MLP-The Gathering of Magic
Chapter 2- A Land of Anthro Ponies
Sunlight peeked through breaks in the trees as the forest floor became visible. Laying in a heap was a boy, badly wounded. Next to him was a square shaped artifact. A book with a silver color that gleamed in the morning light. Within its covers resided great and wondrous power unknown to the boy. An amethyst nestled in the front cover shone faintly as the boy's hand glowed in the same purple aura. When it faded, a black cog was left behind on his skin.
(Alan POV)
My eyes fluttered open as warm streams of light grazed my face. I groaned and sat up as pain coursed through me. My head was pounding and my limbs throbbed in agony. "Owwwwww… What the fuck happened last night?" I hissed. While I tried to ignore the pain, the crash from the previous night came back to mind. Now was I not only in pain, but the memory and knowledge of my closest friends being killed left tears in my eyes.
I wasn't sure how much time passed, but I decided to accept what had happened and move on. My friends were dead, not much I can do about it. As I turned my head around my new surroundings, it became apparent that I was somewhere quite different. Instead of the gorge where we had crashed, I was now stranded in the middle of a forest. "...How did I get here?" I mumbled to myself. "And where is here?"
I tried to move my legs, but just like before I had no feeling in them below my knees. With nothing else to do, I turned my attention to the silver object by my side. It was the planeswalker library. The silver book was leaning upright against my backpack. Out of all the things that I could have wound up with this was all I had. I reached my hand out the grab my bag along with the book. As my hand moved towards the book, the gem in its cover pulsed before the artifact levitated and floated in front of me.
A puzzled look covered my face as I grasped it in both hands. "Might as well see what this does...considering I can't really do much else." I sighed as I opened to the first page. On the inside of the front cover was a strange pattern. It was a pentagram like star that held five insignia's at its points. They were a tree, a sun, a droplet of water, a skull, and a spiraling flame. In the center of the star was a gear identical to the one on the cover. Between each of the icons were empty slots that I could only really describe as slots in a digital device's battery meter.
Didn't make much sense, but then again not a lot was. I then began thumping through the actual pages of the book. This was even more confusing for me. There was easily over four hundred different pages in the book, but only seven of them were moveable. The rest seemed to be frozen in place. The pages themselves had pictures with little text under them. On top of them was a bar with more "battery" slots. They looked empty, but I couldn't be sure with this thing.
As I continued to look through the book, a clicking was heard before a purple flash was seen. "New land detected, obtaining sample." An automated voice spoke. Seconds later a small green orb of energy formed a small marble and was sucked into the purple gem. "Land identified, forest mana obtained." On the star diagram, one of the slots that lead from the tree symbol to the gear glowed gray in color.
"Ok...so I guess that means I have one Mana so far." I concluded as my eyes turned back to the loose pages. This time, a portion of the energy bar was filled on them as it appeared to blink. One in particular caught my eye as its bar only had one slot and was full. The picture displayed was that of a ring covered in wispy light. When my finger lightly brushed its page, the purple light returned as the page vanished. Next thing I knew purple energy formed around my left thumb as a silver ring now sat there.
Seeing it brought a slight grin. "Cool, a soul ring…" I checked the chart again as two new slots on the outer circle were now lite up. Now that I had two more Mana to spend I searched my available spells for something I could use. The first thing I found was an orb like hunk of metal with streaks of light running through it. "Let's see what this one does." As like before the page vanished and the object in the picture materialized before my eyes.
The metal ball floated close to me as a slight pulse like sound was heard from it. "Heh, a golem heart…" So far, this book appears to have the spells of my artifact deck in it. This gave me an idea. With this heart out, I could try to heal myself by simply casting another artifact. So I quickly flipped through the pages again.
...I have been a little quick to say it held my favorite deck. Reason I say this is because I spotted a creature spell that I wouldn't have ever used. The creature was a small metallic contraption with a couple of propellers and a thin sheet of metal going around the outside of its body like glider wings. Ornithopter as it called doesn't cost anything to cast, but at the same time is just a chump blocker...that means it's only played to die. That being said, I didn't have many other options.
