Mist

Day 5:

Sixth hour

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I was up early, as always. No nightmares. For the first time since my arrival at Equestria, I had a bit of trouble waking up. Not because of a health hazard, but I kind of didn't want to get off the warm ball of fluff. It was amazingly comfortable, and the sleeping conditions were almost perfect. However, I pushed myself off of the giant pillow and walked out into the balcony. Rainbow Dash was still asleep. I admit, the sight of her sleeping made me smile. She looked really comfortable, and pretty cute as she rolled over and and sighed into her pillow.

I contemplated the scenery outside. The wind was refreshing after my sleep, and the site of the sun rising over the horizon, slightly outlining Canterlot, was breathtaking. My hair was fazed by the breeze, but I didn't mind. Sometimes, it looked better messy. I heard a yawn behind me, and turned my head to find a sleepy Rainbow Dash fly out of bed.

"You're an early riser, huh?" she said, rubbing her eyes with a forehoof. I smiled. "I have my share of bad nights."

A few minutes later, I was all set to go. Rarity's clothes were especially neat - I couldn't possibly thank her enough for them. Today I had slipped into a pair of jeans and a black sweater. Me and Dash had a small breakfast of fruit. She was a very straightforward pony to talk to, and I appreciated that. Hanging out with Fluttershy or Twilight just really wasn't the same - she didn't have as many questions about my world, and was more focused on making sure I felt at home, which I appreciated the most.

Later, we made our descent to Ponyville. Upon my careful request, she didn't go as fast as we did on our ascent to Cloudsdale

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Day 5:

Tenth hour

My landing was marked by a gentle thud as my shoes hit the dirt ground of Ponyville. I followed Rainbow Dash to Rarity's boutique. Apparently, everyone was meeting there briefly before they went their different ways. I turned the knob and entered. Rarity seemed to really zone in on being a sophisticated pony - the building looked appealing with exquisite and elaborate, and made to look as proper as possible - contrast some of Ponyville's irregular, quaint shapes.

"Good morning!" spoke Twilight Sparkle. Something was a little off though - her smile looked a bit forced. I wondered briefly if she had gotten enough sleep the previous night. The rest of the ponies looked slightly docile, and a bit awkward. I guessed the event at Fluttershy's house must have put them off somewhat.

"How was it in Cloudsdale, Alan?" asked Fluttershy. I settled on a small couch lodged against the wall and sighed, "It was alright."

I tried not to remind myself of the rather teary conversation with Rainbow Dash the other night. I didn't really know what was up, but at least I managed to cheer her up somewhat. As I looked around the room, I started to notice more and more that the ponies that had gathered seemed to be avoiding my gaze. I looked down at my feet, troubled. I didn't know what was going on.. but I didn't have the heart to ask them directly. It's pretty unnerving, being troubled by a situation you can't even grasp. So as we conversed in small talk, the talk of Applejack's construction work on the farm cropped up. Apparently, they were reinstalling fences and getting rid of the roof of the barn. Everyone thought it was pretty cool.

"Except' Applbloom and the gang.." she sighed, "I'm darn worried they might be hurt with all the tools 'round and whatnot."

Unfortunately, nopony could help out, as they were all plenty busy that day. Twilight Sparkle looked especially guilty. I raised my right hand,

"I can help out."

Applejack gazed at me quizzically. "Ya sure? They're a real busy bunch, those three."

"Sure. After all," I said, adjusting my collar, "helping each other out is part of being friends, isn't it?"

Suddenly, I felt a guilty pang in my heart with a sudden thought. It was horrible of me, but I felt like every pony was sort of.. avoiding me. Rainbow Dash toured me around Cloudsdale the whole day, which I didn't have any complaints about. No, snap out of it, Alan. You're not best friends, but they've done their best to help you out. You can help to by not antagonizing them. As I left with Applejack though, looking behind me, I caught a few ponies looking at my back with the same gaze as Rainbow Dash held the day before. I could see it in their eyes.

Their gaze was no different from those doctors and teachers.. they're eyes were filled with pity.

Day 5:

Thirteenth hour

I, once again, made my way back up to the hill where Sweet Apple Acres and the barn stood. Despite it's, most likely, many years of use, the Apple family always secured it's best condition. Applejack left the Crusaders with a few words before heading off to the construction site. I stayed with them inside the house.

"Now you three listen to what Alan says, alright? Don't you be giving him any trouble now. ESPECIALLY you Apple Bloom."

The yellow foal rolled her eyes in exasperation as she replied boringly, "Okay, okay.."

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were eyeing me suspiciously. I stuck my hands in my pockets and tried not to look particularly menacing, which was a pretty difficult feat when you tower a few good feet above the ponies your trying to adress.

