Friendship Deprived

Chapters

Ch. 0 Prolouge
Ch. 1 Meet the 6
Ch. 2 A Lesson of Kindness

Ch. 0 Prolouge

‘Another day, another argument.’ This described the majority of Cray’s life at home. His mother and father were always at it. The father, a man who drinks often and goes to bed with other woman, was always the one who starts it. Divorce papers always flew across the dining room table, shouts of anger, talk about who’s going to take Cray, talk about their finances and who pays the most. The yelling always ended with one of them smoking as the other drove away in a mini-van completely mad at the other. It made Cray sick inside just thinking about it. School just made things worse.

At school, he was the ‘Relationship Relay’ or the ‘Confessional’. All everyone did when he was around was tell him secrets or ask him to ask someone out for them. The pressure of not telling anyone anything really got on his nerves all the time. No one actually liked him as a friend. Everyone just used him. As he grew older, this sentence became a part of his heart. The sentence grew into his mind like mold, and by the time he was 16 it eventually stuck. Every time in Latin class, when someone would talk to him he thought, Another one, using me as a confessional. The thought of anything interesting happening in his life was quite slim.

The only one that, Cray thought, cared for him was his cousin who lived in the country-side. He visited her once when he was 10; it was the happiest day of his life. He loved the lush green of the plain, the smell of the horses, and the feel of the rabbits. The open area felt so nice to him. His blue hair would fly through the air as he jumped around. It made him feel like that he could just toss his cares into the sky and not give much of a f*ck as he ran mindlessly in the cornfields. There was a nice forest next to the farmland, but they were forbidden to go near the place. “Everyone who’s gone in there, disappeared forever.” Uncle Raymond said, “FORRRRREVVVERRRRR.” Once he left that farm, he was always depressed about everything. Uncle Raymond was always so nice, Aunt Jenny was completely spontaneous, and his cousin Alexa was always so hardworking.

Once home everything was a mess. What turned from a happy atmosphere immediately turned sour as soon the front door was shut. Not every day did the arguments get extremely loud. Today, however, the yelling got out of hand. Cray was sitting on his bed studying for a test when he heard a loud clank downstairs. At first, Cray didn’t think anything was wrong until he heard the same clank repeatedly. The sound of the clank sounded softer each time it rang. He listened for it three more times before he went downstairs to see what was going on. What he saw scared him and nearly passed out because of the blood on the floor. His father was either dead or unconscious on the floor while the mother had a dented frying pan in her hand. The pan’s exterior was covered in the blood that once belonged in the head of the man in front of him.

The mother fell to her knees as the adrenaline rushed out of her face. As adrenaline rushed out of her body, adrenaline rushed in to Cray’s body. ‘I’ve had enough of this!’ Cray thought to himself, ‘I am leaving!’ He dashed into the garage and grabbed his sneakers. He then raced past the fallen body once more to go upstairs. He dived into his room and grabbed every single piece of clothing that he could find and shoved it into a duffel bag. Grabbing a book he had bought earlier from the bookstore in town, he stomped down the stairs. His mother was still on her knees staring at the body with enough remorse to keep her from moving a single inch. He opened the front door and ran like hell. He got a good 5 miles before he had to stop, wheezing.

After managing to get to a highway, Cray used his extremely persuasive hitchhiking to get a ride from a teen couple. The male teen looked back at Cray when the traffic got tight on the highway. “Where ya going at this time of night, kid?” he asked. Cray managed to gasp out the address of his cousin’s house, and sit down in the back. Gasping for air; Cray asked, “Where are you guys headed?” The girl turned around to answer him this time. “Just a couple miles short of where you’re going. I’m sorry but you’re gonna have to walk the rest of the way.” Cray nodded, and kept silent for the whole night. Once or twice did the couple try to break the awkward silence that lasted in the car ever since Cray entered.

Six hours of driving ensued, six hours of constant silence. Cray didn’t mind it because it gave him space to think about what had happened back there. The thought of him going back scared him. He wasn’t sure what to do when he got to his cousin’s. Maybe he could hide there for the rest of his life as his mother was arrested for beating a man to death. He imagined what would happen if he had stayed. The thought soon became a daydream, and it then seeped into his mind when he nodded off. Cray tried to stay awake to make sure he wasn't being kidnapped. The urge for sleep was too great for him. Cray's head fell and his subconscious took over. “Hey, dude!” Cray awoke to the sound of the male teenager trying to wake him up. “This is where you get off.” Cray looked around and saw the small town that was set up five miles away from his cousin’s place. “Thanks for the ride mister.” Cray said sleepily. Cray grabbed his duffel bag and jumped out the backseat. “No problem, anything for a stranger.” The male said as he ruffled Cray’s blue hair.

Cray felt the urge to follow them to wherever they were going. He wished that people like this existed more on Earth. The couple waved good bye to Cray before they drove off. Checking his watch, Cray realized it was only 7 in the morning. Judging by the still gray sky, Cray decided that his relatives would not be awake at this time, he explored the town. There was a 24 hour museum right next to the place he was standing so he decided to take a look. The town’s name was Astroloosa because one of the founders was a highly praised astronomer. The museum’s outer exhibits were extremely boring; they mostly talked about how Astroloosa was found and how everyone believed that the founder was some sort of wizard with his knowledge of the stars.

Right before Cray left, he walked past a section that caught his eye. The Evergreen Forest? Cray thought, I didn’t see any forest near the town when I looked around. Cray strolled into the exhibit and began to read a few of the signs on the wall. He realized that the Evergreen Forest was the giant woodland that was next to his cousin’s farm. There were clay figures of the trees in one corner, and a giant statue of a man with a beard that touched the floor. The plaque at its feet read, “Astronomily, the Bearded.” Underneath that line was a paragraph of who Astronomily was, and what happened to him. “…Astronomily said, ‘I shall traverse into this woodland and hope to find a source of water for our town!’ And with that, he walked through the shadows of the trees and disappeared among the spruce and evergreens. Never to be seen , or heard from again.”

