I take in a deep breath before limping in the unsuspecting town. Hoping to avoid as much contact with as many ponies as possible, I enter through the least densely populated area I could find, which just so happens to share the borders with a large apple orchard that expands beyond what the eye can see. Ponyville's houses are deceivingly large up close, looking like they can hold a family of ten while still have room to spare. The streets are lined with a diverse variety of plant and flowers, giving off a pleasant scent and making the rustic town visually pleasant for the eyes. It breaks up the grey monotony of the city for a more brighter and colourful experience.
"HI!"
I leap backwards only to yelp in pain as my vision is wrapped in pink by a bouncing, energetic pink mare who has a jaw splitting grin across her face. Her brightly coloured pink coat and puffy pink mane seems to describe her overly energetic and joyful behavior for me. I could literally see the excitement leaking from her frame like tendrils of a jellyfish.
"I'm Pinkie Pie but my friends call me Pinkie you're new here aren't you I haven't seen you before so that means you must be new oh how much I love seeing new ponies OH MY GOSH I have to prepare you a welcome to Ponyville surprise party GOT TO GO BYE!" And just like she is gone, leaving only a vague pink cloud in the shape of her form.
My eyes linger blankly on the now empty space as my brain failed to update quick enough of the events that just occurred in what feels like mere instant. The unnamed pink pony appeared out of nowhere to assault me with a trillion words a second before speeding off at unfathomable speeds. And I thought I've seen everything. Shaking my head, I rubbed gently my sprained hoof which only causes the ache to become a thudding pain. The pain instinctively pulls my hoof away as I grimace.
I have to keep moving, I can't allow myself to get distracted by the Pink Pony. Wait, was that one of the-? My head creeps up to stare at the vacant space, once occupied by our mortal enemy. My stay her hasn't even exceeded five minutes yet and already I'm being confronted by the element bearers? I'm starting to reconsider my choice in coming to Ponyville to hide, but there is nowhere else I can go, unless I want to get captured by Chrysalis. The next closest city that can be considered as secure is Canterlot, but there is no way in Tartarus I am stepping hoof in that death zone. The entire Equestrian military lives there.
Sighing inwardly, I proceed to limp deeper into the center of the village, taking as many back alleys as I can. While observing the crowds from beneath the shadows, I come to realize how lively Ponyville is. Their emotions of joy and happiness lives within the very air they breath, the love that emanates from each individual seems almost impossible yet I can feel and see it. I've never seen so much love in my entire life.
Without warning, the sky starts to darken as the ponies start to take shelter within their homes. Looking up into the sky, I find groups of pegasus ponies moving cumulonimbus clouds and setting them above Ponyville, replacing the sun and the deep blue sky with a blanket of dark and hazy storm clouds. A single drop of water falls onto my muzzle, and then another until I am being assaulted with another army of water droplets.
Even when the streets are empty, I can still feel the presence of love as I walk out into the open. Unlike before, I welcome the rain, the droplets soaking into my faux coat and mane. It's warm.
"Hey what are doing out there! Get inside!" A stallion shouts, motioning me to come into his home.
I hesitate, questioning whether I should enter the complete stranger's home, but he won't do anything to me. As quickly as my three hooves can take me, I make a hasty move into his home. He shuts the door behind me before disappearing into another room. My whole body is dripping wet from head to hoof, but I fight off the urge to shake it off. It would be very disrespectful of me to do so.
The stallion reappears and tosses me a blue towel; I thank him and and I quickly dry myself off. He walks off into the first door on the left, leaving it ajar into what I think is the living room. While rubbing down my mane, I discreetly take note of his home. The short hallway is lit in a bright orange light, showing off the polished dark oak planks that hid underneath a small stretch of brown carpet. Picture frames hang from the wall that depict him and other ponies who I are think are probably his parents. I take note of one of the frames, which is a image of him when he was a foal, surrounded by three ponies. Surprisingly, one of those ponies is the element of loyalty when she was young. Rainbow Flash I think that's her name. Who is he?
After thoroughly drying myself, I enter into the living room. It is very spacious. There is a small couch that sat opposite a small arm chair, with a low standing coffee table in between. All of this sat before the fireplace that crackled and burned quietly within the background, bathing the room in a small and warm light. The stallion, who's sitting on the couch with a cup in hoof, is a pegasus who has a light grey coat and a bright blue mane.
