Fugue - Volume 1

"At least the library's still standing."

Huey rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he turned around to survey the aftermath of the cataclysm that had befallen Ponyville, while Twilight and Spike stood beside him. Even though he was not versed in the art of construction, engineering or architecture, he could see that much of the town had been rendered unsafe for habitation. The parasprites had eaten sizeable chunks out of the buildings without any consideration regarding whether it would make the building unstable or not. Meanwhile, the rest of Twilight's friends had spread out to check on their respective dwellings, after agreeing that they would meet up at Twilight's library once they had finished their inspections.

"This is all my fault," Twilight murmured sadly. "I cast that spell which would make them stop eating things."

"I see," Huey mused. "I'm guessing they began eating things that weren't usually eaten?"

"Exactly."

"Twilight," Huey began, while kneeling to bring himself to eye level with the lavender unicorn. "You did what you could. As far as I can see, it was a fifty-fifty chance of it working or it causing this. I would have played those odds too, if I were in your position."

Twilight sighed heavily, the guilt still bearing down on her as she stared at the ground forlornly. Huey cupped her chin with his hand and gently raised her head so that she was looking at him.

"Feeling miserable won't rebuild what's been destroyed," Huey explained. "Instead, let's knuckle down and get to work with restoring Ponyville to its former glory. How does that sound?"

"That sounds great," Twilight muttered with a weak smile. "But where do we start?"

"Well, I say we gather everyone together and figure out where we're going to keep everyone." Huey said as he stood back up. "We can't have all of these equines sleeping under the stars."

"Why not speak to the mayor?" Twilight suggested. "Maybe we could organise a committee for coordinating the reconstruction work?"

"Oh brother." Spike muttered with a roll of his eyes. Huey glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, while Twilight shot him a death glare.

"Yes..." Huey began slowly. "Where would we find the mayor anyway, Twilight?"

"Normally, she'd be at the town hall, but that collapsed!"

"Maybe she's inspecting the damage inflicted upon it?" The human thought out loud. "No harm in checking. We could ask some of the locals while enroute."

"You're right," Twilight agreed before turning to her draconic assistant. "Spike, could you stay here and tell the others where Huey and I have gone when they arrive?"

Spike stood to attention and gave the pair a salute, providing them with the acknowledgement they needed. Huey and Twilight immediately began their journey through the ruined town.

"How was Canterlot?" Twilight asked inquisitively. "Sorry if this is an inappropriate time to ask."

"It's alright," Huey reassured her. "As for how my trip was, it was great. I was able to spend some time with both princess'."

"How are they doing?"

"Great, which reminds me. Princess Celestia sends her best wishes and gratitude for your hard work regarding your studies in both friendship and humans."

"She read my notes!?"

"I do believe she did, however the reason she summoned me wasn't due to wanting to examine me further."

"Then what did she want?"

Huey fell silent, unwilling to state the deeply personal reason the princess had summoned him.

"Huey?" Twilight probed. "Is something wrong?"

"Huh? What? Oh! No, I lost my concentration." He stuttered. "She wanted to talk to me about going home."

"Home!?" Twilight exclaimed in surprise. "You mean she found a way to do that already?"

"Not exactly," Huey corrected. "She had come to the conclusion that determining how to get me there would take too long. In essence, I'd have died of old age long before they'd even scratched the surface of the puzzle regarding how I could be sent home."

"Oh... I'm so sorry."

"Don't be, Twilight. I was gone for so long since I needed time to come to terms with reality." Huey lied. "And anyway, it can't be so bad. I have no recollection of life before I was here, so... Silver lining; it's a completely fresh start."

"I guess," Twilight murmured sadly. "I'm still sorry for you, Huey. I can't even begin to imagine how hard it would be if I was to be stuck as the only one of my kind in your world."

"Good thing that's not the case! I'd find it heartbreaking if anyone had to experience what I have."

