private An Unexpected Trip to the Human World (RP Reboot)(On Hiatus)

[Gloomfury 243]

@@Pripyat Pony, 

 

Shamrock smiled. "Thanks, luv. I know it's a little strange to be so attached to a hat. But next to my gym it the thing most dearest to me. It was my da's before he passed. I wear it to keep a little part of him with me. He would wear it till he got to the ring. As soon as he stepped in he'd placed it on one of the turnbuckles and got in his stance. It was like his trademark. Now I  do the same thing to keep it alive."

[GeneralDirection 1,044]

@@Hypn0ticD,

 

Rainbow groaned internally at the thought of having to be a waitress. She had it pretty good with her job in Ponyville, and it was fun, to boot. But a waitress? That just seemed like too much work. But on the other hoof, or hand as it were, this human was being fairly nice to her. Even going to the point of spending her own money to allow her to visit somepony that, hopefully, she knew.

 

Dash forced herself to smile and replied "Okay, if you've found a way for me to see my friends, then I'll do whatever it takes."

[EcstaticWind 572]

@@Hypn0ticD,

 

"I love pancakes! And those fried potato thingies! What did you call them again?" Pinkie asked, her empty plate pretty much forgotten now as Erick sent his message

 

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye! That's your Pinkie Promise, right??"

 

Pinkie nodded her head vigorously. “You know the Pinkie Promise! Do you know that nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise? I mean, Applejack kinda did once, but she also kinda didn’t, and it was kinda on a technicality that she didn’t come down to breakfast and it turned out it was because she was ashamed because she didn’t win any First Place ribbons on the rodeo that time. IgottoldaboutitlaterandRaritywasmadatmeandRainbowDashforawhileafterwards.” And there she went, being Pinkie the Motor Mouth again, with words pouring out like a torrent. “And yes, I would like go with you!”

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

@@Gloomfury, Clare smiled at Shamrock. She could understand her girlfriend's stance perfectly. "I know what you mean," she replied. "A good friend of mine was killed in a motorbike accident when I was at college. His mum gave me his concert t-shirts and I try to wear at least one a week in his memory. Anyway, let's get to the restaurant now and just have a great time tonight. We'll worry about tomorrow when it comes."

 

The restaurant was fairly smart, and there was no doubt that Clare and Shamrock were dressed to suit. A waiter seated them straight away in a booth next to the window and gave them drinks menus. Clare looked thru hers carefully. "I like a drink now and then," she said. "Tho I don't drink nearly as much as I used to back in the day. Pick whatever you want to drink, after all, we're here to enjoy ourselves. I'm going to have a glass of white wine."

[Hypn0ticD 1,213]

@@Windbreaker,

 

"Pegasai have that keen of an eye, huh?" Stephen asked. "And martial arts, you say? There're a few parks around here where you can show off your moves!" He was about to ask what discipline Aegis studied when Queen Maggot made her entrance.

 

A quick glance would reveal that Aegis seemed nonchalant about her presence as she continued to cook breakfast-- then again, she did punch her out!

 

"Changelings draw power from love. In a sense, both of you are food to me. Aegis moreso than you, Stephen, given her attraction to Shawn, but you'd still make a decent meal if I needed one."

 

"Oh, how charming~! Try it, and you'll be out on your ass!" Stephen sneered before Aegis chimed in.

 

"Well, you're getting eggs and you're gonna like 'em. Got a problem with that?"

 

He couldn't help but smirk at that. It looked like Queenie wasn't going to strike fear into anyone anymore! "Why don't you go sit down and skulk until breakfast is ready?"

[Gloomfury 243]

@@Pripyat Pony,

 

 "I haven't a drink in ages. When your on a strict training regiment and diet you cant go out drink all the time. Especially when you have to keep a certain weight. But I don't see anything wrong with having one now." She looked the menu over. "Baileys cream whiskey? Hmm, I guess I'll have that. I'm not a big fan of wine. It makes me burp, like when I drink soda."

[EcstaticWind 572]

@@Hypn0ticD,

 

Chrysalis left the kitchen, stunned at what had happened, while Aegis continued to cook.

