Gifts and Curses

by flamevulture17

16. Totem

[Chapter 16]

Totem

---

With the day approaching mid-afternoon in Ponyville, the slow day should have made it easy for Applejack to find the pony she was looking for. Half past four wasn't exactly a time like the middle of the night, but there were significantly less ponies out and about than a weekday. It was a Saturday after all. Most ponies stayed home. Fluttershy felt determined to stick with her eager friend while they wandered aimlessly around town. So far they had no luck in finding a pony that stood out from the rest, even though Fluttershy didn't know what the pony looked like.

“Maybe somepony else around here can tell us? Why don't we ask them?” Fluttershy suggested.

“Good thinkin', Fluttershy.”

They stood in a fairly active street and scan their immediate vicinity for a familiar face rather than a pony they didn't know so well. Soon enough, Applejack saw a pale-green Earth pony carrying two baskets of flowers strolling down the opposite side of the road, just within earshot.

“Hey Junebug!” Applejack shouted, just enough to get her attention.

The tangerine-maned pony stopped in her tracks and turned her head to see who it was that called her name. Sure enough, she found a certain orange farm pony waving her over and a yellow pegasus standing by her side. She promptly trotted over to the two mares, wondering what the .

“Hello, Applejack, Fluttershy. You called?”

“Howdy, Junebug, how are them flowers bloomin' today?”

“Oh, ya know, the same as usual,” she replied. “You?”

“Same. Listen, ah was wonderin' if y'all seen a strange lookin' feller come through here recently.” Applejack really didn't need to give details of Andrew's appearance because the way he dressed would have definitely gotten him some looks.

Junebug put a hoof to her chin. “Oh yeah! I have actually. The one with the big cape on and gray saddlebag?”

“Yeah, that's him.”

“Bon-bon and I saw him following three fillies by the market not too long ago. I think they were headed to the library. He looked a little intimidating to me, but Bon-bon thought otherwise.”

“Three fillies? Rarity was right,” Applejack said to herself. “You said the library?”

“Yes, that way.” Junebug gestured a hoof towards the center of town.

“Thanks fer everythin', Junebug, y’all been a great help.”

“No problem... Oh wait! Do you mind if I ask who he is?” Junebug's expression turned curious.

“Come again?” Applejack stopped before she was about to take off running.

“I mean, if it's not too much to ask, he just seemed like an unusual pony. Bon-bon told me he looked an awful lot like her other friend. She just wants to know his name, maybe meet him sometime.”

“I, uh... well, he's not what he seems. How 'bout ah tell y’all 'bout him later, okay. Ah gotta run. C'mon Fluttershy.” Applejack and her pegasus friend began walking away. More guilt tugged at Applejack in the form of a dry throat.

“Fair enough. Catch you later, Applejack,” Junebug cried out, waving from behind.

Applejack's persistence to find Andrew and now her sister Applebloom was fuel by doubt. Her mind raced and her legs carried out their orders of reaching her strange friend before anything went wrong. A little after the halfway point to large hollow tree in the distance, she had suddenly remembered that Twilight had unofficially closed the library for the day. She was on their tracks until that very thought slipped up that cased her to halt her speedy trot, with Fluttershy close behind.

“What is it?” Fluttershy asked.

“Hmm.” Applejack looked around, but still no sight of Applebloom and her friends, let alone Andrew. “They ain't there, Twilight done close that place up today and we both know it.” She paused and exhaled a breath that developed after a combination of thinking and running. “Wheeew, ah'm more tired than Bic Mac on a Wednesday afternoon.”

Speaking of which, as soon as Applejack mentioned her brother's name, the pony that came running up to them was, coincidentally, Big Macintosh himself, much to her surprise. He was apparently almost out of breath.

“Big Mac!?”

“There y'ar lil sis,” he said. There was a pause. He noticed the shy pegasus behind Applejack, waving to him. He waved back.

“What are ya doin' here?”

