"oof"
The three fillies stumbled over one another after they had tripped over an animal they had not noticed in their rush to get back to the barn. They lay in a pile one over the other groaning in pain. "Is everypony ok?" Applebloom asked deliriously.
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo nodded, both rubbing their heads. The three of them were collecting themselves when they heard a groan coming from what they hit.
Daxter pulled his face from the ground and spit out the dirt that got in his mouth. "Man that stung!" Daxter said. He turned around to notice three strange creatures staring at him mouth agap. "Well isn't that polite. Run into someone and then stare at them! You....things lookin for trouble?"
The three fillies were simply at a loss for words. They weren't sure what to do or how to react to a talking animal they hadn't seen. Scootaloo was the first to break the three's silence by asking "What ARE you?" This prompted Sweetie Belle to then ask "And how can you talk?" "What am I? WHAT AM I?! What are you? I'm just an Ottsel that keeps getting roped up in these crazy messes! It all starts with me following Jak to my death, surviving, and doing it again! I swear that boys bad for my health!"
Daxter then turned back to look at the creatures only to see looks of confusion. "Whew, maybe I should slow down. I'm an Ottsel and my name is Daxter." The girls eased up a little at this and introduced themselves to Daxter. They told him their names and that they were ponies. "We're actually just fillies. Ponies are adults like my sister Applejack and brother Big Macintosh." Applebloom said. "I guess I can relax now that I know your not gonna skin me or turn me into a fur coat. Can't say the same for other people I've met." This brought up chilling memories of Kleiver and the pirate lady that he met on his adventures with Jak.
"Anyway I need a way back home. The precursor junk I rode in on is fryed and the only intact piece I got to it is this here gem and..." Daxter trailed off as he noticed that the Heart of Mar was no longer in his possession. "Wh..where did it go?! "You mean this thing?" Sweetie Belle asked holding up the Heart. "It hit me on the head when we all fell over." Daxter became relieved and took it back from Sweetie Belle. "Whew. Thanks eh..Scootaloo?No, Sweetie Belle right? This things pretty important. Anyway if your just a bunch of kids whatcha doin out this time of night? Shouldnt ya be in bed our somethin?"
"Ive been wonderin the same thing myself." A deep masculine voice said.
The three fillies froze at the sound of the voice. Big Macintosh had caught them. He approached them from behind with a stern look on his face. "Well?" He asked. Daxter looked up to Big Mac and then back down at the three girls. He could tell that it was bad, maybe not as bad as stealing a boat and traveling to an island that was forbidden and being turned into a fuzzy rat, but still pretty bad.
"We were just a....." Applebloom started but couldn't finish because there was no trying to explain being out late at night. "We heard that giant explosion and came out here to see what it was!" Scootaloo said. Applebloom then saw a way to try and explain. "Yeah. Yeah. And when we came out we ran into this thing." She said pointing toward toward Daxter. Big Mac looked at Daxter which somewhat intimidated him. "Look buddy I ain't here to cause trouble, I just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." Daxter said. "Then again when am I not?" Daxter said to himself in a hushed voice.
"Well regardless you three should know better then to be out and about at night. Ever. Just be glad it was me that found you and not Applejack, she would have yelled up a storm with y'all." The three nodded in understandment not daring to look up at Big Mac. "If you three get back inside and go to bed I'll let it slide. But don't go doing it again cause next time I won't. Understand?" The three fillies were relieved. Of course they would accept Big Macintosh's kindness and go back to the barn. They were about to run back to the farm when Applebloom suddenly stopped and looked back. "What about him?" She asked her brother. "I'll send him on his way don't worry." Big Mac called back. This didn't put Applebloom to ease because she wasn't sure what he meant by "send him on his way." She wasn't about to go and leave Daxter by himself. "It's not that simple Big Mac. He came from that ball of fire that shot from the sky." Daxter felt like he needed to speak on his behalf. Problem is, he tends to get on people's bad sides when he does, but that didn't stop him.
"Yeah Big Red I'm not from around here. Can ya point me in the right direction to someone who can open rifts?" Big Mac grimaced at being called "Big Red" but pushed it aside. "I'm not sure what a rift is but I can certainly point you to someone who might." "Thank the precursors I'm out of here! What's his name?" Big Mac shook his head saying "not him, her."