My Little Pony: Friendship is a Miracleby Dragon Emperor GeonChaptersChapter 1: Lucky NumberChapter 2: A Bumpy StartChapter 3: Loose Lips Sink ShipsChapter 4: Welcome to Ponyville!Chapter 5: Scars of the PastChapter 6: A Man's True ColorsChapter 7: Sleepless Night...Chapter 9: Where we left off...Chapter 10: A New Challenger Approaches!Chapter 11: Day 1...Mission Terminated.Chapter 12: Why don't you come on down, Jack?Chapter 13: Dark Roots...Chapter 14: Day 2; Mission: Code AppleChapter 15: UnityChapter 8: "A Personal Wrong to Correct"Chapter 1: Lucky NumberIt was a quiet summer morning throughout the small town of Ponyville, one of thousands of towns or provinces that belonged to the land of Equestria. This world was much more different than what many could understand, as the majority of the world was inhabited by ponies, and all kinds of creatures one would think would be considered a myth. The ponies’ ruler was known as the majestic Alicorn, Princess Celestia, who had been ruler in conjunction with her sister, Princess Luna, for thousands upon thousands of years. She stood at the balcony that overlooked a grand portion of the country she ruled over with a soft smile on her face, observing the beautiful vista that splayed across Canterlot and beyond. She stared off into the vista for a while until she realized a real good way to freshen things up for her faithful student and her friends. She tapped her chin with her hoof, a notion that fit enchantingly with her beautiful multi-colored mane and tail, along with her soft features and enticing magenta eyes that could allure the shyest creatures to approach her. An idea came to her mind and she realized exactly what could liven things up; another human or two, new companions who could learn from the them as much as the mares could from them about the meaning of friendship. She has been wanting for the longest time to bring humans back into her world, but she has also been wary; humans have changed drastically since the great separation. She would need to be extra careful if she was to bring one into into their world. Celestia summoned forth a scroll from her vast resources, and used her magic to pry it open and keep it levitating in place. She peered inside and saw two young men who must have been close to the age of twenty with an air of sadness and grief. The princess couldn’t tell for sure who was the more emotionally and mentally anguished, but was curious to learn more about them. One of the young men sat in a rather ragged recliner, wearing a pair of faded blue jeans with many varying rips of different sizes from the knees down to his dark brown combat boots. He wore a classic white t-shirt on, along with a currently unfastened button-up that almost reached his knees. The edges were decorated with a red Chinese dragon that wrapped around the bottom of it and pulled up onto the back of his button-up. His hands were partially covered by black fingerless gloves, with stainless steel plating over the knuckles in case he got into a fight. He had a strong, sharp facial outline that made his deep forest-green eyes stand out while also being well-framed by his short brown hair that created some bangs over his forehead and sides, but shorter towards the back. A small patch of light orange hair adorned his chin, which gave him the overall appearance of a tough cowboy, but even he knew deep down that he couldn't ignore the loneliness he felt many a time. The next person she saw was a boy of a tanner complexion who laid flat on the raggedy carpeting in a comfortable, yet form-fitting red zipper hoodie. His short black hair was trimmed and lined up in such a way that it sharpened his features ever more so. His eyes were a steel-honey brown mix that was accentuated by his sharp cheekbones. He was lean and stood at a tall 5’11, although he was still slightly shorter than his companion who measured up to a stunning 6’4. He wore long black jeans with short chains and a pair of black boots. If there was one feature that really made him stand out in a way he didn’t like to stand out, it would be his eyes. It wasn’t just the odd color combination that got many people staring, but it was just how lifeless his eyes appeared. No matter how hard he tried to smile, that smile could never truly reach his empty eyes, it was as if his eyes killed any emotion that dared to show itself. "Hmm” A smile danced across her face and she chuckled to herself lightly. ”This might just work… a boy, his close friend, and their dog." She smiled and then closed her eyes as she began to chant in a language not known by many. The few who DID happen to understand the language she was speaking would've known that she was practicing a magical art. “I’m glad we have you here, Gypsy. Who knows where Graham and I would be without you” he whispered to the dog, her ears perking up at the genuine praise. The dog had completely black fur, and was about three years old. She carried a chew toy in the shape of a candy cane. The only thing she wore was a red collar, with some identification on a little slate of metal. The three of them lived in a small apartment, but the place was a dump. The sad part was that neither of them could hold up a job; Graham because he wasn't too keen on the people he was working for, and the still-unnamed young man because people were routinely disturbed and in the end didn’t like interacting with him. “Hey Aramis, looks like none of us are eating anything today. We’re completely out… I’m sorry.” he looked down in guilt after checking the last cabinet he had checked. Gypsy approached her master and whined a little, but nuzzled his leg to reassure him she was fine. All it did was make him frown further at how he had let down the only two friends he would consider family. “Don’t feel bad, bro. It certainly isn’t anyone’s fault and you know it.” Aramis replied in support. He smiled and then sighed a bit as he got up from his chair and looked at the city of New York. "The worst part is, I can't even hold a job..." Gypsy whined a bit with her chew toy, knowing that playing with her would cheer him right up. He looked down at her and chuckled. Aramis slowly got up and walked over to him. Graham gave him a look and he knew that it was time to play a little. "OK girl, OK. Here, fetch!" He chucked it across the room as the dog grabbed it with her teeth gently and skipped over to him. He took the toy and raised it over him. "Want it? Hm? Go get it." He said as he whipped it across the room to Aramis, who caught it one-handed. She sat on her hind legs and waited for him to hand it over. “If you want it, ya’ gotta earn it girl. Sit!” he commanded with a rare playful laugh. She immediately sat down as if the command was hot-wired into her brain. When she finished, she barked and started begging for the toy. “Here you go girl. You earned it. Haha.” he laughed quietly. She trotted off with her chew toy to the kitchen where the two headed over. The two close friends sat at the table and relaxed while Aramis quietly drank from his cup of water he had left on the table. A bright light began to fill the room, but they dismissed it as the sunset beginning to shine on their window. It kept getting more and more intense. The two men and Gypsy stood up in alert and looked at the light that absorbed the three of them. “Huh?” was all Graham said before he felt a pulling sensation. “The hell is going on?” Aramis spoke out loud, as he too was pulled in, Gypsy barking after them shortly before also following. What was this white light? Where was he being dragged to? He could only imagine.... QUICK AUTHOR'S NOTE To those who are not new to the series, you may be asking why I'm re-posting older chapters. The reason is that the story has plenty of "Bugs" to fix. There's alot going on in the chapter that is to be fixed. So please, don't think for a second that I'm running out of ideas, or anything like that. I would tell you exactly why I'm doing this, but then It would take a while to explain. All I can tell you, is that a friend, GingerNutGin, has told me of the many flaws I have in the story, so I am ironing EVERYTHING, before continuing on. So as the awesome fan that you are, you will support my decision to give this story a good tweak. Sincerely, Emperor Geon. Chapter 2: A Bumpy StartThe bright light that had picked them up from their apartment had only lasted a few short seconds before they were deposited midair in a completely different location. None of the three had anytime to wonder where they were as they suddenly started to fall; the ground coming up faster and faster. Before they hit the ground though, Aramis was lucky to have landed on a tree down below on some leaves. Graham, however, was not as lucky. After smacking into a branch, he spiraled towards the earth below him. If he was conscience then, he was knocked out cold now as he hit the ground head first; his dog landing on top of him in a heap. Aramis followed behind as they both were left in a tangled mess of limbs, leaving Gypsy to whimper in worry at her masters. A couple of hours had passed since the two of them had been knocked unconscious from the impact. Aramis began to stir and began to get up, but his attempt nearly failed from the shakiness his body still felt; his muscles knotted and stressed from the awkward position he had stayed in for so long. When he managed to stand up he leaned his hands against his knees and breathed deeply, not paying attention to the strange environment he was in. His lower ribs ached slightly every time he breathed, but it was his upper ribs that hurt intently, a white hot flash of intense pain that almost made him collapse. His little stumble was what finally made him notice the new environment he was in. A thick forest stood behind him, the range of it leaving him speechless as its length went on further than the eye could see. The green pasture fields were equally as long and seemed to be bordered in by the forest. He looked forward and noticed that the dirt path the three had landed on went on into the outskirts of a town. Aramis looked down at Graham and noticed the bruising he had taken seemed to be worse than his own. “Gypsy, come here girl!” he called out to the dog, which obediently came to him and nuzzled into his leg. “It’s nice to see you too Gypsy. We need to get Graham to someone who can give him some medical atten—” he stopped short as he cough violently into his hand. Gypsy whimpered again in worry at his current health. He cleared his throat and spat what he thought was flem, until he noticed how thick and bloody it was. “Don’t worry about me girl. It’s Graham who needs the attention more.” He leaned down, and with some minor struggling, Aramis had managed to place Graham over his shoulder. He breathed deeply as he tried to ignore the searing pain in his sides. With that, Aramis slowly walked along the dirt path into the town he had seen in the distance; his eyes slowly closing and opening as he fought off the exhaustion he felt deep inside him. The walk felt like it took hours, as his sense of judgment and time was off from the increasing pain he felt from the strain of carrying the weight of his best friend. He saw what looked like a pony, and stared at it confused, but still kept trudging ahead. Graham mumbled on his shoulder, almost as if he was finally beginning to stir from all the motion he felt from the walk, but he still didn’t wake up. Fluttershy was going through the forest, gathering berries and fruits for the animals she took care of when she saw a weird figu— or was it two, off in the distance. She stood there until the figures came into focus and what she saw certainly surprised her. “…That’s very odd.” She mumbled to herself. That’s when she took notice of their condition and her eyes widened in shock at just how one of them manage to carry the other so far. Aramis felt very uncomfortable being looked at in shock by a pony, which not only had an odd yellow body and a long wavy mane, with an equally wavy tail, but on top of that he could have sworn he saw a pair of wings tucked in at its sides...and he thought for a moment he heard it mumbling to itself. While he was trudging on, it spoke again in his direction, causing him to stop walking altogether. “E-Excuse me, you two need medical attention.” Fluttershy said meekly as the young man stopped in his tracks. “Who said that? Hello? Is anybody there?” Aramis asked out loud, Looking around for the source of the voice. “I did…” She practically whispered while staring back at him, watching as the man jerked his head to look at her. “Um...hi.” Was all she could mutter. The two of them stood there for several tense moments until Aramis suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs, recoiling at the talking pony in front of him, dropping Graham by mistake onto the ground with a heavy thud. She shrieked equally as loud, and without hesitation flew towards the nearest bush. “P-Please, Mr...whatever you are, Please don't hurt me!” She squeaked, shivering she waited for the man to acknowledge her. “W-Who the hell are you, spawn of Satan!?” He shrieked as he fell onto his back, inching away from her until his back was pressed against a tree. Aramis shook uncontrollably as he hyperventilated. “U-Um...” She couldn't answer him. “W-What’s a Satan?” Aramis couldn't believe his ears and eyes. First off, a light just smacked them into god-knows-where. Second, he heard a horse talk! Not to mention it had wings. It was just so insane. Taking all of this at once was almost too much for him to handle. Fluttershy on the other hand, started to peer out from behind the bush. Even if she knew nothing of these creatures, she did know that they needed help. “I know you don't know me very well, but if you would place your friend on my back and try to follow me please; my home is just up the bend from here.” She replied as she gently straightened her body out to allow Graham to lie steadily across her back. “But how do I even know you’ll take your word? I mean, what if—” “If you don't come with me, your friend might be in danger. He doesn't look like he will make it staying on the ground like that...” Aramis looked down in shock as he quickly realized that he dropped his best friend on the ground. "O-Oh shit!" He cursed himself out as he got up as quickly as he could to pick his friend from the ground, hoisting him back on his shoulder. His weight was really getting to him now, and he had no idea what else to do in a situation like this. He slowly turned his head towards the timid mare with a struggle. “A-Alright, just help me get him to safety. But I swear to god that if you do anything—” “I promise you no harm will come to you, I’m a caretaker for animals, just like you.” Aramis wanted to hit her for calling him an animal, but he didn't want to ruin his chance of finding help for him and Graham. It was also for the fact that he was injured, and didn't have it in him to try. After Aramis slowly picked up Graham from the dirt floor, he dropped him gently onto her back. After that was done, Fluttershy offered her neck as a cane of sorts for Aramis to hold onto, to help his failing strength. The four had walked for only a couple of more minutes until they arrived to a big farm-like area. Her home was built into the tree, but Aramis hadn’t really paid much attention as the burning pain from his ribs distracted him. Fluttershy laid Graham down on a hospital-like bed before turning to Aramis. “I’ll begin treating to his wounds once I get yours checked out and healed, if you don’t mind.” She told him quietly. “Sure, that’s fine with me.” He said as he slowly lifted a hand towards her, hoping she would get the gesture. “My name is Aramis. My friend over there is Graham, and this here,” he looked at the black lab lying on the floor. “is our dog Gypsy.” She stared at the hand for a brief minute before coming to terms what he was trying to do. Slowly she lifted a hoof to meet it as Aramis grabbed it and started shaking. She thought about how odd this creature was, but then she shook herself out of her thoughts to talk again. “Oh forgive me for being so rude to you; I should have introduced myself a while ago. My name is Fluttershy, and I live in the outskirts of Ponyville.” “Ponyville?” Aramis asked. The town name struck him as odd and her name seemed rather...fitting if their encounter had been of anything to go by. “You mean to tell me there’s an entire town full of talking horses?” “We prefer to call ourselves ‘Ponies’, thank you.” She responded in kind. Aramis rolled his eyes, and focused on her again. “Well, It’s nice to meet you anyway, Fluttershy.” he said courteously, immediately causing her to smile a bit. “It’s um... It’s nice to meet you too, Aramis.” the smile on her face slowly receding, she did have one question on her mind. “I’m very curious as to what kind of animal, or creature you two are exactly, if you don’t mind me wanting to know.” The light yellow mane asked, her eyes slowly looking at the ground, almost as if nervous he would get angry with her because of her question. “It’s cool. But before I explain, we’re not animals.” He said boldly. Fluttershy’s ear folded upon her head. “O-Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you.” She whispered, luckily loud enough to hit the man’s ears. “No, it’s alright, but yeah... Don't call us that. Or creatures either. We’re called humans. Haven't you ever seen one of us before?” Aramis questioned, but only got a shake of her head as a response. “Oh...I see.” He trailed off. He couldn't help but think this was all some sort of nightmare. Suddenly she spoke again. “If you wont mind, please sit down on the bed next to your friend.” He complied with no qualms, wanting to help calm her nerves. She took out a medical kit and began to pull several items out, ranging from rubbing alcohol to shots and all sorts of obscure things he never thought someone could fit in such a modest medic kit. In fact, he was starting to get a little nervous. If she didn't have hands, how could she even use these things? And even if she could do that, would she even know how to heal a human if she’s never seen one? “Could you please take off your upper body clothing? It’s just so I can check over any potential wounds.” He looked at her funny, but didn't wanna make a scene, so he followed her directions anyway. After studying his physique, her eyes widened. “By Celestia’s mane, what happened to you!?” he almost flinched at the intensity of her voice. “Well, we kinda fell through a tree after we were brought here through some weird light. My friend got the worst of it, since he wasn't as lucky as I was, while I landed on soft leaves before hitting the ground.” He explained, coughing a bit mid-sentence. “How far up were you?” She questioned, which Aramis couldn't answer her exactly. “About...I think fifty-sixty feet. How we even survived that, I’ve not a damn clue.” He “O-Oh my... Well, lie down on your back please. I’m going to start by mending your ribs to your ribcage with an ointment I have, so it may hurt for some time.” he carefully laid back and stared at the ceiling, feeling her han—er hooves gliding softly over his sides with non-scented ointment. At first he felt no different than before when he suddenly felt the intense pain in his sides return, groaning loudly at the feeling of his ribs being re-attached, bent back, and snapped into place. “Just hold still for a little longer and I swear it’ll be over. You’re doing so well.” she pleaded with him, trying to keep him still. The next step for her was to start clearing the bruising and blood that pooled above and below his skin. Once she finished with that, she wrapped gauze around his chest and rib cage. The exhaustion he felt deep in his bones had taken advantage of the comfy bed, and he had promptly blacked out and slept quietly. Fluttershy walked over to Graham and ripped his shirt off, since she couldn’t pull it off normally. She was very, very concerned with all the intricate wounds she saw on his person. He had many signs of internal bleeding; several fracture bones, a possible broken leg, and a serious concussion. If he didn’t get more professional help, his injuries could leave him crippled for the rest of his life. She quickly flew out her door and began to rocket towards Ponyville, Gypsy whimpering in concern for her masters’ health and well-being. The young pony flew over to a tree house towards the center of the town. Using her hoof, she knocked repeatedly, until the door opened revealing a small dragon with purple scales. "Pardon me for the loud noise Spike, but do you know where Twilight Sparkle is, by any chance? It's really...important..." her panic had left her borderline breathless, so she leaned against the door frame for support. "She's in her study room, I'll get her!" Was all he said before promptly running off to get her, leaving the yellow pony looking after herself outside. The Pegasus then floated inside, growing further and further impatient in her wait for her close friend, Twilight Sparkle. Moments later, a purple unicorn trotted down the stairs, her long midnight blue hair that had a purple and pink stripe in both her mane and tail bouncing lightly from side to side, her deep purple pools for eyes looking at her friend in concern, who looked more riled up than she had ever seen. "What's going on, Fluttershy? I wasn't expecting company." “There’s no time for explanations Twilight! There’s a creature in dire need of complicated healing and between the two of us, you’re the only one who’s truly capable of healing him.” she blurted exasperatedly to her friend. Twilight stood there, contemplating the situation before she nodded sternly to herself. “Alright Fluttershy, take me to where this creature is and I’ll do my best to heal him.” And with that, Twilight trotted as fast as she could to keep up with the worried and desperate Fluttershy. Within minutes, the two had arrived at her small little animal farm and had entered the house, and the creatures Fluttershy had mentioned were very familiar. “Fluttershy, I’m going to be taking a real big wild guess, regarding what race they are. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but are these two creatures humans?” she questioned with a confused look. Fluttershy nodded and went over to Graham to make sure he was breathing and whatnot. “Yes, that one called themselves ‘human.” Fluttershy answered. Twilight looked back at the man in front of her. “I remember reading up on them a while ago in my Book of Ancient Tales.” Twilight said as she looked upon Graham’s body. “But from what the description said, humans just...disappeared from Equestria. There used to be a human child here, but that was so long ago...” “Twilight, I’d hate to be rude, but could we go back to the humans here?” Fluttershy interrupted. Twilight came back down to Equestria with a look of confusion. “But one question remains. How did two huma—” a bark interrupted her, and she looked down to see a black dog with a red collar around her neck and looked back over to the two unconscious humans and understood their relationship, “How did two humans and a dog end up in Equestria?” She pondered as to how something that absurd could happen. “Please save the stories for later Twilight, he needs your help!” Fluttershy begged. Twilight walked over to his battered and bruised body and gasped at all the open wounds on his chest, abdomen, and arms. Using her horn, she pulled off his pants and whatever other garment he wore beneath those and blushed brightly for a moment before shaking it off. He was in bad condition and for his sake, she couldn’t get distracted with looking at human anatomy. She pressed a hoof light on his right leg and saw him twitch, his face screwing up slightly. Carefully, she prodded and felt his leg from the hip down to his ankle, checking for cracks, breaks, and fractures. She gasped loudly in shock at her discovery. “His leg is fractured and cracked in so many areas, it’s a miracle he didn’t break his entire leg! Fluttershy, grab some of that ointment for treating bruises and dislocations I made you a while ago.” Her friend quickly went through the bag and found a clear bottle with forest green liquid in it that almost seemed to glow. Twilight used her horn to carefully levitate and spread the ointment on her front hooves and gently began to knead it into his skin. She kept at it while she concentrated her healing power in her horn and began to heal all the fractures and cracks in his leg, repairing some broken ligaments and other minuscule problems that seemed to have been there far before his current predicament. She moved closer to take a more in depth observation of the trauma his body had suffered. He had many cuts on his torso, most of them were light scuff marks that barely drew forth any blood, but closer inspection revealed that those marks were deeper than they seemed. There were a few deep cuts, one across his chest, where she presumed his heart to be. Another that went diagonally down his back, which she only noticed because the wound wrapped over his shoulder blade before curving diagonally. The poor purple unicorn shuddered at the horror of the wounds he had taken and how he had mercifully been unconscious for it. If he had been awake to feel all the pain he was feeling subconsciously...no, she couldn’t allow her fear of blood and mutilation get in the way. He needed her and she had vowed to help him and she would. Lathering a large portion of the ointment on the deep gash on his back, she waved Fluttershy over and had her help with rubbing all of it into his skin, as much as they could to get his skin to absorb it all and prevent any potential scaring of the flesh. She wanted nothing more than see him unscathed and not be left with some reminder of the incident. Twilight Sparkle focused intently with her horn and began to close the wound tightly, trying her hardest to erase it as she moved up his back. Several minutes later she had made it to the junction between his neck and shoulder blade and finished closing the wound. “Fluttershy, I need you to take care of the other cuts while I close up the one on his chest. Can you handle that?” Sweat began to pour down her forehead due to the excessive use of her magic without rest. She looked at her friend in concern. Fluttershy didn’t like how hard she had been working herself into the ground. Even her face was beginning to pale slightly from the increasing draw on her magic. “Sure Twilight. You do seem awfully tired. Don’t you think you should re-” she attempted to reason with her, only to be cut off by Twilight. “NO! I can’t rest yet Fluttershy. Until he’s healed, I’m not gonna give up. I’m not gonna let him die, not here!” The determination burned not just in her depth-less purple gems, but deep down inside her. She had been working on him for nearly two hours, and she just wasn’t willing to give up on him; even though she hadn’t even said a word to him. Something in her had awakened when she laid eyes on him and she just couldn’t stop from looking at his sleeping face that seemed tired, sad, lonely, but hopeful at the same time. It was an unexplainable feeling she felt, one that words could simply not give justice too. Her power seemed to increase exponentially and the wound began to close even faster than the other gash she tried to close. In no time, she had managed to reach the part of the wound that was over his heart when he began to cough profusely. He kept writhing on the bed, his coughing becoming more and more mangled. Blood was spraying out of his mouth with his loud hacking, that even Aramis had woken up. He propped himself up on one elbow and looked on with a look of shock on his face. “What’s going on Twilight!?” Fluttershy yelled in frantic panic. “I-I don’t kn-o-ow” stuttered Twilight, her hooves shacking as fear began to wrap around her. “His heart's failing...The wound to his chest was more serious than I thought it was...He’s going to die because of me...” Tears began to roll down her cheeks slowly. “Please...whoever you are, I’m beggin’ you. You gotta do something to save him!” Aramis begged, Gypsy whining on the floor. She kept crying and shaking, until she looked at his pained face. Her face hardened and she knew what she had to do. She poured every last ounce of her will into closing the wound to prevent any more damage to his heart. She started to carefully pour her magic in a small steady stream to try to repair the serious cuts his heart had taken. It almost seemed to work, his coughing had slowed to a small wheeze. His breathing began to slow, his pained expression fading. She allowed herself a small smile of accomplishment and wiped some of the sweat of her forehead with the back of her foreleg when he began to convulse violently. Fluttershy tried her best to soothe him, but after almost being hit by his flailing limbs, she backed away in fear. “Don't leave us! Aw, fuck I’m gonna lose my best friend in a house with talking horses...” cried Aramis, tears spilling from his eyes, an emotion that he had vowed to never feel becoming rooted deep in his eyes—fear. Fear for the threat of losing the only one he had left in his life that he could call family...that he could call brother. His heart pounded wildly in his chest, his attempts at holding back his sobbing resulting in him utterly losing control over himself. Twilight stood there with a look of shock as she realized what was happening to him. He was having a heart attack; she needed to do something and fast. She numbly stood over him and thought of a spell that could help her get his heart beat stabilized. Her horn glowed a light blue for a moment. She held her hooves close to her horn and they seemed to spark. All those in the room stared blankly as she pushed her hooves down on his chest, causing him to flop up like a fish from the current. It didn’t do anything to improve his condition and she charged a second shock and tried again. He flopped hard against the bed and his convulsing got worse. Her eyes widened as she quickly charged a third one; this one more powerful than both the first and second blast. Twilight pushed as best as she could and watched him writhe and twitch violently. Again she blasted him, but his condition refused to improve. She charged her hooves again and was about to repeat it when he stopped writhing and lay there quietly, not even the whisper of a breath heard. Fluttershy had been quietly crying the whole time, unable to even move from where she stood. Aramis’ face twisted to an expression filled with so much anger, grief, and hate that it made Gypsy hide under some furniture. Loosing someone else he had held so close to his already-weakened heart made it just shatter. Fluttershy couldn’t bear to see him so broken that she excused herself from the room and went to go get their friends, feeling as though if he was around more ponies that are caring and kind would make him feel a bit better. Even if they knew just as much about these creatures as she did, death was still a tough subject. Twilight felt defeated, worthless, and empty as she stared at the corpse in front of her. The grief that gripped at her heart was too much and she began crying again, her face rubbing into his chest. She was supposed to save his life, not the opposite. He probably had so much to live for, but now that was all gone. As she cried there, her heart pouring all the anger she felt. “I didn't help him hard enough. I’m such...such a moron!” She screamed. The rest of the crew had arrived with Fluttershy as soon as she had explained the situation. All of them wore apologetic looks. As they all stared at the corpse of the man, Rainbow Dash felt it was necessary to comfort the new being. It wasn't really like her to just go up to somepony she never knew, but this was an exception. “Aramis, is it? Name’s Rainbow Dash, the best flier in all of-oomph!” she cried out as Fluttershy hit her in the side for ego boosting in the middle of a situation even she knew not to be full of herself during this time. “Rainbow, you shouldn't be trying to gloat in this situation.” The yellow mare said with a stern glare. Rainbow rubbed her side with a scowl. “I’m sorry for trying to introduce myself,” she said with a smart-ass remark. “But like I said, my name is Rainbow Dash, and I wanna say that I’m sorry for your loss...” “Saying sorry isn't gonna bring him back!” Aramis shouted through sobs. Rainbow Dash winced as her ears were given a good ringing by the intensity of his yelling. She wanted to get mad, but she knew losing a friend is the worst feeling possible. To lose a friend like this however, is a whole other story. Twilight had calmed herself to sniffling, but wouldn’t get up from lying on his chest. His death affected her more than she wanted to come to terms with. It was all her fault, she kept getting sidetracked and now he was— Her thoughts where interrupted as she heard a loud cough. Everyone looked at her, disbelief written on their faces. They heard another cough and a slight wheeze, followed by some mumbling. Twilight removed herself from his chest and he coughed into his hand. Chapter 3: Loose Lips Sink ShipsAfter his coughing fit had ended, Graham’s eyes opened slowly; the light blinding him, and everything being nothing more than a mess of blurs and colors. His eyes blinked several times as everything came into focus. To say he was astonished would have been an understatement. He stared at the scene in front of him. Aramis, and what he knew to definitely be Rainbow Dash, were holding each other, their tear stained faces staring at him with a blank, unreadable expression. Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity were crying before also staring at him with a mixture of near unreadable emotions. Graham suddenly felt lightheaded all of a sudden; not from the pain his body felt, nor the soreness deep in his bones, but from the fact that the voices he had presumed to be human before waking up were not human at all, but in reality from ponies...talking ponies. “Mother of fuck...My head...” Graham spoke, his voice barely above a whisper, the hysteria beginning to sink into his voice. “You’re alive...” Was all Aramis could muster, his eyes fixated on his friend. “Oh my Celestia! Your alive!” Twilight shouted in shock, her purple orbs instantly brimming up with tears. She leaned down to hug him, only for her face to meet the bed. Graham sat back against the furthest corner of the bed, his face showing he was in a state of thought, as if... “Aramis, how in the heck did you get the money to buy giant Pony toys? I never knew they made My Little Pony Life-sized models!” Aramis looked at the ponies. Each of them were lost in confusion. “Um...toys?” Aramis asked rather shakily. Understandable, he was in a whole other world complete with talking horses, but he was expecting a reaction like his earlier. It was like he didn't quite catch on yet. “Graham, they’re not toys,” He added on. “I don't think you really know where you are right now, do you?” The man looked at his surroundings. It was true, he was in a setting unlike where he was not too long ago. For one thing, it was clean, unlike the apartment was. This room had all kinds of things, from a table that wasn't missing a leg, and a bed that actually felt comfortable. “Aramis, where are we...?” He asked nervously, as if he was slowly coming to terms with where he was now. He looked the ponies one by one; their gigantic eyes staring at him as if he was some sort of animal at a zoo. “Before I tell you, you need to relax and just sit still. Then I’ll tell you. I don't need you running around after just waking up from staring death in the face.” Aramis ordered. Graham’s face slowly twisted to show his realization that he wasn't at home at all. He slowly started to back up against the wall, obviously scared out of his wits at the sudden change in scenery. “W-whats wrong?” Her head tilting off to the side in confusion as he began to hyperventilate in his corner. “Was meinen sie, was ist falsch!? Ich bin aufgewacht in einem Zimmer mitten in der, wer weiß, wo, umgeben von talking ponys. Das ist, was falsch!” The hysteria he felt ever so slightly increased. “Graham, I know you’re confused, and upset, but please speak English and breathe! You were dead for a good few minutes!” Aramis pleaded to the man. Graham couldn't stop staring at every one of the ponies staring at him as if he was going to attack them. “Ya’ll need ta’ simmer down like yer friend said and calm yer’self there buddy.” AppleJack calmly advised. He got off the bed and approached her, a fire kindling behind his green eyes. "Sie sagten mir zu beruhigen!? Ich muss ruhiger werden, weil da bin ich noch gesprochen habe, durch eine verdammtes pferd!? Sind sie von ihrer—" He slumped to the ground from a swift chop to the neck, courtesy of Aramis. “For fuck’s sakes, Graham...” He sighed in annoyance. “That was such a cool taked—” Rainbow Dash stopped as she saw the glares she was getting from her friends at the misplaced appraisal. She rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment, “I mean, why did you do that?” “Not to sound like an ass, but the guy’s a little loose in the head. He’s easy to freak the fuck out of, and being in a room full of ponies isn't exactly an everyday thing for anybody.” He answered. “Don't you mean, everypony, Aramis?” Rarity asked. “Uh, no? Why would I say everypony? I’m not a horse—” “Why do you keep saying that?” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “We’re ponies, silly!” Pinkie pie chirped, bouncing in place. “Uh...right, Whatever.” Aramis trailed off. Twilight trotted up to the once-again-unconscious Graham and poked him with a hoof. The man twitched a bit, so she was relieved he was still alive. She looked back at Aramis with another question. “How is he able to speak Germane so fluently, if he’s never been to Equestria before?” Aramis raised an eyebrow. “Uh, I believe you mean ‘German’.” He corrected. She shook her head. “No I don't. Over here, It’s called ‘Germane’, which was what he was speaking. I’m surprised, actually. Are you telling me there is a language just like Germane on your world?” She asked. Aramis shrugged at her. “Guess so. Beats the fuck outta me otherwise.” After that little conversation ended, a few moments or so must have passed before Aramis blurted out the obvious incoming question. “Is anyone going to pick him up? I can’t exactly lift him up myself with how bad a shape I’m in.” “I’ve got him.” offered Twilight, as she levitated his unconscious body onto the bed. Twilight looked over to the rest of her friends and guest, a pensive look on her face. “Now that he’s in bed again, this brings us to our next problem—what are we going to do when he wakes up again? He clearly wasn’t too comfortable with Fluttershy’s house. No offense to you at all, ‘Shy.” Fluttershy had a look of understanding on her face but a little disappointment in between. “That’s okay. He isn’t used to Equestrian society. The best way to determine who he should stay with should be based on what he likes or what he’s comfortable with.” Fluttershy suggested. Everypony looked in Aramis’ direction, awaiting his input. Aramis thought for a moment. “Well, he likes to read and--” “Twilight!” Everypony shouted in unison. The purple mare nodded, “So it’s settled then. Applejack, can you help me move him?” Applejack agreed to help, then positioned herself so that she was next to Graham’s body. Twilight then used her magic to gently cradle him onto Applejack’s back. They soon trotted out the door, and towards the place that would hopefully fit him best, with Aramis and Gypsy close behind... “Sugarcube, are ya sure this’ll work? Putin’ him in the library?” she asked in concern as the three stopped in front of the tree house Twilight was so keen on staying in. Twilight opened the door as the others walked inside. “It’s the only place that fits his likings, Applejack. Anywhere else would only worsen the situation. If I can calm him down when he wakes up, we might even find out how he and the other one got here.” Twilight explained. “You know what’s funny? I remember stating my name a while back.” Aramis remarked with a sarcastic tone in his voice. Applejack only chuckled and plopped him in the bed that was perched near a window upstairs, walking out of the tree house and giving the unicorn her space. The purple pony ignored him and sat down close to the unconscious man, waiting for him to awaken once more. A few hours had passed before he began to stir again. He looked around, and noticed the change in scenery once more. He knew it wasn't familiar to him, but he felt a little more at ease about his surroundings as he noticed a whole library covered his field of view as he sat up on yet another bed. Twilight looked up to see him rub his eyes, “Ah, you’re awake again. Can I trust you not to violently freak out this time?” She almost tempted to use her magic to plug her ears in case he would have another tantrum. Surprisingly though, he just sat there with a neutral expression on his face. Before he could reply though, a black blur had passed by her and sent him back onto the bed. “It’s nice to see you too Gypsy!” He chuckled as he pet the happy canine’s head, he soon pushed her off and sat back up again, “I think I’m ok...um...sorry about earlier...” He said as he rubbed his neck, still feeling the powerful chop Aramis gave him. “It’s alright, we understand, you’re not used to all of these changes, what with being in Equestria and all...” Graham froze, “Did....did you just say—Equestria...?” He stuttered, The unicorn only nodded. Graham couldn't believe what he heard. He knew Equestria was the world that his favorite show took place in. It couldn't possibly exist...could it? And if that was the case, what else was made to be true? That giant turtles kidnapped royalty? What next? He almost lost it, when Aramis patted him on his back. He looked over to see his best friend’s calm, but serious face. “Before you overreact again, we need to have a chat real quick. That’s if you don’t mind Twilight.” he gave her a pleading look for a moment and she stood up. “If you two need anything, I’ll be downstairs. Okay?” was all she said, walking down the steps as they gave her nods of acknowledgement. “Alright. I can tell you’re surprised as to why we’re here. And frankly, I have no clue why we’re in a world of horses, of all places.” Aramis started, making it clear that he was equally as confused as Graham was. The confused look on Graham’s face faded, but not before being replaced with an excited expression. “Dude!” he whispered, “Don’t you know what this means!?” his excitement began to bubble up. “Ummm, that we’re in a world of talking ponies?” he knew what Graham really wanted to say, but didn’t want to test the current sanity level of his rather overexcited friend. “We’re in fucking brony paradise! It’s real! All of it! Real!” a maddening look that could make Nightmare Moon shudder in fear at the insanity contained within scared his best friend a bit. “Graham, don’t you think you’re getting just a bit too excited?” he suggested with a nervous chuckle, fearing the impending “brony freak out” almost any brony worth their salt practiced in case they ended up in the same predicament they were in. “Aramis this is the greatest thing that has ever happened to us! Don't you see? We’re in fucking Equestria, home of the mane six. Especially Twilight Sparkle! You know how much I like her! She’s my favorite pony!” He kept rambling on and on about their situation. His excitement was as powerful as a double explosion. Hell, he was just about to run around when he was suddenly interrupted by a hand covering his mouth. “Why don’t you kick back, relax, and maybe try to avoid another heart attack. If anything, at least wait till Twili—” The two were interrupted as they heard a tiny gasp. Aramis looked behind to see the very same mare Graham had been obsessively talking about, hiding near the stairs; her mouth agape in shock. “You heard every bit of what we—well mostly Graham said, right?” he asked with a deadpanned expression that bordered on a facepalm. “I couldn’t help but overhear...and I was very curious...” She replied as she slowly walked out from her hiding spot. She looked at Graham with disbelief. “How do you know me, and how do you know of my friends?” her curiosity was getting the best of her despite the fear she felt at someone knowing so much about her and her friends. “Why don’t we go for a walk outside of town, where we won’t be heard discussing this?” Aramis nervously suggested. (V);,,;(V) It had taken them roughly half an hour or so to put any real distance between them and Ponyville, without arousing the attention of the other ponies or her friends. The neck of woods the group slowly traversed through was the safe equivalent of the Everfree forest. Its vast fauna were full of life, all the trees they could see for miles had luscious green leaves, some of them holding many kinds of fruits. “This is the greatest! It is GOOD day to be a-” Graham was interrupted as they kept walking. “I get it, Graham, we’re in Equestria. You can stop the brony squeals now.” Aramis muttered under his breath with a sarcastic sneer. “What was that?” Graham asked, his tone flat as a chalkboard; as he stopped walking altogether. “Oh, it was nothing. Just saying that you should probably tone down the excitement, just a bit.” Aramis put on his best poker face, hoping to get past the moment. Before their banter could continue any further, a loud cough interrupted them. The two looked over to see the purple unicorn, gazing at them with a stern expression. “Well, would you care to tell me how you know me, my friends, or even Equestria at that?” A look of contempt mixed in with the apprehension she currently felt towards them. “That’s kind of hard to explain... not without you either diving off the deep end or going into shock. Why not have Aramis explain? He’s much better than me at explaining things.” Sweat was forming on Graham’s forehead as the nervousness of her question made him feel uneasy about telling her the truth. At least not without somehow screwing up. It did unfairly put his friend on the spotlight, however. “You owe me big time for this...” Aramis muttered to him before turning back to the mare. “Hmm... where to begin? What if I told you that a huge number of people of our race, including him, could watch your adventures with your friends through a magical box?” he began, hoping to god her curiosity wouldn’t edge her on to inquire further into the “magical box”. “What is this “magical box” and what does it truly allow you to do?” She asked, clearly giving off the feeling that she knew he wasn’t being fully forthcoming with his explanation. “I want to know more than just the “magical box”, I want to know how you know of us, because as far as I’m concerned, there’s no way you two should even know of our existence.” her eyes narrowed towards the two with a fierce glare, daring them to even think of lying to her. “Alright, alright. I’ll start from the top...” Graham said cracking under her anger and pressure, he wanted to be honest to her. “You see, back in our home world, a planet we call Earth, we have what is known as a “television set” which allows us to view all kinds of shows ranging from entertainment to world news. There is one particular show I have watched since it’s official release, called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. This show details the adventures of you and the other mares, along with all sorts of wacky adventures, personal struggles, and even the battle against Nightmare Moon, the God of Chaos, Discord, and the Queen of the changelings, Chrysalis!” Twilight sat on her haunches, mouth slightly agape in shock, but nodded her head in acknowledgment. “Keep going.” she persisted. “I’ve watched all sorts of your experiences, especially when Spike’s greed got the best of him on his birthday and turned him into a full-sized dragon. There was even that one awesome episode where Pinkie Pie became insane; talking to rocks and turnips and even forgetting her own birthday, but I digress. We’ve seen just about everything each of you have been through and know just about everything there is to know about you six, given what the show has shown us.” She sat in silence, mulling over all the information he had given her. A look of disgust began to twist onto her face, a realization that made her stomach turn in thick knots at the epiphany she just had. Since the first day she stepped into Ponyville, Twilight and her friends had never had any actual privacy. A small but powerful thought nagged at the back of her head. Just how much did these humans know about her? “I have a few questions that I want you, and ONLY you, to answer” She began with an angry tone, her hoof pointed directly at Graham. “Exactly when and how did I meet Spike?” She questioned and waited almost impatiently for a response. “The way I remember it, you were a filly when you were taking the entry exam for the university for gifted unicorns, in which you had to hatch a egg using only your magic. You tried your hardest to hatch it, but couldn’t even get it to budge as you started to crack under the pressure from the scrutiny of the practitioners. You were moments away from failing until a rainbow-colored explosion startled you into unleashing all your magic in the room simultaneously upon everypony in the room. Your parents were turned into plants, the newly hatched Spike was bigger than the school, and the practitioners were being levitated together through the air. Celestia intervened and helped you control your magic. That was the day you not only became her student and acquired your cutie mark, but also gained your own foal... well sorta, but you know what I mean...” He had answered her quickly and to the point, hoping to dissuade her distrust of him. She nodded slowly at him and thought of another question. Twilight thought harder. "What is my brother's name, and what is his special job?" Graham chuckled. "That's even easier! His name is Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard! Married to The Princess Mi Amore Cadenza; also known as Cadence, your foal-sitter!" He wore a stupid grin as she stayed put with amazment. "T-That's amazing! You even knew who he was married to? A-And how did you know she was my old foal-sitter...?" She felt stupid for asking those questions, and shook herself out of shock to pick up on the questionnaire. “What outfit was I wearing during the latest Nightmare Night?” she smirked, thinking she had him in her hooves as there was no way he could know of such a celebration. “That’s an easy one—Star Swirl the Bearded. I have to say that your costume was very original, although it’s second to Ermac from Mortal Kombat, which I saw only three times.” Her purple eyes widened in disbelief at his answer. “How in the name of Celestia do you know that!? None of the other ponies except Princess Luna herself knew who that costume was supposed to represent!” She screamed at him in astonishment. “Simple, my little pony, from the telly!” He exclaimed quite proudly, as he mock-saluted her and bowed. “Graham... your British is showing again.” Aramis said with a roll of his eyes, slapping him on the shoulder quite hard. Graham wreathed in pain as he spoke in that same “Germane” talk Twilight mentioned earlier. “Ow! Was zur Hölle war das?! Ich schlag sie ohne Ende!” Graham screamed at the top of his lungs. Twilight tilted her head in recognition. “Was that what I thought it was?” She asked out loud. Aramis looked at the fuming man. “Yep, that was definitely German again, and I think he just said he was going to kick my ass...” Aramis answered, inching away from his friend as he calmed down. “I had a feeling he would still be a little sore from the procedure, but not that sore. I really should have given him some painkillers, in hindsight.” She mumbled, mostly to herself. “I’m good now, no need to worry at all. I guess I might have overreacted a little.” he finished with a chuckle while rubbing the back of his neck. “I guess I might have overreacted a little.” Aramis sarcastically mocked Graham in a purposely bad imitation. Twilight brought them back into focus, however. “Alright, one last question... what is my favorite band of all time?” her eyes narrowing in total seriousness at the rather childish question. He stood there, sweat trickling down his face as he could never recall the show mentioning anything about a band, let alone listening to any kind of music except classical. A slight smirk graced her features. “I-I...I actually don’t know.” Graham muttered in defeat, his head hanging low. “Really? I guess you really don’t know everything about me, now do you?” She giggled at him, his head snapping onto her direction. “You mean to tell me you were just joking with me?” he looked at her dazedly. “Of course I was. There was no way anypony would know. Not even my friends know... since they haven’t asked, that is. Though for your information, or should I say both of you” getting Aramis’ attention. “My favorite band in all of Equestria are the Colt 5. They’re simply amazing.” Twilight sighed deeply at the thought of the band. “Especially Levine Silverwing, his voice is just ethereal!” She gushed. “Colt 5? That sounds just like a band I know from Earth,” Aramis pondered out loud. “Is their first album called Songs About Jane by any chance?” He asked curiously. “Not that I remember. Their first album is called Songs About Luna.” she stated as she tapped her chin with her hoof in remembrance. “Are one of the songs named “Through With You”? he asked, hoping that some semblance of his favorite band had been kept in check. “Yeah, that’s one of my favorite songs in the album, even if it didn’t get as popular as the other songs, like “Sunday Morning” or “This Love”.” She sighed wistfully. She quickly came back down to Equestria after a little daydream. “It’s nice talking about the Colt 5 and all, but I think we should probably head back to Ponyville, since I’m pretty sure your friends might be waiting on you.” He had secretly been itching to see more of Ponyville than his show had let on. “Sure, why not? Plus, I think it’s about time I gave you two a tour of our town so we can gather the other girls and show you the key points of our town.” She offered. “Lead the way back then, Twilight.” Graham said with a mock bow, the three of them laughing a bit before heading off in the directions of Ponyville. (V);,,;(V) “So... where are we headed first?” Graham asked as they headed towards the middle of the town. “I’d like you to meet Pinkie Pie first. She’s an employee of Sugarcube Corner.” Twilight replied. “Please tell me she isn’t as insane as when we see her on the show?” Aramis nearly begged. “She’s not that bad. She’s just... well... Pinkie!” Twilight giggled as they reached their destination. She opened the door and came up to the counter. The smell of sweets filled their noses as they wandered inside, looking all around the store to see it’s many items for purchase. “Pinkie! Are you here?” Twilight called out, trying to get a better look in the kitchen. She heard a loud crash, and a pink pony sprang right up to the counter. She laughed loudly and bounced around. “Hiya Twilight! How are the humans? You gotta tell me! Pretty please with cherries on top!” The unicorn only smiled. “Why don't you ask us in person?” Graham answered as Pinkie Pie quickly turned around, running right over to them. “Ohmygoshareyoutwoalright?” She turned to Aramis. “ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” he nodded as he flinched at the loudness of her voice. “ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” Graham also nodded, hoping to quiet her down. She squealed loudly in excitement, hopping around the room excitedly, addressing the two while she did so. “If you two are alright, you know what this calls for?” her usual smile stretching impossibly wider. “A heart-warming “congratulations” because of our recovery?” Aramis asked, praying to the power of any god listening in she wasn’t about to suggest what he thought she was going to suggest. “No, you silly filly! A party! A “Welcome to Ponyville” party!” She gleefully pranced around, checking her inventory of ingredients in the bakery. Graham thought about it. ‘That means there’s gonna be a buncha...oh no, no It’s too soon for that!’ He looked down at the bouncing mare with a pleading look. “Pinkie, really there’s no nee—” Graham tried to reassure her only to get cut off. “Of Course there is! After all, I know EVERY pony in Ponyville and it would be so rude of me to not welcome you two here! I’ll see you two at your party!” And with that she disappeared out of sight, running off on her own to prepare for the party neither human had agreed to. Aramis looked over to see Graham put his face into his palm. "...Fuck." Chapter 4: Welcome to Ponyville!The two stood in an awkward silence that lasted for hardly a moment before Aramis nearly broke down in tears. “For the love of God! Why can’t she be a normal pony for one moment and just let us have some sort of say as to if we even want a party!?” He cried hysterically, feeling annoyed at the pink pony’s chaotic introduction and sporadic party planning that she had just carried out. “I suppose that since she’s Pinkie... there’s no point questioning the situation any further, right?” he asked out loud. Twilight nodded her head, trying her hardest to stifle her laughter at his rather comedic misfortune. She failed miserably, however. “Yeah, yeah. Keep laughin’. Just get it outta your system.” Aramis stated sullenly, heading for the door to try and save some face. The other two followed after him, giggling silently. “So who do we visit next?” Graham suddenly asked as they walked towards the town square. “Rarity, then Fluttershy, AppleJack, and possibly Rainbow Dash. If she isn’t lazing about on some cloud, that is.” Twilight acted as if it was an organized checklist she wanted to fulfill. “Anyways, do keep close to me while we go around Ponyville, the ponies here might overreact so please forgive them if they give you two weird reactions.” She apologized on behalf of the town, acting like she somehow shared the blame. (V)(;,,;)(V) Twilight had hit the nail on the head with her prediction of the town folk overreacting as many looked at the two humans as if they had just seen a murder. Others grabbed their children and turned their prying eyes away from the two newcomers before galloping off with them in the clear opposite direction. Most quickly trotted away into the safety of nearby stores, homes, or restaurants, hoping to steer clear from the “odd” creatures. In a way, Graham felt that their prejudice against them was almost worse than how many of the townsfolk reacted to Zecora’s first arrival in Ponyville, which had only further motivated her of keeping her home away from the town until the Mane 6 befriended her. Fortunately for them, they had finally arrived at the Carousel Boutique, away from public scrutiny and the rather cold-hearted welcome they had received from the citizens. The chime of the bell went off and they heard someone scuffling a few things around in a room deeper inside the Boutique. “Just a minute! I’ll be right on over once I finish my stitching!” She bellowed from the studio room where she crafted all her dresses, accessories, and more. “Rarity, it’s me, Twilight!” she yelled over. They heard Rarity trot on over quickly to the main lobby, which was also a living room at the same time, with the simple retro-inspired furniture and some magazines strewn about on the coffee table in the middle of the furniture set. “Oh, why hello there you three! It’s nice to see you two up and about after that scare you gave us!” She greeted warmly, hugging the two. “Do forgive me for my lack of matters. My name is Rarity and I am the proud owner of the Carousel Boutique, an aspiring clothes designer, and the bearer of the Element of Generosity!” She let her little introduction sink in before the two humans nodded in understanding. “Well in that case, name’s Graham. Nothing special about me.” Graham trailed, hoping to dodge explaining who he was. “And I’m Aramis. Gotta say, your dresses look pretty nice.” Aramis said as he took in the sight of the many intricate and detailed dresses and accessories she had designed. Rarity smiled lightly at his compliment. “Oh my, thank you very much for your kind words, but these aren’t nearly my best works.” She giggled in modesty. “Not your best? Well, I’d have to see what your best is later, because these look really nice.” Aramis said earnestly. “I have to agree, Rarity, your dresses are all wonderful... I can’t really decide which dress is the best! From what I’ve seen, each one is beautiful, and yet are all unique in their own way!” Twilight added. Rarity blushed from all the appraisal. “Well, if you all insist... but in any case you two must let me design some new clothes for you! You two look like you haven’t owned new clothes in months, and I know just the designs to really make you really stand out. Would you like that?” Rarity asked, secretly hoping for a chance to take a try at designing clothes for a non-pony species. “Well, neither of us have any money...” Graham said sorrowfully. He looked at the white mare as she smiled. “No need dear, I understand that you are both new here, so consider it a gift.” She said afterwards. The two humans thanked her over her astounding generosity, knowing fully well not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Rarity looked at her inventory as she levitated a measurement tape and a notepad. “I’ll just take your measurements now, if you don't mind.” She insisted. The two only looked at one another and looked away. “Um... okay, I guess.” Aramis said with embarrassment. “On one condition.” Graham added. “Well, what is it darlings?” She asked, confusion planted on her face. “We get measured alone.” Rarity giggled as she agreed. She then took Aramis into a separate room. “Alright, so do you need me to stand still and hold my arms out or something?” he guessed. “That’s exactly what I need you to do, except you need to strip down.” She nearly giggled at his embarrassed expression. He took off his hoodie and shirt in one fell swoop. Then he took off his shoes, unbuckled his belt and took off his pants, standing in her dressing room in nothing more than his black boxers. “Can we continue?” he asked, interrupting Rarity who was clearly looking him over. She blushed slightly and regained her professional composure. “By strip down, I meant all the way. I need to be able to get detailed and precise measurements of you to compensate for your anatomy. It’s just because i have never fitted a human before in my life, so I’m just taking precautions. Besides, there are so many Ideas I wish to try on you two!” she explained. His face looking as professionally serious one can get as he slowly took of his boxers. He had one hand covering his genitals and shivered slightly from the windy draft that swept through him. “Aramis, I can tell you’re clearly embarrassed at doing something like this, but I promise you it’ll be quick and you’ll like the results of my precise measurements.” She pleaded,hoping to get it done and over it with for his sake. He sighed deeply. “Fine...let’s get this over with.” he held his arms out and looked straight ahead. Rarity quickly and efficiently used her magic to measure his entire body with multiple measure tapes, taking notes down here and there. In less than ten minutes, she had managed to get hundreds of measurements to get a good idea about his body build and what kinds of clothes would suit him and which kinds would need some reworking. Once she finished, he redressed himself and walked out to the lobby and wished Graham luck. “What for?” he asked confusedly. “You’ll find out soon.” was Aramis’ ominous reply. Rarity then guided Graham towards the same room. He closed the door behind him and let out a sigh. Rarity picked up on his uneasiness. “What’s wrong darling?” she asked. Graham looked at her and chuckled a bit nervously. “Well, I’ve never really had measurements before...” Rarity smiled reassuringly. “It won’t be that bad, all you need to do is take off your clothing, and let me measure. That’s all there is to it!” She looked at his face to see that it was more than just his first time being measured. “Is it that you’re afraid of being... well, naked? It’s not so bad, darling! I mean look at us!” She said those words like she found it weird. Graham shook a little bit and sighed. ‘Yeah, well you’re ponies. Why wouldn't you find it weird that our kind always wears clothing?’ Graham thought to himself. He knew that they were completely new to them, being the first humans to exist in Equestria in a long time. Who knew how long the last one was? To him, on account of the only human he ever saw in the series was one child, but that was twenty or so years ago, and who knew how that translated to Equestrian time! He needed to...educate...her on why clothing meant so much. With that in mind, he spoke up. “Yeah, Rarity look. We humans don't exactly run around without clothing. We’re a little bit more inclined to what we wear, so to speak. It’s our thing. We just don't feel comfortable with them off. That’s why Aramis might’ve acted the way he did. He didn't tell me anything, but I sure as hell knew what he was talking about.” After this little speech, Graham looked at her to see her reaction. What he saw was a look of uncertainty. Rarity tilted her head. “Well, what does clothing mean to you?” Graham thought about it. “Well, it keeps me warm, makes me look good, and hides things I don't want others seeing. That’s about it.” He said as Rarity let his words sink in. “Well if it makes you feel any better, would you be at least comfortable with stripping down to your underwear?” she compromised, hoping to save him any further embarrassment. “U-uh, s-sure, I guess.” he nervously replied. The unicorn swiftly took his measurements, trying her hardest not to make him feel uncomfortable. Graham stood still, looking at her every movement. After she had finished, Rarity had briskly walked out of the room to allow him to change. He came out moments later, still appearing slightly disgruntled, but comfortable. “I’m very sorry for taking so long there Twilight, but you know how I am with my measurements.” Rarity apologized. “It isn’t a big deal. Plus, you did have some interesting magazines to read.” she said with a grin. The fashionista turned her sights to Aramis, catching his attention with her deep cerulean blue eyes. “Aramis, could I talk to you for a moment— in private please?” she asked. He nodded and followed her into the back. “What’s up?” was all he said. “I just wanted to apologize for forcing you to completely undress. I didn’t understand why you two were so attached to your clothes until Graham explained it to me. If I had know it was part of your customs... I-I just get so care-” he interrupted her with a pat on the head. “It’s not your fault Rarity. You didn’t know any better, and frankly it’s my fault for not being clear about my comfort zone and how humans view clothing. Lucky Graham told you, otherwise we would’ve completely forgot.” Aramis explained calmly, walking back out to the living room. She smiled gently at his understanding and followed him out. Her guests then took their leave, leaving Rarity to her work. (V)(;,,;)(V) The mid-afternoon sun blazed brightly upon them as they aimlessly walked through town, heading again through Ponyville Square. Many ponies were bustling the streets, some with children, some with a special someone, and others purchasing goods or services from the many market stands, too busy to really notice them. Before they could continue any further, a greeting got their attention. “Hey-ya fellers! How you three doin’!?” shouted a pony in their direction. They turned around to find Applejack diligently working the Sweet Apple Acres market stand by herself. “Well, hey to you too Applejack!” Graham called out as they walked over. The market stand she was attending was filled with many apple-related sweets, such as pies, crumb cakes, and many other items for sale. Graham could only drool at all of the food right in front of him. Aramis suddenly grabbed the back of Graham’s shirt and pulled him back. “Easy, tubby.” he said as Graham whimpered. He and Aramis never really ate since their arrival in Ponyville and Graham was definitely showing it. Applejack could only laugh as she picked up a pie. She handed it towards the man and simply smiled. “Take it, it’s on the house.” Graham soon took a piece and chomped a big mark into it. Graham could only lick his lips clean of the remnant of the pie on his face with sheer happiness. Aramis’ stomach growled loudly in hunger and he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Could I take you up on that offer too, Applejack?” he asked sheepishly. She grinned and handed him a pie. He took a moderate bite out of it and his eyes lit up at the flavor. “Like it, I take it?” She asked as the two only stood there. “Like it? We Love it!” they said in unison. The ponies laughed as the humans bit into their pies again. Applejack waved them off as they walked away. “Come by Sweet Apple Acres when y’all get the chance!” she yelled out as the group headed towards Fluttershy’s house, on the outskirts of Ponyville. They reached their destination after a short walk and Graham, suddenly stopped looking around. “I remember this now... wasn't this where I was being fixed up?” he asked. Aramis shuddered. “Let’s try not to think about it.” he said rather quickly as they followed Twilight towards the door. Twilight knocked and Fluttershy answered almost instantly. It was as if she was waiting right next to the door the entire time. “Um... hello?” Fluttershy saw it was her friends and she floated towards the two humans. She looked all over them, hoping not to find a single scratch. “You two have made a great recovery!” she said excitedly, her voice slightly higher than what her friends were used to hearing. “Well, when you have a capable pony such as Twilight on the job, then you’re definitely in capable han- er hooves.” Graham chuckled a bit at his slip up. “Don’t go discredit her Graham... it was Fluttershy here who found us as a broken mess. If it wasn’t for her finding us and her expert bandaging skills, I’m not quite sure if we would have made it as far as we have.” Aramis said, his voice full of appraisal and thanks to the shy, kind-hearted pegasus who had put aside her fear for the safety of others. “I-I was just trying to do the right thing. I would never leave a poor creature injured or to die alone. I’ll always stay by their side until I know they’re fully recovered.” Fluttershy said modestly. “That’s why you’re the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy. You’re just so caring of others no matter whom or what they are. If they’re in danger or in a crisis, you’re the first one there to try to help in any way you can and you shouldn’t let that discourage you.” She smiled brightly at Graham’s uplifting statement and invited them in. They all took a comfy seat on one of the long couches and laid back while Fluttershy walked over to the kitchen. “Would you three like some tea?” she quietly asked them. The three of them nodded while they calmly waited for her to brew the tea. Once she had finished, she balanced a tray on her wings with a tea pot, cups, milk, cream, and even sugar and delicately slid it onto the coffee table. She took a seat diagonally from the three of them. “Cream, milk, or sugar?” Fluttershy asked them. “Milk, I suppose.” Graham answered while she poured it into the drink, while looking at Aramis. “I’ll have some cream and sugar if that’s alright with you, Fluttershy.” Aramis politely asked. “Sugar and milk works just fine for me ‘Shy.” Twilight said. Within moments, all three of them had their tea served and quietly sipped at it before Aramis cheerily commented on the taste. “Thanks, Fluttershy. I have to say, this is very good tea. It tastes fine on its own, but with cream and sugar, it tastes even better.” Aramis praised her tea brewing skills excitedly, contently sipping at his tea. “I gotta agree, this is really good!” Graham added as he finished his drink quickly. “Are either of you two experiencing any pains or aches since your full recovery? That is, if you don’t mind me asking.” the shy pegasus asked, wanting to make sure that their wounds had healed correctly. Graham spoke up. “Well, I got this creak in my neck I think needs to be seen. If there’s some time could I get that checked?” Fluttershy listened to his problem and smiled. “I could probably see you tomorrow, if you don't mind. Let’s see what some rest can do for it, and then I’ll see what I can do what I can to relieve it.” Graham smiled in thanks. “Works for me!” “Good! That’s good...” was all she said as the two kept sipping their tea. Aramis and Graham looked at her, and wondered how she could handle taking care of so many animals. “Fluttershy, if you don’t mind me asking, I was wondering how you manage to take care of all the animals not just on your property, but in the surrounding areas without breaking down? It’s just amazing at how you seem to perfectly manage it without breaking a sweat.” Aramis questioned, feeling a deep respect for the pegasus and just how much work she tasked herself with on a daily basis. “It’s not at all stressful, in fact, I find it an enjoyable experience.” Fluttershy answered. She sipped more of her tea and looked up. “Taking care of animals is possibly the greatest thing I've ever done in my life. It’s calm, and I’m helping creatures.” She said, a bright smile stretched across her soft features that could make even the coldest of people smile back. Graham was the first to remember that he and Aramis had quite a lot of places to see, so he stood up. “Well, we have a lot of other ponies to visit, I hope you don't mind us leaving.” “Not at all, it was a pleasure to finally see you two after that horrible accident.” The yellow Pegasus smiled. “I’ll see you later, ok?” The two only smiled and waved as they left with Twilight once more and began to slowly walk back towards Ponyville, when Aramis yelped loudly as he randomly tripped and fell face first into a puddle of mud. Graham and Twilight laughed mercilessly at his expense. “Laugh it up you two... laugh it up why don’t ya...” he muttered, spitting out some mud that had gotten in his mouth. A blur of rainbow flew above them before a figure hovered nearby. “Oh come on, that was hilarious! In fact, this reminds me of Twilight’s first time meeting Dash! Is this deja vu to you or what, Twi?” As soon as he said that, he looked down to see her laughing up a storm. “Yes, this is the exact same way Rainbow and I met.” He said as she controlled her giggles. Graham chuckled as he helped him up and looked up at the floating figure above them. “Oh hey, Rainbow Dash!” she looked down at the mud-soaked man and couldn't stop laughing. “Mind giving me a hoof here?” Aramis asked while signaling to his clothes. “Sure! I’ll get ya cleaned up in ten seconds flat with my patented ‘Rain-blow Dry’!” she said with enthusiasm. Rainbow Dash quickly flew a bit higher, grabbed a cloud and jumped on it, causing rain to pour on her “client”. Once she was satisfied, she flew around him in a tight circle and dried him out. When she had finished, Aramis looked as clean as he had before the mud incident. “Thanks, Rainbow Dash!” he said with a bright smile. She smiled and socked him in the shoulder. “Not a problem, big guy! Glad to see you two up and about though. I was worried you two would take forever to recover. Now I can show you all my new awesome moves, and you’ll see why I should be part of the Wonderbolts!” she stated with a conventionally common, bragging tone. “Can’t wait to see THIS.” Graham said, challenging the cyan blue pegasus. She looked at him with an angry smirk, before it twisted into the cynical kind. “Oh really? You think I, the fastest pony in all of Equestria, can’t pull off my newest tricks? What, do you think I’m some sort of...one trick pony?” The determination she felt burned brightly in her violet eyes that stared holes into Graham. He brushed her off and laughed. “Whatever you sa—” “No! We are going to settle this one way or another.” “Alright. Anytime, anyplace and we’ll see if you can pull off your fancy new areal tricks. “How about the field nearby Sweet Apple Acres tomorrow?” “Alright, it’s a deal!” “You’ll be eating your words after I’m through with you.” “We’ll just have to see about that, won’t we Rainbow Dash?”She turned to face the group, her eyes focused on Aramis, who slightly felt uncomfortable at the intensity of her stare. “You will see just how good I am.” she said with a defiant, yet competitive smirk and with that she flew off to finish her weather duties. “Well that was nice. Although she’s got a bit of Trixie talkin’ in there.” Graham said as he kept walking. As Twilight lead the group once again, a big smirk formed on Graham’s face. “So, care to tell me how Equestria feels now? Last time I checked, you wouldn't even watch the show.” Graham sat there, waiting for an answer, watching as Aramis stifled a laugh. “Well? What do you think?” “Being here isn't gonna change anything!” Aramis laughed as Graham groaned, slapping his face with his palm. “You mad?” he asked Graham mockingly. “Mad about what? I’ve nothing to be mad about, dummkopf. ” He said back in that German accent. “Says the German wannabe.” he snidely replied back. “I’m more German than you’ll ever be, so that means more girls will love me! Haha! Everyone loves the German Guy!” He laughed pointing at his direction. “Oh really? Care to share with everypony just how great your love life was on Earth?” his gaze remained sharp on his close friend. “Shut up...” He snorted and crossed his arms. “Alright guys, how about we just go back to the library? Why is it that friends like you two argue like this?” She pleaded with them, in hopes of preventing things from really getting out of control. Luckily, the two had headed her plea and calmly walked along both sides of her in silence. “Right, right...” Graham said, scratching the back of his head as the two followed closely. They found themselves back at her tree house within minutes of their childish bickering when they waltzed inside its door. It was getting late out, as the moon was full and shining with the stars. As soon as they walked in, they were greeted with a big yell from a bunch of other ponies. “SURPRISE! WELCOME TO PONYVILLE!” Aramis took it quite well and smiled, while Graham nearly had another heart attack. It seemed like every pony that was walking the streets of Ponyville were part of this celebration. If not for Pinkie Pie, they would probably stare at them all the time, but each pony had a look of understanding, and happiness in seeing the two. Graham heard a bark and looked to his side to see his dog. “Did Fluttershy take care of ya, girl?” He smiled as the dog only wagged her tail happily after finally being reunited with her friends. Pinkie Pie and the others walked over to greet them as the others started talking with the others on their own. “Great party, huh? We got punch, cake, soda, candy, and everything just for you!” Pinkie bounced around as the others laughed, Graham on the other hand seemed a bit put off by all of this. Aramis looked over and patted his friend on the back. “Hey, you alright man?” Graham shook out of it, ignoring whatever made him feel uncomfortable and smiled. “Me? I’m great!” He lied. His smile closing the deal on it. Aramis looked suspicious for a few moments, but then looked down at Pinkie. “This party looks awesome, Pinkie! Did you do all this by yourself?” Pinkie shook her head. “No. Everypony pitched in after I told them of your arrival, and how you were both hurt in a fall. They all understood, and wanted to help! My friends here helped the most though!” She giggled as the other four ponies smiled. “Wasn’t nothin’ hard.” Applejack grinned. The other ponies chipped in after her comment. “Oh, don’t worry yourselves at all darlings!” Rarity said with a toss of her hair. “It was so easy, I had my part done before they picked up a thing!” Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest in pride at being able to help. “I hope you two like it...” Fluttershy timidly said, feeling uncomfortable around the large number of ponies she didn’t really know too well. Everyone partied and played all sort of games, having a blast and enjoying their time welcoming the two humans to their urban town. Graham’s mood however, was on a steady decline. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the party. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to celebrate. Heck it wasn’t the fact that somepony was getting flirtatious with Twilight in a very rowdy matter. It wasn’t like she couldn’t handle them, as she had promptly put them in their place and went back to enjoying the festivities while he sat upstairs watching. Something about the party didn’t sit well. Was it the amount of ponies here? Or was he still not comfortable in Equestria? So many questions... “You alright Graham? You’re looking a little down man...” Aramis called from the bottom of the stairs, his concern shadowed by the lack of lighting from the top of the stairwell. “Everything is fine. Just gimme a few minutes.” He said from up the stairs. “I just need some time alone for a minute.” Aramis knew it was something far deeper than what he let on. Without his consent, he walked up the stairs looking for him, but noticed he had moved from his spot. He saw a room, whose door was slightly ajar and walked inside, hoping to find Graham. He looked around the dark room to see a lump in a bed. He walked towards it and shook it. “Bud I know somethings up...come on talk to me; we’re like brothers for God’s sake!” He pleaded, but the silence only made it increasingly unnerving. He grabbed it to see it wasn't Graham at all, but a lump of items stacked together to make it look like him. He looked in worry towards the light to see the mess, and an open window. “TWILIGHT! GRAHAM’S GONE!” Aramis shouted. The music stopped, and everypony gasped in unison. Twilight and her friends ran straight upstairs to see he had truly vanished. “Where in the hay could he’ve gone to?” Applejack panicked. “He didn't even have any of the cake that I made!” Pinkie pulled at her hair in frustration. “Aramis, did you notice anything wrong with him as we walked around Ponyville?” Twilight stared at the man as he scratched his head. “Well...he seemed pretty anti-social after the whole run in with Rainbow Dash and that argument we kinda sorta had. Then he just seemed to get more and more upset. I have a real bad feeling about this...We need to find him pronto, or things may get out of hand real quick!” He stared out the window, the worry evident on his face as the mares struggled to get some items together along with a key helper to light the way... Hopefully, Graham wasn't too far away, or in any danger to himself or the anypony else! Chapter 5: Scars of the PastThe entire town was soon turned upside down looking for Graham. Each pony looked far and wide within the confines of Ponyville. Every citizen looked within their homes, in the parks, everywhere and anywhere they could think of, but all to no avail. Twilight and the others were about to give up, when the purple mare thought of something. “If he’s not in Ponyville...he must be in...” She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the entrance to the Everfree Forest before her. Her friends had decided to check around the town yet again just to make sure, leaving her alone to her own devices. She slowly walked past the entrance, calling out his name but receiving no answer. ‘Where could he be? He could only get so far...’ She thought to herself as she traversed deeper into the forest. She soon came upon a cliff that seemed extremely steep. Twilight looked down and thought out loud. “I remember this... this was when Applejack first showed her honesty, when I was about to fall to my death..” She looked around for an easier way down. She quickly saw a pattern in a series of small ledges that went down the cliff and cautiously leaped to each one, quickly making her way down to the ground below. She safely walked away from the memory, as she kept trotting forth into the darkness of the forest. Several minutes passed by as she nervously walked along. She took notice of every detail of the forest floor. All of the leaves and small animals that would occasionally run by her made her feel calmer. The world around her was quiet and sound. She loved the peacefulness of it all. She soon walked into what looked like a narrow clearing, coming across another familiar place. Claw marks were noticed, as they were probably owned by a cat-like creature. “Now this I could never forget! This was where the manticore attacked us, and Fluttershy tamed it with her kindness.” She could only smile at the thought of the memories racing back, Applejack trying to ride it, Rainbow Dash swirling around it with her ‘Rainbow Tornado’ attack. All of it seemed as though it was only a brief moment ago. The memory replayed in her head as she trotted past the clearing and into a darker part of the forest. Deeper and deeper she went until she could hardly see ten feet in front of her. “I’d better light the way ahead. It’s getting too dark here.” she muttered to herself as her horn glowed a bright purple aura, illuminating the path ahead. She sighed with relief as she walked past a slew of dead trees. Some looked like they had faces on them. “This was where Pinkie sang that song about learning how to face your fears!” Suddenly, the tune Pinkie had sung so long ago started to play in her head. She started to hum it, but eventually sang it out loud as she walked. “When I was little filly and the sun was going down...” She quietly hummed the rest as she trotted forth once more. Several minutes had come and gone by the time she had finished humming the entirety of the song. Still, there was no sign of Graham anywhere. She walked quietly for a while until she came to the bend of a river. The water was calm and clear, and a stream flowed gently through the forest. She looked at the water and noticed a familiar serpent sitting in the bottom of the river. It looked up and sprang out in a glorious spray of water. The serpent looked to be about twenty five feet long, from head to tail. Its scales had a purple shine to them, and it had orange hair atop its head that seemed fancy and suave. To finish it’s wondrous design, it had a big moustache of the same orange hue to match it’s glorious hair that seemed untouched by the water. It grinned and locked eyes with the mare, as if it was happy to see her. “Why, hello there, little one! It’s been a while since we’ve last seen each other!” The serpent practically sang with glee. Twilight smiled at the friendly face. “Hello, Steven Magnet.” She said as the creature laughed in such a way that would put a smile on anypony’s face. “Oh, you do remember me! I don't believe I told you my name though...” It sat in the river scratching its head in confusion. “Oh, I remember reading up on you once in the Foal Free Press. I have to say, they have a lot of interesting topics.” She said. She reminded herself of the situation with Graham and spoke up. “I don't suppose you know where a strange creature could be lurking, do you?” Steven tapped his chin with his claw and gained a thoughtful look upon his features. “I know what you’re talking about. About six feet, looks like some sort of naked monkey with clothes for fur?” Twilight beamed in amusement, trying her hardest to stifle her laughter, but failing miserably. “Yes, the very same. Do you happen to know which direction he went in?” the unicorn hoped with all her might that the serpent had some idea of where Graham had run off to. “I most certainly do!” he started off excitedly, coiling a claw around his mustache. “He went off in the direction of that old castle just up ahead. You know, past the bridge?” Twilight took note of the location and thanked him. “Thank you so much! That helps a lot. I’ll see you later!” “Oh hoo hoo! Anytime my purple little friend! Oh! And tell that white unicorn I said hello!” With that and a laugh, the serpent sank back into the watery abyss he took refuge in. She immediately began to trot towards the mentioned bridge and smiled. “This was the same bridge that we found those Shadow Bolts that Nightmare Moon conjured...trying to trick Rainbow Dash into ditching us.” she said with an angry look and tone. “She sure showed them.” Her expression quickly changed back to a more cheerful as she reminisced at the potential betrayal that had been swiftly averted. She carefully worked her way to the other side and saw the ruins ahead. She went into full speed towards it to see the missing Graham sitting by his lonesome in the midst of the debris of the battle she had with Nightmare Moon over a year ago. “Graham! There you are...” Twilight slowly walked towards into his field of view. He looked up and smiled, happy to see a friendly face. “Oh, Twilight, what are you doing here? I was gonna come back to the party, but I wanted to explore a bit!” Graham tried his hardest to look sincerely happy, but the slight cringe she gave him in return for his smile made him look away from her. “You ran away from your own party, that’s not very nice, you know...Aramis told me that you were sad about something. Care to talk about it?” She asked him, her voice fully laced with concern. Graham scratched his head. “Aramis always thinks I'm sad." He sighed with annoyance before he continued. "Well, I’m just not into being in the spotlight. It’s nice and all, but I’d rather just be by myself.” “But why? Why would you want to be alone, when you have new friends to be with?” She questioned. Graham chuckled a bit and sat up. “Well, it’s complicated, and really, I don’t think you’d want to hear it. It’s pretty long. I mean, I don't mind telling you my life story, since I sorta know yours.” “I was just about to ask. Besides, if you know about me, I want to know more about you.” A bright spark of curiosity shone in her deep purple orbs. Graham looked at her with a bit of nervousness and sighed. ”Alright, I warned you. It’s pretty long.” Graham laid back on a clean patch of stone and looked up at the ceiling, or what was left. Twilight found it puzzling for him to do this, but she wanted him to feel comfortable in any way he could. He laid unmoving for several moments before he spoke. “It all started back in my home town of Winchester, Massachusetts. This place is part of a big continent called America, which is part of a planet we like to call Earth. I was just a small boy, about...I want to say only 2 years of age. Things were pretty well for me. Nice home, a family who had loved me...” “Had loved you..?” Twilight interrupted. “Don't you mean loves you?” Her head tilted to the side in way that made Graham smile momentarily, but go back to what he was saying just as fast. “Well, it was about a few days after my birthday, when something went wrong... my mother, god- err, I mean Celestia bless her soul, took me away from him and divorced their marriage.” “What’s ‘divorced’ mean?” Twilight interrupted again, curiosity piqued. Graham shifted for a moment before replying. “Basically, when a married couple don’t love each other any more, they, well, separate.” Twilight nodded slowly, now understanding the gravity of the action. Graham continued. “We moved to another place known as Live Oak, which is placed in another state called Florida. We moved to this trailer, which is just a rectangular house, to live out our normal lives. About five years passed until my mother started dating someone who wasn't exactly the nicest man I ever knew.” He trailed off a bit and twiddled his thumbs a bit. “Why wasn't he?” Twilight asked immediately. He looked upon her, his eyes filled with interest. “My ‘step-father wasn’t a man of honor. By far he is almost the darkest thing to have ever step foot on Earth. The things he’s done to my mother, to me, to our family are completely unforgivable. If I didn't know any better, I would punch him right in the mouth, but I'm bigger than that.” He looked at Twilight, seeing a look of sympathy. “Can you tell me what he’s done?” She asked quietly, hoping to find out. Graham only glanced at her. “Well, I suppose.” He sighed before he continued. “He’s run over my leg with his car, which is a giant piece of metal on wheels. He’s also bashed my mother over the head with a bottle of booze multiple times, he wasted a good chunk of money on stuff we don't even need...” Graham’s anger rose past these sentences until something made him stop. He cooled down quickly and went on with his story. “Anyways, I don't know what happened, but he sorta...left.” His forest green eyes held a faraway look, as his mind thought about the horrors of his childhood. His face, however, seemed to hold a look of nonchalance. “Left...as in just vanished?” Twilight’s interest peaked to a new height. He only shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, just kinda, you know, left. They weren't married, so he just packed his things and left us. After that, we were back to being on our own for a couple years until my mother died.” Twilight gasped in shock. “What did she die of? If you don’t mind me asking that is.” she absentmindedly dug a hoof at the ground. “Um, well... it was a disease called Hepatitis C.” Graham said with a sigh. Twilight heard with her enhanced hearing and dropped her ears. “Oh my...I’m so sorry...” Twilight said with a bit of a quiet voice. Graham looked over, and frowned a bit. “How deadly is it? Is there a cure? How is it passed?” Twilight’s mood worsened at the thought of Graham’s overall loss. Graham looked increasingly saddened because of what he told her, but he kept moving forward. “It’s a disease that can be passed by blood, sexual intercourse, the usual. I don't know what happened, but turned out my step dad passed it before leaving. It was kinda like having a knife shoved right in your back, while being flipped the bird.” He said, showing her the meaning of the phrase by holding his middle finger in the air. “Never do that to another human. We hate that.” “So...all this...and you bottle these things up...just like that?” Twilight asked him in disbelief, not understanding how someone could bottle up so much pain. “It doesn't really stop there, either.” He said with a passive expression. Twilight couldn't understand it. He was in so much pain, but he didn't care? This was completely unnatural to any creature who could think on it’s own. None of her friends played off such serious business like this. So why is he doing it? Is it because nopony ever cared about him up to this point? And that he slowly gave up on it all? What else was he hiding? She had to know. “Graham, please don't bottle your emotions like this.” Graham lifted an eyebrow with confusion towards the purple mare. “I’m not bottling up anything. I’m perfectly fine.” Graham replied as Twilight looked at him with a frown. “Graham, you’ve lost so much, what else have you lost...?” She asked with concern. Graham sighed. “Well, I’ve lost multiple girlfriends. That’s pretty fun. Losing, oh I don't know, about...five?” Twilight frowned. “How did you lose them...?” She asked immediately. Graham scratched the stub of his chin where his little bit of orange hair stayed. “Let me see...I lost one from her getting bored of me, another by breast cancer, another one from cheating...actually the rest of them were from cheating...but there is ONE girl in particular that I remember doing the most damage...” “Go on. If it makes you feel better to talk about it, I’ll listen.” She came closer towards him without him paying attention. “It was around the beginning of middle school, and I found this girl. Her name was Crystal,” He said with a hint of anger in his voice. “Her and I were only friends at the time, but hormones took over my mind when we started dating a a couple years later...” Twilight lied down to listen more comfortably. Graham continued his little story with another sigh. “We dated for about five years. Around the fifth anniversary, I had the wonderful idea of buying her a ring...problem was, I didn't have a job, or money...so I got working on doing as many chores for as many people as I could find. It took two years to finally be able to obtain the money to buy her that special ring...” “And then what happened?” She asked with raised tone. Graham looked at her and frowned. “Well, it went about like this,” he said as he cleared his throat. “It was prom night. It was during our last year in high school, and everything was set to perfection. Me and my girl were eating, and I looked at her, and she was looking somewhere else. I decided it was time, and I knelt down and proposed with the most dazzling ring a woman of my species could ever ask for. When she looked upon it’s beauty...” He began to tear a bit. “She said no?” Twilight moved closer, but kept her distance. “...She giggled...but it didn't stop there...she started to laugh...she laughed so hard even the Deejay stopped to see what the fuck was going on. She looked at me, grabbed the ring, tossed it in the trash, told me she was cheating the entire time with someone else, to whom I did find after I ran out of the prom...and that was it...I was finished with her, and everything.” He said as he clenched his left hand into a fist. “I wanted her to die for what she did...” He soon realized what he was spiraling into, stopping himself early and sighed to cool off. Graham soon yelped in surprise as Twilight soon jumped up to him, holding him into as best a hug as she could. “Please...enough...Graham...I know I don't know you that well...but everything you’ve told me so far, it’s too much...is this what it’s like back at your own home? Are all humans like this? A-are they all so heartless?” Twilight’s face couldn't have shown more sympathy for the man if she wanted to, after hearing all the heartbreaking and miserable experiences he had suffered through. Graham looked down at her, feeling a little bad about everything he said. He slowly gave her a hug back. Even he found himself a little sad, especially since he hadn’t talked about his in such a long time, and yet he easily made her sit through his life story. “You don't have to hide anything anymore...” Twilight muttered under her breath as Graham kept hugging her. “Look Twilight I didn't mean to make you sad. But you don't have to show me sympathy. I’ve been through a lot, and yes, I am a little angry at times, but I’ve learned to suck it up and move on. That’s all I can do.” He started to calm down as he looked at her. “But I gotta thank you for staying here. I’m sorry for running...it’s just that I’ve never really had anyo- err, anypony throw a party, or give me things, or anything that you ponies did on my planet. It’s been just me and Aramis for awhile.” He then patted her on the head. “You ponies, just like on the show, show kindness, and do everything to make us smile. I can’t name a darn thing that you all did that wasn't nice.” He said as he smiled a bit himself. Twilight took her hoof and smiled warmly. “We only try to be nice because it’s the right thing to do, and we want everypony to be happy.” Twilight felt good about being there for her new friend. Graham soon found himself hugging the purple pony even harder. Graham spoke up abruptly. “I do wanna apologize for having you sit through my whole story, though. I told you it would be long. But I do wanna thank you for sitting through it, I know I already thanked you, but it felt kinda nice talking about it after so long. Even if it’s under the weird circumstances of me knowing all about you, and you knowing nothing.” Twilight was beaming with happiness. “Graham, it’s no problem at all, it’s what friends do for each other. We all help each other out, and get to know each other. So far, you’ve been nice to us, and even though I found you knowing me before I ever met you was both scary and surprising, I’m glad I got to meet you and your friends.” She let go of him as he stood up. They wanted to make sure they didn't miss the party, after all! As they walked towards the remains of a front door, Graham thought of something. “Hey, Twilight. If I talked about myself, and you now know more about me from all of this, does that mean we’re even?” Twilight was a little confused. “What do you mean ‘even’?” “Well, I knew about you before I even met you in person, and you knew nothing about me, and I gave you that shock of your life, does this mean we’re even?” Twilight laughed at this. “Yes, Graham. We’re even.” While they kept talking each other, they heard rustling in the surrounding bushes. Graham stood up to see what it was, only to find Aramis walk out from them. Gypsy, along with other five ponies closely behind with joy. “Ugh...do you know how much trekking it took for me to find this damn place, Graham? Jesus, I had to backtrack through my memories based on the one episode you showed me just to figure out where we were going!” Aramis exclaimed, one of his eyes dangerously twitching in frustration. Graham and Twilight looked at each other and started to laugh. Applejack trotted up next to Aramis and looked at the two and developed a question in her head. “So what happened to y’all? Why'd you leave?” Graham and Twilight stopped laughing immediately and blushed, looking away from each other. “No reason, Applejack. I just wanted to take a little bit of time for myself, and After Twilight found me, we had a little “Man to pony” talk. That's all.” Graham responded with a smile. Applejack had a look of understanding as the group of friends backed off. As the others calmed down from the excitement of finding them, Graham looked back at Twilight while the others led them back into town. “You know, you’re the nicest friend I’ve ever had, next to Aramis anyway.” He watched as Twilight grinned from ear to ear. “No problem, Graham. You’re my friend, and I would never leave you like that. From now on, you and your friends, are our friends.” The girls nodded in agreement. Aramis gave a small smile and heartily laughed when Gypsy barked in reply. Graham gave her a quick hug before they caught up with the others. Chapter 6: A Man's True ColorsThe night was long and tiring, and yet nopony wanted to sleep due to all that had been going on. That was completely fine as the night was now well behind them, and the sun was rising up in front of their weary, but relieved faces. They headed back to the now-dispersed party that had dissipated since the star guests weren’t there. Arriving at Twilight’s tree house, they decided to enjoy what little remnants of the festivities were left. Graham’s first priority was to make up for lost time and try some of Pinkie Pie’s famous fruit punch. He walked over towards the bowl and grabbed himself a cup. After serving himself, he sat down in a chair close by and drank the punch, eyes widening at the perfect combination of fruits blended together into a wonderful drink. “So what was really going on over at the ruins, Twilight? Was there something wrong, Darling?” Rarity asked. Twilight looked at Graham, as he looked back. “Err...Nothing really...Just some talking. That’s all.” Twilight encouraged the idea. Applejack didn't seem satisfied with her answer, and planned to uncover what she believed was truth. “Ya’ll know that you can tell us anythin’ right?” Applejack assured. Everypony present looked over towards her direction, then back at them. “Applejack’s right, anything you wanna tell us you don't have to hide it!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “You’re our friends, and you can trust us!” Graham chuckled. “I know I can, but maybe later, alright? All you gotta know is I took a walk, and Twilight and I had a big talk.” For one reason or another, the cow-pony didn't feel like taking just "having a talk" for an answer. She frowned at him, making him feel uncomfortable under her sad look. “I assure you, Applejack, nothing happened between us, It was just some talking--” Graham didn’t get to finish, as the orange mare interrupted him. “Are ya sure? I mean, if it’s that you’re worried about our reactions, you don't hafta!” She said pointing a hoof at the two. They looked at each other again and sighed simultaneously. “Why are you so interested towards us?” Graham asked. The orange pony looked at him. “B’cause I want you to know you can be one hun’red percent open to us.” She smiled, thinking he was going to explain about his disappearance. “What? No! I know I can...” Graham looked away out of discomfort. Applejack only grew stronger with words because of this. “Graham...” Applejack frowned noticeably. “Look, I’ll tell when I’ll tell, ok?” Graham responded awkwardly, trying to dismiss the powerful conversation coming from her. “Applejack, He’s not comfortable with it right now, can we drop it until he’s ready?” Twilight pleaded, seeing that she wouldn't give up. “A-applejack, it’s nothing, okay?” the poor man tried to defend himself, but Applejack was taking it too personal. “If it was nothing, then what’s the big issu—” she was cut off by Aramis, a stern look on his face. “Applejack, cut it out. You know he’s not comfortable with talking about it yet so quit pushing. I’m pretty sure you’re aware of how uncomfortable you’re making him feel.” Aramis’ tone made Applejack reconsider her approach to the subject. She thought about it for several moments and nodded curtly in his direction, understanding of the fact she was done discussing the topic. She felt bad for pushing the subject. Graham released a sigh of relief and shook Aramis’ hand. “Danke, Aramis.” Aramis looked at him with a smile. “Bitte.” Was all Aramis said, as Graham grinned. “Oh hey! You’re learning!” He shouted joyously, as he laughed and softly punched him in the arm. Twilight smiled and found herself with a brief moment of privacy from the others, as she looked long and hard at Graham. A smile slowly enveloped her face, but was almost immediately wiped off as Pinkie Pie popped up from behind her, giving her what felt like a heart attack. “So what did ‘cha talk about? I won’t tell, Pinkie Promise!” She asked bouncing around. Twilight then put her hoof near Pinkie’s mouth and shushed her. “Can you keep a secret?” She whispered. Pinkie nodded furiously. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” She said giggling with a short snort at the end. Twilight only rolled her eyes as she guided her to a more private part of the house, where nopony could see or hear them. “So what’s the secrecy?” Pinkie asked with a tilt of her head. Twilight only whispered in her ear. “I don't know if Graham wants me saying anything, but he told me quite a bit about his life...it’s quite awful, and I feel really sorry for him...Aramis and his pet are the only friends he’s ever had...” she confessed. Pinkie Pie only gasped, quickly being silenced by the purple mare’s hoof once more. “At first, I wanted to study more about his species after the big welcome party and all, but now I just feel like I want to be there for him.” She said softly. “He opened up to me about something he said he never told anypony before. Heck, he’s never had a true marefriend, or family before either. I want to learn more about him and see if I can help in any way possible while I study more about the Human kind.” Pinkie’s eyes looked as if they would burst from the look of surprise, but soon a smile formed. “Well, maybe you should--” Her words were cut off by Spike’s sudden appearance with a letter. “Princess Celestia wants you to have this.” He said as he passed the scroll to her. Spike then walked downstairs to see the two men standing at the table in the kitchen. “Whoa...what the heck are you things? And why are you in our house! You must be robbers!” Spike looked at them with an angry face, with his eyes focused on the both of them like a hawk to its prey. The two looked at each other and laughed. “Spike, we’re not robbers, mein freund!” Graham gasped between chuckles. “We’re friends of Twilight and the others.” Graham answered after settling down. “Really? Oh, sorry--wait, how do you know my name?” Spike questioned. “Easy, Twilight told us about you.” Aramis quickly lied. He didn't want to tell the small kid a big story. He thought that he would take it easy, and tell him the truth another day. “Oh! That makes sense.” Spike said afterwards. He figured it was only logical that Twilight told them about her number one assistant. As the three downstairs were chatting, Twilight and Pinkie read the note together. “Looks like Princess Celestia wishes to meet the two, and check on things. It’ll be a nice visit.” Twilight said with a smile. “Oooooh! I wonder what she wants,” Pinkie exclaimed happily “Maybe she’s going to wish them a joyful time in Ponyville, or maybe she will be able to send them back home!” Pinkie’s words echoed in Twilight’s mind over and over. ‘Would Celestia really be able to do that? Would she actually do that if she could? This was a lifetime chance to study Humans for the first time ever! Not to mention that she didn't want Graham to go back to that awful planet! No creature should ever have to induce something as horrid as a planet filled with misery and pain!’ Her mind raced with negative thoughts, no longer paying attention to the party, Pinkie, or anything. Until a voice broke her out of the trance she placed herself in. “Come on Twilight, let’s go have some fun.” She looked towards the voice to see Graham standing there offering a hand to her. Her head became clear once more, as she smiled and nodded, placing her hoof in his hand for a moment to show her gratitude for the offer. They went back to the party together well into the day. The day passed on without a hitch, everypony having a good time, Graham and Twilight spent a lot of their time together, all while Aramis has been spending his time with Rainbow Dash. The party finally ended in the afternoon where everypony broke off to do their normal routine. Before they left, the gang stayed behind to help Twilight clean up the remains around the library in preparation for Celestia arriving shortly. Luckily there wasn’t that much to clean up, Pinkie Pie’s parties somehow leave the smallest amount of messes behind them, despite having a lot of party streamers and balloons. “So, Princess Celestia wants to see us?” Aramis asked out loud, his head facing Twilight. She was busy finishing up cleaning the library when she heard the question. “She’s coming in exactly fifteen minutes.” She said. Graham looked over and scratched his head. “So...what are the princesses like in reality? Are they just like on T.V?” Graham wondered. Celestia, he knew by heart what she was like, but it was Princess Luna who he felt confused about. He remembered seeing Luna a few times, but never saw her really do much, except for her Nightmare Moon attack and when she tried to fit in with pony society after being so socially awkward. “Princes Celestial’s very fair and just. Just like any princess I’d say. She’s kind, and sincere, but when it comes to anything serious, she speaks business first. She’s a really nice mentor.” Twilight looked at the room and how spotless it was. While Twilight and Graham were talking about other things, Aramis turned to his right to see his friend Rainbow Dash. She sat by a nearby window doing nothing except absently staring out into space. He decided it was time to finally talk to her face to face, and really interact with her. In a way he felt that she was like him in some aspects or ways. “Hey Rainbow Dash, what’s up?” Aramis asked her, as he approached her. “Doin’ good I guess, just a little bored.” she answered in a smooth tone, trying her hardest not to look at him. “Well if you were fine, it wouldn’t look like you’re fighting to not look at me like I’m some specimen from outer space. Oh, wait...” he chuckled. She held a laugh of her own at how easily he caught her and decided to come clean. “Well, I’ve been thinking about when you, um...almost lost your buddy over there, and how I was gloating and all...” She trailed off as soon as he took a seat next to her. “Water under the bridge. Trust me, it’s all good.” Aramis assured. Rainbow took it kindly, but another question rose up. “I don't wanna sound like I’m getting in your business, but how did you two become friends? And that planet or whatever you’re from Twilight was talkin’ about? What’s it like? I was listening in on her conversation with Pinkie about studying or whatever...” “I’m guessing you’d like to know a little bit about our background and just why we treat it like taboo, huh?” he questioned her with a flat tone, his honey brown eyes locked with a faraway look on them. “Yeah...that’s if you’re fine with talking about it.” she asked him awkwardly, in a manner similar to Fluttershy’s timidness. He took a seat across from her and sighed. “Well, to start, there’s a lot of stuff in my life that have kind of left me br—” The two were interrupted by a bright light, when out of the light stood the majestic Princess Celestia, Her hair and tail flowing on its own, displaying her grace and power. She looked upon her subjects and smiled so sweetly that even the most violent of tempers would have been calmed. “Twilight, are you sure it was supposed to be fifteen minutes, not fifteen seconds?!” Aramis cried out of shock as the princess gave her greetings. “Greetings, my little ponies.” She said with a voice like an angel. Everyone only bowed to the magnificent specimen known as an alicorn. Graham immediately took himself to the floor before her, as Aramis took a second to realize what he was supposed to do, after a nudge from Rainbow Dash. “There is no need for bowing.” She gestured while smiling away. Everyone stood back up, as if on command. “I am here to speak to the ‘humans’ Graham and Aramis.” She stared towards the two as they only looked upon her. “Graham, Aramis, there is a reason why you were brought here; it was me that transported you here. Of course, you being dropped fifty feet was not the plan at all. That, my two new friends, was only an accident.” She confessed as the two looked at each other for a brief second. “I knew it!” Aramis shouted. “I knew you were a goddamn troll! All those pictures on the Internet were actually telling the truth, and here is the living proof!” a maddening look flashed over his eyes, as he had finally proved that Princess Celestia was indeed trying to trick him. Graham immediately slapped Aramis in the back of the head. “Aramis, for god’s sakes, keep it down! She didn't mean it to actually happen, so leave it alone!” He looked upon his friend with extreme anger for his outburst. “My ass she didn’t mean to. You can’t seriously believe that the ‘all powerful and omnipotent’ Princess Celestia couldn’t calculate the trajectory of the teleportation.” he crossed his arms indignantly, refusing to believe otherwise. “Ok smart one, then you describe how to properly use a teleportation spell...oh wait, I’m the only one who reads up on that shit!” Graham sneered. “Guess who provided you with the books dumb-ass!” “You provided only one book! I bought the other ones myself! Not to mention all of the creature Mythology Books!" Twilight’s ears perked up at the discussion, immediately folding backwards to show fright. “Both of you please stop!” Twilight demanded, as she got between the two. “Graham, I know you were trying to defend the princess, but physical violence is something you shouldn't commit. Now promise me you won’t do it again.” Graham nodded in response and looked down in guilt. She looked towards Aramis’ direction. “And you, Aramis, shouldn't accuse the princess of being a ‘troll’ or any other monster.” Twilight’s eyes look like they were ablaze with anger towards her new friends. Graham looked back at her, and frowned. They both apologized to each other, and then Aramis turned to Celestia. “Sorry...” He mumbled, but luckily it was loud enough for her ears to he “It’s alright, I understand you are angry and confused about everything.” She brushed it off. She looked down at them once more. Her gaze fixed upon Graham. He noticed this and was questioning her in his mind. He knew he couldn't ask aloud. ‘Well, if you brought us here, why did you...?’ He thought in his mind, the princess only smiled. “I was just getting to that.” She answered. Graham gasped and looked back at her in shock. “I-I didn't even ask anything! How did you--” was all he said as she giggled. “I am the ruler of Equestria, Graham. I can do many things, such as bring you here, and read your very thoughts. “ “R-right...” He said back. “I forgot you were powerful here...” She only nodded and began to speak again. “I saw how horrible your lives were on your planet, and I wanted to extend my hoof for your friendship. It is a long story, but I wanted to see if humans could live alongside live alongside pony-kind in harmony.” “What was that last part?” Aramis asked. Celestia looked towards his direction. “Believe me Aramis, I will be able to answer in due time. But right now, I wish to know how your time here has been going so far.” “It’s doin’ great! The hospitality here is beyond wonderful.” Graham said. He looked towards the direction of Twilight, who only smiled. “Everyo--everypony has been kind, and been making sure we’ve had only the best that Ponyville can offer.” He added. The other ponies had smiles on their faces, and a warm sensation in their hearts, knowing fully well they had done good. She looked at Aramis and nodded to him expectantly. “Our experience started off on a bit of a rocky start, but it’s been smooth sailing since our first day. The past couple of days we’ve spent here have been pretty enjoyable and we’ve made some pretty good friends.” he ruffled Rainbow Dash’s hair, who laughed at the gesture. The sun princess smiled warmly at the humans and the elements of harmony in understanding. “Wonderful, just wonderful. I hope that the hospitality will only be better each day, and that you enjoy yourselves. Although, I wish to extend an invitation to you to stay a night in a guest room in the castle.” She looked upon the man’s face to see shock. “C-caa-caa-castle? Canterlot Castle?” Graham managed to finally have the words formed into a sentence. Aramis looked over. “What, is it that big a dea--” “That big of a deal? Are you crazy? That’s like the highest honor! It’s like somepony just said to you ‘Congratulations! For doing absolutely nothing, you receive a night’s stay at the playboy mansion’! That’s BIG, Aramis” Graham threw his arms over his head to express the overwhelming excitement he felt. Aramis looked at him as though he had two heads for that very moment. “OK, Graham, I think I got the message after ‘the highest honor. ‘“ Aramis pointed out with a sarcastic rolling of his eyes before he sighed with relief from the Brony freak out Graham just had. Celestia only smiled, as she looked upon her subjects. “If the six of you would like to join them, you’re all very welcome to. Be aware though, that we may have to do some bedding accommodations if we’re short on rooms. I have some business to discuss with the eight of you anyhow, first thing tomorrow morning.” The six nodded without even a thought, and very soon, the princess was on her way. With a flash of light, she took her leave for the group to get ready. Before she left, she told Twilight that a chariot would be on its way to pick them up in roughly two hours, giving them just enough time to pack what they needed. “Hold on, if she was gonna just teleport outta here, why didn't she just bring us, instead of leave us here for a ride?” Aramis asked out loud. Sadly though, nopony listened. “Anyone?” He soon gave up and sat down again. “Well, I don't have much to pack— actually neither of us do.” Graham mumbled as he looked at his clothes. “These are the only things we have to our name since the day we arrived here.” “Not necessarily, darling. I had enough time to quickly stitch up some clothing for another set of clothes. It’ll have to do until I can finish an entire set that can last you a full week or so.” Rarity smiled, as she walked out of the tree house. “I’ll pack them up in my saddlebag so don’t worry yourselves!” She proclaimed excitedly, as she trotted away to go pack. The others followed in her steps and went off to their own respective packing. The only people left were Twilight, Spike and the two humans. “Well, I might as well pack myself something to study.” and with that she excused herself to go pack her essentials. Graham started chuckling to himself as he sat in a nearby recliner. “What's got you all giddy?” Aramis asked, knowing full well the trip to Canterlot had nothing to do with it. “Oh, nothing to be bothered with, Aramis.” He smiled at his thoughts. His friend had a pretty good idea what it was and decided to take an educated guess. “It’s Twilight, isn't it?” Graham looked up with another chuckle. “Maybe, maybe not.” he replied with a sly grin. “Alright so it is her. Might as well spill the details, or you may not hear the end of it from me.” Aramis said with a bold tone. Graham only looked away in slight embarrassment. “Well, her and I were alone, and--” He was immediately cut off by Aramis’ loud voice. “You two had a heart to heart moment, right?” He guessed with a toothy grin. “A little bit...she kinda wanted to know why I ran off, and I told her my life’s story.” “You mean the very same story you never wanted anyone else to know but me?” He asked. “Yeah, that’s the one!” Graham smiled in the recliner. Aramis stared at his friend with disbelief. “I’m actually quite surprised. I never really expected you to tell your entire life story to anyone beside me, much less your favorite pony...” Aramis only smirked, as he leaned over and whispered in his ear. “So, does this mean you two are gonna go out or what?” Graham’s face flushed redder than one of Sweet Apple Acre’s sweetest apples. Aramis could only stifle his amusement for a brief moment before continuing. “Look buddy, I was jokin’, calm down.” he laughed it off, hoping to convince his friend. Graham looked at him, quickly turning away and stuttered. “Alright, but you know it’s not like that.” “Yeah, yeah.” Aramis yucked it up more, as his friend only rolled his eyeballs. “Oh yeah? Well, what about you and Rainbow Dash, huh?” he pointed out, trying to move the topic away from his current feelings for the purple mare. “I won’t deny she’s pretty nice for a talking horse.” Aramis replied with a snort, eyes crinkling in amusement. “Oh come on now, is RD really changing your outlook on them? Or is this a fluke?” Graham’s investigative attitude showed itself, leaving Aramis to defend himself against his accusations. “Believe me, it doesn't change a thing. I just think she’s cool and all.” “Riiight.” “Oh, shut up, you German Nazi.” Graham’s eyes practically popped out of their sockets in anger the minute he heard this. His gaze darted towards his friend, and his mind wandered to pictures of violence. Graham felt like the world was turning red at the mention of that word Aramis joked with. “Never...EVER...call me that again!” Aramis didn't feel too comfortable under his gaze, so he decided to apologize right then and there. “Alright! I won’t do it again, just don't gimme that look, you know I’m joking.” “Just because my family has a...history....with Nazi’s...does NOT make me one...DO YOU UNDERSTAND!” Graham took forever to utter the middle of that sentence, as uncomfortable as he was mentioning his family history being anywhere near a part of possibly the world’s worst mistake of a “proud” army. “Graham, calm dow--” “NO! YOU CALM DOWN! YOU DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO! I MAY BE GERMAN, MY FAMILY MAY HAVE A NAZI HISTORY, BUT FUCK YOU, ARAMIS! FUCK! YOU!” Aramis couldn’t believe the storm he sailed right into. He felt terrible for pressing his buttons like that, but he knew he went too far this time. Graham grabbed his friend by the collar of his shirt, ready to raise a fist to the one person that stuck by him longer than he could remember. As he raised it high over his head, ready to launch, he spoke in his German tongue. “Ich hoffe, dass sie brennen in der Hölle, du und der rest der monster für Verspotteten mich, für einmal im zusammenhang mit Menschen, die ein Teil dieser ekelhaft gruppe!” Graham, as hard as it was to understand his language, got his message across, but not until Twilight bolted downstairs to find out what was going on. She finally got downstairs to have her ears flop onto her head. Her body quivered in fear, as if she was looking at somepony different. “G-Graham...” Graham responded to this with a snarl, but looked over to instantly stop his rage. Looking upon the frightened mare, he instantly forgot his problem with Aramis, and started to tear a bit, knowing that he’s done the unthinkable: scare his favorite pony. She stood there speechless for several long, silent moments. “I-I...” "T-Twilight, I didn't hit him, I just got a little angry, You gotta believe me!” Twilight didn't listen as she started to back away, walking up the stairs. “Twilight, please. I didn't mean to snap! Honest! Please don't--” She didn't give him another word. Instead, she ran back upstairs, hiding away from the German and his attempts to apologize from scaring the daylight out of her with his anger and means of harming another being. Graham had just promised her that he wouldn't dare try to commit physical harm to anypony again, and yet, he was about to club his friend for a joke. "Sorry Graham, I didn't expect her to react like that. I'll go talk to her." Aramis slowly walked in the direction of Twilight’s room, but was stopped short by Graham's voice. "No, let her be. I screwed up. I broke my promise to her, and now she’s scared. I don't think there’s anything you or I can do except wait, so that I can talk to her." Was all he managed to say to keep Aramis at bay. Aramis didn't like it, but he listened to his friend's request, sitting down on a chair. A few minutes passed, but to the both of them, seemed more like years, as Twilight came down with her luggage. “Well, I guess we’re all set to go then.” the tan man said in a cheery voice, hoping to break the awkward silence that had formed. “Why don’t we go meet with the others.” Were the only words that came from Twilight, her mind seemingly fixed on something other than the two men, as she absentmindedly walked out the door, not caring if they were following or not. “I’m worried... I put myself out there too far...” Graham sullenly admitted. His close friend patted him on the back in a comforting manner. “I’m sure it’ll clear itself out by morning, let’s all just calm down, and have a good time at the castle, alright? I shouldn't have fucked around with you like that.” He hoped that something would keep Graham’s mind adrift from the event that transpired. “Yeah...I guess I’ll give her some space.” Graham muttered weakly in response. The two started following the unicorn, as everyone gathered around near the town park. They all waited for about a few minutes passed by when the carriage arrived, led by a Pegasus in golden armor. “Here’s our ride!” Pinkie Pie excitedly exclaimed as the soldier came to a halt. The group lumped their baggage in the back, as they sat together inside. Once they were ready, they were lifted from the ground, into the air. Aramis seemed to be the most fascinated by this experience, as he poked his head out to view the world below. “Man, I wish I could fly, the ponies look like little bugs from up here!” He blurted out with a warm laugh, as he took in every sight he could find, almost as if he was making a game out of it. “You know who would like this? Cammy. The guy’s always been about flying.” Graham chuckled, trying his best to get over his guilt trip from earlier. He looked from his own side as the mares looked at them with confusion. “Are you telling me that your kind cannot fly?” Rarity asked towards no direct name. Graham took the time to put his head back into the carriage to look at her before answering. “Well we can, just not like Pegasi. We use these things called ‘airplanes’ that travel an amazing distance within a short amount of time.” The others looked in interest. “So how fast are we talkin’ about?” Rainbow Dash decided to ask her own. She figured these things weren't nearly as fast as her, especially after a sonic rainboom. “The fastest plane built in our world is capable of reaching well over seven thousand miles per hour or Mach nine point six speeds for flying junkies.” Aramis pointed out factually, as he brought his head back inside from the cold whipping air. Rainbow’s eyes showed complete awe and a hint of doubt. “No bucking way; that fast?” Aramis looked at her reaction with an amused smirk. “Oh yeah, fastest we’ve ever gotten.” The smirk was accompanied by a chuckle as Rainbow started blurting out. While she and the others were chatting away, Graham seemed more focused on the mare he broke his promise to. He wondered to himself if she really was scared of him, despite listening to his stories and his practical scream for a friend like her. About twenty minutes passed by as the castle and the city of Canterlot came into view. The passengers inside the carriage grew excited as they saw the bustling town of uptight folk. “First thing when I get to the castle, is getting one of those delicious gems at the jewelers.” Spike piped up as his mouth began to water at the mere thought of a topaz within his grasp. The carriage stopped near the entrance to the castle, the two men staring at its colossal size. “It wasn't as big as this on the show!” Graham laughed as he grew excited. Aramis already knew where this was going. “Brony freak out in five...four...three--” He was once more cut short as Graham ran up ahead of the others, and speeding his way inside. “He seems really excited fer Princess Celestia’s lil’ meetin’.” Applejack gave a quick chuckle as the tan-skinned man only shook his head. “It’s the places he’s always wanted to visit. Different landmarks, and locations, it’s enough to drive me to drink. Too bad I’m not old enough.” Aramis explained with minor annoyance. Fluttershy, being her usual self, only stayed from the group conversations, grabbing her own things, along with Spike. The others did the same as they walked towards the Throne room, where Graham ran into, just to meet the two princesses in their chairs of power. “Seriously, this is the coolest place I’ve ever been to! Luna, I gotta say, you’re more amazing as I thought you’d be, just like Celestia!” Graham practically drooled on himself from the sheer excitement of staying at Canterlot Castle. The two royal sisters only laughed. “I’ve never seen you run this fast since the time Pizza Mia was giving away free Pizza.” Aramis cried out towards his friend. “Oh shut it, of course you’ve seen me run this fast, and it’s not all about food!” Graham grinned his slight annoyance at his friend’s constant joking as the other finally caught up. They all looked upon the two rulers. Twilight smiled and bowed, as did the rest. “Hello, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna.” She greeted as she got up from her bow; the others doing the same. “Good day to you, my faithful student.” Princess Celestia she returned with a soft voice. The younger of the two sisters looked upon Twilight. “Greetings, one called Twilight.” She said with a not-so-high Canterlot voice, she has been working hard to use her voice in a more quiet tone, so that she would not accidentally scare off anypony she wished to speak to. Ever since her return, things have been really looking up for her, she brought the moon up into the skies once more, she was given the proper care she deserved around the castle, and best of all, ponies started acknowledging her as a princess, not Nightmare Moon, as what they used to describe her more wicked self. Twilight greeted her as the sister of the sun spoke. “We have some bedding made for you down the hall. There were some problems getting enough beds, so I wish to address, that some of you will be sleeping together tonight.” She announced. They didn't seem to mind, until she added more to her sentence. “I have an arrangement for the bedding. Graham and Twilight Sparkle, you shall both bunk together, as will Aramis and Rainbow Dash.” Graham looked at Twilight, without moving his head. He thought to himself that this felt like both a good and a bad idea. He didn't want to interrupt the alicorn, seeming as her wishes would have to be granted, so he said nothing as they all went towards their guest rooms. Graham got next to Aramis as they walked down the halls. “Something tells me Celestia did this on purpose...” Graham whispered as Aramis only smiled. “Without a doubt, she probably did do this on purpose. Look at the bright side, this is your chance to fix things, so don't be scared Graham Cracker.” He said in a calm, supportive tone. The big man only smiled back, a hint of nervousness in the back of his mind at the possibilities of how it could turn out. Everypony made their way towards their respective rooms. Graham followed Twilight into what seemed like a five star hotel room. He gazed at everything; the curtains, the bathroom they had for themselves, and the bed, that bed was possibly the greatest thing about the room. He walked over to it to feel the blanket, and it felt as though it was made of the finest silk. He carefully laid his body down on it to feel instant relaxation. He looked to his left to see Twilight unpacking her things, not even giving a glance in his general direction. “Twilight. Can we talk...?” Graham weakly pleaded. She looked over to him, and sighed. “Please...I need some time to think, alright? It’s nothing against you...It’s just...I just never saw this side of you before, and it really scared me.” “Is this about the broken promise?” Twilight stopped to look at him. “What?” “You know...don't hit anybody...” Twilight couldn’t help but feel sorry that she ran away from him, but she was still a little shaken up. “Graham, no, it’s ok. Really, it is. But right now, I just want to go to bed, and relax, ok?” Graham only sighed as he frowned. “Alright...if that’s what you want...” He rolled over to one side of the bed as Twilight jumped up with a book. Both of them got comfortable as she started scribbling something down, muttering to herself. He couldn't understand what it was, but he could have sworn he heard “Violent temper” along with his name. He wanted to say something, but felt as though the timing was inappropriate. He soon fell asleep with his own troubled thoughts. Meanwhile in the room next door, Aramis and Rainbow Dash were doing things amongst themselves. Aramis quietly ate a chocolate bar he found in his pocket, and Rainbow Dash, calmly stretched her muscles to loosen them from any stress that may have been put on from her usual morning routine. “You know Rainbow, I feel bad for Graham and it’s my fault things are a bit strained between him and Twilight now, all because I pushed him too far.” The tan man felt guilty and he couldn't help but feel that way as he sadly stared at the ceiling. “Ah come on, it can’t be that bad.” Rainbow Dash said in an attempt to calm him down. “But I edged him into raging like that I didn't want it to be like this, I thought that he could take a joke! I know I was wrong for saying that, but he knows how I mess with him. And Twilight...well, who knows what she’s feeling right now.” He said as the cyan pegasus shrugged. “Beats the hay outta me on what to tell ya, pal. I wouldn't know about Twilight’s feelings. She hardly comes out with them to us, and we're her best friends! I say give her time. She might open up later.” She said as she continued her stretches. She finished them up as she walked over to him. She plopped herself down on a chair and stared right at him. “So, tell me more about where you guys used to live, planet Dirtville.” Aramis chuckled at how the pegasus butchered his home planet name. “It’s called Earth, and really, it’s a terrible place. All I can say is, it’s filled with the most heinous, vile, most cruel people ever to walk it’s surface. Heck, Graham told me quite the story once. Something about a girl ruining his life or some shit.” He said, as he took the last bite out of his chocolate bar, and crumpled the wrapper into his pocket. The rainbow maned pony tilted her head. “Were they all discorded or something?” Aramis raised an eyebrow at her question. “No, they were always like this, far as I am concerned. Granted, there are many good humans there, but not many. Graham is one of them. He’s like my bro, always chillin’ and always there for me when I need it.” “Sounds like my friends. We’re always doin’ stuff, and we always stick together when we need to.” Rainbow Dash said comparing each other’s friends. “And now you two are part of that group.” She smiled, resting a hoof on the table. “And we would take a buck in the kisser for ya, and I hope you’re the same way.” She smiled to be greeted by his own smile. “Thanks Rainbow, that was nice to hear.” “Anytime, Aramis.” The two yawned at the same time, and decided it was time to rest. The princesses would need them for the meeting early, and they didn't want to stay up chatting. Both of them lying in the bed, they quickly were off to dreamland... Chapter 7: Sleepless Night...Chapter 7: Sleepless Night Graham found himself alone in a black void, the surrounding darkness seemingly pressing down on him. He turned back and forth searching for something, anything. Off in the distance, he managed to make out four lines that seemed to form some kind of corridor that stretched on forever. Suddenly, he found himself inside the corridor, moving through it despite the feeling of fear festering in the pit of his stomach. A frigid wind swept towards him, making him shiver as he continued on. Eventually, Graham saw a light at the end of the hallway. He ran towards it, hoping to escape the creepy passageway he had been in. As he neared it, a warmth swept over him, quickly intensifying until Graham was no longer shivering, but sweating. Graham suddenly smacked into a wall, rebounding off it into another wall behind him. He looked all around him to see that he was boxed in, the ambient heat rapidly increasing. His clothes caught on fire, and his mouth opened in a wordless yell as he tried to extinguish the flames. The walls around him began burning up, even faster than her was, crisping away to reveal a town filled with a sea of flames. “This is…Ponyville…” Graham whispered to himself, “What happened here?” He suddenly found himself dropped in the charred remains of a building, which he recognized as Sugarcube Corner. Graham looked around, observing the wreckage. He felt a chill run down his spine before he turned towards to door… ...to see a straight-maned Pinkie Pie scowling at him, half her face missing, exposing the skull and an empty eye socket underneath. What was left of her mane was singed at the ends, and chunks of flesh were missing from her body, fresh blood matting her coat. The human was frightened and jumped back, horrified. “Pinkie!? What happened to you?” he asked nervously. The mare only growled at him before lunging, Graham barely dodging to the side. He quickly ran out the door and away from an angered screech, wondering how all this had happened. In his haste, Graham failed to notice Twilight standing in front of him, waiting before pouncing on him. He hit the ground and came face-to-face with what could only be described as a zombified Twilight. Her mouth was filled with sharp teeth, her eyes were glassed over, and her horn was snapped to half its length. The two legs that pushed him down to the ground were missing patches of skin here and there, and the hooves were cracked and splintered. Zombie Twilight snarled at Graham, who quickly pushed her off and resumed running. This time he kept his attention focused in front of him, even more scared than he had been before. The fright he felt was soon amplified by a deep chuckling that filled the air as the ruins of Ponyville greyed and disappeared. Graham found himself suspended in midair, floating in the same abyss he had begun in, except now two red orbs were suspended in front of him. The orbs narrowed, becoming slits as the chuckling continued. They brightened to reveal a human-like head and face made of red flesh. The mouth was filled with razor-sharp teeth, and two horns extended backwards from the top of the head. A voice rumbled through the void, sending vibrations through Graham as it spoke. “The lives of you mortals are so fragile...” the voice said, before chuckling once more. “Struck with the smallest ember, and they are inflamed and consumed in an instant. Hellfire and brimstone, indeed.” The man looked up at this frightening creature with both fear and awe. He had never seen this monster in any dream of his, or any of his books he had back home...except one... “W-would you, b-by any chan-nce...be a D-Daemon?” He managed to ask with a shaky voice. The being grinned, staring at him with amusement as the human stood in his claw. “So rudely inquisitive...but yes. I am what you would call a ‘Daemon’. And you, little man, are nothing but a bug I have allowed to rest in my palm.” The Daemon’s fingers twitched around Graham, startling him as they appeared to move to crush him, moving back at the last second. “Do not give me reason to deny you that honor. Remember your place, and do not ask questions you do not have the right to.” Graham scowled at the Daemon. Even if he was going crushed, this was merely a dream. And in dreams you can't get hurt...can you? He put on a angry face, and cleared his throat to sum up some confidence. “Alright, whoever the hell you are, who are you, what do you want from me, and why are you fucking with me in here! And these images of Ponyville...” The being’s eye twitched. It’s lip came up in a snarl and it’s hand closed around Graham slightly. “Are you deaf as well as overconfident? It would seem so! You have no right to ask of my name, for you are unable to even dream of matching me! I am so far