//------------------------------// // Ch10 Myths, Legends, and... Plans? // Story: The Reigns of History // by 8chill //------------------------------// The shocking news was something that threw the group for a loop. Ponies could be heard mumbling and whispering to each other worriedly. Their faces easily portrayed their nervousness and uncertainty. While the townsfolk didn’t panic and run, the atmosphere surrounding the group was filled with a nearly palpable level of anticipation. It was almost as if they were waiting for a signal to set off the potential chaotic frenzy. Not wanting a possible and rather likely breakout of hysteria, Twilight quickly looked around and spotted a nearby park bench. She quickly leapt up on it before calling out to the crowd of ponies. “Everypony listen,” she addressed the crowd of ponies, gaining their immediate attention. “Don’t panic there is no cause for alarm. I’m sure the Princess has the situation under control.” She continued, hoping to calm them down and avoid panic. “What do you mean don’t panic?!” a voice cried out from the crowd. “There’s a monster somewhere out there running loose!” “Yeah,” another voice spoke up agreeing, “That thing escaped from Arvaud and nopony can find it. Who knows where it might show up next.” The crowd began chattering amongst itself in discussion, casting worried glances and whispers to each other. This continued on for several moments before ponies began throwing questions in Twilight’s direction. “What should we do to prepare?” “How strong is it?” “Is it diseased?” “Are my foals safe?” The purple mare was swamped with questions as ponies crowded around her. She attempted to answer some only to have more thrown her way. She looked around nervously as the crowd was quickly degenerating into a more aggravating demeanor. “Hey!” A disgruntled stallion called to the mare. “Aren’t you supposed to be a hero or something? Why don’t you go out there and take care of it?” “I’m not a hero, but I…,” Twilight words died in her mouth as the ponies were murmuring to each other. They all looked at her suddenly waiting for her response expectantly. An annoyed burgundy-colored mare saw Twilight’s hesitancy and called her on it. “I thought you were the Princess’s protégé, wouldn’t that mean you’d know about this or perhaps that title doesn’t mean much at all.” She remarked rather snidely, getting a few others to look pointedly at her. Getting fed up with the unfair treatment of her friend, Rainbow Dash quickly spread her wings and took flight; quickly reaching the bench Twilight was standing on. She then positioned herself between the advancing crowd and Twilight; hovering in their faces before letting them have it. “Hey! Knock it off you jerks!” Rainbow Dash yelled above the crowd her voiced filled with conviction. She began glaring at some of the instigators fiercely before finishing her point. “Twilight already told you the Princess would take care of it, so there isn’t any reason to gang up on her so back off!” “While not the way I would have gone about it, I must agree with Rainbow Dash.” Rarity decided to enter the conversation; moving through the crowd to stand by Twilight. “You all are acting like a bunch miscreants and should be ashamed of yourselves,” she said tossing her head back making her mane follow the same motion before bringing her eyes back to the crowd. “Honestly, we all have dealt with far worse circumstances than this and a little patience will go a long way.” A few members of the crowd were listening and visibly seemed to calm. Ponies nodding their heads agreeing with the premise being logically sound. Their Princesses have always looked out and protected them from any threat and it will be the same as well for this situation. Unfortunately a few of the same troublesome ponies decided to not let the issue drop so easily. The same burgundy-colored mare from earlier looked to the trio with barely veiled irritation. “Well you all seem quite confident about handling this threat,” she began with sarcasm dripping from her mouth. Looking at the three, her grey eyes narrowed. “What do you know, Sparkle?” “Hey leave her alone you meanie!” Pinkie said as she rushed to her friend’s side. “She’s just trying to help,” the pink pony frowned disapprovingly. She was going to say more when Fluttershy joined in. “Um, please don’t be mad at Twilight. She’s doing the best she can and only wants us to calm down and not panic. So, uh can we please stop this?” she added hopefully. Seeing even more of the crowd calming brought a swell of hope within her. A relieved smile appeared on her face until her eyes locked with the disgruntle mare causing her to retreat to the rear of the group. The mare watched as the yellow Pegasus scurried behind her friends and was going to offer a retort but yet another voice beat her out. “Ah would listen to mah friends here if I were you.” Applejack made her way to Twilight’s left side; an annoyed frown on her face. “Now simmer down. “ The apple farmer raised her hat. “Otherwise I can give ya’ll a lesson in manners; Apple style,” she grinned challenging them. With that statement left in the air, the last problem ponies decided to bow out. Dealing with a mare wanting to fight was one thing. Dealing with a mare that happened to be an ‘Apple’ and wanting to fight their way was another. Ponies began separating and returning to their homes or businesses; leaving behind a few stragglers. One of which happened to be the burgundy mare who noticed the weakening crowd. She gave one final glare at the group before turning her nose up and skulked away. After most of the crowd dispersed, a thankful Twilight let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and dropped to her haunches in relief. She took a moment to reflect on what just happened before turning to her friends as they rushed to her side with worried looks on their faces. “Thanks everypony for sticking up for me,” she looked at each of them with a relieved smile. “I don’t know what I would of done if they kept coming like that.” Rarity walked up to Twilight and gave her a friendly nuzzle. “Think nothing of it, dear. Those rude ponies needed to be reminded on how to act properly in public.” She glanced around at the few remaining ponies lingering behind, gaining eye contact with them; watching them freeze before looking away nonchalantly. “Yep, all ya need to do is throw out invitation to an Apple family class on manners and ponies change their tune real quick,” Applejack chuckled, a smile framing her face. Both Rainbow Dash and Pinky Pie also nodded their heads in agreement. Fluttershy slowly made her way to Twilight’s side and nudged her gently with her nose. “Are you really okay, Twilight?” she asked, looking closely at her. “That mare was pretty forceful with her questioning… and… um I want to make sure you didn’t let her get to you.” Blue eyes looked intently at the purple pony. Twilight rubbed the back of her head. “Yeah, I’ve dealt with some jerks in the past but I never encountered any that upfront before.” She paused for a moment to stop and think before smiling in the pegasus direction. “Thanks for the concern and I won’t let what she said affect me.” “Oh, that’s wonderful,” Fluttershy smiled brightly. “Hey Twi/Twilight!” Twilight and the girls turned their heads to see Lyra and Spike walking to them. “What the heck happened? One minute we’re looking at the sign the next we get tossed aside like yesterday’s trend magazine!” The little dragon looked confused, unnerved, and a little concerned with the recent turn of events. It didn’t help that the group of ponies almost turned into mob. He’d seen ponies act crazy and panic quite a bit in his relatively early life but never to this extent. “Yeah what was all that about?” Lyra asked, her face mirroring Spike’s confusion. She too wished to understand the vitriol that some of the ponies were speaking with. She didn’t hear everything that was said because of the volume of the crowd but she got the gist of it. They looked over to their studious friend whom was contemplating something before she spoke. “Okay, let’s go over what we know,” Twilight wanted to start but was stopped by Lyra. “Wait a minute Twilight. Maybe we should take this conversation someplace else.” She looked around the area still noticing a few straggling ponies taking sneaking glances towards their group. “After that whole spiel, I would rather avoid starting rumors based on the gossip of a few eavesdropping ponies,” she said the last part out loud causing the eavesdroppers to turn their heads whistling nonchalantly. “I do agree we would best be served discussing this at the library.” Rarity chimed in. “Will that be okay with you, Twilight?” Twilight got up off her haunches and nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine. I needed to write a letter to the Princess anyway.” She turned in the direction of the Library. “The sooner we sort this out; the faster things will hopefully return to normal.” After gathering themselves, the eight friends made their way towards the library. While on their journey they passed by ponies that were frantically purchasing items and materials. It wasn't too difficult to guess that they most likely were stocking up. Even though the townsfolk were calm, there was still a lingering worry in the air. It was enough to cause them to take action and prepare for what they thought might possibly happen. The group made it back to the library relatively quick. Twilight opened the door and stepping in; her friends following behind. She paused looking around the messy lobby before turning to them. “Sorry about the mess I got a little wrapped up in my studies,” she blushed slightly in embarrassment. “Phht. Please, we were here this morning trying to get you to leave in case you forgot,” Rainbow said picking up a book; looking at its cover before setting it back down. “Yeah, but still….” “Aww don’t worry about it Twilight,” Pinkie giggled. “We know how you are when get all science-y and stuff.” Lyra let loose a whistle as she took in the state of the place. “Wow, I never thought I’d see this many books on the ground,” she commented. “I’m impressed it looks almost like my office on a good day,” she chuckled softly. “Um excuse me?” Fluttershy asked getting in the conversation. “I thought you work for the orchestra, why do you have an office? Wouldn’t you have a study or sound room instead?” the yellow Pegasus asked confused. “Well, you would be right about the sound room but that’s for my job,” she explained. “My office is for an entirely different