FORRRREVVERRRR! Cray remembered, Astronomily must have disappeared within the forest. Cray shuddered at the thought of the bearded man’s corpse decaying in the woods. Cray checked his watch, 8:30? They should be awake by now. He then explored the town for a way to travel those extra miles. After much effort, Cray managed to find a bike shop in this small town. Realizing that it may be a bit too early for a shop to be open, he lost hope with every step. Luckily, the shop door opened when he pushed it. “Welcome! Finally a customer!” the shopkeep said, “Everyone around here has a car nowadays. Don’t they know you need a bike to stay fit?! You also need water! Everyone drinks soda nowadays!” The shopkeep threw a bottle of water at Cray. Cray managed to catch it with his face. Rubbing his head, Cray stood up once more to face the mad shopkeep.

Cray stood there dumbfounded by the shopkeep as he went on with his rant about people and their choices. “…bikes! Anyway what are you here for kid?” Cray snapped out of the trance and asked the shop keep to rent him a bike. “Sure, that’ll be 10 bucks!” When Cray was about to pay him; the shopkeep said, “Wait…you know what?! You can keep the damn bike! Free of charge!” Cray was stunned by the man’s offer. “Are you sure, sir?” Cray stammered, “I have to pay you back somehow!” The shopkeep shook his head and said, “Kid, you’re the first customer I’ve had in a long time. Just take that bike and go tell everyone you know where you got it! Go now!”

Pushing out his new bike out of the shop, Cray immediately started to bike toward his cousin's house. A few hours of biking later, Cray stopped on the side of the road for a short break. The sky had turned deep blue already, and the tall dead grass rustled gently with the breeze that flew by. The tar from the road was extremely worn and it looked like it hadn't been replaced for the longest time. FORRRREVVERRRR! His uncle's words echoed through his head. Cray managed a tiny chuckle. The tiny moment of happiness died when he remembered last night. His head sank to the floor as glimpses of the scene reappeared in his head. Shaking away the memories, Cray got back on his bike. The sun began to rise high above his head. How *huff* much *huff* longer?! Cray stumbled off bike to catch his breath. The tar road had transitioned into dust a long while back. There wasn't another shady spot for as far as his eyes can take him. Cray sighed and sat down once more to regain his composure. The grass behind him rustled. Cray spun around to see what it was.

An old man with a cane appeared from the grass. “Water.” The old man managed to gasp out before he fell. Cray took immediate action and grabbed the water that the shopkeep had thrown at him earlier. “Hey!” Cray yelled as he shook the man's frail body, “Wake up! You want water? Here water!” After ten seconds of force feeding the water to the man, the man started to wave his arms in circles. The old man got back up, and spit a bit of water out of his mouth, “Thanks kid!” The old man wiped his beard and his lips as he drank more water. Cray studied the strange man a bit more. The amount of wrinkles on his face were amazing. If there was a place where a wrinkle isn't supposed to be, he had it. He had a slim figure, practically all bones and no meat. But what caught Cray was the old man's eyes. The body of showed all signs of being very worn, but the eyes of this particular man were beaming with the curiosities of a child. It wasn't long until the old man realized that Cray was observing him. “Can't believe I'm finally back here.” The old man said suddenly, “That, however, is a bad sign.”

Cray, yet again, broke out of another trance. “Hmm?” he managed to mutter as the old man went on drinking water, “What do you mean 'a bad sign'?” The old man looked at Cray directly in the eyes and said, “It means that 'it' has found a new target. Someone or something that has been hurt deeply and has lost the ability to see the happiness in this world.” Cray froze on the spot. He didn't know what to say after that. “My name is S. Swirl.” The old man told Cray. Cray nodded slowly in an awkward manner, in a attempt to break the silence. A crinkle, then a crackle, then poof! The man named Swirl was gone. Cray fell backward and hit his head against his bike. Getting up, he looked at the spot where a strange man with a beard that reached his knees once sat. Cray's brain tried to comprehend what had just happened. Unable to come up with a plausible reason of how the man disappeared in a second, Cray stood up and took to the road once more. Thinking of how the man got away, managed to occupy Cray's thoughts long enough to get to his cousin's house.

Everything looked the same. Same farm, same windmill, same barn, same range, same Evergreen Forest, even the smell was the same. The sun touched the edge of the earth behind him. As he got near the farm there was something amiss. Something different. Cray couldn't put his finger on it until he got close enough. A black mini-van was waiting. A black mini-van with a license plate he could recognize anywhere. At that moment, the front door swung open and there, basking in the light that came from inside the house, was his mother. Everyone saw him sitting there on his bike. Cray turned and saw his uncle's face. Uncle Raymond pointed toward to the forest and mouthed, “RUN!” to Cray. Cray nodded and quickly turned around. “Now you just wait one moment, young man!” his mother yelled at him, but it was too late. Cray made a break for the forest. The sound of a internal combustion engine starting reached his ears. Cray pedaled faster, and faster, and faster. The headlight's of the car illuminated his hoodie. The forest was now just within reach. The sound of tires crunching wheat died as Cray sped through the forest.

Cray managed to stop right before a steep hill that lead to the deeper part of the forest. Gasping for air, Cray rested against a tree for a while. She knew... The thought went through his head over and over again. He slammed his fist against the tree in anger for not thinking ahead. Should have stayed...with couple...in car... Cray was so tired his brain failing to respond to him. A bright light once again lit his hoodie up. Cray slowly turned around, and to his dismay, found his mother standing there with a flashlight and a .45 pistol. Cray stood there staring like a petrified mummy. “You are the only one who knows what happened back home.” his mother said, “I will leave no evidence. Your aunt and uncle didn't stand a chance. Nor did their precious daughter.” Cray's mind snapped, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Cray rammed his mother against a tree behind her and jumped onto his bike. Shit. Cray had forgotten about the whole “Steep Cliff” part.

