Chapters Chapter 1 Hero's Beginning
(Alright people this is my first fan fic so please no rude comments, if its really that bad Ill just take the stupid thing down. Thank you for your time.)
I was just a regular Joe. Nothing was special about me, I just looked like a mindless blob in the crowd. No shining knight in armor, no awesome talent for poker or an undefeated champion in rock paper scissors, but that all changed with just one walk.
I walked down the same old side walk, ever since school got out I had a lot of time on my hands and I had nothing to spend it on. Not like I did anything in school either. Things like school and books are only meant for people that are smart, or of course someone to prove something to. I didn't have anything to prove to anyone though, since it had been 4 years since my mothers death and all. My father had left me and my mom when I was about 5 years old or so. It seemed so long ago, and since I was really young I didn't understand the consequences of dad leaving us and thought he was just out for a business trip and would be back next week. Although he never came back, and the weeks just seemed to get longer and longer. Looking back on it, it probably tore my mother apart to see me acting as if nothing was wrong, so oblivious to the fact that dad was gone and probably never going to come back. She always found time to love me though, no matter how hard we suffered ,through me being an idiot when it came to my school studies, or financial problems. I really wished I couldve helped her but I was still stuck in my own personal bubble. A bubble that I couldn't get out of no matter how much I tried to kick or scream.
"Pitiful..." was all I that ran through my mind as I made my way down the street and I couldn't get it out of my head.
The only thing that managed to keep me in control was a little show I found a week or two after my mother's death called My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic. Knowing that somewhere out there, something could enjoy happiness and live with joy ,some how, just comforted me, even if it was just a simple cartoon. I dont know why and I dont care how it helped,it just helped me at times when I got really down about myself.
The clouds were already gathering and it looked as if another cold night was coming. After my mother passed away, my uncle took me in but it was still a mystery if he even came home at night. Most kids would think it would be the great life, being alone and all with no one to make sure you were in bed after curfew, or to make sure you made it to school everyday. They never realized though that its not the actions that they would miss, it would be just knowing that there is someone to be there when you have a nightmare ,or if your sick that you have someone there for you. To help you....to hold you....to love you.
I kept walking with no destination in mind, just wandering as if I was a ghost. Then again I could've been called a ghost the way I am, but that's me. The ghost. I eventually couldn't go longer because of my sore feet and just sank down into the dry grass of a forgotten park.
I started to think, and I hate it when I think because it just leads to more confusion. Like why couldn't it have been better for me? What did I do wrong in life? Why wasnt it me that got sick instead of my mother who already had to deal with a broken heart and a child that would constantly remind her of the pieces that could never be put back together? Why was I so important to keep in this world rather than my mother? I shut all of these questions out of my head and I started to hold back some sobs. Over my weak attempts at holding the tears back I could notice that the clouds were forming mysterious patterns and thunder shook the sky with a loud rumbling, but I couldn't be bothered to care.
"Stop sealing yourself in that personal bubble, it was the same thing that hurt mom and now its come back for you." I thought as I picked my head up out of my knees and looked towards the clouds. I wonder how it was to be free in the big sky, with no regrets and no worries in the world among all the fluffy clouds. To touch the clouds like Rainbow Dash, and to be like her, there somewhere in the sky one second and gone in the next. To be important like Rainbow Dash. I found myself reaching out towards the clouds as if to move them to different positions. It was a silly thing to do but I still did it. I knew I didn't want to be Rainbow Dash or a pony or anything like that, I really just wanted to be a super hero, soaring above the clouds and saving everyone that needed saving.To be loved by everyone in a city. I turned to see a dead tree falling over to the ground and made a loud smashing noise. I came to my senses and stood straight up, and I squinted into the dark trying to make out an exit.
"Damn its already this dark." I thought to my self as I started to make my way through the darkness."Better get home before it gets too cold, besides the gangs are going to be out at this time of night, and with my luck they just might leave me my clothes."
That thought relieved me for the time being. I kept walking through the abandoned park trying to find the stupid way out. I eventually just sat down,with my sore feet unable to go on, and looked at the night sky in an open clearing.
"Not like anyone is waiting for me at home." I said to myself as I was on the verge of crying again and curled back up into a ball. To stop myself, I looked up at the sky to calm myself down. I don't know why, but the swirling clouds and thunder in the distance didn't disturb me. Maybe my emotions had finally left me, maybe I just didn't want to feel anything. Suddenly 6 brights stars lit up the sky. I watched in awe as the stars made their way across the sky.
"Haven't seen a shooting star in a long time...let alone six..." I thought as I traced their path with my finger.
To my surprise they were turning...towards me." Oh crap!" was all I could say as I scrambled out of the way and ran as fast as I could before the force of the impact launched me away. I skidded on the ground back first, and I felt scrapes all along my back and arms. I staggered to my feet and started to limp towards the craters. Out of the crater I saw a blue figure stagger out and stumble to the ground.
"Blue...."I thought as the word echoed in my mind." No not blue... Cyan...Why does that remind me of something..?"
Chapter 2 Hero's Kindness
I made my way over to the lump of cyan and rainbow colors,still trying to find out what it reminded me of, but before I could even make it halfway to the cyan lump, an orange colored creature crawled out of the crater and stood in front of the lump, defending it.
"Listen here big fella, we dont want no trouble but if yer looking for a fight..." it said in perfect english, but surprisingly with a southern accent, and taking a fighting stance even though I saw that it had a more fearful and tired look in it's eyes than rebellious.
"Weird..." I thought still dazed from the explosion, "That sounds exactly like Applejack."
" Im not going to hurt you, I just want to help your friend." I said in a soothing voice, but the figure didn't budge an inch.
Three more figures popped out of the hole and lined up next to the one I thought was Applejack.
"Okay, it cant be Applejack, there is only 5 of them at the moment," I thought as I did a quick head count of all the ponies in my head. "Yeah there needs to be 6 to be the ponies."
A bright pink one dropped away from the line and knelt by the cyan colored one. I could make out 'Wake up Dashie, come on rise and shine.' from her words as she nudged her.
"Oh my god there is no way in hell..." I thought as the clouds parted away from the full moon making all of the ponies visible in the pale moonlight. Then another one with a purple horn came stumbling out. At that moment I could swear my jaw dropped,because I could practically taste the dirt.