purpose besides music.” “I hope you don’t mind me asking but what for?” Lyra smiled slightly, “Do you all want to know?” she looked around the room, seeing everypony nod their head. “Okay, I’ll try to keep this short for time’s sake but it goes like this.” She walked over to a pile of books and started pushing it to the wall to make more room. “As a kid, I enjoyed the stories my dad use to tell me before I went to bed. Stories about adventures, treasures, and secrets greater than anypony could imagine. Stuff of legends that would have the average pony melt in the amazingness of it all.” Her eyes had a far-away look as she got lost in her memories. “Eh, I don’t see what’s so amazing about fairy tales,” Rainbow said interrupting Lyra’s trip down memory lane. “Well, there like…,” she tapped the side of her head, “Ooh I know, imagine they are the equivalent to the Daring Do series.” Rainbow scoffed. “Daring Do is waaaay better than some dusty old fairy tale.” “Perhaps,” Lyra acknowledged. “But, they still do the job of entertaining and inspiring imagination.” “Yeah I suppose…” she begrudgingly agreed. “Well, in my case I was so inspired that it became sort of a hobby of mine,” the unicorn thought for a moment, “Or perhaps a bit of an obsession,” she admitted. Rarity’s ears perked up. “An obsession?” she asked her mind thinking of implications. “What pray-tale are you obsessed about?” It was after she asked the question that the mare brought her hoof to her mouth. “Oh I’m terribly sorry. How rude of me. I meant to ask what exactly is your hobby; specifically.” The mint green unicorn giggled. “It’s okay Rarity no harm done and to answer your question, Humans.” A groan came from Twilight as she raised a hoof to her forehead. “I can already tell where this is going,” the librarian sighed. She looked in the mint-green unicorn’s direction. “You had me interested up until that last part.” “What’s the matter, Twi?” Applejack asked. “What about humans got you more wound up than a snake chasin’ a rabbit through chicken wire?” Twilight breathed through her nose taking deep relaxing breaths. “They… Don’t… Exist!” she growled out. “They are fairy tales…fiction…myth! They have no place in science!” “I disagree, Twilight.” Fluttershy spoke up. “I use to think the same way about some of my animal friends. But they’ve told me that a lot of the creatures that we don’t think exist might have had and simply gone extinct.” Fluttershy shook her head sadly thinking about it. “The poor dears…” “Even IF they supposedly existed there is no evidence or even proof to help make that claim.” “And that’s where I come in.” Lyra jumped back in the conversation. “Part of my hobby is to study and seek artifacts of past civilizations. We even have a small group that goes around from place to place; searching for potential leads.” She leaned in closer to the group. “Get this, we actually found some things that are pretty interesting. Weird objects that seem extremely difficult to hold properly, heavily damaged sculptures, and even strange materials. “What?!” Twilight all but shouted. “Why haven’t I heard of any of this before?” “Maybe if you didn’t have your nose in books all the time you would of heard about it,” Spike grinned cheekily. “He’s got you there, Twilight,” Rainbow laughed, while Pinky and Rarity giggled. Twilight thought about what Spike had said before sighing and hanging her head in defeat. “Hehe, don’t mind us Twi we’re just messin’ with ya.” Applejack patted the unicorn’s back consolingly. “Hmm, your hobby sounds real interesting Lyra.” Pinkie said. “I wonder why other ponies haven’t gotten in on the fun?” she asked more to herself than to the unicorn. "Unfortunately, most ponies don’t share our enthusiasm of learning of ancient cultures,” She shrugged, “Much less about something as fantastical an unlikely as a Mythological being.” “Ah, hope y'all don’t mind me asking but what is so special about these critters anyway?” The farmer was admittedly curious. “Well, I left my notes at home I could run back and get them if you want the full story. Then again I could just try to explain what makes Humans so fascinating.” “Actually, I have a book that would help explain the myth of humans,” Spike said as he got to his feet. He walked towards the shelves, navigating his way past the towers of books. His eyes scanned the shelves for the book he was looking for. With so few books remaining on the shelves he quickly spotted it a moment later, grabbing it and returned to the group. “Oh, you have the same book as I do, nice.” Lyra confirmed with a smile. “What’s the Title of the book Spike” Pinkie asked excitedly. “It’s called Myths, Legends, and Everything Fantasy.” Twilight took a closer look. “I don’t recall ever ordering any books with that title…” She looked curiously at its appearance. “That’s because I bought it, Twilight?” Spike waved the book in front of her. “You may not like to read about this stuff but I do.” The little dragon opened the book spending a few seconds flipping through pages before stopping on one. “Humans are quite possibly the most intriguing of all Mythological creatures,” Spike read from the page. “While other creatures of Legend have specific abilities or behavior, Humans are probably the most obscure and unknown.” He paused