Master of All trades

Chapters

A Stranger in Familiar Lands Ch. 1
Touring Ponyville and Learning to Trust Ch. 2
Building New Relationships... Awkwardly Ch. 3
A New Family Ch. 4

A Stranger in Familiar Lands Ch. 1

A Stranger in Familiar Lands

In the magical land of Equestria, pony folk lived happily and peacefully under the ever loving watch of their beloved princesses, Celestia and Luna. Nothing happened in the land that the Princesses were unaware of.

But one fateful day, a strange stallion, aimlessly roaming the lands of Equestria, wondered into the small town known as Ponyville. His presence went completely unnoticed by the Princesses.

The stallion had a rusty-red coat with brilliant, green hair streaked through with bright, orange highlights, but it was ragged and unkempt covering his ears and most of his forehead. He wore a dirty brown cloak that covered his body from the elements, but he kept the hood down in order to keep his senses clear for any sounds or sights of trouble.

He was tired, hungry, scared, and extremely lonely, wanting nothing more than to stop and rest. Alas, he knew that was not an option and he continued to ramble through the dense forest that he currently trekked through.

Finally, once his fatigue finally had caught up to him and he could no longer place one hoof in front of the other, he collapsed...vulnerable to anything that resided within the forest.

The day began to grow dark as dusk fell, and a mare that was coming home from an errand in a nearby town saw the unconscious stallion and brought him to her home. There he awoke, rejuvenated and feeling better than he had in months, but dreaded that that feeling was not going to last.

As always, he couldn't remember dreaming about anything, but he knew that something was very different about that night.

The stallion sat up quickly, remembering his collapse in the forest, and scared out of his mind that he was now inside of a small cottage in a soft bed that was not his own. Worriedly, his head whipped about, trying to see just where he was.

The cottage was cozy and smelled of pine and cedar wood, very relaxing and homey. He tried to recall anything that happened during the night, but his exhausted and addled mind couldn't hobble together any memories of being moved or captured.

Suddenly, his ears quirked straight up when he heard a soft, feminine humming coming from a door to his right.

The door quietly swung open, revealing a yellow coated pegasus mare with a soft, pink mane holding a bowl in her mouth that steamed enticingly and smelled delicious.

"Oh, you're awake. I'm glad; I saw you in the Everfree Forest and you looked in really bad shape so I brought you here," the mare said in a soft voice after setting the bowl down on a nearby table.

The stallion remained quiet and turned away shyly, not at all expecting to be near such a cute mare. But his heart settled down when he realized that the circumstances were not at all what he feared they were.

The mare looked away shyly as well, causing an awkward silence between the two.

After a few minutes the stallion spoke just as softly as the mare, "Thank you, Miss. I hope I didn't intrude too much."

"Oh, not at all; you just needed somepony's help and I was glad to help. Um... If you don't mind me asking: What's your name...," the mare's voice trailed off to such a soft whisper, the stallion couldn't hear what she said.

"I'm sorry I didn't hear what you said," the stallion said.

"Um, well... I wanted to ask for your name," the mare said shyly, once again trailing to a very soft whisper. Luckily for her, the stallion was able to catch her meaning.

"Oh, um... My name is Joat Mon. What's yours?" Joat asked the mare.

The mare bashfully kicked at the ground before answering, "I'm Fluttershy. It's very nice to meet you," Fluttershy said with a small smile.

Joat pushed the covers off himself and stood up from the bed, he still had his cloak on, "It's nice to meet you too, and I don't want to be rude but it's best if I left; it's not safe for me here." He had no idea why he felt so compelled to show her his kinder side after the terrible ordeals he went through while running away. There were many valid reasons for him not to trust anypony and to show them nothing of his etiquette.

"Uh...okay, but I want you to eat this first before you go. You look like you haven't eaten in days," Fluttershy gestured to the bowl on the table.

Joat smiled and walked to the table just as a knocking sounded from the other room.

"Oh, excuse me; I have to get the door," Fluttershy left the room leaving Joat by himself.

He was mildly put off by the pegasus mare's selfless kindness, wondering if she was trying to set him up or delay him to turn him over to who was pursuing him, but he didn't complain once he began eating the soup she had brought him. It was delicious and brought back much needed strength to his body. It was just a simple vegetable soup with a simple blend of seasonings, but it was far better than the meager scraps he was used to.

He finished the bowl just as he saw a silhouette pass by the door, "Uhhh Fluttershy, who is this strange fella?"

Joat whipped his head around and gazed at another mare, this time with an orange coat, blonde hair, and a cowpony hat.

Fluttershy appeared next to the strange mare while Joat tucked his head down in concern and worry, immediate suspicions arose and were about Fluttershy’s ulterior motive in helping him. "This is Joat Mon; I found him unconscious in the forest."

"Uh-huh, listen sugar cube; it's not safe to bring a stranger into your home like that. What if he was dangerous? I reckon that'd be very likely considerin' his shady appearance," the orange mare said, walking closer to Joat.

"What's your business here in Ponyville, stranger?" She asked with a stern expression.

"I-I... was t-traveling... got lost... Uh, I'm sorry," Joat said trying to avoid looking at the mare. For some odd reason, he couldn't really formulate a good lie for her when they would come through his lips so easily with others. He had many that were sitting at the tip of his tongue, ready to use against those who were trying to interrogate him, but it seemed like they all vanished around this mare.

"Applejack? I don't think it's very nice to scare him like that," Fluttershy said.

"I'm really sorry,... Uhhh, I'll be leaving now," Joat tried to shimmy between the two and leave the room before Applejack put a hoof on his shoulder, "I'm sorry, Fluttershy's right; I shouldn't be so mean to somepony just 'cause they look different. Would you mind tellin' me your name again?" Applejack asked, this time with a reassuring smile.

"I'm Joat Mon," Joat responded, returning the smile.

"I say, that's a mighty strange name for a pony; where ya from?" Applejack asked.

Joat remained silent and stared at the ground, obviously uncomfortable with the question. Once again, he was unable to bring about his usual lie for that particular question.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, I suppose it don't really matter any how," Applejack's face broke into a broad smile, "but lemme be one o' the first to welcome ya to Ponyville!"

"Thank you, Applejack, but I really do have to get going. Thank you Fluttershy for your hospitality," Joat smiled at the two and continued towards the front door.

"Hold on there, partner, whatch'in such a hurry for?" Applejack asked with concern apparent in her eyes.

"Well, there are some ponies looking for me, and I don't want them to find me," Joat continued walking and left the house with Applejack and Fluttershy close behind, it wasn't until the moment he stepped out of the cottage that he realized the truth was just told, something he swore wouldn't leave him.

"You're not a fugitive are you?" Fluttershy gasped.

Joat sighed shakily, "In a way I am." Why couldn't he lie to these two? Both times, his mouth seemed to have almost worked on its own, betraying his intents.

