Saccharine Arcadia

Chapter 3: Getting Used To The Way Things Are.

Sweet Apple Acres, Inside the Farm House:

“Apple Bloom! Apple Bloom!” Applejack called through the large barn house. Her voice echoed around its wooden walls.

The glorious morning sun shone in through the south facing window and Applejack closed her eyes and basked in it, letting it wash over her like a wave of heat. It made her skin tingle and her fur stand on end. She soon opened her eyes and squinted, lifting a hoof to her brow to block out the impeding light.

Gazing over the orchards, she spied Big Mac hammering away with his hind legs at a copse of trees over on a hill not more than three hundred yards away. Applebuck season wouldn’t be for a while and so she had time to spare, Mac could tend to the fields and orchards and Apple Bloom could take care of the house chores, she was growing up and deserved more responsibility anyway.

This left Applejack to deal with marketing and selling the apples, eggs and other farm produce alongside dealing with the Sweet Apple Acres finance. It was a tough job but she knew just as much as each member of her family that she needed to pull her weight, and that no task is too much to handle if you just ask for a little help. She also enjoyed her job as it left her with a lot of time to meet up with her friends, and this was the thing that she enjoyed the most.

A few seconds later a small yellow filly walked through the door. She had red mane and it was tied up by a large pink bow. She had big orange eyes, and in contrast to the many other ponies, no cutie mark.

“What’s up Applejack?” She asked innocently, unaware of what her sister was about to ask her.

“We have a new pony- uh, resident in Ponyville, he’s stayin’ with Twilight, an’ I’m gonna help show him around today.” The big sister replied, knowing that this would more likely pique her sister’s curiosity than abate it.

“Ooh, ooh! Can I come?! Can I come?!” She hopped up and down excitedly.

“Not today Apple Bloom. I’m out for the most part, and Big Mac is over the south orchards buckin’ the trees. He’s gonna be in Ponyville in a while too once he’s finished his buckin’ here, it shouldn’t take him much longer. I need you to stay here and look after Granny Smith while we’re gone. You also need to do your chores. After that you can go an’ play with Sweetie and Scootaloo. I’ll bring you ta meet him next time.”

“Awww, But Applejack-” The filly protested.

“No buts, you’re gonna do whatcha big sister says.” Applejack sternly looked at her sister, knowing that she needed to be harsh if she wanted the filly to listen to her.

She looked displeased but finally conceded. “Ok… But you better take me next time, you promised!” And with that she stormed out of the room.

Applejack laughed quietly and turned to leave, shouting bye to Granny Smith as she did. She exited the farm house and walked out of the main farm gate, passing the chicken coop on her left. Within a few minutes she was on the east road headed for Ponyville. “Today’s gonna be a good day.” She smiled and went on her way.

Carousel Boutique, Interior:

Rarity was closing shop early today. Twilight had insisted she come over to the library to meet a new ‘friend’ and resident of Ponyville. She walked over to one of her mannequins and adjusted the outfit a little, tilting the hat and tightening the corset. She scowled at it. She was always nervous about meeting new people, despite what the others thought, first impressions were always the hardest part, and she had to look and act her very best.

“Oh, Opal…” She sighed. “What am I to do? Procrastination isn’t going to solve anything!” She dramatically held a hoof to her forehead and fell onto a nearly lounger.

Opal meowed in response and went back to sleep on a pile of cloth in the corner of the room. Rarity got up, dusted herself off and walked over to one of the many standing mirrors littering the floor of Carousel Boutique, she stared into it. She had to look perfect. She looked herself up and down, critiquing her every last detail. Would the red hat match her white body? Sighing again, she tried on a few more sets before finally deciding it was useless, she didn’t know this new pony and even if she did, why should she get in a fluster about what he thinks of her? She continued asking herself these questions, she didn’t know why, it just seemed like this new person was going to be a major part of her life soon, it was rare Twilight asked all her friends to gather for just one pony, and she didn’t want to mess up her first meeting.