 

"Where were we? Oh yeah, martial arts. I was actually gonna ask about that. I'm used to a different body, though, so it's going to be a little strange for me at first. Say, would you happen to know of anything I could use as an example of how to move like that in a body like this?" He asked, narrowly avoid cutting his fingers by accident. "Ah! Need to be careful with sharp things."

 

~~~

 

@@Pripyat Pony, 

 

Chrysalis sat on the couch, still shocked and reaching the point of a mental breakdown after coming to the realization that these people really didn't care that much about her. She felt angry, wanting to rage out against this world. Rage against Equestria. Rage against Cadance and Twilight, and Avarice. The anger boiled away deep inside her, but the more she got angry, the more she found there was sadness as well. But she didn't have an answer for why. So she reached out to the one being on this planet who understood her.

 

"Cicada, where are you? I need you right now."

 

~~~

 

@@~The Snowy Wolf~,

 

"The other place? Not sure where you just came from, but you're currently in Austin, Texas... Oh..." Alex asked, becoming aware that the woman was only clad in a towel. His face immediately turned bright red. "Uhh, w-would you like to come inside and get some clothes? I don't have anything for girls, but I'm sure I have clothes that will fit you." 

[Hypn0ticD 1,213]

@@GeneralDirection, @@~The Snowy Wolf~,

 

"Good!" Chloe chirped, sneering as she held up a dark red apron. "You can borrow this for now. Waitressing should be a breeze! The essential things are to take people's orders down on paper, place those orders on the order rack, and make sure the tables're clean."

 

Chloe then looked over Rainbow Dash from head to toe, frowning a little. "We don't have a strict dress code per se, but you're gonna hafta do something about yer hair. My dad normally doesn't allow crazy hair colors, but I'll see if I can make an exception for you. You still need to tie it back, though!"

 

With that, Chloe grabbed the former Pegasus by the arm before she could make any protest, and dragged her into the bathroom.

 

****

 

((Sorry for the Godmod, but I wanted to lengthen the post -- feel free to post Dashie's reactions, though!))

 

After what seemed like ages of pulling out a sea of which the worst knots she'd ever seen, straightening the unruly rainbow tresses, and finally putting it into a somewhat clean side bun, Chloe took a step back, and immediately began to pick off a spectrum of strands off of her person. "Geez, I thought Ponies liked taking care of their manes! You ever heard of a brush??"

 

After some time of picking a red hair here and a blue hair there, Chloe was hair-free. "Let's go. Hopefully, today'll be busy, so ya can get lotsa tips!"

Edited February 5, 2015 by Hypn0ticD

[GeneralDirection 1,044]

@@Hypn0ticD

 

I could think of a few words to describe waitressing, and 'breeze' certainly isn't one of them...

 

Rainbow's monologue was cut short when she heard something being mentioned about her hair. "Hey! What do you mean, 'do something about my hair'!? It's awesome just the way it is!"

 

She would not have much longer to protest. Chloe grabbed Rainbow and dragged her off to the bathroom. Initially, Dash tried to fight her, but the human won at the end. The finished product was a somewhat cleaned up hairstyle, which the former mare was not a huge fan of. Chloe asked Rainbow why she didn't take better care of her hair.

 

"Um yea...I'm not your typical pony. I just let my hair do whatever it wants. At the speeds I used to fly at, trying to keep my hair straight was an uphill battle. So I just gave up after a while. More importantly, I'm just not really bothered by it."

 

Rainbow tried to keep a positive attitude, but on the inside, she was really not looking forward to this. The things I do for my friends... she muttered to herself, hoping all the embarrassment would be worth it in the end.

 

"Fine then, let's go, if we have to..." Rainbow replied reluctantly.

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

@@Gloomfury, "Yeah, I get that," Clare replied. "If I'm working hard on sport, I try to keep off the alcohol. But for this trip, I'm allowing myself a drink or two now and then. And of course, for this, we're here to have fun!"

 

Clare ordered drinks for herself and Shamrock, then handed a menu to her girlfriend, studying her own. "There's a lot of vegetarian choices on here, if that's what you'd prefer," she said. "I'll have meat, cuz I can't really give it up, no matter how hard I try. Especially, while staying with Mary! I just have to have a meat fix now and again. Perhaps we could order a shared starter? We could have the one that has lots of different things with dips."

