Author's Note

Alright! Chapter 2! So right now I'm going to explain the use of the italics in my story. Normal italics are the thoughts of the characters that are the focus of that paragraph. If italics are written alone without being identified to any specific character, then it's Alex's thought. If it's both in italics and in quotes, then it's speech through telapathy like the Gospel did in chapter 1. As for the other chapters, so far the they're being edited smoothly. Please let me know if you're enjoying the new re-writes so far. And remember, feedback is greatly appreciated!

Chapter 2: Something To Fight For

The morning sun began to rise over the land of Equestria and ponies everywhere were getting ready to start their day, well almost all of them. Twilight was pacing back and forth in the living room of the library, Alex hadn't come out of his room yet. Twilight knew that this was his first official day in Equestria and it began to worry her. She was wondering on how she should approach him, but she couldn't decide if she should go in the room or wait for him to come out. Just as she was completing her twentieth lap around the room she took a deep breath and headed towards his door.

"Okay, I can do this." said Twilight as she opened the door. "Good morning! How are you feeling? I thought maybe today I could teach you about Equestrian history! So how about it Alex?" As she stepped up to his bed, she noticed the cat waking up and looking at her.

"Do you mind? We're trying to sleep here!"

"Well I'm not here for you, I'm here for Alex. I'm going to teach him about Equestria's history."

"History? He doesn't want your history lesson and neither do I! Now beat it lady!"

"Excuse me?! This is my library!"

"Not anymore! Celestia is making you share this library with Alex! And since I'm his mentor, that means I get his share! So beat it!"

"Why...you!!! Fine! I'll just wait for him upstairs then!" shouted Twilight as she stormed out of the room.

"You know...you didn't have to be so mean." said Alex as he lowered the bed covers.

"You asked me to get rid of her and I got rid of her."

"I asked you to tell her I wasn't feeling well. And you go and get in a fight with Twilight Sparkle."

"Well it worked didn't it?"

"Look, I think I'm going to get up. Do you think you can move over?"

"Fine, but make it quick." said the cat as he made space for Alex to get out of bed.

"Thanks, I'm guessing you're going right back to bed?"

"Yup! I'm sure you'll be fine on your own for a little while right?" he asked as he lied back down.

"Yeah, I think I can manage." said Alex. "Hey, I've been wanting to ask, how do I use my-"

"ZzzZZzz..."

"-magic..." Alex sighed and began walking around his new room. "Great, nothing but shelves full of books. At least I have a couch for myself. And...wait, what's that?" He headed towards the other side of the room and moved some of the boxes that were left there. "Hey, there's another door down here. I don't remember seeing this on the show. I wonder where this goes." He attempted to open the door but could not grip the door knob. "What is with these hooves? I can't even grab a stupid door knob anymore."