The pair fell silent for a while. Huey had run out of topics to discuss, while Twilight was mulling over the hypothetical situation they had just discussed.

"So, you're stuck here forever?" Twilight clarified.

"Pretty much."

"Wow..."

Suddenly, the pair's attention was captured by a pair of mares having a one-sided argument beside a wrecked house. The mare performing all of the speech was a grey earth pony, sporting a black mane, a white detachable shirt collar, accompanied by a pink bow tie, round her neck, and a purple G-clef adorning her rump. The second participant was an off-white unicorn with a wild, two-tone electric blue mane, an inverted image of two eighth notes bridged together as a cutie mark, and a large pair of purple tinted sunglasses.

"How can you be so laid-back about all of this!?" The grey mare ranted. "Our home is ruined!"

The off-white mare stared blankly at her friend for a few moments, before reaching into the wreckage and pulling a dusty, but unharmed, cello from it with a smile.

"Knowing that my instrument is unharmed does not change the fact that we are homeless, Vinyl Scratch!" She replied, while burying her face into her hooves. Vinyl grimaced and gave her friend a gentle pat on the back.

"Excuse me?"

As soon as the cellist looked up, she squealed and hid behind Vinyl Scratch, who was completely unfazed.

"My name's Huey," He said. "Sorry for butting in, but I couldn't help overhearing your conversation."

"What do you want!?" Vinyl's friend squeaked nervously, causing Huey to look back at Twilight, who merely shrugged.

"To help," Huey said, while genuflecting. "I doubt you will have noticed me before, but I'm currently living with Twilight Sparkle, the local librarian stood behind me. We were going to see the mayor, and were wondering if either of you had seen her?"

Vinyl glanced at her terrified cellist friend, who merely shook her head vigorously. The unicorn then looked back at the human and shook her head too.

"Alright," Huey replied with disappointment. "Thank you for your time though."

Huey then presented a hand for the two mares to shake. Vinyl looked at it for a moment before raising an eyebrow and presenting her hoof, which Huey gently fist-bumped. He then presented his hand to Vinyl's friend, who gave it a quick and feeble shake.

"Octavia Melody." She quickly said before snatching back her hoof and hiding entirely behind Vinyl.

"Nice to meet you both." Huey said before standing back up and walking back to Twilight.

"Don't worry about Octavia," Twilight murmured. "She's never seen a human before."

"I know, Twilight," Huey replied. "I've accepted that it's going to take some time and effort before I'm treated properly. Still, at least Vinyl didn't seem to care that much, so that's something."

"DJ Pon-3? She's very laid-back, so that's not that surprising."

"Would that be her stage name?"

"Mhm! She's something of a celebrity." Twilight explained. "And a very popular artist on the night club circuit."

"Huh... That's the first time I've ever met a celebrity."

"How would you know that? I thought you couldn't remember anything."

Huey looked down at the unicorn, expecting to see her sporting a smug grin. Instead, she was gazing up at him with pure concern and curiosity.

"Fair point," He remarked. "I wouldn't know. A better statement would probably be 'first time meeting an Equestrian celebrity'."

"Much better!"

Huey glanced back at Vinyl and Octavia. The pair had turned their attention towards their broken home once more, and were slowly poking through the rubble for any other belongings they could salvage. Huey experienced a sharp twinge of emotional pain as he watched the sombre scene unfold before him.

"We've got to do something, Twilight," Huey stated firmly. "It hurts to see this."

"It does hurt." She agreed with a sigh. "But what can we do?"

"At this point, I'd do anything," Huey said dejectedly. "Anything at all."

Twilight frowned and gently gave him a pat on the back.

"We'll think of something, Huey." She soothed. "Something that will help put this right."

The human sighed heavily and covered his face with his palm, realising that this scene that was affecting him deeply was not limited to just Vinyl and Octavia. This exact scene would be occurring throughout the entirety of the town with varying severity. What was needed was a plan and somewhere for the town to congregate. A place large enough for all of them.

