Fighting Freedom

"Wake up sleepy head! It's time to wake up!"

Twilights voice dragged me from my peaceful slumber. I out stretched my hand in attempt to not fall on my face. I stood up lazily, and nearly fell back down. I don't function well when I wake up unnaturally. Twilight waited patiently for me to gather my bearings.

"I brought over the clothes Rarity made for you. She says that you should come back if you ever need anything else. She seemed really nervous when I mentioned you told me about your visit. Did something else happen?"

I had decided not to tell Twilight about me and Rarity's incident. Mostly because I was going to let her tell that one. I looked down at the small end table and saw a small bundle of clothes. I picked them up and simply stood there.

"Uh is there a place I could change into these?"

Twilight led me down a hall to a bathroom and said, "Feel free to use the shower too. Honestly you humans are so weird. What's wrong with not wearing clothes?"

I stepped inside and said, "Let's just put it this way, down there we are very exposed." I then closed the door behind me.

At least she didn't point out my smell right away. The sweat and dried blood wasn't a very good combination. I stripped off the cloth that had served as my toga and threw it on the ground. I stepped up to the shower and tried to figure it out. Luckily it was tall enough for me to fit in it. It was plain enough looking. Built into the wall with a glass door. I stepped inside and closed the door.

There was two levers underneath the shower head. They functioned much like you would expect. I guess twisting knobs would have caused some issues. I cleaned off my wound which had nearly healed by now. I didn't bother rewrapping it after I was finished with my shower.

The clothes Rarity had made for me were… alright. I guess they were what Martin would prefer to wear. I put them on and looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was going wild and my beard wasn't much better. I either needed to find a razor or a barber. I was wearing a plain green tee shirt that hung just a little past my waist. I had on a pair of brown cargo shorts, the kind that go past your knees and have too many pockets. Unfortunately a pair of shoes was lacking. Socks were no wherer to be found either. I'm just glad she had been able to make some boxers as well.

I stepped outside the bathroom and found Twilight waiting for me.

"Well what do you think?"

"Honestly? The toga fit you better. You need to get cleaned up."

Well thanks for your comforting words. I followed Twilight back into the main room of the library. At first I grabbed the staff without thinking about it. Then I realized the staff really didn't go that well with my apparel. When I thought this the staff began to glow again. It shrunk itself down even smaller than it had been before. When it was finished shrinking I was holding a spiral bracelet. I just raised my eyebrows at it and said,

"Sorry, but I'm not a big fan of accessories."

I suddenly lost my grip on the thing and it fell on my foot. Right on the toes too, just for maximum pain. I swore loudly in my mind, but outwards I just threw my hands up in the air. For me it seems if I do more wild motions, the easier it is to not say anything. When the brief pain had passed I reached down and picked up the bracelet. I slipped it on to my left arm without any trouble. When it was up on my wrist it stayed there securely. It looped around my arm 3 times in a diagonal way. It was tight enough to stay on, but not so much that it would get annoying. I glared at the thing one last time before turning back to Twilight.

Said pony was just staring at me with her mouth slightly open. I opened the door and motioned for her to leave saying,

"Magical artifacts. Can't get along without 'em, but they sure have attitude."

Twilight seemed to accept this answer… for now. She walked past me and out the door. I bowed my head to avoid the door frame and followed her out. I stepped out into the light of the outside, and blinked a few times. The sun seemed to be greeting me by shining directly in my face. I put my hand over my eyes to block out the fiendish thing.

"I wrote down a list of all the places we can go in Ponyvile. First I though we would start…"

I interrupted her by saying, "Why don't we just walk around? You can point out anything you think is interesting. Although honestly I would like to go to a barbers. If you even have those that is."

Twilight looked hurt that I didn't want to use her list. I sighed and decided to let her have her way. I just couldn't refuse such a cute thing.

"Fine we'll use your list."

Twilight broke out in a big smile and clopped her front hooves together excitedly.

"Yay! This is going to be so much fun! Well first on the agenda was to clean you up. You already visited Rarity so we don't need to go there…"

I stopped Twilight before she got to far ahead of herself and said, "Uhh Twilight. I don't actually have any money."

Twilight just waved me off with a hoof, "Oh don't worry about that. I'll take care of everything."

Well that's one way to take care of a stranger. Then again most strangers wouldn't still be here. Not like I had any other place to be though.

After Twilight finished looking over her list she said, "Alright so first we go to Harvey's Hair Care! You really need a haircut, and a beardcut."

I refrained from pointing out that I had wanted to go there first as well, but instead smaked my face with my hand. I had a feeling that today was going to be a long one. I couldn't even get away from Twilight because as she said, she was taking care of everything. I got the feeling I was more her pet project than a friend, but I said nothing. I just followed her as she led the way.

