Author's Note

If you haven't read my most recent blog, please do so as it will explain a few important things.

Friendly Encounters

Ryan awoke in his bed surrounded by a recognizable warmth and pressed against something with a very familiar scratchy feeling that assaulted his neck and legs. Surprisingly, he woke up before his alarm, which usually only happened when he stayed the night in a house that wasn't his own. He let out a yawn and attempted to push himself up, but the moment his arm tried to move from its spot a soft hand grabbed him by the wrist and pulled it back into place.

"Pinkie..." Ryan groaned tiredly, "Let go of me."

Pinkie let out a groan of her own, hugging Ryan's arm more tightly against her. "Five more minutes." She begged in a sleepy tone as he pulled against her grip in vain. "~Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaase."

"The last time you said that I spent two hours handcuffed to a water heater." He explained, continuing before she could get a word in. "Then there was the time before that when we went on boating trip and ended up going down a waterfall because you wanted to stay out for five more minutes." Pinkie was about to offer up an argument, "THEN there was the time before that, which resulted in me being found in the middle of the road...naked...in Las Pegasus...Spooning a bathtub filled the brim with mayonnaise....Then there was the time-"

"Fine!" Pinkie submitted, releasing Ryan from her vice-like grip. Just as physics would have it, his struggling caused him to tumble backwards and fall off of the bed onto the floor with a loud thud. The pink horse-woman sat up in the bed, letting the blanket fall from her naked body as she stretched her arms out above her head.

Ryan pulled himself from the floor just enough to rest his head on the edge of the bed. Pinkie glanced down at him as she relaxed her arms and let them rest by her side. "What are you doing down there, silly?"

"Gee, I wonder..." He said with a hint of venom.

Pulling himself completely off of the ground, he made his way to the closet, grabbing a clean set of casual cloths to slip on. Once dressed he went to the dresser to grab his wallet and his keys. Beside these was a letter he got the other day. He picked it up, giving it one finaly read before crumpling it into a ball and shoving it in his pocket.

Pinkie watched him with curious eyes, deciding to get out of the bed and get dressed as well. "You planning on going somewhere?" She asked, her eyes sudden lighting up as her unusually high levels of adrenaline finally kicked in. "Can I come with?"

Ryan sighed, he should have known she'd try to tag along. As entertaining as it might be with her at times, he could only handle so much of Pinkie before needing to suppress the urge to hang himself. "I'm going to meet up with-" He suddenly started making a noise that made it sound like he was trying to force a wad of mucus out of his throat.

Watch your words, jackass! You almost gave it away!

This time, Ryan did clear his throat. "Sorry, I had a lump in my throat." He lied, "I'm going to meet up with Autumn. She took off a while ago and wants me to meet up with her at the station." Before Pinkie could repeat her last question, because he knew she would, he answered bluntly. "And no, you can't come with."

Pinkie's face immediately turned into something that could tear the cold, frozen heart, straight out of a Windigo's chest. Luckily for Ryan, his heart was slightly more frozen and sadly very much stuck in his body. "No, Pinkie. Autumn and I have some things to discuss. It's a personal matter." In all honesty, he didn't know what it was about. All the letter said was that she was coming back early that day and wanted to see him.

But, on that note, Ryan made his way to the door. "You know your way around, make yourself at home, all that bullshit." He opened the door, taking in the beautiful world that laid just beyond his humble abode. "I don't know when I'll be back, so feel free to fuck off whenever you please." This was the last thing he said before stepping into the outside world and closing the door behind him.

He passed by many ponies on his way to the train station, but didn't really pay any attention to them. The only thing on his mind right now was meeting up with the prodigal bug bitch that kinda bailed on him with no explanation whatsoever. He was late from what he could tell, but not by too long. By the time he made it there the train was boarding new passengers and just about to depart.

Finding her wasn't a problem. In fact, it was a little too easy; Almost uncomfortably so. He spotted the disguised bug queen standing off to the side of the ticket counter, looking like a depressed potato.

Ryan walked over to her, but before he could see anything, he was cut off by Chrysalis' (Or Autumn's, to put it in other terms) hand covering his mouth. "I'm leaving..."

He blinked a few times, trying to process what just happened. So first he gets a letter from her saying that she's coming back to town. Okay, that's fine and dandy. The letter also said that she wanted to talk to him. Well, shit; what did he do this time? Now he's here to meet up with her and the first thing she says is that she's taking off.

...What the fuck?

"Wait, hold on." He says as he grabs her hand and pulls it from his face. "So you invited me to come here just so you can tell me that you're leaving again?" She nodded, confirming what he asked. "What kind of bullshit is that? I mean; What's even the fucking point? You could have just stayed gone and not said anything. It really wouldn't have made a difference"

Chrysalis sighed, her saddened expression only growing. "I wanted to see you again. And this time, I wanted to say goodbye."