If you saw Cray that night on his way down and through the forest you would be impressed at the fact that he hadn't crashed yet. Cray sped through the forest barely dodging trees that grazed his pants. All cray could do now was pray and hope that the dirt beneath him didn't have any roots sticking upward. However, destiny had another plan. One root was all the bike needed to send Cray flying, and fly he did. The last thing Cray saw before he passed out was his bike passing majestically over his head. The bike kept rolling on into the forest as Cray lay there unable to move. Then, something strange began to happen. Cray couldn't think, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't move. He felt as though his fingers were melting into his palms. He felt his face stretch like a rubber band. A terrible pain as he felt something bushy come out of his spinal cord. The pain faded and so did Cray's consciousness.

Fluttershy was walking home from Pinkie Pie's place. Pinkie wanted Fluttershy to help her set a surprise party for Cranky Doodle. Everything was set, the cake, the ribbons, the confetti cannon, and the party cannon were all in place. The surprise was a failure however. Apparently, Matilda had tipped Cranky off before he went into Sugar Cube Corner. In retrospect, the party was success. It was now night time and Fluttershy need to put Angel to bed. Just as Fluttershy opened the door, there was a loud crash. Fluttershy turned around and determined that the crash came from the Everfree Forest. Deciding whether or not to go and see what caused the sound, Fluttershy paced around the room. “I know!” Fluttershy exclaimed. She put Angel to bed and got Mr. Bat to follow her. “I'm sorry Mr. Bat, but I don't want to go into the Everfree Forest alone.” Mr. Bat sighed and hung on to Fluttershy's ear as they navigated through the forest.

Cray slowly got his brain to work again. Where...am...I? With his vision still hazy and his wounds still bleeding. Crash...bike...forest...hi- Once more Cray fell to the ground and lay there staring at the night sky. Is my life going to end here? It's not like anyone would care though... And with that Cray once again fainted. “What's this?” Fluttershy said in amazement, “A hurt pony?!” She began to check her surroundings for what might have caused this. Unable to find the answer to this, Fluttershy found the Manticore that she met a long time ago. “Umm, could you please help me with something?” The Manticore nodded for it remembered how Fluttershy helped him. Fluttershy lead the Manticore to Cray's body and asked it to help move him.

Cray awoke with a start. Where the bloody hell am I? He thought frantically, I was in a forest! Cray examined the area surrounding him. It appeared as though he was in a house. Cray looked down and saw that he was in a bed with his wounds bandaged, but that's not what kept Cray staring. It was his hands, or hooves, that scared him most. The door was nudged open. Cray's eyes shot up to a yellow pony with a tea tray in her mouth. “Mh! Muh'mh mhmmh!” the yellow pony said through the tea tray that was still in her mouth. Cray stared in horror as she put down the tray. “Who the hell are you?!” Cray screamed.

To be continued.... SOMEHOW.

Ch. 1 Meet the 6

The yellow pony seemed offended at first, but it quickly transitioned into fear. It set down the tray in a hurry and dashed behind the door. Weird Cray thought. Okay let’s review what happened. I was- Everything flashed back to him in a second, the gun, the barn, the bike, and his mother. Cray held his hooves to his face. Tears swam into his vision. "Umm, excuse me.” The yellow pony had reappeared when Cray was recovering from his memories. “Who are you?” Cray asked as he glared at yellow pony. The yellow pony backed up a bit, but this time it didn't disappear behind the door. “My name is Fluttershy. I'm sorry if I did something bad, but you were out there on your side and I thought you might have been...” its voice trailed off as if it did not want to speak the word. Cray knew what word it was going to say. Dead. was all Cray could think of. That is, until he realized he was talking to a pony. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Did you just talk?!” Cray announced in amazement. The yellow pony now looked confused, “Umm, yes? Why are you so surprised? I mean...if you don't mind me asking...” It backed up until only it's mane was showing.

I don't get...Why is it so scared of me? Cray pondered. Never mind that. A talking pony! A pony with wings too! Cray got up from the bed and was about to walk over to the pony called Fluttershy and examine her more closely, but for some reason Cray couldn't walk there on his two feet. Fluttershy peeked into the room and saw Cray standing on his hind hooves, trying to walk over to her. “Are you like Lyra?” Fluttershy asked Cray. “Who the bloody hell is L-” Cray would have finished his sentence, had it not been for the loose floorboard that tripped him. “OOF!” Cray landed face first onto the floor. Fluttershy was giggling a bit, but stopped when she saw that Cray was completley serious about walking on his hind legs. “Maybe you should walk like a normal pony?” Fluttershy suggested, “I mean...if you don't mind me saying...” Fluttershy was once again behind the door and peeking through the crack between the door and it's hinges.

Cray got on to his hands and feet. Walk on all fours? Is she nuts? Cray felt unamused. An awkward silence raged on for the few minutes as he tried to stand on his hind legs. Fluttershy looked like she was about to say something, but was stopped when a knocking came from somewhere downstairs. By the time Fluttershy had answered the door, Cray had given up completely on trying to stand at all. From what he could hear, Cray could make out at least three different voices. Some excerpts of their conversation managed to find their way to him. “...stallion...forest...nearly...party...around....” The sound of hooves climbing the stairwell rustled through his hair. Shit... Cray thought as a purple unicorn, a pink pony, and Fluttershy had reappeared in front of him.

“Err...Hi?” Cray said hopefully. The pink one gasped loudly and ran away in flash of lightning. Cray was so stunned by this, that he didn't notice that the purple pony had face-palmed. Or more like face-hoofed. “Hi, my name is Twilight Sparkle.” the purple one stated boldly. Cray looked at her suspiciously. Back at home, he was considered an extremely gullible person. “How am I supposed to know that?” Cray shot back at her ferociously. Twilight looked a bit shocked. “Well, I did just tell you.” Twilight shot back, “So I'm guessing you shouldn't know.” And with that Twilight walked away and slammed the front door behind her in a fury of rage. Fluttershy looked at Cray with a more scared expression than ever. God, this is awkward. I might as well apologize.

