Freedom

Pinkie gasped “W-w-w-WHAT?! M-marry you?”

I blushed deeply “I was just saying it would be nice…”

Twily sighed exasperatedly at me “This is NOT the time for that, right now we have to straighten out the mess with Zecora!”

Maddix tensed angrily “Problem?”

Twily nodded tensely “Y-yes… everyone in town thinks she’s some sort of evil enchantress… the incident with the poison joke doesn’t help either…”

[That and the fact that ponyvillians are racist as hell…]

{And they panic reeeaallly easily!}

[…I can’t believe it, but I agree with you…]

{OW! Then why’d you hit me again?!}

[Felt like it.]

“I swear I’m hearing someone talking… it’s getting louder…” I murmured

{Shit! He’s on to us!}

[SHUT! THE! HELL! UP!]

I shook my head and saw everyone looking concernedly to me, Pinkie in particular was looking especially nervous. Maddix, however, looked pissed “So these ponies are being Racist dicks to my wife?” He walked to the cauldron and pulled out a bowl, filling it with the red potion in question that reminded me of insta-health vials and handing it to me “Drink up, then get out, if you ponies are going to judge my wife on her race, then I want nothing to do with any of you pricks.”

Zecora raised an inquisitive eyebrow “I believe it is my choice as much as yours who stays in our home, and I also believe they were about to help us clear my name.”

Maddix sighed and nodded, putting back on his helmet to hide his blush “Sorry for snapping at you like that… I get kind of heated when it involves my wife…”

Twily nodded “That is an admiral trait, to be protective of those you love. Anyway, we have another matter to take care of, right?”
I then noticed that Twilights horn wasn’t all floppy like she should have been when under the effects of poison joke “Hey, how come none of you are being pranked by the plant right now?”

Twily blushed “Vernie showed me the cure in a book…”

I smiled knowingly at her, fully aware of both of the reasons behind her blushing as Maddix cleared his throat “Hey, can we get back on the topic of getting those ponies to stop avoiding me and my wife like the plague?” He paused “Actually, something’s been bugging me, how come you were following us?” As he said this, he turned to me.

I blushed as I realized I was topless and Pinkie could see me half naked and quickly redressed.

{Your welcome, Pinkie}

[You really love awkward situations, don’t you?]

{Yes, yes I do.}

[*ZAP!* ]

{OW! Knock it off with the cattle prod already!}

I cleared my throat “I was just returning from my latest hunting job to find that the town was practically deserted, excluding you two, so I followed you to see what was up.”

Maddix nodded slowly “Ok… but why were you so stealthy about it?”

I laughed “You looked ready to kill anything that even looked at your wife the wrong way, and I never enter a fight I don’t know the chances of winning.”

Maddix huffed amusedly “Lotta good that did you.”

Zecora smacked Maddix on the shoulder, eliciting a loud clang “Hey, be nice!”

Maddix rubbed the back of his head “Umm… s-sorry…you shouldn’t have followed us like that…”

Zecora smiled and kissed Maddix on the rim of the helmet “There, now was that so hard?”

Pinkie was still paralyzed, a massive blush on her face “M-m-marry?”

Zecora smiled “I’m sorry that my husband made things so awkward, he really does mean well.”

I was getting a little hurt by Pinkies reaction to my confession by the time Maddix walked over to pinkie and shouted in her ear “HEEEY! SNAP OUT OF IT!”

Pinkie then came to her senses and looked shyly to me, her hands behind her back and her face flushed “I…I really like you Caith… b-but… I…”

{Brain fuckery in 3…2…1…}

“I don’t think I deserve a stallion as great as you…” she had tears in her eyes as she said this

{BOOOM!}

[…I swear I will knock your ass out if you keep screwing with Pinkie, only I get to do that!]

I was dumbstruck as she continued after staring red hot death at the roof “I-I mean…look at me! All I’m good at is throwing ponies parties and making sweets! I am not GOOD enough, Caith! I-”

I firestepped over to her and wrapped her up in a hug “Don’t you say that! Don’t you ever DARE say that to me!” I grabbed her hands gently in my own “You are the most amazing mare I have ever met in my life. Read my lips: I! LOVE! YOU! Understand? Now we can talk about this after we go to the town and straighten things out for Zecora, okay?”