A light aura enveloped a nearby comb and she levitated it towards herself. She combed through her perfectly curled purple mane, carefully avoiding her horn, and replaced the brush. Turning to the mirror once more, she looked at herself more closely, she scowled at her cutie mark, three diamonds representing her affinity for finding gems, and thus; creating beauty. “Hardly.” She thought. “If people knew what went into making ‘this’…” She gestured to her hair while trailing off. She exhaled deeply and wondered why she felt this way. Things had been slow lately, sure, she had a lot of work at the boutique but that was just it, she had less time for her friends. Laughing at herself, she realised she missed the adventure. Nopony would have guesses that ‘prim and proper’ Rarity was feeling a lust for the outdoors, it was so unlike her.

“Well Opal, I’m off!” She called back to the sleeping feline as she put a brave smile on and headed towards the door. “Time to make the most of things.” She muttered under her breath. The bell rang as it was struck by the door and she stepped into the sunlight, off to Twilight’s library.

Ponyville Library, Interior, Rob’s Room:

Rob yawned as he awoke from his deep slumber. He kept his eyes closed and relaxed, letting out a deep breath. He scratched at an itch on his shoulder and rolled over on to his back, revelling in the warm pleasure he was feeling. The sun shone in through the open window and was warm on his bare chest which was partially uncovered by the duvet. A cool breeze caressed his skin and brought with it a divine smell from the kitchen below. He smiled. Forcing himself, he opened one eye and squinted as the sun jabbed at it. “Ok, what time is it?” He mumbled through another yawn. “I slept like a log.”

Rob rolled over again and searched down beside the bed for his trousers, looking for his phone. He found a leg and reeled the rest in, taking everything out of his pockets. He pressed the unlock button on the screen and dragged it to the right. “Three-thirty? That can’t be right… Ah yeah, time lapse. That’s some crazy shit right there. Damn you, evil Celestia sorcerer!” He placed all the other stuff on the bedside table.

“Frickin’ pony logic.”

He laughed. “Spose I should get up, must be ten or something, I don’t wanna seem too rude.” He got up and went to the bathroom to have a shower.

Ponyville Library, Interior, Kitchen:

“He’ll be down any minute now Spike, I just heard him get in the shower, hurry up with the pancakes!” Twilight said, excitedly.

“No one can shower that fast Twi, they’ll be done in time, don’t worry. You really need to learn to let loose sometimes, a list and detailed schedule isn’t necessary for everything.” The assistant cockily replied.

“Spike you clearly don’t know me at all!” She joked, calming down a little. “I just want everything to go well today.”

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Twilight exited the kitchen to let the guest in.

“Rarity!” Twilight smiled as she opened the door. “Come in.”

“Twilight!” The snowy mare replied. “I trust you’re ok?” She stepped in.

“Great thanks, you?”

“Yes, fine.” Cutting to the chase Rarity looked around nervously. “Where is he then?”

“Showering at the moment.” Twilight replied stoically. “Would you care to join us for breakfast? Spike is making pancakes.”

“No thank you, I’m fine, I ate earlier.” She paced around the room before finally sitting on a chair. “What’s he like then?” She fidgeted and touched her mane, twirling it around her left hoof.

“Different.” Twilight chuckled, knowing what Rarity was in for.

“How so Twilight?” Rarity arched forward in the chair.

“You’ll see soon enough. Don’t worry though, he’s kind. He won’t eat you! Just be prepared for something that you have never seen before.”

“You must know something! What’s his cutie mark?”

“He doesn’t have one.”

“What do you mean!? How old is he, all colts and fillies have theirs by the age of 14! It’s incredibly rare to not have one by that age!”

“Calm down Rarity, all will be explained soon. Anyway, he must be about 18.”

“Right, ok, Rarity, calm down.” She told herself. “So, Twilight, I’ve been meaning to ask. What are those strange objects by the door? Pinkie didn’t leave them here by mistake did she?” She eyed the funny leather contraptions on the other side of the room. “They resemble one kind of shoe I make, but they’re much too big for a pony.”

“Ah, I believe they’re shoes, you would be correct. The Princess replicated some of his clothes and sent them here with her initial letter.”

Rarity gulped, a sense of suspicion crept over her. “Umm, Twilight, he isn’t a pony is he?” She heard Spike laughing in the kitchen.