Ryan went silent for a minute, still trying to see how any of this was even relevant. "So that's it? You're just gonna make this half-assed cameo appearance then you're leaving?"

She gave him a hard look. Not one of anger, but almost determined in a way. "Don't worry, you'll see me again." She said in a somewhat prideful, yet defeated tone. "And if things work out, we might just start spending a lot of time together."

"Uhhh..." Obviously Ryan was confused, he had no idea where she was going with this and wasn't sure how to ask. A feeling of dread rose in his gut and he couldn't help but feel like something bad was gonna happen.

The train's horn sounded off, nearly blasting his ear drums to death. Chrysalis gave him a half-smile, leaning in and kissing his cheek. "I have to go now." She said as she turned and went for the train. "Don't worry my little human. One day, we shall be reunited." With those final parting words she was aboard the train and heading off to God knows where.

Is it just me, or does she suddenly have an ominous vibe about her?

It took Ryan all of two seconds to blow it off completely. "You know what, I don't even fucking care anymore." He said to no one in particular. "I need a drink."

Despite his tendencies, it was too early to get shit-faced, in his opinion. He settled with the idea of going to Doughnut Joe's. A few cups of coffee sounded pretty great right about now.

One more short walk later he made it to the small business and took a seat in his usual spot at the counter, not really paying any attention to the surrounding ponies. One pony who did catch his attention though was the one who was supposed to be serving him.

Joe looked nervous and very unsure of himself. He approached Ryan slowly, not offering his usual happy smile. "How can I help you, sir?"

Ryan shot him a crooked look, "Dude, are you alright?" Joe nodded, "Then why are you acting like you just watched someone strangle a puppy?"

"It's nothing." He said, still acting weird. "Would you like the usual?"

"Yeah..." Ryan said, clearly not convinced. But, whatever it was, it was none of his business. So, rather than push the issue, he turned his attention elsewhere. It was still pretty early, so the place wasn't as lively as he was used to. There were ponies here and there, the early birds of society. Just talking away and smiling at each other.

It's ponies like these, those who can wake up at seven in the morning and be happy, that need to have a god damn exorcism.

Ryan nodded to himself, turning back to the counter when he heard the sound of a cup hitting the counter. Just as fate would have it, there it was; A piping hot cup of the black, piss flavored water that, by some miracle, can breathe life back into even the most miserable of creatures.

He wastes no time taking his first sip, only to be reminded of how much he hated the taste. Setting the cup down, he glanced over to the side and found a jar of sugar. His hand reaches out for it, as does another one that lands on top of his just as he is about to grab the glass.

Oh God, no!

Of all of the ponies he could have run into, it had to be her...

Starlight was frozen as her eyes met with human's sitting next to her. Her mind became an absolute war zone, fighting over whether she should leave or actually say something to him. Little needed to be said about her feelings for the creature. Overall, she couldn't see him as anything more than an overgrown child that needed it's mouth chemically bathed. Regardless, she figured that she might as well be polite.

"Hi, Ryan...It's...good to see you." She said, sounding as if she had to literally force out every syllable. Moving her hand from the jar, she allowed him to use it first. "You go ahead, I can wait."

"Uh-huh..." The two became engaged in the most uncomfortable staring contest the world would ever see. When they finally broke eye contact, Ryan all but drowned his coffee in sugar before setting it down beside Starlight.

Starlight then took the jar and repeated the process on her own beverage. Even though they were ignoring each other, the awkward tension in the air was becoming so thick that it was practically strangling both of them. When she was done with the sugar jar, she set it back down on the counter, occasionally glancing over at Ryan in the process.

"So..." Starlight began, "How's everything going with you?" She asked, still sounding as if she had to force the words out of her mouth.

"Fine, I guess..." He answered, "How are things with you?" While Ryan didn't sound like he was forcing himself to speak, it was clear in his voice how uncomfortable he felt. He had nothing against Starlight, but he knew that she didn't like him, so he settled on doing what he could to avoid her a long time ago.

"Great, just fine, really pleasant." She responded with an odd smile. "I graduated from my friendship lessons with Twilight."

Ryan nodded, "Cool...cool..."

Silence ensued, causing Starlight to attempt starting another conversation with him. It would be rude to just start pretending he didn't exist, despite how much she wanted to. "How are things with-"

"You know, we could just...not do this." Ryan said, cutting her off without a care. It was clear that neither of them wanted to talk to the other, so why sit here and play games? "I know that you don't like me, okay." He began, "If I couldn't find that out by now, then that would just make me look completely retarded."

"I am well-aware that you just see me as an all around shitty person. I don't blame you for thinking about me that way, you're right. I use mares for sex, I fuck with people's heads, I drink like it's going out of style, and I'm basically a sociopath. To sum it all up; You hate me, I don't care. So let's just continuing doing what we do and not think about the other. Sound fair?"