All six of them,Twilight with a torn up book still in her saddle pack, Applejack with her brown hat and blonde mane, Fluttershy with her pink mane in wavy formations around her face and a scared but defiant look on her face, Rarity with her curly purple mane and majestic horn, Pinkie Pie and her crazy hair all over the place still nudging at Rainbow Dash to get up, and Rainbow Dash with her wings folded against her sides and still lying in a fuzzball of rainbow colors.
"Im a maniac...seeing ponies from some cartoon show." I thought. "So it's finally happened? Ive gone crazy, it ain't that bad really, at least as this is all insanity has to offer." I thought as my head began to drift off. Then I snapped back to my senses and realized just how bad the situation was. It meant that these ponies were real,whether they're from different dimensions or what they are still here, standing right over there, and ready to take me down at a moments notice. Then Twilight walked out of line and up to me.
" Excuse me sir,but could you help us?" she asked with her sparkling eyes and again like Applejack in perfect english.
" Um...Yeah sure." I said dumbfounded.
" Do you know a place where we could stay?" Twilight asked looking tired and beat.
"Come on stupid," I thought in my mind, "She fell over 200 feet from the air,what else is she going to look like?"
"Yeah I do, we could go back to my house if you need a place that badly..." I said aloud, and Twilight looked at me with gratitude. She walked back over to her friends and they all nodded and gave me funny looks. Applejack and Pinkie Pie both propped Rainbow on their backs, but even the best athlete in Ponyville looked like she was going to give out under the weight.
" Let me help you." I said reaching out a hand to carry Rainbow Dash, but Applejack gave me a look like she was about to kick me to the next town over.
" Come on Apple Jack, we are going to need him to help at one point or another." Twilight said walking behind me. Gripping the whole fact that these ponies were real was hard for me to imagine and was surprised at myself at how I didnt just run for my life, off into the middle of the night laughing like a lunatic. So with Twilight's approval, Applejack and Pinkie Pie let Rainbow Dash down and I picked her up and rested her on my shoulders. I could feel her slowly breathing and a steady heartbeat.
"Good, she's alive...Wait why do I care? Random ponies falling out of the sky from little kids show that I watched just to see something happy in this world, and here I am already offering them to stay at my house for god knows how long." I thought as I racked my brain for an answer. We then made our way ,quickly, down the sidewalk to my house looking for any prying eyes, " I know, they find a way to bring happiness into the world, they spread joy and save people from their sorrows. They can save people, but they don't need to do it like a super hero flying around everywhere and saving people in a runaway bus or something flashy like that. They do it in their own way, I guess you could call it the pony way." I chuckled at the thought. " Yeah they save people the pony way, who knows they might save me the pony way, but before any of that I need to help them in anyway I can." With that new found reason to keep me going, I walked with a bit more determination in my step, all the way to my house.
I remember never being as happy to see the beat up building that was my home.
" Is that your house?" Pinkie Pie said with absolute glee. "Its so big! Is there an underground mountain that you can ski on? I bet the skis are made of ice cream cones too so when you go down you have a snack waiting for you at the end! We should go skiing sometime its really fun. My cousin Cherry said it was really fun for her and her fami-!"
"Now now cool it down sugar cube, we should just be thankful that this fella is letting us stay at 'is lovely," she paused for a second, looking at the beat up and run down building that barely kept its shutters attached to the windows on a windy night. "Um home."
" I wouldn't call THAT thing a home, I mean it looks like it can barely stand its own ugliness." Rarity said with disgust, "Although I do see some potential here and there... maybe a little color and a garden...." she said as she went on with her renovation ideas.
"It's okay Applejack, I know how it looks and thanks for the vivid picture Rarity, I guess." I said chuckling as I unlocked the door and stepped inside. I took a quick look around and saw there were no empty beer cans and plates splattered everywhere so that at least meant my uncle wasn't home for now.
" Alright welcome to my humble home." I said with a smile as I motioned for everyone to come inside. They immediately rushed inside, explored almost every nook and cranny, and were asleep before I could even say "Don't touch that." I started cleaning up the house after the multi-colored tornado had hit it. I was in the middle of sweeping the kitchen when Twilight walked up to me.
"Here let me get that." she said as a faint purple aura covered the broom.
" No I cant let you do that, its fine just go back to sleep." I said trying to grab the floating broom but with no success.
" What are you talking about we're the ones that made the whole mess we, or I, should be the one to clean it up." she said giggling as if the idea of me cleaning up after them was absolutely ridiculous." You know, you can put Rainbow Dash down now right?" she said continuing her sweeping. I just remembered I hadnt taken the cyan pony off my shoulders since the park.
"Oh yeah right." I said as I shook my head, but unfortunately my hair must have whipped Rainbow Dash one too many times and woke her up, and before I knew it I had two hoof prints on my forehead and a very very angry looking Rainbow Dash glaring at me.
"Alright whats the idea big guy?" Rainbow Dash said as she raised her hoof and shook it in my face, " And no funny business or your going to get a matching set of those hooves!"
" Whats is all of this ruckus?" Rarity asked walking in the room with bags under her eyes. " Don't you ponies understand the word beauty sleep?"
" Is everything alright?" Fluttershy said quietly as she flew right behind Rarity rubbing her eyes.
" Yay Dashie is awake now!" Pinkie Pie said as she hopped in.
" Careful guys, I think it's up to something." Rainbow Dash said re-positioning her self in front of her friends without taking her eyes off of me. I rubbed my head trying to come up with something to say, but my head was too fuzzy to even think about what had happened.
" Rainbow Dash, you're really going to treat the pony who carried you all the way here like that?" Applejack said walking in.
" Yeah Rainbow Dash if it wasn't for him, w-we might not have been able to carry you anywhere." Fluttershy said looking at the floor.
" And he's letting us stay at his home, until we're able to get back to our home." Twilight said as the broom finished its work. Rainbow Dash looked at all of her friends ,one at a time, and then back to me.
" Why?" she said silently.
" Excuse me?" I managed to choke.
" Why did you carry me? You could've just let them carry me or you could've woken me up. So why?" she said looking at me with fierce eyes. I didnt want to tell her my ridiculous idea about them bringing happiness into this world, so I came up with the next best thing.