The two unicorns diverted their attention as they heard hoofsteps coming down the stairs. Rarity held her breath.

“Say, Twilight, I’m starving, whatcha cooking? It smells heavenly, whatever it is.” A voice came from the stairwell.

Rarity turned in her chair, looking over the tall back towards the stairs. She gasped as a towel-clad creature appeared before her, gracing the last of the steps with a pitter-patter as it energetically hopped down the few remaining platforms. It had a longish mane, if you could call it that, ending at a little lower than what she must have presumed were its shoulders, and from this she could see it was wet, as droplets of water fell from the tips. It was like nothing she had ever seen. With the exception of on top of its head, it was practically hairless. It also walked on only two hooves. She didn’t think it was displeasing to look at, its features were much more distinguished than a pony’s were, without fur it was a lot easier to see muscle definition and bone structure. It looked over at her. A coy expression appeared on its face.

“I see you have a guest, Twilight.” He said.

“Arc, meet Rarity.” She replied.

“Ahh, the fashion designer from across the square I presume. Twilight mentioned you last night. My pleasure.” He strode towards her and held out his hand. “Sorry about my current state. I don’t have any clean clothes. I normally look much more awesome than this.” He jested, staring into her eyes.

Twilight internally laughed at the difference in expressions; while the human wore one of bemusement, Rarity held one of shock. “Very charming this morning aren’t we? Anyhow, the Princess sent some clothes over for you.”

“Sneaky mare…” He muttered, turning his attention away from the new pony. “Thanks.” He said as Twilight handed them over.

“Ummm… Nice to m-meet you.” Rarity shyly piped up. “Come on Rarity, brave face, brave face!”

“Pardon?” Rob answered.

“Oh, I’m gonna have some fun with this one… Wait, not in that way, damnit brain!”

Putting on her usual façade she smiled and walked up to Rob, grasping his hand. “No, it is I who have the pleasure. Say, do you wear clothes all the time? You have such a unique body shape I would very much like to design some things for you and study your structure.”

“Hey, no problem, I suppose I’ll have some free time sooner or later.” He said, smiling. She smiled back. “Miss. Rarity, I hope you don’t mind, but you’re a very beautiful pony if I do say so myself.”

She gazed down at her hooves and blushed heavily, a deep crimson covering her pristine white cheeks. “I-I-I, w-why thank you…”

“Haha, that was amusing.”

Twilight looked over at Rob, scowling. “What did you go and say that for?” She seemed more annoyed that he never complimented her than the fact he had just embarrassed Rarity.

She walked over to him and he knelt beside her. “What? It looks like she takes good care of herself. Her coat’s as pure as snow and she has a lovely mane. I don’t wanna lie.” He smirked back.

“Women!”

“Besides, it’s really fun messing with these hoity-toity types! You’ll see! I’m just playing a little bit. Believe me, Celestia would be proud.” He whispered to her, knowing that the last statement would confuse her.

“Whatever, breakfast is ready.” She turned and strutted into the kitchen.

Rob followed, laughing to himself, still with the towel wrapped around his waist. Rarity plodded behind him.

The three sat down at the table just as Spike placed two plates in front of Twilight and Arc. “So I take it you made these Spike?” Rob asked, genuinely impressed. “The best I can do is knock up a curry.”

“Yeah, this was all me.” He gloated. “Twi can’t cook to save her life and I’ve been looking after her for years. You learn over time.” Twilights cheeks reddened.

“Wow, you’re very mature for your age.” Spike smiled.

“If I may interject, Arc, what is this ‘curry’ you speak of?” Rarity turned to him, bobbing one of her curls on her left hoof. She looked bemused after her earlier shyness.

“Umm, basically it’s like a stew, only using different ingredients for the sauce and vegetables. It’s thicker too. It can also be spicy in some cases.” Rob told her while Twilight talked to Spike. He went on about cuisine from his homeland for a while, carefully avoiding the topic of meat. Soon, he and Twilight had finished eating.

“I trust you’ve had enough?” Twilight called over her shoulder while washing a plate in the sink.

“Yup, sure have.” He turned to Spike who was ogling Rarity while she bored him with her latest fashion news. He didn’t seem to be paying attention, he was just happy that she was talking to him. “Food was great Spike, thanks.”

