Rush

Rainbow Dash was hovering in front of the unconscious human, with her front hooves at her waist and her head held high in pride. A triumphant smile can be found on the face of the colorful pegasus. Applejack had stood a distance away with her mouth open at what just transpired.

"Pfft, this hairless monkey wasn't so tough after all," Rainbow Dash remarked, happy that she just took down what she believed was a dangerous creature with little effort.

Applejack shook her head from her surprised trance and stomped her way to the proud pegasus.

"WHAT HAVE YA DONE RAINBOW?!" Applejack demanded.

Rainbow turned towards Applejack. Her proud face turned into confusion when she saw the angry farm pony.

"Your welcome, AJ," Rainbow replied, believing that Applejack was being ungrateful to her. "I just saved your life from this thing! I saw from afar that it was gonna attack you!"

"First of all, it's a 'he,' not an 'it!'" Applejack responded and got into Rainbow's face. "Second of all, he was not gonna attack me! Ah was leading 'im into the house so Ah can help 'im!"

"Why would you help it?!" Rainbow asked, getting into Applejack face as well. "Do you realize what it has done?! Twilight said that this monkey has been causing a lot of trouble!"

"He has saved mah sister!"

"He...what?!" Rainbow asked, not sure what she just heard.

"He saved Applebloom! She told me that a creature that walks on two legs saved her from them timberwolves," Applejack clarified and then pointed at the human. "And he just told me that he got hurt by those varmints. Ah put two and two together and reckoned that it was 'im."

"What was your sister doing in the forest by the way?" Rainbow asked with her eye brow raised.

Applejack had an annoyed face as she replied, "Playin' hide 'n seek. That silly lil' filly is always gettin' herself in trouble."

Rainbow Dash looked at the unconscious human, digesting this new info from the farm pony. While the revelation slightly changes her perception about him, she can't ignore what Twilight told her about his past actions. One good act doesn't drown out the list of bad he's done.

"C'mon!" Applejack commanded, interrupting the pegasus's thoughts. "We gotta git 'im inside and fix 'im up."

"AJ, there's something you need to-"

"Ya can tell me later! He needs help right now!" Applejack said as she trotted to the unconscious human.

"Fine," Rainbow muttered as she reluctantly followed.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack carefully lifted the human and carried him into the house. Applejack's older brother was still working in the fields while Applebloom was in her room, being comforted by an old mare name Granny Smith. The little filly was told earlier to stay in her room as punishment for her reckless behavior, while her friends Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were sent to their respective homes. Applebloom, however, was still traumatized by her earlier experience in the forest, which was why Granny Smith decided to stay with her until she relaxes.

The human was carried up the stairs and into the guest room. A bed is on the right side facing the door, and a window is behind the bed on the far side of the room. The two ponies gently placed the human on the bed facing up, extended his arms a little bit, took off his boots and place them on the floor.

"Ah'm gonna git the first-aid kit and some ice fer his head," Applejack said. "Start takin' his jacket off, but do it carefully. Be right back." Applejack left the room to go fetch the medical supplies.

Rainbow Dash turned to the human and shook her head with a frown face. She wasn't particularly happy at the prospect of helping the human. She doesn't trust him, no matter what Applejack says. There are too many unknowns about him and she doesn't want to take the chance that her friends will be hurt because of their poor judgment. At least the human is unconscious and won't cause harm anytime soon. She sighs in frustration.

"Let's get this over with," she muttered, moving to the human's right side in order to remove his jacket. Before she starts, she caught sight of something within the jacket on the human's left side of the torso. Its color was black and was made out of metal, and it was strapped into a light-brown leather holder. "What is that?" she asked, never seeing the strange object before in her life. She was reaching for the object when she felt something grab her right hoof. She yelped in surprise and looked at the human's face. He was staring at her with a neutral face, but she couldn't see his eyes because of the shades. The look of his face was giving the pegasus an unsettling feeling, like if he was about to kill her.

"Don't. Touch. That," the human commanded, who then threw Rainbow's hoof away.

Rainbow Dash stumbled and took a several steps back. Her apprehensions was replaced with anger and determination, as she hovered in the air and was getting ready to fight.

"You wanna go for round two punk?! I'm ready!" challenged the colorful pegasus, as she hovered in the air and waited for the human to make the first strike.

The human didn't move though. Instead he just stared at her. As the two were locking eyes with each other, tension can be felt in the atmosphere, like a volcano that was ready to explode. Then, the human made his first move.

"BRAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He held his right (talon?) on his belly and was laughing like crazy.

This was not what the pegasus expected. Not one bit. A minute passes by and she was getting annoyed by his laugh.

"What are you laughing at?!" she demanded as she looked at him with a big frown.