Now Starlight had a reason to fall silent. Ryan wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, that much was clear just by his actions in the past. She basically assumed that, to put it bluntly, he was an idiot. To hear him crank all of that out at once and show how perceptive he really was to how those around him felt, and how aware he was of his own faults, blew her mind. And to top it all off, he had the balls to say it like it is and offer her an escape from feeling obligated to speak with him.

A simple 'Wow' was all she could think of to say in that moment. "I'm not really sure what to say about all of that."

"You don't have to say anything." He said, still trying to get this conversation to end as quickly as possible. "You do you, I'll do me. I'm just gonna finish my coffee, then I'm going home."

Ryan took another sip from his cup, this one being much more pleasant than the last. Starlight was still pretty shocked about this whole thing, but settled with the idea of just pretending he wasn't even there. In all honesty, she had to give him props for what he just did for her. She would even go as far to say that he had earned some respect from her.

The two went on ignoring each other. As stated; Ryan finished his coffee and left, but not before tossing a few bits on the counter. She found that weird, considering that all he did was drink one cup of coffee and Joe didn't charge for that. Still, she kept her mouth shut, merely observing the human as he exited the shop.

Most would see returning home to an empty house to be dreadful, to Ryan though, it was absolute perfection. From the looks of it, Pinkie let herself out without bringing down the entire place; Which is a huge improvement. And, now that Chrysalis has basically fucked off to who-knows-where, he no longer had any roommates.

A happy sigh escapes his lips as he struts over to the couch and plops down hard with a smile on his face. Yep, today couldn't be more peaceful. Absolutely nothing could ruin this moment.

You just had to fucking say it, didn't you...

The peace was then disturbed by several loud knocks coming from his front door. His smile dropped as he let out a displeased growl. "Go away!" He yelled in a desperate attempt to cling to what little amount of serenity he had left. The knocking continued, sounding much faster and forceful. "I said, 'Piss off!'"

Ryan could hear voices just on the outside. From the sound he could assume that there was probably three people/ponies at his house, maybe more. He was about to yell again, but didn't get the chance as an orange fist tore through the wooden structure, grabbing the handle from the inside and opening the door.

But, Ryan didn't scream because he's a big boy...

It didn't take him long to calm down after recognizing the ponies that were literally breaking into his house. However, his attention was more focused on the farm-horse that just hadoukened a fucking hole in his door. "AJ, what the fuck!?"

Three fillies quickly scurried into the house, laughing all the while as they did so. Applejack followed them inside with a smile, but stopped shortly after entering. "Y'all be good for him now, ya hear!" Her attention moved to the human. "Thanks for agreein' ta watch over them while ah-"

"You have two seconds to explain yourself." Ryan interrupted, removing himself from the couch and walking over to her with his arms crossed.

Applejack sighed, her smile quickly vanishing. "Look, I said I'd watch over them, but granny took a tumble and I need to watch over her. Ah can't be trying to take care of her AND watchin' them fillies. You know how they can get."

Ryan felt his stomach turn and his brain catch fire as he realized what she was asking of him. "What about Mac, why can't he do it?"

"He's gotta make up for mah half of the chores while I'm watchin' granny."

"Well why do I have to watch them?"

"Come on, sugarcube." She said, acting all cutesy with him. "The fillies love ya, and you're an absolute sweetheart to them."

"I'm an alcoholic, and I hate everyone!" He said in a raised tone, beginning to lose his patience. "I don't know how to watch a kid, let alone three of them. I could barely watch my own siblings! I taught one of them how to stab a couch to death. Do you think these are the qualities of a proper babysitter? And, you have five other friends who are more qualified than I could ever be!"

"And they're all busy!" She snapped at him, stopping to take a breath to calm herself. "I ain't got time to argue. Yer the only one who don't have nothin' to do, ever. So please, do this for me." She begged, staring at him with-

Oh my god...it's the puppy eyes...the only thing that makes me cringe from how stupid it looks...

"Yeah, you're not gonna win me over like that." Ryan said with little to no emotion. His body suddenly tensed up and he had to place a hand to the wall to keep himself from falling over. The pain rocketing through his body was almost unbearable. Applejack held his groin firmly in her hand, locating her targets before all but crushing them in her grip. "Okay-OKAY! You win!" Applejack released him from her grip and his body made quick work of acquainting his ass with the floor. "You fucking bitch..."

Aj smiled, patting him on the head before walking out of the house. "Play nice now. I'll be back to pick them up later."

Ryan sat with his back against the wall, his hands trying desperately to caress the pain out of one of his most prized possessions. After about three minutes or so minutes, he was able to focus on the world around him again. He spotted the fillies; Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle staring at him with curious eyes.

They obviously didn't know what was going on with him, just as he had no idea what to do with them. He's never had to watch over kids before. More often then not, he stayed as far away from them as possible. It's one thing to see a kid for a few minutes at a time, but that pales in comparison to having to take care of one.

He stared at them awkwardly, trying to figure out where to go from here. "So..." He began, not really having a plan on what to follow that up with. "You guys like bleach?"