Hands of Life, Hooves of Death

by Shadow Quill

First published 19th of April, 2017

A human with magic abilities never before seen in Equestria? A necropony bent on taking over the world with an army of the living dead? Are you sure this is the same book? Yes? Then let's see what mayhem our favorite ponies can get up to.

Sarah Lovegood was just a normal adventurous young woman, hiking and mountain climbing in her spare time after her discharge from the U.S. Army. However, an accident leaves her stranded and badly injured, miles from any form of help and bleeding onto the desert sand and rock. Yet help arrives in the form of a mysterious being, who promises her a second chance at life. Unbeknownst to her, she's in for a wild ride in a magical world she never could have imagined.

Living in a world where technicolor ponies are the dominant race would throw anyone (pony?) for a loop, and to make things even more exciting Sarah finds out her newly discovered magic powers are the only thing that may stand a chance against Equestria's latest threat.

Will our wayward human find a way to survive the coming challenges, or will she end up like everyone (pony?) else and become a part of an army of the undead? Only time will tell, and maybe have some surprises in store along the way.

**Sex tag will be for Clop chapters later in the book, along with jokes and side comments. Clop chapters will be skippable for those that don't want to read it and will be marked with warning labels. Gore tag for battlefield blood and guts and general descriptives, pretty sure with a topic like necromancy you'd figure that one out on your own but I figured I might as well give you all a warning.

1 - The Accident

So sorry I couldn't post this story last week, got hung up by the review committee when it came to the story and 'being associated with MLP'. Apparently you need to blatantly state in some way in your story that the book is a part of the MLP universe in some context, or they'll nix your submission. Anyways, now that we have that taken care of, here's the first two chapters for Hands of Life, Hooves of Death!!

It was a brilliant day in Yosemite National Park, the wind was soft and the clouds drifted by in the midmorning air like cotton balls. My breath was thick in my lungs and my fingers burned, yet I hadn’t felt this alive in months.

Ever since my discharge from the Rangers, I had been feeling like a lost soul, drifting from one job to another without ever really finding what it was I was trying to find. Finally, I moved into a small cabin in the western half of California, someplace where I could just get away from it all and find my own path in life. Yet even that didn’t last for long. By the end of the third month I was about to go stir crazy, my mind jumping from crazy idea to equally crazy idea. Then, I thought about something I hadn’t done since I had joined the Corps.

So, without much fanfare and without really thinking too much about what I was going to do, I packed up some camping gear, stuffed all I would need for several days in the woods alone into the back of my car, and drove out to the National Park with every intention of doing something stupid. The drive had been slow and by the time I had gotten to the parking area for the campground, the sun had already crested the pines and was well on its way towards noon. Yet I didn’t let that stop me, if anything the heat made me want to go out and climb the rocky cliffs that surrounded me even more.

Now I found myself clinging to a smooth rock face, my fingers buried into a crack no thicker than my wrist, hanging above the forest floor by a good two hundred feet. Far below, my backpack was resting against the cliff face, containing all the gear I would need once I set up camp for the night. My heart was pounding in my chest and my muscles burned with every movement, but I was having the time of my life. I had always gotten a kick out of the action every time my team went into an active combat zone, this was just one of the ways I had enjoyed the rush of adrenaline before I enlisted.

The metal pistons in my artificial left leg hissed with compressed air as I lifted it to the next foothold, the smooth steel and composite glinting in the sunlight as my shoe bit into the sandstone. It had taken several months to get the hang of my new limb after my real one got blown off by an IED in Afghanistan. Of course my best memory of that incident was the Taliban I blasted in the head from fifty yards while the medics worked on keeping me from bleeding to death on the side of the road. My lips curled into a grin as my fingers pulled me further up the cliff face, good times, good times.

Yet my mirth was short-lived as a sharp gust of wind hit me from my left, making my grip loosen for a split second before I could correct my momentum.

I hissed as my fingers twisted between the rocks before me, and I had to slip one hand completely free in order to get my grip straight. At that moment I was very aware of the distance to the ground, and the most certain doom that would meet me if I happened to fall.

“Come on Sarah,” I growled to myself as I got back into a comfortable position, “keep it together. Just a few more feet and then you can take a nice long rest at the top.”

Apparently life just likes to prove me wrong, because no sooner had the words left my lips then another huge gust of wind hit me from my right. I yelped as one foot slid off the rocks, and it had to hang from nothing more than my fingertips for several seconds before I could get my feet under me again. By that moment my heart was pounding in my chest and my breathing was ragged, but for a completely different reason than it had been a minute before.

I swallowed thickly as I tried to get my body back under control, “I think that’s enough climbing for one day. Time to get off this rock.”

That was the moment the first wet drop landed square on the crown of my head. I jerked my head up and saw that the sky had become overcast seemingly out of nowhere, and that the sound of heavy rainfall was getting far too close for comfort.

“Shit.” I hissed as I began to rapidly descend from the rock face. I knew that I wasn’t going to make it to the ground, but maybe I could get far enough down that if I slipped I wouldn’t end up a paint splatter on the rocks.

Only a few seconds later, the rain hit like a solid wall of water. My eyes were immediately shut against the whipping drops as they pelted me like a high-pressure hose. I could barely see the rock in front of me, and in the instant it happened, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to hold on. Like everything was moving in slow motion, I could feel my fingers losing their grip on the stone crevice before me, at the same instant my shoes lost their connection. Seconds seem to stretch like hours as I slowly began to fall backwards, yet I didn’t scream or flail. I had been trained to stay calm under stress far more powerful than this, so I let my body go limp as my vision slowly rotated until only the sky was visible.

All at once time seemed to resume at a normal pace, the pounding rain, the howling wind, the rush of air around my body as I fell. It seemed almost like a dream, yet when my body impacted the first spindly tree that jutted out from the rock face, I couldn’t keep the cry of pain from escaping my lips as my left shoulder popped clean out of its socket. I only had a second to register the pain before the tree gave way, dropping me onto the next obstacle as my body twisted in midair. Next came a jut of rock that managed to catch me under my right breast, breaking several ribs at least as I was spun the opposite direction before crashing into the ground flat on my back.

I lay there, gasping and trying not to move as lances of agony shot up and down my body in every direction. The rain had completely drenched me from head to toe, yet as fast as it had come, it was already letting up. Even as the rain pounded into the top of the cliff I had just been climbing, already shafts of sunlight were dotting the ground around me as the summer squall continued on its way.

Breathing hurt, trying to move hurt even more. I turned my head to one side and spotted my pack just beyond the reach of my mechanical leg, resting against the cliff base like it had every right to mock my current predicament. My chocolate brown hair was partially draped over my chest, and I watched as thick streams of red began to slowly trace each hair until it began to stain my dark blue tee a muddy brown.

I let my head fall back onto a rock that had conveniently placed itself for my use, my vision spinning as I tried to figure out what was broken and what wasn’t. My leg seemed to be fine, and as far as I could tell my prosthetic wasn’t damaged, yet from my hips up it just seemed like one big bag of ouch. I could feel my broken ribs shifting with each shallow breath I managed to get into my lungs, and I was certain my left arm wasn’t supposed to be hanging from my armpit like a limp noodle. My right arm was bent the wrong way in at least three places, both on my forearm and just above my elbow. I couldn’t get my eyes to focus properly, so add a head injury to the list of what fucked up Sarah’s body today. I tried to move something, anything to get at my phone. It was sitting in the outside pocket on my pack, right in my line of sight, and yet it might as well have been at the top of the cliff for all the good it would do me.

For several hours I lay there, fighting to breathe as my broken ribs jabbed at my lungs with every motion. The sun had made its way behind the cliffs, casting my sorry hide into shadow as the day wore on, and yet I had a feeling I wasn’t going to last the night. It was well known that mountain lion roamed these parts, and in my current state I wouldn’t be able to do much more than flip one the bird if I ended up on the menu. So, I closed my eyes, and contemplated what it would be like once I died, because if the mountain lions didn’t get me, dehydration certainly would. I had always imagined going down in a blaze of glory, shooting up terrorists with one hand while dragging a civilian out of the firefight with the other. To die out here, all alone, it just seemed to be kind of, sad.

“Well,” I whispered to myself, “at least I managed to do something before my time came.”

“While I would love to see you groveling in your own self-pity,” a male voice echoed around my little clearing, “I don’t think you’ll be dying just yet.”

In an instant hope flashed through my body, I would have turned to face the speaker, but my body screamed at me the moment I tried to shift my weight, “Who’s there? Can you help me? Please, call nine-one-one, I need help.”

My eyes were drawn to a figure as it materialized in front of me, his shadow somehow forming on the rock face even without direct sunlight. I squinted, trying to get my eyes to focus, but what I was seeing didn’t make any sense. Either this man was wearing the craziest clothes I had ever seen, or I had hit my head harder than I thought.

He stood at what I assumed to be six seven, his hair a wild mass of white with a long goatee to match. His eyes were either bloodshot or were naturally yellow in color, and he seemed to have one sharp fang poking out of his mouth on the left side. His suit was even more bizarre. The left sleeve was bright yellow with markings that resembled the leg of an eagle, while the right one was a golden brown in color. The twin coat tails were salmon red with scale designs running down each strip, and the torso was a deep mud brown.

His lower half was even more weird. The left pant leg was a fawn brown while the right was lime green, his left shoe black leather while the right was one of those toe shoes that you used for climbing. It too was a bright green in color.

I blinked several times, trying to get my brain to work properly, “Alright, I know I must have hit my head, because there is no way you are real right now.”

He chuckled, his impossible shadow doing a little tap dance on the rocks behind him, “Oh I assure you I’m real, although I understand why someone of your kind would have trouble believing it. You see, I’m not from around here, and I’ve searched countless realities for something that my home is in desperate need of. I’ve popped from universe to universe in search of something that even I didn’t even fully understand, and what do I find when I reach my destination?”

He walked closer to me, a magnifying glass appearing in one hand out of nowhere as his enlarged eye looked me up and down, “Some half-dead ape that has next to no magical potential and seemingly won’t make it another night. Curious, very curious.”

The magnifying glass disappeared with a pop, and I let a groan slip from my lips as I leaned back and closed my eyes, “Come on brain, if you’re going to make deathbed hallucinations, at least make them entertaining.” I hissed as pain raked up my spine, and the world swam in front of me as my sense of up and down took a momentary vacation.

“Oh dear,” the figure said as he leaned in and tapped me between the eyes, “it seems you really aren’t long for this world. Alright then, here’s the deal. I can take you to somewhere where you can get your wounds tended to. You’ll be fine in a matter of days with nary a care in the world.”

I coughed once, wincing as blood sputtered between my lips, “The old deal with the devil gag, eh?” I coughed again as more blood began running down my chin, “What will you get in return, my soul?”

He seemed to roll his eyes at me, “Oh nothing so trivial. I’ve tried playing around with souls before, dreadfully boring things really. All they’re really good for is looking pretty on my mantle, can’t really do anything with them other than that.” He shook his head, creating a rattling sound like a ball in a bucket, “No, all I ask is that when we meet again, and we will meet again, I will ask you one favor. It can be anything from a small token to some grand desire, but no matter what it is, you have to fulfill that request. That is my offer.”

I mulled it over in my mind for a moment, “Well, for a deal with the devil that will seemingly save my life and get me out of this terrible situation, it’s not a bad idea. Too bad this is all in my imagination.”

He chuckled again, “Whatever makes you happy. So, do we have a deal?”

I shrugged, wincing as my dislocated shoulder made itself known again, “Sure, why not? If I’m going to die, I might as well have some fun with it.”

I could see the grin that split his lips impossibly wide, his hand lifted with his fingers pressed together, “So be it then. Remember, I’ll see you again soon, so keep one thing as you put yourself back together.”

He snapped his fingers and the world began to shift around me, yet his smile remained crystal clear as the rest of my vision faded to black, “Discord will be watching you.”

My body felt weightless for a moment, and I struggled to breathe as a tight feeling encompassed my body. Then, with a bright flash and a loud popping sound, I found my body laid out on a flat surface, my head supported by the side of my backpack. A rapid string of gasps and high-pitched screams echoed around me, my eyes snapping shut as pain lanced through my brain.

“What is that thing?” A female voice asked in a very posh tone.

“Ah don’t rightly know,” a second voice replied, sounding like someone from the deep south, “but if’n it tries anything we’ll set ‘em straight before it can get very far.”

I forced my eyes open, only to realize that my vision was still blurry beyond belief. Other than blobs of color that were way to rich to be natural, I couldn’t really make out anything in my surroundings. I turned my head to look to my left as more voices chimed in, allowing my gaze to latch onto the set of bright teal eyes that came into view.

They were soft and filled with what looked like equal parts fear and curiosity, although it was hard to tell with all the bright pink and canary yellow that seemed to surround those eyes. I couldn’t make out if the person was male or female under all the clothing, but if I had to guess I would have to say it was a girl, if the colors were anything to go by.

“Please,” I croaked out, blood running from my mouth and onto the surface below me, “help me.”

The eyes widened in shock, followed in turn by a sharp gasp. I closed my eyes as the figure began nodding frantically, and I felt myself slipping away as her soft voice rose in volume to address the others in the room.

“Um, girls, I think this creature is injured. We should get it to the hospital before it gets any worse.” I could barely hear her over the din caused by the other girls, but her voice seemed to have an urgent edge to it that made the others pause and listen.

The rest of the conversation faded into the background, although I was put together enough to feel the warm blanket envelope my body, holding me gently but firmly as I was carried towards what I hoped was medical attention. I felt my lips curling into a smile as my mind faded away. Whoever these girls were, at least they were being nice about moving me. Would hate to have my already shattered body made even worse because some country bumpkin thought it would be a clever idea to set the bones back in place with a ball-peen hammer.

Author's Notes:

So here's the new book I've been working on!!! Hope you all enjoy it so far! In the meantime, please feel free to check out my other works if you have the time or desire, as this one is going to be slow on the updates until the summer starts. Both of my other stories are complete so they should at least keep you busy for a day or two. Anyways, I hope to see you all later, sometime before the middle of season 7 hiatus I would hope.

See you all next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.

2 - Finding Facts

NOTE OF IMPORTANCE!!! This chapter is from Twilight's perspective, given our lively human main character is currently out for the count. Just wanted to let you know to avoid any confusion. Sarah should be back in the next chapter or the one after that, depending on how the plot evolves. Anyway, carry on.

I traced a path in front of the doors leading from the waiting room of Ponyville General, my wings twitching with nervous energy as I worried at my bottom lip with my teeth.

“Calm down Twilight,” Rarity spoke up from one of the couches, “I’m sure Dr. Tenderhoof and his staff are doing the best they can to help the poor thing.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow added as she hovered overhead, “I bet he’ll have that thing patched back up and out of there in five seconds flat.”

“I can’t calm down,” I forced out as I spun around to continue my pacing, “for all we know Dr. Tenderhoof has never seen a creature like that. It’s not like we know anything about it. It just showed up and started bleeding out on the Cutie Map for Celestia’s sake!!”

I paused as Applejack placed a hoof over my withers, “Look Twi’. I know this is something we’ve never seen before, but I’m sure the doc is doin’ everything he can to fix that creature up. You’ll see,” she gave me an encouraging smile, “he’ll come out of those doors any second now with a barn’s worth of good news.”

I sucked in a deep breath, holding a hoof to my chest before pushing it away, letting out my air as I did so. “Thanks Applejack. I’m just so worried that we won’t be able to help it. So far as we know it’s the only creature of its kind in Equestria. It certainly doesn’t look like anything I’ve read about in any of my books.”

“I haven’t heard of anything like it either,” Fluttershy added from her seat next to Rarity, “at least not from any of the books I’ve read about exotic creatures.”

“Oh, does that mean I get to throw it a So-Glad-To-Meet-You-And-Welcome-To-Equestria Party?!” Pinkie squeaked from the couch on the other side of the room.

“We don’t even know if it speaks Equestrian.” I explained, “For all we know it could be some dangerous predator that would eat a pony just as much as talk to one.”

Fluttershy whimpered, hiding under Rarity’s tail with wide eyes, “Oh, I really hope not.”

“Don’t worry Flutters,” Rainbow said as she mimed punching imaginary foes, “if that thing so much as growls at somepony I’ll Rainboom it into next week.”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that.” I muttered to myself as my wings pulled tight against my sides, “I really hope it doesn’t come to that.”

At that moment, the doors leading into the treatment wing opened, revealing a light brown unicorn. He removed his surgical mask, revealing it to be none other than Dr. Tenderhoof.

I raced up to him, the girls following close behind as he slid off his mane net, “How is it doctor? Will it be alright?”

He smiled, “The creature will be fine Princess, we were able to set the broken bones and stop the internal bleeding. The head injury was a bit tougher, but we managed to stabilize it without too much trouble.”

We all let out a collective sigh, although it was short lived as his gaze hardened, settling squarely on me as he spoke, “Princess, there is something you should know. There are some very unusual things about this creature. I would like your opinion on something if you wouldn’t mind.”

I met the other girls’ gazes for a moment before turning back to the doctor, “What kind of unusual things?”

He tilted his head to indicate the doors behind him, “It would be simpler to show you.” His gaze fell onto my friends, “Would the rest of you mind waiting out here? The particulars of the patient should probably be addressed by a Princess before we let other ponies interact with the creature.”

That caused the others to cast worried glances my direction, “You don’t think the creature is dangerous, do you?” Fluttershy asked.

Tenderhoof shrugged, “It could be completely harmless, but until I know for sure, I’m keeping the patient as isolated from ponies as we can, just to be on the safe side.” He turned his gaze back to me, “Shall we go, Princess?”

I sent one more nervous glance over my shoulder before nodding, “Sure, let’s get this over with.”

Tenderhoof nodded, leading me through the double doors and down several hallways before coming to a stop at a lone recovery room.
“I should warn you,” he said carefully as his light blue magic gripped the knob, “what you are about to see might be a bit shocking.”

I bit my lip as he opened the door, preparing myself for something truly horrific. Yet when I stepped into the room, I was struck by how seemingly normal everything was. The room wasn’t coated in blood or filled to the brim with terrible fumes. Not even the sheets were out of the ordinary, other than the fact that the creature was so long its hind legs extended several inches off the end of the bed. Its body was covered almost completely by the bedspread, the only exception being its left front limb and its head. Its face was oddly flat, with two small eyes and a pair of equally small ears on the side of the head. Its mane was a dark brown and came down to rest softly over its shoulders, while the completely bare skin was a creamy white. Aside from the mane and a set of thin eyebrows, the rest of the creature’s body seemed to be devoid of fur. My eyes moved down it body to the visible limb, noting that the shoulder area still had some severe bruising. An I.V. was hooked up to said limb just above the wrist, although as I spotted what was below the tube I was struck with confusion.

Tenderhoof seemed to notice where my gaze had landed, “Yes, we noticed it too. The creature seems to share a similar bone structure to minotaurs, including a set of fingers on the end of each upper limb. Given how the creature is set up skeletal wise, it would be my opinion that it is bipedal in nature, leaving the upper extremities free to manipulate objects.”

“Fascinating,” A notepad materialized in my magic grip, along with a full inkwell and a quill, “did you notice any other similarities between it and the minotaur?”

He cleared his throat, his cheeks going a slight red in color, “Well, we did find one other thing, but you might want to brace yourself. It made one of the nurses faint when she saw them.”

“Saw what?” I asked.

He simply pulled the sheet towards the bottom of the bed, revealing the creature’s chest area. However, as what was hidden came into view, my quill froze mid-word, my mouth hanging open as my eyes widened in shock. Laid bare for all to see, with only a thin black piece of clothing to even hint at modesty, were a pair of the biggest teats I had ever seen. Mrs. Cake had only gotten about half that size when she was nursing the twins!

“A-Are those what I think they are,” I managed to croak out, my wings on full display as I tried to get my mind to stop short-circuiting.

Tenderhoof nodded, “While we conducted an examination to see if the creature was currently with a foal, we were shocked to discover that she in not currently lactating. Even more surprising, was the fact that she seems to have not yet had any offspring at all.”

My notepad and quill fell to the floor with a clatter, my magic maintaining just enough grip to set the inkwell on the countertop, “You mean those are what they look like normally?” I couldn’t wrap my head around it, how could a creature have such huge teats when there was absolutely no need for them? It didn’t make any logical or evolutionary sense!

Tenderhoof cleared his throat, “While the creature’s, ahem, assets were a bit of a shock, they aren’t the reason I brought you in here. You see there’s something strange about this creature’s magic signature.”

Now he was speaking my language. I picked up the quill and pad, readying them for use as I turned to him, “Alright, so what’s so unusual about it, stunted mana lines, inverted spell flow?”

He seemed to mull over his thoughts before he answered, “That’s just it, other than some residual chaos magic, which could be the cause of the creature’s sudden appearance in your castle, its magical signature, doesn’t exist.”

I froze for a second time, one eye twitching for a moment as I turned to face the doctor, “What?”

He seemed to be sweating under my scrutiny, “What I’m trying to say is that when the patient first arrived at the hospital, it had so little magic present in its body we were worried about it being mana starved. Yet the most incredible thing is that between the healing spells we used on it and the natural magic in the air, the creature has absorbed almost eighty kilothuams* in the last four hours.”

I openly gaped at him, “Eighty kilothuams? That’s more than the average unicorn has in their entire body! Is it still absorbing magic?”

He nodded, “My theory is that it will continue to absorb magic until its body reaches it natural capacity. If the current rate of absorption is anything to go by, I’d estimate that limit to be somewhere around three to five hundred kilothuams.”

I winced, unsure about how to process that. Most unicorns processed a natural reserve of magic between sixty and one hundred and twenty kilothuams, although exceedingly powerful mages had been known to get up to two hundred and fifty at their prime. Even after becoming an alicorn, my own magic topped out at four hundred and seventy-three kilothuams, and I was probably one of the most gifted magic users alive. If Tenderhoof was right, then this creature had the potential to be one of the most powerful beings in Equestria, for good or for bad.

“Do you have any idea why this creature was so drained of magic?” I asked, quill and pad forgotten on the bedside table, “Surely there must be some explanation as to how a creature with that much magic could be reduced to nearly nothing.”

He gave me a critical look, “Understand that this is only a theory, and is purely based on my own observations and opinions. I’ve taken a look at the creature’s belongings, and all of them, from the tiniest button to the pack itself, exhibit the same rapid mana absorption that the creature is. Therefore, it is safe to assume that whatever happened to it took all the magic from its belongings as well. But the magic field is present everywhere on Equis. You can’t find a single stone or twig that isn’t filled with magic, and removing the magic from that item would be nearly the same as ripping it apart on the molecular level. The only way I can think of that would explain how these things are completely void of magic, would either be because they have some unknown mana blocking ability, or they originated from a place that has next to no mana field, if any at all.

My eyes widened, “Are you suggesting that this creature isn’t from Equis?”

He shrugged, “That’s just my opinion. I have no proof other than what I see before me. I don’t expect you to believe me, but that is what I have observed.”

I shook my head to clear it, lest my brain explode from the possibilities, “Right, we’ll worry about that one later. Was there anything else you wanted to show me, doctor?”

“Yes, there was one other thing that I thought needed a second opinion.” He took hold of the sheets with his magic again, “I should warn you, the patient is wearing a set of clothing over her genitalia, similar to what she is wearing over her teats. Given her fully clothed status when you arrived, the nurses and I have concluded that it is meant for comfort and modesty, despite similar clothing being viewed in our society as lingerie.”

I blushed, nodding that I understood, “Proceed doctor.”

He nodded in return, pulling the sheets down past the creature’s hips, revealing said undergarments to the open air. However, my mind was rapidly diverted as its legs came into view. A small part of my mind wondered if I was going to need to see a dentist if things kept going like this, because my jaw once again dropped to the floor as I gaped at what I was seeing.

The creature’s left leg, from the mid-thigh down, had been completely replaced by an artificial substitute. Dark green material and polished metal met my dumbfounded gaze as I followed the impossibly smooth curves all the way down. As Tenderhoof moved the sheet completely off the creature, I saw that the fake limb even had a part that mimicked the creature’s remaining hind paw, oddly shaped as they were. There seemed to even be sections where the parts could move and bend like real joints, along with what looked like pistons and gears to absorb the shock caused by running or jumping.

“This is amazing,” I whispered, leaning in to examine the limb in closer detail, “I’ve never seen an artificial limb this advanced before.”

“That’s not the only thing,” Tenderhoof said, moving me to one side before igniting his horn, “take a look at this.”

A wide arc of magic shot out and highlighted the metallic limb, causing the section under the beam to become semi-transparent. I leaned in close as he moved the beam up towards the union were metal met flesh, trying to see what he was wanting to show me. I winced slightly as his beam moved into living tissue, revealing nerves, blood vessels and bone to my eyes. Yet as I looked closer, I realized what it was that had shaken the good doctor.

“You see what I mean?” He asked, pointing out the plate that connected the limb to the creature’s body, “The wires here run straight up and connect with the nerves that control the major muscle groups. Unless the designers had no idea what they were doing, this setup allows the creature to control this prosthetic just as easily as she can control her real leg. The mechanical parts are seamlessly melded into her natural systems until there is next to no difference between the two.”

“Could we remove the leg for further study?” I asked as he terminated his spell, “technology like this could revolutionize the medical industry.”

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple.” He cautioned, “You see, the limb is connected to her body by several complex locks, which would require a specific key to undo. While it might be possible to fabricate a key that would work, the real problem is the nerve connections. If not properly disconnected, or if we mess up when reconnecting the limb, the possibility is very high the patient could suffer permanent nerve damage, if the mistreatment of her nerves doesn’t throw her into shock.”

I winced, trying to avoid that mental image, “Understood. Thank you for showing me this Dr. Tenderhoof. I will take this into consideration going forward.” I turned, picking up my belongings as I opened the door, “keep her under surveillance, and let me know when she comes too. I want to be the first pony besides the medical staff to interact with her, just in case she’s dangerous.”

He nodded, “Oh, one more thing Princess. While we were repairing the fractures in her skull, we got a good look at the creature’s teeth. While I cannot say for sure, I feel I should warn you that the creature has canines.”

A thought nibbled at the back of my mind, trying to make itself into a full memory, “Meaning?”

He seemed truly uncomfortable now, like his job might be on the line for what he was about to say, “We believe the creature is an omnivore, Princess. It might not need to eat it all the time, but part of the creature’s diet seems to be,” he swallowed thickly, “meat.”

I felt a cold chill run down my spine, a thin sweat running down my brow before I could wipe it away, “T-Thank you doctor. I will keep that in mind. Um, I’ll speak with the town guard about keeping this room under security. We can’t assume anything yet, but I would rather be overcautious than let a dangerous creature run loose in Ponyville.”

“Thank you Princess,” Tenderhoof said with a sigh, “I’ll keep you posted on any new developments. Oh, right, take the creature’s belongings with you.” He levitated the large pack towards me with his magic, “they might prove useful in discovering more about what kind of place it came from.”

I took the pack in my own telekinetic grip, feeling the steady drain on my magic even as it floated next to my right ear, “Thank you. I’ll make sure that the guard knows about this so that you can go about your work without worry. Goodbye doctor.”

“Goodbye Princess.” He replied.

I walked back into the waiting room, where I was immediately stopped short by one rainbow pegasus.

“So, what’s the scoop Twilight?” Rainbow asked as she hovered right in my face, “Is there some crazy magic that’s going to turn that thing into a ten-story monster?”

I pushed her back a hoof or two with a gentle magic push, “No, at least not that I know of. There were just some unusual things concerning the creature and where it’s from.”

“Oh, did Dr. Tenderhoof have some idea as to where it came from?” Fluttershy asked as she and the others walked up.

“Well,” I rubbed my neck with one hoof as I tried to come up with an easy way to say it. It was only an unsupported theory after all, although given the complete lack of any kind of actual data concerning how and why the creature appeared in the castle, it was so far the only thing we had to go off of. “while we don’t really know where the creature is from exactly, Dr. Tenderhoof has a theory, given the strange magic absorption that the creature is exhibiting.”

“Magic absorption?” Applejack muttered, “You mean that things is drawing in magic like some kind of sponge?”

I nodded, “It’s already absorbed more magic than the average unicorn has in their entire body, and it’s not showing any signs of slowing down. The thing is, the only reason it seems to be doing so is because it originally came from a place with either a weak or none-existent magic field.”

“But I thought the magic field surrounded all of Equis,” Rarity inquired, “it’s imbued into every rock and blade of grass on the entire planet. How could the creature come from a place with no magic?”

It took all of about two seconds before Rainbow’s eyes widened in shock, “Wait a minute, are you telling us, that thing is an alien?!”

The other girls gasped, and only grew more surprised at my nod of agreement. “I’m not sure how else to explain it, but I’m hoping we can find out more about what kind of place this creature came from by studying the items in here.” I floated the pack into view, “Maybe if we can understand more about the creature, we can figure out if it will be a threat to Equestria or not.”

Rainbow pumped one hoof in the air, “Sweet, we get to mess around with a bunch of alien tech. I call test-firing the laser weapons!”

I yanked the pack out of her reach before she could open it, “We don’t have any idea if those even exist, Rainbow. And besides, even if there are weapons of some sort in here, they will be kept under very close watch until Princess Celestia says otherwise. Actually,” I turned my attention to Spike, who had been standing politely to my left since I walked back into the room, “Spike, take a letter, addressed to Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Princess Cadence.”

He pulled out a triplicate of scrolls, his trademark quill at the ready, “Go ahead Twilight.”

I cleared my throat, “Dear Princess Celestia, I am writing to inform you that something very unusual has happened today. Well, more unusual than usual.” Rainbow snickered behind her hoof, “The girls and I were going over where the Cutie Map might send us next and how we would go about preparing for said friendship mission. However, our meeting was cut short when a creature of unknown origin appeared on top of the map table. It was gravely injured, to the point it only had the strength to look to Fluttershy for help before passing out. It is currently recovering at Ponyville General, and has been unconscious up to this point. The doctors have assured me that the creature will live, although there were some unforeseen developments. For one thing, it appears that the creature comes from a place that is devoid of magic, as evident by its rapid absorption of both natural magic and magic used in the healing spells administered by the hospital staff. One other note of importance, during the healing process, the doctors got a good look at the creature’s teeth, and have informed me that the creature is omnivorous in nature. In laypony’s terms, it eats both plant matter and meat.” I ignored the gasps that came from the others at those words, “Due to the inherent danger of keeping a predator around injured ponies, I will be posting a small contingent of the town guard at the hospital to keep everything secure. I will also be studying the creature’s belongings in order to try and discover more about how it came to be in Equestria and where it originated from. I will keep you and the other princesses informed of any new developments, please give the extra copy of this letter to Luna when you receive this one. Sincerely yours, Twilight Sparkle.”

Spike signed the letter with a flourish, copying it down onto the other scrolls before rolling them up. A trio of green fire blasts, and the letters were on their way out the open window on the left wall.

“Um, Twilight dearie,” Rarity asked, “did I hear you correctly when you said that the creature ate,” she swallowed thickly, “meat?”

I nodded, “But that doesn’t mean the creature is any danger to us. Omnivores can eat plants just as well as meat. I’m sure something that can eat fruits and vegetables like us can be reasoned with. We just need to keep an open mind.”

“Lots of creatures are like that, Rarity,” Fluttershy added, “Harry the bear eats fish from time to time, but he can live off of berries and roots just fine if he has to.”

“So, you’re saying that thing in the next room isn’t going to wake up and start trying to eat any of us?” Applejack asked.

I shook my head, “Not to my knowledge, at least I hope not. But, that’s why I’ll have the guard keep an eye on things. Just in case I’m wrong and the creature is dangerous. The thing is, unless it’s a lot stronger than it looks, I don’t think she’s going to be much of a threat.”

“She? That thing’s a female?” Applejack seemed a bit dubious of my pronoun choice.

