“That didn’t work last time.” Scootaloo said dejectedly as she crumpled a piece of paper before tossing it over her shoulder.
“Have we really run out of ideas?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Maybe we could-nah we already tried that.” Apple Bloom sighed.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat in their club house trying to formulate a new way to earn their cutie marks. This wasn’t an uncommon practice, but after a multitude of failed attempts it seemed like the impossible had finally happened, they had run out of ideas.
All three fillies let out a simultaneous “hmm” as they strained to think of something, anything to try and get their cutie mark. The chiming of a clock on the wall alerted the group that school was about to start sending the three friends into a panic. They had decided to try coming up with a plan early in the morning as opposed to in the afternoon hoping for different results.
Their plan had backfired now and they were now in a mad rush to get to school. Miss Cheerilee wasn’t too strict, but when it came to attendance she was a bit of a stickler. The mare wanted her students to excel at whatever life had in store for them.
Panting and sweating from their mad dash to school the three fillies piled in just before their teacher entered the room. Cheerilee was a bit surprised to see her students so out of breath but dismissed it.
While the other students were busy paying attention to the lesson Miss Cheerilee had prepared, Apple Bloom continued to think about what else there could possibly be in order to get their cutie marks.
“That’s it!” Apple Bloom exclaimed causing the entire class to stop and stare at the filly.
“So you have the answer to the question then, Apple Bloom?” Cheerilee asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Heh…maybe…” Apple Bloom replied nervously.
Before Cheerilee could interrogate her any further the bell rang indicating the end of the school day. Apple Bloom hadn’t realized how deep in thought she had been. She vaguely remembered recess but the rest of the day was a blur.
The classroom emptied in what qualified as a miniature stampede of fillies and colts. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo followed Apple Bloom away from the chaos inquisitively. Her sudden revelation in class must be good if she was so vocal about it.
“Okay out with it, what’s the plan?” Scootaloo asked.
“Ah know somepony who’s…not from around here. He’s kinda strange but I overheard mah sister sayin Twilight’s tryin to help him learn about Equestria.” Apple Bloom added
“A teacher cutie mark? Hmm…while we’re at it we could ask him if he has any ideas. He’s got to have something different if he’s not from here.” Sweetie Belle added.
“You guys are making this up. Where else could this pony be from?” Scootaloo asked.
“He didn’t really say, and he ain’t a pony, but you gotta promise to keep quiet about this. Applejack said not to tell anypony okay?” Apple Bloom replied.
“Okay it’s worth a shot I guess.” Scootaloo said as the three departed from the school grounds.
Unbeknownst to the trio their conversation had not been as private as they would have liked. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon quietly emerged from a nearby bush.
“I don’t see why we stayed after school just to listen to their stupid ideas.” Silver Spoon said.
“Think about it, what pony isn’t from Equestria? On top of that isn’t even a pony weren’t you listening?” Diamond Tiara asked.
“I guess…so what do you want to do?” Silver Spoon inquired.
“Featherweight…I’m sure he’d love an anonymous little tip for the paper.” Diamond Tiara said with an evil smile.
***
Fluttershy was tending to her animals as she did every day. I had offered to help since she had been so nice to me. She seemed to appreciate the help thus far, though she wouldn’t let me take part in anything that involved the carnivores she said she kept.
Fluttershy’s ears swiveled towards the road while we fed the chickens, her ears serving as an early warning in case somepony came too close to the cottage. Most of the time they would continue on their way, but this time Fluttershy turned her head towards the road.
I watched the road with a held breath only exhaling once I recognized two of the approaching fillies. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, though I had only met them yesterday as long as they were ‘in the circle’ there wasn’t any real need for concern.
It was the third that I didn’t recognize, a small tangerine colored pegasus with a purple mane. She was on a scooter which surprised me. The fact that a pony could use a scooter was odd, until I gently reminded my brain which world I was in.
“Oh hi girls, what brings you out here?” Fluttershy asked sweetly.
“Him.” Apple Bloom replied pointing at me.
“Me? Did I do something I’m not aware of?” I asked.
“I told you he was real Scootaloo. I bet he knows lots of neat stuff.” Sweetie Belle said her voice cracking a bit.
Scootaloo continued to stare at me, not in fear, but in disbelief. Rarity’s warning came to mind as I found myself cornered with Fluttershy. It really would only be a matter of time before I wasn’t a secret any more. Twilight’s plan might have an early end date.