above your own existence, you cannot even fathom the limits of my power! DO NOT! PRESUME! TO CHALLENGE ME!” Graham’s bravado faltered, and he took a step backwards, only to realize there was nothing behind him but the Daemon’s fingers. The Daemon frowned. “Now that you understand exactly how precarious your position is, I will indulge ONE of your blathering questions. Choose one, and do not dare to ask my name again, or I shall show you what Hell is truly like.” Graham looked down in deep thought for a second. After figuring out his choice, he looked back at the towering menace before him. “Alright, ugly. I made my decision. I wanna know what that image of Ponyville was. Why were the ponies I saw all zombie-lookin’? What does this mean?” “Confidence born of ignorance...Fine. I shall tell you what your dream ‘meant’.” The Daemon let go of Graham, who began hovering in mid-void again. “What you saw was but a glimmer of the future. You are but a single human, alone, weak, powerless, and carrying a broken soul. And one broken human cannot stop the darkness that is to come. Not two, nor four, nor four thousand.” The Daemon grinned again. “You small-minded mortal. Can you not see it? Equestria will burn, and you along with it. And NOTHING you can do will stop it.” The man let the information sink in. He was horrified beyond all belief. What could possibly come that would make Equestria end up in flames like Ponyville? Would other Kingdoms fall along with it? “Und ... sie sind wahnsinn!” He screamed at the top of his lungs at the monster before him. He wanted to smash it’s face in so much. To even come near the ponies with that mindset, how dare he! “Oh, far from insane, my little sack of flesh. If I am to tell you one thing, it’s that I never lie.” A line next to the Daemon lit up with crackling flames, which were wrapped around a long, silver blade grasped in a clawed hand of red flesh, armored with a black gauntlet. The Daemon chuckled. “Sweet dreams.” The blade swung towards Graham, and as he screamed, he felt the sword meet his skin as it tore him in two.... (V);,,;(V) It took a few minutes, but Graham soon found himself sitting up with Twilight staring at him with a shocked and scared face. “What happened? I thought you were screaming in pain!” She said, as she hugged him. The big fellow sighed a bit as he returned the hug. “I...I saw this strange vision of a burning Ponyville, and you guys as some form of...zombies...” He shivered at the thought, the last thing he really saw was Twilight. Her eyes red like that Daemon he had seen. “That wasn't the only thing I saw...” He added as she looked down at him. “I saw this big demon guy...” He started explaining what detail he could make out. The horns, the teeth, red skin, everything he saw, especially the eyes of glowing red. “I should've never tried to ignore you...This is my fault...” Twilight looked down while she sat in her guilt. Graham brought her eyes to stare at him with a pull at her chin. “It wasn't you, really it wasn't. I just had a bad dream. That’s all! You didn't do anything to cause it, nopony did.” He reassured as she smiled innocently. Suddenly, a knock was heard at the door. They both looked at each other as a stallion, a Royal Guard most likely, announced his purpose for interrupting. “The Princesses would like to see everypony in the throne room immediately.” As soon as the order was known, the guard left them to get out of bed. Everypony was given the same message, as they all met each other in the halls. Nopony said a word to anypony as they all quietly made their way towards the Throne. Princess Celestia looking as majestic as ever while her younger sister sat in a chair quite like her own, only fitting to a design reminiscent of the beautiful nights she brought upon Equestria at the end of every day. “It’s not even two in the morning yet!” Aramis irritatedly muttered out loud. Celestia didn't even budge from his outburst. “I called this meeting early, because my guard told me of a nightmare one of you had. One about Ponyville.” The other ponies only looked towards Graham. He felt completely uncomfortable, but admitted it. “It wasn't just that, but a vision of Ponyville under fire or something, and I saw all of you as some flesh eating zombies!” He pointed at each of them. Pinkie Pie only giggled. “That’s silly, everypony knows that we’re not zombies! I eat candy, not brains!” The pink earth pony snickered in laughter at the absurdity of his statement. Graham rolled his eyes as he turned towards the Princesses once more. “That wasn't the end part. After I saw that, I saw this big Daemon, and holy mother of buck he was scary! And he laughed really loud!” He said as he shivered. “It started babbling some “Equestria’s gonna burn” and all that...” Luna’s eyes widened as she turned toward her older sibling. “Sister, do you think that he could return?” Celestia turned towards her younger sister, a look of worry pulling at the edges of her composure. “I’m afraid so...Just like Discord, he might have found a break in the magic that held him prisoner—” She was cut off by Graham’s sudden retort. “Who are you talking about, and why are you all so worked up over some stupid dream?” He snorted as the two alicorns whispered to one another. Luna rose onto her hooves and stared directly at the human. “Long ago, in the vastness of time and space, there was a being, one among many, that was know as Uriah.” She said in a serious tone. The others sat down to listen, while Graham and Aramis stood. Graham whispered into his friend’s ear. “I thought this whole deal was made by Hasbro?” Aramis said into Graham’s ear. “Remember, this place is real? Hasbro only gave us a good show, nopony would ever really think this place really existed...” He answered. His friend only looked back at Luna as she continued. “Uriah created a vast world, filling it with mountains, deserts, plains, and seas. He filled it with all sorts of creatures, but there was one race he favored above all others: the alicorns. You see, alicorns are the perfect unison of all three pony races, and so Uriah saw us as the purest of his creations. He placed us in charge of his world, guiding us in its care-taking.” “Then he left.” “Nopony can ever say why, most thought it was a test, but Uriah left his world abruptly, and was never seen again. In his absence, another god, this one by the name of Sin, came to our world, seeking to take it for himself. He-” “He created an envoy, a being of his own essence, to take over our world for him.” Celestia interrupted. “The envoy clashed briefly with us, but was quickly defeated. Instead of killing it, we offered it a place alongside us. You know it as Discord.” Luna looked at her sister. “Are you sure you wish to-” “I’m fine.” Celestia said sternly, before continuing. “Discord and I formed a...relationship, which angered Sin. He chose to come and fight us personally, and our world fell into ruin. We prayed for the return of Uriah, but our prayers were not answered. Discord and the other alicorns went to fight Sin, while us younger foals and fillies hid and hoped we would win. We could only put Sin to a standstill, though, and as the fight raged on, Sin gradually pushed us back. I ran on what had been called a ‘foal’s errand’, looking for anything that might help us defeat Sin. When I found the Elements of Harmony, the physical manifestation of Uriah’s power, I brought them home and gave them to the other alicorns, who used them to banish Sin to the beyond.” Celestia stepped back, and Luna began to speak again. “Sin had one last curse for us, however. His last act as a free god was to create a host of demons that continued to torment our land even after Sin was long gone. With many of our kind dead, we only had a short respite before the older alicorns set out to purge the land of all Sin’s creations. We called this event the ‘Daemoncaust’, and many of our kind gave their lives to see it succeed. Those that remained eventually died off, for a myriad of reasons. War, incurable disease, magical mishaps, even old age. These things took their toll until we were but a shadow of our race’s former glory. Celestia and I were left as the only remaining alicorns in this country, now called Equestria, and it fell to us to rule the land.” “But wait, what about Cadence?” Graham spoke. Luna answered him. “There are other alicorns out there that share our Royal heritage, as they were lucky to have survived the horrors of the past. Cadence was one of those alicorns to not be hindered by this. She now rules alongside Twilight’s Brother, Shining Armor. Unfortunately, she does not share our gift of agelessness, that the Elements gave us.” “Oh, that explains it.” He nodded and crossed his arms. “Well, if you could, please go on?” Celestia once again took over for her sister. “While it was our duty to rule, we had no idea about how to do so. Discord taught us, having ruled with the alicorns before Sin’s massacre. We were able to rule effectively and kindly, and for a time, everything was peaceful. However, as you know, this didn’t last.” The white alicorn closed her eyes, and a tear could be seen falling down her face. “While Discord had rejected Sin, his chaotic nature still existed deep inside him. Eventually, it got the better of him, and he went on his rampage of chaos that so few ponies remember today. Luna and I were not strong enough to stop him, so we set out in secret to find the Elements of Harmony once more. It took us some time, but we were finally able to locate them and use their power to seal Discord away, for what we hoped would have been forever.” “This time, however, we didn’t simply use the Elements. We bonded ourselves to them, on the chance their power would be needed in the future. As you know, I and Luna eventually lost our bond with the Elements when I used them against Nightmare Moon, and I considered the Elements lost. But lo and behold, one thousand years later, the Elements have bonded themselves to new ponies, the ‘Mane six’, as they are sometimes called.” Luna started speaking again. “After we imprisoned Discord, Celestia took over his duties, and I was left in a...less than appreciated position. As you know, I became very jealous, maturing rapidly to match my sister’s power. I listened to whispers in my head, whispers that turned me into Nightmare Moon. And the rest is, as they say, history.” “Well...that was interesting, to say the least.” Aramis said silently. Graham looked at him. “I’m surprised. Thought you didn't think ponies were interesting!” Graham chuckled as he looked back at her. “So...what are we here for?” Graham asked out of nowhere. The two princesses looked at them. “Originally, you were here to see if humans were really ready to be able to interact with pony kind once more...” “Once more?” Aramis tilted his head. Celestia looked him. “I was told stories when I was but a young filly. Before Sin came about, there was a legend of a centaur that wanted to enslave pony-kind. From what the legend told, he rode the chariot of midnight, forcing the ponies he captured to work its corrupted reigns. His weapon, was an artifact known to us as “The Rainbow of Darkness”. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think I know this story. A pony that went by the name of ‘Firefly’ actually brought about the very first human. I’m guessing your race may have helped a little, due to curiosity?” The Celestial being nodded. “Was the human a girl name ‘Megan’ By any chance?” Graham asked. Celestia was quite surprised. “Why...yes! The story indicated that her name was Megan! How did you know?” “Well, let’s say I know alot. ” Celestia understood. “This girl saved this kingdom with the power of a special magical artifact, known as “The Rainbow of Light” to counter the centaur’s own power. When the battle was won, the Centaur was claimed to be imprisoned in his castle of Midnight, and the Artifacts were lost, never to be seen again...” “And the human?” Aramis asked out loud. “The human was sent back to her home on earth from what I was told. Simple as that.” Graham looked at Aramis. “Wouldn’t that be awesome if we found those lost artifacts? I swear, we’d make names for ourselves for sure!” Aramis groaned. “Yeah, yeah, dream on buddy. They said they were lost.” Graham then turned around to face the Princesses once more. “So, because of Megan, you wanted to bring humans back, and see if we could live in peace with pony-kind, right? I’m guessing that’s the premise here.” “Yes, and so far, you are making our choice feel like a good one. For now, this meeting is adjourned.” Celestia ordered as everypony cleared the room to go back to bed. As they left, Celestia muttered. “Hopefully, our decision was made without consequences.” Luna nodded upon hearing this as the Spike was the last one out, closing the door behind him. “So I really have a purpose then to be here? Am I some ambassador for the humans?” Graham asked Twilight as they reached their destination. “I suppose so. I mean, I don't see any other way of putting it.” Twilight put it out blandly. They soon reached for the covers as both laid still. neither one feeling tired now that they were abruptly woken up by recent events. Twilight turned her body to look at Graham. “So...how much of Equestria do you know? You obviously knew a lot about this Megan girl, and you’ve never met her in person I take it?” She suddenly asked him. Graham opened his eyes to stare at her, a thought bubbling up to try and answer this. “Well, yeah, remember that TV thing? It’s hard to explain...” he quietly spoke. Twilight nodded. “I wish to let you know, that anything else you know, will definitely help me understand your kind more, as I have taken it upon myself to study you from every angle. That means I’ll be studying what makes you tick, how you think, and everything else I can research so that I will put this in a book, so that human information will be added for further use.” Graham understood what she meant and nodded. “Alright, well we’ll talk some more about this in the morning then.” He said with a yawn. He closed his eyes as Twilight disappeared from his vision. He drifted to sleep as well as the purple mare. They deserved a good night sleep. Over in another room, Rainbow Dash and Aramis found themselves without sleep either. “I can’t fall asleep after that whole talk.” Dash complained while shoving her pillow on top of her face in frustration. “Same here. That was a tough pill to swallow if you ask me.” Aramis said with a blank expression as he stared at the ceiling mindlessly. “Got any ideas on how to fall asleep?” the pegasus asked tiredly. The human contemplated until a smirk came over his features. “I got one...” he suggested quietly, the same devilish smirk clear on his face. “And that would be?” she asked with a curious tilt of her head. “This!” he shouted playfully as he jumped on the pegsaus and started tickling her sides. She laughed heartedly as she tried to get away, but he seemed to hold an iron grip on her and wouldn't let go. They rolled over one another several times until an idea popped in Rainbow Dash’s mind that made her smirk competitively at him. With a flap of her wings, Rainbow gave Aramis a faceful of feathers, causing him to flinch and back off. “Okay, that’s enough, I’m pretty tired. I think we should be getting to bed...” She said as she flew towards her side of the bed. Aramis slowly got up from the floor, and agreed silently. Both managed get somewhat comfortable once more, hoping to get a good night’s sleep out of the tale they had just heard. Both wished each other a good sleep, and were off to their own dream lands. Chapter 9: Where we left off...Two weeks had passed since their first appearance in Ponyville. Graham and Aramis had been busy, helping over at Sweet Apple Acres, baking treats for the Sugarcube Corner, even organizing tools and fabrics for Rarity’s Boutique. The ponies they worked for paid them enough so that they could enjoy themselves each day. During this time, Fluttershy was kind enough to take good care of Gypsy. Both parties, which consisted of Graham and Twilight, then Aramis and Dash, had been enjoying the human’s stay. During their free time, Graham would pay for any food Twilight needed, and occasionally buy himself a new hat. Twilight didn't understand why he was obsessed with hats so much, as he would buy any kind of hat, from simple caps to ones only guards would wear. Aramis, with his hard earned bits, foolishly paid for two tickets to a Wonder Bolts Show, front row seats due to Rainbow Dash’s manipulative plead. After that, Rainbow hadn't let go of him. Since that day, it had been a non-stop sleepover at Dash’s house. Although, many had wondered how exactly the human could live with her, since he didn’t have the natural affinities of a pegasus. Thankfully, Twilight was able to help out by using the cloud spell on him every three days, and having Rainbow Dash fly him up to her cloud home offered a good view of the town. Of course, Graham often taunted him about being a secret Brony, which resulted in a punch to the gut. Graham knew deep down Rainbow Dash changed his view on ponies. Aramis knew it too. That didn't stop Aramis from trying to hide it with a well placed punch. Twilight was, of course, studying them the entire time. She had recorded a bit of the human’s physical attributes, what they ate (granted, she didn't particularly like their species’ diet), and some of their personal family histories. Specifically, she took notes of Graham’s family ties with the infamous “Nazi” group, and how his great grandfather was actually a close friend of the group’s leader himself. Graham mentioned not to ever talk of this dark time, and Twilight had agreed, not wanting the man to burst out in rage like he had before. He had been called many names, and was clearly very sensitive to the topic. She also took note of this, and became ever closer to understanding his mental state of mind. Aside from daily life, the humans met and befriended a number of ponies that they knew and loved. Two in particular being the very famous Ditzy Doo (otherwise known as Derpy Hooves), and Doctor Whooves. They learned a little bit about the ponies that walked among them, including the proven fact that Lyra and Bon Bon were indeed a couple, and a cute one at that. There was even DJ Pon3, or Vinyl Scratch to some, on her good friendship with Octavia, who was part of the Ponyville Orchestra. It was around the middle of a lazy afternoon, when Derpy had a letter passed to her by a Canterlot Guard. Ditzy flew as fast, or at least straight, as she could towards Twilight’s Tree House. But because of her eyes, she couldn't help but crash into the side of the tree. Spike opened the door to see what was the matter, and saw her with a special pink letter. After helping pull her from the tree’s side, Spike grabbed the letter and walked towards the couch, on which Graham snored away. “Hey buddy, wake up.” The baby dragon demanded as he poked at his shoulder with a small index claw. The man shrugged it off, lightly slapping the poor dragon away with a big hand. Holding his face, Graham groaned lethargically. Narrowing his eyes, Spike spat a small green fireball on his backside. That would surely wake him up. Oh how right he was. Graham felt a burning sensation and woke up immediately, looking down to see his shirt aflame. Screaming in panic, he took it off, and smashed it with his boot to take care of the fire. Luckily, the shirt only a slight blackening, as he killed the ember early. After he had panted for a moment, he looked at the dragon with a menacing glare. “What the flying fuck was that for!” He barked. Spike laughed, quickly turned tail and ran off, dropping the letter behind him. After putting his button-up shirt back on, Graham looked down and picked it up, reading the address, “Sweet! The Princess sent me a letter!” He said out loud, an excited grin plastered on his face. Quickly opening it, he started reading. Dear Graham, By now, it has been two weeks since our last encounter. I sincerely hope everypony has been kind to you. I heard that you’ve been busy and helped around Ponyville, and Aramis as well. I wish to thank you both for your hard work, and would like to invite you back to the castle for a large feast. Everypony is invited if they wish to come with you. I will be sending a chariot to pick you up soon. Yours Truly, Princess Celestia Graham smiled as he put the letter in his back pocket, and looked up to Twilight’s room. Knocking at her door, he waited until she opened it, seeing Twilight as her old sleepy self. “What’s the matter, Graham?” She asked while looking up to him. Graham had a excited smile on his face. He knew that Twilight was still against bringing Discord back deep down. “Well, I got a letter from Princess Celestia...and...um...” “Oh? Let me see!” She exclaimed, now fully awake. With a grin, he pulled the letter out of his back pocket, and handed it over, which she took with her levitating magic. A brief read later, she had her own smile on her face. “Let’s get the others. You can worry about getting Aramis and Rainbow—” She was cut off by a blue blur flying right over her head. “Already got the note. We’re here.” She said rather lazily as Aramis opened the door, panting loudly. “Next time...could you...wait up?” Aramis wheezed as the cyan pegasus whisked over, hitting him in the back. “We need to get you shaped up.” Rainbow giggled as Aramis collected himself. “Speaking of which...” Twilight said, looking at Graham. “Maybe later you can go with them! You said yourself you needed inspiration, and Rainbow Dash can do just that.” Graham groaned. The one thing he hated more than his weight: EXERCISE. “I-I...guess?” Twilight and the other chuckled, as he clearly wasn't too keen on the subject. Twilight looked up to Graham and smiled, “Never mind, for now. Rainbow Dash can easily get the others, we can wait here.” With that notion, Rainbow Dash was off, and within only a short few minutes, she was able to bring the others back to the library. Twilight was amazed by this, but soon let it go. Outside, their chariot arrived, awaiting their departure. Each pony got into a seat, Aramis and Graham being the last, so not to squish the little ponies as they took off. About a half hour passed before they arrived at the main gates of Canterlot Castle. After everypony got off, the chariot left them to walk towards the main gate, where two guards stood at their posts. “Name, and business, please.” The guard on the right said. Graham picked up his letter and showed it. He looked at it intently. “It’s gotta be a forgery!” Suddenly, a hoof smacked him right in the muzzle, courtesy of the left guard. “No it’s not, she has her signature right here!” The guard pointed, then looked back at the group and chuckled, “Sorry, he’s new.” “Nah, it’s cool.” Aramis replied as the gates were opened. They walked inside, making their way to the royal sisters’ throne room, where both alicorns sat, expecting them. “Graham and Aramis, right on time.” Celestia said with a slightly peppy tone in her voice. Graham waved at them as they finally arrived. “Hiya Princesses!” Graham shouted as a hoof nudged him. He looked down to see Twilight with a annoyed face. “That’s no way to greet the Princesses.” Twilight said blankly as he scratched the back of his head, not saying a word. Celestia just giggled. “It’s alright, my faithful student. No need for any formalities here. In fact, I enjoyed that greeting. It’s better than what I usually hear on a day to day basis.” Twilight only nodded and acknowledged her words. Aramis looked thoughtful for a moment before he spoke, “I took a look at Graham’s letter and you said there was gonna be a feast? What are we talking about here? Salads and stuff?” “Not necessarily. Twilight has been keeping notes on you, and what you’ve enjoyed eating so far. From what we gather, you are Omnivores, and as such, you partake in both plants and meats. Although we do not eat meat, we have...done our best to try and copy what you’ve been accustomed to.” “Well hell, thanks!” Graham said cheerily. “I know it must’ve been REAL hard to do something like that...” “Well, actually, it wasn't all that hard. The Griffon Kingdom helped with this, as we told them of your diet. They said that they would honor our new guests. They gave us as much cooked meat as they could carry by cart! Of course, they wanted payment, which was no objection.” “So there’s more than one kingdom?” Aramis asked. “Are you all one society?” “No, we are not. Each race has their own society, customs, and country to live in.” “Oh, well that makes sense.” Aramis said thoughtfully. “Now then, we shall head towards the dining hall for our meal to you, humans.” Princess Luna stated. Graham and Aramis agreed with this. They were starved, as virtually all they’d been eating was salads the entire time he had been in Equestria. Though, they had been able to catch a few fish now and then from a nearby lake. But this wasn’t about that, they were eager for whatever five-star meal that had been cooked up. With this in mind, Graham played cool, trying not to sound desperate. “I suppose we should. Lead the way, princesses.” The group walked through the many castle halls towards the dining hall. The marvelous spread of food awaiting them on the extremely long table made the mouths of everyone drool with anticipation. “You may be seated, and please help yourselves. My sister and I will be with you momentarily.” Celestia gestured with her hoof to the free food as the others gathered around the table and got themselves seated. Once they were focused on the food and had a fairly quick meal, they headed towards the Canterlot Gardens, where a sleeping draconequus was encased in stone... “Sister...are you most certain this is a good idea? What if he decides to try to take over Equestria again? Or try to harm the Elements?” Luna asked with worry present in her voice. “I am certain. I want to make amends with Discord.” Celestia said with unshakable confidence. She and Luna brought their horns together, a bright ball of white and dark blue energy gathering at the touching tips. A similarly colored beam shot towards the statue before them, rays of light bursting from the cracks that developed along the stone. “FREE! AGAIN!” Discord yelled as his stony confines shattered into countless pieces. He started laughing and immediately teleported behind his alicorn liberators, wrapping his arms around their necks. He planted a large kiss on Celestia’s head, then continued laughing. “Oh Celly, I knew you couldn’t resist me!” he laughed, ruffling Celestia’s hair as he did so, causing the princess to roll her eyes indignantly, “It looks like even you need a little fun!” The draconequus then pinched Luna’s cheek and turned her head to face him. “And Luna! You’ve growing up to be so much like your older sister! And I bet you’ve still got that boorish Canterlot Voice, don’t you?” “Thou should remove thy paw from my face at once, spirit, lest thou wish to return to thy stone imprisonment,” Luna mumbled past the hand that clutched her cheek, distorting her speech. “Just as I suspected, you still have that Royal Canterlot voice of yours. How boring...” Discord shrugged as he teleported away from them, and towards the guests that have been eating to their hearts content. Graham was busy eating the chicken that the princesses were kind enough to have the griffons make for them as he felt a talon lean itself on his shoulder. Confused, he looked over and gasped, almost choking. "Move aside, Chubby!" The other quickly stopped what they were doing to look as Discord took a seat next to Graham. A glass of chocolate milk appearing in his claw at the snap of his talons, “Oh come now, is that how you treat the guest of honor?” he chuckled, taking a sip of glass. He looked towards Rainbow Dash and slithered right towards her, appearing behind her with a second glass of milk, “Care for a chocolate milk of glass, Element of Loyalty?” Fluttershy felt as though she could just rip Discord apart for what he did to her and her friends. All those memories replayed in her head, she and could only scream with a volume that would almost be confused with the Royal Canterlot voice, all the while slamming her fore-hooves on the table before her. “Leave her alone, you big dumb meanie!” Discord chuckled as he popped before her, his wings keeping him afloat over her part of the table. “Meanie? Oh come now, Fluttershy, is that reallyall you can come up with? Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot you don’t want to hurt anypony’s feelings! And who’s really the meanie here? Or did you forget all the fun you had last time I was loose?” Rarity just scoffed, “There’s no need for petty insults, even for one like yourself.” She felt as though she was higher in moral standards than Discord, but his response quickly made her forget that. She was soon greeted with his face near hers. “Ah Rarity, so high and sophisticated. Actually, I believe your little comment right there was a petty insult! I didn’t know hypocrisy was in style this season! But you would keep up with all that, wouldn’t you? After all, it really is all you can do! Well, that and be the greatest drama queen in Equestria. I didn’t think anypony could top little Celly!” Pinkie Pie sped right over the table, making sure not to make a mess of the place as she put her head to his, their eyes locked onto each other. “Hey! You leave her alone! Fashion is her Passion!” She squinted her eyes to to try to look intimidating. “Oh, and what are you passionate about, Pinkie Pie? Birthday cake? Party hats? Confetti? How about those balloons? And leaving everypony alone is just so boring! You would agree, wouldn’t you? It’s totally normal to invade everypony’s personal space to give them invitations they may not even want, right? And speaking of alone, how was Gummy’s After-Birthday party? A party of one was the best, wasn’t it?” Applejack pushed Discord right off of Pinkie’s gaze; a snort emitted from her nostrils, “You leave mah friends alone, ya big galoot. Why, I should give you a good ol’ Apple Family buck to the teeth!” Discord only looked at her with a bored expression, “You know, Applejack, I see your lips moving but all I hear is drawldrawlcountryexpressiondrawl. I’m in awe anypony can listen to you speak! I mean, how badly did you fail at being sophisticated? Pretty hard, it looks like. But I suppose I should give you credit, after all, most country folk can’t seem to pull their heads out of their farmland long enough to see anything else! But you Applejack, you took your head out. And then you stuck it even farther back in. Bravo. And let’s be honest, little pony, how hard do you think that ‘Apple Family buck’ is? With your Granny’s hip and all. And Big Macintosh seems incapable of anything other than ‘Eeyup’-ing everything that comes his way. Little Applebloom doesn’t seem to be doing much of anything either, so I guess you’re the only one bucking there. If you’re not too busy lying for your ‘greater good of friendship’, or whatever you call it.” “I-I..” Spike wanted to say something, but was cut short by a claw grabbing his head, holding him up. “Oh look here, a talking pet! However did Twilight teach you how to do that? What else can you do? Vomit parchment? Oh, maybe you can fetch! Wait, don’t tell me...you can cook!” As Discord made more mockeries on the spot, Celestia and Luna burst through the doors to the dining hall. “Enough! We brought you here, because we have something we need to discuss, Discord!” “And what could you possibly want to talk about?” he sneered, “After all, you could have just talked my ear off while I was in stone. Not a smart move, little Celly.” Graham looked up towards the spirit, “Just let her TALK. Jeez...” Discord only looked at him, a small smirk appeared on his face, “A human in Equestria? I haven't seen your kind here in such a long time...” Aramis snorted, “Just listen to the magic talking horse before you start talking about our species, would you? I don't care what you’re about to say, but at least listen to the god damn princess first! Are you stupid?“ Discord backed up slightly and gave Both Graham and Aramis and odd look, definitely feeling some form of confusion. Usually, he would be the one causing confusion, but this time the roles were reversed. He looked towards the princess as she began to speak. “I came...to apologize.” Celestia’s head dipped as she closed her eyes, “I have greatly wronged you, my old friend, and I wish to ask for your forgiveness.” The draconequus was utterly shocked at the alicorn’s words, “You’re...apologizing? Is this some kind of trick?” He quickly turned his head every which way, looking for any traps that may have been set. Celestia shook her head, “There is no trickery involved here. What I did before was wrong. I have realized that Luna and I judged you without considering your position. And because of that lapse of judgment, I single-hoofedly tore our friendship to pieces.” She walked directly up to Discord, her magenta eyes staring deeply into his yellow ones, searching for any trace of her former companion. “And now I ask you: can we pick up from where we left off? Can we become friends again? Or are we too far gone to re-establish any relationship?” Dead silence filled the air. Everypony’s focus was directed onto the two gods before them. The two simply stared at each other, eyes locked onto each other, unblinking. After what seemed like an impossibly long time, Celestia lowered her gaze, seemingly in defeat. Small tears formed at the edges of her eyes. She had truly lost her old frie— “I...accept your apology.” Discord said shakily. The white alicorn’s head immediately rose again, brimming with happiness. “I don’t know if we can continue from where we used to be yet,” he continued, “but I think we can be friends again. We’ll see how that goes for now. I really did miss you Celestia, and I’m sure you did what you did for a good reason.” He looked off to the side, scratching the back of his head, “To be honest, I think I was a little bit too chaotic after those five hundred years. In hindsight, anyway.” Graham looked up to the two gods and smiled, “So...this is official? No more fighting?” Celestia only looked in his direction; tears dropped from her face, “Yes, we are finally past our dispute. The gods of Equestria are reunited once more.” A short pause filled the air. “Well if we’re all done here, I think I’m gonna go back to that bedroom. Besides, I’m stuffed!” Rainbow Dash said with a bored look. The others started following her, as if on cue. Discord chuckled as he teleported back into the throne room, simply blinking out of existence. The princess watched as the other ponies started walking back into the castle, Celestia looked to see Graham and Aramis lagging behind. She stopped him with a hoof before speaking once more. “I truly cannot thank you both enough for you and the others being here.” She said as she gave a slight bow. Graham only waved a hand. “You’re welcome, princess. It really wasn’t any problem, I mean, I’m just glad you guys made up.” Graham said as he nudged his friend. "Yeah, all that's pretty good, I guess..." Celestia could only smile and giggle a little in response. “I suppose.” She looked off to the horizon. “Well, that went better than expected. I feel much more at ease with myself now. Actually, I’m in a generous mood.” Celestia turned her attention back to the human before her. “How would you like to have more of your kin in Equestria?” Graham couldn't be more excited to hear that. He smiled widely and bowed. “That would be great! Thank you, Celestia!” The alicorn waved a hoof and the two walked back into the castle. As soon as they all got back into the throne room, they saw Discord had brought out a throne of his own, hovering above the two two that were already present. Celestia told both Discord and Luna what would transpire, and they were more than willing to lend a hoof and a claw. “We shall bring about one more human.” The sun goddess announced. “I have full confidence that one of you will be able to take care of them and bring them into Equestrian society with no issues.” Discord chuckled, “I can’t wait to see what human comes. Oh, the hilarity that will ensue!” With that, all three deities started to focus their might on a portal that opened up in the middle of the room. As it opened wider, light started to build up, making everypony squint their eyes. Discord suddenly smirked. “Oh, but what fun will it be bringing it here? Let’s mix things up a little!” He announced as the portal started to expand, and for some reason turning a black hue. It soon exploded in a bright black light as everyone but the royals were tossed back. Pink smoke was thrown around, as a big neon sign that said “WELCOME TO EQUESTRIA!” with an arrow pointing down floated up above the mess. Ponies out of nowhere, more than likely conjured up by Discord’s magic, played on instruments a “royal” song. The alicorns looked at Discord with slight annoyance. “What? All I did was make it more fun.” He said with a shrug of the shoulders and a slight chuckle, as the cloud of smoke started to disappear... Chapter 10: A New Challenger Approaches!As the portal shrank and the light dimmed, the group looked towards the spot where the human would appear in...to see it completely empty. “Wait, what? That’s it? A smoke and lights show, and for nothing? That was a waste of time.” Graham scoffed. After scouring most of the room, he gave a mighty huff. He lost all interest in the matter as he turned in a complete one-eighty towards the door. “If you need me, I’ll be in the guest room.” He announced as he started walking towards the exit. Twilight’s eyes followed him out, chewing nervously on her lip. “Um... He seems pretty upset, I’ll go check on him.” Twilight creeped out the open door as well, following the disappointed man. “Discord, did you have anything to do with this?” Celestia looked towards her companion suspiciously. The draconequus shrugged. “It’s not my fault. Why is it always my fault? Obviously, it was your fault, dear Celestia.” Discord teased, smirking as he snaked his way out the door. “Hold it! You’re not running from this! Come back here, Discord!” Celestia demanded, only to be ignored as he slithered out of the room. “Yes, that was a good way to stop him, sister.” Luna pointed out in her royally sarcastic manner. She gracefully floated from her smaller throne besides her older sister’s to trot out the door, leaving the room completely unattended. “If you need us, we will be in the royal bedroom.” Luna shouted behind her as she disappeared. Celestia only sighed. ‘It works on two humans and a dog, and now it doesn't work with the combined might of Discord and Luna included? Perhaps the spell should have been cast by only me.’ She thought to herself as she slowly meandered her way out of the room, closing the door behind her. Darkness filled the thought to be empty room. None of the previous occupants saw the red eyes that were hiding behind the now closed door. Twilight had caught up to Graham outside of the throne room. She had stayed silent after eyeing his neutral face for a brief second. She immediately understood that he was annoyed. Wondering if Graham shared her thoughts, they opened the door to the guest room they took refuge in. “There has to have been something that came out of that portal! There was no way the spell would fail, especially since all of the standards were met.” Twilight exclaimed as the man jumped up on on the large bed that had been generously provided for them. The look on his face now showed a mixture of boredom and slight concern. “Look Twilight, I’m sure whatever went down happened for a good reason. I have no way to know how portals created by magic work, so I’m not the best person to talk to on this matter. Sorry...I’m not magic.” He responded rather blatantly as he got more comfortable in his seat. He mumbled under his breath; something that sounded like he wished he was. Twilight only rolled her eyes. “Well I for one, am certain that something did go right. All the prerequisites were met!” With a huff of indignation and resignation, Twilight left her room. She walked back down the hall to from where she had come from, determined to figure out what exactly had gone wrong with the spell. She pushed open the large throne room doors with her magic. She immediately knew something was wrong when she felt a breeze. She looked to the side to see glass scattered across the floor. One of the largest stained glass windows that were part of the royal castle was completely shattered. Twilight found her voice and she let out a panicked yell. “PRINCESS!” The Everfree Forest was not someplace anypony should every stray into, especially on their own. Still, Applebloom was convinced she was old enough to personally make a trip to Zecora’s hut without getting into danger. In fact, Applebloom hadn’t felt fear in the forest ever since the cockatrice incident, and none of her numerous journeys to Zecora’s had ever gone wrong. But there were several reasons so. For one, Applebloom was very cautious. She made sure to look before she walked, avoided any place that looked muddy, slippery, or pointy, and always crossed the river in the middle of the forest with utmost care. The large log that spread across the stream had an eight foot circumference easily, and seeing as she weighed barely forty pounds, going across the log presented no danger to her small filly form. Applebloom had just crossed that log when she heard the howls. Applebloom was reintroduced to her fear in a second. Her steps sped up, as the howls seemed to get louder, perhaps closer. She shifted into a full out run as she heard the crashing sound of leaves being thrown up into the air. She looked over her shoulder. Glowing yellow eyes locked with hers, and she realized what was chasing her. Memories of the stories she had constantly been told from a young age by her aging Granny Smith. All the tales of the supposedly mythical Timber Wolves, had been proven true. A guttural scream left her throat, and she thought for sure her young life was over. “HALP’!” The wolf leaped towards her, and her eyes closed as she hoped for a quick end. She heard the sounds of her bones snapping of her young body being crushed beneath the heavy body of the Timber Wolf, but for some reason it didn’t hurt. “Open your god damn eyes if you want help.” Applebloom’s large eyes snapped open and her head twisted to look at her saviour. Above her stood a tall being, similar to Graham who she had met briefly before. He wore solid black, from his shirt to his shoes, and even his skin hugging gloves. His hair too was the color of the darkness. That was all she could really see though, as he moved in a black blur. Lying on the ground in front of where he was standing before lay a dead wolf, its neck and arm oddly twisted. Applebloom resisted gagging at the body, and attempted to search for the man again. An ear splitting howl reached her ears and to her horror another wooden wolf hit the ground, dead as well, its jaw hanging open much too wide and one of its side bleeding sap profusely. Applebloom turned just in time to see another wolf attempting to latch its hungry maw onto her. Another crackling sound, almost like a tree falling and splitting in a lightning storm, then the feral animal dropped to the leafy floor, dead. The figure hovered above the body for a second, before directing his gaze at the small filly for a few seconds. “U-um...t-thank you, Mr. um... What’s your name, mister?” Applebloom asked in her southern accent, trembles of fear still apparent. The man had retreated to the shadow of a tree, and the only thing she could actually see of him were his bright eyes staring calculatingly at her. She looked to her side to see the shadow of this saviour stared at her. The being didn't answer her for a few seconds before speaking out in a cold, gravely voice. It was chilling, but she wasn’t scared at all seeing as he had just saved her. “It’s unimportant.” He responded, looking away from her, or perhaps closing his eyes. “Just go back to your business, and tell no one. Can you do that for me?” The yellow-coated filly nodded her head repeatedly. “My thanks.” He said, and Applebloom detected the gratefulness in his monotonous voice. “Can I visit you mister? Yall seem kinda lonely out here...” She suddenly realized she was talking to herself, as no one was under the tree any longer. “Or... Not...” Back at Canterlot Castle, Twilight and Graham were examining the shards of glass. “Um... That. Right there. Is a really fucking long fall.” Graham said, peering out the window. “How would anypony even survive? I’m not even seeing any blood on the ground...” “Do some humans have wings Graham?” Twilight asked with slight concern. “If we did, I’m sure I would want a pair. Or be able to shoot fire from my hands. that would be cool too.” Graham replied. He kept staring over the edge, shaking his head. “Unless Celestia summoned a ninja, I don't think there would be any possible way to fling yourself out of this glass without mashing yourself into a messy splatter when you hit the ground.” He retorted. Before he left the scene, he noticed something on the ground. “Wait...” He interrupted as Twilight was about to offer a hypothesis. “I see something...is that an indent in the grass? It sorta...looks like an arm!” Twilight peeked her head out the window to look down below to see what he was pointing to. She could see a faint indent of a human arm in the ground. She didn't say anything, but suddenly bolted down the castle halls. “Twilight, hold on!” Graham shouted as he followed her as best as he could. About a few minutes passed by when they made it to the final floor to the garden, where the supposed fall would’ve taken place. “It’s got to be around-- Aha! There it is!” Twilight said proudly as she ran towards the scene. Graham, as tired as he was from running all the way down, walked over in a huff. “Next time, love...could you....hoo boy...” he tried to finish his sentence, but was completely out of breath. Twilight examined the indent to see something else. “Graham, look...” She urged him to come over, picking up what appeared to be...a piece of skin? No, it wasn’t colored like skin, it was just dirty. “What...the fuck is that?” Graham question out of shock. He grabbed the piece to realize it wasn't warm, but cold and hard....like metal. It was only a centimeter wide and was maybe half that length, but it looked to be part of something much larger. “Twilight, I think that this person really is a ninja. Not only did they survive the jump, but he also has a special machine with him, or something. I don't know...” Twilight was even more concerned. “Whoever it is that is loose, I can conclude that this human is both trained and dangerous. Not only did he survive a forty foot drop, but he walked off unscathed. He or she was able to land without so much as a single blood wound taking place. Whatever saved them from the fall, is powerful enough to save a full grown human.” “Not just that Twi. They know how to freakin use it.” Graham added. He stared at the indent once more. “And by the look of it? Male. I mean, I’ve never seen a woman’s arm shaped like that, so count that possibility out. I say we try to find where this sucker went, and track him down, before he causes a scene. Nopony knows of this but us, so we can stop something, before it begins.” Graham said, standing. “Right. But how are we going to catch him, once we find him, Graham? I’m not sure magic’s the best way to go, me using it could cause him to freak out, it become violent if magic doesn't exist in your world...” She pointed out. Graham tapped his chin with his finger. “Well, how about some rope? Would that work? I don't see a problem with it.” “Graham, I think you are onto something. Not only is rope not out-of-the-ordinary, but it can hold him down long enough to drag him back here!” She smiled, jumping up to him to give him a hug on her hind legs. “I know the perfect mare for the job.” “Wunderbar! Dann lassen Sie uns gehen! Es ist Abenteuer!” Graham announced into the air, his arm pointing to the sky as they hurried off. “Ah’m sorry... You want me to what?” Applejack asked, dumbfounded. “Tie the sucker up.” Graham explained in simple terms. Applejack nodded slowly. “Tie up... A human? Are ya’ll sure about this?” She said, raising an eyebrow up high. Twilight nodded. “Of course. We can distract him long enough for you to get the rope around him. And it won’t freak him out like magic.” Applejack contemplated for a second before turning around and heading into her barn, returning shortly with two ropes. “Aw right. Lets give this a shot!” She beamed at the two. “Where is the varmint?” Graham blinked, the question seemed to remain unanswered in even his own mind. “Um... Good question.” “I think I know who yer lookin’ for... But... I wouldn’t try tyin’ him up!” Applebloom suddenly yelled, trotting out of the forest, looking slightly pale and shaky. “Applebloom! Are you alright sis? What did I tell you about going into that forest alone?!” Applejack scolded the filly. Applebloom nodded her head back to Applejack. “I know sis! And I know why now too... But that human feller saved me! He’s in the forest. But I wou—” She was cut off as the two ponies and the human dashed off into the forest from whence she came without listening to her warning. “... Wouldn’t mess with ‘im....” The trio hurried towards the heart of the forest, hoping that the man didn't flee its boundaries. “Do we even know where to look?” Twilight asked suddenly. Graham looked back at her. “I have no idea!” He answered. Then he stopped, going dead still. “Hey, why’d we stop?” Applejack turned in to see the reason why. Three timberwolves lay dead before them in a heap. Their normally glowing eyes were dark, and bits of their wooden bodies were broken completely. “There’s something wrong here. They’re...” Twilight couldn't finish her sentence before another body of a timberwolf fell from the trees, giving them the scare of their lives. “Was zur Hölle war das!” Graham shouted as he slowly calmed himself from his scare. He looked up at the branches above the Timber Wolf’s body, and there saw a crouched figure. The figure didn’t move at all, but stared back at him, red eyes observing him. “You! Come down here! I need to speak with you.” Red eyes blinked at him, and then he showed no sign of acknowledging Graham’s words as he stood then swung himself away, into an entirely different tree. “What the hell! Come back, I know you’re really freakin’ confused, but I can explain!” Graham shouted after him, jogging up to where the man had jumped to. He was growing irritated. “Alright, Ah have had enough of this!” Applejack called out, getting her rope ready. The man in the trees suddenly stopped and looked down at the blonde pony. She had the same accent as the previous talking horse he’d seen. Applejack saw his still form and went for it, tossing her looped rope upwards. The man turned and leaped towards the next branch a good five feet away. The rope caught his foot, and pulled snug. The man swung down, now hanging in mid air with one leg above him. He grunted, before using some amazing form of body strength to pull his torso up and grab the rope. He scaled back up to the branch he was sitting on before, and began to untie the rope around his ankle. Applejack was having none of that, and much to the unknown everyone’s dismay, she yanked on the rope, sending him hurtling towards the ground. “Shit! Twilight do something!” Graham yelled, while Twilight hurriedly attempted to send magic through her horn to catch the falling man. The man flipped forward in mid air and landed on his right arm, before rolling to his feet easily. Graham stood there, shocked. “How the fuck did you... I mean that was... Thirty goddamn feet...” Graham choked out. Red eyes glared, obviously irritated by the blonde pony. Neither party moved now, as the newcomer seemed to just be staring at the two talking ponies. Then he snapped. With frightening speed, the man rushed into Graham, slamming him backwards with his shoulder into Applejack, who let go of the rope. At that, the still unknown human sped off, leaving Graham sputtering in German behind him. Twilight channeled her magic, the rope glowing purple as it pulled tight and stopped the unsuspecting human. He caught himself from falling and spun around to see who had stopped him. Glowing rope greeted his eyes and he dropped down onto one knee, his right hand grabbing the rope around his ankle and tearing it apart. Now free, he rushed away again. He ate dirt though, as Twilight shifted to hold one of his feet in place. Graham was up at this point, and jumped onto the man dressed in black, making sure to put most of his significant weight on the man’s right arm. “Ha! Can’t do much now can you? I got your strong arm.” Red eyes, cold as ice locked with Graham’s. “Get. Off. Of. Me.” His voice was just as frigid, and Graham almost got up off him. “Oh hell no, not now. I finally caught you.” Red eyes closed in annoyance and then Graham slammed into a tree five feet away, winded from a lethal kick. “Holy hay, you got a buck on yah!” Applejack hollered, rushing forward with her new piece of rope. “Wait, Applejack! He may hurt you!” Twilight yelled after her, barely able to break her concentration enough to warn the mare. She was ignored though, as Applejack approached the man, but slowed to a trot and then completely stopped a safe distance away from him, and dropped her rope onto the dirt floor. “Ah know this has to be odd for you. But you gotta realize that yer safe! We don’t wanna hurt ya, but we gotta make sure yah don’t do anything crazy. I promise to yah that we won’t hurt yah, or even come near yah if you don’t want us to. Now, we’re gonna let go of yah, but in exchange you stay put and don’t run away. Alright?” Applejack spoke gently and comfortingly to the male. Red eyes blinked a few times before he spoke for the second time to them. “... Agreed.” Twilight let go of her spell, almost fainting as she did. The amount of energy it took to hold just one of the man’s feet in place was insane. Graham groaned, uncurling from the fetal position he had taken up. “Do yall have a name?” Applejack asked sweetly. The man sat up, now sitting comfortably, though he warily glanced in Graham’s direction. “Bromley.” He said. Applejack smiled, then offered him a hoof. “Pleased to meetcha’!” Bromley stared at the appendage, then raised an arm and shook it firmly. Graham walked up, fully recovered and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Bromley. Name’s Graham. I hope that we can forget about that little incident earlier.” Bromley sat there for a brief moment, just staring at his hand. “What’s the matter?” He asked the man standing before him; his hand still out. “Nothing.” He said after a few moments, as if remembering something. Sighing, he outstretched his own arm and placed his hand in Graham’s. Graham immediately regarded that it was hard and he could feel cold seeping through the skin tight leather glove. “Jeez, buddy. You freezing? Or...wait...” Graham stared at Bromley’s arm, his brain attempting to comprehend what exactly was wrong with his hand. He quickly took out the piece from the landing site from his pocket, to quickly realize something. “You’re arm is made of metal...?” He questioned, letting Bromley’s hand go. Bromley’s red eyes glared at him for a second. “Yes, but that is none of your concern.” He retracted his arm and stood up tall. He retreated from Graham, heading into the shade of a tree. Graham caught up with him. “Well, why? Did something happen? Was it cut off? Is it a government experiment?” He persistently questioned the silent man, who was ignoring him now. Applejack took the opportunity to compare the two males standing side by side. Humans were odd critters, and getting a chance to see a third was a little exciting to her. And now that he’d calmed down, she got a chance to take a good look at him. He was big. She realized that he was just as tall as Graham, but not as bulky. His shoulders were wide, and he was very imposing, but he was lean, with his muscle hugging clothes showing off his contained power. Her eyes raked over his face, which was clean of a beard and very pale. His black hair was slightly spiky in the front, and medium length, with odd white streaks decorating it in places. She had completely blanked out the conversation Graham was attempting to start with the man, and realized with annoyance that she had blanked out and just checked out the new comer. “Those converse, are the shit.” Graham said, pointing down at Bromley’s feet. His ‘converse’ were black with red tips on them. “Seriously speaking though, Celestia summoned the wierdest dude I’ve ever met.” Graham added. Bromley smirked at that, leaning back against the tree behind him. “Tell me what is going on. I have come to terms with the talking animals, but I don’t understand what exactly has happened.” Graham scratched the back of his head, laughing nervously. “Well, you see... I had you summoned from Earth. Not you specifically, just another human...” Graham mused, he braced himself for any retaliation, but Bromley didn’t move. “Go on.” He commanded quietly, and Twilight continued Graham’s explanation. “You see, you are in the land of Equestria. We Equines are the most intelligent of the creatures around here, and we are ruled by our faithful rulers, Princess Celestia and her younger sister, Princess Luna!” Twilight explained as Bromley nodded, seeming to be perfectly accepting much to everypony’s chagrin. He was now silent, and no one was brave enough to crash his train of thoughts or break the silence. “Why would you summon humans here though?” He finally asked. Graham cleared his throat. “Well, it was just to have more of us, really...” “You can't be serious, you were lonely?” Bromley said, eyes narrowing dangerously. He sighed though, calming himself down. “Is there a better reason?” Graham thought about it. “Well, the Princess said that Aramis and I were technically some sort of ambassado—” “You’re talking about the big horse with the horn and wings, correct?” Bromley interrupted. Graham nodded. “Yes, that one. Anyways, she said that she wanted to bring humans about on this world again, since humans once were brought into Equestria a long time ago. She used us to see if she was making a good choice, and so far, we’ve done a good job making her choice a beneficial one. We’ve helped around town with any job we could, and so far, the ponies here accept us.” Bromley closed his eyes in thought, his face void of any telling emotion. “... I am not the best company, Graham. I am not going to release you from your loneliness.” He said carefully, assessing his role. “What is my purpose here?” “In all honesty? I have no clue whatsoever. The princess said she’d bring a human or two, but you’re the only one we got, and so far, I’m not liking it.” Graham said with a sneer. Bromley’s red eyes turned to Graham, who attempted to ignore how intimidating the man was. “The only reason you showed up on your own was possibly because you were alone when the spell went off.” Twilight mused. Bromley nodded in agreement, looking at Twilight expectantly before Applejack spoke to him. “Ah don’t know what yer special talent is Bromley, but if yer lookin for somethin to do, Sweet Apple Acres will host yah kindly if yall can work a bit.” Bromley considered the offer. “... It seems my set of skills aren’t very needed in this world.. Are you suggesting I work as a farm hand?” He said, an elegant brow lifting. Applejack nodded firmly and Bromley shrugged. “It won’t hurt. I will assist you as I can... Miss... Applejack?” The freckled pony grinned at him in response. “Thats mah name, don’t wear it out! Here, follow me back to Apple Acres. Graham, why don’t you and Twi tell the princesses we have the human they brought about. I’m sure Bromley here is exhausted.” Bromley remained mute, though his body showed no signs of fatigue as he walked over to Applejack. “If you feel safe with him, then alright! I’ll go nab the Princesses.” Graham started off in a separate direction towards the castle. Twilight shot a warning look at Bromley, who was unfazed. Shaking her head in defeat, she teleported the two of them back to Canterlot. As they walked through the castle halls, Twilight looked up at her friend before saying something. “If the princesses and Discord didn’t know they summoned a human successfully, do you think they would try again?” “I’m sure they know...” Graham played off, with a hint of doubt in the sentence. He started thinking different ideas; ones he hoped might not happen. If they summoned a human like Bromley, but didn’t know it, what stopped them from trying again? And who else could it be? Would they summon an even more dangerous man this time? What if it really did happen? “Oh fuck...what if they brought another Bromley here?” Graham shakily asked. They’d have to go through that all over again, and that’s not to say if they even could. For all they knew, they could get someone stronger! “We need to hurry back to the throne room, now!” Twilight called as she galloped towards the desired room, hoping to end what could become another summoning... But as they neared the throne room with each passing second, Celestia was murmuring another chant, and a bright glow filling the room once more... Chapter 11: Day 1...Mission Terminated.Applejack lead Bromley back to her home, neither of them breaking the slightly uncomfortable silence that had settled over them. Sweet Apple Acres came into sight, and still Bromley didn’t offer a single word. “So... Uh... Y’all mentioned that your line of work isn’t... Needed here?” Bromley’s gaze shifted to her as she looked back at him while still trotting towards her home. He offered a nod, but no clarification. “... What did yah do?” Bromley stayed silent, and she was about to give him a piece of her mind about his annoying attitude, when he spoke up in his formal monotonous drawl. “I was a mercenary.” Applejack’s eyes widened at the words and she looked away to hide her shock. She had heard all the manner of strange terminology from listening to Twilight rant about the latest books she was reading. Mercenaries were folks that were hired out to do work that most people weren’t exactly willing to do. Why? Because they were nasty, criminally tainted jobs. Silence once again dropped over the pair, but this time it was tense, and Applejack was growing angry at the man walking next to her; just because of the implications of the work he did. “... So y’all kill folks?” It was more of an accusation then a question. The gates to her farm were only a few feet away. “Sometimes. I do many things.” He replied, his tone apathetic. They left it at that as she pushed open the gates with a hoof and called out in a much cheerier tone to her family. “Ah’m home!” Bromley watched as the small filly he had rescued earlier hurried out of the house, the door closing behind her before reopening and a wrinkled green pony following suit. “Mister! Applejack where did yah find him?” Applejack looked in between the two, looking confused. “Yall know this critter Applebloom?” Bromley sighed softly at the title, though said nothing as Applebloom began to explain that he had saved her. “Yeah! All these wolves were chasin’ me! And he came outta nowhere and made sure they didn’ get me!” Applejack turned back after hearing her story, her eyes giving away how thankful she was to the man. “Thank yah... For savin’ ‘mah sister.” She smiled then, realizing she had misjudged the strange human. For a moment it seemed as if Bromley’s eyes held a glint of happiness, as if appreciation was much too rare for him, but it disappeared in an instant. Applebloom looked back behind her sister to grin at the man, showing no signs of nervousness. Bromley raised an eyebrow, but his attention was redirected to Granny Smith. “Who’s this?!” The green pony who had finally reached the group suddenly called out. “He’s an odd lookin’ one.” She scrutinized him between wrinkly, half-closed eyes. She seemed content after a few seconds though and went to limp back inside with no further comments. Bromley blinked a few times, before a much deeper, masculine voice greeted his ears. “Eeeyup... He is an odd lookin’ one sis.” Bromley turned his red eyes to stare at the new comer. Big Macintosh rolled the stick of hay between his lips thoughtfully, looking the human up and down. “Yall are might different from them other lanky hooligans in the town. I’m Big Macintosh.” The large horse extended his hoof, a welcoming smile drifting across his face. Bromley, struck by the kindness (and probably the fact that Big Mac was indeed Male) shook the hoof firmly, his lips twitching upward into a smile of his own for a brief second. “Bromley. Miss Applejack offered me a place to work here.” Big Mac grunted at that and nodded thoughtfully, while Applejack gaped at how many words the man had said to her brother. “Well... Lets get im’ settled in sis.” Big Mac slowly meandered his way to the door, relaxed as ever. The rest of the family and the new comer human followed after him, and Bromley began to observe his surroundings. It was obviously an apple plantation, and it was thriving with beautiful apples, ripe for the picking. The house was very simplistic, the inside cozy and inviting. Bromley was drawn out of his musings as Big Mac began speaking again. “Well... We can put you in Applebloom’s room, seeing as we aint got any more spare rooms, or we—” He was cut off as Bromley took a seat on the couch and threw his feet onto the cushion. “This will do.” Big Mac just shrugged, happy with whatever the newcomer was content with. Bromley closed his eyes, allowing himself a moment's rest. After all, he hadn’t slept in the last 38 hours. Darkness closed in, but the soft hoof falls (foot falls?) of someone else woke him up a short time later. “Can I get yah some water Mister?” Applebloom was hoping she had gotten the jump on him. From what she could tell, he was peacefully asleep, hands tucked behind his head, his eyes closed. Apparently not though, as he didn’t even twitch. “No, but thank you.” He replied politely, his eyes not opening. “Alright... Well, sleep well Mister Bromley.” Bromley sighed softly to himself. His thoughts took a strange turn as he drifted off into slumber. “Mission... Terminated. Failure. New Objective.... Unknown.” Chapter 12: Why don't you come on down, Jack?Graham and Twilight ran towards the throne room, the chanting Celestia made to open the same portal was about to end. By the time they opened the door, it was too late to stop her. Graham and Twilight shielded their eyes as rays of white light shot out from the growing portal, which emitted a steadily growing whining sound as it became a multi-colored swirl of red, green, and black, before exploding in a small mushroom cloud, the whining sound becoming a screech that quickly wound down to nothing. Graham uncovered his eyes in time to see another human fly out of the explosion back-first and into the door next to him before falling on its face to the floor, letting out a groan as it did so. He and Twilight looked at its limp form for a second, waiting for it to make some move against them like Bromley had. By now Celestia, Luna, and Discord had recovered from the magical eruption and were doing the same, nobody moving a muscle. “Jeez, my eyes... “ Graham groaned as he rubbed his eyes after experiencing that white blast again; the same one that he remembered seeing back on earth. “Princess, what did...you...” Twilight stopped her sentence short to notice the human sprawled on the floor. “Hold on a sec...that can’t be...Is that Jack? My main man!” Graham laughed as he pointed at the body on the floor. After a quick chuckle more, he helped the poor teen up. The human was about as tall a Aramis, maybe slightly taller. His red shirt faded to black as it neared his waist, and had a double dragon design on the upper left chest. It was largely hidden, however, by a thin navy blue zip-up North Face. He also wore light blue jeans, and grey-and-neon-green sneakers. On his face were a pair of rectangular blue glasses, behind which were a pair of blue-grey eyes. As he stood up, he ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair, groaning in discomfort. “Okay, no more ice cream before bed,” he groaned. “I thought once would be fine, but obviously not.” He blinked and looked around. “Or, somebody spiked it with LSD. Wonderful. There goes that self-promise...” “If it ain’t Jack Ol’ boy...” Graham chuckled. “How ya been? Feelin’ alright? You look like you got run over, buddy.” The teen looked at Graham for a moment. “...Holy shit, I must be high as a kite.” He then poked the taller human in the face a few times, he expression changing to one of disbelief. “G...Graham? That really you?” “No, I’m George Lucas.” Graham said sarcastically. “Of course it’s me.” Jack took a step back and looked around him once more. Now noticing the royalty, he gave a slow, hesitant wave, which all three returned with varying degrees of energy. He turned back to Graham. “Am I in virtual reality or something? If so, can we change this so we’re in...I don’t know, Armored Core or something?” Graham laughed and clapped his friend on the shoulder. “Nope! You’re stuck in the real, bona fide Equestria, buddy!” Jack only looked at him in shock. “S-stuck? In Equestria? Never going back to Earth?” He asked. Graham shook his head, a smile on his face. “Yep! All of your materialized possessions, your cherished families, and all of your friends are gone forever! In fact, you might as well kiss sweet mother earth good-bye, and welcome to your new home, in which you are completely new to, and have no chance to fit in with equine society, like mwah.” He chuckled and gave a grin. Jack stood gaping at him for a moment before taking a step back. Then another. And another. He looked around himself one more time before looking a Graham with a serious expression. “Fuck this shit,” He said, before bolting out of the throne room. "I'm such an asshole." Graham chuckled before he looked at Celestia, and vice versa. Celestia didn’t need to say anything to tell him to move. “Yeah, yeah. I’m goin’...” He muttered as he ran off to catch the new human. *** Jack ran through the halls of Canterlot Castle, fully aware he had no idea where he was going. He briefly cursed Hasbro for not releasing a full schematic of the castle before refocusing on his run, looking for anything that looked like it could make a portal back home. Eventually, the teen took a turn and found himself in the Canterlot gardens. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath before setting off again, this time at more of a jog than a run. He spared glances at the numerous statues around him, appreciating their crafts-pony-ship briefly before continuing on. “Too bad there’s not a statue to get me home...” he muttered to himself, right before tripping and falling on his face for the second time that day. Letting out an aggravated groan to himself, Jack got up and checked behind him, facepalming when he realized he had tripped on nothing. He turned... ...and found himself looking directly into two yellow eyes with mismatched red pupils. Jack jumped back and froze for a moment in shock before shaking his head and settling into a fighting stance, glaring at Discord. The chaos god laughed and bounced a rock in his hand. “Have a nice trip?” he asked, cackling as he did so. Jack rolled his eyes and scowled. “Oh, yeah, real nice. Saw some dirt, humiliated myself, you know how it goes.” He said sarcastically. “Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back home.” Discord chuckled and gestured all around them. “You heard your friend, this IS your home!” Jack relaxed and stood up from his pose, crossing his arms. “No offence, Discord, but as much as I’d like to be in Equestria, I think I’ll take my Xbox over feeling like I’m in one of those overused ‘Discord brings human to Equestria for fun times’ fanfictions.” He looked down at himself before sighing. “Well, at least I’m not a pony, that would be beyond cliched...” Discord hovered next to the human and wrapped an arm around him. “Are you sure you’d rather go back home?” The teen nodded. “I’m sure you can appreciate this, but I’d be terribly bored here.” Discord patted the human on his shoulder. “Well, if you really think you’d be so bored...” The god snapped his fingers, a green light covering the human next to him. The light changed from the form of a human into that of a ball, hovering for a few moments before taking on a pony-like shape. It touched back down onto the ground before fading away, revealing... *** “Jack! Where are you, you freakin’...You know what I’m not even gonna finish that sentence.” Graham muttered as he fell to the ground in a sweat. “Jeez...how do people run so fucking fast!?” He yelled out to nobody in particular as he sat up, regaining a bit of his energy. He would have sat down for longer, but a noise was heard in the distance. He could also see a green light on the other side of the Canterlot Gardens. If it was any more obvious, there would’ve been a sign saying “Look here, you stupid cunt”. “Must be him.” He muttered as he slowly got back on his feet. He was still tired, sure, but getting Jack before he did something stupid was more important than the nap he could use. It took about five minutes to reach where the glow was coming from. The noise stopped as well, which made Graham sigh. “God da--wait...” He interrupted himself as he saw something ahead. A small buzzing noise was heard as he ventured onwards... “What....the....CHANGELING!” Graham cried out as he ran at it, Discord floating and chuckling nearby. “Careful, Graham!” He called. “You know how dangerous those changelings are!” “Fuck you Discord! They’re as dangerous as a dead ant!” He retorted as he pounced at the mentioned creature and held it in a choke hold. “What does Chrysalis want now?! Another beating? She’ll have to go through me first!” He growled as the changeling caught under his frightening grip choked out the words... “G-Graham! Wh-at the f...fu...” It gasped, struggling a moment before going limp... ...right before it sank its fangs into Graham’s arm. “Ahh! Mein arm!” Graham screeched as he punched the changeling in the nose, hoping to knock it off of his now bleeding arm. He punched it over four times until it let go out of oxygen deprivation, but it didn’t stop him from grabbing it a second time. He raised it up towards his face, meeting it at the same level, before saying the words “Tell your queen...Ich komme nach ihr weiter”. “Wha--” was all the creature said as it was thrown to the ground. It groaned and twitched for a moment before laying still. Graham took a moment to look it over. It seemed to be fairly well beaten, even its red eyes completely motionless. The man gave the changeling one last kick to the ribs before walking away. “These things are so weak! Now to find Jack...” Graham chortled as he started to leave. He paused when he heard a coughing sound from behind him, turning to see the beaten changeling slowly climbing to its hooves. “You...” It wheezed, blinking a few times until it focused on the man. “You...MOTHER FUCKER!” The changeling’s wings buzzed into action, sending it careening into Graham’s gut, returning the favor it had received. With an “Oof!” Graham was sent to the ground onto his back. He slowly got up and brushed off again. “Come. We fight like men. Er, stallions.” Graham corrected himself as he ran towards the changeling with his fists in the air. The changeling stood its ground, legs spread wide. It spat out a small drop of blood before hissing, clear anger on its features. Its wings began buzzing as it sent itself flying towards Graham, letting out what could only be a changeling war cry. Graham let out his own battle cry as he charged. The two of them collided, but both fell over on the ground in a heap, struggling and fighting for dominance. “A-After I’m done with you, you’re gonna be mounted on Twilight’s wall!” Graham shouted as he pushed harder, making the changeling struggle under the heavy man’s weight. “I’m going to redefine the name ‘Grahamburger’, you overfed lump of meat!” The creature hissed, jabbing its horn into Graham’s side to dissuade him from crushing it. “O-ow! W-Wait a minute! STOP!” Graham screamed as he pushed the creature away, panting after all that fighting. He fell to the floor, wiping off a immense amount of sweat from his brow. “Only one person calls me that...” Graham wheezed as he looked towards the changeling’s direction. “You’re not...” “How the fuck did you not recognize me!?” the changeling screamed. The giant man growled as he stood up, and walked over to the now-recognized Jack. Grabbing him by a horn, he dragged him right towards a small pond. “LOOK AT IT!” He shouted as he forced him to peer into the reflection... “OW! What the fuck is on my head that you’re...you’re...” Jack trailed off as he looked into the pond, gaping at his new form. “This is new.” A loud popping noise and confetti shower erupted behind the two, and they turned to see Discord laughing and pointing at them. “Still bored, Jacky boy?” He laughed as the changeling gave him a flat look. “You’ve definitely sweetened the deal,” Jack said. “But I wonder whether letting me and Graham beat the crap out of each other was necessary.” Discord waved his paw dismissively. “Oh don’t be like that. It’s not every day you get to troll yourself.” Jack and Graham looked at each other, shrugging. “Whatever. Fun’s over. You can change him back now.” Graham demanded as he lifted Jack into the air. Discord floated there for a second, but then started to laugh again. “Sorry, one-way only!” He said, patting the changeling on the head, laughing even harder when it made a quite adorable puppy-face. “Nope! Not working!” After a quick, but strangely creepy chuckle, Graham lifted him up again. “I think you meant to say ‘Of course I can change him back! Here, let me do that!’, now be a good god and fix him up, will you?” Discord’s chuckling stopped and his expression became serious, which was slightly off-putting to Graham and Jack. “I meant what I said. It’s one-way.” Jack’s mouth dropped open, his mind blank of any thought. Graham’s hands suddenly stopped working, sending his friend to the ground, where he collapsed unceremoniously. “You....PIECE OF SHIT!” Graham screamed out loud as he jumped over his friend, and grabbed Discord by the neck, pulling him towards his face. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN ONE-WAY! I’M GOING TO SKIN YOU ALIVE, YOU WORM!” He kept screaming as he shook the god of chaos this way and that. He expected cries of pain and calls for mercy, but had none of it. Instead, he looked at the thing he was holding to realize it was a doll of him. Up above them, Discord was rolling around a cloud, laughing like a hyena. "By the way, fat man, you might want to get that bite checked out." Graham was seething with rage and was about to try and jump up to Discord’s cloud when he felt a tapping on the back of his leg. He turned and saw Jack looking up at him, eyes narrowed. “Graham, chill the fuck out,” he said. “I got this.” Jack flew up towards Discord, stopping and hovering right in front of the god. “Discord,” he started. “I appreciate a good trolling, and I can understand you don’t want some...ling...else to be bored like you were. So, with that in mind...” Jack’s frown switched to a smile. “Just warn me next time, m’kay?” Discord chuckled and held out a fist, which Jack promptly bro-hoofed. “Jack, what the hell are you doing? You’re completely fine with turning into a changeling? I beat you up out of confusion, and you’re saying it’s FINE?!” Graham’s left eye twitched at the sight of Discord and Jack bro-hoofing each other. Jack chuckled and flew back to Graham, placing a hoof on his friend’s shoulder. “Graham, I can take way more shit than you can, you should know that by now. And as for me turning into changeling?” Jack’s expression became giddy. “I’m effectively a tiny alicorn. How could I NOT love it?” “In that case, he might as well turn me into a ferocious, terrifying, blood thirsty dragon!” He silently challenged. He looked up, expecting Discord to reply, but nothing happened. He was gone without a trace. “....Mother of fuck.” He muttered as he grabbed Jack and hoisted him onto his shoulder. He calmly walked back into the castle, taking his time through the halls until he got to the throne room, in which Celestia alone occupied. “Graham, you are--What in the almighty’s name are you doing with that!” She spread her wings, flying up high, and readied a spell from her horn. Graham grabbed his friend, ready to take a shot. “My princess...meet my friend Jack.” Jack smiled and waved. Chapter 13: Dark Roots...The sun began to set gently over the Equestrian skies while the moon slowly ascended to its place. Ponies everywhere were going home to relax for the evening and others headed outside to enjoy the wonders of the night. High above the town of Ponyville, two friends in particular were heading home to wind down. “Did you see how awesome that triple backflip corkscrew was, Aramis!?” Rainbow Dash asked, excitement clear in her voice. Aramis adjusted his grip on her neck as they flew, “Yeah...it was pretty awesome, I guess...” he answered disinterestedly. Rainbow Dash squee’d in acknowledgement, still riding out the adrenaline that pumped through her veins, not paying particular attention to how he answered her question. Within moments, the two had set foot at the small “front yard” of their luxuriously designed cloud home, the white clouds appearing as though they had been painted with a blend of orange on one side and midnight blue on the other. He dismounted her and passively walked up to the door, opening it without sparing a second glance at the transition of day, something the two did together almost everyday. Rainbow Dash looked on with a worried glance and contemplated what to do. “I could go in and follow him...but maybe he’s just going to the bathroom...or maybe he’s not in the mood...” She thought outloud. The more she thought about it, the more obvious it became that she wasn’t getting anywhere with her current train of thought. Shaking her head as if to clear her confusion, Rainbow Dash zipped in through the open window and caught up to Aramis just as he opened the door to the bedroom they shared. Before he could even lie down on his bed, Aramis was suddenly tackled face first onto the cloud bed, his face dampening slightly from the force. “What the hell, Rainbow Dash...” Aramis grumbled, clearly annoyed with her as he laid on his side, facing the wall. Rainbow poked his shoulder, “What’s wrong, Aramis? I thought you were having fun back at the field while I practiced my tricks.” she asked in a surprisingly softer voice. He sighed deeply, “I did...it’s just that there’s some stuff on my mind.” “You wanna talk about it?” Rainbow asked. “No, it’s fine.” “Are you sure?” “I just need some time alone, Rainbow.” “Bu—” Rainbow stopped herself short when Aramis stood up and walked out of the room. Tilting her head in confusion, she followed him until Dash saw him staring out the kitchen window, the same forlorn expression on his face. An idea popped into her head, “Hey, Aramis! You up for some grub?” He scratched the side of his beard in thought, “Maybe...I’m not really that hungry to be honest though.” Aramis’ stomach chose that moment to betray him, letting out an angry growl of discontent. Rainbow Dash laughed, “Not really that hungry my flank!” The young man settled for looking away indignantly, as though it would save his pride. Walking into the kitchen, Rainbow Dash opened the fridge and pulled out a bag of hay fries along with two bottles of Dragon-ade. She also took two veggie burgers out of the freezer. Without question, Aramis turned on the stove, placing olive oil on two separate pans. He began waiting for them to heat up. Several minutes passed before he heard the quiet pop of cooking oil which Aramis took as a cue to place the veggie burgers on one pan and dump the hay fries in the other. He went over to one of the cabinets and grabbed a couple of plates, then opened one of the nearby drawers and grabbed a fork. Carrying the entire arrangement with practiced ease, he quickly placed everything down in a orderly fashion without missing a beat. Rainbow Dash saw the whole thing and muttered, “It still looks cool watching you do that...” Aramis rolled his eyes, “Learned it when I was a waiter.” and with that he went to check on the simple meal which was just about done cooking. He opened a cabinet next to the stove and looked around blindly with his hand until it caught hold of a mesh, “Found you, damn basket.” he muttered. It was a simple bowl with a mesh design on which he placed two paper towels before scooping out the fries onto it. He then fetched two buns out of another cabinet, placing them on the laid out plates before bringing the pan containing the burgers and using his fork to place them inside their waiting buns. Once that was done, he placed the pan in the sink and walked back to the table, easing into his chair as Rainbow did the same. They each took some hay fries and placed them on their plates, then began eating in earnest. Dash quickly wolfed down her burger and plowed through her fries, taking the occasional swig of Ponyade. Aramis went at a much slower pace, such that he was only halfway done with his burger and had gone through a quarter of his fries when Dash reached for another helping of fries, which were also consumed in short order. Rainbow watched as Aramis ate the remainder of his food, a blank look on his face, eyes lost in thought. She waited until he had finished his meal and began sitting quietly before she couldn’t take the silence. “Aramis, what’s wrong?” She asked, genuine concern in her voice. Aramis grunted softly, “Can’t you just leave it be?” Rainbow Dash stood her ground, “Not until you talk to me about it. It isn’t healthy to bottle up your feelings like that!” He laughed a bitter, hollow laugh, “What would you know about that? You seem to do fine always saying what’s on your mind.” Rainbow opened her mouth to object, but closed it after a moment and closed her eyes, hanging her head, “No...No I don’t...” Aramis looked up, eyebrow raised in surprise, “What are you talking about?” The blue pegasus let out a shaky sigh before speaking again, “There’s some stuff I never told anypony...not even my best friends...” Aramis sat up a little more, curiosity piqued, “Can you tell me?” Dash let out a single chucke and looked at him, “Only if you tell me what’s wrong with you.” Aramis waved his hand, “Ladies first.” Rainbow let out another sigh, eyes gaining a faraway look to them. She sat in silence for a moment, staring at the table. She sniffed once and began talking. “When I was a little filly, I had almost no friends. I was bullied all the time, names, insults, and sometimes...it got physical. The other colts and fillies would laugh at my mane and tail, saying I was stupid because I couldn’t decide on a color.” An angry, bitter look washed over her features before a soft smile managed to push to the surface, “Fluttershy was my only friend, but back then it was more like we were bully buddies. We’d fall back on each other for comfort when the bullying got really harsh.” Rainbow smiled slightly, “Then, one day, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I challenged the bullies to a race, and that’s when I pulled off the Sonic Rainboom.” Her smile faded and she stayed silent for a moment before continuing. “It only got worse from there. Yeah, I got really popular because I was the first pegasus in a long time to do a Rainboom, but it seemed like I got another bully for every fan. At first, all they did was call me names and things like that, but then somepony got the idea to set me up as...as a filly fooler.” Rainbow closed her eyes, and Aramis noticed a few tears escaping and sliding down her face. “A fillyfooler? What exactly does that mean?” Aramis asked. Dash tried to keep from trembling as she answered, but failed horribly, “T-that...I-I liked other mares...” She took a deep breath before continuing. “They cornered me in the locker room and forced me to...make out...with another mare. They took a lot of pictures and made sure that just about everypony in Cloudsdale saw them. At that point, I guess my parents just couldn’t take it anymore.” Dash began sobbing, tears flowing more freely. “They left me...” She finally collapsed and started bawling, cries interrupted only once in a short while by stuttering chantas of “They left me”’. Aramis gazed upon her with a sad look before standing up and walking over to her seat, wrapping her small body in his arms, “What those bullies did, what your parents did, what everypony involved did...there is nothing in this world that can forgive them for it...b-but, you persevered above it all. You had the strength to make it somewhere...something I didn’t have the capacity to do for myself...” he cradled her gently, running a hand through her soft, short locks of prismatic hair. Carrying her crying body in his arms, he walked the short distance to their room and sat down on his bed, rubbing her back as she cried, “I didn’t have the misfortune of suffering something like you did, but I also lost everything I had. Back where I use to live, my parents started falling apart...Dad just became a monster and mom couldn’t deal with it anymore so they divorced.” Aramis was quiet for several minutes, absentmindedly rubbing her still shaking form. Dash broke out of her sobs long enough to raise her head and look at Aramis from the crook of his arm with tear-filled eyes, “Wha...what’s a divorce?” she asked with a weak voice. “It’s when two married people decide to split up,” Aramis answered, too lost in thought to notice Dash’s horrified expression, “I wanted to stay with mom, but my dad wasn’t hearing any of it. Tried to force me to stay...by the time I managed to leave, I had found out my mom ran off...” The young man sighed deeply before continuing, eyes misting up at the thought, “Before I ended up here with Graham, I never found out what happened to her...” Rainbow’s tears began once more, now coming out of pity for the unfortunate human sitting next to her, “Aramis... I’m so sorry...” He rubbed away her tears gently with his thumb, “It isn’t your fault Dashie...I honestly have Graham to thank I’m even around. He and I were both in the same boat. I only had two people who truly cared about me...Graham and Gypsy. They’re all I have to live for...and now, I’ve only got one of them...” Aramis let out a sniff, exhaling deeply before he began again, “And now we’re stuck in Equestria. I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore...I don’t know why I’m doing ANYTHING. I just don’t know anymore, Dashie...” he simply couldn’t take the pain and began to weep into Rainbow Dash, nuzzling his face into her chest as they both cried on his bed, holding onto each like a life raft. Chapter 14: Day 2; Mission: Code AppleLife on the farm was different for Bromley. Very different. Not in the ways that most people would think though. His muscles were already toned, used to hard labor and long days, but his brain wasn’t ready for the amount of affection he was getting from the strange family he was living with. Meals had never been cooked for him outside of formal parties. People had never stopped him in the middle of his job to offer him a sweet, delicious glass of apple juice. He was never invited to sit in front of a fire to sip apple cider with his employer. All in all, it was a new experience, but not unwelcome. “Yall need a break Brom?” The man being spoken to was drawn out of his thoughts by Applejack. “I am fine. Thank you though.” Bromley replied, pushing his sweaty black hair back, before raising his leg and slamming it into the tree in front of him. The tree shook for a second, apples falling out. He had learned the day before that kicking too hard or too low would break the bark. “Honestly, do yall always speak so formal? For Celestia’s sake loosen up.” Applejack gently teased the human as she trotted around, catching the apples that Bromley knocked loose, and picking up the few she missed. Bromley shrugged. “As you wish.” At that, he lifted his black shirt over his head, tossing aside the sweaty shirt. “That’s it!” Applejack grinned, though purposefully ignored the heat in her cheeks. Her eyes widened though as she spotted the gray, metal part of his arm that was now exposed. Bromley stared into her eyes as she examined the appendage, and was actually surprised when she didn’t shy away, but instead got closer. “That’s there is real in-erestin’... Didja used to have a real arm?” Bromley offered a stiff nod and she smiled up at him pitiously. Bromley’s still gloved fists clenched at the action. “Don’t be sorry for me. I only lost it because I was weak.” Bromley seemed to bite out the words, and he turned away from her. Applejack was left speechless, and could only stare as Bromley kicked at another tree. The bark broke. Off. Bromley stood in the shower, just letting the hot water pour over his sweaty body and sore muscles. Even after years of constant running and kicking, his legs were not used to the hard work of the farm. The unconventional methods they used for harvesting didn’t really bother him, but they were tiring. Slowly, his body relaxed, and shortly after cleaning he left the shower. He glared down at the dirty clothes that he had worn that day. He really needed to see if he could get some more, as having just one set of clothes was becoming a nightmare. With a sigh, he scrubbed them using the castile soap in the tub. Content that they were clean, he slipped his towel around his waist, put his gloves on and left the bathroom wearing just that. He hung his clothes outside on a tree, then rejoined the Apple family for dinner. He took his seat next to big mac, who was chowing down on some hay and salad, with some apple dumplings. He helped himself to the dumplings, and grabbed a single slice of bread, keeping far away from the hay. “How ya liking your job?” Big Mac asked, his face stretching into a grin that belied his intelligence. Bromley smirked back. “Its a real kick in the pants.” Not a single laugh was given. Everyone just stared at Bromley in shock. Applejack’s jaw was actually hanging open. “Did you just make a joke?” Apple Bloom said, eyes still wide. Bromley raised a brow at their reactions, calmly stuffing a dumpling into his mouth while nodding. “Get Nurse Red Heart. We got an emergency!” Applejack yelled, rushing to the sink to get a wet cloth in case Bromley had a fever. Bromley laid on the couch, now dressed in his sun warmed clothes and basking in the fire’s light. Outside, the sun had almost completely set. He let out a content sigh, listening to the calming noise of the Apple Family laughing and talking. Big Mac wrestled with Applebloom while Granny Smith commentated and Applejack just laughed, filling the room with pure joy. Bromley let a smile stretch across his face. Where he was from, the scene from this very room was so rare. It reminded him of those old TV shows he would watch when he was little, of the perfect family that occasionally had a little squabble but loved each other deeply and would give anything to make each other happy. It was so unlike what he had grown up seeing though. Every day, the news would describe in graphic detail, a new breaking news story about a father killing his child, or a mother brutally beating her helpless child. Bone chilling tales of grandparents being murdered for their considerable wealth, or sometimes stories of a brother raping his sister, or outright killing his other siblings in a jealous rage would be told, but it didn’t matter. It was obvious. Humans were outright controlled by greed, jealousy, and hate. Bromley’s red gaze turned towards the loving, happy family and for once he made his own decision. For once he decided to give himself a new mission. A goal. “My new mission is to protect the Apple Family in any way possible with my very life. Mission started: June 6th, 8:00 P.M. Mission Terminates at: Unknown Time.” Chapter 15: UnityCelestia looked at the man and changeling in a mix of shock, horror, and a hint of disgust. She thought over any possible reason that Graham would ever bring over a changeling. Why didn’t a single guard in her castle even try to stop him? Were they stupid? Asleep on the job? Or was Graham that skilled at hiding even the most villainous of creatures in the open? She tried to relay her disbelief. “W-wha...ho--” “All I did was walk in. Nothing that hard.” Celestia almost wanted to blast the thing in front of her into bits. It would be simple, efficient, and even better, for the good of Equestria! All she would have to do was blast it with a spell from her horn. In fact, what was stopping her... Suddenly, the changeling lept from Graham’s arms and landed just short of her throne, bowing deeply as soon as it hit the ground. Celestia recoiled slightly in shock, wondering what trick the creature was trying to pull. Her shock only increased further as it began to speak. “Celestia, ruler of Equestria, the Keeper of Harmony, Guardian of the Sun. I am honored to meet you in person at last.” “Who...who’re--” Graham stepped towards her, standing next to his friend, and chuckled, “Didn’t I just say he’s one of my friends? His name’s Jack, like I said earlier, and you brought him here through your portal.” Celestia gaped at him and rapidly shifted her attention to the changeling, then back to Graham, then back again, “But...Jack is a human, isn’t he?” “I can explain, princess,” the changeling said, still bowing. “Discord meant to play a practical joke on us, and it seems the effects are irreversible.” Then it chuckled, “Though I can’t say I’m adverse to the side-effects.” “I’ll have to do something about Discord later... But for now, I ask of you to bring Aramis here, so that I may speak to all three—” “Four.” “...What?” Graham scratched the back of his head and thought it over. “Well, remember when you, Luna and Discord thought your spell didn’t work the first time? Well, turned out someone did pop up from that.” Celestia felt so stupid. How could she not see that her spell worked the first time? She summoned two men and a dog before, how could she believe it didn’t work under the power of three entities? “I cannot believe I didn’t see that it worked.” She put a hoof to her face as she shook her head. Graham chuckled. “It can happen to just about anyone--pony! Jeez. Anyway, you didn’t know, so what? Now you do.” Celestia could understand that. She wasn’t all-knowing, like so many of her subjects believed. She was one of few remaining Alicorns, yes. But that didn’t say anything about her supposed “all knowing wit” that the ponies of Equestria, for one reason or another, deemed her to have. “I suppose you’re right Graham”, the princess conceded, “But as I was saying, I would like you to go back to Ponyville and gather up all of your friends, human and pony.” “But wait, why can’t you just get a guard or two, and rush ‘em over here by chariot or something? Isn’t that just a tiny bit easier than just sending me and a bug to go get them?” Jack’s head came up from his bow and he glared at Graham, “Well, fuck you too, my good sir.” “You’re welcome.” Graham grinned back. Celestia thought it out in her head. Sending two guards would be much easier than sending a changeling out with Graham. If anypony were to see Jack the way he was, especially since the ponies were just getting over the incident during the royal wedding, they would have a panic attack. They’d gather pitchforks and torches just to kill the poor thing. And sending Graham out on his own, would probably take a while to do, since he wasn’t going to pull them all together under a few hours. He didn’t have the speed of a pegasus. Sending professionals would be good enough, and quicker too. “Graham, you’re absolutely right. I’ll send two of my quickest guards immediately.” With this in mind, Celestia took the orders on parchment, and sent them to her chosen help via magic. Outside, both were preparing the chariot to take off. As soon as they were ready, they flew into the air, towards Ponyville. There, they would gather Bromley and Aramis, as well as the element bearers... The only one that they wouldn’t find there was Twilight. After Graham had run off after Jack, she went towards her old study hall, which was located on the east side of the palace. Graham, remembering that Twilight didn’t return to Ponyville after that event, decided it was a good idea to get her himself. Discovering her location through Celestia, he went off with Jack at his side to guide her back into the throne room for this ‘special meeting’. Graham, with Jack on his back once more, took to the halls to locate the study hall Twilight cooped herself in. “I wish they had directories or something. This place is a nightmare.” Graham muttered as they traveled the halls, finding themselves to be lost. Jack chuckled, “Tell me about it. You think I knew where I was going when I ran off? It was dumb luck...well, dumb or horrible, depending on how you look at it...that I wound up in the gardens.” “Well do you know where we are right now? It’d probably be nice to have some form of idea how close we are to Twilight’s old study hall.” Jack flew off from Graham’s back and looked around, grinning when he saw a window a little further down the hall. His wings suddenly buzzed to life and lifted him up in the air, bringing him up to Graham’s eye level, “Wait here,” he said, before flying out the window he had spotted. Graham, being impatient as always, leaned up on a wall and sat there, toying with his fingers. A few moments later, Jack zoomed back into the hallway to meet up with his big friend. “We just need to head upstairs a couple flights, nothing too bad.” Jack smiled widely and patted Graham on the shoulder, “Have fun with that.” He promptly flew back out the window, cackling as he went. “Stupid bug.” He said under his breath as he walked up the stairs. About ten minutes passed by until he finally reached his destination. Jack was nowhere to be found once Graham finally arrived at Twilight’s study hall, so the man headed in by himself. Opening the door, he noticed Twilight caught in a book. She didn’t turn around, nor did she hear him come in as he snuck over. He was right behind her, with his arms hanging high... “Now I just need that quill, and--” She was interrupted by a roar from behind, startling her and making her jump straight up into the air, where a pair of arms grabbed hold of her. Twilight managed to turn herself enough to see it was Graham who had grabbed her, and who was now laughing his head off. The unicorn gave a small buck to the man’s gut, just hard enough to get him to let go, which he did with a small grunt. Twilight gave an indignant huff as she landed, immediately turning around fully to berate Graham for his immature behavior, “Graham, what was that for!?” She yelled, “I’m in the middle of some very important research, and the last thing I need is playful interruptions!” The man merely laughed at Twilight’s outburst and continued well after she was finished scolding him. The mare rolled her eyes and moved to get back into her seat... “Hello? Twilight?” Said unicorn immediately perked up at the voice, an immensely wide smile replacing her frown as she spun around to see the best foal-sitter ever standing in the doorway. “Cadence!” She cried, bolting to the alicorn and wrapping her hooves around Cadence’s neck in a tight hug. The cupid winced at the immediate constriction of her airway, but returned the hug with only slightly less force. “Twilight!” she said once said mare had let her go, “It’s so good to see you again.” “What are you doing here?” Twilight asked, “I thought you were coming back next week from your honeymoon!” Cadence laughed good-naturedly, “Your brother forgot to hand off some orders to the next-in-command, so I just made a quick stop to drop them off.” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? You let some silly orders interrupt your honeymoon?” “Well, normally I wouldn't've, but Shiny was just so worried that something would go wrong. I couldn’t bear to see him so stressed, so I told him I’d drop them off super quick.” Cadence rolled her eyes, smiling, “Believe me, your brother puts up just as much of a fuss as you are right now.” The alicorn looked behind Twilight to see a still giggling Graham. She looked back to the younger Sparkle, taker her turn to raise an eyebrow, “Who, or what, is that?” “Oh, sorry,” Twilight apologized. She gestured to Graham, who by now had finally stopped laughing and came over to greet Cadence. “This is my friend Graham,” Twilight started, “He’s what’s called a human. Graham, Cadence. Cadence, Graham.” Cadence bowed slightly, “It’s a pleasure.” Not really having another option, Graham returned the bow, “Same here.” Cadence stood up and turned to Twilight, “Well, it’s about time I got going. Shiny’s not going to be happy if I take too long.” She giggled. “He’s probably stressed out as it is.” Twilight smiled in understanding, “You’re probably right about that. I’ll see you next week!” Cadence turned to leave, but paused and bit her lip before smiling and turning back to Twilight, “For old times’ sake?” she asked with a wink. The unicorn giggled and crouched in preparation. Graham watched the two mares as they began their age-old nursery rhyme. “Sunshine, sunshine,” they sang, alternating left and right pairs of hooves as they bounced in place. “Ladybugs awake!” The pair dropped down to the ground, covering their eyes for a split second before lifting their hooves and looking at each other. “Clap your hooves,” they sat on their haunches and did just that: clapping their hooves with each other. “And do a little-“ “-shake!” “-SHAPESHIFT!” With a yell and a burst of green flames, ‘Cadence’ withered away to reveal a hugely grinning, red-eyed, but otherwise normal, changeling. Twilight, mid-hind-shaking, stayed exactly as she was, unmoving aside from her jaw dropping to, quite literally, hit the floor. Graham had a similar reaction, slouching slightly forward out of disbelief. The changeling patted a still-immobile Twilight on the head, “You, my dear, fell for that like a metric ton of bricks dropped out of a space shuttle on reentry.” It then buzzed up to Graham and did the same to him, “And you, mein freund, bought that like a Team Fortress 3 Special Edition.” “Stop making me dream of things that’ll never happen, you asshole!” Graham shouted towards the buzzing creature. *** Meanwhile at Sweet Apple Acres, work was going fairly smoothly. Except that the barn apparently needed to be rebuilt. Applejack saw absolutely no reason for doing so. “Why do we need to tear it down Big Mac?” Applejack was currently in her brother’s face, glaring irritably while her brother stared her down. “Because sis, you let your stupid dog piss all over the place in there, and the walls lit on fire when you didn’t stir the hay. Go look in there. Its nasty. Y’all got no one to blame cept’ yourself. And so y'all are gonna take care of this.” Big Macintosh trotted away from his sister, satisfied with his explanation. Applejack heaved a sigh, turning to face Bromley who was standing next to a tree outside of the house. “Hey. Ya feel like doin’ me a favor?” Bromley raised an eyebrow in response. *** It was surprisingly quiet in the streets of Ponyville, almost as if Zecora had decided to pay a visit. Almost no ponies were out in the open, and the few that did looked in the opposite direction as the human meandered his way into town. Bromley took in the sights of the colorful buildings and decorative flowers, ignoring the tense atmosphere around him. Applejack had told him to go get a pegasus (apparently those things also existed) named Rainbow Dash to help her demolish the barn. Thus far, Bromley had to see any pegasus in the area. Aramis had just left the market area with bags of groceries he was going to drop off at the library for Rainbow Dash to pick up later. As he walked, he took notice of how empty the streets were. He was a bit concerned, remembering that they had been crowded with ponies a mere half hour ago. “Well that’s a bit strange...” he commented quietly. He marched forwards regardless until he saw a vague shape of a bipedal creature in the distance, “The fuck... No way, another human? When the hell did this happen and who forgot to give me a goddamn memo!?” he muttered, annoyed to no end. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself as he closed the gap between them. The human had stopped walking at this point, turning slightly to stare blankly at Aramis as he approached. “Didn’t know Celestia brought another human here.” Aramis said nonchalantly. “I was not informed Graham has human companions.” Bromley replied evenly. Aramis brushed a strand of brown hair behind his air, “Been here since the start, what else can I say?” “Aren’t you cool?” Bromley said apathetically, blinking in response. “If you say so.” he said with a small grin. “Apparently you have more brains then the fat one.” Bromley said, letting a smirk crossed his face. Aramis laughed loudly, “Someone had to be the smarter of the two. Otherwise, we’d be dead with his lack of luck.” Bromley’s smirk faded as he talked again, “Who are you anyway?” Aramis extended a hand forward in greeting, “Aramis.” Bromley shook it firmly, while Aramis’ eyes widened as he felt how cold and solid his gloved hand was, “A pleasure to meet you. What brings you around these parts of town?” “‘These parts’? So far there isn’t any shad—” A chariot descended from the sky and landed in front of them. One of the guards who flew it addressed them, “Are you two the humans who go by the name of Aramis and Bromley?” “We are.” Aramis answered for them. “Please board the chariot as we have express orders from the Princesses to bring the humans and bearers of the Element of Harmony. Aramis looked at them puzzled, “But what about Rainbow Da—” “She’ll most likely be on her way if you have yet to see her.” The two humans boarded the chariot, but not without Aramis’ complaining, “God damn, can someone just give me a fuckin’ memo.” he said as he sat across from Bromley who rolled his eyes and stared out the window. *** BONK! A loud thud was heard throughout the halls as Twilight used her hoof to land a good buck to Jack’s head. His vision spun as he laughed in a deranged manner, recuperating from the blow. Twilight calmly walked towards Jack, her horn lighting up, “I’m going to do bad things to you, Changeling. Right now.” Jack’s giggling continued as he stumbled out the door, slowly going from a unsteady to a walk, then a full-on gallop as he sped away from the pissed-off unicorn, now hot on his heels. His laughter echoed through the halls as he sped away, clearly not caring he had angered the Element of Magic, of all ponies. “Twilight! Wait up! God, why is everyone so freaking fast!” Graham hollered as he struggled to catch up to his friends. Jack was speeding away from Twilight as he dodged a bolt or two of magic. Practically calling this a game, he flew through a hallway and around a corner, making sure that she was still following him. Everything was going smoothly... Twilight rounded the same corner and quickly ground to a halt when Jack was nowhere in sight. Her eye twitched involuntarily as she searched the hallway, looking for any trace of the changeling. Her ear twitched as she heard a familiar voice “Twilight! Warten Sie!” She looked over and braced for a collision with the man, but found that it didn’t come. Instead he was a foot away from her, breaking a sweat and catching his breath. “He’s not—” “Not now, Graham, don’t you see that a changeling was trying to get a hold of me!? Why, if that thing got any closer, it would’ve tried to subdue me with that green goo!” Graham tried reasoning with her, but she would have none of it. As soon as she heard a slight buzzing sound in the furthest part of the hallway, she bolted towards the source, ignoring Graham’s calls after her. The human let out a groan and took a step forward when a movement to his right caught his attention. Looking next to him, he saw a rather well-carved gargoyle statue snarling at him. “Huh, didn’t know ponies liked gargoyles...” he muttered. A sudden purple flash startled him, and he looked down to see a somewhat disheveled Twilight, her eyes purple dots on white orbs. “Twi! Mother of fuck, don’t do that!” He wheezed as he tried to catch what breath he could, as all of it was taken as he screamed from the scare. “Not now Graham,” the mare said in a voice that was panicked, yet creepily calm, “We’ve got a changeling on the loose, and if it can do a Cadence impersonation that well, it’s going to be just a tiny bit of a problem if we don’t CATCH IT!” Graham sighed, “Twilight, I’ve been trying to—” “None of that!” she interrupted, turning around and walking off, “We’ve got a bug to find!” “Hey!” Graham and Twilight jumped and looked at the source of the yell: the gargoyle. “I resent that comment.” It said calmly. “There’s our little bundle of joy.” The man joked as he snatched Jack from the pedestal, “See? Harmless as a cricket. There’s nothing to worry about.” “Fuck you and your ‘bug’ comments.” Jack snapped, reverting to his changeling self with a flash of green flames. “Oh come on, Jack, stop being a big old girl and just focus on what we gotta do now.” Graham ordered as he put the creature over his shoulder and headed back towards the throne room. Jack furrowed his brow, suddenly deep in thought. “You know...I’m not sure changelings even have genders...though considering there’s a ‘queen’, there must be some higher-level differentiation between important members of a hive...of course, there’s always the possibility that...” His ramblings continued, nopony really paying attention to his in-depth observations of changeling society and physiology. “Blahblahblah...” Graham muttered as they opened the door to the throne room. Inside, Celestia sat in the same spot she always did. “Good to see you again, my friends.” She said in her sweet and regal voice. “Nice to see you too, Celestia. We brought Twilight here, like you asked.” Graham said. “Much trolling was involved!” Jack added with a grin. “Yeah, pipe down, you weeping willow cricket hybrid.” Graham said toward him. “I will eviscerate you if you keep that up.” Jack warned, subtly showing off his fangs. He felt no intimidation, and ignored him as he looked back up to the princess. “So what exactly did you need us for?” Graham asked Celestia as the doors slowly opened. Bromley and Aramis, guided by two guards walked to the four in the room. “My lady, we have retrieved the humans you wished to see.” One pegasus bowed his head to honor the solar ruler. “Very good, you are dismissed.” She waved a hoof, and the two were gone. “Thanks for the memo, Princess.” Aramis said sarcastically as he walked up to the group. Jack buzzed off of Graham’s shoulder to look at the new arrivals. His jaw dropped the moment he laid eyes on Aramis. “A...Aramis?” He asked, then paused for a moment, “I think I’ve officially established I’m about as high as the I.S.S.” Aramis gazed at the changeling, “What’s it to ya?” “Giygas in a box, ya trollish asshole.” “Jack?” he asked with an eyebrow raised. “No, your mother,” the changeling said sarcastically. “Well, I be damned; if it isn’t Jack the Ripper.” he replied nonchalantly, “Who’s your latest slaughter, Palin? Spears? Simpson?” Jack laughed loudly, “Generosity, if I can help it.” Bromley didn’t pay much attention to the conversation going on between the two, but he had enough, “If both of you are done talking, I think the big white horse wants to talk.” “And who are you?” The changeling buzzed up to Bromley and narrowed his eyes slightly. “Bromley. That’s all you need to know.” He replied calmly, not intimidated by his gaze. “If all three of you are finished?” Graham asked with annoyance clear in his voice. He watched as all three of them stopped talking. “Thank you.” Twilight said as she looked back at Celestia. “I have called all of you here to ask each of you, how are you enjoying our way of life? Are you comfortable here?” Graham stepped up to the princess with a smile on his face, “It’s going great! I love being here. Twilight and Spike are practically family to me now. Taking care of me the way they do, I feel like I’m being spoiled!” He ended his part with a laugh, and stepped down, letting Aramis through. Aramis approached the princess, and offered a friendly wave that Princess Celestia returned. “Uh...I admit, I wasn’t too adverse to the idea of being here. In fact, I was flat out terrified and annoyed. Terrified that I was separated from what few people I had in my life, annoyed that everypony here expected me to simply accept the facts and move on. I didn’t really care for the ponies here until Rainbow Dash made it her mission to get me to open up a little...” he smiled at her, a genuine smile on his face, causing her to blush abashedly, “And then I came to love a lot of things about this place. The food, the locales, and the ponies.” He bowed before politely stepping back and allowing whoever wished to speak next to do so. Bromley was the next to come forth, “I may have not been here for very long, but I appreciate the hospitality I’ve been shown. I certainly didn’t expect it. I think you should know I’ve made it a personal mission to protect the Apple family for...a variety of reasons.” He bowed swiftly, “That is all.” Bromley stepped back and allowed Jack to walk up and bow respectfully, “Many thanks for your concern, princess. I confess, I did not expect to be in Equestria at any point in my life, nor did I expect such a drastic...change in appearance. However, I am appreciative of Discord’s ‘prank’, no matter the intent. I promise to keep any disruptions to a minimum.” With that, the changeling stood up and walked back to the humans. “So it sounds like all of you are enjoying yourselves. I’m glad that, even with some unexpected events, that everypony is alright.” Celestia said with a smile, “I also realized that each of you have found somepony that you enjoy being around, such as Bromley and Applejack. And I also realize that each of you, except Jack, has also taken a home with each pony.” She turned to Jack. “We will have to find you a home, Jack.” Jack laughed, “With all due respect, princess, good fuckin’ luck!” He gestured to himself. “I’m a frickin’ changeling! Noling likes changelings!” “Already saying stuff with ‘ling’ in it?” Graham asked, but stopped himself from thinking any further, “Nevermind, anyway, why not Fluttershy’s house? He could bunk with her! She’s his favorite pony back at home, and I’m sure the both of them can get along just fine. Besides, this gives me a reason to go get Gypsy from her. She’s been taking care of her since we got here.” Jack chuckled, “And how exactly do you plan to get her to take me in? Regardless of how kind she is, you still fail to see the point: I’m a motherfuckin’ changeling.” “Oh, I know a way, and it’s my favorite way.” He said with a smirk across his features, “If there’s one thing she’ll do for just about any living creature, it’s take care of the sick, and/or dying...” “Well then, I hope she’s well versed in human physiology.” Celestia stopped them with a raised hoof, “We are not to have anything like that.” Graham upon hearing this, replied with an ‘aww’. “No, instead, I will send a letter to Fluttershy, and explain to her your situation. She will understand, and take you in.” “I hope so princess,” Jack sighed. “If not, I can always go conquer the rest of my race...” “You’re not doin’ that, besides you’d have to be a girl first. Clearly you’re not.” Graham retorted, “Anyways, so we’re all set to go?” Celestia could see the excitement in the man’s eyes, and gave him a nod. “Whoo-hoo! Oktoberfest!” He shouted in the air, and bolted out the door with Twilight, while the others took their sweet time leaving. “You know...” Aramis begun as they walked out of the Canterlot Castle towards the chariots, “I guess you could say things ended up being a...” he pulled out a pair of aviators, “Happily ever after.” Three groans sounded in unison. *** As the humans left the throne room, the doors closed behind them, leaving Celestia alone. ALMOST alone. Unnoticed by anypony, the shadows behind the throne shone with two red orbs, soon followed by a spreading array of razor-sharp white teeth. With a low, quiet chuckle, the demonic features faded away into the shadows... Chapter 8: "A Personal Wrong to Correct"The morning sun slowly rose over the wondrous land of Equestria. The sun shone through the windows in the castle, its warming rays hitting the faces of all who were still asleep. Graham woke up with the glare of sunlight in his eyes, causing him to squint as he sat up. Looking over to his side, he saw Twilight stir from her sleep as well. With a smile, he watched as the pony looked up, copying the same expression. “Hey there, sleepy head.” Graham said softly, Twilight rubbed her eyes, still a little groggy. “Mmn... morning...” she said as high as a whisper. While both of them were still waking up, they enjoyed the warmth of Celestia’s Sun. They stayed that way for several minutes until Twilight slowly hopped off the bed into the sunlight directly, her body relaxing a bit as the warmth hit her coat. Graham only watched her from his sitting position, not bothering to get up just yet. Suddenly the door opened with a big slam to the wall as Pinkie Pie walked right in, making the two jump in surprise. "Gooood morning!!!" Pinkie shouted with a huge, shining smile, "I brought breakfast!" Right after these words she presented a tray of pancakes and waffles, an all but healthy meal for a breakfast. “Jeez, Pinkie. Gimme some warning next time you do that!” Graham shouted between pants, as he tried to calm down from the fright he felt. “Sorry, Graham, I just wanted to wish you a happy morning!” She said as she bounced and giggled. She closed the door behind her on her way out, leaving the breakfast for them to enjoy. “How can a pony like her have so much energy?” He quickly slapped his face with his palm to realize it was a needless question, “Right, because she’s Pinkie.” Twilight only laughed as she picked up a waffle on a plate and poured a bit of syrup on it, “You’ll get used to that. She’s just trying to be nice.” “I know she is, but Jesus H. Christ it’s too early in the morning!” Twilight tilted her head. “Who’s Jesus?” Twilight asked out loud as Graham looked at her. “Ehhh...No one important. Back on earth, he’s supposed to my people’s god’s son. Those people are called “Christians.” He sighed, “And I’m not one of them. I’m what’s called an “Atheist”. “What are those things?” Twilight only tilted her head. “They’re people who do not believe in a god, or that kinda stuff. That sort of stuff gets in the way of your life. I lost so many friends back when I was still in school because someone told me to go read the “Bible” or “Become a Christian and save your soul from the devil”, or some shit. “It sounds like you didn't really enjoy that at all,” Twilight’s ears folded back as Graham lied back down. He took a deep breath before he continued, “It’s not that, it’s just...Religion in my view is unnecessary. A lot of people on our home planet follow some obscure religion because they lack faith in themselves and are incapable to pull through tough times on their own or with help from friends and family. So instead of becoming self-sufficient they become reliant on some religious figure head no one’s ever seen.” Graham said as he sighed again. Twilight’s ears folded again as she walked up and nudged him. “Graham, everypony has an opinion on things, some ponies even believed Discord was our true ruler, some ponies still do! But we only try to keep things like that to ourselves so as to not hurt their feelings, or offend them.” Graham opened an eye to look at her, “If only more people on my home planet were more like you, Twilight. The problem I have with all religions back home, was that people didn't know how to stop trying to convert me, and take no for an answer! All they did was try to shove their beliefs down other people’s throats like arrogant pricks!” Graham sat up during his outburst waving his arms in the air. Twilight cringed as he held his mouth, “I’m sorry, Twilight, but sometimes I get upset over the whole religion thing...It’s not that I hate religion...it’s the people who follow it. I just wish that they would stop trying to convert others and just enjoy themselves for once.” Twilight nodded, “I understand, Graham. It’s really okay. We don’t have to talk about it...” Twilight nuzzled him to reassure she would keep her word on the matter. Graham hugged her head gently before letting go to take a cupcake from the table. As he ate his fill, he looked over to see Twilight looking at him in slight disbelief, “What’s wrong?” He asked her, eating what was left of the food on the table. “I’m just surprised you could eat all of that so quickly! Do other humans eat that quickly? Or that much?” Graham could only chuckle, as he turned around in the chair he was sitting in. Twilight looked at him curiously. “Most people that I know of can’t really eat as fast or as much as I can—well except maybe Aramis, but that’s because he’s been around me for so long. You see, there’s an entire world of different kind of eaters. Since we’re Omnivores, we eat all kind of things, from fish, meats, leafy greens, and even artificial foods. Some humans prefer greens over everything else, those people are called vegetarians...” He went on about all kinds of different eaters, including the ‘meat and potatoes’ kinda guys, the junk food eaters, and health nuts, who only eat what they believed to be organic. “...As for the fast eating? Well, I think everyone has their speeds, and frankly, I shouldn't be eating as fast as I did just now. Don't wanna put on any more weight than I have to, ya’ know.” He said with a light laugh, smacking his gut to get his point across. Twilight looked as he performed his action and only looked at him in concern. “Graham, I can tell you’re pretty depressed about your weight...How much do you weigh?” Graham blinked at her accusation, but he knew deep down he was a little upset about his lack of restraint over food, and how he didn't exercise much, even back at home. “Well, um...about two-hundred and twenty-five pounds...” He practically whispered his words, but her keen sense of hearing able to pick them up just fine. “I’m guessing that’s not considered a healthy weight you’re supposed to have? How much are your kind supposed to weigh?” Her question stung him, because of the fact that he was nowhere near the target weight. “Well for someone as tall as me, I’m supposed to weight around one hundred and seventy five or so pounds...” He silently said as Twilight only frowned at him. “Graham...are you really unhappy with your weight? I mean, you could exercise, possibly eat healthier.” Graham looked at her and sighed once more. “I know I could, but...I don't know what’s stopping me! I know I can do it, but...” “Is it that you don't have any inspiration?” He looked at her blankly. Was it really that simple? He thought for a moment and looked back at her. “I guess so, I mean I never really had any inspiration before...I know Aramis tried doing it once, but he’s not the greatest coach, you know?” He chuckled at his own joke. Twilight could only smile as she sat down. “I know that I may not be the most athletic pony around...but if you wanted me to accompany you on a walk around Ponyville, I’d be happy to go along!” She looked into his eyes, which reflected equal excitement. A soft smile spread across his face, and Graham hugged Twilight gently, “I would love that very much, Twilight.” After a few moments, he let go and looked at the outside world through the tall window, a cloudless blue sky streaked across the beautiful magical land. He looked at the vista for several moments before he felt a nudge at his side. He smiled warmly at Twilight and moved over a bit to give her room, neither of them uttering a word. They stood there for what could have felt to be a peaceful eternity, until a loud knock interrupted their comfortable silence. “Princess Celestia has asked me to round you all up and take you to the court grounds where you will be flown back to Ponyville by chariot ride.” The guard stated formally, patiently waiting for a response from the two friends. “Okay, we’ll get the rest of the group and be right on our way!” Twilight shouted back to the guard. “Alright, but don’t take too long.” “We won’t!” and with that Twilight and Graham made their guest bed and walked out into the hall. They went around knocking door to door, and patiently waited for their friends to regroup. Most of them came out of their rooms, looking well rested and relaxed. Two particular friends had yet to make haste to catch up with the rest of the group as they were busy conversing. Aramis’ eyes fluttered opened and he lay back on the bed, staring emptily at the ceiling. Last night had proven to be very “food for thought”, with the background history of a god that abandoned the place he was in, only to be replaced by something made of pure evil. It was a lot think about, but he’d piece it together at his own rate. Turning his head to the other side of the bed, he saw Rainbow Dash sleeping quietly, her monochromatic bangs shrouding most of her face. An occasional lock of her mane would drift upwards from how strong she breathed. Reaching outwards, he gently shook her awake and waited. When her eyes slowly opened, he was greeted by her big rose colored eyes that looked fogged over, “Huzza whuzza mah...” Rainbow Dash grumbled incomprehensibly before turning over and falling asleep again. “Rainbow,” Aramis called gently to her, “You need to get up, the rest of the group is probab—” He was interrupted by a loud, irritating knock at the door. Rainbow Dash was startled awake, jumping unto her hooves, looking ready to fight, “Alright! Whose there!?” she barked loudly, nostrils flaring as she prepared to pounce an enemy. “Hurry up you two! The guards are waiting for us in the courtyard and I rather get a chariot ride than walk back to Ponyville, IF you don’t mind!” Graham shouted, though his face betrayed his voice; a wide grin stretched across his face. One of Rainbow Dash’s eyes twitched irritatedly, “Can you calm down!? We’ll be there in a bucking second!” she shouted. Aramis looked at her apologetically, “Sorry Rainbow, I tried to wake you up and you didn’t want to,” he explained quietly, before grinning sheepishly, “At least until Graham decided to be the waking call.” She rolled her eyes and hopped off the bed, helping Aramis in fixing up the bed before promptly joining the group. ”Alright, were ready! Can we go now!?” Rainbow Dash asked impatiently. Graham just nodded, and with that; the group diligently walked through the castle halls until they reached the court yard where both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna waited for the group, a chariot ready to take them back to Ponyville. “Good morning everypony. It was very nice having your company here.” Celestia warmly greeted. “It was certainly more...dynamic than most of the company that visits us here at the castle.” Luna commented, a smirk pulling at her lips. “Thanks for letting us sleep over, princesses, it was definitely better than back home.” Graham said, going down on one knee to show respect. “It was nothing, honest. You’re welcome here at any time.” Luna replied with a warm smile. Graham thought about something about the meeting, that he wanted to bring up, and walked up to them calmly, “Just a quick question...It’s about Discord.” Celestia raised an eyebrow, “Yes?” “Well...I wanted to ask...If you and Discord had something going on before, do you still have feelings after all this time?” The others looked at him as if he just said ‘jump off a bridge’ to the princess himself. Twilight pushed him away for a brief minute to say something, but was stopped by a big hand covering her mouth. “Twilight, I know you don't necessarily care for him, but every single person, pony, or any creature deserves a chance at redemption. Sure he caused chaos twice, but who knows, he might have some good in him. I mean, you preached once that friendship is worth fighting for, so fight for this friendship!” Everyone heard this easily. Those words struck them harder than anything they had ever felt before. It was like venom to their ears...but at the same time, it was all called for. All of them felt guilty for their previous actions, with turning him to stone, accusing him of harming other ponies, and all sorts of things. Celestia gathered the strength to speak once more. “I...I never thought of it that way...” She was showing signs of her guilt, staring at him and then looking back down at the marble floor, “Perhaps...we were too quick to judge Discord.” She looked back at the two humans and spoke in a more serious tone, “I have a personal wrong to correct. For now, your chariot back to town awaits.” Celestia said, eyes burning in determination in righting a wrong that had made her lose a close friend. Graham merely nodded his head in understanding, before walking past her, his friends repeating the gesture on their way to the chariot. The princesses said their goodbyes with the group, sending them off in the chariot that had been prepared for them. “Sister, are you sure this is a good idea? Letting loose chaos once more, all for the sake of a friendship that might not even be there?” Princess Luna asked as the chariot left. “If there is anything left of my dear friend, I will do anything to save him.” *** The chariot ride back to Ponyville was comfortably quiet, and almost everypony found something entertaining to do. Graham and Twilight talked quietly in hushed whispers so as to not bother the rest of their friends. Pinkie Pie played ‘I spy’ with Spike and Rarity, who were beginning to get frustrated at how easily the party mare repeatedly stumped them at the game. Applejack meanwhile, stared at the window with Fluttershy who was talking about a favorite species of plant or beautiful landmark that peppered the landscape they traveled over. To the amusement of everyone else though, it turned out Dash wasn’t the only one who easily fell asleep on chariot rides, as many found it cute to see her recline her head on Aramis’ shoulder as they both quietly slept; her rainbow mane draped over the front of his torso. An hour had passed by when the chariot set down in Ponyville Town Square. Almost everyone got off in a hurry, while Aramis took a few moments, taking a second to wake Rainbow Dash up from her little nap. The chariot flew off, and each of the ponies went back to their homes to start their duties. Twilight and Spike were the only ones that didn't leave the two men behind as they shuffled towards her tree home. After getting inside, they were greeted by Gypsy, who ran around them, her tail wagging a million miles an hour. After Graham got her to calm down, he sat in the nearest chair he could find. Twilight walked over, plopping herself down on the floor with a good book. Spike took the time to go upstairs into the bedroom for some sleep. She looked up at Graham and started to speak, “So what is it like being...well, human?” Graham looked down at her, obviously confused about why she was so interested. He didn't want to question her, so he went about with an answer. “Being human? Well, there’s nothing really anything interesting about being human. I mean, we got hands.” He said as he flexed his fingers, showing them in front of her as he did so. She kept staring, as if entranced by them. He quickly pulled them back as he spoke again, “We’re able to build things, such as buildings and weapons.” “Weapons? Why would you need any of those?” She asked immediately as the word was dropped. Graham only sighed. “Well, to put it frankly? Kill things. Kill animals for food, defend ourselves from dangerous animals, and even kill other humans.” She only gasped in horror at his answer, her ears flopping down upon her head. “Why...Why would you kill others of your kind? Have you...killed anypony?” He felt terrible about bringing up the whole “Weapons” thing, so he assured her that he had never killed anyone before. She calmed down after a minute and looked up once more. She figured that she walked right into it, since he was a whole other species, not found in Equestria’s lands at all. She wanted to learn a bit about his kind, and that’s what she was going to do. Graham continued after a quick yawn and a scratch on his belly. “You already know that we’re able to walk on two legs, and along with that, we have toes on our feet, unlike ponies or minotaurs.” He pulled off his left shoe and sock to show her what lay inside them: five toes that he wiggled to show her that they weren't just a set of appendages. She looked at them and smiled,“You humans are so interesting... So many things about you that make me want to learn more. But one more thing, what’s on the inside? Do you have the same organs as we do?” Graham scratched at his head. He really didn't know if pony anatomy would be the same. He remembered somewhere that horse anatomy is very similar, only a few organs were different. Thankfully, Aramis decided to drop in and save him the embarrassment. “Yes Twilight, horses and humans share a majority of organs, including reproductive ones. Although there are some differences regarding the time it takes for the baby to develop and be born along with some key organs that equines have that humans don’t have and vice versa, we’re pretty alike on the inside.” Aramis intelligently informed Twilight to the best of his abilities. Twilight and Graham blushed brightly at his wording, causing Aramis to smirk over his work. Aramis sat down on a nearby couch as the two shook it off and started talking again. “U-Uh...too much information, Aramis.” Graham shuddered. “So that’s what it’s like to be human...” Twilight said softly, looking at her book she was scribbling in. Graham felt a bit uncomfortable by this, but also strangely felt kind of nice about it: His favorite pony, being so interested in him all of a sudden made him feel good inside, despite the circumstances. Twilight stopped looking at him and thought to herself. A few quiet seconds passed by when she looked back at the two of them with a small smile, “Could you both do me a great big favor?” “Oh! Um, sure Twilight! What do you need?” “I’m running low on food, and I need to do some research on something. I’m wondering if you could quickly go to the food stands a little ways from here and pick up all the items on this list I had prepared earlier?” She made her horn glow as a parchment flew towards them, and opened up for them to see. Aramis grabbed the list and smiled. “Of course we can do this; this is easy as pie.” Aramis answered politely, nodding quietly to himself. “Did someone say pie?!” Pinkie Pie announced as she popped up from behind the two, giving them a jolt of surprise. “Jeez, Pinkie, this is the second time you scared me within a three hour lapse!” Graham said as he shook the fright off. Pinkie only giggled as she started bouncing around as she usually did. “Silly, it was actually three hours, twenty-four minutes, and thirty-six seconds!” He could only roll his eyes as the two started off on their little errand. As soon as they walked out the door, Twilight slammed it shut. A few thoughts formed in her head as she bolted towards her book. “What’cha doin’ with that book, Twilight?” Pinkie asked, plopping down on the floor next to her friend with a confused expression. Twilight looked over as she diligently went through the pages in the book she was using. “I was talking to Graham about being human and what it was like... His kind are so interesting, from their looks, to their bodies, they share many similarities to ponys. Did you know they don't have hooves inside those shoes of theirs? Yeah! They have these things called toes! Aramis told me a bit about the anatomy, but the one thing I found interesting...was Graham’s...” “Graham’s what? Head? Eyes? Hair?” She kept going until she said hooves, and stopped her there. “I believe he called them fingers.” Twilight said, a bit unsure of her pronunciation. “They’re just...so weird...” Pinkie Pie could only wonder why she would want to study these two humans. Twilight suddenly became extremely focused on her work. She put the book on an able surface as she wrote. “Humans are bipedal, which means that they are able to stand on only two legs. Balance is...” She kept going until she was finished, which took only a matter of minutes. When she looked over her work, she smiled with pride as she sighed. "Now I need to study their behavioral patterns...but how..." Suddenly she had an idea. "Pinkie, are you pondering what I'm pondering?" "I'm not sure, Twilight, but what does a sapphire taste like to a dragon? Blueberries? Or Raspberries?" Twilight sighed and put a fore hoof to her face. “I need behavioral research. All I have to do is watch them in a controlled environment, which would take a few weeks to work out.” “How’re you gonna do that, Twilight?” “Simple, I’ll watch them closely, making sure I’m not seen. One of these days when I'm not busy, I want to record their daily life alone in a controlled environment. One that will be the most comfortable for them.” “Ooooooh! Wait, how’re you gonna make them stay alone? And how're you gonna find out what they'll be comfortable with?” “I’ll have to find a way, but for now, I think I’ll keep writing. I have more information I need to record for this book I've been writing about humans for a while.” “Alright Twilight, then I need to get back to Sugarcube corner. Have fun with your book!” And with that, Pinkie left Twilight to reflect on everything she had learned in her human research, as she eagerly awaited their return...