Applejack stepped in front of Joat blocking his path, the stern expression returning to her face, "I knew you were trouble, I reckon I should tell the authorities."

Joat's eyes widened and he crouched in fear, trembling violently, "I-I-It's not what you think! I haven't done anything wrong, honest!"

"Ain't no way you can be a fugitive unless you done somethin' wrong," Applejack leaned back on her haunches and crossed her forelegs, determined to get answers.

Joat continued to quake in terror and clenched his eyes tight before bursting forward at an incredible speed revealing wings from underneath his cloak.

"Git back here!" Applejack started running after him, Fluttershy close behind, but they quickly lost sight of him as he flew onward.

He flew aimlessly into a town that was busy with ponies walking to and fro, attracting a lot of attention from every pony.

His path led him through a busy marketplace and in the path of numerous ponies who gasped in fright, cursed his obliviousness, or shook their hooves angrily at him with angry grumbles.

Not paying any attention to where he was, he burst through a doorway leading inside a random house and shut the door behind him. The only real thing he picked up about this place was that it was in a giant tree.

He took a quick second to catch his breath before losing it again to gasp in awe at what he saw. He had flown into a library that was inside of the large tree.

In an instant, he forgot that he was being chased and walked further into the depths of the bibliographic wonder land.

"I don’t see what your so excited about, there's only a few books in here that are actually interesting," a scratchy mare's voice said from above him.

Looking up, Joat saw a cyan colored pegasus mare, with a rainbow for a mane, hovering above him with her nose deep in a book.

But his fear didn't resurface, "I really like reading though, so it's all exciting to me!" Joat exclaimed.

The mare closed the book and drifted down to Joat's level, "Another egghead, huh? Just like Twilight... Oh well, at least I can kinda relate to the excitement I had when I found out she had all of the Daring Do books."

Joat gasped excitedly, "All of the Daring Do books are here?!"

The mare smirked, "Whatcha know about Daring Do?"

Joat returned the smirk, "Only that she's the most awesome, bravest, smartest, and best adventurer ever!"

"Rainbow Dash? Who are you talking too?" Another mare's voice said from behind Joat.

He turned to see a purple unicorn with darker people hair containing a single pink streak within climbing down a flight of stairs.

"Just another cool pegasus who's discovered the best adventurer ever," Rainbow Dash put a friendly elbow into Joat's ribs.

"Oh really? You like Daring Do, too?" The new mare asked Joat.

"I sure do! Do you really have the whole collection here?" Joat asked excitedly.

"I do, I'm Twilight Sparkle and I'm in charge of this library, were you interested in where the books are located?" Twilight asked with a friendly smile.

"I'm Joat Mon, and I would be very interested," Joat bounced slightly in anticipation.

"Here, this is the first one," Rainbow Dash dropped the book in front of Joat, "and I'll show you where the rest are after that."

Joat happily opened the book and began to read when Twilight spoke up, "I've never heard of a name like yours before. Where are you from?"

Distracted, Joat replied, "I'm from Colton, but I ran away because everypony there doesn't like me because I'm different-," Joat cut himself off realizing he had said too much.

Twilight and Rainbow both gasped, "Oh my gosh, that's awful. Don't you miss your home?" Twilight asked.

Tears formed in Joat's eyes, "No, they wanna lock me away, so no pony will find out about my secret," he sniffed, unsure why he was telling this to two ponies he didn't know, "I don't have a home."

"That's so mean! Those dirt bags deserve a kick in the tail," Rainbow said in an angry tone.

"I'm so sorry Joat, but you're welcome here in Ponyville, regardless of who you are, we'll be your home," Twilight said putting a hoof over Joat's shoulders.

Joat looked up at Twilight, shocked at hearing such kindness coming from a pony that doesn't even know who he was.

He was about to say something before the sound of a door slamming opened caused the three to jump and gasp in fright. By the time they looked to the door to see what had happened, Joat was tackled roughly to the ground, "I got ya! You good-fer-nothin' scoundrel!"

"Applejack! What in Celestia's Name are you doing!?" Twilight shouted.

"This fellah's a wanted fugitive Twi, but I got here in the knick o' time before he could pull any funny business," Applejack pinned Joat to the ground, sitting proudly on his back while uncoiling a rope from over her shoulder. Joat just covered his head with his hooves, whimpering and trembling in fear.

Rainbow Dash pulled Applejack off Joat, "Cool it cowgirl, you don't know the whole story! He's not in trouble for anything! But the town he's from has trouble with accepting who he is!" Rainbow Dash yelled. Fluttershy came through the door, eyes drifting about the room at the strange sight of Rainbow defending the stranger against Applejack.

After some time to calm Joat down, he once again explained his story to Applejack and Fluttershy, not revealing his secret but letting them know that he was harmless and only wanted to stay away from the ponies that were hunting for him in order to lock him away. Applejack was quick to apologize and try her best to make amends, but Joat only smiled and reassured her that she was only protecting her friends and that she was forgiven. Twilight was about to offer him a place to stay at her house when a loud knocking sounded at her door.

"I'm coming," Twilight announced walking to the door.

On the other side were two unicorn stallions dressed in a cloak similar to Joat's, but far less dingy and much cleaner, "We're looking for a run away criminal that was seen heading in this direction. Have you seen a red stallion with a green and orange mane pass through here?" Upon hearing their inquiry about his whereabouts, Joat scampered about in a panic, but there wasn’t anywhere he could hide.

"No I haven't," Twilight lied without any hesitation, "But I hope you find whoever you're looking for," Twilight offered a polite smile and attempted to close the door before a brown aura lifted her back into the library. Seeing and hearing Twilight closing the door brought a sigh of relief from Joat.

"Then would you care to explain what he's doing behind you?" One of the stallions asked. Joat was standing in the far corner, once again terrified now that the ploy had failed, on shaking legs and terrified out of his mind. He knew he was caught again, and he knew that once again he was going to have to battle the Tartarus that they had in store for him. After all, what did these four mares have to lose compared to why they should stick up for him?

"No! Why don't you two bozos take off and stop treating our friend so mean!?" Rainbow Dash said angrily.

I'm their friend? Thought Joat. His mind went blank, never once thinking something like this would ever happen, not since he abandoned his only friend in Colton.

"He's coming with us no matter what," a small anti-magic ring covered in an orange glow flew past the mares and latched itself onto Joat's horn that was revealed from his wild mane, "because he doesn't belong anywhere in this land," one of the stallions said.

The girls all gasped seeing that Joat possessed both wings and a unicorn horn making him an alicorn, a creature so rare that only three others were known to exist.

"You're wrong," said Fluttershy.

"Because Joat does belong here," growled Rainbow Dash.

"And we won't let y'all," continued Applejack.