Pinkie nodded and walked to the door and opened it, her eyes still watering as Maddix and I lead the group on the way to ponyville, only to find a diamond dog. I tensed and went for my buzzaxe, only to notice something was off, this dog was a child, little more than a pup, and there was only one there... I looked to Pinkie and Twily, who were to my left, they were looking concernedly to the pup. AJ raised an eyebrow
"What the hay is she doing here? Doesn’t she have a family?" Maddix sighed "She must be a runt, Diamond dogs abandon those that they find weak... hey, who's that?"

Maddix pointed to Dougan, who was carrying a large fish to the pup, who yipped appreciatively and hugged him, I slowly walked over to them after quietly instructing my friends to hide in the brush, not wanting to scare the pup. When I reached them I cleared my throat and the pup huddled behind Dougan and whimpered "The m-mad one! D-death bringer, p-please don't hurt me!"

Dougan frowned and looked at her as if to say, “Don't worry, he won't hurt you.”

The pup cautiously stepped out from behind Dougan and approached me, flinching as I crouched down to her level "What is your name?"

She was a female who looked to be about Apple blooms age, she looked strikingly similar to the medium sized dog from the episode 'a dog and pony show', except her eyes were a cerulean blue, her coat a cute blonde, and her vest over a white undershirt that seemed to be made from a sheet, she also had a scar over her left eye and looked scared, as if expecting me to attack her at any moment "I-I am Scruff..."

I smiled warmly "Well Scruff, it is a pleasure to meet you." I shook her pawed hand, and she smiled as well, her fear abating for but a moment before returning full force as she started sniffing.

Scruff looked to me uncertainly "I...I smell another's scent on you... w-where are the others?"

I smiled warmly "I had them hide in the brush so that they wouldn't scare you."
I waved to them and gestured for them to come over, as they approached Pinkie bounced over to us with a smile "Hiya! I'm Pinkie Pie and you've met my coltfriend Caith!"

Scruff smiled a shy, warm smile at me and pinks "Yes, he's really nice..." she looked to Dougan and gratefully took the fish, eating it on the spot, judging from her malnourished frame, this was the first meal she had in a long time "Th-thank you for the food... I-I'll get out of your hair n-now..."

I held up a hand "Hold up, just where do you think you're going?"

Scruff stammered "A-away..."

I shook my head "Nope, you are staying with me at my place."

Twily frowned "What place? You don't have a house."

I smiled I held out a hand and let flames dance across my palm and let the smoke rise from my hand, materializing as a sack of bits and falling into my now extinguished hand "From Celestia, for my job hunting the fire Lich and his lackies."I opened the sack and showed it to
Twily "Bout enough to buy two houses. Now," I turned to Scruff "Would you like to help me choose a house? I'll give you a room of your own, and a nice soft bed."

Scruff smiled and nodded before hugging me "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

I raised my hand "But, there is one minor detail we must go over, you have to go to school, I will not let a child who lives with me not get a good education."

Scruff nodded eagerly "I love learning!"

I then looked to Maddix and smiled "Now let's take care of the whole 'Ponies are scared of your wife' deal."
We made our way to the town hall and knocked on Mayor Mare's door, she came out and I smiled to her "Let's talk..."

{[TRANSITIONS!]}

{Jinx!}

[God damn you…]

We discussed Zecoras situation with ease after explaining that the ponies were being racist towards Zecora and hiding whenever she came to town. Apparently, she had no idea the townsponies were doing this as she goes on a monthly trip to canterlot to discuss ponyvilles minutia with Celestia , and Zecora apparently only comes to Ponyville once a month, around the same time. “- so it’s settled, Zecora will have full access to ponyvilles stores and anyone who refuses her service for being a Zebra, or just not being a pony in general, will be fined for discrimination.”

Maddix nodded “And, if anyone talks shit about her, I get to beat the crap out of them.”
Mayor Mare sweatdropped “Ummm…. No, you get to challenge them to a duel, and if they say yes, or plain out attack you, you may fight them.”

Maddix shrugged “Meh, same difference.”

