Beneath the Mask

Chapters

Chapter 1 - Exposition and Departure
Chapter 2 - A Magnetic Personality
Chapter 3 - Finally! An Encounter!!
Chapter 4 - Bling Bling
Chapter 5 - Gratuitous Gratitude
Chapter 6 - Filly Beatdown
Chapter 7 - Your Guts(I Like 'Em)
Chapter 8 - New Guy in Town
Chapter 9 - Braxton vs. Rainbow Dash
Chapter 10 - Twenty Questions
Chapter 11 - Like Clockwork
Chapter 12 - Prone to Headaches
Chapter 13 - Target Practice
Prologue

Chapter 1 - Exposition and Departure

Our story begins on a mild spring day, deep in a forest in the heart of Switzerland. In this forest, all was calm. The birds chirped, the squirrels frolicked, and the streams gurgled. Truly, this was a bastion of peace and prosperity. Every creature, great and small, lived in harmony amongst each other.

“Holy FUCK, how big is this forest?!”

Well, perhaps not every creature. In this forest, there was also a man, who just so happened to be hopelessly lost. This man’s name was Braxton Carr, and while he was not exactly dense, he did occasionally have trouble thinking things out thoroughly.

“How the hell did I forget the map of the area!? Great thinking Brax, you moron,” Braxton berated himself while checking his phone for service yet again. “And of course my phone doesn’t get service in middle of freakin’ nowhere. Noooo, that would be too convenient, right?”

Perhaps a brief introduction to Braxton is in order while he tries to find his bearings. Braxton stood at even 6 feet, with light brown skin, black hair that has been braided into short dreadlocks, and very dark brown eyes that appear to be black at a glance or from a distance. His attire comprised of a simple dark blue t-shirt and dark green cargo pants, with brown steel-toe boots and an ankle-length black trench. A pair of fingerless black leather gloves completed the man's rather eccentric image; well-worn from use, as he was rarely ever seen without them.

A man who, upon leaving his home behind, set out to travel the world. Over the course of ten years, his globetrotting lifestyle had led him to see and learn a fair amount of what the world had to offer. However, for all of his travels, he never seemed to stay in one place very long, and has been known to jump from one destination to another quite frequently and unexpectedly. Unfortunately, that adventurous nature is exactly what has landed him in his current predicament.

Braxton sighed deeply. “I can’t believe I got myself lost in a forest of all places. Worse yet, there’s no path here, so I can’t even go back the way I came!” He checked the time on his phone again. “Oh God, it’s already 5 o’ clock!? Dammit, it’s gonna be dark soon and then I’ll really be screwed. I’ve got to find a landmark or something and get out of this place.”

Braxton swiveled his head left and right and back again, but all he could find were trees, bushes, and the occasional small animal. He let out a frustrated groan.

“Man, every tree in this forest is virtually identical! There’s absolutely no way to tell one from another and -- what the hell?” He cut himself off mid-tirade when he saw an incredibly strange sight, even for him. He was standing about twenty feet away from a clearing with a patch of fog sitting right in the middle of it. The fog itself was strange on it’s own, especially since it was the only foggy area he had seen so far, but the color of it was truly odd. It seemed to be a swirling miasma of colors ranging from purple to yellow to blue and nearly everything in between.

“Whoa, this is some seriously freaky stuff,” Braxton stated as he walked towards the phenomenon. He suddenly felt the air get warmer the closer he got to the fog. “Hmm...this feels wrong somehow. Like, if this were a horror movie, this would be around the part were the killer stalks up from behind and murders me,” Still, he kept walking forward, almost against his will, as though some otherworldly force were willing him to come nearer.

Braxton stood at about arm’s length from the fog now. He was entranced by it’s colors and how they danced within, seemingly chaotic, but, at the same time, acting in perfect harmony with each other. He was only half aware of his actions when he slowly raised a hand up and swiped it through the fog. Pulling his hand away, he saw that a bit of the fog was still twirling around his fingers, colorful as ever, before slowly evaporating.

Braxton stepped back and eyed the fog for a few moments longer before finally coming to a conclusion. “Well, that’s pretty damn weird, but it will make a perfect landmark. No way I could miss something like this if I get turned around again. Now, I’ll just pick a direction and hopefully make it out before sundown,” Just as he turned to walk away, however, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He whipped his head back towards the fog and saw that the colors had become bright, so much so that he had to squint to look at them. And they were getting even brighter.

Braxton shielded his eyes with his hand just as the brightness reached it’s peak, with all of the colors joining to form a brilliant white glow. Then, with a sudden blinding flash, the light completely disappeared, and Braxton along with it. The man was gone, transported to parts unknown, and the forest was calm once again.

***************

Worlds away, in the magical land known as Equestria, the resident librarian of Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle, was indulging in her favorite pastime: studying. She was not studying any normal subject, though. After the recent invasion of Canterlot, she was devoting all of her time to researching Changelings.

As she was flipping through yet another tome, she noticed her young dragon assistant waddle down the stairs from the corner of her eye. “Spike! Great timing! Can you please find me the book on the history of changeling culture? I need to find out more about how their society functions,” Twilight said while levitating another text from the shelf.

Spike tossed the book to Twilight, which she caught with her magic. “Twi, don’t you think you’re taking it a bit overboard with all of this studying?” He said with a worried tone of voice. “I mean, you’ve barely left the library since we got back from the wedding. You should take a break and spend some time with your friends,” Twilight stopped flipping pages and turned to him with a stern expression.

“I can’t take a break, Spike!” Twilight said. “Princess Celestia entrusted me to learn as much as I could about changelings and report my findings to her, so that we’ll be more prepared in case they try to launch another attack on Canterlot. For the good of Equestria, I have to keep working!” She exclaimed as she began reading once more.

Spike rolled his eyes and groaned loudly, knowing there was no changing the unicorn’s mind. Still, that didn’t keep him from trying. “C’mon, Twi, I’m sure the Princess wouldn’t mind if you spent a couple of hours outside. Being cooped up in this library isn’t healthy,” The young dragon walked over to Twilight side and put a claw on her shoulder. “Rarity told me that she was putting together a picnic with our friends today. We should go and have some fun!”

Twilight opened her mouth to argue, but stopped when she saw the almost pleading look in Spike’s eyes. She could tell he really was worried for her well-being. After a short internal debate, she decided that maybe a few hours outside wouldn’t hurt. She could make up for it later.

Twilight sighed resignedly. “Maybe you’re right, Spike. A few hours out with the girls might do me some good,” She said, giving in to the young drake’s pleas. Spike’s eyes lit up and he smiled broadly.

“Awesome! I’ll go get ready. This’ll be great, Twi, you’ll see!” he said, jogging towards the kitchen.

The lavender mare’s face shifted to a wry smirk. “But be ready to work extra hard helping me make up for it when we get back!” Twilight called to him. Her smirk turned into a smug grin when she heard him stop and groan in defeat. Twilight closed her book and went to prepare, not knowing that the day had much more in store for her than a simple picnic.

***************

Meanwhile, at a large apple farm on the outskirts of town, three young fillies sulked into a small clubhouse after returning from their latest venture. These three were Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, collectively known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and they were pretty bummed out, to say the least.

“Well, that was a total bust!” Scootaloo announced as she sat down on the club room floor. “I should have known trying to get our cutie marks in torch juggling would be a total waste of time! Great plan, Apple Bloom.”

Apple Bloom shot Scootaloo a glare. “Me?! It was your bright idea to juggle eight of ‘em at once! If you hadn’t tried to show off, it woulda worked fine!” she said, stomping her hoof for emphasis.

Scootaloo glared back incredulously. “Well, if you actually put some effort in, I wouldn’t have had to try and pick up your slack!” She said, crossing her forelegs.

“Girls, stop it!” Sweetie Belle cried, trying to diffuse yet another argument. “It doesn’t matter whose fault it is; we aren’t going to get our cutie marks sitting here arguing! Besides, we already tried that, remember?”

The earth pony and pegasus sighed deeply, remembering and regretting that wasted afternoon. “Yeah, you’re right, Sweetie Belle. This is just so frustrating! No matter what we do, it never gets us our cutie marks!” Scootaloo complained. “I’m so sick of waiting! I was sure we would’ve gotten our flower girl cutie marks a month ago at the wedding in Canterlot.”

“Yeah, me too,” Apple Bloom agreed. “And not only did we not get our cutie marks, but the Changelings nearly took over Canterlot!”

Sweetie Belle shuddered at the mention of the insect ponies. “Those Changelings were really scary. If I ever see another one, it’ll be too soon!” She stated.

Scootaloo’s eyes widened suddenly in realization. “That’s it!” She exclaimed, jumping up and startling her companions. “ I know how we can get our cutie marks!”

“Really, how?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Well, those bugs can shape shift into anypony they want, right?” Scootaloo asked with a sly tone of voice.

“Riiiiight?” Apple Bloom said slowly, not knowing where the pegasus was going with this.

“So, who’s to say they aren’t hiding out in Ponyville right now, posing as a regular pony? I bet if we find and catch one, we’ll be heroes, and get our cutie marks in Changeling hunting!” Scootaloo rationalized, buzzing her little wings in excitement.

Apple Bloom’s eyes lit up. “Hey, yeah! If we can catch a Changeling, we’ll get our cutie marks for sure!” She agreed.

Sweetie Belle was not so enthusiastic. “I-I don’t know, girls,” She stammered. “I don’t think hunting for Changelings is such a good idea.”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes and huffed. “Come on, Sweetie Belle, don’t be such a chicken,” She taunted.

“Look who’s calling who a chicken!” Sweetie said indignantly. “I just don’t think that actively looking for those gross bugs is such a good idea. Besides, what would a Changeling hunter cutie mark even look like?”

Scootaloo thought for a second before responding. “I dunno, but it has gotta be awesome!” She exclaimed.

“Yeah, Ah agree. C’mon, Sweetie Belle, this could be our one chance to find our special talent, and we can’t do it without ya!” Apple Bloom stated.

Sweetie Belle thought about it for a few moments, but under the peer pressure of her friends, she found she just couldn’t say no.

“Alright, let’s do it!” Sweetie Belle said with a determined look in her eyes.

Apple Bloom smiled and nodded to her unicorn friend. “Scootaloo, grab the net. We got us some Changelings to catch!” She said turning to the young pegasus.

After fetching a gigantic butterfly net roughly twice her size, Scootaloo returned to her friends and they, after sucking in a lungful of air each, all shouted at the top of their lungs:

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS CHANGELING HUNTERS YAY!”

And with that, they charged out of the clubhouse door in a beeline towards the soon-to-be not-so-quiet town.

***************

The first thing Braxton felt when he regained consciousness was something soft tickling the left side of his face. Opening his eyes, he saw that he was laying face down in a patch of almost unnaturally dark green grass.

“Oh, man, I feel like I just tried to kiss a freight train,” He groaned as he pushed himself to his knees. Shaking off the last of his grogginess, Braxton stood to his full height and got a good look as his surroundings for the first time. He saw that the woods surrounding the clearing he was in, while very dark and ominous, had an almost cartoonish look to them. “Whoa, this does not look like the forest I was just in. Everything’s way too... obtuse,” He stated, looking around.

“Not only that, but this place feels... off somehow. Like it’s breaking some kind of law of nature just by existing,” Braxton said, unable to pinpoint exactly what made this place seem so strange. As he took in his surroundings, questions began to pop up in his head. “How the hell did I get here? And why on earth was I knocked out? The last thing I remember is that weird fog and then... hmmm. Nope, I got nothin’,” He stated as he tried to recall what happened.

Eventually, Braxton gave up trying to remember and mused on his current predicament. “Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter at the moment. My situation still hasn’t changed. I’m still lost in the woods, albeit a slightly creepier version, and I still need to find a way out.”

Looking around once more, Braxton spotted a well worn dirt path at the edge of the clearing. “Eh, good a place to start as any,” He said as he began walking down the path, hoping it would lead to the exit.

“Damn, I have seriously gotta stop talking to myself.”

Author's Note

Alright, chapter one is done! I consider all criticism constructive, so write a comment below and tell me what what you think! Y'know, if you wanna.

...Please?

Chapter 2 - A Magnetic Personality

Braxton had been wandering the forest for the better part of an hour and he was still no closer to any sort of exit. The dirt path he had been following had all but disappeared a while back, seemingly stomped out of existence by what looked like small hoofprints.

‘Huh. Must’ve been an old riding trail or something,’ Braxton assumed.

As he walked along, Braxton began to notice more strange things about the forest. Namely, that it was perpetually dark. Even though Braxton could clearly see the sun through the trees whenever he looked up, the illuminating rays never seemed to penetrate the canopy above.

Also, these woods contained some of the strangest flora he had ever come across. More than once he had seen patches of flowers that seemed to glow blue in the darkness, which he decided to give a wide berth.

‘I’m not going anywhere near those things. For all I know, they could be radioactive or something,’ Braxton thought as he walked around yet another patch.

The more he examined his surroundings, the more he saw things that unsettled him. Even the trees were odd. The trunks of them seemed to have monstrous faces carved into them, with menacing eyes and mouths with pointed teeth.

“Scary faces carved into trees? Seriously?! Pfft, where am I, inside of an old Scooby-Doo cartoon?” Braxton snarked aloud.

However, for all of his nonchalance, deep down this place unnerved him greatly. There was something off-putting about it that he couldn't quite place, although. As though behind every tree or under every bush, there may be some creature ready to pounce on him.

Shaking his head clear of those macabre thoughts, Braxton decided it may be time for a break, and sat down at the base of a tree. After getting relatively comfortable, he fished his phone out of his duster pocket and checked the time.

‘What the hell? 12:00 A.M.? There’s no way that can be right. Goddamn it, the last thing I need right now is for my piece of crap phone to start glitching out on me.’ Braxton thought angrily, shoving said piece of crap back into it’s place. After a few minutes of resting his weary feet, one of Braxton’s basic biological necessities decided to make itself known.

“Damn, I’m thirsty.” He said, unslinging his backpack. He searched through it for a few moments before he came across his canteen, which he promptly pressed to his lips. Only to find that it was bone dry.

“Oh, you gotta be kidding me.” Braxton lamented, sighing deeply. “Hmmm, maybe there’s a stream or something around here...” Looking to his right, he saw a decently sized river flowing with crystal blue water not thirty feet away.

‘Well... that’s convenient.’ Braxton noted in his head.

Braxton walked over and knelt by the side of the river. He saw his reflection staring back at him from the clear water. ‘Looks fine, but I better give it a quick taste first. Can’t be too careful.’ Braxton thought. Removing his gloves and cupping his hands, he drank from the pure looking river.

As soon as the cool liquid hit his tongue, Braxton’s eyes shot open. “Holy hand grenades, this is the best water I’ve ever fucking tasted!” He shouted loudly, before dunking his entire head into the water. After gulping greedily from the river for several minutes, only stopping for oxygen when necessary, he finally got his fill.

Braxton burped mightily and patted his stomach. “Man, I’ve gotta get me some of this for the road!” He exclaimed. Filling up his canteen to the absolute brim and returning it to his pack, Braxton slipped his gloves back on and stood up to leave. Before he could, however, something big in the river caught his eye. Something really big.

“T-That wasn’t no guppy...” Braxton said shakily. Seconds after the words left his mouth, large waves began to form in the formerly calm river. He began to back away slowly and was about to turn tail and run when, suddenly, the water broke and a monstrous serpent burst through the surface.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, holy SHIT!!!” Braxton shouted, tripping over his feet and landing on his back. The serpent was absolutely massive, easily ten times Braxton’s size, with glistening purple scales, pointed claws, an oddly well-groomed orange hairstyle, and what looked like a...

“Does that thing have a fucking mustache?” Braxton said aloud as he took in the details of the monster. Unfortunately, it heard him. The serpent fixed his gaze on him and Braxton gulped audibly, not exactly loving the idea of becoming this thing’s snack. The serpent leaned down and grinned, showing off his sharp fangs. Braxton’s eyes widened in terror, knowing that this may be the end for him.

“Why, helloooooo!” The river serpent greeted. Braxton’s jaw dropped open and his brain nearly fell out of his skull. The last thing he expected was for the thing to talk, much less say hi. After a few moments of stunned silence on Braxton’s part, the serpent’s friendly smile shifted to an annoyed pout.

“Hmph! Well, I never! I take the time to greet you, and you don’t even have the decency to respond? How rude!” The serpent berated.

Shaking himself out of his momentary stupor, Braxton slowly stood back up. “O-Oh, uh... s-sorry about that. I was just kinda... shocked. I’ve, uh, never seen anything like you before. Who... what are you, anyway?” He stammered.

The serpent’s pout turned back into a smile. “Why, my name is Steven Magnet, the most fabulous river serpent in the entire Everfree Forest. But, the better question is, what are you? The only creatures I know of that walk on two legs are minotaurs, and you, most certainly, are no minotaur.”

Braxton nearly couldn’t comprehend what he had just heard. ‘Everfree Forest? River serpent? Minotaurs?! What the hell is this thing on about? Shit, I’m getting the feeling I’m not in Switzerland anymore. Either that or I’ve finally gone completely insane.’ He thoughtfully deduced.

Seeing as how “Steven” wasn’t about to eat him... yet, Braxton figured his best bet was to try and make nice with it. “M-My name is Braxton Carr. I’m a human. I-It’s nice to meet you... uh... Steven.” Braxton said, flashing a disarming smile.

Steven raised a scaly eyebrow in confusion. “A... human? I’ve never heard of that before. At any rate, though, the pleasure is all mine, believe me!” Steven said, giving a polite bow.

“Y-Yeah... right... um, listen, I have a bit of a problem and I was wondering if you could maybe help me out?” Braxton said, deciding to take advantage of the serpent’s seemingly kind disposition.

Steven grinned happily. “Sure! So long as it’s in my power, I’ll do whatever I can to help.” He announced.

Braxton inwardly celebrated as he finally seemed to catch a lucky break, albeit an incredibly strange one. “Great! See, I’m kinda lost here and was hoping that you can tell me how to get out of this godforsaken forest. If it’s not too much trouble, of course.” He said, giving the serpent a toothy grin.

Steven waved a claw dismissively. “Pfft, is that all? I do believe I can be of assistance. Simply turn around and head down that path and you will come upon the exit in no time at all!” the serpent directed.

Braxton turned around towards the direction Steven had indicated, and his heart sank. “That path?” Braxton asked, pointing down a familiar dirt path, well worn with use.

“Indeed!” Steven assured.

The slap of Braxton’s facepalm could’ve been heard for miles. ‘DO YOU MEAN TO FUCKING TELL ME I’VE BEEN GOING THE WRONG FUCKING WAY THIS WHOLE FUCKING TIME?!?!’ Braxton mentally raged.

“Is everything all right?” Steven asked in a slightly worried tone.

“Oh yeah, everything’s just... peachy.” Braxton snarled through gritted teeth. He turned back towards the purple serpent. “Anyway, thanks for pointing me in the right direction, Steven.” Braxton expressed with a genuine, if somewhat forced, smile.

“Oh, think nothing of it! Glad to be of service. And please, call me Steve.” The river serpent said, waving his claw again.

“Right. Thanks again, Steve.” Braxton corrected. “I really should be going, though. I need to get out of this forest as soon as possible.”

Steven smiled again. “No problem at all! I must be on my way as well or I’ll be late for my weekly manicure. Oh, that would be simply dreadful! Ta-ta, and don’t be a stranger now!” He said before diving back under the river’s surface.

Braxton shook his head and chuckled at the experience he just had. “Well, that sure was... something. Nice guy, though, if a bit on the... feminine side.” He turned back towards the path he came in on. “Now to get out of here and figure out just where the hell I am." He sighed. "Might as well get it over with.” He said half-heartedly, before trudging down the path once more.

***************

On the outskirts of Ponyville, Twilight and Spike were making their way to their group of friends’ favorite picnicking spot. Coming over the hill, the two saw their friends Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity relaxing on a red checkerboard blanket covered with delicious looking food.

“Hi, girls! Hope I haven’t missed out on anything.” Twilight said when she came upon the group. The five mares looked up at the approaching pair and smiled.

Applejack was the first to speak up. “Howdy there, Twilight.” She greeted, “Naw, ya ain’t missed much. We actually just finished settin’ up.” Spike hopped off of Twilight’s back and jogged over to blanket.

“Oh, boy, look at this spread!” He said licking his lips. “Cupcakes, donuts, apple cider, *gasp* and look: Applejack’s famous apple pies!” He exclaimed, before lifting an entire pie to his maw. Before Spike could bite down, however, the pie was surrounded by a blue aura and snatched away, causing him to bite down on thin air. The pie floated over to the aura’s owner, Rarity.

“Spike, control yourself!” The alabaster unicorn berated. “There will be plenty of food for everypony to have their fair share.” She said, placing the pie back on the blanket.

Spike rubbed the back of his neck and blushed. “Sorry, Rarity. Kinda lost my head for a second.” He said sheepishly.

“Ah, lay off him, Rarity.” Rainbow Dash flew to the young drake’s defense. “Little guy’s just glad to finally get out of that dusty old library he’s been trapped in for a month!” Rainbow snickered, causing Twilight to furrow her brow in annoyance.

Before she could retort, however, Pinkie popped up from behind her, seemingly out of nowhere. “Yeah, Dashie’s right, Rarity!” She said before turning to Twilight. “You guys were cooped up in that stuffy-wuffy library so long I thought you’d gone loco in the coco!” The pink mare bounded back to the others leaving Twilight to wonder briefly how Pinkie got behind her to begin with, before just writing it off as another instance of “Pinkie being Pinkie”.

“Pinkie’s right, Twilight. We were all getting a little worried about you.” Fluttershy spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. “What were you doing all this time, um, y-you know, i-if you don’t mind me asking...” She said, shrinking back a little.

Twilight smiled at the shy pegasus and began to fill them all in. “Princess Celestia tasked me with researching Changelings and I may have gotten a tad carried away...” She said with a small blush. The mention of Changelings caused a small shiver to go up the others spines as they recalled the events of the wedding. “Spike convinced me to get out for a while and join you girls for a picnic.” Twilight continued.

“Well, Ah’m mighty glad he did. It just wouldn'a been the same without ya, Twi.” Applejack expressed, earning her an appreciative smile from the lavender mare.

“Alright, alright, enough of that mushy stuff. Let’s eat, already!” Rainbow Dash announced. The other five mares and dragon agreed in unison and moved over to the picnic blanket to begin their day of leisure.

***************

“Dude, this bites!” Scootaloo complained. “We’ve been hunting Changelings for over an hour and we’re still no closer to finding one, or getting our cutie marks!” The Cutie Mark Crusaders walked the streets of town with heads hung low in disappointment. So far all they had “hunted” were three normal ponies, four frogs, two potted plants, and one size ten mens’ shoe. Quite an impressive feat, considering nopony in Ponyville wore shoes. Or had feet, for that matter.

Sweetie Belle looked to her pegasus friend. “Maybe we should go back to the clubhouse and come up with another plan to get our cutie marks. We’ve still got a few hours left to try something else.” She said.

Scootaloo shook her head rapidly. “No way!” She exclaimed. “This is it, I can feel it! We’ve just gotta find an easier way to go about it.” As the orange filly spoke these words, Apple Bloom, who had been leading the group, spun around to face her friends, eyes aglow with enthusiasm.

“Ah got an idea! Why don’t we go see if Twilight has some fancy spell or somethin’ fer gettin’ rid of Changeling magic? That way, we won’t have ta' look fer ‘em, they’ll be right out in the open!” Apple Bloom exclaimed proudly. Scootaloo beamed brightly at the notion.

“Hey, yeah!” Scootaloo agreed. “I bet Twilight’s got some book on Changelings. Heck, she’s probably got a million of ‘em! Let’s go to the library right now!” She shouted, and began galloping off in the direction of the building, with her friends in hot pursuit.

***************

Upon reaching the library, the three fillies burst through the door with enough force to nearly rip the door off it’s hinges. They called out for Twilight or Spike, but received no response.

“Hey, where are they?!” Scootaloo queried impatiently. “It’s weird enough for Twilight to be gone, but her and Spike? What’s up with that?” She ranted as she paced around the library.

“Well, Ah’m sure we can find the book ourselves.” Apple Bloom stated optimistically. She began to pull books off the shelves with her teeth. “C’mon, girls, a li’l help here.” She said to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, who began pulling books as well.

The three ransacked the library for about fifteen minutes to no avail. The library was now a mess, and Scootaloo was beginning to get impatient yet again. “There’s way too many books here! How are we supposed to find the one we need?” She muttered, tossing another book to the side.

“Well, it is a library. What did you expect?” Sweetie Belle snarked, causing Scootaloo to throw a sideways glare her way.

Scootaloo threw her hooves up in resignation. “Ugh, this is getting us nowhere! I think we can count the library out this time.” She spoke with finality. “But where else can we go to get help?” The three fillies pondered for a few minutes before Apple Bloom came up with yet another idea.

“What about Zecora? She knows a lot about magic. Maybe she’s got some kinda potion that kin help us?” Apple Bloom proposed. Sweetie Belle looked to her with concern etched on her face.

“I-I don’t think that such a good idea. I mean, Zecora lives in the Everfree Forest, and Rarity always says to never go in there by ourselves.” Sweetie Belle said hesitantly.

This statement gave the other two fillies pause for a moment, before Scootaloo came to a conclusion. “I don’t like the idea of going in there anymore than you do, Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo agreed, “But, if will help us get our cutie marks, then I say going to Zecora’s is worth a shot.”

“Yeah, me too.” Apple Bloom cut in. “Besides, Ah go to Zecora’s by my lonesome all the time, and nothin’ bad has happened to me so far. What could possibly go wrong this time?” The earth pony queried.

Somehow, hearing those words made Sweetie Belle even less sure. Her desire for a cutie mark, however, eventually overrode her fear.

‘Apple Bloom’s right. What’s the worst that could happen?’ She rationalized internally. Sweetie Belle turned back to her friends, who were looking at her expectantly. “*sigh* Okay, fine! Let’s just get it over with.” She said. She sounded a lot more sure than she actually felt.

***************

As Braxton walked past the clearing he had woken up in, he began to ponder more about his encounter with Steven Magnet.

‘Steve said that he didn’t know what a human is. Now, either he’s been living under a goddamn rock his entire life, or I’m a long, long way from home.’ Braxton thought. ‘I’m leaning towards the latter, considering last time I checked, giant river serpents don’t exist. Or minotaurs for that matter. Of course, there’s always the possibility that this is an amazingly vivid dream. Sure as hell doesn’t feel like one, though. But, then again, how would I know what a fucking dream feels like? Wait, wait, I’m getting off topic here.’ Braxton desperately tried to reconcile what exactly was going on and, unfortunately, wasn’t having much luck.

Braxton pushed the unnecessary thoughts out of his mind with a shake of his head. “Just a little farther and I’ll be out of this forest. I’ll worry about getting answers later, right now I have to concentrate on the task at hand.” He spoke aloud with finality. With a look of determination, he set his eyes back ahead and marched on down the path. Little did he know, his answers would be coming sooner rather than later.

Author's Note

Okay, so that part about the picnic was basically me trying to get a feel for the Mane Six's personalities.

Translating an animated character's persona to the written word is hell of a lot tougher than it looks, but I think I got them down fairly accurately.

At any rate, if you have any suggestions about anything, let me know down in the doobly-doo. Bye!

Chapter 3 - Finally! An Encounter!!

The Cutie Mark Crusaders stood at the edge of the Everfree Forest, peering into the darkness. Apple Bloom turned to her companions with a look of determination.

“Ya’ll girls ready?” Apple Bloom asked.

Scootaloo nodded her head. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” She said turning to Sweetie Belle, who simply nodded her head as well. With all three in agreement, the CMC began their trek to Zecora’s hut.

Immediately as they crossed the threshold to the forest, the world seemed to darken and get ever so slightly colder. The three halted for a brief moment, reconsidering their actions, before steeling their collective nerves and continuing on.

The farther the CMC went into the forest’s murky depths, the greater the urge became to give up on the entire expedition. Still, they persevered, spurred on by their desire for cutie marks. Soon enough, however, Sweetie Belle began to vocalize her opinions.

“G-G-Girls,” Sweetie Belle stuttered, “I r-really, really think that w-we should give up on this and--”

“Give up?!” Sweetie Belle was cut off by a very indignant Scootaloo. “There’s no way we can give up now! Not when we’re almost there!” Scootaloo was still trying to put up a brave front, but the cracks were beginning to show. “C-C’mon, Zecora’s is just a little farther down the--”

*SNAP*

Scootaloo’s ear twitched towards the sudden noise. Looking back at her companions, she realized she didn’t even have to ask. They had heard it as well. The fillies stood stock still as they panned their eyes around the underbrush, looking for the source of the disturbance.

‘It’s nothing. Probably a rabbit that stepped on a twig or something. Nothing to worry about.’ Scootaloo rationalized.

“A-A-Anyway, l-like I was s-saying,” The orange pegasus stammered nervously, “w-we’re almost there. Let’s k-keep moving.” Scootaloo turned around to continue down the path and ran face first into something soft.

She stumbled back and put a hoof to her muzzle. “What the... heck...?” Scootaloo trailed off when she got a good look at the obstacle. It was extremely thick and covered in what looked like reddish hair. And it was attached to something.

Craning their necks up the obstacle’s length, the fillies pupils shrank in horror at what they saw. A terrifying beast, with the body of a lion, the tail of a scorpion, and two huge bat-like wings. The monster looked down at the young ponies with eyes full of malicious intent. It grinned viciously, razor sharp teeth glistening and dripping with saliva.

“M-M-M-MANTICORE!!!” The three shrieked in unison. They immediately turned and began galloping in the opposite direction, screaming their heads off all the while. The manticore roared with enough force to shake the trees as it darted after them, determined to not let it’s prey get away.