"Take our friend from his home!" Twilight finished with her horn glowing blindingly bright. She ripped the ring from Joat's horn and broke it while shoving the other two stallions away scaring them with a super charge to her horn that caused her entire library to light up and her eyes to glow with immense power and magical skill.

The stallions gawked for the entirety of a heartbeat before jumping up and hoofing out of Ponyville as fast as their legs could move.

"Thank you all so much," Joat sniffled, "you have no idea how much this means to me."

"We couldn't let them take you; so what if you're an alicorn? It doesn't give them a right to treat you so harshly," Twilight said while the others muttered their agreement.

"Thank you again, but I'm afraid you're kinda mistaken; it's not because I'm an alicorn," Joat said with a small hint of fear. He decided right there, that he would try once again in placing faith in others.

"Whaddya mean, darlin'?" Applejack asked confused.

Joat gave the girls one look of mixed fear and worry before biting onto his cloak and pulling it off. For some reason, he felt something within him that told him to place his trust and loyalty in these mares.

They all gasped in earnest at what they saw; upon the flank of everypony in the room, was a mark on their haunches called a Cutie Mark that represented the talent of the pony it belonged to.

Young fillies and colts flanks were usually bare of any Mark because they had yet to discover what their true talent was and it was not unusual to see a colt or filly with a Blank Flank as it was called, but what was displayed before them was unheard of and not believed to be possible.

Joat was a full grown stallion...with no Cutie Mark.

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Touring Ponyville and Learning to Trust Ch. 2

Touring Ponyville and Learning to Trust

"No... No... No... Ugh, this is going to keep me up all night!"

"I'm really sorry Twilight, but like I said: me not having a Cutie Mark is completely natural to me!"

"I don't know; that's never happened 'round these here parts of Equestria. I reckon it's not even happened anywhere in the world!"

"Oh man, that's so wicked! Who cares, Applejack? This just means he might have some super, awesome talent that it takes this long to show!"

Twilight Sparkle continued levitating books to her face to skim through them faster than Joat Mon could count, Applejack watched her speed reading, and Rainbow Dash continued hovering around Joat to admire his flanks.

"This is rather new, but I don't think it's any problem. Actually, I kinda like how it looks," Fluttershy said while blushing ever so slightly.

Joat had no idea how to respond to any of this; never has any pony been so readily accepting of his abnormality or even excited about it like Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy were.

Suddenly, the room was full of the heavy thuds made by Twilight releasing her magical grip on the myriad of books that once circled around her, "Oh well, it's not like it changes anything; I'll just ask the Princess about it later. How about we just show you around town and get you familiar? This is going to be your new home after all."

Joat half smiled and nodded, feeling strangely trusting of these pony's intentions, but at least he had finally gotten a break from his pursuers.

"I know just where to start! Let's head over to the Market so we can meet Pinkie and Rarity and to see the town center so Joat can see Ponyville from the inside out," Rainbow Dash cried out and zipped right through an over head window.

"Sounds like a plan, come on y'all, before Rainbow Dash hurts herself," Applejack laughed.

Together, the band of friends left Twilight's library to tour Ponyville. Joat lagged a little behind everypony feeling slightly uncomfortable with being so quickly befriended and still not entirely sure how he should act.

"You any good of a flier?" Joat jumped at hearing Rainbow's voice right behind him. For the first time that he saw her, she was actually walking, looking at him expectantly.

"Well I'm not actually sure. Nopony has actually taken the time to watch me," Joat responded timidly.

"Let's play a little game then! You know how to play ‘Horse’?" Rainbow Dash crowded closer to Joat obviously eager to test his mettle.

"No; no pony ever played any kind of game with me for a very long time, but I'm willing to try," Joat perked up slightly at the idea of actually participating in a pegasus game.

For a moment, Rainbow seemed to lose her spunk as she frowned at hearing about just how much this poor stallion suffered, but she recovered quickly enough, not wanting to worry him any more than necessary, "Just try to copy my moves and don't mess them up or you get a letter. First pony that messes up so much that the letters spell Horse loses. Ready?" Rainbow Dash slowly lifted off of the ground.

Joat immediately understood the idea and nodded with a smile, mimicking Dash and floating up with small strokes of his wings.

"Here I go!" Rainbow took off and did a triple barrel roll in the sky and landed, "Now you try."

Joat swallowed, suddenly unsure of his aerial prowess, but he took off and succeeding in the triple barrel roll but landed very sloppily.

"That honestly wasn't too bad, but that landing earned you an 'H'," Rainbow said. "So I'll do some other trick until you get it, or spell Horse first." Again, she took off doing a loop-da-loop, climbed straight up, somersaulted once and softly floated back down on her hind legs.

Joat admired her making it seem so easy and he took off managing to mimic the stunt perfectly and landing smoothly while the other girls clapped and murmured their praise.

"Not bad, newbie,” Rainbow playfully sneered, nudging into Joat gently causing Joat to grin with a small sense of pride, “No letter this time and it's your turn to set the stunt," Rainbow Dash smiled.

Much more confident, Joat took a moment to think about a potential stunt. Once he found something that he thought should be a challenge for Rainbow, he lifted off high enough to launch himself into a horizontal-wingless-cartwheel slash barrel roll, and flare his wings just before hitting the ground in a softer than most landing.

Again, the girls praised the interesting maneuver and shifted their gazes to Rainbow, "Wow, I've never seen a move like that. Let's see if I can't do it," Rainbow Dash laughed excitedly.

She took off fast executing the cartwheel perfectly, but had to flare her wings early to regain her bearings after trying to barrel roll too.

Once she landed, Rainbow was wide-eyed and stared at joat in disbelief, "I've never gotten a letter before," Rainbow eyed Joat mischievously with a subtle sneer, "but that's the only one I'll get."

The next half hour went by with Joat and Dash performing numerous aerial maneuvers that sometimes ended painfully as one or the other crash landed. Many nearby ponies came to watch and applaud the duo as they tried to outdo the other. Joat had completely lost himself in the spirit of competition and found himself smiling endlessly; he was unaware of the applause or praise of the many who enjoyed the show. Rainbow did win but it came very close; she had it to the 'S'.

At the final move that gave Joat the last letter, Joat wound up upside down in a tree after trying to replicate what Rainbow caller her Famous Buccaneer Blaze.

Much to Joat’s surprise, a random unicorn stallion, took a hold of him in his magic and gently dropped him on his hooves, “Great good show, Buck! Nice moves up there!”

Not knowing how to respond to the stallion, Joat just smiled nervously and rubbed his ear, but the stallion didn’t seem to mind, gave him a nod and stalked off with the rest of the dispersing crowd.

Once the relative quiet came back after the crowd left, the other girls came to congratulate the two.

"Whewie, that was some mighty fine flyin' just now, what were some of those tricks you were doin'?" Applejack asked.