"Guess I'll try to summon it." I sighed before tapping the picture. Again the page vanished before the artifact creature was summoned. It was about the size a chicken and zipped through the air like a fly. It gave off a few whistles and chirps as it moved about. While that was going on, orange energy poured out of the golem heart and swirled around me. As it slowly seeped into my body, I could start to feel my legs again. Smiling, I slowly rose to my feet. There was still a bit of pain in my legs, but it was manageable now.
The creature I had summoned locked on to me as it hovered in front of my face. "Uhhhhh...hello?" It chirped more before pushing closer and nuzzled against my cheek. I couldn't help but chuckle as the small contraption was acting like a pet. When I finally got it to stop, I collected my bag along with the silver book before we began to wander the forest around us. We must have been walking for at least an hour or two. Every so often the book would give off a purple flash of light and announce that another forest Mana had been stored. By this time I had already collected four forest Mana. I guessed that after covering a set amount of the area it just took another scan of the landscape.
Just as I began to wonder if we were lost forever in this lush vegetation Ornithopter began whirring excitedly and darted off. "Hey, wait up!" I called after it in a panic. The metal creature lead me on for several meters before we broke through into a vast field. "Wow...nice work little guy." I panted while my friend chirped happily. With my breath back to normal I gave the area a look around. It was an open meadow with a few trees, some bushes and a wide variety of flowers adorning it.
I trekked across the terrain as my little metal friend floated by my head. The sun was directly overhead, and without any clouds and trees nearby for shade I ended up pulling the hood of my outfit over my head. It was a bit of a distance before we eventually came to the outskirts of a town. It was very quiet with barely any people on the streets. I didn't pay too much attention to them as I held my growling stomach. "...fooooooood…" I groaned while walking farther in.
My nose eventually caught a whiff of something edible. Letting the smell guide me, I stopped in front of a square, pink building. The smell was faint, but my stomach was empty so as long as it was food I didn't care. I walked inside before taking a seat at an empty table. Ornithopter gave a chirp as it landed on the table next to me. Having a chance to sit and relax, I placed my elbows on the table allowing my head to rest in my hands.
There were footsteps to my right as as a glass of water was set down next to my arm. "What may I get for you today, sir?" Asked a waiter.
I gave a chuckle as I leaned back in my seat. "As long as it tastes good I don't care. At this point, I'm hungry enough to eat a horse."
GASP! ...It came to my attention that I had been ignoring the citizens. I had been so focused on the hunger gnawing at my stomach, that I failed to notice something very important. Much to my surprise they were all anthropomorphic horses. Each one of them looked human as they wore clothes. The exceptions of this being their ears, fur covering their skin, hooves for feet, tails behind them, human like faces with a briefly extended muzzle, and a mane for their hair. Glancing around, it was clear that my comment had not gone over well.
The longer I spent looking around the room, the more I felt I had severely fucked up. "...I'll...just go." I finally gulped before standing.
Next to me, the waiter was holding his silver serving tray between him and me like a shield. "Yes, please do." He shivered in fear of me.
Ornithopter hovered behind me as I exited the building. I had only been joking, how was I supposed to know that I was even in a new world where the main sentient species was talking horses. Regardless, the two of us carried on through the town. The pain in my stomach from not eating was only growing. It was about mid afternoon when I found myself on a dirt path that lead away from the main part of town. There was a wooden fence on either side of it with acres of trees beyond them.
As I continued along, I began noticing small baseball sized objects decorating their branches. Curiosity got the better of me as climbed over the fence to get a better look. When I got under the trees my eyes widened in delight as I recognized the hanging fruit. These were apple trees, and judging by their bright red color and gleam they were perfectly ripe. I went to reach for one as the tiny robot beeped and whirred. "Yeah hang on, I've almost got one." Ornithopter beeped more and blocked my hand from the branch. "Alright, what are you-"
"Keep yer mitts off our apples ya varmint!" Called out a female voice behind us. I cringed as I looked back and saw a young female horse...I think they're mares actually. She had yellow fur, a red mane that fell to her shoulders with a pink bow, both her tail and mane were in a ponytail, and she had amber clothes she wore a pink tank top, a short cream jacket and short blue jeans stopping at her knees. She looked about fifteen years old or so and pissed off as she juggled a rock in her hand.