 

Clare waited for Shamrock to make her choice, feeling happier than ever. She never would have thought the previous week that she would be sitting here in a nice restaurant with the girl she loved. She also thought about what would happen once the guy she'd messaged got back to her; obviously, there were exciting adventures ahead!

 

~~~

 

@@Windbreaker, Cicada was currently at the shops with Cat and Diego. Of the two, she much preferred Cat; Diego got on her nerves and was currently moaning about the amount of time that she was taking choosing clothing for Cat to buy. Cicada rolled her eyes in frustration. Of all the ponies that had to be found by Cat, it would be one like him! Cicada knew full well that the vast majority of ponies would dislike her on sight; however, they'd at least be better than having to listen to Diego's constant complaints. As she waited for Cat to return with her purchases, Cicada felt a stirring in her mind and her hopes rose. She had worried constantly since she'd contacted her Queen and not heard anything back, thinking that perhaps her sister was injured or ill, unable to feed on emotion and gain the power to use the Hive Mind. This eased that worry, somewhat.

 

"Cicada, where are you? I need you right now."

 

"I'm in a place called 'New York'," Cicada sent back. "I'm so glad to hear from you; I was so worried when I didn't hear back from you after I contacted you! A human called Cat is looking after me right now. Unfortunately, she's also found a pony, an annoying stallion by name of Diego. I'd much rather be with you; where are you?"

 

A stab of pain hit Cicada. Chrysalis was the changeling who Cicada was closer to than anypony in the world. The two were connected in a way that no other changeling was, and being apart from her was agony. Ponies thought that changelings could not feel emotion, given that they fed upon the emotions of others, but that was a fallacy. Perhaps since they fed upon emotion in order to gain energy and the ability to tap into the Hive Mind, they felt it more. And the sister bond was the strongest a changeling could possibly have.

Edited February 3, 2015 by Pripyat Pony

[~The Snowy Wolf~ 1,579]

@Windbreaker

 

"I was just in a place called... Massa... Masset-chu-set? I don't know if you've heard of it or if it's even a real place. It certainly doesn't sound real." She looked down and noticed she only had her towel. "Oh, right, I was just washing up. I guess if you wouldn't mind me borrowing them, that's fine." Corsica leaned on this man and followed him inside

 

---

@Pripyat Pony

 

"Non, Diego, you will stay sober while we're here. It will not be my fault that you get lost and start trouble or something here. We're all staying together as much as we don't like it." Cat was handing a couple bags to Cicada, but she looked distressed. "Are you alright, Cicada?"

[EcstaticWind 572]

@@Pripyat Pony,

 

Of course... Changelings never had any luck in Equestria, why should they have any luck in this wretched world?

 

"Trust me, Cicada, you don't want to be here. I'm in a place called Portland, but I know nothing beyond that. I will update you on that as I learn more, if I get the chance to do so. Last night was...complicated. I made a fool of myself and an enemy of these humans and the Equestrian they found. I am recovering from my lapse of sanity, but...I feel anger and rage building up inside. The way forward isn't clear anymore. What should I do, Sister? I need your help..."

 

Maybe Chrysalis' judgement was clouded by hurt feelings, the pain of separation and the shame of having failed her people before, but neither Humans nor Equestrians were to be trusted. Nothing good would come from associating with either of them.

 

---

 

@@~The Snowy Wolf~,

 

Alex tried to avoid staring, which made him feel very awkward about being out here with a woman dressed only in a towel. "Uh...well, I can show you an atlas later and find the closest match. For now, would you please come inside and get dressed? Y'see, uh, not having clothing is kind of a...big deal. As in, most people kinda get awkward without 'em."

 

He probably wasn't doing a good job of convincing her, which he blamed on the awkwardness. 'How the bloody hell am I gonna explain all this to Dad?' He thought as he led her inside to the bathroom, then getting some clothes for her. A plain T-shirt, a pair of boxers that he hoped she'd be ok with, and some pajama pants. With the clothes in hand, he knocked on the bathroom door and held out the clothes. "Um, miss? Here's the clothes. Uh, like I said, I don't have anything for girls, but it should do for tonight and we can go shopping tomorrow, ok?"

Edited February 5, 2015 by Windbreaker

[Gloomfury 243]

@@Pripyat Pony, 

 

Shamrock looked over the menu. "Hmm, that sounds pretty good. And I'm kinda craving something with loads of carbs. But I also kinda want to try some meat. I mean I have the right 'equipment' to do it, so why not?" She chuckled as she smiled and pointed at her new canines. "My mate eats it a lot so it must be pretty good. As long as it's not pony." She chuckled again.

[Hypn0ticD 1,213]

@@Windbreaker,

 

"Hash browns." Erick answered.

"And of course I know your Pinkie Promise! I saw, er--" Erick cut himself off before he could finish his sentence. How was he gonna word this properly?? He told her before that the show, and by extension Pinkie wasn't real. "Well, I saw you do your Pinkie Promise on several occasions through a device called a tv. That particular episode's no longer on the air, but we can watch where you make your Pinkie Promise online... I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I??"

 

It didn't seem to phase the pink mare however as her motor mouth kicked into overdrive for a moment before agreeing to go with him. Erick smiled, deciding that it'd be best not to decipher what she said. "Well, let's be off, then!" He said, rising from his seat and offerings his hand. "I'll show you the surroundings as we make our way home."

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

@@~The Snowy Wolf~, Diego looked sulky. "This isn't what I was expecting to be doing at all after the Summer Sun Celebration," he grumbled. "I was going to head back to the house and chill all day, then maybe hang out with my mum for a bit. She's a professional gambler, you know; it's always funny to watch some stupid stallion taking her on and then losing all his bits once she gets going. You know, that word, 'fun'. Don't you humans know how to have 'fun'?"

 

Cicada stood still as if in a trance as she replied to her Queen inside the Hive Mind.

 

@@Windbreaker,

 

"I have formed an alliance with the human who found me. She agreed to allow me to feed off her love, and in return, I have promised to stay with her for the moment. It is not a perfect solution, but I had no choice; without feeding, I had no hope of ever being able to access the Hive Mind. What I am worried about is Avarice. The geis still stands strong; if she were to come here, we would have no choice but to help her with her diabolical plans. I can only advise you, my Queen, but perhaps you ought to try and form a truce with the humans who you are with, as I did. Tell them about the geis, and about myself. Perhaps there is a way of us being able to find each other. I miss you so much, it's like an open wound."

 

Cicada realised that Cat was speaking to her, and with an effort, she turned to reply, while also keeping the Hive Mind conduit open for her Queen's reply. "Yes, I am fine," she said. "I was speaking to my sister..."

 