"Actually, a lot of those were stunts I had to pull to avoid possibly fatal crash landings," Joat casually answered while stretching his wings free from the sudden exercise. His mood still carefree from the positive attention he had just received and the elation he felt from competing with Rainbow.

"Whaddya mean by ‘fatal’," Twilight gasped.

Realizing that he had already said too much, Joat hung his head and spoke nervously, "Well I've tried escaping before... They'd try really hard to catch me... And they weren't careful about it," Joat glumly replied.

"Gosh, you weren't too badly hurt were you," Fluttershy asked.

"Well duh! He almost beat me in a flying game! Of course he's perfectly fine," Dash bumped up against Joat giving him an admiring wink.

They had walked a bit more, Joat once again letting his mind roam, I couldn’t find myself to be rude to them, couldn’t lie to them, I’m trusting them with my secrets!? What am I doing? Joat glanced up, watching the girls chattering amongst themselves with Rainbow dominating the overall conversation with her talking about her exploits and Joat's near victory over her. Many of the details were greatly exaggerated, causing the girls and Joat to roll their eyes.

Before Rainbow could delve into the last stunt that won her the game, a giant red-coated stallion approached the group, "Uh, A.J.?"

Applejack groaned and face hoofed herself, "Let me guess, Applebloom hurt herself again, didn't she?"

"Eeyup," the stallion answered in a deep, rumbling voice.

"Do you need any help Applejack," Fluttershy asked, her voice full of concern.

"If you wouldn't mind too much; I'm pretty sure she's done herself a doozy," Applejack sighed.

"I could help too, if you need it," Joat spoke up.

"Really? I mean, do you know how to fix up cuts and bruises? Fluttershy can handle it pretty well, usually, since she helps injured animals all the time," Applejack peered at Joat, trying to assess just how useful he could be.

"I'm sure it'll be okay, because I've had to fix myself up a few times and that's not necessarily easily accomplished," Joat smiled sheepishly, hoping she wouldn't ask why he had to heal himself.

"Alrighty then, if you think you can stomach it. I reckon she's done made a mess of herself this time. Unicycle cutie mark... How does that make any sense," Applejack sighed disapprovingly. And not for the last time, Joat found himself wondering about why these mares didn’t seem to mind Joat’s background so much.

Were they just this trusting in new ponies? Or was it just because he was an alicorn? Or did they really not seem to mind him being so radically different at all?

The whole group decided to follow Applejack and the large stallion that Joat learned to be Applejack's big brother, Big Macintosh (and may my name be changed to Mule Face if he wasn't the biggest pony I've ever seen, thought Joat to himself), to her home at Sweet Apple Acres.

They were led to a large barn with a young, crying filly with a big bow in her red mane, who had apparently hurt her right foreleg and hind right leg.

"Oh dear, what happened?" Fluttershy rushed over, inspecting the filly's injuries.

"Looks like she pulled her back tendon and twisted her foreleg really bad, not to mention slicing herself up pretty good," Joat said kneeling beside the crying filly, her coat was the same color as Fluttershy's, but just like Joat, she had no Cutie Mark.

"That was a pretty good diagnosis, Joat Mon, but I'm afraid it's actually broken. How'd you hurt yourself Applebloom?" Fluttershy asked in a sweet voice.

"I was tryin' to get my Cutie Mark in unicyclin', but I couldn't even get on the darned thing," Applebloom sniffled.

Joat couldn't help but smile to himself in hearing that her Southern Accent was thicker than her sisters, "Here, I'll help you work a splint over it," Joat offered Fluttershy.

"Thank you. Now, Applebloom, this is going to hurt a bit," Fluttershy grabbed a nearby piece of wood and had Applebloom bite into it, "but I'll work as fast as I can. Joat, can you tie the splint together once I reset the bone?"

Joat nodded and grabbed some nearby medical gauze that Big Macintosh had prepared. Fluttershy placed her hooves gently on either side of Applebloom's leg and nodded once in Joat's direction. He moved quickly just as Fluttershy pushed hard into Applebloom's leg which gave off a loud snap as the bone was forced back into alignment.

Applebloom screamed into the wood, almost chewing it in half, but was surprisingly strong in not moving as Joat wound the splint in place, making sure the medical guide-struts were properly aligned over the bone before tying the gauze off in a tight neat knot.

Every pony in the room paled at hearing the bone snap and Twilight had to turn away as her face turned green.

"There, all better," Fluttershy pulled the wood from Applebloom's mouth who began inspecting the treatment.

"Thank you, Fluttershy," Applebloom sniffled and shivered, cold from the shock of having her bone reset, "and thank you, Mister..." Applebloom watched Joat, unsure of who he was.

"Joat Mon, and it's not a problem at all Miss Applebloom," Joat took off his cloak and tucked it tightly around Applebloom's shoulders.

Applebloom's eyes went wide at what she saw, and could no longer feel Fluttershy putting another splint over her sprained leg, even though the motions made Twilight feint when she thought it was safe to look.

"You have a horn AND wings!? You're just like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna! How in Equestria did ya do that?" Applebloom gasped.

"I was born that way," Joat smiled and tucked his wings tightly to his body, suddenly self-conscious, than Applebloom gasped a second time, this time much louder.

"You don’t have a Cutie Mark! The others need to know about this," and suddenly Applebloom was gone in a poof. Fluttershy didn't even have time to warn her to be careful, let alone tell her not to move.

"You may have just made the top of the list of three fillies," Rainbow Dash laughed.

"Whaddya mean? What did I do? Why do you say 'three fillies'," Joat asked concerned.

Twilight moaned as she regained consciousness, but the others continued snickering at the thought of Joat being the new Filly Idol, "Look girls! See? He's just like us," Applebloom's voice burst from behind every pony.

Everypony turned to look at the new visitors, but Joat's vision was completely blocked, first by an orange pegasus with a short purple mane, "You have a horn!", then a white unicorn with a frilly purple and pink mane, "And you have wings!"

"Girls, I think we just found ourselves a new leader for the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Applebloom cheered.

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Building New Relationships... Awkwardly Ch. 3

Building New Relationships... Awkwardly

"Leader of the Cutie what capers?" Joat Mon, the curious stallion of no Cutie Mark, stood in an awkward limelight of three little fillies who, like Joat Mon, did not have a Cutie Mark.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders! Me, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle here have made it our mission to find our mysterious talents, and we want you to be the leader since you've been a Blank Flank the longest," the small orange pegasus shouted in excitement.

"Girls, Joat here can barely get settled in right now, why don't you wait-," Twilight had begun to say when Joat said, "Scooters."

A silence fell in the room, wondering why in Equestria Joat threw out such a random word.

"I think your head's been sun baked, darlin; care to explain what the hay you’re talking about?" Applejack cautiously pulled Applebloom away from Joat, and not being very subtle about it either.