“No problem bro.”

“Bro?”

Rob voiced his mind, “Bro?”

All eyes turned to the small dragon and the human. “We are friends right?” Spike looked worried.

“Shit, may have stepped on a landmine here. Time for a quick save.”

“Well, yeah. You guys are just so accepting. Honestly, it surprises me. A strange, albeit, totally sexy creature, has just been deposited on you by your princess and all you guys do is try to be friends with it.” They looked at Arc, wide-eyed. “I love it here, you guys are awesome… And I’ve never been called ‘bro’ before. But sure, who doesn’t want a totally rad dragon as a bro right?! Sorry guys, this is just a bit of a culture change for me, it’ll take a little getting used to I suppose.”

“So… Are we cool?” The little reptile asked feverishly.

“Even better little man. I couldn’t ask for a better bro.” The worried faces around the room calmed as the new resident human eased Spike of his worries.

“Ok, note to self: Don’t fuck with friendship.”

“Hey, you guys have alcohol right?”

Twilight replaced the plate to where it belonged and turned fully around to the others in the room. Rarity responded, “Why in Equestria do you ask that now?”

“Well, last night Mac and I spoke about getting a drink together. I figured that now Spike’s a part of the ‘bro’ group, he could tag along. Not drink necessarily, I dunno what the legal drinking age is in Equestria, just to hang, ya’ know.”

“I shall save him from all the ‘girly-ness’, hell yeah, I’m such a samaritan!”

“Well, there isn’t that much choice in the matter to be honest. You either have the ‘expensive-for-no-reason’ Canterlot wine or the swill that Applejack creates in the cellar beneath the barn. One bleeds your pockets dry, the other your stomach.” Twilight perked up. “And there isn’t any ‘legal’ age so to speak, it’s really just up to how responsible the guardian of the pony is. Whether they let their child drink is up to them.”

“I’m guessing that torching cars and smashing shop windows isn’t a drunken past time here then.”

“Could I convince you to let Spike have a small amount of alcohol if I find any?”

She placed a hoof to her chin in thought. Spike looked at her, hopeful. “Augh, everything rational tells me that he shouldn’t.” Spike looked deflated. “But,” he perked up, “The Princess sent me here to make friends, learn and to be a normal teenager. Underage drinking, as you call it, is all part of that if you think about it.” She smirked as the others looked on in surprise. “Besides he does help an awful lot around here. It may just do him some good to have some ‘male bonding’ experience and a break.”

“Did not expect that from the nerd, and we’re usually such responsible people…”

“Twilight, you cannot be serious!” Rarity exclaimed, getting to her hooves and slamming the front two down on the table in shock. Having Spike be allowed to drink forced her to consider the fact that he wasn’t a child, like she thought he was. Seeing him in such a responsible and adult light came as a shock. Besides, it’s uncouth.

“I’m sure he’ll be in capable hands.” She glanced at Arc, a sly smile present on her face. “Besides, if anything does happen, Arc will have Princess Celestia to answer to.”

“Bitch…”

“For the princess’ student, you really are rebellious.”

“I definitely have a bad influence on these guys. Rob: subject of Equestria, corrupting innocent ponies since 2012.”

“What, she isn’t going to find out as long as nothing happens right?” The sly smile appeared again.

“She’s got me by the balls it seems.”

“Yes… Right. Very calculative.” Rarity settled down and Rob spoke up again. “Well then, Spike, when we do this, no trouble ok? I started drinking occasionally around your age so it should be ok. I’m not gonna get you plastered anyway.” He chuckled thinking what the little guy would be like completely hammered.

Spike was hopping up and down excitedly, he looked like a puppy. “Yeah, no problem. I’m totally dependable, Twi trusts me with the library all the time.”

“Are all humans this spontaneous?” Rarity asked after her short outburst.

“Nope.”

“Then, why are you.”

“Look at it this way. I’ve just been thrown into a completely new environment, with no chance of going home, not that I want to…” He raised his hands flippantly and shrugged. “For me, today’s entire agenda consists of waking up and then doing whatever Twilight has planned. I figured that I’d just start filling in the gaps of time between me getting here, and me dying. It’d be pretty boring otherwise. And besides, who doesn’t like a drink every now and then.”