Big Mac looked at her with a serious face. “Ah be the one ta ask y’all that, seein' how y’all take off without no say.”

“Oh, er, sorry brother, ah had ta help a... friend. It was urgent.”

“Everythin' alright?” Big Mac asked.

“Eeyup,” Applejack said a bit nervously.

“Anythin' ah should worry about?”

“Nope.”

A brief pause between the two as they stared each other in the eye. Applejack was unsure of her brother's attitude, seeing how his face was expressionless. Her tension was released when he smiled.

“Hehe, all this lookin' for mah new friend and ah'm starvin'. C'mon Fluttershy, let's head on down to Sugarcube Corner.” She looked at Big Mac who's reaction didn't shift from her change in subject. “Yer welcome to join us.”

“Eh, why not?” he shrugged. “Ya had run mah flank here fer nothin'.”

They weren't very far from the sweet shop. Only a couple rows of houses to Sugarcube corner. Their stroll there was nothing but an awkward silence and no eye contact. A certain sugary, sweet smelling, pastry riddled structure came into view. They trotted up to the front entrance, up the violet steps, and stopped before the front door. Oddly enough, the magenta doors were closed when the shop was usually open at that time.

Applejack raised her hoof to give it a proper knock.

- - -

Andrew finally got his duffel bag open after a couple minutes of staring at the darn thing on a circular table while the little fillies chatted non stop to the very hyper, very loquacious pink pony that introduced herself so very rapidly, causing his mind to go blank. While carefully inspecting each of its contents, he thought of the conversation minutes earlier, which went something like this:

Pinkie Pie:
“Hi! My name's Pinkie Pie! I've never seen you before, and if I've never seen you before, then that
means you're new around here. If you're new around here, then that means you need a new friend, and the best way to do that is with a 'super-duper-special-awesome-welcome-to-Ponyville-and-your-new-bestest-best-friend-Pinkie-Pie' PARTY!”

Andrew:

… …

Sweetie Belle:
“Hi Pinkie, we just came by to give our new friend here something sweet to eat.”

Pinkie Pie:
“Oh, that is so nice of you girls. Say, let's see what we have for today. We got cupcakes, cookies, chocolate cake, pie, muffins, more cupcakes. Anything for the new pony.”

Scootaloo:
“Take your pick... uh... hey, we didn't actually ask you your name.”

Andrew:
“Huh? Oh, yeah, it's Andrew. I- uh, I... don't know. I think I'm going mad again.”

Applebloom:
“Why you say that?”

Andrew:
“I don't know, maybe it's just that she *points at Pinkie* pulled a tray of cupcakes out of nowhere. Just... what?”

Sweetie Belle:
“She's just being Pinkie Pie.”

Andrew:
“Okay...?”

Pinkie Pie:
“How about these?”

From what Andrew could tell, his mind was blown a second time when the prancing pony pulled out another batch of blueberry muffins from behind her back. There was clearly nothing there a moment prior, like some kind of magic trick. A good one at that. He leaned to one side to check behind the pony, finding nothing that could conceal a metal tray of that size, or anything for that matter. He did, however, notice a mark on her backside. Balloons? Probably had something to do with parties. Makes sense... kinda sorta. The best part (or worst part) was how the muffins were free of charge. He began thinking why everyone was far too generous in this inter-dimensional place. He didn't belong here. He was a stranger.

He kindly accepted the offer. The best decision he made since running into that tree at the farm. Perhaps the ONLY good decision since landing in this foreign place. They were simply THE most tasty pastries he had ever tasted in his entire life. The flavor was indescribable. No other muffins tasted so blissful. Time seemed to slow down with each bite.

Andrew's mind was on the conversation and the blueberry muffin, so he apparently spaced out when the first item he slid out of bag onto the table was instantly grabbed by the Pinkie Pie and underwent a thorough examination with the other little ponies. They kept staring at the black iPod Touch, wondering it was and what it did. Andrew chuckled and turned to inspect the rest of his bag.