"Your talent has something to do with scooters, and Sweetie Belle was it? Your's is singing. And I can see why you would be most frustrated, Applebloom. It was hard to see it at first, but your talent is either architecture or construction; you have an overlapped talent so I don't think you'll know what your Mark will be anytime soon. Hay, you might even get a Double Mark," Joat said rubbing his chin in deep contemplation. His tone was analytical and earnest, and the way his posture changed made it seem like he was temporarily somepony else.

No pony made a sound, completely speechless and wondering what kind of lunatic they accidentally brought into Ponyville. To them, it was painfully obvious what the girls’ Cutie Marks should be in, but this pony knew exactly what they were without any previous knowledge or introduction.

Suddenly, Joat's eyes went wide and he looked at the girls’ faces, immediately becoming terrified that he was about to be run out of Ponyville, realizing that no pony understood what he was talking about, "You are a very interesting pony, I think we should go see Princess Celestia later this week," Twilight finally said after a minute of silence.

"OH MY GOSH! SCOOTALOO! LOOK AT YOUR FLANK," Applebloom screamed, causing everypony in the room to visibly jump in fright. All eyes shifted to the orange pegasus filly who was staring at the ceiling with a look of determination before Applebloom had screamed and brought her out of whatever trance she was in.

Slowly, the orange filly, Scootaloo, turned her own gaze to her flank to see a scooter wheel with a wing in its bearing trailing fire just behind its path.

Scootaloo erupted into loud, shrilling shrieks, soon joined by Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. And then the whole barn was alive with energy and congratulations to Scootaloo for finding her talent. Joat was laughing and smiling with the group when he felt something wrap itself tightly around his right hind leg, "Thank you so much. You're the bestest leader ever," Scootaloo hugged Joat's leg tightly, nuzzling her face affectionately into Joat's coat.

Unsure of how to respond to the filly's grateful gesture, on one had ever been so happy to have their Mark so bluntly announced like that before. Joat just chuckled and patted her head, "Yay! This is such a super-duper party! How come I wasn't invited? Or was I invited and just lost the invitation? Who are you Mr. Red Pony? I'm Pinkie Pie! Are you new in Ponyville? Is this why we're having a party? What's your name? Where you from? Wanna be friends?"

A pink mare, with a cotton candy-like mane and tail, let off a rapid fire of questions that Joat couldn't keep up with. She seemed to bounce with every syllable, putting Joat on edge before Rainbow Dash shoved her hoof in Pinkie's mouth, instantly muting the seemingly endless verbiage, "Hehe, sorry 'bout that. This is Pinkie Pie, and you can see she's a bit of a live wire. Pinkie Pie, this is Joat Mon; he's not from around here and isn't used to ponies being so crazy around him so pipe down would ya?"

Pinkie attempted to speak through Rainbow's hoof, but Rainbow didn't let go, "Pinkie promise that you'll calm down?"

Pinkie sang a muffled lullaby that ended with her shoving her hoof in her eye, "Alright then," Rainbow Dash slowly removed her hoof from Pinkie's mouth, "Hello, Joat Mon! I like your name, it's interesting. I know I promised no more questions but I have one you just gotta answer! Pinkie please," Pinkie Pie smiled an impossibly large smile.

"Um, alright. What did you wa-,"

"How did you find out those girls' talents?" Pinkie interrupted shoving her face into Joat's.

She didn't ask about his horn and wings, she didn't ask about why he didn't have a Cutie Mark, she just wanted to know how he was able to see something that is usually hidden from everypony, including the owner. It made Joat feel more normal then he'd ever felt before, "I don't know, I've always been able to see shadows on a Blank Flank that looks like a shape of whatever their talent is. I just have to guess what that shadow is," Joat shied away from this pony who didn't understand personal space.

"Come on, Joat. There's just one more pony you have to meet before I can give you a rundown of our town, and I think we should go straight to Canterlot right after," Twilight said and walked up to Joat's side. Joat nodded, and the whole group left the barn excluding the three ffillies and Big Macintosh.

Just as they walked out however, Twilight pulled Joat to the side, “Listen, Joat Mon, we appreciate what you did back there, but to go around and tell a foal what their Cutie Mark is going to be is—”

“Taboo. Trust me: I know,” Joat answered solemnly, “But I couldn’t help it; it always happens when I see a foal nearby. I’ve ruined that journey for so many and it’s part of the reason why I was locked up but it’s not my fault!” Joat’s voice began to rise and his breathing quickened as he began to panic, “It was just automatic! Like my mouth started working before I could tell my brain to shut up! I don’t know why I know what the Mark is going to be or how I know, but I do know that I don’t want to know!”

The girls all turned to stare at Joat in concern when they heard his panicked and raised voice. Twilight wasted no time in trying to assuage Joat’s distress, shaking her hooves rapidly in a dismissive gesture, “It’s alright, Joat! I understand, I understand! Sure, it’s not really supposed to happen that way, but like you said; it just happened.”

Slowly, Joat’s breathing leveled back to normal and he gazed up at Twilight. She stood there, back on all fours, with a soft and small, friendly smile on her face. In that instant he saw her smile, he felt a strange feeling within him. Something very tangible, however, and not sentimental like what was to be assumed. However, that same instant he felt that sensation, he became calm once more.

“I’m sorry,” Joat breathed out, almost inaudibly.

Twilight’s smile just grew and she gave Joat a gentle embrace over his shoulders, “Don’t be. Those girls deserved to know after so long, and they really look up to you.”

After a moment, Joat pulled away from the hug to find the other girls surrounding him. “Feeling any better, partner?” Applejack asked.

Joat just nodded. “Alright, then onwards to the Carousel Boutique!” Rainbow shouted than suddenly darted off.

With one more smile, Twilight gestured with her head to continue on. Joat watched Applejack turn and follow with Pinkie Pie bouncing at her hooves. With a soft smile of his own, Joat inhaled, letting it out slowly, and followed them as well.

They passed through more of Ponyville, with the girls pointing out the noticeable landmarks and naming the stores they passed by so Joat could familiarize himself with the layout.

After a few minutes, Joat felt like he should ask a question, "Any surprises with this last pony I should be aware of?" Joat asked innocently.

"I think it should be safe; Rarity's not some pony usually loud or bubbly like Rainbow or Pinkie," Applejack muttered more to herself more than to every pony else.

"She might be the most sensible pony of our circle, although sometimes a little obsessive," Twilight said with a friendly smile to Joat.

"Um, actually you guys, I think there could be a small problem. Um, with Joat Mon's mane," Fluttershy said in her always softer than normal voice.

"Whaddya mean Fluttershy? I don't see anything wrong with his mane,” Rainbow hovered closer to Joat to see what had the timid pegasus concerned.

“It’s just that, you know how she is when something’s out of order,” Fluttershy said.