A nervous chuckle was heard from my mouth as I rose my hands in front me. "Look, I just wanted one apple. I don't want any trouble so-"
"Scram!" She glared before pegging the rock towards me. Just as it was about to strike me, Ornithopter zoomed down to intercept it. The rock launched my friend backwards causing it to slam hard into the tree behind me with a loud crunch.
"Ornithopter!" I cried in panic. It gave a weak sparking beep as I glared at the girl. "That was uncalled for, I was trying to sa-" THUMP! I groaned as an orb from the tree fell on my head. I rubbed the lump before continuing. "Oww, I was trying to sa-" THUMP! THUMP! "I was-" THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! I lost count of how many things landed on the same point of my head somewhere after twenty. While a large bump was forming under my hood, my vision was going blurry and my balance was starting to tilt. "Please tell me another apple isn't going to-" CLUNK! ...Aaaaand black out.
I finally stirred from unconsciousness with a groan. My head was pounding, and there was a very painful bump on the top. As I sat up, I took note that I was now in a bed. The frame was made of wood, the pillows and blankets felt soft and made by hand. In addition to that, I was also in a house built kinda like an old time country home. Pushing off the blankets, I rose to my feet. Hanging from the back of the door was my cloak.
When I made it to the door I began hearing a voice. It sounded like a girl with a southern accent. With nothing better to do I pressed my ear to the door and listened. "Hey Sugarcube, Ah think ah have somethin here ya might want ta see. It's a critter, ah have no idea what he is. Uh huh...yeah. Well, Applebloom kinda knocked him out when she was tryin ta scare him off the farm. Yeah...we think he's fine. He's just restin in the spare room for now. Alright….alright, somehow I'm not surprised ya want ta research him…" That was the moment I pulled away abruptly.
I was in a new world and someone wanted to research me? I've seen too many films where visitors from a different world became test subjects in labs. Not for nothing, being suck in a cage for the rest of my life was not on my bucket list. "Well screw this," I muttered while walking into the middle of the room, "I'm outta here." Not wanting to take my chances with the girl in the hall, using the door was not an option. After a quick survey it was clear that the only other way out was through a window across the room.
Luckily there was no lock on it so I didn't have any trouble getting it open. A glance down revealed that I was on the second floor of the building. Just a couple feet away was a shed that I could land on. I climbed up onto the window sill and prepared to make a leap of faith. Then of course something scared the shit out of me.
"What in tarnation are ya doin?!" The southern girl cried out behind me. Hearing her voice caused me to flinch, which lead to me losing my footing before I ended up falling out the window face first towards the ground. I screamed like a little girl and covered my face with my arms. Seconds later a rope tightened around my ankle which ended my free fall. I looked down...well, actually up in this case since I was upside down. Either way my eyes followed the rope back to the mare clutching it tightly. Her fur was orange with a blonde colored mane that was in a ponytail which stopped at her elbows. She three freckles on her cheeks under her emerald green eyes. Her clothes that I could see were were a red button up shirt with her sleeves rolled up and a dark tan cowboy...oh sorry, cowgirl, hat. "Ya got a death wish or somethin?!" She asked a concerned look.
"No…" I grunted and tried to grip the rope. "Just trying to get to safety."
"By jumping outta two story window?" She countered.
"Was going better before you scared me." I replied while trying to undo the knot.
She glared at me. "Ah was tryin to save yer sorry flank." This was beginning to get annoying so I decided to look in my spell book. "What is that?" The girl spoke.
I didn't reply as I cast a new spell. In my hand materialized a large axe forged from steel as black as night. "None of your concern miss." Was my response as I aimed my blade at the rope. "Now if you don't mind I'll be taking my leave." With that I swung the axe and cleaved clean through the rope. I fell and landed on the ground with a groan before quickly getting up and saw the mare looking down at me.
"Git back here! We only want ta talk!" She called out.
"Not taking chances!" I called out to her as my axe vanished and booked it. I moved through a few trees and saw the exit up ahead. My sprint became faster so I could escape this crazy place. But then my taste of freedom was cut short when a purple light blasted in front of me. A medium sized rock popped out of nowhere and hit me on the head. It was a loud BONK! I saw stars as I swayed around. "Momma…?" I moaned out before falling and blacked out again.