"Well, they needed help carrying you so I offered to." I said. She looked at me as if she knew the answer was a lie, but if she did she didnt say anything about it.She just flew off into the living room and started to fall asleep on the couch.
" Is that all finally straightened out?" Rarity said yawning. "Good then lets please get some rest."
" I could go for some shut eye right about now too." Applejack said right behind her. Soon all of the ponies were back to sleeping, leaving me and Twilight in the kitchen.
" You're taking all of this pretty well." Twilight said staring at me.
" What do you mean?" I said fishing some crackers out of the pantry. I hadn't eaten all day and I was hungry.
" Random ,colorful ponies fall into your world, and you just offer them a place to stay without any kind of question whatsoever." Twilight said, "It just sounds, well, weird. Im thankful for your hospitality and all but still it just doesn't seem like the normal thing to do for a group of strangers like us."
" Well I guess we should talk about it then." I said walking over to the kitchen table and sitting down. " Go ahead and take a seat." she walked over and took a look at the chair and gave me a look that said "Are you seeing the problem here yet?" Unfortunately my uncle had a thing for bars and he made almost every chair, but his favorite recliner, in the house a bar stool, so there was no way for Twilight to get to the top of the chair.
" Right right forgot, ponies short, chairs tall sorry." I said standing up and kneeling to get eye to eye with her. " In my world, you guys are a , god how do I put this, kids show." I paused expecting for her to tell me I was crazy but she just nodded her head. " And well I've seen the show a couple of times and it just felt natural for me to help you know? Help you get back into your world and all." She stared at me for a couple of seconds with those big eyes of hers then she finally spoke.
" Is that your only reason? Just because we're in a show that you barely like, means you want to help us get back to our world?" she said.
" Of course not." Rainbow Dash said trotting inside the kitchen. " He's obviously just using us to get out of this world and go back to ours."
" Rainbow Dash please keep it down the others are trying to sleep." Twilight said.
" Oh right," Rainbow Dash said brushing her hoof against the floor. " But its still true about what I said. Your just using us to get out of here, theres no reason anyone would WANT to be here anyway." she said in a loud whisper.
" Rainbow Dash mind your manors!" Twilight said sharply.
" Not untill HE gives me a real answer." she said right back at Twilight. I looked down at the floor silently as the two of them went back and forth at each other. When my parents were together, I could remember the fights, and somehow I just got it in my head that it was always my fault and I hated causing them so much trouble. It was all I could to do curl up into a corner and cover my ears.
" Rainbow Dash you just cant for-" Twilight almost got through saying but I interrupted.
" No Twilight, it's fine." I said with a grim tone as I made my way to Rainbow Dash standing in the doorway. " Rainbow Dash, I dont know why you cant trust me, but i'm only trying to help you all, anyway I can." I said looking her straight in the eye.
" But why are you helping us? What could you possibly gain through it all?" Rainbow Dash said.
" I promise my reasons for helping all of you are in no way devious or evil. It's just the right thing to do for.." I paused trying to come up with the right word to pin the idea I had. "For friends." She had looked at me with puzzling eyes as if she never wouldve seen this answer coming, and personally I didn't think I would be able to see it coming either. She just stared at me for minutes on end until finally she walked away with her hooves clattering against the wooden floor.
" I have no idea what's gotten into her." Twilight said.
" It's okay, I think I understand why she's doing all of this. Why don't you go back to sleep now?" I asked as I walked to the sink and started washing the dishes.
" I could help you if you want." she said.
" No it's fine, I kinda got a lot to think about anyway." I said.
" Oh okay then." Twilight said as she started for the door. "Thanks again sir." and she was gone.
I guess I might have lied to Twilight. I didn't have all that much to think about, I just needed something to do, something to waste my time. All of this happened in just one walk and it was a bit hard to take in fully. Or was there not much to think about, just some ponies from another dimension come into the world and I invite them for a sleepover. That will last about god knows how long. Okay so there were things to think about, but I know im not much of a thinker anyway. One thing is made clear though, I have to see this through to the end. They are counting on me to help them after all.
I finished the dishes and walked out of the kitchen to see all of the sleeping ponies sprawled out everywhere making themselves comfortable, even Twilight had fallen asleep within seconds of lying down. I was walking out quietly but I caught a glance of a peeking Rainbow Dash. I grinned, turned around, and set myself in my uncle's recliner. Of course when I looked to Rainbow Dash her eyes were shut tight but I knew she was still awake and was listening. I let my head rest on the chair's soft cushions for a minute and I realized I was just how exhausted I really was. You don't really carry a 60 pound pony around for 18 blocks and feel like a million bucks afterward I guess. Then another thing hit me. This was the first time I even tempted a smile since my mother's death.
" Well look at that," I thought as I drifted off to sleep. " They're saving me already mom."
I woke up to a very hyper Pinkie Pie jumping up and down, almost straight to the ceiling.
" Excuse me but can I use your bathroom really really really really really really fast?!" she said in front of me so fast the only word I could make out was bathroom.
" Second door to your left down the hallway...." I murmured, still a bit drowsy from sleeping.
" Thank you!" was all she said as a streak of pink shot down the hall. A couple of moments later I heard the jiggling of a door knob, and then a loud crash." I didn't do that!" Pinkie shouted as I heard a slow creaking and the sound of hinges snapping into place.
" Pretty sure doors dont work like that..." I thought as I stood up and stretched. I looked around to see everyone was up and doing something. Applejack was out in the back planting what looked like a garden,where she got the seeds I haven't the slightest clue ,Fluttershy was helping some kind of squirrel with what looked like a broken leg, Rarity had obviously cleaned up and was using some spare blankets as clothe to decorate the place, Twilight was nose deep in a book I had brought home from school, I couldn't see where Rainbow Dash was but I was sure they must of seen her somewhere, and there was a "Welcome home!" banner hanging from the wall.
" Good morning." Twilight said not even looking up from the book, " The banner was Pinkie making a house warming party for us. I must say this "Artemis Fowl" pony in this book is rather clever for his age."
" Well, he isn't a pony, he's a human being like me and when you have resources like him, anyone could be a genius." I said. " By the way, you seem to be taking all of this pretty well too." I walked over and looked down at the book.
" What do you mean?" Twilight said finally managing to look away from the book.
