The life I wished for.by PIKAxxCHUxxUChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1“Ummm, excuse me. Mr. Brandon? It’s time to get up now.” “I swear to god if it’s before eight o’clock, I’m going, to smack you” Fluttershy giggled a little at his comment, she knew I wasn’t quite a morning person at first, but I just needed my coffee. “Now I don’t think you would really hit me, would you?” She said sweetly as she gently nuzzled my cheek. “Yeah your right, but I will do this!” I smiled as I quickly got up and lifted the butter yellow Pegasus and playfully tossed her onto the bed and started to tickle her sides. She squealed with laughter and wiggled around as she cried from laughing so hard. “Stop! Stop! You know how ticklish I am! Ahhahahhahahah!” “Alright, I just wanted to see you laugh.” I extended my hand and grabbed her hoof to help her up, but I stopped, staring at her hoof in my hand. “I-is something wrong Brandon? You seem, sad.” “It’s just different; I’m used to feeling a grip around my hand when I grab someone.” I pulled her up and walked towards the door. “Wait, Brandon.” She trotted up behind me, and flew up so she could make eye contact as she turned me around. “I know this isn’t where you came from. But it just feels like you belong here. You’re a kind pon-I mean person.” She pulled me into a hug and waited for me to return the embrace before she released. “Your coffee is ready by the way; I don’t see why you drink that.” “I told you Shy, It keeps me wakes me up in the morning. So what do you have planed for today?” She smiled a little as the thoughts of what she planed came back to her. “Well, I thought we could have a nice picnic later for dinner, but the rest of the day is free.” “Well that sounds nice. Hey I’m going to take a shower, let all my muscles relax.” I turned my head and winced as a pain shot down my spine. “Oh, well I was going to take one, but you can go first I guess.” She hid part of her face behind her long flowing pink mane. “Or….we could take one…..together.” I didn’t even look at her as my smile spread across my face. I turned to see her face as bright red as the apples from Sweet Apple Acres. “O-oh umm I umm wha-what?” She started to breathe harder, almost to the point of hyper ventilation. “Hey Shy calm down, I was just kidding!” I went behind her and placed my hands on her shoulders and tried to relax her by giving her a massage. Her body relaxed as I worked on her shoulders. After about a minute of massaging her shoulders, she lay back onto me and looked me in the eyes. “That wasn’t funny you know, I didn’t know how to react to that.” She gave me a light smack on the shoulder and smiled. “Sorry, I thought it would be funny to see your face.” I pushed up a little so I could stand. “Thank you for the massage, I’ll give you one when you get out okay?” “That sounds great; I won’t be too long I promise.” I walked upstairs and into the bathroom. This was my normal Monday. For some reason I was put on a schedule on whom I was supposed to stay with. Mondays were Fluttershy’s day. I guess it wasn’t so bad living in all of the girl’s houses on different days of the week. The only bad part was on Sundays, which was my day to choose whom I was to stay with. I climbed into the shower to get washed up. It was a little small, since it wasn’t made for a human, but it got the job done. I was just getting the soap out of my hair when I heard a knock at the door. “What is it Fluttershy?” I called out so she could hear me. I could tell she was saying something, but I couldn’t hear her cause she was too quiet. “Fluttershy, you’re going to have to open the door, I can’t understand a word your saying.” I made sure that the shower curtains were blocking my man hood so she didn’t have to see it. The door opened just a little, just enough for her to push her muzzle in so she could speak. “Umm, you have some visitors downstairs, The Cutie Mark Crusaders.” “Oh, tell them I’ll be down in just a minute, I’m almost done in here.” I grabbed a scrubby to wash my body and poured a little soap on it. “Well, what about your massage?” She crept her head in so she could see my face. “Hmm…..how about we save it until dinner, that way we can relax in the breeze as well.” “Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea. Will you be home before then or should we meet there?” She pushed the door open a little further so she could stand in the door way. “I think I should be back before then, I’m not positive, so we’ll have to see.” I rinsed off my body and turned off the water. I climbed out of the shower to see Fluttershy standing there with a deep blush on her face. “O-oh m-my.” She was frozen in place, not sure what to say or do. “Oh, umm. Sorry.” I quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my waist. “Just let me get dressed and I’ll be down in just a minute.” She nodded and slowly trotted out of the room. “Wow…..that was awkward.” I poked my head out the door to make sure that Fluttershy was gone before I walked across the hall into my room, which on every other day of the week is Fluttershy’s room. I argued with Fluttershy for hours about where I was going to sleep. I told her a thousand times that I would take the couch, but she insisted that I slept on her bed for the days I was here. I argued with all of the girls of where I would sleep when I stayed at their houses. Most of us came to an agreement on the subject. I convinced Twilight that sleeping in chairs is what humans do on earth. AppleJack respected the fact that I wouldn’t take her bed and had me sleep in the barn. Rarity offered me her bed, but I could tell that she was hoping I would say no. Pinkie forced me to sleep with her in her bed because she didn’t see how it could be weird. I have to say that staying at Rainbow Dash’s house is one of the weirdest experiences of my life. I stay at Twilight’s before Dash’s, so Twi casts a spell on me so I can walk on clouds. Fluttershy is only one I completely lost an argument with, so now I’m living in her room. I got into the room and shut the door. “Today is just going to be a weird day.” “Cutie Mark Crusaders Assassins!” The three fillies jumped up out of no where and onto my back, sending me to the floor. “We sure got him that time girls!” “Maybe we should check if we hurt him, he did hit the ground pretty hard.” “Ah don’t know, heh is purtty tough, ah think heh’s fine” “You know, you could have waited down stairs for me so could get dressed. I’m still in my towel.” Ever since I met these fillies, they find new ways to hurt me everyday. Being taken on their quest to find their cutie