He decided to ignore the mysterious room for the moment and began looking through the boxes that covered it. "Hmmm...more books. What's this?" he said as he stared at one of the books. "Tales From the Everfree. This looks like something Twilight would enjoy reading." He turned away from the book and began walking away. "Wait a minute...what?!" He immediately turned back and looked for the book again. "This...this is impossible! This book isn't written in English...but I can read it as if it was second nature to me!"

~~~~~

"That stupid cat! Who does he think he is?!" shouted Twilight. She had returned to pacing around the living room again. It took some time before she realized that somepony had been knocking on the front door. She tried to calm herself and focus her breathing more. She made her way to the front door and opened it to see one of her friends. "Oh, hey Applejack! How's it going?"

"It's going fine Twilight. Thanks for asking." Applejack walked into the library, "Is everything alright? You look a little upset." she asked.

Twilight looked over to the basement door, "It's that cat! I went inside to wake up Alex so I could start him off on his first day here, and that cat has the nerve to kick me out!"

"Ah knew that cat would be trouble! Well, don't you think you should check up on him either way? Ah'm sure he's awake by now and ah'm positive he wouldn't mind having a bit of company right about now." said Applejack as she walked toward the door.

Twilight wanted to stop her but it was too late, Applejack opened the door and began to walk in with Twilight right behind her. Once Alex heard the door open he immediately rushed towards the bed and forced himself under the covers, sending the cat flying off of the bed and onto the floor. "Can't a cat get a little shut eye in this house?!"

"It's a library!" said Twilight.

The cat turned around to see Twilight again. "Oh, it's you. I thought I told you we weren't interested. I see you brought your friend."

"That's Applejack to you, cat."

"Whatever. The point is, we don't want to be interrupted and it would be much appreciated if you two HAGS left us alone!"

"...You got a spray bottle?" asked Applejack.

"Brought it with me just in case." said Twilight as she pulled out a squirt bottle full of water.

"No! Not the squirt bottle! Please, have mercy!"

"Sorry, but bad kitties must be punished!" said Twilight as she began spraying the cat.

"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh! I won't forget this!" said the cat as he ran for the door.

"You can't run from my magic!" shouted Twilight as the squirt bottle followed the cat out the door.

"Nooooooooooooo!!!"

"Wow, that felt really good." said Twilight.

"Let me try it next time." said Applejack.

Twilight then turned to the bed and shook it a little. "Hey Alex, are you awake?"

Alex remained silent underneath the covers. Please go away. Still...I can't believe I'm inside of the library! Twilight's library! No, I have to focus! I don't belong here! I need to find a way home! But...it's still pretty cool.

"Here, let me try." whispered Applejack. *Ahem!* "RISE AND SHIIIIIINE!!!"

"OWWW my ears!" shouted Alex as he jumped out of the bed. "Why?!"

"Because the sun is up and you're still in bed sleepyhead! It's time for you to get outside for a change!" said Applejack as she pulled the sheets off of Alex.

"Not only that, but this place is a bit dirty." said Twilight. "I think it would be a good idea for you to get outside and take a walk around Ponyville while Spike and I clean this place up a bit. I mean look at this." Twilight picked up the drawing that was left on the desk.

"Leave it alone! That's mine!" said Alex.

Applejack walked up next to Twilight, "What are they?" she asked.

"Are they some kind of animal?" asked Twilight as she carried the drawing to the bed.

"They're my family back in my world," he said as he pointed to one of the people in his drawing, "And that's me right there."

Their eyes grew wide, "That's you Alex?!" asked Twilight.

"Well it used to be me," he said as he turned away, "What do you want anyway?"

Before Twilight could speak Applejack interrupted her, "We're here to get you out of your room and into the sunlight!"

Alex narrowed his eyes a bit, "W-w-w-w-"

"Come on pal, you can talk to me." said Applejack.

"W-w-w-what do you mean?" he asked.

Now we're gettin' somewhere. she thought. "Ah mean that ah'm going to get you outside for your first day in Equestria! Didn't you hear me say it the first time?"

"S-s-s-sorry. But someone shouted into my ear and I couldn't hear anything. Thanks for the offer anyways, but I'm going to have to say no." said Alex as he began climbing back into bed.

Applejack went for her rope, "Sorry bud, but ah wasn't asking whether you wanted to or not."

Alex lifted the bed sheets, "W-w-what's that suppose to me-aaauuuggghhhhh!!!"

Before he knew it Applejack had hogtied him and made sure the rope was tight so he couldn't escape. She began to drag him out of the basement against his will and pull him outside. Alex had a very annoyed look on his face as she was pulling him, and he felt really stupid that he didn't see this coming. As they exited the library, Applejack informed Twilight that she'd have him back in no time. Finally she released him, and he began wiping all the dust his body caught as it was dragged across the floor.

"So why did you drag me out here?" he asked.

"Well," began Applejack, "Since you're going to be living here with us from now on, ah thought what better chance to give you a tour of the town!"

"Oh great, woo-hoo." he said while rolling his eyes.

Applejack gave him a big smile, "Ah knew a tour would get you excited!" and with that they set off on their way.

She brought him by the shopping center where everypony bought their fresh produce from, while informing him that she herself sold apples down here from time to time and that she would give him a good deal on apples if he were to stop by. She took him around the cafes in town but she didn't really know much about them since she's never really been to one before so they just went on. As they continued their tour she often took glances at Alex and he always kept the same upset look on his face. She took him by the school where they were able to see the young fillies enjoying their recess. By three o'clock they had finished their tour through Ponyville but Alex still had that look on his face, so she took up to a hill that was a little far from Ponyville.

"So," he started, "What's next on this grand tour of yours?"

"Am ah doing something wrong?" she said.

He turned to face her, "What's that supposed to mean?"

She turned to face him, "It means that you've had that same look on your face all day! Ah'm beginning to think you didn't really like mah idea of a tour."