“Yep.” I perked up at the chance to share some of my findings, “the creature is definitely female. Once the doctor and I got a good look at some of its bodily features, it wasn’t hard to tell.”

“Features meaning what exactly?” Rainbow quipped.

I opened my mouth, only for my cheeks to heat up as a fresh image of what exactly came along with the creature being female. Rarity saw my flustered state in a heartbeat, walking up with a slightly worried expression, “Darling, is there something the matter, you’re blushing like a schoolfilly talking to her crush.”

“Well, um, you see,” I forced out through my embarrassment, “the creature is a mammal like us, so when she has young, she has a pair of things she uses to feed the foal.”

“Oh, you mean he has teats like a mare?” Fluttershy asked.

I nodded, “It was slightly shocking to see them, especially when we found out that she isn’t with any offspring at this time. Mostly I think it had to deal with their, umm, size.”

Rainbow snickered, “What, were they like lopsided on her body or something like that. Or were they just so small they looked like they belonged on a much smaller animal?”

I shook my head, “No, there were actually bigger than I expected,” my blush intensified as another mental image came to the fore, “much bigger.”

“So how big we talking here?” Rainbow pressed, “Pear-sized? Apple?”

I shook my head as I hid my face behind my hooves, unable to look at them as I answered, “They had to be at least the size of a melon, maybe a cantaloupe.”

Complete silence met my words. I slowly lowered my hooves, taking in the completely gob smacked expressions of everypony. Rarity was beet red from the neck up, her eyes reduced to pinpricks as her mouth hung open. Applejack just looked frozen in shock, her face twisted in confusion while her eyes stared at something a very long way away. Pinkie was humming to herself, completely oblivious to the bombshell I had just dropped, while Fluttershy and Rainbow were standing next to one another, wings flared and faces tinted pink as their jaws hung low.

“Hold on a minute,” Rainbow sputtered out, “you said she doesn’t have a foal. You mean she has teats that big on a daily basis?! How in the world does she even move with that much weight?!”

Pinkie walked up to Rarity’s side, tapping the stupefied fashionista once or twice to snap her out of it. Rarity sputtered for a moment before turning to Pinkie, “Oh thank you darling. I don’t know what came over me.”

“No problem,” Pinkie replied, walking up to Applejack, “just trying to help. I don’t like seeing my friends all confused. Surprises are fun and all, but if it’s so bad you break the one you’re supposed to be surprising, then it’s no fun for anypony.”

Applejack shook her head a few times before nodding to Pinkie. Pinkie winked in reply before everypony turned back to me. “So, what now Twi’? Are we just goin’ to wait until that thing wakes up before we do anything else?”

“No,” I replied, “I’m going to head down to the local guard office to get a security detail down here. I’m not going to let that thing go unguarded until we’re certain that it’s not a threat to anypony. Meanwhile,” I hefted the pack in my magic grip, “I’m going to study every inch and everything contained within this pack. It might give us some clues as to what we might expect from the creature when it wakes up.”

“Well, Ah guess Ah’ll head back to the farm until then,” Applejack said as she walked up to the front doors, “got a lot of chores to do and Ah’m not about to have Big Mac take all of it on himself. Ah’ll see you girls later on.”

With that the orange farm pony departed, followed quickly by Pinkie. “I’ve got some baking to do with the Cakes, but make sure to get me the moment the creature wakes up. I need to be there to throw her a Super-Special-Glad-You’re-Alright Party.”

Fluttershy caught Rainbow’s eyes, sharing some unspoken agreement between them before she turned to me, “I think Rainbow and I will stay here, just in case anything happens that needs your attention.”

“Yeah, Flutters can help the docs if there’s any medical stuff,” Rainbow added, “and I can be here in case anypony needs to get their flank kicked.”

I rolled my eyes, “You do that. Oh, Rarity, I was hoping you could help me with the creature’s clothing.” I undid the zipper of the pack and looked inside, using my magic to pull out the various articles of clothing that could be found within. “Would you mind taking a look at these while I focus on the other items?”

Her eyes lit up like fireworks, her magic nearly snatching the cloth from my own in her haste to look at them, “Oh I would be delighted darling. To be the first to look at clothing from another world,” she made a high squee sound, “oh the possibilities are making my head spin. Do keep in touch, dear. If you need me I will be at my boutique, going over these amazing articles.” Her lips pulled into a wide grin as she walked out the door, her eye already roaming over the various bits as they floated along in her magic.

Spike looked up at me expectantly, “So what now?”

“Now we go and get that guard detail taken care of.” I answered.

We made our way out the front doors, taking several streets through Ponyville proper until we came to a stop in front of a drab grey building. It was a nondescript rectangle in shape, with windows barred by metal grates on all sides but the front. While the Ponyville guard didn’t see much action, apart from the various disasters that seemed to roll through every week, they still had an established presence within the town.

We stepped into the main office, my eyes taking note of the haphazard filing system once again as a few guards dressed in silver armor walked past. I had asked several times if they would allow me to go through their files for them, but I had always been politely turned down for some strange reason. It took a moment or two, but one of the guard finally noticed my presence and raced up to me before throwing a sharp salute.

“Princess, is there something we can do to help you?” Unlike the Royal Guard, the armor for the Ponyville guard lacked the uniformity spell that made the members look alike, so I could see the stallion’s dark blue mane sticking out of his helmet, his maroon coat a stark contrast to the silver plate.

“Yes,” I said, “I need you to send a small group of guards to set up security at the hospital. There’s an unknown creature being treated there and I want to make sure nopony is in any danger until we can verify it’s not a threat.”

He snapped another salute, “At once Princess. Was there anything else you had to tell us?”

I paused for a moment, thinking about what could possibly happen at the hospital should the creature wake up, “Yes, actually. Have all the guards posted at the hospital know that if the creature wakes up, but shows no overt signs of threatening behavior, they are to let the creature be unless given reason to act. I would rather not scare the poor thing by having a bunch of stallions in armor tackle it the first time it moves.”

He seemed slightly confused, and maybe a bit embarrassed for some reason, but he quickly put those aside as he schooled his composure. “Very good Princess, I’ll let the captain know what you need us to do. If that is all, I need to inform my superiors about this assignment.”

I nodded my permission, and he dropped his salute before racing into the back rooms of the post. Spike dutifully followed me as we walked back through the streets of town, staying uncharacteristically silent until we got to the doors of my castle.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” He asked in a hesitant tone, “What if that thing can blast your brain with some kind of mind beam, or turn your body into goo with just a touch?”

I rolled my eyes, “That’s ridiculous Spike. Not even magic can do that kind of stuff unless you use some very powerful spells. And from what I’ve seen so far, I don’t think the creature even has the ability to use magic, at least not instinctively. After all, if it comes from a place devoid of magic, then there would be no biological mechanics to use magic even if it had access to it.”

My words seemed to placate him somewhat, “Um, sure, I guess. I’ll just keep my trusty magic testing gear handy, in case something goes wrong.”

I let out an exasperated sigh, but I let it go as I walked into my personal lab, hearing Spike walk further into the castle to do some of the basic chores. I couldn’t really fault him for worrying, but sometimes I wondered how much those comics of his effected his perceptions of the world. I shook my head to clear it as I closed the door behind me. After all, there was an entire pack full of items that needed to be cataloged, studied, re-cataloged and then sorted according to use, type and significance.

I carefully lifted each item from the pack, setting them neatly on the large tabletop in the center of the room. I arranged them according to size and seeming function until I had everything present and accounted for. All and all there were about two dozen items, some of which seemed to be different versions of the same item, along with several nondescript bags.

The first item I picked up in my magic was a bright green bag with some pictures on the outside. It was roughly the same length as my foreleg, with a rigid structure and a pair of drawstrings at one end. I pulled out a magnifying glass from one of my tool drawers, levitating it close to the label so I could examine the text. Yet to my surprise the text was completely readable. Either there was something strange going on here, or the native language of the creature’s people was common Equish. I made a note of it on one of my notepads, taking the time to actually read the block-like script.

“Astounding,” I muttered to myself as the meaning of the pictures and text became clear, “it’s a temporary structure, designed to hold four of the creature’s species at a time.” I eyed the drawstrings, contemplating pulling it out of its container and building the tent right then and there. I shook my head, placing the tent back on the table in its proper place, “I’ll get to that later. Right now I need to take a look at the other items before I can delve into details.”

The next item was an assortment of blue bags, made from some unknown material that was reflective, perfectly smooth, and seemingly waterproof. On the front was a depiction of a mountain, reflected in the waters of a lake. What I assumed to be a logo was emblazoned above it, along with the words, Mountain House. At the very bottom was a yellow rectangle with the words Macaroni and Cheese centered within, also in the blocky text that seemed to be commonplace on the items. I levitated the package over, flipping it so that I could read the back. As my eyes made their way down the lines of text, they began to grow larger, until I was openly staring at the image-style instructions printed along the bottom third.

“Either I’m reading this incorrectly, or these containers of food won’t spoil for the next several years!” I squinted as I re-read a section, “and all somepony has to do to make it edible is add hot water to the contents and mix it up! This is amazing! If we could make food like this we’d never have to worry about food shortages again!”

I wrote several lengthy notes on my notepads before placing the bag back where it came from. I debated about what to go over next, when something small and reflective caught my eye. It picked it up and levitated it up to my face, my eyes narrowing in concentration as I scrutinized the object. It was roughly rectangular in shape, about four inches long and about two and a half wide. One side was completely smooth and black, while the other side seemed to be covered by some kind of armored case. There were two sets of small holes on either end, with two larger holes on what I thought was the bottom edge. Two small buttons adorned the left edge, with another taking residence at the right limit of the top edge. Other than the highly reflective surface on the one side, it didn’t seem to be anything all that important. Yet when I pushed the button on the top of the device, the screen lit up with light and images.

I nearly dropped it in my surprise, although once I got over my shock I was able to get a closer look. Taking up the entirety of the screen was an image, one that seemed so exact it had to be a picture. There were five creatures in the photo, all dressed in dusty brown clothing, mottled with other shades of cream and brown in complex and seemingly random designs. They were also wearing helmets, along with what looked like body armor, although it was the strangest armor I had ever seen. Yet, as I looked closer, I saw that the middle creature had similar facial features to the creature at the hospital, until I realized that it was in fact the same being. Her eyes were a striking blue in color, and her lips were curled into a bright smile. She had a long tube-like thing in her arms, as did most of the other creatures, along with a backpack that covered most of her upper body on that side. I shifted my gaze from the photo to the little icons that were superimposed on the image, and I noticed that each one had a small set of words under it to define what it represented. One was a set of eighth notes on a purple background, underscore by the word music.

“Ooh, I wonder what kind of music in contained in here.” I mused as I wondered how to access the seeming storage device. Did you have to speak a special word or move it about in some specific way?

I was just about to put it back down when my magic brushed up against the screen. To my amazement, the screen shifted to the left, revealing more icons to my eyes as the others moved off the screen.

“Amazing.” I said as I used a small mote of magic to touch and slide across the screen, shifting the icons about with each movement. “An interactive surface that responds to physical contact. Simply astounding!!”

I moved the icons back to the right, and then pondered the music icon. “Maybe if the screen is designed to respond to touch, one must select the appropriate archive with physical contact.”

I ‘touched’ the music icon with my magic, and it expanded until it took up the whole screen. I was then presented with a string of words, separated by thin lines along the horizontal plane. The first spelled out, ‘playlists’, followed by ‘artists’, ‘albums’, ‘songs’, ‘genres’ and finally ‘composers’.

I wasn’t really sure what would happen, so I selected the ‘artists’ tab. The tab highlighted in blue before the screen shifted to the right, replacing the previous tabs with several new ones. I noticed that the words presented now could very well have been names, or maybe band titles if there was more than one artist. Also, much to my delight, they were all alphabetized, meaning that somepony had at least some idea on how to properly organize things around here.

I used a mote of magic to scroll down on the screen, looking through the various artists until one of the names caught my eye. I had seen the small image next to each name, but hadn’t really put much thought into it. Now I saw staring at what I assumed was a male of the creature’s species, with thin blonde fur around his mouth and under his chin along with a hat similar to what Applejack was so fond of wearing.

I selected the artist called Trace Adkins and watched as the screen skipped to the right again, revealing a blown-up version of the image I had seen already, along with three lines of text below the image. Without even thinking, I selected the first of the text lines, hoping to see sheet music or something like that. I was not expecting sound to suddenly come blaring out of the device, making me yelp in surprise and nearly make me drop it. Once I got my nerves under control, I lifted the device back up to eye level, listening to the music as it played out of the tiny holes at the base of the device.

My quill was going so fast I could almost smell the paper burning, but I didn’t care as I tried to write down every word as it materialized from this amazing device. I had no idea how it was doing all of this, but at the moment, I was too excited to care. The song came to an end far sooner than I would have liked, yet I knew that this was far from the end of that.

“I need to get some music professionals in here to see this,” I said to myself as I navigated back out to the main screen, “there’s so much here it could take weeks of study just to get through it all. Oh, I can’t wait to see where things go from here.”

Author's Notes:

Yay! We got through to the good stuff, at least for now. I hope you guys are enjoying the books so far, it wasn't easy writing it when I'm not in my writing mindset. A round of applause for all of you who put up with my BS in order to get your reading fix.

*round of applause*

* Also, little side note, a thuam is the standard measure of magic used in Equestria. I stated in the chapter what some of the upper limits of magic can be, but to give you a little more context I'll state it this way. For a standard levitation spell, it takes one thuam to lift one kilogram of material per second cast. Therefore, if you wanted to lift a metric ton of random stuff for ten seconds, it would take a total of ten kilothuams, or ten thousand thuams of magic energy to do so. Do keep in mind that even though unicorns might have natural reserves strong enough to lift an elephant with no trouble, that does not mean they have the knowledge or control to do so. After all, an out of control combustion reaction is nothing more than a big explosion. Raw power and the skill to control that energy are not the same thing.

Anyways, hope you all are enjoying the book so far, just don't expect any new posts for a while. I've got finals and other junk that will be taking up most of my time for the next month or so.

Until then, I'll see you next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.

3 - Adventures in Music

Fair warning to all of you, this chapter is one of those classic 'MUSIC' chapters, so expect links galore once you get reading. While not required, it would help you understand the stuff the girls are listening to so avoid them at your own risk. Anyways, now that we have that out of the way, ON WITH THE BOOK!!!!

I paced back and forth in front of the main entrance to my castle, my steps nearing frantic in pace and my mind running a mile a minute,

“Oh, where are they?” I asked myself as I spun around back the way I had come, “They’re three minutes late and not one of them have shown up yet.”

I was just about to turn for another circuit when three sharp knocks sounded from the doors. My magic swung them open so quickly the wind created by their passing ruffled my already frazzled mane. The three mares on the other side seemed frozen in time for a moment before they realized the doors were now open.

“Hiya Twilight!” Lyra Heartstrings announced as she walked in, “Sorry I’m late, but I got held up trying to get out of the market crush, you know how it can get when AJ puts her apples on sale.”

I shivered at the memory that came unbidden to my mind, “Please don’t remind me. I’d rather not deal with another crazy mob anytime soon. It’s nice to see you anyway, it’s been a while since we saw each other last.”

She gave me a polite nuzzle before pulling back, “Oh not that long. You were just so absorbed in research that you didn’t hear me when I came in to check out some sheet music.”

I felt a blush roaming over my cheeks as my ears folded against my head, “Ahah, yeah, sorry about that.”

She smiled and waved it off with a hoof, “No harm done, at least I know how to prank you next time I see you buried up to your ears in books.”

My reply was forestalled by the entrance of the other two mares, although how I could have missed Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Philharmonic was beyond me.

“For the last time Vinyl, I am not going to partake in that pounding migraine-inducing activity you call ‘clubbing’. I would rather not lose my hearing thank you very much.” She tossed her mane to add effect to her words.

“Oh, come on Octi,” the white and electric blue unicorn whined in reply, “I go to all of your orchestra performances, how come you can’t come with me when I go spin disks at the club?”

“Because I wouldn’t last ten seconds in that bone-pounding atmosphere and you know it,” the grey earth pony replied, “besides, I think having you listen to some real music now and again would do wonders for your, um, let’s call it eccentric personality.”

“Octavia! Vinyl! I’m so glad you could make it!” I bumped hooves with them both before addressing the group, “I know I wasn’t able to be very exact with the reason I called you all here, but given how delicate the situation is I had to make sure you would be able to keep a secret.”

This earned me three equally confused looks, “What could be so secret about us giving our opinions on some new music?” Lyra asked, “I mean, we make new songs every day and we play it for a living, you’d think it wouldn’t be that unusual for us to give our opinions on something like that.”

“Indeed,” Octavia added with a prim nod, “I’m a bit skeptical about this secrecy that and lack of details beforehoof. What’s the true reason you called us all here?”

I felt a drop of sweat run down my cheek as I closed the doors with my magic, “I think it would be better to show you than say it. I know it’s a bit much to go on right now, but trust me when I say it will be more than worth it in the end.”

Three equally dubious expressions followed me down the halls until we reached my lab. I opened the doors with my magic and allowed the others to walk in before me, closing and soundproofing the entrance once I followed them in. Their eyes roamed over the various equipment as I made my way over to the table with the creature’s belongings, my magic activating the amazing device I had uncovered earlier in my studies. The light given off by its screen seemed to attract the others like moths to a lantern, their eyes widening as they caught full view of the device.

“What is that thing?” Lyra asked slowly, her eyes taking in the small object from every angle with wonderment sparkling in gaze.

“This is why I had you all come here today.” I explained, “Believe it or not, this amazing device can play music, and if the numbers it contains are to be believed, it holds over sixteen hundred different songs and can play them all at a moment’s notice.”

Lyra’s eyes seemed to grow even wider, although Octavia and Vinyl seemed skeptical.

“Yeah I’ve seen music machines of every shape and size,” Vinyl said as she took a closer look at the device’s screen, “There’s no way that tiny thing can play that many songs, I mean, it’s got no speakers and no space to spin a disk on.”

“While I am certain you wouldn’t bring us here for nothing, Your Highness,” Octavia added, “I am inclined to agree with Vinyl, I just don’t see how that tiny device, no matter how interesting, could ever do as you say.”

I couldn’t help the smile that came to my lips, “Very well then, I’ll just have to prove it to you.”

I selected the music subcategory and moved through the genre lists, starting with the first title that captured my attention. I turned to face the others and tapped the screen with a mote of my magic, and watched their faces as the first song began to play.

Predictably, all three of them gaped in shock and awe as the orchestral music echoed around the room. The best part was that I wasn’t even amplifying the sound, it was that loud all by itself. Once they got over their initial surprise, Octavia’s expression faded into a formulaic sort of concentration, even going so far as to wave one of her hooves like a conductor in time with the music. Lyra was simply sitting down with a big smile on her face, humming along with what I assumed were horns and low brass. Vinyl simply looked bored, although as the tempo picked up and the beat became more intense, her eyes lit up with excitement and her horn ignited to summon a notepad and quill.
By the time the song ended, all three mares were completely engrossed in the number, to the point that Lyra and Octavia didn’t stop their actions for a few seconds after the final note.

Once everypony was back in the real world, Octavia lit up like a firecracker, “Oh that was wonderful! It was so familiar, yet seemed to hold something else I have never encountered in orchestra music before.”

“Yeah,” Lyra added, “it was like I was reading a Daring Do book and the music was playing out the action scenes.”

“Never thought I’d say this,” Vinyl said slowly, “but I think I might want to listen to more of that stuff if I can use parts in my gigs. I just got some sweet new ideas for a new remix listening to that.”

“Please,” Octavia begged, “I simply must know who the composer was.”

I grinned inwardly as I thought of a sneaky prank, after all, they still needed to know the origins of this music, might as well have a bit of fun telling them, “His name is Hans Zimmer.”

Three completely blank stares met my word, “I don’t know about you two,” Vinyl said, “but that doesn’t sound like anypony I’ve ever heard of.”

“I don’t think that’s even a pony name.” Lyra muttered before turning to Octavia, “Have you ever heard of this Hans Zimmer?”

She shook her head in reply, “I’m afraid not Lyra.” She turned her gaze to me, “Tell us Twilight, is the composer a gryphon by chance?”

I shook my head, “And that is the reason I had to keep all of this a secret. Yesterday a creature of unknown origin appeared in the castle, gravely injured and lacking in any kind of magic. It’s currently recovering at Ponyville General, but given its, um, unique situation, I’ve been looking into its belongings in order to try and get a better idea what kind of world it comes from.”

Vinyl’s ears perked at my words, “World? As in, someplace other than Equis?” I hesitantly nodded, “Do you guys realize what this means?! We’re listening to music made by aliens!”

Octavia rolled her eyes, “Oh please Vinyl, try and control that overactive imagination of yours. There’s no such thing as aliens.”

“Actually,” I interjected, causing the cellist to stop short, “that seems to be the case, believe it or not. The creature was completely devoid of magic before it appeared in the castle, meaning it came from a place without a magic field. The only logical explanation is that it is not of our world.”

“Well let’s not sit around talking about it!” Lyra yelled in excitement, “Let’s listen to some more of this stuff! It’s why we’re here, right?”

I nodded, selecting the next song with my magic before we could get sidetracked any further. The dramatic violins that sounded off next immediately captured everypony’s attention. Octavia payed careful attention to the piece, while Lyra and Vinyl seemed to be listening simply for the enjoyment of it. It seemed to take only a minute before the song ended, leaving us in the echoing silence once more as we took it in.

“Well,” Octavia huffed, “that was certainly intense. Not as powerful or dynamic as the first, but definitely orchestrated to leave the audience in suspense.”

“Sounded kind of like the theme to one of Bon-Bon’s spy novels.” Lyra mused, “At least it seemed to have that whole espionage motif going in my mind.”

“Eh, I thought the other one was better,” Vinyl muttered, “too repetitive once it got the main theme going.”

“I personally think it was well composed,” I said, “It might have had a bit of a repetitive theme, but it was subtle in its movements when it shifted the mood.”

The others nodded, and I moved on to the next song. I hadn’t listened to the music beforehoof, because I wanted to have this be a true blind viewing. After all, it wouldn’t be any fun if only the others got to react to the songs for the first time. The violins were much slower this time, and for a moment I wondered if it would be best to change the song before everypony fell asleep. Just as my magic formed over the screen, a voice began to resonate from the speakers. I immediately canceled my spell and focused my full attention on the music, noting that the others had done the same.

As the music continued, I felt a warmth in my heart at the lyrics, like I was sitting with Celestia studying some old scrolls like when I was younger. To say nothing of the voice that was singing them. Holy Celestia this stallion could sing!! Octavia was blushing like a tomato while Lyra and Vinyl were snickering at her expense, although I noticed that they also had fairly prominent tints to their cheek fur. Not that I had any room to criticize, given the heat in my face as I listened to the song. As the music wound to a close, I became aware of my partially erect wings, and quickly clamped them to my sides as my blush flared to full power. Oh gosh I hope nopony saw that!

Octavia took a moment, seemingly frozen in place by the unbelievable lyrics we had just heard, “Oh my, I never imagined I would hear something like that in all my years as a musician. That made my heart soar like I was a pegasus flying above the clouds.”

Vinyl snickered before adding in her own thoughts, “By the blush on your face it looks like you want to marry the colt.”

Octavia rounded on her marefriend with a scalding glare, “I’ll have you know that I was simply appreciating the artist for having an outstanding voice. Don’t you dare put words in my mouth.”

Vinyl lifted an eyebrow over her shades, pulling down the aforementioned articles as she met Octavia’s violet gaze with her own magenta orbs, “Good, because for a minute there I thought you weren’t happy with being with me.”

Octavia opened her mouth to retort, saw the expectant look on the unicorn’s face, and immediately closed it again. “Nice try Vinyl, but it’ll take more than fishing for complements to get that kind of talk out of me.”

While Vinyl peppered Octavia for a more concrete answer, Lyra turned towards me, “I wasn’t expecting a voice to be that clear coming from such a small device, truly that was a beautiful song if there ever was one. What’s next?”

“Well, I think this is something you’re going to like, Octavia, if the artist name is anything to go by.” I tapped the song and was immediately bombarded with a rapid-fire chorus of violins.

We listened for a moment or two before the main line began playing, causing Octavia’s eyes to widen as a smile found its way to her lips. Vinyl groaned as she sat down heavily, apparently disinterested with the energetic cello lead. However, as the music became more aggressive, their expressions began to trade places. On a quartet of heavy notes, Vinyl’s head jerked up as her mouth curled into a smile.

Meanwhile, Octavia’s smile had rapidly dropped into a stricken expression that was enhanced by the rather abrupt loss of color in her face. I was a bit taken aback by the seemingly angry way the artists were handling their instruments, if the tone of the music was anything to go by. I summoned a notepad and quill and began to take notes as Vinyl did the same. While I was certain the disk jockey’s notations were nowhere near as meticulous as mine, it was still nice to see somepony else taking interest in this amazing find.

Roughly halfway through threw the song, it seemed Octavia had had all she could take, “Turn it off!” She yelled, her complexion sharing a hue similar to wet plaster as she held her ears to her head.

I shut off the music, hoping that I hadn’t hurt her in any way. Yet, given Vinyl’s complete lack of concern, topped with Lyra’s neutral expression, I figured it was something more psychological than physical in nature.

“What’s wrong Octavia?” I asked, placing a hoof against her shoulder.

Her eyes were staring at the floor in front of her, unfocused and the size of pinheads as she held her head with both hooves, “I would never have imagined I would hear something so horrid done to a cello. It was, unnatural, sadistic even.”

Vinyl rolled her eyes, “Oh come on Octi, I might like going to your concerts a bit more if you played like that. It may have been a cello, but dang that was some sick beats!”

“Not quite the words I would have used,” Lyra added, “but Vinyl does have a point. This shows us that the creators of this music are willing to do unconventional things to get their message across, even with instruments were are more familiar with. Don’t hate the music for the choices of the artist, even if you don’t agree with them. That’s not what being a musician is about and you know it, Octavia.”

The color was slowly returning to the cellist’s face as she returned her hooves to the floor, “You’re right, I shouldn’t let things like that get to me.” She turned her hesitant gaze to me, “Please tell me we aren’t going to listen to anything like that as we continue?”

I smiled, “Don’t worry, Octavia, I’m sure that there won’t be any more cellos being butchered from here on.”

She let out a heaving sigh of relief, “Oh thank goodness.” She cleared her throat, straightening her mane with a hoof before getting comfortable, “Very well, continue Ms. Sparkle.”

I smiled, glad it seemed everypony was still willing to continue, “Alright, then we’ll move on to the next genre. If the title is to be relied upon, the next group of songs belong to the ‘country’ subset, although I’m not sure if it means what I’m thinking of.”

“What would that be?” Octavia asked, pointedly ignoring Vinyl as her marefriend tried to distract her with puppy eyes.

“Well,” I mused, “it’s only a theory, but I think these songs might be like the ones that the cowponies are so fond of playing during their gettogethers. Lots of fiddle and banjo and the like.”

Understanding dawned on the grey mare as she nodded, “I see, not really my cup of tea but I’ll listen to it all the same.”

With that taken care of, I tapped into the next artist, letting the beginning notes ring through my lab as the bouncing twang of a guitar met our ears. As a new voice started singing, all eyes were on the device as Lyra and Octavia’s eyes began to shine. Vinyl shrugged, although the soft swing to her shoulders told me all I needed to know. Even I wasn’t immune to the catchy tune, one of my hooves tapping with the beat as the chorus came in.

Even as the song came to an end, Lyra’s soft humming kept going for a bar or two, counterpointed by Octavia’s mumbled continuation of the chorus. I giggled behind my hoof as they came back to themselves, although it was Vinyl that spoke first.

“I’ve been at a few gigs in Appleloosa and other frontier places, seems like one of those songs that ponies could get up and dance to.”

“Indeed,” Octavia agreed, “although I have to wonder at the word choice in the chorus. It seems a bit like the singer is missing his marefriend but is trying to move on.”

“A sad story told in an upbeat and carefree fashion,” Lyra mused, “a unique combination that I don’t think is present in any Equestrian music that I know of.”

“I’m a bit curious about this ‘hell’ he spoke of,” I said as I made a quick note in my growing list of bullet points, “from the context it sounds like a different version of Tartarus. I’ll have to get more information later.”

“Well let’s get into the next song!” Vinyl said with an excited hop, “I want to see what the next one has in store for us.”

I rolled my eyes at the DJ’s overexuberance, but I did as she asked and moved on to the next song. As the guitar strummed into another upbeat tempo, I set down my notes and quill to listen, giggling to myself as Lyra began swaying to the beat.

Vinyl didn’t seem to be immune to the effects of the music either, and before long she was swaying just as much as Lyra, singing along to the words while Lyra did a little dance around the tables of my lab. Octavia was a bit more reserved, although she was tapping her hooves and swinging her tail to the beat as she smiled warmly to the chorus.

As the song wound down I had to grab the device out of Vinyl’s magic, causing the unicorn to pout in the most adorable way, “Aww, come on Twilight, I want to see what other songs that thing has inside it. Just a little look, please?”

I shook my head, although I could understand her desire to search for more catchy songs like that one, “I know it’s hard to resist, but we need to keep going. After all, if we focus on one genre and ignore the others, then we won’t accomplish what I called you all here to do.”

Octavia placed a hoof over her marefriend’s shoulders, “Cheer up, Vinyl, I’m certain Twilight will share more with us in the future, right now we just have to do the job we were hired for and then we can play around with this new music.”

I nodded, “I’m planning on sharing all of this with the rest of Equestria once I get some more concrete answers, but I’ll make sure to let you know once I’m letting everypony else in on the secret.” I cleared my throat, “So, what did you think of that song?”

“I thought it was a celebration of youth, and the adventure of doing new things.” Lyra spoke up with a smile, “Kind of like going to new and exciting locations just because they’re there to discover.”

Vinyl nodded her agreement, “Yeah, I almost want to meet this colt in person so I can talk with him about what he does for fun.”

“Well,” Octavia mused, “it’s all a bit unrefined for my tastes, although I will admit it was fun listening to it and it has a wonderful tone when you delve into the lyrics. All and all a genre I can enjoy but would never dream of playing in front of others.”

I nodded, “Fair enough I guess, although I think you might want to hold judgement until we listen to this last song.”

I moved on to the next artist and was surprised by the piano solo that began the next song. For a while we listened to the soft and somber music, and I caught Octavia wiping a tear from her eyes as the song came to a close. I added a note about the reference to a god of some sort to my growing list before turning to the others.

“So, what do you think?” I asked.

“For one thing that was a really high voice for a colt.” Vinyl said with a fair amount of snark, “I mean, what did he have to do, kick himself in the balls to get that high or did he never grow up from colthood?”

“Really Vinyl,” Octavia interjected, “must you be so crass. I personally think it was quite romantic, having that colt bare his heart to his mare like that and reminiscing about the struggles that led him to her.”

“Kind of reminds me of that first song we listened to,” Lyra said as she placed a hoof against her chin, “A story of love lost and love gained, all told in a happy light. Definitely something I’ll remember for some time to come.”

“Well, let’s move on to the next genre,” I said as I picked up the device again, “and I think this one is more your speed, Vinyl.”

Her eyes lit up as she lifted her shades up and over her horn, “You mean it’s stuff I can mix on my tables?”

I shrugged, “All I know is that it’s labeled as electronic, so I guess we’ll have to see.”

At first I didn’t know what I was listening to as the song began, although Vinyl’s eyes widened sharply as the chimes came in. Apparently, she recognized something about the music we didn’t, because the second the singer came in her quill was going a mile a minute on the paper in her magical grip.

Once the song ended Vinyl dropped the pad and quill, beaming at me with all of her teeth as she said, “It’s not exactly what I’d call clubbing music, but I like it. It just gave me a whole bunch of new ideas for a new mix I’m working on.”