I awoke by the sound of two females talking in front of me. My head throbbed as I groaned and slowly opened my eyes, seeing orange and lavender. "Owwwww…."
The two mares heard me as they paused their conversation to turn to me. "How's your head?" The lavender one asked. I shook my head and got my eyesight back. The orange mare was there as was a new pony anthro. She was lavender furred with a purple mane and a hot pink streak. Her eyes were lavender with a horn on her head. Her clothes included a purple vest and white shirt with a matching skirt, making her look like a schoolgirl.
"...throbbing." I answered with a small groan. I tried to move my hand to rub my head only to find out that I was now tied down. "What the hell? Let me go!"
"Sorry partner," the orange mare spoke. "But after that stunt ya pulled, ya ain't slippin frum us this time." I glared at her as I tried to pry out of the ropes.
"This is cruel and inhumane." I growled in frustration. The lavender mare approached as she looked me over, pulling some of my hair, checking my hands, inspecting my skin and even opened my jaw to look in my mouth. "What are you doing?" I asked with a small growl. "Get off me."
"Fascinating…" She spoke as her horn glowed lavender and pulled out a scroll and feathered pen before starting writing who knows what down.
"Okay, you took a look at me, you got your notes. Now release me!" I snarled.
"Release you?" She asked before smiling brightly. "How can I when I'm here in front of a new species never seen in Equestrian history? This is a new discovery to study!" She beamed, cupping my cheeks.
This girl was seriously starting to piss me off. I wasn't some animal that she can keep on a leash. Before I could give her a piece of my mind, the three of us heard light clinking against the window.
"What was that?" The lavender girl asked.
"Not sure. Let's check it out." The orange one answered as they left me for a moment. With them gone, I tried to pry from the rope, but nothing happened.
"Grrr….this sucks." I sighed in anger. I soon heard more clicking as I looked at the glass and saw Ornithopter. It beeped and whirred before slamming repeatedly into the window until it dislodged it from the wall. The little creature hovered in and approached me. "Ornithopter, am I glad to see you." I smiled in relief. It beeped again before nuzzling me briefly.
"Think you can cut the rope?" I replied with a hopeful smile. My little ally beeped a few times before it poked at my book on the dresser next to me. After a few seconds I grinned and focused on the book. It glowed purple as it floated to my face and opened. I focused on the axe spell again as well as my friend. This time when the axe appeared, the blade was mounted to the artifact's body. Ornithopter beeped before starting to cut me free.
"Wonder what that sound was." I heard the lavender mare speak as the door started opening.
"Oh crap…" I breathed as some sweat dripped. "Ornithopter, hurry." It whirred a bit as it continued to free me as the door opened to the room.
"Ah'm sure we'll fi-" The orange mare began before they froze and saw me. "Hey!" One of my binds snapped as I grabbed my axe of Ornithopter.
"Ornithopter, distract them!" I ordered as I started cutting free of the other ropes. The creature beeped before launching forward and tackled the orange mare in her stomach. The girl grunted in pain as she fell back into her friend before they collapsed on the ground. I managed to cut the last bind from my leg as I got up and grabbed my bag and book. "Ornithopter, let's go!" It beeped as it turned around to follow my lead.
"It's getting away!" The lavender mare called as her horn ignited lavender again. Panicking I flipped through my book to find another spell. This time it was a pair of greaves with lightning bolts surrounding it. As they appeared on my feet the lavender girl tried to ensnare me in energy, but couldn't grip me. Stray bolts from the boots intercepted her spell. "What!?"
"Sayonara!" I called before jumping out the window and leaped from a tree before running across the apple fields. I looked frantically for a hiding place until nightfall to escape this place. As I went through some bushes, I came by a small treehouse that was big enough for five to fit. "That'll do." I breathed before making my way inside. The inside was decently kept, barely dirty at all.
I poked around the place and found a small banner like flag which had the letters "CMC" on the top and three names on the bottom: Sweetiebelle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom. "Hmmm, Applebloom?" The name rang a bell as the conversation the orange mare had on the phone replayed. "...guessing they're related…"
"Uhh...what are ya doin'?" Came a small voice from behind. I glanced at my pet before the two of us turned to the door to find a familiar yellow furred mare.