to make sure they were all listening and seeing them nod their heads he continued. “As like all Myths nopony has ever seen a human much less have accurate information on them. Most ponies simply make up tall tales to foals to help them sleep at night. With all the different thoughts and opinions that ponies come up with, it makes it virtually impossible to even have a consensus to what humans are claimed to be. However, there are similarities from every story that don’t seem to waver.” “Bo-ring. Can we get to the good stuff already? If I wanted a lecture I’d listen to Twilight,” Rainbow blurted out. The Pegasus received glares from the library and the assistant. “Chill, Rainbow. There’s not much left to begin with,” Spike admonished. “I’m also nowhere near as bad as her.” “Excuse me?” the lavender mare asked dangerously. “Moving on…” Spike announced rather quickly, getting the rest of the girls to giggle softly. He cleared his throat before continuing. “There are three main characteristics that generally correlate to every incarnation of the subject. The first characteristic ability is that they are a highly intelligent species. In some circles, they are claimed to be so intelligent, so clever that they would give famous ponies like Star Swirl the Bearded a run for his bits.” Twilight snorted at that but chose not to interrupt. “The second characteristic is their adaptability. Legend has it that humans are capable of surviving conditions that would be too hazardous to ponies. What’s even more incredible is even if a situation becomes too much for them they can seem to find a way to succeed when they should logically fail. “This is the final and probably the most well known of the three and the one must debated about. Humans have two appendages that is unlike any other found on Equis. There are creatures that may have evolved to have similar looking features but don’t be fooled. These creatures cannot possibly hope to match the sure level of mystique and power that these human appendages contain. No pony knows what these parts of their anatomy are called; most simply referring them as magic paws. These ‘paws’ are supposedly capable of things far exceeding anything ever thought of or conceived. It is this specific feature combined with their intelligence and adaptability that makes humans such a popular and widely talked about subject among myths.” Spike finished by closing the book with a snap. He looked and saw the faces of the girls with various expressions. Some were unbelieving while others were generally intrigued. Rarity and Applejack seemed to be imagining what a human may look like. Pinkie was hard to decipher as she had a small smile on her face and was rubbing her chin with her hoof, giggling to herself. Both Twilight and Rainbow weren’t all that impressed but looked to be at least processing what they heard. “See, now you know why I find the thought of them so irresistible.” Lyra’s eyes lit up in barely held back enthusiasm. “Land sakes it seems almost impossible think a critter could be that amazing,” the Apple was still thinking about it. “I must agree it would have been simply delightful to actually meet these creatures.” Her eyes became starry. “Just think of all of the fashion ideas I could learn.” Fluttershy’s face had a wistful look to it. “Oh yes. That would have been lovely.” Rainbow simply lay down on her back. “Eh, it doesn’t really matter since its only a myth anyway.” Twilight having enough decided to end this conversation. “Alright, story time is over. I’m sure this was interesting and everything but can we please get back on topic?” Twilight begged. “We’ve been talking about this for far too long and need to come up with a plan in case that missing creature shows up.” “Okay, okay. Sheesh, we’ll talk about it later.” Spike acquiesced, waving his claw in the mare’s direction. “Even though it was actually getting interesting,” he added under his breath. “Thank you. Okay, let’s try this again.” Twilight walked over to her table and using her magic pulled out the necessary items for writing. With a practiced ease, she wrote down the specifics of what they knew thus far. “There is a creature of unknown origin running loose in Equestria.” The sound of the quill scratching feverishly on the parchment could be heard. “Arvaud was the last known location it was seen before it escaped,” she glanced at what was written, “Which means that it possibly could still be somewhere near that area,” she started. After a long session of questions and scenarios the small group decided to call it a day. There would be more time to develop plans for a potential confrontation. Lyra was the first to leave the group stating that it was nice seeing them again and would get back in touch with them later. Spike was next as the dragon had grown sleepy and decided to get a good night’s rest, seeing as things were going to get a little hectic soon. This left the six friends alone to have a few friendly conversations before departing their separate ways. But before anypony left, they all looked at one another and nodded. No words needed to be said. Friendship has never let them down and would always prevail. They didn't know what they were going to face but they would face it like all other challenges; they would face it together.