Drastic Measures

“Ya' all right, pardner?” the orange pony asked.

Yeah, falling into trees and being crushed by large branches are daily occurrences. Solus mentally sighed. No Solus, don't be like that; they got you down from there, you should at least thank them.

“Uh, thanks.” Solus replied, shifting his eyes to the side, not knowing what else to say. Not like that, you imbecile.

“Eh, what?” the orange pony asked, tilting her head, baffled.

“Um, you know, thanks for getting me down from the tree.” Solus quickly said. He mentally sighed in relief and thanked his quick-thinking conscious for the swift recovery. The orange pony chuckled.

“Well, don't be thankin' me yet; we still gotta' get that branch of yer chest.” The orange pony stated. The branch on him then caught Solus' attention after the orange pony made her statement. He then tried pushing the large branch off of him, but it was to no avail.

“Hnngh! Ngghh!” Solus grunted as he tried to lift the magnetic tree branch; he didn't dare push it to his side as it would crush and further injure his already aching legs.

Sweet Celestia, I should have done some exercising when I was younger.

“Whoa there pardner, calm down, let us help.” the orange pony said as she raised her eyebrows in surprise, but yet maintaining a smile. She then turned to the lavender unicorn next to her and said, “Twilight, see if ya can get that branch off of 'im.”

The purple pony with the purple mane and pink highlights nodded and prepared for what was probably a spell. A purple aura formed around her horn and the branch. Solus watched in anticipation, until the pressure that was placed on his chest was suddenly gone. He looked back to his chest and saw that the branch was being levitated off of him and to the side.

“Ugh, thank you... again.” Solus gratefully said, slowly rising to his hooves while tugging on his chest.

“No problem, Sugarcube.” the orange pony said. “But you should be thankin' her,” the orange pony continued whilst pointing at the lavender pony with her hoof, “She's the one that saw ya' and helped ya' out of that branch.”

Solus then turned his attention to the purple pony and slightly bowed his head in gratitude. “Oh, well, thank you too, uh...” Solus trailed off, thinking of how to address the purple mare.

“Twilight. Twilight Sparkle.” the lavender pony bluntly stated, giving a stern look.

“Well, um, I'm Solus.” Solus addressed himself as he rubbed the back of his neck and slightly shifting his eyes, a little uneasy from Twilight's gaze. For about ten seconds there was a stiff silence; Solus was scanning the area and the ponies around him, trying to figure out where he was.

“Well,” the orange pony spoke up, breaking the subtle awkward tension that hovered around Solus, “Since we're all introducin' ourselves, Ah' may as well too.” The orange pony walked closer to Solus, about enough distance for two hooves to cover. She then extended her hoof, and Solus shortly did the same. Once their hooves connected, the orange pony placed her other front hoof on Solus' and suddenly started to furiously shake his hoof, literally lifting him from the ground by his hoof.

“Howdy! My name's Applejack, proud owner of the Sweet Apple Acres!” Applejack proudly said, still unintentionally thrashing Solus up and down. “We were jus' helpin' some critters over yonder, and then Twilight heard ya' screamin'. She told us to hurry over to where ya' landed, and that's when we found ya' hangin' from that branch.”

“Yes, yes, thank you!” Solus loudly said with a subtle, yet tense, chuckle. Not to mention his voice was shaky due to Applejack's 'hoofshake'. “You can let go now!” Applejack, finally realizing this, abruptly stopped and set down Solus, who's body was—except his right hoof, which was still extended—uncontrollably shaking.

“Sorry 'bout that; my shakes have always been quite rough.” Applejack said while closing her eyes and rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment.

“No, no, it's cool.” Solus quickly stated, more focused on trying to rid his body of the constant shaking. He tried planting his hooves on the ground, but it only resulted into him shaking up and down for a good few centimeters. It then lead to him shaking around, forming a big circle of overlapping hoofprints on the dirt.

Did Pinkie add a concentrated amount of sodium in that cupcake?

