Welcome To Equestria!by BluPonyChapters-2- Transformations-3- The Not-So-Grand Entrance-4- First Day in Ponyville-5- Party with the Mares!-6- Mane Six Meetup-7- Job Endeavour-8- Nightly Exploration-1- Being a Brony/Meeting Celestia-2- Transformations Welcome to Equestria The Pre-Arc.. ~~~~Chapter Two~~~~ ~~~~Transformations~~~~ So, you didn’t think this was going to be much, eh? Probably a little entertaining, but not exactly adventure worthy? Well there’s more to come and it’s just getting started. Sit back, relax, and here’s the next part of the adventure. Enjoy! ~Blu and Hotshot ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ Celestia agreed to remain where we were conversing since our parents were going to come back soon after spending the day at the beach with my sister there too. We didn’t want to go so we were allowed to stay at Hotshot’s as long as we didn’t go out, invite anyone else over, or light the house on fire. Obviously, we kind of broke the second rule, but for the princess of the sun, she was going to be an exception to that rule. A few minutes passed as we continued to converse about various aspects of pony life and the immensity of the decision. We all agreed that it was what we wanted and possible with her magical power. The time came and our parents came back home. We weren’t sure exactly what we could do but Celestia said she had it covered. We just had to meet our parents outside and stall them for a bit. “What!” Said Hotshot in brief alarm. “How the heck are we suppose to do that?” "I have an idea." I said with a little too much ambition. “Just follow my lead, buddy.” Hotshot nodded and we stepped outside. Our parents were chatting for a little as they spotted us. A concerned look spread across their faces, but it was wiped away for a few moments as they greeted us with a smile and a wave. “Hey boy.” My dad said as he we came within speaking distance. (Side Note: That probably sounds weird, doesn’t it? Nevertheless, that’s what he calls me.) “‘Ello mate.” I replied with a small, but somewhat nervous grin. “How was the beach?” “Katepwa was quite, interesting.” Hotshot’s mom replied. His parents did not go to the beach that often. “But we enjoyed the sun, the sounds of the waves, and the relaxation.” She added with a happy sigh. ”Even though kids ended up kicking sand in our faces.” Hotshot’s dad said with a laugh. My mom changed the subject. “Why did you two meet us outside?” She asked suspiciously. “Is there something inside that you’re hiding?” “Ish...” I told her with a small grin. I never liked having to lie to my parents so I usually stuck with half-truths. “What do you mean, ‘Ish’?” My dad asked. I tried to play it as a joke, but Hotshot cut me off. “He means no there is nothing that we’re hiding.” Just then, a flash of light came from inside the house. Our dad’s raised their eyebrows and suggested we head inside. I had to force myself to keep it cool as I walked inside with Hotshot. Inside was quite the same as it was as before. Our parents could not figure out what we did so they shrugged it off for the moment. That is, until we looked in Hotshot’s room. Inside it was a little stack of books against the wall and a small filly princess reading ‘1001 ways to make Italian”. The moment I walked in, my first thought was ‘What the heck?!’ However, before I could think of the obvious ‘What are our parents going to think of this,’ My sister came inside. “Hi there!” She squeaked as she got close to the white filly. The filly looked up from the cookbook with an interesting smile. “Oh sweet Celestia...” I heard Hotshot mutter. “Well hello there little one.” Filly Celestia said. “She’s calling her the little one...” Mumbled my dad, slightly in shock at what his eyes were telling him. “My name is Princess Celestia. Though, in my current form, just Celestia would be fine.” Celestia told my sister who was still excited of the situation she had encountered. “It’s no use talking to her when she is hyped up like this.” I sighed, but somewhat happily. It was kinda hard to be stressed when a filly was just chilling with you and looking adorable. Then again, we were reminded she was here for a reason as we heard a ‘thud’ coming from behind us. “Your mom doesn’t have a history of heart attacks, does she?” Hotshot asked with a small grin on his face. “Nope.” I said with a smile of my own. ~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~ We had all gathered into the living room to discuss things. “So if you haven’t guessed already, I’m here for a reason.” The little filly said, as serious as a filly can look. Which, at the time, wasn’t too much to our parents. “Ok,” Blu’s dad responded, “And that reason is?” “These two boys have a special chance to go to Equestria with me,” she then cleared her throat, “However there are a few catches. One: Their absences will be noticed, as you would think. Two: Extreme headaches will occur when they either overwork themselves, change forms, or change worlds.” “You never mentioned anything about the headaches.” I interrupted. “I said I would work the detail out, which I did..” The white filly commented with an annoyed look “No offence, but I don’t feel comfortable with a young pony transporting my son to another world.” My dad said while I just rolled my eyes. “Ah, yes. Let me fix that for you then.” Filly Celestia said with a small smile. “You may want to shut your eyes or look away for a moment.” She warned. Our mothers looked away while our fathers were not exactly convinced. Luckily for them, the process started slow as another flash of light like we saw earlier started to envelop the filly princess, giving our dad’s enough time to shut their eyes while realizing how serious the young pony was. I shut my eyes as well, opening them after about five seconds in which I and Blu saw Celestia’s full form once again, along with the rest of the family of course seeing it for the first time. “I wish the transformation was as easy as that for you two. Too bad it isn’t though.” Princess Celestia joked. “Exactly how bad are these headaches again?” Blu asked. “Well, it’s not exactly a fast and quick transformation, so it may be quite extreme for the both of you.” She stated after regaining her composure. “I would not suggest transforming twice in a day, for that would be quite risky and potentially life-threatening.” “Well that doesn’t seem too pleasant.” I commented. “The third catch I should mention is the process will be quite straining to the body, so you may hear some, ‘unpleasant’, sounds, especially with the ears.” She groaned lowly and shuddered at the thought. Regaining composure for the second time, seriousness struck to her face. “Now that I’ve discussed this with all of you, I will ask again and allow all of you to discuss everything concerning the circumstances. Do you two still want to go to Equestria?” “Personally, those are very small catches for such an epic opportunity.” I said with a grin on my face. “I agree with you on that, buddy.” Blu said. “But, it is quite a big responsibility to travel to another world, even if we sort of know about it already. We’ll have to think about so many other things, and part of it will also be back here. Our past won’t escape us, and we’ll probably have to visit every once in awhile as well to let our parents know we’re still alive and fill them in on our adventures, even the boring ones.” “Then there’s always the fact about school as well!” My mom said. “Honestly, Equestria is a learning experience in itself.” I started. “It’s not just full of talking ponies, it’s full of Civilized talking ponies. That should mean something to you.” My voice grew in volume as I finished. Pausing for a moment to fix my voice, I continued. “We’ll drop out and say we are continuing our own studies independently, which if you think about it, that’s basically what we’re doing.” Blu shot me a wink as to say ‘Awesome job.’ I smiled as Blu’s mom prepared to speak. “That, I can’t believe I’m saying this, may actually make sense.” She said as a smile crept onto her face. Her expression changed however as another thought crossed her mind. “What about the relatives and all your friends here? Certainly you don’t want to leave them behind, do you?” “Mom...” Blu interrupted with a small sigh. “We won’t be gone forever. Maybe for starters, we’ll visit for awhile every two months. And who knows? We may be able to contact you from Equestria sooner or later.” He said with a smile as his mother hugged him briefly. Celestia’s face suggested the latter of the statement, but he chuckled it off. “Actually, I have another question.” I said. “What might that be?” Celestia said curiously. “How about our ageing process, what effect will that have on us?” I asked, slightly fearing what her response might be. “That, I’m afraid, may be quite difficult for me and for the both of you.” Celestia said as she briefly closed her eyes. “By my understanding of how this world works, you may lose many years of your lives since Equestria works different than in this world.” Moments went by as the bit of information sinked in. Out of the blue, literally, something was set to ease the mood. “YOLO!” Blu shouted as we both started laughing. He spoke up once more as the laughter died down and what was left was stern expressions from our parents. “Relax, I’m kidding. But more seriously, I think even if we lose a bit of life due to it. I’d say it’s life well spent.” “I’d have to agree with Blu on this one.” I said. Everyone nodded at this point. I turned to Celestia for one last question. “When do we leave?” “Whenever you're ready to.” said Celestia with a smile. “Okay then, let’s get...” “WAIT!!” Interrupted Blu, “Can we at least try the transformation before we go?” “Ah, right. I think it would be best if you were able to transport yourselves right away so you’re used to it when you get to Equestria.” The princess of the sun said. Focusing her magic, she summoned up two golden amulets, infused with her magic. One had a small six pointed star design for a shape, while it had a small yellow spiral outlined as a design on the inside, like a wisp of sunshine. The other was a full moon design for it’s shape designed with a navy blue orb in the middle of it, as the aqua blue color of the amulet itself perfectly blended together with the navy blue spiral that surrounded it, it looked like Luna made it. “Well no use just standing around, let’s try this out.” Blu said as Celestia hovered the amulets to us. We carefully placed them on our necks. To our surprise, they conformed to our neck sizes, which was great for us comfort-wise. Blu looked at me and I looked back at him. Holding out his fist, we shared one last human brohoof before we started the transformations. “Alright, now how do these things work?” I asked the white alicorn princess. “Simple. You must put one of your hands, preferably your right one, onto the amulet. Then, you must let your inner magic flow through you and concentrate on changing your forms into those of your dreams and imaginations.” She explained. Both of us nodded and did as she said. When the transformation started, we could already hear the strain on our bodies. it started off with the sound of our bones cracking and crunching while they moved into place, the sound of our organs swishing into place as they slid between the bones, some organs even ended up melting into place, a sudden alter made us fall on our knees to accustom the pony body, the sound of our vertebrae slowly shrinking. But the strangest feeling was the feeling that wasn’t there... The pain for some reason wasn’t there. No pain at all. I was guessing it was because of the advanced magic inside the amulets. Finally, after all those noises and disturbing crunches, we were left, gasping for air. Visually, we were very different. Our skin had turned to fur. Mine was a green colour while Blu’s was, of course, a light shade of blue. I felt the added weight on my forehead to be my horn, the same colour as my fur, and wings at my sides. I had vibrant shades of blue and green in my hair, while Blu’s was still blue. His mane was curved back to have the full view of his horn while mine sort of looked like Rainbow Dash’s. Our tails were both Twilight style with the same colour schemes. “That was very disturb....AAHHHHHHH!!!!” A sudden pain stabbed through my head like an elephant was stepping on it, the pain was almost unbearable. I could not do anything about the extremes of the extensive headache. I couldn’t move from my brain’s pain restricting my new system. The only thing I could do was sit there and try to restrain my screams with my friend, but after awhile the pain stopped suddenly. Both Blu and I took a big sigh of relief. “What in the name of all things good was that?!” My parents commented. “What the...? Oh, I totally forgot we were still in your house, Hotshot.” Blu exclaimed. “I did too.” I said weakly with a small laugh. “How’s everyone’s ears?” “I contained you two in a small magic bubble so your relatives didn’t have to hear you. I’d have to say, you two were louder than I thought you would be.” Celestia told us with a small grin. ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ “Well you two, it’s time to leave for Equestria. Say your goodbye’s, and we’ll be on our way.” Celestia told us after a few minutes of regaining our composure. My sister came in after being sent to her room to play her games on her computer. She spotted us and went directly to Hotshot. “Ooo!” She squealed just like when she saw Filly Celestia, only a bit louder, considering there was now three ponies in the household opposed to just the one. “Hey Blu?” Hotshot asked me. “Yup?” I responded, holding back my laughter. “Might you please get your sister off of me?” He said with a grunt as my sister hugged him. I couldn’t hold back my laughter any longer. I rolled onto my back and flailed my hooves up in the air, laughing at the hilariously awesome day it’s turned out to be. Author's Note Chapter Update: January 15th, 2013. Updated our OC descriptions a bit to make it clear what species of pony we were. Blu is Not an Alicorn! That is all. :3 -3- The Not-So-Grand Entrance Welcome to Equestria The Pre-Arc... ~~~~Chapter Three~~~~ ~~~~The Not-So-Grand Entrance~~~~ Not exciting enough still?! Okay, okay, settle your kettles. After a little more detail before we finally get to Equestria, We’ll make Pinkie Promises that you’ll at least see one fight scene. Cross our hearts, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in our eye- OW! Okay, that worked better when we were ponies. Anyway, here we go again. ~Blu and Hotshot ~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~ The goodbye’s were short and sweet from that point on. We both promised to visit when we could. Our parents still weren’t used to our pony forms yet, but Blu’s sister certainly helped lighten the mood. We helped to decide where to attune our teleportation spot in the house with a little of Celestia’s assistance. Or a lot of it. Either way, we were grateful we wouldn’t just be teleported at a random place like on top of the TV or on something breakable. Soon enough, the time came that we needed to go and after a final wave, we left our families behind while we had to concentrate on the princess’ instruction. In position, we were instructed to put our horns together and produce a mental spark, whatever that means. Then, with a bit of magical help from the amulets we had on, what looked to be a small black hole formed between us and expanded to engulf both us and the princess. I couldn't remember anything else beyond that. ~~~~World Warp: Equestria~~~~ Me and Blu took a moment to catch our breath as Celestia surveyed our surroundings. Soon enough, we noticed it too. “Uh, Princess, why are we in the Everfree?” Blu asked. “It seems your teleportation spell landed us here.” Celestia said with a smile. “Looks like you’ll be stuck teleporting here for now until you have enough power to change it.” “Isn’t this place dangerous?” I asked. “Only if you can’t handle yourself.” She told us. “You two have enough wit to know how to handle yourselves, don’t you?” “Well, we’re screwed.” Blu said with a laugh. “We’ll be fine.” I said with a chuckle. “But it’s nice to know we got to keep our Cutiemarks.” “I agree. However, will we be able to do what our Cutiemarks intended?” Blu turned to Celestia with yet another question. “Well you two are full of questions, but yes, I believe you can.” She answered with a slight nod. “Will you be contacting us once something comes up?” I asked curiously. “The amulets will shine when I or my sister need you.” She simply answered. “I must leave you now as I have some business in Canterlot your first destination shall be Ponyville.” We nodded in acknowledgement as she prepared her teleportion spell. Blu waved goodbye with a hoof while I had figured out to wave with a wing. “Alright then, so what now?” Blu asked. “I guess we should head to Ponyville.” I said. “Okay, so which way is it?” He commented. “ I don’t know to be honest.” I chuckled. “Great. That’s just.. How are we going to get out of here then? We’re lost in the Everfree and we can’t do too much about it.” Blu complained, though I couldn't blame him. “I’ll think of something” I commented even though everything but ideas were going through my head. “But for now lets just walk that way until something happens” As I pointed a random place ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ So, here we are in Equestria. But there’s a problem... We’re lost in the Everfree forest and it’s only been a few minutes. DERP! Anyway's so no we’re continuing to walk in a random direction that Hotshot picked out and it’s getting us nowhere. “Where are we going Hotshot?” I asked “CRAZY! Oh wait, we’re already there.” He joked “But in all seriousness, I don’t know.” “Great! We’re still lo.....” I was interrupted by a large howl as we turned around. “Buck!!” Hotshot yelled. “It’s a Timberwolf! You think we could take it on?” “Honestly, no. But I’m willing to try anything. You have some fire magic in you, right?” I asked. “Yes actually. A lot of fire magic, that was what my Cutiemark was supposed to mean.”I replied. “Yeah...” I started. “But more importantly, do you know how to use it yet?” “Not yet, but it’s worth a try.” Hotshot answered. “It’s time to see what I can do and I suggest you do the same.” I nodded as I attempted to summon some form of magic. Having a quill and a blank scroll on my flank didn't quite attune me to any form of magic, opposed to Hotshot’s fireball. ‘Why did I not develop my cutie mark story before I decided to put it on my darn flank..’ I thought to myself briefly. With a grunt, I looked to my friend who had miraculously summoned a wall of fire to shield us from the Timberwolves. “I don’t know how long I can hold this up!” He said quite loudly. “Do something!” “You derp!” I responded over the crackles of the flames and the growls of the Timberwolves. “You’ll start the darn forest on fire if we don’t contain it!” “Would you like to be eaten before we meet the Elements of Harmony or would you like to do something about this stuff then?!” He yelled back. With a grunt, I concentrated on the air around me. Using my new magical sense, I directed the wind around the flames to be redirected to the Timberwolf. Instead of what I had hoped, the wooden beast leapt back a few feet, but that had given me one last opportunity. “I did something!” I shouted over to my friend. “However, I need you to lift the flames off the ground so I can direct it as one big fireball and engulf the Timberwolf.” “About time you figured something out!” Hotshot responded with a smile. “Give me a moment then!” With a small burst of magic, the flames were lifted off the ground and floated a little above their previous spots. My turn had come. I forced the wind to compress the line of flame into one large fireball. My green friend had also remembered he could fly and went up into the air to push a large gust of wind toward the newly developed fireball, which I enhanced as the flame soared in the direction of the now leaping Timberwolf. With a little more air manipulation, I managed to have the flame circle the beast and not have the flame just zoom past and probably light the forest on fire. “Wow. That was quite difficult.” Hotshot said with a lack of breath in his voice. “Indeed it was.” I responded also tiredly. “I just hope nothing else shows up and we don’t overwork ourselves.” “Yeah, I’d hate to get another one of those headaches so soon.” He said with a shudder at the thought. “Should we keep moving?” I asked. “Yes, unless you want to be eaten by another Timberwolf” He joked “I could easily fly out but then I’d leave you here which at what we just encountered. I wouldn’t want to leave my buddy to get eaten.” “Well, you could go above the trees and look for an exit.” I suggested just as he face-hoofed himself. “I am such a derp.” He complained as he flew up. After a few moments of flapping, he yelled down. “I see an exit!” He pointed, even though I couldn’t see where he was pointing. “What are you waiting for? Lets go.” He said as he landed beside me. “Gladly.” I said as we headed what I figured north to Ponyville. “I just hope we don’t meet any more unpleasant beasts.” “Don’t say that! You’ll jinx it and something will jump out at us.” He said just as a Manticore decided to show up. “Told you.” “RUN!!” I yelled as we started running at full gallop through the woods but the Manticore stopped us in our tracks as the monster struck my side with his scorpion-like tail. “BLU!!” I heard Hotshot scream. With a ‘Woosh’, I was sent flying and hit a tree that knocked me unconscious. ~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~ I felt a rage I have never felt before as I rushed to my friend’s side. Seeing he was unconscious and had a deep gash in his side, I faced the Manticore. “That's it! You’re going down!” My horn flared with magic. Just then, an interesting Cutiemark blocked my view of the creature. Withdrawing my magic, I stepped back. “Leave, you beast! Or you’ll become part of dragons next feast!” The mysterious pony said as the Manticore fled. As she turned around, her stripes revealed her to be a familiar zebra. “Would you happen to be Zecora?” I asked as she looked at me. “Yes indeed, but how did you get into the mysterious Everfree?” She asked in rhyme. “Long story.” I responded. “ How did you find us here?” “I heard the two of you yelp, so I came to help.” Zecora said. That reminded me about Blu who was still lying on the ground. “Can you help my friend?” I asked. “Yes. You need to get him to my hut.” She instructed. “But first, you must cover the large cut.” “But there’s nothing to cover it with.” I said “It is quite tragic that you forget about your magic.” The zebra said with a disappointed look. “Oh, right.” I said as I tried to conjure a healing spell that only covered the wound. “Sorry, low on magic from the Timberwolf we fought before.” I lied as I didn't know any spells to heal my friend. “Now we must go, and ensure you are not slow.” The enchantress told as she started walking in the direction of her home. I concentrated on levitating the blue mass onto my back and expanded my wing length so I could go fast enough to keep up. As we got to the hut, I went inside and set Blu down gently with my magic which was difficult as the walk depleted my energy quite quickly. Zecora inspected him as I stepped back for a moment to regain some stamina. “Will he be okay?” I asked her worriedly. “He looks alright to me besides scratches from that tree.” She answered with a smile. “But, let it be known. Assuming you live in Ponyville, it would be wise to go home. Some rest will be needed, that I can provide. First off, before that, tell me why I saved your hide?” “Okay, I can tell a bit, but some details are private so I cannot tell them all.” I started, hoping she would buy my tale. With a nod from her, I told her a few details of how we got there, ponified of course so she would not suspect anything, but we both knew there were some missing chunks of the story. “Interesting indeed. Your story, I will believe.” The tribal zebra said. “Just one small thing, but no need to fret. I just wish to know about your’s and Blu’s amulet.” “Ah, that!” I said unexpectedly loud. Thinking quick, I made something up. “We kinda use them as magical reserves. We were born with some too small to last us enough to travel long distances and prepare spells that are a bit too complex normally. However, with these golden beauties, we kinda have, or in our case, had, a bit of an advantage over the Everfree.” “What happen?” Zecora inquired. “Did your reserves run low? Or did that Timberwolf give you quite a show?” “A bit of both actually.” I responded, grateful that she seemed to believe me. With a nod, she looked over at Blu once again. “I will make you two something to eat. After that battle, you must be quite beat.” “Indeed “ I said as she went to make us something. “However, whatever you do, don’t tamper with my precious brew.” as she pointed to a pot of bubbling green who-knows-what’s-in-there brew. “Got it.” I said as she left the room. ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ I regained consciousness after a while. “Don’t get up to fast now.” Hotshot warned quickly. “Why does it hurt so much?” I asked him in a bit of a daze. “You were hit by the tail of a Manticore!” He said. “I managed to cover it up but It’s going to hurt for a while.” ‘A Manticore? When did- oh, right..’ I thought, then added to it out loud. “Yeah, I would guess.” I said with a little sarcasm as I laid back down for a moment. “Zecora made us dinner so when you’re ready, foods there.” He said as he pointed to the table a couple meters from me. “Hmm? Oh. Thanks Zecora.” I thanked with a small smile as I slowly got up to my feet. “You are quite welcome, though I see you are troubled. You should come out with it now, or your fun will not be doubled.” She asked with a hint of curiosity in her voice. “I’m fine. It’s nothing to worry about at the time.” I answered though neither of them believed me. “You sure?” My Alicorn friend pushed. “I assure you, it’s nothing.” I insisted. “Okay if anything is bothering you you can talk.” He offered. “Thanks, I’ll keep it in mind.” I responded with a nod. “Shall we eat and put this on hold?” Zecora interrupted. “If we continue talking, your food might get cold.” “Yes, let’s eat.” Hotshot said as we looked to our plates and dived into our first plate of Equestrian food which consisted (for Zecora anyway’s,) a few apples that were probably from Sweet Apple Acres, some wild plants, and Manticore beef!? “ I thought the Manticore was for the dragons?” I joked. “Though they can be quite vicious, they taste quite delicious.” She commented. Hotshot let out a giggle. “ Didn't expect that answer, did you Geronimo?” We both burst out laughing. Even Zecora joined in for a moment due to the fact of our laughter alone. We both guessed she had no idea what we were talking about but she didn't ask. The meal was good. Surprisingly, the Manticore meat was nice too. I expected pony taste-buds to hate meat. But, hay, I'm glad we didn't have to go meatless. Only problem is, Zecora was most likely the only mare to have meat, that meant if we wanted some prepared once again, we’d have to come visit her and probably take down another Manticore for her, which, obviously, we were not ready for yet. I sighed and got into bed that Zecora had provided, drifting off to a single thought. ‘One day, Manticore, I’ll skin your hide and eat your for lunch once more...’ -4- First Day in Ponyville Welcome to Equestria First Arc... ~~~~Chapter Four~~~~ ~~~~First Day in Ponyville~~~~ We’re finally getting into the First Arc? Celebrate! Or not? Okay... Actually, no, you won’t ruin our moods. Mane 6, here we come! ~Blu and Hotshot ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ The morning came and Zecora helped us get ready for the day ahead. Including instruction to see a blonde farmpony and a certain lavender librarian once we got into town. So, once we got outside and Zecora set us in the right direction, we were finally on our way. The path Zecora put us on lead us out safely, that we were thankful for. We popped out near a certain orchard. We thought of going into Sweet Apple Acres while we observed the apple family along their fence. They were bucking apples to make their famous pies and whatever other apple related food they could think of so we kept walking to the gate and there was Granny Smith to welcome us. I figured ‘Why not?’ and walked through the gate with a smile to the wrinkly mare. “Well hello there fellers.” She greeted warmly. “I ain’t seen you two around before so you must be new, right?” “That’s right.” I said as I gave a small nod. “I’m Blu, and this is my friend Hotshot.” “Well, nice to meet you. My name is Granny Smith and this here is Sweet Apple Acres, one of the finest apple orchards in all of Equestria!” She proclaimed with as much excitement she could muster, which at the time, wasn’t too much. “I see.” My friend commented as he looked around. From our view, the trees seemed quite tall compared to the show itself. “So, what do you do around here, Granny Smith?” He asked. “Who, me?” She joked with a laugh. “I don’t do too much around here anymore except for the baking and such, organizing the family together and such, and of course stay near the gate to do my hobbies like knitting and such.” Hotshot nodded as he realized the tendency of saying ‘and such’ all the time. Apparently, I did that often too. “You don’t mind if we look around, do you?” He asked. “Go ahead, but stay around where I can see you. We don’t need any funny business with our apples, you hear?” She replied a bit sternly. I could guess why. As we started walking a little bit, an orange mare with a blonde mane and a 10-gallon hat came out of the treeline, along with a red one that was about a quarter-size larger than the average pony. Of course, we knew who they both were, but like probably all of the other ponies we meet, it was nice to see them for ourselves. Applejack tipped her hat to us but gave my alicorn friend an interesting look before speaking. “Howdy fellas. What brings you to our humble farm?” She asked curiously. “We just came out of the Everfree forest not too long ago.” I started. “Your Applejack, correct?” She gave me a sideways look and nodded. “Ah, good. Zecora says hello.” I told her with a smile. She gave me another sideways look, obviously not believing me at first. “Now how exactly did she say it?” She challenged. Hotshot popped into the conversation, luckily remembering the rhyme she spoke to us before we left. “Back out of the Everfree, you must go. Once out you will see a blonde mane flow. Go through the gate and face the fact, that you will find my dear friend, Applejack.” He said trying his best to speak Zecora’s voice tone. Applejack laughed while the red stallion beside her gave a chuckle of his own. “Well twist my tail and call me an orange! If that’s not Zecora-speak, I don’t know what is!” The mare said as she slowed her laughter down to a stop. “Allow me to give you a bit of a brighter introduction. My name is Applejack and I run this here apple orchard with my family. This stallion beside me is my brother Big Mac, the toughest earth-pony I know. Back there which I’m sure you’ve talked with is Granny Smith. And Applebloom should be around here somewhere.” She explained as she gave us both a hardy hoofshake. “Now, could you lend a hand with these apples?” The walk into Ponyville with the barrels of apples we carried with our magic was fun. Along the way, Applejack generally asked the same questions Zecora did, except for one. “So, about the whole Alicorn thing, could you explain why yer not up sipping tea with the Princess herself?” She joked. “Most Alicorns in Equestria are related to royalty in one way or another.” This was a bit hard for him to answer. I should have probably helped him develop his character a bit more. Luckily, he wiggled out of it. “I don’t really wanna talk about it, if that’s okay.” He said with his best depressed face. Applejack sympathized with him. “That’s alright, sugarcube. We’ve all gone through tough times in our lives. Don’t be afraid to talk about it someday though.” He gave a nod. “Thanks, I appreciate that.” The rest of the walk was pretty silent. A few minutes later, we were in Ponyville and Applebloom came up behind us. “Hey Applejack!” She greeted her big sister warmly. “Who’s these new ponies you got with you?” “Well hey there, Applebloom.” She greeted back. “Allow me to introduce you to Blu and Hotshot.” We gave a wave to the cute filly as Applejack continued. “These ponies stopped by this morning. We started talking and I also got a little help from them with carrying the apples into town.” “That’s nice. Welcome to Ponyville!” She welcomed as she smiled back up at us. “You need any help selling apples today sis?” “Nah, you go on ahead and find one of the Crusaders or something. I got the apple selling covered today.” She replied to the energetic filly. Applebloom gave a nod and trotted off happily. “Now that we’re in Ponyville, where are you two planning on going? I gotta set up my apple stand in the market.” “We need to find a lavender mare that lives in a library. Do you happen to know where she would be?” I asked, still knowing the answer but asking anyway. “Lavender mare, eh?” Applejack responded in thought. “Ah! You mean Twilight, don’t ya? Yeah, she lives a bit near the market in a large tree. Probably magicked in one way or another.” We nodded as we kept walking to the market. As we walked we heard people yelling to sell their wares. Though I saw Hotshot getting aggravated with people staring at him, guessing due to the fact that he was an Alicorn. “Dude, you’re forgetting they aren’t used to seeing an alicorn just walking down the street.” I whispered. “Frankly I am still getting use to the fact that you’re slightly different than every other pony around here.” “Are you serious, you’re still getting used to me?” He asked. “A bit, yeah.” I answered with some sorrow and confusion. “Then again, I’m still getting used to me, too.” “You know what? I guess I should calm down a little. I’m getting angry over nothing.” He answered. “That’s mighty nice of ya.” Applejack piped in on the conversation. “The ponies around here can sometimes be a bit, I’m not saying crazy but, weird pretty much. Don’t be surprised if Twilight starts asking multiple questions about you as well. She’s pretty much what Rainbow Dash calls an ‘egghead’.” Hotshot gave a nod. “Good to know.” Soon enough, we got to Applejack’s designated spot for selling her apples and we helped set up the stall. She gave us a smile and two apples to thank us for our work. We smiled back and as soon as Applejack told us the directions to the grand tree library, we waved goodbye. “Well, that’s wasn’t too bad.” I said as we started the walk. “We met the first of the mane 6 and got some apples to boot.” “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Hotshot chuckled as he bit into his apple. “I’m kinda surprised that-” “HI!” “Woah!” I exclaimed before almost falling over. Hotshot let out a couple coughs, but managed to swallow his bits of apple. “Spoke too soon, eh?” He said as he gave another small cough. “You two must be Hotshot and Blu, right?” The pink pony said as we nodded, a bit confused. “News travels around here quite fast, especially for me cause I basically hear everything.” She also added, practically taking the question out of my mouth and answering it twice as effectively. “In case you don’t know me, my name is Pinkie Pie. Or Pinks, or all sorts of other silly names that people call me, but call me Pinkie.” Once my brain started back up again, I shook my head to make sure it was alright. “Hi Pinkie.” I greeted. *GASP* Well, there goes Pinkie, leaving as fast as she showed up. “Man it’s almost scary how she can defy the laws of, well, EVERYTHING!!!” Hotshot said, obviously exaggerating. “How is it scary?” I asked. “It’s too similar to Discord” He answered. “You’ve been reading too many fics” I said with a laugh. “Perhaps” he said with a mischievous smile. “Well, we better keep going.” I said. But just as I took a few steps, I slowed down again glancing at an interesting pony that gave off this weird magical aura. It was so subtle though that nopony else seemed to notice it. “Is something wrong?” Hotshot asked curiously. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s nothing though.” I assumed. I didn’t want to get too wrapped up with the pony as we only had so long to organize things before the day ended. ~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~ *CLOP CLOP CLOP* Blu knocked on the door to the library. Inside, we heard a familiar voice. “Spike! Could you get that for me please?” It was silent for a few moments, so he knocked again a bit harder. *THUMP THUMP THUMP* “Spike!” The voice called again. “Oh, right, he probably went over to Rarity’s and I didn’t hear him leave. Ugh.” The mare inside seemed more annoyed than frustrated, but it didn’t show as she answered the door. “Oh, hello. Sorry I took so long. Come on inside.” We nodded as I stepped in first, looking at all the books while Blu kept his eyes on Twilight. “So, what brings you two here?” She asked as she turned back to look at us. “Any book you wanna take out? Any magical help you need? You name it, I’ve got it.” Blu straightened himself out and started our half of the conversation. “First off, allow me to introduce myself. My name’s Blu, and this is my friend Hotshot.” I gave a small nod while I stifled a laugh from my friends actions. “We were kinda looking for some healing spells and a variety of others. We’re mostly just trying to brush up on our magic.” “I see...” She said almost a bit awkwardly, but instantly snapped herself back. “Alright, give me a second. I’ll be back.” Once she trotted away, I turned to my ‘gentlecolt’ friend. “Nice job there, buddy.” I said sarcastically. “Oh please, I’d like to see you do any better when we meet that certain aspiring wonderbolt.” He shot back. “I could do it better than you by 20% in ten seconds flat.” I retorted with confidence. We both chuckled. No matter what happen, we always laughed at stuff together. Mainly the reason we had been friends for so long. Of course, a hint of competition was always fun here and there. “Got it!” We both heard from upstairs as the lavender librarian came down with a stack of books. “Alright, we got ‘The Basics of Healing Magic’, ‘Advanced Healing Magic’, and ‘The General Guide to Various Spell’s for Aspiring Unicorns’. I hope that’ll suffice.” “Yeah, that looks like plenty of stuff to look over.” I said as I took the books off hooves with my magic. “Great.” She said cheerfully. However, her expression changed as she noticed something. “Hmm... I’ve never seen you two around here in Ponyville.” She started, but almost face-hoofed herself. “Oh, that explains you introducing yourselves before. I really need a bit more sleep.” “That’s fine, everypony needs more sleep sometimes.” My blue friend chimed in. Twilight nodded. “That reminds me, I didn’t introduce myself beforehand. My name is Twilight Sparkle and you’re looking at the head librarian of Book’s and Branches, the place we’re in at the moment. Along with myself, there’s my baby dragon assistant Spike, but he’s probably at Rarity’s assisting over there too.” She paused for a moment, then gave me another lookover. “Actually, could you two stick around for a little longer. I’d like to ask you a few questions.” ‘And here we go again...’ I thought to myself. The flow of questions came rolling in once again. Generally, the questions were the same, but some demanded a more technical viewpoint. Along with that, she also tried a few experiments, like getting detail of his wingspan, horn length, general magic capacity in the amulet and power it could produce. We headed to the basement to do a bit of the testing she wanted to do, so as not to harm any belongings upstairs. “Alright then.” She began. “Since I don’t have too much to do today and I want to study these amulets a bit further, I’m going to have you step into the middle of the room.” Twilight gestured Blu to go first since he wasn’t an Alicorn and the test needed a set base. “Alright. What are you going to get me to do?” Blu asked, a bit eager to show his skill to the lavender mare. “First off, I’ll seal you in one of my magic bubbles.” She told him as the spell was cast. “Then, you’ll cast whatever attacking spell you feel comfortable with. But make it a light one first to make sure my bubble doesn’t bounce the attack back.” He gave a nod and took a few seconds to think. Then, his horn took a blue glow and shot off a bit of air, which didn’t do too much. Twilight gestured a hoof up to signal him to raise the power. Another nod and spell, and a blast of wind hit the bubble, going around the inside, but not hitting him. One last gesture and his horn started glowing brightly. 