"You...." the human began, having a hard time recovering from his laughter. "You dyed...you dyed your hair rainbow.....It's just weird and funny…cuz you look like a clown!" Remnants of laughter still remained with him.

Rainbow got really upset, not finding any humor in his comments. "This is my natural color you apple-bucking idiot!" Rainbow stated.

"That's even more weird and funny!" the human said and continued laughing hard.

"WHY YOU....." Rainbow yelled and was about to pounce on him when she felt something pull her by the tail and she was yanked to the ground. She looked back and saw that it was Applejack, who had just returned and held the pegasus's tail with her front hoof.

"Simmer down there sally. No need ta start another fight." Applejack then turned to the human. "And Rush, stop yer laughin'! That's not funny at all!"

Rush? What a weird name! Rainbow thought.

Rush stopped laughing and winced at the pain behind his back.

"Damn!" he said as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "It feels like someone swung my head with a baseball bat."

“‘Someone'?" asked Rainbow, confused at why he didn't say 'somepony.'

"'Baseball bat?" asked Applejack. "Is that some kind of animal Ah haven't heard of before?"

"No it's.....never mind," Rush said while he continued to rub his head and was feeling dizzy.

Rainbow manage to break free from Applejack's grip and flew to the human's face.

"All right you! I got questions for you and I want answers now!" the pegasus demanded with an emphasis on the word 'now.' Rush didn't respond. Instead he just put his head back on the pillow and rubbed his head.

"Rainbow!" Applejack said as she got next to the pegasus. "We can ask 'im all the questions we want, AFTER we fix 'im up!"

"I think that's a good idea," Rush groaned.

"Fine," Rainbow muttered as she sat on the ground and crossed her front hooves.

That's two wounds I have to contend with now. What a bummer. Rush thought.

Applejack spent some time patching up Rush's wounds on both the back of his head and on his left fore-arm. Rainbow Dash was impatiently waiting, tapping her hoof on the ground and never letting the human out of her sight.  At the farm pony's insistence, Rush reluctantly took his jacket off, revealing his gray t-shirt and the shoulder holster that was carrying his glock. When Applejack asked what was that he was carrying, the human said he will tell her later. The wound on his left arm was cleaned, had some disinfect on it, and was properly wrapped this time. The bleeding finally stopped, much to Rush's relief. Applejack took a look at his back-head and said that he's got a bump for when he hit the wall earlier.

Good, no scratches back there.

Rush was given a bag of ice and he gently applied it to his head. It was very inconvenient to constantly hold the bag in place, so he leaned his back against the wall for better leverage, keeping the ice bag between his head and wall as he sat on the bed. He looked out the window and saw that sunset will come within the hour or so.

"Feelin' better?" Applejack asked with a smile as she sat on her haunches and looked at him.

"Very," he replied in a somewhat low monotone.

GRRRRRROOOOOOOOWWWWWWWLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked around in perplexity, trying to figure out where that noise was coming from.

GRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

The ponies looked at Rush, who was holding his tummy with his right hand and had a sheepish smile on his face.

"Why didn't ya tell me ya was hungry?" Applejack asked.

"You never asked?" he replied.

Applejack shook her hood and sniggered at his remark. She stood up and said, "Ah'm gonna fetch ya a few apples before we continue our conversation. Ya'll wait right-"

Before the farm pony finished her sentence, the pegasus flew out of the guest room and left a rainbow trail behind. Both Rush and Applejack were taken aback and heard a door open downstairs, indicating that the flying pony went outside.

A rainbow haired pegasus that leaves a rainbow trail. Now that's interesting.

Ten seconds after Rainbow Dash flew out, she came back with a pair of red apples on her front hooves and put them on the bed next to Rush.

"What in the hay was that about?" Applejack asked with a frown.

"The sooner he eats, the sooner we get answers," Rainbow stated with an impatient tone.

How very nice of you. Rush thought sarcastically.

"Did ya at least close the door?" Applejack inquired.

"Augh!" Rainbow groaned at her own shortcoming before she flew down the stairs, closed the door, and came back within a matter of seconds. She sat back down, resumed her tapping and kept giving the human a stink eye.

Rush was having a hard time liking the pegasus, but kept his anger in check. He grabbed an apple with his right hand and held it up. "Thank you both," he said as he tried to smile. Applejack nodded with a friendly smile and sat back down. Rainbow Dash didn't change her expression. She still looked at him with suspicion. Rush brought the apple close to his face and moved his lips as if he was speaking, but he didn't say anything. This caused Applejack to look with confusion. She chose not to say anything though. He finally took a big bite of the red apple.