***************

Braxton was beginning to get irritated. He had long since past the clearing he woke up in and still couldn’t find any sort of break in the trees. His feet were nearly numb from the strain of constant walking, and he had nearly resigned himself to wandering the woods for all eternity. But then he saw it. Light.

Directly in front of him, small rays of sunlight finally pierced the perpetual darkness. Braxton let out a small chuckle that grew into a giddy laugh. Despite the protests of his feet, he dashed towards the light with renewed vigor.

‘Finally! Finally, I can get out of this hellhole and never look back!’ Braxton thought excitedly. The light was getting closer now. So close he could see past the thick underbrush and into the small field beyond. He was mere yards away from freedom. Then he heard something that made him stop in his tracks.

“What the hell was that?” Braxton wondered aloud. He heard it again, louder this time. Three high-pitched screams. ‘Those screams...’ Braxton thought, turning towards the sound. ‘They sound like... little girls? What are little girls doing in a place like this?’ He heard the screams again. ‘Those don’t sound like screams of joy, like the kind you get at a playground or something. They sound terrified.’ The man inferred.

Braxton looked over his shoulder at the exit that was only steps away and sagged his shoulders in defeat. “Goddammit.” He uttered simply, before charging off in the direction of the screams.

***************

The CMC ran as fast as their little legs could carry them. They ran around trees and jumped over rocks, but no matter what they did, the manticore stayed hot on their hooves. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo began to get a little ahead of Sweetie Belle who, being a unicorn, did not have the endurance to keep up with the other two.

Sweetie Belle clenched her eyes shut and pushed herself to catch up. Unfortunately, they came across a large root in the middle of the path. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo saw and jumped over it. Sweetie Belle did not. She hit the root at full gallop and fell hard to the ground, kicking up dirt that clung to her white coat. Trying to get back up, she realized that her back right leg had gotten twisted in the wayward plant.

After a futile attempt to untangle her leg, she tried to call out to her friends. “Apple Bloom, Scootaloo! Wait! I’m stuck!” Sweetie Belle hollered, but her cries were in vain. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo continued to run, unable to hear her over their own shrieks.

*Grrrrrrrrr*

Sweetie Belle’s pupils shrank further when she heard the manticore’s deep growling. Whipping her head back around, she saw the beast stalking slowly towards her. It deliberately accentuated each step, enjoying the look of sheer terror on Sweetie Belle’s face. With a long, forked tongue, the beast licked his lips in anticipation for it’s next meal.

Sweetie Belle was helpless before the monster. She was afraid. Tears streaked down her dirt-stained face as she began to realize that this was the end.

She screamed.

***************

The most ear-splitting, terrified wail he had ever heard pierced Braxton’s ears, and it made his blood run cold. Picking up his speed, he sprinted towards the source. Bursting through the trees, what he saw made him freeze in his tracks. A horrific animal of some kind walking towards what looked like a tiny equine.

Braxton’s eyes went wide as saucers. ‘Okay, river serpents are one thing, but what the flying FUCK is that?! Some kind of lion-bat-scorpion... thing?’ He looked towards the equine next. ‘And a... horse, I guess? But that doesn’t look like any horse I’ve ever seen.’ Then the horse opened it’s mouth and screamed amazingly loud. The same scream Braxton had heard moments before. In that instant, everything clicked for him, and he knew what he had to do.

He threw a rock at the beast’s head.

The stone impacted the creature’s temple and it let out a grunt of pain. The beast stumbled back as it rubbed it’s head with a front paw.

“Hey, Lion-O!” Braxton shouted.

Both the monster and the horse looked in his direction and Braxton got his first good look at the horse’s features. It had a much shorter muzzle than a normal horse, and had an extremely expressive face. It’s mane and coat were caked with dirt, and it had a few scrapes and cuts. The most intriguing part, however, were it’s eyes. They were big, almost too big for it’s face, and Braxton could see the glint of intelligence in them. He could also see undiluted fear.

Braxton returned his attention back to the monster itself. It was looking at him with confusion, which soon gave way to anger as it recognized what exactly had thrown the rock.

“Why don’t you pick on something your own size?” Braxton taunted. “Or are you too much of a pussy, cat?”

Braxton grimaced a bit at his pun. ‘Man, that sounded way better in my head.’ He thought.

The beast growled menacingly at the new challenger. Braxton followed the creature with his eyes as it paced in front of him, thinking about how to handle the situation. He didn’t have long to think, however, as the beast let loose a blood-curdling roar and charged at him.

Braxton narrowed his eyes as the beast got closer. ‘Wait for it... Wait for it... NOW!’ Just as the beast lunged for him, Braxton rolled to the side, causing it to slam face first into a tree. Braxton righted himself and spun back to face the monster. It roared and clutched at it’s now broken snout.

Braxton allowed himself a cocky smile when he saw the beast’s pain. The beast let go of it’s face, which was now bleeding heavily, and glared at the man with a look of pure rage. It released another deafening roar and charged Braxton again, and he, again, tried to dodge to the side.

But the beast was ready this time.

The monster halted with incredible precision, considering the momentum it just had, and whipped it’s tail in the human’s direction. Braxton righted himself again just in time to catch an eyeful of the broad side of the appendage. The tail slammed into his torso with astounding force, enough to fling him about twenty feet into a nearby tree.

The impact knocked the air out his lungs, and Braxton landed on the forest floor with a audible thud. The aching in his midsection was intense, and he knew immediately that he had at least cracked some ribs. ‘Hopefully they’re not completely broken, ‘cause that would suck major ass. Still, that hurt like a motherfucker.’ He thought dryly. He looked over from where he lay to see the beast grinning with victory, pawing at the ground in preparation for another charge and lunge combo.

Ignoring the pain in his abdomen, Braxton pushed himself to one knee and glared at the beast as it came at him. ‘Alright, I’m done fucking around with this thing.’ He thought as he unholstered his revolver. Braxton aimed and fired two rounds at the charging creature’s right leg. They were both direct hits.

The beast’s howl of pain was absolutely deafening, almost as much as the gunshots themselves. In fact, Braxton was sure he had felt the ground vibrate. The beast was still coming, but the shots slowed it’s charge enough to give Braxton the opportunity to sidestep out the way. Blinded by rage and pain, it did not have time to stop itself before slamming into the same tree Braxton had. The impact was less forceful than last time, but due to the beast’s already broken nose, hurt it a lot worse.

The battered and bloodstained beast looked at the human with red eyes full of hatred. Braxton simply leveled his gun threateningly at it, holding one hand to his ribcage. The two stared each other down for what seemed like an eternity, with the creature’s eyes shifting periodically from Braxton to the trapped pony behind him.

Realizing that it was fighting a losing battle, either that or thinking one small filly wasn’t worth the struggle, the beast slowly began to back away. Finally, it turned and limped back into the darkness of the forest, but not before throwing one last menacing growl and a death glare Braxton’s way.

***************

Sweetie Belle couldn’t believe her eyes. She just watched some giant, two-legged... thing face-off with a manticore. And it had won. As the manticore retreated back to the dense growth, the giant slowly lowered the long, metallic object in it’s... hoof?... until it was hanging by it’s side.

The giant released a heavy exhale and relaxed his posture, though one arm was still holding the area where the manticore’s tail had struck it. Sweetie Belle stared in wide-eyed awe, her mind buzzing all sorts of questions. ‘What is this thing? Where did it come from? How does it stand on only two legs? What is that metal tube it’s holding?’

‘Why did it protect me?’

Sweetie Belle snapped out of her reverie when she realized that the giant was staring right back at her. She froze under it’s gaze, unable to tear her eyes away. The two kept their eyes locked, unblinking, for an almost uncomfortable amount of time. During the impromptu staring contest, Sweetie Belle got a good look at the giant’s face.

She noticed that it’s dark eyes were very small compared to a pony’s, and that it was mostly hairless aside from a collection of braids hanging loosely on top of it’s head. It also seemed to lack a muzzle, and it’s tiny ears seemed stiff and immobile on the sides of the head.

Sweetie Belle heard the distinct crunching of grass and saw that the giant was moving steadily towards her. Suddenly remembering her situation, she tried desperately once again to untangle herself from the root that bound her, but it was too late. The giant already stood directly over her, casting it’s shadow, and about to do Celestia knows what to her.

‘That’s why it fought off the manticore. So that it could have me all to itself!’ Sweetie Belle thought fearfully. ‘It’s probably going to eat me, or worse, drag me back to it’s cave and keep me as it’s prisoner!’ Many awful scenarios ran through the filly’s terrified brain, each one more horrific than the last. As the giant loomed above, she clenched her eyes shut in preparation for the inevitable.

***************

Now that he was right upon the tiny horse, Braxton could see that it was, judging from size alone, most likely a young one. And, going by it’s softer features and body type, a girl as well.

‘I guess that would make it a... filly, right? A unicorn filly, judging by the horn. Sure, why the fuck not, right?’ Braxton concluded. He could see through the layer of dirt that her coat was an off-white color and her mane, oddly enough, was a two-tone mix of pink and purple. The filly had been struggling to free herself, but seemed to realize the futility of it. Now, she had her eyes shut and her head turned away, as though expecting to be struck.

Braxton looked down at the tiny horse’s cowering form and felt a pang of sympathy. ‘Looks like she’s had rough go of it.’ He thought, furrowing his brow. ‘Nearly being eaten by that monster, and who knows what else she’s gone through. Poor thing must be petrified.’ Braxton holstered his gun and knelt down so that he could be closer to her level, wincing a little as he did so.

“Hey, hey, take it easy. I’m not gonna hurt you.” He said as gently as he could. After a few seconds, the filly’s eyes fluttered open slightly and she moved her head slightly back towards him.

“Y...Y-You’re n-not?” She asked fearfully. Braxton was only mildly surprised that the filly could talk. In fact, he was kind of expecting it. After all, he had held a conversation with a river serpent and battled a lion-bat-scorpion. Not to mention he was currently talking to a unicorn. It’d be tough to find anything in this forest that shocked him anymore.

Braxton shook his head. “No, I’m not. My name’s Braxton, by the way. Do you have a name?” He asked with a kind smile.

The filly hesitated a little before answering. “S-Sweetie Belle...” She stammered finally.

Braxton chuckled internally. ‘Sweetie Belle, huh? Heh, cute name.’ He lowered his eyes to where Sweetie’s leg was tangled in the root. “Alright, Sweetie Belle, I’m gonna try to get you out of there. Sound good?” He asked. Sweetie Belle simply nodded her head.

Sweetie Belle tensed up under his touch, but eventually relaxed a bit when he began untangling her leg. As he worked, Braxton caught Sweetie Belle eyeing his gloved hands with a look of wonder. Her eyes followed every movement of his dextrous appendages, until finally her leg was free once more.

Braxton admired his handiwork. “There you go. You’re all se--Hey, wait!” He didn’t get to finish, because as soon as her leg was released, Sweetie Belle turned and tried to run off. However, she didn’t get more than two steps before falling down again.

She let out a sharp cry of pain when she hit the ground and Braxton rushed to her side, momentarily forgetting about his own injuries. “Oh my God, what’s wrong? Are you alright?” He frantically asked.

Sweetie Belle shook her head furiously. “No! Oww, my leg!” She cried, pointing a hoof to the hind leg that had been trapped moments before.

Braxton lifted her leg up, causing Sweetie to wince a little. ‘Well, I know next to nothing about equine anatomy,’ He thought as he examined the limb, ‘But, it doesn’t look broken or anything. Most likely just a sprain. She probably got it when she was twisted up in that root.’ Braxton set the leg down and looked sternly at the filly.

“Why did you try to run away just now?” He asked her.

Sweetie averted her eyes from his gaze. “I-I don’t know... I guess I was just... a little scared...” She said quietly, rubbing her hooves together.

Braxton sighed and shook his head a bit. “Listen, I get that you’re scared, Sweetie Belle. I would be, too, in your position. But, you’ve gotta believe me when I say that I don’t mean you any harm. If I did, I would have let that monster have it’s way. I only want to help you, but you have to let me, okay?” Braxton said calmly, hoping he would get through to her.

Sweetie Belle returned his gaze hesitantly to find him staring back at her. For a few moments, nothing was said between the two. Just her bright green orbs locked with his dark brown ones. But in those moments, Sweetie saw no deceit in his eyes, only legitimate concern for her wellbeing. After her brief bout with indecision, Sweetie Belle made her choice.

“Okay.” She said, nodding her head once firmly.

The corners of Braxton’s mouth turned up into a warm smile. “Good.” He said, glad to have gotten her cooperation. “Now then, back to your leg. I’m no expert, but it looks to me like just a sprain, nothing too major. Still, we should probably take you to a doctor or something, just to be safe.” He decided.

“Well, there’s sort of a doctor that lives in the forest. Her name’s Zecora, and she’s knows a lot about medicine and stuff like that.” Sweetie Belle piped up.

“Where does she live?” Braxton questioned.

“A little bit down the path.” Sweetie said, pointing with her hoof.

Braxton nodded. “Then let’s go!” He said with finality.

“Wait!” Sweetie shouted as Braxton began to stand up. He looked back at her, eyebrow raised in confusion. “W-What if we run into another manticore, o-or something worse?!” She asked, slightly panicked at the thought.

Braxton put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry! I can handle anything that comes our way, Sweetie Belle. Trust me.” He said with a confident smile. Sweetie Belle seemed to calm down at this, and she smiled back at him.

Taking this as a confirmation, Braxton swept her up in his arms, holding her like he would a baby. Sweetie Belle squirmed at first, but eventually relaxed when she realized what he was doing.

“You ready?” He asked when she had gotten comfortable.

“Yeah.” She uttered simply, looking up at him.

With that, the human and filly began their walk to Zecora’s hut, both of them hopeful not to run into any more threats on the way. ‘Every time I try to get out, this damn place drags me right back in.’ Braxton thought with a small shake of his head.

Author's Note

Alright, so chapter 3 took a while to get up because of reasons. Mainly the one that entails me being a lazy asshole.

But I'll try to finish chapter 4 sooner to appease the four of you who actually enjoy the crap I'm spewing out. I make no promises though because, once again, laziness and such.

Thanks for reading!!!

P.S.- I know that manticores are a cliche in HiEs, but fuck it.

Chapter 4 - Bling Bling

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo ran until they broke through the tree line of the Everfree Forest. And then continued to run. They screamed and ran long after they were out of the relative danger of the forest, and out into the verdant field where a certain group of friends were enjoying a relaxing afternoon.

Applejack was the first to hear them. “What in tarnation is that?” She wondered aloud. “Sounds like... screamin’?” By now, everypony else had tuned in as well, all of them similarly pondering what the disturbance was.

They didn’t have to ponder long, though, because soon two of the three Cutie Mark Crusaders came galloping up the hill, shrieking their heads off the whole way.

“Hey, hey! What the heck’s gotten into you two?!” Rainbow Dash shouted over their screams. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo collapsed in front of the picnic blanket that housed the group, panting heavily.

“We were-- *pant* --tryin’ ta get-- *pant* --our cutie marks and-- *pant* --got attacked by a manticore!” Apple Bloom managed to get out.

Applejack’s brow furrowed in anger. “What?!?!” She bellowed, “A manticore?! You mean ta' tell me y’all went into the Everfree Forest AGAIN?! Consarn it, Apple Bloom, how many times have Ah told ya not ta' go in there by yerself?” Applejack was livid that her little sister had deliberately disobeyed her.

“But, we were just going to Zecora’s to see if she knew how to dispel Changeling magic!” Scootaloo came to her friend’s defense. “We didn’t think that--” She was cut off by certain pegasus.

“You’re right, you didn’t think!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “What’s the matter with you, squirt? You could’ve gotten seriously messed up!” She said, displaying an uncharacteristic amount of concern for the young pegasus.

Twilight Sparkle spoke up next. “Why did you have to go visit Zecora? I have plenty of books on Changeling magic back at the library you could’ve borrowed. And why do you need them, anyway?” She questioned.

“We did go to th’ library, but you and Spike weren’t there! We couldn’t find the book on our own, so we went down to Zecora’s. We needed ta' know ‘bout Changelings so we could get our Changeling hunter cutie marks!” Apple Bloom filled her in.

“Changeling hunters?! Why of all the reckless ideas...” Applejack trailed off, shaking her head. “Yer in fer a world o’ trouble, Apple Bloom. Just wait till Big McIntosh hears about this one!”

“But--!” Apple Bloom tried to argue.

“But nothin’!” Applejack cut her off. “Big Mac’ll decide what ta' do with ya when we get back to the farm, and that’s final!” She announced, stomping her hoof for emphasis.

“Yeah, and your parents are gonna hear about this too, squirt!” Rainbow Dash added.

The two fillies hung their heads in resignation, knowing that arguing would be a fruitless endeavor. Rarity trotted over them as well, ready to dispense discipline to her charge.

“And as for you, Sweetie Belle...” Rarity started, but trailed off when she noticed her sister wasn’t present. “Girls..., where is Sweetie Belle? Wasn’t she with you two?” She asked hesitantly, already dreading the answer.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What are you talking about, Rarity? She’s right...” Scootaloo paused when she realized Sweetie Belle was, in fact, absent. She turned to Apple Bloom to find her wearing a similarly confused expression.

“Hey, where is Sweetie Belle? She was right behind us!” The orange pegasus said with growing concern.

Apple Bloom gasped with realization. “Oh no!! She must have gotten lost while we were runnin’ away! That means she’s still in there!” She said, quickly descending into panic mode.

Rarity put a hoof to her mouth in horror, tears beginning to form in her eyes. “No, no, no! My darling sister, lost in the Everfree?! Who knows what she’s going through right now!” The alabaster mare turned to her friends. “We have to go in there and find her!” She announced to them.

Twilight nodded her head in agreement. “Of course we will, Rarity.” She said. Twilight turned to her young assistant. “Spike, you stay here and keep a look out in case Sweetie Belle manages to get out and find her way here.” Spike stood and gave her a firm salute, made slightly less serious by the cupcake frosting caked around his mouth.

“Let’s go, everypony, we’ve got a filly to save!” Twilight exclaimed to her friends, who all began galloping, and in Pinkie Pie’s case, bouncing, towards the Everfree Forest.

“We’re comin’, too!” Apple Bloom stated, with Scootaloo by her side.

Applejack glared sternly at her sister. “Oh no, yer not! You two have caused enough trouble fer one day!” She said, blocking the two fillies path.

Scootaloo stomped her hoof in indignation. “But, Sweetie Belle is our friend, and it’s our fault she’s in this mess! Ya gotta let us come with ya!” She said, on the verge of tears.

Twilight put a hoof on the filly’s shoulder. “Girls,” she began, “I know that you’re worried about Sweetie Belle. We all are, but the fact is it’s just too dangerous and--”

*BOOM* *BOOM*

The group of ponies all jumped at what sounded like two successive explosions.

“What the hay was that?!” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Ah don’t know, but it sure was loud!” Applejack stated the obvious.

Pinkie Pie bounced up next to her. “I know right! It was all like ‘KABLAM!’ and we were all like ‘WHOA’! It was just like my party cannon!” She exclaimed with her usual enthusiam. Pinkie suddenly stopped bouncing and donned a thoughtful look, putting a hoof to her chin. “Actually, it sounded a lot like my party cannon. But it couldn’t have been that! I have it right here!” She pulled out a large blue cannon from behind her back to make the point.

“That noise sounded like it came from the Everfree! Oh dear, hold on, Sweetie Belle! I’m coming!” Rarity shouted, already running off.

“Rarity, wait!” Applejack called out, but there was no stopping her. Sighing, she turned back to the fillies. “Girls, there’s no time ta' argue. Stay here with Spike ‘til we get back!” She said.

“But sis, we--” Apple Bloom started.

“STAY! HERE!” Applejack spoke with authority. Apple Bloom shrank down a bit and nodded, understanding when her sister meant business.

Applejack turned to her friends. “C’mon, everypony, we gotta catch up with Rarity! Let’s get a move on!” She shouted, galloping off, with the rest of them following close behind.

***************

As they neared Zecora’s hut, Sweetie Belle began to get more and more at ease with her savior. So much so that she began to vocalize some of the burning questions in her mind.

“Hey, uh... Braxton? I’ve got a question.” She tried to get his attention. Braxton looked down at the filly in his arms.

“Shoot, kiddo.” He said with a grin.

“Well, I was just wondering, what exactly are you, anyway?” Sweetie asked.

Something about the way she asked the question got Braxton to chuckle a bit. ‘Damn, she is just too adorable...’ He thought.

Sweetie gazed at him in confusion. “What’s so funny?” She questioned.

“Oh, nothin’.” Braxton assured her, repressing the giggles. “To answer your question, I’m a human, or ‘Homo Sapiens’ if you wanna get technical.” He said.

“Home-o Say-pens? I’ve never heard of that before.” She said with an eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, somehow I’m not surprised.” Braxton muttered.

After having her first question answered so easily, Sweetie Belle felt comfortable enough to begin rattlling off another. “So, um, where are you from?” She questioned him with more confidence.

Braxton thought for a moment before answering. For a second, Sweetie could’ve sworn she had seen a glint of sadness in his eyes, but it vanished almost as soon as it appeared.

“I’m, uh, from a lot of places; I like to travel. You can think of me as something of a nomad.” He stated vaguely. To be honest, he was seriously doubting if he was even on Earth anymore, especially taking into consideration recent events. And if he wasn’t on Earth, then the only explanation is that, somehow, someway, he had been transported to a different world altogether. But that’s just crazy talk.

Sweetie Belle frowned at his answer. “So, you don’t have a home?” She inquired with a touch of concern in her voice. Once again, Braxton was silent for a few seconds.

“No. I guess I don’t.” He answered finally. There was no emotion in his voice, as if someone had sucked all of the life out of him and replaced it with cold indifference. After a bit of awkward silence between the two, Braxton decided to change the subject.

“So, what were you doing in the woods all by your lonesome, Sweetie Belle? This doesn’t seem like any place a filly should be wandering around in.” He was genuinely curious as to what she had been trying to accomplish.

Sweetie Belle donned a slightly sorrowful expression before answering. “Actually, I wasn’t here by myself. I was here with my friends, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, when we were all attacked by that nasty manticore. I got separated from them though, and then you found me.” As she spoke, she began to tear up a little at the thought of her companions. “I really hope they got out okay...” She said with salty tears blurring her vision.

Braxton felt sympathy for the little unicorn. ‘Wow, even in a situation like this, she doesn’t stop thinking about her friends. She must really care about ‘em.’ He wiped a tear away from her eye with his thumb, prompting her to look back up him.

“I’m sure your friends are fine, Sweetie Belle. In fact, they’re probably just as worried for you as you are for them. As soon as we get outta here, I bet they’ll be right there waitin’ for ya.” Braxton said with a reassuring smile.

“You-- *sniff* --really think so?” She asked him, sniffling a little.

“Girl, I know so.” He said with utter confidence.

Sweetie gave him a grateful smile. “Thanks, Braxton. I feel a little better now.” She stated truthfully, before continuing her story. “Anyway, we were actually on our way to Zecora’s, too. We figured she could help us get our cutie marks!” At the mention of cutie marks, Sweetie’s eyes lit up a bit.

Braxton raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Not to sound ignorant but, uh, what’s a... cutie mark?” He asked. Sweetie Belle gasped in shock at his lack of knowledge.

“You don’t know what a cutie mark is?!”

“‘Fraid not.” He stated simply.

Sweetie Belle contemplated for a moment how to properly word her explanation. “A cutie mark is an image that appears on a pony’s flank when they find out what their special talent is. Me and my friends still don’t have ours yet, so we made a club dedicated to finding our talent and getting our cutie marks any way we can! We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” She beamed with pride during the entire speech, with her voice cracking a bit in excitement towards the end.

Braxton couldn’t help but chuckle once again at the filly’s enthusiasm. ‘These cutie marks sound like some sort of coming of age thing. If that’s the case, then there’s more of these “ponies”, most likely a whole society of ‘em.’ He deduced. ‘But, they just... appear on their flanks? I still don’t really get that part.’ Braxton decided to write it off as yet another strange point to figure out later.

“We’re here!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

Braxton roused from his thoughts and looked up to see a decent-sized hut situated on the side of the path. The hut seemed to be made from a hollowed out tree, and from it’s branches hung many different types of containers and bottles. A couple of tiki masks decorated the outside as well, with one hanging directly over a traditional wooden door in a dreamcatcher like fashion.

‘A treehouse that’s literally a tree? That’s a hell of a thing.’ Braxton thought dryly. He ascended the short steps to the door and raised his fist to it. As he was about to knock, however, something made him hesitate. There was an unmistakable feeling of tension in him, a feeling that if he knocked on this door, he would somehow be crossing a point of no return.

“Braxton? What’s wrong?” Sweetie asked, concerned.

“Er, n-nothing.” Braxton lied. Shaking the nervousness off, he raised his fist once again and knocked on the door, anxious to see what lay on the other side.

***************

Rarity had been making a mad dash through the Everfree Forest, fraught with worry over what may have become of her little sister. Her friends had not been far behind, trying in vain to halt her pursuit.

“Rarity, will you slow down?!” Twilight Sparkle called after her unicorn friend.

Rarity finally stopped and turned to address her companions. “Slow down?! How can I slow down when my darling little sister is lost and alone in this dreadful place?! Oh, she’s probably scared out of her mind right now!” She shouted. She was absolutely frantic, with strands of her usually immaculate mane sticking up in random spots.

“Now listen Rare, Ah know that yer worried ‘bout Sweetie Belle. We all are, but we ain’t gonna accomplish nothin’ by charging through the forest like a buncha madponies.” Applejack stated in an attempt to calm down her friend.

Rarity’s face contorted into a look of contempt. “Easy for you to say!” She yelled angrily. “Your sister is safe! She’s not the one enduring the horrors of this forest alone!” Rarity had gotten nearly nose to nose with Applejack, her brows knitted together in anger.

“Rarity!! You know that’s not fair! Like Applejack said, we’re all worried, but we have to calm down and think this through first!” Twilight reprimanded. Rarity’s angry glare faded and was replaced by a remorseful frown.

“You’re absolutely right, Twilight.” She said, backing off. “I’m so sorry, Applejack. I’m sorry, everypony. It’s just... I’m just so worried about her. If anything were to happen, I...” Rarity trailed off, unable to finish. She was looking at the ground now, lip quivering and on the verge of tears.

Applejack laid a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “No harm done, Rarity. Ah forgive ya.” She said, earning a small smile from the alabaster unicorn. “But what we need ta' do now is put our heads together an’ figure out where Sweetie Belle might of run off to.” Applejack addressed the entire group.

“Um, well... what about Zecora’s?” Fluttershy muttered gently.

“Zecora’s? Whatever to you mean, darling?” Rarity asked.

Fluttershy shrank back slightly at being the center of attention, but continued with her train of thought. “Well, um... Apple Bloom and Scootaloo said that they were heading to Zecora’s... so I-I just thought that maybe, uh... she might know where Sweetie Belle is...?” Fluttershy explained in a voice barely above a whisper.

Rarity’s eyes lit up with hope. “Of course!!! If the girls were on their way to see Zecora, then perhaps Sweetie Belle found her way there! At the very least, Zecora may know of her whereabouts!” Rarity exclaimed. She grabbed Fluttershy and wrapped her in a large hug. “Fluttershy, darling, you are simply brilliant!” She praised her shy friend, causing her to blush heavily.

Twilight stepped in front of the group to address them. “Alright, everypony.” She began, “If we get to Zecora’s hut as fast as possible, we’ll be one step closer to finding Sweetie Belle. Let’s get moving, girls!” With that said, the six mares on a mission galloped off in a beeline for Zecora’s hut.

***************

After a few moments of waiting, the wooden door to the hut opened to reveal yet another equine. This one, however, was much different from the one in Braxton’s arms. For one thing, it was taller, with it’s eye level coming up to about his belly button. It was also covered head to hoof in black stripes that ran along it’s grayish coat, including on it’s mane, which was styled into a mohawk. Finally, it wore large golden hoop earrings, as well as gold rings around it’s neck and front leg to complete the look.

‘This must be Zecora. Admittedly, I don’t know what I was expecting, but a blinged-out zebra didn’t exactly top the list.’ Braxton thought. The zebra in question tilted her neck up to meet his gaze. Her large turquoise eyes widened slightly in shock, but was soon replaced by a look of fascination.

“An unfamiliar creature stands at my door, but is this a friendly visit, or something more?” The zebra rhymed, much to Braxton’s amusement.

“Hi, Zecora!” Sweetie Belle greeted, confirming Braxton’s suspicions.

Zecora’s gaze shifted to the filly in Braxton’s arms. “Why, if it isn’t little Sweetie Belle! I trust that you are doing well?” She asked with a smile.

Braxton chose to speak up. “Actually, um, Zecora, we have a bit of a problem. See, Sweetie Belle here sprained her leg in the forest and--” Zecora raised her hoof to silence him.

“My friend, you need not say anymore, I have plenty of healing remedies in store. Please, come inside of my hut, and you will see I can fix any sprain, bruise, or cut.” She stated, before trotting back inside.

“Does she always do the rhyming thing?” Braxton whispered to Sweetie Belle after Zecora was out of earshot.

Sweetie nodded and said, “Yeah, but you get used to it.” Braxton simply shrugged and proceeded inside. The interior of the hut matched the style set by the exterior. There were more various jars and flasks hanging from the vine-covered ceiling, as well as on different shelves, and a few more African-style tiki masks hung from the walls in seemingly random spots. In the center of the room was a simple fire pit, with a large cauldron sat on top. Zecora was standing over said cauldron with a spoon between her teeth, mixing a bubbling green liquid.

“Wow, your decorations sure are... unique.” Braxton muttered.

Zecora spat out the spoon and turned to face the human. “While my hut may not be opulent, I nonetheless thank you for the compliment. Now, sit Sweetie Belle over there if you please, and I will cure her injury with ease.” She stated, pointing to a nearby table.