Seconds later, before Andrew could check everything (having already confirmed good condition for his sunglasses, hat, and iPod), three knocks came from the front door. Pinkie Pie sprung into action and greeted the arrivals, opening the door with a hoof (a feat Andrew did not understand).

“Hi Applejack!”

“Howdy Pinkie,” said a familiar voice in a Southern accent. Andrews gaze shot upwards from the table he was standing at and instantly recognized the orange pony with her brown, country style hat. She looked around the room and when her eyes met those of Andrew, her eyes went wide.

“Andrew!” she shouted, grabbing everypony's attention.

Applejack shot herself over to him, very glad to have found the pony she was looking for. Of all places, she found him where she least expected him to be.

“Where have ya been?” she asked.

“I was, uh... I went looking for you,” he managed a nervous smile.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, I couldn't stay cooped up in that place,” he said, referring to the hospital for which only he, Applejack, and Fluttershy were aware of.

Andrew was slow to notice two more colorful ponies follow in after Applejack, but was too distracted by her newest friend, forgetting his previous task of sorting his belongings on the table. For the first time, he's never been so happy to see Applejack after only meeting her an hour ago. Probably because he owed her one for helping him when he needed it. Without much prior thought, he dropped what he was doing and threw his forelegs up in an embrace at the farm pony.

“Whoa, slow down there partner.”

Applejack locked her own forelegs with Andrew in return.

“Awwwwww,” sang the three little filly ponies simultaneously, fluttering their eye lashes.

Andrew saw that the large stallion looking character took keen notice, a sharp stink-eye staring straight at him. He only hoped he wasn't some government guy or something, so he backed off, letting go of Applejack and brushed himself off and cleared his throat. It was conceivable that even regular people (ponies) were enough to get suspicious of him. Strolling through the village earlier was probably a bad idea.

“Ahem, so- uh, who is-”

…

Andrew suddenly paused, eyes shooting wide open.

“Alright there, sugarcube?”

Without answering, Andrew slowly leaned to one side to get a better view around Applejack in his way of caught his attention more that ever. A minute earlier, he did notice a yellow and pink pony behind the big scary red dude, apparently from hiding from him. This time, he caught sight of what looked to him as a pair of folded wings on each side of the pony. His eyes didn't blink a single time.

“What is it?” Applejack looked concerned.

“Uhhhh...” he trailed off, still staring at the light-yellow winged creature across the room. Fluttershy broke eye contact with Andrew, thinking she was to blame for the awkward stare.

“I think you broke him, Applejack,” bounced Pinkie Pie. “Like his brain stopped working and stuff.”

Taking it as a joke, Applejack waved a hoof in front of Andrew's face to get his attention, but as soon as she did that, for the first time in his life, he fainted.

---

Lyra was a little impatient. The suspense of their slow pace was killing her, but she was respectful enough not to run off too far and leaving Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle behind. She was tempted to give a quick stop by her own place in town to collect a few things that would help her along the way, but was waiting for a chance. She had a feeling that chance had come and gone.

The three of them were at the edge of Ponyville, nearing the hospital that caused a buzz for Applejack. Neither one of them knew what to expect, whether it was good or bad, according to the vague description Applejack gave Twilight.

“What do you think Applejack wanted to show you?” Lyra asked her unicorn counterpart.

“I'm not sure, she didn't exactly say what it was about, but I trust it was important.”

“You think somepony there knows about the strange anomaly earlier? I mean, unicorn feel strong magic, too.”

“I guess we have to find out.”

“We're here,” stated Princess Luna. The group came up to a the hospital doors and entered without stopping for a moment to breathe.

Luna was just as her two unicorn companions were surprised to find the place to be livelier than a party thrown by Pinkie Pie. They watched nurse ponies and doctors, here and there, going to and fro. Once the staff of the hospital caught eye with the Princess, they instantly stopped in their tracks and gave a bow. Luna lowered her head in return, then she continued along the lobby followed by Twilight and Lyra. Past the front desk, they eventually found the Head nurse, Nurse Redheart.