The barber's shop was in the second ring, not too far from Q&S. We went in and a bright oarnge unicorn stallion greeted me.

"Weeeelcome to Harvey's Hair Care. I am your host Harvey! Now what will it be for you today madame? A nice little trim? Or a more radical change?"

I couldn't really put a name on his accent. He wasn't French, but he did have that flair about him. Twilight simply shook her head and said,

"I'm not actually here for anything. It's my friend here who needs the service."

I broke into the conversation saying, "Silver, if you were interested."

The unicorn laughed at me with gusto. Almost as if he was putting force into his laughs.

"I am very interested my friend. This is the first chance I get to work on such a creature! I have done griffons, and even dogs. There once even was a dragon who stopped by. You are my next greatest challenge. It would be an honor to service you."

Well that was… nice? The dude seemed eager enough. "Well then, shall we get started?"

The unicorn led me to a chair that looked quite like a regular barber's chair. If I had to guess, I would say this was the dog station. Assuming that meant Diamond Dog anyways. I just told the unicorn I wanted a clean up of the face and to tame the hair. This seemed to please him even more. No doubt he enjoyed difficult customers.

After a relatively quick wait, he was done. He had gotten rid of most of the facial hair except for a thin goatee.

"You must still look like a grown… man yes?" He said when I questioned him.

My hair had been cut down to lay flat. I was never one for hair styles so just believe me when I say it was basic. I was never one for appearances, but I had to admit I looked good. Then again I always think I look good.

I turned to Twilight and said, "Well what do you think?"

She raised her hoof and said, "You look… fine?"

I scoffed, "I was looking for dashing, or heroic. Maybe even fabulous."

Harvey waltzed up to his cashier and said, "You look all those things and more! Even I cannot remember the wild looking man who came inside when I look at you now."

Twilight paid him some bits, but wouldn't tell me how much it cost. Not that I would even be able to judge if she had. I don't know the currency exchange between dollars and pounds, much less bits. Next on Twilight's list was the general goods store. Not much interesting happened in there. I saw Caramel and waved at him and received a wave back, but no one else was in the store. The cashier sure didn't look like he wanted to talk. It was kind of weird having Twilight buy me toiletries, but I wasn't going to ague.

As we walked out of the store I pointed at 'The Night Coop' and said, "We should totally go in there. I want to see what's in there."

Twilight shook her head, "That's a night club. It doesn't even open till night. Besides I don't think you and me would fit in there."

"Nonsense! I have amazing dance skills!"

"That isn't exactly what I meant."

"Well I guess we'll have to come back at night and find out. Have to explore these sorts of things to find out."

Twilight ignored me and continued on with her list. We went to the grocery store and picked up a few things to stock her food supply. She really only bought enough for two, and I took the hint. She was letting me stay for a few days, but that was it. Well until something could be arranged I didn't have a problem sleeping outside. As long as it wasn't raining anyways.

Next we stated the trek to Sweet Apple Acres. I hoped Applebloom had told them what happened. Otherwise this would be kind of awkward. Unless Pinkie had yet to inform them that she did not receive the apples. In any case, I kind of hoped we met Big Mac first. If there was someone on this planet who was chill, it was him. Neither me or Twilight said anything on the trip. She trotted next to me the entire time though.

Her body was about the height of my waist. Which put her head in a spot where I could rest my hand comfortably. I had to resist the urge to pet her head like some sort of dog. I wondered if she would take offense to that. Or maybe it would be taken as a gesture of romantic inclination. In either case I wanted to avoid doing both. Instead I inspected my bracelet more closely.

It looked like normal dark wood, but if I looked real close I could nearly see something written on it. When I couldn't make it out I thought to myself,

'I get the feeling that sticking this into a fire in an attempt to light up the letters would not end well.'

Twilight just continued to look ahead and a bit down. Her head wasn't hung low, but it was obvious that she was in deep thought. Before I could start guessing what she was thinking we arrived at the archway entrance. Applebloom was waiting for us under it, and it made her look even smaller.

"Oh hi Mr. Silver. Is yer leg any better."

I couldn't tell if the pain I was feeling in my chest was phantom or not. I just wanted to pick her up and hug her close. Once again I resisted the urge and instead pointed at the red mark on my leg.

"It's healing just fine. Another day and you won't even be able to see that."

Applebloom smiled at me and began heading towards the farm.

"Ah told mah sis what happened in town. She seemed mighty upset when I told her you were attacked. She sent mah brother to go to the town hall and tell the mayor about it."

Did Ponyville even have a police force, or a prison? For some reason I felt like if they did it would be sad. I mean I always imagined this place to be pretty peaceful. Sure they had some odd encounters, but for the most part they all seemed happy.