“So, uh...” Solus started, looking at the yellow pegasus that seemed to slightly be hiding behind Applejack. Solus then continued once he made another orbit around the dirt, “What's your name?”

“I, uh...” the yellow pegasus softly said, looking away as she did, “I'm Fluttershy...”

“I'm sorry, the chattering of my teeth are like drills; can you repeat that?” Solus said, halfway through his second orbit.

“I'm Fluttersh...” the yellow pegasus trailed off, now slightly retreating.

“Flutter-what?” Solus repeated, still attempting to cease his body-quake.

“I'm sorry, Ah' shoulda' said this sooner,” Applejack interjected, “Fluttershy is, uh, how should Ah' say this...?”

“Shy?” Twilight abruptly suggested, cocking her eyebrow.

“Yeah! That's it!” Applejack said, “She's a really kind and carin' pony, so don't let her shyness rub ya' the wrong way.”

“Right.” Solus nodded. He was still shaking up and down like a jackhammer, and the three mares just watched him in hopes that he would finally stop. After a minute of watching, Twilight finally spoke up.

“Umm, you need some help with that?” Twilight asked with a concerning look.

“Wait... I think I got it-wait, wait...” Solus replied, trying his best to restrict his muscles, “Uh... Nope; I need help.” Solus concluded, looking at the three mares with a poker face.

“Let me see what I can do...” Twilight said. Her horn was surrounded by the purple aura again. After a few seconds of nothing happening, Solus decided to speak up.

“Uh, you all right Twili-” But Solus was suddenly stopped, as if he was instantly frozen. In shock of the event, Solus quickly shifted his eyes everywhere. He tried moving, but it felt as though hid hooves were glued to the floor. He then tried talking, but his mouth couldn't move either. So basically, he had his mouth and eyes wide open, and his legs felt as though they were in tight shackles.

“Uh, what's going on?” Solus tried to say, but his mouth was stuck and stiff as a board, so some of his words were incomprehensible.

“It's called 'Freeze Frame'.” Twilight explained, assuming that Solus was confused and wanted to know what she was doing. “It's a spell that will keep you still for as long as I can channel it. After a few minutes, I'll stop the spell and we'll see if it worked.”

“Ohay, I hunerhan.” Solus replied, trying to say 'I understand.' There was then silence for about a minute; Solus didn't bother speaking since his lips decided that they should see other gums. Solus examined the area around him; there were many apple trees that seemed ready to be plucked, with a few of them occupied by birds. Solus assumed that the birds were the 'critters' Applejack, Twilight, and Fluttershy were helping.

Considering how they got me down, those birds are going to get a rude awakening...

Solus continued scanning the area. The grass was vibrant and it felt soft on his hooves; somehow he didn't notice it before, but Solus' coat felt the heat of the sun. By the way the sun was beaming on Solus, he could have thought that Celestia was trying to bake cakes outside.

I guess it's true when they say ponies with darker coats end up absorbing more heat than others... Ah!

Solus then felt a sudden itch on his muzzle. His eyes quickly widen and his irises shrink at the sudden feeling as he looked down to his nose.

Great, how cliché is this?

Solus then tried moving his front leg, but it was futile since it just stayed in place. Solus rolled his eyes in annoyance at this and tried to wait for the itch to go away.

It's fine, Solus; just don't think about it. Let it pass by...

But, although it was only a few seconds, it felt like minutes of torture upon his nose.

You serious; you can easily stand up after being launched by a futuristic sound laser into a hundred feet into the air, and then landing into a tree, followed by being crushed by a large branch, but you can't withstand an itch on your nose?! What the hay is wrong with you?!

Solus then asked, his mouth slightly lifted that nearly represented a grin, “Can somehony scrah hy hose?”

“Yer' hose? What?” Applejack asked, confused.

“Hy hose!” Solus repeated, his eyes pointing down to his muzzle.

“I think he means his nose.” Twilight said to Applejack.

“Pfhh, A-Ah' knew that!” Applejack said, shifting her eyes away. After a few seconds of an awkward silence, Applejack asked, “So, uh... Who's gonna' do it?” Applejack turned her head to the other two mares.