5 seconds in and he released a small tornado inside the bubble, lifting him up and dropping him back down a bit hard. Twilight released her bubble and went over to help him up with a worried look. “I’m alright, I’m alright.” Blu insisted. Though a slight smile came over his face. “Alright, you better take a break then. You’ll be able to tackle more someday.” She said as she helped him up. His expression weakened and I resisted the urge to laugh. After everything was settled, I was up. “Okay, same goes for you. Start off small and get bigger until I say stop.” The lavender pony said “Ok.” I responded as my horn glowed the green arora and i let out a small fireball that did as much as Blu’s puff of air. She urged me to get bigger so I did as my horn’s aura got slightly brighter and a larger fireball shot put just about hitting me. However, even after that, she urged me for the last time so I gave it all I had my horn glowed bright as I lifted off the ground and let a fireball engulf me. With a blast and quite loud boom, the bubble shattered under the fire power and I lowered back down to the ground with Twilight open mouthed and Blu looking at me as to say ‘Show off.’ I just returned with a smile, however, out of breath. “Well, what did you thin...AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!” I screamed as the pounding headache that came when we transformed came over my head but it was a lot worse then the transformation headache if felt like my head was going to implode. “Oh shoot.” I heard Blu say as he got up from the side and put a bubble around me to block out my screams. I managed to look up and see Blu talking to Twilight though I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. Soon enough, Blu stepped through the shield and put his horn to my head. Uttering one word that I managed to make out. “Relax.” Amazingly enough, the pounding stopped and I felt oddly relaxed. “What the buck was that?” I asked “A type of soothing spell but it doesn’t change the fact that two headaches in day will probably kill you so don’t go getting another one of those headaches.” He continued. “There’s no telling what could happen then other than certain doom.” “You’re right, but I’m going to have to learn that soothing spell and fireball spell someday, since that was what I intended my cutie mark to be for.” I told, still a bit amazed at what happen. “The spell I just did was a spell I’ve always been wanting to do and to know I can is amazing.” Twilight walked through the bubble with a bewildered, but also concerned look. “That was quite amazing. Few spells that I’ve seen could break that bubble but it looked like it has serious side effects” She inquired. “I’ll be fine” I assured her. “I kinda explained the whole overworking thing to her while you were inside screaming your lungs out.” Blu added into the conversation. “By the way, let’s avoid trying those big spells for a few days just incase it has a long term effect that we don’t know about.” I rolled my eyes. “Fine.” “Do you need any more tests?” Blu asked a bit too eagerly. “Nope, I’ll be good for now.” She answered. “So, you don’t mind if we take off? There are a lot more places we have to go.” I asked. “Sure. I need to clean up the mess you made with the fireball.” She answered. “ I’ll send Spike to go find the two of you if i need further testing.” “Great!” Blu said “Let’s head out then.” ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ “Well, where do we head next?” I asked as we stepped out into the market once again. “Well, I say we should talk to Mayor Mare about living arrangements.” Hotshot answered. “And then talk to Rarity about some furnishings.” “Alright, one problem though.” I started. “And that is?” He asked curiously. “We don’t have any bits.” I answered matter-of-factly. “Gee, thats kinda frustrating.” He simply commented. “So, I guess we should check town hall for jobs then.” “I guess, or we could check out Equestria Daily.” I joked only to find a newspaper blow into my face saying Equestria Daily as the title. “Wow, I honestly didn’t see that coming.” As Hotshot tried to resist breaking out in laughter. After a few minutes of looking around, I spotted the building we were looking for. With a hoof gesture, I signaled Hotshot to follow me as we started to trot to ze grand Town Hall. “Welcome, visitors.” The secretary welcomed as we entered the building. “What business do you have here in Town Hall?” “Hi. We were looking for a bit of work and a cheap place to stay for the night. Would you know where we could find those things?” Hotshot asked hopefully. “Let me see.” The secretary told us as she started looking at a few papers. “There is a temporary complex that you can reside in for 20 bits a night. However, I’m not sure if there is any work I can find for you here. You can always ask around town though.” “Hmm, that doesn’t sound too bad.” I commented. Hotshot nodded as well. We stood around for a bit, conversing on how we would get the bits. However, Mayor Mare happen to walk in. “Oh? Well hello there.” She said, a bit surprised. “My name is Mayor Mare, the mayor of Ponyville. How are things going for you two?” “We were just asking about some work and a place to stay.” Hotshot told the grey-haired earth-pony. “You wouldn’t happen to have any odd jobs needed at the time, do you?” “As a matter of fact, I do have a small favor needing to be done.” She mentioned. “Come on in to my office.” With nods, we went into the office with the mayor to see what job we needed to do. “Alright, so what is this favor of which you speak?” I asked curiously. “There are a few special guests in town and I just want you to escort them to town hall.” She answered simply. “Okay, sure.” Hotshot said “But if you don’t mind me asking, how much will it pay?” He asked. “25 bits should suffice for each of you, and they might even tip you.” She told us with a small wink. “Two stopped at a cafe near the train station, and the other two went a little more adventurous and went to Sugarcube Corner. They’ll look fancy so they shouldn’t be too hard to spot.” I nodded along with my friend but asked one last question. “How will we be able to identify them other than them being fancy?” “Oh, yes. They are all a part of an organization in Manehattan called ‘Divine Design’. Ask them if they’re a part of that organization and they’ll listen up so you can bring them down here. As long as they get here within the hour, the 25 bits will be yours for each of you.” “Alright, awesome. Shall we head out once again?” Hotshot asked as he turned my direction. “Indeed.” I said, mimicking a fancy accent. “Hence.” Hotshot responded with his own fancy accent. Mayor Mare chuckled. We waved goodbye as we trotted out the door. “Alright then, who’ll cover who?” I asked as we came out of the building. “You’ll take the train station corner since you look a bit more fancy than I do and I’ll take SugarCube Corner since I look more awesome.” He answered with a smile. “I think I actually agree with that.” I laughed. “See you in a bit then.” We both headed our separate directions. It was going to be different being apart since we stuck together since we got into Equestria. I brushed off my doubt and picked up the pace. It took me awhile to find the train station. When you’re actually inside Ponyville, it’s actually quite big, not to mention pretty much everything being on foot. However, from a few minutes of walking, I found the cafe. Putting on my fancy accent again, I stepped inside. “Hello there, sir. Would you like a table?” The head waiter asked me professionally. “Not today, I’m afraid.” I started. “I’ve come looking for two fine ponies from an organization called ‘Divine Design’ that have a date with the Mayor. I’m here to make sure they get to Town Hall within the hour. Would you happen to see them come in?” “Hmm, you do see professional enough.” The stallion contemplated. “Very well, I’ll let them know an escort has arrived to take them to Town Hall. One moment please.” As he left to get them, I wiped a small bead of sweat from my forehead with a foreleg. ‘Step one, complete.’ I thought happily. ‘Onto step two.’ Another half minute passed until I saw the two ponies come out with the head waiter. “Delightful dinner, wasn’t it Ms. Finish?” The gentlecolt asked his colleague. “Yes, quite fabulous.” She responded back, then turned to look at me. “You must be our escort then, yes?” “Indeed I am. My name is Blu and I must say it is nice to meet you Ms...” I started, hoping I wasn’t looking too stupid. “Finish. Photo Finish. Aspiring fashion designer and Co-director of Divine Designs.” She said quite egotistically. I tried not to mind it too much until they were out of my hooves. “And I, my dear fellow, am Hoity Toity. Expert in what’s in and what’s out as well as Lead designer of ‘Divine Design’.” Hoity Toity introduced. “Shall we be off to Town Hall then? I’d hate to waste time standing around talking.” “Of course, off we go then.” I stated formally as I went to open the door with my magic. The fancy ponies walked out and I gave a small thank you nod to the head waiter. Then, without further ado, I left the cafe. “Alright, lead on, good sir.” Hoity Toity said as I went in front of them. ‘Mental map, don’t fail me now.’ I thought as I started trotting in the hopefully correct direction of Town Hall. ~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~ The walk to Sugarcube Corner was quite awkward with people staring but it was just something I had to get used to for a while. Anyways, I walked into the store to find to find Pinkie chatting up about a surprise party for two special ponies. ‘Great...’ I thought to myself.‘A Pinkie party.’ I kept thinking as I walked to find two colts who looked like they were born into the art of elegance, though i noticed one kept sneaking glances at the party pony, so I simply walked up to them and looked at the stallion. “It’s rude to stare, you know.” I said as he looked at me with curiosity and something else in his eyes. “I’m sorry, who are you?” The other stallion asked. “Oh sorry, I’m Hotshot and you are?” I asked. “I’m Fancypants, and this is Neon Lights.” Fancypants kindly answered. “Would you two happen to work for Divine Designs?” I inquired with a eyebrow raised. “Yes, why?” Neon Lights answered. “Mayor Mare would like to meet you at town hall and she sent me to be your escort.” I answered. “I don’t think they roll that way, Mr. Hotshot.” Pinkie called from the counter in a singsong voice. “Be quiet, Pinkie. That’s not what I meant or should I say pinka... never mind.” I stopped myself from saying that name that I hated so much. I turned to face the two stallions at the table. “We should get going to Town Hall.” “Hey wait, where did you hear that name?!” Pinkie yelled as we left through the door. I ignored it, hoping the pink mare wouldn’t persist. “Let’s go then, to town hall it is. What about our co-workers down at the train station cafe?” Fancypants asked. “Mayor Mare got my friend Blu to get them.” I answered “Ah, jolly good..” He said as we started trotting toward our destination. Luckily, Pinkie didn’t follow us due to her working, but still, on the way to town hall, my thoughts were at that brief image of those eyes I saw before. Fortunately, when we got to Town Hall, Blu was already there with the two other coworkers and I let out a sigh of relief. The Divine Designs team went inside the meeting room after each giving a small thank you to us, which we were happy to receive. Mayor Mare then stepped out of the meeting room with a smiling face and two satchels on her back. “Well done boys.” She said as she tossed us our satchels. “Ah, here are your bits. I also pulled a few strings to get you boys a one nights free stay at the local inn. Have a good night.” She added as she stepped back into the meeting room and shut the door. “Well, I know where we’re sleeping tonight.” Blu added with a laugh. I gave a chuckle as well, though I doubted we'd get to sleep anytime soon... -5- Party with the Mares! Welcome to Equestria First Arc... ~~~~Chapter 5~~~~ ~~~~Party with the Mares!~~~~ You know how this is going to roll, don’t you? Well, we’re here to say you’re wrong! This ain’t no regular Pinkie Party! Get ready for more twists, turns, and ‘interesting’ interactions. ~Blu and Hotshot ~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~ Walking outside once again, we were faced with Luna’s starry sky. “Well, what do you think the time is?” Blu asked me while gazing at the stars. “They had a clock in there, you derp.” I replied with a laugh. “I managed to glance at it before we left. It said 9:30.” “Alright, that should give us a bit of time before we head in for the night.” He said with a glint in his eye. “I wonder how fast I can go...” “What do you mean?” I started, but Blu had already started running to the nearest hill. “Hey! Wait up!” I called as I started galloping to him. The race was short-lived, since it was a short distance, but I managed to beat him to the hill. “Dang it.” My blue friend said while still trying to catch his breath. “No fair. You used your wings.” “Or you’re still as slow as ever.” I laughed between my own panting. “It doesn’t matter too much though. It’s not like our lives depend on how fast we go.” “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He responded and fell back onto the grass. I joined him and looked up to the night sky for once. “You know what’s amazing?” I asked. “What?” He responded curiously. “The fact of how we got here.” I answered. “To the hill? Or to Equestria?” He commented. “Both I guess.” I replied. “I mean, really. I flew! With wings! You went 20% faster on hooves then you did on legs, too.” We both shared a chuckle at that. Blu was destined to be slow, no matter where we travelled, but at least he could feel a bit fast. “Yeah, and we made it to Equestria from a random chance at that letter. How cool is that?” He asked while he spread his forelegs to his sides. “Very.” I said with a sigh. We chilled out for a few more minutes while a brief wind gust blew in our direction. “Another advantage about being a pony is not being too cold without clothes.” Blu said with another laugh. I put in a chuckle as well. Another gust of wind came, but from the opposite direction this time. “Is the wind suppose to go two different directions near the same time?” I asked curiously. “When a pegasus is flying over your heads, yeah.” A cyan pegasus casually called from the air. “How long have you been listening?” Blu asked, a bit startled from the sudden vocal intrusion. “Not too long, but what I did hear was pretty weird.” The rainbow-maned pegasus said. “Okay, you are?” We both asked the obvious. “Rainbow Dash, the most fan-freaking-tastic flyer in all of Equestria and future Wonderbolt. I’m surprised you need to ask.” She answered. “Uh-huh.” I commented casually. “What? You don’t think its possible?” Rainbow dash asked, getting quite close to my face. “I never said that.” I answered with a small blush appearing on my face. “Anything is possible, we definitely know that by experience.” “Good, good.” She said as she backed away with a smirk. “So, where you two staying for the night?” “The Inn.” Blu told the fancy flier. “The mayor set it up for us.” “Impressive, if I do say so myself. If you two are lost I can show you the way.” She offered. “Why not?” I said with a smile as we both started getting up again. The walk to the inn was an interesting one, full of questions from RD. Luckily, she didn’t ask the annoying alicorn question, so I took a bit more to liking her then I would have. Once the inn was in sight, our cyan guide pointed it out. “Alright, there it is. Meet you guys there.” She said with a wink as she sped to the door and went inside. Me and Blu both shared a laugh as we decided to take our time on the rest of the way. We’ve arrived at the entrance of the room at the Inn that we were staying in and unlike Blu, I knew what was going to happen when we opened that door. “Blu.” I whispered so the ponies inside couldn’t hear me. “Before you enter that room, I have to tell you that there is a surprise party for us.” “I kinda figured that, being it’s Pinkie Pie.” He said as he opened the door and as I expected, we were met with a dark room. I assumed if lights were turned on, there would be a whole crowd of ponies in the small living space. In an instant, the light went on. “Surprise!!” Everypony said with smiles on their faces. “Woah!” Blu exclaimed, almost falling over for the third time today. I kinda figured he’d jump anyway, so I was ready to steady him. “I thought you saw that coming.” I joked. “So did I.” He said with a chuckle. “But I guess that’s the wonder of Pinkie and her parties.” He commented as the pink mare came up to us “Were you surprised? Huh huh huh?” She asked excitedly. “Blu was, but me? Not so much.” I said matter-of-factly. “Really? But how could that be?! I’m the most amazing person at party planning!” She exclaimed. “I overheard you at Sugarcube Corner talking about a surprise party.” I answered simply. “It looks good so far though.” I added with a smile. “Okie-dokie. Maybe I should talk less but who would I be if I didn’t talk?! I mean, that would be just horrible! Like that one time in the poison joke I couldn’t even talk! And it was even more horrible when...” I managed to sneak away while she kept on with her ramblings. Only to be confronted by one of the more “fashionable” ponies in Ponyville, Rarity. “Oh hello there, I’m Hotshot. What’s your name?” I asked already knowing the answer. “My name is Rarity, owner of the Carousel Boutique.” She answered with the Canterlot accent in her voice. “And I must say, I love your shining amulet darling. Where did you ever get it?” “It was a gift from a friend of Blu and I’s. He also has one.” I told her. “I couldn’t help but notice that you’re an Alicorn.” She continued as I thought ‘Here we go again.’ “Would you happen to be related to royalty?” “I don’t want to talk about it.” I said with the same depressed look I gave Applejack only with a little more agitation. “My apologies. I, in no means, meant to agitate you.” The white mare said apologetically. “It’s quite alright, it’s just that i’m getting those constant questions and weird looks from everypony just because I’m different.” I explained. “So don’t take it personally.” Blu said as he joined us. “Alright then. Whenever you’re ready to talk please note that I’m here darling.” She offered generously. “Thank you.” As this conversation ended we started walking around the party so I went to a table with refreshments and got a glass of punch. However, I still wondered where the music was coming from, but as I turned around there was Vinyl Scratch cranking up the bass. ‘Of course.’ I thought as I continued to drink my glass of punch and walked around the room. “Well, since this is a party, I might as well dance.” I said to myself as I started dancing awkwardly and ended up bumping into the last of the mane six, probably the most shy pony in Ponyville, Fluttershy. “Oh, um, sorry, don’t mind me.” She said quietly. “It’s alright, I’m Hotshot.” I said while I held out my hoof though kinda figuring out the response i was going to get. She took a few moments, but finally responded. “Oh, I don’t do too well with shaking hooves, but I can try introducing myself. I’m Fluttershy.” “Nice to meet you, Fluttershy” I put down my hoof, hoping she would pipe up a little. “Um, it’s nice to meet you as well.” She spoke sheepishly, still up against the wall, but a little bit calmer than before. “Hey bro!” Blu’s voiced called as he trotted up to us. “Do you recognise the song that’s playing right now?” I leaned back up and took a listen. The bass did sound a tad familiar. I listened a bit closer to the lyrics and it hit me. “Yah! I own this beat!” Blu started singing along to the song. “You can call me the king or the ruler, Fellon on base, gettin’ hoarse at the mic.” “We’re gettin’ 20% cooler!” I started singing a bit too with a laugh. The song went on and we continued to match the lyrics, sometimes getting a weird look, but we didn’t care, it was a party and we wanted to have fun. “It’s amazing that it exists here, doesn’t it?” Blu said after the song was finished. “Great minds think alike, no matter where they reside.” I said simply. “Alright you ponies!” Vinyl Scratch shouted as the music died down on the last track. “Time for some awesome pony games.” She announced with a laugh. Pinkie took over with a smile and nod to the DJ. “Okie-Dokie everypony. Now that we’re done with the dancing for now, I’d like to try something that I thought of a few days ago. The game is called “Wink”. It starts off by everypony choosing a partner and forming a circle.” ‘Hmm, this kinda reminds me of an old game I used to play at camp.’ I thought as I watched the ponies partner up. Blu came over to me like I thought he would so we were ready. Out of the elements, Rarity partnered up with Fluttershy, AJ with Rainbow Dash, and finally after a bit of internal debate, Twilight went over to Pinkie. “Alright, does anyone not have a partner?” The pink game leader asked. One brown pony shot a hoof up. “Great! We needed an odd number of ponies to play so it looks like you’ll be the winker. Now, with your partner, you gotta ride em!” Blu and I giggled a bit, along with a few other ponies. Twilight, however, shot a look at Pinkie before the party pony tried to ‘mount’ her. “I think it would probably be better if we sat on our haunches if I see where you’re actually going with this.” Pinkie puzzled for a bit. “Yeah, probably. So anyway, let’s have one partner sit on their rump and the other have their hooves on their shoulders. Okay, good. So now that we are set up the objective is to get away from your partner. However, there are a few rules. One: The pony that’s behind their opponent has to have their eyes closed until a partner is chosen. Two: No unfair advantages like wings, magic, or excessive strength. Third: No trying to get away unless your winked at. And last, but most importantly, HAVE FUN!!!!” “Well, this won’t end well.” Blu said as he got in front of me. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” I gave a nod and got ready. “Is everypony ready?!” Pinkie asked quite loudly. Everypony gave a nod, even Fluttershy. “Alright! Whenever you’re ready winker!” The brown pony nodded as I closed my eyes. A few seconds into it and I heard a small shuffle. Blu gave a small giggle. At first, I almost thought Blu was picked, but as the circle of ponies got louder, I heard a certain mare struggling to get free. When I opened my eyes, there was Derpy off to my right being held down by Roseluck, a mare with a rose-colored mane and a Rose for a cutiemark. As the match continued, Derpy ended up slipping out of Roseluck’s hooves and ended up making it to the brown pony. “Nice job, Derpy!” He said to his new partner. “Thanks, Doctor.” Derpy commented as she got behind him to prepare for the next wink. I gave a small chuckle as I closed my eyes again. A few more moments passed as the ponies kept relatively silent. Then I heard the crowd ‘Ooooo’. “Yeehaw!” Applejack shouted as she clasped her hooves around Rainbow Dash as the cyan-colored pegasus tried to get away from the farmpony, it was a very violent seen as they each tried to prove their strength. They went at it for a good few moments. Dash really struggling to get to Roseluck and pushed with all her might but ended up getting pulled back to the end she started at and was where she was at the start of the whole match as time was called. “Alright Dashie, It seems you're done. Better luck next time.” Pinkie said. “Try picking another one, Roseluck.” She said with a wink of her own. The rose-maned pony nodded and waited a moment as everypony closed their eyes. I heard another giggle from Blu. I had no idea if it was him or not though. “Woah!” I exclaimed as Blu jerked out of my hooves. Trying to regain myself, I grabbed a hold of his hind legs which plopped him down to the ground once more. He, however, had another thing in store for me as he swatted my face with his tail. “Pbbbbbt.” The sound passed through my lips as I tried not to get hair in my face. I held on tight as he struggled to break free. This, however, is where his brain triumphed over my brawn. Since we both were pretty new to being ponies, we hadn’t figured out too many things without instinct to help us out. With his forehooves, Blu started a standing gallop, which ultimately went nowhere until he suddenly put down both hooves and pushed as hard as he could which sent him flying into the middle of the room. I jumped for him but he managed to make another jump to hit Roseluck’s hoof. The room gave an applause for Blu’s excellent escape method. So... I ended up losing my partner, which meant it was time for me to choose a new partner to tag me. I looked around the room trying to decide which pony pair to choose next and as everypony closed their eyes once again. I found the perfect group. ‘Lyra and Bon-Bon’ I thought slyly. This was gonna be fun. I winked at Lyra and the match began. “Bah!” Bon-Bon exclaimed as Lyra made a sudden dive for me. Bon-Bon pulled back bit by bit. “I can do this!” Lyra said, a bit strained from exertion. She kept trying to lunge out of Bon Bon’s arms getting slowly closer and closer to me. I held out a hoof, and as I did that, Lyra made a humongous lunge that broke free of Bon-Bon’s grasp and sent her flying towards me. But before she smashed into me, I stopped her in midair with my magic as her muzzle brushed up against mine briefly. Slowly, my green aura slowly set her down and I let out my hoof one more time as she tagged it. “Thanks, for stopping me.” She said as she slowly was turning red. “No problem.” I responded as I looked around the room everyone was looking at me with surprised faces. “What?” I asked as I turned my own shade of red. “That was quite impressive.” Twilight commented. “That was a great reaction time along with some pretty powerful magic.” “Well, thanks I guess.” I said as Blu gave a small whistle. “Shush.” He gave a small chuckle, since he knew I was more embarrassed about how close Lyra got to me, which I didn’t intend at all. A couple other chuckles came out of a few other ponies came out, which was Pinkie’s signal to keep things moving with the game again. “Alright you lovebirds, get to your spots and let’s continue the game, shall we?” She said with a small giggle of her own. Lyra moved over to get to her spot behind me. “Sorry.” She whispered into my ear as she put her hooves on my shoulders. “Don’t worry about it.” I whispered back as I looked forward to Bon-Bon. Bon-Bon looked around for another pair. Luckily for Fluttershy, she was only a bit more than a quarter circle away, making her a perfectly good chance at getting picked and being able to get away from Rarity. Bon-Bon saw this too and thought the same thing. So, making sure Fluttershy was ready, she acknowledged her with a hoof and the next struggle began. “Woohoo!” Fluttershy shouted softly as she made her move. “Not so fast, darling.” Rarity smiled as she toppled the timid mare over and began tickling her stomach with a hoof. “No!” The pegasus gasped as she tried to get out of the laughter trap. Little to Rarity’s knowledge however, she started moving from side to side until she could roll over and make a small leap for Bon-Bon and meet with her hoof. Everypony applauded the shy pegasus with their hooves. “Drat! I thought I had that one.” Rarity mumbled loudly. “Oh well.” Now everypony went back in place again and it was Rarity’s turn to choose her next partner. I kinda guessed she’d pick her fellow unicorn friend Twilight, but never have I been so wrong. She ended up picking me! ‘Great.’ I thought as I got ready for my escape. Slowly, I moved a hoof, then the other. Then, with a sudden movement, I ducked down and made a quick dash to the middle. Earning a satisfying “Gah!” from my mint-colored partner. As I moved to make another dash, I was caught in her grasp and pulled back. Scraping against the floor, I struggled to get anywhere and ended up going upright. Lyra had put herself upright as well so I looked to take that to my advantage. With a look to Rarity, I figured out how far I was from her and put my hooves on Lyra’s midsection. With a pull, I toppled us back down to the ground in Rarity’s direction. The white mare jumped, but put a hoof out, and with a few extra hops, I managed to touch it. Another applause came from the circle of ponies. “Thanks for the interesting match, Lyra.” I commented. She nodded with another blush and went back to her spot. Once that was over, the circle of ponies got picked one by one and multiple duels were had until it was time for the last one, which ended up being Pinkie Pie and Twilight. The winker, which ended up being Derpy Hooves, tried winking at Twilight but her eyes made it a bit difficult to tell who she was winking at, which left ponies confused. After two other failed attempts to wink, she gave up and just pointed to the lavender unicorn. I had to resist face-hoofing myself, but soon enough, Twilight thought of something she could do. Knowing Pinkie had her little Pinkie Sense, there was no way she was going to start out slow. So with a sudden burst, she went forward and almost did a faceplant. “Gotcha now, Twi!” Pinkie exclaimed as she grabbed a hold of her stomach. It seemed pretty tight too so I had a tough time imagining how she would be able to make it out of there. She tried doing a jump, which only got the pink mare to ride on her back and make Twilight fall flat back down, doing a faceplant. “Wait a sec.” Pinkie started. “Twitchy tail, itchy stomach, what was that for again?” All of a sudden, a blue unicorn with shades teleports in front of the two. “Would you ponies be quiet? Other ponies are trying to sleep around here.” The familiar fancy pony scolded. “And that doesn’t look very proper, mind you.” And with that, he teleported out as soon as he came. I tried holding back my laughter, but to no avail. Good news was, everypony else burst out laughing as well. -6- Mane Six Meetup Welcome to Equestria! The First Arc... ~~~~Chapter 6~~~~ ~~~~Mane Six Meetup~~~~ So, fun party, right? Good, good. But, in our adventure, it’s not all fun and games. Things will get sad sometimes, but we just gotta go through it, so that’s why we’re including our little sad story, so this is a bit of a warning of what’s to come. Even though our adventure is mostly funny, we still recommend reading the small important part. (We still made it up on the spot at the time, but it did prove to be what we needed it to be.) Without further ado, try to enjoy and don’t cry. Much. ~Blu and Hotshot ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ After the laughter was done with, the last match continued... “Well, that was a bit weird.” Pinkie Pie commented with a smile as she put a hoof to her chin. “But anyway, where were we?” Twilight had already wiggled out from under the pink pony and touched her grey hoof goal. Pinkie was left floating in the same position, and once she realized it, she immediately fell to the ground. The circle of ponies applauded while me and Blu chuckled and gave a slow clap. “Well done, Twi.” Pinkie applauded as well. Time passed and we played a few more games. A lot of them we felt we had played before in the “human” world. After the games there was a little more dancing but as the dancing ended, Pinkie decided to make one last announcement that made me turn my head. “Thank you everypony for showing up to my party the music was provided my pal Vinyl Scratch. Oh, and the games from Lyra!!” The pink host cheered. ‘Looks like Celestia isn’t the only one who tracked us humans...’ I thought to myself as the ponies were slowly leaving the room. “Also, Blu, Hotshot, could you two stick around for just a bit longer?” Hotshot and I shared curious looks, but both gave a nod to the party pony and started going over to her. A few moments later, everypony else other than us and the elements of harmony were left in the room. “So...” I started. “What’s all this about?” Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Well, it seems you two have met us all, right?” We both nodded, so our rainbow-themed friend continued. “And you’ve heard of the Elements of Harmony, right?” Another nod from the both of us. “There were five elements known and one undiscovered.” I stated simply. “The five known were Loyalty, Kindness, Honesty, Laughter, Generosity, and the recent sixth one would be Magic.” “That’s right, and that’s us.” Rainbow Dash said proudly. She then named off the elements, each pony acknowledged who they are in their own way. “Awesome.” Hotshot commented. “Now, what does this have to do with us?” “It’s from my testing and contact with the Princess.” Twilight stated. “Both of you have very much potential power, so I contacted Princess Celestia and asked if she knew of you two. She acknowledged that she had come in contact with you before and she apologizes for the meeting not being as long as it could have been.” “That’s perfectly fine.” I said with another nod. “The circumstances were not exactly time-allowing when we met.” “Yes, and that’s why she’s asked us to keep our eyes on you two. Not in a bad way, but to just make sure everything goes alright here. She didn’t exactly explain why you’re both here though, so that is also why we decided to hold this little meet-up.” The lavender mare further explained. “That’s simple enough.” Hotshot started. “When we were born, we both had significantly small magical reserves, such as why we have these amulets.” “I’m sorry, but that is extremely hard to believe after the test we did in my lab.” Twilight answered. “Well, here’s the kicker.” my green friend said with a smirk. “Thanks to these amulets, they’ve increased our power by 20%, sometimes more than that if we manipulate it right. “Of course, my friend here being the show-off that he is decided to manipulate it a bit too far and got that horrible headache.” I said. “I’m still a little dizzy.” He said. “Even after that spell.” “What about when you stopped Lyra like that?” RD asked suspiciously. “No, I wasn’t using the amulet there.” My friend explained. “That is why I said that I thought a lot of ponies could do it.” “Yeah, that does make sense.” Twilight remarked. “It doesn’t take too much magical reserve to do a simple levitation spell, it just takes a remarkable reaction time to do it as fast as you did, in which somepony like Rarity would be approximately 35% slower to react that fast. No offence of course.” “None taken darling.” The white unicorn assured with a smile as she listened to the conversation. “I see.” Hotshot commented with great interest. “Anything else you’re wondering about?” “Umm, I have a question, if you don’t mind me asking.” Fluttershy said shyly. As he nodded, she continued. “Where did you come from, considering you’re an Alicorn like the Princess?” Hotshot closed his eyes and tried to remain calm. Luckily for him, I put his hoof on his shoulder. “I have this, bro.” I assured him. He nodded as I started with what I came up with as my story, which I hoped would be believable and convincing enough. “Hotshot here doesn’t exactly know where he was born.” I started off. “According to Celestia, there was a group of ponies that once visited a place called ‘Dragon Valley.’ Some were from Canterlot, Manehattan, even from Cloudsdale. Along that journey to Dragon Valley, one of the pony couples must have had him. How he was born an Alicorn, I have no idea and I’m not sure Celestia did either. But when they got to Dragon Valley, some sort of magical scientist must have tested a bit of magic on how they worked with the Dragons, which caused a few to go mad and start killing the group.” A few of the ponies gasped while others remained silent. I paused to clear my throat. “As you might be seeing where I’m going with this, my friends parents, along with most of the group died there. Few lived to tell the tale. Of course, among the ones that lived, Hotshot was there, but he was left behind at Dragon Valley, so that’s where he managed to grow up. Fed by dragons, trained by dragons, raised by dragons, and got his quite fiery cutiemark.” I paused for another moment to collect my thoughts. “Among them, one of the dragons started questioning why they were raising what they called a ‘monstrosity’ among their own kind. When Hotshot started hearing of this, he began to doubt himself.” “I eventually ran away from the ones I used to call family.” Hotshot continued, giving me a break. “I wandered for days, trying to find a new place with my own kind, and there, I stumbled upon Manehattan, where I met Blu. He was nice enough not to question my origin and befriend me. He taught me the way’s of society, got me started on some sort of thing I could do where I wasn’t judged.” “Flash-forward a year and we met the Princess of the Sun, which we actually managed to talk about his past.” I continued once again. “It started in the Everfree. I had lost my job and house and Hotshot wanted to come with me to see where-else we could go. I didn’t want to stay in Manehattan so we went someplace more quiet. A lake was where we stayed for a little bit, thinking of what we could do. Celestia appeared in the lake’s reflection, and before we knew it, we had met the Princess of the Sun. She said we were destined for greatness or something like that, ‘cause I still kinda doubt that, but then she gave us these amulets, to help us on our journey to Ponyville, where she wanted us to go.” “Well, now you see why I didn’t want to talk about my side of the story. I was a freak. An ‘accident.’ Nobody wanted me. I was a nopony till I met Blu.” My green friend finished off with tears rolling down his eyes. The Mane six just sat there with their mouths wide open. Fluttershy was the first to approach Hotshot in a warm hug. One by one, the others put a hoof on him to help the situation, as did I. In the back of my mind, I silently wondered why I put them through the story, but then again, I did seem to have a bit of talent of storytelling after all. Only other thing that worried me was what they might do if they found out it was made up. Most likely, Celestia would have to be around to explain everything so they wouldn’t try to kill us. But for now, it was the perfect cover. After the sappy stuff was done, Hotshot spoke up once again. “Thanks, but let’s get back to business. Is there anything else you want to know or want us to know? ‘cause I’m quite tired.” “No, I don’t think so we’ll leave you two to rest” Twilight said as she beckoned her friends to come along. “Alright, See you later and thanks for the party!” I called with a smile. As we both went to our room in the inn we both looked at the room’s surroundings. There was two beds thankfully, along with a painting of the two princess’. “This isn’t too bad.” I commented while getting into my chosen bed. “You know what I almost forgot?” Hotshot asked while getting in his own. “What?” I asked in return. “That little poem that I wrote. I called it ‘My thoughts in a nutshell’” He continued. “I almost forgot it until that one story you told the mane six.” ‘Ah, shoot.’ I thought in the back of my mind. It was the one poem that always worried me. “I remembered it off by heart it went ‘The depths of my despair and loss of oneself cut deeper than a sword could match it feels like i’m hiding behind a mask and there is one thing that can remove this mask....death the comfort that comes to everybody but there's one thing that's stopping me from giving myself such comfort, my friends and the thought that I don't deserve such comfort to rest and sleep forever in silence’” He said reciting the poem. “That poem always did worry me.” I said with a sigh. “I thought you said it was deep stuff?” He responded with confusion. “Yeah, but it always seemed too dark for my taste, and it really does show signs of some interesting stuff.” I replied. “I’ll just remind you, since it’s just you and me, I’ll always be there for you bro.” “Yeah, I know Blu, I know.” He said as we drifted off to sleep. Little did we know at the time, Celestia was receiving another letter. ~~~~Viewpoint: Princess Celestia~~~~ ~~(Previous Letter)~~ Dear Princess Celestia, There are two new and unusual ponies in Ponyville, named Blu and Hotshot. Now I had brought them to my library when I noticed the amulets around their necks. They told me it enhanced their magic by a little bit so I decided to have a test of my own, and let me tell you, they were definitely impressive. They both showed great strength, after the fact of Blu putting up a soundproof shield in an instant, but Hotshot ended up getting some type of extreme headache. Since Hotshot was an Alicorn however, I would assume you know at least a little bit about him. Nopony gets to be an Alicorn other than you and Princess Luna naturally, right? Anyway, going to meet up with them at the party Pinkie is planning for them, like she does with most everypony that decides to stay in Ponyville. Will probably send another letter after the party. Ready and waiting, Your most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. ~~(Current Letter)~~ Dear Princess Celestia, The party was fun. A bit different than usual, but fun. However, the meetup we had with Blu and Hotshot ended more sad than fun. The questions we started out with were innocent enough, but Fluttershy ended up hitting quite the nail about Hotshot’s past. If they really talked to you, which they seemed truthful enough that they did, you would know what we talked about. We didn’t get too much info from Blu however since the focus was on Hotshot’s story. I’ll see if I can learn more another time. Other than what we’ve learned, we’re still going to be wary of them, but we’ll help them out as much as we can. Then again, this is also an excellent opportunity to have some more friends, which is always good. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. First thing we’ll do is set them up with some permanent living arrangements, jobs that can handle their talents, and Rarity will probably make them some sort of clothing to go with their amulets, because that’s Rarity for you. Looking forward to seeing you at the Summer Sun Celebration! Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. “Hmm, interesting. What could those two have come up with to make something sound so saddening.” I commented to Luna who was in front of me. “What is the matter, sister?” She asked with a concerned look that matched my own. “Just read this letter.” I said as I handed it over to her with my magic. I looked to the night sky as she looked it over. “Does this bode well?” She asked me. “ Both you and I have seen their secrets, but I do not think I can look into this any further tonight.” “Well, one thing's for sure. Those two can handle themselves with their stories. But looking at what they’ve gotten into, it’s a good thing the Summer Sun Celebration is coming up. I’ll talk to them soon.” I commented. “Indeed. But something usually comes up when new beings enter Equestria, don’t they, Tia?” She speculated with a small smile. I gave a chuckle. “Yes, but not tonight. I had better get some rest.” “Of course, sister. Have a pleasant rest.” My lunar sister blessed. “I’ll try my best. Goodnight sister.” I said as I left the room for a long needed sleep. -7- Job EndeavourWelcome to Equestria! The First Arc... ~~~~Chapter 7~~~~ ~~~~Run of the Mill~~~~ So... Chapter 7. This is going to be fun. Mostly. If we make sure everything goes well. But of course, things don’t go our way most of the time. Ah well, more fun for you guys that had to go through that sad chapter. You read it, right? No? Well go read it! Then come read this one. Seriously guys, stallion up. For those that did read it though, enjoy. ~Blu and Hotshot ~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~ “Well that was a pleasant..... WHAT THE!” I heard Blu shout as he woke up. “What is it?” I asked as I looked over to Blu and right there was a pink pony standing over Blu staring at him. “Good morning, sleepyhead!” Pinkie exclaimed with a smile. “Ready for a fun-filled day? I know I am!” She then hopped over to my bed. “You better be ready too! There’s a lot of stuff we need to do today and you’ll need to see what you can do best!” The party pony then hopped down to the ground. “Can’t live in the inn forever!” And before we could say ‘What just happened?’, she was gone. “Well, that was unexpected, even for Pinkie Pie.” Blu commented as he shook his head. “No, that seemed exactly like something she’d do.” I countered with a laugh. “I guess, but that was still surprising.” Blu responded. “However, she was right. We can’t live in the inn forever.” “Well then, it’s time to earn some bits and get some type of living arrangement!” I exclaimed. “Alright, just give me five more minutes.” He said as he put his head back down on his pillow. “No, NOW! Get off your lazy flank and lets get going!” “I said. “Fine...” he mumbled with a grunt. “Just think, the sooner we get a house, the sooner you can sleep for as long as you want!” I said. “Really?” he asked knowing the answer. “No!” I answered with a chuckle. “Remember, Celestia said when we get here it won’t be all fun and games.” “Ugh.” He simply responded, but managed to get up. “At least I don’t have to put on any clothes.” “Yeah, let’s not rival among that fact for too long. Meet you downstairs.” I said as I sped down, leaving my lazy friend in the dust. It took awhile but my friend finally came down the stairs . “‘You took that extra five minutes didn’t you?” I asked. He simply gave a sheepish smile. “Maybe.” “Well next time, I’ll get Pinkie Pie to release the party cannon right into your ear!” I threatened with a smirk. “Those who run fast shall stumble.” The stallion at the counter commented wisely. He had a light brown coat of fur and a dirty blonde mane. Kinda looked like one you’d find in Appaloosa, now that I think of it. “Who might you be?” Blu asked with a curious look on his face. “Me? I’m just a lone stallion that operates the breakfast club at the inn. Some call me the wise bartender. You ponies however, can call me Slender Skim.” Slender Skim introduced. “Nice to meet you, Slender Skim.” I said as we took seats at the bar. “My name’s Hotshot, and this is Blu.” “Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Now what do you fellows want. Our special today is pancakes.” He suggested with a smile. “Sounds great. How much is it for two plates?” My blue unicorn friend asked. “Well, usually, the special is eight bits per plate, but since I hear you two are new in town, I can lower the price to five bits just this once.” Skim offered. “How does that sound?” “That doesn’t sound too bad.“ I considered as I turned to Blu. “What do you think?” Blu was about to speak but his stomach spoke for him. We both gave a chuckle. “I believe my stomach is trying to say ‘Take the deal!’” “It’s settled then. Ringer up, my friend!” I told the bartender. The light brown pony smiled. “Alright then. Let me notify the cook. You don’t mind paying up-front, do you?” “Not at all.” I replied. I went to get my bit bag, but it turned out I left it upstairs. “Blu, do you have your bits on you? I left mine upstairs.” “Bits? Oh shoot, same here.” He responded. “I’ll go and get em.” The blue unicorn then tried teleporting out of his seat to the stairs, but ended up going a foot above the floor and stumbled. “Dang it.” He mumbled, but got back up and started heading up. I laughed briefly and turned back to the counter, finding Skim to have disappeared to the kitchen. “Hmm.” I mused. Another pony came down the stairs. Along with it however, came flapping wings... and a crash? With a turn, I looked to see who it was. “You just don’t know what went wrong, right Derpy?” The purple pegasus beside her joked with a laugh. “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t fly indoors too much I guess.” The grey mare responded with an embarrassed smile. She then looked my way. “You must be one of the new ponies in Ponyville?” “I guess word gets around.” I said. “It’s only on everything in Ponyville.” The purple pony said casually. “What?!” I exclaimed. “Yeah, you two are everywhere thanks to Pinkie.” Derpy simply answered as Blu snuck past them. “You hear that, Blu? We’re famous.” I said. “Probably not that big of a deal, bro. Ponyville’s a small place, and the fact that you’re an Alicorn will just be different for them for a while.” He explained, but as he took a seat down beside me once again with the two bit bags in his magical grasp, he dropped them onto the table as he saw a glance at Derpy. “Oh my gosh, it’s Derpy Hooves.” “She’s not that clumsy!” Her friend defended, but then smiled sheepishly. “Okay, maybe a noticeable amount, but you don’t have to point it out.” “No, no, not at all. She just has amazing eyes which I find quite interesting.” Blu said, but had his fair share of red added into his face. “You find my eyes... Interesting?” The grey pegasus puzzled. “I think he’s simply trying to say he likes your eyes.” I speculated., but was given a soft kidney punch for my efforts. “Yes, the eyes are nice. Not trying to hit on you or anything.” He said, hopefully not digging himself deeper into the awkward situation he got himself into. “Well, thank you I guess.” Derpy Hooves answered. “I mean, usually, people just find my eyes weird, apart from my friend Muffin Drop here.” She gestured to her purple pegasus friend. “Well, I find them nice. They probably alter your vision quite a bit though.” I commented. Just then, Muffin Drop’s stomach rumbled. “Yeah, it does. enough chit-chat though. I’m so hungry I could eat a manticore!” She said with a laugh. Blu and I exchanged small smiles considering the event in Everfree. “Well, come take a seat with us and I’ll buy you ponies some, blueberry muffins?” Blu offered. “Sure! That would be good.” Derpy answered. “Hey Skim! How much are 2 muffins?” I yelled. “8 bits!” He responded from the kitchen. “We’ll take four muffins then!” Blu said with the same amount of volume. “Alright then, give me a minute!” He responded again. ~~A few minutes later...~~ “That will be 26 bits.” Skim said. “Thanks!” I said as I handed him the 25 bits I had and Blu handed him one bit. We walked along outside after breakfast with was now only 24 bits in our possession. “Well, that wasn’t too bad. We have 24 bits left to spend before we earn some more.” Blu said with a sigh. “Now what?” “Only 24 bits?” Muffin Drop said in a bit of surprise. “You guys are pretty poor. Even I earn more bits.” “Well, we just came to Ponyville two days ago and haven’t decided where to work yet.” I stated plainly. “I don’t suppose you mares know where anyone is hiring, do you?” “Actually, we were just about to head to work right now.” Derpy said. “Maybe you can convince our supervisors to let you help for the day.” “That’s not a bad idea.” My blue friend commented. “So whereabouts do you two work?” I asked curiously, hoping for somewhere in Ponyville and not in Cloudsdale. “We have two locations, actually.” The purple pegasus started. “One is for ground deliveries, the other is up in Cloudsdale.” ‘Damn...’ I thought. “Okay then, I guess we’ll have to talk with your supervisor.” “Actually, we can probably help you out with that.” Derpy said with a smile. “Hotshot, since you can fly, you go up with Muffin and help out there, and I’ll take Blu over to where we need to go.” “Yeah, we do kinda owe you a bit for the muffins.” Muffin said sheepishly. “Mmmmm, those were good muffins.” “Alright then, it’s settled then.” Blu said, then turned to me, offering a hoof. “See you later bro.” “Later, Blu.” I smiled as I gladly gave him a brohoof. So now, Muffin and I are flying to Cloudsdale. Most of the trip was silent until Muffin decided to break the ice. “So... What brought you to Ponyville?” She asked. “And what's with the amulets that you and Blu have?” “Well, we were sent to Ponyville by Princess Celestia.” I answered. “As for the amulets, they are magical reserves, when we were born we had a small amount of magic. They were given to us by the Princess. However, I think mine might have been made by Princess Luna.” “You two related to the Princess’?” She asked curiously. “Nope, no royal blood here.” I joked. “Then how are you an...? Actually, nevermind.” She stopped. “I’m guessing ponies have told you about the question.” I guessed “Yeah! Only not to ask it.” She laughed. “Ha, it’s nothing personal, so don’t worry about it.” I assured. “Okay, well, we’re almost there.” She stated. “Okay, is the job difficult at all?” I asked. “Not really, I’m pretty sure you can handle it just fine.” The purple pegasus answered. “Cloudsdale isn’t too bad” “Cloudsdale? I’ve barely got Ponyville covered.” I said with a worried voice. “Trust me. It’s not as big as it looks.” She continued. “Besides, if you want the job, you should start memorizing.” I let out a sigh. ‘Well, at least I have some experience with the junk mail I had to deliver back in the human world.’ I thought to myself. “Well, we’re here.” She said as we landed on the clouds which were quite soft. “Nothing like feeling the soft clouds on your hooves after being on the hard ground all day.” She said with a smile. “You said it.” I said as we entered the building- -which was complete chaos! Ink flying everywhere, paper getting hung around like streamers, and ponies arguing and screaming. “Woah, what happened!? A shortage of muffins!?” I joked, but got a disapproving look from Muffin Drop. “Ha, ha, very funny.” She said sarcastically as she flew to an office with the name “Yellow Pack” on the front. “What’s going on out there boss?” She said to a yellow pegasus with a brown mustache. “A shortage of muffins! What do you think?” He said even more sarcastically than Muffin Drop as I let out a chuckle. “The machines are failing, AGAIN!” He exclaimed. “Do something!” “Hand me a wrench.” Muffin Drop said as The yellow pegasus looked over to me. “And you are?” The yellow pegasus asked me while handing over Muffin’s required wrench. “Hotshot, I’m looking for a little extra work.” I answered. “You’re the new Alicorn from Ponyville, aren’t you?” He asked curiously. “That would be me, sir.” I smiled. “Okay then, once Muffin here fixes the machines I’ll give you your first assignment.” He stated. “Great!” I said as I left the office with Muffin. “So, how are you going to fix these fine machines?” “Like this!” *WHACK!* She hit the machine with the wrench and it was working fine again. “How the buck did you do that?” I asked bewildered. “Okay, observe.” *WHACK!* She said as she hit another machine. “Now you have a turn. Hit it as hard as you can.” She continued as she handed me the wrench. “Alright then.” *WHACK!* I hit the machine as hard as I could and I ended up making the machine worse “Buck!” “Okay, let me take care of the rest.” She said as she took the wrench from me and continued smacking the machines until they were all fixed. “Guess you need a mare’s touch.” She joked. “Haha, yeah, I guess.” I chuckled as we flew back to Yellow’s office. “All the machines are fixed?” He asked curiously. “Indeed.” I answered for my purple pegasus friend. “Okay, for your first assignment there are two special deliveries which means screw them up and no pay! Or job for that matter! One delivery of assorted letters to the ground district post office, the other is a special giant order of quills and ink to the Ponyville library!” He asked. “Oh, and if you complete those in good time, you have five deliveries up here in Cloudsdale once you’re done with the special deliveries. Can you do that?” “Yes sir!” I saluted, leaving the room with Muffin. “Quite convenient, I got orders both to Ponyville.” “Yeah, lucky you, you get to carry two giant boxes to Ponyville.” Muffin laughed. “Shoot! Oh well, what do I have magic for.” I joked with a laugh. “Just don’t drop anything. The last time that happened a pony got crushed by a piano!” She said worriedly. “What! Really!?” I laughed some more. “That’s quite funny.” I almost fell over laughing while Muffin Drop gave me a stare that could easily rival Fluttershy’s. “Sorry.” “The mare who dropped it was Derpy!” She exclaimed. “Again, sorry.” I apologized. “Well, we better get going. This stuff isn't going to deliver itself.” She reminded as we started leaving the building when a thought crossed my mine. “But don’t you have a delivery of your own?” I asked curiously, “My boss wants me to keep a close eye on you, so you get the deliveries right and on time.” The purple pegasus explained. “OK, this will be fun.” I said in a brighter mood than before. “Off we go then.” I continued as we started flying back to Ponyville. “So, where is the Ponyville Post exactly?” I asked while scanning the small town for what I could see. “Over there actually. Hey! I see Blu and Derpy leaving!” She said pointing in their general direction. “Oh, so it is. Well let’s hurry then.” I said as I sped toward the post office. “Ah shoot! We just missed them, haha.” Muffin pointed out. “Oh well, I guess I have to make these deliveries then” I said casually. “So now I need to find a Ms.Crate.” “Ms. Crate? That’s Derpy’s boss!” she exclaimed. “Really now?” I asked. “Yeah, and there she is!” As she pointed to a dark green unicorn with an orange crate as a cutie mark. “Hi, you must be Ms. Crate. Nice to meet you.” I said holding out a hoof. “Why, it’s nice to meet you too. You must be Hotshot, correct?” She asked. “Umm, yeah. I’m guessing Blu told you about me?” I asked back. “Yep, not to mention there is a bunch of buzz around town thanks to Pinkie Pie.” The dark green mare replied. ‘Damn it, Pinkie!’ I thought. “Umm, okay. Well, I have a delivery from Cloudsdale here for you.” I said handing it to her with my magic as her magic engulfed it and took it out of my magical grip. “Why do they get ponies from Cloudsdale to deliver to the ground district?” “Well, you see, it's a priority delivery and since there isn't much staff on the job, you have to deliver it.” She explained. “OK, well, it was nice meeting you, but it looks like you got another delivery to do.” She reminded, putting the delivery on the ground beside her. “Indeed I do.” I responded. “Thanks for the information. Now I have to head to the library with a bunch of quills and ink.” I said, gesturing to the giant box at my side. “What! Who needs such a big order!?” She asked with a confused look. “I got a good idea of who.” I said. “Well, I better get this done. The sooner I get there, the sooner I get some more bits!” “Okay, well hurry up then, Hotshot. And see you soon, Muffin!” She said waving a hoof as we headed to the library. “Well, that was interesting.” Muffin commented. “Yeah, she barely noticed you.” I joked. “Only because you were there.” She laughed. “Gee, thanks.” I said sarcastically. “Okay, so now i have to give these quills and paper to Twilight.” ‘Another interesting encounter...’ I thought to myself. “Do you know where it is?” Muffin Drop asked curiously. “I believe I do!” I answered with enthusiasm. “If I could find a good path to it, that is.” “Umm, wings?” Muffin said with an arched eyebrow. “Ah, right.” I said sheepishly. “Let’s go then.” The purple pegasus smirked with humor and took to the skies. I readied myself, leaping up to follow her. We landed in front of the library. I knocked on the door to hear scrambling of Twilight trying to get to the door and it flew open with her magic. “Oh, hello again.” The purple mare smiled. “How are you?” “I’m good. I have a delivery for you.... That's quite a large order of ink and quills.” I responded. “Yeah, I know. I have quite a few letters to send.” She excused, quietly adding... “and I like to also keep up stock, if you know what I mean.” “Oh, okay. Well, I got to go back to Cloudsdale to get the regular deliveries.” I responded with a sigh. “Alright; come back with Blu when you are done with your deliveries.” She requested with a small smile. “I will.” I assured. “Bye for now.” And with that, I took a leap to the air and took off. “Well you seem to know a lot of ponies for just arriving to Ponyville when you've only been here a little while.” Muffin giggled. “Small town.” I responded with my tongue sticking out quickly. “True, but impressive nonetheless.” She complemented. And with that, the rest of the flight was generally silent, save for the rush of wind through our wings. We entered the Cloudsdale packaging building one again and headed to the office of Yellow Pack to confirm the deliveries were sent. “The packages were delivered, Mr. Pack.” I said as we entered the office. “Well done! I really didn't think you could handle it, would you like to earn 10 more bits?” He offered. Muffin and I exchanged a look. “Sure, I would be happy to. What would you like me to do?” I asked with an arched eyebrow. “Go around Cloudsdale and deliver to these 10 houses.” The hard-hatted pony said with a nod as he handed me a list.I looked at the list and read off the names in my head. ‘Cloud Chaser, Lightning Dust, Raindrops, Rainbow Dash, Bluebell, Cloud Kicker, Crescent Moon, Deep Blue, Dizzy Twister, and Flitter..’ “You can do this, can’t you?” The yellow supervisor asked. “Yes sir!” I said giving a salute with my wing. “Will I be joining him boss?” Muffin asked in curiosity. “Might as well, it is his first day.” Mr. Pack allowed with a sigh, but whispered something about my abilities to my presumed partner which I didn't manage to catch. “Sure thing, boss!” She said with a smile as we left the building. “Why so eager to get out of work?” I asked “Are you kidding! Watching you is a job in itself!” She joked “Uh-huh, now what's the actual reason?” I said seriously. “It’s nice to get out of the office” She said. “I see..” I responded. “The first house looks like Cloud Chaser.” “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” She exclaimed. “But there is no address.” I said as she took the list from me “Grr, that idiot! He gave you an advanced list.” She said in rising frustration. “Advanced list?” I asked. “An advanced list is a list given to ponies that have worked for a while and memorized each house.” She explained with a sigh. “Obviously, I don’t think you’d have enough experience around here to take that on. No offence of course.” “Trust me. I can take the truth.” I assured. “Hold that thought while I go get a proper map for us.” She said as she went into the building. I let out a sigh and started to drift in my thoughts. ’Well, with all this flying and trotting around I've been doing, it’s almost like I was always a pony. It feels so surreal that I’m here on my own with this mare that seems so nice. It just feels undeserving that Blu and I were the ones that are able to experience all of this...’ ’Why us? Out of all the bronies in the world, why were we the lucky ones? Why was it us to find a way to communicate through different dimensions? This is every bronies dream! We have the chance to switch between two different dimensions. Yet we can’t tell anyone? This could revolutionize science and history as we know it. What happens if the Mane six find out we are not from this world? What if-’ “Hotshot?” A perplexed Muffin Drop asked, looking at me weirdly. “Wha-?” I started to ask, before realizing I had started pacing and working myself up. “Are you alright? Something on your mind?” She questioned. With another sigh, I stopped pacing. “I’m alright, don’t worry about me. Do you have that map?” “Yeah, but we can wait for a little if something’s troubling you.” She offered. “I’m fine.” I said, giving my head a small shake, “besides, those deliveries aren't going to deliver themselves.” “Well if there is something you want to talk about just ask.” She said with eyes full of concern. I nodded solemnly, and with that comment we left. When we left we headed to the first name on the list which was Cloud Chaser. *knock knock knock-knock-knock* A few seconds and the door was answered by a small filly. “Hello?” The filly asked cutely and emitted a small gasp. “Is that letter for me?” “Would your name be Cloud Chaser by any chance?” I asked back, albeit with a bit of sarcasm, but this was not picked up. “Mmmm, no. My name is Mist Chaser, though my mum’s name is Cloud Chaser. Do you want me to go get her?” “No need, just make sure she gets the letter, okay?” I told the filly, which nodded excitedly as she took the letter with a wing. With a wave, she trotted away, leaving the door wide open. Thankfully, the mail recipient herself was in view, mouthing a ‘Thank you’. With a small nod, I closed the door. Another hour or so, and we were done. Not too bad of a day. Amazingly enough, no one asked about being an Alicorn, which was good. "Well, how do you think we did?" I asked curiously. "I dunno. You tell me, then I'll tell you." Muffin Drop said with a wink. With a chuckle, I thought for a little. "Hmm, well, no one bugged me about the Alicorn thing. Didn't take too long to do. As long as I get a bit more efficient with flying and delivering, I might get as fast as Rainbow Dash!” “As fast as RD? You wish!” The purple pegasus laughed. “But I agree, a few more days on the job, and you’ll be a pro in no time.” With that, we headed back to the Cloudsdale Delivery District, got our day’s pay, and I headed to Sugarcube Corner. Muffin stayed to talk to her boss for a while longer, but told me to go meet the others at the usual where her and Derpy usually ended on a successful day of work. Directional skills, don’t fail me now. ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ Rewinding back to start of the work day, I walked along with Derpy.. “Well then...” I said, trying to pick up a conversation with the cross-eyed mare. “What? Oh, sorry.” Derpy said as she broke out of her flying daze. “Not used to conversations too much. Did you want to talk about something while we head over?” “I don’t know, really. I’m not used to conversations either.” I replied. “I hope deliveries aren't too hard for me though.” “Deliveries usually aren’t that bad.” She said with a smile. “My eyes do make it a bit troublesome at times, that’s why I was moved to the ground division. Other than that, I think you’ll do fine.” “Alright. You probably know your way around Ponyville though, don’t you?” I asked her. “Mostly, I guess. But I think there’s a map if you need one.” The grey mare said. “Are you good at memorizing maps?” “Honestly, not really.” I responded with a laugh. “It’s fine though. I’ll probably memorize Ponyville in a week if they decide to hire me. “Well, they do kinda need another worker around here. I don’t remember if it was for the Cloudsdale division or the ground division, but they do need one somewhere.” She responded. “I think Hotshot’s had experience with delivering before.” I thought out loud. “If there’s a position open where he’s at, I’m sure he’ll get it.” “Most likely. Let’s just hope he’s reliable enough.” Derpy commented. “Yeah, we've been friends for a long time. I’m sure he’s reliable.” I responded. “Again though, only time will tell.” Derpy gave a nod and I let the conversation drift into silence once again for the rest of the way to the building. The surroundings changed from the varied housed to large pine trees. I saw a large building in the distance. It had a topside loading dock and a lower loading dock. I assumed the topside dock was for shipments from Cloudsdale or other cloud-based cities and the lower one was for shipments from the various ground cities like Manehattan, Canterlot, and Appleoosa. “Alright, this is the place.” Derpy pointed out. “Whoa, this is pretty nice actually.” I commented with awe. As we went inside, there was many things to see. Envelope stations, boxing stations, and a large section stored a variety of boxes and crates. Over at a cement post, there stood a mare who I presumed to be Derpy's boss. “Hmm, only five minutes late this time. That’s a new record! Well done, Derpy. We’ll have you on time in no time.” “Is that sarcasm I sense?” I commented with an arched eyebrow. “A little, but really, it is an improvement from the usual lateness.” Derpy's boss said honestly. “So, what brings you here? I assume you didn't come with Derpy for nothing, did you?” “Actually, Derpy mentioned I could earn a few bits here, if you need a little extra help around this place.” I told the in-charge mare in front of me. “It does look a bit stocked.” “Sure! A bit of help would be wonderful around here.” She said cheerfully. “Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Crate Boss, but since we’re going to be working on a professional level, you may call me Ms. Crate.” “Ah, professionalism, I like it.” I said with a smile. “I’m Blu. Pretty simple name but I like it. A pleasure to meet you Ms. Crate.” In a moment of pausing, I took a second look at ‘Ms. Crate’. She was a unicorn, had a dark green coat, a light rose color for her mane and tail, and wore a light brown delivery uniform that covered her cutie mark so I couldn't see it. She was also the first pony I saw that wore regular glasses that were oval-shaped. “My, aren't you a gentlecolt.” Ms. Crate said with a small giggle, but caught herself and cleared her throat. “Oh, yes, right. We have a schedule to keep. Derpy? Are you still hanging around?” “Hmm? Oh! I’m sorry Ms. Crate! I’ll get to work right away!” She exclaimed. The grey pegasus started flapping her wings but was suddenly caught in a magical grip. “Not so fast, ya filly.” The dark green mare instructed. “I’ll need you to help Blu around the building. He’ll also help you deliver some things with the cart. Remember to include today’s sorting in your tour as well.” “Yes, ma’am!” Derpy said with a bit of a blush, most likely from being caught in her bosses magic. Or maybe from it being a first time to show someone around the post office. Either way, I tried not to giggle. “Alright.” Ms. Crate turned back to me. “As you now know, Derpy will show you around a little and then she’ll test your skills and how well you do in this type of job. You’ll still be paid 40 bits for the work you put into it, but your skill will really see if you have what it takes to be a delivery pony. Understand?” “Yes, Ms. Crate. I’ll try my best.” I responded with a good enthusiasm level. Or at least, that’s what I hoped. “Great! Off to work with the two of you now, before we get even further behind schedule.” She said as shooed us away. With a nod, we both headed further into the building. The back room wasn't too bad. A bit dim, but everything was still pretty visible. Derpy trotted over to the clipboard that had the orders, supplies, and pretty much anything you might have as a list in a delivery business. “Alright, let’s see here.” The grey mare started. “What did you want to cover first?” “Hmm, I dunno. Let me take a look.” I said as I trotted to her side to take a look at the clipboard. ‘Letter sorting, package weighing, stamping...’ I thought to myself as I looked down the list. “How about a simple inventory check?” I suggested. “We can try that, yeah.” Derpy said with a smile. “Since we’re already here, it’ll be a perfect place to start. All you have to do is take the clipboard and flip to today’s date, then identify each box to make sure everything’s in order.” “That doesn't sound too bad. How long does it usually take you to check everything?” I asked curiously. “Usually about 10-15 minutes, depending on how many things you need to cover.” She replied while flipping to today’s inventory list. I grabbed the clipboard with my magic. “Sounds easy enough, you don’t happen to have a stopwatch, do you?” “There’s one on that desk, I’ll time you.” Derpy said with a smile. With a nod, I floated the stopwatch to her and with a grab of her hoof, she got ready. As did I, getting a pencil off the same desk. “Alright, here we go.” The grey mare started. “One, two, Three!” The stopwatch clicked and I began looking at each box closely, checking them off one by one. “Done!” I exclaimed with a proud smile as I heard a wing slap the button on the stopwatch. “Wow! That was quite fast for a new pony!” The derpy-eyed mare said with enthusiasm. “Oh? What was my time?” I asked with a cocked eyebrow. “6 Minutes and 23 seconds!” She yelled brightly. I slightly grimaced my ears from the volume, but smiled anyway. “That doesn't sound too bad.” I guessed. “There’s probably ponies better than me who could count faster than that, but I’d say I’m happy with that.” “Yeah, there’s a few on the force that are speed demons in counting, but you should be proud in your speed, given that was a ton of packages you had to take inventory of.” Derpy admitted. “Okay... So what now?” I asked a little awkwardly. The grey pegasus was oblivious to the brief awkward moment sparked by my slowness in speech. That was also why it was brief. “There’s still plenty that needs to be done, Blu.” She said with a small giggle. “If you help me out in doing some letter sorting, we can go outside and deliver some, while Celestia's sun is still high. Does that sound good to you?” “Yeah, let's go with that then.” I responded with a small nod and a smile. Well, manipulating the letters with my magic as Derpy told me where each letter went didn't go too bad. It hurt my head a little, but nothing a bit of walking time couldn't fix. As we walked to the first house, which happen to be Fluttershy's, Derpy swore she saw Hotshot in the corner of her eye, but I kinda doubted that and assumed she was seeing things. Besides that, I was going to deliver a letter to Fluttershy! Needless to say, my mind was occupied to notice Hotshot and Muffin Drop in the distance. They never caught up, so I remained looking to the letter. ‘Who the heck is Flightless? He some distance cousin of Fluttershy that no one’s heard about? He a random character that got named in a future episode? Nah, I shouldn't worry about it too much. Not like every single pony get’s named in the series. Wonder if Muffin Drop ever got spotted as well? Unless she’s an OC, but I’m already taking things too-’ “Blu? How long have you been looking at that letter now?” The grey mail deliverer asked, thankfully derailing my train of thought. “You know you shouldn't be snooping in other ponies’ mail, right?” “Hmm? Oh, sorry. Just got distracted by the senders name.” I excused and placed the letter back in the bag. “Alright, well it’s not too far now. Fluttershy's one of the farthest houses from Ponyville, besides Sweet Apple Acres of course. Have you met Fluttershy yet?” I thought of the party for a moment, along with the moments after the party. “Kinda. You were at the party though too, so that’s most of what I saw of her as well.” “Ah, right.” The cross-eyed mare said, remembering the events of last night. “Didn't you guys meet with her and the other Elements of Harmony after though?” You must have talked with her a bit then too.” “Umm, kinda, but I’d rather keep that private for now if that’s alright.” I told her with my expression dropping slightly. Good idea not to mess up the story too much, in case I mix something up. “Huh? Well alright then, don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to. Besides that, we’re here.” She pointed out a few feet before the door. I quieted a little bit and approached the door. Lightening the mood a little, I came up with a little rhythm on the spot. *Tap-tap-tap tap tap tap, tap* A small voice came inside, which I could barely pick up with my hearing. “O-oh my? Angel, could you see who that is? I’m not expecting anyone today, but I’d like to know who it is.” Another chatter came from inside, followed by Fluttershy once again, “Yes, yes, I know there’s never anyone bad in Ponyville at this time of year, but I still don’t feel very comfort-” More chattering interrupted her. “Yes, I know that too, but-” By this time, I figured something that might bring her out, either that or just allow us to slip the letter under the door. “Gee, Derpy.” I started louder than average. “Maybe no one is home. Should we put this letter under the door or wait a little while more?” By the time I started saying while, the door opened up to reveal Fluttershy, a bit excited, but that was a good sign. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I was a little worried who it was so I didn't answer right away. I heard somepony say letter though, so I wanted to make sure I was here to get it.” With a smile, I gladly handed over the letter with my magic. “There ya go. Fluttershy, right?” “Eep! Oh, um, yes. You must be Blu from last night. Why are you on the mail delivery service?” She asked shyly, but thankfully kept most of her volume. “Yeah, that’d be me. I met Derpy and one of her friends this morning and bought them muffins with Hotshot. He’s currently looking at the delivery job as well as me, so we were offered ‘shots’ at the jobs Derpy and her friend worked at.” I explained and added, “Hotshot’s fine by the way, so you don’t have to worry about him.” “Oh, that’s good. Thanks for finding them a chance at work, Derpy.” The shy pegasus thanked, earning a slightly confused, but bright smile from her. Angel poked the yellow leg of his owner, reminding Fluttershy of something. “Oh, I’m sorry again, I must be keeping you two from work. If you and Hotshot need some additional work, you can come and help tomorrow with the Crusaders. I’m not that good with keeping filly’s entertained.” “I’m sure it won’t be a problem to help out, sure. I’ll tell Hotshot later.” I assured. “See you later then?” Fluttershy slightly blushed, but nodded. With a quick farewell, she closed the door and we were off once again to deliver mail. A variety of letters and doors later, and we finished up delivering all the letters from the bag. “Alright Blu, how do you feel?” “What exactly do you mean?” I asked the confusing grey mare. “I mean, how do you feel about everything? The job, the letters, Flutter-” She started, but stopped abruptly. Ignoring the last part-word, I pieced together some thoughts. “Well, honestly, I can tell I’m a bit slow, so if I go with this job I’ll have to walk 20% faster. Aside from that, the letters weren't too hard to work with.” “Okay then, we should head back to HQ to try your hand at some packages.” Derpy smiled. Groaning a little, but not too loudly, I nodded my head. This was going to be a bit harder for me since my previous body was pretty weak, making my current body slightly weaker. I had already experienced that back in the Everfree. With a nod of Derpy’s head, we set off on the quickest route back, I hoped. “Well then, seems like you two make a nice team.” said Ms. Crate as she looked over us. “You wanted some packages to deliver, correct?” We both nodded. Checking the list to her right, the dark-green mare smiled. “Hmm, seems it’s your lucky day. There’s four barrels of cider ready to be delivered out to Sweet Apple Acres. The wagon is out the back and waiting for you.” ‘Wagon full of cider? Great, now not only do I have to lug around heavy stuff, but if Rainbow smells this, I’ll have to fight her off as well.’ I thought with a sigh. “Alright then, I’ll give it my best.” “Good!” Ms. Crate exclaimed. “Packages are the most important items we deliver here, so hopefully you’ll be good at it.” Neither pony commented on my expression of angst lazily waiting for it all to be over so I could go back to bed. Hooking up didn't seem so bad at first, but dang those things are heavy! Thankfully I still had the letter-delivering saddle on so it didn't really caff at my fur. The metal didn't seem too rusted either. Either way, it was still freaking heavy so I figured out a bit of magic to lighten the harness. Air magic, thank you. “Come on! It can’t be that hard to pull!” Derpy encouraged. “Yeah, sure. It’s just lugging a heavy cider-filled wagon across Ponyville. That’s nothing compared to lugging anvils to odd places.” I said, voice filled to the brim with sarcasm. “That was one time! How do you even-” the grey mare started, sighing with shame. “Nevermind, I’m sorry. I guess I’m getting a little carried away with my sarcasm.” I joked. “I’ll tone it down for you. But seriously, this thing takes endurance to lug around even with the light spell I used.” “Yeah, I kinda see what you mean. I’d help you out, but the wagon is only able to hook up to one pony at a time.” I nodded. “Don’t worry about it. If it gets a bit too much for me, I’ll rest.” With another nod from Derpy, we kept going, the wall-eyed mare keeping an eye on the barrels as best she could. After a while, sweat came down my forehead. Derpy swished down to give me a little cool breeze. Smiling and giving a nod, I figured we were about another ten minutes from the Acres if I picking up the pace, so that’s what I did. Bad idea. Five minutes was all it took to make me slow my pace to a stop and drop to the ground. “Well look who we have here.” A brash female voice said a few feet away from me. “Seems you've scooted to a stop.” From my side, I saw Derpy glaring at who could only be Rainbow Dash. Mustering up some energy, I gave a weak comeback. “I don’t see you... *pant* carrying four barrels... *pant* of cider.” “Cider? No wonder you’re so exhausted! You haven’t drank any yet!” The rainbow-maned pegasus exclaimed with a smirk. “These are going to Applejack’s, Rainbow. Blu’s helping me deliver things today to see if he qualifies for the job.” Derpy explained with a bit of agitation, then softening her voice. “Could you help us out for a second?” Rainbow sighed, but put on a warm smile. “Yeah, I can help you out. Promise I can have a bit of cider though?” “Maybe,” I added in. “But we don’t know the exact story behind this delivery so we’ll have to ask Applejack when we get there.” Rainbow nodded and turned to Derpy, nodding once again. In time, they pulled me back to my hooves. “Okay, on three, we start pushing the wagon and you run your flank off!” The speedy mare ordered. ‘This probably isn't the best idea... “Oh crap!!!” The wagon started moving at high speeds as the countdown reached three. Thanks to another quick lightener spell, I was able to keep the pace relatively well, but this quite pushed me to my limits. “Woohoo!” cried Rainbow Dash from behind the wagon. Flying definitely had it’s advantages, which I sadly did not have. I don’t mind though, since it gives me more time to work on magic. Though if I ever wanted to be a pegasus, it’d be now. “Isn't this a little unsafe for the cider?!” warned Derpy over the sound of the wind. “Who cares! We’ll be at the farm in no time, so there’s no chance for something to go wrong!” countered Rainbow. You know what this means, don’t you? “My eyes doesn't seem to be doing well at high speeds guys!” shouted the grey pegasus. “I don’t think I can keep this up for much longer without-” *THUMP* -8- Nightly ExplorationWelcome to Equestria! The First Arc... ~~~~Chapter 8~~~~ ~~~~Nightly Exploration~~~~ Anyone like world-building? Think you know everything there is to know about Ponyville? Well, I’ll tell you one thing. You don’t even know the half of it! Luna sure makes nice nights... ~Blu and Hotshot ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ “No-no-no-no-no!” I said as the race to keep the cart moving sped on. Derpy had accidentally bashed into Rainbow Dash and the cart, making it speed a little faster than I was, and I was going full gallop already. The cart bumped my rump as I felt the harness go forward on my back. With a last effort, I dived forward, unfortunately letting the cart rise into the air and begin to flip. Closing my eyes, I used my magic to slow down the barrels the best I could. The ground rumbled and a crack sounded through my ears. “Well,” I thought to myself. “There goes that job...” “Derpy?” I wondered out loud as the dust settled around us. “Rainbow?” “Derpy, I do NOT see how you’re still on the delivery team!” said an annoyed pegasus from a few feet away. “I usually don’t go that fast, or my eyes screw up...” The low voice of the wall-eyed mare explained. “I tried warning you guys, but I was too late.” “Don’t worry about it, accidents happen.” I ensured while I slowly got back up on my hooves. “Yeah, that’s true.” admitted the cyan pony. “How are the barrels?” “Yeah, how are th’ barrels?” The southern-accented mare asked with a bit of an annoyed tint to it. Turning my head around, I found the most obvious holder of the voice. “Err, hey Applejack. Good to see you again.” “Yeah, you too. Though ah’d like to know why there’s a bunch of barrels and a broken wagon on my land.” she persisted. “By the looks of it, they don’t look too bad ‘cept for one.” Derpy stepped forward. “There was a bit of a turbulence ‘cause of me. I accidently bashed into Rainbow Dash and the wagon and Blu couldn’t keep up, and-” “Hold on, it wasn’t all your fault.” Rainbow interrupted, getting up and trotting up beside me to face the orange earth-pony. “I kinda sped the wagon up a bit too much so Derpy had her little eye-messing up thing and he isn’t that fast. No offence.” “Well, I appreciate you owning up to it.” the stetson-wearing mare smiled. “That doesn’t seem like a simple bump though.” “Dives were never my best plans of action.” I said plainly. “Ah, figures. Alright then. You check on the broken barrel, Derpy and Rainbow, you make sure the other barrels are fine and upright, and I’ll take a look at the wagon to assess the damage.” All three of us nodded to her orders and got to work. After looking at the crack in the barrel for five minutes straight, I got nothing. “Baaaaah. I can do air magic, make tornado’s, levitate things, probably even teleport, yet I can’t fix a simple wooden crack?” I complained to myself quietly. “Least powerful unicorn ever...” "Are you alright sugarcube?" Applejack came up behind me. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just can’t fix the darn crack in the barrel.” I responded. “Might have to get another barrel.” Rainbow Dash and Derpy came up beside us, reporting that the other barrels okay. “You look like you need some help.” Derpy speculated. “Hmm, maybe Sweetie Belle could do it, since she’s the sister of a seamstress and all.” she suggested. “Sweetie Belle?” Applejack whistled loudly with a high pitch. How exactly, I don’t know, but Equestria was not a place to question logic. Either way, Winona came running. “Could you run and get Sweetie Belle from the treehouse? You might have to take the whole group, but that doesn’t matter too much. Get to it!” With a nod, the loyal dog ran in the assumed direction of the treehouse. “Smart dog.” I mentioned with a somewhat gaping mouth. “Yep, she’s sure energetic. Reminds me of the time we herded the cows right past Ponyville.” the orange mare reminisced with a chuckle. “Anyway, the important thing to know is if she’s going full speed, she’ll be back in only a couple of minutes.” I nodded. True to her words, the dog came back along with the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Ohhh boy... “You’ve already met Applebloom, there’s Sweetie Belle, and that’s Scootaloo.” Applejack introduced. “Hi!” “Hey!” “‘Sup!” the fillies greeted respectively. “Hey there girls, you ready to help us out?” I asked, knowing the answer. The three nodded. “Cutie Mark Crusader Repairers go!” they yelled energetically. I chuckled at their enthusiasm. “Where do we start?” I thought for a second. “Hmm, Applebloom, you help out your sister with the wagon over there, Sweetie Belle, I need some help with this barrel, and Scootaloo...” I thought for a little. I had no idea what to assign her. “How about you find that missing wheel that popped off? And maybe get a bit of extra wood incase we need it?” the stetson-wearing mare beside me suggested. Scootaloo nodded in content. “Me and Derpy will go with her.” Rainbow Dash added in. It was obvious that she was trying to keep the clumsy grey mare out of trouble, which I mentally thanked her for it. “Alright, let’s get to it then.” I nodded with a smirk. As the group dispersed to their tasks, I was left with the high-pitched unicorn that held a curious expression. “So, why do you need my help?” she asked. A small blush appeared on my cheeks. “Well, thing is, my magic isn’t really strong and I can’t seem to fix this crack in the barrel. Do you know any seamstress magic that could perhaps seal it back together?” “Rarity is way better at seamstress stuff than me, but I think I can try this one spell she taught me.” she figured hopefully. “Lemme see the crack.” I pointed it out on the lopside barrel. Sweetie nodded and her horn began to glow and her eyes shut. The crack began to glow as well, albeit a little weaker. At first the crack slowly started to repair itself and then *crack* by this time the crack became bigger than it was before while cider was starting to spill out. “Save the cider!” I heard Rainbow exclaim from a distance. “I got it!” I shouted back with my horn glowing, gathering up wind to slowly collect what was left of the pouring liquid. By the time I was finished I had a wind barrel holding the liquid. "That’s one way to use that wind magic." Applejack said with a chuckle. “Err, yeah. Now what?” I asked with a slight bit of strain. “I can’t hold this forever.” “Pour it on me!” the cider-deprived pegasus pleaded loudly. “Not a chance.” the orange farm-mare stated bluntly. “Go and get a new barrel from the barn and maybe you can have- *fwoosh* -some.” “Ciiiiiiideeeeer!” a speedy pegasus sped coming back to the straining unicorn and company holding a nice unbroken barrel. Luckily, she slowed down enough to stop only few feet from the mid-air cider barrel. “Okay, good. Applebloom, could you crack open the lid for us?” Applejack asked, in which the bow-wearing filly nodded and got the nearby crowbar. With a nice *pop*, the lid opened. “Euuuuugh.” Blu groaned as he manipulated the wind further to funnel the apple-scented liquid into the barrel. “Ewwww, metal-y.” Applebloom complained, making a large *pbbbbt* sound. “Don’t worry about it, we’ll get that taste out of your mouth later.” Scootaloo assured. “I just got an idea for another way we could help out. To the kitchen!” The fillies eyes sparkled. “Cutie Mark Crusader Apple Chefs!” Before anypony could object, the small force of creative destruction were on its way. Applejack exasperated a long sigh. “Never a dull moment around here, is there?” “Seems not.” I chuckled, then remembered the letter and got it out of the mailbag. “Oh, now that that’s over, you might want this.” With a nod, the freckled mare took the letter and opened it up. “Hmm, well that’s quite interesting. “Dear AJ, how’s the applebucking going? Hope its doing well. Also remembered it’s almost cider season, so I got some extra cider barrels from our place and sent them along their way over there to you. Hope they got there okay and good luck to your rainbow friend since I hear she is really unlucky when it comes to cider. Hope to hear from you soon. ~Braeburn”” “Huh, he actually remembered me. Cool. I mean, of course he remembered me. I’m the fastest pegasus ever, there’s no way he’d forget me.” Rainbow Dash bragged. “Yeah yeah.” Applejack said, brushing off the prideful speedster. “Blu, do you mind hooking yourself back up to the wagon and hauling these to the barn. I know you won’t crash, as long as Rainbow doesn’t speed you up or Derpy derps up again. No offence.” “I’m alright. I kinda don’t mind it anymore. I gotta see him through the delivery though.” the grey pegasus reminded. “Ah, that makes sense. You joined the Ponyville delivery service.” the stetson-wearing mare speculated. “It’s more of a trial run. Anyway, the wagon good to go?” I asked. “Yup, was just a wheel that fell off. It’s good now. Need help hooking up?” she offered. “Nope.” I declined. “Just give me a second and I’ll be ready to go.” With a nod, I headed over to the wagon with the new barrel in my magical grasp. “Remind me again why I signed up for this.” I groaned. “When I said I was ready to do this, I think I lied.” “Stop your complaining, and the word you’re looking for is mistaken.” Applejack reminded. “Anyway, it’s only a bit more to go. You can do that.” I huffed, but nodded. She was right of course, but I do have a bad habit of complaining when I walk, or trot in this case. Nevertheless, it didn’t actually take very long. “Alright, that should be good. Thanks for bringing them over.” the country-pony thanked. “And thanks for helping us out. I would have been screwed if it weren’t for you.” I responded. “No issue at all. Ponyville folk aren’t as impatient or forgiving as some in Manehattan. Plus, we’re used to disaster every once in awhile, so something like this wasn’t a problem.” she explained. “Now how about you ponies take some cider for the road.” Pulling out some flasks and a wooden tap, she handed Derpy and I two flasks each, filled to the brim with cider. Catching the look on Rainbow’s face, Applejack smirked. “10 bits and you can have the rest of the barrel.” “Deal!” the rainbow pegasus exclaimed with a big smile on her face. Derpy looked up to the sky. “Blu, I think we’re late.” “Hmm, for what?” I asked curiously. “Oh, I forgot to mention earlier. Me and Muffin Drop usually hang out at Sugercube Corner for a little at the end of the work day. I’m guessing Muffin invited Hotshot over for the same reason, so we should probably put the wagon back and turn in.” “Alright, I’ll hook up again and try out this cider. Thanks again, Applejack.” I said, hooking up and taking a small swig of cider, wonderful cider. “No problem, just be more careful and everything will be fine.” she reminded. With a nod, me and Derpy went on our way. ~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~ “Hey! You guys finally made it” Muffin exclaimed happily. “Speaking of which, what took you guys so long?” I added with a questioning look. “Two words: Rainbow, and Cider.” Blu said with a blush. “Seems legit.” I responded with a chuckle to his blush. “Speaking of which, how is the cider?” Muffin chimed in. “The cider is fine.” Derpy assured. “And quite delicious.” Blu added. “You got some as well?” I asked with an arched eyebrow. “Indeed.” He responded with a mischievous smile. “You lucky pony.” the purple pegasus said in mock. “Well,” Derpy started “We do have some more if you're interested.” she said while she pulled out four large flasks full of fresh cold cider. “Wow, I can’t wait to try some.” I said as i grabbed the flask with my magic and put it around my neck. “Now why don’t we head into Sugarcube Corner and we can have some cupcakes on me” Muffin said as we entered said establishment. “Why, if it isn’t my two new friends! Oh, and hi Derpy. Hey Muffin Drop.” the pink hostess greeted. “What’ll it be?” “We’ll have four of your specialty cupcakes.” Muffin said. “Wait, what do you mean speciality?” Blu asked, mind flashing back to a famous fic that he never had the stomach to read. “Just some cupcakes with some unique ingredients. They’re delicious!” the jumpy pony said with excitement as Blu and I shot a look at each other both thinking the same thing. “As I was saying four of your specialty cupcakes please!” Muffin re-ordered. “Coming right up.” she said with enthusiasm. “Just have a seat and I’ll bring you the cupcakes.” We did as she said and took a seat. Within minutes, we were given the four specialty cupcakes, consisting of a vanilla cupcake base with rainbow-colored icing. I looked up at Blu, his face turning partly green with sickness, meanwhile looking to see Muffin and Derpy wolfing down their cupcakes. Seeing this I took an experimental bite of the cupcake, looking up once more at Blu’s face that was even more green than it was before it tasted..... Delicious! Despite the fanfic I read, I wolfed down my cupcake in ten seconds flat, looking at Blu once again and giving a nod saying it was ok to eat it, wondering if that’s what he was waiting for. Just then, I saw him take the experimental bite only to see his gone faster than I ate mine. “Wow!” Blu exclaimed loudly. “These are amazing!” he said with everyone in the room staring at him and I simply face-hoofed myself right there. A little time passed and I realized I hadn't even tried the cider yet so I grabbed the flask with my magic. With the lid close to my lips, there was a sudden noise to the side of us. “There you two-! Oh, hey, Derpy, Muffin Drop. It’s been a while.” the lavender mare greeted abruptly. “Anyway, I need you two for a quick checkup. It won’t take long, I promise.” she assured, looking at me and Blu. “Well, at least I got to eat that cupcake.” I sighed. “Alright, let’s go then.” “Gee, thanks for ditching us.” Muffin said in mock sarcasm. “But really, I guess it’s fine. Derpy and I need to talk for a bit. Meet us back at the inn in half an hour?” “I don’t see why not.” Blu piped in. I nodded as well. “Alright, see you guys later.” she said while Derpy waved a hoof. “So, do we have to do that extensive testing stuff again?” I asked as we walked through the door to the library. “I don’t think so. Just a few brief questions, stuff since we last tested, that type of thing.” she assured. “What type of questions?” Blu asked in curiosity. “Magic use, friendship lessons, physical exertion.” the studious mare listed. “Celestia let me know a couple things and I’m basically your line of communication to her until the Summer Sun Celebration.” “Figures.” I said plainly. “Well, I can list off a couple things..” “Wait! What did Celestia tell you?” Blu asked once again. “Relax, anything she told Twilight is safe for her to know. If it isn’t, she wouldn’t know.” I told him a little softly, though not softly enough to avoid the faithful student’s ears. “Anything I needed to know, I know.” she defended. “Though if there’s any other information you’d like to mention, that would be helpful.” she finished with a cynical smile. “I think we’re good.” my blue unicorn friend said slowly. He obviously wasn’t used to seeing that smile very often. I chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, I think he’s a bit paranoid and doesn’t want you to know about a certain crush.” I ended with a whisper, also earning a swift nudge to my side. “Err, okay then.” Twilight said with her smile diminishing into one a bit more awkward with a small blush. A small cough put it in it’s place, mostly. “Anyway, let me get my paper and write down your recent experiences. Put in as much detail as you like.” After our recent experiences of the day were written, there was one last question. “Can you two name any specific lessons you’ve learned today?” “Erm, how about ‘Those who run fast shall stumble?’ Like that one Slender Skim guy said.” I started. “Yeah,” Blu continued for me. “I kinda learned it the hard way when Rainbow helped push the wagon to its sorry ‘accident’.” “Good, good. Second day in Ponyville and you’ve already learned something. It’s not exactly a friendship lesson, but it’s close enough.” Of course it wasn’t a friendship lesson, but like she said it was close enough that it hit me. “Where are we going to stay for the night?” I blurted out suddenly. Blu blinked. “Oh fudgesicle, I do believe you have a point for once.” I nudged him briefly. “Derp. I don’t really want to spend our hard-earned bits on the inn again.” “You think we could convince Muffin Drop or Derpy to house us for a night or two?” he suggested back. “Or you could sleep with Twilight.” I suggested with a laugh, and then came the glare. “Oh please, I’m kidding.” “Well, I do have some room down here if you really wanted to, but I don’t know if I could house the both of you.” the lavender mare piped back in with a small blush. “I’ll go somewhere else. Blu, you can stay here and I’ll house with Derpy or Muffin.” I offered. The blue pony sighed and looked down, but not before I caught the slight smile on his muzzle. “Okay then, but if you can’t, we can probably go back to the inn before we find a more solid place to sleep.” “If I can’t, I’ll head to the Inn myself you can stay here.” I countered. “Same price for one room. That’s it, that’s the deal.” he countered back, raising a hoof. “I could argue about this for another few minutes but that would get us nowhere so let’s just meet the other two at the inn.” I said, not wanting this to go farther in front of Twilight. Giving him a brohoof to seal the deal and bidding farewell to Twilight we headed out. Surprisingly, we could still navigate around Ponyville at night. We walked inside the inn only to find Derpy eating a tasty muffin and four flasks on the table, not surprisingly, they were all empty. ‘I knew we shouldn’t have left those flasks with them.. I thought in regret, but hey, it was just Equestria’s best cider. I piped up vocally, “Hey, where’s Muffin Drop?” I asked. “Over here.” the voice from the other table said. “I almost fell asleep waiting for you guys. Why do you guys always take so long?” “Just a small argument about where we’re going to sleep tonight. Blu wants to sleep with Twilight.” I joked. “Your kidneys will be mine if you keep spreading that around.” Blu warned. “Oh don’t be so serious.” I countered once again, trying to keep the mood light. “We don’t want to spend 20 bits on a room in the inn tonight. Last night was free since we did that one job for Mayor Mare.” “I have a bit of room I think.” Muffin Drop offered. “Only if you feel comfortable sleeping on the same bed as me.” she said with a wink. “Err, I’m not so sure.” I said with a blush forming. “Oh, am I not the only one with a crush now?” Blu chuckled. “Shut up. At least she offered it. Now you can cuddle with Twilight.” “I was joking actually.” the purple pegasus laughed. “There is a bit of floor space I can offer, but that’s about it.” “Why if it ain’t the four ponies from this morning.” we heard from behind the counter. “Hey Skim.” I said, waving a wing. “I hear you’re looking for a place to stay for the night” he said. “Yeah, that would be him.” Muffin said as she pointed towards me. “OK, well here’s the deal: One of my employees couldn’t come in tonight so how about you work the night shift and you’ll receive a free room and let’s say, 10 bits?” he said with a raised eyebrow. “When do I have come to this job?” I asked. “Well, it’s still quite early so how about in two hours?” he suggested. “I can handle anything that’s thrown at me for a while, since it’s usually a small crowd, but come a couple hours from now and it does get a bit busy for one pony alone.” I nodded. “Sound good then.” “I’ll research a bit of magic at Twilight’s when you have to go. It shouldn’t be too hard.” Blu figured. “Alright, but what do we do until then?” I asked plainly. “We’re going to go see Ponyville.” Muffin Drop bounced back into the conversation. “That was the plan Derpy and I made before you two took so long. Two hours should be alright.” “For all of Ponyville?” Blu questioned. The two pegasi giggled, Derpy getting up from her spot and stretching out. Muffin did the same and walked up to us with a sly smile. “You’ll see.” ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ “So where are we going exactly? I asked. “Dude! That’s the fifth time you’ve asked.” Hotshot said as he shot him a look. “You’re worse than a little filly!” Muffin agreed. “Well, if the smart one of the group would tell me, I wouldn’t have to ask, now would I?” I shot back sarcastically. “Well, I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of a surprise right?” she questioned teasingly. “Or are you too much of a filly to know what that is?” “I’m more intellectual than the three of you combined. It doesn’t take a filly to know what it is, it just takes a simple.. realization that you’re probably going to tease me for the rest of the walk, aren’t you?” I said, ending slowly as I proved my own point. “Trust me you’re going to want to save your energy for where we’re going.” Derpy said after being quiet for so long. “If you say so then.” I sighed as the walk kept going. “Uh, guys?” the green pony asked as his ears peaked toward a nearby building. “You hear that sound?” Muffin Drop smiled. “Music to my ears, my fine green friend.” It only took a few more moments until we were right in front of the bright neon sign that shone: “Club Ponyville: Vinyl Records and Cold Bottles” Outside the club stood a black-suited bouncer and a few posts that held a lineup. That is, if there was one. “Hey there, bud!” the purple pegasus greeted to the bouncer warmly, having to speak louder from the amplified music inside. “How’s the club doing tonight?!” “Could be better, but it’s roomy enough in there, so that’s probably good for you and.. Well now, who’s your friends?” the stallion asked with a raised eyebrow. “Just Hotshot and Blu. They came into town yesterday I think. You were there last night at that ‘surprise’ party, weren’t you Derpy?” Muffin asked her curiously. The grey mare simply nodded in response. “Long story short, we met them, helped them get a shot at work here, and it’s been a long day. You mind letting us in so we can have some fun?” “Always a pleasure to have you around, just remember to watch out for your friends in there. You know how it is.” We all nodded to this, though I was a little bit nervous. Hotshot wasn’t fooling anyone either with a slight tensing of his body as we went inside. The scene was quite dark, besides the array of lights inside. Hotshot was the first to comment on this. “I.. Don’t know what I expected. I mean, this is a pretty typical club scene that I always imagined, it’s just. I can’t really see too well in here.” “I get what you mean. This is pretty cool though, and the music is awesome as ever.” I commented. Derpy smiled. “Ohh, I love this song!” she exclaimed as she started singing. Shutting out the universe, Your adventure is your curse, You never want to say goodbyeeyyeeyyee.. “No wonder this music is so good! Look who’s the DJ!” Hotshot said pointing to the booth. Vinyl Scratch spotted the four of us and gave a wave, then continued headbanging as we weren’t very close to the booth for speaking distance in this place. “You know what? Why don’t we get a drink?!” Muffin suggested. “Why not!” I said, lightening up for a little. “Finally, some tasty liquid! Order up!” the Alicorn yelled in excitement. A few minutes after, and we were chilling at one of the tables along the inner walls of the building. I held a nice peppermint-flavoured schnapps, Muffin Drop, a raspberry liquor, Derpy Hooves, a cherry vodka, and finally, Hotshot got his well deserved cider mixed with some ice cold whisky. “Ah, this is actually quite nice.” I commented happily, one of my favorite drinks at hoof. “So, what do you two usually do here, besides drink?” “Mmm, stuff.” Derpy answered vaguely. “Drinking is fun though.” “It’s not the only thing though.” Muffin Drop assured responsibly. Although, by the second round of drinks, it seemed Hotshot sided with Derpy and already seemed to feel a warm buzz from the alcohol. This also caused him to fall to Muffin Drop’s side in a slight daze. The pegasus, luckily for him, didn’t seem to mind. I giggled like a filly at the sight, while he gave me a glare that easily said ‘I know what will make you stop laughing.’ I did stop eventually when an announcement rang from the booth. “Hello everypony!” Vinyl called from the booth. “This is your obviously rockin’ DJ here with an announcement! Every able pony that can dance, sober or drunk, now is your time to dance it out on the dance floor! Let’s make this club BOUNCE!” A look to Hotshot’s side showed Muffin Drop downing her drink and showing a smug smile. “You. Me. Floor. Now!” she ordered boldly. His first dance with a buzz in his system; at least he doesn’t have to worry about stepping on her toes. Derpy also looked to me sitting beside her. Most likely a look of ‘Monkey see, monkey dance.’ Hotshot gave a chuckle. “You’re coming too, there’s no avoiding it.” I shrugged and hopped down. It seemed I could hold what was in me a little better than Hotshot could. Or my drink was just lighter than his most likely. Though I had just enough in me to stop caring and blindly go where my hooves took me. This was going to be fun. Luckily, both for our bit pouches and stomachs, that was about it for alcohol. The dancing went pretty well though. No major wrong moves, other than possibly me warming up to Derpy too much. I ended up blushing for a minute straight. We left the club. I was slightly drunk, Muffin more drunk, both Hotshot and Derpy fully intoxicated. Our multitude of hooves started walking in the direction of some hills just outside of Ponyville. “So, was that fun or what?” the tipsy purple pegasus asked as we walked. “Yes, I think that went quite well.“ Hotshot commented, looking over to me. I must have been still blushing, as I was keeping a little distance from my grey pegasus friend. I did kinda like her, along with Twilight, but I was uncertain what to do about it. Maybe I’d talk with Hotshot later about it. “Where are we heading now anyway?” I asked, looking forward at the hills. “Just a spot we sometimes chill after spending time at the club.” Derpy answered. “It get’s a little musty in there from all the dancing.” I nodded. Even with the remaining buzz in my system, I could still feel a bit of stink and sweat we worked up. The soft wind outside was enough to deal with both issues as they faded into nothingness. There wasn’t much to add after that so we simply enjoyed the peacefulness of the night as we walked up to the hill. When we got there, we laid down in the grass next to each other and just stared at the stars. “The sky is sure beautiful tonight.” Hotshot said with a dumb look on his face due to the alcohol. “Yeah, Luna likes her nights.” I figured. “I wonder who’s dream she’s invading tonight.” Muffin said with a smile on her face. We all gave her a bewildered look. ‘I’m feeling invaded already...’ Despite the feeling, I yawned and went close to Derpy. The previous comment was shrugged off quite easily, it seemed, as Muffin Drop couldn’t help but smile a little. “That’s adorable.” The blue unicorn flailed a hoof in her direction. “Shut up, I’m tired.” “Mmm, I don’t mind it. Probably the drinks that’s doing it anyway.” “Hey, didn’t you have to be back at the inn, Hotshot?” I asked him. “Oh shoot! That’s right,” He said as he jolted up. “Anyone care to join me on the walk there?” “Sure, why not?” shrugged Muffin Drop. “Got nothing better to do.” “I should start heading to Twilight’s.” I said tiredly. “I’ll come along!” exclaimed Derpy. “Besides, you’re too drunk to walk alone anyway.” "Am not!" I retaliated with a laugh. "Though the company would be nice, thanks." She nodded with a grin and we all parted in our coupled groups. In light of all that happen, the walk to Twilight's wasn't very eventful, besides having to keep Derpy on course, but that wasn't a problem with her almost leaning up against me. "Blu, do you like Twilight?" she asked curiously. I looked at her with as much curiosity. "Well, yeah, she's a leader, she's kind, smart, cute in her own little way. I can't really do anything about it yet, cause we need to hang out way more before I should even think about it. But in short, yeah, I do like her." She nodded. "You need any help with it? I dunno what I could do, but I could be your wingpony! Err, if you need me, that is." I blushed a little. I hadn't even thought of getting help from her, but since she offered.. "I'd love the help, thanks." I gave her a small nuzzle to show said thanks, which emitted a blush from my pegasus friend too. How she was going to help, I had no idea, but I didn't have time to figure it out as we reached the door to the giant tree. "Thanks for walking me here, Derpy." She smiled cutely. "No problem. See you tomorrow." I nodded, and with that, she took off. As I watched her go, she lopsided to the left, but quickly straightened herself out. "Hmm, maybe I should have walked her home instead of the other way around." I thought to myself, but as I turned and knocked on the door, the thought left my mind as fast as it came. Not that I didn't care if she made it home alright or not by the way, but more so, I knew Derpy knew this town better than I did. Oh, and because I had Twilight to focus on. "Who's there?" a feminine voice rang from inside. "Blu." I responded simply. "What's your quest?" she questioned again. "To get inside, it's a little chilly out here, you know." This was likely because there was some sweat left on me, but I didn't want to mention that. "Alright, how many times did you just knock?" "Uhh, seven?" I said slowly with my eyebrow raised. The door suddenly opened, revealing the purple mare with a smile on her face. "Well done, you passed my test. I was checking if you still had a buzz in your system." "Wait, how did you-?" "I happen to look out my window and saw you and Derpy walking close together. And it isn't really that late so I didn't suppose she was just tired. So on a hunch, I wanted to have a little fun." she ended with a giggle. I sighed with a chuckle. “Fun?” “Do you think I regularly quote ‘Monty Pony and the Holy Horseshoe’ when someone knocks on the door?” she asked with a hunched eyebrow. I smiled and shook my head. "I see your point. Can I come in now?" She nodded and allowed me to enter, shutting the door behind me. Author's Note It's been a long time, ha. One giant unmarked hiatus and here we are again. This isn't to say we won't be busy with other things still, but it's not likely we'll stop this anytime soon. Let us know in the comments below what we need to make this story not only exciting to read, but exciting to write too. :) Thanks for holding onto it those that have, and those that are just finding this now or in the future, make yourself at home and hold on to your hooves. -1- Being a Brony/Meeting Celestia Welcome To Equestria! The Pre-Arc.. ~~~~Chapter One~~~~ ~~~~Being a Brony/Meeting Celestia~~~~ Hey, Blu and Hotshot here. This tale is quite an interesting one. Of course, no one's going to believe it because it's just too outright crazy, but I'm putting it here so me and my friend Hotshot can remember it forever. Believe it, or just enjoy. ~Blu and Hotshot Our epic adventure started with a letter Dear Princess Celestia... I doubt you even know of our existence, however powerful. We, me and my friend Hotshot, have been living our lives calmly, but also hectically. A lot of stuff happens here in our world. It seems completely busy with everything it can get it's hands (hooves) on. There are some moments where we get some peace, but work will pile up if we are not careful. There is also war that happens here. Some large, some small, and some in our hearts. We, however, aim to stay out of them, physically at least. Enough of that. The chance you'll read all this is practically none anyway but alas, we are writing this to get things off our minds when we cannot do that with anyone else. The hecticness of our lives currently is what's troubling us at the time. Hotshot's family has always been discorded to him (no pun intended to the chaotic god himself), and as for myself, my friends have been diminishing. However, if you do happen to stumble upon this letter and you indeed have the power to help the two of us, I ask that you do and in return we will serve you diligently and with great loyalty with whatever you may need us to do. Your otherworldly human fans and hopeful servants, ~Blu and Hotshot ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ Now, we hadn't had a hope to send it so the next day, we just burnt the letter. It wasn't too big of an event. I invited Hotshot over to my place to have a fire-pit and I had a copy of the letter printed out. He suggested we taint the fire green to have more of an effect, like in the show when Spike sends his letters with his green fire. We talked a little about how things were going while the fire crackled and spit out small shards of wood that ended up burning to ash he prepared the color effect that he came up with to put in the fire. "This would be way easier if Spike was here." He joked. But in the end the effect was well worth the preparation. I rolled the letter up and tied a string around it so we could toss it in together. It landed on top of the fire as we watched the paper burn in the green flames. All of a sudden, there was a small gust of wind! The small remains of the letter went up in the sky and with a flash, it was gone. Neither of us knew what to think at the time. Maybe it was pure coincidence. Maybe it was something more. Either way, he stayed over in case anything decided to happen and also just to hang out for a little more. Unknown to us at the time, Celestia stood as she received the letter. ~~~~Viewpoint: Princess Celestia~~~~ “Hmm...? What might this be? It’s almost time for me to rest and Twilight sends me a letter now?” She picked up the letter with her magic and read it, noticing immediately the writing was from another world. Reading it however, made her realize the circumstances of the situation. A royal guard was stationed next to the door as Celestia burst out of it, causing him to fall flat on his rump. “Princess?! Is there a problem afoot?” He asked, not sure of what else to do since it was only his second day on the job. “I need to see my sister. It isn’t too much of a worry but I feel like it may make a difference if I can do something about it tonight.” She replied and started walking to Luna’s usual place where she prepares to raise the moon. “Don’t take too long, Princess! You still need to lower the sun and get some rest.” The guard called after her, but his message did not reach her ears. The Princess of the Sun kept up her pace. Tonight was not going to be a boring night. Honestly though, she wanted, no, NEEDED to relieve some of her boredom that had been going on recently. Honestly, who ever heard of a boring Equestria?! ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ Here is where our side of the story gets unbelievable. It seemed Luna blessed us with some quite amazing dreams that night. Celestia reigned in our dreams as we slept and her face was seen throughout them. The morning after, we discussed our dreams and we found them both to be consisting of Celestia's watchful eyes. Little did we know, even then, the watch was being continued. The weekend had come and gone and soon we were back to our separate schools. Spring break was on the way on the next weekend so we tended to our lives as we usually did, but promised to meet up once again on friday to discuss things again. And it was so. We met once again and discussion went on for a while as each detail was brought up. However, the details were too fuzzy to really work off of. It was a bit annoying to have a sinking feeling that someone is watching us, especially in a dream. Being the bronies we are, we joked about Luna having a hand at the dreams. Little did we know that’s exactly what was happening. A couple days went by and we both continued to have the dreams. Celestia’s mane flowed like a flag while we slept. Finally, it was safe to say we’d had enough. Originally, the plan was to just send another letter to ask what was happening. (or of course bang our heads against a hard surface to see if we could get enough brain damage to make the feeling go away, but that was out of the question before it even got to the table.) The plan, however, changed for us. Celestia was also having enough of just researching us and decided to arrive at Hotshot’s backyard. The display of her just arriving was so majestic we couldn’t believe our eyes. It was every Brony’s dream come true to have the ruler of the mystical land of Equestria pretty much right before you. The sight was also a bit scary, despite the Princess only being our height, but hey, magical pony, ya never know what could happen if you encounter one. We invited her in since we were lucky enough to have Hotshot’s parents out at the time. Thus, the conversation of a lifetime started. ~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~ “I have received your letter.” She said with a concerned face. “Yet I wonder how you got it to me from another world altogether...” Blu and I exchanged looks that would have been perfect for the camera. “Well you see, Blu and I just decided that with the fire we through the letter in we would make it look more like the show how spike blows the green fire to send you letters.” I explained, ”After we burnt the letter a gust of wind came out of nowhere and we thought it was just coincidence, but as it turns out it obviously wasn’t.” “About this “show” you talk about as well...” The Princess of the Sun started. “Could you explain exactly how you know about us and some specifics of our world?” “That’s a bit simple, princess.” Blu jumped into the conversation. “You’re basically part of what we humans call a cartoon called My Little Pony, which was intended for young human girls, and it was for about three generations, not mentioning 3.5. However, in it’s fourth generation created by an amazing human named Lauren Faust, that’s when we older males came in. Thus, it started to grow into this large group of fans known as the MLP Fandom or what’s usually called “The Bronies”. “I see.” Celestia said with a face of remembrance. “There was once another alicorn that called herself Faust in Equestria. From what I remember, she was around before I started controlling the sun. She may be the Faust you are speaking of.” The Alicorn cleared her throat before continuing. “But enough of the past, I’d like to tell you a bit of why I am here now.” Blu and I both gave a small nod as we were still processing all the information we were getting. “I have studied you for the past few days.” She explained. “What I have observed has been quite interesting, after awhile I could tell you had your suspicions which revealed you two aren’t foals, I have also realized that you both if given the chance could wield one of the elements, Hotshot with Loyalty and Blu with Magic and that could come in good use in Equestria, another particularly interesting thing i’ve noticed you both have your own designs of yourselves as ponies.” “Well yes. You see, that's how we wanted to look like if we ever were to head to Equestria.” I explained. “As for the cutie marks we want those as well if possible, and now knowing how you’ve been keeping track of us you have probably seen how our abilities played out in our dreams” She simply nodded. “ I'm not sure about what we’ll do about the Cutie Marks but I’ll think of something.” She cleared her throat once again, “Though I'm afraid it won’t be all fun and games when you go to Equestria, for there is the matter of what will happen here as well when you leave.” “What exactly do you mean by that?” Questioned Blu. “When you leave here, people will notice your absence and I cannot guarantee your relatives acceptance of your pony forms and circumstances of departure." The Princess of the Sun said. “Alright, we can try and deal with that, hopefully.” Commented Blu. “Will we be able to switch between human and pony form if we need?” “I’ll have to work out a bit of the detail, but I’m sure it’s possible.” Celestia said as she nodded. “How about switching worlds?” I added in with a curious expression. “That will be up to you.” She answered. “You will both have the power to transport yourselves when you’re in pony form, but only together will you enough power. Along with that, you can’t tell anyone of where you truly came from or of this occurrence.” “That might be a bit too difficult if we are to explain this to our parents.” Blu said with a sigh. “Ah, yes, this isn't your own roof...” The white alicorn nodded with a hoof to her chin. “I think I can help with that...”