At that moment, the pink pony burst through the window with the force of a cannon. “WELCOME TO PONYVILLE!” it screamed when it landed on its hind hooves with perfect precision. Following the pink pony was a gramophone and a giant wagon clashing brilliantly with the pink pony's hair. A dance by the pink pony ensued, followed by being hit by cake from a cannon that apparently was attached to wagon. “So how do you like my welcome wagon?” Cray felt his jaw practically hit the ground. Somehow a white- polka dotted party hat had popped into existence when Cray wiped the cake off his face. The pink pony bounced up and down happily. The smell of cotton candy filled the room, but that wasn't important. What was important was that the pink pony began to wheel in a small cannon with a 'pull to activate' string on its side. What seemed to be a party, lasted for a good half hour before it stopped. Cray felt as if he lost any chance of finding his lower jaw ever again. They are just using you...

By the time the pink pony left, it was sometime in the afternoon. Still stunned about what had just happened, Cray checked his hoof for the time to find that his wristwatch was broken. Cray looked at it with disgust and tossed it on to the floor. “You're walking normally now?” Fluttershy said suddenly. Cray hadn't noticed, but he was standing on all fours. “Well, that…was an...interesting experience...” Cray managed to mutter. Cray tuned to Fluttershy to ask her a question, but decided not to. “Thanks for the help, err...Fluttershy?” Cray said, “But I got to g-” The party had distracted his thoughts so much that Cray had forgotten that he had no home to return to. “You got to do what?” Fluttershy asked. Nothing at all. Cray replied the question with his mind. “I'm sorry, err.. Fluttershy? Right?” Cray made sure he got the name of his savior right, “Listen could you give me time to think about something for a bit?”

“Oh, okay. I won't bother you.” Fluttershy backed down and slowly walked out the door. A few minutes had passed before another knocking was heard from downstairs. Talking went on for about a few minutes before Fluttershy came up to Cray's temporary room and said to him, “I'm going to go out with Rarity. Don't go into the backyard! There are a lot of animals there that sometimes don't like ponies they aren't familiar with them. You can also go visit Ponyville if you want to.” The front door creaked gently when it closed. Cray stood there thinking why the ponies had trusted him so much. After much considering, Cray decided that he should go out and try to familiarize him self with the area he was in.

There were a few animals still sleeping near the doorway downstairs. Cray was amazed that they had not yelled loudly when that pony called Twilight Sparkle slammed the door behind her. Making sure that he made no noise when he walked past; Cray used his tattered pants as a sort of buffer against the floor. Closing the door gently behind him, Cray felt he was in the clear. “WHO ARE YOU?!” Before Cray knew it he was tackled to the ground by a rainbow. Upon closer inspection, It turned out to be a pony with rainbow-colored hair. Can ponies dye their manes? Cray pondered as he stared at the light blue pony standing above him. “Who are you and what were you doing Fluttershy's house?” the pony demanded. “Well...I...uhh....err...well you see...umm...” Cray seemed to be at a lost for words.

“Fluttershy found him on his side in the Everfree Forest.” said a voice that came from behind the rainbow pony. Pinkie Pie was holding the cannon that she had used for shooting ribbons across the room. “Hi Rainbow Dash! I forgot my party cannon when I was throwing a welcome party for him. Bye Cray!” Cray could feel his jaw digging into the ground. Not only did Pinkie Pie seem to have the ability to teleport, but also managed to figure out what his name was. “Oh. Sorry.” the rainbow pony said when it helped Cray to get up. Cray's stomach growled loudly despite having eaten all the cake that Pinkie managed to stuff into the party cannon. The two ponies turned to Cray and laughed a bit. “What it's not like I've eaten anything but cake.” Cray said when his face turned a bit red. “What kind of cake?” Pinkie had popped up in front of Cray, “If it was chocolate cake, do you still have some?”

Cray backed up a bit, “It was plain cake, I think. How should I know? You made it!” Pinkie's head drooped down. The rainbow pony called Rainbow Dash indeed lived up to the Dash part of her name. “Just who do you think you are, yelling at Pinkie like that?!” Rainbow Dash managed to get extremely close to Cray's face in a second. “Apologize!” Cray felt cornered. He didn’t mean to yell at the pink pony, it was only because of all the frustration he’s had in the past hour. So he decided to do what he always has done when he met a problem. “Well... I...umm…You got to catch me first!” Cray yelled as he sprinted toward the hill. He didn't manage to go far. Apparently Rainbow Dash had caught him in 'ten seconds flat'. Cray was unamused by this statement because it was quite true.

“Apologize right now to Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow Dash yelled at Cray. Cray struggled against Rainbow Dash’s strength. Well shit. I can’t get out. Cray thought. “Now!” Rainbow Dash demanded. She stomped on one of his hooves. “ALRIGHT!” Cray screamed aloud, “I’m sorry Pinkie Pie!” In a flash, Rainbow Dash was tossed off of Cray and Pinkie was now in front of him. “It’s okay! I knew I made the cake, it’s just because I didn’t know what kind of cake it was?” she said. Cray tried to process what Pinkie just said when a voice with a hint of a southern accent said, “Listen, if ya’ll try to understand how and what Pinkie does, your mind will break.” Cray tilted his head backward to face a pony with its hair braided into a ponytail in a familiar fashion. “Alexa?” Cray asked in astonishment, “How are you here?!” At this point, Cray was holding the pony’s face between his hooves. Cray couldn’t believe his eyes. This pony had to be Alexa! The resemblance was uncanny!

“Who ya talkin’ about now?” the pony said. “Silly Cray, that’s Applejack!” Pinkie's voice said. Oh… Cray let go of the pony called Applejack. Any hope that his cousin had somehow managed to survive the massacre of her family had just died. “Sorry, you reminded me of…someone.” Cray’s head tilted downwards. “Who did she remind you of?” Pinkie asked, “We can help you find her! Then we can become best friends!” Cray flinched at the sound of the word. Friends? Cray thought “They are just going to use you.” a voice in his head replied. Cray stood there shaking, “Friends?” Cray looked up at Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. Then, he ran for his life. “Hey, wait!” Cray heard Rainbow Dash yell, but her voice got softer as Cray ran faster. “Why are you running?” A voice in his head asked. “They will just use you.” Another voice in his head replied. “You’re running because you are scared.” The first voice replied. “They will take everything that belongs to you and claim it as their’s” The second voice shot back. The voices argued and argued. Cray was defenseless against them.