“He- hello, Princess,” said the white pony, with a shaky voice, apparently afraid of something.

“Hello, Miss Redheart, I see your staff is quite active today.”

“Indeed,” she replied. “How may I be of assistance?”

Luna turned to Twilight, then back at the nurse.

“We heard our friend, Applejack, mention a matter that concerned Twilight Sparkle here.”

“Applejack? Oh yes! Well, she came in here with an injured pony about an hour ago. I, uh... she, uh... he, uhh...”

“Something wrong, Nurse?” Luna raised an eyebrow.

“I'm not sure, Princess. I'm still confused. Do you know of any other alicorns other than your sister and your niece?”

Luna shook her head, “Not that I know of. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, umm, the injured unicorn she aided from the her farm was in fact, a unicorn-pegasus.”

The faces of Princess Luna, Twilight Sparkle and Lyra Heartstrings suddenly froze. The ears of Twilight twitched a bit, Lyra was about to call it crazy, and Luna's flowing mane stopped waving for second or two, but Nurse Redheart continued with more explanation.

“I'm sorry if you didn't know, please forgive me. This stallion was-”

“A male?” Luna interrupted, even more in awe as her pupils dilated a little more.

“Y- yes. It is strange because he seemed like a normal pony at the time, but when we began to examine his wounds, he was wearing some weird dress. A formal outfit perhaps. We found out his true nature when we removed his clothing.”

“Where is he now?” said Lyra.

“He left.”

“Where did he go!?” Twilight suddenly hopped into the air.

“He sorta... wandered off. Applejack went looking for him after he went looking for- … well, it's a story for later. I suggest you try Ponyville. He said he wanted to know where he was first.” Nurse Redheart felt slightly better for discussing the situation to somepony, only she wasn't expecting Princess Luna to be the one she'd tell.

“Thank you, Nurse,” Luna turned to Twilight and Lyra. “Let's, uh, find ourselves this... …” Luna trailed off when the word 'alicorn' came to mind once again, staring off to the side.

Lyra leaned forward to hazard a guess, “Alicorn?”

“Correct.”

“You alright, Luna?” said Twilight, concerned.

“Yes yes, I'm fine.”

With that, the three of them headed straight out the front entrance, leaving the hospital with the vague image of a pony they now were on the hunt for.

---

In the highest room of Sugarcube corner, a long nervous silence fell upon a group of ponies, including Pinkie Pie. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and all three Cutie Mark Crusaders were all waiting anxiously while a particular, oddly dressed, blue-green unicorn stallion lay asleep on Pinkie's bed in Pinkie's room. Big Mac remained right outside the door by the request of his sister for a reason he did not want to argue with.

Fluttershy felt guilty for being the one at fault. Back downstairs, only about five minutes ago, Andrew was staring at her for a good five seconds before falling to the floor. Her first thought was that she'd done something wrong and took it upon herself to take the blame and truly apologize to him for her mistake.

As Andrew lay resting on the bed, Fluttershy sat right next to him, hoping everything was in order. She had her head down and hoof to his head to monitor his health and breathing. An instinct of hers for being an animal caretaker.

The silence was turned over to a shuffling sound of the party-themed bed sheets. Andrew's head pounded as he came through.

“Ughhh...” he groaned, squinting his eyes tighter.

Everypony's eyes shot over to the bed, especially those of Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie bounced over next to her shy pegasus friend.

“Is he okay?” asked the pink pony.

“I don't know,” said Fluttershy.

“Ughhh,” Andrew groaned once more. He opened his eyes to find himself in a different room and a familiar light-yellow... winged pony. He jerked back a little at the sudden sight, startling the poor thing two feet away from the bed. “Whoa!”

