Perpetual Torment

It was a bright and beautiful day in Ponyville. Townsponies were trotting their ways back and forth across the dirt roads of the bustling small village. The marketplace was as busy as ever, and ponies were lined up at the various booths, bargaining with the merchants. Fillies and colts ran around here and there, just having been released from school not an hour ago. Not a cloud in the sky today, the sun basked the land in a great warmth, Canterlot visible from seemingly any corner of the village.

Just outside a cafe, in a large, open clearing in the dirt road, dust and wind began to pick up. Plants and bushes whipped around violently, trash and objects on tables being swooped away, pulled towards some anomaly that was taking place.

Slowly but surely, ponies begin to take notice of what is happening in the empty road. Looks of worry spread across the populus, as this wind grows more ominous.

Blue particles begin to spark out and fly around in this contained windstorm, before a small blue ball appears in the road. Shining bright for just a flash, the ball dulls to an almost black shade of color, as it rapidly expands in size. The wind surrounding has grown so intense that some ponies begin to gasp in shock and fear, ears being assaulted by the loud noise.

The ball has transformed into a large, deep blue circle. Standing almost as tall as one of the buildings in this town, the circular anomaly spins ever so slowly, small blue sparks fly out and dance around it.

"S-sweetie, what's going on?" A mare asks fearfully, gripping her coltfriend tightly.

"I don't know!" The stallion replies, shaking as he wraps his front legs around her, the circle pulsing violently.

Particles dance around your body, fizzling out seconds after they were born. Right foot landing on a dirt road, you are greeted to the sight of some sort of diner. Customers sitting at the tables outside the establishment look at you in confusion and fear, gasps emerging from them.

The portal behind you closes, and you are left standing alone in this large intersection.

"The regulator has reached critical levels once again. It will be ready for use in six hours and twelve minutes." VEGA informs you.

That's becoming a problem. Every time you use the Slipgate, it takes longer to cool off than the previous use. Whether it's an issue with the regulator, or the crystals, you need to get it fixed soon.

Your eyes scan over the customers of the diner, before you turn around to inspect your immediate surroundings. Complex, multi-floor houses line the vast roads of this village. Composed of simple materials like maple wood and hay, these houses are grand in scale and design, yet simple in theme. Despite it's appearance on the map from before, you'd argue this could qualify as a town or even a city with how vast it is.

You don't have a clue where the library you're looking for is actually located, the only knowledge you have is it's name. Various crowds of ponies keep their distance away from you, watching you with great curiosity while being too scared to confront you. Picking a direction and walking, you decide to let natural instinct guide you.

You've navigated endless labyrinths of Hell, this should be a cakewalk.

"What is it?" A pink mare with a blonde mane asks, pointing a hoof at you whilst cocking her head towards another pony.

"I dunno, it looks kinda like a robot minotaur, but without the horns or hooves..." replies the other mare, as she raised a pale yellow hoof to adjust her raspberry colored mane.

As you make your way down the road, you close in on a small vendor's cart. Standing behind the cart, a stallion with an apron and a chef's hat is selling sweets to a teenage filly who can't seem to make up her mind. Various confectionery candies and snacks are stacked neatly on the wooden shelves of the cart. From lollipops to chocolates, this stallion had quite the selection of sugary goods.

Your stomach growls at you, reminding you that the last time you ate was now almost 24 hours ago. Closing in on the cart, the stallion is the first to notice you. His pupils dilate, ears folding back as he cowers in fear.

"What's up, big guy? Am I holding the line up or something?" The pegasus filly asks, her eyes focused on the stallion.

You cast a shadow over the teenage pony, who notices the lack of sunlight immediately. With a chocolate bar wrapped around in one of her wings, she slowly follows the gaze from the stallion, looking up at your towering body. Just as the stallion did, her eyes shrink and her jaw drops.

You're not focused on her, your eyes are on that scrumptious looking snack she's got.

Reaching a hand out, you grab a chocolate bar off the cart, holding it up to inspect the 'Great and Chocolate Twixie!' brand bar. Glancing down to the teenager, you point to the candy bar in your grasp, before giving a questioning thumbs up.

She looks at your gesture, then towards the candy bar, and finally back up to meet your questioning gaze. Judging by the look on her face, she's trying to understand what exactly you're requesting of her.

"Are... you wanting to know if it's good?" She meekly pipes up, glancing from the candy bar to your face.

You give a nod.

The vendor and the filly exchange looks, before the stallion rapidly nods his head at you.

