Welcome To Equestria: Chapter 4
** ~~~~Chapter Four~~~~ **
~~~~First Day in Ponyville~~~~
We're finally getting into the First Arc? Celebrate! Or not? Okay...
Actually, no, you won't ruin our moods. Mane 6, here we come!
~Blu and Hotshot
~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~
The morning came and Zecora helped us get ready for the day ahead. Including instruction to see a blonde farmpony and a certain lavender librarian once we got into town. So, once we got outside and Zecora set us in the right direction, we were finally on our way.
The path Zecora put us on lead us out safely, that we were thankful for. We popped out near a certain orchard. We thought of going into Sweet Apple Acres while we observed the apple family along their fence. They were bucking apples to make their famous pies and whatever other apple related food they could think of so we kept walking to the gate and there was Granny Smith to welcome us. I figured 'Why not?' and walked through the gate with a smile to the wrinkly mare.
"Well hello there fellers." She greeted warmly. "I ain't seen you two around before so you must be new, right?"
"That's right." I said as I gave a small nod. "I'm Blu, and this is my friend Hotshot."
"Well, nice to meet you. My name is Granny Smith and this here is Sweet Apple Acres, one of the finest apple orchards in all of Equestria!" She proclaimed with as much excitement she could muster, which at the time, wasn't too much.
"I see." My friend commented as he looked around. From our view, the trees seemed quite tall compared to the show itself. "So, what do you do around here, Granny Smith?" He asked.
"Who, me?" She joked with a laugh. "I don't do too much around here anymore except for the baking and such, organizing the family together and such, and of course stay near the gate to do my hobbies like knitting and such."
Hotshot nodded as he realized the tendency of saying 'and such' all the time. Apparently, I did that often too. "You don't mind if we look around, do you?" He asked.
"Go ahead, but stay around where I can see you. We don't need any funny business with our apples, you hear?" She replied a bit sternly. I could guess why.
As we started walking a little bit, an orange mare with a blonde mane and a 10-gallon hat came out of the treeline, along with a red one that was about a quarter-size larger than the average pony. Of course, we knew who they both were, but like probably all of the other ponies we meet, it was nice to see them for ourselves. Applejack tipped her hat to us but gave my alicorn friend an interesting look before speaking.
"Howdy fellas. What brings you to our humble farm?" She asked curiously.
"We just came out of the Everfree forest not too long ago." I started. "Your Applejack, correct?" She gave me a sideways look and nodded. "Ah, good. Zecora says hello." I told her with a smile.
She gave me another sideways look, obviously not believing me at first. "Now how exactly did she say it?" She challenged.
Hotshot popped into the conversation, luckily remembering the rhyme she spoke to us before we left. "Back out of the Everfree, you must go. Once out you will see a blonde mane flow. Go through the gate and face the fact, that you will find my dear friend, Applejack." He said trying his best to speak Zecora's voice tone.
Applejack laughed while the red stallion beside her gave a chuckle of his own. "Well twist my tail and call me an orange! If that's not Zecora-speak, I don't know what is!" The mare said as she slowed her laughter down to a stop.
"Allow me to give you a bit of a brighter introduction. My name is Applejack and I run this here apple orchard with my family. This stallion beside me is my brother Big Mac, the toughest earth-pony I know. Back there which I'm sure you've talked with is Granny Smith. And Applebloom should be around here somewhere." She explained as she gave us both a hardy hoofshake. "Now, could you lend a hand with these apples?"
The walk into Ponyville with the barrels of apples we carried with our magic was fun. Along the way, Applejack generally asked the same questions Zecora did, except for one.
"So, about the whole Alicorn thing, could you explain why yer not up sipping tea with the Princess herself?" She joked. "Most Alicorns in Equestria are related to royalty in one way or another."
This was a bit hard for him to answer. I should have probably helped him develop his character a bit more. Luckily, he wiggled out of it. "I don't really wanna talk about it, if that's okay." He said with his best depressed face.
Applejack sympathized with him. "That's alright, sugarcube. We've all gone through tough times in our lives. Don't be afraid to talk about it someday though."
He gave a nod. "Thanks, I appreciate that."
The rest of the walk was pretty silent. A few minutes later, we were in Ponyville and Applebloom came up behind us.
"Hey Applejack!" She greeted her big sister warmly. "Who's these new ponies you got with you?"