" Well its just it would seem like you would be surprised seeing something thats not a pony and speak English, dont you think? On top of that, I stand on two legs and I have almost no hair on my arms or legs." I asked.
" Well my answer is the same as yours in a way." she said looking back to the book. " Equestria has dabbled here and there in this world from either us going into it for some samples of plants, or one of your world's beings coming to Equestria. Once I remember one of those animals, I believe you call it a cat, came to our world and Fluttershy took care of it until we were able to send it back."
" Well that's cool," I said. " I never really liked cats but it is nice she went out of her way to help the poor thing like that, but wait how did it even get there in the first place?"
" Well me and Princess Celestias' best guess was that because of the reawakening of the Elements of Harmony's power, the sudden power burst made the borders on our world weaken, and rips through the dimensions started to appear all around Equestria and mysterious creatures were wandering in the Everfree Forest from time to time." Twilight said.
" So the effects were reversed or something?" I said stating to get more into the subject of different worlds.
" No, Celestia reinforced the barriers with her sister a couple of months ago." Twilight said with a sigh.
" So then you don't have a clue what happened?" I asked.
" I never said that," Twilight said closing the book. " Before we made our way into this world, Princess Celestia was studying a possible new field of magic. The details however, were kept to herself and she refused to even tell me about them. Anyways she sent me a request to see if magic could mend with the sonic rainboom." I remembered the episode where Rainbow Dash had preformed the sonic boom and colors spread across the sky. " And since I wanted all of my friends to see the sonic rainboom, so I called all of them out." she paused as she took a breath, shuttering. " And then, then we gathered around on an open field, far away of course to not let any casualties come to Ponyville, and something went wrong with my magic when it met the rainbow and the next thing I know is that we were in free fall, but luckily I managed to put a protection spell up to shield most of us from the impact." I looked and nodded at her as she said all of this. " We mustve hit a patch of the world that wasnt fixed by Celestia and transported to this world." Twilight said then a tear ran down he cheek.
" Hey are you okay?" I asked " What's wrong?"
" I just think, I think its all my fault that were here." Twilight said wiping her tear with her hoof.
" What how could it possibly be your fault?" I asked trying to comfort her.
" Maybe if I hadn't have brought everyone to see the rainboom it would have just been me and Dash, but I just had to drag all of them into this mess." she said even louder. Rarity looked back at me with hate filled eyes. I must've looked like an idiot
that didn't know what he did so she mouthed the words " Help her." at me. I mouthed back " What am I supposed to do?" She didnt say, or mouth, anything she just pointed at Twilight and started to walk over and pat her shoulder.
" There there darling, its okay." Rarity cooed as she stroked her hair.
" Yeah Twilight, don't worry about it." I said reassuring her. " Everyone doesn't seem to mind, and i've seen you guys pull through a lot harder things that just coming to a new place for a day or two. Remember that time with Discord? When everyone had lost what their element was, you never gave up! You toughed it out and showed that guy what real magic was. Besides im sure Celestia is working on a solution right now to save you all and bring you all back to Equestria."
Just then there was a bright flash in my living room that blinded me for a couple of seconds. When I blinked the tears out of my eyes I looked back to a tall standing pony with a long flowing mane. She stepped over a couple of feet without saying a thing. I could feel the confidence and power emanating from her, but some how something felt off about her almost tired or beaten, as she made her way towards Twilight, with a note in her mouth. She was finally in front of Twilight after what felt like an eternity of watching her stride over the room. She bent low and dropped the note in front of Twilight and wiped a tear off of her face, Then just as the way she entered she disappeared with a blinding light.
" Is everything okay?" Rainbow Dash said as she flew in through the window in a flash of rainbow colors.
" We saw the flash, what is going on in here?" Apple jack said as she ran through the kitchen and out in the living room.
" Is everyone okay?" Fluttershy said from the kitchen obviously scared to even step into the living room. I couldn't speak. I didnt know why but it felt like Celestia's power had just stunned me for a second or two.
" You okay in there?" Applejack said giving me a weird look and hitting my leg with her fore hoof.
" Naw naw Applejack, ya' gotta do it like this!" Rainbow Dash said as she flew right in front of me and took aim.
" Im fine I swear!" I managed to shout before the blow sent me flying backwards. Everything was black for a couple of seconds and I slowly opened my eyes.
" Now why did ya' go an' do that Rainbow?" Applejack said.
" You were doing it wrong." I heard Rainbow Dash say looking away from Applejack and me.
" Hey wer' ya hit hard?" Applejack said looking at me as I started to open my eyes.
" No, no im fine..." I said rubbing my aching head.
" Now what do you say Rainbow Dash?" Rarity asked.
" You were doing it wrong." Rainbow Dash repeated. I heard a thud. "Ow okay!" she turned around and walked towards me. "Im sorry about hitting you in the head..." she said.
" Aaand?" Rarity said giving her a look.
" Twice..." Rainbow Dash said even guiltier.
" Don't worry about it, lets just see what Celestia had to do here." I said as I stood back up and looked at Twilight who seemed to be in shock by what she was reading. " Twilight? You there?" I asked taking a couple of steps closer.
" Yes i'm fine..." she says quietly not looking up from the note.
" Is it okay if you read it out loud?" I asked.
" Yes...of course." she cleared her throat. " Dear Twilight Sparkle, I hope you are doing well in the human world. Im sorry for my carelessness I should have foreseen something like this happening, and I do hope you can forgive me. I hope that you and all of your friends have found some shelter or even better a friend to take care of you. Unfortunately, I can not stay for long in that world. My power is not strong enough due to recent attacks throughout Canterlot. Without the Elements Of Harmony present in Equestria, Discord was able to free himself from his stone imprisonment. He has spread his conquest and is now nearing the final defenses of Canterlot. This may sound like grave news my dear student, but please do not give up hope. I have all faith in you that you all will come back to Equestria and help us in this dire time. Please Twilight Sparkle do not give up hope." There was silence after Twilight said the note aloud. The full weight of the letter hit me dead on. The world of Equestria was crumbling under Discords feet. If we didnt act soon, the girls may not have a home to go back to. Even Pinkie Pie ,who was back from the bathroom, seemed to realize the graveness of the situation.