"A-absolutely! It's easily my number one selling snack!" He puts on a very manufactured smile, teeth almost grinding together. "...Right, Missy?"

"I mean, it's alright I guess..." She shrugs, as a hoof is stuffed into her mouth.

"First time customers get a free pick of whatever candy they please!" The stallion interrupts her, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead as he looks up at you.

You weren't planning on paying anyway, but that's nice of him to offer.

"Give it back, you big bully!" The sound of a young colt grabs the attention of everypony in the general area.

All three of you turn around, to see a very heavy set unicorn colt levitating some sort of doll above a much smaller, skinnier earth pony colt. Using his magic, the unicorn waves the toy all around, as the smaller colt jumps up in the air, desperately trying to reclaim his property.

"What's the matter, pipsqueak? Can't go a day without your stupid little doll?" The fatty teases more, laughing and chortling.

"You big bully! I'll tell my mom on you!"

Despite your stomach's growls of desperation, you hand the candy bar to the teenager, who yelps at your sudden and forceful contact, before striding your way over to this dispute.

Crowds of ponies have their eyes locked on you, watching in awe and fear as you close in on the two kids.

"Oh no... Please tell me he isn't going to hurt the children..."

"Hah! You need your mommy to fight for you? You're such a little loser, you know that?" The overweight runt says, as the doll begins to shake violently in his magical grip,

The smaller colt gasps, as the stitching on his doll threatens to come undone. "No! Stop it!" He cries out.

Your right boot lands with a booming thud right next to the bully, whose back was turned to you this whole time. Dust kicks up and wafts in front of his face, causing him to cough and close his eyes. Shaking his head and wiping his eyes, you watch his gaze go from the scratched up toe of your boot, slowly up your leg and up your body. Your chest rises and falls as you glare down at him through your tinted visor. The bully's eyes shrink to the size of pinpricks, as his plump body begins to tremble.

You slowly close your right hand, balling it into a fist. The leather glove creaks and squeaks violently as your whole fist shakes.

"I... I... It's not what..." The unicorn stammers out, tears forming in his eyes as sweat pours down his plump face.

With your left hand you snatch the doll out of his magic, easily overpowering his untrained levitation spell, which disperses at your interruption. The crowd gasps at this, and the bully screams out in fear as he turns tail and gallops down the road.

"M-momma! Momma!" He cries out, tears stream down his lard-filled body as he pushes past the crowd of ponies, leaving only you and his small victim in the street.

Said colt was sitting on his haunches, eyes trained on you with a look of awe plastered on his young face.

"Woah..." He mutters out.

Kneeling down next to him, you offer his homemade looking doll back to him. Pinching one of it's front legs between your fingers, you roll your index and thumb back and forth, making the doll wave to the colt. This extracts a giggle from the little colt, who grabs the toy from your hand and hugs it tightly.

"Thank you, Mr. Robot!" he praises to you, nuzzling your leg before throwing the toy on his back and running off down the road happily.

Fuckin' bullies. They're just jealous they never had cool toys like that.

Standing up once again, you make your way down the road to continue your search for this library, leaving the crowd of ponies to trail behind you from several yards away. You can feel their eyes on your back, judging and watching your every move with the curiosity of a small child.

It's been about thirty or so minutes, and after going around in several circles, you've managed to find yourself standing before a massive oak tree in the middle of the road. The sign next to the door reads 'Golden Oak Library'. The ponies in this town are loads more friendly and curious than those from Dodge Junction. Several have come up to offer you help or to try and introduce themselves to you. While you'll never admit it, it was with the help of a pony in the crowd behind you that you're here in front of the library so soon. Roseluck, one of the mares who gossiped about you earlier. She had noticed you taking interest in books and bookstores, and put two and two together in her head.

"Mr. Robot, the library is closed today!" a random mare calls out from the crowd.

Grabbing the door handle, you give it a twist to test it. Sure enough, it's locked.

"I think Twilight is home, but last I spoke with her she wouldn't stop talking about some big 're-organizing' event she was planning. I think that's today, Mr. Robot!"

Releasing your grip on the handle, you take a step back. Leaning back and bringing your right leg up, you kick the door in, which causes the crowd behind you to gasp. From what you can see nobody is inside, so you decide to change that by entering.

Ducking down and entering through the tiny doorway, you are greeted to a very quaint looking interior. Bookshelves which were carved out of the tree itself line the walls of this massive library, a wooden table with a golden horse head statue occupies the middle of the lobby area. There's a staircase to your right, which leads up to a window with a telescope, as well as what appears to be another floor.

