Not What I Expected

Not What I Expected

Part 2

By Skye Silverwing

Harold Pershing tumbled wildly out of the portal dropping some 10 feet to the ground below. With a deep thud, he landed on his back, staring up at the deep blue sky.

He rubbed his head and shook himself to dispel the slight dizziness from the shock of his landing, and then he looked up, his eyes taking in the Majesty of the City of Canterlot in the distance.

Elation spread through him as he realized that the sight of the city could only mean that he had, in fact, made it to Equestria. Smiling, he sat up, and became aware of a slight wailing. Eyes searching for the source of the sound, Harold realized that he was in some sort of a field full of low bushes, covered with tiny leaves. He did not know this place, but if Canterlot was there, that meant that Ponyville had to be nearby.

Forgetting the sound, Harold pushed himself to his feet, and was immediately confronted by a small blue blur, which he took to be some sort of bird, clearly angry at him for something, as it darted wildly about his head striking at him. Not wanting to be delayed in meeting his new pony friends, he reached up and batted the pesky thing from the air.

Picking his way carefully, be began to make his way through the bushes in the direction of Ponyville and Canterlot beyond, he began to get a sense like something was not right here.

Reaching the edge of the odd field of bushes, he felt a tug at his ankle as he stepped, and stumbled forward.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Rainbow Dash made great time reaching Sweet Apple Acres. “Applejack!” she called, “Twilight says the Princess needs us to check out whatever is causing this darkness.”

The Country Pony nodded vigorously. “Ah hear ya,” She said, “You go on ahead, and get Fluttershy. Ah’ll catch up.”

Rainbow nodded, and flapped her wings, turning to arc in the direction of Fluttershy’s home. As she approached, a bright light flashed over the Forest, nearly a hundred feet in the air. A second flash caused Rainbow to blink, as a huge… Thing… Fell from a hole in the air. A scream rang out just before it crashed to ground with an Earth-shaking crash.

Pouring on the speed, Rainbow reached the clearing just as the… Thing was pulling itself up. A piercing wail drew the Rainbow-Maned Pegasus into the clearing, where she saw her oldest friend, laying splayed on the ground, her hindquarters trapped under the monster. As the monster pulled itself ponderously to its feet, Rainbow rushed to her friend’s side.

Fluttershy looked up at her friend plaintively. “Rainbow… Dash…” she said, her breath coming raggedly. “Buster… needs to get home… the forest… is dangerous…”

The Pink-Maned Pegasus pushed a frightened looking bunny into Rainbow’s hooves, and then fell limp.

A look of rage entered the Racers eyes, as she set the Bunny on the ground. “Get home.” She told it. “That monster is going to pay for this.”

Leaving the bunny to its own devices, Rainbow charged into the air and flung herself against the creature’s huge, hairless face, kicking and spiraling around attacking and forestalling it as it moved in the direction of Ponyville. She was looping around when the thing batted her from the air like a bug. Sailing out of control, she slammed through a number of trees before coming to a halt, hanging upside-down from the branches over the head of Applejack as she reached the edge of the Forest just that side of the farm.

The Blonde Farm pony winced at her friend’s sudden and very violent appearance. “Rainbow!” she cried, “Hold on, I’ll git you down!”

Rainbow’s vision spun, but she locked eyes on her friend. “N-no…” she said, Pain lancing through her, from one of her wings, possibly indicating something broken. “I’ll be… fine. You have to stop that thing… before it gets to Ponyville!”

Applejack looked a little hesitant, but hurried cut the beast off before it could reach Sweet Apple Acres, and Ponyville beyond that.

The Blonde Pony tipped her hat back as she spotted the giant foot tearing through the undergrowth of the forest and pulled out her trusty rope. Tying the rope in a quick lasso, she roped a thick branch on the tree across the way and pulled it taut around a thick oak on her end. The Giant’s foot struck the rope, pulling short as it challenged the rope’s durability. The hesitation lasted only a few moments as the unexpected resistance caused the Giant to lose its balance and topple forward, snapping both the branch, and the tree like twigs and Dragging the Earth Pony along for the ride.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

It had taken Twilight Sparkle and Rarity a little longer than then had expected to locate their Hyperactive Pink friend, Pinkie Pie, as she had apparently immersed herself in a musical number that had her dancing and singing and playing all over Ponyville. They finally caught up with her in the schoolyard, playing with a few of the Fillies that remained on the grounds after school had let out.

