The Slumbering Servant.

Today was the day. Today, he would finally toss aside his shy and introverted nature and go meet other residents of Ponyville!

Right after his morning coffee....and bacon for breakfast....and brushing his teeth....and cleaning the library...and....

'Damn it, Zakari! Man up! stop being such a pussy and go outside! Talk to the ponies, get to know them!'

Zakari sighed. Ever since he was a child, he had always been shy. It took a while for him to open up to others. That's not to say that he didn't have friends, it just took a while. The only reason he ever had any semblance bravery was because he joined the military. They broke him down, then rebuilt him.

Partially.

His drill instructors did their best, but he will always have that shy voice in the back of his head.

He went downstairs and noticed Twilight at the table, reading. What else did you expect her to do?

"Excuse me, Mistress Sparkle?"

She sighed. "What did I say about calling me that?"

"Sorry. Twilight."

"Better. So, you need something?"

"Yes. I...would like to go outside."

"Um...ok"

"May I?"

"You're asking me...if you can go out side?"

"That's correct."

"Ugh, you don't have to ask me. If you want to go, then go."

"Are you sure."

"Yes!"

"Oh....then I guess I'll see you later!"

He walked out the door. Twilight watched him leave, then turned back to her book.

Right when he stepped outside...he got lost. He never went outside without Twilight and she always lead the way. He usually just followed her. But now he was on his own and he didn't know where to start. He looked to the left and then to the right. He decided on right and started his walk.

He walked for about five minutes before coming to the small bridge at the end of town. This was near where the ursa was defeated and sent back in to the forest. He crossed the bridge and leaned up against a tree. He sighed. There weren't really any ponies worth talking to. Sure, he could go up to anyone of them and strike up a conversation, but going around and talking to ponies at random for no reason seemed kinda weird. What would that be like? Hello Equine, would you like to talk to me? Tell me, a complete stranger from a totally different species, all about yourself!

No, he needed a good reason to just go up and talk to someone. This isn't Skyrim, god sakes.

As he leaned against the tree and thought about his situation, something fell from the sky and hit him directly on the head. It bounced off and rolled to the ground. He looked down at it.

It was a muffin.

Where did that come from? Was it raining muffins? Oh Shit! Did Discord get loose? It was the sworn duty of any Black Shield member to destroy that Abomination should it ever escape! He looked around and unsheathed his sword.

But no, Discord was not there....but there was a certain pegasus with a grey coat, blonde mane...and googly eyes.

"Oh, hello." He waved at her.

"Sorry, I dropped my muffin." She flew down from the tree and picked it up. She brushed it off before devouring it.

There was a moment of silence between them before Zakari spoke.

"So...um...I'm Zakari! Nice to meet you."

She turned around. "I'm Derpy Hooves. Nice to meet you too!" She gave him a smile.

He noticed that she had a bag at her side. "So, what's that?"

"Oh, they're muffins."

Of course.

"I...I've never seen anything like you before." She said. "Wait! You're that monkey thing that saved the town!"

Zakari....forever to be known...as monkey thing.

"Yes...the monkey thing. I'm not actually a monkey."He took off his helmet. "I'm human."

"Cool!....what's a human?"

"We were a race a sapient creatures descended from the primate line. We came to Equestria about seven thousand years ago to conquer your kind and enslave them. Then, for some odd reason, we gave up and became your protectors. Somewhere between then and now they disappeared and now I'm the only only one left."

"Oooooh...........want a muffin?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Why not?"

After talking for a while, they parted. Which sucked, because after getting to know her, he really liked Derpy. She was nice, funny, had an endless supply of muffins...and she knew what it was like to be the outcast. During their chat, she told him about how hard it is being different. Growing up, the others would often make fun of her crossed eyes. It didn't help that those same eyes messed with her vision and made her clumsy.

She knew what it was like to not be the same as everyone else. Thus, Zakari and Derpy became quick friends.

He decided that he would try a store next. Maybe purchase something and start a conversation with the owner.

So he walked back into town and went up to a nearby stall. That turned out to be a stupid idea. This particular stall belonged to a flower selling pony mare named Rose Luck.....and we all know about Rose Luck.

Said pony had her head underneath her stall, attempting to pick up a basket. When her head came back up, it was greeted to the sight of Zakari's helmeted head.

"Excuse me, miss, can I purchase-"

"Aaaaah,monster!!" She screamed and took off, knocking down some of her flowers in the process. She pushed other ponies aside and left a dust trail behind. Zakari just stood there, wondering what the fuck just happened.

"So....that was interesting."