“You’re tall.” Scootaloo said wide eyed.
“Uh thanks, so what did you guys want?” I asked.
“We wanted to know if ya needed help learnin about Equestria.” Apple Bloom said.
“Well you helped me with that yesterday, you probably didn’t know it though. I learned how your food is gathered and all kinds of things while we were talking.” I said with a smile.
“Aww, Apple Bloom now it won’t work!” Scootaloo exclaimed.
“What won’t work?” I asked, baffled at the negative reception of what I thought was good news.
“Now we won’t get our cutie marks for helping you.” Sweetie Belle said.
“Wait girls, we also came to ask him some questions.” Apple Bloom said.
“Yeah, what do ponies where you’re from do?” Scootaloo asked.
This was a question I could afford to lie about. Not only was it offensive to the majority species, but it would probably reflect poorly if I came right out and told them ponies were used for children’s amusement at petting zoos and as rides at fairs. Though it was still interesting to think about, I would probably never look at ponies the same again once I was home. If I ever made it home, that is.
“They are kind of shy, a nice group though. I don’t remember any of them having cutie marks.” I said.
“No cutie marks? They sound strange…do you have a cutie mark?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Girls, I don’t think Mister Daniel’s race has any kind of markings or symbols that work like ours do.” Fluttershy said.
“Oh, so what else do you do?” Scootaloo asked.
“That’s kind of a vague question, there’s people who play sports for a living. You’ve got medical staff and computers. There’s a fire department and law enforcement job field. There’s game designers and graphic artist…the question of what we do has a broad answer.” I said.
“There’s a job for making games?” Scootaloo asked.
“Yeah, Final Fantasy, Megaman X, and Pokemon are a few of my favorites that I grew up with. Oh and Monster Hunter is a good time killer they did a good job on that one.” I said.
“That’s a job?” Apple Bloom cocked an eyebrow.
“Well I wouldn’t say it’s a job, more like a chore at times. You had to gather herbs and craft stuff, and you’d have to track down the monsters which had some sort of luring gimmick sometimes.” I replied.
“Thanks Mister Daniel, Ah think we’ve got enough to work with.” Apple Bloom said looking at both her cohorts mischievously.
“Um okay, I guess we’ll see you later then.” I said as they quickly departed.
Fluttershy seemed nervous about something. When dealing with kids I don’t blame her I wasn’t the best at it, but for some odd reason they seemed fascinated with stories and whatever it was adults were doing.
“I can’t help but feel like I just did something bad…did I do something bad?” I asked breaking Fluttershy’s train of thought.
“I don’t know. Those girls are always up to something. I’m sure everything’s fine though.” Fluttershy said.
The rest of the afternoon was uneventful and slow paced. I was nearing the end of the book Twilight had given me and had the symbols down, albeit slowly. I felt like a little kid again, but I brushed it off.
***
“So what do we do first?” asked Scootaloo as the Cutie Mark Crusaders entered the Everfree Forest.
Apple Bloom had visited Zecora plenty of times. As long as they didn’t stray from the path it would be simple to get back home.
“Daniel said somethin about herbs, that sounds easy enough, and Zecora knows about mixin em.” Apple Bloom said.
“What was the part about hunting though?” Sweetie Belle asked nervously.
“Ah think we can skip that part.” Apple Bloom replied.
“Well if we’re going to do it right then we have to go hunting…maybe we should’ve asked him about that part.” Scootaloo said sulking.
“We ain’t here to look for monsters right now. Let’s just find the herbs he was talkin about and get that cutie mark!” Apple Bloom said.
“What herbs were they again?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Uh…Ah don’t think he said.” Apple Bloom said.
“Great, we’re out in the middle of the forest and we won’t even get our cutie marks from what that weird thing said!” Scootaloo exclaimed.
“He ain’t weird!” Apple Bloom retorted.
The three’s conversation had slowly devolved into an argument that carried through the woods. Their fighting had not gone unnoticed however; as three sets of glowing green eyes now watched them from the shadows.
***
“Done.” I said quite pleased with myself for having completed my first book in the Equestrian written language.
“You finally finished it?” Fluttershy asked looking up from feeding her pet, Angel Bunny.
"Hey what's that supposed to mean?" I asked with a laugh.