marks has been nothing but fun, but at the same time it has been a total hell. “I don’t see why you where those ‘clothes’ of yours. We don’t wear clothes all the time.” “Mah sis AppleJack said he wears em to cover somtin between his legs.” “Alright, everypony out.” I grabbed the three fillies in my arms and carried them out the door. “Hey! We can walk you know!” “Let me get dressed and I’ll be down stairs in a minute!” I tossed the fillies out and shut the door. “What should I where today? Wait what’s this?” I walked to the bed and picked up a note that was lying on a pile of neatly folded clothes. “I though I should set out your clothes for you because of what happened, I can understand if you don’t want to go out to our picnic tonight.” I looked to find my maroon t-shirt and light black jeans with a red trim. On the left of that, my black zip up hooded sweatshirt. “Well, that was really nice of her. It’s like she knows me better than I do.” I slipped on my clothes and walked downstairs. “Alright girls, you ready to go? We have to stop by Twilights first.” “We have to go to the library? Gahhh! I hate books!” Scootaloo face hoofed and groaned. “Calm down Scootaloo, maybe Twilight will let us take Spike for a little while.” Sweetie Belle said as she trotted out of the kitchen. “Mahybe y’all are rahight, I’m sure it won’t be that bad.” Apple bloom spoke as she hoped off the chair in the corner of the room. “Then it’s settled, we’re going to Twilight’s house. Fluttershy!?” “Umm yes?” She trotted to the doorway of the kitchen. “I’ll try to be home so I can help get everything ready for our dinner okay?” “Oh umm great, that sounds….nice” She smiled sheepishly. I gestured to the girls to follow me to go outside as I opened the door. “Alright girl, lets get out of Fluttershy’s hair. See you later Shy!” “Bye….be careful now.” “Don’t worry, I’ll watch the girls closely.” I closed the door as I walked out. “……I was talking…..about you.” Chapter 2“So why are we going to Twilight’s house? I thought you were going to take us to the Everfree forest?” Scootaloo was jumping with excitement as she spoke, her little wings fluttering as she bounced. “Well, I can only take you girls there if Twilight got what I asked her for. It is very dangerous in there.” “Well if it’s dangerous, m-maybe we shouldn’t go in there?” Sweetie Belle was shaking a little thinking about the Everfree forest and the animals that live there. “Well as long as Twilight got it, we won’t have any problems. Just trust me okay?” I reached down and ruffled her mane playfully. She smiled wide and giggled a little. “Alright I trust you Brandon, so what is it that we’re getting from Twilight?” “You’ll see what it is when we get to the Library, speaking of which, here we are.” I walked up to the door and gave it a few swift knocks. It took a minute before Spike answered the door. “Brandon! What’s up man?” He raised his clawed hand for a high five. “Nothin really, hey is Twi here? I need to get something from her.” Spike was covered in a light purple aura and pulled away from the door. A familiar lavender unicorn trotted to the door with a smile. “Oh hi Brandon! Hey there Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom. What brings you here?” She gestures for us to come inside with her hoof. “Well I wanted to see if you got that ‘thing’ I asked about.” “Oh yeah I did! It wasn’t easy though, I almost passed out after I was done!” “Oh well I’m sorry to put you through so much, here’s a little something to thank you with.” I gave her a small kiss on her forehead and smiled as her ears folded back and she blushed lightly. “So, where is it? I’m going to need it for where girls and I are going.” “Wait, where are you taking the girls? Your not going to take them to the Everfree forest are you!?” She gave me a stern, disapproving look. “Well I was planning to, but I need that ‘thing’ if I even want to go in there. Please Twi? You know I’ll keep the girls safe.” I wrapped my arm around her and gave a smile. She smiled and looked away. “Well…..okay, its right over there.” She pointed over to the other side of the room. “Aw thanks Twi you’re the best!” I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and ran over to what I’ve been waiting for. It was a sword that I had designed myself in the time I was here in Ponyville. It was a long black blade with a single blood red line through the metal. The hilt was blood red with black stars. The Blade guard was a six pointed star with red on each corner. “Wow, thanks Twilight, its perfect! It’s just how I thought it would be!” I ran up to her and gave her a great big hug, that she returned a few moments later. “You’re welcome Brandon. I also got one more thing for you.” She reached behind her and pulled out a pair of fingerless gloves. “Here these are something I wiped up with my magic.” She hoofed them to me and I put them on. “So what’s so special about these gloves? They seem pretty normal to me.” “You need to bring it across your face. It gives you a mask. Just like you told me about in your shows.” I passed my hand over my face and my sight instantly became clearer, I felt more aware of my surroundings. “Wow Twi, this is awesome! How did you do that?” “Well, I took what you told me about them and I found some spells. I mixed them together and this was the end product.” I pulled the mask off so I could get a look at what I was wearing. The mask was white with a black trim. Spikes shot out of the top almost like a crown. Two spikes came out of the bottom of the mask, one on each side of the chin. “How did you get this mask to look like this? I made this design when I was still on earth.” “The mask is connected to your mind as well. It took the shape of what you had in your mind. I’m sorry that it doesn’t make you stronger; I could only get it to improve what it covered. I will be working on it again when I get more time.” “Well thanks for this Twi. This is all really cool. Well I’m going to get going, c’mon girls.” “Hey Twilight! Can we take Spike with us? We won’t be gone too long! We promise!” “Oh well, I don’t know. He does have chores to get done today…” “Oh come on Twilight! Please let me go! I’ll do everything Twice when I get home!” “I’m sorry Spike; we just have so much to do today.” She shook her head and placed a hoof on a sad Spike’s shoulder. I walked up to Spike and whispered in his ear. “Here, let me talk to her.” I walked up to Twi and whispered something in her ear. She blushed lightly then shook her head and nodded. “Alright, Spike. You can go with Brandon.” “Really? Oh thank you Twilight!” The little dragon