Draconic Awakening

by saber1994

Rating: teen
Tags: Main 6, Original Character, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Adventure, Princess Celestia, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Zecora, Human
Length: 26512

A young man arrives in a strange world and discovers that he has some strange powers

Elliot Drake, an ordinary young man, wakes up in a strange forest and appears to be suffering from retrograde amnesia. He soon discovers that this forest is a long way from Earth and located in a land known as Equestria. While trying to regain his memories he does his best to cope with the world the he was thrust into. Elliot will make new friends and enemies all during his quest to remember and to find a way home.

Note: This is my first fanfic so please be gentle with the critiques. I will add more tags and characters whenever they will be first implemented in the story.

Published 2012-03-09 19:24:02 UTC
Last updated 2012-07-07 08:44:41 UTC

Awakening

A child sliding across the street, a shrill squeal of rubber on asphalt, and a female voice shouting the word “Elliot!” were the only things that came to his mind. The man tried his best to remember anything else; however it always came to those three things. Memories would be useful for this situation right now. Waking up in an unrecognizable forest lying in a puddle of red liquid was cause for any sane creature to worry.

The man tried his best to stand and slowly made his way to an upright, albeit hunched, position. Looking around he saw only trees and beams of light filtering through the canopy above. A couple of memories were still available for him to access, however few of them were pertinent to the situation or how he got here. One thought did help him though. Knowing that he was lost he knew that he should stay put. This would allow others to be more likely to find him and he would keep from getting further away from civilization.

Soon physical needs began to force him to make a choice. A burning in his mouth and throat told him that he needed to find a source of water. Listening carefully, he was able to hear trickling. Slowly stumbling toward the sound, he found a small stream slightly out of view from his original location. He tried his best to kneel down to the water without falling in but was only mildly successful. Slipping some he managed to extend his hand into the water and caught himself before he fell in.

After steadying himself he looked into the stream and saw his reflection staring back at him. He noticed the short blonde hair and hazel eyes gazing back at him. Once he was done admiring the reflection he lowered his mouth to the water and began slurping as much as he could. The water was only slightly cool and managed to completely satisfy the thirst that he had been feeling. Standing up he decided to return to his starting point and investigate the area.

As soon as he had made his way back, his eyes were immediately drawn to the red puddle that he had been lying in. He made his way to the liquid and began to examine it. Upon further investigation he realized that it was blood. Panic began setting in. There was a lot of blood on the ground and there was only one source that it could have come from. The man began to strip off the clothing that he had on and inspect his body. He searched every inch of his body, but he couldn't locate a single scratch.

At first he began to calm at this revelation, but panic returned as soon as his next thought passed. If it’s not mine then whose is it? He looked around the area and saw that there wasn’t another soul in sight. He looked back at the puddle of blood and he noted that there were no marks showing that something had tried to escape.

This revelation soon left the man’s mind as a chilling breeze swept through the forest. He shivered heavily and decided that he should probably put his clothes back on. He reached for the blue jeans that he had been wearing and put them on quickly. As he did this he felt something touch his rear end. Reaching back to find what it was he discovered a pocket containing some sort of folder. He pulled it out and opened it. When he looked inside he saw a rectangular piece of plastic that had a face similar to the one he had admired in the stream.

After he looked over the piece of plastic he noted that the only symbols he recognized were located below the picture. He looked over them carefully and began to try and sound out the letters. “Drake, Elliot,” he said to himself. Then he remembered that was the name being called out in his earlier memory. I guess this is my name Elliot thought after looking over the card some more.

He decided that that was all of the information that he was going to find and put the card back in his wallet. After pocketing the wallet he grabbed the simple white t-shirt, now stained with blood, and pulled it back over his head. The smell from his shirt nearly made him gag, but he felt he could stand the smell to avoid potentially freezing.

Elliot looked around some more and decided that he should find some food and shelter. He didn’t know how long he would be here, but he felt that he should be as prepared as possible. After searching the immediate area he found a nice area that had a rock outcropping that acted as a roof for a small section of ground. He walked over to it and noted that he could easily walk under the rock without hitting his head. He could also lie down and the rock would still cover him from head to toe.

Feeling that his luck was getting better he decided to see if he could find any sort of food. Elliot went over a list that he couldn’t remember how he knew. He knew that white berries were definitely toxic. Also he could try and catch fish in the stream if there were any. Any minnows he found could be eaten whole. As a last resort he could also try and eat insects. Feeling his stomach rumble he decided to forage some berries and try a few of them first.

After looking around for a couple of minutes he found what he thought were strawberries. Elliot picked as many as he could and used his shirt to act as a basket to carry back to his shelter. He decided to try at least one to try and decide whether it would be safe to eat or not. Grabbing a single small berry he rinsed it off in the stream nearby and readied himself. Nervously he raised the berry to his mouth and bit into it.

A burst of sweetness washed over his mouth. Elliot definitely knew that these were strawberries now. He began to wash off the rest of the berries and eat them as soon as he was done cleaning them. After he began to feel satisfied he returned to his temporary home with the remainder of his food. He set the berries down and began to dig a small hole in the ground. He then went to pluck a few low hanging leaves from some nearby trees. Returning to his hole in the ground, he lined it with his leaves and then set the berries inside. This way he could store them and keep them from getting too dirty.

A sudden yawn began to well up in Elliot’s throat. He knew that he would need to get some sleep soon, but he needed to build a fire first. Searching through the nearby trees he found plenty of fallen limbs that would act as the main body of the fire. He set them at the back of the outcropping and set a few in a tee pee shape just outside. Elliot then gathered some smaller twigs and leaves for some started.

Once he finally had all that he needed he arranged the leaves, twigs, and limbs in the best formation for prolonged
burning. Then a depressing thought hit him. How was he going to light the fire? He thought about trying to rub two sticks together but pushed that thought from his mind as being impractical. He shoved his hands in his front pockets and was about to start pacing in frustration, but he felt something. Grasping the object he pulled it out and immediately recognized it. This lighter was special to him and nothing could ever let him forget that. Returning to pile of sticks, he knelt down to light the fire.

Before he did that a thought occurred to him, he should put rocks around the fire to act as a barrier just in case it began to get out of hand. After he did that he lit his trusty Zippo and touched it to the leaves at the bottom of the pile. Once the fire began to catch Elliot could finally breathe a sigh of relief. The warmth of the fire relaxed him and this allowed his tiredness to return. Elliot lay down near the fire getting as comfortable as possible and slowly drifted into sleep.

Elliot awoke with a jolt and began looking around the area frantically. Something had awoken him and he felt panic begin to set in. He looked to his fire and saw that it was now only a pile of smoldering coals. This worried him even more. The fire would have kept wild animals away and he was now left without much of anything in the form of self defense.

Elliot decided he should hide the best he could. Looking up he saw that the top of the outcrop was hard to see but provided a great view of the surrounding area. He climbed it as quickly as he could and once he got to the top he pressed himself flat against the rock.

After a long period of silence Elliot began to think that he had just been imagining things when suddenly he heard what sounded like voices. He almost jumped for joy but contained himself. Not knowing where he was it would be best for him to watch and see if these people would help him or not. The voices began to get closer and closer, Elliot began to get more and more panicky. He peered over the edge of the rock the best he could without exposing himself and waited. After a short while he could make out what was being said.

“Ah’m tellin ya, I saw smoke comin’ from this part of the forest!” said a voice that Elliot thought to be a young girl’s.

“I don’t know Applebloom are you sure we should be out here? Our sisters will probably get mad at us again,” said another young girl’s voice. Elliot began to cheer up. If little girls were able to wander this forest so freely then he must be close to civilization.

“Oh c’mon Sweetie Bell, don’t be such a chicken. Just think we might be able to get a fire fighting cutie mark!” exclaimed a third voice.

Elliot suddenly became very confused. What on Earth is a cutie mark, he thought. However before he could give it much more thought, three small figures came into the clearing. Elliot stared at them in awe as they came into view. When Elliot saw them he immediately thought that the girls he heard had come with their pet ponies.

“Hey girls look, somepony built a fire over here!” exclaimed the orange pony. This surprised Elliot. Did that pony just talk?

As if to confirm his suspicions the yellow pony spoke up next. “Yer right Scootaloo, it’s still kinda fresh too,” her southern accent made it sound even weirder.

“Whoever it was they must like strawberries. There’s a whole pile of them over here,” stated the white pony.

Elliot began to feel faint. The sudden arrival of three talking ponies was putting too much pressure on his weakened mind. That was when he noticed that they weren’t just ponies. Not only were the colors too weird but the orange pony with a purple mane seemed to have wings, the white pony with a light pink and purple mane seemed to have a horn. However the yellow pony with a red mane was the most normal of the group.

Elliot couldn’t take it anymore. Right in front of him were three talking ponies, two of which happened to be a unicorn and a pegasus. Elliot rolled onto his back and almost began to laugh. Before he could go into full hysterics, the strain from the situation soon won out, and he fainted.

Elliot slowly came too and saw that he was still on the top of the rocky outcropping. As memories of the three ponies came back to him he looked around the area. They were nowhere in sight. He sighed and climbed back down the rock. Once he got back to his little camp he looked at the pile of berries.

“I guess they must contain hallucinogens or something. I probably shouldn’t eat any more of those unless I’m desperate,” he said to himself. Elliot looked around the area and felt glad that those ponies were just a figment of his imagination. He laughed at himself for being so foolish at to believe it in the first place.

As soon as he began to relax he noticed the small hoof prints covering the area. “No way, that’s impossible!” Elliot nearly shouted. He touched his fingers to one of the prints and felt that it was still warm. Elliot could feel more panic beginning to set in. The very thought of talking ponies made him feel insane but there was no doubting what he saw or heard.

Elliot fell to the ground feeling a great weight pressing down on him. His only thought was that he must be very far from home. He began to cry. The pent up frustration of being lost and then the discovery that he might have also gone insane was too much for him at the moment. However he didn’t have much time to wallow in his own self pity as the roar of what sounded like a lion followed by a trio of high pitched screams forced Elliot’s depression into that of pure fear.

A Proud Savior

The close proximity of the roar made Elliot’s survival instinct to kick into gear. Every fiber of his being was telling him to run and get as far away from the sound as possible. However strong this urge was, he knew that those ponies were most likely in grave danger. He knew that if he stood around and did nothing that at least one of them would get eaten. Walking on shaky legs, he started to head towards the source of the noise.

After a short trek he saw the three ponies from earlier huddled against an outcropping similar to the one he had located. Approximately ten feet away Elliot could just barely see the lion’s head through the trees. Knowing that he needed to act quickly, he grabbed a rock from nearby and stepped into the clearing.

Taking a deep breath Elliot threw the rock at its head and shouted “Over here you dumb… Cat?” Elliot’s jaw dropped at the sight before him. The creature wasn’t quite a lion, but a lion with a scorpion’s tail and bat’s wings. As he was beginning to freeze up again, the manticore turned to face its assaulter. Currently the only thought that was racing threw Elliot’s head was how horrible an idea this had been. He had approached what he thought had been a lion without even an inkling of a plan.

Cutting his thoughts short the manticore let out a terrifying roar and began to charge. This snapped him back to attention and he promptly turned and started sprinting through the forest. Elliot didn’t even have to glance backwards to ensure that the manticore had given chase. The sounds of it crashing through the trees behind him told him enough. He began trying to think of a plan to defend himself or to at least shake the manticore off of his trail.

Noticing a large thicket of trees Elliot changed direction and ran in between them. However the manticore’s progress didn’t falter in the slightest. He was about to change direction again when the manticore lashed out with his paw. The claws sailed straight through the flesh and muscles of Elliot’s calf causing him to trip and roll forwards a few times.

Acting quickly Elliot didn’t allow enough time for the pain from his wound to register. He quickly flipped to his back and extended his right arm just in time to block the manticore’s jaws from closing on the back of his neck. Pain was now the only thing that Elliot could think about. The radius and ulna in his arm were surely shattered after the crushing force closed on his forearm. However Elliot refused to give up. With his vision beginning to turn red he tried his best to beat his adversary senseless with his left fist. Seeing no visible change in the manticore’s attack Elliot began to lose all hope. As he started to slip into a state of unconsciousness, Elliot wondered why his right arm seemed to have turned a different shade of red from his blood.

Elliot slowly began to stir. Opening his eyes, he looked up to see that the moon was now high in the sky. After a short moment memories of his recent encounter he bolted upright and looked around. To his right he saw the manticore sleeping peacefully. Elliot started to try and crawl away, but he noticed a fairly large puddle of red that had gathered around its head. Curiosity caused him to crawl towards the motionless manticore.

Using all of the force that he could muster he used his left arm to flip the creature onto its back. Upon quick inspection Elliot saw the source of the puddle of blood. A series of five parallel gashes graced the throat of the manticore. Elliot began to laugh to himself. Lying on his back he started to laugh harder and harder until he was having trouble breathing.

“I’m Alive!” he shouted up to the night sky. Whatever had killed the manticore had spared him and Elliot found this a good enough reason to be giddy with excitement. However his joy was short lived as he remembered the state that his arm and leg were in. He knew that he could easily bleed to death from the wound in his leg if he didn’t get it taken care of. Crawling a few feet away Elliot found a fallen limb that could easily be used as a crutch. Using his improvised crutch he started to head towards the nearby stream.

Once he got there he hobbled into the running water and began to use it to try and clean his wounds out. After a short wash he used his shirt to stop the blood that was still slowly leaking from his massive leg wound. He ripped the shreds of his jean leg the best he could and fashioned them into a sling. As he finished his mediocre first aid, grabbed his stick and traveled up the stream and back to his little camp.

After arriving he snacked on a few berries and then leaned against the rock wall. Blood loss was beginning to take its toll and Elliot soon found that all he wanted to do was to fall asleep. He began to fight against these urges with all his might. Thinking that if he were to fall asleep his luck would run out and that would be his last nap that he ever took. However he soon learned that his efforts were futile and he slumped to the side and fell into a deep slumber.

The return of the pain of shattered bones forced Elliot to return to the waking world. However he seemed to be in another unusual place. He glanced around and saw that he seemed to be in a house of some sort. Strange masks and various bottles seemed to adorn every square inch of the room that he was in. Elliot looked down at his arm and saw that a proper sling had been put around it. His leg had also been wrapped in a now pink bandage.