-2- Transformations Welcome to Equestria The Pre-Arc.. ~~~~Chapter Two~~~~ ~~~~Transformations~~~~ So, you didn’t think this was going to be much, eh? Probably a little entertaining, but not exactly adventure worthy? Well there’s more to come and it’s just getting started. Sit back, relax, and here’s the next part of the adventure. Enjoy! ~Blu and Hotshot ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ Celestia agreed to remain where we were conversing since our parents were going to come back soon after spending the day at the beach with my sister there too. We didn’t want to go so we were allowed to stay at Hotshot’s as long as we didn’t go out, invite anyone else over, or light the house on fire. Obviously, we kind of broke the second rule, but for the princess of the sun, she was going to be an exception to that rule. A few minutes passed as we continued to converse about various aspects of pony life and the immensity of the decision. We all agreed that it was what we wanted and possible with her magical power. The time came and our parents came back home. We weren’t sure exactly what we could do but Celestia said she had it covered. We just had to meet our parents outside and stall them for a bit. “What!” Said Hotshot in brief alarm. “How the heck are we suppose to do that?” "I have an idea." I said with a little too much ambition. “Just follow my lead, buddy.” Hotshot nodded and we stepped outside. Our parents were chatting for a little as they spotted us. A concerned look spread across their faces, but it was wiped away for a few moments as they greeted us with a smile and a wave. “Hey boy.” My dad said as he we came within speaking distance. (Side Note: That probably sounds weird, doesn’t it? Nevertheless, that’s what he calls me.) “‘Ello mate.” I replied with a small, but somewhat nervous grin. “How was the beach?” “Katepwa was quite, interesting.” Hotshot’s mom replied. His parents did not go to the beach that often. “But we enjoyed the sun, the sounds of the waves, and the relaxation.” She added with a happy sigh. ”Even though kids ended up kicking sand in our faces.” Hotshot’s dad said with a laugh. My mom changed the subject. “Why did you two meet us outside?” She asked suspiciously. “Is there something inside that you’re hiding?” “Ish...” I told her with a small grin. I never liked having to lie to my parents so I usually stuck with half-truths. “What do you mean, ‘Ish’?” My dad asked. I tried to play it as a joke, but Hotshot cut me off. “He means no there is nothing that we’re hiding.” Just then, a flash of light came from inside the house. Our dad’s raised their eyebrows and suggested we head inside. I had to force myself to keep it cool as I walked inside with Hotshot. Inside was quite the same as it was as before. Our parents could not figure out what we did so they shrugged it off for the moment. That is, until we looked in Hotshot’s room. Inside it was a little stack of books against the wall and a small filly princess reading ‘1001 ways to make Italian”. The moment I walked in, my first thought was ‘What the heck?!’ However, before I could think of the obvious ‘What are our parents going to think of this,’ My sister came inside. “Hi there!” She squeaked as she got close to the white filly. The filly looked up from the cookbook with an interesting smile. “Oh sweet Celestia...” I heard Hotshot mutter. “Well hello there little one.” Filly Celestia said. “She’s calling her the little one...” Mumbled my dad, slightly in shock at what his eyes were telling him. “My name is Princess Celestia. Though, in my current form, just Celestia would be fine.” Celestia told my sister who was still excited of the situation she had encountered. “It’s no use talking to her when she is hyped up like this.” I sighed, but somewhat happily. It was kinda hard to be stressed when a filly was just chilling with you and looking adorable. Then again, we were reminded she was here for a reason as we heard a ‘thud’ coming from behind us. “Your mom doesn’t have a history of heart attacks, does she?” Hotshot asked with a small grin on his face. “Nope.” I said with a smile of my own. ~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~ We had all gathered into the living room to discuss things. “So if you haven’t guessed already, I’m here for a reason.” The little filly said, as serious as a filly can look. Which, at the time, wasn’t too much to our parents. “Ok,” Blu’s dad responded, “And that reason is?” “These two boys have a special chance to go to Equestria with me,” she then cleared her throat, “However there are a few catches. One: Their absences will be noticed, as you would think. Two: Extreme headaches will occur when they either overwork themselves, change forms, or change worlds.” “You never mentioned anything about the headaches.” I interrupted. “I said I would work the detail out, which I did..” The white filly commented with an annoyed look “No offence, but I don’t feel comfortable with a young pony transporting my son to another world.” My dad said while I just rolled my eyes. “Ah, yes. Let me fix that for you then.” Filly Celestia said with a small smile. “You may want to shut your eyes or look away for a moment.” She warned. Our mothers looked away while our fathers were not exactly convinced. Luckily for them, the process started slow as another flash of light like we saw earlier started to envelop the filly princess, giving our dad’s enough time to shut their eyes while realizing how serious the young pony was. I shut my eyes as well, opening them after about five seconds in which I and Blu saw Celestia’s full form once again, along with the rest of the family of course seeing it for the first time. “I wish the transformation was as easy as that for you two. Too bad it isn’t though.” Princess Celestia joked. “Exactly how bad are these headaches again?” Blu asked. “Well, it’s not exactly a fast and quick transformation, so it may be quite extreme for the both of you.” She stated after regaining her composure. “I would not suggest transforming twice in a day, for that would be quite risky and potentially life-threatening.” “Well that doesn’t seem too pleasant.” I commented. “The third catch I should mention is the process will be quite straining to the body, so you may hear some, ‘unpleasant’, sounds, especially with the ears.” She groaned lowly and shuddered at the thought. Regaining composure for the second time, seriousness struck to her face. “Now that I’ve discussed this with all of you, I will ask again and allow all of you to discuss everything concerning the circumstances. Do you two still want to go to Equestria?” “Personally, those are very small catches for such an epic opportunity.” I said with a grin on my face. “I agree with you on that, buddy.” Blu said. “But, it is quite a big responsibility to travel to another world, even if we sort of know about it already. We’ll have to think about so many other things, and part of it will also be back here. Our past won’t escape us, and we’ll probably have to visit every once in awhile as well to let our parents know we’re still alive and fill them in on our adventures, even the boring ones.” “Then there’s always the fact about school as well!” My mom said. “Honestly, Equestria is a learning experience in itself.” I started. “It’s not just full of talking ponies, it’s full of Civilized talking ponies. That should mean something to you.” My voice grew in volume as I finished. Pausing for a moment to fix my voice, I continued. “We’ll drop out and say we are continuing our own studies independently, which if you think about it, that’s basically what we’re doing.” Blu shot me a wink as to say ‘Awesome job.’ I smiled as Blu’s mom prepared to speak. “That, I can’t believe I’m saying this, may actually make sense.” She said as a smile crept onto her face. Her expression changed however as another thought crossed her mind. “What about the relatives and all your friends here? Certainly you don’t want to leave them behind, do you?” “Mom...” Blu interrupted with a small sigh. “We won’t be gone forever. Maybe for starters, we’ll visit for awhile every two months. And who knows? We may be able to contact you from Equestria sooner or later.” He said with a smile as his mother hugged him briefly. Celestia’s face suggested the latter of the statement, but he chuckled it off. “Actually, I have another question.” I said. “What might that be?” Celestia said curiously. “How about our ageing process, what effect will that have on us?” I asked, slightly fearing what her response might be. “That, I’m afraid, may be quite difficult for me and for the both of you.” Celestia said as she briefly closed her eyes. “By my understanding of how this world works, you may lose many years of your lives since Equestria works different than in this world.” Moments went by as the bit of information sinked in. Out of the blue, literally, something was set to ease the mood. “YOLO!” Blu shouted as we both started laughing. He spoke up once more as the laughter died down and what was left was stern expressions from our parents. “Relax, I’m kidding. But more seriously, I think even if we lose a bit of life due to it. I’d say it’s life well spent.” “I’d have to agree with Blu on this one.” I said. Everyone nodded at this point. I turned to Celestia for one last question. “When do we leave?” “Whenever you're ready to.” said Celestia with a smile. “Okay then, let’s get...” “WAIT!!” Interrupted Blu, “Can we at least try the transformation before we go?” “Ah, right. I think it would be best if you were able to transport yourselves right away so you’re used to it when you get to Equestria.” The princess of the sun said. Focusing her magic, she summoned up two golden amulets, infused with her magic. One had a small six pointed star design for a shape, while it had a small yellow spiral outlined as a design on the inside, like a wisp of sunshine. The other was a full moon design for it’s shape designed with a navy blue orb in the middle of it, as the aqua blue color of the amulet itself perfectly blended together with the navy blue spiral that surrounded it, it looked like Luna made it. “Well no use just standing around, let’s try this out.” Blu said as Celestia hovered the amulets to us. We carefully placed them on our necks. To our surprise, they conformed to our neck sizes, which was great for us comfort-wise. Blu looked at me and I looked back at him. Holding out his fist, we shared one last human brohoof before we started the transformations. “Alright, now how do these things work?” I asked the white alicorn princess. “Simple. You must put one of your hands, preferably your right one, onto the amulet. Then, you must let your inner magic flow through you and concentrate on changing your forms into those of your dreams and imaginations.” She explained. Both of us nodded and did as she said. When the transformation started, we could already hear the strain on our bodies. it started off with the sound of our bones cracking and crunching while they moved into place, the sound of our organs swishing into place as they slid between the bones, some organs even ended up melting into place, a sudden alter made us fall on our knees to accustom the pony body, the sound of our vertebrae slowly shrinking. But the strangest feeling was the feeling that wasn’t there... The pain for some reason wasn’t there. No pain at all. I was guessing it was because of the advanced magic inside the amulets. Finally, after all those noises and disturbing crunches, we were left, gasping for air. Visually, we were very different. Our skin had turned to fur. Mine was a green colour while Blu’s was, of course, a light shade of blue. I felt the added weight on my forehead to be my horn, the same colour as my fur, and wings at my sides. I had vibrant shades of blue and green in my hair, while Blu’s was still blue. His mane was curved back to have the full view of his horn while mine sort of looked like Rainbow Dash’s. Our tails were both Twilight style with the same colour schemes. “That was very disturb....AAHHHHHHH!!!!” A sudden pain stabbed through my head like an elephant was stepping on it, the pain was almost unbearable. I could not do anything about the extremes of the extensive headache. I couldn’t move from my brain’s pain restricting my new system. The only thing I could do was sit there and try to restrain my screams with my friend, but after awhile the pain stopped suddenly. Both Blu and I took a big sigh of relief. “What in the name of all things good was that?!” My parents commented. “What the...? Oh, I totally forgot we were still in your house, Hotshot.” Blu exclaimed. “I did too.” I said weakly with a small laugh. “How’s everyone’s ears?” “I contained you two in a small magic bubble so your relatives didn’t have to hear you. I’d have to say, you two were louder than I thought you would be.” Celestia told us with a small grin. ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ “Well you two, it’s time to leave for Equestria. Say your goodbye’s, and we’ll be on our way.” Celestia told us after a few minutes of regaining our composure. My sister came in after being sent to her room to play her games on her computer. She spotted us and went directly to Hotshot. “Ooo!” She squealed just like when she saw Filly Celestia, only a bit louder, considering there was now three ponies in the household opposed to just the one. “Hey Blu?” Hotshot asked me. “Yup?” I responded, holding back my laughter. “Might you please get your sister off of me?” He said with a grunt as my sister hugged him. I couldn’t hold back my laughter any longer. I rolled onto my back and flailed my hooves up in the air, laughing at the hilariously awesome day it’s turned out to be. Author's Note Chapter Update: January 15th, 2013. Updated our OC descriptions a bit to make it clear what species of pony we were. Blu is Not an Alicorn! That is all. :3
-3- The Not-So-Grand Entrance Welcome to Equestria The Pre-Arc... ~~~~Chapter Three~~~~ ~~~~The Not-So-Grand Entrance~~~~ Not exciting enough still?! Okay, okay, settle your kettles. After a little more detail before we finally get to Equestria, We’ll make Pinkie Promises that you’ll at least see one fight scene. Cross our hearts, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in our eye- OW! Okay, that worked better when we were ponies. Anyway, here we go again. ~Blu and Hotshot ~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~ The goodbye’s were short and sweet from that point on. We both promised to visit when we could. Our parents still weren’t used to our pony forms yet, but Blu’s sister certainly helped lighten the mood. We helped to decide where to attune our teleportation spot in the house with a little of Celestia’s assistance. Or a lot of it. Either way, we were grateful we wouldn’t just be teleported at a random place like on top of the TV or on something breakable. Soon enough, the time came that we needed to go and after a final wave, we left our families behind while we had to concentrate on the princess’ instruction. In position, we were instructed to put our horns together and produce a mental spark, whatever that means. Then, with a bit of magical help from the amulets we had on, what looked to be a small black hole formed between us and expanded to engulf both us and the princess. I couldn't remember anything else beyond that. ~~~~World Warp: Equestria~~~~ Me and Blu took a moment to catch our breath as Celestia surveyed our surroundings. Soon enough, we noticed it too. “Uh, Princess, why are we in the Everfree?” Blu asked. “It seems your teleportation spell landed us here.” Celestia said with a smile. “Looks like you’ll be stuck teleporting here for now until you have enough power to change it.” “Isn’t this place dangerous?” I asked. “Only if you can’t handle yourself.” She told us. “You two have enough wit to know how to handle yourselves, don’t you?” “Well, we’re screwed.” Blu said with a laugh. “We’ll be fine.” I said with a chuckle. “But it’s nice to know we got to keep our Cutiemarks.” “I agree. However, will we be able to do what our Cutiemarks intended?” Blu turned to Celestia with yet another question. “Well you two are full of questions, but yes, I believe you can.” She answered with a slight nod. “Will you be contacting us once something comes up?” I asked curiously. “The amulets will shine when I or my sister need you.” She simply answered. “I must leave you now as I have some business in Canterlot your first destination shall be Ponyville.” We nodded in acknowledgement as she prepared her teleportion spell. Blu waved goodbye with a hoof while I had figured out to wave with a wing. “Alright then, so what now?” Blu asked. “I guess we should head to Ponyville.” I said. “Okay, so which way is it?” He commented. “ I don’t know to be honest.” I chuckled. “Great. That’s just.. How are we going to get out of here then? We’re lost in the Everfree and we can’t do too much about it.” Blu complained, though I couldn't blame him. “I’ll think of something” I commented even though everything but ideas were going through my head. “But for now lets just walk that way until something happens” As I pointed a random place ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ So, here we are in Equestria. But there’s a problem... We’re lost in the Everfree forest and it’s only been a few minutes. DERP! Anyway's so no we’re continuing to walk in a random direction that Hotshot picked out and it’s getting us nowhere. “Where are we going Hotshot?” I asked “CRAZY! Oh wait, we’re already there.” He joked “But in all seriousness, I don’t know.” “Great! We’re still lo.....” I was interrupted by a large howl as we turned around. “Buck!!” Hotshot yelled. “It’s a Timberwolf! You think we could take it on?” “Honestly, no. But I’m willing to try anything. You have some fire magic in you, right?” I asked. “Yes actually. A lot of fire magic, that was what my Cutiemark was supposed to mean.”I replied. “Yeah...” I started. “But more importantly, do you know how to use it yet?” “Not yet, but it’s worth a try.” Hotshot answered. “It’s time to see what I can do and I suggest you do the same.” I nodded as I attempted to summon some form of magic. Having a quill and a blank scroll on my flank didn't quite attune me to any form of magic, opposed to Hotshot’s fireball. ‘Why did I not develop my cutie mark story before I decided to put it on my darn flank..’ I thought to myself briefly. With a grunt, I looked to my friend who had miraculously summoned a wall of fire to shield us from the Timberwolves. “I don’t know how long I can hold this up!” He said quite loudly. “Do something!” “You derp!” I responded over the crackles of the flames and the growls of the Timberwolves. “You’ll start the darn forest on fire if we don’t contain it!” “Would you like to be eaten before we meet the Elements of Harmony or would you like to do something about this stuff then?!” He yelled back. With a grunt, I concentrated on the air around me. Using my new magical sense, I directed the wind around the flames to be redirected to the Timberwolf. Instead of what I had hoped, the wooden beast leapt back a few feet, but that had given me one last opportunity. “I did something!” I shouted over to my friend. “However, I need you to lift the flames off the ground so I can direct it as one big fireball and engulf the Timberwolf.” “About time you figured something out!” Hotshot responded with a smile. “Give me a moment then!” With a small burst of magic, the flames were lifted off the ground and floated a little above their previous spots. My turn had come. I forced the wind to compress the line of flame into one large fireball. My green friend had also remembered he could fly and went up into the air to push a large gust of wind toward the newly developed fireball, which I enhanced as the flame soared in the direction of the now leaping Timberwolf. With a little more air manipulation, I managed to have the flame circle the beast and not have the flame just zoom past and probably light the forest on fire. “Wow. That was quite difficult.” Hotshot said with a lack of breath in his voice. “Indeed it was.” I responded also tiredly. “I just hope nothing else shows up and we don’t overwork ourselves.” “Yeah, I’d hate to get another one of those headaches so soon.” He said with a shudder at the thought. “Should we keep moving?” I asked. “Yes, unless you want to be eaten by another Timberwolf” He joked “I could easily fly out but then I’d leave you here which at what we just encountered. I wouldn’t want to leave my buddy to get eaten.” “Well, you could go above the trees and look for an exit.” I suggested just as he face-hoofed himself. “I am such a derp.” He complained as he flew up. After a few moments of flapping, he yelled down. “I see an exit!” He pointed, even though I couldn’t see where he was pointing. “What are you waiting for? Lets go.” He said as he landed beside me. “Gladly.” I said as we headed what I figured north to Ponyville. “I just hope we don’t meet any more unpleasant beasts.” “Don’t say that! You’ll jinx it and something will jump out at us.” He said just as a Manticore decided to show up. “Told you.” “RUN!!” I yelled as we started running at full gallop through the woods but the Manticore stopped us in our tracks as the monster struck my side with his scorpion-like tail. “BLU!!” I heard Hotshot scream. With a ‘Woosh’, I was sent flying and hit a tree that knocked me unconscious. ~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~ I felt a rage I have never felt before as I rushed to my friend’s side. Seeing he was unconscious and had a deep gash in his side, I faced the Manticore. “That's it! You’re going down!” My horn flared with magic. Just then, an interesting Cutiemark blocked my view of the creature. Withdrawing my magic, I stepped back. “Leave, you beast! Or you’ll become part of dragons next feast!” The mysterious pony said as the Manticore fled. As she turned around, her stripes revealed her to be a familiar zebra. “Would you happen to be Zecora?” I asked as she looked at me. “Yes indeed, but how did you get into the mysterious Everfree?” She asked in rhyme. “Long story.” I responded. “ How did you find us here?” “I heard the two of you yelp, so I came to help.” Zecora said. That reminded me about Blu who was still lying on the ground. “Can you help my friend?” I asked. “Yes. You need to get him to my hut.” She instructed. “But first, you must cover the large cut.” “But there’s nothing to cover it with.” I said “It is quite tragic that you forget about your magic.” The zebra said with a disappointed look. “Oh, right.” I said as I tried to conjure a healing spell that only covered the wound. “Sorry, low on magic from the Timberwolf we fought before.” I lied as I didn't know any spells to heal my friend. “Now we must go, and ensure you are not slow.” The enchantress told as she started walking in the direction of her home. I concentrated on levitating the blue mass onto my back and expanded my wing length so I could go fast enough to keep up. As we got to the hut, I went inside and set Blu down gently with my magic which was difficult as the walk depleted my energy quite quickly. Zecora inspected him as I stepped back for a moment to regain some stamina. “Will he be okay?” I asked her worriedly. “He looks alright to me besides scratches from that tree.” She answered with a smile. “But, let it be known. Assuming you live in Ponyville, it would be wise to go home. Some rest will be needed, that I can provide. First off, before that, tell me why I saved your hide?” “Okay, I can tell a bit, but some details are private so I cannot tell them all.” I started, hoping she would buy my tale. With a nod from her, I told her a few details of how we got there, ponified of course so she would not suspect anything, but we both knew there were some missing chunks of the story. “Interesting indeed. Your story, I will believe.” The tribal zebra said. “Just one small thing, but no need to fret. I just wish to know about your’s and Blu’s amulet.” “Ah, that!” I said unexpectedly loud. Thinking quick, I made something up. “We kinda use them as magical reserves. We were born with some too small to last us enough to travel long distances and prepare spells that are a bit too complex normally. However, with these golden beauties, we kinda have, or in our case, had, a bit of an advantage over the Everfree.” “What happen?” Zecora inquired. “Did your reserves run low? Or did that Timberwolf give you quite a show?” “A bit of both actually.” I responded, grateful that she seemed to believe me. With a nod, she looked over at Blu once again. “I will make you two something to eat. After that battle, you must be quite beat.” “Indeed “ I said as she went to make us something. “However, whatever you do, don’t tamper with my precious brew.” as she pointed to a pot of bubbling green who-knows-what’s-in-there brew. “Got it.” I said as she left the room. ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ I regained consciousness after a while. “Don’t get up to fast now.” Hotshot warned quickly. “Why does it hurt so much?” I asked him in a bit of a daze. “You were hit by the tail of a Manticore!” He said. “I managed to cover it up but It’s going to hurt for a while.” ‘A Manticore? When did- oh, right..’ I thought, then added to it out loud. “Yeah, I would guess.” I said with a little sarcasm as I laid back down for a moment. “Zecora made us dinner so when you’re ready, foods there.” He said as he pointed to the table a couple meters from me. “Hmm? Oh. Thanks Zecora.” I thanked with a small smile as I slowly got up to my feet. “You are quite welcome, though I see you are troubled. You should come out with it now, or your fun will not be doubled.” She asked with a hint of curiosity in her voice. “I’m fine. It’s nothing to worry about at the time.” I answered though neither of them believed me. “You sure?” My Alicorn friend pushed. “I assure you, it’s nothing.” I insisted. “Okay if anything is bothering you you can talk.” He offered. “Thanks, I’ll keep it in mind.” I responded with a nod. “Shall we eat and put this on hold?” Zecora interrupted. “If we continue talking, your food might get cold.” “Yes, let’s eat.” Hotshot said as we looked to our plates and dived into our first plate of Equestrian food which consisted (for Zecora anyway’s,) a few apples that were probably from Sweet Apple Acres, some wild plants, and Manticore beef!? “ I thought the Manticore was for the dragons?” I joked. “Though they can be quite vicious, they taste quite delicious.” She commented. Hotshot let out a giggle. “ Didn't expect that answer, did you Geronimo?” We both burst out laughing. Even Zecora joined in for a moment due to the fact of our laughter alone. We both guessed she had no idea what we were talking about but she didn't ask. The meal was good. Surprisingly, the Manticore meat was nice too. I expected pony taste-buds to hate meat. But, hay, I'm glad we didn't have to go meatless. Only problem is, Zecora was most likely the only mare to have meat, that meant if we wanted some prepared once again, we’d have to come visit her and probably take down another Manticore for her, which, obviously, we were not ready for yet. I sighed and got into bed that Zecora had provided, drifting off to a single thought. ‘One day, Manticore, I’ll skin your hide and eat your for lunch once more...’
-4- First Day in Ponyville Welcome to Equestria First Arc... ~~~~Chapter Four~~~~ ~~~~First Day in Ponyville~~~~ We’re finally getting into the First Arc? Celebrate! Or not? Okay... Actually, no, you won’t ruin our moods. Mane 6, here we come! ~Blu and Hotshot ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ The morning came and Zecora helped us get ready for the day ahead. Including instruction to see a blonde farmpony and a certain lavender librarian once we got into town. So, once we got outside and Zecora set us in the right direction, we were finally on our way. The path Zecora put us on lead us out safely, that we were thankful for. We popped out near a certain orchard. We thought of going into Sweet Apple Acres while we observed the apple family along their fence. They were bucking apples to make their famous pies and whatever other apple related food they could think of so we kept walking to the gate and there was Granny Smith to welcome us. I figured ‘Why not?’ and walked through the gate with a smile to the wrinkly mare. “Well hello there fellers.” She greeted warmly. “I ain’t seen you two around before so you must be new, right?” “That’s right.” I said as I gave a small nod. “I’m Blu, and this is my friend Hotshot.” “Well, nice to meet you. My name is Granny Smith and this here is Sweet Apple Acres, one of the finest apple orchards in all of Equestria!” She proclaimed with as much excitement she could muster, which at the time, wasn’t too much. “I see.” My friend commented as he looked around. From our view, the trees seemed quite tall compared to the show itself. “So, what do you do around here, Granny Smith?” He asked. “Who, me?” She joked with a laugh. “I don’t do too much around here anymore except for the baking and such, organizing the family together and such, and of course stay near the gate to do my hobbies like knitting and such.” Hotshot nodded as he realized the tendency of saying ‘and such’ all the time. Apparently, I did that often too. “You don’t mind if we look around, do you?” He asked. “Go ahead, but stay around where I can see you. We don’t need any funny business with our apples, you hear?” She replied a bit sternly. I could guess why. As we started walking a little bit, an orange mare with a blonde mane and a 10-gallon hat came out of the treeline, along with a red one that was about a quarter-size larger than the average pony. Of course, we knew who they both were, but like probably all of the other ponies we meet, it was nice to see them for ourselves. Applejack tipped her hat to us but gave my alicorn friend an interesting look before speaking. “Howdy fellas. What brings you to our humble farm?” She asked curiously. “We just came out of the Everfree forest not too long ago.” I started. “Your Applejack, correct?” She gave me a sideways look and nodded. “Ah, good. Zecora says hello.” I told her with a smile. She gave me another sideways look, obviously not believing me at first. “Now how exactly did she say it?” She challenged. Hotshot popped into the conversation, luckily remembering the rhyme she spoke to us before we left. “Back out of the Everfree, you must go. Once out you will see a blonde mane flow. Go through the gate and face the fact, that you will find my dear friend, Applejack.” He said trying his best to speak Zecora’s voice tone. Applejack laughed while the red stallion beside her gave a chuckle of his own. “Well twist my tail and call me an orange! If that’s not Zecora-speak, I don’t know what is!” The mare said as she slowed her laughter down to a stop. “Allow me to give you a bit of a brighter introduction. My name is Applejack and I run this here apple orchard with my family. This stallion beside me is my brother Big Mac, the toughest earth-pony I know. Back there which I’m sure you’ve talked with is Granny Smith. And Applebloom should be around here somewhere.” She explained as she gave us both a hardy hoofshake. “Now, could you lend a hand with these apples?” The walk into Ponyville with the barrels of apples we carried with our magic was fun. Along the way, Applejack generally asked the same questions Zecora did, except for one. “So, about the whole Alicorn thing, could you explain why yer not up sipping tea with the Princess herself?” She joked. “Most Alicorns in Equestria are related to royalty in one way or another.” This was a bit hard for him to answer. I should have probably helped him develop his character a bit more. Luckily, he wiggled out of it. “I don’t really wanna talk about it, if that’s okay.” He said with his best depressed face. Applejack sympathized with him. “That’s alright, sugarcube. We’ve all gone through tough times in our lives. Don’t be afraid to talk about it someday though.” He gave a nod. “Thanks, I appreciate that.” The rest of the walk was pretty silent. A few minutes later, we were in Ponyville and Applebloom came up behind us. “Hey Applejack!” She greeted her big sister warmly. “Who’s these new ponies you got with you?” “Well hey there, Applebloom.” She greeted back. “Allow me to introduce you to Blu and Hotshot.” We gave a wave to the cute filly as Applejack continued. “These ponies stopped by this morning. We started talking and I also got a little help from them with carrying the apples into town.” “That’s nice. Welcome to Ponyville!” She welcomed as she smiled back up at us. “You need any help selling apples today sis?” “Nah, you go on ahead and find one of the Crusaders or something. I got the apple selling covered today.” She replied to the energetic filly. Applebloom gave a nod and trotted off happily. “Now that we’re in Ponyville, where are you two planning on going? I gotta set up my apple stand in the market.” “We need to find a lavender mare that lives in a library. Do you happen to know where she would be?” I asked, still knowing the answer but asking anyway. “Lavender mare, eh?” Applejack responded in thought. “Ah! You mean Twilight, don’t ya? Yeah, she lives a bit near the market in a large tree. Probably magicked in one way or another.” We nodded as we kept walking to the market. As we walked we heard people yelling to sell their wares. Though I saw Hotshot getting aggravated with people staring at him, guessing due to the fact that he was an Alicorn. “Dude, you’re forgetting they aren’t used to seeing an alicorn just walking down the street.” I whispered. “Frankly I am still getting use to the fact that you’re slightly different than every other pony around here.” “Are you serious, you’re still getting used to me?” He asked. “A bit, yeah.” I answered with some sorrow and confusion. “Then again, I’m still getting used to me, too.” “You know what? I guess I should calm down a little. I’m getting angry over nothing.” He answered. “That’s mighty nice of ya.” Applejack piped in on the conversation. “The ponies around here can sometimes be a bit, I’m not saying crazy but, weird pretty much. Don’t be surprised if Twilight starts asking multiple questions about you as well. She’s pretty much what Rainbow Dash calls an ‘egghead’.” Hotshot gave a nod. “Good to know.” Soon enough, we got to Applejack’s designated spot for selling her apples and we helped set up the stall. She gave us a smile and two apples to thank us for our work. We smiled back and as soon as Applejack told us the directions to the grand tree library, we waved goodbye. “Well, that’s wasn’t too bad.” I said as we started the walk. “We met the first of the mane 6 and got some apples to boot.” “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Hotshot chuckled as he bit into his apple. “I’m kinda surprised that-” “HI!” “Woah!” I exclaimed before almost falling over. Hotshot let out a couple coughs, but managed to swallow his bits of apple. “Spoke too soon, eh?” He said as he gave another small cough. “You two must be Hotshot and Blu, right?” The pink pony said as we nodded, a bit confused. “News travels around here quite fast, especially for me cause I basically hear everything.” She also added, practically taking the question out of my mouth and answering it twice as effectively. “In case you don’t know me, my name is Pinkie Pie. Or Pinks, or all sorts of other silly names that people call me, but call me Pinkie.” Once my brain started back up again, I shook my head to make sure it was alright. “Hi Pinkie.” I greeted. *GASP* Well, there goes Pinkie, leaving as fast as she showed up. “Man it’s almost scary how she can defy the laws of, well, EVERYTHING!!!” Hotshot said, obviously exaggerating. “How is it scary?” I asked. “It’s too similar to Discord” He answered. “You’ve been reading too many fics” I said with a laugh. “Perhaps” he said with a mischievous smile. “Well, we better keep going.” I said. But just as I took a few steps, I slowed down again glancing at an interesting pony that gave off this weird magical aura. It was so subtle though that nopony else seemed to notice it. “Is something wrong?” Hotshot asked curiously. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s nothing though.” I assumed. I didn’t want to get too wrapped up with the pony as we only had so long to organize things before the day ended. ~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~ *CLOP CLOP CLOP* Blu knocked on the door to the library. Inside, we heard a familiar voice. “Spike! Could you get that for me please?” It was silent for a few moments, so he knocked again a bit harder. *THUMP THUMP THUMP* “Spike!” The voice called again. “Oh, right, he probably went over to Rarity’s and I didn’t hear him leave. Ugh.” The mare inside seemed more annoyed than frustrated, but it didn’t show as she answered the door. “Oh, hello. Sorry I took so long. Come on inside.” We nodded as I stepped in first, looking at all the books while Blu kept his eyes on Twilight. “So, what brings you two here?” She asked as she turned back to look at us. “Any book you wanna take out? Any magical help you need? You name it, I’ve got it.” Blu straightened himself out and started our half of the conversation. “First off, allow me to introduce myself. My name’s Blu, and this is my friend Hotshot.” I gave a small nod while I stifled a laugh from my friends actions. “We were kinda looking for some healing spells and a variety of others. We’re mostly just trying to brush up on our magic.” “I see...” She said almost a bit awkwardly, but instantly snapped herself back. “Alright, give me a second. I’ll be back.” Once she trotted away, I turned to my ‘gentlecolt’ friend. “Nice job there, buddy.” I said sarcastically. “Oh please, I’d like to see you do any better when we meet that certain aspiring wonderbolt.” He shot back. “I could do it better than you by 20% in ten seconds flat.” I retorted with confidence. We both chuckled. No matter what happen, we always laughed at stuff together. Mainly the reason we had been friends for so long. Of course, a hint of competition was always fun here and there. “Got it!” We both heard from upstairs as the lavender librarian came down with a stack of books. “Alright, we got ‘The Basics of Healing Magic’, ‘Advanced Healing Magic’, and ‘The General Guide to Various Spell’s for Aspiring Unicorns’. I hope that’ll suffice.” “Yeah, that looks like plenty of stuff to look over.” I said as I took the books off hooves with my magic. “Great.” She said cheerfully. However, her expression changed as she noticed something. “Hmm... I’ve never seen you two around here in Ponyville.” She started, but almost face-hoofed herself. “Oh, that explains you introducing yourselves before. I really need a bit more sleep.” “That’s fine, everypony needs more sleep sometimes.” My blue friend chimed in. Twilight nodded. “That reminds me, I didn’t introduce myself beforehand. My name is Twilight Sparkle and you’re looking at the head librarian of Book’s and Branches, the place we’re in at the moment. Along with myself, there’s my baby dragon assistant Spike, but he’s probably at Rarity’s assisting over there too.” She paused for a moment, then gave me another lookover. “Actually, could you two stick around for a little longer. I’d like to ask you a few questions.” ‘And here we go again...’ I thought to myself. The flow of questions came rolling in once again. Generally, the questions were the same, but some demanded a more technical viewpoint. Along with that, she also tried a few experiments, like getting detail of his wingspan, horn length, general magic capacity in the amulet and power it could produce. We headed to the basement to do a bit of the testing she wanted to do, so as not to harm any belongings upstairs. “Alright then.” She began. “Since I don’t have too much to do today and I want to study these amulets a bit further, I’m going to have you step into the middle of the room.” Twilight gestured Blu to go first since he wasn’t an Alicorn and the test needed a set base. “Alright. What are you going to get me to do?” Blu asked, a bit eager to show his skill to the lavender mare. “First off, I’ll seal you in one of my magic bubbles.” She told him as the spell was cast. “Then, you’ll cast whatever attacking spell you feel comfortable with. But make it a light one first to make sure my bubble doesn’t bounce the attack back.” He gave a nod and took a few seconds to think. Then, his horn took a blue glow and shot off a bit of air, which didn’t do too much. Twilight gestured a hoof up to signal him to raise the power. Another nod and spell, and a blast of wind hit the bubble, going around the inside, but not hitting him. One last gesture and his horn started glowing brightly. 5 seconds in and he released a small tornado inside the bubble, lifting him up and dropping him back down a bit hard. Twilight released her bubble and went over to help him up with a worried look. “I’m alright, I’m alright.” Blu insisted. Though a slight smile came over his face. “Alright, you better take a break then. You’ll be able to tackle more someday.” She said as she helped him up. His expression weakened and I resisted the urge to laugh. After everything was settled, I was up. “Okay, same goes for you. Start off small and get bigger until I say stop.” The lavender pony said “Ok.” I responded as my horn glowed the green arora and i let out a small fireball that did as much as Blu’s puff of air. She urged me to get bigger so I did as my horn’s aura got slightly brighter and a larger fireball shot put just about hitting me. However, even after that, she urged me for the last time so I gave it all I had my horn glowed bright as I lifted off the ground and let a fireball engulf me. With a blast and quite loud boom, the bubble shattered under the fire power and I lowered back down to the ground with Twilight open mouthed and Blu looking at me as to say ‘Show off.’ I just returned with a smile, however, out of breath. “Well, what did you thin...AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!” I screamed as the pounding headache that came when we transformed came over my head but it was a lot worse then the transformation headache if felt like my head was going to implode. “Oh shoot.” I heard Blu say as he got up from the side and put a bubble around me to block out my screams. I managed to look up and see Blu talking to Twilight though I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. Soon enough, Blu stepped through the shield and put his horn to my head. Uttering one word that I managed to make out. “Relax.” Amazingly enough, the pounding stopped and I felt oddly relaxed. “What the buck was that?” I asked “A type of soothing spell but it doesn’t change the fact that two headaches in day will probably kill you so don’t go getting another one of those headaches.” He continued. “There’s no telling what could happen then other than certain doom.” “You’re right, but I’m going to have to learn that soothing spell and fireball spell someday, since that was what I intended my cutie mark to be for.” I told, still a bit amazed at what happen. “The spell I just did was a spell I’ve always been wanting to do and to know I can is amazing.” Twilight walked through the bubble with a bewildered, but also concerned look. “That was quite amazing. Few spells that I’ve seen could break that bubble but it looked like it has serious side effects” She inquired. “I’ll be fine” I assured her. “I kinda explained the whole overworking thing to her while you were inside screaming your lungs out.” Blu added into the conversation. “By the way, let’s avoid trying those big spells for a few days just incase it has a long term effect that we don’t know about.” I rolled my eyes. “Fine.” “Do you need any more tests?” Blu asked a bit too eagerly. “Nope, I’ll be good for now.” She answered. “So, you don’t mind if we take off? There are a lot more places we have to go.” I asked. “Sure. I need to clean up the mess you made with the fireball.” She answered. “ I’ll send Spike to go find the two of you if i need further testing.” “Great!” Blu said “Let’s head out then.” ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ “Well, where do we head next?” I asked as we stepped out into the market once again. “Well, I say we should talk to Mayor Mare about living arrangements.” Hotshot answered. “And then talk to Rarity about some furnishings.” “Alright, one problem though.” I started. “And that is?” He asked curiously. “We don’t have any bits.” I answered matter-of-factly. “Gee, thats kinda frustrating.” He simply commented. “So, I guess we should check town hall for jobs then.” “I guess, or we could check out Equestria Daily.” I joked only to find a newspaper blow into my face saying Equestria Daily as the title. “Wow, I honestly didn’t see that coming.” As Hotshot tried to resist breaking out in laughter. After a few minutes of looking around, I spotted the building we were looking for. With a hoof gesture, I signaled Hotshot to follow me as we started to trot to ze grand Town Hall. “Welcome, visitors.” The secretary welcomed as we entered the building. “What business do you have here in Town Hall?” “Hi. We were looking for a bit of work and a cheap place to stay for the night. Would you know where we could find those things?” Hotshot asked hopefully. “Let me see.” The secretary told us as she started looking at a few papers. “There is a temporary complex that you can reside in for 20 bits a night. However, I’m not sure if there is any work I can find for you here. You can always ask around town though.” “Hmm, that doesn’t sound too bad.” I commented. Hotshot nodded as well. We stood around for a bit, conversing on how we would get the bits. However, Mayor Mare happen to walk in. “Oh? Well hello there.” She said, a bit surprised. “My name is Mayor Mare, the mayor of Ponyville. How are things going for you two?” “We were just asking about some work and a place to stay.” Hotshot told the grey-haired earth-pony. “You wouldn’t happen to have any odd jobs needed at the time, do you?” “As a matter of fact, I do have a small favor needing to be done.” She mentioned. “Come on in to my office.” With nods, we went into the office with the mayor to see what job we needed to do. “Alright, so what is this favor of which you speak?” I asked curiously. “There are a few special guests in town and I just want you to escort them to town hall.” She answered simply. “Okay, sure.” Hotshot said “But if you don’t mind me asking, how much will it pay?” He asked. “25 bits should suffice for each of you, and they might even tip you.” She told us with a small wink. “Two stopped at a cafe near the train station, and the other two went a little more adventurous and went to Sugarcube Corner. They’ll look fancy so they shouldn’t be too hard to spot.” I nodded along with my friend but asked one last question. “How will we be able to identify them other than them being fancy?” “Oh, yes. They are all a part of an organization in Manehattan called ‘Divine Design’. Ask them if they’re a part of that organization and they’ll listen up so you can bring them down here. As long as they get here within the hour, the 25 bits will be yours for each of you.” “Alright, awesome. Shall we head out once again?” Hotshot asked as he turned my direction. “Indeed.” I said, mimicking a fancy accent. “Hence.” Hotshot responded with his own fancy accent. Mayor Mare chuckled. We waved goodbye as we trotted out the door. “Alright then, who’ll cover who?” I asked as we came out of the building. “You’ll take the train station corner since you look a bit more fancy than I do and I’ll take SugarCube Corner since I look more awesome.” He answered with a smile. “I think I actually agree with that.” I laughed. “See you in a bit then.” We both headed our separate directions. It was going to be different being apart since we stuck together since we got into Equestria. I brushed off my doubt and picked up the pace. It took me awhile to find the train station. When you’re actually inside Ponyville, it’s actually quite big, not to mention pretty much everything being on foot. However, from a few minutes of walking, I found the cafe. Putting on my fancy accent again, I stepped inside. “Hello there, sir. Would you like a table?” The head waiter asked me professionally. “Not today, I’m afraid.” I started. “I’ve come looking for two fine ponies from an organization called ‘Divine Design’ that have a date with the Mayor. I’m here to make sure they get to Town Hall within the hour. Would you happen to see them come in?” “Hmm, you do see professional enough.” The stallion contemplated. “Very well, I’ll let them know an escort has arrived to take them to Town Hall. One moment please.” As he left to get them, I wiped a small bead of sweat from my forehead with a foreleg. ‘Step one, complete.’ I thought happily. ‘Onto step two.’ Another half minute passed until I saw the two ponies come out with the head waiter. “Delightful dinner, wasn’t it Ms. Finish?” The gentlecolt asked his colleague. “Yes, quite fabulous.” She responded back, then turned to look at me. “You must be our escort then, yes?” “Indeed I am. My name is Blu and I must say it is nice to meet you Ms...” I started, hoping I wasn’t looking too stupid. “Finish. Photo Finish. Aspiring fashion designer and Co-director of Divine Designs.” She said quite egotistically. I tried not to mind it too much until they were out of my hooves. “And I, my dear fellow, am Hoity Toity. Expert in what’s in and what’s out as well as Lead designer of ‘Divine Design’.” Hoity Toity introduced. “Shall we be off to Town Hall then? I’d hate to waste time standing around talking.” “Of course, off we go then.” I stated formally as I went to open the door with my magic. The fancy ponies walked out and I gave a small thank you nod to the head waiter. Then, without further ado, I left the cafe. “Alright, lead on, good sir.” Hoity Toity said as I went in front of them. ‘Mental map, don’t fail me now.’ I thought as I started trotting in the hopefully correct direction of Town Hall. ~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~ The walk to Sugarcube Corner was quite awkward with people staring but it was just something I had to get used to for a while. Anyways, I walked into the store to find to find Pinkie chatting up about a surprise party for two special ponies. ‘Great...’ I thought to myself.‘A Pinkie party.’ I kept thinking as I walked to find two colts who looked like they were born into the art of elegance, though i noticed one kept sneaking glances at the party pony, so I simply walked up to them and looked at the stallion. “It’s rude to stare, you know.” I said as he looked at me with curiosity and something else in his eyes. “I’m sorry, who are you?” The other stallion asked. “Oh sorry, I’m Hotshot and you are?” I asked. “I’m Fancypants, and this is Neon Lights.” Fancypants kindly answered. “Would you two happen to work for Divine Designs?” I inquired with a eyebrow raised. “Yes, why?” Neon Lights answered. “Mayor Mare would like to meet you at town hall and she sent me to be your escort.” I answered. “I don’t think they roll that way, Mr. Hotshot.” Pinkie called from the counter in a singsong voice. “Be quiet, Pinkie. That’s not what I meant or should I say pinka... never mind.” I stopped myself from saying that name that I hated so much. I turned to face the two stallions at the table. “We should get going to Town Hall.” “Hey wait, where did you hear that name?!” Pinkie yelled as we left through the door. I ignored it, hoping the pink mare wouldn’t persist. “Let’s go then, to town hall it is. What about our co-workers down at the train station cafe?” Fancypants asked. “Mayor Mare got my friend Blu to get them.” I answered “Ah, jolly good..” He said as we started trotting toward our destination. Luckily, Pinkie didn’t follow us due to her working, but still, on the way to town hall, my thoughts were at that brief image of those eyes I saw before. Fortunately, when we got to Town Hall, Blu was already there with the two other coworkers and I let out a sigh of relief. The Divine Designs team went inside the meeting room after each giving a small thank you to us, which we were happy to receive. Mayor Mare then stepped out of the meeting room with a smiling face and two satchels on her back. “Well done boys.” She said as she tossed us our satchels. “Ah, here are your bits. I also pulled a few strings to get you boys a one nights free stay at the local inn. Have a good night.” She added as she stepped back into the meeting room and shut the door. “Well, I know where we’re sleeping tonight.” Blu added with a laugh. I gave a chuckle as well, though I doubted we'd get to sleep anytime soon...