“I'm kind of busy right now...” Twilight stated, lifting her hoof underhoofedly.

“Uh, what about you, Fluttershy?” Applejack asked with a nervous grin on her face, turning to the yellow pegasus. Fluttershy only answered by slightly retreating. “Ugh, fine...” Applejack surrendered, slightly hanging her head in defeat.

Solus barely lifted his eyebrow. Wow, how rude...

Applejack was now in front of Solus. She had a smile on her face and her eyes were focused on Solus' flat nose—although it seemed that she was staring Solus in the eye, according to Solus. Solus could only look away, in hopes of not actually looking Applejack in the eye.

Applejack raised her hoof and planted it on Solus' muzzle, slowly rubbing it.

“H-how's that?” Applejack asked, puckering her lips back. Solus could only guess how weird and downgrading this is, but it's only just as bad receiving it. Well, it wasn't too bad, he thought; she actually was helping the itch go away, which is odd, since a hoof could actually dwell away an itch...

He was about to ask Applejack to stop, but he saw a figure in the sky, and it seemed to be aiming at...

Is that thing coming at me?

His question was soon answered as the far figure enlarged in a few seconds. Solus' eyes widened again in panic. His eyes quickly looked left and right in hopes of something to help.

“Ya' all right; ya' look like ya' jus' saw a Manticore.” Applejack chuckled. The what-seemed-to-be-a-gray-blur was slowly being sucked into the magnetic field of Solus.

“Hooh!” Solus tried to yell, although his mouth wasn't going to let him.

“Hoo?” Applejack repeated, cocking an eyebrow in confusion.

“Hooh!” Solus tried to warn again, but his mouth wasn't letting up.

“Who?” Applejack asked, trying to decipher what Solus was saying.

“Watch out!” the gray figure in the sky exclaimed, which was now only ten meters away. The four ponies then turned their attention to the gray figure. Solus then finally realized that it was Derpy, probably about to crash into them.

Huh, this seems vaguely familiar...

“Oh, that's who.” Applejack said, looking back at Derpy.

“I think he actually meant, 'Move'!” Twilight translated, adding extra emphasis to the word 'move'. She then turned off the spell and moved off to the side, and Fluttershy quickly followed.

The restriction on Solus' body then released it's grip from his mouth and legs, making Solus free to move again; it felt like he was being freed from a hogtie, or in this case, a horse-tie. Derpy was then approaching closer to Solus and Applejack, who didn't move for some reason. Solus then, in quick-thinking, pushed Applejack to the side, keeping her clear of the blast radius.

Unfortunately, Solus wasn't fast enough to evade Derpy and she ended up crashing into Solus yet again. The two ponies ended up colliding with so much force that they landed and crashed into an apple tree.

With the exception of a few stars in his vision, his eyesight got blurry again and his eyes were ringing like never before.

Ugh, I would be surprised if I didn't have to go back to the hospital after all of this.

Solus then shook his head, coming back to the painful reality that is slapstick. He then felt the weight of Derpy on his back and assumed she must be pretty winded from that crash as well.

“Ugh...” Solus sighed, trying to take what might be his only breath of relaxation. He sealed his eyes and tried to relax his mind.

“Hey, Souly!” A all too familiar voice called out. Solus' eyes shot open, bloodshot. Out of nowhere, Pinkie popped next to Solus', upside-down.

“We've been looking everywhere for you!” Pinkie shouted. She then took out a cupcake out of nowhere and handed it to Solus. “Want a cupcake?”

Solus' mind then spiked at the word 'cupcake' and nearly jumped in fright, but Derpy's body kept him from moving.

“NO!” Solus shouted, but he quickly snapped out of his panic and tried to rectify his outburst, “I mean, uh, no thank you; I'm really full, Pinkie!” Solus tried to reassure with a chuckle and a grin.