"No! What could have possibly given you that idea?" he said sarcastically.

Now she was getting mad, "What is your problem? Ah went out of my way to help you get to know your new home and maybe put a smile on that face of yours but you won't give me even the slightest grin! Have ah violated some rule from your world?"

"Oh! I'm sorry!" he snapped, "Sorry if I'm a little busy wondering how my family is doing back home and if I'll ever get the chance to see them again! I never asked you to bring me here you know!"

"We 'need' you here! Besides, this 'is' your home! The little fella made of light told that your family came from Equestria. That is proof that you belong here with us ponies!" she yelled.

"Proof?! He didn't show any proof! He just spit out a bunch of garbage!" he shouted, "I'm a human! You're a pony! I don't belong here!"

She started moving close to him, "So what? You don't care about what happens to us? You don't care about everypony here who's counting on you to save them from that disaster the princess was talking about? We have families too you know! Ah have a family, but ah guess our lives don't mean anything to you do they?!"

"Well what am I supposed to do?! I can't do anything! I can't fight! I can barely walk on my own legs! I can't pick up a stupid book! And I can't even use magic! Even if I wanted to do something, I can't! I can't do anything! Besides, I have no reason to help you! I don't have any friends or family here!"

"What about me?" she asked, "Aren't we friends?"

"Friends?!" he shouted, "You kidnap me from my world. Force me to live here, with no way of seeing my parents ever again. And you think that makes us friends?! I've never heard anything more stupid in my entire life!"

Applejack had heard enough, she raised her hoof and punched Alex in his face and she made sure it hurt. Alex was sent crashing onto the ground; he quickly put his hoof over where she had punched him as he looked up at her in anger. She looked down at him angrily with tears running down her face. Alex managed to get himself up and they just looked at each other.

Finally she spoke, "Ah can't believe you!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "How could you be so heartless?! Ah try to do something nice for you and this is how you act?! Ah thought you might have been a nice colt who would be more than happy to help us but now ah see that you're really just a huge jerk! You don't deserve to have an element of harmony, especially not the element of love! Ah hate you!!!" she shouted as she ran off.

Alex was alone now, watching her walk away from the hill. Her words just echoed in his head, was he really heartless? He lifted himself off the ground and started walking in the opposite direction which sent him into the Everfree forest and he began to think about the things he had just said. It wasn't their fault he was brought to their world, they just wanted to protect their loved ones. At the same time he thought about his reasons for not wanting to help them protect their home. He started to feel like the biggest jerk in the entire universe when he suddenly began hearing noises coming from some nearby trees.

"Hey, where am I? I really need to start paying closer attention to where I go. This...isn't this the Everfree forest?! And...wait...what's that sound?" He looked over to see two young Pegasus ponies in the air while a little orange one with a purple mane was trying to climb the tree that they were flying by.

"Come on guys! Give them back!" she said.

Alex stared in disbelief. Isn't that...Scootaloo?!

"What's wrong, can't fly yet?" said the first Pegasus

"Of course not, she's too weak to fly!" said the second Pegasus as they began to laugh at her.

Scootaloo began to cry at how they were laughing at her. Bullies. thought Alex. I should just leave them alone; it has absolutely nothing to do with me. He then turned around and began walking away.

"Please!" she shouted.

At that moment, Alex felt a surge of rage coming from deep within. At the same time, Applejacks words echoed through his head causing him to grit his teeth. He turned around and headed toward them.

"Hey!" he shouted, "What do you two think you're doing to her?"

"Who are you?" asked the first Pegasus.

Alex gave them a mean look, "Who I am is not important. What is important is that once I'm through with you, you're never going to forget me. Now then, who wants to be punished first?! Or, would you prefer that I tell your parents?!"

"No, please! My mom would kill me! We're sorry!" The two immediately flew away as fast as they could in fear.

"Are you alright?" he asked without looking at her.

She walked up to the tree they were flying by and pointed her hoof to one of the branches. Alex scanned the branch with his eyes and saw 3 toys sitting there.

"Here," he said, "Let me get those for you."

He walked over to the tree and stared straight up at the branch the toys rested on. Okay, maybe I can knock them down with a kick. He turned his back to the tree and gave it a good kick with his rear legs which caused the toys to fall off. Scootaloo was then overjoyed to have her toys back and gave him a great big smile. Alex felt a warm feeling inside for having stepped in to save her from the bullies.
Scootaloo wiped the tears off her face, "Thanks mister...uh."

"Alex, just call me Alex." he said. "And uh...don't mention it. I'm just glad I could help."

She nodded, "Thanks Alex!" She looked up at him with wide eyes as though she had just seen her idol standing right in front of her.

"Well...I should get going. You shouldn't go too far into these woods, they're dangerous." he said.

He made his way back into Ponyville trying to keep himself from running into Applejack when he started hearing a strange sound. He stopped walking, and then the noise stopped. He started walking again and sure enough he started hearing it again. What is that? He thought. He started to get a good idea of what was happening and he began to run until he moved around the nearest corner and quickly turned around waiting to for a certain little filly to follow him around it. Sure enough Scootaloo came running around the corner right after him and stopped her little hooves before she would crash. She looked up at Alex with an innocent smile hoping he wouldn't be mad at her now that she had been caught. Alex didn't know why, but she just made him want to smile.

"Are you following me?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Will you tell me why?"

"No."

"Are you going to stop following now that I know you're following me?"

"No."

