The new guy in town

by Lance Darkwater

Introducing himself

Pinkie Pie had been going on and on about how Rainbow seemed lonely, and how the new boy might make her life better and bring out another side of her. She had kept coming back to this topic ever since Lance first set foot in Ms. Harshwhinny's class, and quite frankly, Rainbow was utterly sick of it!

"Pinkie, for the last time. I do not need a boyfriend!" Rainbow spat in fury. Fortunately, her salvation arrived in the form of two students joining her and her friends at the table, one was a chubby, nerdy girl with freckles, the other was...

...oh no, it was the new guy. She prayed he hadn't heard her outburst, even if she didn't 'need' a boyfriend, the last thing she'd want to do is hurt his feelings.

The two of them sat down next to Fluttershy and Applejack, respectively. Their looks of confidence turning to ones of confusion. Why was everyone so quiet, now?

"Sssssssssoooooooooooooooooooooo..." Lance broke the silence. "...exactly what were you all talking about?" there was another moment of silence before Sunset Shimmer spoke up.

"We were just talking about our personal interests!" she lied. The grey-skinned boy furrowed his brow at her, clearly seeing past the charade. "Well, shall we continue?" he asked. Then Sunset remembered something. "Oh darn! Where are my manners?! I'm Sunset Shimmer."

"Sunset Shimmer. As in the one that was once the biggest bitch at CHS, stole a crown from another world and tried to take over the school?" Lance questioned. Sunset's eyes widened. "Before you question how I know that, I've overheard several conversations in town, regarding the supposed 'magical' activity around here." Sunset stares at him in disbelief. "Um, yes..."

"Anyway, these are my friends; Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash."

"Very nice to meet all of you." He replied politely. "The name's Darkwater, Lance Darkwater."

The girls turned their attention to the pudgy girl sitting next to him. "Hey there. What's your name?" Fluttershy asked. Provoking the girl to giggle nervously. "I'm Raspberry Yogurt. I've actually been here a couple of months." she said, introducing herself with a smile.

The two friends sat their silently, eating their lunches while the girls continued to discuss... whatever it was they were talking about. In fact, even after they had finished, they still sat there, not saying a word while giving each other nervous looks.

"Hey, um. You okay?" Rainbow asked. She was met with a cascade of panicked stammering, before he fell off of his seat and onto the floor with a THUD!

Lance got up from the floor, holding his head. "Don't you girls worry about me, I'm okay." he said, clearly embarrassed. Rainbow couldn't help but giggle at what had happened to him. He was so dorky, but in a cute way. "So, tell us about yourself, Lance." Sunset asked.

"Well, I'm five feet, six inches tall..." he started. "Last time I checked I weighed in at one hundred and fifty pounds." he added, while looking at himself in shame. "I'm somewhat of an animal expert."

"Oh my gosh! Really?! Tell me everything that you know!" Fluttershy squeaked in Lance's face.

"Well, I doubt I'd be able to tell you everything that I know, but I can show you a video of one of my favourite individual animals."

"Individual animals?" the yellow-skinned girl questioned. The other girls seemed just as confused as she was.

"Uno momento!" he said, before pulling his phone out of his pocket and searching for the correct video on YouTube. He then gestured for the girls to come closer. "I'd like you all to meet a friend of mine..." they all squeezed against each other.

"His name's YoYo."

Lance showed them a video of a plump little macaroni penguin who had been raised by the keepers, and, as a result of his human upbringing, actually thought he was a human. "Has this little bugger ever looked at himself in the mirror?" Rarity jokingly asked, earning a glare from Fluttershy. Although, watching the video, calling him such a seemingly horrible thing actually seemed quite appropriate, considering all of the big problems that he caused.

"He certainly is a cutie pie..." Pinkie chirped. "But, why did you call him your friend?" Lance simply smiled and said "I've actually been to that place. My mom took me there when we were on vacation." everyone let out a collective "Ooooohhhhhhhhhhhh." at the explanation.

"Hey, while we're all here, I just remembered that I'd brought in something to give to any new friends I make."

Lance then proceeded to rummage through his bag, and pulled his hand out to reveal nine chocolates that he'd been keeping for his new friends. He handed the first one to Raspberry, the second one to Fluttershy, and so on, and so forth. When he discovered that two still remained, he gave them both to Rainbow Dash. The rainbow-haired girl was certainly surprised by his level of kindness, particularly towards her of all people.

"Hey, did you girls know that chocolate contains a property that triggers the release of endorphins. Gives one the feeling of being in love!" the girls were certainly surprised by his level of knowledge. "You don't say~" Rarity cooed, giving the boy a sultry look. Lance stood there while he had that pug-like look on his face. "Oh, bollocks! I've seduced the wrong girl!" he thought. Rarity was about to say something else to Lance when...