"So, what's up?"

Applebloom glared at me, "Now listen here, just 'cause Applebloom said so don't mean you boss us 'round, okay?"

For the next half hour, they did some homework. Math wasn't much different from arithmetic I knew from my world, and from what I could gather, the ponies knew english. Pretty obvious, I'd imagine. They were a bit reluctant at first to accept my help, but eventually, they all got stuck on one thing or another, Sweetie Belle getting the farthest. Eventually, they warmed up to me. Children are unknowing and, for the most part, clueless, but they were innocent and untarnished. I didn't suppose that was exception here. As soon as they were finished, the three foals made a mad dash to the door. I just barely closed it in time.

"Where are you three going now?" I asked, out of breath from straining my muscles so suddenly.

The trio looked at each other, unsure. "Should we tell him?" asked Scootaloo.

"To our secret clubhouse!" Sweetie Belle said enthusiastically, "You wanna come with us?"

I crossed my arms sighed. I didn't have much of a choice, huh? I opened the door. "Lead the way."

We made a short walk a little bit away across the grounds until we reached a small patch of trees that made of the woods. Their clubhouse wasn't that secret to be honest, and I could see the paint applied to it from about half a mile away. The trio seemed pretty excited about it though. They talked with me the whole way, and I occasionally nodded and "yup"d in agreement, but I lost them after their 32'nd crusading journey. I think I caught the words "cheese" and "toilet bowls" somewhere in their long-winded explanations. We started ascending the ladder to the front door when I was paused.

"Waaaaaiiiit a second." Scootaloo said. "He's not part of our club. Should we really let him in?"

I rolled my eyes. I could tell this was going to take a while.

Applebloom pondered the thought for a while. "I'm not sure. I think we should make him go through the official Cutie Mark Crusader course before he can come up here."

I looked at Applebloom. "What exactly does this Crusader course involve?"

Sweetie Bell was the first to answer. "It's a process we created to test new members. You have to go to the Everfree forest and-"

"Wait a minute." The Everfree forest? I'd only heard stories about that place, but I'd never actually been there. If was as dangerous as the ponies said..

"Are you sure that's a safe idea? The Everfree forest isn't exactly the safest place in the world.."

"It's totally fine." Scootaloo replied with a hint of pride. "We built an obstacle course inside. If you can make it through, then you'll be an official Cutie Mark Crusader."

I shouldn't have agreed. And I knew it. But I did. They were still kids - but I let that get to me a little too much. With shouts of joy they bolted off into the forest.

"You guys! Wait up!"

But it was too late. They were already gone.

--

Day 5:

Nineteenth hour

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I managed to follow their sounds for quite a ways, making sure I left a trail to get back. The steadily decreasing amount of light told me that I was slowly making my way deeper into the crevice of  After a while I came to a chasm with a rope bridge across it. I inched my way across, trying desperately not to lose my balance. The fall seemed endless.. Nothing lay below but an eternal black. Suddenly, a wooden plank I stepped on broke upon stepping on it. I fell forward and almost slipped through the empty space where the plank once was. My head was in a daze from the sudden scare, and my heart was racing. I climbed back up and finally felt the relief of solid ground.

A while later I caught up to the trio. When I first saw them, I thought they were attacking me again. When my vision cleared, however, it turns out that they were all teary eyed, and actually clinging to me. In blind confusion, I pet them, trying to make them feel a bit better. They were still kids, pony or human.

"It's okay, don't cry," I said, trying to sound reassuring.

"We got lost.. we couldn't find it." Sweetie Belle said, her voice cracking slightly from the strain of keeping back tears.

My voice sounded a bit pressured too, though, probably because I couldn't move. "It's okay, let's just keep looking."

I myself must have realized how dull my face looked when I said it. So I put on a smile as I spoke.

"Let's make it an adventure, okay?"

A little later, the three foals settled down. We started up again, this time, they stuck right too me. A little too much - I found myself accidentally bumping into them a little too often. We were on a plateau that rose up off of the ground by a couple hundred feet. By the looks of it, no one had been there in ages.

Scootaloo ran over to a round column. "Look at this! It's got markings on it…"

I recalled seeing something like it in the TV shows, but I couldn't place it. Thirty or so feet ahead, we came to the entrance of a stone building. Finally it clicked.

"I know what this place is..." I thought it over for a while. "This is where Twilight Sparkle and the others defeated Nightmare Moon."