Braxton did as instructed and gently laid Sweetie Belle down. Zecora cantered over with a bottle of thick brown ointment, which she began to apply liberally to the afflicted area. Sweetie’s leg tensed at first due to the coldness of the salve, but relaxed shortly thereafter.

Braxton raised a brow in confusion. “What exactly is this stuff supposed to do?” He asked the zebra. Zecora finished massaging the ointment into Sweetie’s skin before answering.

“It is a special herbal brew, designed to relax muscle tissue. If you apply to any sort of sprain, it will quickly relive the pain.” She stated as she returned to the cauldron. Braxton turned his attention back to the filly.

“How ya holdin’ up, Sweets?” He asked.

“Good.” She replied, “Actually, I feel better already!” She exclaimed with a smile.

Braxton smiled in return. “Glad to hear it. Once you’re back on your fee--, er, hooves, we can finally get outta this crazy forest. Then, we can start looking for your friends and-- Ow!” Braxton interrupted himself with a grunt of pain.

“Braxton! What’s wrong?!” Sweetie worriedly asked.

“I think I might of cracked my ribs when that monster slammed me into that tree.” Braxton wheezed through gritted teeth.

“Well, why didn’t you say something?!”

“I was trying to ignore it, hoping it was just a bruise or something. But it’s starting to really get to me now.”

“If fractured bones are what ails you, then I suggest you try this brew.” Zecora said as she poured some of the green liquid she was mixing into a nearby flask. She waved Braxton over and hoofed him the drink.

Braxton lifted the bottle to his nose and reeled, nearly dropping it. “Ugh, what the hell is in this stuff?” He asked with the bottle at arm’s length.

Zecora chuckled lightly at his reaction. “Stratys leaves and noctus roots to do the favor, with wild-berries for added flavor.” She explained. Braxton still looked unsure.

“Please, do not be dissuaded by the smell, for the mixture will leave you feeling fit and well.” Zecora assured him.

He eyed the concoction for a few moments longer. “Well, you only live once...” Braxton said to himself, throwing caution to the wind. He lifted the bottle to his lips, singeing his nose hairs in the process, and threw his head back. The taste of the liquid almost gagged him, but he held fast and downed the drink in two big gulps.

‘God, I’ll be tasting that all week.’ He thought with a cringe.

“I must warn that you will feel some strain, as you are about to experience intense pain.” Zecora said offhandedly.

“Wait, what?” Braxton said in confusion. But it was too late. No sooner had the words left his mouth that he began to feel a tingling sensation in his torso, one that quickly grew into burning agony. Braxton clutched at his side and sank to his knees, barely suppressing screams of pain with tightly clenched teeth.

“Braxton!!!” Sweetie Belle cried out to him, but he could barely hear her over the incredible anguish he was experiencing, let alone respond. He could literally feel his fractured ribs shifting, repairing the damages that had been done to them. Braxton was on the verge of passing out from the unrelenting agony when, almost as quickly as it came, the pain suddenly left him.

Braxton sat on his hands and knees on the floor of Zecora’s hut, sweating and breathing heavily. When he had finally calmed down, he began to rise to his feet slowly for fear of triggering another episode.

“Braxton, are you alright?!” Sweetie said, concern evident in her voice.

Braxton prodded his ribs and, to his amazement, felt no pain whatsoever. “Yeah, I-I’m fine. Better than fine, actually. I feel great, like I was never hurt at all! I don’t know what that stuff was, but it sure as hell did the trick. I feel like I could fight a thousand lion-bat-scorpions!” He exclaimed, punching the air a few times for emphasis.

“That special potion works beyond belief, and strives to bring you great relief.” Zecora said, sounding almost like a slogan for some fancy painkiller.

Braxton leaned against the far wall of the hut and put his hands in his duster pockets. “Well, it does it’s job and then some. I feel better than ever. Thanks a lot, Zecora.” He said with a sincere smile, earning one in return. “Y’know, I’ve gotta say, you’re pretty accommodating to a creature you’ve never seen before. Not that I’m complaining or anything, but shouldn’t you be a little more wary of me?” Braxton said, genuinely curious.

Zecora gave a hearty chuckle at his question. “While I must admit you are an oddity, living in the Everfree makes them my commodity. In this forest of monsters, great and mean, you are not the strangest thing I’ve seen.” She said with a grin.

Braxton was about to continue the conversation, but a rather urgent sounding knock on the door interrupted him. Zecora cantered over and opened it, revealing six ponies, with one looking considerably more distraught than the others. Due to Braxton’s position against the wall, he could see them, but they had yet to notice him.

The frazzled looking one, another unicorn with a white coat and purple mane, spoke up first. “Oh, Zecora! Thank goodness you’re home! I’m sorry to disturb you, but I was wondering if you had seen--”

“Rarity!!!” Sweetie Belle shouted happily.

The white unicorn whipped her head towards the call. She immediately blew past Zecora and rushed to Sweetie Belle, wrapping her up in the tightest embrace Braxton had ever seen.

“Sweetie Belle!!! Oh, my darling sister, I was so worried about you! Oh dear, just look at how dirty you are! As soon as we get back to Ponyville, we’ll get you nice and clean again, okay?” The unicorn endlessly fawned over Sweetie Belle, inspecting every inch of her body as she spoke.

The other five mares made their way over to the reunion as well, all of them spouting their concern for the young filly. They still had yet to notice Braxton leaning against the wall.

“Rarity... can’t... breathe...!” Sweetie managed to choke out. The white unicorn realized her mistake and released her choke-hold, allowing Sweetie to catch her breath.

“I’m sorry, Sweetie Belle. I’m just so glad you’re safe. Are you alright? You’re not hurt, are you?” Rarity asked, worry still evident in her voice.

“Well, I did sprain my leg out in the forest, but somepony found me and brought me here so that Zecora could patch me up.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Somepony found you?” Rarity repeated.

“Yeah, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and I were being chased by a manticore. I tripped and got caught on a root, and the manticore cornered me and nearly got me! But then, Braxton showed up and sent it running scared!” Sweetie Belle announced, throwing her hooves in the air.

The six mares stood dumbfounded at the story, wondering how anypony could be brave or stupid enough to fight off a manticore all on their own. Rarity was the first to regain her composure.

“My, that is quite a tale! But, where is this ‘Braxton’ now? I must find this magnificent pony and thank them at once!”

Braxton cleared his throat to make his presence known, causing all six mares to turn around in unison. All of the ponies jaws went a little slack as they beheld the unknown creature before them.

“That’d be me." Braxton stated with a half-smile. "And as you might have noticed, I ain’t no pony.”

Author's Note

Zecora is a fucking BITCH to write for.

That is all.

Chapter 5 - Gratuitous Gratitude

An eerie silence fell over Zecora’s hut like a shroud, so thick that it was almost palpable. On one side of the room were six shocked ponies, and on the other a relatively calm looking human. All of the mares stared at Braxton unblinkingly, each one with a mix of different emotions plastered on their faces. Fear. Apprehension. Doubt. Fascination. And, in the pink one’s case, what could only be described as sheer and unbridled giddiness.

‘Dude, what’s up with that one? That smile of hers is giving me a serious case of the jibblies. ...I kind of wanna take a bite outta that cotton candy hair, though.’ Braxton thought, wondering if the pony’s mane tasted as good as it looked.

As he was observing the pink one, he just barely caught the rainbow-haired pony shoot forward in a burst of speed. Before Braxton could even react she was on him, nearly nose to nose and with both hooves slammed into the wall on either side of his head. His eyes widened and he swallowed hard, admittedly a little intimidated by the equine.

‘Damn! This one’s quick... and aggressive!’

“Who are you?! What are you?! What are you doing in Zecora’s place, huh? Were you trying to hurt her? Capture her? Hold her hostage?! Start talking!!” The pony shouted accusations in his face, the look of anger in her magenta eyes growing with each word.

Braxton had just about enough. He lifted a gloved hand to her face and pushed her back to arms length. Now that she was farther away, Braxton could see a pair of blue wings flapping at her sides as she struggled to get free.

‘Sea serpents, lion-bat-scorpions, unicorns, and now pegasi, too? Gee, what’s next, dragons?’ He snarked internally.

“Listen, Rainbow, as much as I enjoy being screamed at,” Braxton said sarcastically, “I like my personal space much more. And I haven’t done anything to Zecora, nor do I intend to.” He stated.

The pony wrestled free of his grasp and flew right back in his face, completely ignoring his previous statement. “What are you, a spy or something? How do you know my name?!” The pegasus interrogated.

Braxton’s eyes flicked from her face to her mane and back. “Would you believe a lucky guess?” He deadpanned.

Rainbow opened her mouth to retort, but was yanked out of the air before she could do so. The orange pony had Rainbow’s tail between her teeth, struggling to hold the feisty mare back. Her long, blonde mane and tail were done up in, ironically, a ponytail, and a brown Stetson rested on her head, much to Braxton’s surprise and confusion.

‘Where the hell did she...? You know what? Screw it. Not the strangest thing I’ve seen today.’ Braxton thought, throwing his metaphorical hands up.

“Rai’ bow Dash, will ya ‘nock i’ ofsh?!” The orange pony slurred through a mouthful of tail. Rainbow turned to the mare with an indignant look.

“What? Why?! This... this... thing is probably up to no good!” She jabbed a hoof in the man’s direction. “I’m gonna kick it’s flank before it has a chance to cause trouble!”

“No!” Sweetie Belle shouted, jumping in front of Braxton’s legs. “He’s not a thing. He’s a human!” Sweetie looked up at Braxton with a smile. “And he’s my friend!” Braxton smiled in return.

Rainbow Dash stopped struggling, completely stunned by what she just heard. “Your... your friend?” She asked.

Sweetie Belle nodded her head. “Yes, my friend. He’s the one who saved me from the manticore and brought me here. If it weren’t for him, I don’t know what would’ve happened. I won’t let you hurt him!” She declared, a look of fierce determination in her eyes.

Rainbow still wasn’t convinced. “W-Well, what if that was some kinda trick? Maybe saving you was all part of it’s devious plan!” She was grasping at straws now. Braxton simply rolled his eyes at the pony’s stubbornness.

The orange pony spit out Rainbow’s tail and glared hard at the pegasus. “Rainbow Dash, will ya listen to yerself? Ya sound like some sorta crazy pony. Now, Ah admit that this feller is a mite strange lookin’, but that ain’t no reason ta' go flyin’ off the handle!” She admonished in a Southern accent, which only furthered Braxton’s confusion.

Rainbow Dash scoffed and folded her forearms across her chest. “Fine, whatever! But I still don’t trust it.” She flew back into Braxton’s face. “I’m watching you, buddy.” She stated, poking a hoof into his chest with every word, and then fluttered back to the other side of the room.

The orange one just shook her head at the brash pegasus before returning her attention to him. “Don’t pay no mind ta' her, pardner. Rainbow Dash can be a tad bullheaded sometimes, but she’s a nice pony once ya get ta' know her.” She said.

“It’s cool. To be honest, I get where she’s coming from. I’m something none of you have seen before just chilling out at your friend’s place. I don’t really blame her for being a little suspicious of me.” Braxton said, shrugging it off.

The pony tipped her hat to him slightly. “Well, that’s mighty understandable of ya, pard.” Then her emerald eyes widened a bit as though she had just remembered something. “Oh gosh, where are my manners? Name’s Applejack.” She introduced herself, holding out a hoof.

“Call me Braxton.” He said, gripping her hoof with his right hand. He instantly regretted it. The pony had amazing strength, shaking his hand so hard he was sure his arm would pop out of it’s socket.

Applejack remained oblivious to his pain. “Nice ta' meetcha there, Braxton! Sweetie Belle called ya a hyoo-man or somethin’, right? Ah don’t rightly know what that is, but ya seem like a friendly sort, so yer a-okay in my book!” She declared, sporting a friendly smile.

“N-N-Niceee t-to meeeet-t-t y-you, too-o-o!” Braxton said with vibration in his voice. Applejack finally released her death grip and Braxton pulled his hand back to find it smoking slightly.

‘Welp, that’s probably not good.’

A faint noise caught his ear and looked up to see Rainbow Dash hovering there with a hoof to her mouth, snickering at him. Braxton shot her a narrow-eyed glare, which she all too readily returned. Their glaring contest was interrupted, however, when two baby blue eyes surrounded by pink popped up directly in front of Braxton’s face.

“GAH!!! Holy backflipping Christ!!” Braxton shouted, stumbling back a bit but keeping his footing. He realized that the pink pony from before, a wide smile still plastered on her muzzle, had somehow managed to get under his shirt without him noticing.

“Hi! My name’s Pinkie Pie! I’ve never seen anything like you before! Are you a monkey? An alien? Some kind of hairless Diamond Dog? What’s a Christ? Do you like cupcakes?!” The pink pony spoke rapidly, seemingly never taking a breath during her barrage of questions.

Braxton blinked once. Twice. “Uh... kind of, probably, I don’t know what that is, a dude in a white robe with really long hair, and yeah, but I prefer donuts myself.” Braxton stated, grinning a little towards the end.

Applejack’s jaw nearly hit the floor. “How... How did y’all manage ta keep up with all that?” She asked him.

Braxton’s smile faltered for a split second, but returned just as fast. “...Let’s just say I’ve had a lot of practice.” He said. Applejack raised an eyebrow at his vague statement, but was interrupted before she could ask him what he meant.

“Pinkie!” Another unicorn, lavender this time, trotted up to them. She had two highlights, one a light purple and one pink, running perpendicular down her deep indigo mane. “Get down from there, you’re going to scare him off!” She berated.

Pinkie hopped out of Braxton’s shirt with the grace of a professional gymnast, and landed mere inches away from the purple pony. “Sorry, Twilight. I’m just so super-duper excited! I’ve never met a new friend that wasn’t a pony before!” Pinkie said, bouncing on her hooves a bit. Twilight rolled her eyes at the pink mare’s antics and cantered over to Braxton. She then began walking circles around him, wordlessly poking and prodding various parts of his body.

“Uh, can I help you?” He asked after being nudged in the arm a few times.

Twilight blinked hard ,as though she had just snapped out of a trance, and looked up at him in shock. “Oh, I’m sorry!” She apologized, “That was rude of me. Let me introduce myself. My name’s Twilight Sparkle, it’s very nice to meet you!” She said with a friendly smile.

“Likewise.” Braxton said, nodding his head to the unicorn.

Twilight’s smile was soon accompanied by an embarrassed blush. “Hehe, sorry again about that. I’ve just never seen or read about anything like you before. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to study a whole new species! Oh, I’ve got so much I want to ask you!” She exclaimed, eyes literally twinkling with excitement.

“Twilight, darling, I do realize that this is very exciting for you, but don’t you think that we should be getting back? We don’t want to have Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Spike getting too worried, now do we?” The white unicorn from earlier said, interrupting Twilight’s spiel.

“Oh, that’s right! We should get back soon. I’m sure Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are worried sick about Sweetie Belle by now.” Twilight turned her attention back to the human.

“Um, Braxton, was it?” She asked him.

“What’s up?”

“I have so many questions about you and your species, but this isn’t really the place. I would be able to conduct much better research back in Ponyville. So I was wondering..., would you mind coming back with us to town?” Twilight looked up at Braxton with wide, pleading eyes, silently begging him to say yes.

“Hold up, Twilight! You can’t seriously be thinking of bringing this thing back with us?! Who knows what it’ll do once it gets to town!” Rainbow Dash said adamantly.

Twilight looked at the pegasus with an annoyed expression. “Oh, will you relax, Rainbow Dash? Braxton seems like a very nice pon-- er, human. I’m sure it won’t be a problem. And besides, with all of us together, we can escort him to town without incident.” Rainbow huffed and crossed her forearms, but said nothing else.

‘Twi’s got a point. With all six of us watching, nothing can go wrong. Hah, in fact I dare it to try something, so I can knock it into next Tuesday!’ Rainbow thought with a grin of anticipation.

“So, uh, what do you say?” Twilight asked Braxton again with the same puppy-eyed expression.

“Sure, I don’t see why not.” He said, shrugging his shoulders.

Twilight let out an adorable squee and began bouncing around Braxton shouting “YES!” repeatedly. Braxton simply stared in amusement at the mare’s utterly adorkable behavior.

“Don’t worry about her, darling. She gets like this sometimes, especially when she finds something that really piques her intellectual curiosity.” The white unicorn explained. “My name is Rarity, by the way. An absolute pleasure to make your acquaintance.” She introduced herself, daintily holding out a well-manicured hoof.

It didn’t take a genius to see that this was one classy pony. She spoke with a distinct Mid-Atlantic accent, wore light blue eyeshadow, and had a perfectly coiffed mane and tail, which somehow looked oddly familiar to Braxton.

He got down on one knee so that he was nearly eye level with Rarity, and gently grasped her outstretched hoof, much like how one would take a lady’s hand. He closed his eyes and planted a light kiss on it, before pulling back and looking her in the eye.

“The pleasure is all mine, m’lady.” He said with a grin.

Rarity giggled and blushed a bit, easily visible through her alabaster coat. “My, my, quite the charmer, aren’t you?” She said as Braxton released her hoof and stood back to his full height. The two failed to see Rainbow Dash off to the side, pointing a hoof to her mouth and making gagging sounds.

Rarity swiftly regained her composure, and said, “So, erm Braxton, Sweetie Belle told us that you fought off a manticore by yourself to save her. Is that true?”

Sweetie Belle piped up before Braxton had a chance to answer. “He didn’t just fight it! He beat it to a pulp and sent it running scared! It was amazing, Rarity, you should have seen it!” She squeaked.

Braxton rubbed the back of his neck in mild embarrassment of the heavy praise. “Well, ‘beat it to a pulp’ might be going a little far but, yeah, that’d be me. It was nothing, really.” He said modestly.

“No, it most certainly was not nothing!”

Braxton looked down at the unicorn, startled by her sudden outburst, and saw tears forming in the corners of her cerulean eyes. The other ponies in the room, including Zecora, all stopped and listened in as well.

“You faced certain danger to protect Sweetie Belle. You braved the Everfree Forest in order to get her to a safe haven. You... you saved my sister’s life. I simply cannot find words to express my gratitude towards you.” Rarity said, dipping into a deep bow as the only means of showing her thanks.

The others were shocked by Rarity’s rather unladylike show of appreciation, while Braxton was at a complete loss for words. In all of his travels and for all of his experiences, he had never had someone bow to him before, let alone openly and in front of their friends. After what seemed like years, but in actuality was only a few moments, he finally broke the silence.

“...You don’t have to.”

Rarity looked back up at him, confusion clearly evident on her face.

“W-What?”

“You said you can’t find the words to thank me. Then don’t.” Braxton took to one knee again, his dark eyes staring directly into hers. “Look, what I did for Sweetie wasn’t anything special. I didn’t do it expecting to be thanked or bowed down to. I did it because it was right. And while I’m humbled by your display, believe me I am, the fact is it’s unnecessary. I’m glad that you’re grateful, but... please, Rarity, don’t bow to me.” Braxton had averted his eyes by the end, unable to meet her gaze any longer. Rarity, however, was still staring at him intently.

After another long pause, Rarity did something that no one was expecting. She raised her hooves around his neck and pulled him into hug. Braxton’s still downcast eyes widened in surprise, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he tentatively raised his left hand and put it to rest on Rarity’s back. They stayed that way for a few moments, until Rarity finally released him and fixed her gaze on his once more.

“Thank you.” She whispered, giving him a grateful smile.

Braxton nodded his head firmly. “Don’t mention it.” He said with a smile almost as broad as hers.

After seeing the exchange, the other ponies in the room also had warm smiles gracing their faces. Even Rainbow Dash who, while still more than a little skeptical of the human, had to admit deep down that maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t all bad.

Rainbow shook those thoughts out of her head. ‘What are you thinking?! It may act all nice now, but I bet it’s just trying to win us over! Then when we least expect it, WHAM! It springs it’s trap! Well, I’m not gonna be fooled that easy. I still got my eye on you, pal.’ Rainbow Dash thought, narrowing her eyes at Braxton, who remained blissfully unaware.

“Well, now that that’s out of the way,” Rarity turned her attention to her little sister, “Sweetie Belle, are you ready to head back to Ponyville?”

“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle squeaked, “Thanks to Zecora, my leg feels great! Even better than before!” She said, shaking her formerly sprained leg a little to prove her point.

Rarity flashed the zebra a thankful smile. “Yes, thank you, Zecora. If there is anything at all I can do for you, do not hesitate to ask.” She said.

Zecora waved a hoof dismissively. “Your generosity knows no measure, but helping you all has been my pleasure." She said, trotting over to the door and opening it. The ponies began filing out one by one, with the human bringing up the rear. As they walked by him, Braxton noticed that there was still one pony left that he had yet to speak to. A butter yellow pegasus with a long, flowing pink mane and gentle looking turquoise eyes. Braxton put on a friendly smile and went to a address the pony.

“Hey there!” The pegasus looked up at the human and her eyes shrank in fear. A startled “eep!” was the pony’s only response.

But Braxton would not be deterred. “I don’t think I’ve met you yet. My name’s Braxton. What’s yours?” He asked.

The pegasus seemed to shrink even more. “Um, F-F-Fluttershy.” She whispered almost inaudibly.

“Sorry, but I didn’t catch that.” Braxton said, leaning in a little closer.

“My name's Fluttershy.”

“Uh, one more time?”

“...I’m Fluttershy...”

Braxton sighed heavily, realizing he was getting nowhere fast. He walked over to Twilight and tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.

“Yes, Braxton? Is there something you need?”

Braxton jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “Yeah, um, is she always like that?” He asked her. Twilight craned her neck around Braxton’s side to see her friend pawing at the ground with a hoof, with one eye covered by her pink mane. Twilight understood instantly what Braxton meant.

“Oh, don’t worry about her. Fluttershy’s just a bit well... shy around new ponies. But, she’ll start opening up a little once you get to know her. Believe me, she’s one of the nicest, kindest ponies in all of Equestria.” Twilight assured.

Braxton glanced at Fluttershy once more, who was still pawing at the ground. She looked up sheepishly at Braxton, but immediately averted her gaze when she saw him looking back. Shrugging his shoulders, Braxton decided it was probably best to not force it, and let her open up to him on her own terms.

Braxton turned to address Zecora one last time. “Thanks for everything, Zecora. I really appreciate you getting Sweets back on her fee-- er, hooves, not to mention patching me up, too. You really are a great doctor, y’know?”

Zecora blushed a little at the compliment. “Your praise is very welcome indeed. Remember to come back if you are ever in need.” She offered.

“You got it, and thanks again. See ya, Zecora.” Braxton said with a smile. After bidding farewell to their zebra friend, and with their business concluded, the seven ponies, and one human, began their long hike to the forest exit.

Author's Note

Took a lot longer than I would've liked to get this one out, but I got finals coming up, so I've been one busy mofo.

Can't give a concrete date on the next chap, but know that I'm working on it, for whatever that's worth.

Chapter 6 - Filly Beatdown

Rainbow Dash sulked just behind the human, eyeing him warily. She still didn’t trust it as far as she could kick it, and with the group steadily approaching the forest threshold, she began to get more and more anxious. The human was trailing slightly behind the others and had it’s weird front hoof things tucked inside the pockets of it’s long coat, which was fluttering a little in the breeze. As they walked, she saw her friends Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack begin to engage in conversation with the human.

‘What the heck? Why are they acting so comfortable around this thing? I mean, I get why Rarity is ‘cause it supposedly saved her little sister,’ Rainbow thought, rolling her eyes, ‘And Pinkie Pie wants to be friends with everypony, but AJ, too?! She’s the Element of Honesty, so why can’t she see through this thing’s ruse?’

‘...Maybe because it’s not a ruse?’ A tiny voice in the back of her head piped up.

Rainbow shook the errant thought out of her mind. ‘No! Of course it’s a ruse! It has to be. I mean, just look at what it’s wearing! Nothing that wears that much black can be any good.’ She rationalized. ‘Yeah, I bet it’s just biding it’s time, playing nice till we get to town. Then, it’ll spring it’s trap! Well, if it thinks it’s gonna catch me off-guard, it’s got another thing coming.’

***************

It didn’t take Braxton long to realize that Rainbow Dash was watching him. He could feel her glare drilling holes in his back ever since they left Zecora’s hut. He was tempted to turn around and call her out, but figured that would probably do more harm than good. So for now he kept trudging along in relative silence behind the rest, that is until three of the ponies began to slow their paces to match his.

“So, Braxton, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?” Rarity asked, intending to strike up a conversation.

Braxton cocked an eyebrow at the unicorn. “Well, what exactly do you wanna know?” He asked.

Rarity thought for a moment before answering. “Hmm, for starters, why don’t you tell us how old you are?”

“Just south of thirty. I’m twenty-eight.”

Rarity’s eyes widened in obvious surprise. “Twenty-eight?!” She exclaimed. “Admittedly, I don’t know how your species ages compared to ours, but you look far too young to be twenty-eight, darling.”

Braxton felt his face heat up a bit at the compliment. “Ah, you’re just trying to butter me up.” He said, smiling despite himself.

“Rarity’s right, pardner.” Applejack chimed in. “Ah woulda never guessed ya ta' be that old. Heh heh, I bet ya were quite the mare-killer back home, huh?” She said with a sly grin, elbowing him in the side.

Braxton’s smile faded a little. “Yeah... right...” He said quietly, gaining a sort of faraway look in his eyes. The ponies, however, failed to notice Braxton’s slight dip in mood.

“Speaking of back home, where exactly do you live, Braxie?” Pinkie Pie asked, bouncing merrily alongside him. Braxton briefly contemplated why every one of Pinkie’s bounces were punctuated by an audible springing noise, but decided to just write it off as another strange quirk of the new world he was in. Besides, he had more important issues to address.

“Braxie?” He asked with a smirk.

“Yeah, it’s my new nickname for you!” Pinkie’s smiling face suddenly fell. “Why, do you not like it?” She asked with a saddened tone.

Braxton shook his head, still smirking. “No, the nickname’s fine, Pinkie. It just kinda threw me for a second.” He said.

Pinkie raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Threw you? Threw you where? You’ve been standing right here the whole time!” Applejack produced an audible facehoof at the pink mare’s statement, while Rarity was content to merely roll her eyes. Braxton, on the other hand, was a different story.

“Hohohohahahaha!” He laughed uproariously, prompting strange looks from the ponies. After about twenty seconds, he finally calmed down enough to speak. “Hehehe... oh, man, that was too funny.” He said, wiping a tear from his eye.

“Ya thought that was funny? But, it was so... corny.” Applejack said.

Braxton smile only got wider. “I know, right? That’s why it’s so funny! I’ve always been a mark for humor like that.” Braxton returned his attention to the pink pony bouncing next to him. “Anyway, before I answer your question Pinkie, I have one of my own. I know this sounds stupid, but... what’s the name of this planet?” Braxton was almost certain that he was no longer on Earth or, if he was, that he was somehow in a crazy alternate version of it.

Sure enough, the ponies all looked at him like he was nuts. “Pfft, what kind of idiot doesn’t know what planet he’s on?” Rainbow Dash insulted from behind him.

“Just humor me, will ya?” Braxton said, glaring at her from over his shoulder, and earning a grunt and eye roll from the feisty pegasus.

“The planet’s name is Equis, and you’re currently in Equestria, one of it’s largest countries.” Twilight answered. “But, I don’t see what difference the name of the planet makes.”

Braxton sighed heavily. “Yeah, I guess that pretty much confirms it.” He muttered under his breath.

“Er, confirms what, darling?” Rarity asked.

“It confirms that I am definitely not from around here.”

“Well, duh! Anypony with half a brain could’ve figured that one out.” Rainbow Dash said, tapping the side of her head with a hoof.

Braxton shook his head. “No, you don’t get it.” He said, “I don’t just mean not from this land or country. I mean I’m not from this planet. For all I know, I could even be in a completely different dimension.” The thought had been swirling around in his head for a while, and now that he had said it, Braxton had to admit that it seemed to be the most likely explanation. Of course, this only served to raise further questions in his mind.

The ponies gasped in shock at Braxton’s theory. “Now hold up a sec, sugarcube. Ya mean ta' tell me that ya really are an alien?” Applejack questioned.

“That’s the only explanation I can think of why I’m suddenly in a world of talking ponies.” Braxton said.

“Oooh, this is so exciting! I was gonna throw you a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party when we got to town, but this is so much better! Now I get the throw the first ever ‘Welcome to Equis’ party!” Pinkie shouted, bouncing almost to Braxton’s eye level.

Suddenly, she halted at the peak of a bounce and gasped loudly. “That means I’ve got to invite everypony on the planet! Oh boy, I have to get started on planning right away!” She landed perfectly on her hooves and reached into her poofy mane. After fumbling around for a moment, she pulled out a notepad and pencil and began to frantically scribble in it, mumbling to herself all the while.

“What do you mean by ‘talking ponies’, dear?” Rarity asked, “Don’t ponies talk in your world?”

“No, they don’t. Back on my planet, Earth, horses and ponies are no different than say, cows or any other animal. They can’t communicate with humans, or at least not in any way we can truly understand.” Braxton said.

“Actually,” Twilight said, “cows can talk here too, just like ponies. Although, they don’t integrate into regular pony society too often because they usually prefer to stay in the fields outside of towns.”

“Also,” She continued, launching into full-blown lecture mode, “while horses are considered the biological cousins of ponies, they aren't really too common around Equestria anymore. Most of the early tribes of horses migrated to distant lands millennia ago, long before even the Princesses came to power, and fell out of contact with the Equestria. Luckily though, Their Highnesses have recently managed to reopen minimal diplomatic relations. Anyway, back in olden times, horses were considered--”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it, Twi! You’re an egghead who knows a bunch of junk about stuff. Can we move on now? Geez...” Rainbow Dash interrupted, earning a snort of annoyance from the scholarly unicorn.

