The next morning was not a pleasant one at all for Alex. The very moment he opened his eyes and had awoken slightly, he wished he had never opened them at all. He felt sick to the bone, his head hurting enough that he was afraid that it would possibly pop anytime soon. He felt nauseous to a level that he had never archived on earth. He was first one to admit that he was a alcoholic but usually he was not left with such a hangover.

He swung his legs over the stack he always rested on and tried to stand, which did work somewhat, as he was swaying by standing alone. With the constant feeling that he was about to vomit he made is way over to the cellar door and opened it a bit. The usually bright and relaxing sunlight that Equestria's sun gifted upon the land, now painfully stung in his eyes. He shielded them with one hand as he slowly tumbled from the cellar and into the kitchen of the house.

"Well, good mornin' to ya sleepyhead, Ah can tell by the way ya are acting, ya havin' one bad hangover don't ya?" He could not help but smirk at Applejack's comment. Plus the smell of the fresh food she was making, began to lift his spirits and will to live, which before had drowned himself in said hangover.

"Good morning to you too,I see you are not befallen by the curse that is now plaguing me. That is good, say do you have some coffee?" He grinned halfheartedly and looked at her. She nodded and slid over a pot and a cup. He smiled and filled the cup with the black steaming goodness.

Applejack kept up the cooking till she turned to him with a smile. "So,Ah thought since ya are havin' the day off today, ya could go down into town and get accustomed to tha place."

"Applejack, you know very well that I can't go into town without you, you heard the guards. I can't enter town without you binding me to yourself." He sighed in defeat, of course he would have liked to explore the town.

"Not anymore, this mornin' the same two guards who stopped us the first time, came around and handed over this." She pointed at the right side of the kitchen counter, on it a collar had been draped. It clearly had a sign on it that was similar to Applejack's cutie mark. "With this collar ya can go into town at yer own leisure and do what ya want, as long as ya don't get into trouble of course. That way ya are a bit more free and can venture without always starin' at my flank when bound to me."

She then turned to him with a cocky grin. "Unless of course ya like starin at pony flanks.." To which he became beet red and was going to protest, but she just bursted into laughter.
"Ya should have seen yer face, that was too good, total gold" He gave her a halfway amused,halfway annoyed look.

"Really Applejack? Such kind of jokes after how your posh friend acted a bit too weird yesterday?" He raised a eyebrow. "And after you told me that you were gonna sell me off."

"On the first one, Ah did not see what happened, Ah turned away to give ya some privacy remember? Though what Ah heard you two talk did sound a bit suspicious, so maybe Ah should talk to Rarity about it." She then fully turned to him and put a hoof on his chest. "And about that other thing...Ah will let ya decide for yerself, yes Ah will take the requests from the ponies for that, but ya get to decide who gets a chance and who does not. So don't worry yerself over that kind of stuff now please." she gave him a reassuring smile.

He smiled and took a sip from the coffee, he usually drank it with milk but on hangovers only pure black coffee could bring him back to life and back into action.

He then remembered something from last night and decided to ask. "Say, how much do you know about Berry Punch?"
She raised a eyebrow at that with a smirk.

"Not that much, but why do ya ask? Did ya get interested in her?" She wiggled the one eyebrow.

"No, not in that way. But she told me she was a mother yesterday and also that she was single." he took another sip as Applejack motioned him to continue. "When i asked her about what happened she seemed somewhat...glum and told me not to ask further about it but.....I kinda care so...do you know something about what happened?"

Applejack rubbed her chin and nodded in thought. "I think Ah know a bit, but only the towns gossip Ah am afraid." she finished cooking and put the fresh scrambled eggs she just made into a bowl. " According to the ponies she was together once with a member of the royal guard, he was widely respected in town, Ah for myself never saw that fellow here on mah farm so Ah cant confirm that. In any case they say she cheated on him in one of her drunken stupors and through that he left her, strangely enough she got to keep the kid though, which makes me really wonder how much truth is to that gossip."

"Same here, I may not know Berry for a long time yet, but she does not strike me as a mare who would go around and banging everyone in sight. And yeah, her keeping the kid is also another point that would point to something else happening,if we consider that she is probably a more heavy drinker than me. Plus the way she reacted.....no something else must have happened." He finished his coffee in one gulp and nodded. "I will go into town and try to find some hints regarding that, I don't like seeing potential friends being sad, or ponies being sad in general." He put on the collar and put it to a setting that made it be around his neck in a comfortable way.