~~~

 

@@Gloomfury, Clare giggled a little. "Well, we generally don't eat pony round here," she said. "The starter I was thinking of ordering has king prawns, chicken dippers, onion rings, potato wedges and garlic bread along with different dips. I was going to let you have the onion rings and wedges, but if you want to try a little meat, prawns and chicken would be good to start with. We can order that to start off with, then order mains and dessert afterwards. That way, if you like meat, you could maybe order a meat or fish main."

[Hypn0ticD 1,213]

@@00Pony,

 

((Gonna go ahead and get this ball rolling. Hopefully, @Miss Reaper will join in soon!))

 

Colette found herself reaching for her guitar as she waited for Alex to reply, quickly strumming the chords to RWBY's opening. Well, why not get started on a surprise for her fans?

 

----

 

Donning her new shirt, Colette strapped on her guitar, turned on the lights and the cameras, and began to play.

 

They see you as small and helpless/

They see you as just a child/

Surprise when they find out that a warrior will/ soon run wild!

 

Prepare for your greatest moments/

Prepare for your finest hour/

The dream that you've always dreamed is/

suddenly about to flower

 

We are lightning/

Straying from the thunder/

Miracles of ancient wonder/

 

This will be the day we've waited for/

This will be--,

 

She hadn't noticed it before, but he wind outside had really began to pick up. So much so that the tree branches began to scrape and tap at her window. Normally, Colette would ignore this and keep playing, but the wind seemed unusually strong. Add to that, the lights began to flicker, before cutting out, pitching the room in inky blackness. What?? It wasn't supposed to storm for a while yet! Better go see if any power lines are down...