“Yes well,” Octavia droned, “it wasn’t as bad as some of the rubbish you make me listen to, so I think I wouldn’t mind listening to that style in the future if it followed the same theme.”

“Seemed kind of like the singer was dreaming,” Lyra added, “At least that’s what I got from it. It seemed a bit to surreal to be centered in the waking world.”

I nodded, “I got that impression as well, I wonder how Princess Luna would react to this song.”

I didn't mention it to the others, but I had noticed something else about the song. The artist mentioned a planet called 'Earth', and I was beginning to wonder if Dr. Tenderhoof's theory of the creature being extra-terrestrial in origin might actually be true. I made a side note on a spare scroll to ask about the name of the planet once I could establish dialogue with the creature, if it would allow me to that is.

Muttered agreement was shared from all present, and I moved on to the next song with little fanfare. As the music started, I was caught off guard again by the seeming narrator, although the notes and bass in the background belied the idea that it was a simple lecture. Vinyl was going ballistic as the song began to wind up, and I took several more notes at detailed explanation of these ‘earthquakes’. I’d never heard of something like them before, and I wondered just how powerful something of that magnitude would be if it happened here. Once the song stopped Vinyl began scribbling notes to fast I could have sworn I smelled smoke coming from her paper. Octavia just shook her head and rolled her eyes, while Lyra just smiled like her greatest dream had come true.

“I could really get going if I was able to dance to that kind of music.” Lyra said as she came out of her little fanfilly moment.

Octavia rolled her eyes again at the aquamarine mare’s words, “Ugh, apparently even aliens like listening to this gut-pounding amalgamation Vinyl insists on calling music.”

“Hay yeah they do!” Vinyl yelled as she finished her notations with a flourish, “I just got so many new ideas from these sick beats!” She rounded on me with the most pathetic puppy eyes I had ever seen, “Show me more, please?!”

Luckily, I had practice fighting off puppy eyes from the CMC, so Vinyl’s assault was minuscule in comparison, “Sorry, Vinyl, but we have to keep moving. I promise to share more with you later, but for now we need to move on.”

She groaned in frustration but relented, sitting next to Octavia as I moved on, “Alright, so this next genre is called ‘jazz’, so I’m not sure what to expect. Try to keep an open mind if it’s something we haven’t heard before, but other than that I want your honest opinion once we’re done.”

Three nods of agreement met my words, and I tapped the screen to start the next song. The first thing we heard was a cymbal, followed closely by what seemed to be a saxophone. As the main theme came in Lyra began dancing in place with a huge smile on her face, leaving Octavia to watch Vinyl as the white unicorn bobbed her head to the beat.

While it was a bit shorter than the other songs we’d listened to so far, it was by no means a boring or uninspiring thing to behold. Once the song ended Lyra let out a loud whoop, jumping into the air before coming back to herself.

“I hope all the songs are this upbeat,” she said as she turned towards us with her lips still curled into a smile, “I could get used to having dance numbers like that in my regular collection.”

“Eh, I could do one better if I put my mind to it.” Vinyl mused while looking over her notes.

“It certainly was a unique use of syncopation.” Octavia added, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard a song that used it to such an extent.”

“It also seems to be a genre that relies on the brass and percussion more than anything else.” I noted as I added yet another bullet point to my notepad.

While Octavia and Vinyl were discussing the finer points of off-beat synchronization, I started the next song, although I nearly dropped my quill when the deep guitar started pounding out a rhythm. Octavia and Vinyl immediately ceased with their conversation in favor of listening to the next song, and as the rest of the instrumentation came in I couldn’t help but bob my head along to the beat.

This song was by far the longest one yet, and it took me a while to realize that part of the length was due to the dual solos that took up the middle half of the song. The first sounded like another saxophone, but once the second started I was a bit at a loss. It sounded like a string instrument, but it wasn’t any kind of string music I had ever heard.

Once the music stopped, Octavia spoke up with a thoughtful look on her face, “That song kind of reminds me of one of my action novels, like it was the soundtrack to a high-speed chase or something like that.”

“I think there was a bit of swing mixed in there as well,” Lyra added, “at least in the main chorus line.”

“Well one thing’s for sure,” Vinyl said with a big grin, “jazz has some sick beats when it gets moving.”

I chuckled softly at their antics, “I’m glad you girls are enjoying yourselves. The next genre is something called ‘pop’, although I’m once again at a loss as to what it might be.”

“Well don’t keep us waiting Twilight, start up the next song.” Lyra said.

I moved into the next song, and the chorus of voices that started off the song immediately captured every ear in the room. As the song continued, I held a hoof against my chest as a warm and tender feeling enveloped my heart. I glanced towards the others and saw that I wasn’t the only one affected. Lyra had tears threatening to break out of her eyes, while Octavia was mirroring my position with a hoof over her own heart. Vinyl was doing her best not to roll her eyes, although I was able to spot the soft blush that was present on her cheeks as she glanced at Octavia.

Octavia was the first to speak once the song ended, her voice somewhat rough until she cleared her throat, “That brought tears to my eyes. I felt like I was sitting with Vinyl under a starlit sky, just the two of us holding hooves and leaning against each other for warmth.”

That little comment made Vinyl’s blush flare into full power, and the disk jockey did her best to try and blow it off as she averted her gaze, “W-Well this stuff is all too sappy for me anyway. Not like I care or nothing.”

Her little act did nothing to fool me or Lyra, and Octavia seemed to have no difficulty reading her marefriend like a book, “Oh come now Vinyl, you wouldn’t mind sitting with me by the fire, all wrapped up in a blanket with two cups of hot coco. Nopony but us and no interruptions when we decide to get a bit closer to one another.”

That really made Vinyl blush, along with Lyra and me, “What are you saying Octi?”

The cellist smiled coyly as she kissed Vinyl on one cheek, “Let’s just say I’m in the mood for some fun once we finish up here.”

“O-Okay then, moving on!!” I yelled, “So, Lyra, what did you think of the song?”

She smiled as she rubbed one hoof against the other, “I loved it. It made me all warm and fuzzy inside, and I would absolutely fall apart if I could have something like that playing at my wedding. It just seems to fit so well.”

“True that,” Vinyl said as she extracted herself from her marefriend’s grasp, “that sounds like a great idea.” Her face took on a sneaky expression as she turned to Octavia, “Hey Octi, if you really like me that much, how about we put the hot kinky action on hold and get hitched?”

Vinyl’s words seemed to throw Octavia completely for a loop, her cheeks taking a bright red hue as she took a step back, “V-Vinyl! Surely you don’t mean that in a serious manner?!”

“Why not?” She replied, “I never was one for the mushy stuff anyway." She walked up and ran her tail under Octavia’s chin, making the mare’s already vibrant blush even brighter, “So what do you say, want to run away together?”

I cleared my throat, trying to fight down my own blush, “If you would hold off on the wedding bells for just a moment, I would greatly appreciate it if we could finish up here first.”

Vinyl gave me the most pathetic pout I have ever seen, “But Twilight,” she whined, “I want to sweep my mare off her hooves and gallop into the sunset with her.”

Octavia rolled her eyes, giving the DJ a playful shove before turning back to Lyra and I, “I do apologize, Twilight, sometimes Vinyl’s mouth gets ahead of her brain.”

“Ahem, well I guess it’s not that big of an issue,” I said slowly, “I just hope we can get through all these songs before lunch. I’d rather not miss out on Spike’s home cooking if I can help it.”

“Play the next one Twilight.” Lyra said.

The next song began playing, although once the singing began, I was caught off guard by the fact that it was a mare’s voice. Up until this point we had only heard stallions doing the vocals. For one thing, this song was nearly the opposite of the first, with its fast pace and bouncy chorus, it was about as close to the first song as a rock was to Poison Joke.

“Truly a motivational work if ever there was one,” Octavia said as the song wound to a close, “it made me feel like I could take on the world, as long as I worked hard and did everything I could.”

“I got the same feeling.” Lyra added, “Like I could do anything so long as I believed in myself.”

“I think this would be another one Princess Luna would like, if for no other reason than to show how much we care for her.” I said, “‘Glow like the Moon and shine like the stars’, indeed.”

“So, what’s next on the list, boss mare?” Vinyl said as she bumped Octavia with her rump, “Hope it’s good.”

“I don’t know,” I said as I scrolled through the artists, “this is a blind viewing for me as well, so I have no idea what the next song will sound like.” Finally, an artist caught my eye, and I selected the next song.

The song started out slow, but as the echoing singer rose in volume, I couldn’t help the slight bounce my hips developed, followed by a few wing flaps as the chorus kicked in. Vinyl was having a ball, jotting down notes like me on a study binge, while Lyra and Octavia were dancing with each other in their own styles. Lyra was kicking and flailing like I did at every party, while Octavia was more refined, taking careful and measured steps, yet exuding a grace and style that would make Rarity swoon.

“Woo! Let’s party!” Vinyl yelled as she finished her notes.

“Definitely a club style song.” Lyra agreed, “I could dance to that all night long.”

“Eh, a bit repetitive in my tastes,” Octavia said as she finished her final move, “but a fun and exciting piece in its own right.”

“Well that’s all I have for the ‘pop’ genre.” I said as I moved through the lists on the device, “Up next is something called R&B, although I have no idea what that stands for.”

“Ready when you are.” Vinyl said as she picked up her pad and quill.

I selected the next song, and our ears were met with the soft melody of what sounded like a bass and a horn of some sort. Once the stallion started singing, my wings once more threatened to spring upright, and if the vibrant blushes on my companions’ faces were anything to go by, they were feeling the same way. By the end of the song, Lyra was more red than green from the shoulders up, Octavia looked like she had been verbally assaulted, while Vinyl had the biggest grin I had seen so far today.

“Wow, umm,” Lyra forced out once she found her voice, “that was certainly a mental image I’m not going to get out of my head anytime soon.”

“It’s scandalous!” Octavia nearly shrieked, “That type of theme shouldn’t be broadcast through song in such a manner, it’s, it’s, inappropriate!”

“Oh, I think it’s appropriate for the right setting,” Vinyl hummed as she nuzzled against Octavia’s cheek, “if you’re looking to set the mood for a special occasion.”

“Keep things clean until you get back home!” I yelled, fighting to get my overactive wings under control, “You two are more than welcome to do that kind of stuff on your own time, but not in my lab and not where other ponies can see you. Jeez, have some decency.”

Vinyl rolled her eyes, either not noticing or ignoring Octavia’s raging blush, “Alright mom, I’ll behave like a good filly should.”

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I had been holding, “Thank you. Now, before we get caught up in any more distractions, let’s move on to the next song.”

Three nods followed my words, and I tapped the screen before anything else could happen. The smooth piano that sounded off seemed to indicate another mellow song. However, as the beat built up, I found myself nodding my head as the bass kicked in with the vocals. Tapping hooves and bobbing manes were the theme that fell over my lab, and I couldn’t really blame anypony. The solid beat and the catchy lyrics were nearly enough to make me sing along, although that didn’t stop Lyra and Octavia from joining in on the chorus.

“Seems like this song is about a strong and independent mare.” Lyra said as the music came to a stop. “I’d like to meet this mare if she really exists.”

“Then why don’t you talk to me?” Vinyl snarked, “I’m all the mare anypony could ask for.”

Octavia rolled her eyes, bopping her marefriend on the back of the head, “Only you could come up with something like that. While I did enjoy the song, the thing I found most enduring about it was the way the rhythm and beat kept me engaged through the whole way.”

I nodded, “I agree, it was enjoyable without being overbearing. Kind of like some of the music I heard up in the more cultural parts of Manehatten.”

Lyra tapped her hoof against the floor as her eyes ignited, “I think I figured out what R&B stands for.”

My notepad and quill were at the ready in an instant, “Please, share with the rest of us Lyra.”

She nodded, “Well, I got part of my master’s degree in Manehatten, and I know exactly what kind of music you’re talking about. The colts that play that stuff call it Blues, and when Octavia said something about the beat of the genre I realized what the name means. R&B is short for Rhythm and Blues.”

I made a note as she finished, “Well done Lyra. This is exactly why I called you here. I needed your perspectives in order to better understand this new music.”

“So, is there more of this ‘rhythm and blues’?” Octavia asked.

I nodded, “Yup, one more song. Don’t know what it’s about, but we’re about to find out.”

A solid bass beat echoed around the room, and I felt drawn into the song immediately as the singer began the first verse. However, as the music began to pick up, I couldn’t help the shiver that ran up my spine. The lyrics were reminding me of a memory I would rather forget, given the fact that we still had no idea where Queen Chrysalis had run off to after Starlight and the others saved us from her clutches. I glanced at Lyra, knowing she had some similar feelings regarding our first meeting with the changelings, and saw that she was a few shades paler than normal. Octavia and Vinyl were deeply engrossed in the song, their faces mirror images of concentration as they nodded or shook their heads at certain parts of the chorus or refrain.

Lyra shivered as the song ended, her mane and tail a fair bit more frazzled than before the song began, “I’m not really sure how I feel about that song. I know the creatures that made it have never met a changeling before, but the mare in this song sounds a bit too much like Chrysalis for my liking.”

“Oh, that’s not all the song has to offer,” Octavia countered, “it could apply to anypony with an air of class and sophistication. After all,” she flipped her mane behind her neck and fluttered her lashes at the aquamarine mare, lowering her voice into a sultry rasp, “a lady has to have some spice in her demeanor or else she never catches the eye of a stallion.”

Vinyl chuckled, “Oh take me away my sweet Octi! You know how much it gets my fur up when you talk like that.”

I rolled my eyes, “If we could get back on track, there’s one more genre I need to show you. It’s called ‘Rock’, although if the genre titles from before are anything to go by, I still have no idea what it’s going to sound like.”

The deep thrum of the bass drum and the mystery string instrument met our ears as the song began, and I found myself paying extra attention as the artist began the first verse. This was certainly unlike anything we had heard so far, and it only kicked into a higher gear as the chorus began. Vinyl was tapping her hooves to the beat while Lyra was nodding her head. Octavia seemed to be uncertain about the new style, although her expression was more neutral than anything else.

Once the song came to an end, Lyra opened her eyes and examined the device in a new light, “Never heard an instrument like that before. Seems to be a string of some sort, but other than that I’m stumped.”

“Never listened to jams like these,” Vinyl said with a wide grin, “but I like it.”

“Indeed.” Octavia agreed, “it’s certainly a new sound when compared to the other songs we’ve listened to.”

“It would seem that whoever these beings are,” I said as I scrolled through the list for the next song, “they have a diverse culture if the vast array of music styles is anything to go by. Oh, I can’t wait to talk with the creature about all of this. It could open up so many new fields of research!”

“Equis to Twilight.” Lyra forced out between giggles, “we’ve still got music to listen to, remember?”

I started as a blush found its way onto my cheeks, “Oh yes, um,” I cleared my throat as I selected the next song, “let’s continue.”

Unlike the previous songs, this was one of the few that immediately started out with vocals, although if the aggressive singing was anything to go by, we were in for a wild ride.

As the pounding beat and powerful lyrics met our ears, I watched the others’ reactions to try and gauge their thoughts. Lyra was the purest image of concentration, her eyes closed and her brow furrowed as she measured out the beat with her hoof. Octavia seemed to be a bit worried, although I had no idea why, while Vinyl was simply tossing her head back and forth like a mad mare.

“I need this music in my life.” Vinyl said as the music stopped, “I swear by Celestia’s sweet flanks that if you don’t share this stuff with me at some point I will fillynap you and subject you to the most painful music-based torture imaginable.”

Octavia rolled her eyes, “Really Vinyl, must you be so melodramatic?” She cleared her throat before speaking, “Anyways, I thought the song was interesting, even if the subject matter was a bit morbid when you actually listen to the lyrics.”

“I noticed it was also much more aggressive than the other genres.” Lyra added, “Could it be that the heavy theme and powerful style are what define this particular genre?”

I shrugged, making a note to ask the creature later if I could, “I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Anyway, I have one more song before we call it a day. I think we could all use some time off after all this.”

A round of nods met my words, and I selected the final song of the day. At first, the rhythmic keyboard and pounding bass seemed fairly normal, but that all changed when the first verse kicked in. My wings snapped to attention in my shock, as the eyes of everypony present widened in awe and amazement. We were struck frozen and speechless as the song progressed, completely unable to formulate a response other than to gape at the device as the lightning fast notes and thunderous drum line echoed through the room.

As the song came to a climactic ending, I stayed frozen for a moment before I was able to close my mouth. My wings folded back against my sides as the others shook out of their stupor.

“That. Was. AMAZING!!!” Vinyl managed to yell at the top of her lungs, “I need to make a remix of this thing immediately.”

“That was certainly something alright.” Octavia mused as she rubbed her ears with a hoof, “I never imagined I would hear something like that when we came over to hear this music.”

“I didn’t even know you could play notes that fast,” Lyra added, “and given those were string instruments I would have to imagine the artists would need years of practice to get that good.”

“Note to self,” I muttered as my quill moved over my now quite expansive list of scrolls, “talk with creature about how music is made.”

“Well, it was great that you girls could help me with all this.” I said as I teleported my notes and quill back to my study, “I can’t thank you enough for sitting through all this with me.”

The girls followed me out to the foyer once I had powered down the device and removed the security spells on the lab doors. Lyra walked on my let while Octavia and Vinyl brought up the rear.

“It was an absolute pleasure Twilight.” Octavia said with a smile, “I enjoyed listening to them with you. Do call on us again if you want to listen to more.” She grabbed Vinyl around the shoulders and directed the mare out the doors as the DJ jotted notes at a frenzied pace. “Come along Vinyl, or else we aren’t going to have time to make lunch before you head out for work.”

Lyra chuckled behind her hoof as the duo exited the castle, turning back to me with a smirk as she leaned in to give me a quick nuzzle, “It was great seeing you again Twilight. Don’t be a stranger and call me up next time you have some free time.”

I returned her smile, “Sure thing Lyra. I’ll see if I can work some hang-out time into my schedule.”

She nodded in return, flipping around and calling over her shoulder as she walked out, “See you next time Twilight.”

I waved with one hoof, “See you.”

As the main doors closed with an echoing thud, I let out a sigh, turning back to face the now empty hallways of my home. However, my moment of introspection was interrupted by the doors slamming open behind me, ruffling my mane and feathers with the wind of their passing. I spun around to see Rainbow sprawled out on the floor, her eyes rolling around in her head for a moment before she leaped to her hooves.

“Twilight!” She yelled as she raced up and grabbed me by the shoulders, “the creature’s awake!”

My mind and heart began racing at the possibilities, “Are you sure? It’s woken up?”

She nodded, “Yeah, I heard the docs telling the guards to keep a sharp eye out. It doesn’t seem to want to move right now, but that could change any minute. I raced over here as fast as I could so you could blast it to pieces if it tries anything.”

I rolled my eyes, “While I appreciate your confidence in me Rainbow, I don’t think I’ll need to be ‘blasting it to pieces’ anytime soon. From what the doctors were able to say, it’s lucky to be alive at the moment, let alone running around causing trouble.”

“Well come on then,” my prismatic friend said as she practically dragged me out the doorway, “the sooner we get back the sooner we can get things settled.”

I let out a sigh as I was bodily directed toward the hospital, “Sure thing Rainbow, whatever you say.”

Sometimes it’s better to just leave well enough alone.

Author's Notes:

Hi everypony!! I'm back again after almost a month off the job!! *hides under table as fans throw rotten fruit and vegetables at me* Alright already!! Enough with the flame mail!! I have a legitimate excuse!! Well, finals were a pain and I'm still out of the job. But I plan on changing that very soon so in the meantime I can work on posting chapters for you guys!! Also, this thing is over eight thousand words, so be happy you got this one when you did!! It took me three days of solid writing to get this moster finished, so don't get sore with me if you wanted more!!

Anyways, thanks so much for making this story so popular, and I'll see you all next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.

4 - Waking Up

Hey there everypony!!! Well it's time we got back to the MC of this lovely story, so from this point on the main chapters will be from our lovely Sarah's POV. I'll let you know if there's any perspective shifts at the beginning of the chapter, but those should be few and far between. Other than that, HAPPY READING!!!

The first thing I became aware of was the soft breeze that rippled through my hair. That sensation was quickly followed by the soft sheets that were covering my body and the cloud-like mattress that I was resting on. My head was comfortably rested on a firm pillow and I could feel something connected to my left arm. I was also aware of a soft beeping coming from my right, most likely a heart monitor. I winced as pain echoed through my body, reminding me of the complete idiot I was before doing a nosedive off a cliff face. Smart idea there Sarah, real genius climbing a sheer rock wall in a rainstorm.

“Oh, my everything.” I groaned as I lifted my right arm to my face, blocking out the sunlight that was trying to drill its way through my eyelids, “hope the doc has some painkillers for all this, or else I’m going to kick someone’s teeth in for leaving me hanging.”

I lowered my arm and forced my eyes open, trying my best not to squint as my vision adjusted to the sunlight. My gaze took in the room in an instant, marking exit points and possible places to hide out of habit before the rest of my mind could catch up with my instincts. The window taking up the right wall was open, allowing the familiar breeze to flow into the room, ruffling the plain white curtains as they slowly danced in the gentle airflow. A single circle of light took up center stage in the ceiling, while a set of two doors took up the opposite corners of my little abode. One seemed to lead into the hallway, while the one across from me probably led to a bathroom. Yet, as I looked around and took in everything, I noticed that something seemed off. First off, my legs were hanging a good half a foot off the end of the bed, and the entirety of the furniture seemed to have been designed for kids. Everything was about a foot too short, save for the doorways. Also, the heart monitor I heard before wasn’t hooked up to any kind of wires or sensors. All it did was sit there on the desktop pulsing away like it didn’t have a care in the world.

“Alright, either some really funky shit is going on,” I muttered under my breath, “or I’m more looped up on painkillers than I thought.”

I winced as my formerly dislocated shoulder made itself known again, “Nope, definitely not the painkillers.” I tried to get my bearings as my mind struggled to put the pieces together. “Am I in the kiddy ward or something? Did they run out of space in the trauma center or something?”

My brain began thinking itself into circles as more and more questions tried to grab my attention. Why wasn’t the heart monitor connected to me? Why was everything so small?

“And who in the hell took my clothes?!” I yelled as I realized I had nothing on but my underwear and bra. I pulled my arms over my chest as I curled my knees up to my body, “Alright, I can understand taking stuff off for surgery, but why in the hell didn’t they put my clothes back on me when they were done?” A cold shiver ran up my spine at the thought of some kinky doctor getting off to my nearly naked body while I was unconscious, “Nope, that’s it. I’m getting out of here.”

I was just about to throw the sheets off my body when the doorknob began to rattle. I froze and tried to relax my muscles as the door began to open inward. First rule of unarmed combat, always keep loose to increase your speed and reaction time.

I was prepared for some nurse to step in with a clipboard or something like that. What I got was a tiny white horse with a ridiculous bubblegum pink mane and tail. My jaw dropped as it walked in, my gaze taking in its far too big eyes, red cross brand, and the tiny nurse’s cap that rested between its ears.

Its large pale blue eyes widened once our gazes met, and I was utterly baffled by the way the irises shrank along with the pupils as its ears folded back along its head. For a moment we simply stared at one another, before the horse creature made a sound that suspiciously resembled a clearing of the throat.

“U-Um, if you would be so kind as to sit still,” My jaw dropped as its mouth moved in conjunction with the decidedly female voice I was hearing, “I need to take a look at your vitals so we can make sure the treatment isn’t having any side effects.”

It took me a moment to get my brain out of the 404 error it had found itself stuck in, but I quickly grounded myself in reality as the little horse thing took a step towards me.

I rolled behind the bed, ripping the IV out of my arm as I took cover behind the furniture and peeking over it to lock gazes with my companion.

“I don’t know what kind of genetic experiment gone crazy cute you are,” I growled as the little horse thing flinched, “but if you try and come any closer and I’ll break my mechanical leg off in your teeth.”

Her already pale complexion managed to go a few shades whiter as she backed up a step or three, “P-Please, the doctors just want to make sure your bones are healing properly. You were in terrible shape when you arrived, and for a while there we weren’t sure you were going to make it. Please,” it lifted up a hoof in what looked like a placating manner, “we just want to help you.”

I tried to keep a level head as I stared the creature into complacency, “Yeah, not going to happen. No offence to you and whatever else might be walking around in this nuthouse, but I’m not going to stick around when I could end up on someone’s dissection table the moment I got to sleep.”

I stood to my full height and noted the fact that the little horse was only about three and a half feet tall, maybe four at most. Huh, probably should call it a pony then. I mused to myself as it took a couple more steps back. By this point its rump was resting against the door, and its tail was tucked so far between its hind legs it looked like a scared little puppy. It didn’t help matters that its overly expressive eyes were wide in terror with tears pooling at the edges.

I groaned inwardly at its petrified state, If it’s one thing I can’t stand it’s seeing cute things afraid of me. Might as well try and calm it down before it passes out from fright.

I took a few steps closer to the creature, feeling genuinely guilty when it sat down and covered its head with its forelegs. I paused for half a second to make a mental note that this thing had to have ball and socket joints in its shoulders to make that motion, but I cleared that aside for later review as I came up to tower over the creature.

The poor thing was shaking like a leaf, and I could swear it was whimpering as I knelt down in front of it, bringing me more or less to eye level with it. Without even meaning to, my eyes moved past its front legs and chest, catching a glimpse of the delicate folds that were nearly hidden between its hind legs. Another mental note, the creature is a female. Moving my eyes back up to the newly gendered creature’s head, I could clearly see the tears that ran down her cheeks, her nose beginning to run as her entire body shuddered in fear. I let out a sign, resigning myself to whatever horrible torture that might follow my actions, and wrapped my arms around the poor mare’s shoulders.
Her body locked up as my body came into contact with hers, and I allowed her to get comfortable with my contact before I adjusted our positions. Normally I wouldn’t do this with anything other than a kitten, but I felt it might be appropriate for the situation. I guided her head between my breasts, gently moving her legs out of the way as I rubbed the back of her neck with my other hand. She wriggled for a moment before settling into position, her shaking slowly coming to a stop as I hummed softly in the back of my throat.

Seemingly of their own accord, the mare’s forelegs wrapped around my ribs in a mirror of my hug, and she nuzzled between my breasts for a moment before she opened her eyes. Yet, as her watery gaze took in where she was and what position she was in, her eyes widened and her cheeks immediately turned a bright shade of red. She practically leaped out of my grip, her bun coming completely undone as she jumped to her hooves. One hoof found its way to her mouth, feeling around her muzzle like she was trying to find something that had been left there by her contact with my chest, and I felt my own cheeks heating up as I realized what I had just done.

I’ve never even let a man do that when I was having sex with them! I mentally screamed at myself, What the hell is wrong with me?! Then it hit me, I would do that with my dog when we would cuddle on the couch, and when I went over to my uncle’s place his cats would always try and snuggle into my chest. Is it because she’s a cute little animal? Did my brain not make the connection because she’s something similar to the cute animals I have back home?

I shook my head, trying to sort my mind out as the mare seemed to be doing the same. Our eyes met and I felt myself smiling as I rubbed the back of my neck, “Sorry about that, I do that with my dog when she gets all upset and it usually calms her right down.” I averted my gaze as my cheeks heated up again, “I forgot for a moment that you aren’t exactly the same as my dog.”

The mare’s blush faded slightly as she coughed into one foreleg, “Well I won’t fault you for doing what you thought was right. It’s not like that was the most compromising position I’ve ever been in with a patient.” She met my eyes as she stood up straight, “Alright, enough of that. I need to check your vitals and sitting on the floor isn’t going to help any. Now, back to bed with you,” she made a shooing motion with one hoof, “you shouldn’t even be moving around like that in your condition anyway.”

I rolled my eyes as I walked back to the bed. No matter where you were, doctors and nurses were all the same. I climbed back into the bed and pulled the sheet up to my chest, leaving my arms free as the nurse walked up to the bedside. She looked at the clipboard that was hanging off of the peg to my left, her eyes looking over some fine detail that was beyond me before turning back to face me.

“Now hold out your leg so I can check your pulse.” Her eyes were locked on my left arm so I let the misnomer slide for now.

I held out my arm for her and was surprised when she placed a hoof directly over my wrist. I felt a weird sensation, like someone was rubbing a mitten over my skin before a pressure made itself known over one of the arteries. She held that position for a moment before nodding to herself, pulling her hoof back and picking up the nearby pen in her teeth.

She wrote something down on the clipboard before turning back to me, “Alright, I need you to lose the sheet for just a minute dearie.”

I held the cloth a bit closer to my chest, “Why?” I wasn’t in the mood to play any games. This situation was weird enough as it was.

Her response was to roll her eyes, “I’m not going to be able to listen to your lungs properly with the sheets in the way, now move your limbs before I get impatient.”

I couldn’t help the snicker that rose unbidden from my throat. This little pony was threatening to get physical with me? The idea was absolutely absurd. However, my chortle was cut off by the hard glare she leveled at me. A chill ran up my spine and I was distinctly reminded of my drill sergeant when he really laid into us at basic training. Almost without my consent, my arms moved the sheets away from my chest, exposing my upper body to her once again.

She nodded once, “That’s better, now when I tell you to, I want you to breath in as deeply as you can, and then let it out nice and slow, understand?”

I nodded agreement, wondering how she was going to listen to my lungs without a stethoscope. Yet, without any warning, she leaned her head in and rested one of her large ears against my chest, right between my breasts. My breathing hitched for a moment, yet this time her cheeks remained completely clear of any blush or heat. Her fur was extremely soft against my skin, and I had to resist the urge to wrap my arms around her and hold her close like a living teddy bear.

“Deep breath now please.” She spoke up from her position leaning into me.

I complied, breathing in as long as I could, feeling some surprise when none of my ribs protested the action. I held it for a second before letting it out just as slowly, doing my best not to pay attention to the absolutely adorable creature leaning against me.

She nodded as she pulled back, her eyes firm as she locked gazes once again, “Now I’m going to inform the doctor that you’re awake. Do I need to remind you that you are still a patient and must refrain from doing anything strenuous until you are discharged?”

I shook my head, “No ma’am.”

She nodded in return, “Then I should be back before too long.”

As she turned to walk away I realized something, “Wait!” She looked over her shoulder at me, “Um, where would the other humans happen to be in this little setup you have going? I mean, you’re some kind of assistant to them right?”

Her eyes narrowed in confusion, before she turned back around to face me, “I’m not sure what you mean. I’ve never heard of these ‘humans’ before. Are you certain you’re alright?”

Now it was my turn to narrow my eyes, “But, that doesn’t make any sense. If you’re not some lab creation, then where the hell am I?”

At this her demeanor shifted to one of understanding, “I think it will be a lot clearer once we have the proper authorities come in and explain the situation. I’m not at liberty to say much other than speculation, but last I heard the princesses themselves were looking into your arrival here in Ponyville.”

“Ponyville?” I asked, “What kind of name for a town is that?”

She shrugged, “Don’t ask me, it was the name given to our town over three hundred years ago. I’m not privy to the thoughts our foremares had when they came up with it. Anyway,” she announced as she turned to the door once more, “I have other rounds to complete before the end of my shift. Do try and stay out of trouble until I get back with Dr. Tenderhoof.”

With that she closed the door behind her, leaving me all alone in my room, and with far more questions than I had answers to. Ponyville? Princesses? Did I crash land into some kind of fantasy-style coloring book when I fell of that cliff? I shook my head as I looked out the window again, this time taking in the sights instead of focusing on the drapery. What met my gaze was something straight out of the fifteenth century, with thatched roof houses and an open air market to boot. I rubbed my eyes as I spotted more and more of those little pony creatures, all decked out in every candy-coated hue and shade imaginable. I thought the nurse had been flamboyant, but she had nothing on some of the critters walking around outside. I thought I saw one that was bright pink from head to tail bouncing around, but I quickly lost it in the mass of eye-melting color that seemed to be the local populous.