Next stop, Sugar Cube Corner. Opening the short door and ducking inside, Zakari was greeted by the sight of Pinkie at the counters. She smiled when she saw him.

"Hi!" She said.

"Hey Pinkie, how are you?"

"I'm doing great! Did you come to get some treats?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Good, cause we got something new that I want you to try!" She made her way to the kitchen. "Be right back!"

She came back a minute later with a tray of cupcakes.

"Cupcakes? Don't you already serve those?"

"Not these ones! Try one!"

He picked up the cupcake from the tray and took a bite. At first it tasted like any other cupcake, but then he hit the filling.

It was cheesecake! The cupcake had cheesecake filling!

"Pinkie...these are heavenly! You are the best!"

"Oh, I didn't make them. I just gave Mr and Mrs Cake the idea after we talked in the Everfree! They made them!"

"Well,tell them I really like these."

"Will do! Hey, Mr and Mrs Cake, he likes them!"

"I didn't mean right now, but ok."

A few seconds later a pair of ponies came out of the kitchen. They were the Cakes. They met with Zakari and he told them how much he enjoyed their food. The group spent some time talking about various desserts and their favorite treats. A little after that, Zakari learned that Mrs Cake was expecting and he congratulated them and wished them happiness. Now only if he could start his own family...

While they talked, a group of fillies walked into the shop.

They called themselves...The Cutie Mark Crusaders. And they finally found what they were looking for.

"There he is. I told you I saw him come in here!" Said Applebloom.

"I could have sworn I saw him near a tree!" Responded Scootaloo.

"Oh yeah, doing what?"

"It looked like he was eating."

"He's alot bigger than you said." Said Sweetie Belle

"What, getting scared?"

"No!"

"Come one, girls, we're wasting time! If we wanna get our marks in sword fighting he's the one to help us!"

The three went over and tapped his shin. He looked down at them.

"Oh, hello. Something I can help you with?" He said.

"Hi Zakari!" Shouted Applebloom.

"Hello, young one." He met Applebloom before whenever he and Twilight visited Applejack, so he knew her. He also met Sweetie Belle. The one he really didn't know too much about was Scootaloo .

"Can you teach how to sword fight?!"

"Yeah, can you!" Sweetie also said.

"Um, well...you see, sword fighting is dangerous and I don't think that your paren-" He caught himself before going any further. Remember what happened to the orange one. Then, he had an idea. "Well, I guess I could teach you a few things. Nothing too dangerous, at least."

"Great! Where will you teach us?"

"There's a field not too far from here where I practice. Follow me."

He gave a wave to Pinkie as he and the fillies went out the door.

The three fillies and one human stood in the field next to a tree. Yup, he's once again next to a tree...get over it.

"I wonder what he'll teach us first?" Said Sweetie Belle

"Probably some cool attacks that'l beat anypony!" Applebloom responded.

As they talked, they saw Zakari reach up into the tree and pull three sticks down. He then tossed the sticks in front of them.

"Um...what are these for?"

"You said you wanted me to teach you how to sword fight. Well, this is how you're going to get started."

"With sticks? I thought we were gonna take turns using that!" Applebloom pointed to the sword strapped to Zakari's side.

"No no no no no! That is way too dangerous. You girls are no where near the level to be using this. If you ever want to wield a real sword, you gotta start with the basics."

"...Sticks?"

"I'll have you girls know that every warrior who has ever lived started the same way that you're about to. By swinging a stick!"

This lasted for only about five minutes before the crusaders walked away, saying that life was too short. To be honest, he was kinda hoping they would give up. Teaching was not his thing.

As they left, Zakari sat against the tree. It was high time for a nice nap and this tree would do wonderfully. He took off his helmet and placed it at his side. Same with his sword. He closed his eyes and let sleep over come him.

He woke up about an hour later. It was late midday and the sun would be setting soon. He picked up his things and began his walk home. He thought about the day he had. All in all, it was pretty good. He said he was going to meet some new people...um, ponies...and he did! He wasn't as much of a pussy as he thought. Good for him!

When he got back to the library, he noticed that it was quiet.

"Twilight? Spike?"

"Hey, up here!" Spike called from the top of the stairs.

"Hey Spike, seen Twilight?"

"Yeah, she left a while ago to get some tea from Zecora, she should be back soon."

"Zecora? Doesn't she live near the Everfree Forest? I hope Twilight is careful."

"I'm sure she will be."

"...Yeah, I guess you're right. I mean, what's gonna happen to her, she going to get Turned into stone by a cockatrice?"

Yeah, like that would ever happen. I'm sure she's fine.