Mayor Mare smiled at Zecora “You can meet Celestia yourself tomorrow for the finalization of this new law for Ponyville.”
As the mayor talked the rules of their deal out I looked to Scruff, who was playing with Dougan in front of the mayors window, she was currently rubbing his belly, and judging from his blissed out face, he REALLY enjoyed it. “Hey, Mayor, do you have any available houses in ponyville? I need a large yard, and at least two bedrooms.”

Mayor Mare nodded and looked out the window to see Scruff and Dougan, she then smiled warmly to me “You know, I’ve got a good house right down the street from sugarcube corner, used to belong to some guy named Donut Joe, but he moved to Canterlot last month, it’s got all you asked for and an extra bedroom, plus it’s really well priced.”

I nodded “Scruff and I will check it out after, thank you.”

Mayor Mare smiled even more warmly “You know, I’ve got some adoption papers, if you’d like...”

I thought a moment before nodding “Yeah, I’ll take a set.” Pinkie was blushing and staring intently at me for some reason, this continued for an uncomfortable period of time while the rest of the mane six talked with Zecora and Maddix, I took Pinkie to the side and looked her in the eyes “Okay, Pinks, tell me what’s going on. First, you start saying that you aren’t good enough for me and crying, and then you stare at me for an entire three minutes without even blinking.”

Pinkie looks down to the ground and mumbles under her breath “…”

I gently tilted her head up by the chin, unaware of the girls watching me “I can’t hear you, Pinks, don’t worry, I won’t judge…”

Pinkie sighed and wiped tears from her eyes “I…I think I’m in love with you… and it scares me, Caith… I can’t bear the thought of losing you… every time you go out on a hunt you could never come back… I… I… I don’t know how I’d deal with you not being in my life…”

I sighed “You know… I wish I could, but… I swore that I’d protect ponies from monsters until Celestia herself pardoned me from my duties… and I could never face you if I broke my word…”

{Oooh! Drama!}

[*ZAP* *CRACK* *POW*]

{…}

[Sorry, Pinkie, I’ve knocked out my… eccentric friend, so… go for broke, as they say.]

Pinkie nodded and took a deep breath “Will you… will you let me move in with you? W-when you get a place? E-even if you can’t quit… I want to spend as much time as possible with you…”

I went weak at the knees and had to steady myself on the table “Y-yes, sure…”

Pinkie gasped and hugged me “Thank you! I can’t wait to tell the Cakes the good news!”

I then realized that I have not yet met the Cakes and looked to her in false confusion “The Cakes?”

Pinkie nodded “Yep! They are my Aunt and Uncle on my mother’s side! We had a date at their house a few days ago, while they were out for a bakers convention.”

I nodded appreciatively for the explanation “Say, you think Scruff would like a cupcake? I know dogs can’t have chocolate, but vanilla or red velvet should be okay, right?” at this I turned to Twily, who smiled at me.

“Actually, Diamond dogs can safely eat chocolate, and their favorite food is gems, usually. So if you want to make her an extra special treat, you should dig up and clean some gems.”

I nodded and walked out front with Pinkie while Maddix and Zecora went home to prepare for the Mayors speech, I found Vernie talking with
RJ and Vinyl as Scruff played with Dougan, Vernie saw me and smiled “Hello, Caith, it has been awhile, I assume you have knowledge of the young Diamond dog girl calling you her father?”

Scruff heard Vernie and stopped before running to me “I-I’m sorry… I couldn’t help but overhear you were going to a-adopt m-me… p-p-please don’t be mad…”

I laughed “Why would I ever be mad at you? You told someone what you though was happening, and guess what?” Scruff looked expectantly to me, almost scared of what I was going to say “All you have to do is write your name on the dotted line at the bottom, and I have to write my name at the top, and I’ll be your daddy.”

Scruff looked like she had just been offered the Holy Grail as she eagerly grabbed the paper and wrote her name, I then followed suit and went to the mayor’s office to turn it in, giving Pinkie a kiss as I walked back out. “So, Scruff, what would you like for your adoption day treat? A
Cupcake or a Gem?”

Scruff bounced excitedly “I want a Cupcake! A chocolate one papa!” she blushed “I-If that’s okay…”

I laughed happily and nodded as we waved goodbye to Vernie, Maddix and the girls and started to walk to Sugar Cube Corner… I could not help but notice Vernie went to Twilight before they walked together toward the Library…hmm…

{Transitions!}

[Gah! How’d you come to so fast!?]