Crunch

Rush slowly chewed and savored the apple. It tasted very sweet and juicy, a whole lot better than what he had on earth. A minute later, he swallowed and sat still for a few seconds. Then he devoured the rest of the apple, leaving the seeds and the middle part untouched. He did the same for the second apple

Applejack was quite amused and chuckled at Rush's silly behavior. "Ho there pardner. Ya must have been as hungry as an empty barrel of cider!"

"Well besides the fact that I haven't eaten anything since noon, that was the BEST apple I have ever tasted, and I've had plenty in my lifetime!" Rush exclaimed while holding up the leftovers.

Applejack smiled and nodded at the compliment. "Well thank ya kindly there." She then stood up and got between the human and pegasus. "Now Ah do believe introductions are in order," Applejack said and pointed at the pegasus. "This here is Rainbow Dash." Then she turned to the pegasus and pointed at the human. "This critter here is called a hue-man, and his name is Rush."

"A hue-man, huh," Rainbow said, still bearing a suspicious tone in her voice.

Rush chuckled. "First of all, it's pronounced 'human.' H-U-M-A-N is how you spell it. Got it?" Applejack nodded while Rainbow just stared at him with her front hooves crossed. Rush turned to face the latter and asked, "So your name is Rainbow Dash, right?"

"That's what she said," Rainbow stated. "You deaf or something?" Applejack glared at the pegasus.

Rush was getting upset with Rainbow Dash. He just calmly replied, "I just thought that your name is appropriate considering that your hair and tail is rainbow-colored." He then smirked. "Which I still think is funny and weird by the way."

Rainbow looked she was boiling now. She stood on four legs and said, "And your name suits you as well, seeing as you like to rush into trouble. One more insult about my mane and tail, and I'm gonna buck that ugly face of yours," she threatened.

Rush leaned forward, dropping the ice bag from his head and held a serious face. "I would like to see you try."

"ENOUGH! BOTH OF YA!" Applejack commanded, stomping the floor for emphasis on the word 'enough.' "Ya'll in my property, which means ya hafta abide by the rules of the apple family. Ah will not have my guests bickerin' r fightin' on mah watch, especially over such silly nonsense like names or hairs. Now let's carry on the conversation without the insults. Do Ah make myself clear?"

Rush and Rainbow Dash continued to stare at each other, but the tension was reducing to a minimum. Both of the sentient beings relaxed and got back to their former positions.

Applejack sighed in relief. "Thank ya both." She turned to the human and sat down. "Now Rush. While ya are my guest, we still don't know a thing about ya. Ah mean this in no offense, but Rainbow is right. We have questions and we want answers."

Rush did not feel comfortable revealing everything about himself, especially where he's from, why he left, how he got here, and what kinds of trouble he has experienced since he entered into this magical dimension. He also did not want them to know about the weapons he brought with him, because he's not sure how they will react to that kind of revelation. "You can ask all the questions you want, but I will not answer them all," he said.

"And why won't you?" Rainbow asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Every individual has secrets they do not wish to share with others," Rush argued and leaned forward. "I'm sure you both have something personal in your lives you do not want to be made known, right?"

There was silence in the room. Rainbow Dash wavered her eyes as she contemplated on what the human said. Then she looked at him with a determined face.

"But if your secrets endanger us and the lives of our friends, then we must know them," the pegasus argued.

Rush was speechless. The cyan pegasus has him cornered in this debate. He hung his head low, contemplating on what to say next.

"Rush," Applejack began. "All we're askin' is fer ya to be honest with us. Honesty is a policy mah family and Ah take very seriously. It is part of who Ah am and it is somethin' Ah expect from others." She leaned forward so that Rush can see her serious face. "And if ya lie ta us, Ah'll know. Ah can sniff lies easily."

That revelation made the human raise his eyebrows in surprise. While he's used to the concept of living in a magical world, he still gets surprised whenever he sees magic. He never thought that a 'magical lie detector' would exist. Either that or she can read people like a book, which is a disadvantage to him because he was never good at hiding his feelings, and wearing sunglasses can only help so much. Lying was not one of his character flaws, being brutally honest and blunt was. Having anger issues and an unrestrained mouth was what usually got him in trouble, like he almost did with Rainbow Dash.

If I'm ever gonna hope to live peacefully in Ponyville, I'm gonna have to earn their trust. And that means I'll have to give them the honest truth. Rush thought, contemplating on what he should and should not tell the two ponies in front of him. And then he remembered something important. At least Applejack is giving me a chance to explain myself rather than jump to conclusions, which is what almost everyone else has done in this damn world.

"Are we gonna do this or what?" asked an impatient Rainbow Dash.

Rush leaned back against the wall, put the ice back on the back of his head and sighed.

"So, what do you wanna know?" he asked.