I took a deep breath as I stepped out of the hospital, enjoying the scent of non-sterilized air and the feeling of sunlight on my skin. With a small groan of pleasure I arched my back and extended my good arm out in a large stretch, glad to finally be out of the hospital and free to-

“Ahem”

I snapped my eyes open and turned my head towards the source of the sound that dared to interrupt my stretch, only to find that sitting on a bench to the right of the door were Rarity and Applejack, and judging by how posh the voice that grabbed my attention was, it was fairly obvious who had spoken.

“Er, can I help you?”

Both mares got up and walked over to me, though while Rarity seemed to be ready to speak, Applejack seemed to be satisfied with giving me a hard stare that I wasn’t sure what to make of.

“Actually it’s us who can help you, after all it would be utterly uncouth of us not to offer any aid we have to the being that saved our sisters. My name is Rarity, and it’s a pleasure to finally meet you mister?”

Deciding not to question how she knew my sex and avoid the unpleasant thoughts that such a question might bring up I extended my hand out to shake, “Aaron. Aaron Arthas, and the pleasure is mine.”

I should probably play ignorant right now, don’t want to frighten them by letting them know that I know more than I should. Though that brings up the question of how much I should tell them, or if I have to tell them anything. Maybe I should-

I was brought out of my thoughts by the feeling of Rarity’s hoof settling in my hand and gently shaking it before she took her hoof back. She then shot a look at Applejack, whose expression hadn’t changed at all.

“My quiet friend here is Applejack, she’s the older sister of Applebloom, one of the fillies you saved, and I’m sure she’s quite grateful for that fact, isn’t that right Applejack?”

Applejack shot a glance at Rarity in response to her terse tone, but didn’t change her demeanor. After a few more seconds of staring at me however she spoke up.

“Rarity, could ya please give us a moment? Ah’ve got some questions for our newcomer, and Ah don’t feel like waitin to ask ‘em.”

Rarity rolled her eyes, “Honestly dear, he just got out of the hospital, which he was only in because of the injuries he got saving our sisters might I add, don’t you think he deserves a chance to gather his bearings?”

Applejack didn’t back down, but before she could reply I spoke up.

“Rarity, do as she asked, please. I don’t have a problem answering a few questions, and I’m sure this won’t take long.”

The mare in question sighed, but decided to relent, “Very well, when you two are done come find me, I had some questions I wanted to ask nurse Redheart anyway.”

Applejack waited until the door closed behind Rarity before she cocked her head towards the side of the building, telling me to follow her as she walked around the corner. I followed her to the side of the building, where there was a noticeable lack of ponies. She stopped about halfway down the wall and turned to face me, an unreadable look on her face as she gazed up at me.

“Alright. Ah want the truth, what is Alchemy?”

I blinked, of all the things I had been expecting, I wasn’t expecting that.

“How do you-”

“Know about alchemy? It’s all Bloom’ll talk about right now. Ah know what you did to save her and her friends, and Ah appreciate that somethin fierce, but even though I can tell she ain’t lyin to me, Ah still find what she told me you did to be a hard pill to swallow, and now she says that you’ll be teaching alchemy. Ah don’t want my sister learnin how to kill.”

I looked down at Applejack, a thoughtful frown on my face.

“I can tell you that alchemy isn’t something made specifically for fighting. In essence it’s a science of using some of your own energy to start a reaction that will follow certain defined paths to result in the construction of something new out of raw materials. However, I’m not going to lie, it can be used to attack people, or to defend oneself from attack, and I have no intention of lying to her about that. Alchemy can be a great tool if used correctly, but it can also be a horrible weapon, and it would be unfair to her if I didn’t make sure that she knew that, and knew how to use alchemy responsibly.”

Applejack grimaced, “Ah don’t know that Ah like that, she’s to young ta be-”

“Running around the Everfree forest by herself? To be trying to fend off manticores and who knows what else?”

Applejack sighed, “Yeah. That. “

“How about this then. First, I find out if she can even do alchemy.”

Applejack gave me a questioning look at this, “Ya mean ya don’t know?”

I shook my head, “Know I don’t. In fact I’m only learning myself.”

I pulled my book of alchemy out from my sling and showed it to Applejack. To be honest I was lucky that it had been picked up when I was taken to the hospital, though the small note on the front of it that read “Come to the library when you have a chance” made me shudder.

“Everything is in this book. While I have some theoretical knowledge on how alchemy should work, I don’t actually know much about it myself, only the basic principles, which were what I planned on starting her on after finding out whether or not this would even be possible for her.”

Applejack nodded, a contemplative look on her face.

“Either way though, I would be more than willing to have you sit in on the lessons when you have the time, though like I said, I won’t pull any punches on warning her off of some of the more dangerous aspects. She mentioned your parents, and there are records of people trying to use alchemy to bring the dead back. It doesn’t end well, and I’m going to make sure that she knows that. If she still wants to learn after I tell her what kind of consequences there would be to her going down the wrong paths then I will teach her everything I learn. If not, then she continues as she has, no harm done. Anyway, I think we can both agree that it would be better that if I don’t at least try to teach her then she’ll probably try to do alchemy without guidance, and that can be extremely dangerous.”

“And how do you know what mah sister would do?”

“She was in the Everfree with only her two friends as backup.”

Applejack grimaced again, “Fair enough. Alright Ah’ll let ya teach her, just… just be careful not to scare her to bad. Ah don’t know anything about this stuff, and I just want her to be safe.”

I nodded, “I understand. I’ll do my best to make sure she knows what she’s getting into without going too far.”

Applejack sighed, “Ah suppose that’s all Ah can ask. Celestia knows she’d find a way around me tellin her not tah take these lessons. Anyway, let’s go get Rarity, we were supposed to show yah around town, and introduce you tah everypony.”

“No problem, though can I ask one thing first?”

“Shoot.”

“Can we visit Twilight first, I need to ask her something.”

Applejack shot me a questioning glance, “Sure, though I’m just warnin’ yah, she might not let yah go for awhile. She’s been gettin a little...excited about you bein an ‘undiscovered species’ and all.”

I flinched, but held my ground, “Be that as it may, I really need to see her first.”

Applejack shrugged and started to lead me back towards the front of the building, apparently agreeing to my request.

This might not be fun, but I should get this out of the way as soon as possible.

Author's Note

What's this, two chapters only a week apart? Am I actually getting myself onto a decent writing schedule? Or am I just desperately trying to cope with school by avoiding my responsabilities? HUH? HELP ME!

In all seriousness though, I am actually trying to be better about updating. I wouldn't expect updates weekly, but hopefully more often than once every two or three months.

Anyway, please feel free to comment your thoughts and feelings.