I lay back on the bed and pulled the sheets up again to maintain what little modesty I had left, allowing my mind to process the new information it had been presented with. First off, those pony things could apparently talk and reason like a normal human being. Check one for the crazy shit list. Second, I was in some place called Ponyville, whatever that meant, and had been somehow treated for my multiple broken bones and other injuries. Double check. My clothes were missing for some stupid reason. Grr, check. And to top it all off, my crazy ass had somehow ended up in a place where the sentient pony population either had no idea what a human was, or they were hiding the info to keep me in the dark about where I really was. Check.

I rubbed my eyes and growled under my breath, “Looks like you really landed in the shit pile this time old girl.” I lowered my arms to the bed and stared up at the ceiling, “What’s next, a surprise party in honor of my not being a blood stain on the rocky cliff base?”

I don’t know how long I lay there, ruminating on what had happened to me, but it had to have been close to an hour or more before I heard voices from the other side of the hallway door. I sat up, holding the sheet to my chest as the voices got louder, although I was once again stopped cold by what came through the doorway once it opened.

My nurse was the first to enter, her unique coloration saw to my immediate recognition of her as she walked in. I noted that she had redone the bun her mane had been in during her last visit, although as her eyes landed on me I noticed the slight blush that adorned her cheeks. I cracked a slight smirk as I remembered her reaction to my impromptu hug earlier. Man or woman, human or otherwise, I still got it where it counts.

My moment of pride was shredded as I spotted the other beings entering my little space, my jaw dropping and my mind going completely blank as I tried to rationalize what it was I was seeing. Following the nurse into the room was a light brown stallion dressed in a doctor’s smock, his gender made obvious by the solid jawline and more muscular stature. Yet it was the little addition to his forehead that had me sputtering in shock. A five-inch horn protruded from his mane like some kind of flag pole, with a spiral groove winding its way from base to tip around the outside. My eyes moved from him to the other visitor, and my already fried brain threw in the towel and raised a white flag of surrender at what I saw.

The mare in question was almost every shade of purple imaginable, from the deep indigo of her mane and tail to the softer lavender of her coat. Even her eyes were purple, a bright and attentive violet that met my gaze pound for pound. She too had a horn sticking from her forehead, although it had to be a good seven inches and ended in a much sharper point than her companion. As she stepped further into the room I caught a glimpse of a set of wings folded against her sides, and at that point my frazzled mind had taken enough of a beating to call it quits. The last thing I remember was my eyes rolling into the back of my head and my body hitting the bed with a thump. The cries of shock might have been my imagination.

I groaned as my mind reconnected with the rest of my body, and I covered my eyes with one hand as I muttered under my breath, “If there’s a unicorn and bright purple pegacorn sitting in my room right now I’m going to see the nearest psychologist.”

“Actually the correct term is alicorn.” A young female voice answered, “But why would you need to see a psychologist if Dr. Tenderhoof and I are in the room?”

I grimaced as the voice confirmed my worst fears. I resigned myself to the inevitable and removed my hand from my eyes, looking around the room to address my audience. My nurse was sitting at my side, her face the textbook image of worry, while the doctor and pegacorn, er, alicorn, sat at the foot of the bed. Their expressions were mixed, although the doctor seemed to be thinking rather hard while the mare had a more curious gleam in her eyes. I rubbed my eyes and sat up, holding the sheets with my right hand while I reached out with my left. Without even thinking I started rubbing my nurse behind an ear with my fingers, although I immediately retracted my limb when she started humming in appreciation.

I winced as the other two’s eyes widened at my actions, “Sorry, force of habit.” I held my hand against my chest as I fought the urge to curl up into a ball, “When I’m nervous I’d rub my dog’s ears to calm down. I didn’t mean to do that to you. I’m sorry.”

Her eyes seemed to be out of focus for a second before she shook her head, “Oh think nothing of it, I’m sure you didn’t mean anything by it. It actually felt rather nice.”

I blushed as I realized I might have just felt up my caretaker by accident, “Yeah, my bad.” I turned my gaze to the other two members of our little party, my eyes landing on the doc as a thought occurred to me, “Would you mind explaining why in the heck you have a horn sticking out of your head?”

His eyes crossed as he looked up at his horn, “I’m a unicorn. I’ve had it since I was born. What exactly makes my horn so intriguing?”

“Maybe because unicorns are nothing but myths last time I checked?” I countered.

I opened my mouth to speak, but I was cut off as a loud pop sound echoed around the room. My eyes were drawn to the other mare as movement caught my attention, although I nearly jumped out of my skin as what I was seeing. Floating next to her head, enveloped in a purple aura, was an old-fashioned quill and scroll, scribbling away like the laws of physics didn’t matter in the slightest. I took note of the fact that the mare’s horn was also glowing with a purple aura, before I did my very best to hide under the too-small sheets.

“Gah!” I yelled, trying my best not to freak out any worse than I already was. “Okay, news flash, the laws of physics are taking a break for the day, no need to worry. I’ll just wait under here until the world goes back to being normal again.”

The skritch-scratch of the quill paused for a moment, before the purple mare’s voice sounded off again, “What do you mean, ‘the laws of physics have taken a break’? Nothing strange is going on that would even allude to that being the case.”

I poked my head out from under the sheets and pointed a shaking finger at the gravity-defying scroll and quill, “Then explain how those two items are currently doing their very best to laugh in the face of gravity.”

The mare’s eyes were drawn to the items floating next to her head for a moment, before they widened and she blushed a bright red through her already dark fur. The glow around her horn and the items faded, and seemingly out of nowhere gravity once again held sway over everything in the room. Both fluttered to the floor as the mare smacked herself in the face with one hoof, and I winced internally at the pain I figured would come from that action. What with hooves and all that.

“How could I have been so stupid?!” She growled as she lowered her leg back to the floor, “I knew your kind had never encountered magic before and what’s the first thing I do upon seeing you, start using a levitation spell like it’s absolutely nothing!” She groaned as she turned around and pressed her forehead against the wall, “I could have just destroyed any form of communication we might have established all because I was too lazy to hold the quill in my mouth!”

My eyes moved from the seemingly frustrated mare to the others, although if their tired rolling of the eyes were anything to go by, this was not the first time said mare had reacted like this to something not going as planned. Understandably, I was confused as all hell, but that didn’t change the fact that something had to be done to fix the situation. I’d get to the proverbial claymore of magic later on. Right now I needed to get some answers and I figured the purple mare in front of me might hold some of them. I turned my attention back to said sulking alicorn, and thought of what I might say to help smooth over the situation.

“Um, pardon me miss,” I managed to force out, “but what exactly are you so worried about? I was just surprised, that’s all. Why don’t we talk about something else and we’ll get back to the topic of this ‘magic’ later.”

She turned to face me with the most pitiful expression I had ever seen, “You really mean it? You aren’t mad at me?”

I forced myself not to ‘d’aww’ at the adorable pout she was making, and instead coughed into my fist to make it seem like I was clearing my throat, “Sure, yeah, whatever. No harm done other than scaring me out of my wits. It’ll take more than that to make me mad.” Whew, glad she’s the type that’s easy to cheer up.

Her lips pulled into a beaming smile, “Oh good, because I have so many questions for you!” She practically leaped to my bedside, her nearly manic expression making more than one shiver run up my spine as she leaned in close, “Oh there’s so much I want to ask, like what kind of meat do you eat if all the animals are sentient?” She didn’t even let me answer before she gasped, “What if the animals aren’t sentient? Oh this could be a breakthrough in the history of evolution! You need to tell me or else I’ll never be able to figure it out!”

For the first time in my life, I turned to a higher authority, namely my nurse, and used a line I never thought I would ever hear coming out of my mouth, “I think I need an adult.”

This brought the alicorn talking my ear off to a complete halt, at the same time my nurse and the doc cracked up laughing. The object of said laughter began turning beet red from the neck up, her wings ruffling several times as she averted her gaze to a very interesting spot on the floor.

Finally, after several minutes of chuckles and more than one cleared throat, my nurse turned to the mare next to her and said with utmost patience, “I think we can hold off on the questions until after the patient is discharged. Don’t you think so, Princess?”

Hold on, princess?! Did my nurse just say what I thought she said?! Said alicorn seemed oblivious to my mental backflips as she brushed some of her mane out of her face, “Yeah, that might be for the best, although I think I can answer some of our guest’s questions. I’m sure she has plenty of her own. At this point I’m pretty sure she’s not a threat, at least from what I can tell from our interactions thus far.”

I reengaged my brain as her eyes met mine, and I forced out the first question that came to mind, “You’re a princess?”

She reacted in a way that I was not expecting. Her ears folded against her head and she rubbed one foreleg against the other as she averted her gaze, “Yes, well, I’m technically the Princess of Friendship, but I hate it when ponies stand on ceremony around me. It makes me feel like I have too much power over them and I don’t like making my friends uncomfortable.”

Okay, local royalty doesn’t like being referred to as such, mental note, “So what do I call you if you don’t want to be called Princess?”

She immediately perked up, “Oh, my name is Twilight Sparkle, but my friends call me Twilight. What’s your name?”

I was taken aback for a moment by her rapid return, but I recovered enough to reply fairly easily, “It’s Sarah, Sarah Lovegood.”

She clapped her front hooves together in a very human manner, squeeing in a very cute way as she did a little happy dance, “Oh this is so exciting, we’re already exchanging cultural engagement!”

My nurse either ignored or simply didn’t care about the overreacting royalty in the room, smiling at me as she placed a hoof over her heart, “My name is Nurse Redheart, and the stallion who fixed most of your bone injuries is Dr. Tenderhoof.”

My gaze moved over to the unicorn stallion, who simply nodded with a kind smile. I returned it and mouthed a quick ‘thank you’ to him while Twilight continued her little nerd-fest. As my attention came back to the aforementioned alicorn, I got the distinct feeling that I’d be seeing a lot more of this excitable nature in the future, if my instincts had anything to say about it.

“So you said you were willing to answer my questions?” I asked, hoping to bring Twilight back to Earth, if that was even where I was anymore.

She paused in her motions, seemed to realize what she had been doing, and cleared her throat as a soft blush accented her cheeks, “Yes, well, I think it would only be fair, given you’re somewhat drastic arrival into our world.”

I noticed how she emphasized ‘world’ in her statement, and I had to ask the million dollar question, “I’m not on planet Earth anymore, am I?”

The silence that followed my question was so thick you could cut it with a knife, and for a moment I was worried I had offended my caretakers. However, my fears seemed unfounded as I noticed the tears building up in Twilight’s eyes. I knew her answer before she even moved, but the soft nod was all it took for my entire existence to come crashing down on top of my head. For a moment I simply sat there, my gaze leveling on my clasped hands, the sheet momentarily forgotten as the true weight of my situation hit me like a ten ton semi. I wasn’t on Earth anymore.

I turned my attention back to Twilight, the next question coming easily after that titanic revelation, “So if I’m not on Earth, then where am I?”

“Specifically you’re on the planet Equis,” she replied, “upon which you are within the country of Equestria, within which is the town of Ponyville. Here the dominant race is known as ponies, like me and the medical staff before you. There are five tribes of ponies within Equestria, sort of like subspecies if you will. Those would be earth pony, unicorn, pegasi, thestral and alicorn. Each has access to the natural magic field of Equis in different ways, but all of the tribes have access to magic in one form or another. Outside of Equestria there’s the Gryphon Empire, Minotaur Confederacy, Dragon Lands, Zebra Tribes and Changeling Hives. All of them are sapient races in their own right, and we live together in mostly peaceful interactions.”

I took a moment to go over the rather long list in my mind before replying, “Boy, that’s a lot of different races. And I thought having one sentient race was confusing enough.” I paused as a thought came to me, “Is it possible that you could use this magic of yours to get me back home?”

Her face immediately fell, and I knew I wasn’t going to like her answer, “We’re still looking into how you arrived on our world. Other than some magic residue that was too weak to read properly, there wasn’t any indication of how you came to be here. You simply appeared out of nowhere and began bleeding out in my castle.” Her ears folded as she met my gaze, “I’m sorry, but at this point I’m not sure if we’ll ever figure out how you got here, let alone sending you back.”

I nodded, at least something about this crazy world makes sense on some level, “Alright then, I guess there’s only so much you can do. I do have one more question, though. Would someone mind explaining what happened to my clothes! I’ve been sitting here in my underwear for hours and frankly I’m wondering what’s keeping them so long. Sure there must have been some blood on them but it can’t take all that much to clean off some stains.”

At this point I caught the most obvious guilty expression I had ever seen flash across Twilight’s face. I zeroed in on her in a heartbeat and leaned towards her, “Spill it Your Highness, before I try and do something we’re both going to regret.” Not like I was actually going to do anything, but she didn’t know that.

She swallowed thickly, sweat running down her face as she tried to hold my gaze, “Well you see, um, I gave them all to my friend Rarity because we’d never seen clothing like them before. We just wanted to know more about you so I didn’t think it would be all that important if we just borrowed them for a little while. I mean it’s not like they were all that interesting compared to the amazing technology you had in your pack.” Her eyes widened as the fatal words left her mouth, and she clapped a hoof over her lips as she tried in vain to cover up what she had said.

I narrowed my eyes in the most threatening way I could muster, and that was saying something given I had to stare down Marines that were a good two feet taller than me on more than one occasion, “You want to run that by me again?” My tone brokered absolutely no arguments, and I could actually see the moment her brain cracked under the pressure.

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t have taken them it was just so much I could study and now you’re mad at me and we’ll never become friends oh why did I have to be so stupid I should have just left things alone and now you’ll never forgive me please I just wanted to understand more about you I’m so very sorry!” She spewed out in one long sentence.

I don’t think she even came up for air during the entire gush of apology soup that somehow came tumbling out of her mouth. She flung her upper body onto the bed, hugging me around my waist as she nuzzled into my stomach. I was slightly worried about her horn but it seemed she was careful not to accidentally jab me with it. For a moment I simply sat there, listening to her continue to babble into my abs like a child that had been bad. I tried to ask for help from the med staff, but they simply rolled their eyes at her antics for the second time that day.
Uncertain on what I was supposed to do, I did the only thing I could think of. I reached up gently with my hands and began rubbing behind her ears and around the back of her head. Her babbling almost immediately came to a halt, and before long she was humming and groaning as she leaned into my touch. For Christ’s sake her tail started wagging like she was some kind of overgrown Labrador before she seemed to realize what was going on.

Much like Redheart before her, Twilight practically leaped backwards, her eyes wide and her wings flared as she took several steadying breaths. Redheart snickered behind her hoof as Dr. Tenderhoof watched with intense interest. Apparently the whole ear thing was new to him. Maybe the lack of fingers never brought up the idea of ear rubs to these ponies.

“It’s alright Twilight,” I managed to force out between my badly contained chuckles, “I forgive you. Just make sure that you tell this Rarity that I need them back before I leave here. I can’t very well go around in public in my underwear now can I?”

She nodded slowly as her wings folded back against her sides, “I’ll, um,” she cleared her throat before continuing in a stronger tone, “I’ll make sure she knows so that way you can have them once you’re cleared to leave. Well, um, it was nice meeting you Sarah, I’ll be back later once the doctors say you’re alright to leave. I know you didn’t come to our world by choice, but I want you to know we’ll do everything in our power to make your stay a happy one.”

“Goodbye Twilight.” I called as she walked over to the door, her horn glowing for a second as the door swung open. “Oh, and Twilight.” I called as she entered the opening.

She glanced over her shoulder at me, her expression expectant, “Yes?”

I couldn’t help the grin that covered my face as I spoke, “Make sure you give me back my gear when you’re done playing scientist.”

She blushed again as she nodded, “I’ll try and remember that. Good day to you, Sarah. Doctor, nurse.” She nodded to each of the staff, who returned the gesture as the door swung closed behind her.

As relative peace settled over my room once again, I was set upon by a sudden urge to flee. I didn’t understand it at first until Dr. Tenderhoof stepped up to my right side, Nurse Redheart taking my left and effectively cutting off any means of escape.

“Now don’t worry about a thing,” Redheart said gently as she picked up a truly massive needle in her teeth, “thith wiff onwy hurf ah bif.”

I made to get up but a tingling sensation suddenly covered my whole body. I looked down and saw my body was covered from head to toe in a soft blue aura. A quick look at Dr. Tenderhoof’s horn confirmed my suspicions. No matter how hard I struggled, there was no getting past the gentle but firm pressure that kept my body immobile as Redheart moved the needle into position next to my left shoulder.

As she turned her head to wind up for insertion, the only thing I could think to say was, “Mamma.”

Author's Notes:

Yay! Another chapter is done and ready to go!! I hope you all have enjoyed reading this story thus far. I certainly enjoyed writing it. Anyways, let's have a round of applause for our MC, who managed to come up with a new form of foreplay completely by accident. Nah, I'm just kidding, I would never do something like that in a story, or would I?

Hold onto your hats, because this story is just getting warmed up. I can't wait to see how you all react to some of the surprises I have in store. Oh well, you'll just have to wait until I write them to find out what they are.

Until next time, I'll see you all next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.

5 - Discharged

My eyes opened to the soft morning light the next day, and I marveled at the difference in pain levels from the day before. I sat up and rubbed my shoulder with my other hand, trying to see if there were any lingering aches or pains from the healing process or the injury itself.

“Wow,” I mused as I hand worked over the smooth flesh without raising any complaints from the joint, “I got to hand it to the doc and Redheart, that shot hurt like hell when they gave it to me but I can’t feel a thing now.”

My gaze roamed over the rest of the room with little rhyme or reason, as my mind tried to formulate what was going to happen to me now. Twilight had said she would come and get me when I was discharged, but after my nerve-breaking experiences yesterday I had simply passed out once I had gotten my shot. I didn’t even remember Redheart and Tenderhoof leaving my room after I fell asleep, but I had to believe they were laughing at my expense when it came to dropping like a stone after one shot. The med staff probably thought I had some kind of phobia against needles the way my luck was going lately.

I was pulled from my rumination by the sound of the door opening, revealing Redheart and Tenderhoof, followed closely by Twilight. I smiled as best as I could, although it became much more genuine when I spotted the bundle floating along next to Twilight’s head.

“Are those what I think they are?” I asked.

Her own lips mirrored my own as she set the neatly folded clothing onto the sheets next to me, “I picked them up from Rarity’s when I was on my way here. I know you wanted to have them once you were discharged, so I made sure to get everything you could possibly need.”

I riffled through the pile, pulling out a blue T-shirt with the insignia of my unit emblazoned across the front, along with a set of blue jeans and a pair of white socks. There was also my black blazer, which sported my former captain bars on the shoulder lapels and had my unit patch sewn into the left bicep. The right arm was similarly adorned with the old stars and stripes, and the brass zipper seemed to be in perfect order. Finally, my sneakers were cleaner than I had ever seen them before, with their laces folded neatly under the tongue in little bows. In fact, everything was so clean I swore I could eat off of them. Whoever this Rarity was, she was certainly fastidious.

I placed my shoes on the floor and made to pull the sheets off of my body, only to realize that all three equines were overtly staring at me.

“Do you mind?” I asked, trying to be subtle about it.

Three confused looks were my answer, “Do we mind what?” Twilight asked, her expression the picture of innocence.

I rolled my eyes, “I can’t get dressed with you all looking at me like that.” I make a circle gesture with one finger, “Turn around or else we’re going to be here all day.”

Now their eyes narrowed in even further confusion, although it was Redheart that spoke this time, “Why would it matter if we saw you getting dressed? We’ve all seen you in your underclothing and it’s not like we’re trying to peep on you or anything.”

Tenderhoof nodded, “Exactly, besides we need to make sure you can move about fully as part of your exit requirements. We can’t let you go if we don’t know for sure you’re fully healed.”

I groaned, doing my best not to facepalm, “Look, I’d be happy to do some movement exercises once I’m up and moving, but where I come from it’s very much socially taboo to watch someone getting dressed or undressed unless you are romantically involved with that person. I know it might be different for you all, but if you three watch me get dressed it would make me very uncomfortable. Now please,” I resorted to using the most pleading tone I could muster, “turn around until I say you can look.”

Redheart opened her mouth, most likely to argue further, but was stopped by Twilight’s hoof on her shoulder. She turned to the purple mare with a raised eyebrow and a glare that could melt steel. “What?”

“I understand that you have your procedures,” Twilight spoke in a placating manner, “but we’re mixing two different cultures here. I think we can afford a little leeway to ensure Sarah doesn’t have to do anything she’s not comfortable with. After all, you wouldn’t like it if she just up and lifted your tail to make sure you were a female now would you?”

Redheart sputtered as her cheeks blossomed in a vibrant pink, “That was uncalled for Ms. Sparkle! And I fail to see your reasoning when it comes to the two topics.”

Twilight pointed at me with her hoof, “For all we know that might be part of Sarah’s culture. I’m pretty sure it’s not the case, but right now we are forging new ground that nopony has ever had to walk. So, I’m asking you to keep an open mind, and try and see it from her perspective. How would you feel if you got transported to another world and suddenly had to follow a whole new list of rules and social behaviors?”

Redheart’s demeanor calmed as she nodded slowly, “Alright, I get the point.” She turned to me with an apologetic smile, “I’m sorry Sarah, I’ll try and be more conscious of your situation in the future.”

She caught Tenderhoof’s eye and shared a small nod with him. Then, she spun around to face the door while the good doctor faced the far wall. Twilight followed suit and I was finally comfortable enough to pull the sheets off of my body. It felt almost liberating to be able to move freely for the first time since I awoke, and I relished in the sensation of cloth against my skin as I pulled my shirt over my head. I flipped my hair free of the shirt with a quick toss of my head, moving on to the jeans and socks. It only took me a minute or two to get fully clothed, but it was one of the most fulfilling moments I had ever experienced. As the old saying went, ‘you don’t know how good you have it until it’s gone’. I never imagined simply getting dressed would feel this good. It was as if I was finally complete for the first time since I fell off that cliff, and all it took was a bunch of stuff I normally didn’t even think about.

Once I was sure everything was in order, I spoke to my companions, “You can look now.”

They turned around, and I saw Twilight and Tenderhoof’s eyes widen slightly as their eyes traveled up my body to my head. Redheart had already seen me standing up, so it wasn’t as big a shock for her, but even she still took a moment to look over my body now that I actually had something covering it.

“Wow.” Twilight said slowly as she walked around me, eyeing me up and down with a glint of wonder in her gaze, “I knew you were going to be tall from how long you were compared to the bed, but I never expected you to be this big.”

I felt a blush coming on as I rubbed the back of my neck, “Well I was always a big girl, but for a human I’m not that special.” I chuckled as a memory came to mind, “You should have seen some of the bruisers in my unit. They made me look like a shrimp when we stood together for pictures.”

Twilight’s eyes lit up, her horn glowing for a second before the familiar quill and scroll materialized next to her with a pop, “Oh, tell me more, there’s so much to learn now that we can talk about your world.”

I had tried not to flinch at the seeming teleportation that had happened before my eyes, but I still flinched when my survival instincts screamed at me to duck and cover. Pop sounds like that meant someone was shooting at you on the battlefield, so my inner soldier was doing its best to find places to hide from enemy fire as Twilight rattled on about something.

Her little lecture was cut short as my hand came to rest over her mouth, her eyes going wide as her voice cut short. I shook my head to clear it before doing my best to smile at her, “While I would love to talk with you about stuff from my world, I think the doc wants to make sure I’m in one piece before they let me out of here. Do you mind holding off the third degree until we can talk in a more relaxed setting?”

She nodded through my hand, stepping back as a slight blush came to her cheeks, “Yes, well, I guess that would be the best idea.” Her ears folded as she sent a sheepish look to Tenderhoof, “Sorry for interrupting your examination doctor. I’ll try not to get in the way again.”

He smiled softly as he shook his head, “Far be it from me to criticize you for your natural curiosity, but thank you all the same for letting me do my job.” He nodded to Redheart before turning to me, “Now, Ms. Lovegood, I want you to sit on the floor for a moment so I can get a closer look at your shoulders. Your left one and your ribs are the main points of concern I have pertaining to your recovery.”

I complied by sitting cross legged on the smooth tile, and I noticed with a smirk that Twilight was taking notes again. However, my attention was once again focused on the doc as he walked up to me. With me sitting on the floor like this, we were now roughly eye level with each other, and I felt a slight hint of misgivings as he approached. With me in a compromised position, I wouldn’t be able to defend myself very well if he did something crazy, but I fought down those feelings as he stepped up to my left side. These ponies had done nothing to deserve those feelings, and I would keep a lid on my inner Ranger until they proved otherwise. After all, they took me in and saved my life when they had no reason to do so. That alone earned them the benefit of the doubt in my book.

Tenderhoof lowered his horn to my shoulder, and I felt a familiar tingling as his horn ignited with the same light blue I had seen before. I watched with wide eyes as my clothing and then flesh slowly turned invisible, revealing the muscles and blood vessels plain as day for everyone to see. The view slowly sifted from one layer to another, eventually going down until only the bone was still solid. After a moment or two he pulled back, my flesh and clothing going back to their normal visible state as the glow around his horn faded.

I reached up and touched my shoulder with a finger, as if afraid it would crumble under my touch, but everything seemed to be exactly as it should have been. The muscle was tight under my skin and the clothing was still the same cotton and fake leather mix it always had been.

I looked up at Tenderhoof to note the small smirk he had on his face, “I never get tired of seeing a patient’s face when I do that spell for the first time. It never fails to create the most hilarious expressions when they realize their skin and muscle is still exactly where it’s supposed to be.”

I rolled my eyes at me, “All right wise guy, you’ve had your fun. Can we get this over with so I can get out of this place? I’m starting to go a little stir crazy sitting in this room all day.”

He returned my eye roll with a raised eyebrow, “One day in the recovery room and you’re already itching to get out. Sounds like another mare we know quite well.”

I caught Twilight and Redheart groaning, performing a spectacular double facepalm, or I guess it would be facehoof. As they lowered their legs to the floor Twilight spoke up, “Don’t remind me, she’s been insisting on guarding the hospital from the waiting room, acting like the world’s going to fall apart if she so much as sleeps.” She let out a long-suffering sigh that I knew all too well from my days in the service, “thank Celestia Fluttershy is here to keep her in check or else she’d be driving the staff up a wall by this point.”

I lifted my right hand as Tenderhoof walked around behind me, the now familiar tingling spreading over my ribs as I asked, “Should I be worried about this mystery mare? She sounds like quite a handful.”

Twilight thought about it for a moment before answering, “I don’t think it’ll be a major problem. I would just be careful how you interact with Rainbow Dash when you first meet her. She can be a bit excitable when it comes to the safety of those she cares about.”

I nodded, “Sounds like someone I can relate to. I’ll try not to start an interstellar incident when we cross paths.”

Twilight let out another sigh, although this one seemed to be one of relief, “Thank you Sarah. You don’t know how much this moment has been bothering me. Oh, one quick thing,” she added with a raised hoof, “Fluttershy is very insecure around those she doesn’t know, particularly beings she thinks might be a threat to her. I would suggest slow movements and a soft voice when you talk with her, it’ll make it easier for her to adjust to your size. Better yet, you could sit down like you are now and it should make it even easier for her to find her confidence.”

“So, she’s super shy around those she doesn’t know.” I translated, “Got it.”

The tingling around my ribs faded and Tenderhoof walked back around in front of me, “Well your injuries seem to be healing nicely. If you refrain from doing any overly strenuous activity for a day or two you should be completely fine.” He turned to face Twilight and Redheart, “I am stating for the record that the patient is ready for discharge, nurse, do you agree with that assessment?”

Redheart nodded, “I do. I believe the patient is fully prepared to go about normal physical activity and is clear to discharge.”

Tenderhoof nodded in return, “Then you’re free to go Ms. Lovegood.” He smiled as he held out one hoof to me, “It’s been a pleasure to meet you, but try not to make visiting us a habit if you can help it.”

I chuckled as I shook his hoof gently with my right hand, “I’ll try to keep that in mind, doc.”

With that I stood up again and turned to Twilight, “So is that it, we just walk out of here?”

“We still need to check you out at the front desk,” she clarified, “but yes, we’re done here.”

I nodded, “Alright then.” I turned and gave the med staff a nice big smile, “It was nice to meet you both. I hope we can talk again when you’re not busy fixing bones.”

Tenderhoof chuckled as Redheart giggled behind her hoof, “We’ll do our best to make time.” Redheart replied. She made a shooing motion with her hoof, “Now go on, there’s a whole new world out there for you to discover, don’t waste the day sitting around in here.”

I laughed as I followed Twilight out the door, “See ya later you two. Hope to see you around.”

They waved goodbye as I turned the corner, although my attention was immediately captured by the two armored ponies that fell in step behind us. My instincts immediately started screaming at me this was an ambush, but Twilight’s words forestalled any action on my part.

“Pay them no mind,” she said without even turning her head, “they were stationed here because we had never encountered your kind before. We didn’t know if you were a threat to us or not, so I had the Ponyville Guard station a security detail here in case you proved to be hostile.” She turned her head to look up at me with a smile, “I’m glad to see they aren’t needed, although you should know that they are required to escort us out of the building. You might not be a threat now that we know a bit more about you, but the rest of Ponyville doesn’t know that. The detail is just as much for your protection as it is for us, at least until the townsfolk get used to seeing you around.”

I wasn’t really sure how I felt about having body guards, although I had a feeling if things got dicey I could handle most of these little ponies without too much trouble. Of course, so long as none of them use that special magic nonsense against me. I followed Twilight into what I assumed was the main lobby of the hospital, and before I could even blink my vision was completely overtaken by a pair of large magenta eyes.

“Alright you creepy alien thing,” a raspy female voice bellowed into my face, “you touch so much as one hair on my friends’ heads and I’ll kick your sorry flank so far into next week it’ll be next month by the time you get yourself back together.”

I took a few steps back, falling into a fighting stance before my brain could catch up with my body. In an instant I had taken in every detail of my foe, from her rainbow mane and tail to the sky-blue coat that covered her body. She was hovering at head level using a set of wings that sprouted from the shoulder region of her back, and she had her front hooves held up like a boxer would hold their arms. I realized that using flight in such a cramped space would put her at a disadvantage, so without thinking I rushed forward and grabbed her front hooves in my grip. Her eyes widened as I levered her body over my shoulder and pile-drived her into the floor shoulder first.

The air rushed out of her lungs and her eyes spun in their sockets for a second. In that time I used my knees to pin her wings against the floor and secured her front hooves above her head with my hands. Just as she seemed to be getting over the shock of hitting the floor, I leaned down and pressed my nose against the end of her snout.

Her eyes shrank to pinpricks as I growled through my teeth, “Now listen hear hotshot, I’m not looking to hurt anyone in this little town of yours, and I certainly won’t touch Twilight or her friends after she saved my life. So back off and give me some space before I show you how they teach us Army Rangers how to break all the joints in a limb at the same time.

Her eyes narrowed in a challenging way, and she was opening her mouth to retort when both of our bodies were enveloped in a purple aura. Before I could react I was yanked off of the prismatic mare, and I saw that Twilight had both of us in her magical grip as she levitated us over to face her. The look on her face was unamused at best and dangerously frustrated at worst, although as she opened her mouth to speak she was interrupted by the pink and yellow blob to her left.

“Um, excuse me,” good Lord that was the most adorable voice I had ever heard! “I really don’t like fighting, so if everypony could just calm down, we can talk this out without resorting to violence.”

The pink and yellow blob uncurled enough to reveal a large teal eye, and I realized that the blob wasn’t a blob at all, but a butter yellow pegasus that had been hiding behind her long pink mane. I assumed that this was the aforementioned Fluttershy, and that the rainbow hothead floating next to me was Rainbow Dash. I facepalmed as I realized what I had just done. I’d done the very thing Twilight had warned me not to do, and now I was pretty sure Rainbow would be after my blood the instant Twilight let us go.