“That’s rather vulgar.” She looked slightly repulsed at his bluntness. “But I see where you’re coming from.”

“This one’s going to be fun to break. I could probably make her squirm with a little bit of mud.”

“Don’t be too hard on my little ponies.”

“FUCK OFF CELESTIA!”

“Woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, hmmm?”

“I thought ‘I’ had to call ‘you’ for this to work? And no, I didn’t, you just made me shit a brick, that’s what.”

“Well, it’s like your phone, I can call you too.”

“Lucky me…”

“And why do you think you’ll get off with telling the supreme overlord Celestia to ‘fuck off’?”

“You’d have turned me to ash by now otherwise. And ‘supreme overlord’, you’re a real piece of work you know that?”

“I’m just teasing.”

“I know. Hey Twilight tried to-”

“Are you going to rat out my student? What a little bitch…”

“Wait, no! Well, yes. But she’s blackmailing me, and encouraging youths to drink!”

“Right, well. You have no shame little human. Besides, I know anyway, I’ve been watching things through you this morning.”

“Sweet Celestia that’s creepy! This brings up a number of questions. Did you watch me shower? What do you do all day if you have time to watch me? And how the hell did you become ruler of a country?”

“’Sweet Celestia?”

“Like it? I thought of it just now.”

“Yes, it’s not bad. Anyway, yes, nothing and don’t know, just sorta happened.”

“Great. Full of wisdom as always.”

“I do my best. But I’m sure you have things to be doing, from what I can see there are two ponies and a dragon staring at you right now. You should probably snap out of it.”

“You’re probably right. Well, speak to you soon… Or next time you decide to creep up on me.”

“Toodles~” She sang as she vacated his mind.

Rob felt the connection sever.

“I’m not even gonna question that.”

“-ust gets like this sometimes. Last time it was because the princess was talking to him. Ah, he seems to have snapped out of it.” Rob faded back just in time to hear the last of Twilight’s speech.

“Surely that’s not The Princess?” He heard Rarity comment. She stood up from the table and walked around to him, concern showing in her face.

“I’m back girls. And yeah, it was The Princess again. Don’t worry though, all good news.” Rob wore a chipper smile despite feeling an inner, playful anger towards the ‘kind’ and ‘benevolent’ ruler of the kingdom. Imagining her mockery made him irritated.

“She is a laugh though, I’ll give her that.”

Twilight trotted forwards. While Rob was daydreaming, she had finished cleaning up the kitchen, with Spikes help of course, and had just been speaking with Rarity. “I suspect Applejack will be arriving at some point, she seemed eager last night and frankly, I’m surprised that she isn’t here already.” With that she walked into the library, leaving the others in the kitchen.

“You’ve met Applejack already?” Rarity spoke up, ascending from the table herself. On the other side of the room Spike got down from the kitchen counter that he was currently sitting on. He landed with an ungraceful ‘thud’.

“Yup, she pounced on me last night.”

“Giggity.”

“Oh, darling! I take it you’re alright? That mare has absolutely no finesse!”

The three followed after Twilight and found themselves in the main library area. “Yeah, she’s headstrong alright. But everything went fine, Twilight growled at her and then we had a little discussion. Everything went better than expected.”

“I’m glad.” She turned her attention to Twilight. “So dear, who are we taking our guest to first?”

Twilight looked up, that glint in her eyes had appeared again. Rob noticed it happened whenever she was thinking. After musing for a few seconds she had come to an answer. “Applejack is probably on her way here now, so, after that I thought Arc should meet Fluttershy. It’s probably for the best that she meets him with us four,” she motioned to herself, Spike and Rarity, “as Pinkie and Dash have a habit of blowing things out of proportion. We don’t want her first impression to be that he’s an alien trying to enslave Equestria…” She deadpanned the last bit, as if this wasn’t the first time she had encountered these problems.

“These two sound like quite the characters.”

“Excellent point. So now we wait for Appleja-”

She was cut off as four faces grew wide-eyed at the sight of Twilights door slamming open as an orange pony came charging through with a large grin on her face.