From upstairs, you can hear a muffled groan of annoyance, followed by the sound of multiple books dropping to the ground.

"Rainbow Dash, for the last time, what have I told you about smashing your way inside?" A very feminine sounding voice complains, as the clip clop of hooves echoes down the stairs above. Revealing herself is a purple unicorn with a multicolored lavender mane. "Can't you just knock like every pony els-" She cuts herself off as her deep purple eyes train on you, scanning you up and down. "What are you?"

That's a first. She actually sounds more curious than scared.

"Scan complete. The bookshelf directly in front of you is dedicated to magical knowledge." VEGA pipes up.

You turn your attention to said bookshelf, walking over and grabbing a random book. You can hear the pony trot her way down the stairs before closing the door you kicked in, grumbling at the broken locking mechanism. Opening the book, you idly flip the pages, your HUD flashing various notifications as the pages are photo-scanned, and saved to your PDA.

The purple pony has trotted her way right up to your side, and with a quick glance you can see she is inspecting every little nook and cranny of your armor.

"Such an interesting design, I've never seen anything like it!" She hums in wonder, poking and prodding your legs, whilst trotting over to your left side. "To be honest, I've never seen anything like you before!"

Finding nothing of interest in that book, you drop it to the floor as you pick up another.

"Gah! Hey, watch it!" She yelps out in annoyance, head being struck with the book you dropped. "Wait... Are you, reading? About magic?!" The excitement in her voice is palpable, as she claps her front hooves together.

"I suggest using the index at the back of the book, that will increase productivity by a multiple of eight." VEGA suggests.

You oblige him, and scroll to the very back of the book, pointer and middle fingers trailing down the list of information.

The pony gasps at this, and squeals in delight. "You know what an index is! Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! This is the best day ever!" She bounces around you, occasionally bumping against you as she giggles like a schoolgirl. "An alien visited ME of all ponies, and is interested in learning about magic!"

You raise your head up from the book, staring blankly at the wooden wall in front of you.

Alien? Who the hell is she calling alien? Fuck it, you've got several days before Earth is toast, a couple minutes of studying up on history won't hurt.

You slam the book closed, startling the purple unicorn who was jumping all around you. Peeling yourself away from the bookshelf, you scan the rest of the walls in search for the history section. It doesn't take more than a minute to locate, and after a quick glance you grab the book Equestria: The Beginning of Harmony. Flipping to the index, you scan down to the H section.

Harmony, History of Equis, How the Kingdom Fell.

Bingo, they've gotta be talking about the Kingdom of Man!

Flipping back to the chapter in question, you skim over the text.

"Oh my gosh, you're even interested in history! Spike, take a letter!" The unicorn gallops back up stairs, calling to some stranger.

You toss the book to the floor.

It was a short story about some young colt who decided to name his tree-house Castle Hasselhoof. How the hell is that worthy of being in a history book?

Anger and confusion build up inside you, as you grab book after book. Index after index, with every book you scan, you're left with more questions and less answers. There's not a single mention of humanity anywhere. No pictures, no accounts from nobles of past, nothing.

"I am detecting another lapse in your ability to focus. While most of my energy is being used on cooling down the regulator, I have some unused power available. Would you like me to auto scan?" VEGA asks.

You slump your shoulders, mentally fatigued from this unexplained gap in history.

"I understand. Due to power constraints, you will need to point your helmet at whichever bookshelf you would like me to scan."

Scanning your eyes over the lobby area, you search for something to sit on. You find a small step stool next to the front door.

Looks sturdy enough, you suppose.

The purple unicorn reemerges from upstairs, quills, paper and ink levitating next to her as she trots her way back down. "Mr. Alien, let me be the first pony to welcome you to Equestria! My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I will answer any questions you hav-" Her eyes go wide, as she notices you heading towards the door. "Wait, don't leave! You haven't even told me your name, or where you come from!"

You can't help but internally chuckle at how excited she is, and within seconds she's right back at your side, looking up at you with puppy eyes.

"Please Mr. Alien!"

Grabbing the step stool, you shake her off your leg and drag your new seat across the wooden floor. Placing it in front of the magic shelf, you plop yourself onto the wooden stool with a loud and booming thud. The little stool creaks, yet stays intact, an impressive feat for the weight of your suit. You hunch over, resting your elbows on your spread knees, hands clasped together as VEGA begins scanning the books.