She nodded to that but walked up close to him and put a hoof on his shoulder. "Do that sugarcube, but please promise me ya will be careful. If yer feelings regarding Berry are correct and if her ex is part of the royal guard then that means something must have happened that the royal guard tries to keep under wraps, which in turn means this could be a dangerous thing to look into. Also, there is still Rainbow out and about and Ah don't want to have to nurse ya back to health again, so please be careful, alright? Ah just don't want you to get a unwanted surprise from anyone." She looked him right in the eyes.

"Applejack, I promise you I will be careful. I know the townsponies think low of me but maybe I can use that to my advantage. Don't worry, I will be home for dinner. I promise." he smirked and turned to leave.

"Hey wait a second, one ya have not had any breakfast in you and two, could you please pick my sister up from school while you are in town anyways? It would be really nice of you to do so, me and Bic Mac have to work here after all."

He chuckled and nodded. "Sure I can, I wanted to see anyways what ways the tree came up with to use me in their cutie mare hunting." With that he turned again and went to get some food in his belly to ready himself for the day.

After a rather small but still enjoyable breakfast Alex went on his way into town. As expected the guards did stop him at first at the town entrance but as soon as they saw the sign on the collar they let him pass. Once he was in the town the human once again could feel the eyes on him again, many were looking at him, most of them outright staring, not even caring if they were spotted while doing so or not.

As he made his way through the streets more and more whispered gossip came to his ears and more and more he became angry. Gossip about how Applejack only had him on her farm to please her, or that he was only there cause he was bribing the family with something. Another very much stinging one was that apparently since the Cutie Mark Crusaders had talked about him, he now was being accused of wanting to do horrible things to them by some of the townsponies. But there was also kind gossip, it was just very rare, some about how he had been watched working hard but that was about it. He then decided that it would be best to find Berry's house to find out more about what had happened and looked around.

After a few minutes it was all too clear that he had not a singular idea where to go and whenever he would try to ask the ponies for help, they simply ignored him like he was not even there. With a low growl he tried to find the way on his own, but to no avail.

"Oh darn it, can't just someone show some decency and show me the way around? Those ponies I swear to god...." He grumbled when he heard a feminine cough from behind. The voice was all too familiar to him, sending a cold shiver down his spine. When he turned around one of the two ponies he had not wanted to encounter today stood behind him, Twilight Sparkle.

"Well look at what we have here...." she spoke, her voice kind of menacing but not fully. "Did you run from the farm? Did the work get too hard, or did you hurt anyone and got beaten and now run for your life?" a grin spread on her face.

"None of those, in fact I am here to follow a task Miss Applejack has given onto me, I also am wearing her collar, allowing me to roam on my own as long as I wear it." He answered while choosing to look at the ground, he knew if he screwed up here he would be in trouble.

"Oh and what would those tasks be, nothing that concerns sales I hope, I mean look at the town, everyone pretty much fears and hates you, so that can't be the case." She let out a cold giggle.

"Well, no....after the first time I was brought into the job to do that, it went bad, so she decided to give me other tasks, like the one I am on now, picking up her little sister from school and making sure she stays safe till she is home. And before you assume anything, I like living on Sweet Apple Acres, the work is good and I am treated well. But that is not the only reason I am here for." He bit his tongue on that one, why did he let that one slip?

"Oh....what else are you here for?" for a moment all that high and mighty acting seemed to have been dropped completely, as curiosity was rich in her voice now. "Tell me....or I will.....tell Applejack you did something bad." This was such a weak and petty threat that Alex had to keep himself from bursting into laughter, but he figured if he had spilled so much, he may as well spill the beans completely.

"Okay....okay, no need to go that far. As you probably have noticed, at least one pony from this town does not hate me, Berry Punch." To his surprise she nodded. "Well, through a conversation with her I have reasons to believe that her becoming a single mare is not her fault, or rather that there are more things to uncover. I know that I as a lowly creature am not allowed to show such interest probably but I still do care. Now i am here to find her home and listen around for any gossip to then investigate, which will be tough to be honest. Now....can I please keep on with today's tasks?"

She looked at him, not moving for a moment then spoke up. "Yes you shall, but in the regards of the case of Berry Punch, I will accompany you." He stared at her in utter disbelief. "Yes I know how that sounds but believe me when I say that I actually tried to get that case investigated as well but all that the guards said was, that they would look into it and they never gave any reports on anything anymore, plus, you are a vile creature so ponies wont speak to you but if it is the princess of friendship I am sure they will talk. Now follow me or I will make you go fast!" with that she dragged him with her down the streets of Ponyville.