Pinkie gave Solus an unsure look, puckering her lips in contemplation. Solus just gave a grin, barely moving his eyes or blinking. This lasted for a few seconds until Pinkie broke the stare with a bright smile and replied, “Oki doki loki!” She then disappeared into the leaves of the apple tree. Solus then stared up at the tree for a few seconds and noticed a rustling in the leaves.

What's going on up there?

After Solus completed his thought, an object fell out of the tree. Without even knowing what the object was, he quickly caught it before it fell. He looked at his hooves and the object was apparently a small bird.

The bird had black feathers that seemed pointed near its head. The beak wasn't very long and its eyes didn't have pupils. Another thing that caught Solus' attention was that the bird's wing was unnecessarily extended. Solus assumed that its wing must be sprained. Solus felt bad for the bird and gave it a slight stroke on its good wing.

“Don't worry, you're going to be fine.” Solus told the bird, giving it a benevolent smile.

“Ah!” a voice gasped, even though the voice was soft. Solus turned his attention to the voice and saw Fluttershy with Applejack and Twilight next to her. “What happened?”

“It, uh,” Solus said, a little nervous since this was actually the first time she decided to speak to him, “Fell out of the tree and I caught him. I think he must have sprained his wing.”

“Let me see him.” Fluttershy requested, extending her hoof to Solus. Solus complied to her request handed the bird over, still under Derpy. Fluttershy took the bird with both of her hooves and flew about a foot from the ground. She inspected the bird and gave her report.

“Ah! The bird is actually a female and about a few years of age. Um... Her left wing seems to be fine, but her right wing is definitely sprained.”

“Is it serious?” Solus inquired.

“Oh no, nothing too serious.” Fluttershy shook her head, her voice still projecting only a few inches, “Just a few days of recovering and rest, and she'll be back to normal.”

“Ah, good.” Solus sighed in relief, laying his head back on the ground. Just then he could hear the sounds of faint galloping in the distance. In curiosity, he looked to direction it was coming from. Apparently, he wasn't the only one looking either.

After a few moments, the galloping ponies came to the center of the open circle that was in the apple acres. The ponies included a female unicorn with a white coat, and a neat indigo and dark to moderate mulberry mane that seemed to curl downwards like a tornado, a large male earth pony with a red coat and a light gamboge mane, Rainbow Dash, and somehow, Pinkie Pie.

“Derpy! Solus!” Rainbow Dash worriedly exclaimed to the two winded ponies as she dashed to their side, “Are you two okay?”

“Yeah, just peachy...” Solus grunted, struggling to get up, “Or in this case, apple...ey.” Solus mentally slapped himself for making such a stupid pun.

“Well, besides that lame pun, let me help you up.” Rainbow Dash subtly mocked. She then proceeded to lift Derpy off of the crushed gray unicorn. “All right Derpy, easy, easy...”

Derpy's eyes then shot open and she hopped off of Rainbow Dash with great energy. Rainbow Dash staggered back from the sudden outburst of energy, and widened her eyes in surprise. Derpy then flapped her wings and attempted to do an aerial back flip. The form, according to Solus, looked perfect but her landing ended painfully.

“Gh!” Derpy grunted as she impacted with the ground. Rainbow Dash, being the loyal pony she is, picked Derpy up by her hoof and chuckled.

“Heh, you're pretty energetic, you know that?” Rainbow Dash said. Derpy stood back on her hooves and gratefully smiled at Rainbow.

Solus slowly rose to his hooves. He rolled his neck in a circle and rubbed his forehead, his bones cracking and his muscles tensing. He then noticed that the white unicorn was talking to Twilight.

“Are you all right, darling; you weren't hit, were you?” the white unicorn asked with a concerned look. Her voice sounded really sophisticated, in Solus' ears, but he thought that this could be the effect of constantly hurting his ear.

“There's no need to worry, Rarity, I'm completely fine.” Twilight stated, giving the white pony a reassuring smile. The white unicorn named Rarity seemed to sigh in relief.

“Oh, thank goodness! I can't imagine how painful it would be to collide with another pony that was going at such a speed!” Rarity said rather loudly.

Oh you have no idea.