Chapter 1: Lucky NumberIt was a quiet summer morning throughout the small town of Ponyville, one of thousands of towns or provinces that belonged to the land of Equestria. This world was much more different than what many could understand, as the majority of the world was inhabited by ponies, and all kinds of creatures one would think would be considered a myth. The ponies’ ruler was known as the majestic Alicorn, Princess Celestia, who had been ruler in conjunction with her sister, Princess Luna, for thousands upon thousands of years. She stood at the balcony that overlooked a grand portion of the country she ruled over with a soft smile on her face, observing the beautiful vista that splayed across Canterlot and beyond. She stared off into the vista for a while until she realized a real good way to freshen things up for her faithful student and her friends. She tapped her chin with her hoof, a notion that fit enchantingly with her beautiful multi-colored mane and tail, along with her soft features and enticing magenta eyes that could allure the shyest creatures to approach her. An idea came to her mind and she realized exactly what could liven things up; another human or two, new companions who could learn from the them as much as the mares could from them about the meaning of friendship. She has been wanting for the longest time to bring humans back into her world, but she has also been wary; humans have changed drastically since the great separation. She would need to be extra careful if she was to bring one into into their world. Celestia summoned forth a scroll from her vast resources, and used her magic to pry it open and keep it levitating in place. She peered inside and saw two young men who must have been close to the age of twenty with an air of sadness and grief. The princess couldn’t tell for sure who was the more emotionally and mentally anguished, but was curious to learn more about them. One of the young men sat in a rather ragged recliner, wearing a pair of faded blue jeans with many varying rips of different sizes from the knees down to his dark brown combat boots. He wore a classic white t-shirt on, along with a currently unfastened button-up that almost reached his knees. The edges were decorated with a red Chinese dragon that wrapped around the bottom of it and pulled up onto the back of his button-up. His hands were partially covered by black fingerless gloves, with stainless steel plating over the knuckles in case he got into a fight. He had a strong, sharp facial outline that made his deep forest-green eyes stand out while also being well-framed by his short brown hair that created some bangs over his forehead and sides, but shorter towards the back. A small patch of light orange hair adorned his chin, which gave him the overall appearance of a tough cowboy, but even he knew deep down that he couldn't ignore the loneliness he felt many a time. The next person she saw was a boy of a tanner complexion who laid flat on the raggedy carpeting in a comfortable, yet form-fitting red zipper hoodie. His short black hair was trimmed and lined up in such a way that it sharpened his features ever more so. His eyes were a steel-honey brown mix that was accentuated by his sharp cheekbones. He was lean and stood at a tall 5’11, although he was still slightly shorter than his companion who measured up to a stunning 6’4. He wore long black jeans with short chains and a pair of black boots. If there was one feature that really made him stand out in a way he didn’t like to stand out, it would be his eyes. It wasn’t just the odd color combination that got many people staring, but it was just how lifeless his eyes appeared. No matter how hard he tried to smile, that smile could never truly reach his empty eyes, it was as if his eyes killed any emotion that dared to show itself. "Hmm” A smile danced across her face and she chuckled to herself lightly. ”This might just work… a boy, his close friend, and their dog." She smiled and then closed her eyes as she began to chant in a language not known by many. The few who DID happen to understand the language she was speaking would've known that she was practicing a magical art. “I’m glad we have you here, Gypsy. Who knows where Graham and I would be without you” he whispered to the dog, her ears perking up at the genuine praise. The dog had completely black fur, and was about three years old. She carried a chew toy in the shape of a candy cane. The only thing she wore was a red collar, with some identification on a little slate of metal. The three of them lived in a small apartment, but the place was a dump. The sad part was that neither of them could hold up a job; Graham because he wasn't too keen on the people he was working for, and the still-unnamed young man because people were routinely disturbed and in the end didn’t like interacting with him. “Hey Aramis, looks like none of us are eating anything today. We’re completely out… I’m sorry.” he looked down in guilt after checking the last cabinet he had checked. Gypsy approached her master and whined a little, but nuzzled his leg to reassure him she was fine. All it did was make him frown further at how he had let down the only two friends he would consider family. “Don’t feel bad, bro. It certainly isn’t anyone’s fault and you know it.” Aramis replied in support. He smiled and then sighed a bit as he got up from his chair and looked at the city of New York. "The worst part is, I can't even hold a job..." Gypsy whined a bit with her chew toy, knowing that playing with her would cheer him right up. He looked down at her and chuckled. Aramis slowly got up and walked over to him. Graham gave him a look and he knew that it was time to play a little. "OK girl, OK. Here, fetch!" He chucked it across the room as the dog grabbed it with her teeth gently and skipped over to him. He took the toy and raised it over him. "Want it? Hm? Go get it." He said as he whipped it across the room to Aramis, who caught it one-handed. She sat on her hind legs and waited for him to hand it over. “If you want it, ya’ gotta earn it girl. Sit!” he commanded with a rare playful laugh. She immediately sat down as if the command was hot-wired into her brain. When she finished, she barked and started begging for the toy. “Here you go girl. You earned it. Haha.” he laughed quietly. She trotted off with her chew toy to the kitchen where the two headed over. The two close friends sat at the table and relaxed while Aramis quietly drank from his cup of water he had left on the table. A bright light began to fill the room, but they dismissed it as the sunset beginning to shine on their window. It kept getting more and more intense. The two men and Gypsy stood up in alert and looked at the light that absorbed the three of them. “Huh?” was all Graham said before he felt a pulling sensation. “The hell is going on?” Aramis spoke out loud, as he too was pulled in, Gypsy barking after them shortly before also following. What was this white light? Where was he being dragged to? He could only imagine.... QUICK AUTHOR'S NOTE To those who are not new to the series, you may be asking why I'm re-posting older chapters. The reason is that the story has plenty of "Bugs" to fix. There's alot going on in the chapter that is to be fixed. So please, don't think for a second that I'm running out of ideas, or anything like that. I would tell you exactly why I'm doing this, but then It would take a while to explain. All I can tell you, is that a friend, GingerNutGin, has told me of the many flaws I have in the story, so I am ironing EVERYTHING, before continuing on. So as the awesome fan that you are, you will support my decision to give this story a good tweak. Sincerely, Emperor Geon.
Chapter 2: A Bumpy StartThe bright light that had picked them up from their apartment had only lasted a few short seconds before they were deposited midair in a completely different location. None of the three had anytime to wonder where they were as they suddenly started to fall; the ground coming up faster and faster. Before they hit the ground though, Aramis was lucky to have landed on a tree down below on some leaves. Graham, however, was not as lucky. After smacking into a branch, he spiraled towards the earth below him. If he was conscience then, he was knocked out cold now as he hit the ground head first; his dog landing on top of him in a heap. Aramis followed behind as they both were left in a tangled mess of limbs, leaving Gypsy to whimper in worry at her masters. A couple of hours had passed since the two of them had been knocked unconscious from the impact. Aramis began to stir and began to get up, but his attempt nearly failed from the shakiness his body still felt; his muscles knotted and stressed from the awkward position he had stayed in for so long. When he managed to stand up he leaned his hands against his knees and breathed deeply, not paying attention to the strange environment he was in. His lower ribs ached slightly every time he breathed, but it was his upper ribs that hurt intently, a white hot flash of intense pain that almost made him collapse. His little stumble was what finally made him notice the new environment he was in. A thick forest stood behind him, the range of it leaving him speechless as its length went on further than the eye could see. The green pasture fields were equally as long and seemed to be bordered in by the forest. He looked forward and noticed that the dirt path the three had landed on went on into the outskirts of a town. Aramis looked down at Graham and noticed the bruising he had taken seemed to be worse than his own. “Gypsy, come here girl!” he called out to the dog, which obediently came to him and nuzzled into his leg. “It’s nice to see you too Gypsy. We need to get Graham to someone who can give him some medical atten—” he stopped short as he cough violently into his hand. Gypsy whimpered again in worry at his current health. He cleared his throat and spat what he thought was flem, until he noticed how thick and bloody it was. “Don’t worry about me girl. It’s Graham who needs the attention more.” He leaned down, and with some minor struggling, Aramis had managed to place Graham over his shoulder. He breathed deeply as he tried to ignore the searing pain in his sides. With that, Aramis slowly walked along the dirt path into the town he had seen in the distance; his eyes slowly closing and opening as he fought off the exhaustion he felt deep inside him. The walk felt like it took hours, as his sense of judgment and time was off from the increasing pain he felt from the strain of carrying the weight of his best friend. He saw what looked like a pony, and stared at it confused, but still kept trudging ahead. Graham mumbled on his shoulder, almost as if he was finally beginning to stir from all the motion he felt from the walk, but he still didn’t wake up. Fluttershy was going through the forest, gathering berries and fruits for the animals she took care of when she saw a weird figu— or was it two, off in the distance. She stood there until the figures came into focus and what she saw certainly surprised her. “…That’s very odd.” She mumbled to herself. That’s when she took notice of their condition and her eyes widened in shock at just how one of them manage to carry the other so far. Aramis felt very uncomfortable being looked at in shock by a pony, which not only had an odd yellow body and a long wavy mane, with an equally wavy tail, but on top of that he could have sworn he saw a pair of wings tucked in at its sides...and he thought for a moment he heard it mumbling to itself. While he was trudging on, it spoke again in his direction, causing him to stop walking altogether. “E-Excuse me, you two need medical attention.” Fluttershy said meekly as the young man stopped in his tracks. “Who said that? Hello? Is anybody there?” Aramis asked out loud, Looking around for the source of the voice. “I did…” She practically whispered while staring back at him, watching as the man jerked his head to look at her. “Um...hi.” Was all she could mutter. The two of them stood there for several tense moments until Aramis suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs, recoiling at the talking pony in front of him, dropping Graham by mistake onto the ground with a heavy thud. She shrieked equally as loud, and without hesitation flew towards the nearest bush. “P-Please, Mr...whatever you are, Please don't hurt me!” She squeaked, shivering she waited for the man to acknowledge her. “W-Who the hell are you, spawn of Satan!?” He shrieked as he fell onto his back, inching away from her until his back was pressed against a tree. Aramis shook uncontrollably as he hyperventilated. “U-Um...” She couldn't answer him. “W-What’s a Satan?” Aramis couldn't believe his ears and eyes. First off, a light just smacked them into god-knows-where. Second, he heard a horse talk! Not to mention it had wings. It was just so insane. Taking all of this at once was almost too much for him to handle. Fluttershy on the other hand, started to peer out from behind the bush. Even if she knew nothing of these creatures, she did know that they needed help. “I know you don't know me very well, but if you would place your friend on my back and try to follow me please; my home is just up the bend from here.” She replied as she gently straightened her body out to allow Graham to lie steadily across her back. “But how do I even know you’ll take your word? I mean, what if—” “If you don't come with me, your friend might be in danger. He doesn't look like he will make it staying on the ground like that...” Aramis looked down in shock as he quickly realized that he dropped his best friend on the ground. "O-Oh shit!" He cursed himself out as he got up as quickly as he could to pick his friend from the ground, hoisting him back on his shoulder. His weight was really getting to him now, and he had no idea what else to do in a situation like this. He slowly turned his head towards the timid mare with a struggle. “A-Alright, just help me get him to safety. But I swear to god that if you do anything—” “I promise you no harm will come to you, I’m a caretaker for animals, just like you.” Aramis wanted to hit her for calling him an animal, but he didn't want to ruin his chance of finding help for him and Graham. It was also for the fact that he was injured, and didn't have it in him to try. After Aramis slowly picked up Graham from the dirt floor, he dropped him gently onto her back. After that was done, Fluttershy offered her neck as a cane of sorts for Aramis to hold onto, to help his failing strength. The four had walked for only a couple of more minutes until they arrived to a big farm-like area. Her home was built into the tree, but Aramis hadn’t really paid much attention as the burning pain from his ribs distracted him. Fluttershy laid Graham down on a hospital-like bed before turning to Aramis. “I’ll begin treating to his wounds once I get yours checked out and healed, if you don’t mind.” She told him quietly. “Sure, that’s fine with me.” He said as he slowly lifted a hand towards her, hoping she would get the gesture. “My name is Aramis. My friend over there is Graham, and this here,” he looked at the black lab lying on the floor. “is our dog Gypsy.” She stared at the hand for a brief minute before coming to terms what he was trying to do. Slowly she lifted a hoof to meet it as Aramis grabbed it and started shaking. She thought about how odd this creature was, but then she shook herself out of her thoughts to talk again. “Oh forgive me for being so rude to you; I should have introduced myself a while ago. My name is Fluttershy, and I live in the outskirts of Ponyville.” “Ponyville?” Aramis asked. The town name struck him as odd and her name seemed rather...fitting if their encounter had been of anything to go by. “You mean to tell me there’s an entire town full of talking horses?” “We prefer to call ourselves ‘Ponies’, thank you.” She responded in kind. Aramis rolled his eyes, and focused on her again. “Well, It’s nice to meet you anyway, Fluttershy.” he said courteously, immediately causing her to smile a bit. “It’s um... It’s nice to meet you too, Aramis.” the smile on her face slowly receding, she did have one question on her mind. “I’m very curious as to what kind of animal, or creature you two are exactly, if you don’t mind me wanting to know.” The light yellow mane asked, her eyes slowly looking at the ground, almost as if nervous he would get angry with her because of her question. “It’s cool. But before I explain, we’re not animals.” He said boldly. Fluttershy’s ear folded upon her head. “O-Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you.” She whispered, luckily loud enough to hit the man’s ears. “No, it’s alright, but yeah... Don't call us that. Or creatures either. We’re called humans. Haven't you ever seen one of us before?” Aramis questioned, but only got a shake of her head as a response. “Oh...I see.” He trailed off. He couldn't help but think this was all some sort of nightmare. Suddenly she spoke again. “If you wont mind, please sit down on the bed next to your friend.” He complied with no qualms, wanting to help calm her nerves. She took out a medical kit and began to pull several items out, ranging from rubbing alcohol to shots and all sorts of obscure things he never thought someone could fit in such a modest medic kit. In fact, he was starting to get a little nervous. If she didn't have hands, how could she even use these things? And even if she could do that, would she even know how to heal a human if she’s never seen one? “Could you please take off your upper body clothing? It’s just so I can check over any potential wounds.” He looked at her funny, but didn't wanna make a scene, so he followed her directions anyway. After studying his physique, her eyes widened. “By Celestia’s mane, what happened to you!?” he almost flinched at the intensity of her voice. “Well, we kinda fell through a tree after we were brought here through some weird light. My friend got the worst of it, since he wasn't as lucky as I was, while I landed on soft leaves before hitting the ground.” He explained, coughing a bit mid-sentence. “How far up were you?” She questioned, which Aramis couldn't answer her exactly. “About...I think fifty-sixty feet. How we even survived that, I’ve not a damn clue.” He “O-Oh my... Well, lie down on your back please. I’m going to start by mending your ribs to your ribcage with an ointment I have, so it may hurt for some time.” he carefully laid back and stared at the ceiling, feeling her han—er hooves gliding softly over his sides with non-scented ointment. At first he felt no different than before when he suddenly felt the intense pain in his sides return, groaning loudly at the feeling of his ribs being re-attached, bent back, and snapped into place. “Just hold still for a little longer and I swear it’ll be over. You’re doing so well.” she pleaded with him, trying to keep him still. The next step for her was to start clearing the bruising and blood that pooled above and below his skin. Once she finished with that, she wrapped gauze around his chest and rib cage. The exhaustion he felt deep in his bones had taken advantage of the comfy bed, and he had promptly blacked out and slept quietly. Fluttershy walked over to Graham and ripped his shirt off, since she couldn’t pull it off normally. She was very, very concerned with all the intricate wounds she saw on his person. He had many signs of internal bleeding; several fracture bones, a possible broken leg, and a serious concussion. If he didn’t get more professional help, his injuries could leave him crippled for the rest of his life. She quickly flew out her door and began to rocket towards Ponyville, Gypsy whimpering in concern for her masters’ health and well-being. The young pony flew over to a tree house towards the center of the town. Using her hoof, she knocked repeatedly, until the door opened revealing a small dragon with purple scales. "Pardon me for the loud noise Spike, but do you know where Twilight Sparkle is, by any chance? It's really...important..." her panic had left her borderline breathless, so she leaned against the door frame for support. "She's in her study room, I'll get her!" Was all he said before promptly running off to get her, leaving the yellow pony looking after herself outside. The Pegasus then floated inside, growing further and further impatient in her wait for her close friend, Twilight Sparkle. Moments later, a purple unicorn trotted down the stairs, her long midnight blue hair that had a purple and pink stripe in both her mane and tail bouncing lightly from side to side, her deep purple pools for eyes looking at her friend in concern, who looked more riled up than she had ever seen. "What's going on, Fluttershy? I wasn't expecting company." “There’s no time for explanations Twilight! There’s a creature in dire need of complicated healing and between the two of us, you’re the only one who’s truly capable of healing him.” she blurted exasperatedly to her friend. Twilight stood there, contemplating the situation before she nodded sternly to herself. “Alright Fluttershy, take me to where this creature is and I’ll do my best to heal him.” And with that, Twilight trotted as fast as she could to keep up with the worried and desperate Fluttershy. Within minutes, the two had arrived at her small little animal farm and had entered the house, and the creatures Fluttershy had mentioned were very familiar. “Fluttershy, I’m going to be taking a real big wild guess, regarding what race they are. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but are these two creatures humans?” she questioned with a confused look. Fluttershy nodded and went over to Graham to make sure he was breathing and whatnot. “Yes, that one called themselves ‘human.” Fluttershy answered. Twilight looked back at the man in front of her. “I remember reading up on them a while ago in my Book of Ancient Tales.” Twilight said as she looked upon Graham’s body. “But from what the description said, humans just...disappeared from Equestria. There used to be a human child here, but that was so long ago...” “Twilight, I’d hate to be rude, but could we go back to the humans here?” Fluttershy interrupted. Twilight came back down to Equestria with a look of confusion. “But one question remains. How did two huma—” a bark interrupted her, and she looked down to see a black dog with a red collar around her neck and looked back over to the two unconscious humans and understood their relationship, “How did two humans and a dog end up in Equestria?” She pondered as to how something that absurd could happen. “Please save the stories for later Twilight, he needs your help!” Fluttershy begged. Twilight walked over to his battered and bruised body and gasped at all the open wounds on his chest, abdomen, and arms. Using her horn, she pulled off his pants and whatever other garment he wore beneath those and blushed brightly for a moment before shaking it off. He was in bad condition and for his sake, she couldn’t get distracted with looking at human anatomy. She pressed a hoof light on his right leg and saw him twitch, his face screwing up slightly. Carefully, she prodded and felt his leg from the hip down to his ankle, checking for cracks, breaks, and fractures. She gasped loudly in shock at her discovery. “His leg is fractured and cracked in so many areas, it’s a miracle he didn’t break his entire leg! Fluttershy, grab some of that ointment for treating bruises and dislocations I made you a while ago.” Her friend quickly went through the bag and found a clear bottle with forest green liquid in it that almost seemed to glow. Twilight used her horn to carefully levitate and spread the ointment on her front hooves and gently began to knead it into his skin. She kept at it while she concentrated her healing power in her horn and began to heal all the fractures and cracks in his leg, repairing some broken ligaments and other minuscule problems that seemed to have been there far before his current predicament. She moved closer to take a more in depth observation of the trauma his body had suffered. He had many cuts on his torso, most of them were light scuff marks that barely drew forth any blood, but closer inspection revealed that those marks were deeper than they seemed. There were a few deep cuts, one across his chest, where she presumed his heart to be. Another that went diagonally down his back, which she only noticed because the wound wrapped over his shoulder blade before curving diagonally. The poor purple unicorn shuddered at the horror of the wounds he had taken and how he had mercifully been unconscious for it. If he had been awake to feel all the pain he was feeling subconsciously...no, she couldn’t allow her fear of blood and mutilation get in the way. He needed her and she had vowed to help him and she would. Lathering a large portion of the ointment on the deep gash on his back, she waved Fluttershy over and had her help with rubbing all of it into his skin, as much as they could to get his skin to absorb it all and prevent any potential scaring of the flesh. She wanted nothing more than see him unscathed and not be left with some reminder of the incident. Twilight Sparkle focused intently with her horn and began to close the wound tightly, trying her hardest to erase it as she moved up his back. Several minutes later she had made it to the junction between his neck and shoulder blade and finished closing the wound. “Fluttershy, I need you to take care of the other cuts while I close up the one on his chest. Can you handle that?” Sweat began to pour down her forehead due to the excessive use of her magic without rest. She looked at her friend in concern. Fluttershy didn’t like how hard she had been working herself into the ground. Even her face was beginning to pale slightly from the increasing draw on her magic. “Sure Twilight. You do seem awfully tired. Don’t you think you should re-” she attempted to reason with her, only to be cut off by Twilight. “NO! I can’t rest yet Fluttershy. Until he’s healed, I’m not gonna give up. I’m not gonna let him die, not here!” The determination burned not just in her depth-less purple gems, but deep down inside her. She had been working on him for nearly two hours, and she just wasn’t willing to give up on him; even though she hadn’t even said a word to him. Something in her had awakened when she laid eyes on him and she just couldn’t stop from looking at his sleeping face that seemed tired, sad, lonely, but hopeful at the same time. It was an unexplainable feeling she felt, one that words could simply not give justice too. Her power seemed to increase exponentially and the wound began to close even faster than the other gash she tried to close. In no time, she had managed to reach the part of the wound that was over his heart when he began to cough profusely. He kept writhing on the bed, his coughing becoming more and more mangled. Blood was spraying out of his mouth with his loud hacking, that even Aramis had woken up. He propped himself up on one elbow and looked on with a look of shock on his face. “What’s going on Twilight!?” Fluttershy yelled in frantic panic. “I-I don’t kn-o-ow” stuttered Twilight, her hooves shacking as fear began to wrap around her. “His heart's failing...The wound to his chest was more serious than I thought it was...He’s going to die because of me...” Tears began to roll down her cheeks slowly. “Please...whoever you are, I’m beggin’ you. You gotta do something to save him!” Aramis begged, Gypsy whining on the floor. She kept crying and shaking, until she looked at his pained face. Her face hardened and she knew what she had to do. She poured every last ounce of her will into closing the wound to prevent any more damage to his heart. She started to carefully pour her magic in a small steady stream to try to repair the serious cuts his heart had taken. It almost seemed to work, his coughing had slowed to a small wheeze. His breathing began to slow, his pained expression fading. She allowed herself a small smile of accomplishment and wiped some of the sweat of her forehead with the back of her foreleg when he began to convulse violently. Fluttershy tried her best to soothe him, but after almost being hit by his flailing limbs, she backed away in fear. “Don't leave us! Aw, fuck I’m gonna lose my best friend in a house with talking horses...” cried Aramis, tears spilling from his eyes, an emotion that he had vowed to never feel becoming rooted deep in his eyes—fear. Fear for the threat of losing the only one he had left in his life that he could call family...that he could call brother. His heart pounded wildly in his chest, his attempts at holding back his sobbing resulting in him utterly losing control over himself. Twilight stood there with a look of shock as she realized what was happening to him. He was having a heart attack; she needed to do something and fast. She numbly stood over him and thought of a spell that could help her get his heart beat stabilized. Her horn glowed a light blue for a moment. She held her hooves close to her horn and they seemed to spark. All those in the room stared blankly as she pushed her hooves down on his chest, causing him to flop up like a fish from the current. It didn’t do anything to improve his condition and she charged a second shock and tried again. He flopped hard against the bed and his convulsing got worse. Her eyes widened as she quickly charged a third one; this one more powerful than both the first and second blast. Twilight pushed as best as she could and watched him writhe and twitch violently. Again she blasted him, but his condition refused to improve. She charged her hooves again and was about to repeat it when he stopped writhing and lay there quietly, not even the whisper of a breath heard. Fluttershy had been quietly crying the whole time, unable to even move from where she stood. Aramis’ face twisted to an expression filled with so much anger, grief, and hate that it made Gypsy hide under some furniture. Loosing someone else he had held so close to his already-weakened heart made it just shatter. Fluttershy couldn’t bear to see him so broken that she excused herself from the room and went to go get their friends, feeling as though if he was around more ponies that are caring and kind would make him feel a bit better. Even if they knew just as much about these creatures as she did, death was still a tough subject. Twilight felt defeated, worthless, and empty as she stared at the corpse in front of her. The grief that gripped at her heart was too much and she began crying again, her face rubbing into his chest. She was supposed to save his life, not the opposite. He probably had so much to live for, but now that was all gone. As she cried there, her heart pouring all the anger she felt. “I didn't help him hard enough. I’m such...such a moron!” She screamed. The rest of the crew had arrived with Fluttershy as soon as she had explained the situation. All of them wore apologetic looks. As they all stared at the corpse of the man, Rainbow Dash felt it was necessary to comfort the new being. It wasn't really like her to just go up to somepony she never knew, but this was an exception. “Aramis, is it? Name’s Rainbow Dash, the best flier in all of-oomph!” she cried out as Fluttershy hit her in the side for ego boosting in the middle of a situation even she knew not to be full of herself during this time. “Rainbow, you shouldn't be trying to gloat in this situation.” The yellow mare said with a stern glare. Rainbow rubbed her side with a scowl. “I’m sorry for trying to introduce myself,” she said with a smart-ass remark. “But like I said, my name is Rainbow Dash, and I wanna say that I’m sorry for your loss...” “Saying sorry isn't gonna bring him back!” Aramis shouted through sobs. Rainbow Dash winced as her ears were given a good ringing by the intensity of his yelling. She wanted to get mad, but she knew losing a friend is the worst feeling possible. To lose a friend like this however, is a whole other story. Twilight had calmed herself to sniffling, but wouldn’t get up from lying on his chest. His death affected her more than she wanted to come to terms with. It was all her fault, she kept getting sidetracked and now he was— Her thoughts where interrupted as she heard a loud cough. Everyone looked at her, disbelief written on their faces. They heard another cough and a slight wheeze, followed by some mumbling. Twilight removed herself from his chest and he coughed into his hand.
Chapter 3: Loose Lips Sink ShipsAfter his coughing fit had ended, Graham’s eyes opened slowly; the light blinding him, and everything being nothing more than a mess of blurs and colors. His eyes blinked several times as everything came into focus. To say he was astonished would have been an understatement. He stared at the scene in front of him. Aramis, and what he knew to definitely be Rainbow Dash, were holding each other, their tear stained faces staring at him with a blank, unreadable expression. Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity were crying before also staring at him with a mixture of near unreadable emotions. Graham suddenly felt lightheaded all of a sudden; not from the pain his body felt, nor the soreness deep in his bones, but from the fact that the voices he had presumed to be human before waking up were not human at all, but in reality from ponies...talking ponies. “Mother of fuck...My head...” Graham spoke, his voice barely above a whisper, the hysteria beginning to sink into his voice. “You’re alive...” Was all Aramis could muster, his eyes fixated on his friend. “Oh my Celestia! Your alive!” Twilight shouted in shock, her purple orbs instantly brimming up with tears. She leaned down to hug him, only for her face to meet the bed. Graham sat back against the furthest corner of the bed, his face showing he was in a state of thought, as if... “Aramis, how in the heck did you get the money to buy giant Pony toys? I never knew they made My Little Pony Life-sized models!” Aramis looked at the ponies. Each of them were lost in confusion. “Um...toys?” Aramis asked rather shakily. Understandable, he was in a whole other world complete with talking horses, but he was expecting a reaction like his earlier. It was like he didn't quite catch on yet. “Graham, they’re not toys,” He added on. “I don't think you really know where you are right now, do you?” The man looked at his surroundings. It was true, he was in a setting unlike where he was not too long ago. For one thing, it was clean, unlike the apartment was. This room had all kinds of things, from a table that wasn't missing a leg, and a bed that actually felt comfortable. “Aramis, where are we...?” He asked nervously, as if he was slowly coming to terms with where he was now. He looked the ponies one by one; their gigantic eyes staring at him as if he was some sort of animal at a zoo. “Before I tell you, you need to relax and just sit still. Then I’ll tell you. I don't need you running around after just waking up from staring death in the face.” Aramis ordered. Graham’s face slowly twisted to show his realization that he wasn't at home at all. He slowly started to back up against the wall, obviously scared out of his wits at the sudden change in scenery. “W-whats wrong?” Her head tilting off to the side in confusion as he began to hyperventilate in his corner. “Was meinen sie, was ist falsch!? Ich bin aufgewacht in einem Zimmer mitten in der, wer weiß, wo, umgeben von talking ponys. Das ist, was falsch!” The hysteria he felt ever so slightly increased. “Graham, I know you’re confused, and upset, but please speak English and breathe! You were dead for a good few minutes!” Aramis pleaded to the man. Graham couldn't stop staring at every one of the ponies staring at him as if he was going to attack them. “Ya’ll need ta’ simmer down like yer friend said and calm yer’self there buddy.” AppleJack calmly advised. He got off the bed and approached her, a fire kindling behind his green eyes. "Sie sagten mir zu beruhigen!? Ich muss ruhiger werden, weil da bin ich noch gesprochen habe, durch eine verdammtes pferd!? Sind sie von ihrer—" He slumped to the ground from a swift chop to the neck, courtesy of Aramis. “For fuck’s sakes, Graham...” He sighed in annoyance. “That was such a cool taked—” Rainbow Dash stopped as she saw the glares she was getting from her friends at the misplaced appraisal. She rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment, “I mean, why did you do that?” “Not to sound like an ass, but the guy’s a little loose in the head. He’s easy to freak the fuck out of, and being in a room full of ponies isn't exactly an everyday thing for anybody.” He answered. “Don't you mean, everypony, Aramis?” Rarity asked. “Uh, no? Why would I say everypony? I’m not a horse—” “Why do you keep saying that?” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “We’re ponies, silly!” Pinkie pie chirped, bouncing in place. “Uh...right, Whatever.” Aramis trailed off. Twilight trotted up to the once-again-unconscious Graham and poked him with a hoof. The man twitched a bit, so she was relieved he was still alive. She looked back at Aramis with another question. “How is he able to speak Germane so fluently, if he’s never been to Equestria before?” Aramis raised an eyebrow. “Uh, I believe you mean ‘German’.” He corrected. She shook her head. “No I don't. Over here, It’s called ‘Germane’, which was what he was speaking. I’m surprised, actually. Are you telling me there is a language just like Germane on your world?” She asked. Aramis shrugged at her. “Guess so. Beats the fuck outta me otherwise.” After that little conversation ended, a few moments or so must have passed before Aramis blurted out the obvious incoming question. “Is anyone going to pick him up? I can’t exactly lift him up myself with how bad a shape I’m in.” “I’ve got him.” offered Twilight, as she levitated his unconscious body onto the bed. Twilight looked over to the rest of her friends and guest, a pensive look on her face. “Now that he’s in bed again, this brings us to our next problem—what are we going to do when he wakes up again? He clearly wasn’t too comfortable with Fluttershy’s house. No offense to you at all, ‘Shy.” Fluttershy had a look of understanding on her face but a little disappointment in between. “That’s okay. He isn’t used to Equestrian society. The best way to determine who he should stay with should be based on what he likes or what he’s comfortable with.” Fluttershy suggested. Everypony looked in Aramis’ direction, awaiting his input. Aramis thought for a moment. “Well, he likes to read and--” “Twilight!” Everypony shouted in unison. The purple mare nodded, “So it’s settled then. Applejack, can you help me move him?” Applejack agreed to help, then positioned herself so that she was next to Graham’s body. Twilight then used her magic to gently cradle him onto Applejack’s back. They soon trotted out the door, and towards the place that would hopefully fit him best, with Aramis and Gypsy close behind... “Sugarcube, are ya sure this’ll work? Putin’ him in the library?” she asked in concern as the three stopped in front of the tree house Twilight was so keen on staying in. Twilight opened the door as the others walked inside. “It’s the only place that fits his likings, Applejack. Anywhere else would only worsen the situation. If I can calm him down when he wakes up, we might even find out how he and the other one got here.” Twilight explained. “You know what’s funny? I remember stating my name a while back.” Aramis remarked with a sarcastic tone in his voice. Applejack only chuckled and plopped him in the bed that was perched near a window upstairs, walking out of the tree house and giving the unicorn her space. The purple pony ignored him and sat down close to the unconscious man, waiting for him to awaken once more. A few hours had passed before he began to stir again. He looked around, and noticed the change in scenery once more. He knew it wasn't familiar to him, but he felt a little more at ease about his surroundings as he noticed a whole library covered his field of view as he sat up on yet another bed. Twilight looked up to see him rub his eyes, “Ah, you’re awake again. Can I trust you not to violently freak out this time?” She almost tempted to use her magic to plug her ears in case he would have another tantrum. Surprisingly though, he just sat there with a neutral expression on his face. Before he could reply though, a black blur had passed by her and sent him back onto the bed. “It’s nice to see you too Gypsy!” He chuckled as he pet the happy canine’s head, he soon pushed her off and sat back up again, “I think I’m ok...um...sorry about earlier...” He said as he rubbed his neck, still feeling the powerful chop Aramis gave him. “It’s alright, we understand, you’re not used to all of these changes, what with being in Equestria and all...” Graham froze, “Did....did you just say—Equestria...?” He stuttered, The unicorn only nodded. Graham couldn't believe what he heard. He knew Equestria was the world that his favorite show took place in. It couldn't possibly exist...could it? And if that was the case, what else was made to be true? That giant turtles kidnapped royalty? What next? He almost lost it, when Aramis patted him on his back. He looked over to see his best friend’s calm, but serious face. “Before you overreact again, we need to have a chat real quick. That’s if you don’t mind Twilight.” he gave her a pleading look for a moment and she stood up. “If you two need anything, I’ll be downstairs. Okay?” was all she said, walking down the steps as they gave her nods of acknowledgement. “Alright. I can tell you’re surprised as to why we’re here. And frankly, I have no clue why we’re in a world of horses, of all places.” Aramis started, making it clear that he was equally as confused as Graham was. The confused look on Graham’s face faded, but not before being replaced with an excited expression. “Dude!” he whispered, “Don’t you know what this means!?” his excitement began to bubble up. “Ummm, that we’re in a world of talking ponies?” he knew what Graham really wanted to say, but didn’t want to test the current sanity level of his rather overexcited friend. “We’re in fucking brony paradise! It’s real! All of it! Real!” a maddening look that could make Nightmare Moon shudder in fear at the insanity contained within scared his best friend a bit. “Graham, don’t you think you’re getting just a bit too excited?” he suggested with a nervous chuckle, fearing the impending “brony freak out” almost any brony worth their salt practiced in case they ended up in the same predicament they were in. “Aramis this is the greatest thing that has ever happened to us! Don't you see? We’re in fucking Equestria, home of the mane six. Especially Twilight Sparkle! You know how much I like her! She’s my favorite pony!” He kept rambling on and on about their situation. His excitement was as powerful as a double explosion. Hell, he was just about to run around when he was suddenly interrupted by a hand covering his mouth. “Why don’t you kick back, relax, and maybe try to avoid another heart attack. If anything, at least wait till Twili—” The two were interrupted as they heard a tiny gasp. Aramis looked behind to see the very same mare Graham had been obsessively talking about, hiding near the stairs; her mouth agape in shock. “You heard every bit of what we—well mostly Graham said, right?” he asked with a deadpanned expression that bordered on a facepalm. “I couldn’t help but overhear...and I was very curious...” She replied as she slowly walked out from her hiding spot. She looked at Graham with disbelief. “How do you know me, and how do you know of my friends?” her curiosity was getting the best of her despite the fear she felt at someone knowing so much about her and her friends. “Why don’t we go for a walk outside of town, where we won’t be heard discussing this?” Aramis nervously suggested. (V);,,;(V) It had taken them roughly half an hour or so to put any real distance between them and Ponyville, without arousing the attention of the other ponies or her friends. The neck of woods the group slowly traversed through was the safe equivalent of the Everfree forest. Its vast fauna were full of life, all the trees they could see for miles had luscious green leaves, some of them holding many kinds of fruits. “This is the greatest! It is GOOD day to be a-” Graham was interrupted as they kept walking. “I get it, Graham, we’re in Equestria. You can stop the brony squeals now.” Aramis muttered under his breath with a sarcastic sneer. “What was that?” Graham asked, his tone flat as a chalkboard; as he stopped walking altogether. “Oh, it was nothing. Just saying that you should probably tone down the excitement, just a bit.” Aramis put on his best poker face, hoping to get past the moment. Before their banter could continue any further, a loud cough interrupted them. The two looked over to see the purple unicorn, gazing at them with a stern expression. “Well, would you care to tell me how you know me, my friends, or even Equestria at that?” A look of contempt mixed in with the apprehension she currently felt towards them. “That’s kind of hard to explain... not without you either diving off the deep end or going into shock. Why not have Aramis explain? He’s much better than me at explaining things.” Sweat was forming on Graham’s forehead as the nervousness of her question made him feel uneasy about telling her the truth. At least not without somehow screwing up. It did unfairly put his friend on the spotlight, however. “You owe me big time for this...” Aramis muttered to him before turning back to the mare. “Hmm... where to begin? What if I told you that a huge number of people of our race, including him, could watch your adventures with your friends through a magical box?” he began, hoping to god her curiosity wouldn’t edge her on to inquire further into the “magical box”. “What is this “magical box” and what does it truly allow you to do?” She asked, clearly giving off the feeling that she knew he wasn’t being fully forthcoming with his explanation. “I want to know more than just the “magical box”, I want to know how you know of us, because as far as I’m concerned, there’s no way you two should even know of our existence.” her eyes narrowed towards the two with a fierce glare, daring them to even think of lying to her. “Alright, alright. I’ll start from the top...” Graham said cracking under her anger and pressure, he wanted to be honest to her. “You see, back in our home world, a planet we call Earth, we have what is known as a “television set” which allows us to view all kinds of shows ranging from entertainment to world news. There is one particular show I have watched since it’s official release, called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. This show details the adventures of you and the other mares, along with all sorts of wacky adventures, personal struggles, and even the battle against Nightmare Moon, the God of Chaos, Discord, and the Queen of the changelings, Chrysalis!” Twilight sat on her haunches, mouth slightly agape in shock, but nodded her head in acknowledgment. “Keep going.” she persisted. “I’ve watched all sorts of your experiences, especially when Spike’s greed got the best of him on his birthday and turned him into a full-sized dragon. There was even that one awesome episode where Pinkie Pie became insane; talking to rocks and turnips and even forgetting her own birthday, but I digress. We’ve seen just about everything each of you have been through and know just about everything there is to know about you six, given what the show has shown us.” She sat in silence, mulling over all the information he had given her. A look of disgust began to twist onto her face, a realization that made her stomach turn in thick knots at the epiphany she just had. Since the first day she stepped into Ponyville, Twilight and her friends had never had any actual privacy. A small but powerful thought nagged at the back of her head. Just how much did these humans know about her? “I have a few questions that I want you, and ONLY you, to answer” She began with an angry tone, her hoof pointed directly at Graham. “Exactly when and how did I meet Spike?” She questioned and waited almost impatiently for a response. “The way I remember it, you were a filly when you were taking the entry exam for the university for gifted unicorns, in which you had to hatch a egg using only your magic. You tried your hardest to hatch it, but couldn’t even get it to budge as you started to crack under the pressure from the scrutiny of the practitioners. You were moments away from failing until a rainbow-colored explosion startled you into unleashing all your magic in the room simultaneously upon everypony in the room. Your parents were turned into plants, the newly hatched Spike was bigger than the school, and the practitioners were being levitated together through the air. Celestia intervened and helped you control your magic. That was the day you not only became her student and acquired your cutie mark, but also gained your own foal... well sorta, but you know what I mean...” He had answered her quickly and to the point, hoping to dissuade her distrust of him. She nodded slowly at him and thought of another question. Twilight thought harder. "What is my brother's name, and what is his special job?" Graham chuckled. "That's even easier! His name is Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard! Married to The Princess Mi Amore Cadenza; also known as Cadence, your foal-sitter!" He wore a stupid grin as she stayed put with amazment. "T-That's amazing! You even knew who he was married to? A-And how did you know she was my old foal-sitter...?" She felt stupid for asking those questions, and shook herself out of shock to pick up on the questionnaire. “What outfit was I wearing during the latest Nightmare Night?” she smirked, thinking she had him in her hooves as there was no way he could know of such a celebration. “That’s an easy one—Star Swirl the Bearded. I have to say that your costume was very original, although it’s second to Ermac from Mortal Kombat, which I saw only three times.” Her purple eyes widened in disbelief at his answer. “How in the name of Celestia do you know that!? None of the other ponies except Princess Luna herself knew who that costume was supposed to represent!” She screamed at him in astonishment. “Simple, my little pony, from the telly!” He exclaimed quite proudly, as he mock-saluted her and bowed. “Graham... your British is showing again.” Aramis said with a roll of his eyes, slapping him on the shoulder quite hard. Graham wreathed in pain as he spoke in that same “Germane” talk Twilight mentioned earlier. “Ow! Was zur Hölle war das?! Ich schlag sie ohne Ende!” Graham screamed at the top of his lungs. Twilight tilted her head in recognition. “Was that what I thought it was?” She asked out loud. Aramis looked at the fuming man. “Yep, that was definitely German again, and I think he just said he was going to kick my ass...” Aramis answered, inching away from his friend as he calmed down. “I had a feeling he would still be a little sore from the procedure, but not that sore. I really should have given him some painkillers, in hindsight.” She mumbled, mostly to herself. “I’m good now, no need to worry at all. I guess I might have overreacted a little.” he finished with a chuckle while rubbing the back of his neck. “I guess I might have overreacted a little.” Aramis sarcastically mocked Graham in a purposely bad imitation. Twilight brought them back into focus, however. “Alright, one last question... what is my favorite band of all time?” her eyes narrowing in total seriousness at the rather childish question. He stood there, sweat trickling down his face as he could never recall the show mentioning anything about a band, let alone listening to any kind of music except classical. A slight smirk graced her features. “I-I...I actually don’t know.” Graham muttered in defeat, his head hanging low. “Really? I guess you really don’t know everything about me, now do you?” She giggled at him, his head snapping onto her direction. “You mean to tell me you were just joking with me?” he looked at her dazedly. “Of course I was. There was no way anypony would know. Not even my friends know... since they haven’t asked, that is. Though for your information, or should I say both of you” getting Aramis’ attention. “My favorite band in all of Equestria are the Colt 5. They’re simply amazing.” Twilight sighed deeply at the thought of the band. “Especially Levine Silverwing, his voice is just ethereal!” She gushed. “Colt 5? That sounds just like a band I know from Earth,” Aramis pondered out loud. “Is their first album called Songs About Jane by any chance?” He asked curiously. “Not that I remember. Their first album is called Songs About Luna.” she stated as she tapped her chin with her hoof in remembrance. “Are one of the songs named “Through With You”? he asked, hoping that some semblance of his favorite band had been kept in check. “Yeah, that’s one of my favorite songs in the album, even if it didn’t get as popular as the other songs, like “Sunday Morning” or “This Love”.” She sighed wistfully. She quickly came back down to Equestria after a little daydream. “It’s nice talking about the Colt 5 and all, but I think we should probably head back to Ponyville, since I’m pretty sure your friends might be waiting on you.” He had secretly been itching to see more of Ponyville than his show had let on. “Sure, why not? Plus, I think it’s about time I gave you two a tour of our town so we can gather the other girls and show you the key points of our town.” She offered. “Lead the way back then, Twilight.” Graham said with a mock bow, the three of them laughing a bit before heading off in the directions of Ponyville. (V);,,;(V) “So... where are we headed first?” Graham asked as they headed towards the middle of the town. “I’d like you to meet Pinkie Pie first. She’s an employee of Sugarcube Corner.” Twilight replied. “Please tell me she isn’t as insane as when we see her on the show?” Aramis nearly begged. “She’s not that bad. She’s just... well... Pinkie!” Twilight giggled as they reached their destination. She opened the door and came up to the counter. The smell of sweets filled their noses as they wandered inside, looking all around the store to see it’s many items for purchase. “Pinkie! Are you here?” Twilight called out, trying to get a better look in the kitchen. She heard a loud crash, and a pink pony sprang right up to the counter. She laughed loudly and bounced around. “Hiya Twilight! How are the humans? You gotta tell me! Pretty please with cherries on top!” The unicorn only smiled. “Why don't you ask us in person?” Graham answered as Pinkie Pie quickly turned around, running right over to them. “Ohmygoshareyoutwoalright?” She turned to Aramis. “ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” he nodded as he flinched at the loudness of her voice. “ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” Graham also nodded, hoping to quiet her down. She squealed loudly in excitement, hopping around the room excitedly, addressing the two while she did so. “If you two are alright, you know what this calls for?” her usual smile stretching impossibly wider. “A heart-warming “congratulations” because of our recovery?” Aramis asked, praying to the power of any god listening in she wasn’t about to suggest what he thought she was going to suggest. “No, you silly filly! A party! A “Welcome to Ponyville” party!” She gleefully pranced around, checking her inventory of ingredients in the bakery. Graham thought about it. ‘That means there’s gonna be a buncha...oh no, no It’s too soon for that!’ He looked down at the bouncing mare with a pleading look. “Pinkie, really there’s no nee—” Graham tried to reassure her only to get cut off. “Of Course there is! After all, I know EVERY pony in Ponyville and it would be so rude of me to not welcome you two here! I’ll see you two at your party!” And with that she disappeared out of sight, running off on her own to prepare for the party neither human had agreed to. Aramis looked over to see Graham put his face into his palm. "...Fuck."
Chapter 4: Welcome to Ponyville!The two stood in an awkward silence that lasted for hardly a moment before Aramis nearly broke down in tears. “For the love of God! Why can’t she be a normal pony for one moment and just let us have some sort of say as to if we even want a party!?” He cried hysterically, feeling annoyed at the pink pony’s chaotic introduction and sporadic party planning that she had just carried out. “I suppose that since she’s Pinkie... there’s no point questioning the situation any further, right?” he asked out loud. Twilight nodded her head, trying her hardest to stifle her laughter at his rather comedic misfortune. She failed miserably, however. “Yeah, yeah. Keep laughin’. Just get it outta your system.” Aramis stated sullenly, heading for the door to try and save some face. The other two followed after him, giggling silently. “So who do we visit next?” Graham suddenly asked as they walked towards the town square. “Rarity, then Fluttershy, AppleJack, and possibly Rainbow Dash. If she isn’t lazing about on some cloud, that is.” Twilight acted as if it was an organized checklist she wanted to fulfill. “Anyways, do keep close to me while we go around Ponyville, the ponies here might overreact so please forgive them if they give you two weird reactions.” She apologized on behalf of the town, acting like she somehow shared the blame. (V)(;,,;)(V) Twilight had hit the nail on the head with her prediction of the town folk overreacting as many looked at the two humans as if they had just seen a murder. Others grabbed their children and turned their prying eyes away from the two newcomers before galloping off with them in the clear opposite direction. Most quickly trotted away into the safety of nearby stores, homes, or restaurants, hoping to steer clear from the “odd” creatures. In a way, Graham felt that their prejudice against them was almost worse than how many of the townsfolk reacted to Zecora’s first arrival in Ponyville, which had only further motivated her of keeping her home away from the town until the Mane 6 befriended her. Fortunately for them, they had finally arrived at the Carousel Boutique, away from public scrutiny and the rather cold-hearted welcome they had received from the citizens. The chime of the bell went off and they heard someone scuffling a few things around in a room deeper inside the Boutique. “Just a minute! I’ll be right on over once I finish my stitching!” She bellowed from the studio room where she crafted all her dresses, accessories, and more. “Rarity, it’s me, Twilight!” she yelled over. They heard Rarity trot on over quickly to the main lobby, which was also a living room at the same time, with the simple retro-inspired furniture and some magazines strewn about on the coffee table in the middle of the furniture set. “Oh, why hello there you three! It’s nice to see you two up and about after that scare you gave us!” She greeted warmly, hugging the two. “Do forgive me for my lack of matters. My name is Rarity and I am the proud owner of the Carousel Boutique, an aspiring clothes designer, and the bearer of the Element of Generosity!” She let her little introduction sink in before the two humans nodded in understanding. “Well in that case, name’s Graham. Nothing special about me.” Graham trailed, hoping to dodge explaining who he was. “And I’m Aramis. Gotta say, your dresses look pretty nice.” Aramis said as he took in the sight of the many intricate and detailed dresses and accessories she had designed. Rarity smiled lightly at his compliment. “Oh my, thank you very much for your kind words, but these aren’t nearly my best works.” She giggled in modesty. “Not your best? Well, I’d have to see what your best is later, because these look really nice.” Aramis said earnestly. “I have to agree, Rarity, your dresses are all wonderful... I can’t really decide which dress is the best! From what I’ve seen, each one is beautiful, and yet are all unique in their own way!” Twilight added. Rarity blushed from all the appraisal. “Well, if you all insist... but in any case you two must let me design some new clothes for you! You two look like you haven’t owned new clothes in months, and I know just the designs to really make you really stand out. Would you like that?” Rarity asked, secretly hoping for a chance to take a try at designing clothes for a non-pony species. “Well, neither of us have any money...” Graham said sorrowfully. He looked at the white mare as she smiled. “No need dear, I understand that you are both new here, so consider it a gift.” She said afterwards. The two humans thanked her over her astounding generosity, knowing fully well not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Rarity looked at her inventory as she levitated a measurement tape and a notepad. “I’ll just take your measurements now, if you don't mind.” She insisted. The two only looked at one another and looked away. “Um... okay, I guess.” Aramis said with embarrassment. “On one condition.” Graham added. “Well, what is it darlings?” She asked, confusion planted on her face. “We get measured alone.” Rarity giggled as she agreed. She then took Aramis into a separate room. “Alright, so do you need me to stand still and hold my arms out or something?” he guessed. “That’s exactly what I need you to do, except you need to strip down.” She nearly giggled at his embarrassed expression. He took off his hoodie and shirt in one fell swoop. Then he took off his shoes, unbuckled his belt and took off his pants, standing in her dressing room in nothing more than his black boxers. “Can we continue?” he asked, interrupting Rarity who was clearly looking him over. She blushed slightly and regained her professional composure. “By strip down, I meant all the way. I need to be able to get detailed and precise measurements of you to compensate for your anatomy. It’s just because i have never fitted a human before in my life, so I’m just taking precautions. Besides, there are so many Ideas I wish to try on you two!” she explained. His face looking as professionally serious one can get as he slowly took of his boxers. He had one hand covering his genitals and shivered slightly from the windy draft that swept through him. “Aramis, I can tell you’re clearly embarrassed at doing something like this, but I promise you it’ll be quick and you’ll like the results of my precise measurements.” She pleaded,hoping to get it done and over it with for his sake. He sighed deeply. “Fine...let’s get this over with.” he held his arms out and looked straight ahead. Rarity quickly and efficiently used her magic to measure his entire body with multiple measure tapes, taking notes down here and there. In less than ten minutes, she had managed to get hundreds of measurements to get a good idea about his body build and what kinds of clothes would suit him and which kinds would need some reworking. Once she finished, he redressed himself and walked out to the lobby and wished Graham luck. “What for?” he asked confusedly. “You’ll find out soon.” was Aramis’ ominous reply. Rarity then guided Graham towards the same room. He closed the door behind him and let out a sigh. Rarity picked up on his uneasiness. “What’s wrong darling?” she asked. Graham looked at her and chuckled a bit nervously. “Well, I’ve never really had measurements before...” Rarity smiled reassuringly. “It won’t be that bad, all you need to do is take off your clothing, and let me measure. That’s all there is to it!” She looked at his face to see that it was more than just his first time being measured. “Is it that you’re afraid of being... well, naked? It’s not so bad, darling! I mean look at us!” She said those words like she found it weird. Graham shook a little bit and sighed. ‘Yeah, well you’re ponies. Why wouldn't you find it weird that our kind always wears clothing?’ Graham thought to himself. He knew that they were completely new to them, being the first humans to exist in Equestria in a long time. Who knew how long the last one was? To him, on account of the only human he ever saw in the series was one child, but that was twenty or so years ago, and who knew how that translated to Equestrian time! He needed to...educate...her on why clothing meant so much. With that in mind, he spoke up. “Yeah, Rarity look. We humans don't exactly run around without clothing. We’re a little bit more inclined to what we wear, so to speak. It’s our thing. We just don't feel comfortable with them off. That’s why Aramis might’ve acted the way he did. He didn't tell me anything, but I sure as hell knew what he was talking about.” After this little speech, Graham looked at her to see her reaction. What he saw was a look of uncertainty. Rarity tilted her head. “Well, what does clothing mean to you?” Graham thought about it. “Well, it keeps me warm, makes me look good, and hides things I don't want others seeing. That’s about it.” He said as Rarity let his words sink in. “Well if it makes you feel any better, would you be at least comfortable with stripping down to your underwear?” she compromised, hoping to save him any further embarrassment. “U-uh, s-sure, I guess.” he nervously replied. The unicorn swiftly took his measurements, trying her hardest not to make him feel uncomfortable. Graham stood still, looking at her every movement. After she had finished, Rarity had briskly walked out of the room to allow him to change. He came out moments later, still appearing slightly disgruntled, but comfortable. “I’m very sorry for taking so long there Twilight, but you know how I am with my measurements.” Rarity apologized. “It isn’t a big deal. Plus, you did have some interesting magazines to read.” she said with a grin. The fashionista turned her sights to Aramis, catching his attention with her deep cerulean blue eyes. “Aramis, could I talk to you for a moment— in private please?” she asked. He nodded and followed her into the back. “What’s up?” was all he said. “I just wanted to apologize for forcing you to completely undress. I didn’t understand why you two were so attached to your clothes until Graham explained it to me. If I had know it was part of your customs... I-I just get so care-” he interrupted her with a pat on the head. “It’s not your fault Rarity. You didn’t know any better, and frankly it’s my fault for not being clear about my comfort zone and how humans view clothing. Lucky Graham told you, otherwise we would’ve completely forgot.” Aramis explained calmly, walking back out to the living room. She smiled gently at his understanding and followed him out. Her guests then took their leave, leaving Rarity to her work. (V)(;,,;)(V) The mid-afternoon sun blazed brightly upon them as they aimlessly walked through town, heading again through Ponyville Square. Many ponies were bustling the streets, some with children, some with a special someone, and others purchasing goods or services from the many market stands, too busy to really notice them. Before they could continue any further, a greeting got their attention. “Hey-ya fellers! How you three doin’!?” shouted a pony in their direction. They turned around to find Applejack diligently working the Sweet Apple Acres market stand by herself. “Well, hey to you too Applejack!” Graham called out as they walked over. The market stand she was attending was filled with many apple-related sweets, such as pies, crumb cakes, and many other items for sale. Graham could only drool at all of the food right in front of him. Aramis suddenly grabbed the back of Graham’s shirt and pulled him back. “Easy, tubby.” he said as Graham whimpered. He and Aramis never really ate since their arrival in Ponyville and Graham was definitely showing it. Applejack could only laugh as she picked up a pie. She handed it towards the man and simply smiled. “Take it, it’s on the house.” Graham soon took a piece and chomped a big mark into it. Graham could only lick his lips clean of the remnant of the pie on his face with sheer happiness. Aramis’ stomach growled loudly in hunger and he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Could I take you up on that offer too, Applejack?” he asked sheepishly. She grinned and handed him a pie. He took a moderate bite out of it and his eyes lit up at the flavor. “Like it, I take it?” She asked as the two only stood there. “Like it? We Love it!” they said in unison. The ponies laughed as the humans bit into their pies again. Applejack waved them off as they walked away. “Come by Sweet Apple Acres when y’all get the chance!” she yelled out as the group headed towards Fluttershy’s house, on the outskirts of Ponyville. They reached their destination after a short walk and Graham, suddenly stopped looking around. “I remember this now... wasn't this where I was being fixed up?” he asked. Aramis shuddered. “Let’s try not to think about it.” he said rather quickly as they followed Twilight towards the door. Twilight knocked and Fluttershy answered almost instantly. It was as if she was waiting right next to the door the entire time. “Um... hello?” Fluttershy saw it was her friends and she floated towards the two humans. She looked all over them, hoping not to find a single scratch. “You two have made a great recovery!” she said excitedly, her voice slightly higher than what her friends were used to hearing. “Well, when you have a capable pony such as Twilight on the job, then you’re definitely in capable han- er hooves.” Graham chuckled a bit at his slip up. “Don’t go discredit her Graham... it was Fluttershy here who found us as a broken mess. If it wasn’t for her finding us and her expert bandaging skills, I’m not quite sure if we would have made it as far as we have.” Aramis said, his voice full of appraisal and thanks to the shy, kind-hearted pegasus who had put aside her fear for the safety of others. “I-I was just trying to do the right thing. I would never leave a poor creature injured or to die alone. I’ll always stay by their side until I know they’re fully recovered.” Fluttershy said modestly. “That’s why you’re the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy. You’re just so caring of others no matter whom or what they are. If they’re in danger or in a crisis, you’re the first one there to try to help in any way you can and you shouldn’t let that discourage you.” She smiled brightly at Graham’s uplifting statement and invited them in. They all took a comfy seat on one of the long couches and laid back while Fluttershy walked over to the kitchen. “Would you three like some tea?” she quietly asked them. The three of them nodded while they calmly waited for her to brew the tea. Once she had finished, she balanced a tray on her wings with a tea pot, cups, milk, cream, and even sugar and delicately slid it onto the coffee table. She took a seat diagonally from the three of them. “Cream, milk, or sugar?” Fluttershy asked them. “Milk, I suppose.” Graham answered while she poured it into the drink, while looking at Aramis. “I’ll have some cream and sugar if that’s alright with you, Fluttershy.” Aramis politely asked. “Sugar and milk works just fine for me ‘Shy.” Twilight said. Within moments, all three of them had their tea served and quietly sipped at it before Aramis cheerily commented on the taste. “Thanks, Fluttershy. I have to say, this is very good tea. It tastes fine on its own, but with cream and sugar, it tastes even better.” Aramis praised her tea brewing skills excitedly, contently sipping at his tea. “I gotta agree, this is really good!” Graham added as he finished his drink quickly. “Are either of you two experiencing any pains or aches since your full recovery? That is, if you don’t mind me asking.” the shy pegasus asked, wanting to make sure that their wounds had healed correctly. Graham spoke up. “Well, I got this creak in my neck I think needs to be seen. If there’s some time could I get that checked?” Fluttershy listened to his problem and smiled. “I could probably see you tomorrow, if you don't mind. Let’s see what some rest can do for it, and then I’ll see what I can do what I can to relieve it.” Graham smiled in thanks. “Works for me!” “Good! That’s good...” was all she said as the two kept sipping their tea. Aramis and Graham looked at her, and wondered how she could handle taking care of so many animals. “Fluttershy, if you don’t mind me asking, I was wondering how you manage to take care of all the animals not just on your property, but in the surrounding areas without breaking down? It’s just amazing at how you seem to perfectly manage it without breaking a sweat.” Aramis questioned, feeling a deep respect for the pegasus and just how much work she tasked herself with on a daily basis. “It’s not at all stressful, in fact, I find it an enjoyable experience.” Fluttershy answered. She sipped more of her tea and looked up. “Taking care of animals is possibly the greatest thing I've ever done in my life. It’s calm, and I’m helping creatures.” She said, a bright smile stretched across her soft features that could make even the coldest of people smile back. Graham was the first to remember that he and Aramis had quite a lot of places to see, so he stood up. “Well, we have a lot of other ponies to visit, I hope you don't mind us leaving.” “Not at all, it was a pleasure to finally see you two after that horrible accident.” The yellow Pegasus smiled. “I’ll see you later, ok?” The two only smiled and waved as they left with Twilight once more and began to slowly walk back towards Ponyville, when Aramis yelped loudly as he randomly tripped and fell face first into a puddle of mud. Graham and Twilight laughed mercilessly at his expense. “Laugh it up you two... laugh it up why don’t ya...” he muttered, spitting out some mud that had gotten in his mouth. A blur of rainbow flew above them before a figure hovered nearby. “Oh come on, that was hilarious! In fact, this reminds me of Twilight’s first time meeting Dash! Is this deja vu to you or what, Twi?” As soon as he said that, he looked down to see her laughing up a storm. “Yes, this is the exact same way Rainbow and I met.” He said as she controlled her giggles. Graham chuckled as he helped him up and looked up at the floating figure above them. “Oh hey, Rainbow Dash!” she looked down at the mud-soaked man and couldn't stop laughing. “Mind giving me a hoof here?” Aramis asked while signaling to his clothes. “Sure! I’ll get ya cleaned up in ten seconds flat with my patented ‘Rain-blow Dry’!” she said with enthusiasm. Rainbow Dash quickly flew a bit higher, grabbed a cloud and jumped on it, causing rain to pour on her “client”. Once she was satisfied, she flew around him in a tight circle and dried him out. When she had finished, Aramis looked as clean as he had before the mud incident. “Thanks, Rainbow Dash!” he said with a bright smile. She smiled and socked him in the shoulder. “Not a problem, big guy! Glad to see you two up and about though. I was worried you two would take forever to recover. Now I can show you all my new awesome moves, and you’ll see why I should be part of the Wonderbolts!” she stated with a conventionally common, bragging tone. “Can’t wait to see THIS.” Graham said, challenging the cyan blue pegasus. She looked at him with an angry smirk, before it twisted into the cynical kind. “Oh really? You think I, the fastest pony in all of Equestria, can’t pull off my newest tricks? What, do you think I’m some sort of...one trick pony?” The determination she felt burned brightly in her violet eyes that stared holes into Graham. He brushed her off and laughed. “Whatever you sa—” “No! We are going to settle this one way or another.” “Alright. Anytime, anyplace and we’ll see if you can pull off your fancy new areal tricks. “How about the field nearby Sweet Apple Acres tomorrow?” “Alright, it’s a deal!” “You’ll be eating your words after I’m through with you.” “We’ll just have to see about that, won’t we Rainbow Dash?”She turned to face the group, her eyes focused on Aramis, who slightly felt uncomfortable at the intensity of her stare. “You will see just how good I am.” she said with a defiant, yet competitive smirk and with that she flew off to finish her weather duties. “Well that was nice. Although she’s got a bit of Trixie talkin’ in there.” Graham said as he kept walking. As Twilight lead the group once again, a big smirk formed on Graham’s face. “So, care to tell me how Equestria feels now? Last time I checked, you wouldn't even watch the show.” Graham sat there, waiting for an answer, watching as Aramis stifled a laugh. “Well? What do you think?” “Being here isn't gonna change anything!” Aramis laughed as Graham groaned, slapping his face with his palm. “You mad?” he asked Graham mockingly. “Mad about what? I’ve nothing to be mad about, dummkopf. ” He said back in that German accent. “Says the German wannabe.” he snidely replied back. “I’m more German than you’ll ever be, so that means more girls will love me! Haha! Everyone loves the German Guy!” He laughed pointing at his direction. “Oh really? Care to share with everypony just how great your love life was on Earth?” his gaze remained sharp on his close friend. “Shut up...” He snorted and crossed his arms. “Alright guys, how about we just go back to the library? Why is it that friends like you two argue like this?” She pleaded with them, in hopes of preventing things from really getting out of control. Luckily, the two had headed her plea and calmly walked along both sides of her in silence. “Right, right...” Graham said, scratching the back of his head as the two followed closely. They found themselves back at her tree house within minutes of their childish bickering when they waltzed inside its door. It was getting late out, as the moon was full and shining with the stars. As soon as they walked in, they were greeted with a big yell from a bunch of other ponies. “SURPRISE! WELCOME TO PONYVILLE!” Aramis took it quite well and smiled, while Graham nearly had another heart attack. It seemed like every pony that was walking the streets of Ponyville were part of this celebration. If not for Pinkie Pie, they would probably stare at them all the time, but each pony had a look of understanding, and happiness in seeing the two. Graham heard a bark and looked to his side to see his dog. “Did Fluttershy take care of ya, girl?” He smiled as the dog only wagged her tail happily after finally being reunited with her friends. Pinkie Pie and the others walked over to greet them as the others started talking with the others on their own. “Great party, huh? We got punch, cake, soda, candy, and everything just for you!” Pinkie bounced around as the others laughed, Graham on the other hand seemed a bit put off by all of this. Aramis looked over and patted his friend on the back. “Hey, you alright man?” Graham shook out of it, ignoring whatever made him feel uncomfortable and smiled. “Me? I’m great!” He lied. His smile closing the deal on it. Aramis looked suspicious for a few moments, but then looked down at Pinkie. “This party looks awesome, Pinkie! Did you do all this by yourself?” Pinkie shook her head. “No. Everypony pitched in after I told them of your arrival, and how you were both hurt in a fall. They all understood, and wanted to help! My friends here helped the most though!” She giggled as the other four ponies smiled. “Wasn’t nothin’ hard.” Applejack grinned. The other ponies chipped in after her comment. “Oh, don’t worry yourselves at all darlings!” Rarity said with a toss of her hair. “It was so easy, I had my part done before they picked up a thing!” Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest in pride at being able to help. “I hope you two like it...” Fluttershy timidly said, feeling uncomfortable around the large number of ponies she didn’t really know too well. Everyone partied and played all sort of games, having a blast and enjoying their time welcoming the two humans to their urban town. Graham’s mood however, was on a steady decline. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the party. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to celebrate. Heck it wasn’t the fact that somepony was getting flirtatious with Twilight in a very rowdy matter. It wasn’t like she couldn’t handle them, as she had promptly put them in their place and went back to enjoying the festivities while he sat upstairs watching. Something about the party didn’t sit well. Was it the amount of ponies here? Or was he still not comfortable in Equestria? So many questions... “You alright Graham? You’re looking a little down man...” Aramis called from the bottom of the stairs, his concern shadowed by the lack of lighting from the top of the stairwell. “Everything is fine. Just gimme a few minutes.” He said from up the stairs. “I just need some time alone for a minute.” Aramis knew it was something far deeper than what he let on. Without his consent, he walked up the stairs looking for him, but noticed he had moved from his spot. He saw a room, whose door was slightly ajar and walked inside, hoping to find Graham. He looked around the dark room to see a lump in a bed. He walked towards it and shook it. “Bud I know somethings up...come on talk to me; we’re like brothers for God’s sake!” He pleaded, but the silence only made it increasingly unnerving. He grabbed it to see it wasn't Graham at all, but a lump of items stacked together to make it look like him. He looked in worry towards the light to see the mess, and an open window. “TWILIGHT! GRAHAM’S GONE!” Aramis shouted. The music stopped, and everypony gasped in unison. Twilight and her friends ran straight upstairs to see he had truly vanished. “Where in the hay could he’ve gone to?” Applejack panicked. “He didn't even have any of the cake that I made!” Pinkie pulled at her hair in frustration. “Aramis, did you notice anything wrong with him as we walked around Ponyville?” Twilight stared at the man as he scratched his head. “Well...he seemed pretty anti-social after the whole run in with Rainbow Dash and that argument we kinda sorta had. Then he just seemed to get more and more upset. I have a real bad feeling about this...We need to find him pronto, or things may get out of hand real quick!” He stared out the window, the worry evident on his face as the mares struggled to get some items together along with a key helper to light the way... Hopefully, Graham wasn't too far away, or in any danger to himself or the anypony else!