"Hey, Lance! Believe it or not, I know about every single kind of sweet!" Pinkie interrupted. "Um, okay. That's not really 'useful' per say, but..."

"I'll prove it right now! I know about dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, cotton candy..." the pink-skinned girl named several types of sweet. "Yeah, I don't doubt you actually know all of them, you don't have to prove it to me..."

"Brownies, taffy, ice cream..." she continued. "Are you deaf?! I wasn't asking for a demonstration!"

"Bon Bons, liquorice, eclairs, cupcakes, konpeito..." now Lance was really starting to get annoyed. "Stop it!" he shouted. Pinkie went on and on and on, until Lance got so angry with her that he roared with rage!

"Rrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For cryin' out loud!" he then proceeded to tackle the girl to the floor. "I believe that you know every single kind of sweet, okay?!"

Everyone gawked at what Lance had done. "What were ya' thinkin'?!" Applejack shouted. "Ah' get that Pinkie was gettin' on your nerves, but was there any need for that?!"

The full realisation of what he had done slammed into him like a dump truck falling off a cliff, and his expression turned from menacing to shameful. "Oh my God, I am so sorry! I just completely lost my temper!" he screamed. He earned a cold glare from all except Fluttershy and Raspberry. He could tell that they all probably hated him, now. A single tear ran down the right side of his face. He then proceeded to walk to his bag, pick it up and place it further away from them. He delicately pulled the zipper to reveal his biggest secret!

Inside of his bag was some form of tribal weapon made from bone and wood. It resembled an axe, but it had a blunt, crushing part at one end.

He made sure no one was looking, before he silently pulled the weapon out of his bag and placed his hand on the blade.

"I have made a grave mistake. Now, I must atone for my sins." he was about to cut his hand on the blade when...

"What on earth are you doing?!"

Raspberry leapt out of her seat and snatched the weapon from her new friend's hands. It happened so quickly, that it took Lance a few seconds to realise that he was now longer holding it. "What the bloody hell has gotten into you?!" the plump girl asked in a frightened tone. Lance sighed as he looked her in the eyes. "Alright, I should probably come clean..." he said, before rejoining the girls on the table.

---

"You're a what?" Rainbow asked confusedly.

"I'm a tribal." Lance answered with a solemn look. "My people were always a part of Canada, but it wasn't until the 1920s that we started settling in this particular region. We were always weary of you 'outsiders', always thought of you as demons that had come to plunder the land's riches."

"Then, during the 1990s, my father finally accepted you as people. Granted, him meeting my mother had something to do with it, but that's a story for another day." he explained. The girls were all staring at him intently, their eyes pleading to hear more. "That would explain your 'war club', then." Raspberry interrupted. But, no sooner than she mentioned it, Lance tensed up, only to relax a few moments later. "There's a reason I have that thing." he continued.

"About eight years ago, my father got into a fight with his brother. He was always jealous of how granddad would leave the house to him when he joined the spirits, and why he wouldn't get the money. But that only stemmed from his greed..."

---

8 years ago

Lance was in his bedroom, playing with retro-style dinosaur toys that his grandfather had made for him. He had always had a fascination for prehistoric creatures, and he knew a lot about them, thanks to documentaries. He knew many of the creatures like the back of his hand.

Then, all of a sudden, he heard a voice shouting from downstairs.

"This is not what dad wants, Moebius! You and I both know that!" Lance recognised the voice as that of his father, he had gotten himself into an argument with uncle Moebius. "Do I look like I give a damn about what that old dog wants?!" his uncle shouted. "Times are a changing, brother. Our way of life is a thing of the past! The only way to solve any problems these days is with money, and I'm well aware that you'll do bugger all with it!"

"Father wants to leave the house to me, because he wants Lance and Turel to have somewhere to live when they've come of age. Don't you care about your nephews?!" his father screamed, before hearing a loud noise from Lance's bedroom.

Moebius stood there in complete silence, while his brother walked past him to comfort his son, upstairs.

BANG!

He felt a horrible pain wrenching through his body, as Moebius held a now-smoking pistol. "Why don't you lay down and rest, Tal'Set?" He asked, maliciously. "I'll see to Lance~"

Moebius sneaked up the stairs to his nephew's bedroom, taking care not to spook him. He delicately pulled the handle and opened the door. Lance wasn't there!

THOK!

Moebius screamed as Lance shoved his father's war club deep into his shoulder and scrambled away...

---

Present Day

"And know, you know..." Lance finished.

He hiccuped as tears began to run down his face. "I lost two things on that day. My innocence and my soul."