"Oh I didn't mean anything by it, Rainbow Dash always finishes those books within a day or two, when a new one comes out she can't put it down." Fluttershy said with a giggle.
"Rainbow Dash, I still don't get her. Do you really think she would have been mean?" I asked.
"I wouldn't say mean, just protective. I'm sure she'll like you once you get to know her." Fluttershy said.
Though I hadn't met Rainbow Dash face to face yet, from what I had been told she wasn't exactly a girly girl, or a marely mare in this case. Images of what she looked like presented themselves before my mind's eye and while it was never good to assume anything, with my 'work' done there wasn't much else to do.
I thought back to the other pony I saw yesterday, or thought I saw. Because of the color of the bit I couldn't exactly make out what color her coat or mane was, but I was confident I had seen a mare behind me, not just Twilight.
As I allowed my mind to wander a bit I started up the what if game. Only this time it wasn't for fun or jokes. I had some things I needed to consider in my life.
The thought of leaving had developed into a painful tug at my heart. I had started to become attached to these ponies, especially since Applejack had talked about putting in a good word for me if I stayed hurt to dwell on. These ponies had been kind to me, something quite literally out of this world.
I could actually see myself dwelling in this world, making a living somehow. There was always the lingering doubt that the other ponies would be as nice as Twilight's friends. I would never begin to dream of doing anything to hurt them, but getting them to believe me would be the real challenge. The fear of never being accepted was enough to hold me back from truly embracing, and accepting, the idea of staying.
This left me with the question of time, was it still the same time I left back on Earth or did time flow the same here? If time flowed the same here as it did on Earth then I was probably, hopefully, reported missing. I found it odd I couldn't picture anyone really missing me for long.
It made me think about the impact I had, or thought I had, on people. If I couldn't get home and was declared dead, would anyone other than my family show up just to make sure a closed casket was put in the ground? I shivered and pulled my mind away from the darker corners of my subconscious. I needed air, and decided a brief trip outside would be best.
My plan never came to fruition, as the door to Fluttershy's cottage slammed open. Applejack was breathing heavily, not panting but it was obvious she had just run a long distance. Rarity was with her, she looked exhausted compared to Applejack whose expression changed once she saw me to one of sheer panic. My attention was drawn to a cyan colored pegasus with a rainbow colored mane and tail, I had a feeling this was Rainbow Dash.
I was in a slightly awkward pose upon their intrusion. I was in the middle of standing up at the time, which meant I had to bend slightly to avoid Fluttershy’s bird houses. The yellow pegasus was almost directly below me, which probably made me look like a predator about to pounce on her. I cursed my poor timing in wanting to stretch my legs.
The cyan pegasus’ eyes narrowed "What is that thing?" she asked.
"Rainbow he ain't from this world, take it easy on him." Applejack said, confirming my suspicion of her identity.
"I bet you know where they went! What did you do with them?!" Rainbow Dash demanded.
"What?" I stammered, just before a blue blur flew at my head.
Run idiot! I thought to myself, forcing my dumb founded body to move.
I was thankful for the ponies’ small structures just this once, since I had less distance to cover in order to get out the door. I scanned the area quickly before noticing a forest edge. I couldn't go back in the lion's den so forward it was.
"Get back here!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
Taking a quick glance behind me, I saw Applejack had Rainbow Dash's tail in her mouth, trying to keep her at bay. I could see the earth pony being drug slightly before readjusting her hooves. As odd as it may sound, I was genuinely concerned at what might happen if she caught me. Being terrified of a pony wasn't exactly masculine.
Once I was in the woods it became noticeably darker. I started to question if this had been the smartest decision, but seeing how irate Rainbow Dash was made me confident in my choice. As I caught my breath I couldn't help but feel like a coward, chased off by a pony...a pony that could, according to an article, break the sound barrier.
"I'd like to keep my head intact." I said, swallowing my pride.
I thought back to what she had said, and their physical condition. They all seemed out of breath, save for Rainbow Dash who probably used her wings. The pegasus had accused me of doing something with 'them', but my mind drew a blank as to who she could mean.
Three screams echoed through the woods causing me to scan my surroundings. My brain was still trying to process the comments made at Fluttershy's when the screams were heard again, closer this time.
"Help!" echoed the trio of voices, one in particular standing out.
"Apple Bloom?" I said, a chill traveled up my spine.