jumped up and gave Twilight a big hug. “Alright, now you have fun, be careful and listen to Brandon.” “Alright everypony, and Spike, lets go. We don’t want be out there too late.” I walked to the door and opened it for the fillies and Spike. “Alright Twi, I’ll bring Spike home safe and sound, we wont be gone long.” “Alright Brandon, don’t be getting into too much trouble. I know you wanted that sword…..I just hope that you don’t have to use it out there….” “As long as nothing wants to eat us, I think we’ll be just fine.” She gave me a small glare before I walked out of the library. “Alright, you all ready?” I put the sword on my back and tightened my gloves. “Yep, just lead the way Brandon.” Spike nodded to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who nodded back to him. “Well let’s get going then!” I stepped in front of the others to lead the way. The walk wasn’t too long. I could tell Spike wasn’t used to walking very much, by the time we got to the edge of the Everfree, he was panting and sweating. “Here Spike, hop up here onto my shoulders and take a little break.” I stretched my hand down to him gesturing for him to take it. “Really? Thanks Brandon, you’re awesome.” He grabbed my hand and I pulled him up onto my shoulders. “Alright, you girls ready?” I looked over to the girls. Scoots was standing there with blank expression on her face as she stared at the forest. Sweetie Belle was shaking behind her and Apple Bloom was standing close to me. “Ah don’t know Brandon, mahybe this wasn’t such ah bright idea.” “Y-yeah, maybe we should just…..go back.” “Hey, don’t you worry girls; you’ll be safe as long as you stay with me. Nothing is going to happen. I promise.” I huddled all the girls together and nudged them in front of me. “H-hey! Why are we in front?” These were the first words Scoots spoke since we left the library. She didn’t seem as brave as she was earlier that day. “It’s just so I can see you when we’re walking. I don’t want to lose any of you in here.” We all walked in the forest for only a few moments before we came across a wide opening. No trees were growing here, and there was no grass, just some dirt, that was as black as the night. “Well that’s weird, this doesn’t seem normal.” I walked into the middle of the opening and grabbed a handful of the black dirt. “It’s almost as if this was burnt….but what could have done that?” Spike jumped off my shoulders and looked around. “I don’t know Spike, this is a bit weird. I don’t know what could have done this. I don’t think we should worry about it though. You girls want to keep going?” I didn’t get a response, I looked over to see them squished together staring at something in the trees. “Hey, girls….what are you looking at? What’s wrong?” I got my answer from a large lion paw slamming into the ground in front of me. I looked up to see that the creature in front of me was none other than a manticore, and it didn’t seem too happy. “Oh for the love of fuck….” Chapter 3This was exactly what I didn't want to happen. Not only was I in danger, but the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Spike were also in the danger zone. “Spike! Get by the girls and hide! Stay close by so I can find you when I’m done with this fat cat.” “Wait what!? Are you crazy? This thing could rip you apart!” “Well geez Spike, thanks for having faith in me bro, don’t worry, I got what I need for this.” I grabbed the hilt of my sword and brought it in front of me. I passed my hand over my face to put on the mask. I immediately felt more aware of everything that was around me, I knew where the girls were now, They hid in the bushes with Spike right by the path we were taking. “Alright. This might not end well, for either of us, how about you just leave, and me and my friends will be on our way. How does that sound?” The large cat like creature just hit his paw on the ground and growled at me. It didn’t seem like he wanted to attack me, it was almost like he was…..talking to me? “So? What are you waiting for? Are you going to fight me or not?” I lowered my sword just a little, but I kept my eyes on his the entire time. Out of no where the manticore jumped towards me, I had no time to react, so he smacked my sword away from me and pinned me to the ground. He sniffed my body and gave a loud roar. “Well, this is the end. This really sucks.” I closed my eyes, waiting for this giant cat to eat me, but all that I felt was a large, wet tiger tongue, across my mask, the saliva oozing through its cracks and on to my face. “What? Are you seriously licking me?” I pulled off my mask and looked at the manticore. It was smiling at me and kept sniffing my body. I thought about it for a moment and it finally hit me. “Wait, did a yellow flying pony pull a thorn out of your paw a while back?” I pretended to pull something out of my hand so he might understand a little better. He nodded at me and gave me another lick right on my face. He moved back a little so I could get up and dust myself off. The only reason he didn’t attack me was probably because he could smell Fluttershy on me, other than that I couldn’t think of anything. “Brandon? Are you okay?!” I heard Sweetie’s squeaky voice from behind the manticore. “Yeah, I’m fine Sweetie Belle. This manticore is a…..friend.” I looked over to the manticore. “Right?” The manticore nodded and sat down. He licked his paw just like a cat would back home on earth. “Alright, I think we had enough excitement for the day. It’s time to get you girls home. You too Spike.” “Sounds good to me, I want to get home now before we get attacked by another monster in here.” Spike gestured to the girls to come out of the bushes. “Yeah that sounds good to me. Hey I’ll see you around fuzz ball. We cool?” I got my answer from a large wet tongue along the whole left side of my body. “Great, thanks. Alright girls, lets get out of here.” The manticore slowly walked towards the girls with his head low; trying not to scare them by showing he could be gentle. “Umm B-brandon? I-is he going to e-eat us?” All the girls were huddled together. They started to shake when the manticore got close to them. “No. I don’t think he’s going to eat you guys, he probably just wants to say hi.” I tried to reassure them, though I was also reassuring myself at the same time. The manticore got close to the girls and laid down right in front of them. He rested his head on his paws and gave the fillies a sad look. The part that really surprised me though, is that Sweetie Belle moved away from the group and trotted to the manticore. She rested a hoof on the manticore’s head and started to pet