Chapter 5: Scars of the PastThe entire town was soon turned upside down looking for Graham. Each pony looked far and wide within the confines of Ponyville. Every citizen looked within their homes, in the parks, everywhere and anywhere they could think of, but all to no avail. Twilight and the others were about to give up, when the purple mare thought of something. “If he’s not in Ponyville...he must be in...” She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the entrance to the Everfree Forest before her. Her friends had decided to check around the town yet again just to make sure, leaving her alone to her own devices. She slowly walked past the entrance, calling out his name but receiving no answer. ‘Where could he be? He could only get so far...’ She thought to herself as she traversed deeper into the forest. She soon came upon a cliff that seemed extremely steep. Twilight looked down and thought out loud. “I remember this... this was when Applejack first showed her honesty, when I was about to fall to my death..” She looked around for an easier way down. She quickly saw a pattern in a series of small ledges that went down the cliff and cautiously leaped to each one, quickly making her way down to the ground below. She safely walked away from the memory, as she kept trotting forth into the darkness of the forest. Several minutes passed by as she nervously walked along. She took notice of every detail of the forest floor. All of the leaves and small animals that would occasionally run by her made her feel calmer. The world around her was quiet and sound. She loved the peacefulness of it all. She soon walked into what looked like a narrow clearing, coming across another familiar place. Claw marks were noticed, as they were probably owned by a cat-like creature. “Now this I could never forget! This was where the manticore attacked us, and Fluttershy tamed it with her kindness.” She could only smile at the thought of the memories racing back, Applejack trying to ride it, Rainbow Dash swirling around it with her ‘Rainbow Tornado’ attack. All of it seemed as though it was only a brief moment ago. The memory replayed in her head as she trotted past the clearing and into a darker part of the forest. Deeper and deeper she went until she could hardly see ten feet in front of her. “I’d better light the way ahead. It’s getting too dark here.” she muttered to herself as her horn glowed a bright purple aura, illuminating the path ahead. She sighed with relief as she walked past a slew of dead trees. Some looked like they had faces on them. “This was where Pinkie sang that song about learning how to face your fears!” Suddenly, the tune Pinkie had sung so long ago started to play in her head. She started to hum it, but eventually sang it out loud as she walked. “When I was little filly and the sun was going down...” She quietly hummed the rest as she trotted forth once more. Several minutes had come and gone by the time she had finished humming the entirety of the song. Still, there was no sign of Graham anywhere. She walked quietly for a while until she came to the bend of a river. The water was calm and clear, and a stream flowed gently through the forest. She looked at the water and noticed a familiar serpent sitting in the bottom of the river. It looked up and sprang out in a glorious spray of water. The serpent looked to be about twenty five feet long, from head to tail. Its scales had a purple shine to them, and it had orange hair atop its head that seemed fancy and suave. To finish it’s wondrous design, it had a big moustache of the same orange hue to match it’s glorious hair that seemed untouched by the water. It grinned and locked eyes with the mare, as if it was happy to see her. “Why, hello there, little one! It’s been a while since we’ve last seen each other!” The serpent practically sang with glee. Twilight smiled at the friendly face. “Hello, Steven Magnet.” She said as the creature laughed in such a way that would put a smile on anypony’s face. “Oh, you do remember me! I don't believe I told you my name though...” It sat in the river scratching its head in confusion. “Oh, I remember reading up on you once in the Foal Free Press. I have to say, they have a lot of interesting topics.” She said. She reminded herself of the situation with Graham and spoke up. “I don't suppose you know where a strange creature could be lurking, do you?” Steven tapped his chin with his claw and gained a thoughtful look upon his features. “I know what you’re talking about. About six feet, looks like some sort of naked monkey with clothes for fur?” Twilight beamed in amusement, trying her hardest to stifle her laughter, but failing miserably. “Yes, the very same. Do you happen to know which direction he went in?” the unicorn hoped with all her might that the serpent had some idea of where Graham had run off to. “I most certainly do!” he started off excitedly, coiling a claw around his mustache. “He went off in the direction of that old castle just up ahead. You know, past the bridge?” Twilight took note of the location and thanked him. “Thank you so much! That helps a lot. I’ll see you later!” “Oh hoo hoo! Anytime my purple little friend! Oh! And tell that white unicorn I said hello!” With that and a laugh, the serpent sank back into the watery abyss he took refuge in. She immediately began to trot towards the mentioned bridge and smiled. “This was the same bridge that we found those Shadow Bolts that Nightmare Moon conjured...trying to trick Rainbow Dash into ditching us.” she said with an angry look and tone. “She sure showed them.” Her expression quickly changed back to a more cheerful as she reminisced at the potential betrayal that had been swiftly averted. She carefully worked her way to the other side and saw the ruins ahead. She went into full speed towards it to see the missing Graham sitting by his lonesome in the midst of the debris of the battle she had with Nightmare Moon over a year ago. “Graham! There you are...” Twilight slowly walked towards into his field of view. He looked up and smiled, happy to see a friendly face. “Oh, Twilight, what are you doing here? I was gonna come back to the party, but I wanted to explore a bit!” Graham tried his hardest to look sincerely happy, but the slight cringe she gave him in return for his smile made him look away from her. “You ran away from your own party, that’s not very nice, you know...Aramis told me that you were sad about something. Care to talk about it?” She asked him, her voice fully laced with concern. Graham scratched his head. “Aramis always thinks I'm sad." He sighed with annoyance before he continued. "Well, I’m just not into being in the spotlight. It’s nice and all, but I’d rather just be by myself.” “But why? Why would you want to be alone, when you have new friends to be with?” She questioned. Graham chuckled a bit and sat up. “Well, it’s complicated, and really, I don’t think you’d want to hear it. It’s pretty long. I mean, I don't mind telling you my life story, since I sorta know yours.” “I was just about to ask. Besides, if you know about me, I want to know more about you.” A bright spark of curiosity shone in her deep purple orbs. Graham looked at her with a bit of nervousness and sighed. ”Alright, I warned you. It’s pretty long.” Graham laid back on a clean patch of stone and looked up at the ceiling, or what was left. Twilight found it puzzling for him to do this, but she wanted him to feel comfortable in any way he could. He laid unmoving for several moments before he spoke. “It all started back in my home town of Winchester, Massachusetts. This place is part of a big continent called America, which is part of a planet we like to call Earth. I was just a small boy, about...I want to say only 2 years of age. Things were pretty well for me. Nice home, a family who had loved me...” “Had loved you..?” Twilight interrupted. “Don't you mean loves you?” Her head tilted to the side in way that made Graham smile momentarily, but go back to what he was saying just as fast. “Well, it was about a few days after my birthday, when something went wrong... my mother, god- err, I mean Celestia bless her soul, took me away from him and divorced their marriage.” “What’s ‘divorced’ mean?” Twilight interrupted again, curiosity piqued. Graham shifted for a moment before replying. “Basically, when a married couple don’t love each other any more, they, well, separate.” Twilight nodded slowly, now understanding the gravity of the action. Graham continued. “We moved to another place known as Live Oak, which is placed in another state called Florida. We moved to this trailer, which is just a rectangular house, to live out our normal lives. About five years passed until my mother started dating someone who wasn't exactly the nicest man I ever knew.” He trailed off a bit and twiddled his thumbs a bit. “Why wasn't he?” Twilight asked immediately. He looked upon her, his eyes filled with interest. “My ‘step-father wasn’t a man of honor. By far he is almost the darkest thing to have ever step foot on Earth. The things he’s done to my mother, to me, to our family are completely unforgivable. If I didn't know any better, I would punch him right in the mouth, but I'm bigger than that.” He looked at Twilight, seeing a look of sympathy. “Can you tell me what he’s done?” She asked quietly, hoping to find out. Graham only glanced at her. “Well, I suppose.” He sighed before he continued. “He’s run over my leg with his car, which is a giant piece of metal on wheels. He’s also bashed my mother over the head with a bottle of booze multiple times, he wasted a good chunk of money on stuff we don't even need...” Graham’s anger rose past these sentences until something made him stop. He cooled down quickly and went on with his story. “Anyways, I don't know what happened, but he sorta...left.” His forest green eyes held a faraway look, as his mind thought about the horrors of his childhood. His face, however, seemed to hold a look of nonchalance. “Left...as in just vanished?” Twilight’s interest peaked to a new height. He only shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, just kinda, you know, left. They weren't married, so he just packed his things and left us. After that, we were back to being on our own for a couple years until my mother died.” Twilight gasped in shock. “What did she die of? If you don’t mind me asking that is.” she absentmindedly dug a hoof at the ground. “Um, well... it was a disease called Hepatitis C.” Graham said with a sigh. Twilight heard with her enhanced hearing and dropped her ears. “Oh my...I’m so sorry...” Twilight said with a bit of a quiet voice. Graham looked over, and frowned a bit. “How deadly is it? Is there a cure? How is it passed?” Twilight’s mood worsened at the thought of Graham’s overall loss. Graham looked increasingly saddened because of what he told her, but he kept moving forward. “It’s a disease that can be passed by blood, sexual intercourse, the usual. I don't know what happened, but turned out my step dad passed it before leaving. It was kinda like having a knife shoved right in your back, while being flipped the bird.” He said, showing her the meaning of the phrase by holding his middle finger in the air. “Never do that to another human. We hate that.” “So...all this...and you bottle these things up...just like that?” Twilight asked him in disbelief, not understanding how someone could bottle up so much pain. “It doesn't really stop there, either.” He said with a passive expression. Twilight couldn't understand it. He was in so much pain, but he didn't care? This was completely unnatural to any creature who could think on it’s own. None of her friends played off such serious business like this. So why is he doing it? Is it because nopony ever cared about him up to this point? And that he slowly gave up on it all? What else was he hiding? She had to know. “Graham, please don't bottle your emotions like this.” Graham lifted an eyebrow with confusion towards the purple mare. “I’m not bottling up anything. I’m perfectly fine.” Graham replied as Twilight looked at him with a frown. “Graham, you’ve lost so much, what else have you lost...?” She asked with concern. Graham sighed. “Well, I’ve lost multiple girlfriends. That’s pretty fun. Losing, oh I don't know, about...five?” Twilight frowned. “How did you lose them...?” She asked immediately. Graham scratched the stub of his chin where his little bit of orange hair stayed. “Let me see...I lost one from her getting bored of me, another by breast cancer, another one from cheating...actually the rest of them were from cheating...but there is ONE girl in particular that I remember doing the most damage...” “Go on. If it makes you feel better to talk about it, I’ll listen.” She came closer towards him without him paying attention. “It was around the beginning of middle school, and I found this girl. Her name was Crystal,” He said with a hint of anger in his voice. “Her and I were only friends at the time, but hormones took over my mind when we started dating a a couple years later...” Twilight lied down to listen more comfortably. Graham continued his little story with another sigh. “We dated for about five years. Around the fifth anniversary, I had the wonderful idea of buying her a ring...problem was, I didn't have a job, or money...so I got working on doing as many chores for as many people as I could find. It took two years to finally be able to obtain the money to buy her that special ring...” “And then what happened?” She asked with raised tone. Graham looked at her and frowned. “Well, it went about like this,” he said as he cleared his throat. “It was prom night. It was during our last year in high school, and everything was set to perfection. Me and my girl were eating, and I looked at her, and she was looking somewhere else. I decided it was time, and I knelt down and proposed with the most dazzling ring a woman of my species could ever ask for. When she looked upon it’s beauty...” He began to tear a bit. “She said no?” Twilight moved closer, but kept her distance. “...She giggled...but it didn't stop there...she started to laugh...she laughed so hard even the Deejay stopped to see what the fuck was going on. She looked at me, grabbed the ring, tossed it in the trash, told me she was cheating the entire time with someone else, to whom I did find after I ran out of the prom...and that was it...I was finished with her, and everything.” He said as he clenched his left hand into a fist. “I wanted her to die for what she did...” He soon realized what he was spiraling into, stopping himself early and sighed to cool off. Graham soon yelped in surprise as Twilight soon jumped up to him, holding him into as best a hug as she could. “Please...enough...Graham...I know I don't know you that well...but everything you’ve told me so far, it’s too much...is this what it’s like back at your own home? Are all humans like this? A-are they all so heartless?” Twilight’s face couldn't have shown more sympathy for the man if she wanted to, after hearing all the heartbreaking and miserable experiences he had suffered through. Graham looked down at her, feeling a little bad about everything he said. He slowly gave her a hug back. Even he found himself a little sad, especially since he hadn’t talked about his in such a long time, and yet he easily made her sit through his life story. “You don't have to hide anything anymore...” Twilight muttered under her breath as Graham kept hugging her. “Look Twilight I didn't mean to make you sad. But you don't have to show me sympathy. I’ve been through a lot, and yes, I am a little angry at times, but I’ve learned to suck it up and move on. That’s all I can do.” He started to calm down as he looked at her. “But I gotta thank you for staying here. I’m sorry for running...it’s just that I’ve never really had anyo- err, anypony throw a party, or give me things, or anything that you ponies did on my planet. It’s been just me and Aramis for awhile.” He then patted her on the head. “You ponies, just like on the show, show kindness, and do everything to make us smile. I can’t name a darn thing that you all did that wasn't nice.” He said as he smiled a bit himself. Twilight took her hoof and smiled warmly. “We only try to be nice because it’s the right thing to do, and we want everypony to be happy.” Twilight felt good about being there for her new friend. Graham soon found himself hugging the purple pony even harder. Graham spoke up abruptly. “I do wanna apologize for having you sit through my whole story, though. I told you it would be long. But I do wanna thank you for sitting through it, I know I already thanked you, but it felt kinda nice talking about it after so long. Even if it’s under the weird circumstances of me knowing all about you, and you knowing nothing.” Twilight was beaming with happiness. “Graham, it’s no problem at all, it’s what friends do for each other. We all help each other out, and get to know each other. So far, you’ve been nice to us, and even though I found you knowing me before I ever met you was both scary and surprising, I’m glad I got to meet you and your friends.” She let go of him as he stood up. They wanted to make sure they didn't miss the party, after all! As they walked towards the remains of a front door, Graham thought of something. “Hey, Twilight. If I talked about myself, and you now know more about me from all of this, does that mean we’re even?” Twilight was a little confused. “What do you mean ‘even’?” “Well, I knew about you before I even met you in person, and you knew nothing about me, and I gave you that shock of your life, does this mean we’re even?” Twilight laughed at this. “Yes, Graham. We’re even.” While they kept talking each other, they heard rustling in the surrounding bushes. Graham stood up to see what it was, only to find Aramis walk out from them. Gypsy, along with other five ponies closely behind with joy. “Ugh...do you know how much trekking it took for me to find this damn place, Graham? Jesus, I had to backtrack through my memories based on the one episode you showed me just to figure out where we were going!” Aramis exclaimed, one of his eyes dangerously twitching in frustration. Graham and Twilight looked at each other and started to laugh. Applejack trotted up next to Aramis and looked at the two and developed a question in her head. “So what happened to y’all? Why'd you leave?” Graham and Twilight stopped laughing immediately and blushed, looking away from each other. “No reason, Applejack. I just wanted to take a little bit of time for myself, and After Twilight found me, we had a little “Man to pony” talk. That's all.” Graham responded with a smile. Applejack had a look of understanding as the group of friends backed off. As the others calmed down from the excitement of finding them, Graham looked back at Twilight while the others led them back into town. “You know, you’re the nicest friend I’ve ever had, next to Aramis anyway.” He watched as Twilight grinned from ear to ear. “No problem, Graham. You’re my friend, and I would never leave you like that. From now on, you and your friends, are our friends.” The girls nodded in agreement. Aramis gave a small smile and heartily laughed when Gypsy barked in reply. Graham gave her a quick hug before they caught up with the others.
Chapter 6: A Man's True ColorsThe night was long and tiring, and yet nopony wanted to sleep due to all that had been going on. That was completely fine as the night was now well behind them, and the sun was rising up in front of their weary, but relieved faces. They headed back to the now-dispersed party that had dissipated since the star guests weren’t there. Arriving at Twilight’s tree house, they decided to enjoy what little remnants of the festivities were left. Graham’s first priority was to make up for lost time and try some of Pinkie Pie’s famous fruit punch. He walked over towards the bowl and grabbed himself a cup. After serving himself, he sat down in a chair close by and drank the punch, eyes widening at the perfect combination of fruits blended together into a wonderful drink. “So what was really going on over at the ruins, Twilight? Was there something wrong, Darling?” Rarity asked. Twilight looked at Graham, as he looked back. “Err...Nothing really...Just some talking. That’s all.” Twilight encouraged the idea. Applejack didn't seem satisfied with her answer, and planned to uncover what she believed was truth. “Ya’ll know that you can tell us anythin’ right?” Applejack assured. Everypony present looked over towards her direction, then back at them. “Applejack’s right, anything you wanna tell us you don't have to hide it!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “You’re our friends, and you can trust us!” Graham chuckled. “I know I can, but maybe later, alright? All you gotta know is I took a walk, and Twilight and I had a big talk.” For one reason or another, the cow-pony didn't feel like taking just "having a talk" for an answer. She frowned at him, making him feel uncomfortable under her sad look. “I assure you, Applejack, nothing happened between us, It was just some talking--” Graham didn’t get to finish, as the orange mare interrupted him. “Are ya sure? I mean, if it’s that you’re worried about our reactions, you don't hafta!” She said pointing a hoof at the two. They looked at each other again and sighed simultaneously. “Why are you so interested towards us?” Graham asked. The orange pony looked at him. “B’cause I want you to know you can be one hun’red percent open to us.” She smiled, thinking he was going to explain about his disappearance. “What? No! I know I can...” Graham looked away out of discomfort. Applejack only grew stronger with words because of this. “Graham...” Applejack frowned noticeably. “Look, I’ll tell when I’ll tell, ok?” Graham responded awkwardly, trying to dismiss the powerful conversation coming from her. “Applejack, He’s not comfortable with it right now, can we drop it until he’s ready?” Twilight pleaded, seeing that she wouldn't give up. “A-applejack, it’s nothing, okay?” the poor man tried to defend himself, but Applejack was taking it too personal. “If it was nothing, then what’s the big issu—” she was cut off by Aramis, a stern look on his face. “Applejack, cut it out. You know he’s not comfortable with talking about it yet so quit pushing. I’m pretty sure you’re aware of how uncomfortable you’re making him feel.” Aramis’ tone made Applejack reconsider her approach to the subject. She thought about it for several moments and nodded curtly in his direction, understanding of the fact she was done discussing the topic. She felt bad for pushing the subject. Graham released a sigh of relief and shook Aramis’ hand. “Danke, Aramis.” Aramis looked at him with a smile. “Bitte.” Was all Aramis said, as Graham grinned. “Oh hey! You’re learning!” He shouted joyously, as he laughed and softly punched him in the arm. Twilight smiled and found herself with a brief moment of privacy from the others, as she looked long and hard at Graham. A smile slowly enveloped her face, but was almost immediately wiped off as Pinkie Pie popped up from behind her, giving her what felt like a heart attack. “So what did ‘cha talk about? I won’t tell, Pinkie Promise!” She asked bouncing around. Twilight then put her hoof near Pinkie’s mouth and shushed her. “Can you keep a secret?” She whispered. Pinkie nodded furiously. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” She said giggling with a short snort at the end. Twilight only rolled her eyes as she guided her to a more private part of the house, where nopony could see or hear them. “So what’s the secrecy?” Pinkie asked with a tilt of her head. Twilight only whispered in her ear. “I don't know if Graham wants me saying anything, but he told me quite a bit about his life...it’s quite awful, and I feel really sorry for him...Aramis and his pet are the only friends he’s ever had...” she confessed. Pinkie Pie only gasped, quickly being silenced by the purple mare’s hoof once more. “At first, I wanted to study more about his species after the big welcome party and all, but now I just feel like I want to be there for him.” She said softly. “He opened up to me about something he said he never told anypony before. Heck, he’s never had a true marefriend, or family before either. I want to learn more about him and see if I can help in any way possible while I study more about the Human kind.” Pinkie’s eyes looked as if they would burst from the look of surprise, but soon a smile formed. “Well, maybe you should--” Her words were cut off by Spike’s sudden appearance with a letter. “Princess Celestia wants you to have this.” He said as he passed the scroll to her. Spike then walked downstairs to see the two men standing at the table in the kitchen. “Whoa...what the heck are you things? And why are you in our house! You must be robbers!” Spike looked at them with an angry face, with his eyes focused on the both of them like a hawk to its prey. The two looked at each other and laughed. “Spike, we’re not robbers, mein freund!” Graham gasped between chuckles. “We’re friends of Twilight and the others.” Graham answered after settling down. “Really? Oh, sorry--wait, how do you know my name?” Spike questioned. “Easy, Twilight told us about you.” Aramis quickly lied. He didn't want to tell the small kid a big story. He thought that he would take it easy, and tell him the truth another day. “Oh! That makes sense.” Spike said afterwards. He figured it was only logical that Twilight told them about her number one assistant. As the three downstairs were chatting, Twilight and Pinkie read the note together. “Looks like Princess Celestia wishes to meet the two, and check on things. It’ll be a nice visit.” Twilight said with a smile. “Oooooh! I wonder what she wants,” Pinkie exclaimed happily “Maybe she’s going to wish them a joyful time in Ponyville, or maybe she will be able to send them back home!” Pinkie’s words echoed in Twilight’s mind over and over. ‘Would Celestia really be able to do that? Would she actually do that if she could? This was a lifetime chance to study Humans for the first time ever! Not to mention that she didn't want Graham to go back to that awful planet! No creature should ever have to induce something as horrid as a planet filled with misery and pain!’ Her mind raced with negative thoughts, no longer paying attention to the party, Pinkie, or anything. Until a voice broke her out of the trance she placed herself in. “Come on Twilight, let’s go have some fun.” She looked towards the voice to see Graham standing there offering a hand to her. Her head became clear once more, as she smiled and nodded, placing her hoof in his hand for a moment to show her gratitude for the offer. They went back to the party together well into the day. The day passed on without a hitch, everypony having a good time, Graham and Twilight spent a lot of their time together, all while Aramis has been spending his time with Rainbow Dash. The party finally ended in the afternoon where everypony broke off to do their normal routine. Before they left, the gang stayed behind to help Twilight clean up the remains around the library in preparation for Celestia arriving shortly. Luckily there wasn’t that much to clean up, Pinkie Pie’s parties somehow leave the smallest amount of messes behind them, despite having a lot of party streamers and balloons. “So, Princess Celestia wants to see us?” Aramis asked out loud, his head facing Twilight. She was busy finishing up cleaning the library when she heard the question. “She’s coming in exactly fifteen minutes.” She said. Graham looked over and scratched his head. “So...what are the princesses like in reality? Are they just like on T.V?” Graham wondered. Celestia, he knew by heart what she was like, but it was Princess Luna who he felt confused about. He remembered seeing Luna a few times, but never saw her really do much, except for her Nightmare Moon attack and when she tried to fit in with pony society after being so socially awkward. “Princes Celestial’s very fair and just. Just like any princess I’d say. She’s kind, and sincere, but when it comes to anything serious, she speaks business first. She’s a really nice mentor.” Twilight looked at the room and how spotless it was. While Twilight and Graham were talking about other things, Aramis turned to his right to see his friend Rainbow Dash. She sat by a nearby window doing nothing except absently staring out into space. He decided it was time to finally talk to her face to face, and really interact with her. In a way he felt that she was like him in some aspects or ways. “Hey Rainbow Dash, what’s up?” Aramis asked her, as he approached her. “Doin’ good I guess, just a little bored.” she answered in a smooth tone, trying her hardest not to look at him. “Well if you were fine, it wouldn’t look like you’re fighting to not look at me like I’m some specimen from outer space. Oh, wait...” he chuckled. She held a laugh of her own at how easily he caught her and decided to come clean. “Well, I’ve been thinking about when you, um...almost lost your buddy over there, and how I was gloating and all...” She trailed off as soon as he took a seat next to her. “Water under the bridge. Trust me, it’s all good.” Aramis assured. Rainbow took it kindly, but another question rose up. “I don't wanna sound like I’m getting in your business, but how did you two become friends? And that planet or whatever you’re from Twilight was talkin’ about? What’s it like? I was listening in on her conversation with Pinkie about studying or whatever...” “I’m guessing you’d like to know a little bit about our background and just why we treat it like taboo, huh?” he questioned her with a flat tone, his honey brown eyes locked with a faraway look on them. “Yeah...that’s if you’re fine with talking about it.” she asked him awkwardly, in a manner similar to Fluttershy’s timidness. He took a seat across from her and sighed. “Well, to start, there’s a lot of stuff in my life that have kind of left me br—” The two were interrupted by a bright light, when out of the light stood the majestic Princess Celestia, Her hair and tail flowing on its own, displaying her grace and power. She looked upon her subjects and smiled so sweetly that even the most violent of tempers would have been calmed. “Twilight, are you sure it was supposed to be fifteen minutes, not fifteen seconds?!” Aramis cried out of shock as the princess gave her greetings. “Greetings, my little ponies.” She said with a voice like an angel. Everyone only bowed to the magnificent specimen known as an alicorn. Graham immediately took himself to the floor before her, as Aramis took a second to realize what he was supposed to do, after a nudge from Rainbow Dash. “There is no need for bowing.” She gestured while smiling away. Everyone stood back up, as if on command. “I am here to speak to the ‘humans’ Graham and Aramis.” She stared towards the two as they only looked upon her. “Graham, Aramis, there is a reason why you were brought here; it was me that transported you here. Of course, you being dropped fifty feet was not the plan at all. That, my two new friends, was only an accident.” She confessed as the two looked at each other for a brief second. “I knew it!” Aramis shouted. “I knew you were a goddamn troll! All those pictures on the Internet were actually telling the truth, and here is the living proof!” a maddening look flashed over his eyes, as he had finally proved that Princess Celestia was indeed trying to trick him. Graham immediately slapped Aramis in the back of the head. “Aramis, for god’s sakes, keep it down! She didn't mean it to actually happen, so leave it alone!” He looked upon his friend with extreme anger for his outburst. “My ass she didn’t mean to. You can’t seriously believe that the ‘all powerful and omnipotent’ Princess Celestia couldn’t calculate the trajectory of the teleportation.” he crossed his arms indignantly, refusing to believe otherwise. “Ok smart one, then you describe how to properly use a teleportation spell...oh wait, I’m the only one who reads up on that shit!” Graham sneered. “Guess who provided you with the books dumb-ass!” “You provided only one book! I bought the other ones myself! Not to mention all of the creature Mythology Books!" Twilight’s ears perked up at the discussion, immediately folding backwards to show fright. “Both of you please stop!” Twilight demanded, as she got between the two. “Graham, I know you were trying to defend the princess, but physical violence is something you shouldn't commit. Now promise me you won’t do it again.” Graham nodded in response and looked down in guilt. She looked towards Aramis’ direction. “And you, Aramis, shouldn't accuse the princess of being a ‘troll’ or any other monster.” Twilight’s eyes look like they were ablaze with anger towards her new friends. Graham looked back at her, and frowned. They both apologized to each other, and then Aramis turned to Celestia. “Sorry...” He mumbled, but luckily it was loud enough for her ears to he “It’s alright, I understand you are angry and confused about everything.” She brushed it off. She looked down at them once more. Her gaze fixed upon Graham. He noticed this and was questioning her in his mind. He knew he couldn't ask aloud. ‘Well, if you brought us here, why did you...?’ He thought in his mind, the princess only smiled. “I was just getting to that.” She answered. Graham gasped and looked back at her in shock. “I-I didn't even ask anything! How did you--” was all he said as she giggled. “I am the ruler of Equestria, Graham. I can do many things, such as bring you here, and read your very thoughts. “ “R-right...” He said back. “I forgot you were powerful here...” She only nodded and began to speak again. “I saw how horrible your lives were on your planet, and I wanted to extend my hoof for your friendship. It is a long story, but I wanted to see if humans could live alongside live alongside pony-kind in harmony.” “What was that last part?” Aramis asked. Celestia looked towards his direction. “Believe me Aramis, I will be able to answer in due time. But right now, I wish to know how your time here has been going so far.” “It’s doin’ great! The hospitality here is beyond wonderful.” Graham said. He looked towards the direction of Twilight, who only smiled. “Everyo--everypony has been kind, and been making sure we’ve had only the best that Ponyville can offer.” He added. The other ponies had smiles on their faces, and a warm sensation in their hearts, knowing fully well they had done good. She looked at Aramis and nodded to him expectantly. “Our experience started off on a bit of a rocky start, but it’s been smooth sailing since our first day. The past couple of days we’ve spent here have been pretty enjoyable and we’ve made some pretty good friends.” he ruffled Rainbow Dash’s hair, who laughed at the gesture. The sun princess smiled warmly at the humans and the elements of harmony in understanding. “Wonderful, just wonderful. I hope that the hospitality will only be better each day, and that you enjoy yourselves. Although, I wish to extend an invitation to you to stay a night in a guest room in the castle.” She looked upon the man’s face to see shock. “C-caa-caa-castle? Canterlot Castle?” Graham managed to finally have the words formed into a sentence. Aramis looked over. “What, is it that big a dea--” “That big of a deal? Are you crazy? That’s like the highest honor! It’s like somepony just said to you ‘Congratulations! For doing absolutely nothing, you receive a night’s stay at the playboy mansion’! That’s BIG, Aramis” Graham threw his arms over his head to express the overwhelming excitement he felt. Aramis looked at him as though he had two heads for that very moment. “OK, Graham, I think I got the message after ‘the highest honor. ‘“ Aramis pointed out with a sarcastic rolling of his eyes before he sighed with relief from the Brony freak out Graham just had. Celestia only smiled, as she looked upon her subjects. “If the six of you would like to join them, you’re all very welcome to. Be aware though, that we may have to do some bedding accommodations if we’re short on rooms. I have some business to discuss with the eight of you anyhow, first thing tomorrow morning.” The six nodded without even a thought, and very soon, the princess was on her way. With a flash of light, she took her leave for the group to get ready. Before she left, she told Twilight that a chariot would be on its way to pick them up in roughly two hours, giving them just enough time to pack what they needed. “Hold on, if she was gonna just teleport outta here, why didn't she just bring us, instead of leave us here for a ride?” Aramis asked out loud. Sadly though, nopony listened. “Anyone?” He soon gave up and sat down again. “Well, I don't have much to pack— actually neither of us do.” Graham mumbled as he looked at his clothes. “These are the only things we have to our name since the day we arrived here.” “Not necessarily, darling. I had enough time to quickly stitch up some clothing for another set of clothes. It’ll have to do until I can finish an entire set that can last you a full week or so.” Rarity smiled, as she walked out of the tree house. “I’ll pack them up in my saddlebag so don’t worry yourselves!” She proclaimed excitedly, as she trotted away to go pack. The others followed in her steps and went off to their own respective packing. The only people left were Twilight, Spike and the two humans. “Well, I might as well pack myself something to study.” and with that she excused herself to go pack her essentials. Graham started chuckling to himself as he sat in a nearby recliner. “What's got you all giddy?” Aramis asked, knowing full well the trip to Canterlot had nothing to do with it. “Oh, nothing to be bothered with, Aramis.” He smiled at his thoughts. His friend had a pretty good idea what it was and decided to take an educated guess. “It’s Twilight, isn't it?” Graham looked up with another chuckle. “Maybe, maybe not.” he replied with a sly grin. “Alright so it is her. Might as well spill the details, or you may not hear the end of it from me.” Aramis said with a bold tone. Graham only looked away in slight embarrassment. “Well, her and I were alone, and--” He was immediately cut off by Aramis’ loud voice. “You two had a heart to heart moment, right?” He guessed with a toothy grin. “A little bit...she kinda wanted to know why I ran off, and I told her my life’s story.” “You mean the very same story you never wanted anyone else to know but me?” He asked. “Yeah, that’s the one!” Graham smiled in the recliner. Aramis stared at his friend with disbelief. “I’m actually quite surprised. I never really expected you to tell your entire life story to anyone beside me, much less your favorite pony...” Aramis only smirked, as he leaned over and whispered in his ear. “So, does this mean you two are gonna go out or what?” Graham’s face flushed redder than one of Sweet Apple Acre’s sweetest apples. Aramis could only stifle his amusement for a brief moment before continuing. “Look buddy, I was jokin’, calm down.” he laughed it off, hoping to convince his friend. Graham looked at him, quickly turning away and stuttered. “Alright, but you know it’s not like that.” “Yeah, yeah.” Aramis yucked it up more, as his friend only rolled his eyeballs. “Oh yeah? Well, what about you and Rainbow Dash, huh?” he pointed out, trying to move the topic away from his current feelings for the purple mare. “I won’t deny she’s pretty nice for a talking horse.” Aramis replied with a snort, eyes crinkling in amusement. “Oh come on now, is RD really changing your outlook on them? Or is this a fluke?” Graham’s investigative attitude showed itself, leaving Aramis to defend himself against his accusations. “Believe me, it doesn't change a thing. I just think she’s cool and all.” “Riiight.” “Oh, shut up, you German Nazi.” Graham’s eyes practically popped out of their sockets in anger the minute he heard this. His gaze darted towards his friend, and his mind wandered to pictures of violence. Graham felt like the world was turning red at the mention of that word Aramis joked with. “Never...EVER...call me that again!” Aramis didn't feel too comfortable under his gaze, so he decided to apologize right then and there. “Alright! I won’t do it again, just don't gimme that look, you know I’m joking.” “Just because my family has a...history....with Nazi’s...does NOT make me one...DO YOU UNDERSTAND!” Graham took forever to utter the middle of that sentence, as uncomfortable as he was mentioning his family history being anywhere near a part of possibly the world’s worst mistake of a “proud” army. “Graham, calm dow--” “NO! YOU CALM DOWN! YOU DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO! I MAY BE GERMAN, MY FAMILY MAY HAVE A NAZI HISTORY, BUT FUCK YOU, ARAMIS! FUCK! YOU!” Aramis couldn’t believe the storm he sailed right into. He felt terrible for pressing his buttons like that, but he knew he went too far this time. Graham grabbed his friend by the collar of his shirt, ready to raise a fist to the one person that stuck by him longer than he could remember. As he raised it high over his head, ready to launch, he spoke in his German tongue. “Ich hoffe, dass sie brennen in der Hölle, du und der rest der monster für Verspotteten mich, für einmal im zusammenhang mit Menschen, die ein Teil dieser ekelhaft gruppe!” Graham, as hard as it was to understand his language, got his message across, but not until Twilight bolted downstairs to find out what was going on. She finally got downstairs to have her ears flop onto her head. Her body quivered in fear, as if she was looking at somepony different. “G-Graham...” Graham responded to this with a snarl, but looked over to instantly stop his rage. Looking upon the frightened mare, he instantly forgot his problem with Aramis, and started to tear a bit, knowing that he’s done the unthinkable: scare his favorite pony. She stood there speechless for several long, silent moments. “I-I...” "T-Twilight, I didn't hit him, I just got a little angry, You gotta believe me!” Twilight didn't listen as she started to back away, walking up the stairs. “Twilight, please. I didn't mean to snap! Honest! Please don't--” She didn't give him another word. Instead, she ran back upstairs, hiding away from the German and his attempts to apologize from scaring the daylight out of her with his anger and means of harming another being. Graham had just promised her that he wouldn't dare try to commit physical harm to anypony again, and yet, he was about to club his friend for a joke. "Sorry Graham, I didn't expect her to react like that. I'll go talk to her." Aramis slowly walked in the direction of Twilight’s room, but was stopped short by Graham's voice. "No, let her be. I screwed up. I broke my promise to her, and now she’s scared. I don't think there’s anything you or I can do except wait, so that I can talk to her." Was all he managed to say to keep Aramis at bay. Aramis didn't like it, but he listened to his friend's request, sitting down on a chair. A few minutes passed, but to the both of them, seemed more like years, as Twilight came down with her luggage. “Well, I guess we’re all set to go then.” the tan man said in a cheery voice, hoping to break the awkward silence that had formed. “Why don’t we go meet with the others.” Were the only words that came from Twilight, her mind seemingly fixed on something other than the two men, as she absentmindedly walked out the door, not caring if they were following or not. “I’m worried... I put myself out there too far...” Graham sullenly admitted. His close friend patted him on the back in a comforting manner. “I’m sure it’ll clear itself out by morning, let’s all just calm down, and have a good time at the castle, alright? I shouldn't have fucked around with you like that.” He hoped that something would keep Graham’s mind adrift from the event that transpired. “Yeah...I guess I’ll give her some space.” Graham muttered weakly in response. The two started following the unicorn, as everyone gathered around near the town park. They all waited for about a few minutes passed by when the carriage arrived, led by a Pegasus in golden armor. “Here’s our ride!” Pinkie Pie excitedly exclaimed as the soldier came to a halt. The group lumped their baggage in the back, as they sat together inside. Once they were ready, they were lifted from the ground, into the air. Aramis seemed to be the most fascinated by this experience, as he poked his head out to view the world below. “Man, I wish I could fly, the ponies look like little bugs from up here!” He blurted out with a warm laugh, as he took in every sight he could find, almost as if he was making a game out of it. “You know who would like this? Cammy. The guy’s always been about flying.” Graham chuckled, trying his best to get over his guilt trip from earlier. He looked from his own side as the mares looked at them with confusion. “Are you telling me that your kind cannot fly?” Rarity asked towards no direct name. Graham took the time to put his head back into the carriage to look at her before answering. “Well we can, just not like Pegasi. We use these things called ‘airplanes’ that travel an amazing distance within a short amount of time.” The others looked in interest. “So how fast are we talkin’ about?” Rainbow Dash decided to ask her own. She figured these things weren't nearly as fast as her, especially after a sonic rainboom. “The fastest plane built in our world is capable of reaching well over seven thousand miles per hour or Mach nine point six speeds for flying junkies.” Aramis pointed out factually, as he brought his head back inside from the cold whipping air. Rainbow’s eyes showed complete awe and a hint of doubt. “No bucking way; that fast?” Aramis looked at her reaction with an amused smirk. “Oh yeah, fastest we’ve ever gotten.” The smirk was accompanied by a chuckle as Rainbow started blurting out. While she and the others were chatting away, Graham seemed more focused on the mare he broke his promise to. He wondered to himself if she really was scared of him, despite listening to his stories and his practical scream for a friend like her. About twenty minutes passed by as the castle and the city of Canterlot came into view. The passengers inside the carriage grew excited as they saw the bustling town of uptight folk. “First thing when I get to the castle, is getting one of those delicious gems at the jewelers.” Spike piped up as his mouth began to water at the mere thought of a topaz within his grasp. The carriage stopped near the entrance to the castle, the two men staring at its colossal size. “It wasn't as big as this on the show!” Graham laughed as he grew excited. Aramis already knew where this was going. “Brony freak out in five...four...three--” He was once more cut short as Graham ran up ahead of the others, and speeding his way inside. “He seems really excited fer Princess Celestia’s lil’ meetin’.” Applejack gave a quick chuckle as the tan-skinned man only shook his head. “It’s the places he’s always wanted to visit. Different landmarks, and locations, it’s enough to drive me to drink. Too bad I’m not old enough.” Aramis explained with minor annoyance. Fluttershy, being her usual self, only stayed from the group conversations, grabbing her own things, along with Spike. The others did the same as they walked towards the Throne room, where Graham ran into, just to meet the two princesses in their chairs of power. “Seriously, this is the coolest place I’ve ever been to! Luna, I gotta say, you’re more amazing as I thought you’d be, just like Celestia!” Graham practically drooled on himself from the sheer excitement of staying at Canterlot Castle. The two royal sisters only laughed. “I’ve never seen you run this fast since the time Pizza Mia was giving away free Pizza.” Aramis cried out towards his friend. “Oh shut it, of course you’ve seen me run this fast, and it’s not all about food!” Graham grinned his slight annoyance at his friend’s constant joking as the other finally caught up. They all looked upon the two rulers. Twilight smiled and bowed, as did the rest. “Hello, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna.” She greeted as she got up from her bow; the others doing the same. “Good day to you, my faithful student.” Princess Celestia she returned with a soft voice. The younger of the two sisters looked upon Twilight. “Greetings, one called Twilight.” She said with a not-so-high Canterlot voice, she has been working hard to use her voice in a more quiet tone, so that she would not accidentally scare off anypony she wished to speak to. Ever since her return, things have been really looking up for her, she brought the moon up into the skies once more, she was given the proper care she deserved around the castle, and best of all, ponies started acknowledging her as a princess, not Nightmare Moon, as what they used to describe her more wicked self. Twilight greeted her as the sister of the sun spoke. “We have some bedding made for you down the hall. There were some problems getting enough beds, so I wish to address, that some of you will be sleeping together tonight.” She announced. They didn't seem to mind, until she added more to her sentence. “I have an arrangement for the bedding. Graham and Twilight Sparkle, you shall both bunk together, as will Aramis and Rainbow Dash.” Graham looked at Twilight, without moving his head. He thought to himself that this felt like both a good and a bad idea. He didn't want to interrupt the alicorn, seeming as her wishes would have to be granted, so he said nothing as they all went towards their guest rooms. Graham got next to Aramis as they walked down the halls. “Something tells me Celestia did this on purpose...” Graham whispered as Aramis only smiled. “Without a doubt, she probably did do this on purpose. Look at the bright side, this is your chance to fix things, so don't be scared Graham Cracker.” He said in a calm, supportive tone. The big man only smiled back, a hint of nervousness in the back of his mind at the possibilities of how it could turn out. Everypony made their way towards their respective rooms. Graham followed Twilight into what seemed like a five star hotel room. He gazed at everything; the curtains, the bathroom they had for themselves, and the bed, that bed was possibly the greatest thing about the room. He walked over to it to feel the blanket, and it felt as though it was made of the finest silk. He carefully laid his body down on it to feel instant relaxation. He looked to his left to see Twilight unpacking her things, not even giving a glance in his general direction. “Twilight. Can we talk...?” Graham weakly pleaded. She looked over to him, and sighed. “Please...I need some time to think, alright? It’s nothing against you...It’s just...I just never saw this side of you before, and it really scared me.” “Is this about the broken promise?” Twilight stopped to look at him. “What?” “You know...don't hit anybody...” Twilight couldn’t help but feel sorry that she ran away from him, but she was still a little shaken up. “Graham, no, it’s ok. Really, it is. But right now, I just want to go to bed, and relax, ok?” Graham only sighed as he frowned. “Alright...if that’s what you want...” He rolled over to one side of the bed as Twilight jumped up with a book. Both of them got comfortable as she started scribbling something down, muttering to herself. He couldn't understand what it was, but he could have sworn he heard “Violent temper” along with his name. He wanted to say something, but felt as though the timing was inappropriate. He soon fell asleep with his own troubled thoughts. Meanwhile in the room next door, Aramis and Rainbow Dash were doing things amongst themselves. Aramis quietly ate a chocolate bar he found in his pocket, and Rainbow Dash, calmly stretched her muscles to loosen them from any stress that may have been put on from her usual morning routine. “You know Rainbow, I feel bad for Graham and it’s my fault things are a bit strained between him and Twilight now, all because I pushed him too far.” The tan man felt guilty and he couldn't help but feel that way as he sadly stared at the ceiling. “Ah come on, it can’t be that bad.” Rainbow Dash said in an attempt to calm him down. “But I edged him into raging like that I didn't want it to be like this, I thought that he could take a joke! I know I was wrong for saying that, but he knows how I mess with him. And Twilight...well, who knows what she’s feeling right now.” He said as the cyan pegasus shrugged. “Beats the hay outta me on what to tell ya, pal. I wouldn't know about Twilight’s feelings. She hardly comes out with them to us, and we're her best friends! I say give her time. She might open up later.” She said as she continued her stretches. She finished them up as she walked over to him. She plopped herself down on a chair and stared right at him. “So, tell me more about where you guys used to live, planet Dirtville.” Aramis chuckled at how the pegasus butchered his home planet name. “It’s called Earth, and really, it’s a terrible place. All I can say is, it’s filled with the most heinous, vile, most cruel people ever to walk it’s surface. Heck, Graham told me quite the story once. Something about a girl ruining his life or some shit.” He said, as he took the last bite out of his chocolate bar, and crumpled the wrapper into his pocket. The rainbow maned pony tilted her head. “Were they all discorded or something?” Aramis raised an eyebrow at her question. “No, they were always like this, far as I am concerned. Granted, there are many good humans there, but not many. Graham is one of them. He’s like my bro, always chillin’ and always there for me when I need it.” “Sounds like my friends. We’re always doin’ stuff, and we always stick together when we need to.” Rainbow Dash said comparing each other’s friends. “And now you two are part of that group.” She smiled, resting a hoof on the table. “And we would take a buck in the kisser for ya, and I hope you’re the same way.” She smiled to be greeted by his own smile. “Thanks Rainbow, that was nice to hear.” “Anytime, Aramis.” The two yawned at the same time, and decided it was time to rest. The princesses would need them for the meeting early, and they didn't want to stay up chatting. Both of them lying in the bed, they quickly were off to dreamland...