"Okay...suit yourself." he said as he continued making his way back to the library. He occasionally took glances behind him to see Scootaloo following him. What's with this kid? Why is she following me? As he thought about it he couldn't help but laugh a bit. Alex had at last returned to the library, he was almost afraid of opening the door fearing that Twilight had heard about what happened with Applejack. He knocked three times with a sinking feeling growing in his chest. The door began to open and he felt like throwing up. Twilight opened the door and Alex didn't see any sign of Applejack anywhere so he let out a sigh of relief, he was safe for now.

"Welcome back! Where's Applejack? Who's this?" she asked.

Scootaloo hid behind Alex trying to cover her head using his tail, "Hey! What are you doing to my tail back there? Uh...don't mind her, she's a little shy...I guess?" He stepped off to the side a bit so Twilight could see her clearly. "Go on, say hello."

She slowly turned to face Twilight. "Hello, my name is Scootaloo."

Twilight lowered her head to speak at Scootaloo's level, "Well it's nice to meet you Scootaloo. Why is she here?" she asked.

"Uh...I'm not exactly sure. She keeps following me around and she won't tell me why." He turned to see Scootaloo give him a warm smile.

"Aw! How cute! It's almost like she's your little sister or something."

"Hahaha, very funny. I'm serious here, she won't leave me alone. I don't need some kid following me around everywhere." he whispered.

"Oh come on, she's not hurting anypony. Besides, I think it's great to see that you've made a friend."

"Friend?! She's not..." He quickly lowered his voice before Scootaloo could hear. "She's not my friend! She's just following me, probably because I saved her from those bullies."

"Oh come on. You're telling me you don't like having her follow you everywhere?"

"Well...I guess that little smile of hers kind of warms my heart a bit."

"You see? I'm glad she makes you happy, but what happened to Applejack?" asked Twilight.

Alex took in a deep breath and then exhaled, "We got into a little argument, and I'd rather not talk about it. Anyways, I figured I'd just go back into my room. I'm...kind of exhausted from earlier."

"Oh...okay. Spike and I finished cleaning up in there. It should look a lot neater than before."

"Yeah...thanks Twilight." said Alex as he made his way towards the door.

Twilight wasn't sure what had happened between them so she just assumed it was something the two would eventually work out by themselves. Alex walked down the stairs back into his room and when he reached the bottom of the steps he could hear someone else coming down the steps. He turned to see a familiar face. "Are you really following me into my room?"

"Yes." said Scootaloo.

"Why are you following me?" he asked. Scootaloo just replied by smiling at him. *Sigh* "Fine. Do whatever you want, just don't make a mess please."

"You...would not believe what they did to me!" said a voice from his bed.

"Oh hey cat, how are-OH MY LORD WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!" he asked. Alex stared in shock at his furry mentor. His fur was completely soaked and hanging down.

"The bottle...she wouldn't stop until it was empty. Please...help me."

"I'll go find a towel." said Alex.

"Oh cool! A talking cat!" said Scootaloo as she walked towards the cat.

"Who's the kid?"

"Um...that's Scootaloo. She followed me here." said Alex as he continued searching for a towel.

"You brought a stranger into our home? Are you crazy?! Didn't they tell you to never bring strangers home from where you came?"

"Of course they did! But she's a child. What can she possibly do? Oh! Here's a towel!"

"I got it!" said Scootaloo as she quickly snatched the towel before Alex could figure out how to grab it. "I'll dry you kitty!" She then began to rub the cat with the towel.

"Gah! She's choking me! I can't breathe! I think I'm going to suffocate! Make it stop! Make it stooooop!" he begged.

"Scootaloo stop! I think he's dry!" said Alex. As Scootaloo released the cat from the towel, they both saw that the cats’ fur was now a complete mess.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" asked the cat. He then looked down at himself. "Gah! I'm hideous! Groom me...please groom me!"

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?!" asked the cat.

"I don't know how to grab things with my hooves yet! You haven't taught me how!"

"Oh great! Well I can't go around looking like this! Think of something!"

"Okay! I'll be right back!" said Alex as he ran up the stairs. After a short while he returned. "Okay, I've got you covered."

"Great! So...what's the plan?"

"Hello." said Twilight.

"You!" said the cat.

"I hear that kitty needs to be groomed." said Twilight with an eerie smile on her face. "I'll make sure kitty looks nice and pretty." She then pulled out several combs and bows.

"No...no! Not the pink bows! ANYTHING BUT THE PINK BOWS!" he screamed as he ran out the basement door.

You're not getting away from me!" said Twilight as she chased after him.

"Well that takes care of that problem." said Alex as he turned forward to see Scootaloo again. And that leaves me with this problem. "Um... look." He began searching the room. "There are some paint buckets over there, draw some pictures or something. I don't really care. Just don't make a mess." She began doing just that. Alex laid on his bed and watched her use her tail as a brush and began painting. Huh...she's quite artistic. Kind of like me. He then closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep.

"Alex, look! I made this for you!" She said.

Oh great. What now? he thought. He opened his eyes to see the painting she had made him. "Oh...hey not bad. That's pretty good for a kid."

"I'm bored now. Let's play!" she said as she tossed the picture to the side.

"Uh...I'm a little tired. Maybe you should go home?"

"No! Come on! Let's play!" she said as she began jumping. Just then both the cat and Twilight ran back into the room and began running around all over the place causing chaos.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" asked Alex.

"Keep me away from me she-witch!" said the cat.

"Spike! Get down here and help me catch this cat!" said Twilight.

"Hang on Twilight! I'll get him!" said Spike.

"Will you all stop?! You're going to make a mess!" shouted Alex.

"Yeah! Let's play!" said Scootaloo as she began running around the room as well. Just then Twilight and Spike kicked over some of the paint cans spilling its contents onto the floor.

"Oh no! Stop! You all have to stop!" shouted Alex.

"This is fun!" said Scootaloo as she kicked one of the paint cans. Alex watched as the paint can flew up into the air and headed towards the desk where his drawing lay. The moment the paint can had landed on the desk the entire room went silent and everyone stared at the desk.