"The regulator will be ready for use in five hours and two minutes."

Twilight Sparkle stands by the door, looking at you with a glint of hope in her eyes. While you can't move your helmet to face her, you keep your eyes trained to her direction.

"You're going to stay, right?..."

You nod your head.

Twilight does a giddy dance with her hooves, before dashing over and sitting in front of you, quill and paper levitating in front of her face.

"Oh this is going to be so wonderful! I've been practicing for years in case I ever came across extra terrestrial life. I just knew there was more out there in the universe!" Twilight clears her throat. "Now once again, my name is Twilight Sparkle. What's your name?"

You raise an eyebrow to Twilight, idly rubbing your hands together while you wait for VEGA to complete his task.

Several seconds of awkward silence pass at her expense, and you can see her get nervous. "Do... you have a name?"

You nod your head.

"Great! What is it?"

You remain silent.

Twilight's eyes dart back and forth, as she gives you one of the most nervous smiles you've ever seen. If she had a shirt on, you guarantee she'd be tugging the collar right now.

"Can you speak, Mr. Alien?"

You nod.

At this, Twilight's nerves calm just a tad, and you can see a glint of annoyance in her eyes. "So you can understand me, you have a name, and you can speak. So...?" She rolls the quill in her magic around in a circle.

Ah yes, the iconic 'get on with it' gesture. Much to her disappointment, you do not grace her with the use of your vocal cords, and instead raise your eyebrows at her.

"Ugh! Nevermind..." She groans, dragging the quill against her paper violently, scratching something out. "I suppose the most efficient way to conduct this interview shall be in yes-no! I will ask you a yes-no question, and all you have to do is answer me; yes, or no! Sound like a plan?"

As Twilight explains the deep intricacies and difficulties behind the 'yes-no' format of questionnaire, you glance to your HUD and inspect VEGA's progress on dissecting which books will be worth looking on the magical knowledge shelf. Currently, he's about ten percent complete. Shifting your weight around, the stool creaks violently, groaning at your mass.

At this point you wonder what's going to break first, the chair, or your patience.

"Now then, I have been preparing for a moment like this all my life, so I already have some key questions lined up for you! I expect you to be completely and totally honest with me, we are making Equestrian history today!" Twilight raises a hoof to the air, striking a pose for several seconds. When her little triumphant act isn't supported with some sort of soundtrack, she awkwardly sits back down on her pillow. "First order of business; are you here to invade or take over Equestria?"

You've shifted your posture, going from twiddling your thumbs, to resting your palm against your helmet, elbow on your leg. You scoff at the nerd, before giving your head another bored shake.

Quill makes contact with paper, as Twilight hums. "Very interesting. I am glad that's the case, Mr. Alien. I would've hated to have to use the Elements on the first ever extra-terrestrial visitor!"

That's an egotistical way to flaunt your might. What the hell are the 'Elements'?

"Next question! Are you trying to return to your own world?"

You blink at this question, before sitting up straight. Eyes locked on Twilight, you give a very confident nod.

Twilight is taken aback by your sudden change in demeanor. "A-ah, I see! Are you the dominant species on your plane-gah!"

Twilight is cut off by you gripping her shoulders. You snatch the paper out of her magic and point to the question she just asked.

"Can't we get a couple more questions out before I help you with that? We only just met, Mr. Alien!"

You shake her a couple times.

"Okay, okay!" Twilight yells out, eyes spinning around as you let go of her. Shaking her head, she gets back on all fours. "I have a whole section dedicated to astronomy upstairs. It's just near the balcony."

You take a mental note of which bookshelf was the magical knowledge one, before heading upstairs with Twilight. She leads you up two floors in the tree house, facing a much smaller bookshelf right next to a door that leads to the balcony.

"Here! It's kind of a small collection. Astronomy really isn't that big of a study, seeing as the star clusters change depending on how Princess Luna arranges them. I set it right next to the balcony. I just love coming out here and reading in the fresh air!" Twilight's eyes scan over the tiny bookshelf, which only consisted of four books. "Mr. Alien, do you like to read?"

Grabbing the leftmost book on the shelf, you give a small nod in response before skimming through the pages.

"Make yourself at home. Why don't you go take a seat on the balcony? I'll have Spike go make us some tea." Twilight trots off to find this 'Spike' fellow.