Elliot began to smile as it seemed that his luck was still with him. Someone out there had found him and had taken care of his injuries. His elation began to slowly fade away as he finally found time for his thoughts to return to those of being in a strange place. More tears began to well up and he would have began sobbing right there, but the door opened and in walked another strange creature. In its mouth it carried a basket that held various plants and flowers.

He began to worry that maybe this was another dangerous creature that was going to try and eat him, but his rational mind won out as soon as he noticed that it was a zebra not some carnivorous monster. He let out a sigh of relief and this drew the attention of the zebra.

“I am glad to see you awaken from your sleep. I had been worried when you had suffered from wounds so deep,” said the zebra in a perfectly executed rhyme. Elliot thought that maybe she had been preparing that line to make his awakening easier to cope with.

“Yeah I was worried too,” he said looking back to his wounds. The thoughts of just how close to death he had been began to overwhelm him. No longer was he able to hold back his tears. However he didn’t sob or shudder any because he was crying out of relief. He had stared death right in the face and he had managed to walk away with his life.

He looked to the zebra who had begun to put various plants into a cauldron in the center of the room. “Thank you for saving me. I would have died if it weren’t for your help. I am forever in your debt. If you don’t mind me asking what is your name?”

The zebra looked at him and smiled “Zecora is my name. Is it alright if I ask you the same?”

Elliot grinned a little. It seemed that Zecora would always reply in a rhyme. “You can call me Elliot,” he said when a thought occurred to him. “Aren’t you scared of me? I’ve never seen a talking zebra before so can I safely assume that you have never seen a human before?”

Zecora chuckled to herself and grabbed a ladle to stir her brew with. “Afraid of you I am not, for strange beings I have seen a lot.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense,” Elliot mumbled. The distance that he feared he was from home only increased. He began to think that he might not even be on the same planet anymore. Again his ruminations were cut short when another thought came to mind, however this one was much more urgent. “What happened with those three ponies?”

“These ponies I did not see, could you please describe them to me?” Zecora asked the concern now completely evident on her face.

“Well they were all smaller than you so I guess they were younger. There was a white one, an orange one, and a
yellow one. I think their names were Sweetie Bell, Scootaloo, and Applebloom.” Elliot replied his level of concern also beginning to grow.

“Those three fillies always get into trouble. I should check with their families on the double. Stay here and I will soon return. There is soup in the cauldron should you begin to yearn.” After she said that she quickly ran out of the door and left Elliot alone in the strange hut.

The smell coming from the pot soon became intoxicating. Elliot looked around his bed and found a more appropriate crutch was lying near him. He wondered for a second how she had managed to acquire one so quickly but decided to be grateful rather than questioning. Placing the crutch under his armpit he hobbled over to a counter where Zecora had set a bowl and spoon.

Elliot grabbed the bowl and set the spoon inside of it. He made his way over to the cauldron and carefully used the ladle to fill his bowl to a reasonable amount. Afterwards he sat back down on the bed and he began to dig into his meal. The soup tasted delicious. It was filled with exotic flavors that Elliot was sure that he had never tasted before. Even though he wanted to eat more, his full belly told him that that would be a bad idea. He placed the bowl and spoon back on the counter where he found them and he went to relax on the bed again.

With the blood rushing from his head and down to his stomach he slowly became sleepier. Elliot was finally glad to be able to sleep without worrying about getting eaten or mauled in the night. After getting into a comfortable position underneath the blanket he slowly drifted into the world of dreams.

Elliot was walking down the sidewalk with a large smile plastered to his face. Nothing in the world could make him happier than being able to hold hands with the girl that was standing next to him. This day just couldn’t get any better.

Elliot glanced around. They were walking around a popular park that was only a short distance from his house. He sighed contently as the children in the area laughed and played with one another. This sight was one of the most wondrous the world could offer. Children being able to live happy lives always made him smile.

This moment was quickly ruined as he saw one child run out into the street to retrieve a lost ball. Elliot saw a truck speeding down the road towards the kid and he knew instantly that the driver wouldn’t be able to stop in time. He sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him and he dove to push the child out of the way of the truck. Behind him he could hear screaming with one particular voice shouting his name. A tear slowly slipped from his eye as he realized that in saving the child he had doomed himself.

Elliot shot up from his position on the bed. He could feel a fine sheen of sweat that covered his entire body. Breathing heavily Elliot tried his best to recall the details of the nightmare. The only thing that stuck out to him was the fact that he had saved a child’s life but lost his own in the process. This thought helped him to relax a little. He looked out a window and saw that the sun was just starting to rise.

Before Elliot could start to wonder where Zecora was currently, the door to the hut opened. He saw Zecora walk in with a smile on her face. “I take it the three are safe?” Elliot asked.

She looked over at him and replied, “They were able to return safely to Applebloom’s farm. Gladly none of the fillies suffered any harm.”

Elliot relaxed and allowed a large smile to spread across his face. He decided that the dream he had had earlier was
a representation of the previous day’s activities. He could gladly accept that he would have died to save the lives of three young girls. However his smile soon faded as he saw that Zecora wasn’t alone. After she had made her way to the door Elliot could watched as a purple unicorn followed in behind her.

Author's Note: Just to inform all of you none of this is pre-written so the days that I update could vary greatly. I aim to update at least once a week, but I will probably update much more often than that. I am also aiming to keep the chapters at no less than two thousand words,

P.S. Is it weird that I decided to write this chapter at 1:30 in the morning?

Attack in an Orchard

Elliot slowly returned to the waking world. He looked around to try and find out what it was that had awakened him. Seeing nothing he readied himself to go back to sleep but hushed voices from another room caught his attention. Curious he stood and walked close enough to the door so that he could eavesdrop on the conversation. Elliot looked through the partially open door and saw Twilight and some green and purple lizard talking with one another. He thought that he should alert them to his presence but something was telling him that he shouldn’t do that. Once he decided to wait a moment he started to listen in.

Twilight looked like she could barely hold her excitement and she was talking more loudly than she had intended too. “It really is fascinating Spike. The blood that the human Elliot originally woke up in was dragon’s blood. However there were no signs that a dragon had been there. I didn’t see any claw marks or indentations of when it had taken off, it simply vanished. His blood was still very mysterious, but it had a few similarities to the dragon’s!

“These findings are all so interesting. Hopefully I will be able to run a few more experiments in the near future,” Twilight concluded her enthusiastic recounting of her findings. Elliot however felt nervous considering that it was his blood that she had been examining and the fact that the way she said experiments made him begin to worry for his safety. While the two carried on their conversation Elliot decided that it was in his best interest to sneak out of the library.

He walked over to the door and opened hoping to be as quiet as possible. He slipped through the small opening and pulled the door closed. After he did this he began to worry about what he should do next. Quickly looking around to make sure that there wasn’t anyone who could see him Elliot took to the shadows. Finding his way through this unknown town was going to be difficult, especially with it being a cloudy night.

Elliot didn’t make it too far before his stomach started growling. He knew that he needed to find something to eat so that he could keep his energy levels up. After looking around for a short while, he noticed an apple sitting unwatched. He walked over to it, grabbed a few apples and then ran back to the cover of the shadows. Deciding he would eat some as soon as he was out of the close vicinity of the town, Elliot began to head for the outskirts.

After a short walk Elliot noticed that he was approaching what looked like an orchard of some sorts. Thinking this could be a good place to rest for the night he walked a distance into the trees and found one to sit under. He ate the apples that he had and curled at the base of the tree. All of the sneaking around had worn him out and he knew that he would need most of his energy. With these final thoughts he allowed himself to fall asleep.

Screaming. A high pitched shrill scream pierced through the air. Elliot looked around his bedroom feeling the fear seep in. He had to know what caused the screaming but didn’t want to find out what caused it. Curiosity overcoming fear he climbed out of his bed and walked down the stairs towards the main living room. The first thing that he noticed was the previously white walls now had splashes of deep crimson.

The corpse of a familiar woman lay on the ground. Her body was barely recognizable. There was a six foot tall man holding a bloodied knife standing over the body. His shoulders were heaving up and down as if he were breathing deeply. Elliot could hardly take in the scene and started screaming as loudly as his lungs would allow.

Elliot jerked awake covered in a cold sweat. He was freezing all over, except for his left arm. The slight warmth remaining in the appendage was enough for Elliot to look at it. His fingers and hand were covered in blood. It was then that he noticed that the scream from his nightmare was still piercing through the morning air. He quickly looked around the area and noticed scratch marks covered most of the generally vicinity. It was then that he noticed a small yellow filly lying on the ground with five parallel scratches across her leg.

Elliot walked over to her and asked “Are you alright? What happened?”

All the response that he got was more screaming and the filly trying her best to squirm away from him. Next he heard what sounded like galloping coming directly for him. Elliot looked up and saw a large red stallion charging straight at him. Before he had time to explain the stallions head connected to Elliot’s chest and sent him flying back a few feet.

Elliot held himself up on all fours and began coughing and trying to regain his breath. “This isn’t what it looks like, I promise!” Elliot said as clearly as he could. However his pleas fell on deaf ears as the stallion charged at him again. Elliot stood the best he could and rolled out of the way just as the stallion ran past.

With his arm and leg still injured Elliot knew that he had absolutely no chance in a fight. He tried his best to start running away. His aching leg kept him from doing anything more than a slow jog. However lady luck managed to keep up with him and he was able to run around the trees and avoid the angry red stallion. Eventually Elliot had made his way back to the edge of Ponyville and he ran into the city.

With the red stallion still hot on his heels Elliot knew that he needed to find a safe haven quickly. He looked around and saw numerous and different colored ponies watching the chase occur in their normally peaceful town. It was then that Elliot thought back to the one pony that he felt he could trust and be safe with. Zecora would hopefully take him in and provide him shelter considering she lived on her own.

As he began getting closer to the forest he heard a voice from behind. “What’s going on? You having a race Big Mac?” the voice said. Elliot glanced over his shoulder and he saw a cyan Pegasus with a rainbow mane flying next to the enraged stallion.

“It… attacked… Applebloom…” he said in between gasps of breath. This caused a shocked look to spread across the pegasus’s face. She then turned gaining a determined look and rocketed straight at the back of Elliot’s head. Elliot’s instincts told him to dodge to the left and he did just that. Sadly he wasn’t quick enough and the pegasus crashed right into his right shoulder. Elliot tumbled to the ground and screamed in agony as his right arm caught his fall.

Before the others had time to react Elliot climbed to his feet and let his adrenaline push him the last few yards into the forest. He kept running as quickly as he could. He glanced back and saw that the pegasus had stopped her pursuit and seemed to be having great difficulty in deciding whether to follow or not. Before she could decide, Elliot kept running through the forest and didn’t stop anymore to glance back. After he had made a good distance, he began to look for the landmarks that led to the zebra’s hut. Shortly he saw the familiar building and walked over to it. He limped to the door and knocked before passing out from pain and exhaustion.

Elliot awoke to arguing. He opened his eyes and all that he saw was darkness. The first thing he noticed were voices that seemed to be arguing nearby. Thinking that it was in his best interests to remain unseen he kept still and listened intently.

“Zecora I know that that thing is here. I followed the trail of its blood and it came right to your front door. Why are you trying to hide it?” asked a voice that Elliot associated with the cyan pegasus from earlier.

“He attacked Applebloom. Zecora please if Elliot is dangerous we need to let Celestia know so that she can keep him from leaving the forest,” another voice said that Elliot remembered as Twilight’s.

“At least give him some time to explain, he may not have intended to cause this pain. If what you say is true, then maybe then maybe this day we should make him rue,” Zecora spoke in her usual rhyme.

Elliot had had enough. He didn’t care if these ponies currently thought that he was a danger. He wanted to clear his name. Standing unsteadily to his feet he searched around the room for a door and opened it. As soon as he did the trio turned their heads and looked right at him. The first to respond was the cyan pegasus from before. She quickly shot out of her seat and tackled Elliot to the ground.

With his wounds bombarding his brain with pain signals he managed to say “Please, give me a chance to explain.”

The mare just looked at him and slightly raised herself off of his body allowing him more room to breathe. However she kept her position on top of him to prevent him from trying to run off and escape.

Ignoring the aches of her almost standing on his broken arm Elliot took a deep breath and tried to find the right words for the moment. Saying the wrong thing could cause him to meet unfortunate consequences. “Well last night I overheard Twilight talking about some sort of experiment that involved me. Not wanting to get dissected or anything I ran. Eventually I found an apple orchard and found a tree that I could sleep under. Then I have this terrible nightmare, I still only remember small portions of it, but it was scary. The next thing I know I’m waking up and there are claw marks all around the place I was sleeping and I see an injured little filly and I try to help her. After my attempts were unsuccessful I get attacked by a big red stallion so I ran. Eventually I made it here and I passed out on Zecora’s doorstep.

“This is really all that happened, or at least all that I can remember. However I know for a fact that I wouldn’t have attacked that filly without a good reason, and besides where did those claw marks come from?” Elliot asked at the closing of his story.

The others seemed to think about the story searching for any faults that could show he was lying. Eventually Twilight spoke up, “I think we need to get Applejack here. She is the Element of Honesty and she should be able to tell if he is lying or not. Rainbow could you go and get her while I keep an eye on Elliot here?”

Rainbow Dash nodded and left the house quickly to try and find Applejack. Feeling relief at being able to move again Elliot began to sit up but was quickly forced back down. He began to get really confused before he noticed a purple aura surrounding his body. He then shot a glare at Twilight who simply shook her head.

“Sorry Elliot but I have to make sure that you don’t run away. If you did hurt Applebloom we can’t let you running around being able to hurt others,” she said matter-of-factly.

Elliot just nodded in understanding. It was then that he felt some tears begin to well up behind his eyes. These tears were different than all of the others he had shed recently. These tears were coming from the fear that he felt. Elliot was sure these ponies wouldn’t believe him and that they would put him down like a rabid dog. Closing his eyes and trying to ease his mind Elliot tried to think of any discrepancies in his story. After a while of thought he came to the conclusion that there was nothing to add. This only helped him slip into more despair.