Chapter 7: Sleepless Night...Chapter 7: Sleepless Night Graham found himself alone in a black void, the surrounding darkness seemingly pressing down on him. He turned back and forth searching for something, anything. Off in the distance, he managed to make out four lines that seemed to form some kind of corridor that stretched on forever. Suddenly, he found himself inside the corridor, moving through it despite the feeling of fear festering in the pit of his stomach. A frigid wind swept towards him, making him shiver as he continued on. Eventually, Graham saw a light at the end of the hallway. He ran towards it, hoping to escape the creepy passageway he had been in. As he neared it, a warmth swept over him, quickly intensifying until Graham was no longer shivering, but sweating. Graham suddenly smacked into a wall, rebounding off it into another wall behind him. He looked all around him to see that he was boxed in, the ambient heat rapidly increasing. His clothes caught on fire, and his mouth opened in a wordless yell as he tried to extinguish the flames. The walls around him began burning up, even faster than her was, crisping away to reveal a town filled with a sea of flames. “This is…Ponyville…” Graham whispered to himself, “What happened here?” He suddenly found himself dropped in the charred remains of a building, which he recognized as Sugarcube Corner. Graham looked around, observing the wreckage. He felt a chill run down his spine before he turned towards to door… ...to see a straight-maned Pinkie Pie scowling at him, half her face missing, exposing the skull and an empty eye socket underneath. What was left of her mane was singed at the ends, and chunks of flesh were missing from her body, fresh blood matting her coat. The human was frightened and jumped back, horrified. “Pinkie!? What happened to you?” he asked nervously. The mare only growled at him before lunging, Graham barely dodging to the side. He quickly ran out the door and away from an angered screech, wondering how all this had happened. In his haste, Graham failed to notice Twilight standing in front of him, waiting before pouncing on him. He hit the ground and came face-to-face with what could only be described as a zombified Twilight. Her mouth was filled with sharp teeth, her eyes were glassed over, and her horn was snapped to half its length. The two legs that pushed him down to the ground were missing patches of skin here and there, and the hooves were cracked and splintered. Zombie Twilight snarled at Graham, who quickly pushed her off and resumed running. This time he kept his attention focused in front of him, even more scared than he had been before. The fright he felt was soon amplified by a deep chuckling that filled the air as the ruins of Ponyville greyed and disappeared. Graham found himself suspended in midair, floating in the same abyss he had begun in, except now two red orbs were suspended in front of him. The orbs narrowed, becoming slits as the chuckling continued. They brightened to reveal a human-like head and face made of red flesh. The mouth was filled with razor-sharp teeth, and two horns extended backwards from the top of the head. A voice rumbled through the void, sending vibrations through Graham as it spoke. “The lives of you mortals are so fragile...” the voice said, before chuckling once more. “Struck with the smallest ember, and they are inflamed and consumed in an instant. Hellfire and brimstone, indeed.” The man looked up at this frightening creature with both fear and awe. He had never seen this monster in any dream of his, or any of his books he had back home...except one... “W-would you, b-by any chan-nce...be a D-Daemon?” He managed to ask with a shaky voice. The being grinned, staring at him with amusement as the human stood in his claw. “So rudely inquisitive...but yes. I am what you would call a ‘Daemon’. And you, little man, are nothing but a bug I have allowed to rest in my palm.” The Daemon’s fingers twitched around Graham, startling him as they appeared to move to crush him, moving back at the last second. “Do not give me reason to deny you that honor. Remember your place, and do not ask questions you do not have the right to.” Graham scowled at the Daemon. Even if he was going crushed, this was merely a dream. And in dreams you can't get hurt...can you? He put on a angry face, and cleared his throat to sum up some confidence. “Alright, whoever the hell you are, who are you, what do you want from me, and why are you fucking with me in here! And these images of Ponyville...” The being’s eye twitched. It’s lip came up in a snarl and it’s hand closed around Graham slightly. “Are you deaf as well as overconfident? It would seem so! You have no right to ask of my name, for you are unable to even dream of matching me! I am so far above your own existence, you cannot even fathom the limits of my power! DO NOT! PRESUME! TO CHALLENGE ME!” Graham’s bravado faltered, and he took a step backwards, only to realize there was nothing behind him but the Daemon’s fingers. The Daemon frowned. “Now that you understand exactly how precarious your position is, I will indulge ONE of your blathering questions. Choose one, and do not dare to ask my name again, or I shall show you what Hell is truly like.” Graham looked down in deep thought for a second. After figuring out his choice, he looked back at the towering menace before him. “Alright, ugly. I made my decision. I wanna know what that image of Ponyville was. Why were the ponies I saw all zombie-lookin’? What does this mean?” “Confidence born of ignorance...Fine. I shall tell you what your dream ‘meant’.” The Daemon let go of Graham, who began hovering in mid-void again. “What you saw was but a glimmer of the future. You are but a single human, alone, weak, powerless, and carrying a broken soul. And one broken human cannot stop the darkness that is to come. Not two, nor four, nor four thousand.” The Daemon grinned again. “You small-minded mortal. Can you not see it? Equestria will burn, and you along with it. And NOTHING you can do will stop it.” The man let the information sink in. He was horrified beyond all belief. What could possibly come that would make Equestria end up in flames like Ponyville? Would other Kingdoms fall along with it? “Und ... sie sind wahnsinn!” He screamed at the top of his lungs at the monster before him. He wanted to smash it’s face in so much. To even come near the ponies with that mindset, how dare he! “Oh, far from insane, my little sack of flesh. If I am to tell you one thing, it’s that I never lie.” A line next to the Daemon lit up with crackling flames, which were wrapped around a long, silver blade grasped in a clawed hand of red flesh, armored with a black gauntlet. The Daemon chuckled. “Sweet dreams.” The blade swung towards Graham, and as he screamed, he felt the sword meet his skin as it tore him in two.... (V);,,;(V) It took a few minutes, but Graham soon found himself sitting up with Twilight staring at him with a shocked and scared face. “What happened? I thought you were screaming in pain!” She said, as she hugged him. The big fellow sighed a bit as he returned the hug. “I...I saw this strange vision of a burning Ponyville, and you guys as some form of...zombies...” He shivered at the thought, the last thing he really saw was Twilight. Her eyes red like that Daemon he had seen. “That wasn't the only thing I saw...” He added as she looked down at him. “I saw this big demon guy...” He started explaining what detail he could make out. The horns, the teeth, red skin, everything he saw, especially the eyes of glowing red. “I should've never tried to ignore you...This is my fault...” Twilight looked down while she sat in her guilt. Graham brought her eyes to stare at him with a pull at her chin. “It wasn't you, really it wasn't. I just had a bad dream. That’s all! You didn't do anything to cause it, nopony did.” He reassured as she smiled innocently. Suddenly, a knock was heard at the door. They both looked at each other as a stallion, a Royal Guard most likely, announced his purpose for interrupting. “The Princesses would like to see everypony in the throne room immediately.” As soon as the order was known, the guard left them to get out of bed. Everypony was given the same message, as they all met each other in the halls. Nopony said a word to anypony as they all quietly made their way towards the Throne. Princess Celestia looking as majestic as ever while her younger sister sat in a chair quite like her own, only fitting to a design reminiscent of the beautiful nights she brought upon Equestria at the end of every day. “It’s not even two in the morning yet!” Aramis irritatedly muttered out loud. Celestia didn't even budge from his outburst. “I called this meeting early, because my guard told me of a nightmare one of you had. One about Ponyville.” The other ponies only looked towards Graham. He felt completely uncomfortable, but admitted it. “It wasn't just that, but a vision of Ponyville under fire or something, and I saw all of you as some flesh eating zombies!” He pointed at each of them. Pinkie Pie only giggled. “That’s silly, everypony knows that we’re not zombies! I eat candy, not brains!” The pink earth pony snickered in laughter at the absurdity of his statement. Graham rolled his eyes as he turned towards the Princesses once more. “That wasn't the end part. After I saw that, I saw this big Daemon, and holy mother of buck he was scary! And he laughed really loud!” He said as he shivered. “It started babbling some “Equestria’s gonna burn” and all that...” Luna’s eyes widened as she turned toward her older sibling. “Sister, do you think that he could return?” Celestia turned towards her younger sister, a look of worry pulling at the edges of her composure. “I’m afraid so...Just like Discord, he might have found a break in the magic that held him prisoner—” She was cut off by Graham’s sudden retort. “Who are you talking about, and why are you all so worked up over some stupid dream?” He snorted as the two alicorns whispered to one another. Luna rose onto her hooves and stared directly at the human. “Long ago, in the vastness of time and space, there was a being, one among many, that was know as Uriah.” She said in a serious tone. The others sat down to listen, while Graham and Aramis stood. Graham whispered into his friend’s ear. “I thought this whole deal was made by Hasbro?” Aramis said into Graham’s ear. “Remember, this place is real? Hasbro only gave us a good show, nopony would ever really think this place really existed...” He answered. His friend only looked back at Luna as she continued. “Uriah created a vast world, filling it with mountains, deserts, plains, and seas. He filled it with all sorts of creatures, but there was one race he favored above all others: the alicorns. You see, alicorns are the perfect unison of all three pony races, and so Uriah saw us as the purest of his creations. He placed us in charge of his world, guiding us in its care-taking.” “Then he left.” “Nopony can ever say why, most thought it was a test, but Uriah left his world abruptly, and was never seen again. In his absence, another god, this one by the name of Sin, came to our world, seeking to take it for himself. He-” “He created an envoy, a being of his own essence, to take over our world for him.” Celestia interrupted. “The envoy clashed briefly with us, but was quickly defeated. Instead of killing it, we offered it a place alongside us. You know it as Discord.” Luna looked at her sister. “Are you sure you wish to-” “I’m fine.” Celestia said sternly, before continuing. “Discord and I formed a...relationship, which angered Sin. He chose to come and fight us personally, and our world fell into ruin. We prayed for the return of Uriah, but our prayers were not answered. Discord and the other alicorns went to fight Sin, while us younger foals and fillies hid and hoped we would win. We could only put Sin to a standstill, though, and as the fight raged on, Sin gradually pushed us back. I ran on what had been called a ‘foal’s errand’, looking for anything that might help us defeat Sin. When I found the Elements of Harmony, the physical manifestation of Uriah’s power, I brought them home and gave them to the other alicorns, who used them to banish Sin to the beyond.” Celestia stepped back, and Luna began to speak again. “Sin had one last curse for us, however. His last act as a free god was to create a host of demons that continued to torment our land even after Sin was long gone. With many of our kind dead, we only had a short respite before the older alicorns set out to purge the land of all Sin’s creations. We called this event the ‘Daemoncaust’, and many of our kind gave their lives to see it succeed. Those that remained eventually died off, for a myriad of reasons. War, incurable disease, magical mishaps, even old age. These things took their toll until we were but a shadow of our race’s former glory. Celestia and I were left as the only remaining alicorns in this country, now called Equestria, and it fell to us to rule the land.” “But wait, what about Cadence?” Graham spoke. Luna answered him. “There are other alicorns out there that share our Royal heritage, as they were lucky to have survived the horrors of the past. Cadence was one of those alicorns to not be hindered by this. She now rules alongside Twilight’s Brother, Shining Armor. Unfortunately, she does not share our gift of agelessness, that the Elements gave us.” “Oh, that explains it.” He nodded and crossed his arms. “Well, if you could, please go on?” Celestia once again took over for her sister. “While it was our duty to rule, we had no idea about how to do so. Discord taught us, having ruled with the alicorns before Sin’s massacre. We were able to rule effectively and kindly, and for a time, everything was peaceful. However, as you know, this didn’t last.” The white alicorn closed her eyes, and a tear could be seen falling down her face. “While Discord had rejected Sin, his chaotic nature still existed deep inside him. Eventually, it got the better of him, and he went on his rampage of chaos that so few ponies remember today. Luna and I were not strong enough to stop him, so we set out in secret to find the Elements of Harmony once more. It took us some time, but we were finally able to locate them and use their power to seal Discord away, for what we hoped would have been forever.” “This time, however, we didn’t simply use the Elements. We bonded ourselves to them, on the chance their power would be needed in the future. As you know, I and Luna eventually lost our bond with the Elements when I used them against Nightmare Moon, and I considered the Elements lost. But lo and behold, one thousand years later, the Elements have bonded themselves to new ponies, the ‘Mane six’, as they are sometimes called.” Luna started speaking again. “After we imprisoned Discord, Celestia took over his duties, and I was left in a...less than appreciated position. As you know, I became very jealous, maturing rapidly to match my sister’s power. I listened to whispers in my head, whispers that turned me into Nightmare Moon. And the rest is, as they say, history.” “Well...that was interesting, to say the least.” Aramis said silently. Graham looked at him. “I’m surprised. Thought you didn't think ponies were interesting!” Graham chuckled as he looked back at her. “So...what are we here for?” Graham asked out of nowhere. The two princesses looked at them. “Originally, you were here to see if humans were really ready to be able to interact with pony kind once more...” “Once more?” Aramis tilted his head. Celestia looked him. “I was told stories when I was but a young filly. Before Sin came about, there was a legend of a centaur that wanted to enslave pony-kind. From what the legend told, he rode the chariot of midnight, forcing the ponies he captured to work its corrupted reigns. His weapon, was an artifact known to us as “The Rainbow of Darkness”. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think I know this story. A pony that went by the name of ‘Firefly’ actually brought about the very first human. I’m guessing your race may have helped a little, due to curiosity?” The Celestial being nodded. “Was the human a girl name ‘Megan’ By any chance?” Graham asked. Celestia was quite surprised. “Why...yes! The story indicated that her name was Megan! How did you know?” “Well, let’s say I know alot. ” Celestia understood. “This girl saved this kingdom with the power of a special magical artifact, known as “The Rainbow of Light” to counter the centaur’s own power. When the battle was won, the Centaur was claimed to be imprisoned in his castle of Midnight, and the Artifacts were lost, never to be seen again...” “And the human?” Aramis asked out loud. “The human was sent back to her home on earth from what I was told. Simple as that.” Graham looked at Aramis. “Wouldn’t that be awesome if we found those lost artifacts? I swear, we’d make names for ourselves for sure!” Aramis groaned. “Yeah, yeah, dream on buddy. They said they were lost.” Graham then turned around to face the Princesses once more. “So, because of Megan, you wanted to bring humans back, and see if we could live in peace with pony-kind, right? I’m guessing that’s the premise here.” “Yes, and so far, you are making our choice feel like a good one. For now, this meeting is adjourned.” Celestia ordered as everypony cleared the room to go back to bed. As they left, Celestia muttered. “Hopefully, our decision was made without consequences.” Luna nodded upon hearing this as the Spike was the last one out, closing the door behind him. “So I really have a purpose then to be here? Am I some ambassador for the humans?” Graham asked Twilight as they reached their destination. “I suppose so. I mean, I don't see any other way of putting it.” Twilight put it out blandly. They soon reached for the covers as both laid still. neither one feeling tired now that they were abruptly woken up by recent events. Twilight turned her body to look at Graham. “So...how much of Equestria do you know? You obviously knew a lot about this Megan girl, and you’ve never met her in person I take it?” She suddenly asked him. Graham opened his eyes to stare at her, a thought bubbling up to try and answer this. “Well, yeah, remember that TV thing? It’s hard to explain...” he quietly spoke. Twilight nodded. “I wish to let you know, that anything else you know, will definitely help me understand your kind more, as I have taken it upon myself to study you from every angle. That means I’ll be studying what makes you tick, how you think, and everything else I can research so that I will put this in a book, so that human information will be added for further use.” Graham understood what she meant and nodded. “Alright, well we’ll talk some more about this in the morning then.” He said with a yawn. He closed his eyes as Twilight disappeared from his vision. He drifted to sleep as well as the purple mare. They deserved a good night sleep. Over in another room, Rainbow Dash and Aramis found themselves without sleep either. “I can’t fall asleep after that whole talk.” Dash complained while shoving her pillow on top of her face in frustration. “Same here. That was a tough pill to swallow if you ask me.” Aramis said with a blank expression as he stared at the ceiling mindlessly. “Got any ideas on how to fall asleep?” the pegasus asked tiredly. The human contemplated until a smirk came over his features. “I got one...” he suggested quietly, the same devilish smirk clear on his face. “And that would be?” she asked with a curious tilt of her head. “This!” he shouted playfully as he jumped on the pegsaus and started tickling her sides. She laughed heartedly as she tried to get away, but he seemed to hold an iron grip on her and wouldn't let go. They rolled over one another several times until an idea popped in Rainbow Dash’s mind that made her smirk competitively at him. With a flap of her wings, Rainbow gave Aramis a faceful of feathers, causing him to flinch and back off. “Okay, that’s enough, I’m pretty tired. I think we should be getting to bed...” She said as she flew towards her side of the bed. Aramis slowly got up from the floor, and agreed silently. Both managed get somewhat comfortable once more, hoping to get a good night’s sleep out of the tale they had just heard. Both wished each other a good sleep, and were off to their own dream lands.
Chapter 9: Where we left off...Two weeks had passed since their first appearance in Ponyville. Graham and Aramis had been busy, helping over at Sweet Apple Acres, baking treats for the Sugarcube Corner, even organizing tools and fabrics for Rarity’s Boutique. The ponies they worked for paid them enough so that they could enjoy themselves each day. During this time, Fluttershy was kind enough to take good care of Gypsy. Both parties, which consisted of Graham and Twilight, then Aramis and Dash, had been enjoying the human’s stay. During their free time, Graham would pay for any food Twilight needed, and occasionally buy himself a new hat. Twilight didn't understand why he was obsessed with hats so much, as he would buy any kind of hat, from simple caps to ones only guards would wear. Aramis, with his hard earned bits, foolishly paid for two tickets to a Wonder Bolts Show, front row seats due to Rainbow Dash’s manipulative plead. After that, Rainbow hadn't let go of him. Since that day, it had been a non-stop sleepover at Dash’s house. Although, many had wondered how exactly the human could live with her, since he didn’t have the natural affinities of a pegasus. Thankfully, Twilight was able to help out by using the cloud spell on him every three days, and having Rainbow Dash fly him up to her cloud home offered a good view of the town. Of course, Graham often taunted him about being a secret Brony, which resulted in a punch to the gut. Graham knew deep down Rainbow Dash changed his view on ponies. Aramis knew it too. That didn't stop Aramis from trying to hide it with a well placed punch. Twilight was, of course, studying them the entire time. She had recorded a bit of the human’s physical attributes, what they ate (granted, she didn't particularly like their species’ diet), and some of their personal family histories. Specifically, she took notes of Graham’s family ties with the infamous “Nazi” group, and how his great grandfather was actually a close friend of the group’s leader himself. Graham mentioned not to ever talk of this dark time, and Twilight had agreed, not wanting the man to burst out in rage like he had before. He had been called many names, and was clearly very sensitive to the topic. She also took note of this, and became ever closer to understanding his mental state of mind. Aside from daily life, the humans met and befriended a number of ponies that they knew and loved. Two in particular being the very famous Ditzy Doo (otherwise known as Derpy Hooves), and Doctor Whooves. They learned a little bit about the ponies that walked among them, including the proven fact that Lyra and Bon Bon were indeed a couple, and a cute one at that. There was even DJ Pon3, or Vinyl Scratch to some, on her good friendship with Octavia, who was part of the Ponyville Orchestra. It was around the middle of a lazy afternoon, when Derpy had a letter passed to her by a Canterlot Guard. Ditzy flew as fast, or at least straight, as she could towards Twilight’s Tree House. But because of her eyes, she couldn't help but crash into the side of the tree. Spike opened the door to see what was the matter, and saw her with a special pink letter. After helping pull her from the tree’s side, Spike grabbed the letter and walked towards the couch, on which Graham snored away. “Hey buddy, wake up.” The baby dragon demanded as he poked at his shoulder with a small index claw. The man shrugged it off, lightly slapping the poor dragon away with a big hand. Holding his face, Graham groaned lethargically. Narrowing his eyes, Spike spat a small green fireball on his backside. That would surely wake him up. Oh how right he was. Graham felt a burning sensation and woke up immediately, looking down to see his shirt aflame. Screaming in panic, he took it off, and smashed it with his boot to take care of the fire. Luckily, the shirt only a slight blackening, as he killed the ember early. After he had panted for a moment, he looked at the dragon with a menacing glare. “What the flying fuck was that for!” He barked. Spike laughed, quickly turned tail and ran off, dropping the letter behind him. After putting his button-up shirt back on, Graham looked down and picked it up, reading the address, “Sweet! The Princess sent me a letter!” He said out loud, an excited grin plastered on his face. Quickly opening it, he started reading. Dear Graham, By now, it has been two weeks since our last encounter. I sincerely hope everypony has been kind to you. I heard that you’ve been busy and helped around Ponyville, and Aramis as well. I wish to thank you both for your hard work, and would like to invite you back to the castle for a large feast. Everypony is invited if they wish to come with you. I will be sending a chariot to pick you up soon. Yours Truly, Princess Celestia Graham smiled as he put the letter in his back pocket, and looked up to Twilight’s room. Knocking at her door, he waited until she opened it, seeing Twilight as her old sleepy self. “What’s the matter, Graham?” She asked while looking up to him. Graham had a excited smile on his face. He knew that Twilight was still against bringing Discord back deep down. “Well, I got a letter from Princess Celestia...and...um...” “Oh? Let me see!” She exclaimed, now fully awake. With a grin, he pulled the letter out of his back pocket, and handed it over, which she took with her levitating magic. A brief read later, she had her own smile on her face. “Let’s get the others. You can worry about getting Aramis and Rainbow—” She was cut off by a blue blur flying right over her head. “Already got the note. We’re here.” She said rather lazily as Aramis opened the door, panting loudly. “Next time...could you...wait up?” Aramis wheezed as the cyan pegasus whisked over, hitting him in the back. “We need to get you shaped up.” Rainbow giggled as Aramis collected himself. “Speaking of which...” Twilight said, looking at Graham. “Maybe later you can go with them! You said yourself you needed inspiration, and Rainbow Dash can do just that.” Graham groaned. The one thing he hated more than his weight: EXERCISE. “I-I...guess?” Twilight and the other chuckled, as he clearly wasn't too keen on the subject. Twilight looked up to Graham and smiled, “Never mind, for now. Rainbow Dash can easily get the others, we can wait here.” With that notion, Rainbow Dash was off, and within only a short few minutes, she was able to bring the others back to the library. Twilight was amazed by this, but soon let it go. Outside, their chariot arrived, awaiting their departure. Each pony got into a seat, Aramis and Graham being the last, so not to squish the little ponies as they took off. About a half hour passed before they arrived at the main gates of Canterlot Castle. After everypony got off, the chariot left them to walk towards the main gate, where two guards stood at their posts. “Name, and business, please.” The guard on the right said. Graham picked up his letter and showed it. He looked at it intently. “It’s gotta be a forgery!” Suddenly, a hoof smacked him right in the muzzle, courtesy of the left guard. “No it’s not, she has her signature right here!” The guard pointed, then looked back at the group and chuckled, “Sorry, he’s new.” “Nah, it’s cool.” Aramis replied as the gates were opened. They walked inside, making their way to the royal sisters’ throne room, where both alicorns sat, expecting them. “Graham and Aramis, right on time.” Celestia said with a slightly peppy tone in her voice. Graham waved at them as they finally arrived. “Hiya Princesses!” Graham shouted as a hoof nudged him. He looked down to see Twilight with a annoyed face. “That’s no way to greet the Princesses.” Twilight said blankly as he scratched the back of his head, not saying a word. Celestia just giggled. “It’s alright, my faithful student. No need for any formalities here. In fact, I enjoyed that greeting. It’s better than what I usually hear on a day to day basis.” Twilight only nodded and acknowledged her words. Aramis looked thoughtful for a moment before he spoke, “I took a look at Graham’s letter and you said there was gonna be a feast? What are we talking about here? Salads and stuff?” “Not necessarily. Twilight has been keeping notes on you, and what you’ve enjoyed eating so far. From what we gather, you are Omnivores, and as such, you partake in both plants and meats. Although we do not eat meat, we have...done our best to try and copy what you’ve been accustomed to.” “Well hell, thanks!” Graham said cheerily. “I know it must’ve been REAL hard to do something like that...” “Well, actually, it wasn't all that hard. The Griffon Kingdom helped with this, as we told them of your diet. They said that they would honor our new guests. They gave us as much cooked meat as they could carry by cart! Of course, they wanted payment, which was no objection.” “So there’s more than one kingdom?” Aramis asked. “Are you all one society?” “No, we are not. Each race has their own society, customs, and country to live in.” “Oh, well that makes sense.” Aramis said thoughtfully. “Now then, we shall head towards the dining hall for our meal to you, humans.” Princess Luna stated. Graham and Aramis agreed with this. They were starved, as virtually all they’d been eating was salads the entire time he had been in Equestria. Though, they had been able to catch a few fish now and then from a nearby lake. But this wasn’t about that, they were eager for whatever five-star meal that had been cooked up. With this in mind, Graham played cool, trying not to sound desperate. “I suppose we should. Lead the way, princesses.” The group walked through the many castle halls towards the dining hall. The marvelous spread of food awaiting them on the extremely long table made the mouths of everyone drool with anticipation. “You may be seated, and please help yourselves. My sister and I will be with you momentarily.” Celestia gestured with her hoof to the free food as the others gathered around the table and got themselves seated. Once they were focused on the food and had a fairly quick meal, they headed towards the Canterlot Gardens, where a sleeping draconequus was encased in stone... “Sister...are you most certain this is a good idea? What if he decides to try to take over Equestria again? Or try to harm the Elements?” Luna asked with worry present in her voice. “I am certain. I want to make amends with Discord.” Celestia said with unshakable confidence. She and Luna brought their horns together, a bright ball of white and dark blue energy gathering at the touching tips. A similarly colored beam shot towards the statue before them, rays of light bursting from the cracks that developed along the stone. “FREE! AGAIN!” Discord yelled as his stony confines shattered into countless pieces. He started laughing and immediately teleported behind his alicorn liberators, wrapping his arms around their necks. He planted a large kiss on Celestia’s head, then continued laughing. “Oh Celly, I knew you couldn’t resist me!” he laughed, ruffling Celestia’s hair as he did so, causing the princess to roll her eyes indignantly, “It looks like even you need a little fun!” The draconequus then pinched Luna’s cheek and turned her head to face him. “And Luna! You’ve growing up to be so much like your older sister! And I bet you’ve still got that boorish Canterlot Voice, don’t you?” “Thou should remove thy paw from my face at once, spirit, lest thou wish to return to thy stone imprisonment,” Luna mumbled past the hand that clutched her cheek, distorting her speech. “Just as I suspected, you still have that Royal Canterlot voice of yours. How boring...” Discord shrugged as he teleported away from them, and towards the guests that have been eating to their hearts content. Graham was busy eating the chicken that the princesses were kind enough to have the griffons make for them as he felt a talon lean itself on his shoulder. Confused, he looked over and gasped, almost choking. "Move aside, Chubby!" The other quickly stopped what they were doing to look as Discord took a seat next to Graham. A glass of chocolate milk appearing in his claw at the snap of his talons, “Oh come now, is that how you treat the guest of honor?” he chuckled, taking a sip of glass. He looked towards Rainbow Dash and slithered right towards her, appearing behind her with a second glass of milk, “Care for a chocolate milk of glass, Element of Loyalty?” Fluttershy felt as though she could just rip Discord apart for what he did to her and her friends. All those memories replayed in her head, she and could only scream with a volume that would almost be confused with the Royal Canterlot voice, all the while slamming her fore-hooves on the table before her. “Leave her alone, you big dumb meanie!” Discord chuckled as he popped before her, his wings keeping him afloat over her part of the table. “Meanie? Oh come now, Fluttershy, is that reallyall you can come up with? Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot you don’t want to hurt anypony’s feelings! And who’s really the meanie here? Or did you forget all the fun you had last time I was loose?” Rarity just scoffed, “There’s no need for petty insults, even for one like yourself.” She felt as though she was higher in moral standards than Discord, but his response quickly made her forget that. She was soon greeted with his face near hers. “Ah Rarity, so high and sophisticated. Actually, I believe your little comment right there was a petty insult! I didn’t know hypocrisy was in style this season! But you would keep up with all that, wouldn’t you? After all, it really is all you can do! Well, that and be the greatest drama queen in Equestria. I didn’t think anypony could top little Celly!” Pinkie Pie sped right over the table, making sure not to make a mess of the place as she put her head to his, their eyes locked onto each other. “Hey! You leave her alone! Fashion is her Passion!” She squinted her eyes to to try to look intimidating. “Oh, and what are you passionate about, Pinkie Pie? Birthday cake? Party hats? Confetti? How about those balloons? And leaving everypony alone is just so boring! You would agree, wouldn’t you? It’s totally normal to invade everypony’s personal space to give them invitations they may not even want, right? And speaking of alone, how was Gummy’s After-Birthday party? A party of one was the best, wasn’t it?” Applejack pushed Discord right off of Pinkie’s gaze; a snort emitted from her nostrils, “You leave mah friends alone, ya big galoot. Why, I should give you a good ol’ Apple Family buck to the teeth!” Discord only looked at her with a bored expression, “You know, Applejack, I see your lips moving but all I hear is drawldrawlcountryexpressiondrawl. I’m in awe anypony can listen to you speak! I mean, how badly did you fail at being sophisticated? Pretty hard, it looks like. But I suppose I should give you credit, after all, most country folk can’t seem to pull their heads out of their farmland long enough to see anything else! But you Applejack, you took your head out. And then you stuck it even farther back in. Bravo. And let’s be honest, little pony, how hard do you think that ‘Apple Family buck’ is? With your Granny’s hip and all. And Big Macintosh seems incapable of anything other than ‘Eeyup’-ing everything that comes his way. Little Applebloom doesn’t seem to be doing much of anything either, so I guess you’re the only one bucking there. If you’re not too busy lying for your ‘greater good of friendship’, or whatever you call it.” “I-I..” Spike wanted to say something, but was cut short by a claw grabbing his head, holding him up. “Oh look here, a talking pet! However did Twilight teach you how to do that? What else can you do? Vomit parchment? Oh, maybe you can fetch! Wait, don’t tell me...you can cook!” As Discord made more mockeries on the spot, Celestia and Luna burst through the doors to the dining hall. “Enough! We brought you here, because we have something we need to discuss, Discord!” “And what could you possibly want to talk about?” he sneered, “After all, you could have just talked my ear off while I was in stone. Not a smart move, little Celly.” Graham looked up towards the spirit, “Just let her TALK. Jeez...” Discord only looked at him, a small smirk appeared on his face, “A human in Equestria? I haven't seen your kind here in such a long time...” Aramis snorted, “Just listen to the magic talking horse before you start talking about our species, would you? I don't care what you’re about to say, but at least listen to the god damn princess first! Are you stupid?“ Discord backed up slightly and gave Both Graham and Aramis and odd look, definitely feeling some form of confusion. Usually, he would be the one causing confusion, but this time the roles were reversed. He looked towards the princess as she began to speak. “I came...to apologize.” Celestia’s head dipped as she closed her eyes, “I have greatly wronged you, my old friend, and I wish to ask for your forgiveness.” The draconequus was utterly shocked at the alicorn’s words, “You’re...apologizing? Is this some kind of trick?” He quickly turned his head every which way, looking for any traps that may have been set. Celestia shook her head, “There is no trickery involved here. What I did before was wrong. I have realized that Luna and I judged you without considering your position. And because of that lapse of judgment, I single-hoofedly tore our friendship to pieces.” She walked directly up to Discord, her magenta eyes staring deeply into his yellow ones, searching for any trace of her former companion. “And now I ask you: can we pick up from where we left off? Can we become friends again? Or are we too far gone to re-establish any relationship?” Dead silence filled the air. Everypony’s focus was directed onto the two gods before them. The two simply stared at each other, eyes locked onto each other, unblinking. After what seemed like an impossibly long time, Celestia lowered her gaze, seemingly in defeat. Small tears formed at the edges of her eyes. She had truly lost her old frie— “I...accept your apology.” Discord said shakily. The white alicorn’s head immediately rose again, brimming with happiness. “I don’t know if we can continue from where we used to be yet,” he continued, “but I think we can be friends again. We’ll see how that goes for now. I really did miss you Celestia, and I’m sure you did what you did for a good reason.” He looked off to the side, scratching the back of his head, “To be honest, I think I was a little bit too chaotic after those five hundred years. In hindsight, anyway.” Graham looked up to the two gods and smiled, “So...this is official? No more fighting?” Celestia only looked in his direction; tears dropped from her face, “Yes, we are finally past our dispute. The gods of Equestria are reunited once more.” A short pause filled the air. “Well if we’re all done here, I think I’m gonna go back to that bedroom. Besides, I’m stuffed!” Rainbow Dash said with a bored look. The others started following her, as if on cue. Discord chuckled as he teleported back into the throne room, simply blinking out of existence. The princess watched as the other ponies started walking back into the castle, Celestia looked to see Graham and Aramis lagging behind. She stopped him with a hoof before speaking once more. “I truly cannot thank you both enough for you and the others being here.” She said as she gave a slight bow. Graham only waved a hand. “You’re welcome, princess. It really wasn’t any problem, I mean, I’m just glad you guys made up.” Graham said as he nudged his friend. "Yeah, all that's pretty good, I guess..." Celestia could only smile and giggle a little in response. “I suppose.” She looked off to the horizon. “Well, that went better than expected. I feel much more at ease with myself now. Actually, I’m in a generous mood.” Celestia turned her attention back to the human before her. “How would you like to have more of your kin in Equestria?” Graham couldn't be more excited to hear that. He smiled widely and bowed. “That would be great! Thank you, Celestia!” The alicorn waved a hoof and the two walked back into the castle. As soon as they all got back into the throne room, they saw Discord had brought out a throne of his own, hovering above the two two that were already present. Celestia told both Discord and Luna what would transpire, and they were more than willing to lend a hoof and a claw. “We shall bring about one more human.” The sun goddess announced. “I have full confidence that one of you will be able to take care of them and bring them into Equestrian society with no issues.” Discord chuckled, “I can’t wait to see what human comes. Oh, the hilarity that will ensue!” With that, all three deities started to focus their might on a portal that opened up in the middle of the room. As it opened wider, light started to build up, making everypony squint their eyes. Discord suddenly smirked. “Oh, but what fun will it be bringing it here? Let’s mix things up a little!” He announced as the portal started to expand, and for some reason turning a black hue. It soon exploded in a bright black light as everyone but the royals were tossed back. Pink smoke was thrown around, as a big neon sign that said “WELCOME TO EQUESTRIA!” with an arrow pointing down floated up above the mess. Ponies out of nowhere, more than likely conjured up by Discord’s magic, played on instruments a “royal” song. The alicorns looked at Discord with slight annoyance. “What? All I did was make it more fun.” He said with a shrug of the shoulders and a slight chuckle, as the cloud of smoke started to disappear...
Chapter 10: A New Challenger Approaches!As the portal shrank and the light dimmed, the group looked towards the spot where the human would appear in...to see it completely empty. “Wait, what? That’s it? A smoke and lights show, and for nothing? That was a waste of time.” Graham scoffed. After scouring most of the room, he gave a mighty huff. He lost all interest in the matter as he turned in a complete one-eighty towards the door. “If you need me, I’ll be in the guest room.” He announced as he started walking towards the exit. Twilight’s eyes followed him out, chewing nervously on her lip. “Um... He seems pretty upset, I’ll go check on him.” Twilight creeped out the open door as well, following the disappointed man. “Discord, did you have anything to do with this?” Celestia looked towards her companion suspiciously. The draconequus shrugged. “It’s not my fault. Why is it always my fault? Obviously, it was your fault, dear Celestia.” Discord teased, smirking as he snaked his way out the door. “Hold it! You’re not running from this! Come back here, Discord!” Celestia demanded, only to be ignored as he slithered out of the room. “Yes, that was a good way to stop him, sister.” Luna pointed out in her royally sarcastic manner. She gracefully floated from her smaller throne besides her older sister’s to trot out the door, leaving the room completely unattended. “If you need us, we will be in the royal bedroom.” Luna shouted behind her as she disappeared. Celestia only sighed. ‘It works on two humans and a dog, and now it doesn't work with the combined might of Discord and Luna included? Perhaps the spell should have been cast by only me.’ She thought to herself as she slowly meandered her way out of the room, closing the door behind her. Darkness filled the thought to be empty room. None of the previous occupants saw the red eyes that were hiding behind the now closed door. Twilight had caught up to Graham outside of the throne room. She had stayed silent after eyeing his neutral face for a brief second. She immediately understood that he was annoyed. Wondering if Graham shared her thoughts, they opened the door to the guest room they took refuge in. “There has to have been something that came out of that portal! There was no way the spell would fail, especially since all of the standards were met.” Twilight exclaimed as the man jumped up on on the large bed that had been generously provided for them. The look on his face now showed a mixture of boredom and slight concern. “Look Twilight, I’m sure whatever went down happened for a good reason. I have no way to know how portals created by magic work, so I’m not the best person to talk to on this matter. Sorry...I’m not magic.” He responded rather blatantly as he got more comfortable in his seat. He mumbled under his breath; something that sounded like he wished he was. Twilight only rolled her eyes. “Well I for one, am certain that something did go right. All the prerequisites were met!” With a huff of indignation and resignation, Twilight left her room. She walked back down the hall to from where she had come from, determined to figure out what exactly had gone wrong with the spell. She pushed open the large throne room doors with her magic. She immediately knew something was wrong when she felt a breeze. She looked to the side to see glass scattered across the floor. One of the largest stained glass windows that were part of the royal castle was completely shattered. Twilight found her voice and she let out a panicked yell. “PRINCESS!” The Everfree Forest was not someplace anypony should every stray into, especially on their own. Still, Applebloom was convinced she was old enough to personally make a trip to Zecora’s hut without getting into danger. In fact, Applebloom hadn’t felt fear in the forest ever since the cockatrice incident, and none of her numerous journeys to Zecora’s had ever gone wrong. But there were several reasons so. For one, Applebloom was very cautious. She made sure to look before she walked, avoided any place that looked muddy, slippery, or pointy, and always crossed the river in the middle of the forest with utmost care. The large log that spread across the stream had an eight foot circumference easily, and seeing as she weighed barely forty pounds, going across the log presented no danger to her small filly form. Applebloom had just crossed that log when she heard the howls. Applebloom was reintroduced to her fear in a second. Her steps sped up, as the howls seemed to get louder, perhaps closer. She shifted into a full out run as she heard the crashing sound of leaves being thrown up into the air. She looked over her shoulder. Glowing yellow eyes locked with hers, and she realized what was chasing her. Memories of the stories she had constantly been told from a young age by her aging Granny Smith. All the tales of the supposedly mythical Timber Wolves, had been proven true. A guttural scream left her throat, and she thought for sure her young life was over. “HALP’!” The wolf leaped towards her, and her eyes closed as she hoped for a quick end. She heard the sounds of her bones snapping of her young body being crushed beneath the heavy body of the Timber Wolf, but for some reason it didn’t hurt. “Open your god damn eyes if you want help.” Applebloom’s large eyes snapped open and her head twisted to look at her saviour. Above her stood a tall being, similar to Graham who she had met briefly before. He wore solid black, from his shirt to his shoes, and even his skin hugging gloves. His hair too was the color of the darkness. That was all she could really see though, as he moved in a black blur. Lying on the ground in front of where he was standing before lay a dead wolf, its neck and arm oddly twisted. Applebloom resisted gagging at the body, and attempted to search for the man again. An ear splitting howl reached her ears and to her horror another wooden wolf hit the ground, dead as well, its jaw hanging open much too wide and one of its side bleeding sap profusely. Applebloom turned just in time to see another wolf attempting to latch its hungry maw onto her. Another crackling sound, almost like a tree falling and splitting in a lightning storm, then the feral animal dropped to the leafy floor, dead. The figure hovered above the body for a second, before directing his gaze at the small filly for a few seconds. “U-um...t-thank you, Mr. um... What’s your name, mister?” Applebloom asked in her southern accent, trembles of fear still apparent. The man had retreated to the shadow of a tree, and the only thing she could actually see of him were his bright eyes staring calculatingly at her. She looked to her side to see the shadow of this saviour stared at her. The being didn't answer her for a few seconds before speaking out in a cold, gravely voice. It was chilling, but she wasn’t scared at all seeing as he had just saved her. “It’s unimportant.” He responded, looking away from her, or perhaps closing his eyes. “Just go back to your business, and tell no one. Can you do that for me?” The yellow-coated filly nodded her head repeatedly. “My thanks.” He said, and Applebloom detected the gratefulness in his monotonous voice. “Can I visit you mister? Yall seem kinda lonely out here...” She suddenly realized she was talking to herself, as no one was under the tree any longer. “Or... Not...” Back at Canterlot Castle, Twilight and Graham were examining the shards of glass. “Um... That. Right there. Is a really fucking long fall.” Graham said, peering out the window. “How would anypony even survive? I’m not even seeing any blood on the ground...” “Do some humans have wings Graham?” Twilight asked with slight concern. “If we did, I’m sure I would want a pair. Or be able to shoot fire from my hands. that would be cool too.” Graham replied. He kept staring over the edge, shaking his head. “Unless Celestia summoned a ninja, I don't think there would be any possible way to fling yourself out of this glass without mashing yourself into a messy splatter when you hit the ground.” He retorted. Before he left the scene, he noticed something on the ground. “Wait...” He interrupted as Twilight was about to offer a hypothesis. “I see something...is that an indent in the grass? It sorta...looks like an arm!” Twilight peeked her head out the window to look down below to see what he was pointing to. She could see a faint indent of a human arm in the ground. She didn't say anything, but suddenly bolted down the castle halls. “Twilight, hold on!” Graham shouted as he followed her as best as he could. About a few minutes passed by when they made it to the final floor to the garden, where the supposed fall would’ve taken place. “It’s got to be around-- Aha! There it is!” Twilight said proudly as she ran towards the scene. Graham, as tired as he was from running all the way down, walked over in a huff. “Next time, love...could you....hoo boy...” he tried to finish his sentence, but was completely out of breath. Twilight examined the indent to see something else. “Graham, look...” She urged him to come over, picking up what appeared to be...a piece of skin? No, it wasn’t colored like skin, it was just dirty. “What...the fuck is that?” Graham question out of shock. He grabbed the piece to realize it wasn't warm, but cold and hard....like metal. It was only a centimeter wide and was maybe half that length, but it looked to be part of something much larger. “Twilight, I think that this person really is a ninja. Not only did they survive the jump, but he also has a special machine with him, or something. I don't know...” Twilight was even more concerned. “Whoever it is that is loose, I can conclude that this human is both trained and dangerous. Not only did he survive a forty foot drop, but he walked off unscathed. He or she was able to land without so much as a single blood wound taking place. Whatever saved them from the fall, is powerful enough to save a full grown human.” “Not just that Twi. They know how to freakin use it.” Graham added. He stared at the indent once more. “And by the look of it? Male. I mean, I’ve never seen a woman’s arm shaped like that, so count that possibility out. I say we try to find where this sucker went, and track him down, before he causes a scene. Nopony knows of this but us, so we can stop something, before it begins.” Graham said, standing. “Right. But how are we going to catch him, once we find him, Graham? I’m not sure magic’s the best way to go, me using it could cause him to freak out, it become violent if magic doesn't exist in your world...” She pointed out. Graham tapped his chin with his finger. “Well, how about some rope? Would that work? I don't see a problem with it.” “Graham, I think you are onto something. Not only is rope not out-of-the-ordinary, but it can hold him down long enough to drag him back here!” She smiled, jumping up to him to give him a hug on her hind legs. “I know the perfect mare for the job.” “Wunderbar! Dann lassen Sie uns gehen! Es ist Abenteuer!” Graham announced into the air, his arm pointing to the sky as they hurried off. “Ah’m sorry... You want me to what?” Applejack asked, dumbfounded. “Tie the sucker up.” Graham explained in simple terms. Applejack nodded slowly. “Tie up... A human? Are ya’ll sure about this?” She said, raising an eyebrow up high. Twilight nodded. “Of course. We can distract him long enough for you to get the rope around him. And it won’t freak him out like magic.” Applejack contemplated for a second before turning around and heading into her barn, returning shortly with two ropes. “Aw right. Lets give this a shot!” She beamed at the two. “Where is the varmint?” Graham blinked, the question seemed to remain unanswered in even his own mind. “Um... Good question.” “I think I know who yer lookin’ for... But... I wouldn’t try tyin’ him up!” Applebloom suddenly yelled, trotting out of the forest, looking slightly pale and shaky. “Applebloom! Are you alright sis? What did I tell you about going into that forest alone?!” Applejack scolded the filly. Applebloom nodded her head back to Applejack. “I know sis! And I know why now too... But that human feller saved me! He’s in the forest. But I wou—” She was cut off as the two ponies and the human dashed off into the forest from whence she came without listening to her warning. “... Wouldn’t mess with ‘im....” The trio hurried towards the heart of the forest, hoping that the man didn't flee its boundaries. “Do we even know where to look?” Twilight asked suddenly. Graham looked back at her. “I have no idea!” He answered. Then he stopped, going dead still. “Hey, why’d we stop?” Applejack turned in to see the reason why. Three timberwolves lay dead before them in a heap. Their normally glowing eyes were dark, and bits of their wooden bodies were broken completely. “There’s something wrong here. They’re...” Twilight couldn't finish her sentence before another body of a timberwolf fell from the trees, giving them the scare of their lives. “Was zur Hölle war das!” Graham shouted as he slowly calmed himself from his scare. He looked up at the branches above the Timber Wolf’s body, and there saw a crouched figure. The figure didn’t move at all, but stared back at him, red eyes observing him. “You! Come down here! I need to speak with you.” Red eyes blinked at him, and then he showed no sign of acknowledging Graham’s words as he stood then swung himself away, into an entirely different tree. “What the hell! Come back, I know you’re really freakin’ confused, but I can explain!” Graham shouted after him, jogging up to where the man had jumped to. He was growing irritated. “Alright, Ah have had enough of this!” Applejack called out, getting her rope ready. The man in the trees suddenly stopped and looked down at the blonde pony. She had the same accent as the previous talking horse he’d seen. Applejack saw his still form and went for it, tossing her looped rope upwards. The man turned and leaped towards the next branch a good five feet away. The rope caught his foot, and pulled snug. The man swung down, now hanging in mid air with one leg above him. He grunted, before using some amazing form of body strength to pull his torso up and grab the rope. He scaled back up to the branch he was sitting on before, and began to untie the rope around his ankle. Applejack was having none of that, and much to the unknown everyone’s dismay, she yanked on the rope, sending him hurtling towards the ground. “Shit! Twilight do something!” Graham yelled, while Twilight hurriedly attempted to send magic through her horn to catch the falling man. The man flipped forward in mid air and landed on his right arm, before rolling to his feet easily. Graham stood there, shocked. “How the fuck did you... I mean that was... Thirty goddamn feet...” Graham choked out. Red eyes glared, obviously irritated by the blonde pony. Neither party moved now, as the newcomer seemed to just be staring at the two talking ponies. Then he snapped. With frightening speed, the man rushed into Graham, slamming him backwards with his shoulder into Applejack, who let go of the rope. At that, the still unknown human sped off, leaving Graham sputtering in German behind him. Twilight channeled her magic, the rope glowing purple as it pulled tight and stopped the unsuspecting human. He caught himself from falling and spun around to see who had stopped him. Glowing rope greeted his eyes and he dropped down onto one knee, his right hand grabbing the rope around his ankle and tearing it apart. Now free, he rushed away again. He ate dirt though, as Twilight shifted to hold one of his feet in place. Graham was up at this point, and jumped onto the man dressed in black, making sure to put most of his significant weight on the man’s right arm. “Ha! Can’t do much now can you? I got your strong arm.” Red eyes, cold as ice locked with Graham’s. “Get. Off. Of. Me.” His voice was just as frigid, and Graham almost got up off him. “Oh hell no, not now. I finally caught you.” Red eyes closed in annoyance and then Graham slammed into a tree five feet away, winded from a lethal kick. “Holy hay, you got a buck on yah!” Applejack hollered, rushing forward with her new piece of rope. “Wait, Applejack! He may hurt you!” Twilight yelled after her, barely able to break her concentration enough to warn the mare. She was ignored though, as Applejack approached the man, but slowed to a trot and then completely stopped a safe distance away from him, and dropped her rope onto the dirt floor. “Ah know this has to be odd for you. But you gotta realize that yer safe! We don’t wanna hurt ya, but we gotta make sure yah don’t do anything crazy. I promise to yah that we won’t hurt yah, or even come near yah if you don’t want us to. Now, we’re gonna let go of yah, but in exchange you stay put and don’t run away. Alright?” Applejack spoke gently and comfortingly to the male. Red eyes blinked a few times before he spoke for the second time to them. “... Agreed.” Twilight let go of her spell, almost fainting as she did. The amount of energy it took to hold just one of the man’s feet in place was insane. Graham groaned, uncurling from the fetal position he had taken up. “Do yall have a name?” Applejack asked sweetly. The man sat up, now sitting comfortably, though he warily glanced in Graham’s direction. “Bromley.” He said. Applejack smiled, then offered him a hoof. “Pleased to meetcha’!” Bromley stared at the appendage, then raised an arm and shook it firmly. Graham walked up, fully recovered and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Bromley. Name’s Graham. I hope that we can forget about that little incident earlier.” Bromley sat there for a brief moment, just staring at his hand. “What’s the matter?” He asked the man standing before him; his hand still out. “Nothing.” He said after a few moments, as if remembering something. Sighing, he outstretched his own arm and placed his hand in Graham’s. Graham immediately regarded that it was hard and he could feel cold seeping through the skin tight leather glove. “Jeez, buddy. You freezing? Or...wait...” Graham stared at Bromley’s arm, his brain attempting to comprehend what exactly was wrong with his hand. He quickly took out the piece from the landing site from his pocket, to quickly realize something. “You’re arm is made of metal...?” He questioned, letting Bromley’s hand go. Bromley’s red eyes glared at him for a second. “Yes, but that is none of your concern.” He retracted his arm and stood up tall. He retreated from Graham, heading into the shade of a tree. Graham caught up with him. “Well, why? Did something happen? Was it cut off? Is it a government experiment?” He persistently questioned the silent man, who was ignoring him now. Applejack took the opportunity to compare the two males standing side by side. Humans were odd critters, and getting a chance to see a third was a little exciting to her. And now that he’d calmed down, she got a chance to take a good look at him. He was big. She realized that he was just as tall as Graham, but not as bulky. His shoulders were wide, and he was very imposing, but he was lean, with his muscle hugging clothes showing off his contained power. Her eyes raked over his face, which was clean of a beard and very pale. His black hair was slightly spiky in the front, and medium length, with odd white streaks decorating it in places. She had completely blanked out the conversation Graham was attempting to start with the man, and realized with annoyance that she had blanked out and just checked out the new comer. “Those converse, are the shit.” Graham said, pointing down at Bromley’s feet. His ‘converse’ were black with red tips on them. “Seriously speaking though, Celestia summoned the wierdest dude I’ve ever met.” Graham added. Bromley smirked at that, leaning back against the tree behind him. “Tell me what is going on. I have come to terms with the talking animals, but I don’t understand what exactly has happened.” Graham scratched the back of his head, laughing nervously. “Well, you see... I had you summoned from Earth. Not you specifically, just another human...” Graham mused, he braced himself for any retaliation, but Bromley didn’t move. “Go on.” He commanded quietly, and Twilight continued Graham’s explanation. “You see, you are in the land of Equestria. We Equines are the most intelligent of the creatures around here, and we are ruled by our faithful rulers, Princess Celestia and her younger sister, Princess Luna!” Twilight explained as Bromley nodded, seeming to be perfectly accepting much to everypony’s chagrin. He was now silent, and no one was brave enough to crash his train of thoughts or break the silence. “Why would you summon humans here though?” He finally asked. Graham cleared his throat. “Well, it was just to have more of us, really...” “You can't be serious, you were lonely?” Bromley said, eyes narrowing dangerously. He sighed though, calming himself down. “Is there a better reason?” Graham thought about it. “Well, the Princess said that Aramis and I were technically some sort of ambassado—” “You’re talking about the big horse with the horn and wings, correct?” Bromley interrupted. Graham nodded. “Yes, that one. Anyways, she said that she wanted to bring humans about on this world again, since humans once were brought into Equestria a long time ago. She used us to see if she was making a good choice, and so far, we’ve done a good job making her choice a beneficial one. We’ve helped around town with any job we could, and so far, the ponies here accept us.” Bromley closed his eyes in thought, his face void of any telling emotion. “... I am not the best company, Graham. I am not going to release you from your loneliness.” He said carefully, assessing his role. “What is my purpose here?” “In all honesty? I have no clue whatsoever. The princess said she’d bring a human or two, but you’re the only one we got, and so far, I’m not liking it.” Graham said with a sneer. Bromley’s red eyes turned to Graham, who attempted to ignore how intimidating the man was. “The only reason you showed up on your own was possibly because you were alone when the spell went off.” Twilight mused. Bromley nodded in agreement, looking at Twilight expectantly before Applejack spoke to him. “Ah don’t know what yer special talent is Bromley, but if yer lookin for somethin to do, Sweet Apple Acres will host yah kindly if yall can work a bit.” Bromley considered the offer. “... It seems my set of skills aren’t very needed in this world.. Are you suggesting I work as a farm hand?” He said, an elegant brow lifting. Applejack nodded firmly and Bromley shrugged. “It won’t hurt. I will assist you as I can... Miss... Applejack?” The freckled pony grinned at him in response. “Thats mah name, don’t wear it out! Here, follow me back to Apple Acres. Graham, why don’t you and Twi tell the princesses we have the human they brought about. I’m sure Bromley here is exhausted.” Bromley remained mute, though his body showed no signs of fatigue as he walked over to Applejack. “If you feel safe with him, then alright! I’ll go nab the Princesses.” Graham started off in a separate direction towards the castle. Twilight shot a warning look at Bromley, who was unfazed. Shaking her head in defeat, she teleported the two of them back to Canterlot. As they walked through the castle halls, Twilight looked up at her friend before saying something. “If the princesses and Discord didn’t know they summoned a human successfully, do you think they would try again?” “I’m sure they know...” Graham played off, with a hint of doubt in the sentence. He started thinking different ideas; ones he hoped might not happen. If they summoned a human like Bromley, but didn’t know it, what stopped them from trying again? And who else could it be? Would they summon an even more dangerous man this time? What if it really did happen? “Oh fuck...what if they brought another Bromley here?” Graham shakily asked. They’d have to go through that all over again, and that’s not to say if they even could. For all they knew, they could get someone stronger! “We need to hurry back to the throne room, now!” Twilight called as she galloped towards the desired room, hoping to end what could become another summoning... But as they neared the throne room with each passing second, Celestia was murmuring another chant, and a bright glow filling the room once more...
Chapter 11: Day 1...Mission Terminated.Applejack lead Bromley back to her home, neither of them breaking the slightly uncomfortable silence that had settled over them. Sweet Apple Acres came into sight, and still Bromley didn’t offer a single word. “So... Uh... Y’all mentioned that your line of work isn’t... Needed here?” Bromley’s gaze shifted to her as she looked back at him while still trotting towards her home. He offered a nod, but no clarification. “... What did yah do?” Bromley stayed silent, and she was about to give him a piece of her mind about his annoying attitude, when he spoke up in his formal monotonous drawl. “I was a mercenary.” Applejack’s eyes widened at the words and she looked away to hide her shock. She had heard all the manner of strange terminology from listening to Twilight rant about the latest books she was reading. Mercenaries were folks that were hired out to do work that most people weren’t exactly willing to do. Why? Because they were nasty, criminally tainted jobs. Silence once again dropped over the pair, but this time it was tense, and Applejack was growing angry at the man walking next to her; just because of the implications of the work he did. “... So y’all kill folks?” It was more of an accusation then a question. The gates to her farm were only a few feet away. “Sometimes. I do many things.” He replied, his tone apathetic. They left it at that as she pushed open the gates with a hoof and called out in a much cheerier tone to her family. “Ah’m home!” Bromley watched as the small filly he had rescued earlier hurried out of the house, the door closing behind her before reopening and a wrinkled green pony following suit. “Mister! Applejack where did yah find him?” Applejack looked in between the two, looking confused. “Yall know this critter Applebloom?” Bromley sighed softly at the title, though said nothing as Applebloom began to explain that he had saved her. “Yeah! All these wolves were chasin’ me! And he came outta nowhere and made sure they didn’ get me!” Applejack turned back after hearing her story, her eyes giving away how thankful she was to the man. “Thank yah... For savin’ ‘mah sister.” She smiled then, realizing she had misjudged the strange human. For a moment it seemed as if Bromley’s eyes held a glint of happiness, as if appreciation was much too rare for him, but it disappeared in an instant. Applebloom looked back behind her sister to grin at the man, showing no signs of nervousness. Bromley raised an eyebrow, but his attention was redirected to Granny Smith. “Who’s this?!” The green pony who had finally reached the group suddenly called out. “He’s an odd lookin’ one.” She scrutinized him between wrinkly, half-closed eyes. She seemed content after a few seconds though and went to limp back inside with no further comments. Bromley blinked a few times, before a much deeper, masculine voice greeted his ears. “Eeeyup... He is an odd lookin’ one sis.” Bromley turned his red eyes to stare at the new comer. Big Macintosh rolled the stick of hay between his lips thoughtfully, looking the human up and down. “Yall are might different from them other lanky hooligans in the town. I’m Big Macintosh.” The large horse extended his hoof, a welcoming smile drifting across his face. Bromley, struck by the kindness (and probably the fact that Big Mac was indeed Male) shook the hoof firmly, his lips twitching upward into a smile of his own for a brief second. “Bromley. Miss Applejack offered me a place to work here.” Big Mac grunted at that and nodded thoughtfully, while Applejack gaped at how many words the man had said to her brother. “Well... Lets get im’ settled in sis.” Big Mac slowly meandered his way to the door, relaxed as ever. The rest of the family and the new comer human followed after him, and Bromley began to observe his surroundings. It was obviously an apple plantation, and it was thriving with beautiful apples, ripe for the picking. The house was very simplistic, the inside cozy and inviting. Bromley was drawn out of his musings as Big Mac began speaking again. “Well... We can put you in Applebloom’s room, seeing as we aint got any more spare rooms, or we—” He was cut off as Bromley took a seat on the couch and threw his feet onto the cushion. “This will do.” Big Mac just shrugged, happy with whatever the newcomer was content with. Bromley closed his eyes, allowing himself a moment's rest. After all, he hadn’t slept in the last 38 hours. Darkness closed in, but the soft hoof falls (foot falls?) of someone else woke him up a short time later. “Can I get yah some water Mister?” Applebloom was hoping she had gotten the jump on him. From what she could tell, he was peacefully asleep, hands tucked behind his head, his eyes closed. Apparently not though, as he didn’t even twitch. “No, but thank you.” He replied politely, his eyes not opening. “Alright... Well, sleep well Mister Bromley.” Bromley sighed softly to himself. His thoughts took a strange turn as he drifted off into slumber. “Mission... Terminated. Failure. New Objective.... Unknown.”