" So what do we do now?" Fluttershy said finally out of the safety of the kitchen.
" Isnt it obvious?" I said. " We get you guys back and you use your friendship magic to teach Discord his place again!" They looked at me with beaten and depressed eyes. All of them but Rainbow Dash seemed defeated.
" He's right girls!" Rainbow Dash said flying up next to my head. " All we gotta' do is get back to Equestria, kick Discord's misshapen butt!" I looked in shock at her. The last person I imagined backing me up was Rainbow Dash, especially after last night and a couple of minutes ago.
" Don't get any funny ideas, I'm just agreeing with you." Rainbow Dash whispered in my ear.
" But how are we supposed to do that?" Twilight asked seeming to be a bit perked up.
" It's simple," Rainbow Dash said with a grin as she turned to face me.
" We do the same thing that brought you here..." I said with the realization of what she was getting at.
" Yer crazy!" Applejack said as me and Rainbow Dash suggested the idea.
" Yeah, even more crazier than me!" Pinkie Pie said pulling a cupcake out her mane and biting into it. " I mean how would that even work?" she said with a full mouth as she swallowed the cupcake.
" Now now we shouldn't just push their idea off to the side so hastily." Rarity said. " We should make SURE it is crazy and then push it away."
" W-well I think its a good idea." Fluttershy said quietly,and we all turned to her. " Well, it's not like we can get any deeper now right? Right?" she said as she blushed and started looking down at the floor. I looked over to Twilight, but she seemed to be lost in thought. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy began arguing with the rest of the group about the idea and soon I
couldn't take the noise any longer.
" ENOUGH." I said in my most commanding voice. All the ponies were quiet and looking at me. " We will have a vote, because it seems we cant come to a decision without wasting time. Now anyone that wants to at least try Rainbow Dash's idea raise your hand." They all looked at me with a tilted head. " Right, hooves what ever." Fluttershy's, Rainbow Dash's and Twilight's hand slowly raised to the air. " Anyone that doesn't want to try raise your hoof." Applejack's, Pinkie Pie's, and Rarity's hands shot up within seconds." Great it's a tie, well I guess we should do rock paper scissors or so-" I almost got through saying but Applejack interrupted me.
" Now now wait jus' a minute," Applejack said putting her hoof down. " What's yer vote in all of this?" I stared at her for a couple of seconds unable to respond.
" What do you mean?" I croaked.
" Well yer a part of the group now ain't ya? Yer vote matters just as much as anyponies', even if it's gonna' be for such a crazy idea such as this." I was forming a lump in my throat. I couldn't tell if I was scared, or if I was too overjoyed. A small tear ran down my cheek.
" Your really tearing up about this?" Rainbow Dash said, shaking her head side to side. " Are humans always this difficult?"
" No I'm fine, I'm- I was just caught a bit off guard." I said wiping the tear off my face. I looked around to all of the pony's faces looking for me to answer the question, even Fluttershy seemed to be interested in my answer. " Let's give the rainboom a shot guys, like Fluttershy said it isn't like we could get in anymore trouble than we are now right?" as I said this the room seemed to be washed over in a wave of hope and colors as their eyes sparkled with excitement of what this plan meant. For them to go home. To go back to friends and family. Just as a I managed to take in all the joy, I looked over to Twilight who didn't look so excited anymore. "Everything okay Twilight?" I asked kneeling next to her.
" Of course I'm fine." Twilight said giving me a faint smile. I could tell something was wrong so I got up and walked over to the couch as the curious pony eyes kept staring at me. I grabbed a pillow from the couch and turned around. " Hey can you pick this up?" I asked her as I set it on the floor. She started to take a couple of steps but I stopped her. " No not with your hooves, with magic." I instructed. Everyone was still watching me curiously to find out what I was getting at, but it seemed Twilight figured it out and gave me an evil glare. She took a stance and pointed her horn at the pillow. Sparks started to fly from Twilight's horn and a faint purple glow enveloped the cushion. It started to levitate in the air as I saw it rise, but I looked back to Twilight to see her face was pale and she was already breaking into a sweat.
" Alright, alright," I said as I nabbed the pillow out of the air. " That's enough Twilight." as I said this Twilight hit the floor tired and exhausted. " You obviously can't do the magic we need until your fully rested Twilight." I said putting the cushion back on the couch and walking over to her.
" Guess Rainbow was right," Twilight murmured " Humans ARE always difficult." Everyone in the room bursted into laughter, including me.
" Well think what you want of us, just as long as you get some sleep." I said helping her up and walking her over to the couch, but when we got halfway there, we heard a low growling noise. I looked down at Twilight who was ,currently, a brighter shade of red than an apple.
" Did I mention I'm a bit hungry?" Twilight said quietly. Another roar of laughter came from the room.
" Alright lets all go into the kitchen maybe I could whip something up." I said half chuckling. Everyone made their way into the kitchen, pushed the chairs out of the way, and used some plastic chairs from the backyard. I started to open the cabinets and the fridge as the ponies watched me with curiosity.
" Excuse me but what do ya think yer makin' there?" Applejack said as I glided past her with a bowl full of flower to turn on the stove.
" I was going for pancakes but with the way I cook, I'm not really sure what it will be." I said mixing the bowl while looking for the eggs.
" Wait!" Pinkie shouted slamming her hooves on the table. I stopped and turned around to see a very serious looking Pinkie Pie, even all the other ponies seemed surprised by her sudden outburst. " You're telling me we get CAKE for breakfeast?!" Pinkie said, " And they even come in edible PANS!?" I let out a sigh of relief as I realized she wasn't angry.
" No," I said cracking an egg, " The batter is just cooked on a pan, and it doesnt have as much sugar as cake." I heard a quiet "Rats" from Pinkie Pie's direction, but I was a little to busy to turn around and check. I added some milk, stirred some more, then put the mixture on the pan, and heard the slight sizzling.
" Can we do anything to help?" Fluttershy said looking at the pan.
" Honestly, you all want to help too much, just relax I'm fine, besides how bad could I mess this up?" I said, but just as I said this one of the pancakes lit on fire. I got the spatula, flicked it on the ground and stomped the flames out.
" Apparently that much." Rainbow Dash said barely controlling her laughter, and the rest of the room started to laugh. I went on making the pancakes being careful not to let another catch fire. The smell started to hover through the air as I moved the pancakes around. I got a plate out of the cabinet and moved the pancakes over to it.