"Well hey there, Applebloom." She greeted back. "Allow me to introduce you to Blu and Hotshot." We gave a wave to the cute filly as Applejack continued. "These ponies stopped by this morning. We started talking and I also got a little help from them with carrying the apples into town."
"That's nice. Welcome to Ponyville!" She welcomed as she smiled back up at us. "You need any help selling apples today sis?"
"Nah, you go on ahead and find one of the Crusaders or something. I got the apple selling covered today." She replied to the energetic filly. Applebloom gave a nod and trotted off happily. "Now that we're in Ponyville, where are you two planning on going? I gotta set up my apple stand in the market."
"We need to find a lavender mare that lives in a library. Do you happen to know where she would be?" I asked, still knowing the answer but asking anyway.
"Lavender mare, eh?" Applejack responded in thought. "Ah! You mean Twilight, don't ya? Yeah, she lives a bit near the market in a large tree. Probably magicked in one way or another."
We nodded as we kept walking to the market. As we walked we heard people yelling to sell their wares. Though I saw Hotshot getting aggravated with people staring at him, guessing due to the fact that he was an Alicorn.
"Dude, you're forgetting they aren't used to seeing an alicorn just walking down the street." I whispered. "Frankly I am still getting use to the fact that you're slightly different than every other pony around here."
"Are you serious, you're still getting used to me?" He asked.
"A bit, yeah." I answered with some sorrow and confusion. "Then again, I'm still getting used to me, too."
"You know what? I guess I should calm down a little. I'm getting angry over nothing." He answered.
"That's mighty nice of ya." Applejack piped in on the conversation. "The ponies around here can sometimes be a bit, I'm not saying crazy but, weird pretty much. Don't be surprised if Twilight starts asking multiple questions about you as well. She's pretty much what Rainbow Dash calls an 'egghead'."
Hotshot gave a nod. "Good to know."
Soon enough, we got to Applejack's designated spot for selling her apples and we helped set up the stall. She gave us a smile and two apples to thank us for our work. We smiled back and as soon as Applejack told us the directions to the grand tree library, we waved goodbye.
"Well, that's wasn't too bad." I said as we started the walk. "We met the first of the mane 6 and got some apples to boot."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Hotshot chuckled as he bit into his apple. "I'm kinda surprised that-"
"HI!"
"Woah!" I exclaimed before almost falling over. Hotshot let out a couple coughs, but managed to swallow his bits of apple. "Spoke too soon, eh?" He said as he gave another small cough.
"You two must be Hotshot and Blu, right?" The pink pony said as we nodded, a bit confused. "News travels around here quite fast, especially for me cause I basically hear everything." She also added, practically taking the question out of my mouth and answering it twice as effectively. "In case you don't know me, my name is Pinkie Pie. Or Pinks, or all sorts of other silly names that people call me, but call me Pinkie."
Once my brain started back up again, I shook my head to make sure it was alright. "Hi Pinkie." I greeted.
*GASP*
Well, there goes Pinkie, leaving as fast as she showed up.
"Man it's almost scary how she can defy the laws of, well, EVERYTHING!!!" Hotshot said, obviously exaggerating.
"How is it scary?" I asked.
"It's too similar to Discord" He answered.
"You've been reading too many fics" I said with a laugh.
"Perhaps" he said with a mischievous smile.
"Well, we better keep going." I said. But just as I took a few steps, I slowed down again glancing at an interesting pony that gave off this weird magical aura. It was so subtle though that nopony else seemed to notice it.
"Is something wrong?" Hotshot asked curiously.
"I don't know. Maybe it's nothing though." I assumed. I didn't want to get too wrapped up with the pony as we only had so long to organize things before the day ended.
~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~
*CLOP CLOP CLOP*
Blu knocked on the door to the library. Inside, we heard a familiar voice. "Spike! Could you get that for me please?" It was silent for a few moments, so he knocked again a bit harder.
*THUMP THUMP THUMP*
"Spike!" The voice called again. "Oh, right, he probably went over to Rarity's and I didn't hear him leave. Ugh." The mare inside seemed more annoyed than frustrated, but it didn't show as she answered the door. "Oh, hello. Sorry I took so long. Come on inside."
We nodded as I stepped in first, looking at all the books while Blu kept his eyes on Twilight.
"So, what brings you two here?" She asked as she turned back to look at us. "Any book you wanna take out? Any magical help you need? You name it, I've got it."
Blu straightened himself out and started our half of the conversation. "First off, allow me to introduce myself. My name's Blu, and this is my friend Hotshot." I gave a small nod while I stifled a laugh from my friends actions. "We were kinda looking for some healing spells and a variety of others. We're mostly just trying to brush up on our magic."
