In Our Hearts and Hooves

Pinkie rubbed her chin with her hoof, deep in thought. "Hmm..."

Where could Twilight be? She wasn't at Sugarcube Corner, because Pinkie would've seen her. She wasn't at the library because she and Rainbow Dash would've seen her...

"I got it!" Pinkie exlaimed, snapping her fingers, despite having hooves. "She must be with Rarity!"

"C'mon, you guys! Let's go! We'll get Marvin fixed up and find out what's happening all at once!"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Rainbow Dash said, and zoomed off for the Carousel Boutique ahead of Pinkie , Marvin, and whoever the third pony was. As she approached, she couldn't help but notice both the giant hole in one of the walls and how there were another group of ponies there.

"You got hit too, huh?" Dash asked Rarity as she landed nearby.

Marvin plodded along after Pinkie and Dash. It had gotten worse, but seeing the last message had given him a sense of hope that it might get better. Getting the pain cured would be a "get better" moment.

Frost, however, knocked on the door of the library. From what he had seen on the way over here, the town was populated by horses (though it was possible they were ponies, as the word kept popping up), pegasi and honest-to-god unicorns (including himself, surprisingly). He had also established that "Equestria" was a Principality, ruled by "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna", that pegasi apparently moved clouds, and that unicorns were able to levitate objects.
He had also formulated a backstory for himself. His name was Frost Force (The names here were usually "verb noun", "noun verb" or "noun noun", and usually had something to do with their profession.), and he was part of the Fairbanks Bobsleigh team. He was on a trip to "Canterlot" (the apparent capital) but had stopped here to learn some local history. His ass tattoo was the symbol of the local bobsleigh team, the "Delta Force", named after "Delta Carver", a knife maker who carved the local bobsleigh track himself one winter.
This backstory would suffice, and more details could be added once Frost had more intel.
Idly, he tried levitating a stone while waiting for an answer at the door.

The robed stallion looked to the newcomers, then returned his attention to Rarity. "Ah, I apologize miss. I wasn't aware you were expecting company."

He gave a light bow to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Juggling Thanehood in the holds made him do so out of reflex.

"I am Burns-His-Foes, Archmage of Winterhold. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Arch... mage...? That sounds impressive!" Sweetie Belle was taken to this Burns-His-Foes. Especially when he had such a commanding title as Dragonborn. Though what a pony could possibly do with any dragon grown beyond babyhood was beyond her.

Rarity was significantly less impressed than her younger sister, mostly because she was still struggling to come to terms with the gravity of her situation. Her beloved boutique had been partially demolished by god knows what, and an injured pony was in her kitchen. Another stranger pony had just casually dropped by and offered a healing spell the likes of which Rarity had never seen even Twilight use. So she was quite taken aback when a dazzling young stallion popped in, like Burns-His-Foes out of nowhere, and spoke so abruptly to her. She forgot her manners for a moment.

"I- you- what?" Rarity took a second to adjust her thoughts, whereupon she realized that a sharply dressed and elegant stallion was apparently making a pass at her affections. While she was standing on the edge of a crater in her own home. Or something along those lines. The line he had used had been so... outlandish, that Rarity wasn't one hundred percent sure that it was even a flirting attempt at all. So her more thought out response was hardly that. "... What?" Her countenance went from expressing surprise to expressing only slightly less surprise. Perhaps somewhere in there was a slight pink atop her white coat, a flattered blush that assumed she had heard him correctly.

"Hey, it's Rainbow Dash!" Sweetie Belle was pointing into the sky with a hoof.

Rarity's attention was drawn again, though this time at least not by the sudden appearance of something completely unexpected. She smiled, eager to see a friend in the midst of what was looking increasingly like another incident, the one they seemed to have at least twice a month on average.

"Rainbow Dash, darling! Why, yes, I was just finishing up my work when I suddenly felt a great disturbance in my shop. And this, of all possible things, is what I found!" Burns-His-Foes then politely reminded her of his presence, and the presence of the other strange ponies. Rarity took a breath, let herself relax and ease her tone to it's usual formal state. "But where are my manners? We have some new ponies in town, it appears. We must take the time to make proper introductions." She inclined her head slightly at her out of the blue suitor, at Burns-His-Foes, at... the mare still in the crater.

Satori Komeiji was now getting up in earnest, wobbling to and fro as it seemed she was too disoriented to use her four legs properly. Seemed being the operative word, as she actually had no idea how to be a quadruped, having been bipedal for essentially all of her life. It took a brief amount of time to figure out the working process for four leg-like limbs, but strange memories and thoughts near her, among other things, instantaneously familiarized the mind reader youkai with her new body. The memories also told her that she had been out up until this moment, and that she was in the midst of a crater surrounded by strange, pony-like creatures. They were cute, she found, and she had no doubt they would make great pets, if she could... But did that mean she was a pony like them?

Satori's eye's fluttered open, her cutie mark activated in earnest. To Satori, it was a strange sensation, her flank being where her powers were now stemming from. For everyone else, a sudden strange sensation not unlike a jolt of abstract pleasure over some vague accomplishment coursed through their minds.

