Walking the Path

We trekked for twenty five minutes over surprisingly hilly terrain, the moment occurring to me to hum a little march from my army days. I didn’t seem to be getting anywhere, but I finally found a little… milestone? Is that what they’re called? The little rock sign by the road? Regardless, I took a closer look.

It was in perfectly legible English, how contrived is that?

Ponyville
3 Miles
I guessed that meant that I was heading towards this… Ponyville. I briefly supposed that the inhabitants of the locale were ponies; I immediately shot that down as absurd. Civilized horses? Nah…

And so I walked on. I hold my aged rifle close. Even in a place like this, you never know when some kind of monster or killer will come out and try to remove you from existence. I though I was getting quite close to Ponyville, and would probably be able to see it once I crested one tall hill.

I finally got to see this town. Thatched roofs, whimsical architecture, like some quaint backwater village, full of little cottages. I took out my trusty binoculars. My eyes feel a lot more comfortable seeing through them than squinting through a weapon’s scope. The alternate-universe theory is definitely looking likely; this is clearly not irradiated American suburbia.

And I could see the inhabitants of this place. Ponies. Not horses, little ponies. Ponies of all implausible colors. You wouldn’t believe this, but I saw that some were Unicorns and… pegasi? I doubt that’s the proper term. But anyhow, Ponyville was indeed a town of ponies. I could have questioned that more, but I wasn’t in the mood. All I felt was curiosity, in fact. Heh, they were actually kinda cute.

Now knowing all this, I had to decide my course of action. Should I hide from them? Make friendly contact? Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to continue that line of thought as I heard a silly Western-style tune play, telling me of something else in my vicinity… heading right down the road behind me.

Sunny Days had not been prepared for this. Odd, new sapient creatures turned up in town every now and then, but these things observing the town were a complete mystery, something she had never even learnt of in school. Griffins, Zebras and minotaurs weren’t seen frequently in Equestria, but they were known.

The earth pony had been on a trip to another town, and had not expected anything remarkable to happen on the return trip. Instead, she encountered three completely mysterious entities.

The first she saw was a floating metal sphere. It seemed mechanical, numerous metal spikes extended from it, and it bobbed up and down as if it were a cork in water. Its body seemed bent and rusted from an earlier pristine state, and a dangerous-looking implement extended what seemed to be “forwards.” It seemingly turned towards her, and the grille that could be considered its face blared out a cheery tune. Was this object alive and aware?

Closest to her was a large dog with a brown-black coat. What was shocking about it was that much of its legs and torso were encased in mechanical-looking metal implements, seemingly fused with its flesh. Even more disturbing was its head, which was topped by a transparent dome which allowed her to see the dog’s glowing, pulsating brain.

And then there was the third and largest stranger, who was watching Ponyville prone with a large pair of binoculars. It was a tall mammalian creature covered in clothing, Like most creatures, it had four limbs, a torso, and a head, but it took a very unfamiliar form. Seeming to notice her presence, it turned around and reared up on its hind legs. Sunny now saw that this thing was somehow bipedal, despite lacking any tail. In fact, it had an interesting resemblance in body structure to a minotaur. She could now see the being’s face, which had no fur on it, yet looked unnervingly like a pony’s. It had a flat, smooth, flesh-colored face with no snout, although it had a bulging protrusion that looked to be its nose. Around it were two eyes and a mouth. Furless as it was, it had a rough-looking black mane on its head, as well as a goatee. Looking down, she saw that the thing’s forelegs - would they be called arms? – ended in hands that both had five digits, which also reminded her of the minotaur that had come to Ponyville prior. However, its rear legs had only one joint in the middle, as it apparently stood on its hocks. From what she could see, it was similar to some sort of ape. It seemed likely that it was male and adult. While she could see little of its body, Sunny could see much in the creature’s clothing.

Innermost he wore a sandy camouflage jacket, and washed-out denim cargo pants. At the end of his legs were a pair of tough combat boots. He also wore a khaki vest, studded with pouches, and a long bandolier with a beaten canteen fixed to it. A faded red bandanna was tied around his neck, underneath a pair of goggles. A shade-giving hat stood on his head, the brim upturned on the right. A long metallic implement was clutched in his hands. It was mysterious to her, but it had the aggressive lines of a weapon. But most striking of all was the long (apparently leather, to her distaste) coat that reached close to the ground, waving in the wind like a cape. A red “X” shape was emblazoned across his back, and mean-looking green pauldrons were strapped to his shoulders. And he was now looking straight at her.

Enough with the third-person limited! I’m pretty sure this whole thing will work much better with my narration! Let’s get on with the story.

Alerted to a nearby entity, I got up and turned around. I saw her trotting down the road from the direction I came from, making coconut-noises with her hooves. She was a small… pony… mare? –about the height of my stomach, pastel yellow fur and an auburn mane and tail. She looks a bit like a horse (from memories of pictures, considering I have never seen a live horse in my life), but her proportions are widely different, her head rounder and shorter, her face… unnervingly human. Large eyes, facing directly forward, like a carnivore’s. There are bags strapped to her body, probably for luggage. And I see in her face shock and unease. For a few seconds, I stare and say nothing.

“Umm… hello?”