"Ok! Now that everyone is here, let's start with PROPER introductions," I said while taking a seat at the fountain and looking at the three mares present. "My name is Stellar Gate. That over there with the red mane is Faust. The Zebra is Zecora. And the lady in white is?" I said while pointing a each of them in a sequence.

"R-rarity," The walking marshmallow said while looking at me with an expression of horror.

"Pleasure to meet you. Now, I am here for a simple reason," I said while lowering my hoof and turning to Zecora. "Zecora is one of my mates. Faust is the head mare. But that doesn't mean anything right now. The issue is how your ponies are treating Zecora. She is not a witch, an enchantress, a sorcerer, or whatever bridle gossip you folks came up with. She is a mare. And she lives in the forest. And all she wants to do is trade."

The marshmallow looked at me with a confused look before looking at Zecora and then back at me. "A-are you sure she didn't bewitch you with spells or potions?"

"The only thing she did was help us. And be a part of this," I replied while hopping to sit between the two and wrapping my wings around them. "So, I would appreciate it if she could start trading with you guys without everyone running as if she has chemical weapons or a disease," I added with a frown.

"LET HER GO!" A tomboyish voice cried out before I felt something hitting my back. It felt like a child trying to hit someone but all they can do is make the adult chuckle at the effort.

Looking behind me, I saw a rainbow-maned pegasus with a cyan coat. They turned white when they saw my face. Then there was a loud gasp and they were pulled away by a magic aura. I looked back at the marshmallow and she had her forehead pressed against the dirt and the pegasus had her head stuck to the ground.

"She is so sorry!" The marshmallow said while pushing the cyan one's face against the dirt.

"No harm no foul?" I answered inquisitively as I pushed the marshmallow's hoof off the cyan pegasus. "I'm Stellar Gate. This is Zecora, and this is Faust. Is there something you need with us?" I added after cleaning the dirt from her mane and face.

"I, I-I thought that you were keeping Rarity hostage," The pegasus replied while her voice grew quieter with every word that left her mouth.

"Why would I do that?" I inquired while tilting my head.

"Because of her?" The pegasus said meekly while pointing at Zecora.

Looking at the pegasus and then back at the unicorn, I sighed before planting my hoof on my face. "This is exactly what I mean. You didn't even meet Zecora. And you automatically assumed she was an-?!"

"She is an evil enchantress! And, and...oops," A pink pony appeared out of nowhere while singing. She stared at me for a couple of seconds before letting out a nervous chuckle. "Haha. So, you're new. Ha-ha."

"Were you trying to improvise a song about how evil Zecora should be because she is different?" I asked while letting my wings fall and my ears folded back.

"I HAVE A PARTY TO PLAN!" The pink pony screamed before darting into oblivion.

"Should I be worried?" I asked Rarity while letting out an exasperated sigh.

There was no response from her because she was unconscious. So I turned to the pegasus that ran so fast she left a trail of rainbow colors behind.

"Leave mah friends alone!" Another mare screamed while jumping on top of the unconscious mare to shield her.

"We are not here to hurt anyone. And Zecora is not an evil enchantress. I swear I will scream at the next pony that says that. My patience is running thin!" I said while gritting my teeth.

"Oh, is that so?" The blond mare said while stepping away from the unicorn and taking a seat. "Mah name is Apple Jack. A pleasure to meet you, Your Highness!" She said in a chipper tone while offering her hoof.

"That was a one-eighty if I ever saw one," I replied while staring at Apple Jack.

"You don't seem to be lying. That's good enough for me," She replied with a smile.

"Sure," I said while hesitantly taking her hoof and shaking it up and down. "So, should I do something about her?" I said while pointing at Rarity with my muzzle.

"Nah, she will wake up before long," Apple Jack said before clearing her throat. She then took a deep breath. "EVERYONE! COME ON OUT! ZECORA IS NOT A WITCH! WE HAVE A VISITOR!!" She cried out without any ceremony.