"Oh my... that was quite the curious sensation."

"Sorry!" Satori spoke now for the first time. Rarity and Sweetie Belle had to look at one another, for that was the single cutest sounding apology they had ever head in their lives.

edited 7th Feb '12 3:32:21 PM by Bassetete

Burns-His-Foes was taken aback by the sensation... although he felt something similar after completing favors for others. Satori's apology also confused him.

"Why, madame? You have done nothing wrong."

Before Burns-His-Foes even started saying anything, Satori was already saying. "No, no, I must be sorry. I am not supposed to be around others."

"Not supposed to be-?" Sweetie Belle started, before Satori again interrupted:

"Yes, I do not keep company often for an important reason." This strange mare was being very suspicious in her ability to know what others were going to say before they even said in, not to mention she was being quite rude. Suddenly, Rarity was suspicious that-

"I am aware I am being rude, and you are correct. I am a mind reader."

...Can you see the way my mind works? I... I am honestly terrified of the fact that the words of a friend might be true. Could you help me discover if Parthurnaax's warning was merited?

"Well, I don't see why you have to separate yourself because you can read minds... But I can see that being a problem in a crowd."

Barney cursed his luck. She'd been distracted by a friend, one who can fly, at that, but he could deal with this, and he was about to... "A mindreader? Quick, I'm thinking of a number between 1 and a hundred, what is it?" Barney's mind wanders, imagining the Death Star blowing up.

Rarity was shocked. Of all the magic she had never before seen, telepathy was-

"Telepathy is a crude word for what I do. No offense."

Rarity blanched in shock while Sweetie Belle clapped her front hooves together, extremely amused.

"This is so cool!" Satori blushed obviously, her pink face turning an even brighter shade. It was strange that nobody was yet becoming angry with her for hearing their thoughts and desires. Yet. Satori was sure that sooner or later the tide of popular opinion would turn against her. She had already shocked at least one of them into silence. At least the young one seemed more amused than angry. Satori smiled, reminded of her pets back home. She then began to hear the thoughts of the two stallions who were with them, among the other ones that continued to flow seamlessly into her mind through her Third Eye.

"I'm afraid I cannot answer your question if you yourself do not know the answer, Burns-His-Foes." Satori began prying a bit deeper now, dredging the names of those who had yet to actually introduce themselves to her from their memories. "And you are thinking of an explosion, which has nothing to do with a numerical value, at least as far as I can discern." Satori smiled nervously, wondering how long it would be before she was banished from their presence forever.

"Dammit, you're right... Ok, what number am I thinking of this time?" This time Barney is thinking of the Second Death Star exploding.

The Archmage nodded to Satori, giving a warm smile. "Well, thank you for taking it into consideration at the very least." Probably best answered by inward reflection anyway.

"Anyway, Madame, I will leave the amulets for your perusal. ...Minus one."

Burns-His-Foes levitated two amulets from the chest, one for Sweetie Belle and the other for Satori. The child was absolutely adorable, and the mind-reader who hadn't given her name seemed nice enough, but she seemed like she'd just prefer some company.

"Sweetie Belle, that is an amulet which makes you more resistant to the cold. It's a good seller all over Skyrim."

"I don't see how exploding balls in space are relevant to numerical values..." Satori was flattered, for the first time in a long time. It was gratifying when she was offered words of comfort and assurance instead of fearful threats, and indeed it seemed that perhaps she had found a world where she would not be ostracized for her latent powers... still, she had to be weary. "Internal reflection is always the answer to conundrums, but never forget to consult your friends..." When the amulet was levitated over, she was curious, and held out a hoof- an alien thing for her to hold out- to take it. While she already knew it's purpose with the assumption that Burns-His-Foes knew it, she was embarrassed into silence by the first gift she had ever received in who knew how many decades.

While Sweetie Belle ecstatically proclaimed her love for the gorgeous amulet she had just been gifted, Rarity began to recover. She was seeing that the mind reader pony- as startlingly abrupt her powers made conversations- was a charming young mare. She curtsied on her front hooves, apologizing:

"I am sorry I ever-"

"You do not need to apologize." Satori giggled slightly. "Your reaction could have been far worse." Relieved that the mind reader pony had taken no offense to her slight, Rarity continued:

"So..." She didn't finish, knowing already that Satori knew whatever she thought of.

"My name is Satori. Satori Komeiji. But I see from your memories that native Equestrians tend to have a different syntax for their names. I may consider taking on a more appropriate name at some point."

"Dammit. I keep trying to think of numbers, but I keep thinking of Star Wars instead!"

"OK, Time out!" Rainbow Dash shouted. Normally, she loved speed, but this was one of the few circumstances where things needed to come to a halt.

"We have mind reader, exploding number pony, 'Burns-his-foes', an Earth Pony with a hammer probably still sitting in a crater half-way between here and Fluttershy's house, and who knows how many other new arrivals." Rainbow Dash said, pointing to each of the ponies as she referred to them. "There is something very weird going on here, and we need to figure out what it is. Has anybody seen Twilight?"