it. “You know, this manticore is nicer than Opal. He’s just a little sweet heart aren’t you big guy?” She ruffled the mane of the manticore as she smiled at him. His large scorpion tail started to wag lightly side to side. “Are you kidding me? This thing could have eaten us! He isn’t some sweet heart; he’s a big stupid monster!” Scootaloo was trying to be tough again, I knew that is was just an act, but when I was young I did the same thing around my friends as well. “Ah don’t know Scoots, heh is bein purtty nice right now. I don’t think he’s gonna hurt us now.” Apple Bloom trotted behind Sweetie Belle and started to pet the manticore’s side. The large cat rolled onto his back, Apple Bloom started to give him a belly rub as he started to purr gently. “C’mon Scoots time to give him a chance!” I picked up Scootaloo and started to bring her towards the manticore. She started to kick and wiggle around in my hands. “H-hey! Put me down! I don’t want to touch that big stupid cat!” I lowered her to be eye to eye with the manticore and she stopped moving. They stared at each other for a long minute. The manticore smiled before he gave her a big lick, from the top of her head to the bottom of her hind legs. Scootaloo blinked a few times before she burst out laughing. She giggled even more as the manticore continued to lick her. I put her on the ground and she jumped up onto the manticore’s belly. “Hey Brandon, can we keep him? He’s like, the best pet ever!” The other girls nodded in agreement as they all gave their love to the large fluffy cat. “Well, I would say yes…but I don’t think all the ponies in Ponyville will be too happy about this giant cat running around there.” “Awwww….” All the girls spoke at the same time, they knew they all wanted the same thing. “Hmmm….I have an idea though. He will have to stay here. But maybe, just maybe, we can visit him every so often. Though I cant promise anything, and we cant tell anypony about him okay?” “Yay! Can we name him Fluffy?” They all spoke at the same time, it was almost like their minds were connected. “Umm sure we can name him Fluffy, but right now, it’s time to get you fillies home.” I gathered all the fillies and Spike together and started to walk down the path towards the opening of the Everfree. “Wait, how are we going to know if he is the right one? He cant be the only manticore in the forest.” “Yeah you’re right….” I looked at the mask on the ground and a thought passed through my head. “Hey, Fluffy, come here real quick.” The manticore moved towards me with a confused look on his face, not sure what I had in mind for him. I grabbed my sword and cut a vine down from a nearby tree. I cut a small piece off and made a small hole in the mask. After a few minutes of twisting and tying, I crafted a necklace out of the vine and put it on Fluffy. The mask dangled from his neck with a small shine. “There. Now we know that it’s him. Are you all ready to go? Say bye to Fluffy.” “Bye Fluffy! Hope to see you again soon!” “Yeah! It was mighty fun playing with ah big cat like you!” “You are pretty cool, not as cool as Rainbow Dash, but I can hang out with you again.” They all gave Fluffy a big hug that he returned rather gently. He walked up to me and gave me a big lick, also doing the same to Spike. “Gah! Really!? I already took my bath for today!” “Well so did I, but it’s not like I can’t take another one. It’s not that big of a deal Spike.” “Yeah I guess your right. Well lets get home shall we?” “Yep. C’mon girls, time to go.” I nudged them forward so we could get moving. “Wow, that was a real good time if yah ask me. Mahybe the Everfree forest ain’t that scary.” “Well I don’t want you girls going in there with out me. I know your sisters don’t want to be in there so I’m the only one you got to take you in there.” Our first stop was Sweet Apple Acres. We got half way up to the house when Big Mac trotted out of the trees. “Well hey there Big Mac, working hard as always I presume.” “Eeyep.” I always wondered what went on in his head. People on earth that were quiet were usually pretty smart or had a lot on their mind. I wonder why he is so quiet. “Well I’m just bringing little Apple Bloom home for ya. I hope I didn’t have her out too late.” “Eenope” “Big Mac? Who ya talkin to over here? Oh well howdy Brandon! Great to see ya. Ya just bringin Apple Bloom home?” “Yeah, we had a lot of fun now didn’t we girls?” I gave them a little wink, and I was pretty sure AppleJack saw it too. “Yeah! We had loads of fun! We met this giant sweet kitty in the Everfree forest! We named him Fluffy!” Apple Bloom was jumping up and down with excitement. “Umm….say what now?” AppleJack was a little confused hearing about a giant cat. I thought that she would have caught on to it to be honest. “I’ll tell you later. Right now I got to get Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo home. See you Wednesday alright AJ?” “You bet Brandon. Cant wait to have your help on the farm, we got a lot to do!” “Alright bye AJ, later Big Mac.” They all waved as the four of us walked towards Ponyville. The sun was just starting to go down as we walked up to the Carousel Boutique. I knocked on the door. A few moments later, Rarity opened the door with a smile. “Oh hello my dear. Just bringing Sweetie Belle home? Would you care to stay for some tea?” “Sorry Rarity, I have to bring Scoots and Spike home and get back to Fluttershy for dinner.” I gave Sweetie a small hug before she trotted inside. “Oh well that’s a shame. I’m so glad that you were able to watch Sweetie for me, I just had so much to do today. Thank you so much dear.” “Oh it was nothing, I had some fun myself to be honest. I’ll see you on Thursday.” “Alright have a good night my dear.” I turned around as she was shutting the door. I walked with Scootaloo and Spike over to the Library. Spike stopped me before I could open the door. “You don’t have to say hi or anything. I’ll just let myself in. See you later Brandon.” “Alright I’m just going to bring Scootaloo home then. See ya Spike.” I walked with Scootaloo for a few minutes. I noticed that Scoots was really quiet so I gave her a nudge. “So where am I taking you then Scoots? I don’t think I’ve ever been to your house.” She looked up with a nervous look on her face and started to talk, but it seemed she was having trouble getting her words out. “Oh….well I uh…..” -You choose!- I have read a few fanfics about Scoots so I was having trouble deciding what I wanted to do with her home life. I’ve read about her living in a group home, having a depressed drinking mother, and her not having a home at all. If you have Ideas please leave them in the comments.