“It looks just like mine except poofy-er and Rarity hasn't tried anything with me because of it," Rainbow Dash said while landing to walk with the group.

"Yeah! And my mane is even poofy-er-er than both of you guys together and Rarity doesn't have a problem with me," Pinkie shook her head viciously and her mane impossibly straightened and hung straight down, "and now both of you guys have a poofy-er-est mane than me! Heehee, I look funny like this, don't I?" Pinkie scrunched her face up and sneezed, and her mane magically poofed back into its cotton candy like state.

"Uh, how..." Joat stared, dumbfounded on how she just did that.

"Don't even try to make sense of it. I learned the hard way to just go with it," Twilight laughed with every pony else following shortly after. But while they were laughing, they missed the large floating stack of sewing supplies and cloth rolls directly in front of them and they collided.

The group was scattered and the floating stack of materials flew straight up in a geyser formation, "Oh no! My precious supplies!" A mare's voice called out just before they hit the ground... But they never did. They were all glowing with an orange energy and hovered about a hoof from the ground.

"We're very sorry! We weren't paying attention," Joat said. He had caught the supplies with his magic and clustered them back together before neatly and carefully placing them on the ground after conjuring a blanket to set them on to avoid getting anything dirty.

"Yes, well, thank you very much Mister... Um," A white unicorn mare with an elegantly curled mane, stood up from the collision and looked over at Joat with a slightly haughty attitude.

"Joat Mon, and I apologize again," Joat said and scratched his head, embarrassed.

"Oh, hello girls, what are you all doing," the mare asked as she saw the rest of Joat's group approaching after the crash, "Well, we came to meet you and introduce Joat Mon to Ponyville," Fluttershy spoke up.

"My word, such an outlandish name. Where did you say you were from, darling? And what on earth happened to your mane?" The mare asked.

"Sheesh, Rarity. You barely met the guy and all you can say is his name is wierd and his mane is messy?" Rainbow said crossing her fore legs and rolling her eyes.

"Oh my! I'm so terribly sorry, that was rather rude of me. Ahem, I am Rarity. Pleasure to make your acquaintance," Rarity said with a small bow.

"The pleasure is mine, Miss Rarity," Joat Mon replied warmly, returning the bow.

"That was really good magical maneuvering, Joat. That wasn't easy to catch all that AND conjure a blanket too," Twilight said with an approving nod of her head.

"And you're also very well mannered. You are indeed a very interesting pony, Mr. Joat. Please, I would love it if you all stopped by my boutique; I have something rather interesting to show you all," Rarity picked up all her things in her magic and continued walking with the group just behind her.

Joat was beginning to feel overwhelmed; Rarity had seen immediately that he had wings and a horn with no Cutie Mark and only simply remarked at his well practiced etiquette. How could these six mares so easily let him into their lives knowing he was so vastly different than any pony else? How could they so quickly call him their friend in only hours of knowing him when his own family shunned him ever since they saw that his Cutie Mark never budded?

"You alright, sugar cube?" Applejack asked.

Joat snapped back to attention realizing he was trailing several steps behind. They were all watching him, not in concern, worry, disdain, or pity, but with friendly smiles plastered on their faces. And Joat finally gave in, letting a flood of tears rain from his eyes.

"Joat? What's wrong?" Everypony asked and gathered close by, genuinely worried for their newest friend. And Joat could feel the affection from every one of them, not the hate that he felt most of his life but... Love. In its truest and purest form, Joat Mon felt love directed towards him for the first time in a long time... Ponyville was now Home. These mares were his friends, his family.

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A New Family Ch. 4

A New Family

The girls crowded Joat Mon, the alicorn bearing no Cutie Mark, in a loving group hug after learning that the tears he shed were of joy rather than sorrow. Even Rarity, being the newest introduced became quickly affectionate towards Joat.

After the emotional moment, the group continued on to Rarity’s boutique, Twilight taking a hold of some the materials in her magic to help Joat and Rarity to move a little easier. After another span of time, the group had finally arrived, Joat finding himself quickly lost in the lavish décor and absurdly wide variety of materials, tools, and supplies the now apparent fashionista owned.

Very quickly Joat found himself drawn away from the group to go explore as Rarity took the girls aside.

"Just a little tuck here."

"Ouch! Watch it!"

"Oh calm yourself Rainbow, you hurt yourself far more severely on multiple occasions. Oh my, these pleats are uneven."

"Ay ay, watch the horn there, hun."

"Uhp, I'm sorry Applejack. Fluttershy, could you please turn?"

"Okay... Like this?"

"Awful, I simply must run a comb through it."

"Uh, what?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, I meant Joat Mon's mane, Twilight; it's simply too unkempt that I can't imagine having to own such a mess."

Joat quickly perked his ears up at the mention of his name and looked up from examining Rarity's exotic materials, "I heard my name?"

"Dear Joat, would you allow me to do something about your mane? If you prefer it this way than I'll respect your wishes, but I simply can't forgive myself if this goes unattended to, should you have needed assistance," Rarity walked over to Joat, leaving the girls behind in very fancy dresses that were apparently for a big event later in the year in Canterlot.

"Well, I wouldn't mind, on one condition," Joat said. For some reason, he didn’t really feel like he could deny her, even if he wanted too.

"What would that be," Rarity floated a large brush over with her magic.

"Nothing over the top, please. I like a low profile. And my horn is sensitive at the base, so please be gentle with the brush," Joat said, fidgeting only slightly at the thought of somepony else playing with his hair.

"Of course, dear. I already had something in mind, and it should fit with your personality absolutely perfectly," Rarity starting brushing, beginning with the end of his mane.

Sitting calmly, with only the occasional wince or grimace when the brush bristles glanced against his horn, Joat watched Rarity prance about his head.

“I would just like to state that you have marvelous hair; you should take more care of it so that it can really show off its potential. It’s also very interesting to find another alicorn like yourself in such a humble place. Aren’t you nobility of some kind? All the alicorns I know are, after all,” Rarity said.

“Nope, just a simple pony with a strange background and abnormal circumstances,” Joat responded.

“Strange background you say?” Rarity came back, surprisingly attentive despite the fact that her attention was split between an active conversation and brushing his hair.

Joat sighed and took a breath, once more explaining his reasons for him being there, why he was running and targeted, and his intentions for now. Rarity took the news like a champ, only letting it slightly dampen her spirits and slow down the speed of her strokes. It was what she said that surprised him.

“You’re safe here. We won’t let anypony push you around or hurt you, no matter who they are,” Rarity huffed.

Joat just smiled, letting his eyes close in contentedness, “Thanks.”

“It’s not anything you should thank your friends for, Joat Mon, it is how that works, after all,” Rarity gave Joat’s shoulder a firm and friendly squeeze.

After an hour had passed, and the girls managing to undress to watch Rarity work, Rarity pulled the brush away to admire her work while the girls murmured their own approval, "What do you think?" Rarity asked holding a small mirror in front of Joat.

