Silas walked amid the small crowd of horse-things - ponies, he chided himself. Once they were sure he wasn't going to attack them, they had asked a few questions before Silas suggested heading out of the woods. If another Manticore, as they'd called it, or more Timber Wolves (again, their words, not his) showed up, they'd all want to be within running distance of the exit, right? They were too weak to even consider an enemy in his eyes, but apparently the thought of more animals finding them was enough to convince them that they should leave.

The pink one he'd bandaged up - Pinkie Pie, apparently - was currently being carried along by the orange 'pony' with a large stetson hat - Applejack, he remembered. Out of them all, she seemed to be one of the most physically fit, as well as more than willing to volunteer for the job of carrying her friend out.

Next up was the blue pegasus with the rainbow-colored mane and tail, Rainbow Dash. Odd name, but at least he had a healthy dose of respect for her - the others seemed to have simply accepted that he wouldn't harm them and moved on, but she continuously sent wary glances his way. She seemed to trust him, but not entirely - a good choice, given the situation.

There was also a white unicorn named Rarity, the other unconscious one. If anyone had told Silas they'd seen a unicorn, Silas would have called them insane. Now, however, he was willing to actually consider the possibility before writing them off as crazy.

Then there was the yellow pegasus, Fluttershy - quite possibly the most innocent creature Silas had ever seen in his entire life. There were no other words to describe her correctly.

And finally, the second unicorn - no, scratch that, 'alicorn' - of the group and the apparent leader, Twilight Sparkle. Extremely brainy, amazingly interested in his origins, and - if what she'd told him about Equestria was true - was able to use magic, and was one of the most accomplished magical beings currently alive. The real kicker was that she referred to herself and her friends as the 'Elements of Harmony', with her acting as the Element of Magic. Silas definitely thought it seemed rather appropriate.

Eventually, they reached the edge of the Everfree Forest - as he'd learned the area was called - and found themselves standing on a large hill overlooking a decently-sized town. As they walked, he began thinking back to his crew. How the Marines had taken them completely by surprise... how he hadn't been able to do anything...

"Somethin' wrong?" Applejack spoke up, looking concerned as he snapped out of his trance.

"No, no, just... thinking." Silas said, glancing around. To his surprise, he found himself standing on the edge of the town; he'd been lost in thought for quite a while.

"Well, if you're sure..." Twilight said, turning to smile at him. "Anyway, welcome to Ponyville!"

"I'm not quite sure what I expected..." Silas admitted, looking around at the now-barren street that had, seconds ago, been bustling with dozens of ponies. the moment they saw him, however, they dropped everything to get inside and lock their doors.

Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed. "I thought we'd gotten over doing this after Zecora, but I guess not."

She led him to her home as the others left to bring Pinkie Pie to a hospital to get her checked out. Silas was mildly surprised to learn that Twilight's house also doubled as the town library... as well as the fact that the entire thing was a giant castle.

Walking inside, the pirate was surprised to see what looked like a bipedal, purple lizard walking down the stairs. Said lizard froze in shock upon seeing him.

"Uh... Twilight?" He said. Judging from the voice, he wasn't very old, Silas noted silently. "What is that thing?"

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but Silas spoke up first.

"I am a human. My name is Jericho T. Silas. Pleasure to meet you." He said politely, taking off his fedora as he gave a small bow. The lizard blinked, startled, before giving a bow of his own, not wanting to be disrespectful.

"And my name is Spike." The lizard said, straightening up again. "I'm Twilight's assistant."

Silas glanced at the winged unicorn as she led him to a nearby room and told him to wait there while she went and got a few supplies.

Silas looked around at all the books as he waited, sitting in a large chair, wondering just how many there were. Isaac would have loved this, he thought to himself, especially the medical books. That guy was always reading...

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Twilight's arrival with a quill pen and quite a large pad of paper.

"Now then, mister... Silas, was it? Mind telling me a little bit about yourself?" She asked politely, but Silas could practically see the millions of questions she was dying to ask. He sighed; this might take a while...

Author's Note

Alright, I'd say this story is coming along nicely! Thank you to the ones who have liked the story so far, it means a lot to me!

I wanted to try making the chapter a bit longer this time, I felt the first chapter was a bit short.