We reached the farm to see Applejack loading crates into a wagon. Said wagon was attached to a harness around Big Mac. He waited patiently, chewing on his wheat stalk. When they saw us Applejack stopped working and said,

"Good to see y'all are up and about Silver. When Applebloom told me what happened she made is sound like you'd be out for awhile."

I simply replied, "I'm made of pretty tough stuff. I think I can handle a few ponies."

She raised her eyebrow at me and said, "Ya you sure seemed that way when Ah met ya."

I gave her a cheeky grin and turned to look at Mac. Looking over him I said,

"So what's going on here."

"We need to deliver these crates to the post office. From there they'll ship em out."

I shrugged thinking ,'fair enough'. I wasn't actually particularly interested how things worked at the farm. One of those things that I felt I never needed to know. Twilight had taken Applejack a little ways a way and was talking to her in hushed undertones. From what I could see Applejack looked a little uncertain.

I simply laid against the barn door next to Mac. Neither of said anything, but it wasn't awkward. There was just nothing to say, and that suited me just fine.

Twilight and Applejack finished their discussion and trotted back over to us. Applejack spoke to me ssaying,

"Well Silver you should thank Twi' here. She's just secured you a job here."

A job? At a farm? Well there have been worse things.

"Well thanks I guess."

AJ continued talking, "Applebloom will be keeping an eye on ya though, so no more funny stuff."

I just shook my head, "You don't trust me, so you place your little sister in charge of making sure I don't do anything."

AJ nodded at me. I don't think she realized that I was questioning the intelligence of her actions. I suppose the ponies were just more innocent all around.

"So is there some sort of contract? Any sorts of rules?"

Mac spoke up behind me, "This here is a farm. You bring in apples and we pay ya. There ain't no employment terms."

Strangely that made sense. They could probably get fine without me. So instead of pay me by the hour, they paid me by how many apples I could bring in. That way they didn't lose potential profit on slow workers. Then again they didn't gain anything on faster workers. I kind of liked that. If you didn't show up what did they care? At first I had been hesitant about taking the job. I always thought they would have me work from the crack of dawn or something. Maybe do a little bit of their paper work. This though seemed more like my kind of job. I got to choose how much money I made in a day. Of course at first I assumed I would be working quite a bit. Twilight probably wanted me out of the library ASAP. Although I'm not sure on the Martin position.

"So when do I start?"

AJ just shrugged, "Whenever you want. Just bring the apples to Granny Smith and she'll pay ya. Don't be getting any funny ideas though. She's sharper than a bat that one. Baskets are in the barn if ya need 'em."

Twilight interrupted us by saying, "Well we still have a few things to do before we're done for the day. I'll be seeing you later right AJ?"

AJ nodded and we began walking back towards town.

"So where else do we need to go Twilight?"

"Well I want to introduce you to the rest of my friends, but I would also like to stop by the library again. Is there anywhere you can think of that you would like to stop by?"

I thought about it and got a great idea,, "Actually yes there is. I want to stop by the town hall."

Twilight didn't question this and led me to the tall building. I thought it looked a bit fancy to be a town hall, but this was a small village. They needed something to look good. (Took break to go for a run.)

I walked inside the building and into a circular room with a desk in the middle. There was a set of stairs to one side, and a few doors on the other. Behind the desk sat a younger stallion in a suit. Well the little neck suit thing anyway. I approached him and he started speaking to me,

"Welcome to Ponyville's town hall. If you don't have an appointment then take a number."
I looked around at the empty room. I shrugged and then took a number. Almost as soon as I took the tiny piece of paper, he yanked it out of my hand.

"Sorry, but we have to keep our records straight. Now how can I help you?"

I didn't even get to see what number I got. It's something that would haunt me for about the next minute. Until I found something else that attracted my attention.

"Actually I was wondering if you could tell me about the real estate around here."

The pony gave me a blank face so I clarified,

"I'm interested in buying a house, or some land. I need to know availability, locations, and prices."

It kind of irked me that he nodded when I said this. Did they seriously not have real estate here?

The stallion pulled out a folder and looked through it for a few minutes. While he did so he said,

"Well first of all there is the multi-living complexes. Sadly we don't have any houses open in the second district. There is always land out by the forest. You could also buy some acres in the hills. If you do decide to do so, we could refer you to some great carpenters."

I assumed that the first forest he was talking about was the Everfree forest. I could assume the land there was cheap, but a bonus would be living close to Fluttershy. The grass-lands must be the area between Ponyville and Canterlot. At least it looked like something you would call the hills. Well compared to the other side anyways. I wasn't actually to keen on buying a house or land, and even if I was I severely lacked the funds.

"So what about the land to the east?"

The stallion looked at me for a few seconds, and then began going through even more files. After a few minutes he threw the files down and said,

"All I can see is that someone owns the land, and they aren't going to sell. Sorry but that isn't part of this township. Now if you were interested in land, might I suggest a small plot next to the forest? It would be cheap and you look like the quiet type."