As soon as she screamed that, ponies started to poke their heads out the windows and look at our mismatched group. They approached us with caution. However, they were at least looking at us, and not running away in fear. Curiously enough, all of them seemed to bow to me as they approached. Their tiny little bodies shake while staring at my frame. I could see a few flushed faces as I kept my wings around Faust and Zecora. That was when I started to realize the difference in size between them and me. Zecora had a build closer to mine, but they? They looked like a bunch of puppies walking near an adult dog.

I am way too big. Oh, god. I did it with Faust and Zecora. I didn't hurt them, did I? I realized while taking a peek at my partners who were leaning close to me. Faust was half-asleep, like usual, but Zecora? Zecora looked happy and slightly terrified. That was when I realized that the ponies weren't speaking. They were just, sitting. It looked like a scene from a cult or something. They were standing there looking at me.

"Um, can I help?" I said earning their immediate attention as their ears perked up and their eyes widened. "Faust, what's going on?" I whispered while stretching my neck towards her.

"They are waiting for you to tell your name, title, and domain," She whispered back while shielding her mouth.

"I don't have any of those!" I whispered back in a blind panic.

"You're an alicorn. That automatically makes you a prince. We will need to measure things out later since your ranking is based on power alone," She whispered back with a chuckle, however, I stopped processing at the "prince" part.

"I AM A WHAT NOW?!" I shouted while nearly having a whiplash because of my neck stretching. All of the ponies around us lowered their heads and covered themselves. "Sorry! I was just surprised. No need to panic!" I said while raising my hoof to all of the ponies present.

"You are a prince. As for your domain, let me check your mark," Faust said while getting up and turning her back on the crowd to look at my butt. "Ok. Origin! That's my domain. You might hold mine for the time being because of the whole gate part," She said before turning back to face me.

"So, just tell them my name, that I am a prince, and that I have a domain over Origin?" I inquired earning a positive nod from Faust. Raising my head, I took a deep breath and looked at the crowd. They still looked terrified but didn't look like they were about to faint. Even Rarity was up once more. "Ok. My name is Stellar Gate. I am a Prince, or I think I am. And my domain is Origin. It is, uh, a pleasure to meet all of you."

"I am going to throw that comment about speaking with conviction right at you now," Faust said with a snarky tone.

"Well, forgive me for suddenly having a title! I can't get a bachelor under control, how am I supposed to lead a bunch of ponies that look like they are about to faint if I so much as breathe differently?" I whispered back while glaring at her. The fact that she found my anger amusing only made me more annoyed.

"Well, you better get to make amends then. Because these ponies are about to have heart attacks," She replied with a chuckle before touching my muzzle with her hoof.

"Very well, smarty-pants," I said in a low growl while pushing my muzzle against hers. "How the fuck do I do that?"

"Well," Faust replied while raising her hoof to her chin. She stayed like that for a couple of minutes before letting out a gasp and pointing her hoof to the sky. I felt as if I was about to witness a genius idea. "I don't know," She said bluntly as I took notice of several children approaching us. Their parents looked mortified as their children sat in front of me with their big eyes.

"Are you strong, Mister Prince?" One of the little ones asked as I tilted my head.

"I believe so?" I said while giving Zecora a curious look. She nodded. "I am pretty strong."

"Can you do special magic?" A white unicorn filly with a pink and purple mane asked while stepping closer to me.

"I'm still figuring out how to make my magic work. I can make things float, of that much I'm sure," I replied while making Faust float and spin circles in the air. That earned a giggle from the group as well as Faust.

"How can you know not know magic when you're an alicorn?" A snorty-sounding pink filly with a tiara asked while I placed Faust on the floor beside me.

"I was an earth pony before turning into an alicorn. So, yeah. It's new territory for me," I replied as I remembered Faust's words to Zecora when we first met.