"Twilight..."

"Yes, Huey?"

"When Pinkie threw your welcome party a few days ago, how many guests did she invite?"

"Well, she said she invited everypony," Twilight replied. "But I don't see what that's got to do wit-"

Twilight suddenly gasped in realisation.

"The library?"

"The library," Huey repeated. "If the town hall's destroyed, which it is, we'll need somewhere else to have a town meeting. Why not have it in the library?"

"But..." Twilight protested. "She must have been over-exaggerating!"

"This is hardly the time to split hairs!" Huey countered. "You agreed that we need to do something. The quicker we get started with sorting out this mess, the sooner we can get back to normality, right?"

"R-Right," Twilight stammered, her ears drooping slightly as the memory of her involvement with causing the aforementioned "mess" reared its head once more.

"Then let's gather everyone together and find out how bad things really are!" Huey declared. "Once we know, we can begin a planned and coordinated approach to sort this calamity out!"

"Right." Twilight agreed firmly, her resolve rejuvenated by Huey's authoritative pep-talk.

"I'll go and invite Octavia and Vinyl, you see if the mayor's at the town hall ruins," Huey ordered gently. "We'll then both head back to the library, while inviting as many ponies as possible along the way."

"Right!" Twilight acknowledged. "Meet you back at the library!"

"Best of luck!" He replied before presenting a fist, which Twilight eagerly hoof-bumped before trotting away. Huey then took a deep breath and huffed with determination before striding confidently towards Vinyl and Octavia.

"Miss Scratch, Miss Melody," He said politely. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but I wish to invite you to a town meeting that is going to be held in the library. I'd be most grateful if you relayed this message to anypony you meet while heading there."

Vinyl smiled widely and nodded before zipping away, leaving Octavia on her own with Huey.

"I-I," The cellist stammered. "I'm sorry for Vinyl's behaviour. She's not the talkative type, but she's really lovely, I assure you!"

"It's quite alright," Huey reaffirmed. "Although, I wonder where she's gone in such a hurry."

"Oh, only Celestia knows," Octavia remarked nonchalantly. "I swear she's a force of nature sometimes."

"Ha... Reminds me of Pinkie Pie," Huey remarked. "She's a unique character too."

"Oh, I know!" Octavia agreed. "Some of the things she can do leave me absolutely speechless!"

"And that persistently rosy outlook on life," Huey added. "It's beyond explanation how someone can be so cheerful!"

The two shared a chuckle at their joint bemusement towards their respective friends for a moment, before Octavia suddenly tilted her head inquisitive at the human.

"Pardon me for asking," She began softly. "But what, exactly, are you?"

"I'm a human." Huey explained. "I'm the only one of my kind, and came here purely by accident. Apparently, somepony cast a spell incorrectly and... Well... Brought me here from my home."

"Oh dear," She remarked. "How positively dreadful! I'm sorry for my nerves earlier... They got the better of me."

"Don't worry about it," Huey reassured her. "I've accepted that I'm going to get a few funny or scared looks. After all, you've probably never seen anything like myself before."

"Very true."

"The feeling is actually mutual!" Huey continued, while sitting down to bring himself to Octavia's eye level. "Where I'm from, ponies don't talk, while pegasai and unicorns don't exist at all!"

"My gosh! That is weird!"

"Straight back at you," Huey countered with a smile. "Think how I must have felt when I first met one of your kind. Such vibrant coat colours, magic, the ability to speak! It went against everything I know!"

"Yes, I can definitely see how you'd feel that way," Octavia mused. "At least, in my case, I have the comfort of being in a familiar place, surrounded by familiar things. You, on the other hoof, must be constantly experiencing new things."

"I'm definitely doing that," Huey agreed. "Thus far, it's been an adventure that I'm enjoying a great deal. However, this is a minor hiccup."

"What is?"