Fluttershy reacted slightly, but only out of reflex. Pinkie Pie didn't move a muscle, simply staring at Andrew with her rummy blue eyes. The Crusaders got up from sitting on the floor and advanced closer to the bed.

“How did I get here?” he said, placing a hoof on his head to acknowledge the pain in his skull. Fortunately it subsided quickly enough for him to think.

“Yer not that heavy,” replied Applejack from the other side of the room.

Andrew sighed at that, but expressed with a deep breath when his gaze met those of the pony closest to him, Fluttershy. It was difficult to let it all sink in. Apparently, seeing a living pegasus was more shocking than a unicorn.

“How are you feeling?” asked Fluttershy in a delicate voice.

“Oh, uh, alright I guess.” He paused, examining the folded wings on each side of Fluttershy's back. It took him a while to notice a mark on her lower back. Butterflies. That's three for three on tattoos. Andrew gestured a hoof at her. She was confused by this.

“I'm so sorry,” she said. “I didn't mean to hurt you.”

“No no, please, don't apologize. It's not you. It's me.”

“But you-”

“I'm the one who should be sorry.”

“Why's that?” Fluttershy cocked her head to one side. She felt a bit of relief, but was still unsatisfied with the thought of being a part of it.

“It's just, I was a little surprised, that's all.”

“Surprised by what?”

“Your wings,” he stated. “I mean, you're a... pegasus, right? Wow I feel so stupid, overreacting like that. I mean c'mon, I didn't think I'd see living pegasus in my life.”

Fluttershy glanced over her shoulder towards Applejack, whom returned the same look. Right then, Applejack trotted up right next Andrew.

“Ya really are a strange pony, aren'tcha?” she said.

“Well, I'm not who you think I am.”

“I know.”

“You do?” Andrew said in doubt. He wasn't sure they were on the same page.

“Of course, yer different from everypony else.”

“And what makes you think that?” Andrew raised an eyebrow.

“Yer wings.”

“My...?”

---

As the Lunar Princess trotted into town with Twilight and Lyra, her thoughts were everywhere. She was so close. All that was left was to go on a pony hunt. A pony that they've recently discovered to be more than just a regular pony with a story to tell. It was both exciting and frightening at the same time.

The two unicorns felt the same way. They were on the verge of something big, if not huge. One for the secret history books, like Project Black Book apparently. That was Twilight's thought. Lyra, on the other hoof, thought this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for her.

They stopped when they reached the very center of Ponyville, with town Town Hall looming several paces in from of them.

“So, any of you know where to go from here?” inquired Luna.

“What about your detection spell?” Twilight suggested.

“I'm afraid I lost its tracks somewhere...” Luna looked around their immediate vicinity. “...over there.” Luna pointed a hoof off to the distance where a hazy silhouette of a large tree was visible.

“The library?” Twilight said in a confounded voice. “But I closed it for the day. Everypony know's that.”

“Remember who we're looking for? Let's check it out,” cried Lyra as she started to make her way for the library.

Twilight didn't follow at once, but turned to look at Luna. The Princess smiled.

“You heard her, no time to waste,” she said, spreading her wings to catch up to the unicorn.

Twilight rolled her eyes and trotted after them.

After unnecessarily galloping to the Ponyville Library, Lyra made it in under ten seconds, followed by Luna, then by Twilight.

“Was it really necessary to run here when we could have just taken our time and not wasted so much energy?” said the purple pony, casually trotting to a stop before the small door of the library.

“I guess I got over excited,” Lyra replied.

Twilight dug out a golden key from her saddlebag and placed in the keyhole, unlocking the door. She pushed the door open, but didn't enter. She turned to acknowledge the Princess and her friend.

“Wait here. I'll put my books away and double check the library for anypony.”

Before either of them could protest, Twilight disappeared into the library. Lyra stood by, staring off into the blue sky. Princess Luna took notice. She felt compelled to bring up some small talk.