I guess they didn't need agents if all secretaries were as good as this guy. I discussed prices with him, but I made no promises on anything. The condo things were inexpensive for their size, but I had already been in the neighborhood. If I actually decided to buy, I could use that to knock off some of the price. Although I had yet to see the inside of them. I was correct about the land being cheap outside the forest, but then I would have to build, or get someone to do it for me, a house. Which when I thought about it sounded like a great idea.

When we left the building Twilight said to me, "I had no idea you were that intent on getting out of the library."
I poked fun at her saying, "Oh it's not the place I mind, it's my roommates. Would you believe it if I told you I live with a dragon?"

Twilight laughed at first and then paused. She looked at me curiously and said, "How do you know about Spike? He's been in Canterlot for the last few days."

I need to stop doing that. I covered again by saying, "Oh Martin told me about him."

She kept on looking at me suspiciously, but eventually accepted this answer. She led me back to the library and went inside. I wasn't quite sure what she was doing here, so I just sat back down on the couch. I was starting to become attached to the couch. It was incredibly comfy, and the arm rests were just the right size. All it needed were those extended bottom things. You know where you pull the lever on the side?

I laid back on the couch and waited for Twilight to finish whatever it was she was doing. She eventually came back into the main room and motioned for me to get up. I did so and she joined me on the couch. I made sure to stay a respectable distance away. Still though I couldn't help but fall into the couch.

"I'd like to ask you some questions if you wouldn't mind."

I raised an eyebrow, "Didn't we already do this? I told you anything you asked about Earth." Well mostly anything.

Twilight shook her head, "Not those kind of questions. More like where you got that bracelet, staff thing."

I looked at my arm and said, "This? Oh I just found it."

"What?"

"Oh just on the ground, y;know."

"What are you hiding?"

I sighed and said, "A lot of things Twilight. All of which I don't know if I'll ever be able to tell you. Like you said though, when the time comes to explain myself, I'll tell you everything I can."

Twilight didn't seem satisfied with this answer, but accepted it.

"Can I at least inspect it?"

I shrugged, "I don't see why not."

I went to remove the bracelet, but it just got tighter. I began pulling harder, but it refused to come off. I even tried unspiralling (that's a word now) it. Nothing I tried would make it come off. Eventually I gave up and said,

"I don't think it wants you to. Sorry."

"What do you mean it doesn't want me to? Are you telling me this thing has a mind of its own?"

"Seems that way. Anything else you want to ask?"

"Actually there is. You were going to tell me something, but then Martin interrupted you. What was it?"

"Well this might sound strange, but…"

The door opened and Martin walked inside. He waved at us and sat down on the floor.

"What's up guys?"

I eyed him suspiciously and said, "Do you have like a sensor in your head that tells you when something suspicious is going on?"

Martin just gave me a confused look, "Whaa…?"

I shook my head, "Never mind. Anyways quick question for you two. Are you in a physical relationship by chance?"

They both stared at me mouths slightly open. When they didn't answer I shrugged and said,

"What? It's just a question. That pegasus who attacked me mentioned something about it."

Twilight said to me, "First of that was highly inappropriate. Secondly no!"

I held up my hands and said, "I won't judge. Seriously I don't care about the whole inter species thing. You can tell me the truth."

Twilight continued with her frustrated tone, "Even if I didn't have the species issue, Martin is only 13! There is a very serious age issue there."

I put a finger to my chin and said, "In hindsight, I should've thought about that. To be fair though our races could mature at different rates or something."

Twilight face hoofed and said, "Where would you get that idea?"

I shrugged, "Well to be fair most humans don't live on their own by 17. Heck most don't even have a good job by then. The fact that Martin got a job as a mail man at 13 is kind of surprising to me."

Twilight said, "If anything that makes me even older than him."

I shrugged again, "Whatever. I was just curious is all. Didn't have to get defensive about it. I'm sorry if I offended you though. I guess our cultures are a bit different on that certain subject."

Twilight just huffed at me and looked to Martin, "Is everything ready?

Martin nodded, but didn't say anything.

Twilight got off the couch and said, "Well Silver, I think it's time we had that meeting. Everyone is waiting for us."

She walked out the door with me and Martin following her. She led us to Sugar Cube corner and said,

"We just have to pick up my friend Pinkie Pie, and then we can be on our way."

She opened the door and went inside. Martin winked at me and then followed her in. I was almost positive this was a surprise party. That meant there was several paths I could take. I could sneak in through the back or something and pretend like I was one of the people waiting. I could just not show up and frustrate everyone, but that seemed a little mean. In the end the best situation seemed to just go inside.

I opened the door and stepped into the darkness.
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AN: I was actually going to write in the party, but I thought you guys might want another chapter sooner rather than later. Cheers!