Huey motioned towards the devastation around them, earning a gasp of understanding from Octavia.

"Oh, of course!" She stuttered. "You said you lived here with Twilight!"

"Yes, but the library's fine." Huey replied. "What bothered me was... Well... You."

"Me?" Octavia said in surprise. "What did I do to upset you?"

"Oh no!" Huey exclaimed in alarm. "I didn't mean 'you' specifically. I meant this disaster that's occurred. I saw you and Vinyl arguing about being homeless and... Well... It hurt."

"Oh, was I being that loud?" Octavia asked in embarrassment. "It didn't sound like I was being too vocal in my frustration."

"It was loud enough that I noticed. Seeing the pair of you surveying the ruins of your home hurt a lot. You didn't deserve it and I want to help put everything right. That's why I invited the pair of you to the library for a meeting. I thought that if we were all able to band together... We could get Ponyville rebuilt within a couple of days."

"That's so kind of you!" Octavia commented. "But why?"

"A number of reasons," Huey explained. "First, it hurt to see innocent ponies losing so much. Second, I'm fortunate to have a home that's still standing. Three, I don't have any money, so if there was to be a call for donations or anything... I wouldn't be able to give anything. As such, I should donate my time and energy instead."

Octavia listened intently to Huey's explanation. Once he had finished, and she had mulled over his words, she reached out and patted his shoulder.

"You have a kind heart, Huey," She said. "If you have a heart, that is. I don't know if humans have hearts."

"They do."

"Good. You have a good heart, and I'm glad to hear that someone wants to help me. It's only right that I return the favour and help you."

"Oh, you don't have to, but it would definitely help to have everyone on board to get Ponyville back to normal."

Octavia opened her mouth to reply, but stopped when she heard the sound of wheels rattling towards her. The pair turned and found Vinyl Scratch pushing a trolley that had a DJ's turntable, accompanied by massive speakers, mounted onto it.

"Vinyl, dear," Octavia began curtly. "It's not the time to use that."

The DJ grimaced before switching on the turntable. Octavia and Huey immediately covered their ears when a wave of feedback screeched through the speakers.

"VINYL!" Octavia yelled. "Turn that turntable off!"

Huey watched as Vinyl scrambled to manipulate the myriad of dials and knobs that allowed her to silence the screeching. Once the whining ceased, she tapped the microphone that was part of her instrument. Huey beamed and gently shook Octavia.

"Octavia, your friend's a genius!" Huey declared in excitement. "She's got a microphone and a pair of speakers! We can broadcast a message to Ponyville with them!"

"You're right!" Octavia gasped. "I'm sorry, Vinyl, it seems I misunderstood your intent."

The DJ merely shrugged before stepping aside, so that Huey could stand beside her and remove the microphone from its stand. He gently tapped it, while Vinyl adjusted the volume dials accordingly.

"Testing, Testing." Huey said experimentally. "One, two, three. Calling all Ponyvillians."

After receiving a smile and nod from Vinyl, Huey gave her a thumbs up before clearing his throat and beginning his broadcast.

"Citizens of Ponyville," He began. "A meeting is to be held in..."

Huey fell silent when he realised that he didn't know the name or address of Twilight's home. He looked to Vinyl and Octavia, who had taken the time to move until she was stood on his other side.

"Golden Oak Library." Octavia said, earning her a nod of gratitude from Huey.

"A meeting is to be held in The Golden Oak Library. I repeat; a meeting is to be held in The Golden Oak Library. We request that all residents attend in the aftermath of the disaster that's befallen us. Thank you."

Huey put the microphone back onto its stand, while Vinyl switched the feed off.

"Let's hope that they heed the call." Huey muttered. "Let's get going to the library."

Huey and Octavia immediately turned and began walking to the library, but stopped when they heard the familiar squeak of wheels. The pair turned towards Vinyl, who was attempting to turn the trolley bearing her equipment around, so that she could bring it with her.