Twilight gasped once she remembered that Alex had kept his drawing there and turned her eyes to see him get up out of bed. He slowly walked towards the desk and looked down at the puddle of paint that now covered his drawing. He stared down in disbelief and his mouth opened as though he was about to speak but no words came out.

"What's up? Why did everypony stop?" asked Scootaloo.

"What...what did you do?" asked Alex.

"We're having fun! Come on and join us!"

"Fun?...FUN?! YOU CALL THIS FUN?!" he shouted as he tossed his drawing onto the floor.

"Wh-why are you yelling?" she asked with a scared look on her face. "Wh-wh-what did I do?"

"What did I tell you?!" he shouted, "I told you not to make a mess right?! And what did you just do?!"

"B-b-but they-"

"Don't 'but they' me! Yes they were making a mess but that was an accident! You did it on purpose! You went ahead and began throwing things around everywhere!"

"I...I'm sorry." she said as she began stepping back.

"Why did you ignore me?! Huh?! Because of you I've lost the only thing I had left to remember my family by, do you realize what you've done?!!" He started to feel tears running down his face.

Scootaloo just looked back at him with a sorry expression across her face. She slowly began to walk toward him so she could apologize for what she did.

"Go away," he said, "Go away! I never want to see you ever again!"

Scootaloo stared at him as his words echoed through her head. She started to cry and began running up the stairs and out of the library as fast as she could. The room was quiet as Alex turned to stare back at the now ruined picture of his family. Twilight slowly made her way towards him. "Alex...I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

"I'm leaving." said Alex as he headed up the stairs.

"Leaving? W-where are you going?" asked Twilight.

"I DON'T KNOW BUT ANYWHERE'S BETTER THAN HERE RIGHT NOW!!!" he shouted as he slammed the door shut.

"Poor kid." said the cat.

"Can't we get the paint off the picture?" asked Spike.

"It's too late. The paper's already absorbed so much paint, I can't get rid of it." said Twilight. "This day has been nothing but horrible."

Alex strolled through Ponyville ignoring what other ponies were doing and saying. He just kept walking, not looking at any of the buildings he was passing along the way. He walked as though he was lost in a trance. He continued walking for what felt like hours. He looked at the sun and it appeared as though it was going to set in an hour or so. As he made his way through Ponyville he came across an orphanage, he noticed some of the children looked troubled.

"Have any of you fillies seen Scootaloo?" asked the pony in charge.

The children all shook their heads at the pony. Alex just kept on walking trying not to think too much about it. As he continued to make his way home he overheard a conversation between two mares. The first mare appeared to be Bon Bon and the other seemed to be Lyra.

"I saw her with my own two eyes Lyra, the little filly was crying as she ran by. Poor little thing." said Bon Bon.

Crying? Is she talking about...wh-what do I care?! She ruined my drawing! It was all I had left of my family! She can take care of herself! he thought. But...she's just a kid. I shouldn't have yelled at her like that. She was just playing. What have I done?

She ran right into the Everfree forest alone? Are you sure?" asked Lyra.

The Everfree forest?! But...those woods...they're dangerous! She wouldn't...she... Alex immediately rushed up to the two of them. "Tell me! Was the filly you saw orange with a purple mane?!" he yelled.

They stared at each other then back at Alex, "Yes, how did you know that?" replied Bon Bon.

Alex didn't have time to answer; he took as fast as he could. He didn't know why he was running after Scootaloo but something in his heart told him that he needed to find her no matter what. As he ran through town he was seen by a certain cyan Pegasus that couldn't help but wonder what Bon Bon had told him to get him so riled up. He finally exited Ponyville and picked up his speed, it was as if something was pulling him towards this little filly.

Why do I care so much? She's just a pony. She has nothing to do with me... "No! Not this time! I don't care if she's a pony and I'm a human! I don't care if I'm not from this world anymore! I don't care if she ruined my drawing! It doesn't matter anymore! Right now she matters to me and that's what's important!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Scootaloo was deep in the Everfree forest lying against one of the trees crying, she didn't want to go back ever again. She felt horrible for ruining Alex's drawing but she couldn't apologize now that he hated her. She picked up one of her toys and looked at it for a couple of seconds before she began crying again. She wished she could take it all back, so she could be by his side again. After he had saved her from those bullies she got this feeling of warmth and safety from him as long as he was around. She rolled herself up with her toys and tried to rest there in the middle of the forest. Suddenly she heard growling coming from somewhere near her.

"H-h-hello?" she called out, "Is somepony there?" She began hearing the bushes shivering all around. Something was nearby, but she couldn't see anything. She then began to hear a low growling, followed by the sound of footsteps. Whatever it was kept moving at an incredible speed, she couldn't tell where the footsteps were coming from. At first they came from the left, then the right, her eyes darting everywhere trying to catch a glimpse of the creature.

Then, in front of the poor filly, stepped out a timber wolf. It's horrible gaze instilled fear in Scootaloo. She felt scared, helpless, wishing it was all a dream. The timber wolf stared at her, jaw open, drool dripping from its mouth. It was hungry, and before it lay its next meal. From a few feet away, Alex stared in shock at the creature.

T-t-t-t-that's a timber wolf. That's a real timber wolf! W-what do I do? WHAT DO I DO?! I CAN'T JUST CHARGE IN THERE! THAT THING WILL KILL ME! Maybe I should just go and forget this ever happened. No! I can't do that! She's just a little girl, and right now I'm the only one who can do anything!

Just then the timber wolf prepared to lunge at Scootaloo. Oh no! I have to act now! This is going to be the craziest and the most dangerous thing I've ever done!

The timber wolf charged forward at Scootaloo as she screamed at the top of her lungs. Just then she heard a voice come out from the forest, "Get away from her!"

She heard a crashing sound and then it got quiet. What happened? She thought. She opened her eyes to see Alex standing there in between her and the wolf. He came! He really came! She thought as she began to smile. It seemed like Alex had tackled the wolf to the ground.