Chapter 1“Ummm, excuse me. Mr. Brandon? It’s time to get up now.” “I swear to god if it’s before eight o’clock, I’m going, to smack you” Fluttershy giggled a little at his comment, she knew I wasn’t quite a morning person at first, but I just needed my coffee. “Now I don’t think you would really hit me, would you?” She said sweetly as she gently nuzzled my cheek. “Yeah your right, but I will do this!” I smiled as I quickly got up and lifted the butter yellow Pegasus and playfully tossed her onto the bed and started to tickle her sides. She squealed with laughter and wiggled around as she cried from laughing so hard. “Stop! Stop! You know how ticklish I am! Ahhahahhahahah!” “Alright, I just wanted to see you laugh.” I extended my hand and grabbed her hoof to help her up, but I stopped, staring at her hoof in my hand. “I-is something wrong Brandon? You seem, sad.” “It’s just different; I’m used to feeling a grip around my hand when I grab someone.” I pulled her up and walked towards the door. “Wait, Brandon.” She trotted up behind me, and flew up so she could make eye contact as she turned me around. “I know this isn’t where you came from. But it just feels like you belong here. You’re a kind pon-I mean person.” She pulled me into a hug and waited for me to return the embrace before she released. “Your coffee is ready by the way; I don’t see why you drink that.” “I told you Shy, It keeps me wakes me up in the morning. So what do you have planed for today?” She smiled a little as the thoughts of what she planed came back to her. “Well, I thought we could have a nice picnic later for dinner, but the rest of the day is free.” “Well that sounds nice. Hey I’m going to take a shower, let all my muscles relax.” I turned my head and winced as a pain shot down my spine. “Oh, well I was going to take one, but you can go first I guess.” She hid part of her face behind her long flowing pink mane. “Or….we could take one…..together.” I didn’t even look at her as my smile spread across my face. I turned to see her face as bright red as the apples from Sweet Apple Acres. “O-oh umm I umm wha-what?” She started to breathe harder, almost to the point of hyper ventilation. “Hey Shy calm down, I was just kidding!” I went behind her and placed my hands on her shoulders and tried to relax her by giving her a massage. Her body relaxed as I worked on her shoulders. After about a minute of massaging her shoulders, she lay back onto me and looked me in the eyes. “That wasn’t funny you know, I didn’t know how to react to that.” She gave me a light smack on the shoulder and smiled. “Sorry, I thought it would be funny to see your face.” I pushed up a little so I could stand. “Thank you for the massage, I’ll give you one when you get out okay?” “That sounds great; I won’t be too long I promise.” I walked upstairs and into the bathroom. This was my normal Monday. For some reason I was put on a schedule on whom I was supposed to stay with. Mondays were Fluttershy’s day. I guess it wasn’t so bad living in all of the girl’s houses on different days of the week. The only bad part was on Sundays, which was my day to choose whom I was to stay with. I climbed into the shower to get washed up. It was a little small, since it wasn’t made for a human, but it got the job done. I was just getting the soap out of my hair when I heard a knock at the door. “What is it Fluttershy?” I called out so she could hear me. I could tell she was saying something, but I couldn’t hear her cause she was too quiet. “Fluttershy, you’re going to have to open the door, I can’t understand a word your saying.” I made sure that the shower curtains were blocking my man hood so she didn’t have to see it. The door opened just a little, just enough for her to push her muzzle in so she could speak. “Umm, you have some visitors downstairs, The Cutie Mark Crusaders.” “Oh, tell them I’ll be down in just a minute, I’m almost done in here.” I grabbed a scrubby to wash my body and poured a little soap on it. “Well, what about your massage?” She crept her head in so she could see my face. “Hmm…..how about we save it until dinner, that way we can relax in the breeze as well.” “Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea. Will you be home before then or should we meet there?” She pushed the door open a little further so she could stand in the door way. “I think I should be back before then, I’m not positive, so we’ll have to see.” I rinsed off my body and turned off the water. I climbed out of the shower to see Fluttershy standing there with a deep blush on her face. “O-oh m-my.” She was frozen in place, not sure what to say or do. “Oh, umm. Sorry.” I quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my waist. “Just let me get dressed and I’ll be down in just a minute.” She nodded and slowly trotted out of the room. “Wow…..that was awkward.” I poked my head out the door to make sure that Fluttershy was gone before I walked across the hall into my room, which on every other day of the week is Fluttershy’s room. I argued with Fluttershy for hours about where I was going to sleep. I told her a thousand times that I would take the couch, but she insisted that I slept on her bed for the days I was here. I argued with all of the girls of where I would sleep when I stayed at their houses. Most of us came to an agreement on the subject. I convinced Twilight that sleeping in chairs is what humans do on earth. AppleJack respected the fact that I wouldn’t take her bed and had me sleep in the barn. Rarity offered me her bed, but I could tell that she was hoping I would say no. Pinkie forced me to sleep with her in her bed because she didn’t see how it could be weird. I have to say that staying at Rainbow Dash’s house is one of the weirdest experiences of my life. I stay at Twilight’s before Dash’s, so Twi casts a spell on me so I can walk on clouds. Fluttershy is only one I completely lost an argument with, so now I’m living in her room. I got into the room and shut the door. “Today is just going to be a weird day.” “Cutie Mark Crusaders Assassins!” The three fillies jumped up out of no where and onto my back, sending me to the floor. “We sure got him that time girls!” “Maybe we should check if we hurt him, he did hit the ground pretty hard.” “Ah don’t know, heh is purtty tough, ah think heh’s fine” “You know, you could have waited down stairs for me so could get dressed. I’m still in my towel.” Ever since I met these fillies, they find new ways to hurt me everyday. Being taken on their quest to find their cutie marks has been nothing but fun, but at the