You can't help alone, go back. that annoying voice of doubt whispered.
I'm the closest, and it might be too late if I go back.... another part of my mind reasoned.
It was a classical situation of having an angel on one shoulder, and a demon on the other. When I was on earth this was always how my mind worked. Fear was my demon that had held me back from so many things in life. The funny thing was I couldn’t even remember why I was so afraid in the first place. I had just accepted safety over risk, but now someone else was in trouble, not me.
"I've been afraid all my life of others, and of what ifs...no more, I'm not leaving a friend behind." I said to myself, silencing my doubt.
I ran towards the voices, noticing what looked like paths here and there. Perhaps there was one through this forest but I couldn't rely on it now. I couldn't trust my vision either, the deeper I ventured the darker it seemed to get. I wasn't sure where I was going, but each step felt guided somehow.
I felt vines covered in thorns pull at my pants, and the warm trickle of blood start to ooze from the cut left behind, but I managed to push it out of my mind. The howls of what sounded like wolves now joined the three screams.
Bursting through the dense foliage, I found the three fillies, nearly tripping over them. This victory was short lived however; as my attention was pulled away from the Cutie Mark Crusaders by the sounds of snapping maws and deep, rumbling growls that sounded canine in nature. The source of the unsettling noise was three wolves that seemed to be made of wood with bright glowing eyes.
Oh boy...well, I'm boned.. I thought to myself.
Two of them seemed to change their attitude after getting a good look at me, slowly backing away into the forest. One stayed behind, this one much larger than the others. It wasn't going anywhere, determined to get at the fillies, whether I was present or not.
"Girls, get behind me, take it slow." I whispered not taking my eyes off the larger dog like creature.
The three fillies didn't hesitate, and slowly retreated to hide behind my legs. I couldn't let them see I was afraid, even after the pep talk I'd given myself. Though this fear lingered, I wasn't about to let anything happen to Rarity or Applejack's sisters, not after how nice they had been.
The creature slowly inched forward looking at me, then at the fillies. Its instincts were apparently still in conflict over fight or flight. It let out another growl, which produced a fowl smelling green gas.
"Go on, get out of here!" I shouted, hoping it would react like any ordinary dog and flee.
Much to my dismay it did the exact opposite, and snarled bearing all of it's sharp, unnatural, teeth. The creature then broke out into a charge as more of the green gas leaking from the sides of its mouth.
Damn it! I thought, putting myself in the way of its charge.
The dog like creature reared up on its hind legs to try and reach my face. I put my left arm up by instinct against its wooden neck and slung my free arm at its left front leg, dislodging the limb from the creature. I was surprised at how fragile this creature was, but the moment of shock was interrupted by the feeling of something sharp raking across my left arm.
I pushed against the creature sending it to the ground. I straddled it before it could get back on its remaining legs. My weight and size held it in place, despite its frantic attempt to free itself. It began to howl and try to bite whatever it could to no avail.
Its neck was made up of twigs and vines, each moved similarly to that of an actual bone, and muscle structure which gave me an idea. I started grasping at whatever I could get my hands on and pulling as hard as I could. Despite the material, it was harder than I thought it would be compared to the creature’s leg. I tried again, this time feeling a few pieces give way. A few more snaps followed before the head fell from the body in a massive clump of leaves, twigs and bark pieces.
I felt the body beneath me go limp and looked down to see it had dissolved in a similar fashion. I slowly stood up; my body was still surging with adrenalin, and my brain was on auto pilot as I shook slightly from the experience.
"That...was awesome!!" Scootaloo exclaimed, bringing me out of my adrenalin induced daze.
"Let's...never do that...again okay?" I asked trying to catch my breath.
"We're sorry." the three fillies said in unison.
"It's cool....your sisters are the one you're going to have to explain this to though." I said, wincing as the pain numbing affects of my adrenalin rush wore off.
"Okay....let's get it over with." Apple Bloom said.
"I hope one of you knows how to get out of here." I said, looking around the clearing.
Apple Bloom looked around, and started leaving the clearing. I could only hope the self-appointed navigator knew what she was doing. She was either concentrating or really good at faking.
"Here! Zecora's taken me this way before; it took me a minute ta remember." Apple Bloom said sheepishly.
True to her word Apple Bloom managed to lead us back to the path that led in and out of the Everfree Forest. Whoever this Zecora was I would have to thank later for indirectly helping save four lives.