-5- Party with the Mares! Welcome to Equestria First Arc... ~~~~Chapter 5~~~~ ~~~~Party with the Mares!~~~~ You know how this is going to roll, don’t you? Well, we’re here to say you’re wrong! This ain’t no regular Pinkie Party! Get ready for more twists, turns, and ‘interesting’ interactions. ~Blu and Hotshot ~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~ Walking outside once again, we were faced with Luna’s starry sky. “Well, what do you think the time is?” Blu asked me while gazing at the stars. “They had a clock in there, you derp.” I replied with a laugh. “I managed to glance at it before we left. It said 9:30.” “Alright, that should give us a bit of time before we head in for the night.” He said with a glint in his eye. “I wonder how fast I can go...” “What do you mean?” I started, but Blu had already started running to the nearest hill. “Hey! Wait up!” I called as I started galloping to him. The race was short-lived, since it was a short distance, but I managed to beat him to the hill. “Dang it.” My blue friend said while still trying to catch his breath. “No fair. You used your wings.” “Or you’re still as slow as ever.” I laughed between my own panting. “It doesn’t matter too much though. It’s not like our lives depend on how fast we go.” “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He responded and fell back onto the grass. I joined him and looked up to the night sky for once. “You know what’s amazing?” I asked. “What?” He responded curiously. “The fact of how we got here.” I answered. “To the hill? Or to Equestria?” He commented. “Both I guess.” I replied. “I mean, really. I flew! With wings! You went 20% faster on hooves then you did on legs, too.” We both shared a chuckle at that. Blu was destined to be slow, no matter where we travelled, but at least he could feel a bit fast. “Yeah, and we made it to Equestria from a random chance at that letter. How cool is that?” He asked while he spread his forelegs to his sides. “Very.” I said with a sigh. We chilled out for a few more minutes while a brief wind gust blew in our direction. “Another advantage about being a pony is not being too cold without clothes.” Blu said with another laugh. I put in a chuckle as well. Another gust of wind came, but from the opposite direction this time. “Is the wind suppose to go two different directions near the same time?” I asked curiously. “When a pegasus is flying over your heads, yeah.” A cyan pegasus casually called from the air. “How long have you been listening?” Blu asked, a bit startled from the sudden vocal intrusion. “Not too long, but what I did hear was pretty weird.” The rainbow-maned pegasus said. “Okay, you are?” We both asked the obvious. “Rainbow Dash, the most fan-freaking-tastic flyer in all of Equestria and future Wonderbolt. I’m surprised you need to ask.” She answered. “Uh-huh.” I commented casually. “What? You don’t think its possible?” Rainbow dash asked, getting quite close to my face. “I never said that.” I answered with a small blush appearing on my face. “Anything is possible, we definitely know that by experience.” “Good, good.” She said as she backed away with a smirk. “So, where you two staying for the night?” “The Inn.” Blu told the fancy flier. “The mayor set it up for us.” “Impressive, if I do say so myself. If you two are lost I can show you the way.” She offered. “Why not?” I said with a smile as we both started getting up again. The walk to the inn was an interesting one, full of questions from RD. Luckily, she didn’t ask the annoying alicorn question, so I took a bit more to liking her then I would have. Once the inn was in sight, our cyan guide pointed it out. “Alright, there it is. Meet you guys there.” She said with a wink as she sped to the door and went inside. Me and Blu both shared a laugh as we decided to take our time on the rest of the way. We’ve arrived at the entrance of the room at the Inn that we were staying in and unlike Blu, I knew what was going to happen when we opened that door. “Blu.” I whispered so the ponies inside couldn’t hear me. “Before you enter that room, I have to tell you that there is a surprise party for us.” “I kinda figured that, being it’s Pinkie Pie.” He said as he opened the door and as I expected, we were met with a dark room. I assumed if lights were turned on, there would be a whole crowd of ponies in the small living space. In an instant, the light went on. “Surprise!!” Everypony said with smiles on their faces. “Woah!” Blu exclaimed, almost falling over for the third time today. I kinda figured he’d jump anyway, so I was ready to steady him. “I thought you saw that coming.” I joked. “So did I.” He said with a chuckle. “But I guess that’s the wonder of Pinkie and her parties.” He commented as the pink mare came up to us “Were you surprised? Huh huh huh?” She asked excitedly. “Blu was, but me? Not so much.” I said matter-of-factly. “Really? But how could that be?! I’m the most amazing person at party planning!” She exclaimed. “I overheard you at Sugarcube Corner talking about a surprise party.” I answered simply. “It looks good so far though.” I added with a smile. “Okie-dokie. Maybe I should talk less but who would I be if I didn’t talk?! I mean, that would be just horrible! Like that one time in the poison joke I couldn’t even talk! And it was even more horrible when...” I managed to sneak away while she kept on with her ramblings. Only to be confronted by one of the more “fashionable” ponies in Ponyville, Rarity. “Oh hello there, I’m Hotshot. What’s your name?” I asked already knowing the answer. “My name is Rarity, owner of the Carousel Boutique.” She answered with the Canterlot accent in her voice. “And I must say, I love your shining amulet darling. Where did you ever get it?” “It was a gift from a friend of Blu and I’s. He also has one.” I told her. “I couldn’t help but notice that you’re an Alicorn.” She continued as I thought ‘Here we go again.’ “Would you happen to be related to royalty?” “I don’t want to talk about it.” I said with the same depressed look I gave Applejack only with a little more agitation. “My apologies. I, in no means, meant to agitate you.” The white mare said apologetically. “It’s quite alright, it’s just that i’m getting those constant questions and weird looks from everypony just because I’m different.” I explained. “So don’t take it personally.” Blu said as he joined us. “Alright then. Whenever you’re ready to talk please note that I’m here darling.” She offered generously. “Thank you.” As this conversation ended we started walking around the party so I went to a table with refreshments and got a glass of punch. However, I still wondered where the music was coming from, but as I turned around there was Vinyl Scratch cranking up the bass. ‘Of course.’ I thought as I continued to drink my glass of punch and walked around the room. “Well, since this is a party, I might as well dance.” I said to myself as I started dancing awkwardly and ended up bumping into the last of the mane six, probably the most shy pony in Ponyville, Fluttershy. “Oh, um, sorry, don’t mind me.” She said quietly. “It’s alright, I’m Hotshot.” I said while I held out my hoof though kinda figuring out the response i was going to get. She took a few moments, but finally responded. “Oh, I don’t do too well with shaking hooves, but I can try introducing myself. I’m Fluttershy.” “Nice to meet you, Fluttershy” I put down my hoof, hoping she would pipe up a little. “Um, it’s nice to meet you as well.” She spoke sheepishly, still up against the wall, but a little bit calmer than before. “Hey bro!” Blu’s voiced called as he trotted up to us. “Do you recognise the song that’s playing right now?” I leaned back up and took a listen. The bass did sound a tad familiar. I listened a bit closer to the lyrics and it hit me. “Yah! I own this beat!” Blu started singing along to the song. “You can call me the king or the ruler, Fellon on base, gettin’ hoarse at the mic.” “We’re gettin’ 20% cooler!” I started singing a bit too with a laugh. The song went on and we continued to match the lyrics, sometimes getting a weird look, but we didn’t care, it was a party and we wanted to have fun. “It’s amazing that it exists here, doesn’t it?” Blu said after the song was finished. “Great minds think alike, no matter where they reside.” I said simply. “Alright you ponies!” Vinyl Scratch shouted as the music died down on the last track. “Time for some awesome pony games.” She announced with a laugh. Pinkie took over with a smile and nod to the DJ. “Okie-Dokie everypony. Now that we’re done with the dancing for now, I’d like to try something that I thought of a few days ago. The game is called “Wink”. It starts off by everypony choosing a partner and forming a circle.” ‘Hmm, this kinda reminds me of an old game I used to play at camp.’ I thought as I watched the ponies partner up. Blu came over to me like I thought he would so we were ready. Out of the elements, Rarity partnered up with Fluttershy, AJ with Rainbow Dash, and finally after a bit of internal debate, Twilight went over to Pinkie. “Alright, does anyone not have a partner?” The pink game leader asked. One brown pony shot a hoof up. “Great! We needed an odd number of ponies to play so it looks like you’ll be the winker. Now, with your partner, you gotta ride em!” Blu and I giggled a bit, along with a few other ponies. Twilight, however, shot a look at Pinkie before the party pony tried to ‘mount’ her. “I think it would probably be better if we sat on our haunches if I see where you’re actually going with this.” Pinkie puzzled for a bit. “Yeah, probably. So anyway, let’s have one partner sit on their rump and the other have their hooves on their shoulders. Okay, good. So now that we are set up the objective is to get away from your partner. However, there are a few rules. One: The pony that’s behind their opponent has to have their eyes closed until a partner is chosen. Two: No unfair advantages like wings, magic, or excessive strength. Third: No trying to get away unless your winked at. And last, but most importantly, HAVE FUN!!!!” “Well, this won’t end well.” Blu said as he got in front of me. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” I gave a nod and got ready. “Is everypony ready?!” Pinkie asked quite loudly. Everypony gave a nod, even Fluttershy. “Alright! Whenever you’re ready winker!” The brown pony nodded as I closed my eyes. A few seconds into it and I heard a small shuffle. Blu gave a small giggle. At first, I almost thought Blu was picked, but as the circle of ponies got louder, I heard a certain mare struggling to get free. When I opened my eyes, there was Derpy off to my right being held down by Roseluck, a mare with a rose-colored mane and a Rose for a cutiemark. As the match continued, Derpy ended up slipping out of Roseluck’s hooves and ended up making it to the brown pony. “Nice job, Derpy!” He said to his new partner. “Thanks, Doctor.” Derpy commented as she got behind him to prepare for the next wink. I gave a small chuckle as I closed my eyes again. A few more moments passed as the ponies kept relatively silent. Then I heard the crowd ‘Ooooo’. “Yeehaw!” Applejack shouted as she clasped her hooves around Rainbow Dash as the cyan-colored pegasus tried to get away from the farmpony, it was a very violent seen as they each tried to prove their strength. They went at it for a good few moments. Dash really struggling to get to Roseluck and pushed with all her might but ended up getting pulled back to the end she started at and was where she was at the start of the whole match as time was called. “Alright Dashie, It seems you're done. Better luck next time.” Pinkie said. “Try picking another one, Roseluck.” She said with a wink of her own. The rose-maned pony nodded and waited a moment as everypony closed their eyes. I heard another giggle from Blu. I had no idea if it was him or not though. “Woah!” I exclaimed as Blu jerked out of my hooves. Trying to regain myself, I grabbed a hold of his hind legs which plopped him down to the ground once more. He, however, had another thing in store for me as he swatted my face with his tail. “Pbbbbbt.” The sound passed through my lips as I tried not to get hair in my face. I held on tight as he struggled to break free. This, however, is where his brain triumphed over my brawn. Since we both were pretty new to being ponies, we hadn’t figured out too many things without instinct to help us out. With his forehooves, Blu started a standing gallop, which ultimately went nowhere until he suddenly put down both hooves and pushed as hard as he could which sent him flying into the middle of the room. I jumped for him but he managed to make another jump to hit Roseluck’s hoof. The room gave an applause for Blu’s excellent escape method. So... I ended up losing my partner, which meant it was time for me to choose a new partner to tag me. I looked around the room trying to decide which pony pair to choose next and as everypony closed their eyes once again. I found the perfect group. ‘Lyra and Bon-Bon’ I thought slyly. This was gonna be fun. I winked at Lyra and the match began. “Bah!” Bon-Bon exclaimed as Lyra made a sudden dive for me. Bon-Bon pulled back bit by bit. “I can do this!” Lyra said, a bit strained from exertion. She kept trying to lunge out of Bon Bon’s arms getting slowly closer and closer to me. I held out a hoof, and as I did that, Lyra made a humongous lunge that broke free of Bon-Bon’s grasp and sent her flying towards me. But before she smashed into me, I stopped her in midair with my magic as her muzzle brushed up against mine briefly. Slowly, my green aura slowly set her down and I let out my hoof one more time as she tagged it. “Thanks, for stopping me.” She said as she slowly was turning red. “No problem.” I responded as I looked around the room everyone was looking at me with surprised faces. “What?” I asked as I turned my own shade of red. “That was quite impressive.” Twilight commented. “That was a great reaction time along with some pretty powerful magic.” “Well, thanks I guess.” I said as Blu gave a small whistle. “Shush.” He gave a small chuckle, since he knew I was more embarrassed about how close Lyra got to me, which I didn’t intend at all. A couple other chuckles came out of a few other ponies came out, which was Pinkie’s signal to keep things moving with the game again. “Alright you lovebirds, get to your spots and let’s continue the game, shall we?” She said with a small giggle of her own. Lyra moved over to get to her spot behind me. “Sorry.” She whispered into my ear as she put her hooves on my shoulders. “Don’t worry about it.” I whispered back as I looked forward to Bon-Bon. Bon-Bon looked around for another pair. Luckily for Fluttershy, she was only a bit more than a quarter circle away, making her a perfectly good chance at getting picked and being able to get away from Rarity. Bon-Bon saw this too and thought the same thing. So, making sure Fluttershy was ready, she acknowledged her with a hoof and the next struggle began. “Woohoo!” Fluttershy shouted softly as she made her move. “Not so fast, darling.” Rarity smiled as she toppled the timid mare over and began tickling her stomach with a hoof. “No!” The pegasus gasped as she tried to get out of the laughter trap. Little to Rarity’s knowledge however, she started moving from side to side until she could roll over and make a small leap for Bon-Bon and meet with her hoof. Everypony applauded the shy pegasus with their hooves. “Drat! I thought I had that one.” Rarity mumbled loudly. “Oh well.” Now everypony went back in place again and it was Rarity’s turn to choose her next partner. I kinda guessed she’d pick her fellow unicorn friend Twilight, but never have I been so wrong. She ended up picking me! ‘Great.’ I thought as I got ready for my escape. Slowly, I moved a hoof, then the other. Then, with a sudden movement, I ducked down and made a quick dash to the middle. Earning a satisfying “Gah!” from my mint-colored partner. As I moved to make another dash, I was caught in her grasp and pulled back. Scraping against the floor, I struggled to get anywhere and ended up going upright. Lyra had put herself upright as well so I looked to take that to my advantage. With a look to Rarity, I figured out how far I was from her and put my hooves on Lyra’s midsection. With a pull, I toppled us back down to the ground in Rarity’s direction. The white mare jumped, but put a hoof out, and with a few extra hops, I managed to touch it. Another applause came from the circle of ponies. “Thanks for the interesting match, Lyra.” I commented. She nodded with another blush and went back to her spot. Once that was over, the circle of ponies got picked one by one and multiple duels were had until it was time for the last one, which ended up being Pinkie Pie and Twilight. The winker, which ended up being Derpy Hooves, tried winking at Twilight but her eyes made it a bit difficult to tell who she was winking at, which left ponies confused. After two other failed attempts to wink, she gave up and just pointed to the lavender unicorn. I had to resist face-hoofing myself, but soon enough, Twilight thought of something she could do. Knowing Pinkie had her little Pinkie Sense, there was no way she was going to start out slow. So with a sudden burst, she went forward and almost did a faceplant. “Gotcha now, Twi!” Pinkie exclaimed as she grabbed a hold of her stomach. It seemed pretty tight too so I had a tough time imagining how she would be able to make it out of there. She tried doing a jump, which only got the pink mare to ride on her back and make Twilight fall flat back down, doing a faceplant. “Wait a sec.” Pinkie started. “Twitchy tail, itchy stomach, what was that for again?” All of a sudden, a blue unicorn with shades teleports in front of the two. “Would you ponies be quiet? Other ponies are trying to sleep around here.” The familiar fancy pony scolded. “And that doesn’t look very proper, mind you.” And with that, he teleported out as soon as he came. I tried holding back my laughter, but to no avail. Good news was, everypony else burst out laughing as well.
-6- Mane Six Meetup Welcome to Equestria! The First Arc... ~~~~Chapter 6~~~~ ~~~~Mane Six Meetup~~~~ So, fun party, right? Good, good. But, in our adventure, it’s not all fun and games. Things will get sad sometimes, but we just gotta go through it, so that’s why we’re including our little sad story, so this is a bit of a warning of what’s to come. Even though our adventure is mostly funny, we still recommend reading the small important part. (We still made it up on the spot at the time, but it did prove to be what we needed it to be.) Without further ado, try to enjoy and don’t cry. Much. ~Blu and Hotshot ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ After the laughter was done with, the last match continued... “Well, that was a bit weird.” Pinkie Pie commented with a smile as she put a hoof to her chin. “But anyway, where were we?” Twilight had already wiggled out from under the pink pony and touched her grey hoof goal. Pinkie was left floating in the same position, and once she realized it, she immediately fell to the ground. The circle of ponies applauded while me and Blu chuckled and gave a slow clap. “Well done, Twi.” Pinkie applauded as well. Time passed and we played a few more games. A lot of them we felt we had played before in the “human” world. After the games there was a little more dancing but as the dancing ended, Pinkie decided to make one last announcement that made me turn my head. “Thank you everypony for showing up to my party the music was provided my pal Vinyl Scratch. Oh, and the games from Lyra!!” The pink host cheered. ‘Looks like Celestia isn’t the only one who tracked us humans...’ I thought to myself as the ponies were slowly leaving the room. “Also, Blu, Hotshot, could you two stick around for just a bit longer?” Hotshot and I shared curious looks, but both gave a nod to the party pony and started going over to her. A few moments later, everypony else other than us and the elements of harmony were left in the room. “So...” I started. “What’s all this about?” Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Well, it seems you two have met us all, right?” We both nodded, so our rainbow-themed friend continued. “And you’ve heard of the Elements of Harmony, right?” Another nod from the both of us. “There were five elements known and one undiscovered.” I stated simply. “The five known were Loyalty, Kindness, Honesty, Laughter, Generosity, and the recent sixth one would be Magic.” “That’s right, and that’s us.” Rainbow Dash said proudly. She then named off the elements, each pony acknowledged who they are in their own way. “Awesome.” Hotshot commented. “Now, what does this have to do with us?” “It’s from my testing and contact with the Princess.” Twilight stated. “Both of you have very much potential power, so I contacted Princess Celestia and asked if she knew of you two. She acknowledged that she had come in contact with you before and she apologizes for the meeting not being as long as it could have been.” “That’s perfectly fine.” I said with another nod. “The circumstances were not exactly time-allowing when we met.” “Yes, and that’s why she’s asked us to keep our eyes on you two. Not in a bad way, but to just make sure everything goes alright here. She didn’t exactly explain why you’re both here though, so that is also why we decided to hold this little meet-up.” The lavender mare further explained. “That’s simple enough.” Hotshot started. “When we were born, we both had significantly small magical reserves, such as why we have these amulets.” “I’m sorry, but that is extremely hard to believe after the test we did in my lab.” Twilight answered. “Well, here’s the kicker.” my green friend said with a smirk. “Thanks to these amulets, they’ve increased our power by 20%, sometimes more than that if we manipulate it right. “Of course, my friend here being the show-off that he is decided to manipulate it a bit too far and got that horrible headache.” I said. “I’m still a little dizzy.” He said. “Even after that spell.” “What about when you stopped Lyra like that?” RD asked suspiciously. “No, I wasn’t using the amulet there.” My friend explained. “That is why I said that I thought a lot of ponies could do it.” “Yeah, that does make sense.” Twilight remarked. “It doesn’t take too much magical reserve to do a simple levitation spell, it just takes a remarkable reaction time to do it as fast as you did, in which somepony like Rarity would be approximately 35% slower to react that fast. No offence of course.” “None taken darling.” The white unicorn assured with a smile as she listened to the conversation. “I see.” Hotshot commented with great interest. “Anything else you’re wondering about?” “Umm, I have a question, if you don’t mind me asking.” Fluttershy said shyly. As he nodded, she continued. “Where did you come from, considering you’re an Alicorn like the Princess?” Hotshot closed his eyes and tried to remain calm. Luckily for him, I put his hoof on his shoulder. “I have this, bro.” I assured him. He nodded as I started with what I came up with as my story, which I hoped would be believable and convincing enough. “Hotshot here doesn’t exactly know where he was born.” I started off. “According to Celestia, there was a group of ponies that once visited a place called ‘Dragon Valley.’ Some were from Canterlot, Manehattan, even from Cloudsdale. Along that journey to Dragon Valley, one of the pony couples must have had him. How he was born an Alicorn, I have no idea and I’m not sure Celestia did either. But when they got to Dragon Valley, some sort of magical scientist must have tested a bit of magic on how they worked with the Dragons, which caused a few to go mad and start killing the group.” A few of the ponies gasped while others remained silent. I paused to clear my throat. “As you might be seeing where I’m going with this, my friends parents, along with most of the group died there. Few lived to tell the tale. Of course, among the ones that lived, Hotshot was there, but he was left behind at Dragon Valley, so that’s where he managed to grow up. Fed by dragons, trained by dragons, raised by dragons, and got his quite fiery cutiemark.” I paused for another moment to collect my thoughts. “Among them, one of the dragons started questioning why they were raising what they called a ‘monstrosity’ among their own kind. When Hotshot started hearing of this, he began to doubt himself.” “I eventually ran away from the ones I used to call family.” Hotshot continued, giving me a break. “I wandered for days, trying to find a new place with my own kind, and there, I stumbled upon Manehattan, where I met Blu. He was nice enough not to question my origin and befriend me. He taught me the way’s of society, got me started on some sort of thing I could do where I wasn’t judged.” “Flash-forward a year and we met the Princess of the Sun, which we actually managed to talk about his past.” I continued once again. “It started in the Everfree. I had lost my job and house and Hotshot wanted to come with me to see where-else we could go. I didn’t want to stay in Manehattan so we went someplace more quiet. A lake was where we stayed for a little bit, thinking of what we could do. Celestia appeared in the lake’s reflection, and before we knew it, we had met the Princess of the Sun. She said we were destined for greatness or something like that, ‘cause I still kinda doubt that, but then she gave us these amulets, to help us on our journey to Ponyville, where she wanted us to go.” “Well, now you see why I didn’t want to talk about my side of the story. I was a freak. An ‘accident.’ Nobody wanted me. I was a nopony till I met Blu.” My green friend finished off with tears rolling down his eyes. The Mane six just sat there with their mouths wide open. Fluttershy was the first to approach Hotshot in a warm hug. One by one, the others put a hoof on him to help the situation, as did I. In the back of my mind, I silently wondered why I put them through the story, but then again, I did seem to have a bit of talent of storytelling after all. Only other thing that worried me was what they might do if they found out it was made up. Most likely, Celestia would have to be around to explain everything so they wouldn’t try to kill us. But for now, it was the perfect cover. After the sappy stuff was done, Hotshot spoke up once again. “Thanks, but let’s get back to business. Is there anything else you want to know or want us to know? ‘cause I’m quite tired.” “No, I don’t think so we’ll leave you two to rest” Twilight said as she beckoned her friends to come along. “Alright, See you later and thanks for the party!” I called with a smile. As we both went to our room in the inn we both looked at the room’s surroundings. There was two beds thankfully, along with a painting of the two princess’. “This isn’t too bad.” I commented while getting into my chosen bed. “You know what I almost forgot?” Hotshot asked while getting in his own. “What?” I asked in return. “That little poem that I wrote. I called it ‘My thoughts in a nutshell’” He continued. “I almost forgot it until that one story you told the mane six.” ‘Ah, shoot.’ I thought in the back of my mind. It was the one poem that always worried me. “I remembered it off by heart it went ‘The depths of my despair and loss of oneself cut deeper than a sword could match it feels like i’m hiding behind a mask and there is one thing that can remove this mask....death the comfort that comes to everybody but there's one thing that's stopping me from giving myself such comfort, my friends and the thought that I don't deserve such comfort to rest and sleep forever in silence’” He said reciting the poem. “That poem always did worry me.” I said with a sigh. “I thought you said it was deep stuff?” He responded with confusion. “Yeah, but it always seemed too dark for my taste, and it really does show signs of some interesting stuff.” I replied. “I’ll just remind you, since it’s just you and me, I’ll always be there for you bro.” “Yeah, I know Blu, I know.” He said as we drifted off to sleep. Little did we know at the time, Celestia was receiving another letter. ~~~~Viewpoint: Princess Celestia~~~~ ~~(Previous Letter)~~ Dear Princess Celestia, There are two new and unusual ponies in Ponyville, named Blu and Hotshot. Now I had brought them to my library when I noticed the amulets around their necks. They told me it enhanced their magic by a little bit so I decided to have a test of my own, and let me tell you, they were definitely impressive. They both showed great strength, after the fact of Blu putting up a soundproof shield in an instant, but Hotshot ended up getting some type of extreme headache. Since Hotshot was an Alicorn however, I would assume you know at least a little bit about him. Nopony gets to be an Alicorn other than you and Princess Luna naturally, right? Anyway, going to meet up with them at the party Pinkie is planning for them, like she does with most everypony that decides to stay in Ponyville. Will probably send another letter after the party. Ready and waiting, Your most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. ~~(Current Letter)~~ Dear Princess Celestia, The party was fun. A bit different than usual, but fun. However, the meetup we had with Blu and Hotshot ended more sad than fun. The questions we started out with were innocent enough, but Fluttershy ended up hitting quite the nail about Hotshot’s past. If they really talked to you, which they seemed truthful enough that they did, you would know what we talked about. We didn’t get too much info from Blu however since the focus was on Hotshot’s story. I’ll see if I can learn more another time. Other than what we’ve learned, we’re still going to be wary of them, but we’ll help them out as much as we can. Then again, this is also an excellent opportunity to have some more friends, which is always good. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. First thing we’ll do is set them up with some permanent living arrangements, jobs that can handle their talents, and Rarity will probably make them some sort of clothing to go with their amulets, because that’s Rarity for you. Looking forward to seeing you at the Summer Sun Celebration! Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. “Hmm, interesting. What could those two have come up with to make something sound so saddening.” I commented to Luna who was in front of me. “What is the matter, sister?” She asked with a concerned look that matched my own. “Just read this letter.” I said as I handed it over to her with my magic. I looked to the night sky as she looked it over. “Does this bode well?” She asked me. “ Both you and I have seen their secrets, but I do not think I can look into this any further tonight.” “Well, one thing's for sure. Those two can handle themselves with their stories. But looking at what they’ve gotten into, it’s a good thing the Summer Sun Celebration is coming up. I’ll talk to them soon.” I commented. “Indeed. But something usually comes up when new beings enter Equestria, don’t they, Tia?” She speculated with a small smile. I gave a chuckle. “Yes, but not tonight. I had better get some rest.” “Of course, sister. Have a pleasant rest.” My lunar sister blessed. “I’ll try my best. Goodnight sister.” I said as I left the room for a long needed sleep.