Before he could give the situation much more thought the door burst open. Standing in the doorway was an orange pony who was wearing a cowboy hat. Looking around the room with eyes that burned with a righteous fury she nearly shouted “Where is he? Where is the thing that hurt Applebloom?”

AN: Sorry for the delay on the chapter. Distractions and what not kept me from writing. However it seems that writing at midnight or later seems to help me so I guess I've learned when to start my chapters. I'll try to keep the chapters coming more often.

The Fire Within

After looking around some, the pony spotted Elliot lying on the ground. As soon as she saw him she gave little thought before she charged at him. Once she was close enough, she turned her body one hundred eighty degrees and bucked her hind legs straight at Elliot’s head. Elliot clenched his eyes shut in fear. His mind racing as he was about to be brutally massacred by a random pony that he had never met.

A short while after the pony’s charge and nothing happening, Elliot opened his eyes to figure out why the pony had stopped her assault. When he looked to his left he saw the mare’s back hooves hovering just a few centimeters from his face. They were surrounded by a purple aura. The orange mare had a strained look on her face as she tried to force her kick through Twilight’s magical grasp.

“Applejack you need to calm down. We need to talk about this before you do anything rash,” Twilight said as she levitated the Applejack closer to her and farther away from Elliot.

“What is there to talk about? Rainbow told me that tha thing that attacked Applebloom was in Zecora’s hut. Unless mah guess is wrong this is the thing that she was talkin’ about!” Applejack shouted as she continuously struggled against the magic that was keeping her from enacting her vengeance.

Elliot then decided to speak up. “But I didn’t attack her! All I remember is waking up and seeing an injured filly! I tried to help, but she was scared of me!” Elliot said trying to remain as calm as possible. He was doing his best to seem calm and harmless to further get his point across.

“Then why was she scared of ya?” Applejack asked coldly finally stopping her fight against the magic but still glaring daggers at the restrained human.

“I don’t know, maybe because I’m a strange creature that none of you has ever seen before? Besides she had been clawed by something and I don’t have claws,” Elliot defended.

Applejack scanned the human the best she could from her position. After seeing that he indeed did not have claws she sighed. After thinking for a short while she looked at Elliot with her eyes softening somewhat. “Tell me what you know happened before you saw Applebloom,” she said.

Elliot told her the same story he had previously told Twilight and Rainbow Dash. After he finished, Elliot began to try and move again. Noticing that he was still restrained he looked up at Twilight. When she noticed that her magic was still active she decided to release it. Once he was freed Elliot stood up and stretched his limbs the best he could. Being sprawled on the ground without being able to move easily caused him to cramp up in almost every muscle that he had.

Applejack paced around the room giving Elliot’s story some thought. Once a few moments had passed she looked Elliot right in the eyes. “Ah believe ya. However I still need to find out what attacked Applebloom. Since you were near her would ya mind helping find it? Ya might just recognize somethin’ that we wouldn’t,” she asked with a determined smile on her face.

Elliot glanced around nervously. He wasn’t sure whether to believe this pony or not but something was telling him
that he could trust her. After a few moments he took a deep breath and sighed. “Sure I’ll see what I can do,” he replied still not sure of his decision.

It was then that Twilight walked up to Elliot and gave him a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry that I scared you. I was only talking about running more tests on the blood and examining the area that you showed up in. I promise that none of us are going to hurt you,” she said trying to reassure him. Elliot’s cooperation could possibly make this investigation easier and she wanted him to be completely on board with everything.

Elliot looked at Twilight and shrugged. He still wasn’t entirely sure that he could trust them, but he wanted to find out what had hurt the little filly. After thinking it over once more Elliot decided that he was ready to start their little investigation. “Well we should probably get going. It would be best to start looking around while we still have some daylight,” He said giving a slight nod to Twilight and Applejack. The two ponies walked out the door and said goodbye to Zecora. Elliot decided to stay behind for just one more moment. He turned to the zebra and knelt down to look her in the eye.

“Thank you for trying to defend me and giving me a chance,” he told her sincerely as he gave her a soft hug. Elliot then stood up and started making his way out of the hut. “See ya later,” he said as he pulled the door closed and met with the two other ponies that were waiting on him. After a short while they began their trip down the path that led out of the forest back towards Applejack’s farm.

The short walk was met with an extremely uncomfortable silence. Elliot was walking in the middle of the path flanked on his left by Applejack and his right by Twilight. He would occasionally glance nervously at the two of them wondering just how dangerous his situation might be. He knew that with his injuries he wouldn’t be able to escape if they decided that he was indeed guilty of the attack.

However Elliot wasn’t the only one who was still having trust issues. Applejack kept a constant glare and watched his every move. She was ready to chase him down if he decided to run. She had assessed his injuries and decided that if he did start to run she could easily buck his injured leg. No matter how hardy a creature, lacerated muscle wounds being reopened would easily bring them down. She also knew that with his arm in a cast it was most likely broken and useless. With her thoughts focused she decided that she didn’t need to worry too much. He wouldn’t be able to outrun her so she could keep looking forward and following the path.

The trip seemed to go by uneventfully until Elliot suddenly felt a pain in his stomach. He tried to ignore it but the pain kept getting worse to the point that it forced him to collapse. Elliot was gripping his stomach trying to lessen the pain in some way. His two companion ponies stopped and looked at him first skeptically then they rushed to his side.

Elliot began to cry out in pain. It was the most excruciating pain he could remember. “It… Hurts… It burns… so fucking… bad… What’s… happening?” Elliot tried to ask the two. He glared at the two thinking that maybe they had poisoned him or something. However the concerned looks on their faces told him otherwise. Twilight lit her horn up and touched it to his stomach. Elliot could feel a slight tingling sensation but otherwise the pain completely overloaded his senses.

“There’s a strange magic. I’ve never sensed something like this before! I think there might be a powerful unicorn nearby,” Twilight exclaimed. She then produced a magic deflecting shield around the group to try and find out if that would alleviate Elliot’s pain. When nothing changed Twilight grew even more worried. She tried using what medicinal magic she could think of but it was no use.

Finally just before Elliot blacked out from the pain, the burning sensation disappears. Elliot allows his body to relax and sprawl out on the ground. After the agonizing pain he just wanted a chance to rest and relax for a couple of minutes. After he had had time to catch his breath he slowly stood up and dusted himself off.

Elliot looked at the two ponies still giving him worried looks. “Any idea what the hell just happened?” Elliot said trying to lighten the mood. However his voice came out strained and showed the massive amounts of pain that he had just suffered through. The two ponies just shook their heads. Still puzzling over what the source of his pain had been. Twilight was the one who felt most scared. She knew that the shield that she had put up was extremely powerful. There were only a handful of ponies that might have been powerful enough to force their magic past it. Thinking that Elliot had already made deadly enemies made her begin to think that that was the reason Applebloom had been attacked.

After a short while of nothing happening, Elliot looked up and around the area. “I guess we should finish getting back to the farm. I feel fine now so traveling shouldn’t be a pain,” Elliot said. He had run out of ideas and was too worried to stay in the same place. He wanted to leave the forest and get somewhere more open so that he might be able to see who it was that had just tried to incapacitate or even kill him just now.

After a moment’s hesitation the other two nod. Twilight didn’t want to worry the others even more with her own thoughts of the situation so she kept to herself. They started their trek back up and began to make progress towards the exit of the forest. Elliot sighed in relief as he saw the trees thinning and more grasses appearing. Another short time later the trio finally made their way to the area that Elliot had first seen the injured Applebloom.

Elliot walked immediately to the tree he had slept under. “This is where I fell asleep and woke up,” he points to a small patch of blood on the ground, “and that’s where the little filly was when I woke up.” He grimaced trying to think of what would want to try and kill an innocent child like that. He suddenly began to feel a righteous fury building up inside of him. Revenge. It was the first word that came to his mind. He wanted to find whatever did this and exact vengeance on the vile creature. After he finally forced himself to calm down for a moment he looked to see what the other two were doing. Twilight was going around the area scanning stuff with her horn while Applejack just watched her work.

Twilight came to the area that Elliot had said that he had slept at. When she scanned this spot she gasped and took a step back. She felt a faint signature of the magic that had just attacked Elliot. She began to feel even more worried her previous suspicions confirmed. She believed that they were dealing with a powerful rogue unicorn. She had no idea what the unicorn might want but if it had hurt Applebloom and framed Elliot it couldn’t be anything good.

Both Elliot and Applejack noticed Twilight’s reaction. Elliot walked over to her and knelt down to her level. “What did you find?” he asked her feeling slightly worried.

Twilight looked at him not being able to mask her concern. “It’s the same magical presence that just attacked you,” she replied. “I need to hurry back to the library and let the princess know of this,” she exclaimed panic in her voice evident. She turned and started to run in the direction of Ponyville.

However before she made it very far she heard a sharp cry of pain come from Elliot. She immediately ran back to his side to see what had happened. Once she looked at him she felt the very same magical presence only this time it was much stronger than before. Elliot had fallen onto his hands and knees. He was in too much pain to even release the muscles holding him up. The same burning sensation in his stomach returned tenfold.

Before he knew it he began to feel extremely nauseous. He managed to force his broken arm from holding him up and put it to his belly. Eliot couldn’t help it. He began to retch. For a few attempts nothing came out. However after his fourth wave of nausea swept over his body he felt the intense burning climb his throat and travel to his mouth. He vomited everything in his stomach onto the ground in front of him. Elliot then gained the strength to stand up. He felt extremely dizzy and lightheaded. The pain in his stomach had vanished. He didn’t have time to worry about the attack as he began to feel the very same heat attacking his feet and legs. Seeing the flames in front of him charring his pants legs finally made him faint.

Twilight reacted as quickly as she recovered from the shock of seeing Elliot vomit flames. Once he began to fall into them she grabbed him with her magic and moved him out of the way. She saw Applejack beginning to panic. The flames were spreading outwards and would soon rage out of control and possibly burn down the entire orchard. Twilight watched as Applejack ran off as fast as she could to go and get some buckets of water and more help to extinguish the fire.

Twilight, however, had been able to keep a level head despite the situation. Instead of panicking the way AJ had she surrounded the flames in a magic bubble. After a few minutes of constant effort the fire eventually burnt itself out due to not being able to get any oxygen. She fell onto her haunches trying to catch her breath. Containing the fire had been more difficult because it had been magical, not natural.

Once she regained her composure she quickly trotted to Elliot’s side. She examined his body and noticed no distinct burn marks anywhere on his face or legs. The level of char on his pants indicated that he should have at the very least second degree burns. Twilight made a mental note to ask if humans were fireproof once Elliot was to regain consciousness.

The sound of a pair of galloping sets of hooves pulled Twilight out of her thoughts. She saw Applejack and Big Mac running towards her carrying buckets of water in their mouths. Once they got there they both sighed in relief seeing that the fire had already been put out only managing to damage the grass in the immediate area and char the trunk of the nearby tree.

“Thank goodness,” Applejack said exasperatedly, “Thank ya kindly Twilight. If it weren’t for ya we might’ve lost a half tha farm.”

Big Mac offered a simple smile. “Eeyup,” he said before he noticed Elliot on the ground. He got into an offensive stance and let a scowl form on his face.

Applejack trotted over to Twilight and gave her a tight hug. After she released the unicorn she noticed Big Mac ready to attack Elliot. “Don’t worry Big Mac, it wasn’t him who started tha fire. He also ain’t the thing that attacked Applebloom,” she told him while stepping in between the two hoping that if he lost sight of Elliot he would calm down more.

Big Mac relaxed his stance and then looked to Twilight. “You know what happened?” he asked softly.

Twilight shook her head. “I have a vague idea, but I’m about to go to the library and tell the princess about what happened. She might be able to offer some sort of help,” she said trying to not look too worried. She didn’t want to worry the Apples too much, and she didn’t want them to fear for their lives. “Applejack, could you take Elliot to Fluttershy’s? I don’t want to bother Zecora anymore than we already have.”

“Sure thing Twi,” Applejack replied. She ran to a nearby barn and came back with a cart. After having Twilight help her hoist Elliot in she waved goodbye as the two began to head towards their respective destinations.

Elliot woke up screaming. He looked around the room he was in and sighed. “Must’ve been a nightmare, there’s no way that I could vomit fire,” he laughed to himself some. Before he could relax he smelt the char of his pants. Elliot immediately looked at his legs and saw that they were miraculously unburned. After glancing around the room again he saw a yellow pegasus with a pink mane peaking at him from around a corner.

Elliot cocked his head curiously. After a moment he realized that he had finally run into a pony that didn’t think it was a good idea to approach an extremely strange creature. He gave the pegasus a soft smile and waved her over. When she didn’t budge Elliot gave a soft sigh. “It’s okay, I promise that I won’t hurt you or anything,” Elliot said in the softest, nicest voice that he could muster.

The pegasus crept a little closer but didn’t move too far. Realizing that she wasn’t just avoiding him because he was strange, he tried to stand up and walk over to her. Once he got on his feet he began to feel extremely dizzy and he started to fall straight towards the ground. Expecting to meet the ground, Elliot stuck his good arm out in an attempt to break his fall somewhat. Before he made contact he felt a pair of hooves catch him by the shoulders.

He looked up to see that the pegasus had flown over and caught him before he could get hurt. “Thanks,” he said giving her a genuine smile.

“Oh, it was no problem,” she said softly as she helped to lower him to a sitting position on the couch. After she
released him she landed and began hiding behind her mane as she kicked her hoof on the ground some.

Feeling slightly awkward Elliot decided to try and initiate a conversation. “My name’s Elliot. What’s yours?” he asked doing his best to not seem intimidating.

The pegasus gave off a small squeak and tried to hide behind her mane even more. Elliot heard her mumble something but could barely make out a single syllable.

“Come again?” he said trying to keep himself from giggling at just how shy this girl was.

“Flut….” was all the response that he got this time. Elliot sighed and carefully moved off the couch and lowered himself so that he was actually looking up at the cowering pegasus. Elliot felt uncomfortable at almost lying down on the floor, but he felt that that would be the easiest way to get the girl to calm down.

“One more time please,” he whispered trying to seem just as shy as she was.

“Fluttershy,” she said, curling up and trying to make herself even smaller.