While they had been telling her what was happening, Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s little sister, and Scootaloo, one of her best friends, approached them. “Are you going to Sweet Apple Acres?” Sweetie Belle asked, “Applebloom was sick today, so Scootaloo and I need to take her homework to her. Can we come along with you?”

Twilight looked at Rarity.

Rarity smiled. “Well, I don’t see why not.” She said. “It is on the way.”

Twilight nodded and lead the way, and so the five of them headed for Sweet Apple Acres, arriving just in time to see a Giant… Something… as it tripped and stumbled as it came out of the forest.

“Oh, no.” was all Twilight had time to say

The five ponies watched in horror as the beast, balancing precariously on two legs, struggled to maintain its balance, even as it stomped heavily on a fence and then planted a foot on the cart the Apple Family often used to take their wares to market. It finally lost all balance and fell, waving its forelegs frantically as it came down with a huge crash. Directly into the side of the Apple family’s house.

“Applebloom!” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo screamed.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Harold would have stared in shock at the detail of this – Doll house? – if he was not already slightly stunned from his impact with it. The side of the tiny structure had collapsed like cardboard under his weight, debris falling to reveal several rooms on two stories, the upper one containing a bed, wherein a small, red and yellow creature was screaming in terror.

Shaking his head to dispel the effects of the blow to his head, Harold reached out and caught the tiny creature before it could attempt to flee, drawing it up to his face to take a closer look at it… THEN he stared.

It was a tiny yellow furred, Red-Maned filly. It stared up at him with huge eyes, a look of naked terror on its face.

But Harold knew that face. “Applebloom?” he said, softly, surprise and panic beginning to take hold in his mind. If this was Applebloom…

Terror and Revulsion surged through him. It couldn’t be. It was impossible. He had done everything right. This wasn’t possible. It could not be. NO!

A surge of rage and madness drove the last thought through his lips in an audible howl, as he swung the arm holding the filly as hard as he could, pitching her into the distance.

From the ground at his feet, he heard a shocked cry. “Applebloom! NO!” It drew his attention down to the barely six-inch tall orange pony at his feet. “You killed my sister, you monster!” The tiny Applejack cried, charging up to his foot and kicking him painfully in the ankle.

Still angry, Harold kicked back, sending the Country pony sprawling halfway across the farm. He stared after her as a field of light coalesced around her, stopping her flight and lowering her safely to the ground. His rage increased even more when he recognized the tiny form of Twilight Sparkle, leading Rarity and Pinkie Pie and the other two Cutie Mark Crusader Fillies. “NO!” He howled, grabbing the Barn, ripping it from its tiny foundation and pitching it at the Lavender Unicorn with and her companions with all the force he could muster, shattering the barn on impact.

There was no way this could be. It was a joke. A vile Prank. It had to be the fault of something evil and mischievous and... In a moment of insane clarity, the answer came to him.

Discord.

It had to be Discord. The chaos wielding draconequus had to be behind this. And he had the power to fix it.

Course of action firmly in mind, Harold paused a moment to think. Where would Discord be? His eyes locked once again on the distant peak of Canterlot. He had set the time of his arrival to the end of Season 2 of the series, so the villain in question would still be trapped in his stone statue prison there.

Nodding to himself, Harold pushed himself to his feet. Discord must have gotten loose, and interfered with his transfer somehow. He just had to go make him undo what he had done, and that would fix everything. He would be the right size and

Plan set, Harold set off, on a straight line for Canterlot. Straight through Ponyville.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Twilight groaned softly as her friends shifted the debris of the demolished barn off of her. Opening her eyes she saw Rarity and Pinkie Pie staring down at her in concern.