-7- Job EndeavourWelcome to Equestria! The First Arc... ~~~~Chapter 7~~~~ ~~~~Run of the Mill~~~~ So... Chapter 7. This is going to be fun. Mostly. If we make sure everything goes well. But of course, things don’t go our way most of the time. Ah well, more fun for you guys that had to go through that sad chapter. You read it, right? No? Well go read it! Then come read this one. Seriously guys, stallion up. For those that did read it though, enjoy. ~Blu and Hotshot ~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~ “Well that was a pleasant..... WHAT THE!” I heard Blu shout as he woke up. “What is it?” I asked as I looked over to Blu and right there was a pink pony standing over Blu staring at him. “Good morning, sleepyhead!” Pinkie exclaimed with a smile. “Ready for a fun-filled day? I know I am!” She then hopped over to my bed. “You better be ready too! There’s a lot of stuff we need to do today and you’ll need to see what you can do best!” The party pony then hopped down to the ground. “Can’t live in the inn forever!” And before we could say ‘What just happened?’, she was gone. “Well, that was unexpected, even for Pinkie Pie.” Blu commented as he shook his head. “No, that seemed exactly like something she’d do.” I countered with a laugh. “I guess, but that was still surprising.” Blu responded. “However, she was right. We can’t live in the inn forever.” “Well then, it’s time to earn some bits and get some type of living arrangement!” I exclaimed. “Alright, just give me five more minutes.” He said as he put his head back down on his pillow. “No, NOW! Get off your lazy flank and lets get going!” “I said. “Fine...” he mumbled with a grunt. “Just think, the sooner we get a house, the sooner you can sleep for as long as you want!” I said. “Really?” he asked knowing the answer. “No!” I answered with a chuckle. “Remember, Celestia said when we get here it won’t be all fun and games.” “Ugh.” He simply responded, but managed to get up. “At least I don’t have to put on any clothes.” “Yeah, let’s not rival among that fact for too long. Meet you downstairs.” I said as I sped down, leaving my lazy friend in the dust. It took awhile but my friend finally came down the stairs . “‘You took that extra five minutes didn’t you?” I asked. He simply gave a sheepish smile. “Maybe.” “Well next time, I’ll get Pinkie Pie to release the party cannon right into your ear!” I threatened with a smirk. “Those who run fast shall stumble.” The stallion at the counter commented wisely. He had a light brown coat of fur and a dirty blonde mane. Kinda looked like one you’d find in Appaloosa, now that I think of it. “Who might you be?” Blu asked with a curious look on his face. “Me? I’m just a lone stallion that operates the breakfast club at the inn. Some call me the wise bartender. You ponies however, can call me Slender Skim.” Slender Skim introduced. “Nice to meet you, Slender Skim.” I said as we took seats at the bar. “My name’s Hotshot, and this is Blu.” “Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Now what do you fellows want. Our special today is pancakes.” He suggested with a smile. “Sounds great. How much is it for two plates?” My blue unicorn friend asked. “Well, usually, the special is eight bits per plate, but since I hear you two are new in town, I can lower the price to five bits just this once.” Skim offered. “How does that sound?” “That doesn’t sound too bad.“ I considered as I turned to Blu. “What do you think?” Blu was about to speak but his stomach spoke for him. We both gave a chuckle. “I believe my stomach is trying to say ‘Take the deal!’” “It’s settled then. Ringer up, my friend!” I told the bartender. The light brown pony smiled. “Alright then. Let me notify the cook. You don’t mind paying up-front, do you?” “Not at all.” I replied. I went to get my bit bag, but it turned out I left it upstairs. “Blu, do you have your bits on you? I left mine upstairs.” “Bits? Oh shoot, same here.” He responded. “I’ll go and get em.” The blue unicorn then tried teleporting out of his seat to the stairs, but ended up going a foot above the floor and stumbled. “Dang it.” He mumbled, but got back up and started heading up. I laughed briefly and turned back to the counter, finding Skim to have disappeared to the kitchen. “Hmm.” I mused. Another pony came down the stairs. Along with it however, came flapping wings... and a crash? With a turn, I looked to see who it was. “You just don’t know what went wrong, right Derpy?” The purple pegasus beside her joked with a laugh. “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t fly indoors too much I guess.” The grey mare responded with an embarrassed smile. She then looked my way. “You must be one of the new ponies in Ponyville?” “I guess word gets around.” I said. “It’s only on everything in Ponyville.” The purple pony said casually. “What?!” I exclaimed. “Yeah, you two are everywhere thanks to Pinkie.” Derpy simply answered as Blu snuck past them. “You hear that, Blu? We’re famous.” I said. “Probably not that big of a deal, bro. Ponyville’s a small place, and the fact that you’re an Alicorn will just be different for them for a while.” He explained, but as he took a seat down beside me once again with the two bit bags in his magical grasp, he dropped them onto the table as he saw a glance at Derpy. “Oh my gosh, it’s Derpy Hooves.” “She’s not that clumsy!” Her friend defended, but then smiled sheepishly. “Okay, maybe a noticeable amount, but you don’t have to point it out.” “No, no, not at all. She just has amazing eyes which I find quite interesting.” Blu said, but had his fair share of red added into his face. “You find my eyes... Interesting?” The grey pegasus puzzled. “I think he’s simply trying to say he likes your eyes.” I speculated., but was given a soft kidney punch for my efforts. “Yes, the eyes are nice. Not trying to hit on you or anything.” He said, hopefully not digging himself deeper into the awkward situation he got himself into. “Well, thank you I guess.” Derpy Hooves answered. “I mean, usually, people just find my eyes weird, apart from my friend Muffin Drop here.” She gestured to her purple pegasus friend. “Well, I find them nice. They probably alter your vision quite a bit though.” I commented. Just then, Muffin Drop’s stomach rumbled. “Yeah, it does. enough chit-chat though. I’m so hungry I could eat a manticore!” She said with a laugh. Blu and I exchanged small smiles considering the event in Everfree. “Well, come take a seat with us and I’ll buy you ponies some, blueberry muffins?” Blu offered. “Sure! That would be good.” Derpy answered. “Hey Skim! How much are 2 muffins?” I yelled. “8 bits!” He responded from the kitchen. “We’ll take four muffins then!” Blu said with the same amount of volume. “Alright then, give me a minute!” He responded again. ~~A few minutes later...~~ “That will be 26 bits.” Skim said. “Thanks!” I said as I handed him the 25 bits I had and Blu handed him one bit. We walked along outside after breakfast with was now only 24 bits in our possession. “Well, that wasn’t too bad. We have 24 bits left to spend before we earn some more.” Blu said with a sigh. “Now what?” “Only 24 bits?” Muffin Drop said in a bit of surprise. “You guys are pretty poor. Even I earn more bits.” “Well, we just came to Ponyville two days ago and haven’t decided where to work yet.” I stated plainly. “I don’t suppose you mares know where anyone is hiring, do you?” “Actually, we were just about to head to work right now.” Derpy said. “Maybe you can convince our supervisors to let you help for the day.” “That’s not a bad idea.” My blue friend commented. “So whereabouts do you two work?” I asked curiously, hoping for somewhere in Ponyville and not in Cloudsdale. “We have two locations, actually.” The purple pegasus started. “One is for ground deliveries, the other is up in Cloudsdale.” ‘Damn...’ I thought. “Okay then, I guess we’ll have to talk with your supervisor.” “Actually, we can probably help you out with that.” Derpy said with a smile. “Hotshot, since you can fly, you go up with Muffin and help out there, and I’ll take Blu over to where we need to go.” “Yeah, we do kinda owe you a bit for the muffins.” Muffin said sheepishly. “Mmmmm, those were good muffins.” “Alright then, it’s settled then.” Blu said, then turned to me, offering a hoof. “See you later bro.” “Later, Blu.” I smiled as I gladly gave him a brohoof. So now, Muffin and I are flying to Cloudsdale. Most of the trip was silent until Muffin decided to break the ice. “So... What brought you to Ponyville?” She asked. “And what's with the amulets that you and Blu have?” “Well, we were sent to Ponyville by Princess Celestia.” I answered. “As for the amulets, they are magical reserves, when we were born we had a small amount of magic. They were given to us by the Princess. However, I think mine might have been made by Princess Luna.” “You two related to the Princess’?” She asked curiously. “Nope, no royal blood here.” I joked. “Then how are you an...? Actually, nevermind.” She stopped. “I’m guessing ponies have told you about the question.” I guessed “Yeah! Only not to ask it.” She laughed. “Ha, it’s nothing personal, so don’t worry about it.” I assured. “Okay, well, we’re almost there.” She stated. “Okay, is the job difficult at all?” I asked. “Not really, I’m pretty sure you can handle it just fine.” The purple pegasus answered. “Cloudsdale isn’t too bad” “Cloudsdale? I’ve barely got Ponyville covered.” I said with a worried voice. “Trust me. It’s not as big as it looks.” She continued. “Besides, if you want the job, you should start memorizing.” I let out a sigh. ‘Well, at least I have some experience with the junk mail I had to deliver back in the human world.’ I thought to myself. “Well, we’re here.” She said as we landed on the clouds which were quite soft. “Nothing like feeling the soft clouds on your hooves after being on the hard ground all day.” She said with a smile. “You said it.” I said as we entered the building- -which was complete chaos! Ink flying everywhere, paper getting hung around like streamers, and ponies arguing and screaming. “Woah, what happened!? A shortage of muffins!?” I joked, but got a disapproving look from Muffin Drop. “Ha, ha, very funny.” She said sarcastically as she flew to an office with the name “Yellow Pack” on the front. “What’s going on out there boss?” She said to a yellow pegasus with a brown mustache. “A shortage of muffins! What do you think?” He said even more sarcastically than Muffin Drop as I let out a chuckle. “The machines are failing, AGAIN!” He exclaimed. “Do something!” “Hand me a wrench.” Muffin Drop said as The yellow pegasus looked over to me. “And you are?” The yellow pegasus asked me while handing over Muffin’s required wrench. “Hotshot, I’m looking for a little extra work.” I answered. “You’re the new Alicorn from Ponyville, aren’t you?” He asked curiously. “That would be me, sir.” I smiled. “Okay then, once Muffin here fixes the machines I’ll give you your first assignment.” He stated. “Great!” I said as I left the office with Muffin. “So, how are you going to fix these fine machines?” “Like this!” *WHACK!* She hit the machine with the wrench and it was working fine again. “How the buck did you do that?” I asked bewildered. “Okay, observe.” *WHACK!* She said as she hit another machine. “Now you have a turn. Hit it as hard as you can.” She continued as she handed me the wrench. “Alright then.” *WHACK!* I hit the machine as hard as I could and I ended up making the machine worse “Buck!” “Okay, let me take care of the rest.” She said as she took the wrench from me and continued smacking the machines until they were all fixed. “Guess you need a mare’s touch.” She joked. “Haha, yeah, I guess.” I chuckled as we flew back to Yellow’s office. “All the machines are fixed?” He asked curiously. “Indeed.” I answered for my purple pegasus friend. “Okay, for your first assignment there are two special deliveries which means screw them up and no pay! Or job for that matter! One delivery of assorted letters to the ground district post office, the other is a special giant order of quills and ink to the Ponyville library!” He asked. “Oh, and if you complete those in good time, you have five deliveries up here in Cloudsdale once you’re done with the special deliveries. Can you do that?” “Yes sir!” I saluted, leaving the room with Muffin. “Quite convenient, I got orders both to Ponyville.” “Yeah, lucky you, you get to carry two giant boxes to Ponyville.” Muffin laughed. “Shoot! Oh well, what do I have magic for.” I joked with a laugh. “Just don’t drop anything. The last time that happened a pony got crushed by a piano!” She said worriedly. “What! Really!?” I laughed some more. “That’s quite funny.” I almost fell over laughing while Muffin Drop gave me a stare that could easily rival Fluttershy’s. “Sorry.” “The mare who dropped it was Derpy!” She exclaimed. “Again, sorry.” I apologized. “Well, we better get going. This stuff isn't going to deliver itself.” She reminded as we started leaving the building when a thought crossed my mine. “But don’t you have a delivery of your own?” I asked curiously, “My boss wants me to keep a close eye on you, so you get the deliveries right and on time.” The purple pegasus explained. “OK, this will be fun.” I said in a brighter mood than before. “Off we go then.” I continued as we started flying back to Ponyville. “So, where is the Ponyville Post exactly?” I asked while scanning the small town for what I could see. “Over there actually. Hey! I see Blu and Derpy leaving!” She said pointing in their general direction. “Oh, so it is. Well let’s hurry then.” I said as I sped toward the post office. “Ah shoot! We just missed them, haha.” Muffin pointed out. “Oh well, I guess I have to make these deliveries then” I said casually. “So now I need to find a Ms.Crate.” “Ms. Crate? That’s Derpy’s boss!” she exclaimed. “Really now?” I asked. “Yeah, and there she is!” As she pointed to a dark green unicorn with an orange crate as a cutie mark. “Hi, you must be Ms. Crate. Nice to meet you.” I said holding out a hoof. “Why, it’s nice to meet you too. You must be Hotshot, correct?” She asked. “Umm, yeah. I’m guessing Blu told you about me?” I asked back. “Yep, not to mention there is a bunch of buzz around town thanks to Pinkie Pie.” The dark green mare replied. ‘Damn it, Pinkie!’ I thought. “Umm, okay. Well, I have a delivery from Cloudsdale here for you.” I said handing it to her with my magic as her magic engulfed it and took it out of my magical grip. “Why do they get ponies from Cloudsdale to deliver to the ground district?” “Well, you see, it's a priority delivery and since there isn't much staff on the job, you have to deliver it.” She explained. “OK, well, it was nice meeting you, but it looks like you got another delivery to do.” She reminded, putting the delivery on the ground beside her. “Indeed I do.” I responded. “Thanks for the information. Now I have to head to the library with a bunch of quills and ink.” I said, gesturing to the giant box at my side. “What! Who needs such a big order!?” She asked with a confused look. “I got a good idea of who.” I said. “Well, I better get this done. The sooner I get there, the sooner I get some more bits!” “Okay, well hurry up then, Hotshot. And see you soon, Muffin!” She said waving a hoof as we headed to the library. “Well, that was interesting.” Muffin commented. “Yeah, she barely noticed you.” I joked. “Only because you were there.” She laughed. “Gee, thanks.” I said sarcastically. “Okay, so now i have to give these quills and paper to Twilight.” ‘Another interesting encounter...’ I thought to myself. “Do you know where it is?” Muffin Drop asked curiously. “I believe I do!” I answered with enthusiasm. “If I could find a good path to it, that is.” “Umm, wings?” Muffin said with an arched eyebrow. “Ah, right.” I said sheepishly. “Let’s go then.” The purple pegasus smirked with humor and took to the skies. I readied myself, leaping up to follow her. We landed in front of the library. I knocked on the door to hear scrambling of Twilight trying to get to the door and it flew open with her magic. “Oh, hello again.” The purple mare smiled. “How are you?” “I’m good. I have a delivery for you.... That's quite a large order of ink and quills.” I responded. “Yeah, I know. I have quite a few letters to send.” She excused, quietly adding... “and I like to also keep up stock, if you know what I mean.” “Oh, okay. Well, I got to go back to Cloudsdale to get the regular deliveries.” I responded with a sigh. “Alright; come back with Blu when you are done with your deliveries.” She requested with a small smile. “I will.” I assured. “Bye for now.” And with that, I took a leap to the air and took off. “Well you seem to know a lot of ponies for just arriving to Ponyville when you've only been here a little while.” Muffin giggled. “Small town.” I responded with my tongue sticking out quickly. “True, but impressive nonetheless.” She complemented. And with that, the rest of the flight was generally silent, save for the rush of wind through our wings. We entered the Cloudsdale packaging building one again and headed to the office of Yellow Pack to confirm the deliveries were sent. “The packages were delivered, Mr. Pack.” I said as we entered the office. “Well done! I really didn't think you could handle it, would you like to earn 10 more bits?” He offered. Muffin and I exchanged a look. “Sure, I would be happy to. What would you like me to do?” I asked with an arched eyebrow. “Go around Cloudsdale and deliver to these 10 houses.” The hard-hatted pony said with a nod as he handed me a list.I looked at the list and read off the names in my head. ‘Cloud Chaser, Lightning Dust, Raindrops, Rainbow Dash, Bluebell, Cloud Kicker, Crescent Moon, Deep Blue, Dizzy Twister, and Flitter..’ “You can do this, can’t you?” The yellow supervisor asked. “Yes sir!” I said giving a salute with my wing. “Will I be joining him boss?” Muffin asked in curiosity. “Might as well, it is his first day.” Mr. Pack allowed with a sigh, but whispered something about my abilities to my presumed partner which I didn't manage to catch. “Sure thing, boss!” She said with a smile as we left the building. “Why so eager to get out of work?” I asked “Are you kidding! Watching you is a job in itself!” She joked “Uh-huh, now what's the actual reason?” I said seriously. “It’s nice to get out of the office” She said. “I see..” I responded. “The first house looks like Cloud Chaser.” “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” She exclaimed. “But there is no address.” I said as she took the list from me “Grr, that idiot! He gave you an advanced list.” She said in rising frustration. “Advanced list?” I asked. “An advanced list is a list given to ponies that have worked for a while and memorized each house.” She explained with a sigh. “Obviously, I don’t think you’d have enough experience around here to take that on. No offence of course.” “Trust me. I can take the truth.” I assured. “Hold that thought while I go get a proper map for us.” She said as she went into the building. I let out a sigh and started to drift in my thoughts. ’Well, with all this flying and trotting around I've been doing, it’s almost like I was always a pony. It feels so surreal that I’m here on my own with this mare that seems so nice. It just feels undeserving that Blu and I were the ones that are able to experience all of this...’ ’Why us? Out of all the bronies in the world, why were we the lucky ones? Why was it us to find a way to communicate through different dimensions? This is every bronies dream! We have the chance to switch between two different dimensions. Yet we can’t tell anyone? This could revolutionize science and history as we know it. What happens if the Mane six find out we are not from this world? What if-’ “Hotshot?” A perplexed Muffin Drop asked, looking at me weirdly. “Wha-?” I started to ask, before realizing I had started pacing and working myself up. “Are you alright? Something on your mind?” She questioned. With another sigh, I stopped pacing. “I’m alright, don’t worry about me. Do you have that map?” “Yeah, but we can wait for a little if something’s troubling you.” She offered. “I’m fine.” I said, giving my head a small shake, “besides, those deliveries aren't going to deliver themselves.” “Well if there is something you want to talk about just ask.” She said with eyes full of concern. I nodded solemnly, and with that comment we left. When we left we headed to the first name on the list which was Cloud Chaser. *knock knock knock-knock-knock* A few seconds and the door was answered by a small filly. “Hello?” The filly asked cutely and emitted a small gasp. “Is that letter for me?” “Would your name be Cloud Chaser by any chance?” I asked back, albeit with a bit of sarcasm, but this was not picked up. “Mmmm, no. My name is Mist Chaser, though my mum’s name is Cloud Chaser. Do you want me to go get her?” “No need, just make sure she gets the letter, okay?” I told the filly, which nodded excitedly as she took the letter with a wing. With a wave, she trotted away, leaving the door wide open. Thankfully, the mail recipient herself was in view, mouthing a ‘Thank you’. With a small nod, I closed the door. Another hour or so, and we were done. Not too bad of a day. Amazingly enough, no one asked about being an Alicorn, which was good. "Well, how do you think we did?" I asked curiously. "I dunno. You tell me, then I'll tell you." Muffin Drop said with a wink. With a chuckle, I thought for a little. "Hmm, well, no one bugged me about the Alicorn thing. Didn't take too long to do. As long as I get a bit more efficient with flying and delivering, I might get as fast as Rainbow Dash!” “As fast as RD? You wish!” The purple pegasus laughed. “But I agree, a few more days on the job, and you’ll be a pro in no time.” With that, we headed back to the Cloudsdale Delivery District, got our day’s pay, and I headed to Sugarcube Corner. Muffin stayed to talk to her boss for a while longer, but told me to go meet the others at the usual where her and Derpy usually ended on a successful day of work. Directional skills, don’t fail me now. ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ Rewinding back to start of the work day, I walked along with Derpy.. “Well then...” I said, trying to pick up a conversation with the cross-eyed mare. “What? Oh, sorry.” Derpy said as she broke out of her flying daze. “Not used to conversations too much. Did you want to talk about something while we head over?” “I don’t know, really. I’m not used to conversations either.” I replied. “I hope deliveries aren't too hard for me though.” “Deliveries usually aren’t that bad.” She said with a smile. “My eyes do make it a bit troublesome at times, that’s why I was moved to the ground division. Other than that, I think you’ll do fine.” “Alright. You probably know your way around Ponyville though, don’t you?” I asked her. “Mostly, I guess. But I think there’s a map if you need one.” The grey mare said. “Are you good at memorizing maps?” “Honestly, not really.” I responded with a laugh. “It’s fine though. I’ll probably memorize Ponyville in a week if they decide to hire me. “Well, they do kinda need another worker around here. I don’t remember if it was for the Cloudsdale division or the ground division, but they do need one somewhere.” She responded. “I think Hotshot’s had experience with delivering before.” I thought out loud. “If there’s a position open where he’s at, I’m sure he’ll get it.” “Most likely. Let’s just hope he’s reliable enough.” Derpy commented. “Yeah, we've been friends for a long time. I’m sure he’s reliable.” I responded. “Again though, only time will tell.” Derpy gave a nod and I let the conversation drift into silence once again for the rest of the way to the building. The surroundings changed from the varied housed to large pine trees. I saw a large building in the distance. It had a topside loading dock and a lower loading dock. I assumed the topside dock was for shipments from Cloudsdale or other cloud-based cities and the lower one was for shipments from the various ground cities like Manehattan, Canterlot, and Appleoosa. “Alright, this is the place.” Derpy pointed out. “Whoa, this is pretty nice actually.” I commented with awe. As we went inside, there was many things to see. Envelope stations, boxing stations, and a large section stored a variety of boxes and crates. Over at a cement post, there stood a mare who I presumed to be Derpy's boss. “Hmm, only five minutes late this time. That’s a new record! Well done, Derpy. We’ll have you on time in no time.” “Is that sarcasm I sense?” I commented with an arched eyebrow. “A little, but really, it is an improvement from the usual lateness.” Derpy's boss said honestly. “So, what brings you here? I assume you didn't come with Derpy for nothing, did you?” “Actually, Derpy mentioned I could earn a few bits here, if you need a little extra help around this place.” I told the in-charge mare in front of me. “It does look a bit stocked.” “Sure! A bit of help would be wonderful around here.” She said cheerfully. “Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Crate Boss, but since we’re going to be working on a professional level, you may call me Ms. Crate.” “Ah, professionalism, I like it.” I said with a smile. “I’m Blu. Pretty simple name but I like it. A pleasure to meet you Ms. Crate.” In a moment of pausing, I took a second look at ‘Ms. Crate’. She was a unicorn, had a dark green coat, a light rose color for her mane and tail, and wore a light brown delivery uniform that covered her cutie mark so I couldn't see it. She was also the first pony I saw that wore regular glasses that were oval-shaped. “My, aren't you a gentlecolt.” Ms. Crate said with a small giggle, but caught herself and cleared her throat. “Oh, yes, right. We have a schedule to keep. Derpy? Are you still hanging around?” “Hmm? Oh! I’m sorry Ms. Crate! I’ll get to work right away!” She exclaimed. The grey pegasus started flapping her wings but was suddenly caught in a magical grip. “Not so fast, ya filly.” The dark green mare instructed. “I’ll need you to help Blu around the building. He’ll also help you deliver some things with the cart. Remember to include today’s sorting in your tour as well.” “Yes, ma’am!” Derpy said with a bit of a blush, most likely from being caught in her bosses magic. Or maybe from it being a first time to show someone around the post office. Either way, I tried not to giggle. “Alright.” Ms. Crate turned back to me. “As you now know, Derpy will show you around a little and then she’ll test your skills and how well you do in this type of job. You’ll still be paid 40 bits for the work you put into it, but your skill will really see if you have what it takes to be a delivery pony. Understand?” “Yes, Ms. Crate. I’ll try my best.” I responded with a good enthusiasm level. Or at least, that’s what I hoped. “Great! Off to work with the two of you now, before we get even further behind schedule.” She said as shooed us away. With a nod, we both headed further into the building. The back room wasn't too bad. A bit dim, but everything was still pretty visible. Derpy trotted over to the clipboard that had the orders, supplies, and pretty much anything you might have as a list in a delivery business. “Alright, let’s see here.” The grey mare started. “What did you want to cover first?” “Hmm, I dunno. Let me take a look.” I said as I trotted to her side to take a look at the clipboard. ‘Letter sorting, package weighing, stamping...’ I thought to myself as I looked down the list. “How about a simple inventory check?” I suggested. “We can try that, yeah.” Derpy said with a smile. “Since we’re already here, it’ll be a perfect place to start. All you have to do is take the clipboard and flip to today’s date, then identify each box to make sure everything’s in order.” “That doesn't sound too bad. How long does it usually take you to check everything?” I asked curiously. “Usually about 10-15 minutes, depending on how many things you need to cover.” She replied while flipping to today’s inventory list. I grabbed the clipboard with my magic. “Sounds easy enough, you don’t happen to have a stopwatch, do you?” “There’s one on that desk, I’ll time you.” Derpy said with a smile. With a nod, I floated the stopwatch to her and with a grab of her hoof, she got ready. As did I, getting a pencil off the same desk. “Alright, here we go.” The grey mare started. “One, two, Three!” The stopwatch clicked and I began looking at each box closely, checking them off one by one. “Done!” I exclaimed with a proud smile as I heard a wing slap the button on the stopwatch. “Wow! That was quite fast for a new pony!” The derpy-eyed mare said with enthusiasm. “Oh? What was my time?” I asked with a cocked eyebrow. “6 Minutes and 23 seconds!” She yelled brightly. I slightly grimaced my ears from the volume, but smiled anyway. “That doesn't sound too bad.” I guessed. “There’s probably ponies better than me who could count faster than that, but I’d say I’m happy with that.” “Yeah, there’s a few on the force that are speed demons in counting, but you should be proud in your speed, given that was a ton of packages you had to take inventory of.” Derpy admitted. “Okay... So what now?” I asked a little awkwardly. The grey pegasus was oblivious to the brief awkward moment sparked by my slowness in speech. That was also why it was brief. “There’s still plenty that needs to be done, Blu.” She said with a small giggle. “If you help me out in doing some letter sorting, we can go outside and deliver some, while Celestia's sun is still high. Does that sound good to you?” “Yeah, let's go with that then.” I responded with a small nod and a smile. Well, manipulating the letters with my magic as Derpy told me where each letter went didn't go too bad. It hurt my head a little, but nothing a bit of walking time couldn't fix. As we walked to the first house, which happen to be Fluttershy's, Derpy swore she saw Hotshot in the corner of her eye, but I kinda doubted that and assumed she was seeing things. Besides that, I was going to deliver a letter to Fluttershy! Needless to say, my mind was occupied to notice Hotshot and Muffin Drop in the distance. They never caught up, so I remained looking to the letter. ‘Who the heck is Flightless? He some distance cousin of Fluttershy that no one’s heard about? He a random character that got named in a future episode? Nah, I shouldn't worry about it too much. Not like every single pony get’s named in the series. Wonder if Muffin Drop ever got spotted as well? Unless she’s an OC, but I’m already taking things too-’ “Blu? How long have you been looking at that letter now?” The grey mail deliverer asked, thankfully derailing my train of thought. “You know you shouldn't be snooping in other ponies’ mail, right?” “Hmm? Oh, sorry. Just got distracted by the senders name.” I excused and placed the letter back in the bag. “Alright, well it’s not too far now. Fluttershy's one of the farthest houses from Ponyville, besides Sweet Apple Acres of course. Have you met Fluttershy yet?” I thought of the party for a moment, along with the moments after the party. “Kinda. You were at the party though too, so that’s most of what I saw of her as well.” “Ah, right.” The cross-eyed mare said, remembering the events of last night. “Didn't you guys meet with her and the other Elements of Harmony after though?” You must have talked with her a bit then too.” “Umm, kinda, but I’d rather keep that private for now if that’s alright.” I told her with my expression dropping slightly. Good idea not to mess up the story too much, in case I mix something up. “Huh? Well alright then, don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to. Besides that, we’re here.” She pointed out a few feet before the door. I quieted a little bit and approached the door. Lightening the mood a little, I came up with a little rhythm on the spot. *Tap-tap-tap tap tap tap, tap* A small voice came inside, which I could barely pick up with my hearing. “O-oh my? Angel, could you see who that is? I’m not expecting anyone today, but I’d like to know who it is.” Another chatter came from inside, followed by Fluttershy once again, “Yes, yes, I know there’s never anyone bad in Ponyville at this time of year, but I still don’t feel very comfort-” More chattering interrupted her. “Yes, I know that too, but-” By this time, I figured something that might bring her out, either that or just allow us to slip the letter under the door. “Gee, Derpy.” I started louder than average. “Maybe no one is home. Should we put this letter under the door or wait a little while more?” By the time I started saying while, the door opened up to reveal Fluttershy, a bit excited, but that was a good sign. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I was a little worried who it was so I didn't answer right away. I heard somepony say letter though, so I wanted to make sure I was here to get it.” With a smile, I gladly handed over the letter with my magic. “There ya go. Fluttershy, right?” “Eep! Oh, um, yes. You must be Blu from last night. Why are you on the mail delivery service?” She asked shyly, but thankfully kept most of her volume. “Yeah, that’d be me. I met Derpy and one of her friends this morning and bought them muffins with Hotshot. He’s currently looking at the delivery job as well as me, so we were offered ‘shots’ at the jobs Derpy and her friend worked at.” I explained and added, “Hotshot’s fine by the way, so you don’t have to worry about him.” “Oh, that’s good. Thanks for finding them a chance at work, Derpy.” The shy pegasus thanked, earning a slightly confused, but bright smile from her. Angel poked the yellow leg of his owner, reminding Fluttershy of something. “Oh, I’m sorry again, I must be keeping you two from work. If you and Hotshot need some additional work, you can come and help tomorrow with the Crusaders. I’m not that good with keeping filly’s entertained.” “I’m sure it won’t be a problem to help out, sure. I’ll tell Hotshot later.” I assured. “See you later then?” Fluttershy slightly blushed, but nodded. With a quick farewell, she closed the door and we were off once again to deliver mail. A variety of letters and doors later, and we finished up delivering all the letters from the bag. “Alright Blu, how do you feel?” “What exactly do you mean?” I asked the confusing grey mare. “I mean, how do you feel about everything? The job, the letters, Flutter-” She started, but stopped abruptly. Ignoring the last part-word, I pieced together some thoughts. “Well, honestly, I can tell I’m a bit slow, so if I go with this job I’ll have to walk 20% faster. Aside from that, the letters weren't too hard to work with.” “Okay then, we should head back to HQ to try your hand at some packages.” Derpy smiled. Groaning a little, but not too loudly, I nodded my head. This was going to be a bit harder for me since my previous body was pretty weak, making my current body slightly weaker. I had already experienced that back in the Everfree. With a nod of Derpy’s head, we set off on the quickest route back, I hoped. “Well then, seems like you two make a nice team.” said Ms. Crate as she looked over us. “You wanted some packages to deliver, correct?” We both nodded. Checking the list to her right, the dark-green mare smiled. “Hmm, seems it’s your lucky day. There’s four barrels of cider ready to be delivered out to Sweet Apple Acres. The wagon is out the back and waiting for you.” ‘Wagon full of cider? Great, now not only do I have to lug around heavy stuff, but if Rainbow smells this, I’ll have to fight her off as well.’ I thought with a sigh. “Alright then, I’ll give it my best.” “Good!” Ms. Crate exclaimed. “Packages are the most important items we deliver here, so hopefully you’ll be good at it.” Neither pony commented on my expression of angst lazily waiting for it all to be over so I could go back to bed. Hooking up didn't seem so bad at first, but dang those things are heavy! Thankfully I still had the letter-delivering saddle on so it didn't really caff at my fur. The metal didn't seem too rusted either. Either way, it was still freaking heavy so I figured out a bit of magic to lighten the harness. Air magic, thank you. “Come on! It can’t be that hard to pull!” Derpy encouraged. “Yeah, sure. It’s just lugging a heavy cider-filled wagon across Ponyville. That’s nothing compared to lugging anvils to odd places.” I said, voice filled to the brim with sarcasm. “That was one time! How do you even-” the grey mare started, sighing with shame. “Nevermind, I’m sorry. I guess I’m getting a little carried away with my sarcasm.” I joked. “I’ll tone it down for you. But seriously, this thing takes endurance to lug around even with the light spell I used.” “Yeah, I kinda see what you mean. I’d help you out, but the wagon is only able to hook up to one pony at a time.” I nodded. “Don’t worry about it. If it gets a bit too much for me, I’ll rest.” With another nod from Derpy, we kept going, the wall-eyed mare keeping an eye on the barrels as best she could. After a while, sweat came down my forehead. Derpy swished down to give me a little cool breeze. Smiling and giving a nod, I figured we were about another ten minutes from the Acres if I picking up the pace, so that’s what I did. Bad idea. Five minutes was all it took to make me slow my pace to a stop and drop to the ground. “Well look who we have here.” A brash female voice said a few feet away from me. “Seems you've scooted to a stop.” From my side, I saw Derpy glaring at who could only be Rainbow Dash. Mustering up some energy, I gave a weak comeback. “I don’t see you... *pant* carrying four barrels... *pant* of cider.” “Cider? No wonder you’re so exhausted! You haven’t drank any yet!” The rainbow-maned pegasus exclaimed with a smirk. “These are going to Applejack’s, Rainbow. Blu’s helping me deliver things today to see if he qualifies for the job.” Derpy explained with a bit of agitation, then softening her voice. “Could you help us out for a second?” Rainbow sighed, but put on a warm smile. “Yeah, I can help you out. Promise I can have a bit of cider though?” “Maybe,” I added in. “But we don’t know the exact story behind this delivery so we’ll have to ask Applejack when we get there.” Rainbow nodded and turned to Derpy, nodding once again. In time, they pulled me back to my hooves. “Okay, on three, we start pushing the wagon and you run your flank off!” The speedy mare ordered. ‘This probably isn't the best idea... “Oh crap!!!” The wagon started moving at high speeds as the countdown reached three. Thanks to another quick lightener spell, I was able to keep the pace relatively well, but this quite pushed me to my limits. “Woohoo!” cried Rainbow Dash from behind the wagon. Flying definitely had it’s advantages, which I sadly did not have. I don’t mind though, since it gives me more time to work on magic. Though if I ever wanted to be a pegasus, it’d be now. “Isn't this a little unsafe for the cider?!” warned Derpy over the sound of the wind. “Who cares! We’ll be at the farm in no time, so there’s no chance for something to go wrong!” countered Rainbow. You know what this means, don’t you? “My eyes doesn't seem to be doing well at high speeds guys!” shouted the grey pegasus. “I don’t think I can keep this up for much longer without-” *THUMP*