Speaking of said prismatic headache, she snarled at me and struggled against Twilight’s magic, too little to no effect, “Why are you defending this thing Fluttershy? It attacked me and then threatened to break my wings when it had me pinned to the floor!”

I swore the temperature of the room went down a few degrees as the soft-spoken mare before us lifted one eyebrow at her companion, “And she did all of this because you threatened her the instant she walked into the room. How would you react if a creature you’ve only just met got in your face and started making threats against you?”

The trapped pegasus scoffed, waving a hoof slightly as she rolled her eyes, “That’s an easy one. I’d tell them to stuff it up their plots and then I’d kick them into, next, week.” I could actually see the moment her brain clicked into place, “Oh,” she seemed to curl in on herself as her haughty expression morphed into a sheepish one, “I get it.”

Fluttershy nodded once before turning to me, “Please forgive Rainbow for her outburst. She was just doing what she thought was right to protect Twilight and me.”

I nodded, feeling even worse now that the bundle of cute was turning her charm towards me, “Yeah, sorry about that. When you’ve been trained to react to threats on instinct, it’s hard to turn that kind of thing off when you’re not in a warzone.” I turned towards Rainbow and rubbed my neck with one hand, “Sorry about pounding you into the floor. I’ll try not to do it again.”

She huffed, “Yeah, whatever. I totally let you do that anyway.”

I rolled my eyes at her response, “Whatever you say.”

Twilight nodded before setting us down on the ground, and I took a moment to look around the waiting room while Twilight spoke to the receptionist. All and all it was your average waiting room, with benches and other seating for incoming patients and waiting friends or family. The typical potted plants were scattered around the periphery while a set of double doors led to what I assumed to be the street outside.

Meanwhile, the two guards that had been shadowing me the entire time simply stood at attention next to the doors leading outside, and for a moment I wondered why it was they hadn’t intervened when Rainbow and I had been going at it. I turned to Twilight, my mouth opening to ask that very question, when I caught sight of the way the guards were actually standing. What I had assumed to be attention was actually a relaxed combat stance, as given by the looseness in their legs and the alert glint in their eyes. Their gazes took in everything within the waiting room and by the looks of things they would react to anything in an instant if it was deemed necessary. My eyebrow rose in surprise and a fair amount of respect. These colts might have been dressed like cartoon knights in shining armor, but I could tell that they weren’t something to disregard because of appearances. These stallions meant business, so the only reason they hadn’t tackled me and Rainbow was either because they didn’t deem it enough of a situation to intervene, or because of some other factor.

My eyes moved back to Twilight, specifically the horn that resided on the top of her head, and I realized that the reason the guards hadn’t acted was the very reason Rainbow and I weren’t still on the floor. Twilight had both of us completely at her mercy with next to no effort, and had done so within moments of Rainbow and I going at it. My threat radar rapidly adjusted itself to now include the alicorn as one of the top things to keep track of, and as she approached me I found a new respect for the reluctant royal.

“Well that should be everything,” she said as she stepped up to the double doors leading outside, “I think we should go for a short walk around town and let the townsponies get a look at you before we get you settled.”

Fluttershy walked up and leaned into my right leg, looking up at me with that shy smile of hers on full display, “I wouldn’t mind tagging along for a while. I need to pick up some carrots for Angel Bunny anyway.”

I shrugged my acceptance, although my rainbow bodyguard seemed to think we were too close for her liking. Dash interposed herself between Fluttershy and me, her eyes narrowed in a glare as her wings flared wide, “Just don’t try and pull anything, or else I’ll pound you into the dirt in ten seconds flat.”

I rolled my eyes as I walked past her, winking to Fluttershy as our eyes met, “Like you pounded me into the tiles a few minutes ago. Forgive me if I’m not shaking in my shoes.”

Fluttershy tried and failed to hide her giggles behind a hoof, and I noticed the slight tinting of Rainbow’s cheeks as she raised her chin into the air and let out an indignant huff, “Well like I said, I was going easy on you. I’d kick your hairless flank from here to Canterlot if you so much as tried doing that again.”

I chose not to grace her attitude with a reply, instead following Twilight as she walked out of the building. What met my eyes seemed to be something out of a medieval kid’s coloring book, if the bright gold thatched roofing and the Pictionary-style storefront displays were any indication. To say nothing of the town’s inhabitants.

As we walked down the street I saw every color combination I could think of, and many that I hadn’t. Pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies milled about like candy-coated puppies, leaving me with the unique sensation of wanting to both hide in a corner while at the same time hugging them all like little plush toys. Apparently I wasn’t the only one with mixed feelings. Wherever we went, ponies stopped and stared at me, and after a while it was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. Most simply had expressions of confusion or wonder, while a few bordered on fear. What I was glad to see, or rather what I didn’t see, was any kind of hostility coming from the locals. They just seemed genuinely intrigued by the bipedal being that was walking through the middle of town.

Of course, being in the presence of royalty with a pair of guards on either heel probably boosted their confidence in there being nothing to worry about. After all, who would be crazy enough to take on two trained guards and an alicorn that could literally rip me limb from limb with her mind? No thank you.

Finally, we came upon what looked like an open-air market, perhaps even the same one I had seen from my hospital window. Ponies were selling and buying each other’s wares, using what looked like solid gold coins as payment. I had no idea what kind of proof those coins were, but if they were even a slight percent pure gold then this kingdom was absolutely rolling in cash. To say nothing of what it would mean if they were pure gold.

Twilight waded through the crowd like she owned the place, and for all I knew she did, before she paused and changed direction to head towards what looked like an apple farmer’s stall. Had I not been a good two feet taller than every other being in the crowd, I very well might have lost her due to her sudden course change. Luckily, her vibrant purple coat was rather easy to spot, so I followed her until we came up to the stand.

“Hi Applejack.” Twilight greeted the orange earth pony mare with a smile, “How’s business going?”

The mare had the southern style down to a tee, with her freckled face, ribbon-tied mane and tail, and the tan Stetson residing over her ears. The only thing she was missing was a Mississippi drawl.

“Well howdy there Twi’!” She replied with an equally bright smile, “What brings ya’ll ‘round these parts today?”

God damnit, these ponies are going to be the death of me, “She’s been showing me around town now that I’m back on my feet.” I answered before Twilight could reply, “It’s nice to meet you Applejack. Are you a friend of Twilight’s?”

AJ’s gaze met my waist before traveling up to my face. Her eyes shrunk for a moment and I saw her hind hoof take an instinctive step back. However, she corrected her wayward limb and stomped it back into place as she shook her head to clear it. When our gazes met again her eyes were lively and filled with the purest hospitality I had ever seen.

“Hooie you’re a tall one.” She said as she tilted her hat back with a hoof, “You’re nearly as big as that Iron Will feller we met a ways back. You wouldn’t happen to be related to the Minotaur by any chance, would you?”

“Um, no, not that I’m aware of,” I hesitantly replied, not quite sure how I felt about the comment on my height.

“Huh, fancy that.” Her gaze moved a bit lower from my face and her eyes widened in surprise, “Well I’ll be, Twilight wasn’t kidding when she said your teats were big.” Her gaze met mine again as she lifted one eyebrow, “You sure you don’t have a little one hiding away somewhere? I bet you could put some of our cows to shame with the milk you could make with those.”

I held my arms over my chest as my cheeks flushed, “No I’m not a mother and would someone please explain why it is everyone is commenting on my breasts?”

Twilight stepped in with an apologetic look on her face, “Well, you see, ponies only have teats like that when a mare has a feeding foal. Every other time they are pretty much flat against our stomachs with little to no mass present. For somepony like you to have, ahem, assets of that size and not be nursing a newborn is highly irregular. Even Minitour cows lose most of the mass on their teats when not caring for a newborn. So, seeing teats, or rather, breasts that size is going to give most ponies the wrong idea at first glance.”

I slowly lowered my arms, feeling slightly more self-conscious about my looks now that I knew my chest was going to draw a lot of attention, “So what can we do about it? I can’t exactly shrink my breasts down to nothing when they’ve been like this since my teens. Can’t you simply put out some kind of announcement or something to let the others know?”

Twilight shook her head, “I’m sorry, but that would only make ponies stare more. You see, ponies are a naturally inquisitive race by design, despite our prey animal origins, meaning putting out an announcement like that would only make the problem worse. Everypony would want to see them for themselves and they wouldn’t stop until they satisfied their curiosity. The best thing to do is to let things happen at their own pace and deal with any problems as they arise.”

I groaned, holding a hand over my eyes as I tried to fight my growing headache, “Fine, we’ll do it your way. But if anyone tries to take a picture of me through a window I’m going to kick in some teeth.”

Applejack chuckled as she picked up an apple with her hoof, “Well then, I’ve got to get back to work. Take this for the road, it’s on the house. I’m sure after what you’ve been through you could use the energy.”

I nodded my thanks as I took the apple from the cowmare, and I noticed the slight tingle of magic coming from her hoof as she ‘let go’ of the apple. I watched as she moved her leg back under her body, remembering the mitt-like feeling I had gotten whenever Nurse Redheart had taken my pulse. Apparently the whole glowing horns bit wasn’t the only form of magic these ponies could use.

I followed Twilight through the rest of the market, doing nothing more than walk and talk to ponies as we made our way through town. While it was nice meeting the townsfolk, and most of them were perfectly polite after the initial shock of my appearance, we came upon a building that resembled a carousel from back home, with the little horses on poles and everything around the exterior. The part that threw me off, was the windows and double doors that labeled the structure as a building. Fluttershy and Rainbow had caught up with us as we left the market, this time with a small brown sack resting on Fluttershy’s back between her wings. I assumed those were the carrots for her bunny.

It was said yellow pegasus that spoke first as we came up to the strange building, “What are we doing at Rarity’s boutique? Won’t she be busy with dress orders?”

So this was the workplace of the pony Twilight gave my clothes to. Sweet, now I could get back the stuff that I wasn’t wearing. “Are we here to pick up the rest of my clothes?”

“Partially,” Twilight replied, “we’re also here to see Rarity and maybe commission her skills in making more clothes for you. While what you’re wearing will do for now, and you have a few changes of clothing. I’m sure you’re going to get sick of wearing the same thing over and over again, not to mention when they need to be washed.”

I nodded, visions of an empty underwear drawer flashing through my mind before I could banish the nightmarish image, “That sounds like a good idea. So, do we just walk in?”

“While this is technically Rarity’s home,” Twilight stated simply, “the bottom floor also doubles as her store, so ponies are supposed to walk in if it’s during business hours.”

“Alright then, let’s get this show on the road.” I pushed the left door open, hearing a soft chime as the bell above the opening announced our arrival.

“Just a minute,” a prim voice called from the next room.

The guard apparently were content to wait outside, because they didn’t follow the other into the store and instead took up positions on either side of the doorway. As the others followed me in I was the first to see the alabaster mare walking through the archway on the other side of the room. Her mane and tail were a deep purple in color and were done up in elegant curls. A horn protruded from her head and a set of red reading glasses rested on the end of her muzzle.

“Oh so sorry to keep you waiting,” she said as she tossed her mane with one hoof, “I was given a flash of inspiration and you don’t know how hard it is to work when an idea flashes through your -”

She paused mid-sentence as her eyes landed on me. For a moment her mouth hung wide and I worried for a moment she might have fainted while standing up. However, my worries were put to rest as her eyes returned to their normal diameter and her mouth curled into a smile.

“Oh darling I’ve been waiting for you for ages!” Her horn ignited and I was lifted from the ground before I could make any movements otherwise.

I was carried to what looked like a dressing stage and was promptly dropped like a sack of potatoes. I only managed to keep my balance with a few rapid pinwheels of my arms. I watched as my newest acquaintance rushed about her shop like a chicken with her head cut off, bypassing the rest of my companions as she grabbed more and more items in her light blue magic. Before long I was in the proverbial eye of a fabric hurricane, with Rarity as the master of the storm.

“Oh this would look lovely on you,” she muttered to herself as a bolt of dark blue fabric swung by my head, “oh and this would look absolutely divine as an accent,” another bolt of fabric whizzed past my shoulder, this time a vibrant yellow, “oh, and this would be outstanding to tie into your mane.” My chocolate hair was suddenly gripped by the same aura as the items flying around me, and I winced as it was pulled slightly before feeling something being tied around it in an intricate knot. I pulled my hair into view as the grip on my head released, and I saw that my normally chaotic curls had been done into a stylish French braid with a gold ribbon intertwined between the strands.

“Oh, you don’t know how long I’ve waited to meet you.” Rarity squealed as the veritable fashion storm came to a sudden stop, “Ever since I first saw your clothing I just knew I had to know more about your kind’s fashion. But first,” her magic levitated a set of clothes that I knew for certain were not mine up for all to see, “what do you think of these?”

The request came so fast after the initial fabric onslaught that for a moment I was unable to process what was being asked of me. After taking a minute to collect my scattered thoughts, I realized that the clothing hovering in front of me was not mine, but certainly looked like it had been modeled after what was in my pack. A set of dark blue sweat pants floated next to a white blouse that had a ruffled hem and long flowing sleeves that ended in bell-style openings. Next to that were what looked like socks, but they were the most expensive-looking socks I had ever seen. Instead of being made out of cotton or some other material, these amazing things seemed to be made out of pure black silk, with nearly invisible stitching to reinforce the toe and heel where needed. To top it off, there was a zip-up jacket that was a deep purple in color, with what looked like three diamonds sewn into the right breast in an appealing design. I spotted those same diamonds on Rarity’s flanks, and I assumed it was her personal insignia, although there was no way those gems were real. The jacket alone would cost a fortune if that was the case. All and all they were some of the most well-made clothing I had ever seen, and from the way Rarity was waiting for my reply with baited breath, she made them herself.

“I, I don’t know what to say,” I managed to force out as I took the clothes into my arms, “these are amazing.” My eyes began to water slightly as I looked the seamstress in the eyes, “Thank you so much Rarity. I don’t know how I can repay you.”

She waved my words off with a laugh, “Oh think nothing of it darling. What are friends for after all? No, the only payment I require for those pieces is your promise that we can speak later about the fashion of your world. I’ve been absolutely bursting with inspiration and I need an outlet for all my new ideas. Who better to wear my newest line then the one who inspired it in the first place?”

“I could never take this amazing work and not pay for it.” I held them out with a slight pout, “I would never short change such a skilled seamstress.”

Rarity held a hoof to her mouth as a blush found its way to her cheeks, “Oh stop darling, you’re making me feel like I’ve won some great award or something. I’m just doing what anypony would do if they knew how dire your situation is. I mean just look at you, dressed in those rags when you could be looking absolutely fabulous.” She pushed the clothing back against my chest with her magic, “I won’t hear of it darling, now be a dear and change into those so we can see how stunning you look in my new designs.”

I blushed, once again noticing the difference between our worlds in terms of nudity, “Um, you mean right here, now?”

Rarity didn’t seem to notice my unease, “But of course darling, I simply won’t have it seeing you in those horrid clothes for another instant. Chop, chop now, we haven’t got all day.”

I hesitated again, looking to Twilight for help. However, my gaze must have signaled weakness to a certain cyan pegasus, because she jumped on it the moment I let my guard down.

“Oh what’s the matter, not willing to try on the clothes Rarity worked so hard to make for you?” Her haughty tone made my blood simmer as her expression took on a ‘holier-than-thou’ kind of light, “What, are we not good enough for you and your alien tastes?”

“Rainbow!” Twilight hissed as she cuffed the rowdy mare over the head with a hoof, “That is no way to speak to Sarah! She’s been through a lot and you have no right to say those things to her!”

I hardened my gaze, mustering all my courage for what I was about to do, “Screw you Rainbow, I was just thinking about how nice I would look in these.” I set the clothes down on the side of the stage as I pulled off my blazer, my shoes and socks quickly following it, “You want me to change, fine, I’ll change right now and I’ll look absolutely great doing it!”

Before I could think properly about what I was doing, I began taking off my shirt, yet instead of pulling it off normally, I felt a slight evil grin threatening to force its way past my lips as a thought crossed my mind. They wanted me to strip, fine, I’d give them a show they’d never forget.

My hands slowed their movements as my shirt began rising up my body, and I made sure to put on the most sultry expression I could muster as my hands trailed up my sides. My rock-hard abs came into view as my arms began to rise into my line of sight, yet they weren’t enough to make me miss the absolutely gob-smacked expressions of the four ponies present. I suppressed another grin as my arms pulled my shirt over my head, my breasts bouncing in my bra a couple times as they came free of their cloth prison. I heard one of the ponies gasp, most likely Rarity from the length and emphasis placed on it. I finally let my smile loose as I pulled my shirt completely over my head, letting it slide off my arms in a slow and deliberate manner as I pressed my breasts together with my upper arms. The effect was immediate as it was drastic. Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow’s wings flared to their fullest extent, while Rarity was doing her best impression of a tomato.

I giggled as my shirt finally came free of my arms, and I turned around to look over my shoulder at the ponies as I hooked my fingers into my belt loops. Before they could react further, I bent forward, presenting my rear to them in the most enticing way as I began to shimmy out of my jeans. I looked over my shoulder the entire time as my pants slowly lowered and began to reveal my black lace panties. I wiggled my hips for extra emphasis as my pants slipped fully free, revealing my tight glutes to the flabbergasted ponies as I slid the pants down one leg. I lifted my foot free and turned around, holding my pants against my hips in fake modesty as I slowly presented my free leg for them to enjoy. I let my pants slide off my other leg and stepped free of them with a little twirl, feeling my chest bounce several times as I turned to face my audience again.

Rarity’s mouth was hanging loose while Twilight was hiding her face behind her wings, although I could see one eye poking through the feathers. Fluttershy looked like she was in shock, if the rock-hard wings and pinprick pupils were any indication. Rainbow wasn’t much better, though her eyes were dilated to the point her iris and pupil took up almost all of her eye. Her mouth was also hanging open, and I noticed a thin stream of drool that was running from her lip to the floor as her gaze moved freely over my body. Now I was by no means an exhibitionist, but I couldn’t deny the rush stripping in front of these ponies had given me. Maybe I could use that to my advantage later if I looked that appealing to them.

Figuring that I had finished with my little prank, I stepped over to the clothing Rarity had made me and slipped it on without much fanfare. The pants fit perfectly and the blouse conformed to my body amazingly. The jacket was thick but not too heavy, and the socks were so soft I was almost tempted to take them off just to make sure they lasted. I turned around to face the ponies again and did a little twirl, the hem of the blouse forming a nice ring around me as I flashed my best smile.

“So, what do you think? How do I look?” I asked, knowing full well what kind of a reaction I was going to receive.

Twilight was the first to speak, her wings twitching several times as she struggled to fold them correctly, “Well, um, that was certainly, an, um, invigorating sight.” She cleared her throat loudly and turned to face Rarity, “I think she looks great in the new clothes Rarity, what do you think?”

Said mare shook her head a couple of times, her jaw closing with a click as she straightened out her mane, “Well I must say I never expected for you to strip like that.” She made it look like she hadn’t been affected by my show, but I could still see the tint on her cheeks as she spoke, “While the lines need a bit more work I am proud to say that you look ravishing in that outfit darling. I will be the first to say that if you ever need clothing, for any occasion and for any reason, I would be honored if you would come to me with your ideas.”

I nodded, feeling a heat coming into my own cheeks as what I did finally became clear in my mind, “I’ll keep that in mind Rarity, thank you.”

At this point Rainbow broke out of her daze, licking along her lips as she stepped closer to the stage, “If you can put on a show like that, I wouldn’t mind taking the show backstage for a couple rounds, if you know what I mean.”

Twilight openly gaped at the pegasus while Rarity blushed like a lobster, “Really darling, must you always be so graphic with your language?! And in my boutique no less!”

Rainbow smirked without breaking eye contact with me, “Oh believe me, I know exactly what I’m saying. And what I said is what I meant, I would love to take you for a spin on the Rainbow Express for a couple of stops and see how good you are without any clothes at all.”

At this point Fluttershy managed to get over her shock, just in time to hear Rainbow’s final statement. The butter-colored mare stuck out her lip in a very cute pout as her eyes smoldered with anger. It wasn’t even directed at me and I could feel the heat coming from her gaze as she spoke.

“What was that Rainbow?” Her tone was cold enough to freeze molten steel, and I could see the color drain from Rainbow’s face as she slowly turned to her shy companion.

“Oh, um, nothing Fluttershy, I was just complimenting Sarah on her good looks, ehehe.” There were now visible sweat droplets running down her face, and it only got worse as Fluttershy got a seemingly coy expression on her face.

“Is that so? Well then you won’t mind taking me with you when you ‘take her for a spin on the Rainbow Express’.” By this point there was no color remaining in Rainbow’s face, and she made no moves to resist as Fluttershy grabbed her around the shoulders with one wing.

Fluttershy sent the rest of us the most innocent and happy smile I have ever seen as she directed Rainbow out the door, “Don’t mind us everypony, we’ll just be out back going over some of the ground rules when it comes to hitting on other ponies.”

Rainbow mouthed ‘help me’ as the door closed behind them, and I could swear a shiver ran up everyone’s spine as the latch closed with a thunderous click.

“All in favor of never brining this up again with anyone?” I asked, raising my hand into the air.

“Aye!” Twilight and Rarity cried as they turned to face me. We tried not to wince as Rainbow’s panicked screams echoed through the building.

“Well it was nice talking with you Rarity,” I managed to force out, “I really love your designs and I can’t wait to go over some of your new ideas. Are you busy tomorrow?”

“Oh I’m sorry Sarah,” she replied as she straightened up some of the loose fabric and needles that had been left on the floor, “but I have a business meeting in Canterlot and won’t be back for a couple days. Terribly sorry about that darling.”

“Oh it’s no trouble. I can’t very well ask you to drop everything to spend time with me.” I rubbed the back of my neck as I picked up the rest of my clothes with the other hand, “I’ll just have to find someone else to talk to once I get settled.”

“Speaking of getting settled,” Twilight added as she levitated my clothing out of my grasp, folding them neatly and then giving them back to me, “Since you have no place else to go, why don’t you stay in my castle until you can afford your own place?”

My expression perked up at her words, “You mean it? It wouldn’t be too much trouble?”

She shook her head, “Not at all. You have no money to pay for food and housing, you have next to no clothes to wear, and you have little to no knowledge about Equestria and how it works. Face it Sarah,” she smirked as she met my gaze, “you’d be lost in the Everfree Forest or taking shelter in somepony’s barn inside of three days.”

I smiled sheepishly as Rarity levitated the rest of my clothing from the other room, “Yeah, you’re probably right. Even so, thank you.”

Twilight nodded as she opened the door, “Why don’t we head there now and get the rest of your things? I’d imagine being around town has worn you out.”

I nodded, suppressing a yawn as I followed her out of the boutique, “That sounds nice.” I waved over my shoulder to Rarity, “It was nice meeting you, let’s talk again once you get back from Canterlot.”

“It’s a date.” She said with a smile as she closed the door.

I took a look around and was suddenly hit by the sudden lack of ponies littering the streets. Just a few hours ago the whole place had been bustling with townsfolk, yet now I wouldn’t have been all that surprised to see a tumbleweed rolling across the street like in some old western film. The only ponies in sight besides Twilight were our two tagalongs, although they had been standing next to the door for the better part of an hour so I didn’t really count them. We made our way through the majority of town, but not a soul was in sight. It wasn’t until I spotted our destination that my mind was able to pull out of the funk that seemed to have fallen over this peaceful little town.

The castle itself looked like someone had taken a giant tree and made the whole thing out of purple crystal, then carved a building out of the trunk while constructing the rest between the branches. The whole thing looked like it was dreamed up by some cartoon designer at Disney studios, only with a bit less tact and more shock and awe in mind. Twilight walked up to the massive front doors and paused for a moment, letting me catch up to her. She indicated the doors with one hoof, and for a moment I paused, sensing something was off.

The empty town, the lights all being off in the castle, Twilight letting me go in first. This whole setup screamed it was a trap of some kind. Yet for the life of me I couldn’t figure out what it was and how I deserved it. Then again, my options were rather limited. As Twilight had so bluntly stated, I couldn’t survive in this world on my own, not yet at least, so I had no choice but to trust her and the other ponies.

I took a steadying breath, and pushed the doors open. The first couple steps were in complete darkness, until all the lights flashed to life and my vision was assaulted by a wall of color.

“SURPRISE!!!” Was the thundering cry that nearly flattened me against the doors I had just walked in through.

As my mind was still reeling from the shout that had to have come from several dozen mouths, my vision was once again overtaken with color, only this time it was a solid wall of pink.

“Hi there! My name is Pinkie Pie! You’re new around here so I just had to throw you a ‘Welcome-to-Ponyville’ Party like I do for everypony who comes to visit. Are you a Minotaur? If so then you’re the weirdest Minotaur I’ve ever seen, and I know Minotaur because I’ve met one before.”

I managed to take a step back, clarifying that this was not some talking blob of cotton candy come to life, but instead a pink earth pony mare that simply had a mane and tail shaped like the carnival candy. Her bright blue eyes were locked onto me with wild abandon, and I once again wondered if this place could get any weirder than it already was. The poor thing was talking so fast I was worried she might tie her own tongue in a knot, or worse, keep going until she passed out from lack of oxygen.

She finally stopped her run-on sentence and gasped like she hadn’t breathed in a year, “So what’s your name? I wanted to write your name on your welcome poster but you’ve been feeling down in the dumps up until today.” She interrupted me before I could answer, “Oh that’s alright, I’ll just fix it for the next party, after all, you can’t have a proper welcome party without the guest of honor’s name on the welcome poster. It’s rule number two hundred and fifty-three of the Pinkie Pie Party rules.”

So this crazy mare’s name was Pinkie Pie, good to know, “Um, pardon me, but why are you throwing me a party? I ended up in your town by complete accident.”

“It’s because you showed up out of nowhere that I have to throw you an even more special party than normal,” she said with complete conviction, “otherwise you’d be all alone with nopony to talk to and that would just be sad.” She bounced in place and hovered at eye level for longer than was physically possible, “So I threw this party so you can meet everypony and make lots of friends and then you won’t be all alone and then you’ll have a nice big smile on your face instead of a frown.” Gravity seemed to come into play once more as she landed on the floor again, “Anyway, I’ve got a pair of ponies who haven’t gotten punch yet, I’ll see you later Sarah, have a nice time at the party!”

With that she rushed off in a literal dust cloud, and I found myself at a complete loss for words and my mouth opened and closed like a fish. How did she know my name? I never told her what it was.

“I see you’ve met Ponyville’s premier party planner.” Twilight said through a giggle as she walked up beside me, “try not to think about it too hard. I tried to figure out what makes Pinkie Pie tick and the only findings I got were complete nonsense and migraines.”

I held the side of my head with one hand, trying to get my brain back in order, “I see what you mean. Is there anything we can do to stop her?”

Twilight shook her head, “Trying to stop her will only make her come after you with twice the crazy. Best advice, accept it how it is and enjoy the party.”

I glanced down at her, “So I get to mingle with several dozen strangers in the hopes that I’ll make a friend or two?”

She nodded, “Believe me, you might not think it would work, but you’d be amazed at some of the things Pinkie is capable of when she tries. Go on, enjoy the party, you may make more friends than you think if you don’t start acting like a wooden board.”

I grinned, straightening my back and putting on a brave face, “Well, wish me luck.”

She waved to me as she turned to talk to some other ponies that had walked up to her from the other side of the room. And with that I was lost in the void that was a Pinkie Pie party. I don’t really remember much of the night, but I do remember the townsfolk treating me with more than a little sympathy and multitudes of kind words. Twilight showed me to my room once the rest of the town had gone home for the night, and I was asleep on the bed before I could even take off my clothes.

Don’t judge me. You weren’t the one at the party who had to shake and bump hooves with dozens of mares and stallions while trying not to pass out from exhaustion. I might have been fully healed but I was still low on energy. If it hadn’t been for the cupcakes and punch I probably would have passed out in the middle of the party.

Author's Notes:

Whoo!! Three chapters in six days! I'm on a roll!! Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I certainly enjoyed writing it!! Whether this trend of a chapter every other day continues or not is questionable at best, but I'll do my best. After all, it's you guys that really benefit from all this, so why not keep the ball rolling for as long as we can?!

Anyways, see you all next chapter,
Shadow Quill Messenger of the Moon.

6 - New Magic

I yawned widely as my arms stretched over my head, and I rubbed my eyes for a moment before forcing them open. My gaze traveled over the hardwood dresser under the window that took up most of the wall opposite the door, along with the walk-in closet that lay partially open on the wall opposite the bed. I shifted around, noticing that I still had on the clothing I was wearing last night, and grunted with the effort as I pushed into a sitting position.

“Wow, what a party.” I muttered to myself as I slipped my feet off the side of the bed, my metallic limb making a soft clank against the crystal flooring, “I can’t remember the last time I had that much punch in one sitting.”

A small detail presented itself to my tired mind, and I looked back on the bed that should have been too small for me. Yet from my perspective it looked more like a queen-sized mattress from back home instead of the tiny thing I had lain on in the hospital. My hand slid over the smooth sheets for a moment, marveling in their softness as my mind came to terms with what had happened to me.

“No going about it now,” I mused as I stood up fully, stretching my arms over my head again as my back popped in several places, “I really am on a different world ruled by candy-colored ponies.”

I walked across the room and into the bathroom, noticing that at least here there was something more akin to what the natives would use. Instead of a countertop and sink at hip level, they rested just below the middle of my thighs, meaning I would have to crouch slightly if I wanted to wash my hands. So too was the mirror hanging on the wall too short for me, only reaching to about my chest before stopping.
I rubbed a hand down my face, making a mental note to talk to Twilight about getting the furnishings in my room redone. I walked over to the toilet, which thankfully was just like the ones back home, only closer to the ground. I did my business before returning to the bedroom proper, looking around my new abode with a more critical eye.

The dresser was seemingly unneeded thanks to the large closet that held what little clothing I possessed, so I moved it over into the left corner so that I could look out the window without having to bend over the furniture. I looked through the pristine glass and saw that my window faced away from town, towards a rather dark and brooding forest that came up to the edge of town. All and all not a bad view, if you were into that wild and untamed sort of thing. I turned to look over my bed and saw that the wood seemed to have been freshly carved, if the still pristine varnish was anything to go by. That would explain why it was sized for me and not ponies, Twilight must have had it custom made so it would fit me. A warmth built in my heart at the consideration she had shown a stranger such as me, and I resolved to do something for her the first chance I got. Other than the useless dresser and the bed, the only other furniture in the room was a small table that resided next to the bed on the right side. It too was made of some kind of hardwood, and was beautifully carved with intricate vine and leaf designs along the legs and the edge of the top.

With my inspection of my space complete, I walked over to the door that led out into the castle proper and turned the brass knob with a hand. It opened without a sound and I found myself in a long hallway with many identical doorways along its entire length. I glanced at my own door and was glad to see it was labeled with a brass plaque that had my name on it. I was sure I’d never find it again if it hadn’t.

As I turned to my right, a pair of familiar shadows fell in behind me on either side. It would seem my companions were going to be sticking around for a while. I glanced at them as we made our way around the castle, getting a good look at them for the first time since the hospital.
The first of the pair was a unicorn stallion with bright red fur and steel grey for his mane and tail, highlighted by streaks of neon blue here and there. His eyes were a dark amber in color, and his armor was polished silver with dark green accents. His compatriot was a pegasus, as given by the wings folded along his flanks, with a stormy grey fur color reminisce of a cloudy sky. His mane and tail were black with a single line of darker blue running down the middle, while his eyes were the most vibrant green I had ever seen. His armor was thinner than the other guard’s, most likely to make flying easier, but still sported the silver plate and green highlights. Apparently they were part of the local guard if what Twilight said was to be believed.