After what seemed like an eternity of running, Cray managed to find a tree with enormous tree house under it. He sat down at the roots and rested himself. The voices in his head finally died down. It’s still noon… was Cray’s last thought before he set himself on his side and slept. Peace had finally come to him. However, the peace didn’t last for long. “WATCH OUT FOR THAT STALLION SCOOTALOO!” yelled a voice in the distance. Who? Cray thought dreamily. Opening his eyes to take a peek, Cray soon found himself face to face with a scooter. He jumped back and knocked his head against the tree. “OW!” Cray yelled in pain. Three tiny ponies were standing there looking a bit embarrassed. Ugh…my head…Cray thought as he rubbed the tiny bump that had formed. What? Small ponies? Baby ponies were called...fillies right? Yeah fillies. “Can’t a guy get some sleep in the woods?” Cray said with a hint of annoyance.

“We’re sorry mister.” The yellow one said. “We didn’t mean to wake you. We just didn’t know someone would sleep under our tree house.” said the orange one. “That’s a pretty weird cutie mark you got there.” Cray’s annoyance decreased and quickly switched to confusion. “What the he-” Cray stopped himself before he swore in front of a bunch of kids. “I mean, what’s a cutie mark?” The trio looked unamused. “You mean that you have a cutie mark and don’t even know you had one?” they asked. Cray nodded. “It’s that thing embedded into your fur coat.” The orange one said while pointing at Cray’s butt. Cray turned his head around and started staring curiously at a gray circle on his flank. What the? Cray was shocked that he hadn’t noticed before. “I never knew I had one…” Cray said while still being deep in thought. Cray turned around to thank the three, but the trinity had disappeared.

Cray looked into the distance and saw a tiny village sparkling in the sunlight. That should be Ponyville. Cray thought Maybe I should go check it out. One long walk later, Cray had in the middle of what seemed to be the town center. The village looked a lot smaller by the tree. There were buildings resembling restaurants, and small carts selling a variety of stuff. Everything from roses to apples to gypsy tents. Cray suddenly felt out of place because of the crowd of people and started wanting to find a nice spot to think. Where could he go? he wondered Isn't there a place where everything is quiet? Hey…what’s that?. In front of him, there was a pony reading a book. There are libraries here? Cray became eager to find a place where it was nothing but quiet. “Excuse me.” Cray said to the pony that was reading, “Do you know where I might find the library?” The pony didn’t even look up at Cray. Cray was about to ask it again, but it shot its hoof out and pointed toward a tree at the edge of town. “Thanks!” Cray shouted before he began running over there.

The tree looked enormous with the balcony attached to the side. Cray opened the door and found books in a plethora of styles. He didn’t know who wrote most of the books, but they sounded a lot like people who wrote similar books in his world. Suddenly, Cray heard sounds coming from the floor. “Is somepony up there?” the thing asked, “I locked myself down here on accident.” Cray decided to help the thing because the voices in his head were going to start arguing if he didn’t decide. “How can I help?” Cray shouted toward the floor. “By opening this door.” he heard the thing say, “There’s a key upstairs next to a copy of Star Swirl the Bearded’s Amniomorphic Spells.” Star Swirl? Cray tried to recall where he heard that name while he tried to take the keys to the basement.

After several attempts to grab the keys with his hooves, Cray felt like he could just give up. “How do I hold these keys?!” Cray yelled in frustration. Only one way then. Cray came to the conclusion that the only way that he was going to pick up the key was by using his teeth. The thought of someone else doing the same thing made Cray blush a bit. He eventually got the key into the lock. Finally... Cray thought. “The key's in! Which way do I turn?” The voice behind the door paused as if it were thinking about it. “Left!” it shouted. Left it is. Cray turned the key clockwise to find that the door had not unlocked at all. “I mean my left! Sorry!” the voice said. Cray sighed and turned the key counter-clockwise. Out popped a familiar purple pony.

“Thank you kind s-” Twilight Sparkle stopped dead in the middle of her sentence. Cray, on the other hand, was bracing himself for the barrage of yelling that might ensue. Apparently, Twilight was holding back the anger with a frown. “Oh you.” was all she needed to say to make Cray's buffer flush in an instant. At that moment, the door burst open and the whole crew was here. Cray named them off in his head as they appeared one by one. Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and a new pony. “Hey Twilight, have you seen Cray?” Pinkie asked. She then took notice that Cray was right next to Twilight. “Oh hi Cray!” Pinkie said, “I had a hunch you were here!” Rainbow Dash cut in before Pinkie said anything else, "Pinkie, you kept insisting that he was at Sugar Cube Corner.” she said. “Well I think his mane looks fabulous!” the pony with purple hair said, “Darling, please tell me how you keep it that way.” “Rarity, we weren’t talking about his hair.” Rainbow Dash replied with a hint of annoyance as she facehoofed. “Are you apologizing to Twilight?” Pinkie asked with a smile that could blind him. “Well…I…uh…” Cray began to felt the pressure of their stares coming down on him. What do I say? What do I do? Cray asked his brain. “Run. Go on and run for eternity or stay here and make a stand.” said one voice. “They will only use you, why waste your time with the presence of others? said a familiar voice, “All they do is ask for more and more. Everyone is evil. Everything is evil.”What do I do? I stay I risk everything I believe in. I leave and I can stay the way I am for the rest of my life.

What do I do?