Applejack spoke up next. “Ya said that ya come from some place called ‘Earth’, right?” Braxton nodded. “D’ya mean Earth as in earth ponies, like Pinkie an’ me? ‘Cause that’s kind of a big coincidence if’n ya ask me.”

Braxton raised a hand to his chin. “Now that you mention it, you and Pinkie are the closest thing I’ve seen here to a regular pony from my world. Unicorns and pegasi are mostly just considered myths or legends because there’s no real evidence proving their existence.” Twilight donned a disbelieving look and opened her mouth to speak, but was promptly cut off by Sweetie Belle.

“Look, there’s the exit! C’mon, everypony!” The filly said, dashing towards the forest threshold.

“Sweetie Belle, wait!” Shouted Rarity, already in pursuit of her sister. The rest of the ponies and Braxton were not far behind, and within moments the group had burst through the underbrush and into the field beyond. As soon as he stepped through, Braxton’s eyes were immediately overwhelmed by the sudden brightness of the midday sun. When his eyes finally adjusted to the light, however, they were assaulted by another sensation altogether: color, and lots of it.

He had thought that the forest was abnormally colored, but it had nothing on the outside world. The pastel colors surrounding him were nothing short of cartoonish, with a light blue sky completely devoid of clouds and grass so green and soft-looking that he could imagine laying down right there and napping contently for all of eternity.

He looked down at his gloved hands and saw that even they were more brightly colored than usual, though not to the same extent as the rest of the world. They were definitely still his hands, but they seemed to mesh with the style of the world he was in, lacking just a little of the detail and definition that he was accustomed to.

‘Holy. Crap. W-What’s with all the color? M-my hands... they look different somehow. They’re all flat, l-like a drawing or something. Woah, everything’s like that! It’s almost like... like I’m in some kind of weird-ass cartoon show! What in the fuck is going on?!’ He thought, still eyeing his hands.

“Braxie? You okay?”

At the sound of Pinkie’s voice, Braxton snapped his head up to see all of the ponies looking at him with moderately worried expressions. Even Rainbow Dash was staring at him with raised eyebrows.

“Y-Yeah, I’m f-fine...” He lied.

“Are you sure, darling? You’re shaking a little...” Rarity observed.

Braxton looked down at his hands again and saw that she was right. Not only were his hands shaking rather violently, but his breathing had started to become ragged and labored. Braxton was suddenly feeling very light-headed, with the urge to pass out steadily creeping up on him.

‘No. No!’, He thought, fighting off the darkness with the bit of lucidity he had left. ‘Get a grip, Brax! This isn’t the time to go blacking out! You’re... just h-having a little freak-out o-over this whole ‘new world’ thing. Yeah. Yeah, that’s it. Now, just calm down and pull your shit together!’ Braxton closed his eyes and concentrated on steadying his breaths. Slowly, but surely it worked, as he could feel himself calming down. After about a minute, he opened his eyes again to see that the shakes were all but nonexistent, and the darkness on the edges of his vision had completely disappeared.

Clenching his fists and allowing himself a small smile at his victory, he returned his attention to the ponies around him, who were looking even more worried than before.

“Braxton? Are you gonna be alright? You didn’t look so good for a second...” Sweetie Belle said from his feet. Her ears were folded against her head in obvious concern.

Braxton smiled reassuringly. “Yeah, don’t worry. I’m fine now, Sweets.” He said with much more confidence than before.

“What the heck was that, anyway? You looked like you were about to keel over or something.” Rainbow Dash said, masking her own mild worry with a look of annoyance.

“Don’t really know.” He said, shrugging his shoulders. “Best I can figure is that I was probably having some sorta delayed reaction to finding out I had somehow jumped worlds. Like my mind was finally processing what I had realized earlier, and signaled my body to go into panic mode.” Braxton explained.

Twilight nodded her head in agreement. “Yes, that makes sense. I would imagine that being teleported that vast of a distance would be stressful for anypony.” She eyed him up and down again warily. “But, are you sure you’re okay, now?” She asked.

Braxton nodded vigorously and said, “Yep, I’m sure. It’s nothing to worry about. Now, let’s--”

“CHAAAAAAAARRRRGGGEEE!!!!”

Braxton and the ponies whipped their heads towards the sudden battle cry to see two fillies coming at them in a dead sprint. Or, more specifically, at the human himself. Their eyes were locked on him as they ran, full of anger and determination. Braxton only had time to utter one phrase just before the fillies descended upon their target.

“Uh-oh.”

***************

--20 minutes earlier--

Scootaloo paced back and forth across the picnic blanket, worry etched on her face. She was accompanied by Apple Bloom and Spike, the former of which was sitting on her haunches and fiddling nervously with the red bow in her mane. The latter was indulging in his sixteenth cupcake of the day. The orange filly halted and eyed Spike with mild disgust.

“Hey!” She shouted, prompting Spike to look in her direction, cupcake frosting still plastered on his maw.

“Whumph?” He asked with a mouthful of said pastry.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes and scoffed. “You’re sitting there eating cupcakes when, for all you know, Sweetie Belle and the others are still lost in the Everfree, that’s what!”

Spike swallowed the last bit of cupcake and furrowed his brow in annoyance. “Please, I’m sure that the girls are fine. They’ve probably already found Sweetie Belle and are on their way back here right now.” He said, hoisting cupcake number seventeen to his mouth.

Scootaloo swatted the confection out of Spike’s hand, where it landed on the blanket with a splat. Spike stood up and glared at the offender, claws on his hips. “What the heck did ya do that for?! I was gonna eat that!”

“Yeah, well get over it!” She shouted indignantly, “How can you be so nonchalant about this? There’s obviously something up, they’ve been gone way too long!” Scootaloo turned to Apple Bloom. “I say we go back in and look for ‘em!” She declared.

“A-Ah dunno, Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom said, shuffling her hooves together. “Maybe Spike’s right. Ah’m sure that they’ll be back any minute. Besides, Applejack looked real serious when she told us ta stay here. We’re already in enough trouble as it is, and if we leave, she’ll tan mah hide fer sure!”

Scootaloo trotted over to her friend and said, “Look, Apple Bloom, I know that AJ said to stay put, but it’s our fault that Sweetie Belle is lost to begin with. I can’t sit around and do nothing knowing that our friends might be in danger!” She said with a serious look.

“But--”

“No buts!” The determined filly cut Apple Bloom off, “You can stay here if you want, but I have to make sure they’re okay. I’m going, and neither of you try to stop me!” She addressed Spike and Apple Bloom, before charging towards the Everfree.

“Scootaloo, wait!” Spike immediately tried to stop her, but he was too late. He groaned loudly at the filly’s stubbornness, and turned back to Apple Bloom. “Great, what do we do now?! I’m supposed to watch you two, and now Scoots went and ran off on her own! Ooh, when Twilight comes back, she’s gonna kill me, and I don’t even wanna think about what Dash is gonna do!” Spike ranted, trying and failing not to imagine the lashing he would receive from the rainbow-maned mare.

Apple Bloom tuned Spike out as she stood nearly motionless off to the side. She bit her lip in hesitation, considering the possible options laid before her. On the one hoof, she could stay here and wait for the others to return. After all, with all six of them together, they were sure to find Sweetie Belle, right? But, on the other, Scootaloo was right. They were the reason Sweetie was missing. If not for their obsession with getting cutie marks, they never would’ve gone into the forest. They owed it to her, as Sweetie’s friend, to help look for her.

Apple Bloom’s eyes darted between the direction Scootaloo had run off to, and the picnic blanket where Spike was still talking. After a long bout with indecision, she finally made her choice.

“Scootaloo, wait up! Ah’m comin', too!” She shouted, rearing back a little before dashing after her pegasus friend.

Spike whipped his head around at Apple Bloom’s outburst, just in time to catch a glimpse of her red tail as she ran into the distance. The young drake facepalmed and groaned once again. “Darn it, not her, too! Apple Bloom, slow down, will ya?!” Left with no other choice, Spike jogged after the two fillies, hoping he could talk some sense into them before they did something he’d regret.

***************

Due to Apple Bloom’s heritage as an earth pony, not to mention helping her siblings with laborious farmwork, her stamina was remarkable for a filly her age. As such, she had almost no trouble catching up with Scootaloo. The orange pegasus furrowed her brow at the filly who had galloped up beside her.

“Apple Bloom, I told you not to try and stop me. I’m going after Sweetie Belle, and that’s that!” She announced with finality.

Apple Bloom looked at her and said, “Ah’m not here ta stop ya! Ah’m comin’ with ya!” Scootaloo stopped in her tracks and spun to face her friend.

“What? But, won’t Applejack be mad at you? I thought you said--”

“Ah know what Ah said,” Apple Bloom interrupted, “And Ah don’t care if AJ is mad. Ah ain’t about ta' let mah friend go into the Everfree alone. We both got Sweetie Belle into this mess, and we’re both gonna get her out!” She declared with strengthened resolve burning in her eyes.

Scootaloo smiled and nodded firmly in agreement. “Yeah, that’s the spirit! With the two of us working together, we’ll find Sweetie Belle for sure!” She said, earning a cheer of concordance from the other filly.

The two determined youngsters turned to make their way to the forest threshold... only to see the missing filly in question burst from it’s undergrowth, soon to be followed by Rarity and the rest of the Elements. They still had yet to see the fillies standing off to the side.

“Hey, look! There she is!” Apple Bloom pointed with a hoof. “And mah sister and her friends, too! They’re all okay!” No sooner had she said that, however, than another figure emerged from the forest behind the others. The two fillies eyes widened in shock as they beheld the new creature before them. It was very tall, wearing what looked like a long, black cloak, and had no visible hair or fur aside from a cluster of short, loosely hanging braids on it’s head.

Scootaloo gasped in horror when she saw what the creature was after. “Oh, no! Apple Bloom, that thing is chasing our friends!” She exclaimed, prompting Apple Bloom to gasp in similar fashion.

“Yer right, Scootaloo! Ah bet it was holdin’ Sweetie Belle hostage, and when the girls rescued her, it’s been chasin’ ‘em across the entire forest tryin’ ta' get her back!”

“You really think so?”

“Course Ah do! Ah mean, what other reason could a monster like that be after ‘em?”

Scootaloo nodded at her friend’s clearly logical reasoning. “Yeah, that makes sense. Grr, I’m gonna show that thing what happens when you mess with my friends!” She announced, getting into a low charging stance and pawing at the ground threateningly.

“Yeah, let’s do it! Ah’ll buck that monster inta orbit!” Apple Bloom declared, getting into a similar position as her friend.

“Okay, count of three,” Scootaloo said, “1... 2... 3!”

“CHAAAAAAAARRRRGGGEEE!!!!”

***************

“Uh-oh.”

The filly with the bow was the first to strike. Skidding to a halt in front of Braxton’s left leg, she spun on a dime and raised her hind hooves up, preparing to deliver a mighty buck. Well, the buck itself wasn’t particularly mighty, being that she was just a filly, but combined with the hardness of the pony’s hooves was more than enough to deal some damage.

“Ow!” Braxton exclaimed. He brought his leg up to his body and held the injured area with both hands, leaving him hopping on one leg and completely vulnerable. The orange filly quickly took advantage of the opening to deliver her own attack. Using her tiny wings to push off the ground, she launched into a flying headbutt aimed directly at Braxton’s midsection.

“Oof!!” Was the sound of air rapidly leaving Braxton’s lungs as the filly’s attack hit bullseye. The force of the filly’s attack and the lack of stabilization on Braxton’s part was, quite literally, his downfall, as he soon found himself toppling over like a Jenga tower.

“W-Whoa!!!” Braxton shouted, before landing on his back with the grace of the world’s nimblest brick. Braxton was reeling from the sudden onslaught, still trying to catch his breath from the last blow. The fillies wasted no time waiting for him to recover, though, and immediately hopped on top of his torso, jumping up and down in an attempt to pummel him into the dirt.

“Take this you monster!” The pegasus filly said.

“Yeah, this is fer messin’ with our friends!” The one with the bow added.

Despite the decisive whooping he was receiving, Braxton was still aware enough of his surroundings to hear Rainbow Dash off to his side, rolling on the grass in uproariously tearful laughter at his current misfortune. Applejack, on the other hand, was being decidedly more helpful.

“Scootaloo! Apple Bloom! What in Celestia’s name do y’all think yer doin’?! Get offa him, right now!” She said, causing the fillies to stop their bouncing and look at her in confusion.

“What? Why? This thing was chasing you guys!” Scootaloo said, pointing a hoof at the down and out human.

“No, girls,” Sweetie Belle corrected, a little miffed, “he wasn’t. His name’s Braxton, and he was following us back to Ponyville, so that we could learn more about him.” She finished. At the sight of their friend, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo jumped off of Braxton and embraced her.

“Sweetie Belle!! We were so worried about you!” Scootaloo stated.

“Yeah, we’re so glad that yer safe!” Apple Bloom concurred. “We’re so sorry! Can you ever forgive us?”

But Sweetie Belle was having none of it. She pushed her two friends away and glared at them in anger. “Oh,” She began, “you’re sorry, huh? After all I had to go through, you’re sorry? I told you that we should’ve given up and gone back to the treehouse, but no! We just had to go into the Everfree! It’s you’re fault I was stuck in there in the first place, and now you’re sorry?!” Sweetie’s voice had been rising steadily throughout her rant, until it was cracking from the strain by the end.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo could only look down in shame, doing their best to avoid eye contact with the upset unicorn. After a moment of tense silence between the three of them, Apple Bloom tearfully spoke up.

“Yer... Yer right, Sweetie Belle. It was all our fault. We were so into tryin’ fer our cutie marks, that we didn’t really think.”

“We know that you’re mad,” Scootaloo continued, “But, you should know that we really are sorry. And that we get it if maybe you... don’t wanna hang out or anything for a while...” She said sadly, rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof.

Sweetie Belle tried to stay angry, she really did, but when faced with the downtrodden expressions of her sorrowful friends, her resistance crumbled. Deep down, she knew that they didn’t mean for this to happen, and that they truly regretted their actions, and that was good enough for her.

Sweetie Belle sighed deeply. “Girls, of course I still wanna hang out with you.” She said after a minute, smiling despite herself.

The two fillies snapped their heads up in surprise. “R-Really? You... you do?” Scootaloo asked, confused.

“Yeah, I do. Even though I am still a little bit mad, I’ll never stop wanting to hang out with you guys. I’ll never stop wanting to go adventuring for our cutie marks. And most of all, I’ll never stop wanting to be you guys’ friend. No matter what, we’re still the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and that’s something that’s never gonna change!” Sweetie declared, beaming proudly.

In a flash, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were on Sweetie Belle, tackling her to the ground in a crushing double bear hug. The two fillies laughed and apologized simultaneously, leaving their words a nigh incoherent mess. Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but join in their merriment, and soon all three girls were laughing and smiling together, glad to have put the terrible events of the day behind them.

“Owwww...”

A low groan snapped the ponies out of their reverie, and Sweetie Belle turned her head in the direction of the sound, realizing that she had completely forgotten about the still dazed and downed human. She released herself from her friends’ hug and ran over to his side.

“Oh no, Braxton! Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?” Sweetie asked, worriedly checking his body for injuries.

Braxton slowly shook his head and sighed, still staring up into the clear, blue sky from his position on the soft, green grass. “No, I’ll be fine, Sweetie Belle. Nothing bruised but my ego... and my pride... and my dignity...” He said dejectedly, earning another giggle from Rainbow Dash, who had just recently regained her composure.

“Oh, good.” Sweetie said with relief.

Author's Note

You may be wondering how they can perfectly understand each other even though they're from different planets. Well, fear not! I will address that issue in later chapters. In fact, I plan on getting a little more in depth with Equestrian culture in general, since I have plenty of ideas kicking around in my head. So yeah, look forward to that, I guess.

Also, longest chapter so far!

Don't get used to it.

Chapter 7 - Your Guts(I Like 'Em)

Applejack was furious. Not only had her little sister deliberately disobeyed her for the second time that day, but she and Scootaloo had laid a smackdown on a certain unsuspecting human, who was now being helped up by Rarity and Pinkie Pie. The orange mare stalked up behind Apple Bloom and stood there, casting a shadow over the filly, wearing an expression of tranquil fury upon her face.

“Apple Bloom.” She said in a voice colder than ice. At the mere mention of her name, every muscle in Apple Bloom’s body suddenly tensed simultaneously, and all of her fur seemed to stand on end. Although the filly’s back was to her, Applejack didn’t need to see her face to imagine the level of pants-wetting terror it displayed.

Slowly, as if to somehow delay the inevitable, Apple Bloom turned her head to the right until AJ’s face was just barely in her field of vision. What she saw made her pupils shrink in fright. Her sister’s head was partially blocking the sun above, making the angry glare she wore all the more terrifying. Applejack’s emerald green eyes stared unblinkingly at the filly, conveying more of a message than words ever could.

Apple Bloom felt a shiver run down her spine as she gulped audibly. “H-H-Hey... sis.” She managed to stutter out despite her fear.

“Apple Bloom,” Applejack repeated in the same cold monotone, “you are in a world of trouble. Ah thought Ah had told ya to stay put.”

Apple Bloom spun her entire body to face Applejack, eyes still wide with fear. “B-But, sis, me and Scootaloo were just tryin’ ta help! You guys were takin’ so long, so we started ta’ get worried!” She tried to defend. Scootaloo, who was standing next to Apple Bloom, simply nodded in agreement.

Applejack’s glare lessened slightly at this, but it was clear to the girls that she was still very upset. “Look girls,” She began, “Ah get that ya just wanted ta help, but ya can’t just charge in and attack somepony without a real good reason.”

“But we did have a good reason,” Scootaloo defended. “We thought that it--”

“He.” Applejack interrupted.

“...U-Uh, right. We thought that he was attacking you guys!”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Now where in Equestria did ya get a silly idea like that?”

Scootaloo threw a slightly heated glare Apple Bloom’s way, who answered with a toothy, apologetic grin. Applejack got the message, but said nothing of it, opting instead for a sigh and shake of the head.

“Never mind. It doesn’t matter. Point is, he wasn’t. And besides, did either a’ y’all actually see him try ta' attack us?”

Apple Bloom averted her eyes. “W-Well, no but--”

“Exactly.” AJ interrupted again. “Buckin’ first and askin’ questions never is not how the Apple family does things, Apple Bloom. We try ta' talk through our problems, and don’t resort ta' violence unless it’s absolutely necessary. Now, Ah want you and Scootaloo ta go over there and apologize to Braxton, right now.”

“B-But--” The fillies began.

“Right. Now.” Applejack ordered, the harsh glare from before returning in spades. The fillies gulped and nodded before proceeding over to the human, not wanting to incur anymore of the farmer’s wrath.

***************

After being helped to his feet by Rarity and Pinkie and dusting himself off, Braxton had an opportunity to replay the last few minutes in his head. Needless to say, they were not his proudest minutes.

‘Okay, so let’s recap. First, I’m assaulted on all sides by a barrage of color and cartoon graphics upon exiting a monster infested forest. Next, I get a case of the shakes from said barrage of color and nearly black out. Finally, and best of all, two knee-high fillies launch a surprise attack on my person, and actually manage to down me. Wow, anytime you wanna man the fuck up and grow a pair would be swell, Brax.’ He thought grumpily, still patting excess dirt off of his sleeve.

“Uh, mister?” A tiny, southern voice piped up from behind him. Braxton looked over his shoulder to see the two fillies in question standing two feet away.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Braxton exclaimed, spinning around and backpedaling a bit, “Don’t you two take another step! You caught me off guard a minute ago, but this time you won’t be so lucky!” He said, crouching into a defensive stance.

“Look, dude, we just--” The orange pegasus started, taking a step towards him.

“Ah, ah, ah! I said don’t move! Don’t make me go chop suey on you!” Braxton threatened, mimicking quick karate chops with his hands. The orange pegasus rolled her eyes and took a step back, allowing her friend an attempt to reason with the human.

“Listen, um... Braxton, was it?” The human nodded slowly, obviously still cautious. “Mah name’s Apple Bloom, and this here is Scootaloo.” The yellow filly introduced, gesturing to her companion. “And we just wanna say that we’re real sorry fer... ya know, beatin’ ya up an’ all.” She looked over to Scootaloo expectantly, but the pegasus said nothing. Apple Bloom frowned and elbowed her friend, forcefully nodding her head at Braxton.

Scootaloo begrudgingly took the hint and spoke up. “Yeah, yeah, we’re sorry and junk.” After another sharp elbow to the ribs, the pegasus decided to elaborate. “For attacking you, that is. We just thought that you were trying to hurt our friends. No offense, dude, but you’re kinda... well, big.”

“And scary lookin’.” Apple Bloom continued.

“And you wear a lot of black.”

“And yer coat’s real long.”

“And you got--”

“Alright! Yes, I get it. I get the concept, thank you.” Braxton said, dropping his guard and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Well, anyway, sorry again. Ah... guess yer probably still mad at us though, huh?” Apple Bloom said sheepishly, tracing circles in the dirt with her hoof. Braxton folded his arms and took a deep breath before speaking.

“...No, girls. I’m not mad.”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked at him in surprise, then at each other, then back to him again.

“Really? Yer not?” Apple Bloom asked finally.

Braxton gave a small shake of his head. “Nah. It was just a misunderstanding, after all. Besides, I get why you did it. You two were just trying to protect your friends, and I can respect that. It took a whole lot of nerve to charge at something you’ve never seen without knowing what it’s capable of. You got guts, girls. But next time, you might wanna think it through first, y’know? I mean, for all you know, I could have been able to shoot lasers from my eyes or something.” Apple Bloom took a small step back in newfound fear at the possibility, but Scootaloo had a much different reaction.

“WHOA!!” She exclaimed excitedly, “Can you really do that? Can you show us?!” She was practically jumping with excitement. It was so cute that Braxton almost hated to burst her little bubble. Almost.

“Ha! Nope, ‘fraid not, Scootaloo. I was just trying to make a point.” Braxton said with a wry smirk.

“Awww...” Scootaloo moaned, drooping her ears in disappointment. Apple Bloom, on the other hand, blew a quick sigh of relief at the fact that she could not possibly be incinerated on the spot. Braxton couldn’t resist snickering a little at the orange filly’s slightly forlorn expression.

Suddenly, something clicked inside of his head. “Wait a second... Apple Bloom and Scootaloo... aren’t you two Sweetie Belle’s friends?” He asked.

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Yeah we are, but... how do know Sweetie Belle?”

Scootaloo gasped in horror. “I knew it! He really did hold Sweetie hostage!” She announced, glaring at Braxton angrily.

Braxton rolled his eyes. “Chill out, will ya? It’s nothing like that.”

“Oh yeah? Well, how do you know her, then?” Scootaloo demanded.

Braxton took a deep breath and began his explanation. “Well, while I was trying to find my way out of that crazy forest, I heard screaming coming from deeper inside. So I went to investigate, and found Sweetie trapped under a root and being stared down by some weird lion-bat-scorpion hybrid. Long story short, I managed to drive it away and then get her to safety.” He finished.

Upon ending his tale, the fillies stared up at Braxton with a look of awe. “So you... fought off that manticore... for her?” Scootaloo said slowly, still partially processing what she just heard.

“Uh, yeah, I guess so.” Braxton said, shrugging. The next thing he knew, both fillies were on him, wrapping their tiny hooves around one leg each, profusely spouting words of gratitude. Braxton was about to try and shake them off, but realized what they doing in time to stop himself.

This went on for a moment or two before Braxton decided he had had enough. “Alright, alright! Knock it off with the hugfest, will you?” Braxton said in a fake annoyed tone, made evident by the small smile that he wore. The two fillies did so and backed off, but still had huge grins plastered on their faces.

“Wow! Now I really am sorry for beating him up!” Scootaloo said to Apple Bloom, who nodded rapidly in agreement.

Braxton’s smile instantly vanished, replaced by irritated frown. “Gee. Thanks.” He said sarcastically. The two ponies responded only with slightly sheepish grins, prompting Braxton to roll his eyes for what felt to him like the fiftieth time that day.

This time, however, Braxton happened to catch something out of the corner of his eye. Looking to his left and squinting a little, he saw what looked like a green and purple colored lizard in the distance, steadily coming up towards the group.

“Hey, uh, what’s that?” He asked loudly enough for the whole group to hear and pointing in the direction of the lizard. The ponies all turned and mimicked his actions from a moment ago, and Twilight seemed to be the first to recognize the lizard.

“It looks like... Spike!” She said, still squinting. Braxton raised an eyebrow at the name.

‘Spike? What kind of name is Spike for a lizard?’ He thought. As the lizard got closer, Braxton began to make out more of it’s features. It was pretty short, looking like it was just barely a head taller than the fillies. It also had a row of rounded spines protruding from the top of it’s head to the end of it’s pointed tail. After a minute or so, Spike finally made it to the group, panting and gasping as though just finishing a marathon.

“Spike! What are ya doin' here? Ya were supposed to be watchin' Apple Bloom and Scootaloo!” Applejack berated.

“*pant* Girls...*pant* ran off...*pant* couldn’t catch...*wheeze* must rest...” Spike managed to get out before collapsing on his back in exhaustion.

“Oh no! Spike!” Twilight exclaimed, concerned for her charge. She ran to his aid, accompanied by the rest of her friends. They stood over him in a small circle, blotting out the sun overhead. Silence reigned as they all watched him breathe heavily for a moment, before Rainbow Dash leaned in and waved a cyan hoof in front of Spike’s face.

“Yo Spike... you alright?” She asked, pulling her hoof back. Spike slowly raised his head up a little and gave a half-hearted nod, then let it fall back on the grass with a soft thump.

“Yeah, you’re gonna be fine.” Rainbow concluded.

Author's Note

Check it out! I actually posted something without a seven year wait between chapters! HOW BOUT DAT SHIT?!

Admittedly, I did get a tad bit lazy with this one, so you may notice a dip in quality compared to before. But it's finals week, so cut me some slack, alright? I promise the next chapter will be much better and at least twice as long.

P.S. Abrupt ending is abrupt.

Chapter 8 - New Guy in Town

After waiting a few minutes for Spike to catch his breath, the six mares stood back a bit as he got back to his feet. They stood in front of him and watched as he got over the last of his fatigue, before Twilight finally addressed the young dragon.

“Spike, you’ve got some explaining to do. You were supposed to keep an eye on the girls. Why did you let them run off?” Twilight asked in a gentle, yet firm voice.

Spike raised his claws in front of him defensively. “I tried, Twilight, but they bolted before I could stop ‘em! Besides, there’s no way I can keep up with a pony. I mean, what did you want me to do? Tie them down or something?” He asked, crossing his arms in indignation.

Twilight rolled her eyes at her assistant’s attitude. “Well, no, I suppose not. You’re just lucky that we ran into them to stop them from doing anything foolish. Well, for the most part anyway. They did give Braxton kind of a hard time, though.” She said, remembering the little incident from earlier.

Bringing up the topic of Braxton’s beatdown got Rainbow Dash snickering again at the memory. “Hehehe! You should’ve seen it, Spike! Apple Bloom and Scoots just ran up and beat the snot out of him like it was nothing! It was too funny! Hahahaha!” Rainbow was laughing almost uproariously at this point, while the other five ponies glared at her disapprovingly. A few seconds later, she finally regained her composure long enough to catch the looks her friends were giving her.

“What?” Dash asked, throwing her hooves up questioningly.

“How can you be so crass as to laugh at another’s misfortune, Rainbow Dash?” Rarity asked, still holding her glare.

Rainbow rolled her eyes at the alabaster mare. “Pfft, whatever. Far as I can see, the thing had it comin’.” She said with a huff.

“How so?” Asked Rarity.

Dash opened her mouth to retort, but found herself coming up short. “Well... uh, there was... um...” The others stared at her awaiting a response, while Dash racked her brain to remember an instance where the human had done something to justify his punishment.

After a moment or two of stalling, Rainbow Dash hovered above the others and looked down on them in anger. “Look, that’s not the point! Point is that Mr. Big Bad Manticore Chaser over there got put down by a couple of fillies! No way anything that weak could’ve driven away a manticore all by itself.” She said with finality.

“We were all caught off guard by the girls sudden arrival, Rainbow, not just Braxton.” Twilight said matter-of-factly.

“I’m sorry, but who exactly is this “Braxton”? That’s kind of a weird name for a pony. And what’s all this about him chasing off a manticore?” Spike interuppted.

Pinkie bounced in front of him with her usual cheerful smile and said, “That’s ‘cause he’s not a pony, silly! He’s a human! See?” She pointed a pink hoof in the direction of her friends, who parted to give Spike a good look.

Spike’s eyes went wide as he beheld a tall, two-legged creature draped in a long, black coat. It was talking to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and looked to be having a mildly heated discussion with the de facto leader, Apple Bloom. The young drake felt a tinge of fear crawl up his spine as he stared unblinkingly, mouth slightly agape. Finally, after a moment of utter speechlessness, he gave the most appropriate response one could think up, given the situation.

“Holy horseapples! What the heck is that thing?!!” Spike shouted nearly at the top of his lungs, pointing a claw in the direction of the human. A move he almost instantly regretted, as the human whipped his head towards the frightened dragon. After quickly muttering something to Apple Bloom, the human began to slowly stalk up to Spike, until it were barely two feet away. Spike was obviously terrified at this point, as the being’s frame towered above his own, casting a shadow over him.

Spike snapped his eyes shut for fear of being hit or attacked in some way. But the strike never came. Tentatively, he cracked one eye open. Then the other. What greeted him was the human extending one of it’s arms outwards and raising one of it’s claw-like appendages, in a similar fashion to a hoofshake. It wore a large, friendly smile, and looked down on the dragon with eyes not full of malice or bloodlust, but goodwill and affability. Then, the human spoke.

“Sup, little dude? Name’s Braxton.”

***************

-A Few Minutes Earlier-

“That’s ridiculous!” Braxton exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air.