“Well Fluttershy, am I correct in assuming this is your house?” he asked still in a soft whisper. He saw the bundle of pony give what he thought was a slight nod. He smiled to himself some and replied “Well it’s very lovely and I do appreciate you allowing me to use your couch to sleep a little bit.”

The sincerity and calmness in Elliot’s voice seemed to get a reaction. Fluttershy poked her head up some and gave Elliot a soft smile. Glad that she was starting to come out of her shell slightly Elliot climbed back onto the couch. Elliot patted the spot next to him giving the invitation that he didn’t mind if she were to come and sit next to him. Fluttershy carefully came completely unfurled and hopped onto the couch. However instead of sitting next to Elliot she made sure that she squeezed herself into the corner of the couch as far from him as possible.

Elliot couldn’t help but chuckle. While he knew that being this shy could be debilitating when trying to make friends he just loved how adorable she looked. Elliot leaned his head back some and allowed some air to escape noisily from his lungs. “You know Fluttershy, I hope we can be friends. Since you took care of me while I was unconscious, I just want you to know you can feel free to ask me for any favor that you might need,” Elliot said allowing some of the strength to come back into his voice.

“O… Okay,” he heard her respond almost inaudibly. Elliot gave her another soft and sincere smile. Feeling tired again Elliot decided to get as comfortable as possible and fall asleep, this time willingly.

AN: Incredibly sorry about the delay. In an attempt to make up for it I plan on increasing the length of all chapters from here on out. Hopefully I can find the creative juices to make them 5k words or more, but that might be a bit of a stretch until I can get better at writing in general. Anyway I still want to thank everyone for reading and still keeping track of my story. Yall are what makes spending extra free time writing that much worth it.

A Fairly Quiet Day

Elliot sat at the table just staring at his food. Occasionally he would pick up a French fry and nibble on it. He didn’t feel hungry and only ate because he knew he should. Food just didn’t appetizing to him anymore. After that one fateful night he was never the same. No longer wanting to pay attention to the food he looked around the cafeteria of his elementary school. He saw so many happy children, yet he didn’t understand it. He always thought to himself that happiness was fake and nothing was worth striving for. Friends seemed pointless when Elliot knew that everything faded away at some point. Eventually Elliot was brought from his thoughts when two older children sat down on both his left and right. Sighing deeply Elliot kept picking at his food trying to ignore the two.

Eventually the two newcomers got tired of being ignored and started the conversation themselves. “That my food?” the larger of the two asked. Elliot continued to ignore them hoping that they would eventually go away on their own.

Suddenly Elliot was thrust to his side as the other guy shoved him roughly. “Answer him when he asks you a question!” he nearly shouted.

Elliot decided to keep ignoring them and stood up. He began to walk away hoping as much as he could that the two would just leave him alone and not follow him. Before he got very far, however, the larger kid grabbed Elliot by the shoulder and yanked him back down into his seat. He then grabbed Elliot by the chin and turned his face to him.

“Now listen here you little shit, I deserve some respect. You try and ignore me and my friend here one more time we’ll take pleasure in kicking your puny ass. Got it?” he finished his short rant with the simple question.

Elliot froze. He hated confrontations and was too scared of the bully to even say anything at all. The two bullies began to get even angrier due to not receiving and answer and they started to get ready to beat Elliot up.

However before the fight began a hand gently placed itself on the larger boys shoulder. “Leave him alone. Now,” a gentle but stern voice told them. The three boys turned to see who had spoken up and they saw a cute little redheaded girl with bright emerald green eyes. Elliot stared at his savior and allowed his first smile in a long time to spread across his face. The girl however was giving the bullies an extremely menacing glare. Even though she was only half their size she had the presence of someone who could easily beat the both of them in a fight.

Feeling slightly nervous the two boys stood up and give little chuckles. “Looks like puny little Elliot needs a girl to
fight his battles for him. Whatever, we’ve got bigger fish to fry,” the smaller one said as the two scurried off trying to seem like they had only grown bored of the situation.

The girl sat down beside Elliot. She looked at him with her soft emerald eyes and offered a friendly smile. “Sorry about those two. I’m Evelyn, what’s your name?” she asked politely.

Elliot looked down at his lunch tray. “Elliot,” he said softly under his breath. He couldn’t believe that he was sitting next to such a beautiful girl. After such a long time of him not having a single ray of hope appear in what he felt was a meaningless existence, he felt that Evelyn could finally bring him some happiness. He knew instantly that this girl would have a lasting impression on his life. This didn’t last long, however, as he suddenly blacked out.

Elliot sat in the chair nervously twiddling his thumbs. Through the closed door he heard Dr. Stevenson talking to his foster parents. “Don’t worry. He may not show signs of improvement, but with more therapy I’m positive that we can help him to live out a healthy childhood. Sadly after what he went through it could easily take many sessions before there is any progress.”

Hearing the doctor’s words began to force memories back into the forefront of his consciousness. Elliot began to tune everything else out as an extremely vivid recollection of that night began to take shape.

Hush now, quiet now

Elliot remembered waking up to screaming. The memory was so intense that he could completely feel the very same emotions he felt that night. He felt the fear as he slowly descended the steps. The fear only grew in intensity as he made it to the bottom step and rounded the corner into his living room.

It’s time to lay your sleepy head

Elliot began to shiver as his recollection brought about the worst part of his memory. He felt himself slip back into that exact moment in time losing track of everything else in the world. The first thing he noticed was the fresh coat of crimson lining the once white living room walls. Elliot felt the fear reach its peak as he saw the barely recognizable corpse of his mother on the ground. He looked up to see his father standing over the body a meat cleaver in his hand. His dad’s shoulders were heaving up and down from the amount of energy he had exerted in butchering his wife.

Hush now, quiet now

Elliot froze in fear. No matter how much he told his body to run it didn’t respond. The only action that his mind allowed him to take was to begin screaming. His father gave a quick glance at his young son but just as quickly turned away. He grabbed a red container and poured a liquid on his wife’s corpse then he began to pour it on himself. Next he took out a zippo lighter, lit it, and dropped it on the body.

Elliot stared in shock as he watched the flames quickly engulf his mother and then his father. Elliot’s body finally reacted as his survival instincts began to kick in. As the flames began to spread around the room he began to run for the front door. He quickly opened it and ran outside. Once he felt that he was safe from burning alive he allowed himself to look back at his home. With the gasoline being used as an accelerant the flames quickly overtook the building. It didn’t take long for neighbors to call the fire department and to come outside and see Elliot on his knees watching the house burn down. Elliot began to cry and scream again. The fear and despair became too overwhelming and he eventually passed out from his young minds efforts to comprehend why this had just happened.

It’s time to go to bed

Elliot jerked awake as the screaming of his dream caused him to scream when he returned to the waking world. His heart was pounding harder than he thought possible and he felt a fine layer of sweat that covered his body and had seeped into the couch he was on. Feeling a hoof be place gently on his shoulder he slowly turned to look at Fluttershy. She was giving him an extremely worried look. Elliot tried to give her a reassuring smile but all that came up was a grimace.

“Are you okay? I saw you jerking in your sleep and I knew you were having a nightmare. I tried to wake you up but that didn’t work, so I tried singing one of my lullabies to you,” she said, her voice filled with concern.

Elliot gave a short nod. This had been his most realistic dream that he had had so far in Equestria. He felt tears forming in his eyes as he began to understand that these dreams were actually memories returning to him. Even though he tried to reassure Fluttershy he couldn’t show it no matter how hard he tried. The memory of his mother’s murder and father’s suicide were still too close to his main concerns be hidden behind an emotionless mask.

Before the tears started to flow too much, Elliot felt a pair of hooves wrap around his neck. He turned his entire body and leaned his face down into the crook of Fluttershy’s neck. Having someone there while he vented his sadness helped him immensely. This helped especially since Fluttershy was acting as a cushion instead of trying to talk about it.

After a while Elliot began to regain his composure and he was finally able to pull his head from her neck. “Thank you,” he managed to say softly. He pulled Fluttershy into a soft hug to express his true gratitude. As he did this he saw his hand as they were wrapped around her back. However they weren’t his usual hands as they were now sporting long claws instead of his fingers. Elliot quickly let out a shout and jumped back, his breathing and heart rate quickening.

Once he was free from Fluttershy he looked back at his hands only to find that they looked perfectly normal. Elliot slumped down on the couch and sighed. “Sorry about that, thought I saw something,” he said as he noticed the renewed look of worry on Fluttershy’s face. Elliot gave her a reassuring smile as he stood up and stretched some. “Trust me, I’ll be fine, I promise,” he said as he was getting his limbs to reawaken.

Elliot then started to get an odd feeling. He looked at himself and noticed just how dirty and ragged a state that he was in. “Hey Fluttershy, Do you have somewhere that I can get cleaned up? I haven’t had a shower in a few days now so I must reek,” Elliot asked hopefully.

“There’s a bathroom up the stairs and to the right,” Fluttershy muttered softly as a slight red flush crept into the
mare’s face.

“Thanks,” Elliot responded as he began to walk over to the stairs. As he climbed them he thought it weird that animals would even have these bathrooms to begin with. Once he made it to the top he saw the bathroom on his right, and he quickly made his way into the room. When he got inside he noted the simple layout and immediately shut the door. Elliot looked at himself in the mirror and saw just how dirty he had become. His clothes wear torn, tattered, and bloodied. He was caked with dirt and blood. Elliot soon became to self conscious of his current state to continue looking. He quickly undressed and got into the shower.

The shower itself was a great refresher for Elliot. It felt as if not only was the grime being washed away but so were his worries. However, after a short while he needed to get out and stop wasting so much water. As soon as he stepped out of the shower he hated that he had to put his dirty clothes back on. Once he was finally dressed he decided to look at himself in the mirror again. The glass provided a much steadier reflection than the creek he had originally looked at himself in. Elliot began to get a clearer picture of how he looked. One thing that he saw was that he had started to grow too much facial hair for his taste.

Suddenly an abnormality that Elliot knew shouldn’t be there caught his attention. When he looked himself in the eyes they remained their usual hazel color, however, his pupils were no longer the usual round ones that he was accustomed too. Elliot moved his face closer to the mirror so that he could get a better look at them. His pupils had changed to sharp slits like that of a snake or lizard. Elliot was too stunned to react. He wanted to shout out or scream, but his body refused to act. After Elliot got over his initial shock he began to wonder when and why his eyes had change. Elliot could think of no particular reason why, but he figured he could ask Twilight or even Zecora if his eyes were like this when they met him.

Once he had calmed down enough he walked out of the bathroom and went back down the stairs. As he reached the bottom step he began to smell some simple fruity smells coming from beyond the living room. Elliot followed his nose and found himself in a kitchen with Fluttershy flitting about the room setting various fruits on a pair of plates. Leaning against the doorframe, Elliot smiled as he watched her putting the finishing touched on the presentation for the meals. Once she was done he marveled at the beauty of what she had put together. The way the colors were delicately arranged enhanced the delicious look of the fruits to the point that Elliot actually found himself beginning to salivate.

Fluttershy then saw him standing there watching her and gave a sheepish smile. “I, uh, made us some food, if that’s okay with you,” she told him her voice remaining at its usual quiet level.

“Wow, Fluttershy you didn’t have to go to this much trouble. I wouldn’t have minded if you just handed me a piece of fruit that I could munch on,” Elliot said as he continued to gawk at the wonderful display.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy mumbled even more quietly than usual. She began to tear up a little and she started to hide behind her mane as she felt rejected.

Quickly realizing that he had been insensitive Elliot moved over to his plate of fruit. “This just looks so beautiful; you did a wonderful job Fluttershy. Thank you so much, I’m sure these fruits will be delicious,” he told her truthfully.

Fluttershy quickly perked up at his words. She smiled and took her own place at the table. Elliot gave her a quick glance before looking back at his food. His hunger now feeling too overwhelming, he began to eat the tastiest looking fruits first. The sheer number of different ones was almost enough to amaze Elliot. He enjoyed the tastes of apples, oranges, pineapples, pears, watermelon, peaches, bananas, grapes, and blueberries.

The silence however soon began to get to Elliot. He again looked at Fluttershy as she happily munched on small amount of the different fruits, often pairing some of it together to increase flavor. Wanting to break the silence Elliot tried thinking of something he could use to start a conversation or something. Thinking over his days in this world he tried his best to think what these ponies would find as suitable conversation material.

Remembering that he need new clothing Elliot finally came up with an idea of what he should ask about. “Is there anywhere that I could possible get new clothes? I know it will most likely be very difficult to get me some, but the ones I have right now aren’t really suitable for wearing anymore,” Elliot asked.

“I’m sure that my friend Rarity could make you some. She’s the fashion designer in town,” she said after making sure to swallow whatever fruit was still in her mouth. “If you don’t mind me asking, why do you sound like you have to wear clothes?” she asked “If you don’t mind me asking that is,” she quickly added on.

“Well as a human I don’t have as much hair or fur as other animals, so clothes help to keep me warm for one thing. Also I have no natural covering for my more private areas so the clothes do that for me,” Elliot quickly responded without thinking too much. As soon as he noticed the blush setting in on her face he started to blush himself. “Sorry, I think that was a bit more information than you wanted to hear,” he said as he started pushing a blueberry around on his plate trying to seem invisible.

Doing the same as Elliot, Fluttershy kept her gaze focused on the fruit that inhabited her plate. “It’s alright,” she mumbled still uncomfortable. “I can take you to her boutique later if you would like,” she said trying to change the subject.

“I’d like that, but if I were to go into town that might cause a panic with the other ponies since I am an unknown creature,” Elliot replied with a sigh. “Do you know if she would be able to come here?” he asked hopefully.

“I could go and see, if that’s okay with you,” she told him. Elliot gave her a slight nod and smiled at her. He enjoyed the amount of kindness that this mare he just met was showing him. “I need to go shopping some anyway so I can go ahead and leave. Is there anything you might need?” she asked. Elliot quickly shook his head not wanting to ask too much of her. Fluttershy stood up and walked to the front door. “If you need help with anything you can feel free to ask Angel. I hope that he will behave himself while I’m gone though,” she said as she walked outside.