 

With a sigh, Colette grabbed a flashlight out of her desk drawer, stepped out of her room, and made her way down the stairs. Looking out the windows, Colette frowned in thought a little. The sky was clear, and the wind wasn't usually so strong... Colette slipped on a pair of shoes and stepped into the back yard, shining her light and frowning once more. No power lines, but from she could see, the whole neighborhood was out! What was going on??

 

Colette stepped further into the yard, noting that the grass was getting long yet again. Looks like she had an adventure in tackling lawn work. Joy!

 

She rounded a large tree in her yard, and immediately jumped back. "D'augh!" There beneath the tree was a woman she'd never seen before. A very blue woman. "Uhmm, ma'am, are you lost?" She asked, shining her flashlight back on the stranger. What was with that getup? A costume party?? "Do you need to call someone to come pick you up?"

 

((Hopefully, this will be get things going... I wanna keep Colette as active as possible in this RP!))

[EcstaticWind 572]

@@Hypn0ticD,

 

Pinkie nodded. She had no idea what he was talking about, but she'd probably find out soon enough. "Sounds like fun! Are you excited? 'Cause I'm excited! I'm so excited! I wish my friends were here to have fun with us, but I'm so excited anyway!" She said as she got up to follow Erick wherever he was taking her. Others would probably begin to think of Pinkie as a crazy girl. They would be at least partially correct.

 

---

 

@@Pripyat Pony,

 

"I suppose there is nothing to lose by swallowing my pride and apologizing. Explaining things. Perhaps they'll be more understanding if they knew. I will follow your advice then, my Sister. If luck is on our side, then perhaps we'll be reunited."

 

She thought about it, and Cicada's suggestion made sense. It likely wouldn't excuse her actions, but perhaps it would shed some light on why she acted that way. It was worth a try, at least. Otherwise, if she were to see Avarice again, she would be alone and vulnerable. Though, her expression softened and she seemed happy to hear Cicada's voice.

 

"I miss you too, Cicada. And next time I see you, I'm gonna hug you. We're probably going to need it by then."

[Gloomfury 243]

@@Pripyat Pony,

 

 Shamrock shrugged. "Sounds good. Though I don't want any onion rings. It's rather ironic, you see I love onions. I can eat them on almost everything. But I can't stand onion rings. And I've had prawns before. I like them. Chicken on the other hoo... hand I've never tried. But my mate says that almost everything tastes like it."

[Hypn0ticD 1,213]

@@GeneralDirection, @@~The Snowy Wolf~,

 

"The way it is now? It's a bit too wild!" Chloe said, holding fast onto the stubborn Pegasus as she dragged her into the bathroom, styling those untamed tresses into a somewhat presentable bun.

 

"There. Not much we can do about the color right now, but it'll do!" Chloe said, inspecting her work. "And you should care more about your hair! I found splits everywhere!" She added with a sigh. "Let's just go. The job isn't all that fancy or glamorous, but you'll have a little pocket money to spend on whatever you want... after we get the necessities out of the way, of course!"

 

Chloe led Rainbow Dash back out to her car, opened the passenger side door, and let Dash in. Once the Pegasus was seated, she made her way to the other side of the car, got in, and headed back to the pub.

 

----

 

Chloe looked over to Dash as they came to a light, wondering how to break the unusual silence. "So... what're your friends like??"

 

Stupid question! Chloe had seen a few of the episodes, so she had some idea of how they were. Still, it was the only thing that came to mind...

 

((Oh wow, crappy post is crappy! The next one will be better, I promise!))

Edited February 10, 2015 by Hypn0ticD

[GeneralDirection 1,044]

@@Hypn0ticD

 

Rainbow entered the car, and remained silent as they drove along. She stared out the window, contemplating the fate that would await her at the pub. Being a waitress was not something she was looking forward to, but if it enabled her to see any of her friends, she would have to push through this. This was her sole motivation at the moment. Dash also reasoned with herself that if she were to sit around with nothing to do, she'd probably drive herself crazy.

