Running, panting, and worrying. So much was going on through this Pegasus stallions head. His wings were numb as he ran through the rain, the falling drops felt like rocks plummeting onto his face and leaving nasty dents as if he was made of stone. His messy white mane kept getting in his blood orange eyes while his light green coat and long white tail were getting dirty from the puddles he kept running through. He looked up at Luna’s moon and prayed that he would make it out of this alive. The young stallion escaped the facility with nowhere to go, no idea what to do next. He kept on running on the dirt streets of Canterlot as if there was no tomorrow. The dim lights of the lamp posts were his only light source. He wanted to look back but he knew he couldn’t, nothing can distract him. The sound of many hooves stomping hit his ears.
“There he is!”
“Don’t let him escape!”
Lights were shown and the young stallion averted them. He veered to the right to make sure he wasn’t caught in them. He made his way under a carriage and waited. He watched as the guard ponies ran by him, completely unaware he was right under them. The young stallion’s heart was beating rapidly and sweat ran down his head like a river. His chest kept on pumping like a piston. He scanned the area to make sure the coast was clear. He slowly crawled out from under the carriage, hoping no one would see him. He turned around and was about to make his move.
“Got ya!”
He suddenly felt a large hoof wrapped around his neck. A bulk earth pony guard had him in a choke hold. The young stallion flailed and kicked but to no avail, this made his heart pound even more.
“Back to the facility with you!”
With no other choice, he decided to do what was needed in order for him to escape. He opened up his mouth and revealed his sharp, pointed teeth. They looked nothing like normal pony teeth, instead they looked like they belonged in the mouth of a dragon, not a Pegasus. The guard pony saw his larger teeth in shock.
“No way!”
The stallion sunk his teeth into the guards pony hoof like it was an apple. The latter let out a painful cry as it felt like several scissors were piecing his front hoof. Blood was drawn and streaming down his hoof, making a large red puddle down below. He threw the young stallion and applied pressure to his injury, hoping to stop the bleeding. The young stallion spat out some blood as he witnessed what he had done. He looked down and saw the large gash he created with his teeth as the guard kept on screaming in pain. He then reeled back his front right hoof as the injured guard stared at him in apprehension.
“No, wait!”
The stallions hoof swung as fast as a bullet and landed a brutal blow on the guards face. He landed on the ground with a large thud, his face was already starting to swell up. The young stallion just stared down at his unconscious foe as more blood began to stream out of the guards hoof, luckily it was raining so much that it was hard to even see anything. The sound of a train whistle caught the young stallion’s ears. He swerved around and noticed that there was a train leaving the station. Not wanting to waste any time, he dashed towards the train as it was slowly pulling out of the station. He ran along the muddy ground next to the moving train in search for some open cars.
His eyes were set on the luggage car in which the door was slightly open. He ran towards the open door car before the train could go any faster, the pouring rain hitting his face made it difficult to get anywhere. He managed to catch up to the car and bumped the door open with his muzzle. Just in time too, as the train started to move, its speed hastily increasing. With his last ounce of energy left, he made his leap of faith. He landed safety in the luggage car. He laid on the floor and panted rapidly.
After catching a few breaths, he sat up and looked outside. He could still see Canterlot, but noticed a bunch of guards surrounding the stallion he had taken down. Not a moment later even more showed up. The young stallion just hid in the shadows as he saw Canterlot getting smaller and smaller. Next thing he knew, it was out of sight. He was now alone and scared. The only thing he could do was let out a silent scream.
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Morning came. Celestia’s sun was beaming all over Equestria, soaking the whole kingdom in her sunlight. The Ponyville express was making decent time as it was only minutes away from its next stop. In one of the cars was a young unicorn mare. This mare had a pink fur coat to go along with her slender figure. Her long blue mane and tail were straight and kept nicely, and the white highlights in her mane and tail really made her stand out. On her flank rested her cutiemark, a simple wooden puzzle box with a question mark on it. She was scanning a book with her bright teal eyes and enjoying herself. She kept on reading one page after the other, intrigue and amusement could be read all over her face.