Ch. 2 A Lesson of Kindness

“Were you coming to apologize?” Twilight asked. Cray looked into her eyes and saw pity and sympathy. “Lie! It's your chance!” Voice number two yelled harshly into his ear. “Tell the truth. Say you just wanted a quiet place.” Voice number one whispered gently into Cray's head. Cray felt like his head was going to explode from the talking in his head. “You okay, suga' cube?” Cray heard Applejack say when he slammed his eyelids shut. Sweat was pouring from his head like a waterfall. The voices in his head exploded and started an all out war against each other. Cray was shaking rapidly from the tension. “OH! Is he thinking of a way to apologize?” Pinkie screamed in utter delight, “Wait! Maybe he's thinking of a fun game! Or maybe he wants to party! Or maybeee...” Cray fell to his side before Pinkie could finish her sentence.

Cray was surrounded by darkness. He couldn't move his legs at all. An arctic breeze flew across his body. What’s happening? He thought. The sound of his thought boomed across the abyss. The more Cray thought, the louder the booming got. Too loud! He thought as he felt the room shaking violently to the sound of his own thoughts. He turned to his right and saw in horror two others that looked just like him. “LIE!” said the one with purple hair. “Tell the truth!” said the one with green hair. The pair argued away, not giving a even the slightest glance to Cray's horrified face. A giant, bright violet light appeared ahead of him. The light destroyed the two illusions as they were arguing.Cray looked at the light curiously. The light felt alive because it pulsated every time Cray took a step toward it. The violet light quickly switched to a light blue. He basked in the light for a few minutes before realizing that he was no longer hearing the echoes of his thoughts. The light felt warm and the cold surrounding him soon dissipated. The blue light split in half and its counterpart turned violet. He could feel the light covering him with its protective sheets. A faint voice was coming from the other side of the light. Cray felt compelled to run as fast as he could toward the voice.

Cray awoke on the floor of the library. He looked up and saw Rarity and Twilight standing over him with their horns pointed at him. “Gah!” Cray attempt to jump back just caused him to ram his eye into the horn, “Yeow! Watch where you're pointing that!” “A nice way to say thanks to the people who saved you from breaking down.” Twilight shot back coldly. “Saved me?” Cray tried to process the statement, “Wait, you were the light?!” Twilight shook her head, “No, it was a beautiful tree that saved you.” “There was a tree in here?” Pinkie Pie said suddenly. Twilight facehoofed, “Pinkie, I was being sarcastic.” “You sure know a lot of funny words Twi. Well back to Sugar Cube Corner for me!” With that being said, Pinkie hopped out the door. The sky had darkened already. How long have I been out? “What are you going to do with these two?” Twilight asked when she pointed to the bottle behind her. Cray stared in amazement at two ponies that looked exactly like him. Well scratch the hair, but the resemblance was uncanny. They were sitting quietly at the edges of the bottle, backs toward the middle. “Who...” Cray started before his own mind answered itself. They're me... Well different versions of me...

“How is that even possible?” Cray asked as he tapped the glass slowly. The two ponies glared at him through the crystal clear barrier. “Well, look who's here.” said a voice in his head. Cray's eyes became the size of basketballs. “You can't blame him entirely. It was your fault.” echoed another. “How are you still in my head?” Cray began tapping the glass harder. “Please stop that.” said Voice number one. “Stop it or die!” screamed Voice number two. “Let me help you with that.” Rarity said elegantly. She levitated the jar like it was a flower. “Where the hell is this thing taking me!” yelled Voice number two, “Put me down at once! I deman-” The Voice stopped as Rarity placed it in the pantry and shut the door. “That should fix everything!” Twilight told Cray. “How did you figure out-” Cray began, but cut himself short because of the sudden realization that Fluttershy was gone. “Wait, where's Fluttershy?” Twilight responded instantaneously,“She went home because she needed to feed Angel.” Who now? Ugh forget it. Cray's thoughts echoed weirdly in his head. He was so used to two other voices in his head arguing about his decisions. Never mind that. “Well I got to go back ho-” Cray had once again forgotten that he no longer had a home. He quieted himself and started staring at the floor. “Going home?” Rarity said, “At this time of night?”

No home...going home? Cray's thoughts rebounded across his head like one of those old screen savers for DVD players. Cray walked out in a dazed fashion. “Hey where are you going?” he heard Twilight faintly ask. For seemingly no reason, Cray began to run. He, himself, did not know why he was running toward the hills and to the forest. He felt something was waiting for him. He eventually arrived at an unoccupied wooden hut. He had no idea what had compelled him to come here. Scared of what his instincts were telling him to do, he slowly opened the door and looked around. Inside was a nice pile of hay with a blanket, a bookshelf stacked to the brim with books, and a nice tiny lantern that lit the tiny shed. Cray decided to examine the area further. Finding a fresh match that would have been impossible to light with hooves, he lit the hidden lantern on the desk and Cray soon found a note beneath the sheets. “Take care. Your journey will be quite long if you do not adapt! -S. Swirl” Cray was quite surprised that the old man that had been asking for water could come to this weird land. His brain kept bothering him about something. Cray felt as if his brain was trying to tell him something, but the call of the nice pile of hay was too strong for him.

As the beams of the sun smacked Cray across the face, he stubbornly hid it under his sheets. “Later.” he said to himself. But it was quite apparent that he was no longer alone when he actually felt something slap him. Cray awoke startled and found a parrot looming over him with its head cocked in an awkward fashion. “Wake up stupid.” it said in a monotone fashion. Cray got ticked off. “Who the hell are you calling stupid, stupid!” Trying to strangle the damn thing between his hooves was hard work. It flew everywhere, onto of the still smoking lantern, beside the bookcase, inside the bookcase, even upside down in the door way. Cray got his hooves ready as he pounced at the bird. “Mr. Feathers? Are you here?” Cray heard a familiar voice say. Cray slammed hoof first into Fluttershy and the parrot.

They rolled and flipped for a few seconds until they were stopped by a tree. The tree dropped a healthy patch of yellowed leaves on top of the three. Cray managed to make it to the surface before Fluttershy. “Err...umm....” were the only sounds Cray managed to get out of his mouth as he was staring at Fluttershy's mane that was skimming the surface. An angry bunny popped out it. Cray once had to take care of the class bunny, so he thought it would be the same. “Hey there little gu-” Cray managed to say softly before the bunny slapped him. “Well aren't you rude?!” Cray tried to slap the bunny back, but it managed to escape his clutches every time he got near. After a couple minutes of pointless attempts, Cray gave up on trying to catch the quick bastard.

