A Short Tale

Chapter 3: Land Ahead

Travian had seen a few old type towns in his life, but the place they led him to looked suspiciously like a place he knew before. Just around twenty percent more color and around one hundred percent less snow. He focused on what he could have possibly been reminded of. Then, like a rude individual, Twilight interrupted his thinking with a greeting to the town. It was called Ponyville. Travian couldn't help but laugh at the name. The multicolored devil arose to his height with her wings and asked him, in a hostile tone no less, "What's so funny?" Travian wanted to tell her specifically so hard that he couldn't contain himself.

"Ponyville?! Really! This is just grand!" He was about to topple over due to the hilarious name that was so original and very though provoking as to why it was named such.

"Yeah, and? What's wrong with the name?" Travian had to remember for a few moments that he was on a different planet. One inhabited by colorful miniature horses.

He decided the joke was over. He also didn't want to make the cyan pony angry, or at least not yet. Yet being the key word of his thought. "It's just an inside joke. As in, you aren't supposed to get it." His words weren't very carefully chosen, as he soon realized.

"Maybe I wanna get it now." Before the argument got any further heated, Twilight decided to hit him with a question.

"So... 'Longshot', do you not actually have a place to live? You said what you crashed in the Everfree wasn't your home, so I assume you don't have one." Travian looked to the side. She reminded him that he didn't live anywhere. It was true, even before this whole incident. Only once had he lived in a place, and that was with his delusional brother. His brother at the time and still to this day calls him his cousin, not even knowing they both shared closer blood. He realized these ponies could not actually see through his visor, so facial expressions were useless until he removed his helmet. But still... A home all this time would have been nice. Having a place that didn't have someone insane in it to stay for just a while would have been all he could have asked for.

"No... No, I have no home to speak of." He didn't go into the details, and let his solemn tone fill them in to the details which they may or may not have actually gotten. He then turned his head to look in her direction. "Why do you ask?"

She crossed her hooves, clearly walking into something awkward for her. "Well... I was wondering if you wanted to live with me... Just for a while! I mean, I have an extra room, and it really wouldn't be too much of an issue!" She quickly said the last part. Travian had missed having a homely bed instead of a bed for the job. Also, she seemed rather lonely, like she needed somebody where she lived. Either that, or she would study him, even in his sleep. That would be creepy and he would not enjoy barrages of questions every day.

Travian saw through the lines and decided to expose them rather bluntly. "Twilight, I'm not going to live with you just because you are lonely and I have no place to live and I don't want to be studied. There has to be another reason." Her mouth seemed to gape at how he knew what she was implying.

"I live... In a library. You could read any of th-" Books are works of pure evil. That was an immediate no.

"Pass." Travian was not one for books. Those were for his brother. While Travian was a man of the moment, his brother was the ultimate thinker. He could think of one hundred one and a half ways to deal with the one situation you have no solutions to. At least, that is within a matter of seconds. He never wanted his brother to think on a situation for more than an hour as he would go into one of his 'states'. Admittedly, Travian had these little moments himself when he thought too deeply, kind of like how he was doing now. "However... A place to live would be nice. Does anyone have a place I could just sleep outside of? Like a place with nice exterior walls. That'd be fine."

He felt strange asking this as he had just crashed into the forest a few jaunts out of the way and had just gotten acquainted with these ponies over the period of probably an hour. His time system within his helmet actually broke, probably due to either the crash or the magic. Either candidate was likely. Thankfully, one of them spoke up. He believed it was Flutterscotch... 'No wait,' he thought ',was it that or Fluttersky? Girl doesn't talk much, so I forgot entirely about her.'

"I have a home next to the forest... Oh and it's a nice place, I think." Travian was happy. He could live next to the forest and take little trips into it, like he had in the days of olde. There were so many advantages to being there.

"Why, that would be absolutely lovely. I enjoy the forest, I enjoy nice places, what could be the downside there?" As if on cue, his stomach growled. He just remembered his last meal was more than twelve hours ago. "... Are any of you hungry as well?" 'These ponies better not be herbivores. Omnivores, please. Oh please let them be omnivores.'

"Well now that you mention it, I guess I am a bit hungry." Twilight said. After she said that, all their stomachs sounded out. "What are you girls up for?" Travian had to poke in.

"What exactly do you guys eat?" He desperately hoped they were not herbivores. If they were, it would complicate over three hundred things.

Applejack answered the question for him. "We eat apples, hay, you know, that sorta thing. Ah 'sume ya know what those are." Travian face palmed. They were still horses. How could he think for a moment that they weren't herbivores?

"I... I think I'll pass then. Just point me in the direction of your house." He directed his last sentence to the butter colored one. Things would hopefully be simple.