 

"So... what're your friends like??" Chloe has asked.

 

The question brought the former pegasus back to reality, as she blinked a few times before replying. "Oh, my friends? They're pretty awesome! We were all element bearers, after all." She paused for a moment. "You do know about the Elements of Harmony, right?"

 

((Yay! Squirrel status! xD))

[~The Snowy Wolf~ 1,579]

@Windbreaker,

 

Corsica dropped her towel, took the clothes from Alex, and got dressed. After initially taking her clothes off before the shower, it wasn't hard to guess how these clothes were supposed to go on. She stepped out of the bathroom as soon as she got dressed with her towel in hand. "Thank you, uhh... I never got your name."

[EcstaticWind 572]

@@~The Snowy Wolf~,

 

"Uh, name's Alex. What's your name, miss?" He asked, still feeling a little awkward around her. The awkwardness was compounded by the fact that he now had about 3 people to look after, his father was late getting home and he had to arrange a collab he'd set up before all of this happened and hadn't counted on the kid waking up so soon or this new girl showing up. At this point, he was starting to feel like he was getting in over his head. He didn't even know where these new people were even going to sleep. He'd give up his room if it weren't for the fact that his gaming and recording stuff was in there.

 

'What am I gonna do? Gotta figure something out soon.'

[ReverieRiver 526]

@@Astral Legend, @@Windbreaker, @@Hypn0ticD,

 

Fluttershy let herself relax just slightly now that she knew Spike was alright. This had already been a trying ordeal so far, and she couldn't help but worry about the boy; especially now, when he was the only one of her friends around, the rest being who-knows-where.

 

Then her soft teal gaze turned to Alex, noticing that he was carrying that peculiar item with him. When the phone went off, she jolted slightly - always so easily startled by sudden noises - and then her attention was on that strange thing that had produced said noise. There were so many things here she didn't recognize, and it was a struggle to not let it fray her delicate nerves even further.

 

She would have answered the man's question of whether it was okay for him to call someone; but Spike spoke up before she did, voicing the same confusion she had anyway. Technology...? Was that what all these unidentified devices were called?

 

The girl didn't have much time to ponder that before the crack of thunder announced the arrival of a storm that came as quickly as it had gone, knocking out the power as it went. The abrupt transition from light to dark had again startled Fluttershy. She let out a small yelp, and fumbled about briefly before grabbing Spike and pulling him into a hug; more so to just have something to cling to than anything.

 

What was going on...? Who was outside? She could only wait and see...

 

-------------

 

@@00Pony, @@Hypn0ticD,

 

Twilight had to restrain herself from groaning aloud when the human completely and utterly failed to notice her attempt at magic. She supposed that if she wanted him to see anything, she was going to have to be a little more blatant with her abilities - because this guy was apparently so cynical, she was going to have to practically smack him in the face with the truth!

 

As Applejack went into her explanation of how they both ended up in this world, the young princess quietly nodded along. A.J. explained it well enough. Surely it would give the man an idea of what exactly they had gone through.

 

...Only for the man to state that he didn't really believe any of what had been said. She didn't even know what he meant by 'OC material' and 'role play,' but his tone alone (and his mockery of Applejack's accent on top of that) strongly suggested that that meant he was calling their story fake.

 

She could feel frustration and indignation mounting as she eyed the weird device the human now had. What was the purpose of that thing? What was he doing with it? It was kind of suspicious, but she supposed she'd have to disregard it; after all, it wasn't doing anything at the moment, and she was trying to have a civil conversation. The human was making it hard, yes, but Twilight knew how important diplomacy was, and she needed to keep a level head.

 

She glanced to the glass resting on the table before her. Raising her hand once more, she focused on using her basic telekinesis spell to lift the glass up. Still her magic felt a little harder to access in this form, but she did feel some degree of her power. The glass was easily lifted, hovering up to her mouth so she could take a sip. As she did so, she looked right at the human as though to say, yes, she was doing this right now. And besides, it was easier to pick up the glass with her magic rather than trying to figure out how to work these odd new digits.