" Sorry if there's too much pancakes, I might've put too much flour in it." I said as I set the plate down on the table. I sat down to see almost half of the pancakes were already gone.
" These are delicious!!!" Pinkie screamed as she chomped into another pancake. I looked around to see everyone else was eating with a smile on their face. Everyone except Rainbow Dash.
" C'mon sugar cube ya need to try this!" Applejack said passing the plate of pancakes to Rainbow Dash. She looked at the pancakes and quietly extended her neck and grabbed one with her mouth. She started to chew and a smile grew on her face but it quickly went away as she realized everyone was looking at her.
" Well they're not, bad or anything." Rainbow Dash said, but then Applejack raised an eyebrow at her. " Okay okay their good." more eyebrows went up, "Okay! their delicious!" she admitted taking another two into her mouth, and I broke into a wild grin as I poked a pancake with a fork and started eating myself.
Chapter 5 Hero's Friendships
The pancakes were devoured within a couple of minutes, so I made a couple of more pans of pancakes which last about another 10 minutes. Eventually and thankfully everyone was full and returned to whatever they were doing before. Twilight was fast asleep on the couch, Pinkie was off exploring the house, Rainbow Dash had flown off even though I told her she couldn't fly too far away from the house because someone might see her, Rarity was still improving the house, and Applejack had been outside with Fluttershy all morning. I finished washing all the pan and looked out the window to see Applejack still working in the backyard on a garden of some sort. I stepped out the door and walked over to her patting a mound of dirt with her hooves.
" You don't have to do this you know." I said.
" Well pardon me if I'm wrong, but the way things look around here it seems yall need somethin' ta do." Applejack said with a smile as she went back to planting.
" Couldn't be anymore right actually,do you need any help?" I asked.
" Another hoof to help would be great." she grunted still digging through the dirt. I knelt down on a bare patch of dirt and started to dig. Once I made a deep enough hole I looked around and turned to Applejack.
" Umm where are the seeds?" I asked.
" Oh that's right," she said as she stuck her hoof up into her hat and pulled out about 12 apple seeds. " Here yah go." she said as she tossed them over in my direction. I caught them in my hand.
" So, why do you have apple seeds in your hat?" I asked.
" Yah never know when there might be ah fertile place tah plant." she answered with a smile. After that we kept working for 2 more hours or so. "That ought to do it!" Applejack said standing back up. I wiped sweat off of my forehead as I stood up too. We had about half of the yard covered in rows with little signs of apples that Pinkie had made with some crayons from my book bag. I looked down to my watch and saw it was 2:15.
" Guess everyone is hungry right about now huh?" I asked Applejack as I walked inside with her. Her stomach growled almost as loud as Twilight's did.
" I know I could go fer somthin' to eat." she said with a nervous laugh.
" Okay just stay here and I'll get the the others." I said walking into the living room, but when I stepped through the doorway I could hardly tell it had been my living room. The walls looked almost completely different with all the new decorations that were hanging up, some pictures had been rearranged, and Rarity had a satisfied grin plastered over her face.
" So do you like it or do you love it?" Rarity asked as she looked at my astonished face.
" It looks awesome!" I finally choked. " But how could you even manage to do this?"
" Oh I just took some extra blankets ,cut them up a bit, moved some pictures around, but don't mind all of that, im ready to start on the outside!" she said with gleeful eyes.
" Oh Rarity, i'm really sorry but," I said scratching my head " You can't do that. Someone might see you decorating the house."
" Oh of course, right I had almost forgotten." she said in a depressed tone as her ears seemed to droop down.
" Don't get me wrong Rarity I would love to see what you could do with this dump but," I said patting her and the back.
" No it's okay I understand." she said as she walked away into the kitchen.
" Im going to get some lunch soon okay?" I said as she walked away, but I got no response. " Idiot," I thought to myself," How could you be so blunt about it 'Oh did you forgot that your a talking pony in a human world?' Might as well have told her that she was an abomination or a mistake. " I thought as I sat on the couch. I looked over to Twilight starting to shift and open her eyes. " Sorry to wake you." I said still thinking about how to cheer Rarity up.
" Its fine, I think I'm fully rested anyway." Twilight said as she yawned and rubbed her eyes. " Did I hear dinner?" she said with a smile.
" Lunch, actually." I said standing back up.
" Sounds good either way." Twilight said hopping down from the couch. Just then Pinkie Pie came in bouncing.
" Why are you so happy?" I asked.
" What are you talking about, I'm always happy!" Pinkie Pie said cheerfully.
" Well we're going to have some lunch soon, so try to calm down would you?" I asked.
" Oooo! Lunch!" Pinkie said with excitement ,totally ignoring the calm down part, " Are we having pancakes again? Wait! We should make them bigger! Like platecakes! Or ballooncakes!"
" No Pinkie we aren't having pancakes." I said with a chuckle, " But tell you what, tomorrow morning we'll make a giant pancake together that everyone can share and eat together."
" Really! Ooo I can hardly wait I can practically taste the yumminess! You have to Pinkie promise though." she said giving me a stern look.
" Pinkie promise?" I asked not knowing what she was talking about.
" You know a Pinkie promise! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" she said doing a little dance and ending her dance with her hoof a few inches away from her eye.
" Okay okay, I Pinkie promise." I said with a slight smile. Pinkie still had a hard glare. " I have to do that dance dont I?" a slight nod from PInkie. " Fine." I said as I took a pose. " Cross my heart and hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eye." I murmured as I did the dance.
" Okilie dokilie!" Pinkie said as she hopped off into the kitchen.
" Shes a real handful isn't she?" I said to Twilight who was trying to hold in a laugh.
" She has her moments." Twilight said with a wide grin still trying to hold in a laugh.
I sighed and walked into the kitchen to see all the ponies sitting at the table.
" Where's Rainbow?" Applejack asked.
" I think I saw her fly away about an hour ago." Fluttershy said walking into the kitchen.
" Hows the squirrl?" I asked walking over to the fridge. She looked at me in a moment of confusion but she seemed to realize what I was asking.