"Um, thank you for letting me stay," I tell him.
"No problem. Say, what's your name? I don't think I've ever seen you before." He asks, taking sip out of his cup.
"Oh, my name is Sharp Point." I hiss quietly as I accidentally put pressure on my injured hoof. It looks even more swollen now than it did earlier.
"What's wrong with your hoof?" He asks concernedly, placing his cup onto the table and getting. I back away as soon as he starts to get closer to me. "I just want to see if it is fine," the stallions says reassuringly. He doesn't want to hurt me, there isn't a reason for me not to allow him to just see my hoof even in my injured state. It will take a lot more than that to interfere with my disguise.
Nodding, I give him permission to inspect my hoof, although my concern still present.
"I was attacked by bandits, and I sprained it while trying to run away." I lie.
Even though it isn't exactly false, I was attacked, to tell him that I was attacked by shape shifting creatures that live among pony society isn't the way to go. It's the reason why I'm still alive, right? Taking advantage of the pony's weaknesses by telling feasible and logical lies to get what we want. This what I am trained to do. Although, I believe that this ethic won't last for much longer.
He growls aggressively. "Damn bandits, they keep appearing near here and Whitetail, apparently they like to keep near the forest. You say it's sprained? I have something for that, stay here." He tells me before jumping up and leaving the room.
I let out a small sigh. As soon as he began growling, all of a sudden I could feel anger emanating from him. It may not have been directed towards me, but the bitter taste is all too recognisable. It was so unexpected to, for a pony living in a village filled with so much love, I actually didn't expect him to be so capable of anger. Tremor walks back in the room with a veil filled with a red liquid, another veil which has green fluids, as well as an ice pack. I pass him a questioning look as he hoofs both veils to me.
"I know they don't look pleasant but it works. The red veil speeds up the healing process to only two to four days while the other one kills the pain." He explains. "One of my friends is from Zebrica and she knows how to brew up a potion or two." Zebrica he says, I don't think I've ever met a zebra before.
I uncork the veils and take a sniff before recoiling back from the lethal smell wafting from it. I eyes the contents fearfully, and taking a deep breath, I down both the contents as quickly as I can despite the foul and bitter taste. My body lurches, trying to remove the horrid substances from my mouth, but I hold back long enough to swallow it and not regurgitate it back out. I shudder, wiping my mouth and give him back the empty veils.
"You could've warned me." I force the words out over my panting.
He smirks, "nah."
Wait, he didn't tell me on purpose?! Does he enjoy seeing me suffer? At least now I will only have to wait a couple of days now till I am fully healed. It's fascinating how zebra's are able to create these extremely powerful potions, they can probably invade Equestria and have a fighting chance if they try, but I'd rather not have that happen. I once attempted in making a potion, but lets just say it didn't go to plan and end it at that. At least that one tasted good.
"Do have a place to go to?" He asks.
I shake my head, I completely forgot about that. "This is my first time here."
"If you want, you can stay her for as long as you need. I live my own so it shouldn't be too bad. In return I am only asking for you to help around the house" He offers.
Already? We only just met, and we barely know each other, yet he is already offering me a place to stay for something as minute as helping around the house? I would question his offer as being suspicious, yet I can not find anything about him that can mark him a threat. But, this is practically free housing I am being offered.
"Sure." This is great, so not only do I no longer have to not worry about ever running out of love, but now I have a place to stay at. I can't believe how generous these ponies are. From my past experiences within Manehatten, it showed me that ponies are selfish and arrogant, but this small village juxtaposes this. Ponies are confusing.
He offers me noodles, which I thankfully accepted as I followed him into a small dinning room area, with a table a chairs and cabinets. It isn't anything too great, only seasoned soup with noodles with cut vegetables and spices in it, but it's enough to keep me alive so I am grateful for that at least. The rest of day is spent upstairs in a small spare bedroom in silence, while Tremor is downstairs doing who knows what. The storm outside isn't getting any worse but at the same time isn't improving, and apparently it will be staying like that until early tomorrow morning.
I need get some rest, my body is aching for some rest and, coincidentally, so am I. Carefully laying myself across the bed, I close my eyes to slumber. Rose, Private and Dark Skies, I know you're still alive. I will find you. I promise you that.