“Ahem.” Solus cleared his throat, which caught the attention of Rarity and Twilight. Solus quickly shifted his eyes to both ponies back and forth.

“Ah, who might you be?” Rarity asked Solus with a curious smile. Solus looked away for a moment, a little nervous about meeting yet another pony.

“Solus.” Solus addressed, quickly glancing away and back after.

“Oh come now, dearie; you can't be too rough on yourself, everypony has their flaws.” Rarity said, attempting to console the non-afflicted Solus. At first, Solus was confused—literally blinking in bafflement—but then he realized that it was just a misunderstanding.

This is like, what, the second time that this has happened?

“No, no!” Solus explained, waving his hoof in denial, “My name is Solus, S-O-L-U-S, not soulless.”

“Oh, I'm sorry,” Rarity said, her eyes widening in realization for a second until she put back her smile, “My mistake.” She then fluffed her indigo curly hair and extended her hoof afterward. Solus, of course, shook it.

“My name is Rarity, I'm a fashion designer and a seamstress at my very own shop, the Carousel Boutique.” Rarity said as they shook hooves. Solus thought that since Rarity is a fashion designer he didn't want to make the wrong impression, so he should try to play the nice and kind pony this time. In fact, he thought that he should take that role, but somepony must already have.

“Nice to meet you.” Solus said, bowing his head and giving a smile. Real smooth, Prince Charming... But instead of getting no reaction, like he expected, Rarity giggled and placed a hoof near her mouth, probably trying to cover it up. Oh well, Solus will never understand mares.

The two ponies loosened their grip and set their hooves back down. Solus thought now it's time to move on; perfect timing too, since Applejack and the red stallion had made their way to the three unicorns.

“Hey Solus,” Applejack said, “This is mah' older brother, Big Mac.” Applejack pointed to the red stallion next to her. At first, Solus was a little bit more uncomfortable with meeting another pony, but since it was a stallion this time, he might get along with him.

Solus then looked at him up and down; his eyes were half-opened, as if he was bored or tired, and his hooves were light yellowish gray. He also noticed that the stallion had a sprig of wheat hanging out of the side in his mouth, as well as freckles on his cheeks like Applejack. Not to mention he had a yoke around his neck.

The two stallions just stare at each other with a vacant look in their eyes. Solus then realized that he needs to introduce himself or else things will become awkward.

“Uh... hey,” Solus started, still doing the bad habit of looking away, “I'm Solus. Nice to meet you.”

“Eeyup.” Big Mac flatly said. Solus, not expecting such a simple answer, gave him a puzzled look.

“'Eeyup'?” Solus repeated.

“Eeyup.” Big Mac said again, seemingly unfazed.

Wow, such a simple, yet blunt answer.

“Don't you say anything else besides, 'Eeyup'?” Solus inquired, trying to see if he can find a noticeable personality.

“Nnnope.” Big Mac replied, closing his eyes and slightly raising his head. Solus put on his best 'seriously' face.

Clever...

But Solus decided to shrug it off. As if this was a completely thought-out sequencing outline, Rainbow Dash had approached the group along with Derpy, Pinkie, and Fluttershy. Solus actually didn't see Fluttershy with the other three, but apparently she was there helping them.

“So, how was the flight over here?” Rainbow joked, lightly punching Solus' shoulder.

“Good, but the dismount was shaky.” Solus played along, making an intrigued face.

“Same for us, I guess; we saw that you were being launched at Applejack's, so we flew as fast as we could, but Derpy accidentally flew off-direction and crashed through the roof of the barn and kept flying. Since Big Mac and Rarity were already in there, we all agreed to chase down Derpy before she could do any more damage.” Rainbow Dash explained. While Rainbow Dash was explaining, Solus couldn't help but look a Derpy, who was looking around with a happy-go-lucky smile.

“Sounds like a catastrophe.” Solus concluded, turning his head back to Rainbow.

“I'll say.” Rainbow agreed, with an exhausted expression. She rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. “But anyways, you said you remembered something?”