“He's not that bad.” Cray heard Fluttershy say above him. He was so busy fighting with the bunny that he hadn't noticed that Fluttershy had went to go check on the parrot that was perched on the tree like a bat. “Angel's just like that with ponies he's not used to.” Fluttershy mentioned as she brushed the leaf crumbs off of the parrot's feathers. The bunny climbed up the tree and stood triumphantly with the bat-parrot with an evil smile. Angel my arse. More like Devil. Cray thought as he brushed himself off. The leaves stuck to his ski- fur-coat were like superglue. It seemed to get tangled within the hairs. “There is no way that I can get these leaves off!” Cray yelled in frustration after minutes of untangling a few. A squirrel saw that Cray was in need of help and rushed over to try and do something for him. “Geroff!” Cray grunted as the furry woodland creature mounted him. Angel and the bat-parrot were starting to laugh at Cray.

“I...said...Get...OFF!” Cray flung the squirrel at Angel and the parrot and managed to knock Angel into Fluttershy's mane. Me:1 Devil:0 In Cray's mind he pumped his fist into the air when he realized that the whole ordeal also got the leaves out. I feel like I just put someone out with Jarate! Memories of his favorite game, TF2, returned to him. He tried to crack a smile, but his jaws hurt when he tried. He gave up immediately, feeling that there was no actual reason to smile at all. Angel dived from Fluttershy's still shocked face and rammed right into Cray's noggin. Cray always thought the stars in cartoons were exaggerations of the hit. He was wrong. “Whhhatt's withhh all the purple sssstarss over thereee?” Cray said before he began walking drunkenly toward every tree trunk he could find headfirst.

One of those 'trunks' was the leg of a Wendigo. It roared aloud at Cray. “Now yoouuu listen here miiiisterrr.” Cray began, but was soon cut off by the Windigo's roar once more. Reality smacked Cray across the face. Hard. Cray didn't know what happened, but the Windigo had apparently smacked him toward a tree. He felt himself bleeding a little. Well shit. Cray thought as he stood back up to stare at the beast. What do I do now? Before he answered his own question, a familiar figure flew out of the forest. It had two wheels, a set of handle bars and two pedals. “Say wha...” Cray was speechless as the ruby bike flew over his head and revved its rear tire against the Windigo's head. The beast fell backward dramatically and smashed its head against the woodland behind him.

It didn't seem to do much though. The Windigo just got back up and was about to strike Cray once more, but this time...”STOP!” yelled Fluttershy. The beast's hand stopped right before it hit her. Fluttershy flapped her wings slowly in front of the blue beast. The moment strained on. The beast wound up his arm once more to smack the brave yellow pony. It stopped once more in front of Fluttershy as she seemed to stare down the blue behemoth. Cray felt the pressure of it from where he was standing. He felt his legs become jelly when she made the Windigo flee for its life. Cray's flank planted itself firmly into the ground. All of his memories of the little yellow pony who was so gentle with things disappeared. Now stood a tyrant, with a stare that could make an extremely terrifying monster flee like a little baby, in the midst of the rumble of memories. Fluttershy turned around and her bright blue eyes met with Cray's sheepish green ones. He could find the right words to say. “Can you please apologize to Angel and Mr. Feathers?” Cray's eyes widened significantly. The tyrant was gone. The kind pony Cray hardly knew was standing in front of him once more.

Fluttershy looked back up at Cray. Not with an expression of fear, but one of confusion. “As I said, a little kindness never hurt anypony.” She said with a smile that went from ear to ear. Cray flinched once more at the comment. Kindness? Kindness is nothing but a mask to hide contempt! Cray tried to swallow the thought, but it got the better of him. “This thing you call ‘kindness’ is nothing but a mask!” he yelled aloud. A searing pain streaked across Cray’s flank. He turned and to his surprise, a segment of the tattoo on his hind had gone dark. There was a flap of wings, and Fluttershy was gone. Kindness?! HA! You have to do better than that to convince me! “Hey stupid.” said a familiar monotone voice. “No. No. No. No. No. No. No.” Cray’s head shot skyward and saw Mr. Feathers looking down on him from the tree branch. “Hello stupid.” it said once more. “GAH! Why are you still here you dumb pigeon?!” Cray felt like he could strangle it. It cawed twice but settled down. “Parrot.” “What?” Cray was shocked that the damned thing could understand conversation. Cray shook the possibility out of his head when he watched the parrot follow a worm and failed each catch.

He slowly walked back to the shed. It wasn’t until he closed the door that he realized the parrot had followed him. Well great! You got a bird who’s probably gonna annoy you to death. Great job Cray! Cray exchanged hands with the bookcase and plopped onto the haystack. The parrot flew in circles above him for a while before it landed on the lantern once more. “Hey stupid.” The bird repeated. Cray ignored it. Maybe this book could help me find a way out of here… Cray tried to focus on the task at hand while the bird occasionally pecked the glass on the lantern and replay the phrase, “Hello stupid.” “SHUT UP!” Cray yelled at the parrot, “You are THE most annoying thing alive. I don’t even know why you’re here with me!” The bird shut up and started to listen. “Are you here to torture me? Huh?!” The parrot rustled its feathers and stared down at Cray’s angry face. “Just GO.” The parrot didn’t seem to understand him, it cocked its head to the side. Cray took a deep breath and yelled once more, “You heard me. OUT!” Cray jumped for the bird. Catch, swing, and throw. The momentum flung Mr. Feathers out the window.