“What a day, eh?”

“Huh?” Lyra came back to her senses. “Oh, yeah.” She paused in order for her next sentence to have any effect. “I guess you could say that my life will be different from now on.”

“I hope you aren't discouraged with finding out your true nature.”

“Oh no course not!” Lyra was slightly taken aback. “I find it quite... profound.”

“I'm sure we'll find you some answers. I see a bright future ahead of you.”

Luna's words seemed to get through to Lyra when her meek smile grew ever warmer.

“So, do you know how many times this sort of thing happened in Equestria?”

“Umm... once?”

“Never.”

“Never?” Lyra was confused. “What do you mean? I thought this was the second time this mysterious surge occurred? The first being my grandfather.”

“Not with the emergence of a new alicorn.”

“Oooooooh.”

Lyra didn't account for that major detail to be the point of the question. She was only thinking of the original picture rather than the pony they were after. Now that they were after an alleged pony of untold power from the magical discharge from Sweet Apple Acres, things got more interesting.

“It makes no sense,” Luna stated. “I'm not sure I believe Nurse Redheart because an alicorn does not just appear out of nowhere. She is not one to lie.”

“Who's not one to lie?” Twilight said, trotting out the front door of the library, closing it behind her.

“Nurse Redheart,” responded Lyra.

“Lie about what?”

“That pony were looking for, being an unicorn-pegasus and all.”

“Why would she lie about that?” Twilight's bombardment of questions continued. “How do you explain the way she acted because of him?”

“Maybe, Twilight. But we must make sure for ourselves,” Luna stated. “Then you can ask all the questions you want. We're short on time, girls. We must press on.” Luna made her proposition an order as neither unicorns said anything.

Luna was about to start walking, but the idea that she didn't know where to go next crossed her mind. She put her back towards the library, looking over the rest of the town, moving her head right to left.

“Something wrong, Princess?” asked Twilight.

“Yes. I did lose the trace here, so I'm not sure where to look now. Any suggestions?” she said.

Both Lyra and Twilight knew that searching blind would take forever. They looked at each other, then back at Luna.

“Nope,” they said simultaneously, shaking their heads.

Right then, Luna's optimism simply vanished. She held her head down in sorrow, glum from having make it so far, only to fall short. She was on to something big, but now they were to late. Everything now seemed like a useless effort (one of Luna's most conclusive personality traits when it came to stuff that peaked her interest). She absolutely hated having to come up short on new discoveries. She had a habit of beating herself up inside and blaming nopony but herself for the mistakes that affected others. Not to mention the Nightmare. Chills ran down her spine.

“Well this sucks,” Luna concluded.

“Ponyville may be a small town,” Twilight began with a sigh. “But there are simply too many places one can be. I guess we can ask-” She paused. “Hey, there's an idea!”

Lyra looked at her lavender friend, smiling with delight, while Luna seemed slightly uninterested.

“We can asked some of my friends to help us.” Twilight her gaze at Luna. The majestic dark-blue alicorn appeared defeated with her head facing the ground and her regal eyes shut. The Princess did not look up to acknowledge idea-stricken mare.

“Who knows? We might get lucky,” Twilight continued, trying desperately to cheer Luna up. Her words seemed to comfort the Princess with small signs of acknowledgment. “We can't give up so easily, it would only make things worse. We know so much already, at least that counts for something. We've came this far, I think it's only fair that we keep going. Even if we don't find everything we wanted, it's safe to say it was all worth it. I never expected my day to turn out like this when I woke up today. Whatever we find, it shows us how much we put our mind to it. Let's hope whatever we find, represents something that has never been seen before. I'm here to help. I'll be right beside you till the end, Princess.”

“Me too,” Lyra concurred.

Luna took advantage of the warm silence that lingered soon after for moment to herself. She then took a deep breath to wash away all negative thoughts she had and let Twilight's speech sink in.