“No, it ain’t! They’re real, Ah tell ya!” Apple Bloom said, stomping her hoof in frustration.

Braxton blew out a huff of disbelief and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right. So you’re telling me that rainbow colored apples just... magically appear on your family’s orchard and are somehow used to make the best jam in town? Now I’ve seen some crazy stuff today, but that’s just not possible!”

“Yer not possible!” Apple Bloom retorted.

Braxton paused for a moment and made a quick mental note to contemplate the meaning of his existence later, before biting back with his own witty response.

“Oh, yeah?!”

“Yeah!”

“Well, I say these ‘Zap Apples’ are nothing but a crock!”

“And Ah say that they ain’t!”

“Are so!”

“Are not!”

“Are so!”

“Are not ta infinity!”

“Are so to infinity plus one! Ha!” Braxton said with a smug grin, figuring he had won.

“Are not ta infinity times infinity!”

“D’oh! Curses!” Braxton exclaimed, knowing full well that he had been beaten. Now it was Apple Bloom who wore the grin of smugness, puffing her tiny chest out with pride at having won the debate. Braxton on the other hand simply grit his teeth and bitterly accepted his defeat... for now, anyway.

And to think all of this started with a simple question about liking apples.

“Holy horseapples! What the heck is that thing?”

The two bickerers were startled by the sudden exclamation, and whipped their heads towards the shout. There, surrounded by Twilight and her friends, stood Spike, knees quaking slightly and pointing directly at Braxton. The two had been so wrapped up in their argument that they had almost completely forgotten about his arrival, up until now, that is.

Spike’s green eyes very nearly burst out of his skull when Braxton faced him, and Braxton recognized the look in them, as he had seen more than a few times that day. Sweetie Belle had it, Zecora had it at first, and Fluttershy seemed to still have it. That look was fear. Fear of him, to be specific.

Furrowing his brow at the thought, Braxton made it his goal to show Spike that he meant no harm. He swiftly turned back to Apple Bloom and said, “You may have won round one, but mark my words, this ain’t over.” Apple Bloom merely gave him a challenging look that screamed “Anytime, anywhere.” before heading back over to her friends.

Braxton took in a deep breath, exhaled, and adopted as casual a stance as possible before sauntering over to greet Spike. ‘Okay, just play it cool, Brax. No sudden moves, remember to smile. Little guy’s already shaking in his scales, I don’t want to make an even worse first impression.’ He thought as he stopped about arm’s length away from Spike.

Braxton raised his arm up for a handshake, but it was no sooner that he had done so that Spike shut his eyes hard and clenched his teeth, as though bracing for an attack, just like Sweetie Belle had. Braxton’s smile faltered at this, but he would not be deterred. He stood and waited, arm outstretched, until finally Spike got up the nerve to crack one eye open, and then the other.

Braxton put on his best smile as Spike looked up at him, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible. After a brief bout of silence, Braxton figured it best to introduce himself first.

“‘Sup, little dude? Name’s Braxton.”

Spike simply stared up at the human, mouth slightly agape, with a look like his brain had just blue-screened. There was a moment of awkward silence between the two as Spike stared and Braxton stood, hand still presented, waiting for a reply. When none was given, the human decided to try to coax the conversation in a more riveting direction.

“...Um, you’re Spike, right? Nice to meet you. By the way, to answer your question, I’m a human.” He said, still hoping to get some kind of response out of the little guy. Spike still stood there dumbfounded, however, until Twilight reached over and smacked him lightly cross the head with a hoof.

“Ow! What the hay, Twi?” He said, rubbing the back of his head.

“Spike, don’t be rude! Say something!” Twilight said, pointing back to Braxton, who still had his hand out.

Spike, having finally snapped out of his trance, returned his attention to the human, and spoke up. “Oh! U-Uh, right. Yeah, I’m Spike. Spike the dragon. Nice to meet you too, um... Braxton.” He stammered out, as he reached up with a claw to meet Braxton’s hand.

‘A dragon, huh? Heh, called it.’ He thought to himself as he grabbed the dragon’s hand and gave it a shake. Spike seemed to relax a little as Braxton did so, his posture relaxing and becoming a lot less tense. ‘Looks like he finally gets that I don’t wanna hurt him. Good, I wouldn't want to get on a dragon’s bad side, even if it is a small one.’ Braxton mused, his smile becoming even wider at the thought.

“So, you’re a dragon, eh? Fire breathing, wings, and all that?” Braxton asked, slightly skeptical.

Twilight came up next to them and said, “Well, yes and no. Spike here is just a baby dragon. He still has a long way to go before he can do all of the things a full-grown drake can.” Twilight gave Spike’s head spines an affectionate ruffling, causing Spike to furrow his brow in annoyance.

“Hey, knock it off, Twi, you’re messing up my spines! And I’m not a baby anymore, I just haven’t reached my growth spurt yet!” He added, “Plus, I can breath fire, y’know. ...Well, s-sort of, anyway.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke.

Twilight put a hoof to her mouth and giggled at the dragon’s show. “Okay, Spike. Whatever you say.” She said patronizingly, making Spike even more annoyed in the process.

Braxton couldn’t help but smile at the obvious brother/sister dynamic the two had going. He could tell that the pony and dragon really cared for each other, even though they probably weren’t prone to showing it all of the time.

Twilight turned her attention to Braxton. “How do you know so much about dragons? Do they exist where you come from?” She asked curiously.

Braxton shook his head. “Nope. In my world, they only exist in myths and stories, much like unicorns and pegasi. Though, from what I can tell, those myths don’t seem to be too far off from the truth.” He said.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Spike interuppted, “What do you mean by “in your world”? Are you saying that you’re... an alien?!” Spike’s eyes shined with excitement at the prospect.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Braxton said, nodding.

If it were possible, Spike seemed to get even more excited at the confirmation. “Whoa!! That’s awesome! So do have all kinds of cool alien tech, like phasers and flying saucers? Or maybe some kind of teleport beam? How about some super hyper advanced space gadgets? Oh, you gotta let me check ‘em out!” Spike was smiling broadly, imagining all of the amazing things the human had in store.

“Hohohohohahahahaha!” Braxton couldn’t suppress a hearty laugh at the dragon’s child-like behavior. “Well, how about this, Spike?” He said, “Why don’t I tell you all about my world when we get to... Ponyville, was it? You did want to ask me some questions as well, right, Twilight?” At the mention of her research, Twilight’s eyes widened in excitement.

“Oh, yes! That’s right!” She exclaimed. She turned to address her assistant. “Spike, I want you to gather up the CMC and take them home. Don’t let them out of your sight this time, okay? And when you’re done, hurry over to the library. We’ve got some notes to take! Oooh, I can’t wait!” She said giddily, causing Spike to roll his eyes in amusement, but still give off a firm salute to her request.

“Hold up there, Spike.” Applejack said before he could set about his task. “Ah want ya ta drop Apple Bloom off at Sweet Apple Acres first. Tell Big Mac that Ah’ll be over at Twilight’s fer a while, an’ that Ah said that Apple Bloom is grounded ‘til further notice. Ah’ll fill him in on why when Ah get back. Ya got that?”

Spike nodded and said, “You got it, AJ.” before going over to where the CMC stood chatting with each other.

“Alright, everypony, let’s get a move on. We’re losing daylight here.” Twilight said to the group. They all nodded in conformation and set out to move towards the town.

“WAIT!” A squeaky voice called from behind them. The group turned towards the voice to see a small unicorn filly galloping towards them. She stopped in front of Braxton and looked up at him.

“Braxton, you’re going back to Ponyville, right?” She asked. He nodded. “Oh, okay. Well, how long are you gonna stay?”

Braxton shrugged. “Dunno, kiddo. Probably as long as it takes for Twi to finish asking her questions.” He stated.

“Oh. Okay...” She said, sounding a little sad.

“...You alright, Sweets? Seems like you got something on your mind.” He said, concerned.

“It’s just... you said that you were a traveler, so... I just figured you wouldn’t be staying for long...” Sweetie trailed off, but Braxton understood what she was getting at. Leaning down, he rested a gloved hand on her head and ruffled her curly mane.

“Hey, don’t worry, Sweetie. I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere anytime soon. But, when I do leave, I’ll make sure to say goodbye before I go.”

Sweetie’s expression brightened at Braxton’s words. “Really? You promise?” She asked expectantly.

“Yes, I promise.”

“Pinkie Pie Promise?”

“Yes, I-- wait, what?” He asked, confused. Pinkie Pie bounded up next to the two of them out of nowhere, flashing her trademark smile.

“A Pinkie Pie Promise,” She explained, “is the biggest, most serious, super-duper importantest oath anypony can ever make! Nopony can ever break a Pinkie Promise!” She craned her neck up to meet Braxton’s face until they were nose to nose, narrowing her eyes to thin slits.

“Nopony.” She hissed in an almost demon-like voice. Braxton gulped and nodded several times, not wanting to know exactly what the pink pony would do should he ever be dumb enough to break one of these oaths.

“Anyway!” Pinkie said, going back to her usual chipper tone of voice, “It goes like this! ‘Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!’” Pinkie performed the accompanying motions to the oath, starting with miming an X over heart with a hoof, fluttering her forelegs, and ended by covering her eye with a hoof, mimicking a poking motion.

“A... cupcake... in my eye?” Braxton said, slightly dumbfounded at the odd ritual presented to him. Pinkie nodded rapidly in confirmation, sending her poofy mane bouncing everywhere.

Shrugging, Braxton turned back to Sweetie Belle, cleared his throat, and repeated the lines he had just been taught. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” He said, performing the movements just as Pinkie had.

Sweetie beamed and hopped up to Braxton, throwing her tiny hooves around his neck in a hug, and nearly causing him to lose his balance and topple forwards from the sudden shift in weight. Braxton put his arms around the filly and stabilized himself, not wanting to fall and risk landing on top of her.

“Awwwww!” He heard a chorus of voices echo from behind him. He peeked over his shoulder and saw five of the six ponies looking at the two with happy smiles on their faces. Even Rainbow Dash wore a small smile at first, but attempted to hide it with a cough the instant she saw Braxton looking.

Braxton chuckled a bit at the ponies’ reactions, especially Dash’s, and said, “Alright, kiddo, that’s enough of that. We don’t wanna give the girls over there any funny ideas now, do we?” Sweetie Belle giggled and shook her head, jumping down from Braxton’s arms and landed neatly on her hooves.

Braxton watched Sweetie trot back over to where her friends and Spike were patiently waiting, smiling wider than he had in a long time. Sweetie threw one last smile and wave over her shoulder, before following her companions back to Sweet Apple Acres. Braxton turned around to see the others still grinning up at him.

“What?” He asked.

Rarity shook her head, still smiling. “Oh nothing, darling. We just find it so cute how well you’re getting along with my sister. Why, it’s almost as though the two of you have bonded already!” Rarity said, earning nods of agreement from her friends.

“Well, y’know, what can I say? That girl really is a... Sweetie! Haha!” Braxton let out a short laugh at his corny joke, while the ponies just stared at him with blank expressions.

Realizing that no one was laughing with him, Braxton cleared his throat in mild embarrassment. “Aaaaanywho, we should probably get a move on to town. We’ve wasted more than enough time here.” He said in an attempt to divert the issue.

“Good idea.” Twilight said, also eager to begin her research. “Let’s get moving, everypony.” With that, the group of six ponies, and one human, began the short walk into Ponyville proper.

***************

As the group approached Ponyville, Braxton began to do what he always did upon entering a new town or city. He took in the sights. The first thing that caught his attention was the architecture of the buildings. They seemed to be pulled straight out of a fairy tale, with medieval-style thatched roofs adorning most of them, and not many of them reaching over two stories tall. Very few structures were made out of brick or steel, most of them instead going with less advanced materials like wood, clay, and concrete, and of course, everything had that same cartoony look and feel that the rest of the world did.

The next thing Braxton noticed was, obviously, the ponies. Dozens of them, milling around town, pulling carts, tending to stores, or just chatting on park benches. As Braxton looked on, he couldn’t help but compare them to humans in the way that they conducted their daily lives and activities. And much like his companions, the townsponies were painted in many different pastel colors, and Braxton could swear that he saw more than a few ponies with very similar features cantering around.

The ponies did not seem to take notice of Braxton right away, but as the group progressed further into town, he began to feel beset upon by the stares of many eyes. Sure enough, Braxton took a look around to see that almost every pony in town had stopped in their tracks and were now staring intently at the newfound creature in their midst.

Now, Braxton was no stranger to being the new guy in town. His lifestyle of hopping from place to place assured that he was sometimes the subject of a few stares or hushed whispers in a unvisited area, especially if it was a small town or village where everyone already knew everyone else, and a new arrival stuck out like a sore thumb.

But this was different. At least, in a town on Earth, the inhabitants are humans much like himself. However, being the only human on this planet, at least as far as he knew, Braxton not only stuck out, but was so clearly different from anything the ponies had ever seen before that they couldn’t help but drop everything and just... stare. He could also pick out a few murmurs here and there if he listened hard enough.

“What is that thing?”

“Is it dangerous?”

“How does it walk on two legs without a tail?”

“Maybe it’s tail is under that long coat?”

“Look away, Rumble, dear. Don’t make eye contact.”

Braxton came up beside the lavender mare leading the pack. “Uh, Twilight, I’m getting a little uncomfortable over here...” Braxton said, leaning down to whisper in her ear.

Twilight looked up at him in confusion. “What are you talking about, Braxton?” She asked, oblivious to the stares of the townsponies.

“I’m talking about the looks all these ponies are giving me. Why they all just staring like that?” He said, calling her attention to the source of his anxiousness.

“Maybe it’s because you’re a walking freak of nature? You ever think of that?” Rainbow Dash said, hovering next to him. Braxton ground his teeth in anger at the pegasus’s remark, beginning to grow tired of the mare’s constant insults.

‘Calm down, man, just chill. Now’s really not the time to go making a scene, especially in a town full of ponies who know nothing about me. But I swear, if that bitch keeps pushing me, things are gonna get ugly...’ He thought threateningly, forcing himself to ignore Rainbow’s comment.

Twilight, having become aware of the reactions of ponies around her, furrowed her brow a bit and said, “Oh, don’t worry about them. The ponies in town are just a little...,” She paused for a moment to find the right word, “...apprehensive. But once they see that you’re not a threat, they’ll calm down and warm up to you. I hope.” Twilight said, muttering that last part under her breath.

After an agonizing five minutes, at least on Braxton’s part, of stares, points, and whispers, the group finally made it to the library near the center of town. It seemed to be made from a hollowed out tree, much like Zecora’s had been, but lacked the eccentric decorations of the latter in favor of a much more homey look. Braxton couldn’t help but smile to himself at the fact that this was the second time today he would be entering a tree.

The six ponies trotted inside first, with Braxton bringing up the rear, still lost in his thoughts. He was quickly brought back to reality, however, when his forehead met the top of the library door, emitting a dull *THUMP*.

“Ow! Damnit!” He exclaimed, raising a hand to his head instinctively. He had just gotten a very painful reminder about the difference in human-to-pony height ratio.

Applejack turned and gave him a disdainful look. “Hey, watch yer language there, pard. What’s gotten inta yew, anyway?” She asked.

“Ugh, sorry.” Braxton apologized, “I just hit my head on this freakin’ door.”

“You didn’t have the common sense to duck under a low door? Ha! What an idiot!” Rainbow laughed, flying upside down next to Applejack.

Braxton’s nostrils flared and his eyebrows knitted together in rage. He had just about enough of Rainbow’s attitude, and was dead set on putting a stop to it right here and now. Braxton opened his mouth, ready to tell Dash off, but was unintentionally cut off by an almost hysterical sounding Twilight.

“WHAT IN EQUESTRIA IS THIS?!?!”

Chapter 9 - Braxton vs. Rainbow Dash

The five mares and Braxton turned their heads towards the sudden outburst to see Twilight Sparkle standing stock still in the middle of the room. Her back was to the group, so that they could not see her face, but it quickly became apparent what exactly had provoked her outcry.

The library was trashed. Completely and utterly devastated. Books that had once adorned neatly ordered shelves were now scattered haphazardly on the floor, and one or two of those shelves had actually been toppled over. Even worse, what shelves were still standing had books sporadically thrown on them with no regard for any type of organization or order. To sum up, it looked as though a tornado, a hurricane, and a swarm of parasprites had run through the library all at once. Little did they know that the cause of the destruction was actually the Cutie Mark Crusaders' earlier ransacking of the building.

Twilight stood in the middle of the wreckage, unmoving and seeming to stare straight ahead. It was an almost eerie sight, like she had been transformed into a statue, as the only indication of her even still being animate was the steady rise and fall of her breathing.

Applejack was the first to gather up the nerve to cautiously walk over to Twilight’s still frame and attempt to snap her back to reality. “Uh... sugarcube?” No response. “Are ya’ll alright, Twi?” Still no answer from the lavender mare. Applejack was almost able to see Twilight’s face from around her body, and had the sneaking suspicion that she would not like what she saw.

She was right. When Applejack finally rounded Twilight’s body enough to see the look on her face, she couldn’t help but backpedal a bit in shock. Not because of any emotion displayed, but because of the lack thereof. Twilight’s face was completely blank, her gaze staring unblinkingly ahead off into nothing. Her mouth was nothing but a thin line painted on her muzzle and, perhaps worst of all, her pupils had shrunken to the size of pinpricks, leaving Applejack barely able to see the violet hue that they normally took on.

Applejack walked fully around Twilight to stand directly in front of her, but the shellshocked mare didn’t even acknowledge her. Instead, she continued to look directly forwards, her gaze passing straight through the cowpony as though she were invisible.

Applejack tried once more to bring Twilight back to down to Equestria. “Twilight, yer startin’ ta freak me out a little. C’mon, snap out of it!” She said, waving an orange hoof in front of Twilight’s face. It seemed to do the trick, as Twilight blinked hard and focused her vision fully on Applejack like she was seeing her standing there for the first time.

Applejack released a sigh of relief. “Whew, thank goodness yer back, Twi. Ya’ll had me worried there fer a min--” Applejack was cut off when she felt a pair of hooves wrap around her head and pull her into the face of one very upset unicorn.

“WHO DID THIS?!?!” Twilight screamed into Applejack’s face, “I SWEAR WHEN I FIND THE PONY RESPONSIBLE, I’LL BUCK THEM IN THE FACE MYSELF!!!!” Twilight was shaking Applejack rapidly at this point, displaying an unanticipated amount of strength for such a studious mare.

“T-T-Twilight! C-Calm down!” Applejack shouted in a vain attempt to reason with her friend. Acting quickly, Rainbow Dash flew over and yanked Twilight off of Applejack, who was still reeling from the thrashing she had just received.

“Twilight, will you relax?! It’s not that bad!” Rainbow said, holding the still struggling unicorn slightly off of the ground.

Twilight glared up at Rainbow Dash. “Not that bad?! LOOK AT THIS!!!” She shouted again, jabbing a hoof at a pile of books in a corner. “How can you say it’s not that bad, huh?! HUH?!?!” Twilight was practically hysterical by now, wriggling and writhing so much in Dash’s grasp that the pegasus could no longer keep a grip and was forced to let go.

Twilight landed on the ground and immediately curled into a ball, stroking her now slightly frazzled mane and mumbling to herself. “Keep it together, Twilight. Everything’s fine...yes...everything’s just peachy! *eye twitch* It’s just a couple DOZEN hours of organizing and reorganizing down the drain because of somepony’s COMPLETE and UTTER carelessness! *insane giggle* Nothing to get all worked up over, right?!” The unhinged unicorn was steadily descending into the depths of a total breakdown, and the others in the room could do nothing but look on with worry.

Applejack, now having just recovered her wits, trotted over and tried to talk some sense into her distraught friend. “Twilight, ya need ta get a hold of yerself! Ah mean, it’s not like it’s th’ end of th’ world! We’ll all help ya put the library back together again. Whadda ya say?” Applejack asked. Twilight looked up at her friend expectantly.

“R... Really? Y-You will?” She asked, seeming to calm down a little.

“Why, of course we will, darling! What are friends for?” Rarity said, coming up next to Applejack. Twilight stood back up and looked around the room to see her friends and Braxton smiling and nodding in agreement.

Twilight smiled as well. “Thanks, everypony. I really appreciate it.” She said, the gratitude evident in her voice. Her face then took on a blush of embarrassment as she shuffled a little on her hooves. “Hehehe...” She laughed nervously, “S-Sorry about that. I may have overreacted just a teeny-weeny bit...” She said, leading the others to look at her with bemused expressions.

Applejack leaned over and gave Twilight a friendly nudge. “Who, you? Pssh, never!” She said with a sarcastic smirk. The others in the room all chuckled merrily at this, and Twilight couldn’t help but join in with them.

“Thanks again, everypony. Now let’s get to work!” Twilight announced, and the group set off to their task.

***************

“Hey, Braxton!” Applejack called over to the human, who was busy sweeping litter off of the library floor, “Can ya come over here fer a sec?” She asked.

Braxton set down the broom and dustpan and walked over to where Applejack was standing in front of a fairly large bookshelf. “What do you need, AJ?” He asked, though he already had a hunch of what she wanted from him.

His hunch was proven correct when she pointed a hoof at the downed shelf and said, “You seem like a pretty strong feller. Ya mind lendin’ me a hoof with this shelf? Twi an’ Rarity over there have got the other one.” Braxton looked across the room to see said mares standing in front of a similar downed shelf, chatting with each other.

Braxton wondered how in the world two not-very-strong looking ponies would be able to lift that large shelf, but didn’t voice his thoughts for fear of being rude. Instead, Braxton cracked his knuckles and said, “Sure, I’ll give you hand, AJ.” Applejack raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“A... hand? What in th’ Sam hill is that?” She asked.

Braxton leaned down, raised his right hand to her face and wriggled his fingers a little. “This thing.” He said with a grin. Applejack nodded in understanding and reared up on her hind legs, placing her front legs underneath the shelf and getting into a lifting position. Braxton mimicked her stance and prepared to lift.

“Alright, on th’ count a’ three. One, two, three!” Applejack declared, and the duo began to hoist the bookcase off the ground and into it’s proper position. As they were doing so, Braxton could’ve sworn that he heard a distinct ringing noise behind him, almost like a wind chime, but he wrote it off as just his ears playing tricks on him.

Finally having lifted the rather heavy shelf back into place, Applejack and Braxton stood back and admired their work. “Whew! Well, that’s done! Thanks fer th’ help, Brax.” Applejack said with a grateful smile.

Braxton nodded in return. “No problem. If you need anything else just let me know.” He offered, before walking back over to the broom and dustpan. As he bent over to pick them up, he looked over to where Twilight and Rarity were and did a double take. The previously downed bookshelf was standing right where it was supposed to be, and the two unicorns looked like they hadn’t even broken a sweat.

Highly confused, Braxton sat the cleaning utensils down and walked over to them, silently wondering how they managed to breeze through something that he and Applejack had to strain to accomplish.

“Excuse me, girls? If you don’t mind, I got a question.” He said when he was close to them. Twilight and Rarity ceased their conversation and looked up at him.

“Of course, Braxton. What is it?” Rarity asked.

Braxton thought for a moment about how to properly word his question, before saying, “Well, I was just wondering... how did you two manage to lift that shelf so easily? I mean, you look like you didn’t even lift it at all!” Twilight and Rarity looked at each other in confusion and then back to him.

“That’s because we didn’t. We’re unicorns.” Twilight said simply, as though it explained everything. It didn’t, at least not to Braxton.

“...Yeah? And?” He said, scratching his chin.

“Well, because we’re unicorns we didn’t have to lift it. We used our magic.”

Braxton looked at Twilight like she had just sprouted a fifth hoof. “...Magic? Seriously?” He asked with skepticism clearly evident in his voice.

Twilight and Rarity nodded in unison. “Why is that so hard to believe, darling? It was a simple telekinesis spell. Any unicorn can do it.” Rarity said. Now it was she who fell under Braxton’s scrutinizing stare.

After a moment of looking back and forth between them, Braxton’s willpower crumbled and he suddenly burst out laughing. “Hohohahaha! That’s a good one, girls! Magic? Telekinesis?! Hohohaha! I gotta admit you two have great poker faces! You really had me going for a second!” The mares just stood there as he laughed, their faces forming looks of annoyance.

Finally Braxton calmed down for the most part, though a chuckle still slipped out here and there. “Heehee... let’s be serious, though. How did you do it? Some kind of pulley or something?” He guessed. Neither mare said anything, but Twilight’s horn lit up with a light purple aura. There was a distinct chiming noise in the air, the same one Braxton recalled hearing moments before, and a book was lifted out of a nearby pile and levitated in front of his face. It was also covered in the same purple light as Twilight’s horn.

Braxton’s jaw almost unhinged as it fell open in utter shock at what he was seeing. His eyes followed the book’s every subtle motion as it bobbed up and down, held aloft by seemingly nothing. He raised a hand up and swiped it over the book and below it, checking for any strings or wires. Nothing. He looked around the book, making sure that it wasn’t just some trick of the light. It was most definitely real.

“So, do you believe us now?” Twilight asked with a smug grin and tone of voice to match. Braxton said nothing and continued to stare at the book.

“Oh my God,” He whispered in total awe, “...Magic. Real magic.” He finally had to admit to himself that in this new and wondrous world he found himself in, magic was real.

“This is absolutely amazing! There’s nothing even close to magic like this in my world!” He exclaimed, snatching the book from midair and inspecting it.

“You mean magic doesn’t exist in your world?” Twilight said with a gasp, in complete disbelief that a world could survive without magic.

“Well, yes and no. ‘Magic’ technically does exist, but it’s mostly for show. Smoke and mirrors, card tricks, and things like that. But magic, true magic like this, only exists in fairy tales and stories. In fact, a lot of things I’ve seen today are from fairy tales in my world. Almost as if...” Braxton trailed off suddenly, becoming lost in thought a little.

“Almost as if what, darling?” Rarity asked, snapping Braxton back to reality. The two were looking up at him expectantly, waiting for him to finish his thought.

Braxton shook his head and returned his attention to the book in his hands. “Nothing. Forget I said anything.” He said. Though that still didn’t sate the ponies curiosity, they decided to let the matter drop for now.

Braxton gave the book another once over and noticed something off about the cover. Namely that he couldn’t read it. The symbols on the book were different from anything he had seen before, and the closest thing he had to compare them to were Egyptian hieroglyphs. Braxton opened the book and flipped to page one, and more of the same symbols littered the page. He flipped to random pages throughout the book, but they all contained the same illegible symbols.

“Hey, Twilight? What’s up with this book?” He said, holding the open book in front of her face. Twilight’s eyes scanned the page for a moment and she looked up at him in confusion.

“What are you talking about, Braxton? There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s written in plain Equestrian.”

“Equestrian? What’s that, some kinda foreign language?”

Twilight looked at him like he was crazy and stammered, “Wha... No! It’s the language that everypony speaks! You’re speaking it right now!” Braxton was taken aback by her declaration.

“No, I’m not!” He insisted, “I’m speaking English! I’ve never even heard of Equestrian before!”

“Well, I’ve never heard of English before!”

“Have you been living under a rock? Half my world speaks English!”

“Have you forgotten that you’re not in your world anymore?”

“...Touché.” He conceded, “But if I’m speaking Equestrian, then how come I can’t read it, huh?” He said, pointing to the cover of the book.

Twilight shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, you tell me!” She said indignantly.

Before Braxton could reply, Rainbow Dash flew over and landed next to Twilight. “What, this thing never learned how to read? Hah! He’s an even bigger moron than I thought he was!” She said to Twilight.

That was the last straw for Braxton.

“THAT DOES IT!!” He shouted, throwing the book on the ground in a rage. He pointed a challenging finger at the pegasus. “What the hell is your problem with me, Dash?!” Rainbow backpedaled at first, startled by his outburst, but soon recovered and stood her ground.

“What do you mean ‘my problem’, freak?” She said, glaring daggers at Braxton.

“I mean that ever since I got here I’ve been trying to be a nice guy, but for whatever reason you’ve done nothing but insult and threaten me at every turn! So I ask again, what’s your problem?!” He exclaimed, returning Rainbow’s heated glare.

Rainbow flew into his face and said, “My problem is that you're some freaky weirdo who’s been following me and my friends around all day planning Celestia knows what! I don’t trust you for a second!” She poked him in the chest with a hoof as she spoke.

“Listen, you ego-boner stroking meathead! Why can’t you get it through your thick skull that I’m not some kind of villain? Not that it matters. I don’t particularly need the trust of a pony whose hair looks like it was the victim of a bad dye job!”

After that last part, Rainbow looked about ready to explode. “Don’t you make fun of my mane, you bastard!” The other ponies gasped at their friend’s shocking use of profanity.

“And what are you gonna do about it, huh?!”

“YOU WANNA GO, FREAKSHOW?!”

“ANYTIME YOU’RE READY, JOCK STRAP! BRING IT ON!!”

“THAT’S ENOUGH, BOTH OF YOU!!”

The pony and human were literally butting foreheads, each one ready to beat the daylights out of the other, when the command hit their ears and they turned towards it’s source.

Rarity was absolutely livid. Her face was beet red and she glared at them with ice-cold cerulean eyes. Braxton and Rainbow Dash gulped in unison, both of them knowing that this was the look of a mare on the edge.

“What is the matter with you two?!” She shouted, “We are here to help Twilight clean the library and you two are bickering like schoolfillies!”

Rarity addressed Braxton first. “First off, Braxton! You may have saved my sister, but I simply will not allow you to insult Rainbow Dash! She is our friend, we will not stand for it!” Braxton couldn’t believe what he was hearing. After all, it was Rainbow who had been insulting him all day! Braxton was about to voice his thoughts, but was cut off by an uproarious laugh from Dash herself.