same time it has been a total hell. “I don’t see why you where those ‘clothes’ of yours. We don’t wear clothes all the time.” “Mah sis AppleJack said he wears em to cover somtin between his legs.” “Alright, everypony out.” I grabbed the three fillies in my arms and carried them out the door. “Hey! We can walk you know!” “Let me get dressed and I’ll be down stairs in a minute!” I tossed the fillies out and shut the door. “What should I where today? Wait what’s this?” I walked to the bed and picked up a note that was lying on a pile of neatly folded clothes. “I though I should set out your clothes for you because of what happened, I can understand if you don’t want to go out to our picnic tonight.” I looked to find my maroon t-shirt and light black jeans with a red trim. On the left of that, my black zip up hooded sweatshirt. “Well, that was really nice of her. It’s like she knows me better than I do.” I slipped on my clothes and walked downstairs. “Alright girls, you ready to go? We have to stop by Twilights first.” “We have to go to the library? Gahhh! I hate books!” Scootaloo face hoofed and groaned. “Calm down Scootaloo, maybe Twilight will let us take Spike for a little while.” Sweetie Belle said as she trotted out of the kitchen. “Mahybe y’all are rahight, I’m sure it won’t be that bad.” Apple bloom spoke as she hoped off the chair in the corner of the room. “Then it’s settled, we’re going to Twilight’s house. Fluttershy!?” “Umm yes?” She trotted to the doorway of the kitchen. “I’ll try to be home so I can help get everything ready for our dinner okay?” “Oh umm great, that sounds….nice” She smiled sheepishly. I gestured to the girls to follow me to go outside as I opened the door. “Alright girl, lets get out of Fluttershy’s hair. See you later Shy!” “Bye….be careful now.” “Don’t worry, I’ll watch the girls closely.” I closed the door as I walked out. “……I was talking…..about you.”
Chapter 2“So why are we going to Twilight’s house? I thought you were going to take us to the Everfree forest?” Scootaloo was jumping with excitement as she spoke, her little wings fluttering as she bounced. “Well, I can only take you girls there if Twilight got what I asked her for. It is very dangerous in there.” “Well if it’s dangerous, m-maybe we shouldn’t go in there?” Sweetie Belle was shaking a little thinking about the Everfree forest and the animals that live there. “Well as long as Twilight got it, we won’t have any problems. Just trust me okay?” I reached down and ruffled her mane playfully. She smiled wide and giggled a little. “Alright I trust you Brandon, so what is it that we’re getting from Twilight?” “You’ll see what it is when we get to the Library, speaking of which, here we are.” I walked up to the door and gave it a few swift knocks. It took a minute before Spike answered the door. “Brandon! What’s up man?” He raised his clawed hand for a high five. “Nothin really, hey is Twi here? I need to get something from her.” Spike was covered in a light purple aura and pulled away from the door. A familiar lavender unicorn trotted to the door with a smile. “Oh hi Brandon! Hey there Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom. What brings you here?” She gestures for us to come inside with her hoof. “Well I wanted to see if you got that ‘thing’ I asked about.” “Oh yeah I did! It wasn’t easy though, I almost passed out after I was done!” “Oh well I’m sorry to put you through so much, here’s a little something to thank you with.” I gave her a small kiss on her forehead and smiled as her ears folded back and she blushed lightly. “So, where is it? I’m going to need it for where girls and I are going.” “Wait, where are you taking the girls? Your not going to take them to the Everfree forest are you!?” She gave me a stern, disapproving look. “Well I was planning to, but I need that ‘thing’ if I even want to go in there. Please Twi? You know I’ll keep the girls safe.” I wrapped my arm around her and gave a smile. She smiled and looked away. “Well…..okay, its right over there.” She pointed over to the other side of the room. “Aw thanks Twi you’re the best!” I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and ran over to what I’ve been waiting for. It was a sword that I had designed myself in the time I was here in Ponyville. It was a long black blade with a single blood red line through the metal. The hilt was blood red with black stars. The Blade guard was a six pointed star with red on each corner. “Wow, thanks Twilight, its perfect! It’s just how I thought it would be!” I ran up to her and gave her a great big hug, that she returned a few moments later. “You’re welcome Brandon. I also got one more thing for you.” She reached behind her and pulled out a pair of fingerless gloves. “Here these are something I wiped up with my magic.” She hoofed them to me and I put them on. “So what’s so special about these gloves? They seem pretty normal to me.” “You need to bring it across your face. It gives you a mask. Just like you told me about in your shows.” I passed my hand over my face and my sight instantly became clearer, I felt more aware of my surroundings. “Wow Twi, this is awesome! How did you do that?” “Well, I took what you told me about them and I found some spells. I mixed them together and this was the end product.” I pulled the mask off so I could get a look at what I was wearing. The mask was white with a black trim. Spikes shot out of the top almost like a crown. Two spikes came out of the bottom of the mask, one on each side of the chin. “How did you get this mask to look like this? I made this design when I was still on earth.” “The mask is connected to your mind as well. It took the shape of what you had in your mind. I’m sorry that it doesn’t make you stronger; I could only get it to improve what it covered. I will be working on it again when I get more time.” “Well thanks for this Twi. This is all really cool. Well I’m going to get going, c’mon girls.” “Hey Twilight! Can we take Spike with us? We won’t be gone too long! We promise!” “Oh well, I don’t know. He does have chores to get done today…” “Oh come on Twilight! Please let me go! I’ll do everything Twice when I get home!” “I’m sorry Spike; we just have so much to do today.” She shook her head and placed a hoof on a sad Spike’s shoulder. I walked up to Spike and whispered in his ear. “Here, let me talk to her.” I walked up to Twi and whispered something in her ear. She blushed lightly then shook her head and nodded. “Alright, Spike. You can go with Brandon.” “Really? Oh thank you Twilight!” The little dragon jumped up and gave Twilight a big hug. “Alright, now