"Vinyl," Octavia said in exasperation. "We're not taking that with us."

Huey blinked before silently he approached the DJ and helped her push her turntable. Vinyl flashed a grateful grin at him, before looking at the cellist with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. Octavia stared back at Vinyl blankly for a moment before sighing heavily in defeat.

"Fine."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Huey, I am Mayor Mare."

The human bowed and shook the hoof of a pale brown earth mare blessed with a grey, wavy mane, half-moon glasses, and a tied scroll cutie mark. After assisting Vinyl and Octavia with bringing the turntable to the library, he had discovered her talking to Twilight upstairs in the librarian's bedroom.

"It's an honour to finally meet the mayor of Ponyville, Madam Mayor," Huey replied solemnly. "However, I wish it occurred under better circumstances."

"That goes without saying," She remarked with a weak smile. "Twilight has been explaining your suggestion to me, and it is one that I would totally support."

"I'm glad that's the case!" Huey chirped. "Has there been any discussion regarding who should be on the committee?"

"Ah, your committee for rebuilding," The mayor murmured. "We've been talking about that and have come up with a preliminary group that would, at this time, seem appropriate. I would sit as the chair of the group, Miss Twilight, along with her assistant, Spike, would act as the notaries for minutes and such."

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Huey commented. "Are there any engineers in Ponyville that can sit on the committee?"

"We are hoping to recruit the services of Crafty Crate and Drill Bit," Mayor Mare explained. "The former is the owner of a local moving company, while the latter is the foreman for a local construction firm."

"Excellent!" Huey replied ecstatically. "Is there anyone else you intend to speak to?"

"Other than yourself, no pony springs to mind."

"Me?" Huey stuttered. "Why would you need or want me!?"

"Because it was your idea," Twilight chipped in. "You were the first one to come up with the suggestion of working together, that kind of quick-thinking could be a real asset to the rebuilding process."

"I-I guess," Huey stammered, while a blush of embarrassment adorned his cheeks. "I wouldn't say my suggestion was that ground breaking."

"Well, we would still be delighted if you attended." The mayor said. "With that order of business settled, I think it would be a good idea to head downstairs and address the pony-folk. I assume you're okay with outlining your plan to them personally?"

"P-Personally!?" Huey spluttered. "Why me!?"

"Two reasons," The mayor chirped. "First, it's your idea. Second, introducing yourself to the entirety of Ponyville will help allay the fears they have about you. A number of complaints and concerns were lodged by worried citizens about who and what you are."

"Oh..."

Huey watched forlornly as the mayor walked downstairs, leaving him alone with Twilight. The lavender unicorn gave his back a gentle pat.

"Cheer up, Huey," She soothed. "At least this means that the entire town will get to see that you're completely harmless."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Huey sighed. "Still hurts a little bit to know that some think I'm dangerous, even if I know that they're just afraid of something they've never met before... It can't be helped."

Twilight frowned and reared up onto her hind-hooves to hug the saddened human, who eagerly returned the gesture.

"Thanks, Twilight," He whispered into her ear. "It's good to know I've got a friend to turn to."

"Any time, Huey," Twilight murmured back tenderly. "Shall we?"

Huey nodded and helped Twilight drop back down onto all fours before they descended to the ground floor. The entirety of the main library area was packed with ponies of all shapes, types and sizes. What surprised Huey was that even though it was a sea of vibrant colour, he could still pick out individuals he knew. Admittedly, the fact that Rainbow Dash was hovering above the crowd and Pinkie Pie was vigorously waving, in an attempt to grab his attention, helped in this endeavour, but such visual aids did not apply to the likes of Applejack or Rarity. After waving back at Pinkie, Huey pushed his way through the waist high wall of equines to Vinyl Scratch's turntable, which he had helped to set up inside the library once they had arrived.