"Oh my god. I actually did it!" He turned to see Scootaloo and ran up to her. "Quick!" he shouted as he lowered his neck, "Get on! We're out of here!"

"Yes sir!" she said as she climbed upon her savior.

The moment she was on, Alex took off like a bullet. He was running as fast as he could to protect the life of the small filly he carried on his back. Is this it Applejack? Is this how it feels to want to protect somepony important to you? He thought. As he made his way through the forest he heard the wolf cry out for help. He could hear more timber wolves running after them. He could see the exit to the forest and began running faster than ever before, at last they were out but the wolves hadn't given up yet. As he was running Scootaloo accidentally dropped one of her toys which ended up tripping Alex. He crashed to the ground which flung Scootaloo off of his body.

"Scootaloo!" he shouted as he got back up, "Are you okay?!"

She lifted her head to look up at him, "I'm fine....Alex look out behind you!!!"

A timber wolf had lunged out at Alex; he barely had enough time to respond. He lifted his hoof in an attempt to shield himself but he didn't make it in time. The timber wolf ended up taking a bite off of Alex's leg. Blood was spilling out of his leg at an alarming rate as the wolf kept digging its teeth into his skin. Alex let out a huge scream of pain as Scootaloo could only watch in horror while Alex was suffering. She started to blame herself for his pain, if she hadn't messed up then none of this would be happening right now.

Alex lifted his other hoof, "Get off of me you freak of nature!" and smashed through the wolf's neck severing its head from its body. Whoa, did I really just do that?

He managed to pry the head off of his leg but he could no longer walk with his wound. He looked back as he saw Scootaloo beginning to run toward him. He then looked forward to see three more timber wolves headed for them.

"No Scootaloo!" he screamed, "Get back...you have to...get to safety!"

"I won't!" she screamed back, "I'm not leaving without you!" She desperately tried to help Alex get back on his hooves but it was no use. Suddenly the lead wolf was about to attack.

"GET DOWN!!!" he shouted as he shielded Scootaloo with his body.

Just then a voice came from above. "Hold on!"

Right as the wolf had lunged toward them, it was tackled down by a quick blur that resembled a rainbow. He looked up to see that Rainbow Dash had dived in to save them. He then looked at the other two wolves that had stopped in its tracks. He looked behind him to see Twilight standing there, scaring them off with blasts of magic from her horn. You can do that with magic?! he thought. With Twilight and Rainbow there to back him up, the wolves decided to retreat back into the Everfree forest.

"Thanks girls." he said trying to hide the pain.

"Are you.....Alex your leg! It's bleeding!" shouted Twilight.

Alex's eye squinted due to the pain he was feeling from the bite left on his leg, "I..I think I'll be fine." he said as he lifted his body, "Are you...alright Scootaloo?" She had this scared look on her face having experienced all that, she burst into tears as she wrapped her hooves around Alex. "It's alright now, there's no need to be afraid anymore, they're go...n........e" was all he could say before he passed out.

Scootaloo screamed out loud and desperately tried to wake him up. Twilight looked at Rainbow and vice versa, they immediately picked him up and they all headed for the hospital as fast as they could. There they applied medicine to the wound and wrapped it up with bandages. He laid in the hospital bed with Twilight, Rainbow, and Scootaloo waiting for him to wake up. Rainbow noticed the little filly had these toys with her.

"Are those yours?" she asked.

She nodded as she placed the toys together on a nearby table, "These were with me the day I arrived at the orphanage. My parents left them for me. This one's me. This is my mom, and this...is...." she began to feel her eyes heat up again.

"Your father?" asked Rainbow.

When she said the word 'father' Scootaloo just stared at Alex lying there unconscious in bed. Rainbow and Twilight then began to understand why Alex was so important to her. Twilight walked up to Scootaloo, letting her know that everything was going to be alright. Scootaloo walked up to Alex and placed the toy that represented her father into his saddle bag. It was at this moment that Alex had begun to open his eyes. "Aaaaaaaahhh!!! What?! What happened?!"

"You're fine! Everything's okay. How do you feel?" asked Twilight.

"Where am I? Where's Scootaloo?" he asked.

She didn't respond with words, instead she leaped up onto the bed and started to hug him with all her strength. Alex did the same thing as he held onto this little filly that caused him to have quite the eventful day.

"Let me get out of this bed, I can walk." he said as he tried to hide his pain.

"Are you sure about that? The doctor says you should rest that leg for a couple of days." said Twilight.

"I'll let it rest back home, right now I have to take Scootaloo back home to the orphanage." he said.

Scootaloo opened her eyes in shock as she looked up at him. "When did you find out?"

"What? That you're from the orphanage? I overheard the pony in charge ask all the fillies if they had seen you so I figured that you must have been from there." he answered.

Alex climbed out of bed and they made their way out of the hospital where they parted ways. As soon as they left he lowered his neck and hinted Scootaloo to climb on. She climbed on him again and they began making their way to the orphanage. It was a quiet walk back as the moon was out and everypony was asleep in their homes. Scootaloo thought that if she was going to apologize then she might as well as do it now.

"I'm sorry." she said.

"What for?" he asked.

"I'm sorry I ruined your family drawing even though it meant a lot to you. It was an accident, I didn't mean to do it on purpose!" she said.

"It's okay Scootaloo; I'm not upset about that anymore. However, I did tell you not to go into the Everfree forest didn't I?" he said as he turned his head to face her, "Yet you chose to ignore me once again." Suddenly he stopped walking and Scootaloo got off of his back and looked down to the ground.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked ready to cry again.

"I'm not mad." he said as he pulled her in close. "You really scared me you know. You could have been killed if I hadn't gotten there in time. I'm...I'm glad you didn't get hurt." He quickly turned his head away as his body began to quiver.

"Alex? Are you crying?" she asked.

"No, of course not. It's just really cold out here, and it's bothering my eyes."