you have fun, be careful and listen to Brandon.” “Alright everypony, and Spike, lets go. We don’t want be out there too late.” I walked to the door and opened it for the fillies and Spike. “Alright Twi, I’ll bring Spike home safe and sound, we wont be gone long.” “Alright Brandon, don’t be getting into too much trouble. I know you wanted that sword…..I just hope that you don’t have to use it out there….” “As long as nothing wants to eat us, I think we’ll be just fine.” She gave me a small glare before I walked out of the library. “Alright, you all ready?” I put the sword on my back and tightened my gloves. “Yep, just lead the way Brandon.” Spike nodded to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who nodded back to him. “Well let’s get going then!” I stepped in front of the others to lead the way. The walk wasn’t too long. I could tell Spike wasn’t used to walking very much, by the time we got to the edge of the Everfree, he was panting and sweating. “Here Spike, hop up here onto my shoulders and take a little break.” I stretched my hand down to him gesturing for him to take it. “Really? Thanks Brandon, you’re awesome.” He grabbed my hand and I pulled him up onto my shoulders. “Alright, you girls ready?” I looked over to the girls. Scoots was standing there with blank expression on her face as she stared at the forest. Sweetie Belle was shaking behind her and Apple Bloom was standing close to me. “Ah don’t know Brandon, mahybe this wasn’t such ah bright idea.” “Y-yeah, maybe we should just…..go back.” “Hey, don’t you worry girls; you’ll be safe as long as you stay with me. Nothing is going to happen. I promise.” I huddled all the girls together and nudged them in front of me. “H-hey! Why are we in front?” These were the first words Scoots spoke since we left the library. She didn’t seem as brave as she was earlier that day. “It’s just so I can see you when we’re walking. I don’t want to lose any of you in here.” We all walked in the forest for only a few moments before we came across a wide opening. No trees were growing here, and there was no grass, just some dirt, that was as black as the night. “Well that’s weird, this doesn’t seem normal.” I walked into the middle of the opening and grabbed a handful of the black dirt. “It’s almost as if this was burnt….but what could have done that?” Spike jumped off my shoulders and looked around. “I don’t know Spike, this is a bit weird. I don’t know what could have done this. I don’t think we should worry about it though. You girls want to keep going?” I didn’t get a response, I looked over to see them squished together staring at something in the trees. “Hey, girls….what are you looking at? What’s wrong?” I got my answer from a large lion paw slamming into the ground in front of me. I looked up to see that the creature in front of me was none other than a manticore, and it didn’t seem too happy. “Oh for the love of fuck….”
Chapter 3This was exactly what I didn't want to happen. Not only was I in danger, but the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Spike were also in the danger zone. “Spike! Get by the girls and hide! Stay close by so I can find you when I’m done with this fat cat.” “Wait what!? Are you crazy? This thing could rip you apart!” “Well geez Spike, thanks for having faith in me bro, don’t worry, I got what I need for this.” I grabbed the hilt of my sword and brought it in front of me. I passed my hand over my face to put on the mask. I immediately felt more aware of everything that was around me, I knew where the girls were now, They hid in the bushes with Spike right by the path we were taking. “Alright. This might not end well, for either of us, how about you just leave, and me and my friends will be on our way. How does that sound?” The large cat like creature just hit his paw on the ground and growled at me. It didn’t seem like he wanted to attack me, it was almost like he was…..talking to me? “So? What are you waiting for? Are you going to fight me or not?” I lowered my sword just a little, but I kept my eyes on his the entire time. Out of no where the manticore jumped towards me, I had no time to react, so he smacked my sword away from me and pinned me to the ground. He sniffed my body and gave a loud roar. “Well, this is the end. This really sucks.” I closed my eyes, waiting for this giant cat to eat me, but all that I felt was a large, wet tiger tongue, across my mask, the saliva oozing through its cracks and on to my face. “What? Are you seriously licking me?” I pulled off my mask and looked at the manticore. It was smiling at me and kept sniffing my body. I thought about it for a moment and it finally hit me. “Wait, did a yellow flying pony pull a thorn out of your paw a while back?” I pretended to pull something out of my hand so he might understand a little better. He nodded at me and gave me another lick right on my face. He moved back a little so I could get up and dust myself off. The only reason he didn’t attack me was probably because he could smell Fluttershy on me, other than that I couldn’t think of anything. “Brandon? Are you okay?!” I heard Sweetie’s squeaky voice from behind the manticore. “Yeah, I’m fine Sweetie Belle. This manticore is a…..friend.” I looked over to the manticore. “Right?” The manticore nodded and sat down. He licked his paw just like a cat would back home on earth. “Alright, I think we had enough excitement for the day. It’s time to get you girls home. You too Spike.” “Sounds good to me, I want to get home now before we get attacked by another monster in here.” Spike gestured to the girls to come out of the bushes. “Yeah that sounds good to me. Hey I’ll see you around fuzz ball. We cool?” I got my answer from a large wet tongue along the whole left side of my body. “Great, thanks. Alright girls, lets get out of here.” The manticore slowly walked towards the girls with his head low; trying not to scare them by showing he could be gentle. “Umm B-brandon? I-is he going to e-eat us?” All the girls were huddled together. They started to shake when the manticore got close to them. “No. I don’t think he’s going to eat you guys, he probably just wants to say hi.” I tried to reassure them, though I was also reassuring myself at the same time. The manticore got close to the girls and laid down right in front of them. He rested his head on his paws and gave the fillies a sad look. The part that really surprised me though, is that Sweetie Belle moved away from the group and trotted to the manticore. She rested a hoof on the manticore’s head and started to pet it. “You know, this manticore is nicer than