Power

"And that's basically what happened. Now, scold her." Lowell said, pointing to Rainbow Dash. She was now unrestrained by Twilight's magic, and was simply sitting on the floor, looking grumpy. At this, however, she jumped up and pointed at Lowell accusingly.

"Are you joking?! I'm not at fault here; you joked about burning a town to the ground! After the changelings attacked Canterlot! You must've thought that would've been suspicious!" She yelled, glaring at the human, who in turn was giving her a look that practically said, "eh".

Twilight Sparkle,  who remained silent during the entire retelling of events, interjected. "I must agree. Unless you're unaware of current events, that statement does prove to be slightly suspicious. Thought it would raise the question of why you'd announce such a thing if that was your plan... " She said, giving an offside glance at Rainbow. "In any case, I have to ask, why would you think that joke would be funny?" She asked.

"Well, everybody seemed so stressed out, and I was kinda tired of this kina crap happening, so I decided to just cut out the middle man and make a joke like that. I thought it'd be funny to see your reactions." He said, nonchalantly.

Twilight has several questions, however, she decided upon one for the time being. "What do you mean, you were tired of that happening?" She asked, omitting the crap, as she wanted to be professional, even if the human didn't.

Lowell gave a weary sigh. "I've been wandering Equestria for a little while now. I'd say just before the Canterlot invasion. Then, most ponies just stayed out of my way, wary of my presence. I didn't blame them. After all, I'd be pretty careful if some weird thing just waltzed into my town." He started. All those present fell silent, giving him the floor, all of them curious.

"Then, after the attack", he continued, after looking to see if anyone had something to say, "things... Changed. The residents of the towns, they stopped being cautious, and began to get hostile. They assumed I was with the changelings, and drove me out of town. I couldn't even walk a few feet without being driven out." The ponies seemed surprised at this revelation, and Rainbow now seemed rather uncomfortable, squirming in place.

Lowell grinned internally at this, then continued. "Given, not all towns were like this. Some ponies were even helpful. That's how I got this ensemble, actually. A tailor saw my battered clothes and gave me some new ones, even to my specifications. But... Eventually, I was run out all the same. And if I was helped by someone, and the town caught wind of it? They got run out too. Along with me. Accused of being a conspirator." Lowell paused to give a sniffle, then continued. "And... I'll admit, I got cynical. Jaded. Angry. I was tired of ruining others lives because they helped me. And so... I wanted to start anew. That's why I headed here. I thought that you, the elements of harmony, who defeated foes with friendship alone, could help me. And what awaited me when I came into town? One of those very elements getting on my case for just existing, and being different." He said, sadly. He then put his head into his hands, and seemed to be silently weeping.

Twilight, shocked at the humans story and display of emotion, attempted to move toward him to comfort him, but before she could, she was waved away by him. "Just... Leave me for a moment, can you?" He said, shakily. She paused for a moment, unsure of what to do, before she left the room altogether to give Lowell his space. Rainbow soon followed suit, still feeling uncomfortable, and now even guilty about her actions.

The last one to start to leave was Berry Punch, who seemed even more unsure of what to do then Twilight. When she started to head out, though, Lowell looked up, his face devoid of tears, and he actually looked proud, even slightly amused. "How'd you like my story?" He asked, mindful to not speak so loudly that everyone in the house could hear him.

Berry turned to him with a surprised look on her face. "You... You made that story up? Right now?" She said, being equally as mindful as Lowell.

"Made up implies thought was put into it. It was really ad-libbed." Lowell said nonchalantly.

"I... You... Wow." She stuttered out. "That was kinda impressive. You even had me fooled for a minute. Only a minute though", she said with a confident tone.

"Yeah yeah, shut up. So, I'm assuming your ruler sent you. I'm also under the assumption that your boys are all set, right?"

"Yeah. They're just waiting for my command now. We've even got a little surprise in store for them. More of one then what we've already got, I mean."

"Perfection. Now, I've got a plan. First, take my glove." He said, taking off his glove and throwing it at "Berry".

She caught it in her mouth, then spat it out in front of her. "Ech.", she gagged. "It's sweaty. What'd you do?"

Lowell smirked as he begun to explain his plan to her, grinning deviously all the while, amused at the downfall of Ponyville being planned right under the nose of it's protectors.