“So, are you two going to introduce yourselves or am I going to have to guess?” I said without looking back, hoping to breathe some life into the non-existent conversation.

“We’re not required to interact with you,” the unicorn said, “only make sure you’re not getting into trouble and to protect you from other ponies should they get aggressive.”

“Phoo, that’s no fun.” I grumbled as I looked over my shoulder at his partner, “What about you? Going to keep the whole stoic guard persona up the entire time we’re together?”

I saw the hint of a smile grace his features as he replied, “To be honest, ma’am, you’re a bit hard to interact with. For one thing, you’re much bigger than most creatures we are familiar with, and your stunning beauty only makes it worse.”

His companion cuffed him over the head with a hoof as my eyebrow rose in interest, “Dolt! You’re not supposed to say things like that to her! We’re supposed to be unattached and observant for any threats, no more and no less.”

“Why isn’t he allowed to compliment me?” I asked, trying to drag this on a bit longer, “I happen to like having boys say I look good every once and a while.”

His face shifted to a deadpan as his amber gaze met mine, “Because we are guards, which means we aren’t allowed to let our emotions interplay with our mission, no matter what the circumstances.”

I rolled my eyes as I turned around again, “Whatever you say Sergeant Stiff. I was in the armed forces once upon a time, so don’t get on my case about regulations and all that crap. I know full well the kind of bull the CO’s feed you newbies when you first sign on.” I glanced over my shoulder at him with a hard expression, “Take a little advice from someone who’s been there, don’t let the regs get in the way of enjoying your job, because life will get old really quick if you can’t enjoy what you’re doing.”

With that I made my way down to what I hoped was the dining hall, if the smell of cooking food was anything to go by. I did as any army recruit did at boot camp and followed my nose until I walked into what had to be the mess. Twilight was sitting at the head of a long table with several books and scrolls piled onto the surface before her, nearly hiding her pancakes and eggs from view as she poured over the text she had in her magic grip.

“Morning Twilight!” I called as I walked up to her, “How’s it going?”

She lifted her gaze from the tome before her and smiled brightly, “Oh, Sarah, good morning. I’m doing well at the moment. I’ve been trying to get some research done on how to make dried food that can be rehydrated with hot water.”

I remembered her comment about the stuff in my pack, “You stole the idea from my camping rations, didn’t you?”

She blushed as she averted her gaze, “Well since your belongings come from a different world I thought it would be a waste not to try and learn from them if at all possible.” She turned back to me with an adorable pout and big shimmering eyes, “You won’t take them all away from me, will you?”

I groaned as I tried not to clutch my heart because of the diabetes-level cuteness in front of me, “No I guess it won’t hurt to let you have them for a while longer. I do have one condition though,” I held up a finger as I tried to muster up a determined expression, “you have to return my phone and solar charger so I can at least have something to do in my spare time.”

Her head tilted sideways in confusion, the tome momentarily forgotten, “Which items are those? I remember there being lots of things in your pack, but I don’t know what any of them are called other than the simple things like the tent.”

I held up my fingers in a rectangular shape, “My phone is a little device about this big, with a touch screen and several buttons around the outer edge. The solar charger is the rolled-up black mat with two rectangular ports on the right edge.”

Twilight’s eyes lit up in understanding, “Oh that amazing device!” She hopped out of her chair and lifted herself up onto her hind legs, placing her forehooves on my shoulders as she looked me in the eyes, “I simply must know how it works! Technology like that could revolutionize the scientific community overnight!”

I gently took her hooves in my hands and pushed her off of me, “Sorry Twilight, but I don’t know how it works other than on the most basic level. It was designed by a big corporation that produced millions of them for everyday use. I don’t know much more than you do at this point.” I chuckled softly as a thought crossed my mind, “In all honesty you probably know more than me given how much you’ve dived into studying my things.”

Twilight’s expression fell as her ears folded against her head, and I had to remind myself that this was a sapient creature and not a puppy I had just kicked. I forced my eyes to look elsewhere for a moment while Twilight mourned the loss of opportunity. She’d get over it, eventually.

“So, what’s for breakfast?” I asked, hoping to divert her attention from her lack of knowledge concerning Earth tech, “I’m so hungry I could eat a house.”

My stomach chose that moment to voice its rather loud agreement, and my guards joined Twilight in laughing at my expense, “I’m sure Spike would be happy to make more pancakes and eggs.” Her face shifted to a look of concern as she took her seat once again, “You can eat pancakes and eggs, right?”

I nodded, “Humans can eat just about anything, although we can’t digest fiber so stuff like grass and flowers don’t do a thing for us. Some can even be quite poisonous if we’re really unlucky.”

She nodded, turning her head towards a set of double doors leading out of the room, “Spike! Bring our guest some pancakes and eggs with a large glass of orange juice!”

“Coming right up!” A young voice called back through the closed doorway, although it was too muddled for me to make out the speaker’s gender.

I took a seat on Twilight’s right as my shadows took up positions along the wall behind me. I resolved to break those two out of the regulation shackles that prevented them from interacting with me, although my thoughts were summarily derailed as the doors to the kitchen swung open, revealing a sight I would not soon forget.

Carrying a large plate of pancakes, a tall glass of orange juice, and a pitcher of what I assumed was syrup, was a little purple lizard with large green spikes sprouting from its head all the way to its tail. Its large eyes were a sharp emerald green and slit like a cat, while a single tiny fang protruded out from behind its upper lip. I also noticed that it walked on two legs, using its front claws to hold the items as it walked around Twilight and presented the steaming food to me.

“Here you go.” Its voice was discernably male now, although a very young male at that, perhaps not even a teenager if voice timbre was anything similar to home.

For a moment I simply stared at him, and in the same instant his gaze met mine, I remembered what Twilight had said concerning the other races on this world. Either my mind was playing tricks on me, or this was a very small and very cute dragon serving me breakfast.

“What?” he asked, “Do I have something on my face?” He spun around a time or two, rubbing a claw against his cheeks to try and locate the presumed blemish.

“Um, not to seem rude or anything,” I managed to say, “but are by chance, a dragon?”

He nodded, puffing out his chest in the most adorable way and flexing his arms like a body builder, “Yep, I’m Twilight’s number one assistant, Owlowiscious is number two.”

“Owlowiscious?” I asked, momentarily distracted from the real-life dragon in front of me.

“My pet owl.” Twilight clarified as she took a bite of her eggs, “he helps me run the castle during the late hours of the night. Spike can’t help me keep this place running if he falls asleep on the job.”

I nodded, although I realized something about this whole castle setup. You’d think with a royal living in a castle, there’d at least be some staff to keep the place from falling apart.

“Don’t you have servants to help you keep this place running?” I asked, “I mean, you are a princess and all that, right?”

Twilight looked a bit sheepish, and I recognized the expression she used when I had first addressed her by her title, “While I know servants and maids are common in Canterlot noble manners, and certainly within Canterlot Castle itself, I’ve just never really seen the need to have ponies clean the place for me when Spike and I can do well enough on our own. And besides,” she ruffled her wings as she cast a glance over her shoulder at them, “I’m still new to this whole princess thing, so I don’t want to make a mistake when somepony’s livelihood is on the line.”

I raised an eyebrow in confusion, “New to being a princess? But aren’t you, like, twenty something?”

She nodded, seemingly unsure about where I was going with this line of questions, “Yes, I’m twenty-three. What does that have to do with anything?”

I tried to find the proper words as I spoke, “I don’t know much about your world, that much is obvious, but where I come from you’re either born into a royal family or you marry into one. If you marry into a royal family then you take on the title of prince or princess, as you are now part of that family by marriage. And royal birth goes without saying. You’re not married, at least as far as I know, so that means you had to have been born a royal. You see what I mean?”

Her eyes widened in understanding, “Oh I see. No, no, I’m not married, although my brother did marry my old foalsitter and became a prince that way, although he’s still a unicorn, not an alicorn. I became a princess when I completed a great task, solving one of the greatest magical mysteries in our history.” She flared her wings and smiled back at them with a reminisce expression on her face, “After that Princess Celestia told me I had earned my place as a princess, through completing Starswirl the Bearded’s final spell, and by discovering the true power behind my connections with the other Elements.” Her gaze moved back to me as she folded her wings against her sides, “So you see, I was born a unicorn, but through great trials and with a little spark of magic, I earned my wings and title as the Princess of Friendship.”

I leaned back in my chair, taking a moment to think her words over, “So this Princess Celestia or whoever deemed you worthy of being royalty, and used her magic to change you into an alicorn so that you could better represent the skills you used to earn your title?”

Twilight’s face scrunched up slightly, “Well, more or less, I guess that’s one way you could put it. It’s a lot more complicated than that, but I think you got the important points.”

I rubbed my temples with my finger, before drowning my cooling pancakes in syrup and devouring my food in a matter of moments, “Do you mind if I grab my phone and head out for a while? I kind of need to clear my head and think about all this magic and royalty business for a while.”

She nodded, pointing towards the door at the back of the room, “My lab is the fifth door down the second right hallway on the left. Just give a yell if you get lost and Spike will show you the way.”

I nodded, “Thanks Twilight. I just need some time to get my head screwed on straight after all this craziness.”

She smiled as I walked away, “Have a nice time. I’ll see you around lunch?”

I waved over my shoulder, “You got it.”

My shadows fell into their usual places as I made my way through the castle, although as I pushed open the doors to what I thought was Twilight’s lab, the clinking of their armor suddenly stopped. I spun around, but they had simply taken up spots on either side of the opening. I thought about making a jab at their noisy hardware, but quickly thought better of it. I turned back around to look for my stuff, and was caught off guard by the sheer mass of mysterious machinery and other doodads that littered the entire room.

Table after table with beakers, tubes and masses of wire assaulted my vision as I worked my way through the jungle of science and magic. Finally, I popped out the other side and found myself standing in front of another large table, only this one contained items that were far more familiar to me. My camping gear had been set out and meticulously organized in terms of size and type, leaving my phone and the other electrical stuff all alone on the end. I powered up my phone and saw to my dismay that it was down to fifteen percent power.

I grumbled under my breath as I picked it up and clicked my earbuds into the port on the bottom, “Mental note, don’t let Twilight get ahold of my stuff without permission in the future.”

I slipped it into my pocket, grabbing the solar collector and power cable with my free hand as I made my way back out into the hallway. The Stoic Brothers fell in beside me as I made my way to my room, dropping off the solar charger and power cable before making my way out of the castle itself. This left us standing on the edge of town with a bright morning sun shining overhead.

I took a deep breath, “Ah, a wonderful day to take some time off.”

Without another thought I made my way through town, waving to some of the ponies who were out and about as I tried to find a place to myself. After a while I found myself standing alone on the top of a small hill just outside of town, taking in the sights under the single oak tree that called the peak home.

I nodded to myself, “This will do nicely.”

I pulled out my earbuds and plugged them into my ears, selecting my combat training playlist before spreading my feet shoulder width apart. As the music started playing I closed my eyes, envisioning myself standing in the middle of a large group of ninjas. I raised my hands in front of my chest and breathed in as my limbs climbed my body. Once my hands had reached my face, I turned my palms towards each other and pushed my arms outward, letting my breath go before I fell into a fighting stance. Keeping my eyes closed, I watched in my imagination as one of the ninjas rushed towards me from the left, and I kicked out with my leg as it came within range. I hooked my heel through where the ninja’s head would have been, transitioning into a right finger strike in front of me as I struck to my other side in a switch-kick.

As the beat of the song picked up my strikes and blocks began to flow together, the beat and rhythm dictating how and when I would move as my imaginary battle reached a fever pitch. I started throwing in stepping movements between my strikes as I moved around the hill summit, slowly adding more and more to the kata as I kept my eyes tightly shut. Before long I was leaping into rolls and backflips, throwing my legs out midair to strike opposite enemies with my feet.

All of a sudden, just as I was becoming lost in the battle dance, a rush of ice cold liquid dumped on me from above. I screamed in a high-pitched voice that I would deny ever making in public, and ripped my earbuds out as I spun to try and find my assailant. I didn’t have far to look, because a familiar cyan pegasus was hovering next to the small thundercloud that just so happened to be taking up the airspace above my head.

“What the hell, Rainbow?!” I yelled once I had gotten my voice back down where it belonged, “I was in the middle of something and you just up and decided to dump a raincloud on me?! Do you want me to kick your rainbow rump into next week?!”

Her expression morphed from her usual macho bravado into one that I didn’t immediately recognize, “Like you could even touch me. I was just trying to put out the fire that was covering your whole body!”

My eyes narrowed in a combination of suspicion and confusion, “What fire?! I’m pretty sure I would know if I was suddenly trying to turn into a flame broiled steak! You want to try and run by me something I’m going to believe?”

Now it was Rainbow’s turn to look incredulous, “I’m not lying! It was like your whole body was covered in this weird multi-colored fire. I saw you jumping and rolling around and thought you were trying to put it out!” She kicked the thunderhead and it dissipated into thin air, “I was trying to stop you from burning to death after we went through so much trouble to save you!”

I clenched my fists, feeling a heat rising up in my hands and forearms as I tried to drill holes into Rainbow’s head with my gaze, “I swear if you don’t start telling the truth I’m going to kick in your teeth and then feed you to whatever monsters you have roaming around on this crazy planet! Now tell. Me. The. TRUTH!”

Rainbow’s mouth opened as she presumably readied a retort, only for her face to freeze as her eyes traveled down from my face. She pointed with one hoof as her eyes widened in terror, “Oh crap, it’s back! Your hooves are on fire!”

I looked down and saw that my hands and lower forearms were indeed covered with what looked like ethereal red and yellow flames. I was about to start jumping and screaming for a medic when I realized that I wasn’t in pain. I took a moment as I slowly unclenched my fists, watching as the fire collected in my palms and formed twin orbs of fizzling energy. There was no pain, only a mild heat where the fire was present, and as I closed my fingers around the fire it once again enveloped my hands and lower arms in a vibrant red aura.

Rainbow flew in a bit closer, apparently also realizing that I wasn’t about to burn to a crisp. She hesitantly touched my left arm with a hoof, only to pull it back with wide eyes. Not a single hair on her hoof had been burnt, nor had there been any other indication that it had done anything except contact my shirt sleeve.

“Whoa.” She managed to say as she looked between me and her hoof, “That is beyond weird.”

“You’re telling me.” I said as I experimented with the energy flowing through my body, “I’ve never done anything like this before. Have you seen something like this from a unicorn?”

She shook her head, “The only thing that comes to mind is the aura that covers a unicorn’s horn when they use magic, or the glow that covers an object when they make it move around or something. This is different. For one thing, Twilight’s magic never looked like flames when she used it.”

As my heart began to calm down and my blood stopped pounding in my ears, I watched in fascination as the aura around my arms faded until there was nothing left. For a moment I was worried I had imagined the whole thing, but at that same instant I felt a heat rising up in my chest, a heat that reminded me of the feeling that had surrounded my arms when the flames had been present.

“So, are we cool about me dumping a rainstorm on your head?” Rainbow asked sheepishly, rubbing behind her head with a hoof.

I nodded, “Yeah, sorry about blowing up on you like that.” I looked down at my hands with wonder, “I think we might want to talk to Twilight about this. If this is some new power that I got by coming to Equestria, then I need to know what it does and how it works before I accidentally hurt someone.”

As Rainbow flew along next to my head, I noticed the guards that had been waiting on the side of the hill were no longer present. So, either they hadn’t seen my little ignition and decided to take the rest of the day off, or they had seen my little firework show and were running off to report it to their superiors. Oh joy, just what I need right now.

We managed to get back to Twilight’s castle without being ambushed by overexcited guards, but I was beginning to think that my luck wasn’t going to last. As we entered the main foyer of the castle my heart plummeted. There, standing with Twilight and bearing grim faces were my two bodyguards. The unicorn was talking adamantly with Twilight while his partner stood nearby. However, their conversation came to a grinding halt as they spotted me.

In an instant, they took up combat stances between me and Twilight, “Halt!” The pegasus yelled, “You are not to step one hoof closer to the Princess until you reveal the dark arts you have been keeping hidden from us.”

I raised one eyebrow as I looked over my shoulder at Rainbow, “Is he for real? Dark arts? What kind of nonsense is that?”

She shrugged, much to the irritation of the dynamic duo. “We gave you an order,” the unicorn called out, “now reveal to us what dark magic you were performing on the hilltop before we are forced to apprehend you.”

I rolled my eyes, “First off, you guys aren’t my commanding officer, and two, I wasn’t even aware of what I was doing until after Rainbow did her best to drown me with an instant rainstorm.”

Twilight gave Rainbow a reprimanding look, and the prismatic pegasus had enough tact to look sheepish as she rubbed the back of her neck, “Yeah, I kind of though she was on fire, so I tried to put her out with a little rain. Turns out it wasn’t fire, at least not the usual stuff.”

Twilight’s eyes immediately snapped to me, “What’s she talking about Sarah? What’s this all about fire that isn’t fire?”

I looked down at my hands, wondering if it was possible to bring the fire out of my chest and to my hands again. “Well, I can try and show you. It happened my accident last time so I’m not really sure how to control it.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to remember what it felt like when I was doing my kata. First off, I was exercising, so physical movement might have something to do with it. Then again, the heat seemed to come out when I got mad at Rainbow, so maybe my mood played a part as well. I settled for something in the middle, closing my hands into fists as I brought them up to my chest. I tried to channel as much anger and frustration into my movements as I threw out first one punch and then another. I felt the heat in my chest rise but it stubbornly remained in my core. I let my air out in a rush as I opened my eyes, seeing everyone was looking at with like I had grown a second head.

I felt a blush heating my cheeks, “Well don’t give me that look. I’m trying to do this with no past experience except for an accident earlier this morning! Give me a little credit for not knowing what to do!”

I huffed as I closed my eyes again, noting with some surprise that the fire in my chest had gotten a lot stronger. I wondered if my embarrassment had fueled this new power, so I focused on the most embarrassing moment in my entire life. As the image of my past self walking into the men’s bathroom at boot camp flashed through my mind, I could feel the fire in my chest and my cheeks growing stronger by the second. Finally, I let out an echoing yell, punching outward with all my strength. I opened my eyes as everyone gasped, only for my own eyes to widen in shock at what I was seeing. Instead of the cherry red flames that had been there before, my right hand and forearm were now covered in hot pink flames that danced and flashed with patches of white every so often.

I opened my hand and brought my arm back to my body, looking over my arm with fascination. I brought my other hand up to my arm and cupped my palm like I was catching water. The flames were slowly drawn off my arm and coalesced into a ball in my other hand, much like when I had concentrated on the red flames back on the hill.

At this point Twilight was standing directly in front of me, much to the shock of the two guards, “This is amazing! I’ve never seen anything like this before!” She glanced up at me cautiously, “Can I touch it?”

I nodded, lowering my hand to her level with the ball of energy still floating above my palm, “Go ahead. Rainbow touched it before and it didn’t do a thing to her.”

Twilight slowly lifted her hoof off the floor, as if hesitant to trust my words. Ever so slowly she moved her hoof closer to the ball of softly flickering energy, until she couldn’t take it anymore. She shut her eyes tight and shoved her hoof into the ball, holding a cringe for several seconds until she seemed to realize there was no pain. She opened her eyes and looked back at her hoof, which was now resting within the ball of energy, causing it to distort around her leg like a mass of clay.

Her eyes widened in amazement as she slowly moved her hoof through my energy, “This is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. It feels kind of like magic, but at the same time different from any magic I’ve read about or interacted with in the past.” She looked up at me, her question of why present in her gaze even before she spoke, “What did you do to discover this ability?”

I closed my hand, actually feeling the heat of this energy flow back up my arm and into my core, “I don’t know. I was just performing some combat exercises and the next thing I know Rainbow’s soaking me with water, claiming I’m on fire. I have no idea what’s going on. I thought you might have the answer.”

Twilight spared her cyan friend a mild glare before turning back to me, “Well I don’t know what to tell you. I’ve never seen anything like this before and I’m pretty sure there’s nothing on this in my books. Oh, I know!” Her eyes lit up with excitement as she spun around to face the interior of the castle, “We can ask Princess Celestia! She’s bound to have encountered something like this before. Spike! We need to send a letter to Princess Celestia!”

“Coming!” Was the reply that echoed from far away.

Twilight spun around and leveled her gaze with mine, “You’re absolutely sure you never had this ability before coming to Equestria?”

I nodded, “First time I’ve been able to spontaneously create flames from my body. As far as I know, no human has ever had this ability.”

Twilight nodded, “Then this has to be something to do with the magical energies of Equis. Your new ability must be some kind of reaction between your body and the natural energy in the atmosphere, food and water you’ve been exposed to after your arrival.”

“Princess,” Guard with Horn asked as he and his partner walked up, “are you certain it’s alright trusting her on her word alone? She could be hiding some dark powers from us that could pose a threat to you or Equestria at large.”

Twilight rolled her eyes as Spike came waddling out of the far corridor, “I’m sure Nova Burst. If Sarah had any kind of malicious intent, I’m sure she would have acted by now. Given her size and this new power, if she really wanted to take over Equestria, don’t you think she would have done so by now?”

He nodded begrudging agreement, cutting off Guard with Wings’ comment with a quick glow of his horn. The pegasus’ mouth snapped shut as his bottom jaw glowed the same amber as the newly named Nova Burst’s horn. He rubbed his mouth with one hoof as his partner released him, choosing instead to glower at me rather than speak.

“So, *huff*, what do you need, *huff*, to send to Princess Celestia, *huff*, with such urgency?” He managed to force out between gasps. Poor little guy, he works so hard to keep this place running and he also has to act as messenger boy. Talk about a rough childhood.

Twilight either didn’t notice her assistant’s state, or ignored it as she spoke, “Spike, take a letter please.” Spike nodded, pulling a scroll and quill from seemingly nowhere as he readied for Twilight to speak.

Twilight cleared her throat before beginning, “Dear Princess Celestia. Sarah has been settling in well here in Ponyville. Pinkie threw her a welcome party and everything. However, this morning she discovered a new power, one that I am unfamiliar with, and I was hoping you could shed your wisdom on the situation.” She paused for a moment so Spike could catch up, “This new power seems to be produced by Sarah’s body, and takes the form of ethereal flames when she conducts the energy through her body or when she manipulates it outside of her body. She had a slight scare with Rainbow Dash upon discovering this new ability, but other than some wet clothing there was no harm done. I eagerly await your reply, with the hopes that you can shed some light on this mystery. Your humble friend, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Twi-light, Spar-kle.” Spike echoed as he finished the letter with a flourish, “Is that everything Twilight?”

She nodded and he rolled the scroll up before holding it in front of his snout. For a moment I was confused until he took a deep breath and burned the scroll to ash with a gout of green flames. The ashes whipped through the air and out a nearby open window, vanishing into the sky in seconds. I turned back to Twilight, about to ask what that had been, when Spike got a weird expression on his face. He held his chest like he had heart burn before he let out a loud belch, the flames coalescing into a scroll much like the previous one, only this time secured with a red ribbon and golden seal.

“Wow, talk about instant messaging.” I joked as Twilight grabbed the scroll with her magic, bringing it up to her eyes as it unrolled.

“Dear Twilight,” she read aloud, “while it is good to hear that Sarah is getting along well in Ponyville, this new ability brings back memories of a lost art that has not been used by ponies for the last several centuries. I think it would be best if Sarah showed my sister and I this new ability in person, tomorrow if at all possible. I wish for you to make all due haste, but do not worry. While this power may be old and very powerful, it will not cause any harm to you or anypony else that comes into contact with it. Safe travels my once faithful student, and I will see you at the castle.”

She dropped the scroll with wide eyes, her gaze slightly unfocused as she looked at me. I got the feeling we were about to have a Twilight Freak Moment, and I saw Rainbow taking cover behind one of the doors leading out of the foyer. Even the guards, who probably didn’t know Twilight as well as Rainbow, ducked for cover behind the staircase that led to the second floor. I watched in slightly disturbed fascination as Twilight’s mane began to frazzle one hair at a time. Her grin grew bigger by the second and her eyes began to take on a slightly manic look as she began to giggle. At this point I figured it was now or never, so I did the unthinkable.

I walked up and slapped her in the face.

The silence that followed was so still you could hear a pin drop, and for a moment I thought I had just signed my own death warrant. Yet as Twilight lifted a hoof to touch the growing red spot on her cheek, she let out a sigh that sounded more like relief than anything else.

“Thank you, Sarah,” she said softly as she straightened her mane and cleared her throat, “I was getting a bit out of hoof when I was thinking about what this new power could mean for you, and for us. I’m sorry,” she hung her head and tucked her tail between her legs, “that was out of line for me to worry you like that.”

“Oh come on Twilight,” Rainbow said as she flew back into the room, “it wouldn’t be you if you didn’t freak out at least a little bit.”

I nodded, kneeling down to wrap the alicorn up in a firm hug, “It’s not a problem Twilight. We still like you even when you get a bit crazy.” I pulled back to look her in the face with a serious expression, “Just try and not blow us up if you freak out again, alright?”

She nodded, rubbing her forelegs together as she made yet another adorable face up at me, “I’ll try not to go too nuts when we talk about things like this in the future. Pinkie Promise.”

I glanced at my fingers, wondering how a creature with hooves could make a pinkie promise, before dismissing it as unimportant. We had a trip to plan, and from what little I knew of Equestria, visiting Princess Celestia was not going to be a simple little day trip. Twilight aside, visiting with royalty when you used to march with the grunts is a sure-fire way to make a mess of things. Royalty or not, I hoped this Celestia had a dry sense of humor, or else this was going to go south very quickly.

Author's Notes:

Okay, I am officially so far beyond on a roll that I'm drag racing through the Badlands with a rocket-powered sled that can break the sound barrier three times while still staying on the ground. FOUR CHAPTERS IN A WEEK?!?!?!? What in the hay is going on with me?! Normally I get two or three chapters done in a two or three week period and then I go off cycle for a month or more. This is absolutely crazy!

Alright, *huff* mental freak moment over with and taken care of. Anyway, hope you guys are enjoying the book so far. I know I certainly am. Here is a little bonus material for all of my faithful readers, Sarah's Combat Playlist!!! Brought to you by yours truly.
Thunderstruck by AC/DC
Fallen Angels by Black Veil Brides
Get off My Back by Bryan Adams
Mz. Hyde by Halestorm (explicit)
War Child by Hollywood Undead (VERY explicit)
Danger Zone by Jonathan Young
Dangerous by Shaman's Harvest (explicit)
Superhero by Simon Curtis
Undefeated by Skillet
The Devil's Bleeding Crown by Volbeat

Hope you like my music choices, and I'll see you all next chapter
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.

7 - Canterlot

I yawned widely as I stumbled along next to Twilight, the sun barely over the horizon as we made our way towards the train station, “Did we have to get up so early?” I moaned as my feet shuffled along the dirt road, “I mean really, don’t you think Princess Celestia would be fine with it if we came to visit at a more reasonable hour?”

Twilight shook her head, not even looking at me as she replied, “When you get a summons from Princess Celestia, it doesn’t matter if she would mind or not. We are going to get there bright and early and get this whole situation sorted out as soon as possible.”

I groaned as I shuffled along beside her, “Fine, just don’t mind me if I pass out on the train. How long is it going to take to get to this Canterlot anyway?”

“About three hours.” Was the clipped reply.

I just about gave up right then and there. Despite my military background, I was not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination. The only way to get me up before nine was to shove a rifle in my hands and tell me to go shoot something, preferably something that yelled a lot and had a pension for strapping explosives to its chest.

We arrived at the train station to find the place completely deserted. Not even a ticket minder was present in the booth as a lonely gust of wind blew up a cloud of dust. I felt a shiver go up my spine at what I was seeing. Zombie horror flick much? I sat down on one of the benches near the rails and waited for our supposed train, my fingers fiddling with the plating on my mechanical leg through the fabric of my pants. I had chosen to wear my cargo shorts today, allowing me to carry my phone, fully charged, in one of the numerous pockets covering its surface. I had my blazer on over my unit T-shirt, although I had a feeling it would need to be washed before too long. It was starting to accumulate that ‘lived in’ smell, and I didn’t want to offend my hosts with my bad BO if I could help it.

The only thing that made me slightly self-conscious about my state of dress was the fact that my shorts left my artificial leg open to the air for anyone to see. While I had worn long pants since my departure from the hospital, it was getting a little too hot to wear them all the time. By my estimations, it was early summer here in Equestria, even though back home it had only just turned into spring. I just hoped no one started asking too many questions about my leg. That was a memory I would rather soon forget.

All of a sudden my instincts screamed at me, and I threw a spinning heel at my assailant as they came up behind me.

“Hey! It’s me you featherhead!” A familiar raspy voice called out.

I stopped my foot mid-spin, preventing my attack from hitting Rainbow in the side of the head by mere inches. Her eyes widened for a moment as I held my leg in its inclined position, before I slowly lowered it back to the ground.

“It’s a bad idea to sneak up on me.” I managed to say as my cheeks heated up, “I usually react to surprises with a preemptory attack. I’m sorry.”

She rubbed her hoof along her mane once or twice, “Yeah, I was trying to give you a jump scare anyway. Guess that’ll teach me to watch who I prank.”

“Hooie, that was a mighty fine kick ya got there Sarah,” Applejack’s voice called out from the other side of the platform. “Ah wouldn’t mind seein’ you try yer hoof at applebucking over on the farm.”

I turned and saw that it wasn’t just the cowpony that had joined us. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were there with her.

“What are you girls doing here?” Twilight asked as they joined up with RD and me.

“Well I heard from somepony that you were going to Canterlot to talk about some super crazy magic that Sarah had discovered and then I was like, ‘Oh! We can’t let them go all alone all the way to Canterlot and not come along to give them support!’ What kinds of friends would we be if we let you run off to meet the Princesses without doing our best to help you?” She paused only for a moment to take in a breath before continuing her monologue, “So then I went around and gathered up all our friends so we could go on the trip together. Rarity’s busy on her business trip so of course she can’t come but that doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t join you and do our very, very best to make sure it goes well.”

I opened my mouth to question how she knew all that, but a quick glance at Twilight showed her shaking her head at me. I closed my mouth and leaned down next to her ear, whispering behind my hand as the others talked, “How did she know all that?”

Twilight lowered her own voice into a whisper as she replied, “When it comes to Pinkie I’ve learned to just accept her the way she is. She’ll never make any sense, unless the situation really calls for it, but she’ll always do her best to help her friends in any way she deems necessary. The last time I tried to figure her out all I got for it was a monumental headache.”

I nodded my understanding, “Gotcha.”

I was thinking about how I might try and get a quick nap in on the train when my thoughts were derailed by a soft clinking noise. I looked down and saw Pinkie tapping her hoof against the plating of my prosthetic with wide eyes.

“Ooh, shiny.” She said as she pulled her hoof back and leaned in to peer between the servos, “I never knew you had a metal leg Sarah.” She looked up to meet my gaze, “What’d you do to get it?”

“Wait, Sarah’s got a what now?” Applejack asked, walking over to us with a confused expression. Her eyes widened as she caught a glance at my not-so-normal limb, “Well I’ll be a donkey’s aunt, you do have a metal leg.”

Fluttershy shied away from it slightly with a cringe, “Does that mean you,” she swallowed thickly before continuing, “lost your real one and had it replaced with that?”

At her soft words, the charm and curiosity seemed to get sucked out of the room, leaving all five of them looking at me with different degrees of pity. Even Rainbow was looking sheepish as her glance kept bouncing from my leg to anywhere else and back again.

I felt a heat rising in my cheeks, and I fought the urge to try and hide my limb from them, “Yes, I lost my leg in an accident. There was nothing the doctors could do so they made me this cool replacement so I could walk without needing some kind of aid.” I held my arm over my chest as I averted my gaze, “Can we not talk about it? It’s not exactly a day I like to think about.”