Scootaloo began to nestle in his arms until they decided to continue their way to the orphanage. At last they had arrived, Alex knocked on the door as Scootaloo lowered her ears knowing that now she had to go back into this place that reminded her everyday of how her parents had left her here alone. The door soon opened and Alex came face to face with the mare in charge. She was a pony Alex was unfamiliar with which surprised him. Her name was Sunny Day, her fur was peach with a red mane and green eyes.

"Scootaloo!" she shouted, "Where have you been? We were all so worried about you!"

Scootaloo just dropped her head and started heading inside. Once Alex saw that she was inside he started to walk away until he felt something poke at him from inside his bag. He decided to look inside his saddle bag to see what had been poking him. Several minutes later Scootaloo had made her way to where all the fillies slept and walked over to her bed. She placed her two toys on her bed and began climbing into it when the door to the room opened.

Sunny Day stepped in and walked up to Scootaloo with a smile across her face. "Scootaloo," she began, "There's someone here who would like to adopt you."

Scootaloo almost couldn't believe what she was hearing, was this really happening? Emily walked over by the door and signaled for the pony to walk in. Scootaloo's heart began to drop as several thoughts flew through her mind, What if they live far away? What if I have to leave Ponyville? I don't want to leave Ponyville! She closed her eyes as the pony walked into the room preparing for the worst. Then she heard a familiar voice speak to her.

"What's wrong?" the voice said, "I thought you'd be happy to see me."

She opened her eyes and looked up in disbelief, "Alex?" she said, "Really?"

He moved in closer, "Really." he said as he took out the toy that Scootaloo left in his saddlebag, he flipped it over and it had the word 'father' written on it “Look, I'm not the best with words. But...I've thought about everything that's happened today. And, I've kind of enjoyed your company. So, I figured maybe you'd want to come...live with me and everypony else at the library?"

She stood frozen there in disbelief at his words, and then she began to put on the biggest smile he had ever seen. "Yes!" she screamed at the top of her lungs waking all the other fillies in the room. She didn't care though she was busy jumping for joy around Alex, he had to stop her in mid jump using his magic so he could calm her down before she woke the whole town. Alex and Sunny Day went up to her office so he could fill out the necessary paperwork and once he was finished he showed Scootaloo the adoption papers and placed them in his bag. Scootaloo said her goodbyes to the orphanage and followed right by Alex's side.

"Look." Alex began, "Although I did just adopt you, I'd like to get something straight."

"Okay."

"Now I don't think I'm...okay with being labeled as your 'father'. So I think for now maybe we could just have like a brother and sister kind of relationship? Is that okay with you?"

"I guess so." said Scootaloo.

"Good."

As they continued walking down the streets of Ponyville, there was a figure standing in the moonlight. Alex couldn't make out who it was until they turned around. It was Applejack and Alex started to get a sinking feeling in his stomach and he started rubbing the spot where Applejack had punched him earlier. Once she saw him walking her way she began to approach him. Alex thought he was done for this time, but she stopped right in front of him and they just looked at each other in the dead silence of the night.

"Hey," Applejack started, "Listen...ah just...I wanted to apologize for hittin you earlier. But you have to understand why ah got so mad, ah'm just scared about what could happen to mah family and friends if this danger really is real."

Alex let out a deep sight. "It's okay, I forgive you for hitting me." he said, "And I can understand why you'd be worried, but can't you see that I'm scared too? I can't just...pretend to act like I'm okay with everything that's been done to me. I've been taken away from my home, I have literally lost everything because of you and the other ponies."

"But we did it with good intentions!"

"How can you say that? You didn't even think about how I'd feel after being brought here? You didn't think that maybe I'd have a life that I wouldn't want to leave behind?"

"Ah know, and ah'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

"I...I don't know. At this point it all depends if I can find a way back home or not. I'm still mad at everypony for bringing me here, I won't try to hide that from you after what happened between us. But even so I can't just keep trying to move on in this world without help from other ponies, and right now you six are the only ones who can actually help me now. So even if I'm mad at you, I still need your help."

"So...what about being friends?"

"We...we're not friends Applejack. You can't just expect people to become friends so quickly. But that doesn't mean we can't work on becoming friends. Although it's going to take time."

"Ah understand, at least we've made some progress with each other, right?"

"Yeah, some is better than none." Alex felt Scootaloo tug slightly on his tail. "Oh, sorry. We were heading home weren't we?"

"Who's this?" she asked.

She slowly walked up, "Hello, my names Scootaloo."

Applejack just stared at this little filly then turned to Alex. "What's going on Alex? Why do you have this little filly following you around?"

"I adopted her from the orphanage after I got out of the hospital about an hour ago." Suddenly he felt a spark of pain from his bite wound and lifted his hoof off the ground to keep pressure off of it.

Applejack covered her mouth with her hoof, "Alex, are you okay? What happened?"

"We were attacked by a pack of timber wolves and one of them got me really bad." he said. "It was the worst feeling of my life."

Applejack stared cautiously at the wound. "Are you going to be okay?!"

"Yeah, the doctor says I just need to take it easy for a bit and it should heal. Still, I hope nothing like this ever happens to me again. Well, I hate to rush this but we should get home. It's late, and I really need to get to bed."

"Right! Ah'm sorry, ah got distracted there for a bit. Well, ah hope you and ah manage to get along better in the near future Alex. And take care of that leg!"

"Yeah, and thanks Applejack I will. I'll see you later." Applejack nodded her head and turned to walk back to her farm. As she walked away he took in a deep breath and let out another sigh. "Well...that went a lot better than expected." said Alex.

"Hey Alex, who was she?" asked Scootaloo.

"Uh...well...she's..." Alex looked off in the distance. "...I'm not really sure yet, but I think I'll find out soon."