"I see..." She said almost a bit awkwardly, but instantly snapped herself back. "Alright, give me a second. I'll be back."
Once she trotted away, I turned to my 'gentlecolt' friend. "Nice job there, buddy." I said sarcastically.
"Oh please, I'd like to see you do any better when we meet that certain aspiring wonderbolt." He shot back.
"I could do it better than you by 20% in ten seconds flat." I retorted with confidence.
We both chuckled. No matter what happen, we always laughed at stuff together. Mainly the reason we had been friends for so long. Of course, a hint of competition was always fun here and there.
"Got it!" We both heard from upstairs as the lavender librarian came down with a stack of books. "Alright, we got 'The Basics of Healing Magic', 'Advanced Healing Magic', and 'The General Guide to Various Spell's for Aspiring Unicorns'. I hope that'll suffice."
"Yeah, that looks like plenty of stuff to look over." I said as I took the books off hooves with my magic.
"Great." She said cheerfully. However, her expression changed as she noticed something. "Hmm... I've never seen you two around here in Ponyville." She started, but almost face-hoofed herself. "Oh, that explains you introducing yourselves before. I really need a bit more sleep."
"That's fine, everypony needs more sleep sometimes." My blue friend chimed in.
Twilight nodded. "That reminds me, I didn't introduce myself beforehand. My name is Twilight Sparkle and you're looking at the head librarian of Book's and Branches, the place we're in at the moment. Along with myself, there's my baby dragon assistant Spike, but he's probably at Rarity's assisting over there too." She paused for a moment, then gave me another lookover. "Actually, could you two stick around for a little longer. I'd like to ask you a few questions."
'And here we go again...' I thought to myself.
The flow of questions came rolling in once again. Generally, the questions were the same, but some demanded a more technical viewpoint. Along with that, she also tried a few experiments, like getting detail of his wingspan, horn length, general magic capacity in the amulet and power it could produce.
We headed to the basement to do a bit of the testing she wanted to do, so as not to harm any belongings upstairs.
"Alright then." She began. "Since I don't have too much to do today and I want to study these amulets a bit further, I'm going to have you step into the middle of the room." Twilight gestured Blu to go first since he wasn't an Alicorn and the test needed a set base.
"Alright. What are you going to get me to do?" Blu asked, a bit eager to show his skill to the lavender mare.
"First off, I'll seal you in one of my magic bubbles." She told him as the spell was cast. "Then, you'll cast whatever attacking spell you feel comfortable with. But make it a light one first to make sure my bubble doesn't bounce the attack back."
He gave a nod and took a few seconds to think. Then, his horn took a blue glow and shot off a bit of air, which didn't do too much. Twilight gestured a hoof up to signal him to raise the power. Another nod and spell, and a blast of wind hit the bubble, going around the inside, but not hitting him. One last gesture and his horn started glowing brightly. 5 seconds in and he released a small tornado inside the bubble, lifting him up and dropping him back down a bit hard.
Twilight released her bubble and went over to help him up with a worried look. "I'm alright, I'm alright." Blu insisted. Though a slight smile came over his face.
"Alright, you better take a break then. You'll be able to tackle more someday." She said as she helped him up. His expression weakened and I resisted the urge to laugh.
After everything was settled, I was up.
"Okay, same goes for you. Start off small and get bigger until I say stop." The lavender pony said
"Ok." I responded as my horn glowed the green arora and i let out a small fireball that did as much as Blu's puff of air. She urged me to get bigger so I did as my horn's aura got slightly brighter and a larger fireball shot put just about hitting me. However, even after that, she urged me for the last time so I gave it all I had my horn glowed bright as I lifted off the ground and let a fireball engulf me. With a blast and quite loud boom, the bubble shattered under the fire power and I lowered back down to the ground with Twilight open mouthed and Blu looking at me as to say 'Show off.' I just returned with a smile, however, out of breath.
"Well, what did you thin...AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" I screamed as the pounding headache that came when we transformed came over my head but it was a lot worse then the transformation headache if felt like my head was going to implode.
"Oh shoot." I heard Blu say as he got up from the side and put a bubble around me to block out my screams. I managed to look up and see Blu talking to Twilight though I couldn't quite make out what they were saying.
Soon enough, Blu stepped through the shield and put his horn to my head. Uttering one word that I managed to make out. "Relax."