Draconequus’, Chimera’s, Griffins, and Cockatrices. This land is filled with so many wonderful and weird things. So many to study, to many discover. Which one will I find first? Which one will come to me? These creatures are so abnormal, I love them! She thought to herself.
Ok, Calm down Query! Don’t get too ahead of yourself. I mean, C’mon, you sound like a total nerd right now hahahaha. First things first. Look for a place to stay and then discover Equestria’s anomalies.
She felt the cars jerked. After she was out of her trance, she looked out the window and saw a small village.
“Ponyville? Looks like this is where I get off,” she said to herself.
She grabbed her bags and quickly made it off the train. Once she exited the train car, she stood on the wooden platform and took in the sight of her new home. Ponyville looked exactly how she imagined it, small houses, food carts, and friendly faces everywhere. A small smile appeared on her face as she walked off the platform and went in search for a place to stay.
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Meanwhile, a certain stowaway woke to the sun shining in his eyes. He rubbed his eyelids and his vision cleared up. He peaked through the crack of the door and noticed the small village, wondering if he should get off here. Before he could make a decision, he heard hoof steps. He looked to he left and noticed a conductor pony making his way towards the luggage car.
The stallion jumped back and hid in the dark shadowy corners of the car. He had to make a run for it, but he couldn’t let anyone see his teeth. He rubbed his head in thought about what he should do. Time was running out as he could hear the hoof steps getting closer and closer. Sweat was beading down his face and his heart was pumping like mad.
Moving his front left hoof back, he felt a soft fabric touch it. He looked over and noticed a purple scarf was sticking out of one of the suit cases. He slowly pulled out the scarf and noticed how extremely soft it felt on his fur. It smelled like it was fresh out of a boutique. The sound of hooves on the door could be heard. The stallion quickly wrapped the scarf around his muzzle and hid behind a few cases. The pony opened up the door and started to take the luggage. The young stallion saw his chance and took it. He dashed right past the conductor pony and ran for the forest. The conductor didn’t even see it coming, all he felt was a gust of wind. His conductor cap was tilted and his mane a mess. He looked around all confused to try to find the source of the breeze.
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The mare, Query, walked off the platform and onto the dirt road of Ponyville. There, she could already spot the many friendly faces greeting one another and food carts selling their products everywhere. Left and right, there were ponies walking about and talking to each other. This rather disappointed Query.
Huh. Looks pretty normal to me. I thought this was the small town where the strangest things occur. Was I mistaken?
A sudden pink blur dashed by her. Before she could question it though-
“HIYA!” greeted a high pitch voice. It belonged to a pink earth pony mare with a curly mane and tail and bubbly blue eyes. Query jumped back at this sudden surprise.
Nope I wasn’t!
“Omigosh, are you new here? I’ve never seen you before, and I know everypony! Like all those ponies who got off the train! But you, I don’t know! Are you visiting? Are you going to live here? It would super-duper fun if you stayed here!”
“Whoa! Where did you come from?” exclaimed Query.
“Oh, I do this all the time! I always greet new ponies this way.”
“No, I mean how did you appear out of thin air? I thought only unicorns could do that? Are you some kind of hybrid?” she asked with an intrigued smile.
“Hy-what?” the pink mare laughed. “No, I’m just me. Oh yeah, I’m Pinkie Pie. What’s your name?”
“My name’s Puzzle Box, but my friends call me Query. But that’s Ok, I prefer Query over Puzzle Box any day,” she introduced.
“Ok. I’ll call you Query too! That way, we’re sure to be friends!”
“That’s great. I’m thirty seconds in this town and I’ve already made a new friend. I don’t understand this all,” Query laughed.
“Don’t understand what?” Pinkie then let out a gasp. “Omigosh, I need to throw you a party!”
“Huh?”
“I’ll be right back! I’ve got so much to do!” With that, the pink mare dashed away leaving Query in the middle of the road. She didn’t feel disappointed now.