“And as for you, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity said, cutting the pegasus’s laugh short, “Braxton is correct. Ever since he arrived, you have done nothing but belittle him, even though he has done nothing to deserve it! He is going through a rough time right now, having been pulled from his world and all, and you antagonizing him is not helping the situation!” Braxton’s frown transformed into a cocky grin as he beheld Rainbow’s slack-jawed expression.

“Now then, I want you two to shake and make up, so that we can put this whole dreadful conversation behind us. Is that clear?” Rarity said.

“Not happening!” Braxton declared, folding his arms.

“No way am I shaking hooves with that thing!” Rainbow announced, mimicking the human’s actions.

Rarity slammed her right hoof on the wooden floor of the library, startling everyone present. “Do it! NOW!” She loudly commanded, blue sparks flying from her horn.

The human and pony backed up a bit and swallowed again, before turning to each other and glaring daggers. Reluctantly, the two raised their right hand and hoof respectively, connected them, and gave one firm shake, their eyes never disconnecting that spiteful glare.

Rarity nodded firmly. “Good. Now that that’s settled, we can--” She was cut short by the library door opening to reveal Spike, who had his eyes closed and was wearing a jolly smile.

“Twi, I’m back! I dropped off the CMC and... I...” He trailed off when he opened his eyes to see the six ponies and human standing in the center of the still fairly wrecked library. Spike blinked a few times and looked around for a minute, taking in his surroundings

“...Whoa. What’d I miss?”

***************

The remainder of the time spent cleaning up the library was done in almost total silence, with tensions still riding high from Braxton and Dash’s earlier blowout. With Spike’s help, however, coupled with his experience at restocking shelves and tidying the library, the job was finished in no time.

The library was back to it’s former glory, but to Twilight, there was still much work to be done. She still had research to conduct.

“Braxton? Are you ready to answer some questions now?” She asked the human, who was dusting off the last bookshelf. He nodded and, remembering he still had his revolver on him and not wanting to accidentally sit on it, removed his belt holster and rested it on a nearby table. He walked over to where the ponies and dragon had gathered around a couch, and plopped down on top of it, while Twilight levitated a piece of parchment and a quill over to her with magic. Braxton rested his elbows on his knees and his head in his palm as Twilight wrote a few preliminary notes on the paper. When it looked like she was done, he spoke.

“So, Twilight, what do you want to know?”

Author's Note

Well, that escalated quickly, am I right?

There will be blood. ...Maybe.

Chapter 10 - Twenty Questions

“Well, how about we start with this? Full name, please.” Twilight said, holding the quill to the paper with her magic.

Braxton raised an eyebrow at the slightly odd question to start off, but nonetheless shrugged and obliged. “My full name is Braxton Relius Carr.” He said.

Twilight scribbled the name down and paused as she read it again. And then again. She looked back up at him with bemusement on her face. “Relius?” She asked. He nodded. Twilight read the name again. Then looked back at him with the same expression. “Really?” She asked in disbelief. Braxton just smiled and nodded again.

Rainbow Dash took it upon herself to properly voice Twilight’s thoughts. “Pfft! What kinda stupid name is-- OMPFH!” Dash’s speech was cut off by Rarity shoving her hoof in Rainbow’s mouth.

“I believe what Rainbow Dash means to say,” Rarity began, throwing a harsh glare Dash’s way, “is that the name is very, er... unique, darling.” She said, flashing an off-putting smile.

After giving Rainbow Dash a moderately heated glare of his own, he turned back to Rarity and chuckled. “Yeah, so I’ve been told. It’s a family name.” He said, hoping that they would leave it at that for fear of having to go into some of the more... personal details of his life.

Thankfully, they did. Shrugging her shoulders, Twilight accepted the answer and moved on to the next question. “Okay then, let’s move on. You’ve already told us how old you are, so how about now you tell us a little about yourself. You know, your likes, dislikes, hobbies, things like that.” She said, getting excited about learning more about the human’s lifestyle.

Braxton leaned back on the couch and crossed one leg over the other. He put a hand to his chin and thought for a moment before speaking. “Hmm, where to start? Okay, well, my main hobby is traveling. In fact, you could say I’m something of a nomad. I can’t get enough of it! I’ve been around my world a couple of times over, but I’m still nowhere close to being done.” He said with a cheerful smile.

“Wait,” Twilight interjected, “you said you’re a nomad? That means that... you don’t have a home, right?” She said with a concerned expression. The ponies and dragon around her bore similar expressions upon hearing this, except for Rainbow Dash who honestly couldn’t care less.

Braxton waved a hand dismissively and chuckled again. “Technically, no. I don’t have a permanent home, but that doesn’t mean I live on the street or anything. There is usually a hotel or inn that can accommodate me during my stay at any given location, and if not, then I go camping. But believe me, I’m never without shelter.” He said. Twilight and the others seemed to accept this, but it was obvious that they weren’t totally without concern regarding his lifestyle.

Regardless, Braxton moved on to the next topic. “Aside from traveling, one of my favorite things to do is take pictures. I’ve been into photography ever since I was a little kid, and my travels only made that fondness grow. Every time I arrive in a new place I can’t help but take a few pictures as mementos.” He said. As he spoke, he unslung his red backpack and began rifling through it.

Finally, he found the item he sought. A large, brown leather bound book that he used as his travel journal. The book was filled with pictures from around the world, from India, to Moscow, to Hong Kong, and many more places in between. Each picture had a caption underneath detailing when the picture was taken, from what location, and what it was about. To top it off, on the cover of the book was a simple two word inscription, one that Twilight was quick to point out.

“What do these letters mean?” Twilight asked. “I can’t read any of it..." Suddenly, she gasped in realization. "Is this the language of your people?! Can you translate for us? What does it mean?!” Twilight’s eyes shimmered with excitement as her curiosity was more than a little piqued, and Braxton grinned a little at the unicorn’s eagerness.

That grin transformed into a slightly sadistic smirk as he remembered a similar conversation about a book he had with the unicorn earlier, and Braxton decided he would have a little fun with her. “Oh, well, gee Twi, you can’t read it? Well, that’s a darn shame, huh? Too bad it’s not written in Equestrian, am I right? Then it would be no problem for you!” He said with his smirk growing even more evil than before.

Twilight’s excited smile dropped and her shoulders sagged. “W...W-What are you saying?!” She asked fearfully.

Braxton turned the book over repeatedly in his hand and said, “I’m saying that it’s not so much fun when the language barrier shoe is on the other hoof, now is it? Maybe I should just let you figure out what this says on your own...” He waved the book in front of Twilight’s face teasingly, causing her to bite her lip with anxiety.

“N-No, please!” Twilight begged, “I-I have to know, I’ll do anything! I’ll even teach you to read Equestrian if you want! Just please, you have to tell--” Twilight was cut off by a sudden laugh from Braxton.

“Hohohahaha! Relax, Twilight, I’m just messing with you! Of course I’ll tell you! No need to get your tail in a twist, girl.” He said with wry grin replacing his previously sinister smirk.

Twilight looked a little embarrassed at her outburst, with her purple cheeks taking on a red tint. “Hehehe... right. I-I knew that, I was just... playing along! Yeah, that’s it...” She said, smiling sheepishly.

Braxton’s grin only got wider as Twilight’s blush grew. “Alright, Twi, whatever you say.” He said, leading the unicorn to furrow her brow and pout. Applejack and Pinkie Pie could be heard giggling behind her, but they were quickly silenced by a glare from the lavender mare. “Anyway,” Braxton continued, “To answer your question, no, this isn’t English, but a language that English is heavily derived from, Latin. The inscription reads ‘Carpe Diem’,” He pointed to each word respectively as he said them, “and that means to ‘seize the day’.” Twilight wrote all of this down without missing a beat, while Applejack raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“‘Seize the day’? What the heck’s that s’posed to mean?” Applejack asked.

Twilight answered on Braxton’s behalf. “It essentially means to live life to the fullest, Applejack. Not a bad motto to live by, I must say.” She said with approval.

“Okay, that’s all fine and dandy, Twi. But why is Carp whatever on the cover a’ that book?” She asked Braxton, turning the group’s attention back to him.

“It’s very simple, my dear Applejack. This is my travel journal. It contains pictures from all across my world, as well as details about them. I just figured that ‘Carpe Diem’ would be an appropriate phrase to slap on the cover, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Ooh, ooh! If that book’s full of pictures from your world, do you mind if we take a look? Oh, pretty please with extra sprinkles on top?!” Pinkie asked merrily, bouncing up and down with glee.

The others muttered much calmer words of agreement as they gazed at the journal with curiosity. Braxton shrugged and said, “If you all are really that curious, then sure I’ll show you.” He opened the book and began flipping through the pages. “Let me just find an interesting one for you all... Ah! Here we go, a classic!” Braxton held the book out for all to see, and they bunched in close to get a good view. The ponies and dragon gasped at what they saw, as they had never seen anything quite like it.

“Whoa, look at all those billboards and ads!” Spike exclaimed.

“I know! There’s so many pretty lights and colors! It looks like one big party!!” Pinkie cheerfully pointed out.

“And just look at all of the hustle and bustle! It’s almost as busy as Canterlot! And, those are more humans, correct? Why, they all look just like you, Braxton!” Rarity said, infatuated by the scene laid out before her.

“So, you gonna tell us what we’re looking at, or what?” Dash said, masking her mild interest with indifference.

“This, Dash, is a place known as Times Square, located in the very heart of Manhattan, one of the boroughs of New York City.” He said proudly.

In almost perfect unison, the ponies shifted their eyes away from the picture and looked at Braxton like he had just spoken in an alien language. “Uhm, I think you mean ‘Manehattan’ and ‘New Yoke City’, don’t you?” Twilight said, raising an eyebrow.

Now it was Braxton’s turn to look at her funny. “...Nooo, I meant what I said. It’s Manhattan and New York City.” He said.

Applejack shook her head. “Maybe where ya’ll come from, sugarcube, but in these parts, it’s Manehattan. Ah should know, Ah spent some time there when Ah was young’un.” She said.

‘Huh. That’s one hell of a coincidence.’ Braxton thought, shrugging. “Alright, well, what do you say move on to another photo?” He said, flipping through the journal.

He came upon another he thought they would enjoy, one with a lot of history behind it. “Okay, how about these ones?” The ponies gathered around and almost immediately let out a chorus of “oohs” and “aahs”. The pictures in front of them were filled with old looking castle-architecture juxtaposed with newer, sleeker technology, and the focal point of one of the pictures was a statue of a man in green garb holding a bow and arrow.

“My, my, who’s this sharply-dressed gentlecolt?” Rarity said, admiring the statue.

Braxton smiled and said, “That, Rarity, is folklore hero Robin Hood, and this is his home city of Nottingham.”

Once again, the ponies and dragon looked at him strangely. “Er, darling, I do believe you mean Robin Hoof of Trottingham, right? Why, I’m proud to say that I own nearly every novel chronicling his adventures! Oh, the drama, the romance, the swashbuckling heroism, it’s simply divine!” Rarity continued to gush about Robin Hoof and his band of Merry Mares, but Braxton had long since tuned her out.

‘Wait a minute. Manehattan, New Yoke City, Trottingham, and Robin Hoof? ...No. No, it can't be. There’s no way that can be a coincidence!’ Braxton thought, flipping once again to another page.

“How about this one?” Braxton said, cutting Rarity off. The picture this time was of a large hill where the word ‘HOLLYWOOD’ was spelled out in giant, white letters.

Rainbow Dash pointed to the sign and exclaimed, “Hey, that looks just like the Applewood sign!” Braxton clenched his teeth in frustration and flipped to another page.

“What about this? Las Vegas?” Braxton said.

“Ya mean Las Pegasus? Hoo boy, that place sure is a hoot and a half!” Applejack declared.

Braxton furrowed his brow and turned to another page, his irritation steadily growing. “Okay, this one! Saudi Arabia!” He said, holding out the picture.

“You mean Saddle Arabia, dear.” Rarity corrected again.

“No, I mean... ugh, fine! How about... Frankfurt, Germany?” Braxton held out another picture and grinned, thinking he’d stumped them this time.

“Close, but it’s Flankfurt, Germaney here.” Twilight said.

Braxton’s eye twitched and his grin drooped into an annoyed scowl as he found yet another page. “Grrr, alright! Glasgow!” He said.

“Glascow, dude.” Spike said.

“Oh, you gotta be... Niagara Falls?!” Braxton tried desperately.

“Ooh, I like this game! Wait, wait, don’t tell me! You mean Neighagara Falls, am I right?!” Pinkie guessed.

“AARRGGH!” Braxton shouted, startling the ponies. He clapped his journal shut in frustration and said, “C’mon, you can’t be serious! Is every location in this world just a version of mine but with a ridiculous pony pun slapped on it?!” As he said this, the group around him took on offended expressions.

“Ridiculous?! I’ll have you know that those are some of Equestria’s greatest landmarks!” Rarity scolded.

“Yeah, Rarity’s right! How would you like it if we said that you're world’s places was copyin’ ours, but with some silly human spin put on ‘em?” Applejack added, pointing an accusing hoof at Braxton.

Braxton sighed heavily and returned his journal back to the backpack resting at his feet. “Alright, look, you’re right. I shouldn’t have belittled your country like that. It was uncalled for and I’m sorry." He sighed again. "Let’s just forget about the journal for now, okay? Is there anything else you wanted to ask me, Twilight?” He asked.

The ponies seemed to accept his apology as their expressions quickly softened. Twilight looked over her notes again and said, “Well, in your pictures I noticed a few... strange things. For example, in the first one you showed us, there were so many lights that it looked almost blinding. Why do your people feel the need to light so many candles?”

Braxton’s face broke into a wide grin as he fought the urge to laugh at the lavender unicorn. After pushing down the giggles, Braxton spoke. “Uhm, those weren’t candles, Twilight. They were lightbulbs.” The ponies stared at him blankly.

“...You know, hanging fixtures? Neon lights?” Still blank stares from the group.

“...Electricity?” A chorus of comprehending noises came from the ponies as they finally caught on with what he was saying.

“But wait,” Twilight said, “How did you manage to harness so much electricity? Can your people control the weather like pegasi can?” She asked with curiosity.

“No, we can’t. We make our own electricity. Also, pegasi control the weather here?” Braxton asked, confused.

Spike nodded. “Yep! In fact, Rainbow Dash here is our head weather manager here in Ponyville!” He said, praising the mare.

“Heh! You better believe it! And not only that, but I’m the fastest flyer in all of Equestria! I can clear rainclouds up in ten seconds flat and I’m the only pegasus to ever pull off a Sonic Rainboom!” She announced, never one to miss an opportunity to brag. She flew right into Braxton’s face wearing a smug grin. “Jealous?” She asked him.

Braxton gave her a deadpan look before letting loose an exaggerated yawn, which greatly annoyed Rainbow Dash. “Not really.” He said. “If this ‘Sonic Rainboom’ is anything like a regular sonic boom, then we have some flying machines called airplanes from my world that can actually do double that. In fact, there was one human who did it on his own, without the aid of one of those machines.” He said, now wearing a smug grin of his own. He heard the sound of impressed mutters from the group, except Rainbow who continued to scowl at him.

‘Of course, he was basically dropped from orbit, but still.’ Braxton thought.

“Wow! So you have flying machines in your world, as well?” Twilight asked, amazed.

Braxton nodded. “Of course we do. How do think I got to all of the places in my journal? Walking? Hohohaha!” Braxton chuckled at the notion.

“Braxton, your world sounds like a bastion of technological achievements!” Twilight said, still writing everything down. Suddenly, she stopped writing and donned a contemplative look.

“Is, uh, everything alright, Twi?” Braxton said after a moment.

Twilight looked up from her notes and nodded. “Yes, everything’s fine. It’s just... well, this may be a long shot, but... do you happen to have any pieces of technology from your world with you now?" She asked hopefully.

Braxton leaned back and thought for a moment, before realizing that he did, in fact, have what Twilight was after. “As a matter of fact, Twilight,” He said, digging into his duster pocket, “I do!” He finished as he pulled out a black, rectangular object.

Twilight’s eyes sparkled with excitement upon seeing the object, but the others just looked at it with dumbfounded expressions.

“...Okay, so what’s it do? It just looks like a hunk of plastic to me.” Spike said, disappointed.

“Spike! This is no simple ‘hunk of plastic’! This is an incredibly sophisticated piece of alien technology!” Twilight berated the young drake.

“It does kinda look like a hunk of plastic.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Yeah, Ah gotta agree with Dash an’ Spike on this one, Twi.” Applejack concurred.

Braxton said nothing, opting instead to let the object speak for itself. He pressed the ‘ON’ button on the side and let the ponies watch as the device lit up. The screen displayed the animated welcoming image as the group gathered around, mouths slightly open in amazement.

“W...What is it?” Rarity asked in astonishment.

Braxton smiled and said, “This... is a cell phone.”

Over the course of the next twenty minutes, Braxton showed them the ins and outs of the device, from the touchscreen, to the numerous apps, and even some of the music he had stored. After he was done the ponies were even more in awe than before.

“Well, that was somethin’ else.” Applejack said, those being the only words she could think of to describe what she had just witnessed.

“I know, right!” Pinkie exclaimed, “I really liked some of the games! Especially the one with the birds and the slingshot! You know, where they hit the pigs? That was so funny!” She let out one of her signature giggles, punctuated by a small snort at the end that Braxton found utterly adorable.

“Yeah, and that music was awesome! What did you call that again? Heavy Metal or something? It was great! Right, Rarity?” Spike asked, still rocking out to it in his head.

“Hmm, yes, well I much preferred the more classical pieces, thank you very much.” Rarity said, giving her elegant mane a toss.

Spike went wide-eyed for a moment before saying, “O-Oh, uh, yeah! Me too! Sooo much better!” The other ponies rolled their eyes at the young dragons attempts to win over his crush.

‘Heh, so that’s how it is, huh? Little guy’s got a thing for classy ladies. Well, best of luck to you, pal. You’re gonna need it.’ Braxton thought with a smirk.

Braxton looked at the time on his phone again. ‘What the hell? It’s still reading 12:00 A.M.? Ugh, now I know this thing’s busted.’ He thought angrily.

Twilight noticed the angry glare he was giving his phone. “Braxton? Is something wrong?” She asked him.

He looked at her and nodded. “Yeah. I think the time on my phone is glitching on me. It’s not working right.” He said with a frown.

Twilight smiled as she got an idea. “Oh, is that all? I can fix that easily!” She said with confidence.

“Really? You can fix this?” He asked tentatively.

She nodded. “Sure! I have a time altering spell I designed to set the clocks around the library. All I have to do is apply that spell to your phone and it’ll be good as new!” Twilight said.

Braxton still wasn’t fully convinced. “You sure about this, Twi? I mean, this is a lot more complex than a clock.” He told her.

“I’m positive! Don’t worry, magic is my special talent, after all.” She turned to the side to show off her cutie mark, a purple six-pointed star with five white stars around it.

Braxton recalled back in the woods that Sweetie had mentioned cutie marks, and said that they represented what a pony was the best at in life. At the same time, he realized that the ponies around him all, indeed, had cutie marks of their own. ‘How the heck did I miss that? I guess I just wasn’t paying too much attention to their flanks.’ He thought, making a mental note to ask them all about their own cutie marks later on.

Turning his attention back to Twilight, Braxton shrugged and sat the phone on the coffee table, figuring that there was no better pony to trust with magic than one whose special talent is magic.

Twilight’s horn lit up with her usual lavender aura, and that same aura soon engulfed the phone as well. Twilight closed her eyes in concentration as the glow around her horn and the phone grew. Then, there was a flash of light, and when they all opened their eyes again the glow was gone.

The phone sat on the table like nothing had ever happened. “Did it... did it work?” Braxton asked.

“I think so. Go on, try it out.” Twilight said encouragingly.

Braxton reached over to grab the phone, but just as he was about to touch it, the phone released a small spark of electricity. Braxton jerked his hand back and stared at the phone. When nothing else happened, he reached for it again. This time, the phone gave off two sharp sparks. And then three. Then, multiple sparks started flying off the device. The group backed away from the phone as it discharged more and more, before finally coming to a sudden stop. The room was deathly quiet as they all stared at the phone in stunned silence.

“...I think that--” Twilight started, but was cut off by a loud...

*BOOOOOM!!!!*

The phone on the table had exploded, erupting in to a miniature mushroom cloud of smoke and plastic bits. After the explosion had died down, the only thing left of the phone was a rectangular piece of rubble with a smoking crater in the middle.

The room was dead silent once again as none of them knew what to say or do. They just stared at the once functional device with blank expressions. As the last bits of plastic rained from the sky onto the table, one voice spoke up to say what they were all thinking.

“...Well. That’s a shame.” Braxton said.

Author's Note

Yeah, not a very eventful chapter this time around, but I tried to make it as entertaining as possible for you guys. I'm also going to be pumping these out a lot faster now that school's done, so look forward to that as well.

What else is there? Oh yes, next chapter...

FIGHT SCENE!

Chapter 11 - Like Clockwork

“Braxton, I’m so, so, so, sooo sorry!”

“Yeah, so you’ve said, Twilight.”

“I mean, I just don’t know what went wrong! That spell always works with the clocks around the library!”

“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you, Twilight.”

“I know! And you did, but I just thought that it wouldn’t be a problem! I had no idea it would explode like that! Oh, I’m so, so, so, sooo sorry!”

“...Yeah. I think you mentioned that, Twilight.”

This little back and forth had been going on in the library for the past ten minutes, ever since Twilight awoke from the comatose state she fell under after it hit her that she obliterated the only alien device in Equestria. When she woke up, she almost immediately began crying her eyes out and apologizing profusely, to the point where it was starting to grate on Braxton’s, and everyone else’s, nerves.

After the initial shock had worn off, Braxton had been very angry, and justifiably so, and he had planned on giving Twilight the chewing out of the century as soon as she woke up. As soon as she laid eyes on him, however, Twilight began dispensing words of apology at an incredibly rapid pace, so much so that Braxton couldn’t even get a word in edgewise. Eventually, he’d stopped trying, but Twilight continued on anyway.

She followed Braxton around the library as he scooped up the remnants of his destroyed phone and tossed them into a nearby waste bin. She continued to follow him as he trudged back to the couch he had been sitting on. And now here they all were, ponies, dragon, and human, listening to Twilight ramble about how sorry she was.

“Twilight, can you just--” Braxton began.

“I mean, it was just a simple spell! There’s no reason it should have reacted like that!” Twilight cut him off.

“Okay, Twilight, but you--” He tried again.

“I’m supposed to be Celestia’s prized student, and I can’t even handle a simple clock resetting spell! And speaking of the Princess, if she ever found out about how I destroyed the first piece of alien technology Equestria has ever seen, she’ll banish me to the moon for sure! Or even worse, send me back to magic kindergarten!” Twilight lamented, covering her head with her hooves.

“Look, I don’t know who this Celestia is, Twilight, but I’m sure that--”

“Wait!” Twilight exclaimed, “I can still fix this!” She levitated the waste bin over to her and then pulled the phone out, and sat it on the table.

“Twilight...”

“All that needs to be done is a simple repair spell!”

“Twilight!”

“This will be a piece of cake! It’ll be back to new in no time!”

“TWILIGHT!!!” Braxton shouted at the top of his lungs, finally catching the distraught mare’s attention.

“W-What?” She asked, startled.

Braxton put his hands up to his temples and massaged them vigorously as he spoke. “Twilight, I want you to listen to me carefully, because this is important.” He said with a sigh.

“O...Okay...”

“...I’m not angry with you. Not anymore, at least.”

“Y-You’re not?” Twilight asked hesitantly.

“No, I’m not, but let me finish.” Braxton said, still massaging his temples. “I get that it was an accident. Fine, whatever. It’s not like I was going to be making any calls while I was here anyway. So, I want you to believe me when I say that I mean what I’m about to say next in the nicest possible way. If you really want to earn my forgiveness, you only need to do one simple thing.”

“O-Of course! I’ll do anything, just name it!” Twilight said, eager to have him forgive her. Braxton’s hands dropped from the sides of his head and he turned to look Twilight straight in the face. He sat there staring at her for what felt like ages, or at least long enough for her to begin to feel slightly uncomfortable. Finally, Braxton took in a deep breath, parted his lips, and spoke.

“Shut up. Please. You’ve been apologizing for almost fifteen minutes. We get it. Move on.” He said as calmly as he could.

Twilight shied away a bit at the icy tone of Braxton’s voice, before turning her head towards her friends and scanning the looks on their faces. They all wore expressions of annoyance similar to Braxton himself. To her surprise, even the always upbeat Pinkie Pie had her brow furrowed in irritation. Twilight gave her friends a toothy grin and laughed sheepishly.

“Hehe...he...sorry...” She said, resulting in everyone throwing even harsher glares her way. Twilight even heard Pinkie Pie deliver a very un-ponylike growl of anger.

“Uh... A-Anyway, be that as it may,” Twilight began, “I’m still sure that I can fix this with that repair spell.” She began to lift the broken cell phone up with her magic, only to have it slammed back onto the table by a leather-gloved hand.

“AH!!” Twilight shrieked in surprise. Her eyes trailed past the hand and up the arm that accompanied it, to meet face to face with a still somewhat irritated looking human.

Braxton shook his head slowly and said, “Twilight. Move on. I already said I forgive you. You don’t need to do anything else.” He tossed the broken device back into the waste bin from whence it came.

“But, I know that with a simple spell--” Twilight began.

“Ah, ah! Let it go, Twilight.” Braxton said, cutting her off.

“B-B-But!--”

“I said let. It. Go. There’s no point in dwelling on what’s already been done. Just accept it and move on.” He cut Twilight off again and pushed the waste bin to the side. Braxton’s voice had taken on an underlying tone of bitterness that Twilight couldn’t help but catch, but she decided not to question him about it and risk irritating him further.

Twilight sighed and said, “Alright, fine. But that still leaves one problem. How can I face the Princess after all this? What am I supposed to tell her?!” Her voice was steadily regaining some of it’s worry from earlier.

“Just don’t tell her anything! What the Princess doesn’t know won’t hurt her, right?” Rainbow Dash suggested.

Twilight glared incredulously at her friend. “Rainbow, I can’t do that! That would be lying to the Princess!” She said.

Dash rolled her eyes. “Pfft, who are you, Applejack?” She said mockingly. “Besides, there’s a difference between lying and just not saying anything. As long as nopony spills the beans, you’ll be fine!” Dash said with a wave of her hoof.

Twilight’s gaze drifted towards the ground as she bit her lip in indecision. After almost a minute of silence she finally came to a conclusion. “...Hmm, I still don’t like it, but I guess I don’t have a choice. No matter what, Celestia can’t find out that I destroyed the first alien device in Equestria, or who knows what she’d do!” Twilight said, dreading any possible punishment the Princess could bestow.

She turned to address her dragon assistant. “Spike, take a letter!” Twilight commanded. Spike whipped out a quill and parchment from seemingly nowhere and signaled Twilight to go ahead. Twilight dictated a very well constructed report to the Princess, only pausing occasionally to give Spike time to spell out a particularly difficult word. She also carefully avoided the subject of the destroyed cell phone, wording her letter to give off the impression that there had never even been one in the first place.

As Twilight spoke, Braxton sat rifling through his pack, looking for a very important item. Finally, at the bottom of the bag he found what it was he sought, and pulled the item out by it’s gold chain to reveal a small pocket-watch. Braxton turned the watch over in his hand, admiring every facet of it. The watch was very ornate, with a golden trim around the edges and a silver-plated cover to protect the clock inside. On the cover was an extremely detailed carving of two deer running through the woods. On the back was an equally detailed carving of a carnation, with wild vines circling around it to complete the image.

‘Looks like I might be needing you after all, eh?’ Braxton thought as he clicked open the watch and set it to the current time based on one of the hanging clocks in the library. With that done, he found his eyes drifting to the inside of the cover, where a professionally done three-word inscription was engraved. It read, ‘To My Son’.

Braxton ran a thumb over the engraving like he had done a million times before. The inscription was very old, almost as old as the watch itself, but had stayed legible thanks to persistent maintenance and care over the years. As he stared at the watch, Braxton’s thoughts drifted back to the day when he first received it, and the corners of his mouth curled up into a sad smile.

“...Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight finished her dictation. She was about to instruct Spike to send the letter when she saw what Braxton was doing out of the corner of her eye. “Braxton? What’s that you’re holding?” She asked curiously. Catching his attention, Braxton snapped his head up like he had just been awoken from a dream.

He clicked the watch closed and chuckled dryly. “Uh, nothing special. Just an old pocket-watch. With my phone busted, I need some way to at least tell time while I’m here.” He said, remembering to smile. Twilight opened her mouth to apologize once again, but Braxton raised a hand and nodded once to silence her. She closed her mouth and smiled sheepishly in return, and Braxton held up the pocket-watch for all to see.

They all let out “oohs” and “aahs” of appreciation at the design of the watch, but Rarity was the first to speak up properly about it. “My goodness! These carvings are magnificent! Clearly, professional hooves were necessary to make these details so intricate.” She said as she raised her own hoof to touch the watch, but was denied when it was slightly pulled away from her reach.

“...Uhm, hands.” Braxton said.

Rarity looked at him, confused. “Er, excuse me, darling?” She asked.

“You said ‘professional hooves’. But it was actually hands that made this little number.” He said, placing the watch in the inside pocket of his duster.

Braxton’s explanation only served to further confuse Rarity. “I’m sorry, but what exactly is a... ‘hand’, darling?” She asked.

Braxton was about to answer when Applejack reached over and grasped his right hand, lifting it up for all of them to see. “This thang.” She said simply. The others in the room nodded in understanding as Applejack released Braxton’s hand and went back over to them.

Braxton rolled his eyes and smiled. “Thank you, AJ.” He said with a nod. The orange mare silently tipped her hat in response.

“Anyway, Spike, go ahead and send that letter and my notes to the Princess. I’m sure she’d want to know about all of this as soon as possible.” Twilight said to her assistant. Spike gather up all of the papers and rolled them up into a scroll, securing them with a red ribbon. He went over to open a window, sucked in a lungful of air, and blew out a trail of green fire that completely engulfed the scroll.