Amazingly enough, the pounding stopped and I felt oddly relaxed.
"What the buck was that?" I asked
"A type of soothing spell but it doesn't change the fact that two headaches in day will probably kill you so don't go getting another one of those headaches." He continued. "There's no telling what could happen then other than certain doom."
"You're right, but I'm going to have to learn that soothing spell and fireball spell someday, since that was what I intended my cutie mark to be for." I told, still a bit amazed at what happen. "The spell I just did was a spell I've always been wanting to do and to know I can is amazing."
Twilight walked through the bubble with a bewildered, but also concerned look. "That was quite amazing. Few spells that I've seen could break that bubble but it looked like it has serious side effects" She inquired.
"I'll be fine" I assured her.
"I kinda explained the whole overworking thing to her while you were inside screaming your lungs out." Blu added into the conversation. "By the way, let's avoid trying those big spells for a few days just incase it has a long term effect that we don't know about."
I rolled my eyes. "Fine."
"Do you need any more tests?" Blu asked a bit too eagerly.
"Nope, I'll be good for now." She answered.
"So, you don't mind if we take off? There are a lot more places we have to go." I asked.
"Sure. I need to clean up the mess you made with the fireball." She answered. " I'll send Spike to go find the two of you if i need further testing."
"Great!" Blu said "Let's head out then."
~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~
"Well, where do we head next?" I asked as we stepped out into the market once again.
"Well, I say we should talk to Mayor Mare about living arrangements." Hotshot answered. "And then talk to Rarity about some furnishings."
"Alright, one problem though." I started.
"And that is?" He asked curiously.
"We don't have any bits." I answered matter-of-factly.
"Gee, thats kinda frustrating." He simply commented. "So, I guess we should check town hall for jobs then."
"I guess, or we could check out Equestria Daily." I joked only to find a newspaper blow into my face saying Equestria Daily as the title. "Wow, I honestly didn't see that coming." As Hotshot tried to resist breaking out in laughter.
After a few minutes of looking around, I spotted the building we were looking for. With a hoof gesture, I signaled Hotshot to follow me as we started to trot to ze grand Town Hall.
"Welcome, visitors." The secretary welcomed as we entered the building. "What business do you have here in Town Hall?"
"Hi. We were looking for a bit of work and a cheap place to stay for the night. Would you know where we could find those things?" Hotshot asked hopefully.
"Let me see." The secretary told us as she started looking at a few papers. "There is a temporary complex that you can reside in for 20 bits a night. However, I'm not sure if there is any work I can find for you here. You can always ask around town though."
"Hmm, that doesn't sound too bad." I commented. Hotshot nodded as well.
We stood around for a bit, conversing on how we would get the bits. However, Mayor Mare happen to walk in.
"Oh? Well hello there." She said, a bit surprised. "My name is Mayor Mare, the mayor of Ponyville. How are things going for you two?"
"We were just asking about some work and a place to stay." Hotshot told the grey-haired earth-pony. "You wouldn't happen to have any odd jobs needed at the time, do you?"
"As a matter of fact, I do have a small favor needing to be done." She mentioned. "Come on in to my office."
With nods, we went into the office with the mayor to see what job we needed to do.
"Alright, so what is this favor of which you speak?" I asked curiously.
"There are a few special guests in town and I just want you to escort them to town hall." She answered simply.
"Okay, sure." Hotshot said "But if you don't mind me asking, how much will it pay?" He asked.
"25 bits should suffice for each of you, and they might even tip you." She told us with a small wink. "Two stopped at a cafe near the train station, and the other two went a little more adventurous and went to Sugarcube Corner. They'll look fancy so they shouldn't be too hard to spot."
I nodded along with my friend but asked one last question. "How will we be able to identify them other than them being fancy?"
"Oh, yes. They are all a part of an organization in Manehattan called 'Divine Design'. Ask them if they're a part of that organization and they'll listen up so you can bring them down here. As long as they get here within the hour, the 25 bits will be yours for each of you."
"Alright, awesome. Shall we head out once again?" Hotshot asked as he turned my direction.
"Indeed." I said, mimicking a fancy accent.
"Hence." Hotshot responded with his own fancy accent.
Mayor Mare chuckled. We waved goodbye as we trotted out the door.
"Alright then, who'll cover who?" I asked as we came out of the building.
"You'll take the train station corner since you look a bit more fancy than I do and I'll take SugarCube Corner since I look more awesome." He answered with a smile.