“'Remembered something'?” Solus cocked his head, but instantly recalled what he had said to Rainbow back at the town hall. “Oh yeah, that's right!”

“What is?” Twilight asked, giving Solus stern look.

“Oh, Twilight!” Rainbow quickly straightened up and galloped over to her. “He's the pony I told you about, the one from the hospital.”

“Ah, yes, I remember.” Twilight nodded. She then turned back to Solus, “So what is it that you remembered?”

“I should probably start from the beginning...” Solus said. He explained to the group about everything he remembered after waking up from the hospital, starting from when he met Rainbow and Derpy to when he played the piano, excluding the part where he forgot how to walk.

Solus thought it'd be best for it to only be known with Derpy and Rainbow. Besides, he didn't think they'd want to hear a whole escapade of him trying to figure out which leg goes first.

“Sounds like yer' havin' a hard day.” Applejack said, trying to sympathize with the unicorn, while still maintaining a smile.

“It could be worse,” Solus shrugged with a smirk on his face, “I could have broken all of my bones when I landed in that tree.”

“Anyways,” Twilight interjected, “What did you remember?”

“Oh, right.” Solus pondered for a few seconds before speaking up again, “I had some flashbacks; flashbacks of when I was a foal.”

Images started to flow into Solus' mind; memories of happiness, despair, rage, pain, many things. As Solus had these thoughts flooding in, he explained everything he was seeing and thinking.

“There was one memory that lasted the longest; it was my birthday—I think I was nine-years-old, assuming the number of candles on the cake in front of me—and my parents were there. It was dim and the light bulb seemed to barely be working. Although it was nearly dark I could see their facial features so clearly; their eyes were dry and half-open with bags under them, their manes were unkempt and looked scruffy, small tones of dirt merging with their used-to-be bright-colored mane, and their coats were raggedy, small yet noticeable plucks of fur stood out.

“Even with their physical state, they still seemed happy, grateful for something. I don't know why, we were so poor; before this memory were other images, images from when I was probably younger. There was one of me playing a piano by myself; it was bright and a spotlight was on me, but nopony was watching. There was another one with me and a filly playing at a meadow; I don't remember who she is, but we must have been pretty close. She had a long onyx mane that covered half of her face, a sapphire coat, and these glowing, opal eyes.”

Solus sighed. “Anyways, some of the images were nice and light hearted, while others...” An image floated around in Solus' mind, a memory of a mare—most likely his mother—that was on an old bed, looking ill and flushed.

“Weren't so nice?” Twilight assumed.

“Yeah, thanks.” Solus deeply sighed, “Sorry, I know I'm rambling, I must be wasting everypony's time.”

“Nah, Sugarcube, take all the time ya need.” Applejack said with a grim expression on her face. But then again, everypony around Solus was looking rather sad, or, at least, in thought.

“Thanks. Anyways,” Solus continued, “My mother was sick from a disease. She was weaker than before, and she always looked flushed and exhausted.”

“Is the disease curable?” Twilight questioned.

“No, I don't think so.” Solus replied. “My father spent most of his time taking care of her.”

“What about you; did you do anything to aid your mother?” Rarity asked.

“I...” Solus' tongue felt tied, as if he wasn't supposed to answer the question, “...I don't know...”

“Oh, I see.” Rarity said, stepping down from her question.

“Back to my birthday,” Solus resumed, “My parents gave me something. They said something, but I can't recall what they were saying. They then gave me a small wooden box; it was probably my birthday present. I opened it and it played a tune,” Solus then turned to Rainbow Dash, “The tune I played on the piano.”

“So that's how you played that song.” Rainbow said.

“But yeah,” Solus concluded, “That's about all I can remember, Rainbow.”

“Meh,” Rainbow shrugged, looking slightly apathetic, “That's good enough, I mean, you did fall off a mountain after all.”

“Yeah, thanks for that.”

“Sure, no problem.” Rainbow said, giving a sly grin, “If you want my autograph, that'd be completely fine; I get requests like that all the time.”