“Well, seems we have ourselves an Applejack.” Rob said flatly.

“Howdy y’all!” The new pony called.

A simultaneous “Applejack!” was heard from Twilight and Rarity. Spike just facepalmed down to the side of the two ponies.

Rarity started first. “Applejack, how brutish-” But was cut off by Twilight.

“What did we talk about last night! It’s like having another Rainbow Dash…”

Rob interrupted and went to the doorway. “Yes, yes, I’m sure Applejack is sorry. Let’s just get this party started already. Arguing is just wasting our time, despite it being really funny to watch.” Spike stifled a laugh and hopped on Twilights back.

“Truly Twi, I’m sorry, I was just a little excited, that’s all.” She faced the two annoyed ponies. “But,” she turned to Rob, “he’s right, we got ponies ta meet! Where to first?” She paced towards the door after Rob. “Umm, weren’t you wearin’ more yesterday?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Woops! Nice catch there Applejack, I almost forgot. No visual cues ya’ know, no one- sorry, nopony else is wearing clothes so I kinda didn’t realise…” He sheepishly walked to the stairs and picked up the new clothes Celestia sent to him, trying to justify how he almost walked into town in just a towel. After a few minutes he was fully dressed in the same black jeans and t-shirt as the day before. He headed to the door for a second time. “Right, so who are we going to see then?”

“Fluttershy.” Rarity stated as she also walked towards the door followed by Applejack.

Lastly, Twilight followed and exited the library. On the way past Rob, Spike made another leap from his trusty steed and climbed the human, situating himself on his left shoulder. A lilac aura surrounded the door and it firmly closed with a slam.

“Hey, I arrived late last night and everypony was already in bed. Are they gonna be ok seeing a six feet tall abomination strolling around town? It looks like I’ve kidnapped a dragon and taken three ponies hostage.”

The girls and Spike giggled, Applejack answered. “Ya might get the few odd looks, but all in all Ponyville is a pretty acceptin’ place. ‘Sides, there are griffons and diamond dogs walking around town every now and then too. Y’aren’t the first weird critter Ponyville has seen.” She eased his fears and headed off in the opposite direction to how he had entered the night before. “’Sides,” she said as she looked over her shoulder, “It were the princess who sent ya, an’ nopony’s gonna argue with her.”

If Ponyville was a ghost town last night, then this morning it was the opposite. Ponies were everywhere, going about their daily business as usual. The open space outside the library was now dominated by carts and stalls, creating a market of sorts. There was anything from fruit and veg to antiques and furniture. If you needed something, then the Ponyville market had it. It was quite the self-sustaining little community.

Over the back near Sugarcube Corner was the Apple stall, manned by Big Mac today, he saw the group and lifted a hoof to wave. They returned the gesture and resumed walking. Applejack told the group that Big Mac had been nice enough to take over her duties for the day, seeing as she had been charged to help guide Arc around Ponyville.

With only a few minimal glances at the ragtail group, they made it out of the market and onto a smaller north leading road. The roadside was adorned with more permanent establishments than the market, shops and eateries lined the street. Nothing could be of less use to a human that a saddle shop and a restaurant named ‘The Lucky Leaf’, a food shop that specialised in grasses and leaves.

The convoy proceeded down the street and soon after, the noise lessened and the street turned from cobbles to dirt. Buildings faded to trees and after a while everything was tranquil. Besides them, there were no other ponies around. From somewhere a small stream had started running alongside the path, its soothing trickle was the only sound to be heard.

“It’s really peaceful here.” Rob broke the silence. He looked over at the others and saw them nod.

“Fluttershy is, well, shy. She doesn’t suit the faster pace of the town very well. That’s why she lives out here.” Spike said from atop the humans shoulder.

“I see. I’d say I’m similar. I prefer the outdoors too.”