When Pinkie finally made it to Rarity's house, she stood in awe of the humongous crater. "Something weird's definitely going on here, Marvin," she explained. "Rarity normally keeps her house cleaner than this."

She then pleasantly introduced herself to each new pony in turn. "Hiya! I'm Pinkie Pie, and this is my friend, Marvin! We were playing 'Robot' when he told me that he was in pain, so we went to find Twilight so she could fix him up but she wasn't at her house, so we came here and...she's not here, either, is she?"

At the revelation that the pony named Satori could read minds, she excitedly began bouncing up and down. "Oh oh! Do me next! I'm thinking of something blue!" She first thought of the sky, then Rainbow Dash, then a blueberry muffin, then blueberries, then Twilight Sparkle, then a blue balloon, then Rainbow Dash, then Burns-His-Foes, then chocolate cake. Mmmm...chocolate cake...with whipped vanilla frosting... She licked her lips.

edited 8th Feb '12 6:24:12 AM by KarlKadaver

"Oh, I'm here when the building is damaged. Just my luck."
He sighed.
"And I am a robot. At least I used to be."

Burns-His-Foes sighed and walked over to Marvin, his horn glowing orange again as he cast Healing Hands.

"Rainbow Dash, I was sent here when one of my apprentices decided to try a newly created spell. She said it would just change the color of my robes. Something about blue not matching my eyes."

Marvin's pain, despite actually only being in his mind, healed due to some sort of placebo effect the spell had.
Marvin was confused. Had things just got better?

Rarity shook her head when Rainbow Dash asked. As improper as it was to ignore the newcomers, they all seemed more interested in other things besides their immediate situation. "No, I'm not sure where Twilight is. And Pinkie Pie, I'm offended! I had no intention of my home ending up in so disastrous a state!" She grimaced as she surveyed the damage once more, so much work would have to go into fixing everything up. Fortunately, she had already finished the orders to be shipped out. But her rest! She would look atrocious if she missed even a day without it! But no, she had to focus. "We'd better hurry along and find Twilight before whatever is causing this mess gets increasingly worse. Everypony should come along." Rarity took stock of the ponies present. The handsome stallion, a bit to Rarity's ire, seemed to have forgotten that he was hitting on her. Burns-His-Foes was healing another pony who had been accompanying Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.

Satori on the other hand was dazed. Reading Pinkie Pie's sudden barrage of completely random thoughts had not at all been a pleasant experience. Stream of consciousness was something Satori tried to avoid listening to, but when it did happen, it normally left her unable to stand. In this case, she wobbled about, her legs weak and her mind fuzzy.

Burns-His-Foes ran over to steady Satori, although given his unfamiliarity with the nature of balancing as a quadruped he did so by standing up against her.

"Steady there, Satori."

Satori groaned as she tried to recover. "Pinkie Pie's thoughts are... painful to hear..." Unfortunately, the Third Eye could never be turned off for good, but she could at the very least pay less attention to the mess.

The serpentine outlaw watched from the outskirts and listened intently to the summation of the situation. He had decided not to join in the fun just yet. He wasn't terribly sociable, at least not in polite conversation, so he thought it better to meet each one by one as they went along. Over the next few days, he could explore the town, and find a way to get resources to transport somewhere closer to home.

Think there'll be a chance to visit Appleoosa or Dodge?

Burns-His-Foes waited until Satori regained her balance before moving away.

"I apologize for being so... well, close with that, Satori, but it was my immediate reaction."

Beta Ray Bill

Bill couldn't quite remember what had happened right before he had lost consciousness. But he knew that something was wrong. Something felt...different. As he finally opened his eyes and stood, he quickly gained a realization as to what it was. His body had become deformed somehow, taking on a shape not all that unlike the beast that his - former? - body had originally been developed from. Now, instead of proper legs and arms, he instead was equipped with two sets of hoofs.

"This will take some getting used to." He said. But whatever the cause, he would have to discover it quickly and get to the bottom of what had happened. One of Thor's friends would no doubt be able to provide an answer and a solution. He was blessed with a great number of allies who knew a great deal about the realms of both science and the mystic arts.

After taking a few steps to get a sense of walking with his new body, he called his hammer - Stormbreaker - to him. But while the hammer came, Bill forgot momentarily that he lacked hands. Rather than catching the hammer, it bounced off his front hoof - squeaking, no less - and bounced off his head. No real harm done, but it was a bit embarrassing and it still hurt.

Second time was the charm, as Bill quickly figure out how to wrap the strap attached to the bottom of Stormbreaker around his hoof to hold it. But then he discovered a new problem. When he tried to use the hammer to travel to Asgard in hopes of getting help, he discovered that it would not allow him to leave whatever plane he had landed on.

"This is troubling." Bill said out loud to no one in particular. Who could have possibly done this? Loki, perhaps? Galactus? Some other foe?

Hoping to get some idea of where he was, Bill used Stormbreaker to fly up into the sky and get some semblance of his surroundings.