Finally peace. Cray said to himself as he propped himself against the wall of hay once more. The silence didn’t last too long though. A sudden, urgent squawk was heard in the distance. Cray looked up from his book. He shook the thought of the parrot being attacked by something out of this head. Not a chance. That bastard can out maneuver anything. A second squawk flew through the window and hit Cray’s ears. Cray nearly got up, but sat down once more. What? I’m starting to be worried about the damn thing? Fat chance. Cray sat on his tail once more and crossed his hooves. I’m not worried about that little prick at all. Why should I be worried? It’s only a parrot. A third squawk flew through his ears and smacked his face. Cray got up and opened the door to check his surroundings. I’m not worried about the bird…I’m just checking outside. Yeah that’s it. I ain’t even wor- His brain shut down the second he saw it. Mother of god... Cray looked at what was a giant spider web in-between a few trees. Well that’s just dandy. He thought as he spotted what was in the middle of the silk trap. Mr. Feathers himself.

“Well look who’s stupid now?” Cray said with a nervous laugh. Got to find a way to free hi-. Wait, am I really worrying for this bird? Cray watched the bird struggle and squawk at him every now and then. What is it getting its feathers all riled up about? The bird turned his head upward and looked like he was pecking an invisible worm. Cray felt like it was singling him to look upward. Cray smirked, believing it to be a prank, he looked up. The next moment, he was on the floor trying to find the strength in his legs to run far, far away from what he was staring at. No scream came out of his throat as he watched the biggest spider that he has ever seen slowly walk around on a second web above Mr. Feathers.

Cray could not move, his legs had given up on him. No amount of Jarate extinguished teammates could help him retrieve his strength. How in the name of hell did it get caught in that? Cray’s brain answered the question with a small flashback of him throwing the bird out of the window. Right… Cray studied his surroundings and saw that his bike was near by. Mr. Feathers kept on squawking as Cray began to stand up. His legs refused to move within a 50 feet radius of the spider. Arachnophobia is torture. Cray thought to himself as he inched slowly toward the aluminum ruby body glinting on the ground. As he approached the bike he heard a rustle behind him. Not a rustle of wings, but a rustle of legs. 8 legs to be exact. Cray turned and faced the larger than life tarantula. No amount of words can describe how many times Cray saw his life and soul flash before his eyes. “Run stupid.” squawked Mr. Feathers. “You don’t say?!” Cray replied as he braved his legs against the grassy floor.

He grabbed one of the handlebars on the bicycle with his mouth and started to run around the web. Okay brain. I got the bicycle, now what? Cray’s brain went dead. Now is not the time for this! Wait a minute… Something on the bike caught Cray’s eye, something red, something raw. Cray realized that the bike was reflecting the underbelly of the spider that was giving pursuit. Maybe I ca- A tree branch scratched his face as he spun in the air and attempted to swing the bike with it. To make a long story short, it didn’t work out too well. The rosy bike flew few inches before it landed on the ground once more. The spider laughed at Cray. “You think a mere piece of metal can stop me?” Cray’s arachnophobia shot up. Did that spider just- “Foolish pony.” It said once more as it dangled the bike with one of its hairy legs. The spider flung it back like a human would throw a rock. The bike slammed against a tree trunk. “Now prepare to die for trespassing on my property and disrupting my dinner.” Cray’s legs went stiff this time. His jaw dropped at the sight behind him. Well…hello. A loud thump was heard. The spider squinted and turned curiously toward the sound; just in time for a bluish fist to go across its cheek

“What in the name of-” the spider began, but was cut short once again by another blue fist. In front of the spider, stood a familiar animal; one with two big feet, two giant hands, all blue, and an undeniable skid mark on its forehead. The Windigo had come back. Cray took and made use of this distraction by getting Mr. Feathers out of the web. A smack here, a whack there, and the spider went down. The Windigo turned toward the tiptoeing Cray and Mr. Feathers. Both froze in their spots as it came closer to them. I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die. The thought bounced rapidly around his head as the Windigo bent forward and extended its fist. Cray flinched thinking it was going to punch him, but realized that the beast had opened his hand. Cray peeked through his eyelid and saw a crushed metal form. His once intact bike was now bent in places that Cray was sure he recognized a Picasso in it. He bowed slowly as a sign of thankfulness to the beast. The Windigo dropped the bike onto the floor and strutted back into the forest.

Cray grabbed a point of the bike that wasn’t really sharp and pointy and dragged it back to the shed with the help of Mr. Feathers. Cray sat in the hay after he managed to balance the bike against the wall. Mr. Feathers hung from the lantern and stared at Cray with expressionless eyes. Cray stared back without amusement. “Well what?” Cray asked as they had started a tiny staring contest without words. “What do you want?” Cray tried not to sound too harsh to the parrot. “Apologize.” it said with it’s routine squawk. “Apologize?” Cray asked with surprise and confusion, “Apologize for what? Saving your life?” The parrot shook its multicolored head. “Apologize.” it said once more. This time Mr. Feathers flew out the window. Cray got up once more. “Where are you going?” The parrot flew westward. Cray followed intently. Where the hell is this bloody bird taking me? Oh… A familiar hut stood before him; one with a chicken house in the backyard, and a familiar yellow pony feeding them.

Cray approached Fluttershy cautiously while she had her back turned toward him. “There you go Elizabeak. Now don’t go running off too far like last time.” Fluttershy turned and saw Cray out of the corner of her eye. “Eep.” she whimpered before she flew back into her house. “Oh come off it.” Cray said beneath his breath, “Wait!” Cray followed her and managed to stick his hoof in-between the doorway. “YE-OUCH!” he yelled as the door slammed his pony wrist. “Oh! Sorry! I mean…what do you want?” Cray saw Fluttershy was cowering behind the door. Oh that damned parrot. This better be worth it. “I just came here to…umm…you know…err…” Cray felt the word choke his throat from the inside. “Apologize.” said a monotone voice from inside the hut. “What I’m trying to say is…that…I’m so-. So-. Sor- sorrieee…” Cray’s throat was straining itself so the word would not escape. “You’re apologizing?” Fluttershy asked as she tried to comprehend it. Cray bobbed his head up and down thrice. “Oh…well…thank you. It really wasn’t much of a big deal…” Another streak of pain swooped by his unprepared behind and caused Cray to look back. The segment that went dark earlier in the day had turned dandelion yellow with a stripe of pink in the middle. What in the name hell is going on?!