"I think I actually agree with that." I laughed. "See you in a bit then."
We both headed our separate directions. It was going to be different being apart since we stuck together since we got into Equestria. I brushed off my doubt and picked up the pace.
It took me awhile to find the train station. When you're actually inside Ponyville, it's actually quite big, not to mention pretty much everything being on foot. However, from a few minutes of walking, I found the cafe. Putting on my fancy accent again, I stepped inside.
"Hello there, sir. Would you like a table?" The head waiter asked me professionally.
"Not today, I'm afraid." I started. "I've come looking for two fine ponies from an organization called 'Divine Design' that have a date with the Mayor. I'm here to make sure they get to Town Hall within the hour. Would you happen to see them come in?"
"Hmm, you do see professional enough." The stallion contemplated. "Very well, I'll let them know an escort has arrived to take them to Town Hall. One moment please."
As he left to get them, I wiped a small bead of sweat from my forehead with a foreleg. 'Step one, complete.' I thought happily. 'Onto step two.'
Another half minute passed until I saw the two ponies come out with the head waiter. "Delightful dinner, wasn't it Ms. Finish?" The gentlecolt asked his colleague.
"Yes, quite fabulous." She responded back, then turned to look at me. "You must be our escort then, yes?"
"Indeed I am. My name is Blu and I must say it is nice to meet you Ms..." I started, hoping I wasn't looking too stupid.
"Finish. Photo Finish. Aspiring fashion designer and Co-director of Divine Designs." She said quite egotistically. I tried not to mind it too much until they were out of my hooves.
"And I, my dear fellow, am Hoity Toity. Expert in what's in and what's out as well as Lead designer of 'Divine Design'." Hoity Toity introduced. "Shall we be off to Town Hall then? I'd hate to waste time standing around talking."
"Of course, off we go then." I stated formally as I went to open the door with my magic. The fancy ponies walked out and I gave a small thank you nod to the head waiter. Then, without further ado, I left the cafe.
"Alright, lead on, good sir." Hoity Toity said as I went in front of them. 'Mental map, don't fail me now.' I thought as I started trotting in the hopefully correct direction of Town Hall.
~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~
The walk to Sugarcube Corner was quite awkward with people staring but it was just something I had to get used to for a while. Anyways, I walked into the store to find to find Pinkie chatting up about a surprise party for two special ponies. 'Great...' I thought to myself.'A Pinkie party.' I kept thinking as I walked to find two colts who looked like they were born into the art of elegance, though i noticed one kept sneaking glances at the party pony, so I simply walked up to them and looked at the stallion.
"It's rude to stare, you know." I said as he looked at me with curiosity and something else in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" The other stallion asked.
"Oh sorry, I'm Hotshot and you are?" I asked.
"I'm Fancypants, and this is Neon Lights." Fancypants kindly answered.
"Would you two happen to work for Divine Designs?" I inquired with a eyebrow raised.
"Yes, why?" Neon Lights answered.
"Mayor Mare would like to meet you at town hall and she sent me to be your escort." I answered.
"I don't think they roll that way, Mr. Hotshot." Pinkie called from the counter in a singsong voice.
"Be quiet, Pinkie. That's not what I meant or should I say pinka... never mind." I stopped myself from saying that name that I hated so much. I turned to face the two stallions at the table. "We should get going to Town Hall."
"Hey wait, where did you hear that name?!" Pinkie yelled as we left through the door. I ignored it, hoping the pink mare wouldn't persist.
"Let's go then, to town hall it is. What about our co-workers down at the train station cafe?" Fancypants asked.
"Mayor Mare got my friend Blu to get them." I answered
"Ah, jolly good.." He said as we started trotting toward our destination.
Luckily, Pinkie didn't follow us due to her working, but still, on the way to town hall, my thoughts were at that brief image of those eyes I saw before. Fortunately, when we got to Town Hall, Blu was already there with the two other coworkers and I let out a sigh of relief.
The Divine Designs team went inside the meeting room after each giving a small thank you to us, which we were happy to receive. Mayor Mare then stepped out of the meeting room with a smiling face and two satchels on her back.
"Well done boys." She said as she tossed us our satchels. "Ah, here are your bits. I also pulled a few strings to get you boys a one nights free stay at the local inn. Have a good night." She added as she stepped back into the meeting room and shut the door.
"Well, I know where we're sleeping tonight." Blu added with a laugh.
I gave a chuckle as well, though I doubted we'd get to sleep anytime soon...