As they chatted, a small bridge approached, it crossed the stream that they had been following. Past the bridge there was a small cottage surrounded by animals. The stream ran strait under the porch. There were hummingbirds and finches in the trees as well as multitude of other song birds littering the area. On the ground there were otters under the bridge and chickens in a pen near the cottage. Aside from the animals that were clearly housed, there were a lot of others just wandering around. It was like they were naturally drawn to the place. Out of the corner of his eye, Rob was sure he’d seen a mouse in a wheelchair get pushed around the corner of the cottage. The sound though, was magnificent, the wind in the trees created an ethereal quality to the atmosphere, giving it depth, the songbirds all seemed to harmonise and the stream added an earthy tone to the mixture. From somewhere behind the chicken coop a voice started humming, perfectly in tune with the rest of the natural sounds. The group came to a halt not too far away.

Twilight stepped forward. “Fluttershy! Fluttershy!” She called, making the voice stop.

An audible “Eep!” was heard from the same location as the voice and a small yellow face peered out from behind the coop accompanied by a puff of feathers which softly floated to the ground. Rob presumed they were from the nearby chickens, although he questioned what she was doing that made them ‘pop’ up like that. Just as soon as the face had appeared, it disappeared again. The group just stood there.

“Umm, what’s happening? It’s like she’s shell shocked.”

The silence was soon broken by Rarity who walked past Twilight and towards the cowering yellow blob. “Fluttershy dear, would you be a darling and come and greet our new guest?”

Some mumbles were heard, and after a little coaxing from Rarity, the pony revealed herself again. She was frogmarched up towards the bemused human and his pony companions with a stunned look on her face. Her heels were digging into the ground. Rob observed as she drew closer; she had a fragile form and was clearly a pegasus, the wings at her side gave that much away. Her coat was a light yellow colour, reminiscent of custard, and she had vibrant teal colour eyes. They were glistening as they were beginning to tear up. The light reflected of them magnificently. Part of her face was hidden beneath her light pink mane which fell to the right hand side of her head and cascaded down to just below her stomach. Her tail was the same colour and twitched nervously as it flailed around between her hind legs. On her flank was her cutie mark, three pink butterflies, and Rob assumed it had something to do with nature, seeing as she was literally surrounded by it.

“Spike was not kidding, she is shy! Well, shy is an understatement if you ask me. I think I’ve petrified her.”

Rarity continued pushing her until she was within a few feet of the group. “Go on.” She chided.

After a deep breath she locked eyes with the strange biped presented before her and spoke. “H-hello t-t-there. M-my names Fluttersh…” She trailed off and a rosy colour spread across her cheeks, she turned her eyes down and nervously padded at the ground with her right fore-hoof. She was shaking slightly.

“Shit. Must. Hug. It. No, I can’t, I risk crushing her from excessive loving. Sweet Celestia, she’s cute. I want one.”

“Sup, sweetie. Didn’t quite catch the name but oh well, these guys tell me it’s ‘Fluttershy’.”

“Ok, bit pretentious. Why did I call her ‘sweetie’? Damnit brain, get it together!”

She lifted her head and stared, their eyes met and she nodded. “Umm… Yes, Fluttershy.”

“Oh come on! He isn’t that scary.” Twilight stood next to the yellow pegasus and nudged her a little.

Applejack joined in too. “She’s right sugarcube, he aint gonna harm a hair on yer head.”

“She’s never been good with strangers, especially males.” Spike whispered to his human chauffeur. “Except me, she loved me.”

“Bitches dig the dragon boy. Humph, who knew?”

“Ok, Fluttershy,” Rob turned his attention to her, “My name is Saccharine Arcadia, or ‘Arc’ for short. I’m not going to hurt you unless you consider hugging painful, and I’m new here in Ponyville, you may have worked that out. I can see you like the plants and animals, I do too, so we have something in common. If you like, think of me as a new animal. As for what I technically am, I’m what’s called a human. Any questions?”

Something about the speech seemed to click with Fluttershy as she seemed to forget her shy demeanour and she began to ramble on. “Oh yes! What kind of food do you eat? Umm, if you don’t mind me asking that is. And how old are you? Where do you come from?” She started to flap her wings gently and she lifted from the ground. “Do you live in the trees or underground?” She continued and approached the human. “Are humans part dragon? You don’t have wings, but you do have fingers just like Spike.” The ponies gazed in awe and confusion as their once highly reserved companion fluttered around Rob, taking him in from all angles. “What about-” She was cut off as Applejack spoke up.