With your eyes glued to the book, you use your free hand to grab the other three before making your way out into the open air. Placing the other books down on a coffee table, you opt to stand, the comfortable looking lounge chairs being several sizes too small for you. Ponies down below have for the most part returned to their routines, save for a couple small crowds watching over the library. In one of these crowds was none other than Roseluck, and her friend with the blonde mane. Roseluck waves to you with a smile, which you return with a nod of your head.

"NOW!" A raspy, tom-boyish voice calls out from above.

You're not given a chance to react, as a blue streak zooms from the branches above and collides into your back, knocking you forward.

"Set 'em up, knock 'em down!" A southern sounding mare calls out from somewhere unknown, as a lasso is tossed over your head, quickly tightening around your neck and right arm.

Reaching for the rope, you are struck by that same blue menace, this time in your chest. The speed is unlike anything you've encountered before, and it was surprising enough to almost knock you off your feet.

The sound of party horns and whoopie cushions going off invade your ears, as a blast of confetti and streamers shove you against the wall of the library.

"Surprise!!!" A pink mare shouts, bouncing up and down in front of you, a brightly colored cannon in her possession.

You grunt and groan at every attack, anger fuming inside of you at the ambush. Grabbing hold of the rope with your right hand, you tug it as hard as you can, tugging an orange earth pony from the ground below onto the balcony.

"Whoa Nelly!" She hits the floor on her side, but quickly gets back on all fours, wrangling the rope against you despite being weaker.

"Hey! Nopony hurts my friends!" That same raspy voice from earlier yells.

Turning to face the voice, you are greeted to the sight of a blue pegasus with a rainbow colored mane accelerating towards you at an alarming speed. Right arm occupied with the cowgirl and the rope, you bend at the knees and open your left hand, ready to counter her third attack. The blue menace dashes straight at you, hellbent on knocking you on your ass. Just before she makes contact, you dash to the right and grip the base of her tail.

"Ga-aah!" She yelps in pain, your arm being tugged as you stop her mid-flight.

"Pinkie! Party Cannon!" The orange pony calls out, as the bouncy pink one aims the small canon at you.

Custom Munitions Loaded.

Your equipment launcher extends from your shoulder, pointing towards the barrel of the tiny cannon. A satisfying BLOOP echoes out, as a small rock the size of a tennis ball shoots out, lodging itself in the pony's weapon.

"Heeeeyy! No fair, I don't have a rock cannon!" The pink one complains, smacking the barrel of her weapon.

"GIRLS!" Twilight Sparkle yells from the door behind you.

Your three attackers look over to Twilight, the blue one in your grip squirming around and punching your arm.

"Twilight! We thought it was too late! Quick, destroy it with lasers or something!" The blue menace yells back.

"Girls, get off of him! He's not hurting anypony!" Twilight demands, as the three ponies look over to her, confused looks on their faces.

Wasting no time, you toss the rainbow colored one to the side and grab the rope tied around you. Gripping with both hands, you rip it in twain, which causes the orange mare's jaw to drop in astonishment.

"Twi', what has gotten into yer head? Look'it what it did to mah rope!" The orange mare points a hoof to her destroyed wrangling device.

"Yeah! And he has too hurt somepony! Didn't you see the little colt he made run for the hills?" The blue one scrambles back onto her hooves, glaring daggers at you whilst dragging her hoof against the ground.

This blue one better step down, she'll be in a world of hurt if she pushes too far.

The bushes above begin to rustle, as somepony speaks up."Um... Actually, that little colt was being a bully to another colt..." A yellow pegasus with a pink mane meekly emerges, cowering in fear when you glance up at her.

Twilight groans and trots over to your side. "Look. Is he hurting me?" She asks of her friends, who look worried for her safety.

Furrowing your eyes at the blue one, you kneel down to pick up the books that were knocked out of your grip.

"Oh come on, Twilight! He broke down your door!" The blue pony points a hoof at you, complaining to Twilight. "Who just goes around breaking peoples stuff?"

"Rainbow Dash, you break my windows and walls on an almost weekly basis, and I consider you one of my best friends."

"Yeah well-... I-... It's different!" Rainbow turns her head away, still giving you stink eye. "And that reminds me!" Jumping off the ground, Rainbow Dash flies up and gets in the face of the yellow pegasus above. "Where the heck were you when we jumped him, Fluttershy? You didn't attack him from behind like we planned, and made ME do all the work!"

"I um... I told you that I... wasn't... that I didn't wanna be apart of the fight... if that's okay..." Fluttershy paws at the tree, looking down at you. "Pinkie Pie and Applejack said it was okay..."