-8- Nightly ExplorationWelcome to Equestria! The First Arc... ~~~~Chapter 8~~~~ ~~~~Nightly Exploration~~~~ Anyone like world-building? Think you know everything there is to know about Ponyville? Well, I’ll tell you one thing. You don’t even know the half of it! Luna sure makes nice nights... ~Blu and Hotshot ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ “No-no-no-no-no!” I said as the race to keep the cart moving sped on. Derpy had accidentally bashed into Rainbow Dash and the cart, making it speed a little faster than I was, and I was going full gallop already. The cart bumped my rump as I felt the harness go forward on my back. With a last effort, I dived forward, unfortunately letting the cart rise into the air and begin to flip. Closing my eyes, I used my magic to slow down the barrels the best I could. The ground rumbled and a crack sounded through my ears. “Well,” I thought to myself. “There goes that job...” “Derpy?” I wondered out loud as the dust settled around us. “Rainbow?” “Derpy, I do NOT see how you’re still on the delivery team!” said an annoyed pegasus from a few feet away. “I usually don’t go that fast, or my eyes screw up...” The low voice of the wall-eyed mare explained. “I tried warning you guys, but I was too late.” “Don’t worry about it, accidents happen.” I ensured while I slowly got back up on my hooves. “Yeah, that’s true.” admitted the cyan pony. “How are the barrels?” “Yeah, how are th’ barrels?” The southern-accented mare asked with a bit of an annoyed tint to it. Turning my head around, I found the most obvious holder of the voice. “Err, hey Applejack. Good to see you again.” “Yeah, you too. Though ah’d like to know why there’s a bunch of barrels and a broken wagon on my land.” she persisted. “By the looks of it, they don’t look too bad ‘cept for one.” Derpy stepped forward. “There was a bit of a turbulence ‘cause of me. I accidently bashed into Rainbow Dash and the wagon and Blu couldn’t keep up, and-” “Hold on, it wasn’t all your fault.” Rainbow interrupted, getting up and trotting up beside me to face the orange earth-pony. “I kinda sped the wagon up a bit too much so Derpy had her little eye-messing up thing and he isn’t that fast. No offence.” “Well, I appreciate you owning up to it.” the stetson-wearing mare smiled. “That doesn’t seem like a simple bump though.” “Dives were never my best plans of action.” I said plainly. “Ah, figures. Alright then. You check on the broken barrel, Derpy and Rainbow, you make sure the other barrels are fine and upright, and I’ll take a look at the wagon to assess the damage.” All three of us nodded to her orders and got to work. After looking at the crack in the barrel for five minutes straight, I got nothing. “Baaaaah. I can do air magic, make tornado’s, levitate things, probably even teleport, yet I can’t fix a simple wooden crack?” I complained to myself quietly. “Least powerful unicorn ever...” "Are you alright sugarcube?" Applejack came up behind me. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just can’t fix the darn crack in the barrel.” I responded. “Might have to get another barrel.” Rainbow Dash and Derpy came up beside us, reporting that the other barrels okay. “You look like you need some help.” Derpy speculated. “Hmm, maybe Sweetie Belle could do it, since she’s the sister of a seamstress and all.” she suggested. “Sweetie Belle?” Applejack whistled loudly with a high pitch. How exactly, I don’t know, but Equestria was not a place to question logic. Either way, Winona came running. “Could you run and get Sweetie Belle from the treehouse? You might have to take the whole group, but that doesn’t matter too much. Get to it!” With a nod, the loyal dog ran in the assumed direction of the treehouse. “Smart dog.” I mentioned with a somewhat gaping mouth. “Yep, she’s sure energetic. Reminds me of the time we herded the cows right past Ponyville.” the orange mare reminisced with a chuckle. “Anyway, the important thing to know is if she’s going full speed, she’ll be back in only a couple of minutes.” I nodded. True to her words, the dog came back along with the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Ohhh boy... “You’ve already met Applebloom, there’s Sweetie Belle, and that’s Scootaloo.” Applejack introduced. “Hi!” “Hey!” “‘Sup!” the fillies greeted respectively. “Hey there girls, you ready to help us out?” I asked, knowing the answer. The three nodded. “Cutie Mark Crusader Repairers go!” they yelled energetically. I chuckled at their enthusiasm. “Where do we start?” I thought for a second. “Hmm, Applebloom, you help out your sister with the wagon over there, Sweetie Belle, I need some help with this barrel, and Scootaloo...” I thought for a little. I had no idea what to assign her. “How about you find that missing wheel that popped off? And maybe get a bit of extra wood incase we need it?” the stetson-wearing mare beside me suggested. Scootaloo nodded in content. “Me and Derpy will go with her.” Rainbow Dash added in. It was obvious that she was trying to keep the clumsy grey mare out of trouble, which I mentally thanked her for it. “Alright, let’s get to it then.” I nodded with a smirk. As the group dispersed to their tasks, I was left with the high-pitched unicorn that held a curious expression. “So, why do you need my help?” she asked. A small blush appeared on my cheeks. “Well, thing is, my magic isn’t really strong and I can’t seem to fix this crack in the barrel. Do you know any seamstress magic that could perhaps seal it back together?” “Rarity is way better at seamstress stuff than me, but I think I can try this one spell she taught me.” she figured hopefully. “Lemme see the crack.” I pointed it out on the lopside barrel. Sweetie nodded and her horn began to glow and her eyes shut. The crack began to glow as well, albeit a little weaker. At first the crack slowly started to repair itself and then *crack* by this time the crack became bigger than it was before while cider was starting to spill out. “Save the cider!” I heard Rainbow exclaim from a distance. “I got it!” I shouted back with my horn glowing, gathering up wind to slowly collect what was left of the pouring liquid. By the time I was finished I had a wind barrel holding the liquid. "That’s one way to use that wind magic." Applejack said with a chuckle. “Err, yeah. Now what?” I asked with a slight bit of strain. “I can’t hold this forever.” “Pour it on me!” the cider-deprived pegasus pleaded loudly. “Not a chance.” the orange farm-mare stated bluntly. “Go and get a new barrel from the barn and maybe you can have- *fwoosh* -some.” “Ciiiiiiideeeeer!” a speedy pegasus sped coming back to the straining unicorn and company holding a nice unbroken barrel. Luckily, she slowed down enough to stop only few feet from the mid-air cider barrel. “Okay, good. Applebloom, could you crack open the lid for us?” Applejack asked, in which the bow-wearing filly nodded and got the nearby crowbar. With a nice *pop*, the lid opened. “Euuuuugh.” Blu groaned as he manipulated the wind further to funnel the apple-scented liquid into the barrel. “Ewwww, metal-y.” Applebloom complained, making a large *pbbbbt* sound. “Don’t worry about it, we’ll get that taste out of your mouth later.” Scootaloo assured. “I just got an idea for another way we could help out. To the kitchen!” The fillies eyes sparkled. “Cutie Mark Crusader Apple Chefs!” Before anypony could object, the small force of creative destruction were on its way. Applejack exasperated a long sigh. “Never a dull moment around here, is there?” “Seems not.” I chuckled, then remembered the letter and got it out of the mailbag. “Oh, now that that’s over, you might want this.” With a nod, the freckled mare took the letter and opened it up. “Hmm, well that’s quite interesting. “Dear AJ, how’s the applebucking going? Hope its doing well. Also remembered it’s almost cider season, so I got some extra cider barrels from our place and sent them along their way over there to you. Hope they got there okay and good luck to your rainbow friend since I hear she is really unlucky when it comes to cider. Hope to hear from you soon. ~Braeburn”” “Huh, he actually remembered me. Cool. I mean, of course he remembered me. I’m the fastest pegasus ever, there’s no way he’d forget me.” Rainbow Dash bragged. “Yeah yeah.” Applejack said, brushing off the prideful speedster. “Blu, do you mind hooking yourself back up to the wagon and hauling these to the barn. I know you won’t crash, as long as Rainbow doesn’t speed you up or Derpy derps up again. No offence.” “I’m alright. I kinda don’t mind it anymore. I gotta see him through the delivery though.” the grey pegasus reminded. “Ah, that makes sense. You joined the Ponyville delivery service.” the stetson-wearing mare speculated. “It’s more of a trial run. Anyway, the wagon good to go?” I asked. “Yup, was just a wheel that fell off. It’s good now. Need help hooking up?” she offered. “Nope.” I declined. “Just give me a second and I’ll be ready to go.” With a nod, I headed over to the wagon with the new barrel in my magical grasp. “Remind me again why I signed up for this.” I groaned. “When I said I was ready to do this, I think I lied.” “Stop your complaining, and the word you’re looking for is mistaken.” Applejack reminded. “Anyway, it’s only a bit more to go. You can do that.” I huffed, but nodded. She was right of course, but I do have a bad habit of complaining when I walk, or trot in this case. Nevertheless, it didn’t actually take very long. “Alright, that should be good. Thanks for bringing them over.” the country-pony thanked. “And thanks for helping us out. I would have been screwed if it weren’t for you.” I responded. “No issue at all. Ponyville folk aren’t as impatient or forgiving as some in Manehattan. Plus, we’re used to disaster every once in awhile, so something like this wasn’t a problem.” she explained. “Now how about you ponies take some cider for the road.” Pulling out some flasks and a wooden tap, she handed Derpy and I two flasks each, filled to the brim with cider. Catching the look on Rainbow’s face, Applejack smirked. “10 bits and you can have the rest of the barrel.” “Deal!” the rainbow pegasus exclaimed with a big smile on her face. Derpy looked up to the sky. “Blu, I think we’re late.” “Hmm, for what?” I asked curiously. “Oh, I forgot to mention earlier. Me and Muffin Drop usually hang out at Sugercube Corner for a little at the end of the work day. I’m guessing Muffin invited Hotshot over for the same reason, so we should probably put the wagon back and turn in.” “Alright, I’ll hook up again and try out this cider. Thanks again, Applejack.” I said, hooking up and taking a small swig of cider, wonderful cider. “No problem, just be more careful and everything will be fine.” she reminded. With a nod, me and Derpy went on our way. ~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~ “Hey! You guys finally made it” Muffin exclaimed happily. “Speaking of which, what took you guys so long?” I added with a questioning look. “Two words: Rainbow, and Cider.” Blu said with a blush. “Seems legit.” I responded with a chuckle to his blush. “Speaking of which, how is the cider?” Muffin chimed in. “The cider is fine.” Derpy assured. “And quite delicious.” Blu added. “You got some as well?” I asked with an arched eyebrow. “Indeed.” He responded with a mischievous smile. “You lucky pony.” the purple pegasus said in mock. “Well,” Derpy started “We do have some more if you're interested.” she said while she pulled out four large flasks full of fresh cold cider. “Wow, I can’t wait to try some.” I said as i grabbed the flask with my magic and put it around my neck. “Now why don’t we head into Sugarcube Corner and we can have some cupcakes on me” Muffin said as we entered said establishment. “Why, if it isn’t my two new friends! Oh, and hi Derpy. Hey Muffin Drop.” the pink hostess greeted. “What’ll it be?” “We’ll have four of your specialty cupcakes.” Muffin said. “Wait, what do you mean speciality?” Blu asked, mind flashing back to a famous fic that he never had the stomach to read. “Just some cupcakes with some unique ingredients. They’re delicious!” the jumpy pony said with excitement as Blu and I shot a look at each other both thinking the same thing. “As I was saying four of your specialty cupcakes please!” Muffin re-ordered. “Coming right up.” she said with enthusiasm. “Just have a seat and I’ll bring you the cupcakes.” We did as she said and took a seat. Within minutes, we were given the four specialty cupcakes, consisting of a vanilla cupcake base with rainbow-colored icing. I looked up at Blu, his face turning partly green with sickness, meanwhile looking to see Muffin and Derpy wolfing down their cupcakes. Seeing this I took an experimental bite of the cupcake, looking up once more at Blu’s face that was even more green than it was before it tasted..... Delicious! Despite the fanfic I read, I wolfed down my cupcake in ten seconds flat, looking at Blu once again and giving a nod saying it was ok to eat it, wondering if that’s what he was waiting for. Just then, I saw him take the experimental bite only to see his gone faster than I ate mine. “Wow!” Blu exclaimed loudly. “These are amazing!” he said with everyone in the room staring at him and I simply face-hoofed myself right there. A little time passed and I realized I hadn't even tried the cider yet so I grabbed the flask with my magic. With the lid close to my lips, there was a sudden noise to the side of us. “There you two-! Oh, hey, Derpy, Muffin Drop. It’s been a while.” the lavender mare greeted abruptly. “Anyway, I need you two for a quick checkup. It won’t take long, I promise.” she assured, looking at me and Blu. “Well, at least I got to eat that cupcake.” I sighed. “Alright, let’s go then.” “Gee, thanks for ditching us.” Muffin said in mock sarcasm. “But really, I guess it’s fine. Derpy and I need to talk for a bit. Meet us back at the inn in half an hour?” “I don’t see why not.” Blu piped in. I nodded as well. “Alright, see you guys later.” she said while Derpy waved a hoof. “So, do we have to do that extensive testing stuff again?” I asked as we walked through the door to the library. “I don’t think so. Just a few brief questions, stuff since we last tested, that type of thing.” she assured. “What type of questions?” Blu asked in curiosity. “Magic use, friendship lessons, physical exertion.” the studious mare listed. “Celestia let me know a couple things and I’m basically your line of communication to her until the Summer Sun Celebration.” “Figures.” I said plainly. “Well, I can list off a couple things..” “Wait! What did Celestia tell you?” Blu asked once again. “Relax, anything she told Twilight is safe for her to know. If it isn’t, she wouldn’t know.” I told him a little softly, though not softly enough to avoid the faithful student’s ears. “Anything I needed to know, I know.” she defended. “Though if there’s any other information you’d like to mention, that would be helpful.” she finished with a cynical smile. “I think we’re good.” my blue unicorn friend said slowly. He obviously wasn’t used to seeing that smile very often. I chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, I think he’s a bit paranoid and doesn’t want you to know about a certain crush.” I ended with a whisper, also earning a swift nudge to my side. “Err, okay then.” Twilight said with her smile diminishing into one a bit more awkward with a small blush. A small cough put it in it’s place, mostly. “Anyway, let me get my paper and write down your recent experiences. Put in as much detail as you like.” After our recent experiences of the day were written, there was one last question. “Can you two name any specific lessons you’ve learned today?” “Erm, how about ‘Those who run fast shall stumble?’ Like that one Slender Skim guy said.” I started. “Yeah,” Blu continued for me. “I kinda learned it the hard way when Rainbow helped push the wagon to its sorry ‘accident’.” “Good, good. Second day in Ponyville and you’ve already learned something. It’s not exactly a friendship lesson, but it’s close enough.” Of course it wasn’t a friendship lesson, but like she said it was close enough that it hit me. “Where are we going to stay for the night?” I blurted out suddenly. Blu blinked. “Oh fudgesicle, I do believe you have a point for once.” I nudged him briefly. “Derp. I don’t really want to spend our hard-earned bits on the inn again.” “You think we could convince Muffin Drop or Derpy to house us for a night or two?” he suggested back. “Or you could sleep with Twilight.” I suggested with a laugh, and then came the glare. “Oh please, I’m kidding.” “Well, I do have some room down here if you really wanted to, but I don’t know if I could house the both of you.” the lavender mare piped back in with a small blush. “I’ll go somewhere else. Blu, you can stay here and I’ll house with Derpy or Muffin.” I offered. The blue pony sighed and looked down, but not before I caught the slight smile on his muzzle. “Okay then, but if you can’t, we can probably go back to the inn before we find a more solid place to sleep.” “If I can’t, I’ll head to the Inn myself you can stay here.” I countered. “Same price for one room. That’s it, that’s the deal.” he countered back, raising a hoof. “I could argue about this for another few minutes but that would get us nowhere so let’s just meet the other two at the inn.” I said, not wanting this to go farther in front of Twilight. Giving him a brohoof to seal the deal and bidding farewell to Twilight we headed out. Surprisingly, we could still navigate around Ponyville at night. We walked inside the inn only to find Derpy eating a tasty muffin and four flasks on the table, not surprisingly, they were all empty. ‘I knew we shouldn’t have left those flasks with them.. I thought in regret, but hey, it was just Equestria’s best cider. I piped up vocally, “Hey, where’s Muffin Drop?” I asked. “Over here.” the voice from the other table said. “I almost fell asleep waiting for you guys. Why do you guys always take so long?” “Just a small argument about where we’re going to sleep tonight. Blu wants to sleep with Twilight.” I joked. “Your kidneys will be mine if you keep spreading that around.” Blu warned. “Oh don’t be so serious.” I countered once again, trying to keep the mood light. “We don’t want to spend 20 bits on a room in the inn tonight. Last night was free since we did that one job for Mayor Mare.” “I have a bit of room I think.” Muffin Drop offered. “Only if you feel comfortable sleeping on the same bed as me.” she said with a wink. “Err, I’m not so sure.” I said with a blush forming. “Oh, am I not the only one with a crush now?” Blu chuckled. “Shut up. At least she offered it. Now you can cuddle with Twilight.” “I was joking actually.” the purple pegasus laughed. “There is a bit of floor space I can offer, but that’s about it.” “Why if it ain’t the four ponies from this morning.” we heard from behind the counter. “Hey Skim.” I said, waving a wing. “I hear you’re looking for a place to stay for the night” he said. “Yeah, that would be him.” Muffin said as she pointed towards me. “OK, well here’s the deal: One of my employees couldn’t come in tonight so how about you work the night shift and you’ll receive a free room and let’s say, 10 bits?” he said with a raised eyebrow. “When do I have come to this job?” I asked. “Well, it’s still quite early so how about in two hours?” he suggested. “I can handle anything that’s thrown at me for a while, since it’s usually a small crowd, but come a couple hours from now and it does get a bit busy for one pony alone.” I nodded. “Sound good then.” “I’ll research a bit of magic at Twilight’s when you have to go. It shouldn’t be too hard.” Blu figured. “Alright, but what do we do until then?” I asked plainly. “We’re going to go see Ponyville.” Muffin Drop bounced back into the conversation. “That was the plan Derpy and I made before you two took so long. Two hours should be alright.” “For all of Ponyville?” Blu questioned. The two pegasi giggled, Derpy getting up from her spot and stretching out. Muffin did the same and walked up to us with a sly smile. “You’ll see.” ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ “So where are we going exactly? I asked. “Dude! That’s the fifth time you’ve asked.” Hotshot said as he shot him a look. “You’re worse than a little filly!” Muffin agreed. “Well, if the smart one of the group would tell me, I wouldn’t have to ask, now would I?” I shot back sarcastically. “Well, I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of a surprise right?” she questioned teasingly. “Or are you too much of a filly to know what that is?” “I’m more intellectual than the three of you combined. It doesn’t take a filly to know what it is, it just takes a simple.. realization that you’re probably going to tease me for the rest of the walk, aren’t you?” I said, ending slowly as I proved my own point. “Trust me you’re going to want to save your energy for where we’re going.” Derpy said after being quiet for so long. “If you say so then.” I sighed as the walk kept going. “Uh, guys?” the green pony asked as his ears peaked toward a nearby building. “You hear that sound?” Muffin Drop smiled. “Music to my ears, my fine green friend.” It only took a few more moments until we were right in front of the bright neon sign that shone: “Club Ponyville: Vinyl Records and Cold Bottles” Outside the club stood a black-suited bouncer and a few posts that held a lineup. That is, if there was one. “Hey there, bud!” the purple pegasus greeted to the bouncer warmly, having to speak louder from the amplified music inside. “How’s the club doing tonight?!” “Could be better, but it’s roomy enough in there, so that’s probably good for you and.. Well now, who’s your friends?” the stallion asked with a raised eyebrow. “Just Hotshot and Blu. They came into town yesterday I think. You were there last night at that ‘surprise’ party, weren’t you Derpy?” Muffin asked her curiously. The grey mare simply nodded in response. “Long story short, we met them, helped them get a shot at work here, and it’s been a long day. You mind letting us in so we can have some fun?” “Always a pleasure to have you around, just remember to watch out for your friends in there. You know how it is.” We all nodded to this, though I was a little bit nervous. Hotshot wasn’t fooling anyone either with a slight tensing of his body as we went inside. The scene was quite dark, besides the array of lights inside. Hotshot was the first to comment on this. “I.. Don’t know what I expected. I mean, this is a pretty typical club scene that I always imagined, it’s just. I can’t really see too well in here.” “I get what you mean. This is pretty cool though, and the music is awesome as ever.” I commented. Derpy smiled. “Ohh, I love this song!” she exclaimed as she started singing. Shutting out the universe, Your adventure is your curse, You never want to say goodbyeeyyeeyyee.. “No wonder this music is so good! Look who’s the DJ!” Hotshot said pointing to the booth. Vinyl Scratch spotted the four of us and gave a wave, then continued headbanging as we weren’t very close to the booth for speaking distance in this place. “You know what? Why don’t we get a drink?!” Muffin suggested. “Why not!” I said, lightening up for a little. “Finally, some tasty liquid! Order up!” the Alicorn yelled in excitement. A few minutes after, and we were chilling at one of the tables along the inner walls of the building. I held a nice peppermint-flavoured schnapps, Muffin Drop, a raspberry liquor, Derpy Hooves, a cherry vodka, and finally, Hotshot got his well deserved cider mixed with some ice cold whisky. “Ah, this is actually quite nice.” I commented happily, one of my favorite drinks at hoof. “So, what do you two usually do here, besides drink?” “Mmm, stuff.” Derpy answered vaguely. “Drinking is fun though.” “It’s not the only thing though.” Muffin Drop assured responsibly. Although, by the second round of drinks, it seemed Hotshot sided with Derpy and already seemed to feel a warm buzz from the alcohol. This also caused him to fall to Muffin Drop’s side in a slight daze. The pegasus, luckily for him, didn’t seem to mind. I giggled like a filly at the sight, while he gave me a glare that easily said ‘I know what will make you stop laughing.’ I did stop eventually when an announcement rang from the booth. “Hello everypony!” Vinyl called from the booth. “This is your obviously rockin’ DJ here with an announcement! Every able pony that can dance, sober or drunk, now is your time to dance it out on the dance floor! Let’s make this club BOUNCE!” A look to Hotshot’s side showed Muffin Drop downing her drink and showing a smug smile. “You. Me. Floor. Now!” she ordered boldly. His first dance with a buzz in his system; at least he doesn’t have to worry about stepping on her toes. Derpy also looked to me sitting beside her. Most likely a look of ‘Monkey see, monkey dance.’ Hotshot gave a chuckle. “You’re coming too, there’s no avoiding it.” I shrugged and hopped down. It seemed I could hold what was in me a little better than Hotshot could. Or my drink was just lighter than his most likely. Though I had just enough in me to stop caring and blindly go where my hooves took me. This was going to be fun. Luckily, both for our bit pouches and stomachs, that was about it for alcohol. The dancing went pretty well though. No major wrong moves, other than possibly me warming up to Derpy too much. I ended up blushing for a minute straight. We left the club. I was slightly drunk, Muffin more drunk, both Hotshot and Derpy fully intoxicated. Our multitude of hooves started walking in the direction of some hills just outside of Ponyville. “So, was that fun or what?” the tipsy purple pegasus asked as we walked. “Yes, I think that went quite well.“ Hotshot commented, looking over to me. I must have been still blushing, as I was keeping a little distance from my grey pegasus friend. I did kinda like her, along with Twilight, but I was uncertain what to do about it. Maybe I’d talk with Hotshot later about it. “Where are we heading now anyway?” I asked, looking forward at the hills. “Just a spot we sometimes chill after spending time at the club.” Derpy answered. “It get’s a little musty in there from all the dancing.” I nodded. Even with the remaining buzz in my system, I could still feel a bit of stink and sweat we worked up. The soft wind outside was enough to deal with both issues as they faded into nothingness. There wasn’t much to add after that so we simply enjoyed the peacefulness of the night as we walked up to the hill. When we got there, we laid down in the grass next to each other and just stared at the stars. “The sky is sure beautiful tonight.” Hotshot said with a dumb look on his face due to the alcohol. “Yeah, Luna likes her nights.” I figured. “I wonder who’s dream she’s invading tonight.” Muffin said with a smile on her face. We all gave her a bewildered look. ‘I’m feeling invaded already...’ Despite the feeling, I yawned and went close to Derpy. The previous comment was shrugged off quite easily, it seemed, as Muffin Drop couldn’t help but smile a little. “That’s adorable.” The blue unicorn flailed a hoof in her direction. “Shut up, I’m tired.” “Mmm, I don’t mind it. Probably the drinks that’s doing it anyway.” “Hey, didn’t you have to be back at the inn, Hotshot?” I asked him. “Oh shoot! That’s right,” He said as he jolted up. “Anyone care to join me on the walk there?” “Sure, why not?” shrugged Muffin Drop. “Got nothing better to do.” “I should start heading to Twilight’s.” I said tiredly. “I’ll come along!” exclaimed Derpy. “Besides, you’re too drunk to walk alone anyway.” "Am not!" I retaliated with a laugh. "Though the company would be nice, thanks." She nodded with a grin and we all parted in our coupled groups. In light of all that happen, the walk to Twilight's wasn't very eventful, besides having to keep Derpy on course, but that wasn't a problem with her almost leaning up against me. "Blu, do you like Twilight?" she asked curiously. I looked at her with as much curiosity. "Well, yeah, she's a leader, she's kind, smart, cute in her own little way. I can't really do anything about it yet, cause we need to hang out way more before I should even think about it. But in short, yeah, I do like her." She nodded. "You need any help with it? I dunno what I could do, but I could be your wingpony! Err, if you need me, that is." I blushed a little. I hadn't even thought of getting help from her, but since she offered.. "I'd love the help, thanks." I gave her a small nuzzle to show said thanks, which emitted a blush from my pegasus friend too. How she was going to help, I had no idea, but I didn't have time to figure it out as we reached the door to the giant tree. "Thanks for walking me here, Derpy." She smiled cutely. "No problem. See you tomorrow." I nodded, and with that, she took off. As I watched her go, she lopsided to the left, but quickly straightened herself out. "Hmm, maybe I should have walked her home instead of the other way around." I thought to myself, but as I turned and knocked on the door, the thought left my mind as fast as it came. Not that I didn't care if she made it home alright or not by the way, but more so, I knew Derpy knew this town better than I did. Oh, and because I had Twilight to focus on. "Who's there?" a feminine voice rang from inside. "Blu." I responded simply. "What's your quest?" she questioned again. "To get inside, it's a little chilly out here, you know." This was likely because there was some sweat left on me, but I didn't want to mention that. "Alright, how many times did you just knock?" "Uhh, seven?" I said slowly with my eyebrow raised. The door suddenly opened, revealing the purple mare with a smile on her face. "Well done, you passed my test. I was checking if you still had a buzz in your system." "Wait, how did you-?" "I happen to look out my window and saw you and Derpy walking close together. And it isn't really that late so I didn't suppose she was just tired. So on a hunch, I wanted to have a little fun." she ended with a giggle. I sighed with a chuckle. “Fun?” “Do you think I regularly quote ‘Monty Pony and the Holy Horseshoe’ when someone knocks on the door?” she asked with a hunched eyebrow. I smiled and shook my head. "I see your point. Can I come in now?" She nodded and allowed me to enter, shutting the door behind me. Author's Note It's been a long time, ha. One giant unmarked hiatus and here we are again. This isn't to say we won't be busy with other things still, but it's not likely we'll stop this anytime soon. Let us know in the comments below what we need to make this story not only exciting to read, but exciting to write too. :) Thanks for holding onto it those that have, and those that are just finding this now or in the future, make yourself at home and hold on to your hooves.
-1- Being a Brony/Meeting Celestia Welcome To Equestria! The Pre-Arc.. ~~~~Chapter One~~~~ ~~~~Being a Brony/Meeting Celestia~~~~ Hey, Blu and Hotshot here. This tale is quite an interesting one. Of course, no one's going to believe it because it's just too outright crazy, but I'm putting it here so me and my friend Hotshot can remember it forever. Believe it, or just enjoy. ~Blu and Hotshot Our epic adventure started with a letter Dear Princess Celestia... I doubt you even know of our existence, however powerful. We, me and my friend Hotshot, have been living our lives calmly, but also hectically. A lot of stuff happens here in our world. It seems completely busy with everything it can get it's hands (hooves) on. There are some moments where we get some peace, but work will pile up if we are not careful. There is also war that happens here. Some large, some small, and some in our hearts. We, however, aim to stay out of them, physically at least. Enough of that. The chance you'll read all this is practically none anyway but alas, we are writing this to get things off our minds when we cannot do that with anyone else. The hecticness of our lives currently is what's troubling us at the time. Hotshot's family has always been discorded to him (no pun intended to the chaotic god himself), and as for myself, my friends have been diminishing. However, if you do happen to stumble upon this letter and you indeed have the power to help the two of us, I ask that you do and in return we will serve you diligently and with great loyalty with whatever you may need us to do. Your otherworldly human fans and hopeful servants, ~Blu and Hotshot ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ Now, we hadn't had a hope to send it so the next day, we just burnt the letter. It wasn't too big of an event. I invited Hotshot over to my place to have a fire-pit and I had a copy of the letter printed out. He suggested we taint the fire green to have more of an effect, like in the show when Spike sends his letters with his green fire. We talked a little about how things were going while the fire crackled and spit out small shards of wood that ended up burning to ash he prepared the color effect that he came up with to put in the fire. "This would be way easier if Spike was here." He joked. But in the end the effect was well worth the preparation. I rolled the letter up and tied a string around it so we could toss it in together. It landed on top of the fire as we watched the paper burn in the green flames. All of a sudden, there was a small gust of wind! The small remains of the letter went up in the sky and with a flash, it was gone. Neither of us knew what to think at the time. Maybe it was pure coincidence. Maybe it was something more. Either way, he stayed over in case anything decided to happen and also just to hang out for a little more. Unknown to us at the time, Celestia stood as she received the letter. ~~~~Viewpoint: Princess Celestia~~~~ “Hmm...? What might this be? It’s almost time for me to rest and Twilight sends me a letter now?” She picked up the letter with her magic and read it, noticing immediately the writing was from another world. Reading it however, made her realize the circumstances of the situation. A royal guard was stationed next to the door as Celestia burst out of it, causing him to fall flat on his rump. “Princess?! Is there a problem afoot?” He asked, not sure of what else to do since it was only his second day on the job. “I need to see my sister. It isn’t too much of a worry but I feel like it may make a difference if I can do something about it tonight.” She replied and started walking to Luna’s usual place where she prepares to raise the moon. “Don’t take too long, Princess! You still need to lower the sun and get some rest.” The guard called after her, but his message did not reach her ears. The Princess of the Sun kept up her pace. Tonight was not going to be a boring night. Honestly though, she wanted, no, NEEDED to relieve some of her boredom that had been going on recently. Honestly, who ever heard of a boring Equestria?! ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ Here is where our side of the story gets unbelievable. It seemed Luna blessed us with some quite amazing dreams that night. Celestia reigned in our dreams as we slept and her face was seen throughout them. The morning after, we discussed our dreams and we found them both to be consisting of Celestia's watchful eyes. Little did we know, even then, the watch was being continued. The weekend had come and gone and soon we were back to our separate schools. Spring break was on the way on the next weekend so we tended to our lives as we usually did, but promised to meet up once again on friday to discuss things again. And it was so. We met once again and discussion went on for a while as each detail was brought up. However, the details were too fuzzy to really work off of. It was a bit annoying to have a sinking feeling that someone is watching us, especially in a dream. Being the bronies we are, we joked about Luna having a hand at the dreams. Little did we know that’s exactly what was happening. A couple days went by and we both continued to have the dreams. Celestia’s mane flowed like a flag while we slept. Finally, it was safe to say we’d had enough. Originally, the plan was to just send another letter to ask what was happening. (or of course bang our heads against a hard surface to see if we could get enough brain damage to make the feeling go away, but that was out of the question before it even got to the table.) The plan, however, changed for us. Celestia was also having enough of just researching us and decided to arrive at Hotshot’s backyard. The display of her just arriving was so majestic we couldn’t believe our eyes. It was every Brony’s dream come true to have the ruler of the mystical land of Equestria pretty much right before you. The sight was also a bit scary, despite the Princess only being our height, but hey, magical pony, ya never know what could happen if you encounter one. We invited her in since we were lucky enough to have Hotshot’s parents out at the time. Thus, the conversation of a lifetime started. ~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~ “I have received your letter.” She said with a concerned face. “Yet I wonder how you got it to me from another world altogether...” Blu and I exchanged looks that would have been perfect for the camera. “Well you see, Blu and I just decided that with the fire we through the letter in we would make it look more like the show how spike blows the green fire to send you letters.” I explained, ”After we burnt the letter a gust of wind came out of nowhere and we thought it was just coincidence, but as it turns out it obviously wasn’t.” “About this “show” you talk about as well...” The Princess of the Sun started. “Could you explain exactly how you know about us and some specifics of our world?” “That’s a bit simple, princess.” Blu jumped into the conversation. “You’re basically part of what we humans call a cartoon called My Little Pony, which was intended for young human girls, and it was for about three generations, not mentioning 3.5. However, in it’s fourth generation created by an amazing human named Lauren Faust, that’s when we older males came in. Thus, it started to grow into this large group of fans known as the MLP Fandom or what’s usually called “The Bronies”. “I see.” Celestia said with a face of remembrance. “There was once another alicorn that called herself Faust in Equestria. From what I remember, she was around before I started controlling the sun. She may be the Faust you are speaking of.” The Alicorn cleared her throat before continuing. “But enough of the past, I’d like to tell you a bit of why I am here now.” Blu and I both gave a small nod as we were still processing all the information we were getting. “I have studied you for the past few days.” She explained. “What I have observed has been quite interesting, after awhile I could tell you had your suspicions which revealed you two aren’t foals, I have also realized that you both if given the chance could wield one of the elements, Hotshot with Loyalty and Blu with Magic and that could come in good use in Equestria, another particularly interesting thing i’ve noticed you both have your own designs of yourselves as ponies.” “Well yes. You see, that's how we wanted to look like if we ever were to head to Equestria.” I explained. “As for the cutie marks we want those as well if possible, and now knowing how you’ve been keeping track of us you have probably seen how our abilities played out in our dreams” She simply nodded. “ I'm not sure about what we’ll do about the Cutie Marks but I’ll think of something.” She cleared her throat once again, “Though I'm afraid it won’t be all fun and games when you go to Equestria, for there is the matter of what will happen here as well when you leave.” “What exactly do you mean by that?” Questioned Blu. “When you leave here, people will notice your absence and I cannot guarantee your relatives acceptance of your pony forms and circumstances of departure." The Princess of the Sun said. “Alright, we can try and deal with that, hopefully.” Commented Blu. “Will we be able to switch between human and pony form if we need?” “I’ll have to work out a bit of the detail, but I’m sure it’s possible.” Celestia said as she nodded. “How about switching worlds?” I added in with a curious expression. “That will be up to you.” She answered. “You will both have the power to transport yourselves when you’re in pony form, but only together will you enough power. Along with that, you can’t tell anyone of where you truly came from or of this occurrence.” “That might be a bit too difficult if we are to explain this to our parents.” Blu said with a sigh. “Ah, yes, this isn't your own roof...” The white alicorn nodded with a hoof to her chin. “I think I can help with that...”