{... the same reason Pinkie exists?}

[Shut up! It’s too early! Back to the story!]

When we made it to SCC we were laughing amongst ourselves at how Dougan got a fly stuck in his nose and sneezed all over a filly I knew to be Diamond Tiara, who was until then bullying Scruff and wearing all our nerves thin “Man, it’s a good thing Dougan did that, or else I’d of sonic blasted that filly to Empire City!”

We left Dougan outside and he took a nap under the shade of a tree as we went in, to which I was surprised by two things; one, There were three VERY PISSED ponies looking straight at me, and two, one of those ponies were Maud Pie, who normally didn’t show up until season four.
Pinkie was oblivious to their Death glares aimed towards me, and bounced over to Maud “Hey, big sis! What are you doing here?”

Maud looked to Pinkie carefully “I’m here to talk my sister out of moving in with a complete stranger, like you said you were going to in your letter.”

The Cakes nodded and Mr. Cake spoke up “That’s right, you barely know this, this THING!”

I was, in a word, PISSED OFF, but I kept my cool, if not for me, for my daughter and my girlfriend “Why?”
Mr. Cake looked to me sharply “What?”

I looked him dead in the eyes “I said, why? Why are you judging me because of my appearance, my race, my abilities? What have I done besides be an absolute Gentleman to Pinkie Pie?”

Maud actually looked to Mr. Cake at this “My only complaint was that she had only known him for a few days, you seem to have a problem with what he is.”

Mr. Cake looked uncertainly around until he saw his wife giving him the stink eye “Well… haven’t you heard the stories of how he slaughters anything that gets in his way? Of how he killed five whole dragons armed with nothing but the clothes on his back, an axe, and a torch? This guy is a monster, plain and simple!”

I tensed as Scruff looked up to me, then angrily to Mr. Cake “Hey! My daddy fights to protect people! Not to hurt them! How DARE you talk about him like that when YOU barely even KNOW him?!”

Pinkie nodded and took my hand “I don’t care what you think of my decisions, I LOVE him, and I don’t care if his job is dangerous! He actually treats me like a mare, not just some pair of breasts and thighs like those plotfaces you’ve set up with me to try to get a cheap deal on bakery ingredients!”

Maud raised an eyebrow inquisitively at Mr. Cake, who was flabbergasted “Pinkie, I’ve never tried to use you like that, I just thought that you’d get along with them well, as they had similar interests…”

Pinkie sighed “I…I know…I just lashed out… I just really like Caith… I love him even… I’ve never felt this way about someone before…”

Maud nodded “Well… does he have a house yet?”

Pinkie shook her head “No, he was going to after getting Scruff a Cupcake…” she looked to Mr. and Mrs. Cake “If it’s okay with you, could I make her a special one?”

The cakes nodded and let pinkie into the kitchen and looked apologetically to me “We’re sorry… we… we shouldn’t of listened to the stories…”

I smiled , thankful for their remorse “I forgive you, after all, most of them are just skewed versions of the truth, I actually took on six dragons, their was no torch, and it was to save the city of Las Pegasus.”

Mr.Cake looked to me in shock “B-but How!? Their bodies were burnt to crisps!”

I laughed “You think a torch would do that?” I held out a hand and generated a fireball, which I juggled before swallowing and burping a puff of smoke.

To this, Maud raised a hoof, I pointed to her and she spoke her peace “So, have you ever fought a Stone Ogre?”

I shook my head “No, Celestia has a peace treaty with the Forge King Dravidium, which forbids Ogres from threatening ponies directly, in return, we give them any Garnets we mine from the earth and keep Dragons from eating them, I actually fought dragons on two occasions for the Stone Ogres.”

We kept talking until Pinkie came out with a sapphire cupcake, similar to the one Spike got on his birthday, which Scruff eagerly ate “Daddy, I’d like to meet a Stone Ogre someday.”

I laughed “You know, I should go on a trip over there pretty soon, Celestia is due to meet Dravidium in about a months’ time, I’ll see if I can bring you with me as a royal guest, I’m sure Dravidium would love to meet you.”
Scruff smiled at this as I picked her up and put her on my shoulders, I then walked to Mr. Cake and smiled “No hard feelings?”