" Oh ,Nutty? He's fine, he just fell and broke his leg from trying to get an acorn from a tree." she said shyly as she walked over to the table and sat down. I opened the fridge door to see nothing but a few leftover eggs and some jelly. I closed the door and opened the freezer door to see icecubes and a frozen pizza.
" So how do you guys feel about pizza?" I asked and as a repsonse I got nothing but confused looks and tilted heads. " God I need to explain a lot of thingsto you." I sighed as I pulled the pizza out of the freezer. They all watched me as I pulled the cardboard box and turned a couple of nobs on the oven. A slow hum filled the room as the oven came to life.
" What is that?" Twilight asked asked curiously.
" Its an oven, what you guys don't know what an oven is either?" I asked skeptically.
" We have ovens at Sugar Cube Corner, but none of them are as shiny as that!" Pinkie Pie said marveling at the oven.
" The thing does look ah little futaristicy." Applejack said looking at it with a suspicious glare.
" Well it's the thing thats making lunch at the moment so I wouldn't worry about it too much Applejack." I said to her with a playful grin.
" So we just wait until the "pizza" is fully cooked?" Twilight asked.
" Pretty much." I answered.
" What kind of magic does it run on?" Twilight asked still curious for more information.
" Its not magic at all really, its a thing called electricity. Not really any magic involved." I said trying to push the subject off the table, but Twilight still looked at me wanting more information out of me. " Do you want me to explain it?" Twilight gave me a curious nod. " Alright then." I said as I went on to explain the basic forms of energy and how humans turned it into electricity and made mor and more thing relying on electricity with each year going by. Everypony, but Twilight had their heads on the table already looking bored at the long explanation, then the timer on the oven dinged.
" Does that mean ish ready?" Applejack asked hopefully.
" Yes." I said with a smile. All of them sighed with relief. I stood up and walked over to the oven and pulled the pizza out with mittens.
" What are those fancy looking gloves for?" Pinkie Pie asked.
" Its so I dont hurt myself when I pull the food out." I grunted as I pulled the tray out and set it on the stove.
" Do we get tah eat now?" Applejack said miserably.
" I am quite famished." Rarity added.
" If you could, can you please go just a bit faster, just a tiny tiny bit?"Fluttershy asked quietly.
" No im sorry, but we have to let it cool down for another minute or two." I said. All the ponies groaned. " Here I won't talk about electricity anymore, that sound good?"
" Heavenly." Rarity mumbled rubbing her head with her hoof.
We sat there in awkward silence for a minute or two and then I started slicing the pizza up. I put a slice on each plate and passed them around.
" Ain't you gonna have some?" Applejack said raising an eyebrow at me as I sat down with no plate.
" No im okay, Rainbow Dash is probably going to be hungry when she gets back, so that last slice can be for her." I said propping my head on my hand.
" You sure?" Twilight asked with a piece of cheese hanging from her mouth " It seemed like you didn't get much breakfast either."
" Really guys I'm fine just enjoy the pizza." I said with a reassuring smile.
" Dont have to tell me twice!" Pinkie Pie said taking a big chomp out of the pizza.
" Excuse me I have to go to the bathroom." I said standing up and pushing in my chair and walking out of the kitchen. I was halfway through the living room when one of the windows bursted open, with glass flying everywhere. I looked to the window and saw a beaten and bruised Rainbow Dash,with a long gash along her flank where her wing started to sprout, and glass sticking out of her legs with blood still dripping.
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Alright everyone/pony. This is where i draw the line. You may not want to comment on the actual story but you can voice your opinion by sending me a private message. Im sorry that this chapter took so long, computer problems and all, but if I dont get enough feedback from either private messages, OR the comments, then I am going to move on from this story and on to another idea that I would like to try. I do want to continue this story but if it's a waste of time thats all it is. A waste of time. Thank you all for reading, and as usual this release was late at night so good night to all.
Alright people buckle down for some very confusing reading because the quotation marks are VERY important, I cant stress that enough because stuff goes down. Enjoy the chapter.
The battered and bruised Rainbow Dash looked around in confusion, as if she didn't know if this was the right place to crash in or not, she finally set her gaze on me and started to limp over to me. I watched in horror and astonishment as she kept dragging almost her whole body until she finally collapsed, but fortunately I managed to dive in and catch her before she made contact with the floor.
She looked up at me with her big eyes that looked scared yet somehow still somehow rebellious. A tiny drop of water fell onto her cheek.
" Don't tell me your crying..." she said as she took a long shuttering breath. "...again." she said before shutting her eyes.
" Hey what's goin' on in he-" Applejack said galloping into the room until she saw Rainbow Dash in my arms. The rest of the ponies soon followed Applejack into the doorway and were all completely stunned at the sight of their cyan friend. All of them seemed to just stand there completely still as if they were some stone statues.
"What are you guys doing? Help her!" I pleaded to them but they all had the same blank look of fear across their faces. "Someone ,anyone do something..." I said to myself as I kept holding Rainbow Dash tighter and tighter to my chest.
" Please don't do that..." Rainbow Dash croaked. " But I'll give you a solid 7 for effort, if you let me go of course."
I looked down to see a grinning Rainbow Dash. It amazed me. How she could be this badly hurt and still have that same old snappy and unrestrained attitude about her. It was just plain amazing.
" Im sorry." I said silently as I carried her over to the couch and set her down.
" I don't really want to..die here so if you guys could, kind of do something about that cut on my wing...that'd be just awesome..." Rainbow dash said breathing heavily between almost every word. I laughed nervously at her statement but still just seeing her like this almost made me break down completely. I got a grip of myself and started to get back in control. It looked like whoever did this was mainly trying to stop Rainbow Dash from flying. The bruises must have been from her fighting back and obviously getting hurt in return.
" Alright, Rarity can you get me some spare clothe that you have left over from all your decorations? Fluttershy I might need your help you are more experienced when it comes to helping wounded here. Twilight is there any spell that can help with pain? Applejack go help Rarity, Pinkie Pie can you go to the bathroom and get a little metal thing that looks like a stick that is bent but not broken." They all looked at me as if I was crazy but then they all sprang into action ,all doing their jobs without a moments hesitation. Twilight's horn glowed with a purple light and Rainbow seemed to be getting calmer and calmer with each second going by. Rarity and Applejack came back with a large roll of cloth and set it beside me. I took a piece and ripped it off with my teeth and gave it to Fluttershy. She immediately went to work, tying it around Rainbow Dash's wound and tightening it.