"...crap." I groaned in frustration that the mare was in front of me yet again.
She blinked before glancing at my hands. "Why ya holding our flag?" She asked this time. I gently set the cloth on a nearby table as I turned to face her completely.
From our last encounter I wasn't too eager to get into a misunderstanding with her. "I... didn't realize anyone lived here. I was just trying to find someplace to lay low."
"Lay low?" She asked with a small stern look.
"...you can say I was about to be taken by a crazy lavender mare who wanted to experiment on me." I explained.
The mare blinked before a small smile formed with a giggle. "Oh gosh...ya must mean Twilight." Twilight...yeah that name suits her alright.
"Yeah...her." I sighed. "Listen...about what happened from before...I'm sorry for trying to steal an apple. I was hungry and I didn't know the orchard was owned by someone."
Applebloom stopped giggling and frowned this time. "Well, ah'm sorry too. Ah shouldn't have thrown that rock at ya. Though when those apples fell on ya, that was pretty funny." I gave a small chuckle of my own.
"Yeah, something like that you would see from a cartoon, but I understand. If I saw someone on my apple orchard, I would act the same way." I smiled.
The girl nodded and reached into her pocket. "If yer still hungry, want one?" She asked while holding out an apple to me. This caused me to blink a few times. I looked at the apple before gently reaching out and grabbed it.
"...thank you." I thanked before biting into it. You ever get those moments when you bite into something and it's like the angels are singing? Well, that was pretty much what ran through my mind as the flavor of the plump fruit flooded my mouth. My mouth watered before I started devouring the apple down, trying to strip it clean.
"Name's Applebloom." The mare greeted with a smile. "What's yers?"
I took a huge gulp while pounding my chest before breathing. "...My name is Alan." I greeted with a smile of my own while holding my hand out. The mare shook my hand before I continued. "Do you...mind at all if I crash here for a while? I really don't want to run into Twilight and the orange one."
Applebloom giggled. "That's mah sister, Applejack yer talkin about." That mare is her sister? Oh greeeeeeeat. "But sure, ya can stay here. Ah just have ta inform ma friends about ya crashin here."
"Let me guess: Sweetiebelle and Scootaloo?" I replied.
"Eeyup." The mare chirped.
I nodded. "So can I ask you something?" The girl nodded. "I saw on the cape "CMC". What does that mean?"
Applebloom soon burst with a smile by my question. "Me and mah friends are part of a club called the Cutie Mark Crusaders."
My face became confused. "Um...Cutie what now?"
"Cutie Mark Crusaders." She spoke again. "We crusade to find our Cutie Marks."
I only blinked and scratched my head. "...what are Cutie Marks?"
"They're a mark that appears on yer body that show what yer special talent is." She explained. "They show up on yer arms and...um, yer flank." I blushed a bit as I knew she was talking about her ass cheeks, so I nodded. "So what's yer Cutie Mark, Alan?"
"...uh..I don't have one." I answered her.
The mare's eyes widened as she lunged forward and gripped my arm. "Ya don't have ah Cutie Mark?!" She pulled my sleeve up and saw nothing on it. "By Celestia! Ya don't!" Applebloom paused before grinning. "This is great you could be an honorary CMC!"
I blinked a few more times. I did have a club one time when I was younger with my friends. It was all in good fun. Believe it or not, we usually hung at the clubhouse when we got into the game. So why not try this one? I gave a small smile and nod. "Ah what the hell? I'm in."
"Yay!" Applebloom grinned and jumped about. "I'll have ta te-"
"Applebloom!" Called out an older voice, "Where did ya git to? We need a hand!"
The voice made me freeze and my eye twitch. "Dammit, not again."
Applebloom looked at me. "Stay low and outta sight and ah'll talk ta mah sister and git her away frum here." She instructed before hopping out of the clubhouse. I sat in the corner as ornithopter landed on my lap.
"There ya are, AB. Where were ya?" I heard Applejack speak.