Chapter 12: Why don't you come on down, Jack?Graham and Twilight ran towards the throne room, the chanting Celestia made to open the same portal was about to end. By the time they opened the door, it was too late to stop her. Graham and Twilight shielded their eyes as rays of white light shot out from the growing portal, which emitted a steadily growing whining sound as it became a multi-colored swirl of red, green, and black, before exploding in a small mushroom cloud, the whining sound becoming a screech that quickly wound down to nothing. Graham uncovered his eyes in time to see another human fly out of the explosion back-first and into the door next to him before falling on its face to the floor, letting out a groan as it did so. He and Twilight looked at its limp form for a second, waiting for it to make some move against them like Bromley had. By now Celestia, Luna, and Discord had recovered from the magical eruption and were doing the same, nobody moving a muscle. “Jeez, my eyes... “ Graham groaned as he rubbed his eyes after experiencing that white blast again; the same one that he remembered seeing back on earth. “Princess, what did...you...” Twilight stopped her sentence short to notice the human sprawled on the floor. “Hold on a sec...that can’t be...Is that Jack? My main man!” Graham laughed as he pointed at the body on the floor. After a quick chuckle more, he helped the poor teen up. The human was about as tall a Aramis, maybe slightly taller. His red shirt faded to black as it neared his waist, and had a double dragon design on the upper left chest. It was largely hidden, however, by a thin navy blue zip-up North Face. He also wore light blue jeans, and grey-and-neon-green sneakers. On his face were a pair of rectangular blue glasses, behind which were a pair of blue-grey eyes. As he stood up, he ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair, groaning in discomfort. “Okay, no more ice cream before bed,” he groaned. “I thought once would be fine, but obviously not.” He blinked and looked around. “Or, somebody spiked it with LSD. Wonderful. There goes that self-promise...” “If it ain’t Jack Ol’ boy...” Graham chuckled. “How ya been? Feelin’ alright? You look like you got run over, buddy.” The teen looked at Graham for a moment. “...Holy shit, I must be high as a kite.” He then poked the taller human in the face a few times, he expression changing to one of disbelief. “G...Graham? That really you?” “No, I’m George Lucas.” Graham said sarcastically. “Of course it’s me.” Jack took a step back and looked around him once more. Now noticing the royalty, he gave a slow, hesitant wave, which all three returned with varying degrees of energy. He turned back to Graham. “Am I in virtual reality or something? If so, can we change this so we’re in...I don’t know, Armored Core or something?” Graham laughed and clapped his friend on the shoulder. “Nope! You’re stuck in the real, bona fide Equestria, buddy!” Jack only looked at him in shock. “S-stuck? In Equestria? Never going back to Earth?” He asked. Graham shook his head, a smile on his face. “Yep! All of your materialized possessions, your cherished families, and all of your friends are gone forever! In fact, you might as well kiss sweet mother earth good-bye, and welcome to your new home, in which you are completely new to, and have no chance to fit in with equine society, like mwah.” He chuckled and gave a grin. Jack stood gaping at him for a moment before taking a step back. Then another. And another. He looked around himself one more time before looking a Graham with a serious expression. “Fuck this shit,” He said, before bolting out of the throne room. "I'm such an asshole." Graham chuckled before he looked at Celestia, and vice versa. Celestia didn’t need to say anything to tell him to move. “Yeah, yeah. I’m goin’...” He muttered as he ran off to catch the new human. *** Jack ran through the halls of Canterlot Castle, fully aware he had no idea where he was going. He briefly cursed Hasbro for not releasing a full schematic of the castle before refocusing on his run, looking for anything that looked like it could make a portal back home. Eventually, the teen took a turn and found himself in the Canterlot gardens. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath before setting off again, this time at more of a jog than a run. He spared glances at the numerous statues around him, appreciating their crafts-pony-ship briefly before continuing on. “Too bad there’s not a statue to get me home...” he muttered to himself, right before tripping and falling on his face for the second time that day. Letting out an aggravated groan to himself, Jack got up and checked behind him, facepalming when he realized he had tripped on nothing. He turned... ...and found himself looking directly into two yellow eyes with mismatched red pupils. Jack jumped back and froze for a moment in shock before shaking his head and settling into a fighting stance, glaring at Discord. The chaos god laughed and bounced a rock in his hand. “Have a nice trip?” he asked, cackling as he did so. Jack rolled his eyes and scowled. “Oh, yeah, real nice. Saw some dirt, humiliated myself, you know how it goes.” He said sarcastically. “Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back home.” Discord chuckled and gestured all around them. “You heard your friend, this IS your home!” Jack relaxed and stood up from his pose, crossing his arms. “No offence, Discord, but as much as I’d like to be in Equestria, I think I’ll take my Xbox over feeling like I’m in one of those overused ‘Discord brings human to Equestria for fun times’ fanfictions.” He looked down at himself before sighing. “Well, at least I’m not a pony, that would be beyond cliched...” Discord hovered next to the human and wrapped an arm around him. “Are you sure you’d rather go back home?” The teen nodded. “I’m sure you can appreciate this, but I’d be terribly bored here.” Discord patted the human on his shoulder. “Well, if you really think you’d be so bored...” The god snapped his fingers, a green light covering the human next to him. The light changed from the form of a human into that of a ball, hovering for a few moments before taking on a pony-like shape. It touched back down onto the ground before fading away, revealing... *** “Jack! Where are you, you freakin’...You know what I’m not even gonna finish that sentence.” Graham muttered as he fell to the ground in a sweat. “Jeez...how do people run so fucking fast!?” He yelled out to nobody in particular as he sat up, regaining a bit of his energy. He would have sat down for longer, but a noise was heard in the distance. He could also see a green light on the other side of the Canterlot Gardens. If it was any more obvious, there would’ve been a sign saying “Look here, you stupid cunt”. “Must be him.” He muttered as he slowly got back on his feet. He was still tired, sure, but getting Jack before he did something stupid was more important than the nap he could use. It took about five minutes to reach where the glow was coming from. The noise stopped as well, which made Graham sigh. “God da--wait...” He interrupted himself as he saw something ahead. A small buzzing noise was heard as he ventured onwards... “What....the....CHANGELING!” Graham cried out as he ran at it, Discord floating and chuckling nearby. “Careful, Graham!” He called. “You know how dangerous those changelings are!” “Fuck you Discord! They’re as dangerous as a dead ant!” He retorted as he pounced at the mentioned creature and held it in a choke hold. “What does Chrysalis want now?! Another beating? She’ll have to go through me first!” He growled as the changeling caught under his frightening grip choked out the words... “G-Graham! Wh-at the f...fu...” It gasped, struggling a moment before going limp... ...right before it sank its fangs into Graham’s arm. “Ahh! Mein arm!” Graham screeched as he punched the changeling in the nose, hoping to knock it off of his now bleeding arm. He punched it over four times until it let go out of oxygen deprivation, but it didn’t stop him from grabbing it a second time. He raised it up towards his face, meeting it at the same level, before saying the words “Tell your queen...Ich komme nach ihr weiter”. “Wha--” was all the creature said as it was thrown to the ground. It groaned and twitched for a moment before laying still. Graham took a moment to look it over. It seemed to be fairly well beaten, even its red eyes completely motionless. The man gave the changeling one last kick to the ribs before walking away. “These things are so weak! Now to find Jack...” Graham chortled as he started to leave. He paused when he heard a coughing sound from behind him, turning to see the beaten changeling slowly climbing to its hooves. “You...” It wheezed, blinking a few times until it focused on the man. “You...MOTHER FUCKER!” The changeling’s wings buzzed into action, sending it careening into Graham’s gut, returning the favor it had received. With an “Oof!” Graham was sent to the ground onto his back. He slowly got up and brushed off again. “Come. We fight like men. Er, stallions.” Graham corrected himself as he ran towards the changeling with his fists in the air. The changeling stood its ground, legs spread wide. It spat out a small drop of blood before hissing, clear anger on its features. Its wings began buzzing as it sent itself flying towards Graham, letting out what could only be a changeling war cry. Graham let out his own battle cry as he charged. The two of them collided, but both fell over on the ground in a heap, struggling and fighting for dominance. “A-After I’m done with you, you’re gonna be mounted on Twilight’s wall!” Graham shouted as he pushed harder, making the changeling struggle under the heavy man’s weight. “I’m going to redefine the name ‘Grahamburger’, you overfed lump of meat!” The creature hissed, jabbing its horn into Graham’s side to dissuade him from crushing it. “O-ow! W-Wait a minute! STOP!” Graham screamed as he pushed the creature away, panting after all that fighting. He fell to the floor, wiping off a immense amount of sweat from his brow. “Only one person calls me that...” Graham wheezed as he looked towards the changeling’s direction. “You’re not...” “How the fuck did you not recognize me!?” the changeling screamed. The giant man growled as he stood up, and walked over to the now-recognized Jack. Grabbing him by a horn, he dragged him right towards a small pond. “LOOK AT IT!” He shouted as he forced him to peer into the reflection... “OW! What the fuck is on my head that you’re...you’re...” Jack trailed off as he looked into the pond, gaping at his new form. “This is new.” A loud popping noise and confetti shower erupted behind the two, and they turned to see Discord laughing and pointing at them. “Still bored, Jacky boy?” He laughed as the changeling gave him a flat look. “You’ve definitely sweetened the deal,” Jack said. “But I wonder whether letting me and Graham beat the crap out of each other was necessary.” Discord waved his paw dismissively. “Oh don’t be like that. It’s not every day you get to troll yourself.” Jack and Graham looked at each other, shrugging. “Whatever. Fun’s over. You can change him back now.” Graham demanded as he lifted Jack into the air. Discord floated there for a second, but then started to laugh again. “Sorry, one-way only!” He said, patting the changeling on the head, laughing even harder when it made a quite adorable puppy-face. “Nope! Not working!” After a quick, but strangely creepy chuckle, Graham lifted him up again. “I think you meant to say ‘Of course I can change him back! Here, let me do that!’, now be a good god and fix him up, will you?” Discord’s chuckling stopped and his expression became serious, which was slightly off-putting to Graham and Jack. “I meant what I said. It’s one-way.” Jack’s mouth dropped open, his mind blank of any thought. Graham’s hands suddenly stopped working, sending his friend to the ground, where he collapsed unceremoniously. “You....PIECE OF SHIT!” Graham screamed out loud as he jumped over his friend, and grabbed Discord by the neck, pulling him towards his face. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN ONE-WAY! I’M GOING TO SKIN YOU ALIVE, YOU WORM!” He kept screaming as he shook the god of chaos this way and that. He expected cries of pain and calls for mercy, but had none of it. Instead, he looked at the thing he was holding to realize it was a doll of him. Up above them, Discord was rolling around a cloud, laughing like a hyena. "By the way, fat man, you might want to get that bite checked out." Graham was seething with rage and was about to try and jump up to Discord’s cloud when he felt a tapping on the back of his leg. He turned and saw Jack looking up at him, eyes narrowed. “Graham, chill the fuck out,” he said. “I got this.” Jack flew up towards Discord, stopping and hovering right in front of the god. “Discord,” he started. “I appreciate a good trolling, and I can understand you don’t want some...ling...else to be bored like you were. So, with that in mind...” Jack’s frown switched to a smile. “Just warn me next time, m’kay?” Discord chuckled and held out a fist, which Jack promptly bro-hoofed. “Jack, what the hell are you doing? You’re completely fine with turning into a changeling? I beat you up out of confusion, and you’re saying it’s FINE?!” Graham’s left eye twitched at the sight of Discord and Jack bro-hoofing each other. Jack chuckled and flew back to Graham, placing a hoof on his friend’s shoulder. “Graham, I can take way more shit than you can, you should know that by now. And as for me turning into changeling?” Jack’s expression became giddy. “I’m effectively a tiny alicorn. How could I NOT love it?” “In that case, he might as well turn me into a ferocious, terrifying, blood thirsty dragon!” He silently challenged. He looked up, expecting Discord to reply, but nothing happened. He was gone without a trace. “....Mother of fuck.” He muttered as he grabbed Jack and hoisted him onto his shoulder. He calmly walked back into the castle, taking his time through the halls until he got to the throne room, in which Celestia alone occupied. “Graham, you are--What in the almighty’s name are you doing with that!” She spread her wings, flying up high, and readied a spell from her horn. Graham grabbed his friend, ready to take a shot. “My princess...meet my friend Jack.” Jack smiled and waved.
Chapter 13: Dark Roots...The sun began to set gently over the Equestrian skies while the moon slowly ascended to its place. Ponies everywhere were going home to relax for the evening and others headed outside to enjoy the wonders of the night. High above the town of Ponyville, two friends in particular were heading home to wind down. “Did you see how awesome that triple backflip corkscrew was, Aramis!?” Rainbow Dash asked, excitement clear in her voice. Aramis adjusted his grip on her neck as they flew, “Yeah...it was pretty awesome, I guess...” he answered disinterestedly. Rainbow Dash squee’d in acknowledgement, still riding out the adrenaline that pumped through her veins, not paying particular attention to how he answered her question. Within moments, the two had set foot at the small “front yard” of their luxuriously designed cloud home, the white clouds appearing as though they had been painted with a blend of orange on one side and midnight blue on the other. He dismounted her and passively walked up to the door, opening it without sparing a second glance at the transition of day, something the two did together almost everyday. Rainbow Dash looked on with a worried glance and contemplated what to do. “I could go in and follow him...but maybe he’s just going to the bathroom...or maybe he’s not in the mood...” She thought outloud. The more she thought about it, the more obvious it became that she wasn’t getting anywhere with her current train of thought. Shaking her head as if to clear her confusion, Rainbow Dash zipped in through the open window and caught up to Aramis just as he opened the door to the bedroom they shared. Before he could even lie down on his bed, Aramis was suddenly tackled face first onto the cloud bed, his face dampening slightly from the force. “What the hell, Rainbow Dash...” Aramis grumbled, clearly annoyed with her as he laid on his side, facing the wall. Rainbow poked his shoulder, “What’s wrong, Aramis? I thought you were having fun back at the field while I practiced my tricks.” she asked in a surprisingly softer voice. He sighed deeply, “I did...it’s just that there’s some stuff on my mind.” “You wanna talk about it?” Rainbow asked. “No, it’s fine.” “Are you sure?” “I just need some time alone, Rainbow.” “Bu—” Rainbow stopped herself short when Aramis stood up and walked out of the room. Tilting her head in confusion, she followed him until Dash saw him staring out the kitchen window, the same forlorn expression on his face. An idea popped into her head, “Hey, Aramis! You up for some grub?” He scratched the side of his beard in thought, “Maybe...I’m not really that hungry to be honest though.” Aramis’ stomach chose that moment to betray him, letting out an angry growl of discontent. Rainbow Dash laughed, “Not really that hungry my flank!” The young man settled for looking away indignantly, as though it would save his pride. Walking into the kitchen, Rainbow Dash opened the fridge and pulled out a bag of hay fries along with two bottles of Dragon-ade. She also took two veggie burgers out of the freezer. Without question, Aramis turned on the stove, placing olive oil on two separate pans. He began waiting for them to heat up. Several minutes passed before he heard the quiet pop of cooking oil which Aramis took as a cue to place the veggie burgers on one pan and dump the hay fries in the other. He went over to one of the cabinets and grabbed a couple of plates, then opened one of the nearby drawers and grabbed a fork. Carrying the entire arrangement with practiced ease, he quickly placed everything down in a orderly fashion without missing a beat. Rainbow Dash saw the whole thing and muttered, “It still looks cool watching you do that...” Aramis rolled his eyes, “Learned it when I was a waiter.” and with that he went to check on the simple meal which was just about done cooking. He opened a cabinet next to the stove and looked around blindly with his hand until it caught hold of a mesh, “Found you, damn basket.” he muttered. It was a simple bowl with a mesh design on which he placed two paper towels before scooping out the fries onto it. He then fetched two buns out of another cabinet, placing them on the laid out plates before bringing the pan containing the burgers and using his fork to place them inside their waiting buns. Once that was done, he placed the pan in the sink and walked back to the table, easing into his chair as Rainbow did the same. They each took some hay fries and placed them on their plates, then began eating in earnest. Dash quickly wolfed down her burger and plowed through her fries, taking the occasional swig of Ponyade. Aramis went at a much slower pace, such that he was only halfway done with his burger and had gone through a quarter of his fries when Dash reached for another helping of fries, which were also consumed in short order. Rainbow watched as Aramis ate the remainder of his food, a blank look on his face, eyes lost in thought. She waited until he had finished his meal and began sitting quietly before she couldn’t take the silence. “Aramis, what’s wrong?” She asked, genuine concern in her voice. Aramis grunted softly, “Can’t you just leave it be?” Rainbow Dash stood her ground, “Not until you talk to me about it. It isn’t healthy to bottle up your feelings like that!” He laughed a bitter, hollow laugh, “What would you know about that? You seem to do fine always saying what’s on your mind.” Rainbow opened her mouth to object, but closed it after a moment and closed her eyes, hanging her head, “No...No I don’t...” Aramis looked up, eyebrow raised in surprise, “What are you talking about?” The blue pegasus let out a shaky sigh before speaking again, “There’s some stuff I never told anypony...not even my best friends...” Aramis sat up a little more, curiosity piqued, “Can you tell me?” Dash let out a single chucke and looked at him, “Only if you tell me what’s wrong with you.” Aramis waved his hand, “Ladies first.” Rainbow let out another sigh, eyes gaining a faraway look to them. She sat in silence for a moment, staring at the table. She sniffed once and began talking. “When I was a little filly, I had almost no friends. I was bullied all the time, names, insults, and sometimes...it got physical. The other colts and fillies would laugh at my mane and tail, saying I was stupid because I couldn’t decide on a color.” An angry, bitter look washed over her features before a soft smile managed to push to the surface, “Fluttershy was my only friend, but back then it was more like we were bully buddies. We’d fall back on each other for comfort when the bullying got really harsh.” Rainbow smiled slightly, “Then, one day, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I challenged the bullies to a race, and that’s when I pulled off the Sonic Rainboom.” Her smile faded and she stayed silent for a moment before continuing. “It only got worse from there. Yeah, I got really popular because I was the first pegasus in a long time to do a Rainboom, but it seemed like I got another bully for every fan. At first, all they did was call me names and things like that, but then somepony got the idea to set me up as...as a filly fooler.” Rainbow closed her eyes, and Aramis noticed a few tears escaping and sliding down her face. “A fillyfooler? What exactly does that mean?” Aramis asked. Dash tried to keep from trembling as she answered, but failed horribly, “T-that...I-I liked other mares...” She took a deep breath before continuing. “They cornered me in the locker room and forced me to...make out...with another mare. They took a lot of pictures and made sure that just about everypony in Cloudsdale saw them. At that point, I guess my parents just couldn’t take it anymore.” Dash began sobbing, tears flowing more freely. “They left me...” She finally collapsed and started bawling, cries interrupted only once in a short while by stuttering chantas of “They left me”’. Aramis gazed upon her with a sad look before standing up and walking over to her seat, wrapping her small body in his arms, “What those bullies did, what your parents did, what everypony involved did...there is nothing in this world that can forgive them for it...b-but, you persevered above it all. You had the strength to make it somewhere...something I didn’t have the capacity to do for myself...” he cradled her gently, running a hand through her soft, short locks of prismatic hair. Carrying her crying body in his arms, he walked the short distance to their room and sat down on his bed, rubbing her back as she cried, “I didn’t have the misfortune of suffering something like you did, but I also lost everything I had. Back where I use to live, my parents started falling apart...Dad just became a monster and mom couldn’t deal with it anymore so they divorced.” Aramis was quiet for several minutes, absentmindedly rubbing her still shaking form. Dash broke out of her sobs long enough to raise her head and look at Aramis from the crook of his arm with tear-filled eyes, “Wha...what’s a divorce?” she asked with a weak voice. “It’s when two married people decide to split up,” Aramis answered, too lost in thought to notice Dash’s horrified expression, “I wanted to stay with mom, but my dad wasn’t hearing any of it. Tried to force me to stay...by the time I managed to leave, I had found out my mom ran off...” The young man sighed deeply before continuing, eyes misting up at the thought, “Before I ended up here with Graham, I never found out what happened to her...” Rainbow’s tears began once more, now coming out of pity for the unfortunate human sitting next to her, “Aramis... I’m so sorry...” He rubbed away her tears gently with his thumb, “It isn’t your fault Dashie...I honestly have Graham to thank I’m even around. He and I were both in the same boat. I only had two people who truly cared about me...Graham and Gypsy. They’re all I have to live for...and now, I’ve only got one of them...” Aramis let out a sniff, exhaling deeply before he began again, “And now we’re stuck in Equestria. I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore...I don’t know why I’m doing ANYTHING. I just don’t know anymore, Dashie...” he simply couldn’t take the pain and began to weep into Rainbow Dash, nuzzling his face into her chest as they both cried on his bed, holding onto each like a life raft.
Chapter 14: Day 2; Mission: Code AppleLife on the farm was different for Bromley. Very different. Not in the ways that most people would think though. His muscles were already toned, used to hard labor and long days, but his brain wasn’t ready for the amount of affection he was getting from the strange family he was living with. Meals had never been cooked for him outside of formal parties. People had never stopped him in the middle of his job to offer him a sweet, delicious glass of apple juice. He was never invited to sit in front of a fire to sip apple cider with his employer. All in all, it was a new experience, but not unwelcome. “Yall need a break Brom?” The man being spoken to was drawn out of his thoughts by Applejack. “I am fine. Thank you though.” Bromley replied, pushing his sweaty black hair back, before raising his leg and slamming it into the tree in front of him. The tree shook for a second, apples falling out. He had learned the day before that kicking too hard or too low would break the bark. “Honestly, do yall always speak so formal? For Celestia’s sake loosen up.” Applejack gently teased the human as she trotted around, catching the apples that Bromley knocked loose, and picking up the few she missed. Bromley shrugged. “As you wish.” At that, he lifted his black shirt over his head, tossing aside the sweaty shirt. “That’s it!” Applejack grinned, though purposefully ignored the heat in her cheeks. Her eyes widened though as she spotted the gray, metal part of his arm that was now exposed. Bromley stared into her eyes as she examined the appendage, and was actually surprised when she didn’t shy away, but instead got closer. “That’s there is real in-erestin’... Didja used to have a real arm?” Bromley offered a stiff nod and she smiled up at him pitiously. Bromley’s still gloved fists clenched at the action. “Don’t be sorry for me. I only lost it because I was weak.” Bromley seemed to bite out the words, and he turned away from her. Applejack was left speechless, and could only stare as Bromley kicked at another tree. The bark broke. Off. Bromley stood in the shower, just letting the hot water pour over his sweaty body and sore muscles. Even after years of constant running and kicking, his legs were not used to the hard work of the farm. The unconventional methods they used for harvesting didn’t really bother him, but they were tiring. Slowly, his body relaxed, and shortly after cleaning he left the shower. He glared down at the dirty clothes that he had worn that day. He really needed to see if he could get some more, as having just one set of clothes was becoming a nightmare. With a sigh, he scrubbed them using the castile soap in the tub. Content that they were clean, he slipped his towel around his waist, put his gloves on and left the bathroom wearing just that. He hung his clothes outside on a tree, then rejoined the Apple family for dinner. He took his seat next to big mac, who was chowing down on some hay and salad, with some apple dumplings. He helped himself to the dumplings, and grabbed a single slice of bread, keeping far away from the hay. “How ya liking your job?” Big Mac asked, his face stretching into a grin that belied his intelligence. Bromley smirked back. “Its a real kick in the pants.” Not a single laugh was given. Everyone just stared at Bromley in shock. Applejack’s jaw was actually hanging open. “Did you just make a joke?” Apple Bloom said, eyes still wide. Bromley raised a brow at their reactions, calmly stuffing a dumpling into his mouth while nodding. “Get Nurse Red Heart. We got an emergency!” Applejack yelled, rushing to the sink to get a wet cloth in case Bromley had a fever. Bromley laid on the couch, now dressed in his sun warmed clothes and basking in the fire’s light. Outside, the sun had almost completely set. He let out a content sigh, listening to the calming noise of the Apple Family laughing and talking. Big Mac wrestled with Applebloom while Granny Smith commentated and Applejack just laughed, filling the room with pure joy. Bromley let a smile stretch across his face. Where he was from, the scene from this very room was so rare. It reminded him of those old TV shows he would watch when he was little, of the perfect family that occasionally had a little squabble but loved each other deeply and would give anything to make each other happy. It was so unlike what he had grown up seeing though. Every day, the news would describe in graphic detail, a new breaking news story about a father killing his child, or a mother brutally beating her helpless child. Bone chilling tales of grandparents being murdered for their considerable wealth, or sometimes stories of a brother raping his sister, or outright killing his other siblings in a jealous rage would be told, but it didn’t matter. It was obvious. Humans were outright controlled by greed, jealousy, and hate. Bromley’s red gaze turned towards the loving, happy family and for once he made his own decision. For once he decided to give himself a new mission. A goal. “My new mission is to protect the Apple Family in any way possible with my very life. Mission started: June 6th, 8:00 P.M. Mission Terminates at: Unknown Time.”
Chapter 15: UnityCelestia looked at the man and changeling in a mix of shock, horror, and a hint of disgust. She thought over any possible reason that Graham would ever bring over a changeling. Why didn’t a single guard in her castle even try to stop him? Were they stupid? Asleep on the job? Or was Graham that skilled at hiding even the most villainous of creatures in the open? She tried to relay her disbelief. “W-wha...ho--” “All I did was walk in. Nothing that hard.” Celestia almost wanted to blast the thing in front of her into bits. It would be simple, efficient, and even better, for the good of Equestria! All she would have to do was blast it with a spell from her horn. In fact, what was stopping her... Suddenly, the changeling lept from Graham’s arms and landed just short of her throne, bowing deeply as soon as it hit the ground. Celestia recoiled slightly in shock, wondering what trick the creature was trying to pull. Her shock only increased further as it began to speak. “Celestia, ruler of Equestria, the Keeper of Harmony, Guardian of the Sun. I am honored to meet you in person at last.” “Who...who’re--” Graham stepped towards her, standing next to his friend, and chuckled, “Didn’t I just say he’s one of my friends? His name’s Jack, like I said earlier, and you brought him here through your portal.” Celestia gaped at him and rapidly shifted her attention to the changeling, then back to Graham, then back again, “But...Jack is a human, isn’t he?” “I can explain, princess,” the changeling said, still bowing. “Discord meant to play a practical joke on us, and it seems the effects are irreversible.” Then it chuckled, “Though I can’t say I’m adverse to the side-effects.” “I’ll have to do something about Discord later... But for now, I ask of you to bring Aramis here, so that I may speak to all three—” “Four.” “...What?” Graham scratched the back of his head and thought it over. “Well, remember when you, Luna and Discord thought your spell didn’t work the first time? Well, turned out someone did pop up from that.” Celestia felt so stupid. How could she not see that her spell worked the first time? She summoned two men and a dog before, how could she believe it didn’t work under the power of three entities? “I cannot believe I didn’t see that it worked.” She put a hoof to her face as she shook her head. Graham chuckled. “It can happen to just about anyone--pony! Jeez. Anyway, you didn’t know, so what? Now you do.” Celestia could understand that. She wasn’t all-knowing, like so many of her subjects believed. She was one of few remaining Alicorns, yes. But that didn’t say anything about her supposed “all knowing wit” that the ponies of Equestria, for one reason or another, deemed her to have. “I suppose you’re right Graham”, the princess conceded, “But as I was saying, I would like you to go back to Ponyville and gather up all of your friends, human and pony.” “But wait, why can’t you just get a guard or two, and rush ‘em over here by chariot or something? Isn’t that just a tiny bit easier than just sending me and a bug to go get them?” Jack’s head came up from his bow and he glared at Graham, “Well, fuck you too, my good sir.” “You’re welcome.” Graham grinned back. Celestia thought it out in her head. Sending two guards would be much easier than sending a changeling out with Graham. If anypony were to see Jack the way he was, especially since the ponies were just getting over the incident during the royal wedding, they would have a panic attack. They’d gather pitchforks and torches just to kill the poor thing. And sending Graham out on his own, would probably take a while to do, since he wasn’t going to pull them all together under a few hours. He didn’t have the speed of a pegasus. Sending professionals would be good enough, and quicker too. “Graham, you’re absolutely right. I’ll send two of my quickest guards immediately.” With this in mind, Celestia took the orders on parchment, and sent them to her chosen help via magic. Outside, both were preparing the chariot to take off. As soon as they were ready, they flew into the air, towards Ponyville. There, they would gather Bromley and Aramis, as well as the element bearers... The only one that they wouldn’t find there was Twilight. After Graham had run off after Jack, she went towards her old study hall, which was located on the east side of the palace. Graham, remembering that Twilight didn’t return to Ponyville after that event, decided it was a good idea to get her himself. Discovering her location through Celestia, he went off with Jack at his side to guide her back into the throne room for this ‘special meeting’. Graham, with Jack on his back once more, took to the halls to locate the study hall Twilight cooped herself in. “I wish they had directories or something. This place is a nightmare.” Graham muttered as they traveled the halls, finding themselves to be lost. Jack chuckled, “Tell me about it. You think I knew where I was going when I ran off? It was dumb luck...well, dumb or horrible, depending on how you look at it...that I wound up in the gardens.” “Well do you know where we are right now? It’d probably be nice to have some form of idea how close we are to Twilight’s old study hall.” Jack flew off from Graham’s back and looked around, grinning when he saw a window a little further down the hall. His wings suddenly buzzed to life and lifted him up in the air, bringing him up to Graham’s eye level, “Wait here,” he said, before flying out the window he had spotted. Graham, being impatient as always, leaned up on a wall and sat there, toying with his fingers. A few moments later, Jack zoomed back into the hallway to meet up with his big friend. “We just need to head upstairs a couple flights, nothing too bad.” Jack smiled widely and patted Graham on the shoulder, “Have fun with that.” He promptly flew back out the window, cackling as he went. “Stupid bug.” He said under his breath as he walked up the stairs. About ten minutes passed by until he finally reached his destination. Jack was nowhere to be found once Graham finally arrived at Twilight’s study hall, so the man headed in by himself. Opening the door, he noticed Twilight caught in a book. She didn’t turn around, nor did she hear him come in as he snuck over. He was right behind her, with his arms hanging high... “Now I just need that quill, and--” She was interrupted by a roar from behind, startling her and making her jump straight up into the air, where a pair of arms grabbed hold of her. Twilight managed to turn herself enough to see it was Graham who had grabbed her, and who was now laughing his head off. The unicorn gave a small buck to the man’s gut, just hard enough to get him to let go, which he did with a small grunt. Twilight gave an indignant huff as she landed, immediately turning around fully to berate Graham for his immature behavior, “Graham, what was that for!?” She yelled, “I’m in the middle of some very important research, and the last thing I need is playful interruptions!” The man merely laughed at Twilight’s outburst and continued well after she was finished scolding him. The mare rolled her eyes and moved to get back into her seat... “Hello? Twilight?” Said unicorn immediately perked up at the voice, an immensely wide smile replacing her frown as she spun around to see the best foal-sitter ever standing in the doorway. “Cadence!” She cried, bolting to the alicorn and wrapping her hooves around Cadence’s neck in a tight hug. The cupid winced at the immediate constriction of her airway, but returned the hug with only slightly less force. “Twilight!” she said once said mare had let her go, “It’s so good to see you again.” “What are you doing here?” Twilight asked, “I thought you were coming back next week from your honeymoon!” Cadence laughed good-naturedly, “Your brother forgot to hand off some orders to the next-in-command, so I just made a quick stop to drop them off.” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? You let some silly orders interrupt your honeymoon?” “Well, normally I wouldn't've, but Shiny was just so worried that something would go wrong. I couldn’t bear to see him so stressed, so I told him I’d drop them off super quick.” Cadence rolled her eyes, smiling, “Believe me, your brother puts up just as much of a fuss as you are right now.” The alicorn looked behind Twilight to see a still giggling Graham. She looked back to the younger Sparkle, taker her turn to raise an eyebrow, “Who, or what, is that?” “Oh, sorry,” Twilight apologized. She gestured to Graham, who by now had finally stopped laughing and came over to greet Cadence. “This is my friend Graham,” Twilight started, “He’s what’s called a human. Graham, Cadence. Cadence, Graham.” Cadence bowed slightly, “It’s a pleasure.” Not really having another option, Graham returned the bow, “Same here.” Cadence stood up and turned to Twilight, “Well, it’s about time I got going. Shiny’s not going to be happy if I take too long.” She giggled. “He’s probably stressed out as it is.” Twilight smiled in understanding, “You’re probably right about that. I’ll see you next week!” Cadence turned to leave, but paused and bit her lip before smiling and turning back to Twilight, “For old times’ sake?” she asked with a wink. The unicorn giggled and crouched in preparation. Graham watched the two mares as they began their age-old nursery rhyme. “Sunshine, sunshine,” they sang, alternating left and right pairs of hooves as they bounced in place. “Ladybugs awake!” The pair dropped down to the ground, covering their eyes for a split second before lifting their hooves and looking at each other. “Clap your hooves,” they sat on their haunches and did just that: clapping their hooves with each other. “And do a little-“ “-shake!” “-SHAPESHIFT!” With a yell and a burst of green flames, ‘Cadence’ withered away to reveal a hugely grinning, red-eyed, but otherwise normal, changeling. Twilight, mid-hind-shaking, stayed exactly as she was, unmoving aside from her jaw dropping to, quite literally, hit the floor. Graham had a similar reaction, slouching slightly forward out of disbelief. The changeling patted a still-immobile Twilight on the head, “You, my dear, fell for that like a metric ton of bricks dropped out of a space shuttle on reentry.” It then buzzed up to Graham and did the same to him, “And you, mein freund, bought that like a Team Fortress 3 Special Edition.” “Stop making me dream of things that’ll never happen, you asshole!” Graham shouted towards the buzzing creature. *** Meanwhile at Sweet Apple Acres, work was going fairly smoothly. Except that the barn apparently needed to be rebuilt. Applejack saw absolutely no reason for doing so. “Why do we need to tear it down Big Mac?” Applejack was currently in her brother’s face, glaring irritably while her brother stared her down. “Because sis, you let your stupid dog piss all over the place in there, and the walls lit on fire when you didn’t stir the hay. Go look in there. Its nasty. Y’all got no one to blame cept’ yourself. And so y'all are gonna take care of this.” Big Macintosh trotted away from his sister, satisfied with his explanation. Applejack heaved a sigh, turning to face Bromley who was standing next to a tree outside of the house. “Hey. Ya feel like doin’ me a favor?” Bromley raised an eyebrow in response. *** It was surprisingly quiet in the streets of Ponyville, almost as if Zecora had decided to pay a visit. Almost no ponies were out in the open, and the few that did looked in the opposite direction as the human meandered his way into town. Bromley took in the sights of the colorful buildings and decorative flowers, ignoring the tense atmosphere around him. Applejack had told him to go get a pegasus (apparently those things also existed) named Rainbow Dash to help her demolish the barn. Thus far, Bromley had to see any pegasus in the area. Aramis had just left the market area with bags of groceries he was going to drop off at the library for Rainbow Dash to pick up later. As he walked, he took notice of how empty the streets were. He was a bit concerned, remembering that they had been crowded with ponies a mere half hour ago. “Well that’s a bit strange...” he commented quietly. He marched forwards regardless until he saw a vague shape of a bipedal creature in the distance, “The fuck... No way, another human? When the hell did this happen and who forgot to give me a goddamn memo!?” he muttered, annoyed to no end. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself as he closed the gap between them. The human had stopped walking at this point, turning slightly to stare blankly at Aramis as he approached. “Didn’t know Celestia brought another human here.” Aramis said nonchalantly. “I was not informed Graham has human companions.” Bromley replied evenly. Aramis brushed a strand of brown hair behind his air, “Been here since the start, what else can I say?” “Aren’t you cool?” Bromley said apathetically, blinking in response. “If you say so.” he said with a small grin. “Apparently you have more brains then the fat one.” Bromley said, letting a smirk crossed his face. Aramis laughed loudly, “Someone had to be the smarter of the two. Otherwise, we’d be dead with his lack of luck.” Bromley’s smirk faded as he talked again, “Who are you anyway?” Aramis extended a hand forward in greeting, “Aramis.” Bromley shook it firmly, while Aramis’ eyes widened as he felt how cold and solid his gloved hand was, “A pleasure to meet you. What brings you around these parts of town?” “‘These parts’? So far there isn’t any shad—” A chariot descended from the sky and landed in front of them. One of the guards who flew it addressed them, “Are you two the humans who go by the name of Aramis and Bromley?” “We are.” Aramis answered for them. “Please board the chariot as we have express orders from the Princesses to bring the humans and bearers of the Element of Harmony. Aramis looked at them puzzled, “But what about Rainbow Da—” “She’ll most likely be on her way if you have yet to see her.” The two humans boarded the chariot, but not without Aramis’ complaining, “God damn, can someone just give me a fuckin’ memo.” he said as he sat across from Bromley who rolled his eyes and stared out the window. *** BONK! A loud thud was heard throughout the halls as Twilight used her hoof to land a good buck to Jack’s head. His vision spun as he laughed in a deranged manner, recuperating from the blow. Twilight calmly walked towards Jack, her horn lighting up, “I’m going to do bad things to you, Changeling. Right now.” Jack’s giggling continued as he stumbled out the door, slowly going from a unsteady to a walk, then a full-on gallop as he sped away from the pissed-off unicorn, now hot on his heels. His laughter echoed through the halls as he sped away, clearly not caring he had angered the Element of Magic, of all ponies. “Twilight! Wait up! God, why is everyone so freaking fast!” Graham hollered as he struggled to catch up to his friends. Jack was speeding away from Twilight as he dodged a bolt or two of magic. Practically calling this a game, he flew through a hallway and around a corner, making sure that she was still following him. Everything was going smoothly... Twilight rounded the same corner and quickly ground to a halt when Jack was nowhere in sight. Her eye twitched involuntarily as she searched the hallway, looking for any trace of the changeling. Her ear twitched as she heard a familiar voice “Twilight! Warten Sie!” She looked over and braced for a collision with the man, but found that it didn’t come. Instead he was a foot away from her, breaking a sweat and catching his breath. “He’s not—” “Not now, Graham, don’t you see that a changeling was trying to get a hold of me!? Why, if that thing got any closer, it would’ve tried to subdue me with that green goo!” Graham tried reasoning with her, but she would have none of it. As soon as she heard a slight buzzing sound in the furthest part of the hallway, she bolted towards the source, ignoring Graham’s calls after her. The human let out a groan and took a step forward when a movement to his right caught his attention. Looking next to him, he saw a rather well-carved gargoyle statue snarling at him. “Huh, didn’t know ponies liked gargoyles...” he muttered. A sudden purple flash startled him, and he looked down to see a somewhat disheveled Twilight, her eyes purple dots on white orbs. “Twi! Mother of fuck, don’t do that!” He wheezed as he tried to catch what breath he could, as all of it was taken as he screamed from the scare. “Not now Graham,” the mare said in a voice that was panicked, yet creepily calm, “We’ve got a changeling on the loose, and if it can do a Cadence impersonation that well, it’s going to be just a tiny bit of a problem if we don’t CATCH IT!” Graham sighed, “Twilight, I’ve been trying to—” “None of that!” she interrupted, turning around and walking off, “We’ve got a bug to find!” “Hey!” Graham and Twilight jumped and looked at the source of the yell: the gargoyle. “I resent that comment.” It said calmly. “There’s our little bundle of joy.” The man joked as he snatched Jack from the pedestal, “See? Harmless as a cricket. There’s nothing to worry about.” “Fuck you and your ‘bug’ comments.” Jack snapped, reverting to his changeling self with a flash of green flames. “Oh come on, Jack, stop being a big old girl and just focus on what we gotta do now.” Graham ordered as he put the creature over his shoulder and headed back towards the throne room. Jack furrowed his brow, suddenly deep in thought. “You know...I’m not sure changelings even have genders...though considering there’s a ‘queen’, there must be some higher-level differentiation between important members of a hive...of course, there’s always the possibility that...” His ramblings continued, nopony really paying attention to his in-depth observations of changeling society and physiology. “Blahblahblah...” Graham muttered as they opened the door to the throne room. Inside, Celestia sat in the same spot she always did. “Good to see you again, my friends.” She said in her sweet and regal voice. “Nice to see you too, Celestia. We brought Twilight here, like you asked.” Graham said. “Much trolling was involved!” Jack added with a grin. “Yeah, pipe down, you weeping willow cricket hybrid.” Graham said toward him. “I will eviscerate you if you keep that up.” Jack warned, subtly showing off his fangs. He felt no intimidation, and ignored him as he looked back up to the princess. “So what exactly did you need us for?” Graham asked Celestia as the doors slowly opened. Bromley and Aramis, guided by two guards walked to the four in the room. “My lady, we have retrieved the humans you wished to see.” One pegasus bowed his head to honor the solar ruler. “Very good, you are dismissed.” She waved a hoof, and the two were gone. “Thanks for the memo, Princess.” Aramis said sarcastically as he walked up to the group. Jack buzzed off of Graham’s shoulder to look at the new arrivals. His jaw dropped the moment he laid eyes on Aramis. “A...Aramis?” He asked, then paused for a moment, “I think I’ve officially established I’m about as high as the I.S.S.” Aramis gazed at the changeling, “What’s it to ya?” “Giygas in a box, ya trollish asshole.” “Jack?” he asked with an eyebrow raised. “No, your mother,” the changeling said sarcastically. “Well, I be damned; if it isn’t Jack the Ripper.” he replied nonchalantly, “Who’s your latest slaughter, Palin? Spears? Simpson?” Jack laughed loudly, “Generosity, if I can help it.” Bromley didn’t pay much attention to the conversation going on between the two, but he had enough, “If both of you are done talking, I think the big white horse wants to talk.” “And who are you?” The changeling buzzed up to Bromley and narrowed his eyes slightly. “Bromley. That’s all you need to know.” He replied calmly, not intimidated by his gaze. “If all three of you are finished?” Graham asked with annoyance clear in his voice. He watched as all three of them stopped talking. “Thank you.” Twilight said as she looked back at Celestia. “I have called all of you here to ask each of you, how are you enjoying our way of life? Are you comfortable here?” Graham stepped up to the princess with a smile on his face, “It’s going great! I love being here. Twilight and Spike are practically family to me now. Taking care of me the way they do, I feel like I’m being spoiled!” He ended his part with a laugh, and stepped down, letting Aramis through. Aramis approached the princess, and offered a friendly wave that Princess Celestia returned. “Uh...I admit, I wasn’t too adverse to the idea of being here. In fact, I was flat out terrified and annoyed. Terrified that I was separated from what few people I had in my life, annoyed that everypony here expected me to simply accept the facts and move on. I didn’t really care for the ponies here until Rainbow Dash made it her mission to get me to open up a little...” he smiled at her, a genuine smile on his face, causing her to blush abashedly, “And then I came to love a lot of things about this place. The food, the locales, and the ponies.” He bowed before politely stepping back and allowing whoever wished to speak next to do so. Bromley was the next to come forth, “I may have not been here for very long, but I appreciate the hospitality I’ve been shown. I certainly didn’t expect it. I think you should know I’ve made it a personal mission to protect the Apple family for...a variety of reasons.” He bowed swiftly, “That is all.” Bromley stepped back and allowed Jack to walk up and bow respectfully, “Many thanks for your concern, princess. I confess, I did not expect to be in Equestria at any point in my life, nor did I expect such a drastic...change in appearance. However, I am appreciative of Discord’s ‘prank’, no matter the intent. I promise to keep any disruptions to a minimum.” With that, the changeling stood up and walked back to the humans. “So it sounds like all of you are enjoying yourselves. I’m glad that, even with some unexpected events, that everypony is alright.” Celestia said with a smile, “I also realized that each of you have found somepony that you enjoy being around, such as Bromley and Applejack. And I also realize that each of you, except Jack, has also taken a home with each pony.” She turned to Jack. “We will have to find you a home, Jack.” Jack laughed, “With all due respect, princess, good fuckin’ luck!” He gestured to himself. “I’m a frickin’ changeling! Noling likes changelings!” “Already saying stuff with ‘ling’ in it?” Graham asked, but stopped himself from thinking any further, “Nevermind, anyway, why not Fluttershy’s house? He could bunk with her! She’s his favorite pony back at home, and I’m sure the both of them can get along just fine. Besides, this gives me a reason to go get Gypsy from her. She’s been taking care of her since we got here.” Jack chuckled, “And how exactly do you plan to get her to take me in? Regardless of how kind she is, you still fail to see the point: I’m a motherfuckin’ changeling.” “Oh, I know a way, and it’s my favorite way.” He said with a smirk across his features, “If there’s one thing she’ll do for just about any living creature, it’s take care of the sick, and/or dying...” “Well then, I hope she’s well versed in human physiology.” Celestia stopped them with a raised hoof, “We are not to have anything like that.” Graham upon hearing this, replied with an ‘aww’. “No, instead, I will send a letter to Fluttershy, and explain to her your situation. She will understand, and take you in.” “I hope so princess,” Jack sighed. “If not, I can always go conquer the rest of my race...” “You’re not doin’ that, besides you’d have to be a girl first. Clearly you’re not.” Graham retorted, “Anyways, so we’re all set to go?” Celestia could see the excitement in the man’s eyes, and gave him a nod. “Whoo-hoo! Oktoberfest!” He shouted in the air, and bolted out the door with Twilight, while the others took their sweet time leaving. “You know...” Aramis begun as they walked out of the Canterlot Castle towards the chariots, “I guess you could say things ended up being a...” he pulled out a pair of aviators, “Happily ever after.” Three groans sounded in unison. *** As the humans left the throne room, the doors closed behind them, leaving Celestia alone. ALMOST alone. Unnoticed by anypony, the shadows behind the throne shone with two red orbs, soon followed by a spreading array of razor-sharp white teeth. With a low, quiet chuckle, the demonic features faded away into the shadows...
Chapter 8: "A Personal Wrong to Correct"The morning sun slowly rose over the wondrous land of Equestria. The sun shone through the windows in the castle, its warming rays hitting the faces of all who were still asleep. Graham woke up with the glare of sunlight in his eyes, causing him to squint as he sat up. Looking over to his side, he saw Twilight stir from her sleep as well. With a smile, he watched as the pony looked up, copying the same expression. “Hey there, sleepy head.” Graham said softly, Twilight rubbed her eyes, still a little groggy. “Mmn... morning...” she said as high as a whisper. While both of them were still waking up, they enjoyed the warmth of Celestia’s Sun. They stayed that way for several minutes until Twilight slowly hopped off the bed into the sunlight directly, her body relaxing a bit as the warmth hit her coat. Graham only watched her from his sitting position, not bothering to get up just yet. Suddenly the door opened with a big slam to the wall as Pinkie Pie walked right in, making the two jump in surprise. "Gooood morning!!!" Pinkie shouted with a huge, shining smile, "I brought breakfast!" Right after these words she presented a tray of pancakes and waffles, an all but healthy meal for a breakfast. “Jeez, Pinkie. Gimme some warning next time you do that!” Graham shouted between pants, as he tried to calm down from the fright he felt. “Sorry, Graham, I just wanted to wish you a happy morning!” She said as she bounced and giggled. She closed the door behind her on her way out, leaving the breakfast for them to enjoy. “How can a pony like her have so much energy?” He quickly slapped his face with his palm to realize it was a needless question, “Right, because she’s Pinkie.” Twilight only laughed as she picked up a waffle on a plate and poured a bit of syrup on it, “You’ll get used to that. She’s just trying to be nice.” “I know she is, but Jesus H. Christ it’s too early in the morning!” Twilight tilted her head. “Who’s Jesus?” Twilight asked out loud as Graham looked at her. “Ehhh...No one important. Back on earth, he’s supposed to my people’s god’s son. Those people are called “Christians.” He sighed, “And I’m not one of them. I’m what’s called an “Atheist”. “What are those things?” Twilight only tilted her head. “They’re people who do not believe in a god, or that kinda stuff. That sort of stuff gets in the way of your life. I lost so many friends back when I was still in school because someone told me to go read the “Bible” or “Become a Christian and save your soul from the devil”, or some shit. “It sounds like you didn't really enjoy that at all,” Twilight’s ears folded back as Graham lied back down. He took a deep breath before he continued, “It’s not that, it’s just...Religion in my view is unnecessary. A lot of people on our home planet follow some obscure religion because they lack faith in themselves and are incapable to pull through tough times on their own or with help from friends and family. So instead of becoming self-sufficient they become reliant on some religious figure head no one’s ever seen.” Graham said as he sighed again. Twilight’s ears folded again as she walked up and nudged him. “Graham, everypony has an opinion on things, some ponies even believed Discord was our true ruler, some ponies still do! But we only try to keep things like that to ourselves so as to not hurt their feelings, or offend them.” Graham opened an eye to look at her, “If only more people on my home planet were more like you, Twilight. The problem I have with all religions back home, was that people didn't know how to stop trying to convert me, and take no for an answer! All they did was try to shove their beliefs down other people’s throats like arrogant pricks!” Graham sat up during his outburst waving his arms in the air. Twilight cringed as he held his mouth, “I’m sorry, Twilight, but sometimes I get upset over the whole religion thing...It’s not that I hate religion...it’s the people who follow it. I just wish that they would stop trying to convert others and just enjoy themselves for once.” Twilight nodded, “I understand, Graham. It’s really okay. We don’t have to talk about it...” Twilight nuzzled him to reassure she would keep her word on the matter. Graham hugged her head gently before letting go to take a cupcake from the table. As he ate his fill, he looked over to see Twilight looking at him in slight disbelief, “What’s wrong?” He asked her, eating what was left of the food on the table. “I’m just surprised you could eat all of that so quickly! Do other humans eat that quickly? Or that much?” Graham could only chuckle, as he turned around in the chair he was sitting in. Twilight looked at him curiously. “Most people that I know of can’t really eat as fast or as much as I can—well except maybe Aramis, but that’s because he’s been around me for so long. You see, there’s an entire world of different kind of eaters. Since we’re Omnivores, we eat all kind of things, from fish, meats, leafy greens, and even artificial foods. Some humans prefer greens over everything else, those people are called vegetarians...” He went on about all kinds of different eaters, including the ‘meat and potatoes’ kinda guys, the junk food eaters, and health nuts, who only eat what they believed to be organic. “...As for the fast eating? Well, I think everyone has their speeds, and frankly, I shouldn't be eating as fast as I did just now. Don't wanna put on any more weight than I have to, ya’ know.” He said with a light laugh, smacking his gut to get his point across. Twilight looked as he performed his action and only looked at him in concern. “Graham, I can tell you’re pretty depressed about your weight...How much do you weigh?” Graham blinked at her accusation, but he knew deep down he was a little upset about his lack of restraint over food, and how he didn't exercise much, even back at home. “Well, um...about two-hundred and twenty-five pounds...” He practically whispered his words, but her keen sense of hearing able to pick them up just fine. “I’m guessing that’s not considered a healthy weight you’re supposed to have? How much are your kind supposed to weigh?” Her question stung him, because of the fact that he was nowhere near the target weight. “Well for someone as tall as me, I’m supposed to weight around one hundred and seventy five or so pounds...” He silently said as Twilight only frowned at him. “Graham...are you really unhappy with your weight? I mean, you could exercise, possibly eat healthier.” Graham looked at her and sighed once more. “I know I could, but...I don't know what’s stopping me! I know I can do it, but...” “Is it that you don't have any inspiration?” He looked at her blankly. Was it really that simple? He thought for a moment and looked back at her. “I guess so, I mean I never really had any inspiration before...I know Aramis tried doing it once, but he’s not the greatest coach, you know?” He chuckled at his own joke. Twilight could only smile as she sat down. “I know that I may not be the most athletic pony around...but if you wanted me to accompany you on a walk around Ponyville, I’d be happy to go along!” She looked into his eyes, which reflected equal excitement. A soft smile spread across his face, and Graham hugged Twilight gently, “I would love that very much, Twilight.” After a few moments, he let go and looked at the outside world through the tall window, a cloudless blue sky streaked across the beautiful magical land. He looked at the vista for several moments before he felt a nudge at his side. He smiled warmly at Twilight and moved over a bit to give her room, neither of them uttering a word. They stood there for what could have felt to be a peaceful eternity, until a loud knock interrupted their comfortable silence. “Princess Celestia has asked me to round you all up and take you to the court grounds where you will be flown back to Ponyville by chariot ride.” The guard stated formally, patiently waiting for a response from the two friends. “Okay, we’ll get the rest of the group and be right on our way!” Twilight shouted back to the guard. “Alright, but don’t take too long.” “We won’t!” and with that Twilight and Graham made their guest bed and walked out into the hall. They went around knocking door to door, and patiently waited for their friends to regroup. Most of them came out of their rooms, looking well rested and relaxed. Two particular friends had yet to make haste to catch up with the rest of the group as they were busy conversing. Aramis’ eyes fluttered opened and he lay back on the bed, staring emptily at the ceiling. Last night had proven to be very “food for thought”, with the background history of a god that abandoned the place he was in, only to be replaced by something made of pure evil. It was a lot think about, but he’d piece it together at his own rate. Turning his head to the other side of the bed, he saw Rainbow Dash sleeping quietly, her monochromatic bangs shrouding most of her face. An occasional lock of her mane would drift upwards from how strong she breathed. Reaching outwards, he gently shook her awake and waited. When her eyes slowly opened, he was greeted by her big rose colored eyes that looked fogged over, “Huzza whuzza mah...” Rainbow Dash grumbled incomprehensibly before turning over and falling asleep again. “Rainbow,” Aramis called gently to her, “You need to get up, the rest of the group is probab—” He was interrupted by a loud, irritating knock at the door. Rainbow Dash was startled awake, jumping unto her hooves, looking ready to fight, “Alright! Whose there!?” she barked loudly, nostrils flaring as she prepared to pounce an enemy. “Hurry up you two! The guards are waiting for us in the courtyard and I rather get a chariot ride than walk back to Ponyville, IF you don’t mind!” Graham shouted, though his face betrayed his voice; a wide grin stretched across his face. One of Rainbow Dash’s eyes twitched irritatedly, “Can you calm down!? We’ll be there in a bucking second!” she shouted. Aramis looked at her apologetically, “Sorry Rainbow, I tried to wake you up and you didn’t want to,” he explained quietly, before grinning sheepishly, “At least until Graham decided to be the waking call.” She rolled her eyes and hopped off the bed, helping Aramis in fixing up the bed before promptly joining the group. ”Alright, were ready! Can we go now!?” Rainbow Dash asked impatiently. Graham just nodded, and with that; the group diligently walked through the castle halls until they reached the court yard where both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna waited for the group, a chariot ready to take them back to Ponyville. “Good morning everypony. It was very nice having your company here.” Celestia warmly greeted. “It was certainly more...dynamic than most of the company that visits us here at the castle.” Luna commented, a smirk pulling at her lips. “Thanks for letting us sleep over, princesses, it was definitely better than back home.” Graham said, going down on one knee to show respect. “It was nothing, honest. You’re welcome here at any time.” Luna replied with a warm smile. Graham thought about something about the meeting, that he wanted to bring up, and walked up to them calmly, “Just a quick question...It’s about Discord.” Celestia raised an eyebrow, “Yes?” “Well...I wanted to ask...If you and Discord had something going on before, do you still have feelings after all this time?” The others looked at him as if he just said ‘jump off a bridge’ to the princess himself. Twilight pushed him away for a brief minute to say something, but was stopped by a big hand covering her mouth. “Twilight, I know you don't necessarily care for him, but every single person, pony, or any creature deserves a chance at redemption. Sure he caused chaos twice, but who knows, he might have some good in him. I mean, you preached once that friendship is worth fighting for, so fight for this friendship!” Everyone heard this easily. Those words struck them harder than anything they had ever felt before. It was like venom to their ears...but at the same time, it was all called for. All of them felt guilty for their previous actions, with turning him to stone, accusing him of harming other ponies, and all sorts of things. Celestia gathered the strength to speak once more. “I...I never thought of it that way...” She was showing signs of her guilt, staring at him and then looking back down at the marble floor, “Perhaps...we were too quick to judge Discord.” She looked back at the two humans and spoke in a more serious tone, “I have a personal wrong to correct. For now, your chariot back to town awaits.” Celestia said, eyes burning in determination in righting a wrong that had made her lose a close friend. Graham merely nodded his head in understanding, before walking past her, his friends repeating the gesture on their way to the chariot. The princesses said their goodbyes with the group, sending them off in the chariot that had been prepared for them. “Sister, are you sure this is a good idea? Letting loose chaos once more, all for the sake of a friendship that might not even be there?” Princess Luna asked as the chariot left. “If there is anything left of my dear friend, I will do anything to save him.” *** The chariot ride back to Ponyville was comfortably quiet, and almost everypony found something entertaining to do. Graham and Twilight talked quietly in hushed whispers so as to not bother the rest of their friends. Pinkie Pie played ‘I spy’ with Spike and Rarity, who were beginning to get frustrated at how easily the party mare repeatedly stumped them at the game. Applejack meanwhile, stared at the window with Fluttershy who was talking about a favorite species of plant or beautiful landmark that peppered the landscape they traveled over. To the amusement of everyone else though, it turned out Dash wasn’t the only one who easily fell asleep on chariot rides, as many found it cute to see her recline her head on Aramis’ shoulder as they both quietly slept; her rainbow mane draped over the front of his torso. An hour had passed by when the chariot set down in Ponyville Town Square. Almost everyone got off in a hurry, while Aramis took a few moments, taking a second to wake Rainbow Dash up from her little nap. The chariot flew off, and each of the ponies went back to their homes to start their duties. Twilight and Spike were the only ones that didn't leave the two men behind as they shuffled towards her tree home. After getting inside, they were greeted by Gypsy, who ran around them, her tail wagging a million miles an hour. After Graham got her to calm down, he sat in the nearest chair he could find. Twilight walked over, plopping herself down on the floor with a good book. Spike took the time to go upstairs into the bedroom for some sleep. She looked up at Graham and started to speak, “So what is it like being...well, human?” Graham looked down at her, obviously confused about why she was so interested. He didn't want to question her, so he went about with an answer. “Being human? Well, there’s nothing really anything interesting about being human. I mean, we got hands.” He said as he flexed his fingers, showing them in front of her as he did so. She kept staring, as if entranced by them. He quickly pulled them back as he spoke again, “We’re able to build things, such as buildings and weapons.” “Weapons? Why would you need any of those?” She asked immediately as the word was dropped. Graham only sighed. “Well, to put it frankly? Kill things. Kill animals for food, defend ourselves from dangerous animals, and even kill other humans.” She only gasped in horror at his answer, her ears flopping down upon her head. “Why...Why would you kill others of your kind? Have you...killed anypony?” He felt terrible about bringing up the whole “Weapons” thing, so he assured her that he had never killed anyone before. She calmed down after a minute and looked up once more. She figured that she walked right into it, since he was a whole other species, not found in Equestria’s lands at all. She wanted to learn a bit about his kind, and that’s what she was going to do. Graham continued after a quick yawn and a scratch on his belly. “You already know that we’re able to walk on two legs, and along with that, we have toes on our feet, unlike ponies or minotaurs.” He pulled off his left shoe and sock to show her what lay inside them: five toes that he wiggled to show her that they weren't just a set of appendages. She looked at them and smiled,“You humans are so interesting... So many things about you that make me want to learn more. But one more thing, what’s on the inside? Do you have the same organs as we do?” Graham scratched at his head. He really didn't know if pony anatomy would be the same. He remembered somewhere that horse anatomy is very similar, only a few organs were different. Thankfully, Aramis decided to drop in and save him the embarrassment. “Yes Twilight, horses and humans share a majority of organs, including reproductive ones. Although there are some differences regarding the time it takes for the baby to develop and be born along with some key organs that equines have that humans don’t have and vice versa, we’re pretty alike on the inside.” Aramis intelligently informed Twilight to the best of his abilities. Twilight and Graham blushed brightly at his wording, causing Aramis to smirk over his work. Aramis sat down on a nearby couch as the two shook it off and started talking again. “U-Uh...too much information, Aramis.” Graham shuddered. “So that’s what it’s like to be human...” Twilight said softly, looking at her book she was scribbling in. Graham felt a bit uncomfortable by this, but also strangely felt kind of nice about it: His favorite pony, being so interested in him all of a sudden made him feel good inside, despite the circumstances. Twilight stopped looking at him and thought to herself. A few quiet seconds passed by when she looked back at the two of them with a small smile, “Could you both do me a great big favor?” “Oh! Um, sure Twilight! What do you need?” “I’m running low on food, and I need to do some research on something. I’m wondering if you could quickly go to the food stands a little ways from here and pick up all the items on this list I had prepared earlier?” She made her horn glow as a parchment flew towards them, and opened up for them to see. Aramis grabbed the list and smiled. “Of course we can do this; this is easy as pie.” Aramis answered politely, nodding quietly to himself. “Did someone say pie?!” Pinkie Pie announced as she popped up from behind the two, giving them a jolt of surprise. “Jeez, Pinkie, this is the second time you scared me within a three hour lapse!” Graham said as he shook the fright off. Pinkie only giggled as she started bouncing around as she usually did. “Silly, it was actually three hours, twenty-four minutes, and thirty-six seconds!” He could only roll his eyes as the two started off on their little errand. As soon as they walked out the door, Twilight slammed it shut. A few thoughts formed in her head as she bolted towards her book. “What’cha doin’ with that book, Twilight?” Pinkie asked, plopping down on the floor next to her friend with a confused expression. Twilight looked over as she diligently went through the pages in the book she was using. “I was talking to Graham about being human and what it was like... His kind are so interesting, from their looks, to their bodies, they share many similarities to ponys. Did you know they don't have hooves inside those shoes of theirs? Yeah! They have these things called toes! Aramis told me a bit about the anatomy, but the one thing I found interesting...was Graham’s...” “Graham’s what? Head? Eyes? Hair?” She kept going until she said hooves, and stopped her there. “I believe he called them fingers.” Twilight said, a bit unsure of her pronunciation. “They’re just...so weird...” Pinkie Pie could only wonder why she would want to study these two humans. Twilight suddenly became extremely focused on her work. She put the book on an able surface as she wrote. “Humans are bipedal, which means that they are able to stand on only two legs. Balance is...” She kept going until she was finished, which took only a matter of minutes. When she looked over her work, she smiled with pride as she sighed. "Now I need to study their behavioral patterns...but how..." Suddenly she had an idea. "Pinkie, are you pondering what I'm pondering?" "I'm not sure, Twilight, but what does a sapphire taste like to a dragon? Blueberries? Or Raspberries?" Twilight sighed and put a fore hoof to her face. “I need behavioral research. All I have to do is watch them in a controlled environment, which would take a few weeks to work out.” “How’re you gonna do that, Twilight?” “Simple, I’ll watch them closely, making sure I’m not seen. One of these days when I'm not busy, I want to record their daily life alone in a controlled environment. One that will be the most comfortable for them.” “Ooooooh! Wait, how’re you gonna make them stay alone? And how're you gonna find out what they'll be comfortable with?” “I’ll have to find a way, but for now, I think I’ll keep writing. I have more information I need to record for this book I've been writing about humans for a while.” “Alright Twilight, then I need to get back to Sugarcube corner. Have fun with your book!” And with that, Pinkie left Twilight to reflect on everything she had learned in her human research, as she eagerly awaited their return...