“Ehh, no thanks. I think the whole situation being etched into my brain is a souvenir enough.” Solus said, tapping on his head bandage. “But anyways,” Solus placed his hoof back down, “I think that music box could help me bring back my memory; it might contain small notes, or even pictures.”

“So what, you're going to try and find it? Do you even know where it is?” Twilight inquired, taking a few steps forward.

“Yes and no.” Solus replied, “I would start at Canterlot, but I feel as if it isn't even there; I wouldn't even know where to look.”

“Well, darling, I think we would all be delighted in assisting you on your endeavor.” Rarity offered, “Of course, as long as it doesn't cut in with my dress-making.”

“Uh, Rarity, I'm not-” Twilight said with an unsure look, before being cut off by Solus.

“That's really a generous offer, but I don't think that's necessary.” The two other unicorns turned their attention to Solus. “We all just met not too long ago—not to mention I fell from the sky only to tell you about my amnesia incident—and I seem like a really shady character for some of you. I can understand that. So, if some of you don't really trust me, that's fine; I can do it by myself.”

“Are you sure, darling?” Rarity asked, concerned.

“Yeah, you did say yourself that you don't even know where to look.” Rainbow pointed out, with an unconvinced look.

“I know,” Solus sighed, “But I don't want you all to worry about somepony that just randomly appeared under odd circumstances. Not to mention, owing favors makes me feel a little guilty; in fact, I'm feeling a little bit like a smooth criminal right now.”

But as soon as Solus blinked, Rainbow had suddenly dashed up to his face with a furious look on her face.

“What are you, some kind of spy?!” Rainbow exclaimed, pushing her face up to Solus'. Rainbow kept flying forward, causing Solus to walk backwards. “It all makes sense; you keep acting nervous, your eyes always shift everywhere, and now you want to be independ-whoa!”

Rainbow was suddenly torn away from Solus in an instant; it took Solus a second to realize that Rainbow was pulled to and by Applejack, who was clinging on Rainbow's rainbow tail with her teeth.

“Calm down, Rainbow!” Applejack gritted through her tail-filled teeth. Soon after, Rainbow finally settled down and landed, pouting.

“Sorry 'bout that, Sugarcube; Rainbow has a short fuse with those she finds irritatin' or untrustworthy, not saying that yer' either of those!”

“It's fine, I understand.” Solus sighed, now feeling even more guilty, “It's not like I don't enjoy talking with all of you—in fact it's rather fun—but I just don't want to feel like some kind of freeloader, you know?”

“Ah' guess we can understand that, so we'll just let it go.” Applejack nodded with a smile, before turning her head to Rainbow, giving her a glare, “Right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Rainbow Dash grumbled.

“But anyways,” Applejack said, turning back to the other ponies, “We need ta' finish up rounding up all the critters around here before sunset, so Fluttershy can look after 'em overnight.”

“Can I help?” Solus requested, giving Applejack a curious look.

“Nah, Solus, it's fine.” Applejack stated, “After everthin' you've been through, ya should jus' lay down and relax; don't overwork yerself'.”

“I'm okay, really.” Solus persisted, “I haven't broken any bones yet. I also don't really have anything else to do, and I would like to try and repay all of you for your help.”

“I don't know, darling.” Rarity implored, looking slightly disgusted, “You don't want that ivory coat of yours to get even more scruffy, do you?”

'Even more scruffy'? So I'm already scruffy? Thanks for making me self-conscious. Solus thought, cocking an eyebrow and forming an stern expression.

“I don't mind getting my hooves dirty,” Solus replied, still maintaining the same expression before the his next line, “Just as long as I can clean them in the end.”

“Well, shucks.” Applejack shrugged. “If ya'll are really insistent in helpin' out, then that'd be mighty kind of ya' ta' help.”

“Sure, I'll help.” Rainbow said, flying up a few feet above the ground, “I finished my routine earlier today, so I'm pretty much free.”

“Free as a bird?” Solus sarcastically asked, trying to bring up some dry comedy.