“You're right, Twilight Sparkle.” She nodded. “No wonder Celestia chose you as her student. You have the power to make anypony feel better with your words. Thank you.”

Twilight grinned.

“Anypony else hungry?” Luna continued.

“Uh, yeah,” said Lyra. “I'm up for some sugar.”

“I was going to suggest a real meal, but that sound wonderful, too.”

“Sugarcube Corner it is, then.”

Twilight snickered. “I guess asking my friends could wait a little.”

As much as Twilight wanted to advise against sweets, she could use some energy herself. Even though Pinkie Pie was away in Canterlot, the Cakes wouldn't say no to Princess Luna. Lyra, however, had a different idea in mind for sweets.

As the trio traveled down the avenues of Ponyville, Lyra stopped before they passed her street.

“Hey, um, Twilight?”

The purple unicorn turned around to acknowledge her friend, noticing the mint-green unicorn's gaze in another direction.

“I was wondering if you mind if I take a quick visit to my house and grab a few things?” she asked. “It won't take long and I think I have some things that might be useful. Besides, our stuff is still in Canterlot.”

“But you promised to stay-”

“It's quite alright, Twilight Sparkle,” said Luna. “She can meet up with us at Sugarcube Corner when she is finished.”

“Okay, Princess.” Twilight turned to Lyra. “Say hi to Bon-bon for me.”

“Will do.” Those were her last words, galloping off into the distance.

“Do you trust her, Luna?”

“As much as Celestia trusts you.” Luna looked down with a friendly smile. “I'm considering making the same proposition that my sister offered to you.”

Twilight suddenly realized the true purpose of that statement. She looked up at the midnight-blue alicorn.

“You're gonna make her YOUR protégé!?”

---

Andrew made a series of facial expressions. He squinted his eyes at the farm pony. Three things came to mind; she was either (A) lying, (B) telling the truth, or (C) joking. The longer he stared at her eyes, the more the answer was leaning towards (B). The other ponies in the room also gave Applejack a baffled look, including Pinkie.

“Uuhh huuuh.” he mumbled.

“Ah'm bein' totally honest. If y'all don't believe me, take off yer robe there and see fer yerself.”

Applejack gestured a hoof at him.

“I'm not sure I want to,” Andrew refused. “Humans always wear clothes. I don't want to strip in front of all of you. I'd like to keep my dignity thank you very much... not that it matters anymore.” Andrew gave an awkward laugh. The ponies didn't seem to get it, except for Pinkie.

“Wait wait wait wait! Back up a little.” Pinkie bounced right on top of Andrew on the bed. “What was that word you said? Did you day 'humans'?”

“I did.”

“Oh wow! That's so-” Pinkie quickly stopped, remembering what Princess Celestia said to her back in Canterlot. She then hopped off Andrew and onto the floor. “Heh heh, sorry.”

Andrew's eyes were still wide, staring up where Pinkie used to be, never taking those large golden beads from looking at the ceiling. It was oddly enough the first sign of progress towards and answer to his problem. He was surprised to have met a 'pony' this quickly that was familiar with humans (or at least knew what they were). Only problem was that she retreated. He sat up and eyed the pink pony, now acting innocent and quiet.

“What do you know?” he said, giving her a stink eye.

“I- I- I- I- I-,” Pinkie began acting a bit nervous. She stopped stuttering, went quiet, then shrugged.

“You don't know? Or won't tell me?” Andrew's voice was more assertive than relaxed, making Fluttershy cringe and back away from the bed. Andrew hopped off the bedsheets – almost tripping when he landed on the wooded floor – and stepped in Pinkie's direction ever so slightly.

“Both?” Pinkie squeaked, standing her ground.

“That doesn't make any sense.”

“Yes it does.”

“Does not.”

“Does too.”

“Nu uh.”

“Ya hu.”

“Now jus' hold yer horses there the both o' yus,” retorted Applejack, halting the argument between the two ponies. “No need to get all fussy 'bout this.