"Ah was in the treehouse planning new ideas fer mah friends and findin our cutie marks." I heard Applebloom reply.
"Have ya seen the strange critter from before come through here? He bolted when we tried to talk to em, and we can't find em anywhere." Applejack spoke.
"Ah thought he was still at the farm when ah knocked him out." AB answered. "Ah didn't see him come by here to answer yer question."
The older mare sighed, "Shoot... Twilight's goin ta be disappointed. She kinda went nuts on em when she got excited."
"Don't tell me she was plannin on experimentin on the critter." Applebloom groaned.
"Ya know how she gets Sugarcube." Applejack sighed. "Ah think the critter freaked out when she got ta talking about the experiments. It wasn't anything to git worked up about, but we didn't even git a chance to explain."
"Wonder why…" I whispered before I felt a twitch in my nose. "Eh...ah...ah…" I held my nose and the sneeze went down as I sighed in relief…. "Ah-choo!" I squeaked out a sneeze. Fuck.
"What was that?" Applejack questioned.
"Oh uh, that was frum a small valley mouse that came in the clubhouse today." Applebloom answered in a lie.
"Applebloom," her sister glared, "ya know I can tell when yer lyin." She can tell she's lying!? Aw fuck me….
"But ah'm not lyin." She countered. Her sister wasn't buying it as she made her way to the club house.
"Fuckfuckfuck…" I whispered as I looked around to find a good hiding spot. Their footsteps reached the door as I faced it with sweat pouring down my face. Giving a sharp turn, the crate they had was my best bet. I quickly but quietly opened it. It was filled with toys and stuffed animals. I quickly moved some of them and got in before quietly shutting the top. There was a peephole for me to see through as I looked out to see the sisters entering.
Applejack looked around before glancing at her sister. "Alright, where is he?"
"Where's who?" Applebloom asked. As much as AB tried there was a small detail that I overlooked. Ornithopter beep a bit as he hovered over my hiding spot.
"Oh fuck, nononononononono." I whispered frantically. Applejack's ears twitched while she looked at the metal creature and the box under him. Her eyes glared at my little bud and the crate as she walked over to my spot. Without warning she gave the side a light kick as the wall of the box bashed my face. I bit my tongue hard to not cry out in pain or hold my nose.
"Sis, what are ya doing?" AB asked her.
The girl didn't respond as she huffed. "Ah know yer in there. Just come out, ah don't want to git rough. Ah just want ta talk." Nope, nope. Not going for it. I knew I was running out of time. In the darkness of the box and saw spotted a lion mask. I quickly put it on to blend in before I heard Applejack growl. "Have it yer way."
The lid opened up as she peered into the box. I remained very still, not daring to move, breathe or make a small noise. She started rustling her hand in the box as I let my legs, and arms flow with the toys and stuffed animals. Thank God the CMC have a wide assortment of toys in here. Applejack sighed before finally pulling her hand back and closed the lid.
"Guess he ain't here after all…" She spoke before looking back at her sister. "Ah'm gonna be visitin this place until further notice when we find that critter. If yer hidin him here, ya'll be punished, understand?"
AB sighed with a nod. "Ah understand." The mare nodded as she walked out of the clubhouse and left. I remained in the box for a minute to be sure she was really gone before pulling myself out. After removing the mask I gave a deep sigh and slumped against the wall.
"That was WAY too close for comfort." I breathed in relief.
Applebloom smiled, "Ah'm glad ya were able ta hide. Kinda surprised that she didn't find ya in there."
I gave a small chuckle. "Well, when I was younger I was one of the best hide and seek players. My mom, not even my friends could find me. Sometimes my mom would freak out cause she thought I wasn't even in the house when I hid."
The mare giggled as she walked over to me. "Ya really don't want them ta find ya?"
"Well, unless they don't attack me, tie me down, OR experiment on me." I stated.
AB giggled again. "Ah think mah sister might've been tellin' the truth about Twi goin overboard. She's really nice though."
"In a crazy scientific way." I rolled my eyes.
"She's a bit of an egghead." The mare smiled. I guess that's an understanding to where she got that crazy.
"Well, once they calm down and agree to those terms, I MIGHT come out and talk to them." I spoke.