His mane was swept back with a slight wave around both ears. It looked like the wind had blown it neatly into place, but still looked completely natural on Joat. His mane was now neatly pressed against his head and neck but still managed to keep a rugged and adventurous look, "Awesome! Like a cleaner Rainbow Dash do," Joat said giving Rainbow a good natured wink.

Rainbow just crossed her arms and rolled her eyes but in equally good nature.

"Aw, now you're not so poofy. Oh well. HEY! We should have a welcoming party for Joat! I mean a real party! Bigger than the mini-party we had at Applejacks! I only have a little time left. And I'm surprised I didn't think of that earlier. I have an hour so we can party the rest of the night. Later guys!" Then Pinkie Pie zipped out of the boutique at a speed that easily rivaled Rainbow Dash.

Joat didn't even have time to respond to the pink pony, let alone acknowledge that he even wanted a party, "Don't worry about her; she's just being Pinkie Pie. But a party doesn't sound too bad," Twilight said.

"But she didn't even say where it was," Joat replied.

"She always has it in one of two places, so it won't be too much trouble to find out," Fluttershy quietly said.

"But how is she supposed to make a party and celebrate it the same day? Let alone within a couple hours," Joat thought aloud, not actually asking any pony in particular.

"Oh, you'll see. Pinkie Pie has serious speed with these things. If there was a Sonic Rainboom for parties, we'd see a lot more of them," Rainbow Dash said, hovering around the boutique looking for ways to entertain herself.

"Oh, do sit still Rainbow Dash! You're pacing is getting on my nerves," Rarity tried to tug Rainbow to the ground, succeeding in only keeping her from moving.

"We'll check Sugar Cube Corner first. If she's not there, than we'll know where it is," Twilight said.

"If you say so. I have to admit, it's been a really long time since I've ever partied. What kind of parties does she usually do," Joat asked, unconsciously walking to a nearby sewing machine.

"They're usually wild with balloons and confetti and all that, and rarely does she ever bring out the drinks. But that's usually where Applejack comes in, right A.J.," Rainbow Dash winked at Applejack.

"Hey, hey come on, now. You makin' me sound like a drunk. Ah don't know if you drink, Joat, and ah hope you don't think of me as that kinda party pony, so ah don't think I'll bring the stash out this time," Applejack said with an embarrassed tip of her hat.

"Nah, it's fine. You're not a drinker, so no judgement here. But if you feel it'll lighten up the party for our thirsty, blue, pegasus friend than please, by all means, bring out the 'stash'," Joat Mon said brightly, while examining the sewing machine.

"Hey! Now you're making me sound like a drunk! I like to drink but only at big friendly parties," Rainbow defended.

"Speakin' of drinkin', how do ya know I'm not a drinker?" Applejack asked.

"Your skin's too clear and your mane's too evenly grown and colored to be alcohol affected. Plus, with a little sister who looks up to you so much, I'd be willing to bet my bottom bit that you wouldn't want her accidentally 'discovering' the drinking world if you kept so much around," Joat finally returned his attention to the girls finally exhausting the avenues of curiosity around the room.

Applejack quietly absorbed what Joat said and smiled broadly, "Ya sure do have a good way of lookin' at things. And you're absolutely right about all that too. Lookie here, Twilight, you have intellectual competition."

"I'm no intellectual. Rounded maybe, but I can just put pieces of the puzzle together rather quickly. I'm sure Twilight has me beat in smarts department," Joat said with a smile toward Twilight.

Twilight blushed and looked away, not sure how to react to the compliment. Rainbow Dash landed by Twilight and brought her in close, "He's also a reader. You know? An egghead just like you," she whispered so only Twilight heard.

Twilight blushed fiercely and shrugged away from Rainbow, suddenly aware of Joat's smile and new handsome appearance.

Before Joat could comment on Twilight's flustered appearance, some pony knocked at the door. Just before any pony could answer it though, it opened slowly to allow Scootaloo to enter, who was riding a scooter that had a wagon hitched on back of it. In the wagon was Applebloom, and she had a large brown bag with her.

It had seemed like just a random visit before Sweetie Belle burst in behind them, practically vibrating with excitement, "Big Sis! Look what Joat did! He's amazing! He doesn't even have to be around for it to happen," she skipped around Rarity so quickly, she couldn't focus on her clearly, "I say, Whatever are you talking about Sweetie Belle? What did Joat do? And could you please stop bouncing around everywhere; you're making me dizzy," Rarity pleaded.

Sweetie Belle smiled broadly and raised her flank in the air, eliciting a gasp from every pony in the room; There was a mic with wings as her newfound Cutie Mark.

"I'm a singer, Sis! Just like Joat Mon said," She wrapped her hooves around Joat's neck, "Thank you so much!"

"I didn't do anything except point you the right way, Sweetie Belle. It was up to you to find out who you are," Joat chuckled patting her head.

"And to make it official," Applebloom waved Joat over to the wagon, as she couldn't comfortably move about on two left legs, "We wanted to give you this," She said while gesturing to the bag beside her.

Joat levitated the contents of the bag out from within and unfolded it. It was his cloak that he had given to Applebloom when she was recovering from breaking her leg, but it had some modifications: it was lined with a fine and sparkly gold cloth, and upon the back was a CMC logo written in gold inlaid on a blue shield with wings.

A single tear escaped Joat's eye and he wrapped up the three fillies in his wings in a pegasus hug, "Thank you, girls. I'm glad you're happy knowing who you are."

"Except for me. But thanks to you, I think I know why I don't have a Cutie Mark," Applebloom said.

It was then that Joat realized that Applebloom was subtly buzzing with excitement. Applebloom shakily stood up and raised her blank flank in the air, "I know that I love being a Sweet Apple Pony. I know that I would gladly work the acres with my big sister and brother as long as I get to do that with them," her flank started to sparkle, "so I know now that I'm a pony who loves her family and what they do." Applebloom's flank flashed to reveal a Cutie Mark of an apple bunch with a big gold apple on top of them with a wing instead of a leaf.

Applejack "yeehaw-ed" from across the room and galloped over to hug her little sister while every pony else cheered and huddled close to congratulate Applebloom.

"Awwwww! How do I keep losing my invitations to these parties! I really need to keep track of my mail. Hey! Party's ready guys! It's at Twilight's house! Come on, let's eat some Special Pinkie-Pink Super fudge! But don't eat too much fudge cause you'll get a pudge and if you get a pudge then you can't budge!" And Pinkie Pie poofed out of the house as quickly as she had spoken.