The trio walked around inside the ruins in awe. I sat down and told them the story in full detail, and they hung on every word. Each one wanted to know what their sister (in Scootaloo's case, Rainbow Dash, even though she wasn't her sister) did in stopping Nightmare Moon. I described the Elements of Harmony, and the scene that unfolded after they defeated Nightmare Moon. I also stressed that Luna was completely different than Nightmare Moon, and that she had a full change of heart. I'm not sure if they believed me, but I had to back Luna's reputation up. By the time I had finished the story it was beginning to get dark out, so we began our hunt for home. We wandered in different directions for around an hour or two until I came across the trail that I had left before. I sighed in relief.

"I think I found my trail that I left behind. We should be able to follow this home."

There were shouts of joy from the trio, who were at this point tired of being lost in the woods. And then I heard it.

It was distant and low. I froze in place. "Girls, don't move."

"What is it-" I cut Applebloom off mid sentence.

"Don't talk."

The low beat was getting closer. I scanned the landscape, and then saw movement a couple hundred feet off to our right. I turned toward the Crusaders, who were standing a good twenty or thirty feet away from me.

"Follow the trail I made and head back to Ponyville as fast as you can."

"What're you-?"

"Just go!" I said with an initial sense of urgency. That's when I heard it again. A steady roar, now louder. I had no idea what was making it, but it wasn't anything good. Suddenly, the bush behind me rustled. And out came none other than a manticore. The trio took the hint and made a fast track back down the trail.

I was lucky - I barely managed to avoid being scratched by the terrible creature. But this was too troubling. I'd never actually fought before. Maybe I'd done something like martial arts when I was a kid, but it's not like I could remember that now. And even more, it's a fictional creature! There's no way I'd be able to put a dent in the thing with my bare hands or feet. The manticore growled and snarled at me, baring it's sharp fangs. It looked a lot more hostile up close.. Suddenly, the thought struck me. I didn't have to win. I just had to not lose.

So I ran. I leapt up bushes and sprinted through vines and leaves. Despite my effort, I could still feel the manticore behind me. I was at my limit - I couldn't take much more. The manticore took advantage of my brief moment of slowing down to jump at me. This time, it connected, and it sent us both rolling down a hill. My world was spinning. Suddenly, I could see the bottom of where we would be landing. There was a deep chasm, where a rushing river was streaming. We rolled to the bottom. In the short moment that the manticore was on top of me, I kicked to the side. The large monster was knocked over the cliff and down to the rushing water below. Out of breath, I looked over the edge. The manticore looked alright, though, pretty irritated, trying to get out of the rushing water. It disappeared from sight in a matter of seconds. I decided it would probably reach a river, and go back to land from there.

I stood, brushing myself off. Applejack and Rarity were at the edge of the woods looking for me, and Rainbow Dash was scanning from the sky when I burst through the trees. I was thoroughly exhausted, bruised, and scratched up, but all in all I was fine. I sat down on the grass and took a moment to catch my breath.

Rainbow Dash was the first to notice me. "Alan! We were looking all over for you! Sweetie Bell and the others told us all about what happened, are you all right?"

I was breathing pretty heavily still. "I've had worse happen to me." I said. "But I've never had a dragon chase me before; that was a first."

Rarity let me ride on her until we got back to the Boutique. The farm was still unfit for inhabitance in it's current condition.

"Josh!" the trio ran up and practically tackled me right off of the white unicorn. It was a flood of questions, one right after another. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but my shirt was torn a little." I turned to Rarity. "Sorry about that."

Rarity smiled. "No problem, I can always make more."

Applejack looked at the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who's heads were hanging pretty low. "You need to apologize to Alan fer' getting him into such a dangerous situation!"

"We're sorry…"

I laughed. "Are you kidding? I had a great time! I'd do that again someday!"

They're heads perked up. "You would?"

"Of course!"

We all ate dinner at The Boutique. She had nice touch in cooking.

"Where are you going?" Rarity asked.

"I promised the crusaders that I'd read them a story before they headed to bed." I said with a touch of maturity I never thought I had before. I walked inside the clubhouse where they were all resting, and read them a story that they had chosen from the library, aptly named "The Dragon's Tail" (supposedly a play on the word tale). When I finished, as I turned the knob, I heard a voice speak behind me.

"..Alan?"

I turned. "Hm?"

"I just wanted to let you know that you're now 'fficially part of the club," said Applebloom.

"Yeah, you're amazing!" Sweetie Belle said.

"You're 20% cooler!" Scootaloo said with much enthusiasm.

I smiled, but I didn't reply as I switched the lights off and closed the door.

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End of the 5th Day

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--Sidenotes

Sorry for the late update everyone! Things have gotten busier since vacation is over, and now that school is reinstating itself as part of my schedule, I won't have as much time to write as I thought. Updates from now on might be a little less frequent or may lack length. Hopefully that's okay with some of you, if not all of you.

Hope you liked this chapter. See what I did at the end there? No..? Okay..