Braxton’s eyes widened as he watched the former scroll’s ashes get carried out of the window with a gust of wind. Spike nonchalantly closed the window and walked back over to the group, none of whom were the least bit surprised by what happened.

“Aaaand, why exactly did you set it on fire?! I thought that you were going to send it!” Braxton said, utterly confused.

Spike looked at him incredulously. “Uh, I did send it, dude.” He said simply. Braxton’s eye twitched as his confusion visibly grew.

“Let me explain,” Twilight cut in before Braxton burst a blood vessel, “Spike is a rare type of dragon whose breath has magical properties. Most dragons can only breathe one type of fire, but Spike here has the ability to breathe multiple. The one you just saw was a variant that allows messages to instantly be sent to Princess Celestia in Canterlot.” As Twilight spoke, Spike puffed out his chest a little with pride at his abilities.

Braxton sighed heavily and dropped his head so that he was looking at the floor. “Sure, why not? A postal service that runs on magic fire. Why should shit start making sense now?” Braxton mumbled under his breath.

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that. Could you speak up?” Twilight asked.

Braxton raised his head and said, “Er, so who is this Princess Celestia anyway, Twi? I’ve heard that name thrown around by you girls quite a lot.” Twilight’s eyes lit up in a way that told Braxton he was in for a long-winded explanation.

“Oh! Princess Celestia, along with her sister, Princess Luna, are the rulers of Equestria. They’ve ruled the land for thousands of years, and are held in very high regard by pretty much everypony!” She gushed about the two monarchs.

“Thousands of years, huh? You don’t say?” Braxton said halfheartedly as he reached into his backpack once more.

“Oh yes!” Twilight continued, “Princess Celestia is in charge of raising and lowering the sun, and Princess Luna does the same for the moon!”

Braxton pulled out a large plastic bag filled with one of his favorite foods out of his pack. “Raise the sun and moon? Is that anything like how the pegasi control the weather?” He asked as he opened the bag. Admittedly, despite all he had seen that day, he still found the concept of two ponies that have lived for millennia physically moving planet-sized bodies a little too far-fetched. However, he decided to humor Twilight, so as to not risk insulting the ponies’ rulers in some way.

Twilight nodded. “Kind of, but the Princesses use extremely powerful unicorn magic to do their duties. Their magic is without compare in all of Equestria, and Princess Celestia was generous enough to take me under her wing as her personal protégé!” Twilight said with the same excitement she always had when talking about the Princesses.

Braxton popped a piece of the dried snack food in his mouth and chewed. “Wow, so you’re the student of the most powerful magic user in the world? That’s mighty impressive! I guess that makes you a pretty strong unicorn too, right?” He said, eating another piece.

Twilight blushed and rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. “W-Well, I don’t like to brag but--”

“You bet she is!” Spike cut Twilight off, “She’s the strongest unicorn in all of Ponyville! Heck, she may even be one of the most powerful ponies who’ve ever lived!” Twilight blushed even harder at the generous praise Spike was heaping on her.

“S-Spike! Don’t say that! You’ll make Braxton think I’m showing off!” Twilight berated her assistant.

“Well, it’s true! Besides, I thought you learned the difference between showing off and actual skill after the whole Trixie fiasco.” Spike said, crossing his arms. The two continued to bicker as Braxton looked on while eating his snack.

He drew the attention of the others, besides Twilight and Spike, who gazed at the food in the bag with curiosity. “Hey, whatcha eatin’ there, pardner? Looks mighty tasty.” Applejack said, pointing a hoof at the bag. Braxton swallowed what was in his mouth and spoke.

“Beef jerky.” He said absentmindedly as he reached for another piece.

Braxton felt something hard slam into his chest and send him rocketing over the couch. He spun head over heels once in mid-air before landing hard on his back on the wooden floor. While he was still dazed, Braxton felt four hooves land roughly on his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Braxton opened his eyes to see a very angry blue pegasus glaring down at him with wings flared open threateningly.

“Ah! What the hell, Dash?!” Braxton shouted.

“I knew something wasn’t right about you, freak! You eat meat!” Rainbow stated as she pointed an accusing hoof down at him.

“Yeah, so? What’s wrong with eating mea--! ...Oh.” Braxton heart dropped into his stomach as he realized what it was he had done. ‘Shit!!! I forgot that ponies don’t eat meat! Now they’re probably terrified of me! Damnit, why did I eat beef jerky in front of them?! What the hell’s wrong with me?!’ Braxton internally berated himself.

Braxton held his palms out defensively. “Wait, wait! You don’t get it! I don’t strictly eat meat. Humans are omnivores. We can live off of both plants and meat!” He proclaimed.

“Doesn’t matter, freakshow! You eat meat, so you’re a predator! And I’m gonna make sure you don’t hurt any of my friends!” Rainbow said, raising a hoof to strike him.

“WAIT!!!” A loud, yet still soft voice called out from behind Dash. Dash halted her strike and turned to look towards the source of the outburst. The group of ponies parted to reveal Fluttershy, who now had the full attention of them all.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened and she shrank down a little, but she still found the courage to speak. “...Uhm, y-you said you’re an omnivore... r-right?” She asked Braxton.

Even though Braxton couldn’t see her from his position, he still nodded and said, “Yeah, that’s right. I’m an omnivore.” Fluttershy walked around so that she could get a good look at Braxton, and him at her.

“W-Well then, in that case, Rainbow Dash, I-I don’t think he should be a problem.” Fluttershy said with a smile. Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped in disbelief at what she was hearing. Fluttershy was the absolute last pony she would’ve expected to come to Braxton’s defense, especially knowing how afraid she usually was.

“W...W-What?! Why?!” Was all the rainbow-maned pegasus could manage to say.

Fluttershy shrunk again at Dash’s loud tone, but was still able to answer. “W-Well, it’s just that I take care of omnivores all the time, as well as herbivores a-and even some carnivores. I even fed the ferrets some cooked fish during the last Winter Wrap-Up. As long as Braxton doesn’t eat anypony...” Fluttershy trailed off and looked down at Braxton fearfully. “Y-Y-You don’t... eat p-ponies... right?” She asked him.

Braxton shook his head. “Of course not! As a matter of fact, eating any type of equine is considered a huge taboo where I come from.” He said, honestly disgusted by the thought.

Fluttershy visibly relaxed and smiled again. “O-Okay, then Braxton shouldn’t worry you, Rainbow Dash. B-Besides, you used to be friends with Gilda, and didn’t she eat meat? I-In fact, I remember you told me that one time in flight school you lost a bet, a-and she made you eat--”

“Okay! Alright! That’s enough, Fluttershy!” Rainbow cut her off, not wanting to relive that particular memory.

Braxton gave a cocky smile at his newfound vindication. “Well, Dash, you heard the lady. I’m no threat. Now, I would appreciate if you would kindly GET THE HECK OFF OF ME!” He didn’t wait for her to respond and roughly shoved her to the side.

He stood up and dusted himself off, but in no time at all he was knocked back to the ground, face down this time. “Ow! Son of a--!” He cried as he looked behind him to see Rainbow standing on top of him once again.

“Nopony pushes me around freak! You hear me? Nopony!” She shouted to the heavens.

Braxton snarled and delivered a hard elbow to Dash’s right side, sending her toppling off of him. He stood up and turned to face her, getting into a defensive stance. “Well, I just did! So what are you gonna do about it, little pony?” He taunted, earning a snort of anger from Dash.

Rainbow flew into the air and back downwards to deliver a flying karate kick directly to Braxton’s head. Braxton was able to react quickly, however, and caught her hind leg when it was just inches away from impacting his face. Still gripping her hind leg, Braxton turned and hurled Dash across the room with as much strength as he could gather. Braxton was actually shocked by how light she was, as he knew that he would have never been able to throw a pony from his world that far.

Rainbow Dash was sent screaming into a small table, the same one that currently held Braxton’s revolver, and the impact knocked the table over sending the gun, holster and all, skidding across the floor. Dash groaned in pain and rubbed the back of her head as she got back to her hooves.

“You’re going to have to be a lot faster than that to hit me, Dash.” Braxton said with a superior tone of voice.

Dash, now having regained her bearings, snarled at him and got down into a charging position. Her snarl turned into a cocky smirk that made Braxton wonder what she had planned. “You want fast, creep?” She said as she pawed at the ground. In the blink of an eye Dash rocketed forward, far too fast for Braxton to see as more than a rainbow blur. She slammed into his torso again and they both flew across the room and out the library door, blowing it off it’s hinges in the process.

Braxton rolled haphazardly across the ground outside of the library, finally skidding to a stop about fifty feet away from the building. He stumbled to his knees and coughed repeatedly, desperately trying suck air into his lungs.

Rainbow Dash landed in front of the struggling human, grinning victoriously. She got back into her charge stance and let out a snort of hot air. “How’s this for fast, huh?!” She shouted as she flew at him at top speed again.

Braxton barely had enough time to look up before Rainbow slammed into his chest again. This time, however, instead of going straight Dash took a sharp turn skywards, bringing Braxton along for the ride. Together they rocketed higher and higher until they were nearly one hundred feet up, and Dash showed no sign of slowing down.

Braxton began to panic as he was pushed farther into the sky. He realized he had to stop this now, or else any higher and the fall would most definitely kill him. His eyes locked on Dash’s wings, or more specifically, her wing joints, and an idea rapidly formed in his head.

Clenching his fist and drawing as much power as possible into it, Braxton delivered a severe punch directly to Rainbow’s right wing. It had the desired effect, as Rainbow immediately howled in pain and went spiraling off course, releasing her hold on Braxton. Unfortunately, it also had the added effect of leaving Braxton stranded a little over thirty meters in the air.

“Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! CRAAAAAHHH!!!” Braxton screamed as he fell unhindered towards the ground. The ponies and dragon on the ground, who had been watching the fight the whole time, looked on in horror as they watched the human plummet to what was sure to be his death. Twilight brought Spike close to her chest to block his vision. Applejack pulled her stetson over her eyes so as to not witness the impact. Rarity and Fluttershy both covered their mouths with a hoof, with the latter having tears begin to well up in her eyes. And Pinkie Pie’s mane partially deflated as she watched her potential new friend fall from the sky.

But Braxton had no plans of dying just yet. He frantically looked around for some kind of saving grace and, thankfully, he found it. Jutting out from near the top of Twilight’s treehouse was a thick and sizable branch the Braxton figured could maybe support his weight. Braxton, seeing no other alternative, took a chance and directed his descent towards the branch. He stretched his left arm out to it’s limit as he was about to fall past the branch and, by some miracle, was able to just barely latch on.

“AH!” Braxton grunted in pain as the branch halted his descent. He grimaced as he felt the bones in his arm pop from the pressure of an almost instant stop, and he clenched his eyes shut as he waited for the pain to ebb away.

With the pain mostly gone, Braxton looked down and nearly had a heart attack when he realized he was still about twenty-five feet up. He began to feel a cold sweat run down the back of his neck as he closed his eyes and swallowed hard. ‘Okay, you can do this, man. Just don’t look down. Don’t. Look. Down.’ Braxton thought as he steeled his nerves. He opened his eyes and looked forward to see a much lower branch. Braxton figured that he might be able to swing to it and then jump down from there.

Grasping the branch with both hands now, he swung off of it and landed feet-first on the lower one, before jumping off of that one and onto the ground. Braxton let out a sigh of relief now that he had both feet planted on the ground, and checked his body for any injuries suffered by his impromptu free-fall. Satisfied, Braxton relaxed and breathed out another sigh.

Suddenly, from behind him he heard the distinct sound of whistling wind, like something was coming for him at a very, very high speed. He turned and looked up to see Rainbow Dash streaking towards him in a blur of color. Realizing that his fight was not yet over, Braxton clenched his fist once again and waited for the right moment.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was gaining even more speed as she rushed towards the human at a blistering pace. She briefly wondered why he was just standing there as she came at him, but decided it didn’t matter. It just made him an easier target.

When Rainbow was mere seconds from impacting Braxton once again, he launched his attack. Braxton reared his fist back and threw a hard straight punch aimed directly at Dash’s face. Dash saw the punch coming, but her momentum was far too great to do anything about it. Braxton’s fist slammed into Rainbow’s face with incredible force, mostly due to Rainbow flying directly into it.

Braxton heard the bones in Dash’s muzzle crack and he grinned, glad to have turned Dash’s speed against her. Dash fell to the ground and immediately clutched at her face with both hooves, screaming and shouting obscenities in a mix of rage and agony. Braxton’s smile slowly faded as he watched her writhe. He was unhappy to have had to cause Dash pain like that, but he didn’t exactly feel sorry. As far as Braxton was concerned, she brought this on herself.

He turned his head to look at the others standing in the doorway. They were watching their pegasus friend squirm on the ground with a look of sadness and shock in their eyes, and Braxton’s frown only grew deeper. He wished that they didn’t have to see this.

As he was contemplating this, Braxton once again felt something slam into his chest, but with much more force than any of the previous times. He landed on his back again and looked up to see Rainbow Dash standing above him, face drenched in blood from her now broken muzzle, and with a expression of murderous fury that until now Braxton did not think any of these ponies were capable of.

Without a word, she raised her right hoof and slammed it down into Braxton’s face. She repeated the process with her left. In a rage, Rainbow punched him over and over mercilessly, until around the seventh punch when Braxton grabbed her hoof as it was about to make contact.

Braxton reared his boot underneath Rainbow’s chest and delivered a powerful kick. Rainbow flew backwards and skidded across the ground, coming to a halt a few yards away. Braxton wobbled to his feet and spit out blood as he felt some begin to trickle out the corner of his mouth. He put a hand to his face and felt the onset of a black eye on his left side as well. Braxton returned his attention to Dash, who now had a new boot-print on her stomach, and watched as she got back to her hooves.

The two combatants glared at each other ferociously, neither one ready to give an inch. They narrowed their eyes at each other in anger, both of them trying their best to intimidate the other. As they stared each other down, they came to the same conclusion about what was going to happen. Almost simultaneously, the two charged, each with every intention of becoming the victor in this battle. A clash was inevitable between the two titans, and all the world watched as the struggle of the century was about to begin.

Author's Note

...You think I overdid it a little with the hype in that last paragraph?

Chapter 12 - Prone to Headaches

Braxton and Rainbow Dash charged at each other and were moments away from colliding when a shimmering purple barrier manifested in front of each of them. Braxton and Dash’s eyes widened in surprise and they skidded to a halt before impacting with their respective obstructions, and watched as the walls grew in size until they were encased in matching twin domes of glowing purple light.

“What the hell is this?” Braxton said, extremely confused.

“Hey, what’s the big idea?! What’s going on here?!” Rainbow asked more aggressively, albeit just as perplexed.

“Please, stop it! Both of you!!” They heard Twilight shout from the library doorway. The two combatants turned to see her standing there, along with the other mares and Spike. Twilight’s horn was aglow with her signature purple aura, and tears were streaming down her cheeks. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were crying as well, with the latter’s mane now completely deflated and hanging limply on the sides of her head. Applejack, however, wore an expression of stoic calmness, similar to the one her brother usually had, and Rarity simply stared at the two with a furrowed brow and a deep frown.

“Please stop fighting!” Twilight begged, “What are you accomplishing by doing this?!”

“I’m accomplishing kicking this thing’s flank up and down the streets of Ponyville!! Now let me outta here!” Rainbow shouted while trying, and failing, to break through Twilight’s bubble shield.

“Look around you, Rainbow! Everypony in town has been watching you two fight like animals!” Twilight pointed out.

Rainbow stopped struggling and did as Twilight instructed. She and Braxton looked behind themselves to see that, indeed, almost every single mare, stallion, colt, and filly on the streets in front of the library were staring at the scene they had made. Some even had their heads peeking out of the doorways and windows of their homes and shops to get a better view of the action. Now that the fight had died down, however, most of them began to go back to what they were doing previously while only giving the scene an occasional cursory glance.

As the ponies around town returned to their business, Braxton suddenly became distinctly aware of something soaking into the glove on his right hand. Before he even looked down at it, he instantly knew what it was. Dash’s blood ran down his knuckles in rivulets and dripped to form a tiny puddle on the ground near his feet. Braxton couldn’t help but grimace a little at the sight.

“It’s senseless for you two to be at each other’s throats like this! Rainbow Dash, what would the Princess say if she saw you, the Element of Loyalty, acting so violently towards somepony else?!” Twilight berated, her tears giving way to anger.

Rainbow’s face twisted into a look of anger. “Me?! I was just trying to protect you guys! Look at this!” She pointed to her broken nose, “You saw the way that thing attacked me! What about him, huh?!” Rainbow jabbed a hoof at Braxton, who was still looking down at his bloodied fist.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Rainbow! Braxton ain’t no threat! Fluttershy said it herself! ‘Sides, if I recall correctly, y’all was the one that jumped on him first.” Applejack stated.

Rainbow glared at Applejack incredulously. “Whatever, AJ! Just remember, when this thing turns on you all and tries to hurt somepony, don’t say I didn’t warn you!” Dash said, crossing her forearms.

“Twilight.” Braxton said, interrupting Rainbow’s tirade, “Do you mind if I go back inside? I need to wash my hands.” Without looking at them, Braxton raised his bloody fist to prove his point. The ponies visibly cringed at the sight and a couple of them, including Rainbow Dash, gagged and turned away. However, Fluttershy had the worst reaction, as her eyes rolled upwards and she fainted right on the spot.

Twilight choked down some bile with a hard swallow and said, “...U-Uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea. If I release you two, who’s to say you won’t just start fighting again?” Braxton raised his head and turned to look her dead in the eyes.

“So just release me, then. That way there won’t be an issue, right?” He asked calmly. Twilight still hesitated and shifted her eyes to the right in order to break away from his gaze. Braxton sighed when he saw the unicorn’s averseness to the idea. “Look, if you’re really that unsure about it then have one or two of your friends follow me inside so that you know there isn’t any funny business. Either way, I need to clean up soon. All of this blood is starting to soak into my gloves.” Braxton said in an eerily nonchalant voice.

His tone was not lost on the ponies by the door. A small shiver ran up their collective spines and Twilight shuffled on her hooves indecisively. After about a minute of contemplation, she turned to her friends and whispered, “Applejack, Pinkie Pie, go inside with Braxton and show him the way to the bathroom. Make sure nothing gets out of hoof, alright?” Twilight looked over at Fluttershy’s prone form and sighed. “Also, take Fluttershy with you so that she can tend to his injuries when she wakes up.” She added.

Applejack nodded and said, “Sure thing, Twi. We’ll keep an eye on him for ya.” The orange mare then hoisted Fluttershy onto her back with ease and trotted inside, with a still flat-maned Pinkie Pie following close behind.

“Rarity, Spike, we’ll stay out here with Rainbow Dash and try to calm her down.” Twilight addressed her remaining companions. They both gave nods of confirmation and Twilight returned her attention to Braxton. “Okay Braxton, I’m going to drop the shield so that you can go and, er... clean up. Pinkie and Applejack will show you where the bathroom is.” Twilight said as she lowered the magic dome surrounding Braxton.

“WHAT?!?!” Rainbow shouted in shock. “Twi, you can’t be serious! You’re just gonna let that thing walk?! What about me?!” Rainbow said as she gave her shield another hard buck.

“Like I said Rainbow, I can’t let both of you go right now or you’re liable to start fighting again. Also, Pinkie and AJ will be inside, too. There’s nothing to worry about, trust me.” Twilight said confidently.

Rainbow clearly still didn’t like it, but had little choice but to abide by her friends judgement. Dash plopped down on her haunches and grumbled out something along the lines of a consent as Braxton’s shield came down completely. As Braxton walked by Dash gave him the nastiest evil eye glare that she could muster, but the effect was lost as he kept his eyes pointed forwards at the library doorway.

“Thanks, Twi.” Braxton mumbled as he walked past them and through the doorway. Twilight nodded and, accompanied by Rarity and Spike, walked over to Dash’s bubble to try and talk her down.

***************

Applejack carried Fluttershy over to the couch and laid her down on it gently with the help of Pinkie Pie. As they waited for her to come to, the two earth ponies heard steps coming from the doorway and turned to see Braxton entering. He walked over and glanced at Fluttershy’s sleeping form for a moment before addressing Pinkie and AJ.

“Do either of you girls know where the bathroom is?” He asked evenly.

Applejack nodded and pointed to the staircase. “Up the stairs, pardner. It’ll be the second door on your left.” She said. Braxton nodded and went up the stairway. He found the bathroom easily enough and entered, closing and locking the door behind him.

After she heard the bathroom door click shut, Applejack looked over to find Pinkie Pie sat on her haunches and staring intently at the stairs. She walked over and put an orange hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder, seemingly startling the party mare.

“Hey, sugarcube. Got somethin’ on your mind?” Applejack asked quietly.

Pinkie shook her head. “Nope. Why would you think that, AJ?” She said without facing Applejack. Pinkie tried to pull off her usual cheerful tone, but Applejack had no trouble seeing right through it.

The farm pony chuckled. “Heh. Your a terrible liar, Pinks. Almost as bad as me. It’s obvious ta' me that your upset ‘bout somethin’. Plus, your hair kinda gives it away.” Applejack said, gesturing to Pinkie’s flat mane.

Pinkie lifted a hoof and ran it through her straight locks. Now realizing how she looked, Pinkie chuckled mirthlessly. “Oh, yeah. I guess it kind of does, huh?” Pinkie said in a more somber tone. She lowered her hoof and continued to stare at the steps.

It wasn’t hard for Applejack to put two and two together. “...Does it got somethin’ ta' do with Braxton?” She asked. Pinkie tensed up slightly and Applejack knew she had hit the nail on the head.

Pinkie’s shoulders sagged and she finally turned to face Applejack. Her eyes were still a little red and puffy from the crying she had done outside, and dried tear streaks stained her ever-so-slightly darker pink fur.

“Yeah, it does.” Pinkie admitted. She then went strangely quiet for a second or two as she contemplated how to say what was on her mind. “...Applejack, can I ask you something?” Pinkie said, looking directly into Applejack green eyes.

“Anythin’, sugarcube.” Applejack said with a serious expression.

Pinkie Pie sighed deeply and glanced back at the stairs. “...Does Braxie seem a little...I-I don’t know...off to you?” She asked quietly.

Applejack’s face took on a deadpan expression. “Pinkie, Braxton is basically a six-foot tall, furless, talkin’ alien monkey that we all ran into in the Everfree Forest. Ah think callin’ him off is kind of an understatement.” She said.

Pinkie giggled in her usual cheerful manner, but quickly returned to being serious. “No, that’s not what I mean.” Pinkie said with a small shake of her head, “I mean off as in...oh, how can I put this? Umm...his laugh.” She said, looking back at Applejack.

AJ arched an eyebrow questioningly. “His laugh? Ah reckon it’s a mite goofy soundin’, but it ain’t that strange. What’s wrong with it?” She asked.

“Well, I’ve actually been thinking about it for a while. Ever since I heard him laugh that first time in the forest. Back then it sounded mostly fine, but every time after that it’s been...really weird. Almost like it was forced or something.” Pinkie explained.

Applejack thought it over for a minute. Had Braxton been forcing laughter? It sure didn’t sound like it to her. Applejack put her hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder again and said, “Listen, sugarcube. D’ya think that ya... might be just hearin’ things? Maybe over-thinkin’ a little? Ah mean, Ah can spot a faker a mile away, and Braxton’s laugh seemed mighty genuine ta me.” Applejack said.

Pinkie’s ears drooped and she looked at the floor. “I don’t know, AJ. Maybe I am just over-thinking things.” She said doubtfully.

Applejack hated to see her friend so downtrodden, and looked around the room to find something to change the subject with. She noticed that the library had become a little messy again after Braxton and Dash’s scuffle.

“Hey, Pinkie. The library’s gotten ta be a tad dirty again. What say you and me do Twi a favor and clean up while we wait fer Fluttershy ta wake up?” Applejack suggested.

Pinkie perked up a little and smiled. “Sure, AJ. Let’s get to work.” She said as she stood back up. Applejack nodded firmly and went over to one side of the room, while Pinkie went to the other, and the two mares set about their task.

***************

Braxton closed the bathroom door and instantly spotted the sink. Trudging over to it, Braxton set the faucet to hot and removed his gloves. He washed them and his hands until they were completely free of blood, and then dried them with a nearby towel. Braxton sat the gloves on the counter and took a look at himself in the mirror, and balked at what he saw.

He looked like a wreck. His face had a hoof-shaped bruise directly on his right cheek and, just as he thought, another dark bruise had begun to form just under his left eye. The corner of his mouth had a trickle of dried blood running down it, and he could see that he had a small cut on his bottom lip as well.

Braxton sighed at his reflection and cupped his hands under the running faucet. He splashed the water on his face and scrubbed off any dirt and blood he had seen. He dried his face and looked back in the mirror to find that he did look better, but not by much. The bruises were still there, but at least now they were clean.

He saw that his clothes did not fare much better than his face. His shirt and pants had patches of dirt on them, as well as his coat, which also had a long rip on the sleeve. As he patted the grime off of his clothes, Braxton noticed something.

Despite the injuries done to his face, his body looked and felt perfectly fine. A little sore from the recent exertion, but otherwise nothing at all. This instantly struck him as strange. He had been hit multiple times in the torso at high speeds by Rainbow Dash, so he knew that he should at least have some bruises, if not internal bleeding or broken bones.

Braxton finished patting himself down and looked in the mirror once more. His clothes were now somewhat dirt free and his face was moderately presentable, with the exception of the huge shiner, of course. Braxton briefly thought about taking a shower as well, but decided against it so not to possibly risk overstepping his bounds in Twilight’s home.

Almost without thinking about it, Braxton found himself reaching a hand into his coat pocket and pulling out his pocket-watch. He held it up to eye level and admired the gold trimming as it glinted in the light, becoming lost in the sea of thoughts and memories that the keepsake represented.

Finally surfacing from his daydreams, Braxton sighed as he studied the watch. “...Sure has been one hell of a day so far, huh?” He asked aloud. The watch didn’t respond, not that Braxton expected it to, but he always found the lack of a response somehow comforting.

Braxton returned the watch to his pocket, strapped on his gloves, and went to leave the bathroom. As soon as he wrapped his fingers around the handle, however, Braxton felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. His eyes widened and soon his entire head was throbbing with pain, as if someone had stabbed it with a thousand needles simultaneously.

He released the door handle and gripped his aching head with both hands. Braxton muffled a cry and fell to his knees, the pain becoming far too intense to even stay standing. Braxton felt his breathing becoming more labored and saw darkness begin to creep on the edges of his vision. He wrenched his eyes shut and clenched his teeth, drawing every ounce of his willpower to avoid passing out on the bathroom tile.

Eventually, the aching began to slowly subside until it had all but vanished, with the only evidence of it being a dull throb. Braxton opened his eyes to find that his vision had cleared completely and his breathing, while still slightly ragged, was no longer a harsh wheeze. Braxton put a hand on the door to steady himself as he stood back up.

‘What the fuck was that?! It felt just like what happened in the forest...only about ten times worse! What’s happening to me...?’ Braxton wondered as he leaned on the bathroom door. He spotted a medicine cabinet across the room and quickly walked over to it.

“Maybe Twi has some aspirin or something.” Braxton said as he opened the cabinet. He searched it and only found one thing matching what he was looking for. He reached in and grabbed a large blue bottle with a very strange label. “What the...? Rainbow Tylenol? ...That doesn’t sound healthy. Wait, why the shit can I read this one?!” Braxton exclaimed, highly confused. He scanned the cabinet again to make sure that this was the only option.

Unfortunately, it was, if only because he couldn't read any other bottle. Braxton sighed and looked at the bottle again. “Ugh, whatever. Better than nothin’.” Braxton shrugged. He popped two pills in his mouth, swallowed and returned the medicine to the cabinet. Now sufficiently drugged, he opened the bathroom door and walked out, hoping that episode he just had would be the last.

***************

Twilight. Rarity, and Spike stood in front of Rainbow Dash’s bubble while the captive sat on her haunches, forelegs folded in irritation. None of them said anything for a moment, the outsiders had their eyes pinned to Rainbow’s nose, which was still trickling a little blood.

“Rainbow Dash, your nose is broken.” Twilight helpfully pointed out.

Rainbow half-lidded her eyes in bemusement. “No, really? Great deduction there, Brainiac.” She said snarkily.

Twilight rolled her eyes at the testy pegasus as her horn lit up for a spell. “This is going to hurt for a moment, Dash.” Twilight said.

Rainbow only had time to raise an eyebrow before her muzzle took on Twilight’s purple aura. Suddenly, Dash felt her bones shift with a loud *CRACK* and she instantly reeled backwards in pain.

“AUUUGGGHHH!!!!” Dash screamed as she rolled on the ground in agony. As the pain ebbed away, Dash stood up and glared at Twilight. “OW! What the heck was that for?!” She said, flaring her wings in anger.

“I fixed your nose for you. Not entirely, mind you, as the spell only works so well. It’ll still be sore for a couple of days, but at least now you won’t have to go to the hospital.” Twilight informed.

Dash lifted a hoof to her muzzle to find that it was indeed no longer broken. “Hey! Awesome! My nose is better! Thanks, Twi, I--! ...U-Ugh...” Dash trailed off as she removed her hoof to find that some blood had clung to it.

Twilight noticed Rainbow’s disgust. “We’ll let you go get cleaned up in a minute Rainbow, but first we have to talk to you.” She said.

“Talk? About what?” Dash asked, forgetting about her bloody hoof for the moment.

“I’ll just cut to the chase. We want to know why you hold so much animosity towards Braxton.” Twilight said.

“Uh...ani-what now?” Rainbow asked, confused.

“How come you don’t like the big guy?” Spike spoke in simpler terms.