Of course, they weren't. "What's wrong with apples, huh? I think they're fine!" The rainbow menace, jumping to the scene of the crime yet again. Unfortuitously for her, Travian had almost prepared himself and she fell straight into his trap. That he forgot to set.

"Well, you see, I can't actually eat apples." He had to think of a reason quickly. "Right here, atop my head, is a helmet! Silly Dash." He silently hoped that she wouldn't respond.

She paused, thinking for a moment. "Why don't you take the helmet off?" She had to ask that slowly. Travian really considered it. He would look much scarier, for one. It would also reveal that none of his teeth were flat, indicating them to believe him to be one who devours meat. He had to pick the answer carefully.

"It is stuck to my face. For now, anyways. Maybe when I get into the forest, and you look very closely, you'll find me without it." He saw the Flutterfly pony pointing in a direction, hopefully towards her house. He grabbed an invisible hat and tipped it. "Now I'm off, ladies! Hope you have a fine dine." He turned and sped off. While he might not have been the fastest thing alive, the only thing on the ground that could out speed him was a car. It was almost comical how fast he fled. While passing along the outskirts of the town, he saw a few more colorful ponies looking at him as he ran.

When the buildings weren't so close, he actually saw a little road made of dirt, possibly leading towards Flutterpony's place. He slowed his pace down considerably, enough to be a slow jog. Following that single road, he arrived to a marvelous sight. Birds were soaring low to the ground, animals were running about, and fish were swimming in a river. In the middle of the action, he saw a little cottage. His helmet still indicated it was night time. That Flutterperson would be back before long because of the time. He decided to remove his helmet as the air seemed safe to breath. As he reached behind his head to unhook a few things, he saw a single white bunny approaching. "Hey there. How're you doing, lil' guy?"

The bunny then got a face of pure disapproval. "Not good, huh? Does it have to do with me?" He actually nodded. 'Wait... Oh, I am going to hate this guy.' "And what exactly do you have against me?" He started jumping around him and then pointed at the cottage. "... Do you not want me near the house because you think I'm dangerous?" He nodded his head again. Finally, he tried to unlatch his helmet. After a few cables were undone, the helmet fell to the ground with a thud, startling the bunny. He then squatted down, and showed his teeth. They were all sharp teeth, and he was sure to scare the little rabbit. "Good. Because I am. Don't get in my way, we won't have problems." He picked up the helmet and carried it in his hand. He went closer to the cottage, enough so he could feel the wall.

The walls were actually nice to the touch. He decided it would just be great to sleep for the night, but he knew he would be hungry. He stared at the river, full of fish. Fish wasn't too offensive to eat... Was it? Then again... Now was not the time to think. He just had to go out there and do it. 'Just put your hand in the water, put the fish in your mouth, and chew. That's all there is to it.' Travian felt so conflicted with this one decision. He looked across the river, at the road. On the horizon was a dark figure that looked like the Fluttersing pony. His frustration reached its first peak, making him cross his arms in anger. He would have to sleep it off. Hopefully, Flutterguy wouldn't see him and possibly be shocked. Though, with all the animals about the home, he considered that maybe she wouldn't mind his reptilian look. He rocked himself to sleep that night, ignoring the animals and trying to ignore the hunger pains.

In the morning, he was awoken by a gasp. He shot up, ready to attack from a sitting position. Fortunately, it was only Flutterair. "Oh. It's only you." He paused, staring back at the pony. "... Any particular reason why you're staring at me like that?"

"You...  You look like a lizard!" Travian couldn't help but be disappointed.

"Did I not tell you I was a lizard-person? By the way, I forgot your name because it was so quiet. Care to tell me it again?" He didn't know why the pony looked embarrassed. She was super quiet and he couldn't hear properly.

"My name is Fluttershy... Oh and yes! You did tell us that you were a lizard-'man'-mutated-thing. I really didn't expect it to be so..." Her face was zooming in on his skin and scales. A little bit too observe-y for him. He thought of a word to completely take her off track.

"Green? I tell you, it isn't easy being green." Before she could respond again, he decided it was time to embark in the forest on a little hunting trip. "Anyways, is there anything else you needed that I could possibly help you with?" He really didn't expect an answer as he got up.

"Twilight wanted to ask you a few questions, I think..." This halted his every action. Questions were not something he needed to answer. In fact, he didn't need them at all, especially from the natives. Her 'easy' questions were already answered. Her hard questions weren't.

When he recovered from his shock, he continued speaking. "Oh. Right. Tell you what, I'll go talk to her after I take a little walk." He decided it would be best to leave his helmet. The ponies would never figure it out, nor would he actually need it. Of course, those questions Twilight had. They would be a problem to accompany his day.