"Vinyl, can I borrow your microphone again?" He asked. Vinyl nodded and swiftly altered the settings necessary to switch it on. Huey took the device from its stand and tapped it, causing a loud thudding sound to emanate from the speakers.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," Huey began, causing everyone to fall silent and turn towards him. "First off, I'd like to extend my gratitude to you all for attending this impromptu meeting. In the aftermath of the parasprite invasion, which has caused widespread chaos and damage, the local authorities, under the leadership of Mayor Mare, seek to unite all of the ponies, regardless of whether they are a unicorn, earth pony or pegasai, in the common cause of fixing the town."

A wave of light applause and intrigued murmurs rippled throughout the crowd, which ended as swiftly as it began when Huey raised a hand to silence the audience.

"Meanwhile, this is a perfect opportunity to put to rest a number of concerns that have been circulating about me," Huey continued. "My name is Huey. I am what is called a human."

A loud squee erupted from the crowd, causing Huey to squint his eyes as he scanned the crowd in search of the individual responsible. His gaze eventually settled on a mint green unicorn that was clearly so excited that she was practically vibrating due to the sheer amount of fidgeting she was doing. Immediately recognising her as Lyra Heartstrings, Huey gave her a smile and a wave.

"Hello, Lyra!" He chirped. "Minuette and others have told me about yourself. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

The unicorn immediately swooned at the attention, her fall broken by the swift intervention of a cream earth mare with a pink and dark blue mane, and three wrapped sweets for a cutie mark.

"Moving on!" Huey exclaimed, recapturing the attention of the crowd. "To tell you a little about my species. We are bipeds, as you can see. We wear clothes as a matter of necessity due to having very little in the way of hair to keep us warm. As for our diet, I'd like to first assure everyone present that this is not, I repeat not, a cause for alarm, humans are omnivorous."

The crowd suddenly became much more wary, many backed away, folded their ears down, and began murmuring to the equines next to them about whether they were in danger.

"I know that the idea of a creature eating meat is going to cause a few stomachs to turn, and cause people... I mean ponies... To be afraid for the safety of themselves and their loved ones," Huey continued solemnly. "However, I would like to state that my kind are very particular about what kinds of food we eat. For example, it is common for us to keep household pets, such as dogs and cats. As such, we do not eat them. In the case of ponies, we do not eat them either."

A collective sigh of relief was exhaled by the crowd, causing Huey to smile and drive the point home.

"Also, it is not a necessity for humans to eat meat to survive." He stated confidently. "Many humans take the conscious decision to never eat meat, choosing to opt for pure vegetarianism instead. Thus far, I have, for the benefit of the equines who have graciously allowed me to reside with them, not eaten meat as a matter of courtesy. I will be as herbivorous as yourselves... If one disregards some of your cuisine choices like daisy sandwiches or hay fries, which are literally inedible to humans. Are there any questions?"

The audience talked amongst themselves for a few moments, and soon fell silent again without a single hoof being raised.

"Very well. To help with coordinating the rebuilding process, Mayor Mare wishes to speak to Crafty Crate and Drill Bit. Are they currently present?"

Two hooves immediately rose up.

"Excellent!" Huey chirped, before pointing to the stairs leading up to Twilight's bedroom. "If you'd be so kind as to take the stairs over there, I, along with the rest of the committee, will join you shortly. As for the rest of you, I would appreciate it if you would remain here, while we discuss our plan of action. Pinkie Pie, are you still here?"

"Right here, Huey!" The party mare cheeped with a happy wave.

"Excellent!" He remarked. "Would it be possible for you to find a few volunteers to find some refreshments for everyone?"

"Yupperoni!" She replied with a salute. "You can count on me!"

"Thanks, Pinkie, and thank you, everyone for your attention! Make yourselves comfortable and we will be right back after we've had our discussion."

Huey put the microphone back onto its stand and gave Vinyl a scratch behind the ears, earning him an ecstatic grin from the DJ. With his gratitude expressed, he immediately headed towards the stairs.