The orange cowgirl, presumably named Applejack seeing as she's not pink, notices you recollecting the books off the floor, and slowly turns to Twilight. "So, you say he's not a bad guy, Twi?"

Twilight helps you pick up the mess that was made, placing the books onto the coffee table. "Yes, I do. I'm very thankful I have great friends who are worried about my safety, but there really was no need for a surprise attack like that." Twilight looks up to you, a small smile forming. "As a matter of fact, he's not from Equestria at all. From what he's told me, he's trying to find his way back to his own planet."

Guilt hits you like a freight train at her words, as you stare at the book in your hands. You don't want to leave, especially in such a rush. Unfortunately Earth needs you, and you're not about to let your own race be wiped out.

"Aww, don't be sad, Mr. Robot Monkey!" Pinkie Pie has somehow managed to climb onto your shoulders, swooping her head down and pressing her face against your visor. "We'll help you get back home!"

As your visor begins to steam up from her breath, you place a hand to her cheek and scoop her head to the side.

Twilight blinks a couple times, and looks around at her friends. "Wait, where's Rarity?"

Applejack rolls her eyes. "She wanted to get all dressed up 'fore we did this little ambush thingy. Dash and I got tired a' waitin'. Ah'm sure she'll be over in a couple minutes." Applejack trots right up to you, extending her right hoof. "Ah'm terribly sorry there, Mister. The names' Applejack!"

You wrap your hand around her hoof, giving her a firm shake.

"Whooh doggy, that's a mighty powerful grip ya got there, partner!" Applejack whistles out, flashing a smirk to Rainbow. "Ah betcha five bits this fella could give you a run fer your money in a hoof wrestle, Dash."

"Oh, you're on!" Rainbow Dash replies, zooming inside the library. "C'mon, let's settle this right now!"

Pinkie Pie hops off your shoulders, bouncing inside. "Oh! Oooh! I love watching hoof wrestling!"

Twilight looks up at you, a tired and apologetic look on her face. "I'm really sorry about that... My friends just really care for me, and are really quick to act when they see what looks like trouble."

You reach over and scratch behind her ear, causing her eyes to close and a slight blush to form.

"I'll help you with your research in anyway I can. As much as I want to know about you, I'm sure returning home is more important to you."

Twilight opens her eyes to look up at your own. They glisten in wonder, as they peer into your soul, or what's left of it. It reminds you of how Celestia would always look into your eyes when the two of you were alone. You stop scratching her ear, and pat her side a couple times, grabbing the books off the coffee table.

Twilight shakes her head a couple times as she turns to head back inside. "It sounds like they want you inside. I'll go set up some history and magic books for studying." She trots inside with a skip in her step that wasn't present before.

She seems friendly.

Walking over to the edge of the balcony, your eyes scan over the quaint village. You can see children running around in the streets, couples trotting alongside each other as they go about their days. Off in the horizon you can see a large, majestic castle hanging off the side of a mountain. Large spiraling towers jut out from every side, a massive waterfall underneath. It looks like an evolution of the old castle, yet refined and modernized. The smallest of smiles graces your chiseled features, knowing that Celestia is up there.

Whimpering from the tree catches your attention, as you turn around to investigate. Leaves gently fall to the balcony floor, as Fluttershy trembles in the branch, avoiding eye contact.

"O-oh... I was just going to um... I just really wanted to get down, if that's okay..." Fluttershy trips all over her own words, barely able to speak without some sort of a stutter. "If you don't want me to get down that's okay, too... I don't want to make you angry..."

Rolling your eyes, you walk over just underneath Fluttershy, and extend your arms, offering to catch her.

She cowers back, another whimper escapes her mouth.

You were about to pat your legs, like you would to call a dog over, when a thumping against your boot catches your attention. Looking down you see a very familiar black and white rabbit headbutting your left boot, looking up at one of your pouches on your waist.

Pumpkin? What the hell is he doing here? Must've followed you through the Slipgate. You kneel down and pick him up, cradling him in your arms as you scratch behind one of his ears.

"Oh my goodness! Is that a Dutch rabbit?" Fluttershy exclaims, dashing down from the tree and standing on her hind legs, resting her front legs on your waist. "I've never seen a Dutch rabbit before! Look at his cute little face!"

Pumpkin honks in delight at your touch, as you reach into your pouch, offering Fluttershy a baby carrot to feed Pumpkin, as you lead her inside the library.