AB nodded with a smile. "Do ya want me ta talk ta them?"
I shrugged, "If you really want to, but won't you get in trouble with your sister?"
"Ah'll explain ta her ya were just scared is all. Think about it, yer a new creature never seen before. Ah would be scared to if ah was in yer hooves." Applebloom explained.
I grinned a bit. "I don't have hooves, I have feet." The mare giggled by this. "But either way, I appreciate you doing this for me AB. Thanks." The girl grinned before dashing out the door. I took a seat at a table as I opened my book again. "Ok, let's see what other spells this book has…"
I had already used 5 of the spells from the moveable pages and had two left. Seconds later clinking sounds were heard as five more pages came loose from the book giving me seven. "Heh, now I have a full hand." From what I could tell the spells I had were artifact summoning spells. None of them used the colors of the different mana types. One of the pictures I recognized right away as my trump card. Its text had been altered to say "You can't die." Another one that caught my attention was a glowing sword called World Slayer. A small shiver ran down my back as this one was a bit of risky, and if misused in a real world sense it's a dangerous card. Should the blade land a direct hit it essentially nukes the field of everything except itself. Even lands aren't safe from its wrath. I continued flipping through my spells, unaware that Applebloom returned.
"What's that book ya have?" She asked as she walked in with a pie in her hands.
I set the book down with a sigh. "To be honest, I'm not even sure at this point. I won it in a tournament and ever since I wound up in this world it's been allowing me to cast spells."
Applebloom approached and looked in the book. Seeing the inside, her face scrunched. "Ah can't understand ah word in this book."
"Well, I wouldn't expect you ponies to able to read my language…" I blinked, "even though...you're currently speaking it...what do you mean you can't read it?"
"The words in that book looks all jibberish." She explained. Applebloom placed the pie down as she took a piece of paper and pencil and scribbled down before showing me...jibberish. "This is what ah see in the book."
Talk about weird, I could understand it perfectly fine yet she couldn't make out a single word in it. "Unfortunately I got no answers for you." I sighed. I looked at my book and thought. "Maybe I can understand it since I'm holding it?" AB blinked before she approached and gently took the book out of my hands. Out of shock to us, the book snapped closed. "Well...scratch that theory. Maybe I'm just the only one who can use it at all."
AB tried to open the book, but it was stuck shut. "Maybe. Ah can't open it. It's not budging." She handed it back to me and it practically fell open.
"Strange…" I spoke. A book with a language only I can understand...and it had some kind of security mechanism that closes if it's not me. "If only I know more about this…"
The yellow mare smiled. "Aw, we'll figure it out." She grabbed the pie on the desk. "Want some apple pie? Mah granny made it fresh from the oven." My stomach was still growling as the aroma from the pie filled the room.
"Totally. Mind giving me a big one?" I asked. The mare grinned and used a knife she had to cut it up to a ⅕ size before handing me the slice. Grabbing the pie I gave her a smile. "You know, despite our first encounter you're sweet. Thanks for this."
Applebloom blushed as she smiled and looked away while rubbing her arm. "Aw shucks…" She heard me burp the next second and gasped when she found my slice completely gone. "Golly partner, you really were hungry."
I grinned and pat my stomach. "Helps when the food was good."
The mare grinned. "Oh if ya think mah granny's apple pie was good, we have a ton of other food we make. We make apple cakes, apple pancakes, apple donuts, caramel apples, apple fritters…"
"Your family sure likes their apples huh?" I chuckled.
"Well we are known as the Apple Family. Best farmers in all of equestria. Can't git any better apples in the world than here." AB spoke with a proud tone. When she saw my smirk she moved on. "Soooo...Ah did speak to ma sister."
I gave a small gulp and shivered a bit. "And...what did she say?"
"When ah explained how ya felt she didn't seem at all surprised. And yeah...she wasn't happy ah lied to her." AB sighed.
"But I'm grateful you were protecting me." I smiled as I patted her head.
She giggled and went on. "She wanted me ta tell ya that Twilight didn't mean anythin crazy about experimentin on ya. More like just askin ya a ton of questions and what not."
I gave a sigh of relief. "Good….last thing I need is to be dissected like a frog."