Rarity smiled softly at her. “Are you alright, dear?” she asked, a look of concern on her face. “That force bubble you threw up at the last moment saved us all, but it looks like it took a lot out of you…”

Twilight nodded. “It did… but we don’t have time to worry about me right now.” She said, pushing herself to her hooves. “Which way did that thing go?”

Rarity let her eyes follow the giant monster as it moved off in the Direction of her home. “It is heading for Ponyville.” She said simply, worry evident in her voice. “But we need to regroup. The fillies are distraught, and I am afraid Applejack is not much better off… though I can’t say I blame her… If something like that happened to Sweetie Belle…” She trailed off, looking at her little sister.

Twilight gathered herself. “We don’t have time to wait.” She said, “Ponyville is depending on us. We have to stop that monster before it kills anypony else.”

Rarity looked at Pinkie Pie, who looked from Twilight to Applejack. “But what can we do?” The Pink Pony asked, “We can’t even catch up to it, and its sooo huge, we can’t stop it if we could. Even if AJ was okay, it would take everything we have, just to slow it down!”

Suddenly Twilight Sparkle looked to the sky. “We may not need to slow it down. Look!” she cried, as a Rainbow streak shot from the edge of the Everfree Forest.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

As Rainbow Dash gingerly worked her way free of the tree, she observed the altercation between Applejack and the monster. She was not sure of the state of her wing, but she did not want to test her capacity in the air until the pain reduced a little more. When she saw the thing hurl poor Applebloom out over the forest, however, she knew that she was the only one fast enough to save the filly from a horrible fate.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, Rainbow spread her wings and flung herself into the fastest flight she could manage. She looped up over the trees and shot into a power dive that left a Rainbow after image behind her. Her wing held, and the pain began to bleed out of it as she flapped herself even faster. Just short of the ground, she intercepted the falling filly in a diving catch, before bringing herself to a halt to set Applebloom safely on the ground.

Applebloom shook violently. “Th-thank you…” she stammered. “W-what was that thing?”

Rainbow Dash looked in the direction of Ponyville, currently obscured by trees, a look of stony determination coming onto her face. “I don’t know.” She said, “But I am going to make it pay for messing with my friends.”

With that, Rainbow Dash took to the air once more, leaving Applebloom safe on the ground, and streaked back across the sky toward her target.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Harold had calmed down quite a bit by the time he reached the central part of Ponyville. Sure, he was huge, but he was here, and he was sure that as soon as he stopped Discord and was returned to his proper size, everything else would be simple enough to smooth over.

He had just reached the Central Square by the Town Hall when a strange sound reached his ears. It was a high pitched keening, much like one might expect to hear from something flying just under the speed of sound. Turning, Harold was treated to one of the most spectacular sights that Equestria had to offer: A Sonic Rainboom.

For a long instant, time seemed to slow down as Harold stared slack-jawed at the spectacle of the wave of mad color generated by Rainbow Dash’s most awe-inspiring ability. It was incredible in terms of its beauty and its raw power.

And then the Rainbow trailing Pegasus herself shot out and slammed into Harold’s chin at full force.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Princess Celestia arrived on the scene as soon as she could, the remnants of the Monster’s rampage still clearly visible, and the monster itself sprawled atop the ruins of the Town Hall. Earth Ponies and Unicorns spread out around the thing, using ropes and magic to hold it in place so that it would not be able to shift one hair, while several squads of Pegasai, under the direct command of Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts, patrolled the sky, watching the beast for any sign of recovery.

The Rainbow-Maned Pony had a stoic look on her face. One that was mirrored on Twilight Sparkle's face, as well as those of her other friends as well.

Landing beside Twilight Sparkle, The Princess studied her with a look that mirrored the sorrow in the Lavender Pony’s eyes.

“Rainbow Dash says…” Twilight said in a voice dipped in sorrow, “That that monster killed Fluttershy…”

Princess Celestia bowed her head slightly, and then opened her eyes, looking her gaze on the monster. This could not be allowed to stand. “No one harms my subjects.” She stepped up onto the monster’s chest, and the slight pressure brought its eyes open.