Rainbow Dash’s confused look turned into an irritated scowl. “Oh. That thing.” Rainbow said with as much venom as she could muster.

“Rainbow Dash, Braxton is not a thing! He has been nothing but a gentlecolt since we met him in the forest!” Rarity exclaimed.

“A gentlecolt?! He broke my nose! And earlier he insulted my mane!” Rainbow reminded them.

“While I will admit that was perhaps a little uncalled for, you are not innocent either. All day I have heard you do nothing but insult and belittle him! Anypony would have plenty of reason to get angry after that.” Rarity said.

Twilight spoke up next. “Rarity’s right, Rainbow. Name one other thing Braxton has done to earn the way you’ve been treating him.” She challenged.

Rainbow opened her mouth but stopped short. She tried and tried to think of something, but came up blank every time. She was put on the spot with no way out, and her friends stares were not helping. Finally, she let out a loud groan of resignation and threw her hooves up.

“Okay, fine! I can’t think of anything! Happy now?! But I still don’t trust it!” Dash said as she crossed her forelegs again.

“Why in Equestria not, Rainbow Dash?! He saved my little sister, for Celestia’s sake!” Rarity stated, becoming rather angry.

Rainbow walked over to the shield wall and narrowed her eyes at the white unicorn. “Can you prove that it did that? Were you there? Did you see it?” Rainbow interrogated.

“W-Well, no, but--”

“Exactly!” Rainbow exclaimed, “You didn’t! It may not have done anything for me to not trust it, but it hasn’t done anything to earn my trust either! It’s gotta do something big to prove that it’s trustworthy. Until then, nothing doing!” She said with finality.

Twilight, Rarity, and Spike exchanged contemplative looks for a moment, racking their brains for a way around Rainbow’s stubbornness. Finally, Twilight sighed in an exasperated fashion. “Fine, Rainbow, think whatever you want. Just promise me that you’ll stop getting on Braxton’s case all the time. I don’t want to have to break up another fight between you two.” Twilight said.

Rainbow was about to object, but from the look on Twilight’s face she realized this was an argument she wouldn’t be winning. Rainbow sighed and muttered something along the lines of an agreement. Satisfied, Twilight lowered the shield and said, “Good. Now go and get cleaned up, Rainbow. All of that blood is kinda gross.” Rainbow nodded and flew back into the library, with her three friends not far behind.

***************

Braxton closed the bathroom door and began to descend the steps back into the living room when he noticed a certain blue pegasus round the corner. As soon as Dash saw him, her face contorted into a scowl, and Braxton returned with one of his own. As they passed each other, Dash turned her nose up at Braxton with a huff and, as an added insult, her prismatic tail slapped him across the face as she fluttered past.

Braxton let out a growl of annoyance and turned to say something, but was cut off by the bathroom door slamming shut. “Tsk. Yeah, fuck you, too.” He mumbled under his breath, and he finished making his way down the stairs. He looked around to find Applejack and a normal, poofy-maned Pinkie straightening up the library, Fluttershy still unconscious on the couch, and Twilight, Spike, and Rarity entering through the library doorway.

Twilight quickly used her magic to fix the door that had been blown off its hinges in the fight and turned to see Braxton over by the stairs. “Braxton! Are you alright?” She asked worriedly, seeing the bruises on his face.

Braxton waved a hand dismissively. “Well, I’ve been better, but it’s not too bad.” He assured her.

“Are you sure?” Twilight asked, “I just patched up Rainbow Dash with my magic. I could do the same for your bruises!” She began to light up her horn.

“NO!” Braxton shouted. Thoughts of what her magic did to his phone flashed in Braxton’s head, and he was none too keen on the idea of having it applied to his face. Braxton quickly realized he had acquired the attention of every conscious pony in the room and he blushed shyly. “Uh...I-I mean, no, thank you, Twilight. I-It’s just a bruise and a black eye. All I need is some ice and the swelling will go down on its own.” He said, hoping she would buy it.

Thankfully, she did. The light dimmed from her horn and she said, “Okay, if you say so. There should be a spare ice pack I keep on hoof in the freezer.” Twilight pointed a hoof to the kitchen. Braxton thanked her and made his way over to the freezer, finding the ice pack with relative ease.

He sat on the couch next to Fluttershy’s prone body and put the ice pack over his left eye, wincing a little at the coldness of it. Braxton tilted his head back to look at the ceiling and sighed deeply as he contemplated what he would do next.

“Something troubling you, darling?” He heard a sophisticated voice say, drawing him out of his thoughts. He looked down to find the four mares and Spike staring up at him. Braxton leaned forward and sighed again.

“Not really. Just thinking, mostly.” Braxton said.

“About what, sugarcube?”Applejack inquired.

“...I was thinking that... maybe it would be best if I left.” Braxton admitted.

The ponies reeled back in shock at Braxton’s statement. “Left?!” Twilight repeated, “Why would you leave?”

Braxton shrugged. “Look, it’s clear that me and Dash aren’t going to be getting along any time soon. And I don’t want to somehow drive a wedge between you all by constantly fighting with her. She’s obviously not going anywhere, so I guess that means I have to.” He explained with a flat tone.

“Absolutely not!” Rarity exclaimed, “I expressly forbid it! Think about what you are saying, Braxton. You are the only one of your kind here! You have no home, no money, no job, and you don’t know anypony outside of us! How will you survive?” Rarity said, hoping to talk sense into him.

“Listen, I appreciate your concern, Rarity, but I’ve been traveling for over ten years. You don’t think I’ve been to places full of people I don’t know, languages I can’t speak, and things I don’t understand? Of course I have, but I always find a way. And I will here, too.” Braxton declared.

The ponies wore deep frowns as they racked their brains to think of something, anything, that would convince him to stay. It almost seemed hopeless, until a loud burp interrupted their brainstorm.

They all turned to see a green lick of fire escape Spike’s mouth and quickly transform into a scroll wrapped in red ribbon. Twilight caught the scroll with her magic, unwrapped it and read the contents to herself. Her eyes widened gradually as she read until they reached the last word, and she lowered the paper and turned to address the room.

“It’s a letter from the Princess. She’s very interested in meeting Braxton as soon as possible.” Twilight swallowed nervously before saying the last part.

“A chariot will be here within the hour.”

Author's Note

Yeah, turns out I kinda built up that hype last chapter for nothing. Sorry about that. But, hey! At least it got you pumped, and that's what matters, right? ...Right?

Anyway, don't forget to comment, rate, and subscribe (Or your regional equivalent thereof)! Bye!

Chapter 13 - Target Practice

“A chariot will be here within the hour.” Twilight announced.

As soon as Twilight said those words, every jaw in the room hit the floor simultaneously. A stunned silence fell over the library as they all tried to process what exactly had just been said. Twilight even reread the letter just to make sure her eyes were not deceiving her. Unfortunately, there it was in the Princess’s immaculate hoofwriting, complete with signature and royal seal.

“WHAT?!?!” Everyone in the room besides Twilight shouted in unison.

“EEEEEEEPPP!!!” An alarmed squeal came from the couch as Fluttershy was startled out of her slumber. Everyone looked to where Fluttershy had been to see nothing but empty space and a bit of kicked-up dust. Confused, they all scanned the room for her, but came up short until they heard the distinct sound of chattering teeth from behind the couch. The group peered over the couch to find the timid pegasus curled into a ball, trembling with her hooves on her head.

“Fluttershy, what in tarnation are ya doin’ back there? This ain’t a time to be foolin’ around!” Applejack berated.

Fluttershy slowly opened one of her clenched eyes and looked up at her friend. “...I-Is it s-s-safe...?” She asked fearfully.

Applejack sighed and rolled her eyes. “It wasn't ever dangerous to begin with! Now get out from behind there. We got a serious situation on our hooves.” She said, returning to the other side of the sofa.

Fluttershy shortly followed after to find all of her friends, with the exception of Rainbow Dash, gathered around with anxious looks. “Situation? W-What kind of situation?” She said hesitantly.

“Braxton has been summoned to Canterlot Castle by Princess Celestia, along with the six of us.” Twilight said, holding up the letter with her magic. Fluttershy scanned the letter and had a similar reaction to it as the others.

“W-What?!” She exclaimed quietly, “B-But so soon? You just told the Princess about him less than an hour ago!” She stated.

“It seems to me that your Princess isn’t one to wait around.” Braxton said idly, still holding the ice pack to his left eye. Fluttershy looked over to him for the first time since she woke up and, when she saw the bruises on his face, instantly gasped in horror.

“Oh my! Are you alright?!” Fluttershy asked frantically. Without waiting for an answer, she took Braxton’s head in her hoofs and examined every inch. “Oh dear, you have a huge bruise and a black eye! I don’t see any knots or swelling on your head, though, so you probably don’t have a concussion. I can’t really tell without my medical supplies, though. Oh, if only I had thought to bring them! How could you be so careless, Fluttershy?!” She berated herself as she continued to fawn over Braxton.

Braxton grabbed her hooves gently and pulled them off of his head. “Fluttershy, I’m fine. I don’t have a concussion, just a few bruises. And don’t beat yourself up so much. You couldn’t have known I’d get into it with Rainbow Dash.” Braxton said as he put the ice pack back over his eye.

Fluttershy gasped again. “That’s right! Where is Rainbow Dash? I have to examine her, too!” She said, looking around the room for her friend.

“Relax, Fluttershy, Dash is fine. I already took care of her injuries with my magic. She’s upstairs in the bathroom now washing up.” Twilight explained reassuringly.

Fluttershy visibly calmed down at her friends words and fluttered back onto the couch. She muttered quietly, “O-Oh, okay then.” and sheepishly smiled as she slipped out of caretaker mode and back into her usual self.

‘Man, that’s the most I’ve heard her talk all day!’ Braxton thought, amazed by the drastic personality change.

“Anyway, back to the matter at hoof,” Twilight said, “As the letter stated a chariot will be here shortly.” She turned to Braxton. “We have to get you prepared for an audience with the Princess!” Twilight said with enthusiasm.

Braxton scratched his chin with his free hand. “Hmm, you know, I’ve done a lot of stuff, but I’ve never met royalty before. And I definitely never expected to meet your ruler so soon. What’s the big rush?” He asked.

“Well, it says here that the Princess read over my notes and that she, as well as Princess Luna, are very enthused to welcome you personally. They also wish to talk with you face to face and learn even more about your world and your people.” Twilight summarized the letter.

Rarity coughed in an overly dramatic fashion to catch the human’s attention. “So, Braxton, I seem to recall you saying something about leaving town, hmm? Foolishly striking it out on your own without any resources, if I’m correct? Traversing the harsh landscape without a clue as to how you’ll survive, if I’m right? Well, I do suppose your plans have changed now that the Princesses have summoned you to Canterlot, yes?” She said with a flip of her mane. The triumphant air Rarity gave off was almost palpable as she stood there with a puffed out chest and a haughty smirk.

Braxton gave a snort of amused disbelief at the unicorn’s superior attitude. Not about to let her get a leg up on him, he said, “Darn, I hate to burst your bubble, Rarity, but unfortunately, I do still plan on leaving.” Braxton spoke in a faux regretful tone that was almost as thick as hers had been. Braxton inwardly chuckled as he watched Rarity visibly deflate and knit her brow in irritation. She opened her mouth to berate the human on his stubbornness, until Braxton held up a finger to silence her upcoming tirade.

“But!” Braxton exclaimed with a grin, “I guess I’ll have to stick around at least long enough to meet your rulers. After all, it would be terribly rude of me to deny a royal summons, yeah? And besides, I promised a certain little filly that I wouldn’t move on without saying goodbye first.” He said, remembering his obligation towards Sweetie Belle.

Rarity stood dumbfounded for a moment before clearing her throat and turning her nose up in a snobbish manner. “Y-Yes, well, I suppose that will have to do...for now, at least. But don’t you dare think for one instant that I have given up on talking you out of this foolish endeavor!” She said with rock-solid determination.

Braxton rolled his one visible eye. “Believe me, Rarity, the thought never even crossed my mind.” He deadpanned. However, there was some truth to his words. Braxton could tell that the unicorn was not one to quit once she set her mind to something, and he held no delusions that she would stop trying to convince him to stay.

Twilight cleared her throat to return the group’s attention to her. “If you two are finished, Braxton, I need to very quickly brief you on proper etiquette when in the company of the Princesses.” She said with professionalism.

“Alright then, Twilight. Brief away.” Braxton said, leaning back.

Twilight cleared her throat again and said, “Okay, first off, when you meet the Princesses for the first time, you must remember to bow--”

“Hey, Twilight, what’s this funny-looking doohickey?” The unicorn was interrupted by a bubbly voice from across the room.

The group by the couch turned around to see Pinkie Pie, sat on her haunches, inspecting a silver metallic object with a thoughtful expression. “Is it some kinda new science-y gadget? Ooh, ooh, I know! It’s a new type of party favor, right?!” Pinkie’s face broke into a wide grin. “How does it work, huh?! Looks like there’s a hole here at the front! Do you blow into it like a noisemaker?” She sucked in a comically large amount of air, wrapped her lips around the barrel of the object, and exhaled as forcefully as she could.

As Pinkie pulled her mouth off the weapon and peeked into the hole, hoof hovering dangerously close to the trigger, Braxton’s eyes widened with pure terror as the implications of what she was doing registered in his mind.

“Pinkie! What the HELL do you think you’re doing?!!” Braxton shouted at the top of his lungs. Pinkie Pie shrieked in surprise and dropped Braxton’s gun, which hit the floor with a clatter.

Braxton tossed his ice pack to the side and vaulted over the couch as he rushed to pick up the revolver. “W-What?! What did I do wrong?” Pinkie asked as Braxton wiped the barrel clean of spittle. When he was finished, he looked down at the pink pony with the sternest glare he could muster.

“Pinkie, I want you listen very carefully. This is very important. Don’t ever, ever look down the barrel of a loaded gun! And especially never put your mouth on it!” Braxton warned.

“A...gun? You mean that doohickey? Why, what’s wrong with it?” Pinkie pointed to the weapon in his hand.

Braxton breathed a sigh through his nose. “Er, yeah. This ‘doohickey’ is not a toy. It’s extremely dangerous and--”

“Hey, cool! That looks just like those alien blasters I see in comic books!” Spike said excitedly as he and the others made their way over from the couch. “Is that one yours?! Hah, I bet you use that thing to destroy space invaders and interstellar threats that come down to wreak havoc on the world! At least, that’s what the heroes always do in the comics. You gotta let me check it out!” Spike reached for the weapon but was denied when Braxton lifted it beyond his reach.

“No, Spike. Like I said, this isn’t a toy or something out of a comic book. It’s very real and capable of doing some serious damage,” Braxton said.

“What, that li’l ol’ thing? It’s barely bigger than my hoof! How much damage can that thing really do?” Applejack said skeptically.

Braxton frowned at the farmer’s naivety. “Trust me, AJ, this little thing packs a huge punch. It’s basically a miniature cannon,” He explained.

“Ooh, like my party cannon?! You said that doohickey was loaded, right? What’s it loaded with, huh?! Candy? Balloon animals? Hot sauce?! Oh, I know! Candy balloon animals covered in hot sauce!! Mmm-mmm!” Pinkie spoke rapidly and punctuated her spiel with an over-exaggerated licking of her lips.

The rest just stared blankly at Pinkie after she had finished talking. “...What?” She asked with a shrug. Braxton shook his head and, realizing he would get nowhere by trying to explain to them, decided that a demonstration was in order. He looked around for something invaluable that he could use for target practice, and spotted an apple sitting on a nearby table.

“Hey, do you all see that apple?” Braxton asked, pointing to the fruit. The ponies and dragon drew their attention to where he was pointing, looked back at him, and nodded. “Keep an eye on it. Don’t blink or you’ll miss it,” He said as he took aim with his revolver.

“Er, miss what, dear?” Asked a confused Rarity.

“You’ll see. Oh, and cover your ears, too,” Braxton said as he cocked the hammer back.

“Umm...why?” Twilight asked.

“Just do it. All of you,” Braxton ordered.

They exchanged confused glances with each other before one by one doing as the human directed. Seeing that they all had their hooves, and in Spike’s case claws, secured over their ears, Braxton leveled the gun at the apple, steadied it, and fired.

*BOOM!*

The shot from the revolver was almost deafening to the ponies, even with their ears covered, but that was nothing compared to what happened a split second later. ‘Blasted to smithereens’ was the only phrase to describe the apple’s condition after the imperceptibly fast projectile connected with it.

Chunks of apple flew everywhere, hitting the floor, walls, and even ceiling. Yet the projectile didn’t stop, or even slow down for that matter. It continued on it’s path until it hit the wall beyond the now destroyed apple, and only came to a complete halt when it had buried itself about an inch into the hard wood. And the only recognizable thing left of the former fruit on the table was a yellowish mush and a bit of apple skin.

Braxton looked over to the ponies to see them staring at the wreckage with pupils shrunken to pinpricks and jaws hanging open loosely. Knowing that he had made his point, Braxton lowered the weapon and heaved a sigh. “Pinkie Pie, I don’t want to scare you, but if this thing had gone off while you were looking at it,” Braxton nodded his head to the obliterated apple, “That would’ve been your head,” He said.

Pinkie kept her eyes glued to the wreckage and she visibly shuddered at the thought. Suddenly, they all heard a gust of wind from the staircase and whipped their heads around to see Rainbow Dash standing at the bottom. She was soaking wet from head to hoof and looking around the library frantically.

“What the heck was that?! I heard some loud explosion and...I...” Dash trailed off when she got a look at the remains of the apple splattered across the room. Her gaze drifted from that and past all of her friends before coming to a stop on the human. She lowered her eyes to the still smoking gun in his hand. Then back to the wreckage. Then back to the gun. Her eyes went back and forth like this before her brain finally put two and two together.

“YOU!” Dash roared, her face becoming a mask of rage. She rocketed towards the human at high speed and almost made impact before a sharp pull on her tail halted her mid-flight. “What the--!” She exclaimed. Dash saw that her tail was covered in a purple aura that was all too familiar to her.

Sure enough, Twilight’s horn was aglow with the same aura as she used her magic to hold back the brash pegasus. “Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?! And why are you all wet?!” Twilight asked angrily.

“I was just using your shower when all of a sudden ‘BOOM’! I hear an explosion coming from downstairs! I sped down here to find this crazy mess and this thing standing right in the middle of it!” Dash pointed to the apple-splattered walls and Braxton respectively. “And I’m willing to bet my wings that you’re the cause of whatever’s going on down here!” She spat accusingly at the human.

“Impressive, Dash. You put that together all by yourself?” He sarcastically asked, causing Dash to grit her teeth in irritation.

“W...W-What is that t-thing?” The timid voice of Fluttershy asked fearfully. She was staring at the gun with wide, scared eyes, an expression that the rest of the ponies soon began to mimic.

Braxton blew the remaining smoke from the gun barrel and said, “I told you all that this is not a toy. This isn’t some made-up tool from a story. It’s a very real and highly dangerous weapon that’s not to be taken lightly. It was designed to seriously injure and, in some cases, even kill.” Braxton spoke in a shockingly grave voice. At the mention of the last word, a collective shiver went up the ponies spines.

“D-Did you s-say..." Twilight swallowed hard before uttering the final word, "K-Kill...?” she asked, backing away from Braxton. The human simply nodded.

“I knew it!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “I knew you were up to no good! You show up here, bring that thing with you, and just wait until we have our backs turned to wipe us out! See girls? It tried to win you guys over, but I told you it couldn’t be trusted.” She said with eyes narrowed at the human.

“Oh, come off it, Dash! Use your head for a second! I’ve had this gun since you all met me in the forest. If I had wanted to hurt you, any of you, don’t you think I’ve had plenty of opportunities?” Braxton addressed them all now. “Hell, this is the weapon I used to save Sweetie Belle from that monster in there! If I had wanted to see her hurt, why would I have jumped in at all?” He defended.

“Wait a moment, Braxton.” Rarity spoke up, “You used that to defeat the manticore? Hmm, that would explain the explosions we heard coming from the Everfree earlier today.” She recalled.

The room fell silent as the ponies contemplated what Braxton said. They realized that he was right. If what he said was true and he had the weapon the whole time, then he had every chance in the world to use it against them.

“Did you kill it?” Fluttershy asked in a surprisingly strong voice.

“What?” Braxton said, looking down at her.

“The manticore. Did you kill it?” Fluttershy repeated with a hard stare. Braxton was almost startled by usually timid pegasus’s straightforwardness, as well as the sudden surge of intensity that her gaze held.

Braxton shook his head. “No. I didn’t kill it, just shot it in the leg. It limped off back into the forest after that, so I didn’t have to take it any further.” He said truthfully.

Fluttershy continued to stare up at him unblinkingly. As she looked into his eyes, the stare seemed to grow even more intense, to the point where it began to feel to Braxton as though she were almost staring past his eyes and into his soul. Braxton was just about to avert his eyes to escape her powerful gaze, when suddenly Fluttershy’s eyes softened and her mouth curled into a small smile. She nodded once, as if to confirm something with herself, and finally lowered her eyes from Braxton’s. The moment she did, Braxton released a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding.

“Ah got a question for ya, Braxton.” Applejack said, gaining his attention, “Ya said that weapon you've got can kill, right?” Braxton nodded. “...Ya’ll ever have to do that to somepony?” She asked quietly.

All eyes were once again on Braxton as everyone in the room awaited his answer. Braxton clenched his jaw at Applejack’s question. “Look,” He responded after moment, “I’m not going to sugarcoat things with you. I’ve done a lot of things and have been to a lot of places. Some not as nice as others. And I’ve gotten into a couple of situations where I’ve had to use this.” Braxton held up his gun for emphasis. “In those situations, I have hurt some people. Pretty badly, in some cases. But I’ve never killed before. Taking someone’s life is just...not a line I’m willing to cross.” Braxton said solemnly. The ponies looked at each other with concerned expressions, none of them really sure what to think.

“Braxton, we’ll be right back. Girls, huddle,” Twilight announced. The other five mares nodded and followed Twilight to the other side of the room, well out of earshot of Braxton.

***************

“So what do you all think?” Twilight whispered.

“Isn’t it obvious?! We take that thing away from him before he can hurt anypony! And maybe convince the Princess to lock him in the dungeon for good measure!” Rainbow suggested.

“I think that may be going too far, Rainbow Dash. While I agree that the weapon is dangerous, Braxton is not. He has shown us no ill will thus far,” Rarity said.

“Rarity’s right,” Applejack agreed, “If he really wanted to, Brax could’ve used that thing a long time ago. Plus, what he said about never killing anypony wasn’t no lie.”

“Yeah, but that means so was the part about him hurting somepony before! I still say we take it!” Rainbow protested.

“What do you think, Pinkie?” Twilight asked.

“Well, Braxie did stop me from accidentally ‘sploding my fluffy-wuffy head like he did that apple, so I trust him for that! But Dashie’s got a point, too! I think that we should probably tell the Princess about this and see what she thinks!” Pinkie Pie said, delivering some uncharacteristically sound advice.

“What about you, Fluttershy?” Asked Twilight.

“O-Oh! Well, um, I think that we can trust Braxton. H-He didn’t kill the manticore, even when he had the chance, s-so--eep!” Fluttershy cut herself off with a squeak when Rainbow Dash flew into her face

“How can you know that, Fluttershy?!” Rainbow demanded. “For all you know that thing could be lying to you! To all of us!” Fluttershy looked out the corner of her eye to where Braxton was making small talk with Spike. Her mouth formed a small smile and she looked back at Dash with unusual confidence in her eyes.

“I just know, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said. Rainbow arched her eyebrows in surprise at her friend’s sureness about her opinion.

Twilight closed her eyes as she thought deeply about the right course of action. She weighed her friends’ opinions with her own, coupled with her first-hoof experience about what the weapon was capable of. Twilight’s mind worked like a machine as she considered the possible scenarios and their consequences, as well as what she knew about Braxton, and how far she could trust him. Finally reaching a satisfactory conclusion, she opened her eyes and walked back over to Braxton and Spike, with her friends following close behind.

***************

Braxton finished chatting with Spike and noticed the six mares returning from their discussion. He stood there silently as they took their place in front of him, eagerly awaiting the verdict.

Twilight cleared her throat and said, “Okay, Braxton. After giving it some thought, we’ve decided to confiscate your weapon for the time being and report to Princess Celestia in order to get her opinion on the matter,”

Braxton rolled his eyes. “Yeah, can’t say I didn’t see that one coming,” He said dejectedly.

Twilight’s face softened. “It’s not that we don’t trust you, Braxton. You’ve already proven to us that you’re not at all dangerous, or a threat. But that weapon clearly is. Far too dangerous for anypony to have without the Princess knowing about it. I hope you understand,” Twilight said remorsefully.

Braxton clicked open the revolver’s cylinder, unloaded the last three bullets, and put them in his pocket. “Yeah, I get it, Twilight. Do what you have to do,” Braxton said monotonously. He flipped the gun and handed it to Twilight stock first.

Twilight magicked it out of his hand and into a nearby saddlebag, which she then rested on her back. “Thanks for your cooperation, Braxton. You made this a lot easier for us,” Twilight said with a smile. Braxton just nodded.

Suddenly, a knock echoed from the library door. Twilight opened it to find a white pegasus stallion dressed in royal golden armor on the other side. “Twilight Sparkle?” The guard staunchly asked.

“Yes? What is it?” Twilight replied.

The stallion pointed to his right with a hoof. “Your chariot to Canterlot has arrived, madam.” He said.

Twilight peeked her head out the door to see a pristine white chariot parked right beside the building. Another pegasus guard was at one set of reins, and there was another set beside him for his partner.

“Oh! Thank you very much, guard. We’ll be right out!” Twilight announced. The guard nodded stiffly and returned to the chariot to set the reins back onto himself. “Come on, everypony! Our ride is here!” Twilight called from the doorway.

The group filed out of the door one by one, but Twilight stopped Spike at the door. “Spike, I want you to stay here. Keep an eye on the library while we’re gone.” Spike gave a salute and walked back inside the library, closing the door behind him.

As Braxton walked by the pegasi guards he couldn’t help but notice that they weren’t giving him odd looks like the townsponies had. They simply threw a casual glance his way, before returning to their rigid, eyes-forward stance. “Hey, you two.” Braxton said to them, “How come you’re not looking at me funny like every other pony I’ve seen today?” He questioned.

“The Princess informed us before we departed that we would be carrying an, uh...unusual passenger. And I’d say that you fit that bill pretty freakin’ well.” The one on the left commented.

‘Can’t argue with that, I guess.’ Braxton thought, shrugging. He climbed aboard the chariot next to Twilight and asked, “So, where is this Canterlot place anyway?” Twilight pointed at a nearby mountain, and Braxton’s jaw dropped as he beheld the giant castle city on the side of it.

“There it is! In all it’s glory.” Twilight proclaimed.

Braxton swallowed hard. “Okay, first of all, wouldn't have been my first choice of real estate. Secondly, how are we going to get up there in this carriage? And thirdly, I’m just a teeny, tiny bit afraid of--”

“Prepare for takeoff!” One of the guards loudly announced. There was a hard shake as the carriage lifted off the ground, thanks to a few mighty flaps of the pegasus guards wings, and Braxton dared to look over the edge. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that the carriage was already well above the treehouse library. And still climbing.

That day, many confused citizens of Ponyville looked to the skies as a shrill, girlish scream could be heard fading away towards Canterlot Mountain.

Author's Note

Holy crap, I honestly did not intend for this chapter to be this long. And the worst part is, almost nothing happens in it! I may have to go back later on and revise this one for length, but I just wanted to get it posted quickly so that I could move on to the next chapter. Actual events will occur next time, I promise.

As always, leave a comment telling me what you thought of this one. Thanks for reading!

Prologue

The man walked into his hotel room and took off his pack, tossing it lightly into a far corner. He sauntered over to a desk were a simple brown leather-bound book lay. Picking up a nearby pen, he opened the book to the nearest blank page, and began to write.

****************

Personal Log #347
May 5th, 2013

Wow, it’s been about a week since I’ve written in this thing, but I suppose better late than never. My stay with the Swiss is nearly at an end. In a couple of days, I board a plane headed to Amsterdam, and who knows how long I'll be staying there for. Well, probably as long as I feel like. As usual, right? Maybe I should spend tomorrow taking in the sights here one last time. Wouldn't want to leave without taking just a few more pictures, after all.

Man, I almost can’t believe that it’s been nearly eleven years since I started this... journey, for lack of a better word. Left home at 18 and have been traveling the world ever since. It’s also hard to believe it’s been over three years since Cass Damn it all, why do I keep thinking about this? I know she wouldn’t have wanted me to dwell on her forever. It’s just so hard to stop thinking about how fast it all went downhill, or how I could'veshould've might have been able prevent it. Even though I knew from the start what the outcome would be and shit, I'm rambling again.

I’ve got to stop. It’s getting late, and this entry is becoming about days I'd much rather leave behind. I should probably get some sleep. I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a long day.

End of Entry

***************

The next day, the man awoke and walked over to the corner of his hotel room where a bright red shoulder sling backpack, containing his journals, camera, and other personal effects, rested. He took stock of his items one more time before going over to the dresser where his wallet, phone, and a silver Dan Wesson .357 Magnum revolver lay undisturbed, along with some extra ammo for said weapon.

The man put the ammo in his pack and holstered the gun at his hip. He rarely used it, preferring to use his words, or if necessary, his fists to resolve problematic situations, but he’s always thought it better to have it than not.

Finally, he pocketed his phone and wallet and walked towards the door, but stopped mid-stride. “Hmmm, I can’t shake the feeling I’m forgetting something.” He muttered to himself. “...Eh, it’s probably nothing too important.” With that, he left his hotel room. Unbeknownst to him, he would not be returning for a long, long time.

Author's Note

Well, here we are. The prologue. Pretty much what it says on the tin. So uh... yeah. Hope you like it!