The Mob’s Pardon

Al had so many questions. Was this Heaven? Was this Hell? Why was he some humanoid horse? Why did he have a horn, a tail, or wings, for that matter. These questions plagued his mind greatly, but right now, he needed to calm down, so he took deep breaths

“Okay Al, calm down… you woke up as a horse in some forest, but now’s not the time to be freaking out…” he said as he regained composure and stood up, managing to maintain standing up

This was completely new for Al. One moment he was on the Golden Gate Bridge, and somehow, ended up in a forest as something other than a human. He felt his wings unfurl and stretch, before folding back, and then he looked to the sky, “If there’s a god, I wanna know something… why turn me into this? If this is supposed to be a punishment, All it is is embarrassin’!” he shouted.

Shout as much as he could, it was pointless. Al knew that no one would answer his questions, so he sighed as he punched the tree he was sitting by, but regretted it. After wincing and sighing, he regained his composure once more and looked through the many trees

“Well, since I’m not in prison, I ought to find civilization” Al as he looked around the tree, finding something he’d never thought to see again: His Ray Gun and his AK-47. He picked both up and felt their touch, “I’ve missed these weapons…”

He then put the weapons away, and started looking for every possible exit, but got even more lost. He was starting to lose his damn mind, as the forest just seemed to go on forever, and he dropped to his knees and yelled, “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Little did he know, that would attract attention as he heard a rather gentle voice say, “Is anypony there?”

Anypony? What the fuck? Al thought as another pony, just like him, flew towards him, except it looked to be a girl.

The girl pony landed in front of Al and placed a hand on his shoulder, “Excuse me, sir, are you okay?”

He knew he couldn’t tell her about the prison he had just “escaped”, so he held off on that and would tell her another time, so he looked her in the eyes and said, “Uh, yeah… but I’m lost… this forest goes on forever, where’s the damn exit?”

“Uhm… I could show you how to leave the forest… but I can only imagine you’re hungry, right?” she asked as Al got to his feet

She’s got actual food? Maybe this new world ain’t so bad he thought as he stood up, “Yeah, now that you mention it, I am pretty hungry”

“Wonderful! If you’d follow me, I can take you to my cottage, it’s not far from here“ she said as she started heading in a random direction

“W-Wait up!“ he said, catching her attention as she turned around, “What’s ya name?“

“O-Oh… it’s ᶠˡᵘᵗᵗᵉʳˢʰʸ“ she spoke quietly, and Al looked confused

“Come again?“ he asked

“ᶠˡᵘᵗᵗᵉʳˢʰʸ…“ she spoke, still quiet

“I’m sorry, but you’re gonna have to speak up there“ he said as she took a deep breath

“I’m Fluttershy!” she said, clear enough and loud enough as he smiled a little

“Pleasure to meet ya, Fluttershy, my name’s Al Arlington” he said, offering his hand to her as she shook it.

“Well, nice to meet you, Mr. Arlington. If you don’t mind me asking, but what’s an Alicorn like yourself doing out in the forest?“ she asked as they walked through the forest

“Ali-what-now?“ he asked, tilting his head in confusion

“Do you… Not know what one is?“ she asked, tilting her head now

“Should I?“ he responded as she sighed a little

“It’s fine, I’ll tell you once we get to my cottage“ she said, leading him by hand through the forest.

Fluttershy’s Cottage

7:00 PM

“Wait wait, lemme get this straight. Your friends were able to defeat some pony who had gone bad by using magic stones?“ he asked. Al had no idea what was going on, but he was currently sitting on a couch as Fluttershy brought some tea over to him and sat down next to him

“Yes, though it wasn’t easy, as things often got out of hand… but in the end, our friendship is what kept us together“ she said, smiling a little as she drank some tea.

Friendship? If every pony in this damn universe is obsessed with friendship, then I’ll be damned he said, knowing that every pony in this world would be nothing but kind, and that’d feel weird.

“Do you… have any friends, Mister Arlington?“ she asked him as he snapped back to reality and looked her in the eyes

“Just al is fine, but yeah, I had friends” he said, taking off his navy blue cap

“What happened to them? Did you lose them, or…?” she asked as he sighed and shook his head a little

“Sorta, yeah, but not exactly. They were more like partners…” he explained to her

“Partners?” she asked as she looked concern, “Did you work with them or…?”

“Is this something I can trust you with?” he asked her. Al really didn’t want to go back into a prison after all that had happened in Alcatraz

“Arlington, you can tell me anything. I’m here for you” she said to him, rubbing his shoulder softly

As Al took a deep breath, he spoke, “Well, me and my friends broke out of prison, and didn’t make it out alive”

At that moment, Fluttershy’s face was pale as she stuttered, “Y-You escaped f-from T-Tartarus? H-How?”

“Tarta-what?” he said, confused

“Wait… you don’t know about Tartarus?” she asked, still a little scared

“Sounds like the architect named it after Tartar sauce. What’s it like?” he asked her

“Tartarus is where all of Equestria’s most dangerous creatures and threats are locked up. It’s a rather… unpleasant place…” she explained as she shuddered

I wouldn’t want to end up there he thought to himself, sighing a little

“So, where are you from, if not from Tartarus?” she asked calmly

“Well, y’see, I came from this planet called Earth. You probably haven’t heard of it, but it’s a planet home to a certain breed of creatures called humans” he explained as she listened.

“Very interesting… Would you like to come to Ponyville with me? One of my friends may be able to help you there” she asked as he nodded

“I suppose, as long as there’s no trouble or risk involved” he said as she smiled a little

“Wonderful. We can head there now, if you’d like” she said softly

“Eh, why not? Might as well get it out of the way now” he said, standing up and nearly falling, still feeling uneasy about his new feet

“Great, follow me” she said, walking out of her door as Al followed behind, stumbling clumsily