Infamous

A/N again. I love y'all. Thanks! Keep faving/thumb upping me and I'll keep writing this story and I'll try to do it well. YAY! Page 2 of 'What's hot?' ALMOST THERE!

Cole had long since given up rhyming. That took too much time, and the zebra didn't seem to mind. However, he did learn that the proper term for the horses was 'pony'. After a quick meal, the zebra, named Zecora, had offered her home to the group for the night, and in the morning, they would head out to the town, 'Ponyville' to reunite the fillies with their families and introduce Cole to the locals. This seemed like the best option, and hopefully he wouldn't be seen as a monster. For a paragon who fought for the people, it would hurt him to be seen as a monster, although it really wouldn't change him.

Cole lay awake, having forsaken the hut for the tree next to it. He lay on his back, on a branch, staring into the depths of space and the beautiful night sky above. A cool breeze washed over him, and he shifted slightly to a more comfortable position. He contemplated the unfamiliar night sky, and the one place he left behind. He didn't regret activating the Ray Field Inhibitor. It needed to be done. He had ended the threat of world destruction, and saved the lives of billions, at the cost of thousands. It was his hardest choice. He had to choose between the good of the many or the good of the few. He had saved the humans, but killed off the conduits. He had ended the plague, and saved billions, but he had killed Nix and Kuo, and Bertrand, and Alden, and Sasha. Even though they may have been enemies at once, he had never intended to kill those who deserved a second chance. But what about those who were good? What about all the conduits who used their powers, latent or not, to help people. What about them?

Cole shook his head, and cleared his thoughts. He was in a new place now. Whatever he left behind, there was no going back. Now, he needed to stick to his morals, start a new life, and enjoy, as best as he could.

"I can see your mind in motion, new friend Cole, but are you really thinking of the world as a whole?" A voice interrupted his thoughts. It was Zecora.

"I don't know. I really don't. But what happened in the past is done, I need to focus on what happens next."

"I must agree, that you do. It seems as the fighter is also wise, too."

"Well, thanks, I guess. I'll probably hit the sack. We may very well have a long day ahead of us." His mind turned to New Marais, where the locals weren't so open to Conduits before he came around and changed their view.

"Good night then, sleep well in your tree, I must admit, my bed in more comfortable to me."

Cole's thoughts went once again back to Empire City, hanging out with Zeke on the top of their building, enjoying life. He shook his head again, and closed his eyes. As the cool wind blew on, he slowly fell into the deep pit of contented slumber.

The morning sun woke him up. It had just begun to make its way over the horizon, and Cole sat up on his branch. Underneath him, a tantalizing smell wafted forth from the chimney of the hut. He dropped down from the tree, and did his new 'Static Drop and gather' from the tree, refreshed as a wave of electricity replenished him slightly. He approached the front door, and opened it to see Zecora cooking something in a bubbling cauldron.

"What's that?"

"This is our breakfast, my dear. Trust me, there is nothing that you can't eat here. I noticed your teeth, and saw the canines, so in this brew, there are no flowers or vines."

"You made a different breakfast for me?"

"As I said, hospitality I don't lack, but the rabbit for the stew was hard to track. Although I also love the animals here, I understand that you eat animals, however dear."

"Oh no, I don't eat dogs or cats or any other pets, but thanks, I guess you are all herbivores, right?"

Zecora nodded. "Yes, we are, but there's a certain pony here... Don't say you ate a bunny, it'll spook Fluttershy dear.

"Alright, don't tell 'Fluttershy'. But it's okay for me to eat only vegetables, my species has adapted to be able to survive on just plants, although I would prefer to eat meat also."

The two sat down, and began to eat. Cole took a scoop of the stew and put it in a bowl, and Zecora began munching on some recently gathered flowers. As Cole slurped up the last few drops of the surprisingly good stew, he heard a trio of hoofsteps, and, anticipating the three 'Cutie Mark Crusaders', he tossed the bowl in the nearby sink and sat back down. He didn't want to spook the kids, either.

Breakfast was uneventful, and after that, the five preceded to head back to 'Ponyville'. According to the zebra, she should go first, with the fillies, so that no one would get spooked. Then, she would come back and get Cole, so the other ponies wouldn't be scared out of their minds at the lone biped. As they reached the end of their walk along a path that Cole hadn't noticed before, Cole hung back a little, and let the zebra take the other three towards the town.

Cole sat down, once again, and looked forwards. To his right, there lay a small cottage on a hill. Past that was an enormous apple orchard, covered in trees with bulging apples. 'Not natural', he thought, as he continued surveying. The path ran forwards, and curved slightly to the left about a quarter of a mile down to end in a quaint little town. There seemed to be a sort of market in the center, with stalls, just like the ones back home in the more rural towns. Using his precision-based zoom, he sighted the four and watched as they headed towards the town.

He sighed and sat back down, his head hung, as he relaxed. He went back over the events of the previous days, fighting the timber-wolves and saving the fillies. Meeting the zebra, Zecora, and rhyming with her. And then the previous night's nostalgia.

His thought process was interrupted by a quiet "Eeep!" 'God dammit, can't I have a simple moment to freaking think?!" He turned to look at the disturbance. A butter-yellow winged-pony, or pegasus, as Scootaloo had called them, had frozen in shock at the sight or him.

Options ran through his head. Introduce himself, and look friendly, and hopefully get more on the local's side. Good choice. Or, he could scare the living daylight out of her (he assumed, since the pink mane) and have a laugh.

"Oh you poor thing! What happened to you! Your clothes are all torn and your all scratched up. Here, let Fluttershy help you over to her cottage and she'll fix you up."

'Oh god. This was Fluttershy.' For all intents and purposes, Cole didn't eat meat. Well, option two was out the window. Maybe he could pretend to be an animal...? Nah.

"Hi Flutterhy, I'm Cole."

"Eeep!" Fluttershy sprung backwards at his voice, surprised by it. "You can... talk?"

"Yes. I met Zecora and she told me about you." And how easy it is to scare you. "I'm not going to hurt you, don't worry." Cole shifted to his knees and knee-walked over to her. He stuck out a hand.

Fluttershy tentatively reached her hoof forwards, anticipating the biped to flip her over and eat her or something, but he just shook it. "Nice to meet you", it said.

"Well... I still think I should patch you up... if its okay with you...okay?"

'Wow she's really as scared and nice, i guess, as Zecora said she was.' "Okay."