Mr. Cake looked to me in surpsise “Why would I have hard feelings with YOU? I was the one who was in the wrong…”

I frowned “Hey, you were just looking out for pinks, I can’t hold that against you. Hell, if I had a kid- wait I DO have one now!- If Scruff was going out with some guy I thought could hurt her, I’d act the exact same way.”

I extended my hand to Mr. Cake and we shook as he smiled “No hard feelings.”

I nodded and turned to Maud “I hope I can come to be a man that you will trust with Pinkie, and I also hope we can come to be friends.”

Maud nodded “Yeah, sure.”

I nodded and shook her hand before walking out with Scruff still on my shoulders (I had to duck so she wouldn’t hit her head) and Pinkie staying behind to pack her things and patch things up with the cakes and Maud. I mounted Dougan and put Scruff in front of me “Hold on tight Scruff!” we rode to the house Donut Joe owned and saw it had a… very appropriate address… “1251 sprinkle way… I hope we don’t get Diabetes from living here…”

Dougan sniffed around happily and digging a hole in the yard “…He’s acting more like a dog than a cat…”
Scruff nodded as we climbed off and walked inside to find the place was fully furnished, with a deluxe kitchen and three bedrooms, plus a pair of bathrooms, a living room, a basement and attic, and… strangely enough a family room with an Irish commando in i-HOLY SHIT SOMEONE BROKE INTO MY HOUSE! AND HE’S HUMAN!

{Real bright one you’ve got here, John!}

[Go stuff yourself, George.]

The commando took out an envelope before I could draw my buzzaxe and held it out to me “The Forge king sent me to give ye a message.” I noticed he had a distinctive Irish accent, and upon further inspection, I noticed he was wearing Camouflage Cargo pants and a black undershirt. With a pair of Dog Tags around his neck, a pair of metal gauntlets that went up just past his elbows and a pair of metal boots that went over his knees. He had blue eyes and pale white skin, with a messy mop of unruly red hair that was much shorter than mine. He cleared
his throat “Oi, Lad, ye gonna take the letter, or are we going to stare at each other all day?”

I smiled “Sorry, but I’m straight, now let’s see that letter, hmm?”

The commando smiled and handed it to me “Mind reading it fast, lad? I wanna get going. Oh, and some weird old stallion asked me to give ye this letter, said it was important.” He handed me the letter, which I quickly opened and read, the letter went as follows ‘I was wrong, the creature that is coming is so much more than an eldritch abomination, it is as if millions of malignant souls have been fused into a single, new entity… it is a mighty foe, and will come with the dark chill of winter…Beware The Darkness…’

I paled ‘something MORE than an Eldritch Abomination?!’

{…John, do you know about this?}

[Oh my god…it…it can’t be!]

{John? John, what’s wrong?}

[I’ve gotta check something, George, keep an eye on the story!]

{Got it covered, brother}

Donal took the letter from me and read it before looking concernedly to me “Hmm… lad, I think ye’ll need my help for this, and some more fighters at our backs wouldn’t hurt.”

I nodded and read the letter from Dravidium aloud, as Stone Ogre manners dictate “Dearest Salamanderion; I have learned that you are searching out fellow humans and as luck would have it, we (As in my brother Griswell and Myself) have had one under our employ since last month. We apologize for the wait, but he has had to assist us in the securing of a Diamond Dog warren, which we now have named New
Dravus. We have decided to leave the human Donal McKoy in your service, we hope that-”

Donal interrupted “Oi! I wasn’t told I’d be stayin’ with ye! I don’t want to stay in a town full of racist horse people!”

Scruff looked worriedly to me “Do you think anyone from the warren will come to ponyville? I don’t like big elder d-d-dogs…”

I looked to Donal, then to Scruff “I won’t let anyone harm you…Now, Donal, we are going to go to white tail woods and I am going to spar with you, then you are going to meet my friends, understand?”

Donal gruffly nodded before pointing to the letter “Better read the rest of it boyo, King Dravey said it was important ye read it all.”

I nodded and resumed reading aloud “-you find his service useful, but be advised, he does not deal well with chickens. Lastly, we will be attending the Grand Galloping Gala this year, and hope to be seeing you there.”

I looked to Donal in confusion “What the hell is your problem with Chickens?”

Donal blushed “They bloody hate me…attack me on goddamn sight…”