Before Elliot could ask he Angel was the door shut and Fluttershy was gone. Elliot sighed and looked back at his food. He had eaten his fill but wasn’t sure what to do with the rest of the fruits. Deciding that he should probably find Angel Elliot stood up from his chair. He began to walk around the house searching for signs of another pony that might live with her. After a short while Elliot gave up on finding him in the house.

Just before he could walk out the door, Elliot felt a slight tugging on his pants leg. He looked down to see a small white rabbit looking back up at him. “Aww aren’t you adorable,” he said as he knelt down and reached a hand out to pet the rabbits head. Before his hand made contact the bunny swatted it away. Elliot retracted his hand in surprise at the little bunny’s aggression. The bunny then pointed to the table that still held the food from earlier. Elliot followed the bunny’s outstretched paw and saw that it was directed at his plate. He then returned his gaze to the rabbit and saw he was now doing a sweeping motion with his paws.

“You want me to clean that?” Elliot asked looking right in the bunny’s small black eyes. It gave a curt nod and then crossed his arms and started tapping his foot. “But I need to find Angel first. Fluttershy said that if I needed something I should talk to him,” he replied starting to feel silly for talking to a bunny that wasn’t verbally responding. Elliot didn’t get a chance to think about that for long as the bunny pointed at himself proudly.

Elliot gave him an incredulous look. “You’re Angel?” he asked. Angel gave another nod and pointed at the food on the table again. Elliot looked over again and decided that he should at least clean up the mess for Fluttershy. He made his way over to the table and picked up the two plates that were still sitting there. Angel hopped on the table and began pointing at various fruits and then pointing somewhere else. “Is that where I should put them?” he asked the bunny again. Angel rolled his eyes and nodded his head again.

After Elliot had finished cleaning up the kitchen he walked back into the living room. He moved over to the couch and laid himself down. Getting into a comfortable position he decided that he could take a nap until Fluttershy got back.

Elliot woke up as soon as he heard the door open and a pair of voices coming inside. He sat up to try and find out who it was that had just come inside. Elliot saw Fluttershy and a white unicorn with a styled purple mane walking inside. Quickly standing up to look polite, Elliot tried to straighten his clothes some and make himself presentable.

Fluttershy was the first to notice him. She gave him a smile and began to introduce him. “Rarity, this is Elliot, Elliot this is Rarity,” she said as she gestured with her hoof between the white unicorn and Elliot.

Elliot gave the friendliest smile he could muster and said “It’s very nice to meet you Rarity, I hear you design clothes?”

“Why yes I do darling. Fluttershy here was telling me that you need some,” she replied before turning to look at
Elliot. “Oh my!” she managed to say before she fainted in front of the other two.

Elliot became extremely confused and looked at Fluttershy. She looked to be just as confused as he was, however she still quickly knelt down next to Rarity to make sure that she was okay. “I’m not that scary am I?” Elliot asked Fluttershy. She quickly shook her head back and forth as she stood up. Elliot walked over to the two and decided that he should move Rarity to the couch instead of leaving her on the floor. Before Fluttershy could say anything he picked Rarity up and set her on the couch.

“I guess that we’ll have to wait until she comes to before I can ask about those clothes,” Elliot said as he sat down on the ground. He leaned against the couch and sighed. He silently wished that he could have a somewhat normal day soon.

AN: Sadly I got a thumb down and I'm not sure why. If anyone doesn't like something in the story or the way I wrote something I wouldn't mind the critiquing. It could actually help the overall quality of the story. So don't feel afraid to point out what you think that I could improve upon.

A Royal Encounter

It wasn’t long before Rarity returned to the conscious world. She looked around the room slightly confused as to her whereabouts, but she soon remembered when she looked at Elliot. Once her eyes fell onto the back of his head, she saw that he was nonchalantly leaning against the couch conversing with Fluttershy. She slowly stood up from the couch and stretched her legs and body trying to get all of the kinks out. Elliot heard the movement and turned his head to where Rarity was and smiled at her.

“You alright? I hope I didn’t scare you or anything,” Elliot said trying to keep from surprising the mare just in case she decided to faint again.

“I am terribly sorry,” Rarity replied with an elegant air to her voice. “It isn’t that you specifically startled me but that it was the state of dress that you are in. I now fully understand why it is that you decided to get new clothes.”

Elliot breathed a sigh of relief, “Oh thank goodness I didn’t want to have that bad of a first impression. I wish that I had been able to avoid ruining my only pair of clothes, but the circumstances decided otherwise.”

“Well don’t you worry I will do my best to create a marvelous new outfit for you to wear. Now for what occasion do you need these clothes?” Rarity asked taking on a professional air.

“Actually they’re for everyday wear. I kind of need to stay clothed at pretty much all times,” he told her a little sheepishly. He was hoping to avoid this subject seeing as it could easily lead to an uncomfortable conversation.

“Ah I see,” she said giving a slight nod. “Well let’s get started. I brought my measuring tape with me so that I can take some quick measurements.” She levitated the measuring tape from a saddle bag that she had been wearing and began to instruct Elliot on when to lift an arm or how to maneuver himself so that she could get the measurements accurately.

After everything was done Elliot started to smile. “Thank you so much Rarity. I don’t really mind how you design the clothes as long as they are more casual than formal,” he said gleefully.

“Don’t get too excited now. Normally I would allow my customers first outfits to be free so that they could test whether my designs were for them or not, however, you are ordering multiple sets and I have never made anything for you. Hopefully this isn’t sounding rude, but I will be needing payment,” Rarity looked him right in the eye, trying to show that she wished she could use her usual generous methods.

Elliot sighed, his head drooped and he plopped down onto the couch. He knew that he couldn’t pay for the clothes and had no way of earning money. Feeling defeated he started to tell her not to worry about the clothes since he had no money. Before he did, an idea popped into his head. “Would it be alright if I did some work for you? I have no money but surely there is something that you can make me do that will make up for your costs.” Elliot pleaded giving her a look of desperate hope.

Rarity was slightly startled at his sudden outburst, yet she soon regained her composure. “That would be an acceptable form of payment. If you could come to the boutique tomorrow morning I will let you know what I need done,” she replied.

“Sounds like a deal!” Elliot exclaimed almost too excitedly. Remembering something that humans did whenever a deal was made, he extended his hand in an effort to perform a handshake. Soon he realized the ridiculousness of the idea and tried to lower his arm and pretend nothing happened. Before he could feel even more awkward a sudden frantic knocking was heard at the door.

Fluttershy quickly went to answer the door. As soon as she opened it Twilight pushed past her saying, “Sorry Fluttershy this is important. I need Elliot to come down to the library with me immediately.”

Elliot stood and quickly walked over to the front door. Seeing the panicky unicorn, he soon became worried. “What’s wrong Twilight? Did you find something?” he asked.

“Yes, I think I may have found a lead on the unicorn that attacked you. I need your help at the library so that you can more thoroughly describe everything that has happened,” Twilight replied, her eyes shifting around the room nervously. Elliot tried to ignore it and attributed her demeanor to be caused by the possibility of being spied on by the mysterious unicorn.

Elliot looked at Fluttershy and knelt down to be on eye level with her. “Thank you so much for taking care of me. I’ll be sure to come back when I get a chance to return the favor,” Elliot stood up and nodded to Twilight signaling that he was ready to leave.

The two turned to the door and walked out of the house. “Should we turn me invisible again?” he asked as they began to make their way back to Ponyville.

“There’s no time, besides since you will most likely be here for a while the other ponies need to meet you sooner or later,” she began to pick up her pace, reaching a steady trot. “We need to hurry, there’s somepony else at the library that you need to meet. She could be of great help to our search.”

Elliot started jogging to keep up with Twilight. When she mentioned the other pony at the library, he thought that that must be the Spike he had heard mentioned during his previous visit. As they began to get closer to the town he decided that he might as well ask who it was that he would be meeting. “So is this other pony Spike? I heard you talking to him last time.”

Twilight gave a soft chuckle at his question. “Spike’s not a pony he’s a baby dragon. And besides he’s my assistant and most likely wouldn’t be able to provide too much help with this. The pony you are meeting is Princess Celestia. She actually wanted to meet you and that’s why you are needed at the library,” she began getting a slightly more nervous tone as she finished speaking. Elliot saw that she was feeling somewhat ashamed for lying about it, but he felt she had her reasons for doing so.

“Princess Celestia, I think I remember seeing that name in one of the books that I looked at in the library. Who is she exactly?” Elliot asked watching as Twilight relaxed when he didn’t seem upset about being lied to.

Twilight smiled loving that she was getting to talk about and praise her teacher. “Princess Celestia is the co-ruler of Equestria. She and her sister, Princess Luna, watch over all of the ponies. They both have time specific duties. Princess Celestia raises the sun and takes care of any business needed during the day, while Princess Luna raises the moon and handles the night. There had been a long period where Princess Celestia had to raise both the sun and the moon, but that story is for a different time,” Twilight finished her brief explanation as they reached the door to the library.

Before they went in Elliot noticed that the streets were completely empty with almost all of the houses seeming completely unwelcoming. He attributed this to the fact that a strange, possibly dangerous, creature had just been running through the town. Turning his attention back to the door, Elliot prepared himself to meet Princess Celestia. He thought back to what Twilight had just said about her raising the sun and froze. At first, Elliot doubted that a creature with such power could exist. However the more he thought the more realistic it became.

The thought of meeting the Princess soon began to cause Elliot to again fear for his safety. He knew that if she had the power to control the sun she would be able to easily obliterate him without much thought. Soon his thoughts were cut short as the door opened up and he stepped inside. Once he crossed the threshold he witnessed a magnificent sight.

Before him stood Princess Celestia in all of her glory. She stood tall enough to see eye to eye with Elliot, however, if her horn was taken to account she was easily over seven feet tall. Her oddly colored and formed mane seemed to flow with a non-existent breeze. Her mane showed the innate power that resided within the princess. Before he could continue to stare in amazement, he was forced to remember his manners. He dropped to a knee and offered a bow. Whether she held power to govern over him or not, he knew that he was a guest in her lands and should show her respect.

“Now now, there is no need for prolonged pleasantries. I am Princess Celestia, ruler of the land of Equestria. If you don’t mind I would like to ask you a few questions,” she spoke in a regal voice that showed gentleness, yet an absolute authority.

Elliot slowly stood up to face the Princess. “That… That’s fine with me,” he nervously mumbled. The sheer presence that she held alone was enough to scare Elliot.

“You have no need to worry; I do not plan to let any harm befall you. For my first question I would like to know, what are you exactly? Also for what reason is it that you have come to Equestria?”

“I’m not completely sure what I am, but I’m pretty sure that I am something called a human. As for why I am here I don’t know. I randomly woke up in that forest that is near here.” He explained to the best of his abilities.

“Princess, why are you asking all of these questions? I already told you this information.” Twilight interjected.

“I was just confirming what it was that you had told me. Now Elliot do you have any idea as to what this recent magical presence that has attacked my ponies might be?” Celestia asked.

“Not really, no I don’t. The only thing that I know about it is that seems to be following me around everywhere that I go. Actually now that I think about it I’m pretty sure that this presence is what brought me here.”

“I see. That is very interesting Elliot. Now that you are in my kingdom what do you plan on doing?”

“Honestly all that I want to do is to find my way home. Other than that I’m not sure. I guess try and live as normal a life
as possible and try to not frighten the ponies too much.”

“I see,” Celestia responded as she began to pace around the room. She would occasionally stop and glance at Elliot
with a look that showed she was studying him. Suddenly she stopped and gained a look of intense concentration as if she were deep in thought. After a moment she turned to look at Elliot again and said “I have a proposition for you.”

“Alright let’s hear it,” Elliot replied hoping that it would be something simple that he could easily manage.

“I remembered something during our discussion. It was something that my father had told me while I was just a filly. I remember him mentioning a race of bipedal creatures called humans. However that is as much as I can recall. However, I am sure that he would have included more information in his journal. I would like for you to retrieve his journal from the old castle in the Everfree Forest,” Celestia told him.

Elliot was about to answer, but he decided to think about it first. He had only been in the forest a short time and was sure that he would easily get lost. Not only that but he had absolutely no idea of where to go to get to the castle. After some thought Elliot felt that he was ready to give an answer. “I would gladly do this, yet I don’t know how to get there. Also how would I find the journal?”

Celestia smiled at him glad that he had not agreed to the quest without thought. “I will send Twilight to guide you to the castle, but that is as far as she will go. I don’t want her in too much danger. As for the journal it should still reside in a secret panel on the left side of the throne in the throne room”

Elliot gave the idea a bit more thought as he started pacing just as Celestia had done earlier. “Alright, I’ll do it, and if you don’t mind me asking would you be able to completely heal my wounds? I’m pretty sure that they would make things a lot more difficult if they stay the way they are.”

“Yes you are right, those wounds could easily be a grievous hindrance,” she said as she walked over to Elliot. Her horn began to glow as she moved it first to Elliot’s arm and then his leg. After a moment she stepped back with a satisfied smile. “I hope that everything healed up properly. You should rest for the day and let the magic finish its effects. Prepare yourself today and you can set out tomorrow morning.”

As soon as she had stepped away Elliot started to flex his arm. Feeling no pain he felt a large smile spread across his face. He decided to swing it around and throw a few punches testing it. Satisfied with his arms recovery he jumped from leg to leg doing his best to hold in giggles as he again felt no pain from his previous injuries.

“Thank you very much Princess,” he gave a deep bow attempting to show just how much he appreciated being healed.

“You are very welcome Elliot. Also seeing as you could very possibly be here for a while I understand that the other ponies may be afraid of you. I wish to help to alleviate their fears by publicly introducing you. What do you say?” she asked in a somewhat commanding voice.

Elliot just nodded his head and walked with her over to the door. Using her magic Celestia opened the door and walked out. She began to lead Elliot in the direction of Town Hall with Twilight following close behind. On their way there Elliot noticed ponies looking out windows with some even opening their doors to poke their heads out. He realized that if he was walking through town with their princess it would look a lot better on his part.

The walk there was a short one. Once they arrived the three of them ascended the steps and stepped inside. Celestia used her magic to levitate a podium that was sitting in the corner of the room. She transported it outside and onto the top step. After she did that she turned around and stepped up to the podium and closed the doors behind her.