“I getcha sugarcube.” AJ said softly, removing her hat and holding it against her chest, “Some things are better left in the past, so long as we don’t let it hurt us in the present.”

Pinkie made a sad face as a puppy whimper escaped her mouth, “Oh this is no good at all. We’re on a mission to see the Princesses and nopony is happy about the exciting new things we’re going to learn.” She got up on her hind hooves and hugged me around my ribs, burying her face between my breasts, “Please feel better Sarah. I don’t like it when my friends are not feeling super-duper yeperific.”

I smiled at her words, hugging her shoulders as I rested my cheek on her mane, “Thank you Pinkie. I’ll try not to bring the mood down if I can help it.”

Some of the poof seemed to come back to the peppy mare, and she looked up from her position between my breasts with big puppy eyes, “You really mean it?”

God damnit! Why do these ponies have to be so gosh-darned adorable?! “Pinkie Promise.” I didn’t know what kind of social norms surrounded the oath that left my mouth, but for that moment it just seemed to fit right.

At that Pinkie’s smile returned in full force, and she bounced around like some kind of super bouncy ball before coming back down next to Applejack, “Goodie, now I don’t need to bring out my big guns.”

We all collectively chose not to question the pink wonder as she beamed like a child, and I felt a slight bit better about having them join us. All at once, I realized that I now had some energy in my system instead of dragging my heels from lack of sleep.

Clever girl. I mused to myself as the train pulled up to the station, although my thoughts were completely thrown out the proverbial window as I actually saw what the train looked like.

The whole engine looked like someone had taken a little girl’s coloring book, chewed it up and puked it all over the powerhouse of the train. I mean, pink and white hearts painted on every visible surface, with heart-shaped windows to boot?! It was just another reminder that the customs and tastes of my hosts were far from what any human would consider normal. At least the cars were mostly normal, save for the slight gingerbread theme they had going on the roofs.

We boarded the train and sat down on the long benches that ran the length of the car, Twilight choosing to sit across from me while the others took up seats around the barren car. The engine let out a high whistle before the train lurched out of the station, the soft clickity-clack of the wheels on the tracks adding a soft white noise to the space. I sat next to a window and rested my chin on one hand as I watched the scenery go by, choosing to ignore my companions as our journey to Canterlot began. I didn’t really have the energy for conversation, and I had some bad memories that were trying to bring themselves to the fore in my mind’s eye.

I was just about to sigh in relief as I was able to repress the dark memories, when I felt a soft wing settle over my shoulders. I looked to my left and saw Fluttershy sitting next to me, her lips curled into a small smile as she leaned her body against mine.

“You don’t have to say anything.” She said softly as she closed her eyes and rested her cheek against my shoulder, “Just relax and try to think happy thoughts. Everything will be alright if we just believe it will be.”

I smiled, moving my arm to pull her against me gently as I rubbed the base of her neck with my fingers. She hummed softly and snuggled a bit closer to me as her wing curled around my back in a sideways hug.

I glanced over at the others, who were watching with soft smiles on their faces, and felt a warmth in my chest not unlike my new power. The only difference was that I knew what this heat was. It was something I hadn’t felt since I had been discharged from the Corps. No, longer than that. This was a feeling that hadn’t been in my life since I moved out of my family’s house. As crazy as it was, I had found something I hadn’t even realized I had been missing until I nearly died and somehow got transported to another world. I returned my gaze to Fluttershy as she slept soundly against my shoulder, and gently ran my fingers through her mane.

This feeling in my heart, was contentment.

I must have dozed off at some point along the way, because the next thing I was aware of was the screech of the train’s brakes and the sudden pressure of the deceleration. I grunted as Fluttershy fell off my shoulder and landed in my lap, the impact waking the shy pegasus as the train came to a full stop.

Fluttershy looked around in bewilderment for a moment, before turning and looking up at me. Her eyes widened slightly as her cheeks colored, and she practically leaped off my lap as her wings flared to full span.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she sputtered out as she tried to get her wings under control, “I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”

I couldn’t find it in my heart to get mad at her, she was just too sweet and apologetic for any angry thoughts to take root in my mind, “It’s fine Fluttershy. I fell asleep too so I guess we’re both at fault.”

She looked at me with her one visible eye, her expression apprehensive, “You’re not mad that I fell asleep on you?”

I shrugged, “Like I said, I technically fell asleep on you as well so I’m just as much to blame.” I stood up and offered my hand to her, “Shall we go? I believe this is our stop.”

She blushed even more before gingerly setting her hoof in my palm, allowing me to help her up and off the bench as the others stepped by to exit the car. Rainbow gave me and Fluttershy a confused look, but otherwise didn’t comment as we all filed out and onto the platform.
I turned my attention to our surroundings, and was surprised to see that we were in a rather large city. Cobblestone roads wound their way through large stone buildings, some three or four stories tall and all done up in brilliant white marble. The roofing used on most of the structures was a brilliant metallic gold, although it had to be brass or some other stronger metal to be usable as a building material. I took a single step beyond the platform, followed by Twilight and the others, as we began our journey through the bustling streets of Canterlot.

“Wow.” I muttered to myself as we passed by another high-end shop with lavish dresses on display, “Is this the home of, like, all the high society ponies that live in your kingdom?”

“Well not all of them,” Twilight answered as she fell in at my left side, “but Canterlot is the capitol of Equestria, so it’s only natural that a large majority of the nobility live here.”

My eyes caught another couple dressed in fancy clothing turning their noses up at me and my companions, “Yeah, really feeling the nobility from the locals. Is there any way we can get through this mess faster?”

“Not unless you can fly like me.” Rainbow said as she flew past me on her back, her forehooves folded behind her head as she glided along, “They don’t even allow taxi services here because too many nobles complained about the noise of the wheels on the road.”

I rolled my eyes, “Great, just another day in snob land. I’m sure I’m going to love it here.” The sarcasm in my tone was so heavy it could sink a battleship.

Applejack stepped up on my others side, giving a nearby stallion the stink eye before turning to me, “Yeah, most of these varmints wouldn’t give you the time of day unless your horseshoes were made of silver.” She spit onto the cobblestone in distaste, “Makes me want to buck some sense into their cotton-headed noggins.”

I chuckled at the mental image, “Yeah, I would almost pay to see that. Although the medical bills afterwards would be a bother.”

The girls giggled at my joke before we lapsed into a comfortable silence. The rest of our trip was mostly uneventful, although the whispers from the nobility we passed were nearly enough to make me lose my temper a couple times. I had to remind myself several times that beating foreign nobility about the head and neck with a street lamp was a diplomatic no-no, although the mental image of doing such a thing helped immensely with lifting my mood.

After about half an hour of walking, we came up to what had to be the Canterlot Castle’s gates, although they were wide open with only two guards to keep them secure. Instead of my dynamic duo, these guards were dressed in white and gold armor, with helmets reminisce of Roman centurions on their heads. They nodded to Twilight and the gang as we entered, although I caught them giving me long second looks as we made our way into the castle courtyard. We passed through what had to be the biggest front doors in history, and followed several hallways that I quickly lost track of as we progressed.

“How do you know this place so well?” I asked as we made yet another random turn down a hallway that looked the same as the one we had just left, “I’m getting dizzy from all these identical hallways and I have no idea where we are.”

Twilight smiled as she looked over her shoulder at me, “I practically grew up in these halls when I was Princess Celestia’s personal student. Plus, the girls and I have saved Equestria several times, so we get to visit the castle quite often.”

I lifted an eyebrow in suspicion, “You’ve saved Equestria several times? Now this I have got to hear.”

“Well there was the time we purified Princess Luna when she was still Nightmare Moon.” Twilight said, ticking off the different events with a tap of her hoof as we continued down the hall, “Then we defeated Discord, the embodiment of chaos,”

“Twice.” Rainbow added as she hovered on my right.

“Twice,” Twilight conceded, “although reforming him doesn’t really count as defeating him, I guess. Then there was the invasion of the changelings, although it was mostly my brother and Princess Cadence that stopped them from taking over. Then there was Tirek when he tried to steal all the pony magic in Equestria.”

She paused, glancing over her shoulder at the others, completely oblivious to my gob-smacked expression, “Am I forgetting anything girls?”

“Nope, Ah think that ‘bout covers it Twi’.” Applejack said as she glanced my way, although her face scrunched up with poorly contained laughter as our eyes met, “You should see your face right now, sugarcube. Ya’ll look like your metal leg got turned into cheese.”

I shook my head to get my thoughts in line, taking a deep breath to calm myself as I turned to face forward again, “So you’re national heroes. Way to drop that on me at the last minute.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said as she shifted her wings slightly in anxiety, “we didn’t know it would be that important to you.”

I shrugged, choosing to ignore the fact that my hosts had saved the nation several times for a moment, “Yeah, it’s not that big a deal, I just wasn’t expecting my new friends to be such influential members of society.”

“Oh, we don’t actually hold that much power,” Twilight said as we came up to a large set of doors emblazoned with gold designs in the shape of a sun, “I may be a princess, but my friends and I don’t really have any say in making laws or things like that. Even the nobility have to petition Princess Celestia or Princess Luna to have the laws changed.”

“So, your diarchy is more like a benevolent dictatorship,” I translated, “and you and your friends are more like military assets than nobility.” I rolled my eyes as the doors began to open, “Sounds legit.”

“Well, I guess you could put it that way,” Twilight mused as the doors opened fully, “but given Princess Celestia has ruled Equestria with her sister for over a thousand years, who better to lead our nation?”

My eye twitched at the number she had just uttered. A thousand years?! What are these Princesses, demigods or something?

My thoughts were brought to a halt as we stepped into what had to be the throne room, although the twin thrones at the other end of the long red carpet were currently empty. The doors closed behind us as we entered the room proper, and I got the distinct feeling we had just been locked in. One of the doors at the other end of the room opened, and my jaw dropped at what walked in through the opening.
I had been expecting Celestia to look more like Twilight, with a horn and a set of wings. Well I was partially correct, although the pony that walked into the throne room was far from ordinary. While the ponies I had come to know came up to about my stomach in height, Celestia was so tall my eyes were level with her chin, to say nothing of the two-foot horn that protruded from her head like a pike. Her mane and tail were absolutely massive, and they reminded me of the aroura with their shifting hues and the way they flowed in an absent breeze. Her coat was the purest white I had ever seen, while the golden regalia that adorned her body glinted in the sunlight. Her magenta eyes were kind yet ancient, and I could believe that this mare had lived for a thousand plus years. Her gaze seemed to stare into my very soul as she walked into the room, nearly making me miss the second individual as she entered behind Celestia.

This mare was a fair bit shorter than Celestia, her gaze level with my shoulders while her horn reached to just above my head. She was the exact opposite of Celestia, in that her body was a dark blue in color, while her mane and tail resembling the night sky as they too rippled in a non-present wind. Her teal eyes were a fair deal younger than her sister’s, and the bags under them did little to help her case as a large coffee mug floated along in a dark blue aura. The poor girl looked like she was half asleep, and she hung her head low as she trudged into the throne room behind Celestia. Given what little I knew, this must have been Princess Luna, Celestia’s younger sister.

I did the first thing that came to mind as the two royals came to a stop before us. I snapped to attention and threw out my most polished salute I could manage.

“Captain Sarah Lovegood of the United States 75th Ranger Corps reporting as requested, sir!” I kept my gaze level with Celestia’s as the two royals looked on in what looked like surprise.

“Well that was certainly a memorable introduction,” Celestia said smoothly as she stepped up to me, “You may rest at ease Sarah Lovegood. There is no need for such decorum here.”

I relaxed, dropping my arm as I rubbed my hands together nervously, “Well, I wasn’t really sure how you would react to me, so I thought a proper Ranger sign-in would be the best way to go.” I looked up and felt small for the first time since arriving on this crazy world, “You’re a lot bigger than I was expecting.”

Celestia chuckled as she glanced at the others behind me, “Knowing how my size compares to my subjects, I can understand why that would be the case.” Her gaze returned to me, and I straightened out of habit as she looked me up and down, “You are certainly a unique being. I would dare say you are a rare beauty in a world known for its amazing grandeur.”

I blushed under her praise, “Would you mind explaining to me why it is everyone’s commenting on me being beautiful? I’m not even from this world and yet I’ve had more than a dozen comments on my looks since I got here.”

She smiled softly, “While you may not be native to our land, that does not change the fact that you have a natural beauty that is rare in my subjects. Plus, your foreign nature only adds to your natural allure.”

I tried to find some way to brush off her words, but I couldn’t bring myself to argue with her. It was like trying to argue with my grandmother, you just couldn’t do it.

“Yet you seem to be flustered by this attention,” Luna added as she walked up, draining the last of her coffee, “is it not customary on your world to compliment one on their beauty?”

I shook my head, “Well, you see, back home I’m not all that special. I’m just your average woman who happens to have good hygiene and dresses in decent clothing. I was never seen as a real catch by most of the guys, and even then, most of them saw me as a fellow member of the Corps first and a woman second.”

At that Luna’s eyes lit up with interest, “That is the second time you have mentioned this Corps. Are you by chance a member of your home’s military?”

I nodded, to the apparent surprise of my companions, “I was a part of the United States Ranger Corps, and a captain to boot.” My face fell as my hand ran along the metal of my leg, “Well, at least I was.”

The sisters’ gazes followed my own, only to widen as they caught sight of my metallic leg. Luna leaning in closer, inspecting my limb with the utmost scrutiny as Celestia turned her gaze back to mine. The pity in those magenta orbs made me want to hit her, but I restrained myself in favor of a simple nod.

Luna looked up at me without moving her head from its lowered position, “What could cause such an injury to require replacing your entire leg with this automaton?”

I really wanted to hide the truth, if not for my sake then for the sake of my new friends. I didn’t want to burden them with the pains of my past. Yet as Luna and Celestia turned their combined weight behind their gazes, I crumbed under the pressure.

“Alright, I’ll tell you.” I sighed, rubbing my arm with my other hand, “It isn’t going to be easy to hear though.”

The ponies gathered around me in a semicircle, leaving me in the middle with Luna and Celestia. I took a deep breath, and was about to begin when I heard something coming from beyond the stained-glass windows that made up the left wall. All eyes turned to the shadow that was growing over the tinted design, and my eyes widened at what I knew was about to happen.

“Everybody duck!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, diving behind the thrones as the screaming object shattered the window.

Glass rained down onto the floor as a golden bubble formed around the ponies, and I saw something skid along the floor several times before impacting the far wall. I hid my head under my arms, bracing for the explosion, but was surprised by the lack of searing heat and deafening noise that should have followed. I peeked out from behind the thrones just in time to catch the object, no, creature right itself and dust itself off.

“Am I late?” The crazy mix and matched abomination asked in a gravelly voice, “I could have sworn I had my clock set for the instant my little protégé got into Canterlot,” I watch as a misshapen clock appeared in its mismatched claws, was given a rather nasty stink eye, and was then summarily tossed over one shoulder, “but sadly it seems my timekeeping skills are not all they’re cracked up to be.”

“Discord!” Twilight yelled as the bubble around them faded from existence, “You know better than to cause random destruction!”

“Oh psshh,” the newly named Discord said as he waved Twilight’s words away like flies, “I know that. I was just going for a grand entrance. I was going to put the window back anyway.” He snapped his lion paw, and I watched as the shards of glass floated back into position, although the image ended up upside down. “Whoops, force of habit.” Discord muttered as he snapped his fingers again, this time revealing the pane in its proper orientation.

The embodiment of chaos looked around the room, spying me as I openly stared from behind the thrones, “Ah there you are my dear. I was wondering where you had gotten off to.” He disappeared from view and I yelped in surprise as he somehow managed to pop out of my shirt collar to stare me in the face, “So nice to see you again.”

“Discord, state your business here at once.” I was nearly floored by the controlled anger that seemed to radiate off Celestia in waves, “Miss Sarah is none of your concern.”

“Oh but that’s where your wrong dear Celestia.” He mused as he ducked back into my shirt and then reappeared between me and the ponies, “If it wasn’t for me little Sarah here would be lying dead at the bottom of a cliff with nothing to look forward to but getting eaten by crows and other vermin.”

At that instant my mind flashed back to the last memories I had from Earth, “YOU! You were the one who I met when I fell off the cliff!”

Discord turned his mismatched eyes onto me, grinning like a madman, “Ah, and here I thought you had forgotten me when I brought you across the vast interdimensional void.” He tapped me on the top of the head with his eagle claw and I felt something appear where he had touched me. I pulled the hat off and saw it was a ballcap that had the words ‘Smarty-Pants’ written above the bill. “You are certainly more fun than anything I’ve run into in this realm in a long time.”

The ponies seemed to be confused beyond measure, including both princesses, “What does he mean, Sarah?” Celestia asked as her gaze traveled between me and Discord, “Is he speaking the truth?”

I glanced up at the god being that had apparently saved my life, “I guess he is. I thought it was all a hallucination caused by my blood loss. I never imagined that I was really saved by some being beyond the universe.”

Discord shifted until he was dressed in a fine suit, performing a sarcastic bow in my direction, “Oh you flatter me, do please go on.”

I rolled my eyes, “Now I see what Twilight meant when she called you the lord of chaos. Did you come up with that title yourself or did you pull it off of the back of a cereal box?”

Discord’s eyes snapped open with an audible popping noise, and I heard several of the others gasp at what I had said. Discord slowly turned to face me, and then did something even I wasn’t expecting.

He fell over and clutched his stomach as he bust a gut laughing.

I shared a confused look with the ponies as he got himself under control, pushing himself to his mismatched feet before turning to me, “Oh I knew there was something I liked about you. Call me crazy but nopony has ever had the gall to crack a joke at my expense before.” He slapped me on the back hard enough to nearly send me onto my face, “Oh we’re going to get along just fine you and I.”

“If thou were the one who brought young Lovegood to Equestria,” Luna asked as she slowly advanced on Discord with a narrowed gaze, “to what end were thou trying to exact upon her arrival? What is her purpose in this world?”

Discord rolled his eyes, literally off his face and around the perimeter of the room before picking them up and sticking them back where they belonged, “Oh so serious Lulu, and here I thought we were buddies now, what with my reformation and all that.”

I snickered at the nickname as Luna’s cheeks colored, “Thou whilst answer our question, rouge, or we shall be forced to take drastic measures to garner the truth!”

Celestia walked up and rested a wing over her fuming sister’s back, “Peace sister. You won’t get anywhere threatening him.” She turned her gaze onto the chaotic being before her, her eyes a level calm as she met his mismatched orbs, “Would you please tell us why you brought Sarah to our world?”

Luna sputtered as she gaped at her sister, “Sister! Do not belittle yourself to this creature! It will only fuel his ego!”

“And yet fueling his ego is the exact way to get a straight answer out of him,” Celestia countered as she sent a sidelong smirk at her sister, “you should know this after we’ve dealt with him for so long.”

“Yes, well I’m feeling generous today,” Discord mused as he levitated into the air and summoned a lounge chair to sit in, a pipe and bath robe appearing as he reclined until the back of the chair was facing the floor, “so I’ll let you in on a little secret.” He turned his upside-down body to face me, “Sarah Lovegood, as per our agreement, I am charging you with assisting the ponies in however you can with the coming battles. A darkness is coming, one that even our dear Luna does not know, and you are one of the only ones who can stop it. It has been nearly a thousand years since the days of the Shadow Wars, but the powers that be are choosing this as their time to make an encore performance.”

Celestia’s eyes widened as Luna’s face twisted in confusion, although it was Twilight who spoke first, “What darkness? What’s coming that Sarah has to fight?”

Discord wagged a finger at the lavender alicorn, “Ah, ah, ah, that would be spoilers. My omnipotence may be limited to the near future for anything other than general possibilities, but I know enough to understand that Equestria as it is will not be able to handle the coming threat by itself.” His gaze returned to me, and I felt a shiver run up my spine as he looked me over from his precarious perch, “So while all of you were going about your boring little lives, I traveled the vast void between universes to find someone who could fight this new enemy.” He indicated me with his lion paw as the chair disappeared and he landed on his feet again, “The one I went searching for it none other than the little human you see before you.”

All at once it all came back to me, the offer to save my life, the debt I had to pay when he would return to me, the whole thing. And I felt cheated by it in all honesty, “That’s it? All of that big talk about some debt I owed you for saving my life, and you use the request to tell me to save the lives of those I would protect anyway?!” I groaned as I facepalmed, “Only a lord of chaos would do something so stupid.”

“Not stupid,” he corrected me, “chaotic. I find there is a world of difference between the two. After all, stupidity isn’t random, it’s just lack of common sense. My brand of chaos is a cut above the rest, after all, it is the reason I exist in this world.”

“But how could you have known about the Shadow Wars?” Celestia asked, much to the confusion of the rest of those present, “You were encased in stone during that time.”

Discord chuckled as he pat Celestia on the head with his eagle claws, “Oh silly Celestia. Did you really think I was just an overgrown garden ornament for the thousand years you imprisoned me? Oh no, you simply contained my body within the borders of Equestria. My mind was free to go wherever it wished, so long as I didn’t cause any mischief within your borders. I even made a new body for myself and everything while I was exploring the rest of this wonderful world, although that old thing never did quite fit right.”

This seemed to take even Celestia aback, her eyes widening in shock as Discord pulled a limp copy of his body from out of a backpack that materialized out of nowhere, “I mean look at his thing,” he waved the limp husk around like it was an old dishtowel, “the scales are all wrong and my fur is not that scruffy.”

“But you look exactly the same.” Rainbow said with her usual lack of tact.

“Of course not!” Discord replied as he held up the copy to his face, “it’s not supposed to, oh,” he paused as he took a closer look at the husk, “it does look exactly like me.” He huffed as he held a paw to his forehead in dramatic fashion, “Oh woe is me to have such an ugly persona. Here, if you like it so much you can have it.” Rainbow yelped as he tossed the husk onto the floor next to the girls, “Turn it into a carpet for all I care. The blasted thing never was as good as old reliable anyway. We shall see each other again soon, Sarah Lovegood, but remember your promise. Do whatever you can to stop the coming evils, or else this world will be destroyed along with all those you care for.”

He snapped his claws and disappeared in a puff of pink smoke, his dark laughter echoing around the room as he departed.

“What was he talking about, sister?” Luna asked as the tension slowly drained from the room, “What are the Shadow Wars, and why have I not heard of them until just now?”

“We can worry about that later, Luna.” Celestia replied as I walked up to her and the rest of the girls, “I want to verify that what Discord said was true before we do anything rash. After all, it wouldn’t be beyond him to do all this as some titanic prank. He’s done far worse in the past just for kicks.”

While Luna seemed to accept her sister’s words, I still saw the light of suspicion in her eyes as Celestia turned to me, “In any case, we were going to try and understand this new power you’ve discovered, before we were so rudely interrupted.”

I nodded, casting a glance towards Twilight and the others, “Yeah, I never was able to do anything like it when I was home on Earth. Twilight thinks it might have something to do with the magic of this world reacting with my body.”

Celestia nodded, taking a seat in front of me as Luna fell in by her side, “Then please demonstrate this ability, and we shall see if we can discover the truth behind your new power.”

I nodded, closing my eyes and trying to feel out the heat that had formed in my chest the last time. I found it surprisingly fast, although now that I knew what to look for it wasn’t as hard as I imagined. Yet the energy seemed to be calmer now, more controlled than when I had used it last. Perhaps it was because I wasn’t feeling embarrassed or angry. I held up my hands and closed them into fists, trying to make the energy flow down my arms and into my fingers instead of simply throwing random punches. I’d rather not repeat the silly antics I had used when I first showed Twilight.

It took some doing and a little mental gymnastics, but after a minute or two I felt the heat move from my chest and into my hands. I didn’t even need to open my eyes to know it was happening again. The loud gasps that escaped from most of the others were proof enough that it had worked.

I opened my eyes and was slightly surprised to see the flames were a bright blue in color instead of the red or pink from before. I opened my hands and collected the energy into two spheres before pressing them together. The energy fused as the two orbs collided, and formed into one bigger ball as I held it aloft with one hand. I looked up to try and assess the reactions of the others, and I wasn’t disappointed.
Rainbow had seen me do this before, so she wasn’t all that impressed, although Twilight was paying avid attention to the flames as they hovered above my fingers. Apparently, she had also noticed the color change from our previous attempt, if the muttered notations she was making were anything to go by. Fluttershy was floating off the ground for the first time in my memory, moving so that she was looking directly into the flames as they slowly swirled and fizzed. She slowly reached out with a hoof and touched it, her eyes widening slightly as a small smile curled the corners of her mouth.

“It’s like a little heartbeat.” She said softly as AJ walked up next to me, her head tilted to the side in interest, “It’s warm and tender but not weak or timid.” She slowly landed and looked up at me, “What is it?”

“I don’t recon I’ve seen anything like that before,” Applejack said as she reached up to tap the flames herself, “It’s like somepony made a fire but forgot to add most of the heat.”

“Indeed,” Luna said as she walked up and inspected the energy, “I can sense very weak magic coming from this sphere, but it is unlike anything I have ever encountered.” She glanced back at Celestia, “Have you seen anything like this before, sister?”

Celestia nodded, although upon closer inspection I noticed that her movements had become slightly rigid, I would dare say even hesitant, “I have seen this magic before. It is a very old magic, and very powerful.” All eyes turned to her as she stepped up to me, her eyes locked with mine as she spoke, “I now understand why Discord brought you here, and if what he said is truly coming to pass, then we do not have much time. You are the first user of Auramancy in the last eight hundred and fifty years, and it bodes ill for the fate of Equestria if Discord brought you here to fight some forgotten evil.”

“Ooh, what’s Auramancy?” Pinkie asked as she popped out from under the discarded husk Discord left on the floor, one limb hanging off her head like a morbid hat, “I’ve never heard of that kind of magic before.”

“Nor have I.” Twilight said as she narrowed her eyes in confusion, “It’s not part of any of the eight schools we practice today, and I would know, I’ve studied all of them extensively.”

“You are not alone in your ignorance young Sparkle,” Luna said softly as she cast a suspicious glace at her sister, “for even I am not familiar with this, Auramancy. Please, enlighten us, dear sister, on what secrets you have been hiding from us.”

“It is a long and dark tale,” Celestia said slowly, “one too long for our meeting here today. What I will tell you, is that Auramancy is not known within the eight schools of magic, because it was never part of any of them to begin with.”

I closed my hands over the ball of energy, allowing it to flow back into my body as we payed rapt attention to Celestia’s words. “What do you mean Princess?” Twilight asked, “All magic falls under one of the eight schools. Every spell a unicorn or alicorn can cast either belongs to Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy or Transmutation. It’s always been that way, even back before the time of Starswirl the Bearded!”

Celestia slowly shook her head, “You are wrong my once faithful student. Auramancy doesn’t belong to any of the eight schools, because it is the lost ninth school of magic, one that has been forgotten to the sands of time because of its, unique, properties.”

Her words left everyone speechless, even Princess Luna, who was doing her best to catch flies in her hanging jaw. I wasn’t as effected as the others, given I had none of the backstory behind these schools of magic they were talking about. However, it was enough to make me rethink my new ability as the magical ponies before me tried and failed spectacularly to contain their shock.

“So, this means I’ve got some lost magic flowing through my body?” I asked, snapping the others out of their stupor, “What does that mean exactly?”

Celestia turned to me with a somber expression, “It means that if Discord was telling the truth, then you might be our only hope to stop the coming evil. Auramancy is a very unique form of magic, given that it does not rely on the same rules and limits of the other eight schools.”

The others sat in a semicircle as Celestia continued, hanging on her ever word. “You see, Auramancy derives its name from the way in which the practitioner uses their power. Instead of relying on the magic in their bodies or of their surroundings to cast their spells, an auramancer instead channels the energy of their soul.”

Twilight and Luna leapt to their hooves, bristling with a combination of anger and fear, “Sister! Thou knows that all forms of soul magic are forbidden by the most stringent laws! It is referred to as a dark art for the very same reasons mind magic is forbidden!”

“What kind of school would teach this to its students?!” Twilight agreed, “Soul magic is one of the most dangerous and powerful forms of spell-work in the world!”

“Be still, please” Celestia said slowly, raising one hoof in a placating gesture, “it is not as you think. Please, let me explain and hold your worries until after I am done speaking. Soul magic is indeed one of the darkest forms of magic we know of, but this is not the same thing.”

Luna and Twilight reluctantly sat back down, although I noticed the tension in their bodies as they cast nervous glances my direction.

Celestia cleared her throat before continuing, “As I was saying, an auramancer channels the energy of their soul in order to cast their spells. However, this is far from the dark and dangerous magic used in necromancy, as it is a magic of life rather than death. You see, Auramancy was a school created with the express purpose of combatting necromancers, long ago when Equestria was not as peaceful as it is today. Auramancy is the direct antithesis to necromancy, because the energy used by auramancers is tied to the energy of life. It cannot harm something that is living any more than a foal trying to fight a manticore. That is why it was used to fight the undead, as it was the only thing that could sever the connection between the corpse and the necromancer controlling it.

“So yer saying those flames Sarah makes are actually part of her soul?” Applejack asked, looking slightly squeamish, “I’m not sure Ah’m comfortable with that.”

Celestia shook her head, “Not exactly Applejack. The flames you see when Sarah uses her Auramancy abilities are not part of her soul, but rather the energy produced by her soul. Think of it as the heat you feel coming off of a flame. It would be far too hot to touch fire directly, yet we use it to heat our homes and cook our food. Why? Because the energy given off by the fire is useful to us. The same goes for Auramancy. It is not her soul that is being utilized, but the energy it produces as she goes about her daily life.”

“So would that explain why it changes color depending on my mood?” I asked, “Because it’s gone from red to pink and now to light blue each time I’ve used it.”

“Were you feeling a different mood during each casting?” Celestia asked. I nodded, “Then there is your answer. Auramancy is tied to our souls, and therefore is tied to our mind. As your mood changes, the amount of power and the color of your energy will change to match it. Stronger emotions will yield stronger energy, although different colors are more useful for different kinds of casting.”

“What do you mean, Princess?” Fluttershy asked with a raised hoof, “Can Sarah cast different kinds of spells?”

Celestia’s face turned thoughtful as she placed a hoof against her chin, “While they are not spells in the normal sense, different types of Auramancy energy can yield different effects. Auramancers are unique in another way, given the energy they wield can be used to mimic several of the other schools, with enough training and practice.”

Twilight’s eyes widened as her jaw hung open, “A school that can mimic other schools?! This is amazing!” She rounded on me and fell to her knees as she clasped her hooves in front of her chest, “Please teach me how to use Auramancy, Sarah. There’s a whole new area of magic that needs to be studied!”

“I’m afraid she’s not going to be able to teach you for some time yet.” Celestia intervened, “Sarah is still a novice at using Auramancy abilities, so she will be unable to do much more than conjure her energy until she goes through proper training.”

I turned to face her with a slightly hopeful expression, “And would you be the one to teach me?”

My face fell as she shook her head, “Even if I was able to use Auramancy magic, it has not been formally practiced in over eight centuries. I’m afraid I would be less than useless in teaching you. I was never even able to summon my aura, as you have just displayed.” Her eyes leveled with mine, and I felt the heat in my core rise as she continued, “Be proud of the fact that you carry such an honored craft within you. Many noble heroes once wielded the same power you do, so do their memory justice by learning all you can.”

She paused for a moment, her horn glowing brightly before a large tome appeared next to her head, “This is an Auramancy spell book passed down through the generations. It was given to me by the last grandmaster before he passed away, and I have kept it in my private collection to this very day.” The monstrous book floated over to me, and I grunted at its weight as it settled in my grasp, “Care for it well, and learn what you can from its contents over the coming months. All of the Auramancy craft is contained within those pages, and there exists no other copy. You are holding the sum knowledge of three generations of auramancer grandmasters, and the complete collection of all Auramancy literature. Be sure to safeguard it, and do your foremares honor by continuing their hallowed art.”