~~~~~

Back in the library Twilight was waiting for Alex to get home. She began to worry because it was so late and he still had a wounded hoof. She began to fear the worst had happened to him. She wondered if she should go out and look for him, but before she could she began to hear the front door open.

"We're home!"

Twilight immediately rushed towards the door, "Welcome back...Scootaloo? What's she doing here? I thought you were taking her home?" she asked.

"She is home." he said. He took out the adoption papers and showed them to Twilight.

*Gasp!* "You adopted her from the orphanage?! Are you crazy, why didn't you consult with me first before you adopted her?!"

"Since when did I need your permission to adopt a child? Wait; is that some weird rule of Equestria? Do you have to get the permission of everypony you live with before you can adopt a child?"

"Well no, but, I wish you had talked about this with me sooner though."

"Hey Alex?" said Scootaloo.

"Yes Scootaloo, what is it?" asked Alex.

"Is she your wife?" asked Scootaloo as she pointed at Twilight.

Both of their faces immediately began to burn with embarrassment. "No Scootaloo, she's not. She...she's like Applejack. I just happen to be living in the same house with her."

"Oh, so is she your girlfriend then?" she asked.

"No Scootaloo, she's not my girlfriend either." said Alex. "I think it's getting a little late. Hey Spike, do you think you can show Scootaloo where the washroom is? I think it's about time we get ready for bed and we need to wash up." said Alex.

"Sure thing, this way please." he said as she began to follow the baby dragon.

Alex looked back at Twilight slightly embarrassed, "Haha...that was awkward. Sorry about that."

"T-that's okay, I'm sure it would look that way to anypony. I mean, who's ever seen two ponies living together that are not a couple?"

"Yeah that is weird. Um...I think I'm going to head downstairs. My hoof is starting to bother me."

After Scootaloo came back down they said their goodnights, and went down into the basement so they could go to sleep. "Hey cat? Are you down here?"

"Over...here."

"Over wh- oh....wow..." Alex stared at the cat. He had his fur all combed nice with bows all over his head. Twilight even put him in a little cat sized dress with shoes to match. "Uh..."

"You laugh, you die! And why is that kid here?!"

"Hi kitty cat! Did you miss me?" said Scootaloo.

"Nope. I do miss having you gone though."

"Well too bad! Because I live here now!"

"What?! Tell me she's joking!"

"I'm afraid not. I kind of adopted her from the orphanage." said Alex.

"We're going to have lots of fun kitty!" said Scootaloo as she hugged the cat.

"Noooooo! Release me! What kind of sick and twisted joke is this?!"

After some time had passed, Scootaloo finally decided to leave the cat alone. She noticed Alex staring at an empty picture frame on the wall and walked up next to him. "What goes in there?" she asked.

"I think Twilight brought it here so that I could put my family portrait there." he said.

As soon as he mentioned it Scootaloo had begun to frown remembering what she did to it until Alex lifted her chin up with his hoof, "It's okay, because I've got an even better portrait for the wall."

He reached into his bag and pulled out the painting that Scootaloo made for him. It was a painting of the two of them up on a hill playing together. Scootaloo didn't know he would actually keep it after what she did to his drawing. He then used his magic to lift the painting up and placed it inside the frame.

"There," he said, "Now I'll never forget what my 'new' family looks like." He turned to give Scootaloo a smile.

Scootaloo was so happy that her painting did cheer him up after all. Alex had the bed prepared for Scootaloo while she was washing up. He tucked her into bed and turned out the lights. After he shut off the light he walked over to a nearby couch that had been left there and laid down on it deciding that he would sleep here for now until he could buy another bed. A couple of hours passed by and Scootaloo woke up to a sound coming from inside the room. She looked over and saw that Alex was shivering; she got off the bed and grabbed the sheets. She hopped over to the couch and climbed right next to him placing the blanket over them both as she nestled into his hooves. She looked up at his face which now had a smile on it, "Goodnight Alex" she said. She closed her eyes and thought to herself. I hope someday...I can call you my dad.

Alex was awake at the time and as Scootaloo fell asleep he couldn't help but look at her. This is my home now, he thought, and I guess I have to get used to it now. I wish I could see them again, but now I have other things to worry about. Now that I have this kid with me, somehow things don't seem as bad as I thought. And tomorrow...I begin my training to use magic.