 

The princess then spoke again, lowering the glass (though it was still floating in front of her). "Well, as you can see, sir, I'm using magic right now - but for all I know, you might think it's just some sort of trick. I don't know what I can add or what else I can do to make you believe us, other than my word that none of this is made up. We're just as confused as you are about this situation, but the matter of the fact is, we're here now, and we need a little help."

[Hypn0ticD 1,213]

@@00Pony, @@Miss Reaper,

 

((Gonna post this up for Miss Reaper to help her get started... going off of this post:

http://mlpforums.com/topic/108955-an-unexpected-trip-to-the-human-world-rp-reboot/?p=3482087

 

Please keep in mind, that I'm not the best at playing Rarity or Celestia!))

 

Celestia had slowly made her way back to a quickly forming crowd, head lowered, although her emotions were hard to read, as Rarity could tell she was donning that legendary calm mask. Where was Princess Luna? And what became of that witch Avarice, for that matter?

 

"Fillies and gentlecolts," the Princess began as throngs of her subjects gathered before her, "Avarice, the mare who attacked us has been banished from our world... but not without the expense of my dear sister Luna. I do not know where they were sent to. As much as I want to, I cannot follow."

 

@@Windbreaker,

 

A wave of panicked gasps and shrieks emanated from the crowd for moment before Celestia spoke again. "I am needed here, as four of the The Keys of Harmony have fallen victim to Avarice's magic." Celestia said solemnly, turned to face Pinkie and Rarity as she did so. "I need the remaining two, Rarity and Pinkie Pie, to find their friends, as well as all of the other Ponies lost in that world."

 

Rarity looked over to her last remaining friend before stepping forward and making her way to the white Alicorn. "I understand, Princess. I'll do anything to get Twilight and the others back. You have my word!" Rarity declared as she and Pinkie approached. Celestia smiled warmly as she led the two mares to where she she sensed remnants of one of the larger tears. "I know nothing of this world, so I cannot tell you what challenges lie ahead of you," the Solar Diarch explained, "so please, do what you can to find your friends. Find everypony. Find Luna. From there, find Avarice and force her to bring everypony home if you must."

 

With that, Celestia stopped in the middle of a battle-ravaged road, and closed her eyes as her horn was illuminated by dark magic. A large black tear opened before them. "I wish you the best of luck." She said softly, nodding for them to proceed.

 

After a bit of reluctance on her part, Rarity stepped into the void, and was immediately overcome by the feelings of falling and pain as she was swallowed by the darkness...

 

****

 

Rarity groaned softly as she stirred, waking from what had felt like a rather unpleasant slumber. As her mind drifted into consciousness, her memory went blank for a few moments as she tried to recall precisely what had taken her down and why she found herself staring at the sky when her eyes opened.

 

She pushed herself up into a sitting position, her eyes forced shut once more with a pang in her head. At once, her hoof went up to rub her forehead and nurse the headache that she apparently had - and noticed something amiss. The horn... where was her horn?! Not that it was vitally important for day to day life (though it certainly was useful in her line of work), but any pony would panic after discovering that something that should have been there wasn't there anymore. Remembering now the spell that had knocked her unconscious, she wondered - did that spell knock the horn right off her head?!

 

Forcing her eyes open again, she looked and saw a peculiar appendage in place of her hoof. With a startled yelp, she quickly surveyed the rest of herself as well as she could from her position on the ground. She didn't know what was happening or what she had become, but this was all wrong, so very, very wrong!

 

Even her surroundings were different! Everything seemed so much... duller. Where were the pleasant pastel colors that always decorated places like Ponyville? Why was everything so gray? Whoever designed these buildings had a dreadful sense of design! And speaking of the buildings, they were much taller than what she was used to seeing.

 

"Oh goodness, where have we ended up now...?" she muttered before scanning the area once more for any signs of her friends. "Applejack? Twilight? Where are you girls? Rainbow Dash! Fluttershy! ...Pinkie?" Her heart clenched with dread when no response came. Last she saw them, they hadn't been so far away that she couldn't hear or see them. Had they ended up elsewhere? Was she truly stuck here in this drab place indefinitely?