" C'mon sugar cube lets let them do their job." Applejack said grabbing Rarity and trotting into the kitchen with her.
Then, I went to my job.
With the tweezers that Pinkie Pie had brought me, I starting picking at all the shattered glass from Rainbow Dash's legs, and I carefully set them down in a small cup that Pinkie Pie had also gotten from the bathroom. We worked on Rainbow Dash for a straight hour and a half before Twilight couldn't put her magical sedative up for any longer, and so we had to stop before we put Rainbow Dash in anymore pain.
" Do you want something?" Fluttershy asked quietly.
" A glass of water would be fine..." Rainbow Dash answered weakly. Fluttershy nodded and trotted away to the kitchen. I sat there for a couple of seconds awkwardly as Rainbow Dash slowly breathed. " Hey are you listening?" she asked looking me dead in the eyes.
" O-of course." I stammered.
" Well, I just wanted to say..." she said but then turned away from me and dug her face inside the cushion on the couch. " I just wanted to say im sorry."
I was taken aback as I heard Rainbow Dash say these words. I checked my ears to see if they were working.
" Excuse me?" I asked still not believing that she had just said that.
" You heard me!" she snapped, " I said I'm sorry, if I had just listened to you, and stayed here instead of just leaving like that I could have avoided all of this."
" Don't blame yourself too much Rainbow Dash, anything could've happened. You can't really expect to be ambushed like that in the middle of the night, I mean you've only been here for ,what 2 or three days. You don't know what to expect."
" So these things happen all the time?" Rainbow Dash asked quietly.
" Crap," I thought to myself, " I can't let her get the wrong impression about this world."
" Well, you just well um-" I stuttered.
" And don't tell me another lie. I want the truth." Rainbow Dash said with that same defiant look in her eyes.
I sighed in defeat. She had cornered me, there was no way out. The only possible outcome was to tell her the truth.
" Well Rainbow Dash," I started, " These sort of things do happen, and sadly more often than people wish they would. We don't want it to happen but it's just something that can't be avoided. You can put up more and more blockades and more cops or surveillance on the streets but it will always happen at one point or another. Its just the human condition. Im sorry to be so blunt about this but you asked for the truth and that's the truth of it all." after I finished my little speech she laid there, while staring at me.
" Well you're telling the truth that much is clear..." she stated and she turned back on her side.
" Hey if you don't mind I want to ask you something." I said, and I took her silence as a yes, " How did you know I was lying?" I sat there, and I knew it was a stupid question after all i could have asked her, but it really got to me how she could always tell when I was lying. It was just one of those questions that you need an answer to.
" It's the look in your eyes." Rainbow Dash said, " You can always tell by somepony's eyes."
" Can I ask you another thing then?" I asked.
" Hmm what is it?" she responded.
" This may be a bit out of the blue, in fact it's probably downright stupid," I said chuckling, " But you don't like to worry people do you?"
" What I don't care if I worry people." she said bluntly, but then a look of uncertainty came onto her face, " Well I might care about it a little...Okay I don't like to worry people, why do you care anyway?"
" Well a long time ago, I got some advice from my mother. At the time, things weren't going well for us, and the way I thought I could help was to put as much distance away from my mother. To help her not worry so much about me and on the stuff that actually mattered, but one day I walked into her room and she was a complete wreck," I said trying to hold back the lump in my throat as I brought the memory back to my head, " She was in complete tears and she grabbed and hugged me so tightly, then she said
' My darling little boy, what did I do wrong? Why do you hate me?'
I had to pause to control myself,
" I remember saying,
'Mommy I could never hate you,'
and then she pulled away from the tight hug,wiped her tears and said,
' Then why, why are you staying away from me every time we try to do something together,'
'Well' I had said 'I just didn't want you to worry about me, I mean it's not right for me to make you worry so much'
Then she just had given me a warm smile and said
'Oh my child no you have it all wrong, things may be rough for us now but please don't think of it like that, worrying for parents, and your close friends is just an instinct for us. Its something that we do, no matter what, it's another thing that you just can't control and it cant be stopped, your family and your friends will love you and care for you even in the most harsh of times. Please don't think of it like that ever again.' "
I paused for a moment of breath as Rainbow Dash's ears were straight up listening to the story.
" And now I just feel like you shouldn't make the same mistake I did. Like my mother said, its just not something you can control, people will always worry about you, and the more you try to stop it the more you just seem to hurt your friends." I finished as Fluttershy came back with the glass of water.
" Um, here you go," she said as she set the glass on the dashboard of the nightstand. " Was I interrupting something?" she said as she saw Rainbow Dash's blank look in my direction. Rainbow Dash just shook her head.
" No Fluttershy it's cool. And Fluttershy, thank you." Rainbow Dash said as she took the glass and took a sip. I stood up ,brushed off my pants and made my way into the kitchen where I saw all of the ponies standing around whistling. I didn't take this strange behavior into account, but then Pinkie Pie trotted up to me and hugged me. She looked up and I could see tear stains running down her big eyes. She sniffled before she finally said something.
" Your mommy sounds like a nice lady." she said.
" H-how did you guys..?" I started to ask.
" Now come on sugar cube," Applejack said wiping a small tear from her eye, " Do ya really think it would take that long fer somepony to get a glass of water?"
" I guess not huh," I said blushing.
" That really is sad darling." Rarity said.
" Yeah, sad enough to be in one of those stories Twilight is always reading." Pinkie Pie said with a small smile.
" What do you mean by that?" I asked her confused about her comment.
" Oh nothing!" Pinkie Pie said with her same old playful grin.
" Don't mind her, its just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie," Twilight said cheerfully, " If you don't mind me asking, where is your mother now? It would be great to meet her."
" I'm afraid she passed away some time ago..." I said silently.
" Oh, I'm sorry for your loss." Twilight responded.
" It's okay, besides I still have her memories, but now," I said as I walked over to the stove and picked up the last two pieces of pizza, " I need to get somepony their dinner," I said as I walked out the door and back to the couch, but as I walked back to the couch I realized something. Someone has hurt my friend. I wasn't just about to let that go by. I wanted something. I wanted revenge.