“He started it.” Pinkie pointing a hoof at Andrew.

“Ah don't care who started it. And here ah thought ya was sorry fer yer actions. Now ya darn go attackin' Pinkie Pie here.”

“I just asked what she knows about my kind.”

“Yer kind of... … what?”

“Mankind.”

Everypony in the room stared blankly at Andrew, including Pinkie.

“Ah've never heard this 'mankind' before. How 'bout the rest o' ya?” she turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. All three shook their heads. “Fluttershy?” Applejack looked around for the sensitive pegasus, but she was no where in sight.

“Fluttershy!?” she repeated.

“Yes?” said her delicate voice. Her head was barely visible from hiding behind the foot of Pinkie's bed.

Applejack sighed with relief, “There y'ar sugarcube.”

“I'm sorry, did you want me?”

“Ah think there's somethin' strange with our friend Andrew here,” Applejack stated. “The fact that he's one of them alicorns.”

Once again, everypony in the room showed mixed reactions, including blank expressions or surprised faces. Fluttershy's slumped back out of sight behind the bed.

“What's an alicorn?” Andrew asked.

“You really ARE a strange pony,” said Scootaloo, repeating the statement that everypony had in their heads. This time, Applebloom didn't nudge her pegasus friend. Instead, she stared curiously at Andrew, wondering what why he acted so strange.

“What? I don't know anything,” he justified.

“Like NOTHING nothing?” Pinkie uttered.

“Pretty much.”

“Like REALLY really NOTHING nothing?”

Before Andrew could voice his annoyance, a knock came from the bedroom door. All ponies still had their minds on Andrew, but focused their attention to the door. Pinkie Pie bounced over to answer the visitor.

“Who iiis iiit?” she sang.

“I just thought y’all should know that the Princess is here. She jus' entered the store with Twilight Sparkle.” Big Mac's voice echoed from behind the wooden door. He didn't sound too nervous, but it was news no pony had foreseen.

Pinkie opened the door, “Princess Luna?”

“How'dcha know?” said Big Mac.

“She said she was coming to Ponyville. I don't know what for, but I think she's looking for somepony.”

Everypony's eyes were on the turquoise unicorn. Applejack was convinced HE might have been the reason for Luna to make a trip all the way to Ponyville, but maybe she'd been searching for him all day. After all, he wasn't exactly a normal pony, failing to persuade him that he was creature for which he knew nothing about. A slow flow of fear stirred up inside Applejack.

Andrew heart started pounding. He could feel his legs tense up and drops of sweat drip down from his forehead. His breathing increased, in addition to the rate he blinked his eyes. Chills ran down the length of his body the second he heard the word 'princess'. The last thing he wanted was to interact with royalty, presumably from a system of government that wanted something of him. Probably not a good thing.

He took a few steps back until he contacted the bed behind him.

“Andrew?” said Applejack.

“Y- yeah?” he said, shaking.

“What's really goin' on?”

Suddenly, Andrew's horn began to glow a white aura. Unsuspecting to Andrew himself, the others noticed that the wave of light emanating from his horn get substantially brighter within fractions of a second.

The room got too bright to have their eyes open, but before it got painfully bright, everything suddenly went back to normal followed by a crackling sound that lasted only a brief moment. Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Big Macintosh, Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle were left staring at Pinkie's party-themed bedsheets where Andrew used to be.

Comments

[clearshot01]

He's gone again... can Andrew go one day without accidentally teleporting somewhere at random?

[SouthernmostDogs]

1789710

Nope.

[Hawkx1]

Where's a Sweetie Bell "oh come on" emoticon when you need one?

[Hereward]

Oh, come on! Will you cut the wild goose chase already?

[skultech]

Now that is just stalling the inevitable.
It better be good when he actually meets Lyra.
Cause I'ma thinking you're gonna make him meet Lyra first.

[flamevulture17]

1794829 Are you spying on me?