The situation seemed to be defusing itself as the ponies seemed less mortified with the tone I had been using with the kids. That was when it dawned on me. Maybe, if I can win the children, they might loosen up a bit?

"Are you looking for a new partner for your group?" The little white filly from before asked with huge eyes. I was taken aback by that question.

"Um, not for now? Why are you asking such a thing?" I asked while trying to keep a straight face. Faust seemed to be thoroughly enjoying my embarrassment. The little one then walked up to Faust, probably due to my uncertain response, and sat in front of her.

"Get him to marry my sister too! Kiss her and she will wake up! She always wanted to marry a prince! That would make me a princess as well, right?" The little filly replied happily as she clapped her hooves together. My mind went overdrive as Faust laughed up a storm. I needed to defuse that and change the subject.

I froze in place while staring at the little one, and fell into the fountain. This caused a huge splash of water that covered drenched Faust and Zecora.

"Stellar?" Zecora asked while I lay on the water staring into the abyss of my choices up to that point.

I must have caused Faust to worry. Or, at least, made her wonder why I simply laid in the water. Because Faust cautiously approached me with a nervous smile.

"Stellar? Are you ok?" She asked before she started poking my neck. Zecora followed close behind, appearing in my field of view seconds later.

Suddenly, I hopped back on my hooves and landed on top of the two mares. Both of them let out a yelp before they landed on the water too with their hooves in the air and their bellies up. I stared at them as both of them grew quiet. Their cheeks started to flush as their eyes widened. There was a strangely familiar feeling to that scene. And they looked like they knew what would happen next. I kept my serious face for a few seconds while slowly getting closer to them. From my position, I could see the rest of the villagers looking at me with curiosity and burning cheeks.

"Got you," I finally said before making a goofy face. I then hopped away from them, causing the water drenching my coat to fly everywhere. The ponies around me stared at me in confusion while I focused on the reaction of the two in the fountain. I showed them my tongue, Zecora and Faust looked at each other before smirking and staring at me with malicious smiles.

"Ok, that's it!" Both of them said while getting up and preparing to chase me. I smiled at them before looking at the ponies who seemed to have loosened up a bit but still looked confused. Stretching my right front foreleg, I bopped a beige mare with a white mane on the nose.

She shook her head before looking at me confused.

"None of you seem to have a sense of humor. How about a game?" I said while all of the ponies looked at me with even more confusion. "What none of you ever played tag?" I asked while looking at the beige mare that seemed to be trying to solve the meaning of life while staring at me.

"I know how to play!" A little yellow filly with a red ribbon on her head said while rushing close to me. Then, an orange one came closer too. Next, came a white one with green eyes. Then the rest of the children along with a pink mare.

"All of you know how to play, right?" The mare asked as the little ones replied in a chorus of positive answers.

"Ok then," I said while looking back at Faust and Zecora who were looking at me with sinister grins. "These are the rules. They are it," I said while pointing at Zecora and Faust. "If they catch me the game ends. But if they catch you, you help them catch me, ok?" I explained as the little ones nodded. "Ok! Catch me if you can!" I yelled at the two before picking up the three fillies that first approached me and tossing them on my back.

Zecora and Faust lost no time to try and catch me and the little ones. I kept the game to the town square. Running in between the ponies that looked flabbergasted at the display, I saw them slowly loosen up and laugh at the ludicrous scene of an army of children following me as the two mares tried to catch us. Due to my maneuvering between the adults, some of them started to run with Faust and Zecora. Soon, two stampedes occurred at the same time. One composed of me and the children who seemed very happy with the play. And the other was composed of the adults that decided to play along.

This made more than half the ponies that were in the town square to start chasing me, while the other half were either laughing at the strange game or behaving as if they were watching a scene from a horror movie. The ones chasing the children and I eventually caught some of the kids. They placed them on their backs before giving chase. Everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun. And I could hear some of them trying to come up with strategies to catch me while we ran.