She looked around thinking of the best way to try and gather the ponies. Deciding on enchanting her voice to be heard all over the town she began to activate the spell. “Citizens of Ponyville this is Princess Celestia speaking. I request that everypony come to the town hall immediately. I repeat, I request that everypony come to the town hall immediately.”

Once she finished calling for the ponies to gather she began to wait. Slowly but surely ponies began to make their way into the area around the town hall. Whenever they saw that Princess Celestia was indeed in Ponyville whispers and murmurs began to spread throughout the crowd. Most were wondering what she was doing here, others suspected that she was here because of the mysterious creature from earlier.

After it appeared that almost all of the ponies were now gathered in the area she began her introduction. “I thank each and everypony for gathering as swiftly as they have. The purpose for this meeting is to introduce someone new to you. Even though he is a bit different I would like for you to treat him as if he were just another pony. He will be staying here for an unknown amount of time so please welcome him warmly. I will now give him a chance to introduce himself,” she took a step aside and looked at Elliot expectantly.

Elliot looked from her to the podium nervously. He didn’t know why, but the thought of speaking in front of all of the ponies scared him. Slowly taking small steps, Elliot walked towards the podium to face the eager crowd. Once his features became visible there were audible gasps from numerous places in the crowd. Even though Elliot had just recently run through the town most ponies had not seen him yet. He looked pleadingly to Twilight hoping that she could help him in some way, however, all that he got from her was a reassuring smile.

Looking back to the crowd, Elliot took a deep breath. Knowing that he shouldn’t keep them waiting much longer he cleared his throat. “H-Hello everybody, my name is Elliot. I really appreciate being allowed to stay here in Ponyville. I’m new to Equestria, so I would appreciate any help that could be given to me. Thanks,” he rushed through his little introduction and stepped back from the podium. Feeling relieved that he had gotten that over with he sat down against the wall of the building. He looked at Princess Celestia wondering what she would do now that he was finished talking.

Celestia sighed and decided to walk back to the podium to answer the questions she knew would soon be asked. “If any of you have a questions you may now ask it. We will answer to the best of our abilities.”

A mint green unicorn quickly raised her hoof. Before she was acknowledged she shouted her question anyway, “What is he?”

Celestia smiled at the enthusiasm that the pony showed. “We are certain that he is called a human. They are a race of bipedal creatures. Any other questions?”

After a short while of no questions being asked, Celestia started to walk away. Before she could make it far an excited voice was heard calling out through the crowd, “Ooh Ohh Pick me Pick me!” Celestia turned just in time to see a pink hoof get lowered back into the crowd. Moments later she saw the same hoof being waved frantically back and forth on the opposite end of the gathered ponies. “Ooh please pick me! I have a question. An important question!” the voice called again.

Before Celestia could respond she saw a pink blur pass right by her. “This question is really really important!” the pink pony, who was now hopping excitedly next to Celestia, exclaimed. Celestia was about to grant her permission to speak, but she was interrupted before she could start. The pink pony had pushed her face as close to Elliot’s as she could and she nearly shouted her question. “Do you like parties?”

AN: WOO! Finally I managed to get another chapter out. I know I've promised that chapters would come out faster, but hopefully now that I am pretty much done with school I should have plenty more time to write. Also I have acquired a knew pre-reader/editor/encourager to help with my writing. Feel free to berate me for making all of you wait this long for the new chapter.

Of Parties and Dreams

Elliot stood in the corner of the library munching on a cupcake. He looked around the now completely redecorated library admiring how quickly Pinkie had thrown the party together. It had only been a couple of hours ago that she had asked him if he liked parties. Before he had been able to answer her she had disappeared back into the crowd of ponies. After the gathering Twilight, Elliot, and Celestia had returned to the library only to find it filled with ponies in celebration of Elliot’s arrival.

Now that the party had commenced Elliot had felt fairly awkward among the other ponies. Not only did he feel separate from them, they acted as if he had no business being there. While none of them were openly discriminating against him, he could feel their looks showing he was yet to be accepted among them. Throughout the party he had just been standing in various corners offering kind words to any of the ponies who decided to approach him. The only real company that he had had so far was of Twilight and her close friends.

They’ll never accept you. They will only treat as the freak of nature that you are. They don’t think that you belong in
Equestria.

Elliot shuddered at those thoughts. He felt that they could be true but did his best to push them aside. No matter how different he was, he was still being accepted on some level. Twilight and her friends had been willing enough to take him in and treat him with kindness. However these positive thoughts still didn’t do well enough to completly drive away his doubts. Doing his best to take his mind off of these sour thoughts he decided to become more sociable and active in the party.

He walked over to a group of ponies that were playing a game called Pin the Tail on the Pony. For a moment he watched as a filly stumbled around trying to find the picture that she could attach the tail too. Elliot smiled at the cute sight. After a bit more watching Elliot stepped closer to the ponies, “Mind if I take a turn?”

Once his voice reached their ears the ponies gasped and all took a step back. Trying to recover quickly and act as if they expected him they quickly nodded their heads in approval. Elliot tried to offer a friendly smile to seem a bit less intimidating. He knelt down next to the pony with the blindfold and allowed her to tie it around his eyes. He then stood up and allowed them to push at his legs and cause him to spin around in a circle. Elliot couldn’t help but feel as if he had played a game that was similar to this one at one point of his life.

Elliot slowly stepped in the direction that he thought the picture of the pony was. As he was walking he suddenly
bumped into a low hanging potted plant. This caused him to stumble forcing him to quickly change directions so that he could keep his balance. His sudden change in direction did not help keep him stable as he managed to walk right into a pony that was in the way of his new path. After he bumped her, he began to fall. In an attempt to catch himself he stretched out his arms to break his fall. However, in doing this the tail that he was holding fell right onto the place that his right hand was about to land. Not being able to see where his hands were going to end up he was unable to alter the course that they were taking. Before he knew it he landed and an inexplicably sharp pain shot up his right wrist.

“Motherfucker!” Elliot shouted at the top of his lungs as the pin pierced his palm and embedded itself all the way to its base. When Elliot finally regained his senses and took note of his surroundings, he heard how quiet everypony had become. They had been laughing at his antics and how silly he looked as he flailed around. However once they heard him curse they were extremely shocked.

Good job, now they’re sure to reject you. Just look how innocent they are. If you speak like that they will never accept you.

Again Elliot felt the pessimistic thoughts flow in. The negativity that they showed felt almost foreign to him. He felt the need to ignore these thoughts, yet they seemed to speak a great truth to him. Before he could think much more about them, more waves of pain shot through his hand and up his wrist. This caused him to grab it to try and keep his mind off of the pain.

Twilight was the first to react. “Alright everypony shows over let’s get back to having some fun.” She quickly trotted over to where Elliot was now gripping his palm trying to alleviate the pain. “Are you alright? Follow me to the kitchen so that we
can take care of your hand,” Twilight told him while trying to usher him out of the room.

Once they entered the kitchen Twilight used her magic to remove the pin from his palm. She then got some water from the sink and used it to wash the small wound off. Afterwards she got a bandage from a nearby medical kit and applied it. When all was said and done Twilight sat down in a chair at a table, and she motioned for Elliot to sit across from her

“Elliot, I know that you just hurt yourself, but care to explain why you said what you said?”

“I’m not sure it just came naturally to me. Why is it wrong to say that or something?” Elliot asked innocently.

“Well I’m not sure how you’re kind treats those words, but most ponies find that language very insulting. I felt that you’re previous usage was more justifiable, yet this time there were numerous fillies in the room and every single one of them heard you. It would probably be best if you went and apologized, that way you will at least be able to reconcile somewhat.”

Elliot allowed his head to hang low. He felt embarrassed at being scolded like he was a young child. “I’m sorry Twilight. I’ll be sure to control myself better in the future,” he began to walk towards the kitchen door so that he could go and apologize. Before he got far, he felt a strange sensation holding him back and then turning him around to face Twilight.

“Don’t let this get to you too much. I know they’ll forgive you, just be sincere in your apology okay.” Twilight gave Elliot a reassuring smile and then released him from her magic. With that she left the kitchen to mingle among the other party goers. Elliot, however, sat back down to think of the best way that he could say that he was sorry.

Just accept it, there’s absolutely nothing that you can do. They will never forgive you. You are just some monster that has already shown that it has no manners. It’s just a matter of time before they truly start to fear you.

Elliot was about to give up hope on finding the right way to go about it, yet he decided that he should at least do something. Whether they felt that his apology was sincere or not they would judge him a bit less if he at least attempted it. Elliot stood, slightly more confident, and walked back into the crowded library room. As soon as he entered everything got quieter with most of the ponies turning their attention to him.

Elliot gathered himself and took a deep breath to try and remain calm. Clearing his throat Elliot began his apology. “I’m sorry about what I said. I can’t really take it back, but I would if I could. I do promise to do my best to refrain from saying that or anything similar ever again.” With that Elliot grabbed another cupcake and went to the same corner he had been originally sitting in.

He began eating the cupcake and watched as the party slowly restarted and the mood began to lighten. After a short while a gray pegasus with a blonde mane came and sat next to Elliot. “I’m not sure about everypony else, but I can forgive you. I can relate to being different,” she said as she gave him a hug. After that she trotted off and found some muffins that she started to eat.

Elliot let her words sink in. He felt as though he had been too quick to judge the ponies’ reactions. Smiling, Elliot looked around the room and found that none of the ponies showed any negative feelings towards him. He could still sense a slight air of awkwardness whenever he locked eyes with one of them, but he could see that his apology had indeed been accepted by everypony.

With that burden being lifted from his shoulders, Elliot stood up feeling the stress of the day finally taking its toll. He left to find Twilight to find out where he would be sleeping for the night. Princess Celestia had earlier stated that he would be staying in the library so that he could have a more direct link with Celestia. He knew that it was for him to be kept under watch, yet he completely understood her reasoning. After a short search Elliot saw Twilight conversing with Pinkie Pie.

“Hey Twilight, I’m pretty tired think you could show me to my room?” He asked.

“Sure. I’ll be back in just a moment Pinkie,” Twilight started to walk off to lead Elliot to his room.

“Thanks for the party Pinkie. I loved the cupcakes and had tons of fun,” he called to Pinkie as he was following Twilight down a short hallway. He heard Pinkie shout something after him, but he didn’t quite hear what she said. Once they reached a door at the end of the hallway, Twilight opened it for Elliot.

“Sorry your room had to be in the basement. It’s the only room big enough to be used as a bedroom. I had Spike set up a bed for you, so it should be to your liking. Hope you sleep well,” she offered as she began to walk away.

Elliot was going to say thanks, but she had already left when he tried to tell her. He looked down the steps and into the room. He hesitated about going down there. The room seemed dark and foreboding causing Elliot to question whether it would be safe for him to go down there. Elliot couldn’t help but feel as if it was some sort of trap to lock Elliot up without him being able to put up a fight.

After getting over his initial fears Elliot eventually walked down the stairs. Once he reached the bottom step he looked around the room and saw that the room was indeed furnished to suit a being like him. The bed was of a reasonable length and would be able to hold Elliot without his legs hanging off of the edge. He walked over to the bed and fell down onto it. Not long afterwards Elliot felt his tiredness creep throughout his body overwhelming his senses and sending him into the unconscious world.

Elliot felt himself being shaken around. When he opened his eyes he looked around and saw that he was in a clearing in some sort of forest. Elliot tried to figure out where he was, but could see no distinguishing features as to his location. “Twilight! Anypony! Where am I!” he tried calling out into the air.

When he heard no response Elliot began to panic. He knew that going down into that room was a horrible idea. Feeling betrayed Elliot couldn’t help but berate himself for his stupidity and gullibility. Before long, however, he began to hear a voice calling out to him. Searching for the source of the voice Elliot began to walk out of the clearing and in a random direction towards the sound.

Not long after he exited the clearing he walked out into another clearing. This one looked exactly like the other one and upon further investigation Elliot saw that it was the same clearing. Confused Elliot decided to walk out a different way. He made sure not to make any turns, but he soon found himself back in the same clearing again. Even though Elliot had made no progress through the forest, the voice that he had been hearing sounded as if it were much closer than it had previously been. Elliot gave up hope on trying to escape the clearing. He knew that he was in some form of magical prison and he would never be able to leave on his own.

“Ah there you are my dear Elliot!” a voice said coming from seemingly everywhere at once.

Elliot quickly jumped up and looked around. He didn’t see anyone and began to think he might be going crazy. “Hello?” he called out hoping to locate the speaker.

Materializing out of thin air, a mysterious being appeared in front of him. Elliot jumped back at the sight. Even though he had grown accustomed to seeing talking ponies nothing had prepared him for this. Before him stood a creature that was made up of various different animals. It had a fairly pony like head with a deer antler on the left and a goat horn on the right. He had a long fang on the left and a goat like beard. His left arm was that of a lion and right claw as an eagles, and his left leg was like a lizards with his right being a goats. On his back were a bat’s left wing and a pegasus’s right. The creature’s odd composition came to an end with a snake’s tail.

The creature walked over to Elliot and gave him a hug, picking him up off of the ground. “I have been absolutely dying to finally meet you!”

Elliot struggled to free himself from the thing’s grasp. Once he managed to slip away Elliot jumped a few feet backwards giving a gap between the two. “Are you the thing that kidnapped me?” Elliot asked nearly shouting in his anger. The question didn’t faze the creature as he just began to laugh.

“Oh Elliot you sure are a riot! No my boy I did not kidnap you. I am visiting you while you sleep. This is just a dream and you are still in that library with those ponies,” he said in between chuckles.

Elliot softened his guard a little but remained ready to defend himself. “So does that mean that you are a figment of my imagination?”

“No siree! I am one hundred percent perfectly real. I just happen to be a magical creature that knows how to visit others in their dreams. It is much easier than physically finding someone to talk to,” the creature explained to Elliot. During their conversation his body would occasionally distort with his head even levitating away from the rest of his body.

Elliot couldn’t help but stare as the creature’s body provided enough varying positions to keep him enthralled. “Why do you keep doing that with your body?” he finally managed to ask.