"Apple Bloom! Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo!" called out four familiar voices.
"We're right here!" Sweetie Belle shouted.
The voices grew quiet, replaced by the sound of vegetation being crushed as the search party approached us. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were the first to appear followed by Rarity and Fluttershy.
"You!" Rainbow Dash snarled.
"Cool your jets Skittles, I didn't do anything alright?!" I shouted.
"Skittles? Is that some sort of joke or something?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Oh my goodness your arm!" Fluttershy exclaimed, getting between me and Rainbow Dash to examine my wounds.
"I'm fine, it was just some stupid dog thing." I said making Fluttershy's mouth go agape.
"Yeah, the timber wolf was all like "rawr I'm gonna eat you!" but then he was like "no you don't!" and it awesome!" Scootaloo said, motioning with her hooves.
"We need to get you stitched up, come on." Fluttershy said gently pulling on my good arm.
"And when we get home yer gonna have a lot of explain' ta do." Applejack said, looking down at Apple Bloom.
"I agree, come along Sweetie Belle." Rarity said, doing her best to keep her composure.
Rainbow Dash didn't say anything. She unfolded one of her wings to shield Scootaloo with it as the two left the forest. She looked back occasionally, as Fluttershy and I followed them.
Once they were out of the forest Rainbow Dash helped Scootaloo onto her back and took off into the air, leaving a dust cloud behind her on the ground. My first impression of the mare was less than admirable, to say the least.
"I guess they don't call her Rainbow Dash for nothing." I mused, as I followed Fluttershy back into the cottage.
The night was less than peaceful as Fluttershy worked to pull splinters from the claw wounds. It was a painful process, and I couldn't help but flinch each time she started to pull one out.
"You can handle this just a few more, I promise." Fluttershy said before she poured something over the wounds. It burned worse than peroxide which made me question the contents of the bottle.
At long last she started to stitch the wounds up. I was impressed by how effectively she could stitch with only her mouth. Since she worked with animals though she probably had some experience with wounds similar to mine.
"There, just try not to use your left arm so much and you should be fine." Fluttershy said.
"Wow, I'm impressed Fluttershy, you're really good at this." I said giving my arm a small experimental flex. The stitches held firm.
Fluttershy gave a cute yawn before starting to put her things away after patching me up. Twilight had never shown up, which made me wonder what might have come up. My train of thought was interrupted by Fluttershy trying to hide another yawn.
"I've got this Fluttershy, you need rest. I think I can manage a first aid box." I said with a reassuring smile.
"Oh, okay, thank you Mister Daniel. Don't stay up too late." Fluttershy said as she headed up the stairs.
"I won't." I said, picking up where Fluttershy left off.
Once I was done I noticed some of the town lights were still on and wondered what could be going on. It must have been some kind of celebration or meeting. I decided to step outside to get a better look.
The view wasn't that much better, but I could definitely hear some sort of music. A feeling of alienation crept over me, as I watched and listened. I could picture the others there and how I had probably held Fluttershy back here.
"No matter what I do I'm still screwing things up." I said.
What sounded like a sneeze caught my attention. I looked around until I noticed a rather low hanging cloud. I wouldn't have paid it much mind to this except the cloud wasn't that far from the ground.
"Hello?" I called out.
A familiar cyan pegasus peaked her head out from the cloud and stared at me. Her piercing gaze was unnerving and I to stop myself from retreating back into the cottage.
"What are you doing?" I asked, trying to sound more annoyed than afraid.
"Keeping an eye on you. What are you doing?" Rainbow Dash asked in return.
"Getting some air, what's the deal with you anyways?" I asked prompting her to show more of herself.
"I don't trust you. Applejack says you're from another world. They may trust you but I don't, you're-" Rainbow Dash started.
"Different? Not a pony? Tall? A monster? I've heard them all by now so take your pick. You don't have to trust me I just don't want to have my head torn off behind my back." I said.
"You're a big....thing, you can handle it." Rainbow Dash said with a shrug.
"Right, look if you don't want to be friends will you settle for being acquaintances?" I asked
Rainbow Dash was silent for a while, almost as if she hadn't heard me. "Sure, whatever, we can be 'acquaintances' just don't let me catch you hurting my friends." she warned with a snort before flying off.
"Well that's a start." I said as I returned to the cottage.