“I was thinking of something along the lines of 'the wind', but that's good too.” Rainbow responded, closing her eyes and laying back on the air. Possibly something Pinkie could also do, Solus thought.

“Me too!” Pinkie coincidentally exclaimed in joy, hoping in her own circle, “I wanna help!”

“Wait,” Solus piped in, “I thought you had work to do at the town hall.”

“Well,” Pinkie explained, now hopping around Solus, “Twilight only told me to post up the banner and wait until the music rehearsals start.”

“I see.” Solus said. He then turned to Derpy, who was just standing with a content smile on her face, “What about you Derpy; are you going to stay and help?”

“Oh, me?” Derpy repeated. She then looked up as if in thought. After a few seconds, she broke the vacant stare and turned back to Solus, “I actually have to do a package run today, so I should probably get going.”

“Oh, okay.” Solus flatly said. Derpy then gave Solus a blueberry muffin before flying in the air.

“Welcome to Fillydelphia!” she announced in joy.

“Uh, Derpy,” Rainbow Dash bluntly pointed out, “We're in Ponyville.”

“Oh, I was thinking about my last delivery.” Derpy admitted, still smiling, “Welcome to Ponyville! See ya!” Just like that, she flew off back into town. The eight ponies watch her go until she was finally out of sight.

“Well then,” Twilight piped up, “If we're all going to participate in helping Fluttershy with the animals, then I suggest we pair off into four groups.” The other ponies—besides Big Mac and Applejack—then shifted their heads left and right, searching for suitable partners.

Hm, I wonder; maybe Rainbow Dash? At the thought of this, Solus turned his head to the mare. The mare also looked at the ponies with a patient expression, even towards Solus. Her gaze upon Solus made him feel uneasy, so he blinked and quickly turned away. Probably not; she's probably still angry at me.

He then turned his attention to Pinkie, who was also looking around with a jubilant smile.

Working with Pinkie shouldn't be too hard; I don't think she's one to cause havoc. She then happened to direct her attention to Solus, giving him a closed-eyed smile while idling. I hope she isn't too much trouble than what she's worth. Solus then looked down to his front hooves, slightly tilting his head in contemplation.

What about Fluttershy? Or maybe Rarity? I'm not too sure about Twilight though... His thoughts are then soon interrupted by Applejack.

“Big Mac and Ah' are gonna head south,” Applejack elaborated, “Ah' suggest the rest of ya'll get into yer' groups and head the other directions to speed things along.” As soon as she said that, the two siblings headed to their designated destination. But before they leave, Applejack turns her head back to the other ponies and announced, “Oh yeah, and meet at the barn before sunset.”

After a few moments of the two farmers leaving, the rest of the remaining ponies look at each other with expectant looks on their faces. Solus thought that maybe it's his time to break a silence.

“So, who's going with who?” He asked, looking at everypony. The ponies looked at each other before Rarity answered.

“Uh, I-I'll go with Fluttershy.” Rarity said with a nervous smile. She then trotted to Fluttershy and told her, “Let's go Fluttershy, we mustn't keep Applejack waiting.” Fluttershy nodded and they both head off north.

“So Rainbow...” Solus said as he turned to the rainbow pegasus. But he was cut-off by the pegasus as she flew past him.

“C'mon Pinkie, we've got a lot of work to do.” Rainbow sighed, landing next to her.

“Okie Dokie Loki!” Pinkie cheered with glee. Pinkie then turned to the two remaining unicorns, “Catch ya' later Twilight and Souly!” Rainbow Dash also turned back to the two, giving a bitter frown before turning away and heading to the east with Pinkie following behind.

“Hey, hold on Dashie!” Pinkie yelled, hopping in the same direction. There was a silence after the two other ponies left. Solus knew what this meant, that through the process of elimination his partner was fatefully determined.

To be frank, I was kind of expecting this. Solus mentally sighed. He then turned to the stern and astute lavender unicorn with an innocent look on his face.

“Ready to go?” Twilight asked, still giving him that death stare.

“Yeah, let's...” Solus said, marching off into the west of the ongoing apple orchids.