It looked up at Princess Celestia in a moment of awe, and then the awe faded into terror as it saw the look on her face. It shook with fear and struggled against its bonds, but a flare of Celestia’s magic slammed it hard back into the crumbling structure below it. “You hurt my subjects. You hurt my little ponies.” She said coldly, “And now you will pay the price. 1000 years in exile.” She spread her wings and rose up silhouetting to the sun, and in a bright flash, the monster was gone.

Celestia landed off to one side, near a tall pony with silver wings. Without looking at him, she spoke. “Was this really necessary?”

He snorted softly. “Of course not.” He said simply. “If he had kept his head, he might have avoided all this trouble. Or he might have gotten worse. It is the nature of Possibility, and of Choice.” He did not seem surprised that she had singled him out. Powerful beings and old beings could recognize Gods by feel, and Celestia was both.

A hint of a smile came to his face. “A consolation.” He said, nodding toward the edge of the Forest. “It seems that somepony left a Phoenix-drop Orchid on Zecora’s front step. I hear their healing powers are… impressive.”

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Twilight Sparkle looked to the Princess where she stood alone, off to the side of the square, and considered going over to her, until she saw the Princess’s eyes widen, and, following her gaze, she turned and spotted a pair of shapes moving slowly from the edge of the forest.

“Fluttershy!” she cried, running over, barely ahead of the rest of her friends in reaching the spot where the Zebra shaman, Zecora, was assisting a slow-moving Fluttershy back into the town.

Fluttershy looked up wearily, and smiled at her friends. “Oh… Hello girls…” she said softly.

The Five of them hugged Fluttershy, and then Rainbow Dash looked at Zecora. “But… Fluttershy was in really bad shape when I saw her last.” She said carefully, “How is she okay now.”

Zecora pulled out a blaze-red flower. “The Phoenix-Drop Orchid is a special flower with near-miraculous healing powers.” She said in her usual rhyming way. “And this small bunny showed the way, to Fluttershy’s side to save the day.”

Princess Celestia walked over with a slightly more sedate pace. “I am glad you are alright, Fluttershy.” She said simply, drawing a deep blush from the yellow mare.

“Thank you, Princess Celestia.” Fluttershy said. “Is… Is it over?”

The Princess simply nodded. “Yes.” She said, “I believe we shall never have need to deal with that… thing… again.”

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Harold awoke slowly, the picture of anger on Princess Celestia’s face still fresh in his mind. He knew where he was without needing to open his eyes, but he did anyway, confirming the dark grey stone and sand that he knew to be the Moon. Looking to the sky, he saw the stars, and the blue green form of a foreign planet glowing in the sky. Somewhere on that blue ball lay Equestria, the world he had always dreamed of. How had everything gone so wrong?

He did not even realize he had spoken the last allowed until he heard the answer.

“The Toys.”

Harold looked up to see a tall, grey Stallion with silver wings and a silver horn marking him as an alicorn, Staring down at him with deep green eyes under a jet-black mane.

“What?” Harold said dumbly.

The Stallion smiled condescendingly at him. “The Toys.” He said again. “You used the Toys to describe the bulk of the pony race. The toys are six inches, or so, on average, so that is the size of the ponies, and their world with them.”

Harold stared at the Stallion, mouth working for a moment, but no sound escaping. “But…” he said at last… “There were humans in the earlier shows. I used them, too.”

The Stallion chuckled. “What do you suppose is easier for a computer to do?” he asked, “Ignore tons of Toy-size data, or assume the humans that came to this world before were just tiny?”

Harold’s eyes widened. “This… Isn’t what I wanted.” He said.

The Stallion looked at him. “I know.” He said, “You should have known to be careful what you wish for.”

With that, the Stallion turned to leave.

Harold reached out a hand toward it. “Wait!” he cried, “What is going to happen to me?”

The Stallion turned slowly. “What was always going to happen to you.” He said finally. “You will live, until you die, as all humans do.”

With that, the God of Possibilities departed, and Harold’s mournful wail followed after him.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

A. N. And there you have it. Everypony lived, because I hate killing ponies. Let me know what you thought.