“Doing what?” the creature responded seeming to truly not know what was happening with his limbs every moment. Elliot just continued to stare as the antler grew to an exceptionally large size and the goat horn shrank to an almost microscopic pinprick, and afterwards the two would slowly change size to that of the other’s.

“You’re body. It keeps changing! How do you not know that it keeps doing that?”

“Oh that, it’s simply because it makes no sense! I didn’t notice it because this is always happening to me. I tend to forget that it isn’t natural to other creatures, silly me.”

“You’re telling me that your body changes, just because that doesn’t make sense. That itself makes absolutely no sense!” Elliot shouted beginning to get frustrated.

“Exactly! Making sense is so overrated. Why would I do that when I can do anything else? Anything that I could ever imagine to do!” the creature laughed maniacally.

Elliot groaned in frustration and turned walking away in a huff. The creature was beginning to annoy him to the point that he was about to snap. Just before Elliot could walk a long distance the creature appeared in front of him. “Woah slow down there speedy, I still need to talk to you. I can’t have you leaving just yet when I still need to deliver a message.”

Elliot stopped and stared at the creature. He couldn’t help but wonder what message it could have and why it needed to be delivered. Feeling skeptical about the situation he crossed his arms and looked at the creature. “Alright shoot. I would much prefer a restful sleep over having to deal with you all night.”

“Well, the thing is, these ponies, you can’t trust them. I understand if you don’t believe me, but it is the truth. Their princess brought you here for some reason. This reason remains unknown to me, yet I know that it cannot be good for this world. I believe she is going to use you to wage a war against the griffons.”

Elliot thought his words over for a moment. “What makes you think this? How would you possibly have any idea what she is planning?”

“I know her and her family personally. I know that there has always been a feud between the ponies and griffons. It would make sense” the creature shuddered at those words “to bring back one of the few creatures ever banished from Equestria. In my experience there have only been three creatures banished from this land for any period of time. They are the basilisk, humans, and Nightmare Moon. Now that he has brought a human back to Equestria it can only be for some destructive purpose. These ponies may seem as if they are accepting you, but that is just for show. You are far too different from them. I’m sure you can see just how uncomfortable you make them. They only want to use you,” the creature finished after finally growing serious for his speech.

Elliot tried to take this only to grow more and more despaired. The creature seemed to know what he was talking about. The ponies definitely seemed to not want him around when possible. The few that seemed the most accepting, Elliot had discovered, were also some of the closest to the princess. He didn’t want to accept this as the truth, yet he felt that it was.

After a short moment Elliot came to a conclusion. “Alright what should I do?”

“The best thing for you to do is to meet me in the Everfree forest. There I can give more insight into the princess’s nefarious plot. Once you have acquired her father’s journal I will meet you outside of the castle, and I will tell you all you need to know. Afterwards you will need to meet with the princess and continue on as usual we wouldn’t want to make her suspicious. Now then it’s about time I get going. You need to wake soon, and boy do you have a big day ahead. Tata for now” the creature said as he began walking away and fading into nothing.

Before he fully disappeared Elliot grabbed him on the shoulder. “Wait, who are you?”

The creature turned to Elliot and gave a smile. “I am a friend. I shouldn’t tell you my name just in case you accidentally let it slip who you dreamt about,” he said as he vanished before Elliot’s eyes.

Elliot jerked awake. Rubbing his temple he tried to make sense of the dream he had had. Sadly he could think of nothing and only became more and more confused. However one conclusion was certain. Elliot knew that he could not trust these ponies.

AN: Been a long while since I was able to get two chapters up within a week. Well guess what, I plan on making them come much faster. Now that I am completely done with exams I now have pretty much all day to come up with ideas of what to put in a chapter. Anyway I hope that everyone enjoys the chapter.

Hotcakes in the Morning

Soon a rumble emanating from Elliot’s stomach signaled that he was ready for some breakfast. He gave one last stretch before leaving the comforting warmth of the bed. Glancing around the room he saw that there was nothing else he needed and decided to leave. As Elliot was making his way up the steps he heard a voice mumbling on occasion. Once he emerged from the basement he saw that Twilight was sitting at a desk that was littered with crumpled up pieces of paper.

Upon feeling the presence of another being in the room Twilight looked up from the parchment that she had been writing on. “Oh good morning Elliot, I hope that you slept well. Is there anything you need?” she asked.

Trying to keep his suspicions hidden Elliot patted his belly. “I slept fine, but I sure worked up an appetite. So got any breakfast?”

“Sure, I can try to make us some pancakes if you would like.” Twilight stood up from her desk and walked into the kitchen with Elliot following close behind.

“That sounds great,” Elliot replied as they entered the kitchen. He saw a table that was obviously used for dining and various things throughout the room that belonged in a typical kitchen. Sitting down Elliot watched as Twilight began to use her magic to find various things needed to make the pancakes. Elliot saw that while Twilight was mixing ingredients, she didn’t give off the feeling of a pony that was dishonest. This allowed Elliot some relaxation which let him think about other things. As he was thinking, memories of past breakfasts returned to him. He specifically noticed memories of a delicious strip of pork.

“Wish I had some bacon,” Elliot mumbled absentmindedly.

“What’s that” Twilight asked wearing a curious expression as she glanced over to Elliot.

Elliot excitedly exclaimed, “Oh it’s a scrumptious slice of pi… You know what never mind.” He ended abruptly. Elliot became worried about explaining what pork happened to be. He didn’t need to scare the ponies any more than they were already scared of him by letting them know that he enjoyed eating meat. Keeping his gaze averted from Twilight’s, Elliot forced himself to cope with her stare as she awaited his reply.

“Okay then,” Twilight said as she gave up on his response. She then returned to watching over the pancakes that were now cooking.

After a short moment Elliot sniffed the air and exclaimed “Those smell delicious.”

“Really? I hardly ever cook for anyone other than Spike, so I don’t receive many compliments.” She replied trying to hide the slight blush that had appeared on her face.

“I’m sure they will taste just as good if not better,” Elliot smiled as he reclined in his chair. Elliot began to doubt some of what the strange creature had said. He began to feel that maybe it was just him being nervous after having been thrust into a strange new world. However he also remembered that since he was with her she could just be putting on an act.

Once the pancakes were finally done cooking Twilight levitated a trio of plates onto the table. She set an equal amount of pancakes on two of the plates and a smaller amount on the leftover one. She then gathered a few utensils that Spike used when he ate and gave some to Elliot and set some next to the other plate.

“Spike! Breakfast is ready!” she called after she set some syrup on the table. Not long after a small purple and green dragon walked into the kitchen. Rubbing his eyes and yawning he looked at Elliot.

“Is this that human thing that you said would be staying with us?” Spike asked tiredness still evident in his voice.

Slightly miffed at being called a thing Elliot tried to keep himself calm. “Yeah that’s me. My name’s Elliot.”

“I’m Spike…” he mumbled as he climbed into the chair that had been set up for him.

Noting that Spike clearly was not a morning person Elliot decided to not bother him too much until later. Directing his attention to the food in front of him Elliot took in a large whiff of the heavenly aroma coming from the fluffy mounds of deliciousness. He picked up the utensils that resembled some that he remembered eating with before. He recognized that they were similar to a knife and a fork.

Throwing his distractions to the wind Elliot poured some of the syrup on his stack and made sure to get some in every nook and cranny. Deciding it was covered enough Elliot cut off a chunk and put it in his mouth. Elliot’s eyes lit up as the flavor spread across his palate and filled his brain with endorphins. Realizing that they could get soggy soon Elliot dove in to his pancakes and devoured them in a flurry of motions.

Twilight looked up from her meal that had barely been touched to see Elliot’s plate was completely clear of food. Trying to keep from staring in awe she looked back at her plate blushing again. “Were they really that good?” she asked nervously.

“Oh they were absolutely delicious Twilight. Thank you so much for them,” he stood up and picked Twilight up, giving her a hug. This caused Twilight to give off a small squeal as she started to squirm frantically for a moment. When she finally realized that she wasn’t being attacked she calmed down and blushed even more.

After a moment Elliot understood that he was making Twilight uncomfortable. He quickly set her back down and returned to his seat. He cleared his throat trying to shake off his blush of embarrassment. “Sorry about that,” he told her.

“It’s okay,” she mumbled trying to gather her senses. After she calmed herself down she remembered that Elliot was supposed to retrieve the journal today. “We should probably discuss how you should go about getting Celestia’s father’s journal.”

“Right. First off you will need to get me to the castle,” Elliot said as he leaned back in his chair to gaze up at the ceiling to help him think.

“Yes. However after I show you the way I will have to come back to Ponyville. I have things that need doing,” she raised a hoof to her chin in thought.

“How will I get to the throne room then?” he asked hoping she could give good enough directions.

“Well once you get past the front doors it’s a straight shot down a few corridors to get there. You probably won’t even have to turn once,” she said allowing Elliot some relief.

Elliot felt good knowing that it should be an easy trip that wouldn’t take him long. Noticing that Twilight and Spike had both finished their meals, Elliot stood up an gathered the dishes so that he could clean them.

“Oh don’t worry about that Elliot I can clean up,” Twilight tried to protest.

“Nonsense, I get to stay here rent free the least I can do is clean up a little bit,” he continued scrubbing the plates
clean. He heard Spike mumble something about going to Rarity’s and soon after heard the front door open and shut.

Twilight perked up at hearing Rarity’s name. “That reminds me. Rarity brought an experimental set of clothes over for you. She said that after you wear it you should tell her whether it suits you or not.”

Elliot grinned broadly. He had just finished with the dishes and was excited to be able to wear a perfectly clean set of clothes for once in a long while. “I guess I should try them on real quickly,” he responded to Twilight.

Nodding, Twilight walked back into the main room of the library and lead Elliot to wear a set of clothing was neatly laid out. Elliot looked over them and saw that they looked almost exactly like the ones he had been wearing. It was a simple white t-shirt and a pair of denim blue jeans. Rarity had even made a pair of shoes that contained beautiful swirls of blue and white that matched the simple outfit perfectly. Elliot was amazed at the white unicorn’s ability to make such clothing in less than a day.

Deciding to try them on sooner rather than later Elliot quickly stripped down and then put on the new articles of clothing. He was amazed at the detail that had been put into such a simple outfit. Rarity’s measurements had been so accurate that the clothes felt almost as a second layer of skin.

“Wow,” was the only word to come from Elliot for a long while. Finally coming back to reality, Elliot looked to Twilight “These clothes are awesome. I didn’t know that someone could be so talented as to make strange clothes this well on the very first try!”

Twilight giggled at Elliot’s enthusiasm. “She really is an amazing designer. You should thank her when you get back.”

“I will certainly do that,” he replied as he continued to examine himself.

Twilight decided that it was time to get back to business. She grabbed a saddle bag and brought it over to Elliot. She then proceeded to put a fairly long length of rope and a few apples into it. “The rope could easily come in handy and the apples are for a snack if you get hungry. Can you think of anything else you might need?” she asked him while trying to think of some more on her own.

Elliot thought hard for a moment before finally coming to the conclusion that he should be fine with what he already had. “I think that should be just fine,” Elliot said as he picked the bag up and slung it over his shoulder. “Guess we should head out.”

With that the pair exited the library and began to walk towards the Everfree forest. On the way to the edge of town Twilight was pointing out various landmarks to remind Elliot of where everything in town was located. Once the left the town itself they began to walk towards the opening of the forest.

Once they got there Elliot noted that they turned down a different path than the one that led to Zecora’s hut. Remembering that he would be returning on his own, Elliot made sure to take note of any turns or specific landmarks that they passed. He created as detailed a mental map as he could manage.

As they got deeper into the forest a ferocious roar sounded from deep within the woods. Elliot at first thought that it could be another manticore but soon dismissed that idea. Elliot knew deep inside that whatever made that roar must easily dwarf a manitcore and make it seem no more dangerous than a common house cat. Feeling somewhat disheartened Elliot began to walk slower and fear going deeper into the forest.

Elliot could still remember the pain of his previous experience with this forests creatures and he was not eager to meet anything more dangerous. Twilight could sense the uneasiness that had begun to afflict Elliot. Trying to calm his fears a little, she walked closer to him and made sure that she made contact with his side. This caused Elliot to look down at her and see her giving him a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry; I’m sure that whatever that was will be far from the castle. The sound even came from a different direction,” she told him mustering up the most at ease and cheerful voice she could muster. Even though she was trying to cheer him up she felt uneasy herself.

However destiny didn’t wish to give them time to worry about what beings might be lurking within the surrounding trees. Not far down the path Twilight spotted a familiar rope bridge. As they made their way to it Twilight reminisced on the day that her friends fought against Nightmare Moon. She remembered all the trials that they were put through that helped her to realize that they were the Elements of Harmony themselves. The nostalgia helped to bring a truly serene smile on to her face.

Seeing Twilight becoming calm helped Elliot to cope with the situation better. Once they got to the beginning of the bridge Twilight turned to Elliot. “This is as far as I should go. The castle is right after you cross the bridge. Please be careful,” she looked at Elliot with genuine care in her eyes. This helped Elliot to relax even further.

“I’ll be fine Twilight. I promise,” he replied as he looked ahead noticing the slight silhouettes of parapets in the distance.

“If you don’t come back by sundown, I’m coming to look for you okay.” She told him giving him a determined look before she turned and began to head back out of the forest. “Good luck!” she called back.

Elliot waved goodbye to her. He then returned his attention to the old rickety bridge ahead of him. Feeling a sense of dread at being forced to cross this unstable walkway he slowly began to traverse the canyon. As he was crossing, a wind began to cause the bridge to sway back and forth. Feeling extra unsteady, Elliot held on to the rope railing even tighter than he had previously been doing. His grip had become so fierce that his knuckles began to turn white.

The constant swaying of the bridge had Elliot walking across the bridge slower than he wished. Trying to walk faster not only worsened the swaying but helped the fear and nausea that was building within him. After what felt like an eternity Elliot finally came to solid ground of the other side of the bridge.

Elliot almost squealed in glee at being off of the dreadful bridge. He stooped down and kissed the ground at his feet and then jumped up clapping his hands. Quickly berating himself for acting so silly Elliot returned to a serious mood. He walked down the path and watched as the castle grew larger and came into a clearer view.