Applebloom shuddered for a second. "Anyway, mah sis would like ta apologize ta ya and said she'd be waitin in the house."
I took a small breath to calm myself before speaking. "Well...now that everything's in order...I don't see why we should keep her waiting." The young mare smiled before grabbing me by the wrist and gently pulled me after her. She took me through the fields until returning to the farm. We got to the house near the barn before she opened the door. I looked around. It was a nice and cozy place, something like you would see from a granny's home. The mare took me through the house before stopping near a door frame.
"Wait here." She spoke before entering the family room. I held my breath as I rocked on my feet. A moment, I heard her speaking to Applejack until she called out. "Ok partner, come on." I gave a small gulp before I poked my head out the frame, seeing her and her older sister near the fireplace. I got a better look at Applejack and saw she also wore blue jeans.
A small smile formed on her lips. "Howdy, Alan right?" I replied with a nod. "Ah won't hurt ya, I promise." Her words were warm and gentle. They gave me the courage to breathe and finally approach the two slowly. "Sorry bout how ya were welcomed at first. We just didn't know what ta make of ya."
I scratched my head while looking away. "Yeah….I too would freak out a bit if an unknown creature or alien came to my home…"
Applejack nodded while glancing at her sister. "Course it could've gone smoother if somepony didn't knock ya out immediately." AB frowned as she looked at her feet, hands behind her back as she rocked a bit.
"...please don't worry about it. I've had worse welcomes." I replied. The sisters looked at me and shared a smile.
"Well, either way, ah want ta make it up ta ya." The elder sister replied kindly.
I gave a sheepish chuckle. "I believe you, but you really don't have to."
"Ah insist, besides, we shold've treated ya more calmly and nicer than tieing ya down." Applejack replied.
My head nodded in agreement. "Yeah that was a bit much." I heard little clipping sounds as I looked to see a dog with brown and white fur entering with a red collar on. "Oh, who's this?" I asked.
"This winona, our family dog." AJ smiled. I kneeled to the dog as it approached. It gave small sniffs to me and circled me. When facing me again, Winona gave a happy bark before pouncing on me and started licking my face.
Laughter echoed from me as I pet her in the midst of her licking. "Down girl, that tickles." The apple sisters giggled before AJ whistled. Immediately, the dog got off me and sat beside her. I wiped the dog drool off my face and stood back up. "She seems friendly, and pretty well trained."
"Eeyup," AJ smiled as she petted her dog. "Ah raised Winona since she was a pup. She knows who is friendly or an enemy."
Smiling a bit from her kind personality I asked, "What about your purple friend?"
"Ya mean Twilight?" AJ asked as I nodded. "Ah told her ta go home and I'd contact her when ya were found. Ah also told her ta take a calmer approach when she returns, so she doesn't spook ya."
A sigh of relief was heard, "Thank you Applejack."
"Not a problem, sugarcube." She replied with a kind smile.
I blushed at the term, "s...sugarcube?"
"Eeyup, it's how ah usually call mah friends or family." She explained with a smile.
I nodded, "Alright, just sounded like a sappy name couples would call each other back in my world."
AJ gave a giggle. "Oh really? That's something ah never thought of."
Applebloom grinned at her sister. "Looooove birds.~" Her sister gave her a dangerous glare. AB giggled in her hands as she was growing a small blush in her fur.
"Alright, ya need ta go do yer chores. I'm going ta bring Alan ta see Twilight." Applejack stated. The yellow mare nodded before she walked passed me, but not before she pecked my cheek and ran out.
I gave a small smile. "You got a sweet sister AJ." The orange mare nodded and placed her hat on.
"Ready to meet Twi, Al?" She asked with a smile.
"Just keep her at bay if she tries anything funny." I chuckled in reply.
AJ giggled, "Ah promise she's harmless." I nodded as we walked out of the farm and down the path to the town.
Another chapter done. Hope you guys are enjoying this story. Many interesting things will come along the road for Alan in this new world. Further down the story I may ask you guys for ideas for different events to take place in the story as filler content. When the time comes I'll let you all know in these notes. Please leave a review so I can see what you think of the story thus far. Your comments help me make a better book for all to enjoy. Till next time.