“Y’all right sugarcube? You’re buzzin’ ‘round him like a bee does a cider tank.” This outburst caused the yellow bundle of feathers to regain her senses and crash to the floor in an ungraceful lump, eliciting a small laugh from the others.

“Ummm, I’m sorry. I was just curious that’s all.” She lifted herself from the floor and dusted herself off with a few beats of her wings, the blush returned to her face.

“Suck it Spike.”

“That’s no problem Fluttershy, I’ll answer them all in due time. It has occurred to me that it would make more sense to answer you guys in bulk, rather than one at a time. Right now I think we’re off to meet the others though. As I said, it’ll be easier to answer all the questions at once when everyone’s together.” She nodded in response and smiled warmly.

“She could get away with murder with that face.”

“’Everyone’s’?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, sorry, haven’t you heard me use that one yet? It’s the same word as ‘everypony’ only it refers to humans where I come from.”

“Fascinating.” Was all she said in response. “Well, we should probably get going, Rainbow could be anywhere and Pinkie- well let’s just say that I’m surprised she hasn’t already popped up, literally.”

The group turned to head back towards the town, Fluttershy in tow, when Arc felt the connection again, this time however, it came with malice.

“The Everfree, go now.”

“Celestia? Again?”

“Don’t argue this time, seriously, you need to go into the forest now, one of my little ponies is about to be attacked!”

“You’re serious?!”

“Yes, tell Twilight and get going now! I’ll show you the way with a magic compass.”

“That’s convenient…”

Rob felt a tug on his mind, a pull towards the forest, he sensed it lead deep inside. A weaving string drew a map in his mind, for a moment he could feel the forest. He knew where the pony in need of rescue was. He noticed the others were staring at him strangely, they had wondered why he’d stopped and turned to investigate.

“Twi, we got a problem.” He lifted Spike off his shoulder and set him down on Twilights back. The others were looking at him strangely. “Celestia needs me. She says somepony’s in trouble in the forest. You guys go get help, I’ll head in and find out what’s happening.” With that, he bolted for the nearby forest, ignoring the voices calling him from behind.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it, I got this covered.”

Rob said confidently before realising that he was charging into an unknown forest on the whim of glowing white horse.

“Scratch that. This is crazy. I’m at best, scared of danger! I’m no good at fighting, what kind of danger are we talking about?! I will not be pleased if it involves lions or tigers or anything vicious like that.”

The thick canopy soon shut out the light and the sun faded out of existence, as if it was scared of the forest. A deep green, mossy underlay soon replaced the dirt and Rob’s footsteps became muffled as he ran through the ever darkening undergrowth. His breathing began to quicken and he soon realised that despite being skinny, he was not fit. It didn’t help that he was thinking of all the possible outcomes and wearing himself out with worry. Lucky for him, the compass Celestia had implanted in his head was taking him in the right direction, he wondered if he would ever find his way without it and shuddered at the thought. An even scarier thought came when he tried to imagine escaping the forest without it. Running in circles, becoming dehydrated and getting mauled by forest creatures did not sound fun. Off in the distance a scream was heard and Rob picked up his pace, charging with renewed vigour into the forest.

“Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit… Ok, deep breaths… Right: Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit.”

A second cry echoed through the trees and Rob could tell he was getting close now, a clearing was approaching and as he stepped into it, he had to shield his eyes from the bright light.

“Ok, if there was ever a time for me to wake up from a drug-addled booze trip, this is it.”

He pinched himself. Nothing happened.

A snarl caught his attention and he squinted across the clearing, hunched over a cyan figure was what could only be described a wolf, albeit, slightly larger and made out of wood. It pulled its attention from the now unconscious mound on the floor and turned to face the new challenge entering its arena. If wolves could smile, this one was. It must have been roughly the same size as Celestia and therefore in overall body mass, dwarfed the human. It let rip a howl to the sky and hunched down on its fore-legs, yellow eyes glaring holes into the creature that dared disrupt its meal. It began to pace, eyeing its opponent for a weak point.

Rob stood his ground and stared the creature in the eyes, it was all he could do to keep from soiling himself, “Heh, nice doggy?”