Everything seemed to be going well until I tripped over a rock. The fillies went flying towards the fountain while I rolled on the dirt. However, they didn't seem to be too bothered as they were laughing at the entire thing. Even after they crashed on the fountain, they continued to laugh as I was duck piled by Faust and Zecora.

"Caught you," Both mares said while I shook the dirt off my head. Everyone seemed to be laughing and the tension from before seemed to have dispersed. And now, I was covered in dirt and mud as well as Zecora and Faust.

"Ok, we won. What do we get?" Faust said with a smirk while getting off me. Zecora didn't wait too long to do the same.

"Um, I don't know?" I said while getting up.

"How about you clean both of us?" Zecora suggested with a sly smile on her face.

I don't know if I'm ok with this development. I don't think this bodes well for me. I concluded while letting out a resigned sigh.

"So, you're not going to punish us?" The beige mare from before asked while stepping forth. Unlike most ponies who seemed to be speaking amongst themselves, she seemed worried about how things would develop.

"Like I've been saying, I only came here to try and fix the situation with how Zecora was treated," I replied while sitting on the dirt. Being covered with dirt at that point wouldn't make a difference.

"Well, I hope you understand then, but," The mare said while behaving as if she was an elephant in a crystal store. "I need to report your arrival to the capital," She said while trying to change the subject.

"Of course. But, what did you want to say?" I inquired while staring at her.

"Um, well, why are taking the lead on this entire situation? No offense, but, even as an alicorn, you're, well," She replied while struggling to speak her mind.

"That's mainly because of how's been living on his own until I came around," Faust intervened causing the mare to widen her eyes.

"H-he lived on his own?" She inquired as she answered her question. Faust patiently nodded as the mare turned to me awestruck. "B-but, how?"

"Once he was old enough, he left his parent's house. So, he got his place and started living on his own," Faust continued as I looked at her inquisitively.

How the fuck does she know that stuff?

"But, to leave his home without a fiancée. How could his parents be ok with that?" The mare pressed on while staring at me as if I was some sort of weird exhibition.

"Because they prepared him to live on his own," Faust retorted while I started to feel slightly uncomfortable about the information Faust had on me.

At this point, the beige mare looked ready to faint. And I was ready to pull Faust over so we could have a conversation regarding my private life, which she was freely tossing around without my consent. However, the marshmallow woke up with a loud gasp before she went straight into hyperventilation. I stared at the panicked mare for a couple of seconds before speaking.

"Lady Rarity, you need to relax more. And I'm telling you that, you're in bad shape," I quipped while rolling my eyes as Rarity just nodded repeatedly at sonic speed.

"Rarity. I know he looks scary. But Stellar is a big goof," Faust said to Rarity. This made Rarity's eyes roll to the back of her head before she collapsed again.

"I'm very tempted to throw water at her now. This is ridiculous," I mumbled while grabbing the collapsed mare and tossing her on my back. Once again, everyone seemed ready to faint as I committed another sin worthy of receiving immediate divine punishment. Which, of course, didn't come. "Let's put her back at her home."

The little white filly from before hopped forward and stood before me. "I'll take you there! Follow me!" She exclaimed before her little legs turned into a blur and she skipped away toward a fancy-looking house.

Somehow, I don't doubt she would live there. I mused while following the little one.

Except I didn't get very far before Rarity woke up. She started screaming and kicking before falling off my back and dashing into her home while grabbing the little one. I stood there baffled at the fact that she kicked my head not once or twice, but three times without me feeling a thing.

"Talk about a first meeting," I mumbled before I heard wheels squeaking by my side. I turned my face to the side and saw a very peculiar thing. A black hole with a blue circle surrounding it.

"TIME FOR A PARTY!" I heard before an explosion occurred and I blacked out.

Author's Note

Ok. Let's give this thing a whirl.

Sorry about the lack of updates. I am trying to write and bring things back to speed.