Opal. He’s just a little sweet heart aren’t you big guy?” She ruffled the mane of the manticore as she smiled at him. His large scorpion tail started to wag lightly side to side. “Are you kidding me? This thing could have eaten us! He isn’t some sweet heart; he’s a big stupid monster!” Scootaloo was trying to be tough again, I knew that is was just an act, but when I was young I did the same thing around my friends as well. “Ah don’t know Scoots, heh is bein purtty nice right now. I don’t think he’s gonna hurt us now.” Apple Bloom trotted behind Sweetie Belle and started to pet the manticore’s side. The large cat rolled onto his back, Apple Bloom started to give him a belly rub as he started to purr gently. “C’mon Scoots time to give him a chance!” I picked up Scootaloo and started to bring her towards the manticore. She started to kick and wiggle around in my hands. “H-hey! Put me down! I don’t want to touch that big stupid cat!” I lowered her to be eye to eye with the manticore and she stopped moving. They stared at each other for a long minute. The manticore smiled before he gave her a big lick, from the top of her head to the bottom of her hind legs. Scootaloo blinked a few times before she burst out laughing. She giggled even more as the manticore continued to lick her. I put her on the ground and she jumped up onto the manticore’s belly. “Hey Brandon, can we keep him? He’s like, the best pet ever!” The other girls nodded in agreement as they all gave their love to the large fluffy cat. “Well, I would say yes…but I don’t think all the ponies in Ponyville will be too happy about this giant cat running around there.” “Awwww….” All the girls spoke at the same time, they knew they all wanted the same thing. “Hmmm….I have an idea though. He will have to stay here. But maybe, just maybe, we can visit him every so often. Though I cant promise anything, and we cant tell anypony about him okay?” “Yay! Can we name him Fluffy?” They all spoke at the same time, it was almost like their minds were connected. “Umm sure we can name him Fluffy, but right now, it’s time to get you fillies home.” I gathered all the fillies and Spike together and started to walk down the path towards the opening of the Everfree. “Wait, how are we going to know if he is the right one? He cant be the only manticore in the forest.” “Yeah you’re right….” I looked at the mask on the ground and a thought passed through my head. “Hey, Fluffy, come here real quick.” The manticore moved towards me with a confused look on his face, not sure what I had in mind for him. I grabbed my sword and cut a vine down from a nearby tree. I cut a small piece off and made a small hole in the mask. After a few minutes of twisting and tying, I crafted a necklace out of the vine and put it on Fluffy. The mask dangled from his neck with a small shine. “There. Now we know that it’s him. Are you all ready to go? Say bye to Fluffy.” “Bye Fluffy! Hope to see you again soon!” “Yeah! It was mighty fun playing with ah big cat like you!” “You are pretty cool, not as cool as Rainbow Dash, but I can hang out with you again.” They all gave Fluffy a big hug that he returned rather gently. He walked up to me and gave me a big lick, also doing the same to Spike. “Gah! Really!? I already took my bath for today!” “Well so did I, but it’s not like I can’t take another one. It’s not that big of a deal Spike.” “Yeah I guess your right. Well lets get home shall we?” “Yep. C’mon girls, time to go.” I nudged them forward so we could get moving. “Wow, that was a real good time if yah ask me. Mahybe the Everfree forest ain’t that scary.” “Well I don’t want you girls going in there with out me. I know your sisters don’t want to be in there so I’m the only one you got to take you in there.” Our first stop was Sweet Apple Acres. We got half way up to the house when Big Mac trotted out of the trees. “Well hey there Big Mac, working hard as always I presume.” “Eeyep.” I always wondered what went on in his head. People on earth that were quiet were usually pretty smart or had a lot on their mind. I wonder why he is so quiet. “Well I’m just bringing little Apple Bloom home for ya. I hope I didn’t have her out too late.” “Eenope” “Big Mac? Who ya talkin to over here? Oh well howdy Brandon! Great to see ya. Ya just bringin Apple Bloom home?” “Yeah, we had a lot of fun now didn’t we girls?” I gave them a little wink, and I was pretty sure AppleJack saw it too. “Yeah! We had loads of fun! We met this giant sweet kitty in the Everfree forest! We named him Fluffy!” Apple Bloom was jumping up and down with excitement. “Umm….say what now?” AppleJack was a little confused hearing about a giant cat. I thought that she would have caught on to it to be honest. “I’ll tell you later. Right now I got to get Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo home. See you Wednesday alright AJ?” “You bet Brandon. Cant wait to have your help on the farm, we got a lot to do!” “Alright bye AJ, later Big Mac.” They all waved as the four of us walked towards Ponyville. The sun was just starting to go down as we walked up to the Carousel Boutique. I knocked on the door. A few moments later, Rarity opened the door with a smile. “Oh hello my dear. Just bringing Sweetie Belle home? Would you care to stay for some tea?” “Sorry Rarity, I have to bring Scoots and Spike home and get back to Fluttershy for dinner.” I gave Sweetie a small hug before she trotted inside. “Oh well that’s a shame. I’m so glad that you were able to watch Sweetie for me, I just had so much to do today. Thank you so much dear.” “Oh it was nothing, I had some fun myself to be honest. I’ll see you on Thursday.” “Alright have a good night my dear.” I turned around as she was shutting the door. I walked with Scootaloo and Spike over to the Library. Spike stopped me before I could open the door. “You don’t have to say hi or anything. I’ll just let myself in. See you later Brandon.” “Alright I’m just going to bring Scootaloo home then. See ya Spike.” I walked with Scootaloo for a few minutes. I noticed that Scoots was really quiet so I gave her a nudge. “So where am I taking you then Scoots? I don’t think I’ve ever been to your house.” She looked up with a nervous look on her face and started to talk, but it seemed she was having trouble getting her words out. “Oh….well I uh…..” -You choose!- I have read a few fanfics about Scoots so I was having trouble deciding what I wanted to do with her home life. I’ve read about her living in a group home, having a depressed drinking mother, and her not having a home at all. If you have Ideas please leave them in the comments.