I looked down at the weathered book in my arms, my gaze roaming over the golden lock that held it closed and the intricate gold leaf engraving on the cover. I spun it around and saw that the design was mirrored on the back, as well as along the spine.

I looked up and nodded to Celestia, tucking it under one arm as I snapped into a salute, “I will guard it with my life and treat it as if it were made of solid gold.”

Celestia nodded, “When you wish to open the book, channel your aura into your hand and place it against the lock. It was built to only open if an auramancer was in possession of it.” She smiling softly as she turned to the others, “Now that we have that out of the way, I am afraid I must depart. Court matters must be attended to and I do not want to fall behind in my paperwork.”

“I shall accompany you, sister,” Luna said as she levered herself to her hooves, “my sleep schedule is already destroyed as it is, staying up to assist you will not make things any worse.”

As the royal sisters turned to go, I caught Luna’s whispered words as they walked away, “And you will tell me about these Shadow Wars that I seem to have missed. You have some explaining to do dear sister of mine.”

I didn’t hear Celestia’s reply, although the slight slump in her shoulders meant she had probably sighed. I turned to face the girls, and was immediately set upon by the pink wonder.

“Oh this is so exciting!” Pinkie yelled as she bounced around the room, “now I can throw you a ‘Congratulations-On-Discovering-A-Lost-Magic-School’ party, with lots of streamers and balloons and a huge triple-layer cake!”

I rolled my eyes as I tried to ignore the living sugar rush going bananas behind me, “So I guess we head back to Ponyville now?”

The girls shared glances before Twilight nodded, “I guess there’s nothing left for us to do here. Come on girls, let’s see if we can catch the two o’clock train before it leaves.”

“Heh,” Rainbow scoffed, “it wasn’t like we need to worry about anything right now. Discord was probably pulling our legs or something. I mean come on, I’ve never even heard of these Shadow Wars that he talked about. He must have made the whole thing up to scare us.”

“I don’t know,” Fluttershy murmured as we made our way out of the castle, “Princess Celestia seemed to be awfully worried for something that was made up.”

“Yeah,” Applejack added, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Princess react like that. She looked like somepony had just stuck a lemon in her mouth with a pound of salt for good measure.”

I chose not to add my thoughts to the conversation between the ponies as we walked the city streets, instead reflecting on what I had learned in my own mind.

Was Discord really telling the truth? I asked myself as we came up to the train station, Am I some pawn in a cosmic game of chess that he’s playing against this forgotten evil? What is my purpose here in this crazy technicolored world of little ponies?

I was pulled out of my thoughts as I settled onto one of the seats, feeling a warm body resting against mine as I returned to the real world. Fluttershy was looking up at me as she rested her shoulder against mine, her wing pulling me into a sideways hug as she nuzzled against my cheek.

I felt my cheeks heating up as her lips grazed against my skin, “What was that for?” I asked as she pulled back, not sure if I wanted to run or push her away from me.

She smiled knowingly as she leaned into me, “You always get this hard look on your face when you’re thinking about something. I like it when you smile so I thought I would try and cheer you up.”

I thought about her words for a moment, looking deep into her big teal eyes before feeling a smile grace my lips, “Thanks Fluttershy, I appreciate your worrying about me. I’m used to being the one who has to worry about others when things get tough.”

She nodded, resting her cheek on my shoulder as her tail curled around my hips, “I can tell. I just want you to know that you can talk to us about your problems. We won’t judge you or think less of you for sharing your burdens.”

I nodded, leaning my head against the window as the train began to move, If only you knew how big a burden I have to bear. You wouldn’t be so keen to help me if you found out what kind of monster I really am.

I closed my eyes and tried to catch a nap on the way back to town, and I let the gentle rocking of the train lull my mind into calm as Fluttershy softly snored against my side. I smiled as her wing tugged me closer to her side, and I wrapped an arm around her body before allowing sleep to overtake me.

Maybe this crazy world wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

Author's Notes:

At this point I'm not even going to question how I'm writing this many chapters so quickly. I'm just going to accept it and move on.

So! How is everypony liking the story? Are you excited, upset, nervous, some crazy mixed-up combination of the three? Well if so, then that means I'm doing my job right!

Anyways, happy reading, and I look forward to seeing you all next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.

8 - The Speed of Aura

Once we returned to Ponyville, I dove into the tome Celestia had given me like my life depended on it. I had a feeling I knew what was coming, given the rather specific enemy my new magic was created to fight, but that didn’t mean I was going to take it slow when it came to training. Rule number four of being a Ranger, always go in prepared for Hell and expect it to be worse when you get there.

It had taken me most of that day to figure out the style the book was formatted in, given it was more like a collection of personal journals than a textbook. What I was able to make out of the jumbled mess was that Auramancy is based on the control of one’s emotions. If you can shift from one emotion to another by choice, you can create any form of Auramancy casting without having to rely on outside influences. Thus, the first lesson an auramancer was required to learn was the ability to create any emotion on command.

It took me five more days, with near constant meditation, but I managed to get the first lesson down to reflexive speeds. Although my lack of sleep was probably reaching the same levels as my host. Poor Twilight was trying day and night to channel her own aura, even without the help of my texts. Yet all she was getting were variations on spells she already knew, not Auramancy. I felt sorry for her, but I had my own problems to deal with. It helped hugely that I could see what color my aura was when I was trying to find a certain emotion. Most students didn’t even have that when they first started training back in the day. At least that was what the grandmasters always seemed to be complaining about in their journals when they took on a new apprentice.

Finally, I was ready to move on to the next lesson, although I had to enlist Twilight’s help when I read what I was supposed to do. Each master had a different test for their students, but it all boiled down to roughly the same thing. The next step in my training was to enhance my body, using my aura, to push myself beyond my normal limits. Some masters focused on speed while others used strength, but it all revolved around making yourself more than you normally were.

We had collectively agreed to practice my training behind the castle, on the open field between the town and the Everfree Forest. Twilight had warned me about the nasty creatures that lived in the dark and foreboding woods, so I kept an ear trained on the deep shadows as we moved about the open country. I’d rather not have a pack of Timberwolves munching on my ribs thank you very much.

We had also decided to work outside because it would be less dangerous for me, should I lose control of one of my skills. I wasn’t strong enough to survive running into a wall at seventy miles per hour, nor was I fast enough to avoid a pillar falling on me if I broke something I wasn’t supposed to.

Twilight used her magic to carve out a quarter mile track in the grass, leaving just the loose dirt behind as she levitated the unneeded material out of the way. She had also managed to acquire several large boulders from the local quarry for me to practice my strength skills with. Spike was acting as data collector while Twilight was recording my results in a large blank tome she had made for her notes.

Apparently, she was going to be acting in the place of the grandmaster, marking down observations of my progress and other such things since there were no living masters to do so.

First off, we planned on doing some strength testing, given I wanted to save my legs for after we had beaten my noodle arms into little tiny pieces. I stood in front of one of the larger boulders Twilight had collected for our use, one that was about five feet around and came up to the bottom of my ribs in height. I ran a hand over its smooth surface as I tried to get a feel for what I was about to do. After all, it wasn’t every day you powderized a two-ton block of stone with your bare hands, at least according to the journals.

Twilight stood behind me as Spike watched at her side, although their attention seemed to be focused on me rather than the boulder I was going to try and break.

“Are you sure you can do this, Sarah?” Twilight asked as I rolled my shoulders and stretched my wrists, “Maybe you should start with a smaller rock.”

I shook my head as I brought my fists up into a combat stance, my feet sliding into position out of habit as I presented my body on a diagonal to the rock before me, “No can do Twilight. The book said I have to use a big boulder so all the force gets transferred into it on impact. I can’t let my energy go to waste sliding a smaller rock along the ground.”

“Yes, but still,” she muttered as I closed my eyes and clenched my fists.

The energy was ready and willing as I sensed more than saw the color shift to a deep blue. Calm was needed for this test rather than raw power, or else the energy wouldn’t protect my body from harm when I hit the boulder. I opened my eyes and saw the energy coating my arms in a deep sapphire aura, and I couldn’t help the grin that formed as I wound up for my first strike.

“Hah!” I cried as my fist flew forward, the impact with the boulder creating a small shockwave as the energy around my arm flared to compensate for the added force.

I pulled my hand back and was surprised to see a large spider web of cracks spreading out from where my fist had connected. Before Twilight could say anything I brought my arms up again and began punching the boulder over and over. The cracks spread rapidly with each strike, and I finally stopped when a large chunk fell off and nearly landed on my foot.

“Wow.” Spike said as he walked up and picked the slab off the ground, “You pounded that thing into submission like it was nothing.”

I shook out my hands as the energy faded from my arms, “Yeah, but the test is supposed to make me strong enough that I can shatter the boulder in one hit. I’ve got a long way to go if it takes over a dozen to break off one chunk.”

“At least your hands don’t seem to be taking any damage,” Twilight said as she scanned over my fingers and knuckles with her magic, “I’m not sensing any cracks or fractures in your bones, nor anything worse that some mild muscle bruising around the knuckles.” She smiled as she looked up at me, “Not bad for your first try.”

I snorted as I placed a hand on the severely damaged boulder, “‘Not bad’ isn’t good enough. I won’t be satisfied until I’ve cracked these boulders like eggshells, otherwise I won’t have the strength to take on some of the more advanced techniques.”

Twilight placed a hoof against my real leg, her eyes concerned but knowing, “You’ll get there someday, Sarah. You just need to practice some more.”

I nodded, “Alright, let’s try one more boulder before we move onto speed training.”

Twilight nodded as she and Spike took several steps back. I walked up to the next boulder and concentrated, feeling the power surge through my body as flashes of yellow sparked through the blue aura. I took a moment to calm myself, letting the yellow fade from the energy before I turned to the next rock. This one was a little bigger than the first, roughly as tall as I was and about seven feet around. I closed my eyes, focusing purely on the energy as I fell into my stance. I was going to break this boulder. My power is stronger than some random stone. I am the master of my body. I am the master of my mind. And I will not be held back by anything that gets in my way.

My eyes snapped open as the aura surged to cover my shoulders and upper body, “Break you damned pile of rubble!”

I poured everything I had into that one punch, my fist making a thunderous bang as it impacted the rock. A cloud of dust kicked up and made me cough into my hand as I pulled away from the boulder. Twilight coughed a few times before she used her magic to clear the dust. I opened my eyes as my lungs got themselves together, and saw that the boulder was still standing there, without a scratch on its pristine face.

My shoulders slumped as Twilight walked up to my side, “I really thought I had it that time.”

She nodded slowly, “It wasn’t like you didn’t try. That was more energy than I’ve ever seen you use before. I’m actually surprised that the rock isn’t marked in some way.”

“Maybe it’s just a harder rock to crack.” Spike added hopefully.

I ruffled his spines with one hand, “Thanks Spike, although I think I just don’t have enough strength yet. The masters wrote that it usually took students months to break a boulder this size.”

Twilight nodded, writing down a note in her book, “We’ll just have to keep trying until you get it. After all, practice makes perfect.”

I nodded, turning around to face the track, “Speed trial now?”

Twilight nodded, “Speed trial.”

We walked away from the boulder, leaving it standing alone in the grass. Yet what none of us had seen, was the hairline crack that ran through the boulder, splitting it from top to bottom into two perfect halves.

I walked up to the track that Twilight had made, stretching out my legs as Twilight sat down next to Spike. The tiny dragon had procured a lounge chair from somewhere and took his seat as he pulled out a stopwatch.

I took my place at the starting line, glancing over my shoulder at the duo as Twilight dipped her quill into a nearby inkpot, “I’m ready when you are Spike.” I called out to him.

He nodded, holding up three claws as he replied, “Baseline quarter mile time trial, starting in three, two, one, GO!”

I pumped my arms as my legs pounded through the loose dirt, and I fell into a semi-run that had been beaten into me from the instant I started basic training. It was a lope any Ranger could keep up for miles without tiring, and I knew it would be the best option to getting a fast time around the track. While it wasn’t an all-out sprint, it would keep me in shape so that I wasn’t exhausted upon finishing the lap. After all, I was going to be doing a lot of these today, I might as well save my energy for the long haul.

It felt good to run after being cooped up in the castle for far too long, and I let out a cheerful whoop as I poured a little more power into my strides. Energy saving be damned, I was going to smoke this baseline. My feet kicked up small clouds of dust as the servos in my leg hissed under the pressure. I came screaming around the final curve and practically tossed myself over the finish line, skidding to a halt as my shoes dug twin ruts in the soft earth.

Spike looked down at the stopwatch as I bent over and rested my hands on my knees. His eyes widened before he called out, “Baseline time for the quarter mile was one minute and forty-three seconds.”

Twilight nearly snapped the quill in her magic grip as her eyes snapped over to her assistant, “A minute forty-three?! Are you sure?”

Spike nodded as Twilight snatched the stopwatch from his claws, “I’m sure. The stopwatch was working fine the whole way.”

Twilight stared at the numbers before her as I walked up, having regained my breath enough for my chest to stop heaving, “But that’s within ten seconds of the quarter mile Equestrian record!” She looked up at me as I wiped the sweat from my brow, “How did you do that?”
I smiled as I pounded a fist against my biological thigh, “Basic training puts you through hell and back. Compared to that this is a walk in the park.”

Twilight seemed frozen for a moment before writing my score down in her book, “One minute forty-three seconds for baseline quarter mile. Estimated passing time limit is,” her eye twitched slightly as she ran the numbers in her head, “thirty-five seconds.”

I whistled as I leaned back and cracked my spine a couple times, “Wow, I knew magic was powerful, but dividing my time by three? Now that’s something I can look forward to.”

“And that’s just the basics!” Twilight fumed as her face reddened, “by the time you get through all of your training you’ll be able to cut your time six times over!” She growled as she closed the book with a resounding snap, “Oh this is so frustrating! All of these new magical skills and I can’t even learn the basics! Gah! Why can’t I do this? My special talent is magic for Celestia’s sake!”

I snickered for a moment at Twilight’s choice in oath, but collected myself before I walked up and rested a hand on her shoulder, “Hey, cheer up. Not even Celestia could use the most basic of Auramancy techniques, so it’s not the end of the world that you can’t either.”

Twilight sniffed as she wiped a stray tear from her cheek, “I know that, but it still bothers me that there’s a type of magic I’ll never be able to use. It’s not something I’ve ever had to deal with before.”

I smiled, feeling a pinch of sympathy for the mare as I rubbed her back gently between her wings. She hummed as her wings spread slightly, and I spoke softly as I added my other hand to my ministrations, “Like I said, it’s not the end of the world. You must really be good at magic to have mastered all eight schools of normal magic. I’m sure not even the other princesses would be able to boast as much. Why don’t we take a break for now and come back to this later?”

Twilight’s eyes had closed in pleasure as my hands worked their magic, and she seemed to not hear me at first as she leaned into my body to increase the pressure of my fingers, “Oh, um, what? What was that?” She opened her eyes a crack and looked over her shoulder at me, clearly out of it.

I rolled my eyes but said nothing, instead leaning into my work and really working my fingers into the rather tight muscles of her back and wing bases. Twilight let out a breathy moan as her wings extended to full span, and I blushed slightly at the noises she was making.

Thinking it was better to quit while I was ahead, I slowly let off the pressure before rubbing soft circles into her fur. Then, I let go of her completely and stood up.

For a moment Twilight simply sat there, a content expression on her face and her wings fully erect above her back. Then, she seemed to realize that I was no longer working her muscles, and opened her eyes to look back at me with a smile.

“Thank you Sarah.” She said as she stood up and stretched out her front legs like a cat, “I really needed that.”

“Anytime.” I replied as I picked up her tome and handed it back to her.

She glanced at the book and took it in her magic before moving over to stand next to Spike, “Ready to try adding some power into your run?”

I nodded, “Oh yeah. I can’t wait to shatter that speed record.”

Twilight chuckled as I walked up to the starting line, “Just don’t push yourself too hard. Remember that the book warned you about using too much energy at one time. We don’t want you passing out from overextending yourself.”

I threw her a sarcastic salute, “Yes ma’am.”

With that done I took my runner’s stance with my fingers pressed into the soft ground and my legs staggered behind me. I watched out of the corner of my eye as Spike held up his claws again. I closed my eyes and channeled my energy into my legs as the little dragon counted down, feeling the slight pressure and heat that accompanied the presence of my energy. I wasn’t sure how I could channel into my mechanical leg, but it worked anyway so long as I pumped a bit more power into it than my right leg.

“GO!” Spike yelled, and I surged out of the start in a cloud of dust.

Already I could feel my speed was higher than when I was running normally, and I smiled as my legs seemed to skate over the dirt and pebbles. I kept a sharp eye out for pits or large rocks, hoping to avoid landing on my face today, and poured a bit more power into my legs. My speed kicked up once again, and I couldn’t contain the excited cry that escaped my lips as I thundered around the second half of the course. If this was how fast I was running with only a little energy used, how fast would I be if I poured all of it in? The warnings of multiple masters echoed through my head as I blurred past the finish line, and I performed a perfect hockey stop as my shoes collected small piles of dirt under them.

I straightened as my breathing came under control, and was surprised to feel that my legs weren’t tired at all. If anything I felt like I could run some more and not feel the burn for a good hour. Spike and Twilight were staring at the stopwatch in his claws, their eyes wide as I walked up to them.

“So,” I asked as I leaned over Twilight’s shoulder to look at the watch, “How’d I do?”

Her gaze met mine as she smiled widely, “A minute even. Nicely done.”

I pumped a fist in the air as I hissed out a “Yes”, feeling like I deserved a little credit for my success, “Sweet, first day of training and I’m already halfway there.”

“It could be because of your physiology that you’re doing so well.” Twilight mused as she jotted down my time in the book, “Your legs are longer than the average pony’s, so when you put energy into your strides the difference is multiplied compared what it would be for us.” She glanced up at me as a glint reached her eyes, “It could be that the multiplier for you is not the same as a pony. After all, dragons and gryphons don’t have the same magical potential as ponies, so it’s safe to assume that it would be the same for you. It could be possible that you could surpass the limits ponies have if you work hard enough, although I would need to do some number crunching to determine if pushing your limits that far would be detrimental to your health.”

“Oh, come on Twilight,” I whined as I walked back to the starting line, “don’t you have any faith in me?”

Her sarcastic grin was all the answer I needed, “I have every faith in you, although your survival instincts seem to be a bit lacking.”

I chuckled as I got into my stance again, “Comes with being an Army Ranger. We don’t know the meaning of the words ‘half way’.”

Twilight rolled her eyes as she turned her gaze to Spike, “Might as well get this over with.”

Spike nodded, holding up his claws again as he counted down, “Three, two, one, G-”

“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!” A familiar rasp called out from above as a rainbow contrail streaked into the air above my head.

I instinctively ducked as my mind flashed to RPG attacks back in Afghanistan, although I managed to get myself under control once Rainbow came to a stop and became clearly visible.

“If you’re doing a race,” she said as she hovered above me, “then I’ll give you the honor of facing the fastest pony in Equestria.”

“Pinkie Pie on a caffeine high?” I called up with a grin.

Rainbow paused for a moment, then rolled her eyes as she came in for a landing, “No, I’m talking about me.” She puffed out her chest and tilted her chin into the air as she continued, “I am the only one who can perform the legendary Sonic Rainboom after all.”

“Yeah, don’t know and don’t really care,” I said as I waved off her comment, “I’m in the middle of training, not running a race. Now if you want to watch then I’d be more than happy to let you sit over by Twilight and Spike, but try not to be too loud. I need to concentrate to keep my aura flowing correctly.”

Rainbow sputtered as I turned around and got into my stance, “Ready when you are Spike!”

He glanced between me and Rainbow a few times before holding up his claws, “Alright then, three, two, one, GO!”

I poured a bit more power into my legs than I had before, spotting the thin yellow flames that began to ripple around my limbs as I kicked into the next gear. I smiled as I glanced behind me, seeing I was actually leaving a cloud of dust in my wake as my feet kicked up the loose dirt. Rainbow had taken a seat next to Twilight as I made my way around the second half of the course, her eyes narrowed like some kind of inspector as she watched my every move. Not really comfortable with the way she was scrutinizing me, I poured a bit more power into my legs, making the aura around them flare to about an inch thick as my speed increased again.

I didn’t even bother trying to stop as I crossed the finish line, instead running around the track again as my speed bled off on its own. By the time I came back I was walking at a normal pace, and I was starting to feel the burn in my thighs. I walked over to the others and sat down with a huff, rubbing my upper legs to try and get the energy to dissipate faster. It took a few seconds, but eventually the aura around my limbs faded away, leaving me feeling sore and worn out.

“Fifty-two point six seconds.” Spike called out before glancing over at me, “Are you feeling alright?”

I nodded as I pushed myself into a standing position again, “Yeah, just a little winded. I’ll be fine in a minute.”

Rainbow was glancing between the track and the stopwatch, her eyes narrowed as she tapped something out with her hoof. Her lips were moving as she muttered under her breath, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying.

Finally, after a moment or two of reflection, her eyes widened in shock as she rounded on me, “No way, you beat my personal best lap time by almost fifteen seconds!” She leaped to her hooves as she flared her wings and began doing stretches, “Alright, that’s it. Time to see how fast you really are.”

“Rainbow, what are you talking about?” Twilight asked as she finished her notations, “Are you challenging Sarah to a race?”

“You bet I am.” The prismatic pegasus snarled as she marched up to me, taking off so she could look me in the eyes as she pushed into my chest with a hoof, “I challenge you to a race to see who really is the fastest mare in Equestria, no, who’s the fastest mare in the universe.”

“Well technically Sarah is from a different world, but that doesn’t make the winner the best in the universe.” Twilight said to absolutely no effect.

“Yeah, whatever,” Rainbow replied as she pressed the end of her snout into my nose, “so you up for it two-legs, or are you just an overgrown chicken?”

My blood flared as heat rushed to my cheeks, “Oh you are so on.” I turned to face Spike and Twilight as a bright red aura began to snap and fizzle around my hands as I clenched them into fists, “Spike, make sure to keep that timer ready. I want to know how badly I beat this turkey into the ground when this is over.”

“Hah!” Rainbow snarked as she crossed her hooves in front of her chest, “You’ll be eating my cloud trail by the end of the first lap. However, I’m feeling like a good sport today. I won’t even use my wings and race you on my own four hooves, sound fair?”

I turned to face her with my best shit-eating grin, “Oh you’re going to regret those words when I pound you into the dirt. How about a little wager for this here competition? The winner gets to make the loser do one thing, no questions asked, and the loser can’t back out no matter what that request is.”

Rainbow held out her hoof with a matching grin, “Oh you are so on.”

I closed my hand into a fist and pounded it against hers, and I could practically feel the sparks flying between our eyes.

Spike cleared his throat as he walked up to the starting line, “Alright, I guess we’re going to do this after all. Take your marks on the starting line.”

I fell into position again as Rainbow walked up beside me, her lips curled into a confident smirk as she dug her hooves into the soft dirt. Spike glanced at Twilight, who shook her head in defeat, before turning back to us.

“One mile timed race between Rainbow Dash and Sarah Lovegood.” He announced like some kind of referee, “Starting in three, two, one, GO!”

We leaped out of the starting block like the world was standing still, and I felt my lips curl into a smile as I began to pull ahead of Rainbow. Yet my blood was up, and I wasn’t going to take wining by a little bit as a satisfactory way to beat her. Oh no, I was going to obliterate Rainbow, and she was going to feel the burn when I kicked her sorry flank into next week.

I glanced over my shoulder as I led Rainbow around the first turn, noticing the calm determination that was present on her face as she galloped along behind me. She was keeping her word, at least for now, and kept her wings pulled tight against her sides. She was right behind me as we came around the back stretch, but I felt like it was time to show how much better I really was.

I called over my shoulder as we rounded the next turn to head back towards the start, “It’s been real Rainbow, but I think it’s time I kicked this into the next gear.”

Her eyes widened as she met my gaze, “What do you mean? Aren’t you already going as fast as you can?”

The glee in my smile would have made Pinkie Pie take a step back, “Just watch me.”

I turned around as we thundered past the starting line, and in that instant I poured everything I had into my legs. My body from the hips down became enveloped in a red and yellow aura that had to be a good five inches thick, and I nearly cried out in surprise as my speed increased exponentially. I shot forward so fast it was like Rainbow was standing still, and I had to struggle for a moment so keep my upper body in line with my legs. It took a mighty effort of my core muscles, but I managed not to fall backwards because of my sudden speed upgrade, and I leaned into my strides as I zipped around the first bend. I glanced to my side as saw Rainbow was still going strong, although her eyes were wide open and openly staring at me as I gained almost half a lap on her.

The dust that I was kicking up was starting to cloud the air, and I coughed once as I came around to the start of the track again. I hoped it wouldn’t get too bad if I continued going at this pace, and did my very best to keep my energy stable as I began to catch up with Rainbow. The one thing the masters had stated was the absolute worst thing an auramancer could do was let their casting get away from them. At that point, running into a wall at high speed was the least of your concerns.

Rainbow saw me coming up on her tail and seemed to put everything she had into her strides, her head bowed low and her eyes narrowed in concentration as I gained on her. Yet it only delayed the inevitable. As I came up alongside her I reached out and pat her on the withers.

Her head snapped to look my way as she panted like a dog, “What, *pant*, was, *pant*, that, *pant*, for?”

I smiled as I began to pull ahead once more, “For trying your best and for keeping your word. Next time you should use your wings. It might make it an even fight.”

Her head slumped in defeat as I pulled ahead, and her speed noticeably dropped as I began my final lap. Now that I didn’t need to make a point anymore, I pulled a good portion of my energy back, hoping to avoid burning myself out. My speed dropped off as well as I finished the final lap, coming in around the bend at a light jog before walking to a stop after I crossed the finish.

Spike looked at the stopwatch and then back to me, his eyes wide in shock as he called out the times, “Lap times for Sarah Lovegood, one minute five seconds, forty point three seconds, thirty-eight point seven seconds and one minute twelve seconds. Overall time was three minutes and thirty-six seconds even.”

There was a loud snapping sound, and I turned to see Twilight had broken her quill tip against the page of the book, her left eye twitching slightly as she glanced over at Spike, “Did I hear you correctly? Sarah nearly beat a three-and-a-half-minute mile?”

Spike nodded, ducking behind the chair as Rainbow trotted up to us. The poor mare was sweating buckets and was panting so hard she couldn’t even speak. Her tongue hung out the front of her mouth as she hung her head, and I felt genuinely sorry for her as she flopped down on the grass and rolled onto her back, fanning her face with her wings as she stared up at the partly cloudy sky. Then again, I wasn’t much better. My shirt clung to my chest and back as sweat ran down my face in rivulets, dripping to the ground as I tried to calm my racing heart.

I walked up to her, feeling my own body protesting the movements as my muscles realized what kind of strain I had put them under. I sat down next to Rainbow and lay back with my hands behind my head, choosing to ignore the heated words flying between the princess and her aide.

“Nice work on that race.” I said as I watched a particularly fluffy cloud float by, “If I didn’t have the added power of this Auramancy stuff you wouldn’t smoked me.”

Rainbow chuckled as she got her breathing under control, “Yeah, well that doesn’t make losing any easier.” She rolled her head to the side to meet my gaze, “We are so having a rematch.”

I laughed as I ruffled her mane with one hand, “Yeah, I guess I owe you that much after pounding your flank into the track. Use your wings next time we do this, it’s make thing even between us.”

She smirked as she flipped her mane back into its normally scruffy appearance, “I’ll look forward to it.” Her expression fell as she glanced at me again, “So, I lost. What are you going to do to me for the bet?”

I tapped my chin with a finger, “Oh I’ll think of something. I think the best part about something like this is I don’t have to cash it in right now. I can save it for the perfect moment and then really let you have it.”

Her eyes widened in fear as she rolled over onto her stomach, “Oh please, just get it over with. It was bad enough losing to you, now you’re going to keep this bet hanging over my head until you think I deserve whatever it is?”

I smirked as I jabbed her gently in the shoulder, “Ah come on, you’re the legendary Rainbow Dash. I thought you could handle anything?”

She blushed as she averted her gaze, “Well, sure, I mean, obviously. I just don’t like the idea of doing something, you know, uncool.”

I smiled, knowing the feeling of wanting to be accepted as the tomboy I was, “I’ll try to make it manageable Rainbow. Just don’t expect me to go too easy on you. A bet’s a bet after all.”

She giggled as she stood up, “I guess that’s all I can ask for.” She held out her hoof to me as I sat up, “Friends?”

I glanced at her hoof for only a second before I pounded it with my fist, “Friends.” I acted before she could move and wrapped my arms around her shoulders, pulling her chest into mine as I rested my cheek against the side of her neck.

“Hey! What’s with the hug all of a sudden?!” She yelled as her wings flared and her body stiffened, “I don’t do the mushy stuff, alright?”

“Oh shut up and hug me back you moron.” I retorted, pulling her tighter against me as my fingers began to rub circles over her wing bases, “It’s alright for friends to give each other hugs now and again isn’t it?”

She hesitated for a second, as if unsure if she wanted to break her code of cool. Yet as my deft fingers started working her wings and back muscles, she let out a murr of pleasure before wrapping her hooves around my ribcage.

“I guess I can let this one slide,” she muttered into my hair as her muscles began to relax under my care, “just this once.”

I caught Twilight smiling in our direction through Rainbow’s mane, and I felt my own lips curling into a smile as Rainbow began to hum in contentment, going so far as to extend her wings to let me get at all the muscle groups as we sat there on the grass. Rainbow might be a hothead, but she was the type of hothead that you could depend on to do the right thing when things got sticky.

As we sat there under the midday sun, I couldn’t help but feel like I was getting along with these ponies better than even my old squad-mates. It was a new feeling to have so many people caring about me and doing their best to make my life a happy and productive one. I just couldn’t really come to terms with how that made me feel. Was I happier here than back on Earth? No, not happier per say, just a different kind of happy. I liked my life while I was in the Corps, and even when I was growing up I had a loving family that supported me in my life choices. So, what was it about these tiny colorful ponies that made my chest tighten and my heart skip a beat?

As Rainbow leaned into me I lay back in the grass, allowing her to rest on my body as the ground pressed into my back. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, given she must have weighed seventy pounds or more, but I couldn’t bring myself to question her as she curled up on my stomach like an oversized cat. Her wings were spread wide and her hooves tucked under her body as her muzzle nestled between the valley of my cleavage. She was the absolute image of contentment and was so adorable that I wished I had my phone on me. She would have made the best screensaver ever, although she would probably be mortified at the very idea of being cute.

Twilight and Spike made their exit, leaving me and Rainbow to relax in the sunshine, or in her case, sleep in the sunshine. I wrapped my arms around her body and leaned my head back, allowing my eyes to drift closed as the activities of the day caught up with me.

“Maybe just a short nap.” I muttered to myself as my head came to rest on the soft grass, a gentle breeze washing over us as we fell asleep together.

Author's Notes:

A little shorter chapter than the last couple, but one that several of you have been asking for. Finally, the race between Rainbow Dash and Sarah has come to pass, and it was a blowout! Well, Rainbow had a huge handicap, so I guess the final jury is out on who's the fastest being in Equestria.

Anyways, hope you guys are liking the book as it is so far. The next post is going to be the first in a little side story that I cooked up with one of my friends. You don't have to read it, but it'll be a barrel of laughs and will be sporting Easter Eggs later in the book for those with a keen eye. The chapters pertaining to this little side story will be marked with a .5 on the chapter number and will have the word Interlude as the first part of the chapter title. The only other chapters that will be marked with a .5 will be the clop chapters, also completely skip-able for those who don't want to read it.

Alright, now that we have that out of the way, the usual altro.

See you all next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.