After a fifteen minute walk in silence the two now stood before a few houses, one obviously belonging to Berry Punch, if the bottles that were visible through one of the windows were anything to go by. Twilight walked up to one of the side houses and knocked on the door.

"Now creature, you better shut your mouth and let me do the talking, otherwise I cant guarantee for anything." She ordered harshly.

"You do know I have a name, it's umph-!" before he could even answer the mare had swatted her tail into his face,which made him growl but shutting him up. The door opened and revealing a mare with white coat and black mane.

"Ye-oh my gosh, princess Twilight I am so honored you came here, what can I do for you!?" the mare, seemingly overexcited was now almost bouncing.

"You could help.....us to get some informations on Berry Punch, or rather what happened before she got divorced, did anything happen that was out of the norm?" To that question the mare looked left then right and nodded, looking afraid.

"Yes my princess, there are some odd things, I tried to tell this to the guards for a long time but they always told me to keep my mouth shut. You see, everyone here in town saw Berry's husband as the perfect guard. Strong, courageous, brave and all that. But if you would have heard what I did from their house sometimes you would not believe it. They seemed to have arguments a lot, or rather, him shouting at her and her just trying to come up with a response....sometimes it got so bad....I tried getting the guards, but they said I was a crazy mare. Please believe me, I think her husband hurt her...badly, sometimes...it was so horrible I needed to go to a bar to get away from the shouting and sounds."

A ball of ice had formed inside Alex stomach at hearing that, he had expected something bad but nothing along the lines of this kind of stuff. But mixing with that cold was also anger, anger directed at that stallion. Twilight on the other hand looked simply mortified but nodded.

"Madam, do you have any idea where the ex of Berry Punch is at the moment?" Twilight asked, a clear urgency in her voice.

"Not really, all that I could pick up from the guards was that he had been called back to Canterlot, that's all I know ,I promise." Alex believed the mare, it was clear the guards had tried to keep this case under wraps for whatever reason. Twilight thanked the mare and the two turned and walked for a bit, till Twilight grabbed his arm and looked him dead in the eye.

"Now that you have those informations, what will you do with them....and how did you even notice that something was amiss?"

Alex sighed. "Because she showed the same symptoms as a friend did back at where I came from. My friend only ever acted that way when she was scared or when she talked about her home and her husband. That's why I knew what was up. And what I will do? I will stay Berry's friend and try to have a talk with her about this, in a calm and kind manner and if that....guy, her ex ever shows up....I will try to protect her, once a abuser always a abuser." He hated talking about his past or stuff like this in general, he shrugged her hoof off.
"If you excuse me now, I have a filly to pick up from school, and don't worry, this time I know the way. Miss Applejack showed me the way a few days back."

With that he began to walk off but Twilight spoke up again. "Well then creature, I have not gotten your name yet."

He chuckled "The name is Alex" He turned back to her. "Alex Terris."

"Well then Alex, just let me tell you one thing, whenever you are around in Ponyville, you better get ready for a surprise, cause it is full of them." She giggled. He on the other hand just shrugged and walked off towards the school.

Once Alex had arrived at the school he did not have to wait long till the three fillies known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders came running out of the schoolhouse.

"Hey you three, over here!" he waved at them, making a handful of other kids shiver in slight fear while the three just simply came running over to him

"Heya Alex, ya doing good, let me guess, mah sister got ya to pick me up from school huh?" To that he nodded.

"That's so typical of her, she always thinks we three are up to something, it is really not fair of her to do that." Complained Scootaloo.

"Although....I did not think she would go along with the plan and send you over here..." Added Sweetie Belle, a cute little smile on her face.

"Plan....what plan are you talking about, all I know is that I should get you home Apple Bloom." he now looked really confused at the three fillies. "What do you know that I don't?"

Apple Bloom giggled. "Not tellin' ya, we don't wanna ruin the....surprise..."

"You know that's weird, you are the third person today to say such thi-uwah!!" Mid sentence someone had pulled a black bag over his head, taking his sight and also bound his hands with what felt like rope. "Girls, help me!!" A giggle was heard that under other circumstances he would have found cute and endearing but now seemed maniacal to him, also he picked up the faint scent of cotton candy. "What is going on, where are you taking me, heeeeelp!" he shouted as he was being dragged away to a place unknown to him.

Author's Note

Who could have captured poor Alex, who, oh who, i have no idea.
In any case i hope you like the chapter, as always criticism is welcomed, and i see you next time!!