 

Upon trying to stand up, she found that somehow this new body felt awkward in the four-legged stance like she was used to. Not to mention that it meant an unflattering view (or very flattering, depending on one's viewpoint) given the violet skirt she was wearing; which she didn't know where it had come from in the first place, but thought it was very tasteful paired with the white blouse. She attempted to adjust herself so that she could comfortably fall into a quadruped gait, but her efforts were only met by another meeting with the ground.

 

Ugh. Here she was making a fool of herself, trying to figure out how to walk! Tripping and stumbling about like this... How unladylike! Surely, she'd die if somepony saw her like this!

 

****

 

The bipedal creature that stood there would be found to be short once one were to manage to get to her feet. It looked to be mostly hairless, but seemed to at least have a mane; the color of which at least looked to be fairly normal, as the top was red with a large blue streak in the bangs, and from what could be seen from the back, locks of black. The length however, was unusually short.

 

The creature had dark eyes, rounded ears on either side of its head with three piercings in each one, and olive skin. The clothing it wore were decidedly lacking in frills, ribbons, or anything pastel. Clearly, this beast was no Equestrian!

 

"Uhmm, ma'am, are you lost? Do you need to call someone to come pick you up?" Colette asked as she shined her flashlight on the strange woman, yet receiving no response.* "Uhhhm... Are you sober??"

 

The already dark sky seemed to darken and open up once more before Colette could get an answer, however. Her eyes widened as she looked up and saw--she didn't know what!

 

Black clouds swirled violently, the wind picked up and whipped about viciously as lightning and thunder struck and boomed all around the two women. Was this a freak tornado?! "SHIT! We have to get inside!" Colette yelled, grabbing the stranger by the arm and pulling her to her feet.

 

She didn't get far however, as the storm dissipated, the night sky returning to normal. What the hell was going on?? Colette let go of the woman as she looked about. "What...?"

 

"Applejack? Twilight? Where are you girls? Rainbow Dash! Fluttershy! ...Pinkie?"

 

Was there someone else out there?? "Hello...?" Colette called out, before turning to the woman. "Were you with someone?" She sighed and shook her head after failing to get a response. "Just stay here, alright? I'll be right back!"

 

Colette then ran around the house to where the shouting came from, coming across another woman in front yard just as she took a tumble, leaving her in a rather... awkward position. Was this woman altered as well?? Colette approached the woman from behind, lifting her flashlight so it shone on the newcomer's back. "Ma'am, are you okay? Are you looking for your friend, 'cause I think I found 'er out back..." she said, hoping to get some sort of response from this one. The last thing she wanted to deal with were two women too bombed outta their skulls in her home! She didn't have any time for that! With luck, she'll be able to get a semi-coherent answer, and get these ladies off to where they need to go!

 

((*Don't wanna have to control Luna's actions as well!))

 

****

 

@@GeneralDirection, @@~The Snowy Wolf~,

 

"Yeah, I do." Chloe replied with a smirk. "If my memory serves me, they were returned to The Tree of Harmony, and didn't you guys discover your keys in their place??" Chloe asked as the light turned green. "Which led that awesome fight between Princess Twilight and Tirek! And then you guys used Rainbow Power to take 'im out and that awesome castle sprang outta the ground, right?"

 

Chloe realized she was prattling at this point, and cleared her throat loudly in embarrassment. "Uhm, so yeah, there's a good reason as to why I know all of that, but I'll have to show you after work, alright?"

 

((Short post, but I wanna gauge how Dash will react...))

[GeneralDirection 1,044]

@@Hypn0ticD,

 

((No problem, that was my intention!))

 

Rainbow Dash's jaw hung slack for a moment or two, unsure of whether to believe what she just heard or not. Finally, she replied.

 

"W...How do you even...? Alright, let me get this straight! I've been banished to some boring world that isn't anywhere near Equestria, doesn't know where that is or how to get there, and yet you somehow know about all the awesome stuff that me and my friends did? That doesn't make sense!" She sighed, unable to comprehend the situation. "Well, since apparently you know so much about my home, you should have a pretty good idea of what my friends are like. Just like me, their elements kinda speak for themselves."