Gulping at the intimidating size of the castle Elliot reminded himself that all he had to do was walk straight through the castle and go into the throne room. With the castle directly in front of him, Elliot could finally gauge the true age of the structure. Vines covered almost every inch of the building. The castle seemed to emit an aura of ancient power. He could easily see that it had not been occupied in an extremely long time. Remembering that Princess Celestia had said her father lived here brought doubts to the front of his thoughts.

The castle was obviously hundreds of years abandoned. If her father had lived here then the Princess would have to be extremely old. Having never heard of a creature that could live that long Elliot began to feel that maybe the mission he was sent on was different than what the Princess had wanted him to believe. However Elliot reminded himself that the Princess was also a magical alicorn that ruled over a kingdom of talking ponies. Chuckling a little Elliot allowed himself to believe that alicorns could just have the ability to live for extra-long lives.

Finally working up the nerve to try and enter the castle Elliot pushed against the heavy wooden door. After a while of trying and the door not budging Elliot stopped pushing against it. He investigated the hinges and saw through the small gaps that the room behind the door had caved in and large stones were blocking the door from being pushed open.

Elliot muttered a few curse words under his breath as he began to look around for another way into the castle. Noticing a large window about twenty feet up Elliot decided to try and climb the wall and crawl through the window to get inside. He walked over to the wall and found a few footholds around the area and he began his ascent.

The climb was taking him a long while because the wall was obviously not designed to be climbed up. Finding foot and hand holds was taking longer than Elliot wanted. Being forced to hang from the wall as he looked for a way up sapped the energy from Elliot’s arms. Feeling the aching building up within his muscles Elliot began to frantically search for the next large crack to climb up.

As he was reaching up for the next part another roar, much closer this time, sounded. This caused Elliot to cry out and lose his grip. Elliot began to fall down the side of the wall frantically reaching out for something to grab onto. His fingers quickly found the small ledge that he had just been resting on and saved him from a possibly disastrous fall. Elliot then began to climb up the wall with renewed vigor hoping to get inside before the creature got to close for comfort.

With his quickened pace Elliot reached the window much faster than he had previously thought that he would. Pulling himself through Elliot felt his hopes sink a good amount. As he looked around, he knew that he was absolutely nowhere near the main hall. Deciding to push forward anyway he began to search through the castle regardless of not knowing what room he was in.

Elliot sighed as he looked around the room that he had climbed into. He noted that it appeared to be a guest bedroom of sorts. He then exited the room and came into a hallway lined with doors. After he poked his head into a few of the rooms he seemed to be on a hallway that held many bedrooms. He guessed that the guest rooms of the castle would be on a different side than the king and queen’s bedroom.

Using this knowledge and the fact that he climbed in on the left side of the main door he made a mental note that he should head down the hallway to the right. As he walked on Elliot felt the temperature in the air beginning to rise. Soon the heat got to the point that caused Elliot to begin sweating.

Trying to ignore the heat, Elliot finally found what he had been looking for. Looking ahead a few feet Elliot saw the floor that had collapsed and blocked the front entrance. He also saw that he could climb down the fallen stones and make his way into the passage way that led to the throne room. Being careful not to slip, Elliot made it down to the ground in a short time. Once his feet reached the floor of the main hallway Elliot looked around in awe.

The hall was about twenty feet tall and seemed to stretch for hundreds of feet forward and was about one hundred feet wide. Walking towards the opposite end Elliot took in the sheer massiveness of the room that he was in. Knowing that the throne room would only be more magnificent, he couldn’t help but feel excited about reaching the end of the hall. Elliot began to try and force his way forward as the heat began to increase the further he went. About halfway through Elliot began to sweat profusely.

Deciding that he didn’t have time to get mad at himself for not packing a water bottle Elliot did his best to walk faster. Once the heat reached a bizarrely high point Elliot had finally reached the end of the hallway. Sighing with relief that he was almost there he opened the door to the throne room. Elliot allowed a happy grin to spread across his face as he knew that he was almost done with this ridiculous quest and he could be heading back soon.

However once he entered the throne room his smile evaporated from his face as quickly as the heat evaporated his sweat. Lying between him and the thrones was a very large and ferocious looking dragon.

AN: It's about fucking time I got off of my lazy ass and posted a chapter. Now that I'm done telling myself off I would like to apologize to everyone who was waiting for me to do this. I know some of you would probably like and explanation as to why it took me so long to write it. Well here it is- there is none. I really have no idea why it took me forever to finally start writing, but like I said in the update I WILL continue posting no matter what, and I WILL be finishing this story no matter how long it takes. I have now set new goals and set up a new schedule and relearned the joy of finishing a chapter. I seriously felt elated once I finished the it.
P.S. As I type I feel like I repeat myself a lot. Do I?

A Suspicious Librarian

Zecora paid no mind to the unicorn that had arrived at the hut with her. Instead Zecora began to mill around the room and she began to get to work crushing various roots with a mortar and pestle. Meanwhile the unicorn made her way to the bed that Elliot was resting on. She gave Elliot a soft smile and then greeted him.

“Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle. My friend Zecora told me that she had found a strange injured creature in the forest,” Twilight said as she began to look over Elliot’s body. Elliot felt a sudden urge to cover himself up as much as possible. Her prying eyes made him feel extremely uncomfortable and he felt as if he was a piece of meat that was being inspected for quality.

After a minute or two Elliot began to relax a little bit. “I’m Elliot Drake. It’s nice to meet you Twilight,” he said trying to seem less nervous than he felt.

Twilight grinned at realizing that he did indeed speak Equestrian. “If you don’t mind me asking, could you tell me what you are? In all of my studies I’ve never read about a creature that matches your description,” she replied with her eyes lighting up showing the yearning for knowledge.

Elliot shifted uneasily at her question. He began to ask himself the same thing. One word however seemed to pop into his head every time that he thought about it. After looking her in the eyes he responded “Human, I think. I don’t remember much but that sticks out to me. Could you tell me where I am? I get a feeling that I’m a long way from home.”

“Well since I’ve never seen a human before it does seem that you are far from home. Currently you are in Zecora’s home in the Everfree forest located in the nation of Equestria,” Twilight told him beginning to understand just how lonely he might be feeling. “If you’d like we can look around the area that you first remember showing up in. It might give us more clues as to where you come from and how you got here.”

“That sounds wonderful. Zecora would have to take us to where she found me though,” Elliot replied while almost jumping off of the bed in excitement. He then asked “Can we go now?” Zecora had heard the last part of the conversation and nodded her head in agreement and Twilight did the same.

After a short walk with Zecora leading the way, they finally made it to the outcropping that Elliot had found and used as shelter. Once we were there the first thing that Twilight noticed was the mostly dried puddle of blood. The sight made her realize just how lucky Elliot was that Zecora had been near enough to find him before he bled to death.

“I must bid both of adieu, for I have plenty of work to do,” Zecora said once we got a feel for our surroundings. She turned and began to depart.

“Alright, I’ll see you later,” Twilight called after her. Zecora turned and gave a smile and Elliot waved goodbye. As soon as she had left the clearing Twilight began looking around some more. She noted the pile of berries that had started to grow some molds. Elliot also noticed this and he began to wonder just how long he had been unconscious before he woke up in Zecora’s.

“This is where I stayed after I woke up here,” Elliot told Twilight. He then started to walk off in the direction that he had originally found himself in. Once they made it to the stream Elliot turned and followed it back to the place where first found himself in this forest. As they got to the center of the small clearing Twilight gasped when she saw the old, dried up puddle of blood.

“That’s a lot of blood, no wonder you were asleep for four days,” Twilight said as she took a closer look at the puddle.

“Actually that’s not my blood. Even though I woke up lying in the puddle while it was fresh, I didn’t see where it came from,” Elliot responded.

Twilight looked very surprised at this revelation. After examining the puddle a bit more she levitated a small vial out of her saddle bag and put some of the blood into. She put a cork into the top and then replaced the vial in her bag. After studying the area and scanning certain spots with her horn Twilight trotted back to Elliot’s side.

When she arrived Elliot was standing there gawking at her. “How did you do that?” was the only thing that he managed to say.

Twilight glanced up at Elliot with a slightly puzzled look on her face. “Do you mean the levitation spell I used to get my vial? That was magic. Don’t tell me you’ve never seen magic before,” she told him matter-of-factly.

Elliot couldn’t keep himself standing anymore. After he took a seat he began mumbling to himself, “First I see three small horses, and then I see that they are also mythical creatures. After that I save those ponies from some weird lion thing, then I get rescued by a zebra, and now a unicorn is using magic before my eyes. I don’t even have an idea of what could happen next.”

Twilight perked up when she heard the part about the lion thing. “You were attacked by a manticore? How did you manage to get away?” she started asking her interest piqued.

“That’s just it. I don’t know how I got away. I passed out while it was biting down on my arm and I thought that I was about to die. The next thing I know the manticore is dead and I’m still alive. After that I made my way back to that rock and then I wake up in Zecora’s hut.” Elliot said still shaking his head in disbelief. His levels of surprise and worry were hitting him hard. He was shaking slightly and the frustration was starting to make him tear up.

Twilight nodded trying to understand the odd series of events. After realizing the measure of difficulty that Elliot had had to put up with she decided that it was time he got a chance to relax. “Maybe we should head back? If you’d like you can come to my library and look for any information that could help you find out how to get back to your home,” she said as she began heading back towards the original clearing.

Elliot nodded uneasily. “It couldn’t hurt, so I don’t see why not,” he said as he followed her. Once there he noticed
her also take a sample of his blood that had been on the rocks. He tried to ignore this, but the extent of which she was studying him began to disturb him.

The short trek back passed by without any incident. When they got to Zecora’s hut Elliot took a chance to thank her for saving him. After he insisted that he was deeply in her debt and that he needed to pay her back someday Twilight and Elliot began to follow the path out of the forest.

“So where exactly are we going anyway?” Elliot asked Twilight trying to pass some time.

“We’re going to the library in the town of Ponyville. It’s also where I live. While the library doesn’t have the largest collection of books, it should contain some useful information,” she replied with a smile. Her friendliness began to unnerve Elliot a little. He was a strange creature that she had never seen before yet here this little pony was treating him as if she had known him for a long while.

Trying to dismiss these pessimistic thoughts Elliot began to wonder what a town full of ponies could be like. However he started to doubt the fact that waltzing through town was going to be such a good idea. He decided to voice his concern to Twilight, “I was just thinking, and wouldn’t it cause a panic for me, an unknown creature, to just walk through the town?”

This caused Twilight to stop and think for a moment. After pondering the situation she had finally come up with a solution. “I’ll cast a cloaking spell on you. It should last for our trip through the town and no one will be able to see you,” she told him.

Elliot just nodded in response. The idea of it was simple enough and being invisible seemed like it could be a fun experience.

After walking for about thirty more minutes the two had finally made it to the edge of the forest. Without saying anything Twilight turned to Elliot with her horn glowing. Elliot was about to say something but he didn’t get a chance as Twilight touched the horn to him. He felt a very cold sensation pass through his body as it felt as if all the heat simply left the direct area around him. Beginning to panic, he quickly tried to look at his arm but he saw nothing.

Realizing that it was just the cloaking spell Twilight had mentioned, Elliot tried to calm down. He looked to Twilight and noticed the satisfied smile that she was wearing. She then turned and made her way to the town. While they were walking Elliot looked back and forth between the many colored homes and buildings. The various colors were almost sickening in nature, but the fact that they all housed ponies made them fit.

Elliot then noticed a large tree growing in the town. At first he thought that it was just a tree to provide shade for any weary shoppers, but he then noticed that the tree had windows. Only until they were a short distance away did he realize that the tree was their destination. Once they got there Twilight used her magic to open the door and the pair walked inside.

They had made it just in time, because Elliot had become visible again just before the door was fully closed. This made the two sigh in relief. Twilight walked over to a table and gently levitated her saddle bag onto it. She then turned to Elliot and said “Feel free to look around. The books should be in alphabetical order. If you’re thirsty there is some apple juice in the refrigerator so feel free to help yourself.”

“Alright then, thank you very much,” Elliot said as he walked to one of the bookshelves and began to look through them. While Elliot did this Twilight took the two vials of blood and made her way to through a door and down some stairs. After he had searched for a long while Elliot decided to get some of the apple juice that Twilight had offered. He walked to the kitchen found a glass and poured himself some.

Elliot then went back into the main room and found a comfortable chair to sit in. He sipped on the juice and tried his best to think of books that might have information on his kind. After thinking about this for a while Elliot remembered that unicorns and the like had been considered only myths in his world, so maybe humans were the same here. He stood up quickly and located a book that was a compilation of Equestrian myths.

He searched through the book the best he could, but he found no mention of humans. When he couldn’t find anything relevant he almost gave up until he saw a simple drawing of a shadow that was standing on two legs. He took interest in the picture and read the short entry that described the creature.

The two legged creature was one of the few that was never given a name. Most ponies figured that it may be too dangerous to research. All that is truly known is that these creatures are extremely vicious and should be treated as deadly.

This news did not bode well for Elliot. With his stomach deciding to do a somersault he became nervous. If the creature was indeed a human then there would be plenty of reason for the population to fear him. Elliot quickly placed the book back in its original spot and he sat back down in the chair. He started sipping on his apple juice some more and tried to calm himself. Thinking of anything to help he decided that if the librarian didn’t know what he was then no other pony would. With these slightly comforting thoughts and the delicious apple juice to calm his nerves Elliot began to feel the effects of a long day. Soon sleep overcame him and he began to snooze lightly in the chair.

Author's Note: Sorry the chapter came out a day later than promised. However I already have a good idea of what is going to happen next so it shouldn't take me long to write the next one. Sorry if you find the story boring so far, but I believe that exposition is very important. After I get a chance to get everything set up more exciting things will start to happen. Anyway thank you for reading.

(a quick update)

I'm gonna go ahead and apologize for not releasing more chapters.This update is for anyone who is curious as to what might be happening with the story currently. I wish that I could focus more on my story and stop getting distracted by everything else. However I do guarantee that I will complete this story. It could easily take me a long while to finish this, but I promise you will receive the good ending that everyone deserves. Hopefully I can start writing more often mainly because I enjoy writing. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to voice them in the comments of this chapter.