a bit. It makes sense. I’ve been lost in this odd place for weeks. I fervently nod to her diagnosis, signing out the word to record it for myself properly: “Homesick.”
I don’t feel like signing a lot, so I decide to tell my story through pantomiming with my feelers. I gesture vaguely out to the sky.
I nod and trill sorrowfully. That was the last time I saw my parents, or most of my friends. I don’t like thinking about that ship.
I nod, and split one of my feelers into three.
“Trixie did not know her parents very well,” The magician admits, “But she still misses them, sometimes. It is healthy, even though it hurts.”
“You are very forgiving,” The magician eventually says, “Trixie thanks you for that.”
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Interlude α: A Dreamy Morning in a Nightmare
As I awake and blink my eyes open, I realize I’m still in the odd place I fell asleep in. I wish it was a dream; not that I dream often, but I wish this was one of the few times I had. There’s an unusual weight over me… Oh, it’s a blanket. I carefully remove the blanket and fold it before opening the door and leaving the room. I’d like to find the pink one again; she is very nice.
As I float down the stairs, I see the pink one and two other frantic equines running around the door, dealing with… Wow. A lot of customers. I shrink a bit and sink to the floor slightly. I’m not scared of passerby, nor getting looks, but I do not want to interrupt something.
As I silently watch through the crack in the door, I’m struck by how alike these ponies are to humans and the Covenant. That is to say: Dumb, but in varied and often practical ways. For example, the pink one is dumb and loud and a bit scary, but she is very nice and forgiving. The cream one was dumbly quiet and underconfident, but did her best to understand me even when she couldn’t. The orange one was very, very dumb, but her assertiveness and self-confidence put me at ease.
When combined, they compliment each other, and their dumbness brings them together. I don’t understand why intelligent beings see dumb as an insult; if there were no dumbness in the world, things would never break, and my kind would never need to exist. Thus, I am grateful that dumbness exists, and hope it continues to exist. However, I do hope this “Twilight” they want to show me to is a bit smarter than the others. I would like to not have to point to or charade everything like a stupid creature. Brrr… That is an insult.