“Well, I better find a roof to sleep under.” Query walked away from the spot to go in search for a new home.
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The young stallion was sprinting through the woods, his wings were still not working. He didn’t understand, why? All he knew was that he had to keep on running. Many branches kept hitting his face and his stolen scarf kept on getting caught in bushes. He felt like he’s been running forever, the forest felt like there was no end to it. He tripped on a rock and tumbled into a clearing. His muzzle hit the ground hard, he could feel it leaving a dent in the grass. Tired and injured, he just wanted to rest. He knew he couldn’t do that, he had to keep on going.
He lifted his face off of the ground and spotted something remarkable. His eyes widened at the site. What he saw was what looked like a million rows of apple trees. Each one having a bunch of perfect, shiny, juicy red apples. He looked to his left and spotted a red barn.
He checked his surroundings to make sure no one was looking. When the coast was clear, he gathered the last bit of energy he had and dashed. The last drop of adrenaline he had was enough to make him run straight for the barn. He ran right inside and automatically went for the darkest corner. He curled up to catch his breath. His chest was inflating and deflating like a balloon. He tried to keep his breathing down, but he felt so tired that it was impossible for him.
Before he could pass out again, he looked up and spotted a large barrel next to him. The barrel was overflowing with apples. The young stallion heard a loud grumble and felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He let out a grunt as he continued to stare at the apples. They were just sitting there in that barrel shouting “Eat us!” No other option, the young stallion reached for an apple.
Outside of the barn, a certain orange and blonde earth pony mare was carrying two full baskets of apples towards the barn.
“Ah’ll be back,” called out Applejack as she reached for the barn door.
She entered the barn to go drop off some apples into her selling barrels. However, as she entered, she couldn’t help but hear an odd noise. It sounded like a beaver chomping his way through a log made of fruit.
“What in tarnation is that?” she wondered as she made her way towards the source. As she made her ways towards the dark corner, she stared at the ground to find several apple seeds and stems scattered. Her mouth was left open, she knew what this meant.
Some low-life thief thinks he can sneak into ma barn eat ma apples? We’ll see about that!
She popped her head around a corner and spotted him, the young stallion who was gorging on her precious apples. He just ate one after the other, spitting out the seeds before he swallowed. Applejack’s blood started to boil. She put down her two baskets, ready to make a move.
“Hey!” she yelled as she jumped from behind the corner.
The young stallion nearly choked at the volume of her voice. He swerved his head and spotted the orange mare with a stern look in her eye. He quickly dropped his half eaten apple and covered his muzzle with his purple scarf. Afraid of what will happen, he quickly scooted back to the dark corner. Applejack went for the barrel first. She looked inside and noticed that only a small percent of her apples were gone. They weren’t overflowing from before, but there was still enough to sell on her cart. She let out a sigh of relief and turned towards the stallion.
“Who do you think you are, stealing some of ma apples!” she scolded.
The stallion hid his face with his hoof, making sure his teeth didn’t show. A wave of despair covered his whole body. He sat there motionless, but heavy breathing could still be heard from him. He felt nervous and afraid of what will happen next? Will she see his teeth and freak out? Will she send a letter to the princess and have him taken away? Will he have to return to the place he escaped?
“I can’t go back,” he muttered to himself.
“Pardon?” asked Applejack.
“I’m sorry,” the stallion spoke. “I’m…sorry. I was just really hungry.”
Applejack began to loosen up as she noticed how afraid this young stallion was. She also noticed the scratches he had on his body. She knew she couldn’t kick out a starving and injured pony, especially if he’s younger than she is. She decided to back up from the stallion to give him some space. The stallion looked at her in confusion.
“What’s yer name stranger?” asked Applejack.
The young stallion faintly spoke his name, but it couldn’t be heard due to his scarf. He really didn’t want this pony to see his problem.
“I’m sorry. What was yer name again?” she repeated.
He decided to take his hoof of his muzzle but made sure his scarf still covered the lower half of his face. The young stallion finally spoke his name to the farm pony.
“My name is Trick Shot.”