The party was, in fact, extremely wild, despite Joat being incredibly surprised that she managed to throw it together in an hour. They laughed, danced, played, a couple drank, namely Rainbow and Applejack for some sort of Iron Pony event, and celebrated Joat Mon. Pinkie also managed to slip a few more titles in to celebrate the recently known Cutie Marks of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

The party had gone on into the night and every pony decided it would be better to just stay the night, with Rainbow Dash telling scary stories. The little fillies had passed out on the couch, safe from the terrors of the story.

Everything was deathly quite, save for Rainbow Dash narrating. It was pitch black, the only light source being a little lantern on the floor that the ponies all huddled around, trembling in fear...

"And when they finally decided to check the knocking noise, the light went out. The knocking stopped and they stayed there in complete darkness...until they heard a door open. There was no hoof steps to warn them anything was getting closer, and then their light flickered on. The door was wide open with a trail of blood. Leading. Right. Behind. Them," Rainbow began growing quiet and stepped further from the group with a dark smile on her face, "They looked at each and realized some pony was missing. They looked around and couldn't find them, but they soon noticed a dripping noise," the other girls began to quake with fear and huddled closer, not realizing that a certain alicorn had snuck off snickering to himself, "They found the dripping and looked up to see what it was," the light flickered, plunging the room in total dark, causing the girls to gasp, "and they found the missing pony."

Lightning flashed inside the house and the girls screamed in terror at the gruesome sight above them: Rainbow Dash was hanging from the ceiling with a rope around her neck with her eyes staring blankly and her wings and limbs hanging limply.

The girls screamed, unable to move or tear their eyes away, until they heard a laughing. Not a laugh of insanity or a sinister laugh, but a laugh of amusement, like some pony heard a hilarious joke.

"You guys should seriously see your faces! Priceless!" Joat laughed from above Rainbow Dash who started laughing too, breaking character.

"That was awesome! Operation Scare the Living Buck outta Every Pony," Joat released Rainbow from his magical grip and they both landed next to each other, "Success!" They both laughed, high hoofing each other.

"Not funny you two! I almost died of fright," Rarity screamed angrily.

"That was a little over the top you guys, I mean, Fluttershy bucking feinted," Twilight said sternly while gesturing to the unconscious mare on the floor.

Joat carefully picked her up in his wings and set her down on the couch, "Sorry, but when Rainbow told me her idea, I couldn't say no."

Pinkie Pie giggled and started bouncing around, "That was great! I almost don't wanna go to sleep now!"

"I reckon it is time to hit the hay," Applejack said nervously, "But like Pinkie said, I'm not sure I want to."

Just then, they heard a shuffling from upstairs. Rainbow and Joat looked at each other, wondering if that was one of them continuing the scary moment, "Alright you two. Knock it off," Twilight said in a clearly disturbed tone.

"That's not us," Rainbow Dash said beginning to shiver.

The girls backed away from the stairs, but Joat stood his ground, narrowing his eyes into the shadows. Without warning, he jumped forward with a warcry. His friends were in danger, and that tangible feeling in his heart flared up again, spurring him into action.

There was a huge ruckus that lasted for a minute, Joat had launched a volley of punches into the intruders ribs with his elbows low and tucked, blocking any retaliating blows.

A second intruder flew from Joat's blind side, managing to kick his back hooves into Joat's shoulder and neck, completely overriding the natural guard Joat held. The first intruder wheezed from the air bring hammered out of his lungs while the second intruder threw out his own punches more skillfully than his partner.

Joat's guard was less effective against the second intruder's more practiced attacks, and he began to stumble backward but with a feigned weakness that he hoped the intruder would take advantage of.

The intruder saw Joat landing his backward steps heavy and timed a tackle with the next step. He didn't disappoint: the intruder threw his arms out wide to pin Joat to the ground... But Joat had played him straight into his hooves.

Joat ducked his head into the danger zone for a moment and slipped in between the intruder's groin pushing up and bucking his back legs at the same time, throwing the intruder high up into the air against the wall, using his momentum against him. Both intruders were incapacitated and enveloped in Joat's magical aura.

Joat walked back to the other ponies, cut and bruised with the two intruding ponies levitating beside him, unconscious.

"Twilight, take us to the Princess. Now," Joat commanded.

Everypony instantly recognized the two ponies, except for Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Twilight nodded and closed her eyes, focusing her magic around the entire group before letting it explode in a Teleportation Spell.

"What is the meaning of this," a booming mare's voice called out.

The group had landed right in the middle of the Canterlot Throne Room, "Princess Luna! We need to see Princess Celestia immediately; one of our friends was attacked," Twilight pleaded to a large, dark, navy-blue alicorn dressed in ceremonial plate armor with a mane that glittered like the starry night and floated around her as if in an underwater current.

"We are not at liberty to wake our sister at such an hour in such uncouth audience," Princess Luna boomed.

She was getting ready to say something else when her gaze fell on Joat Mon, "Why can we not detect thou presence? And how do you...," her voice trailed off and her eyes went wide at seeing Joat's wings and horn.

"Some pony wants him locked away just because he's different, and as you can see, it requires Princess Celestia's attention," Twilight continued to plead.

Princess Luna continued to stare until another booming voice entered the Throne Room, "Twilight Sparkle! What in Equestria is going on!?"

A large, white, mare-alicorn with the Aurora Borealis as her mane, this one wearing no armor, walked into the throne room... And she was angry.

"Princess Celestia! I'm so sorry to disturb you, but our new friend is in trouble and is wrongfully being hunted," Twilight said with a bow. The other girls followed suit.

Princess Celestia stared at Joat Mon, then relieved him of the two ponies who were hunting him, "You. You're currently at risk of being arrested if you don't explain how you possess the traits of an alicorn without my or Luna's blessing," She walked closer to Joat in an intimidating fashion.

Joat quickly bowed low, trembling in fear, "Please, Your Majesty, believe me when I say that I was born as is. I was unaware that this physiology required a permittance and I am extremely sorry if I have broken any laws or offended you in any way."

Princess Celestia softened when she could sense no deceit, "Rise my little pony and tell us your name. Your aura is hidden from me which is most strange, as if you're not really here."

Joat stood back up but continued to tremble, "With all due respect, Your Majesty, I do not remember my birth name, and simply go by my village's title: Joat Mon."

This was surprising news to the girls, but the Princess seemed greatly interested, "Please, allow me to see through your eyes, Joat Mon."

Joat nodded and closed his eyes, stepping close to the Princess who placed her horn against Joat's. She gasped as the memories flashed into her awareness and she pulled back, suddenly breathless.

"Celestia?" Twilight stepped forward with concern in her eyes.

"You are born on the eclipse, named Moonlight Fire. And the name you possess is a mock title that stands for Jack Of All Trades, Master Of None. The absence of a Cutie Mark does not mean you are talentless; you possess every talent. Moonlight Fire, you are a creature not meant to exist outside of myth; you are the bane of the ultimate evil that has risen. That evil being the reason you were born with the Alicorn Blessing; You are an Omniequine."

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