It had been an hour since Francis came to. While the winged unicorn and her assistant left quickly without even talking to Francis, the buttery yellow pegasus stayed with him. She compressed a wet towel over his head.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be alright…” She said. Francis began to pull up his sheets. “You don’t have to be afraid…” She patted him with her wing. “So what happened?” Fluttershy asked.
“I… I was running away… From this monster and… I fell over.” Francis spoke up.
“What was a scared little cat like you doing in the Everfree Forest?” Fluttershy asked.
“I… I don’t know… One moment I was home and the next… The next I…” Francis shook a little before he shed some tears. Fluttershy eyes began to water as she pulled him in for a hug.
“You poor thing!” Fluttershy said. “Don’t worry.” She pulled him out. “You’re in an animal sanctuary. Here, you’ll find nothing but comfort. Maybe you might find a new owner who loves you!”
“But… But I’m…” Just as he was about to speak some more, Fluttershy’s doors slammed open.
“Heya, Shy!” Before Francis could even react, a rainbow streak zoomed right through to reach to Fluttershy. The streak soon changed into a blue pegasus with rainbow colored hair and bright reddish eyes. Francis’ worries melted away for a brief moment if only because he saw a very cool horse before him.
“Oh, h-hi Rainbow Dash…” Fluttershy backed away when she rushed in, though she slowly worked her way back to where she stood upon seeing her.
“So, you know how Tank is still hibernating and all that?” Rainbow Dash said.
“Y-yeah?” Fluttershy asked.
"And how you told me that even though winter's wrapped up and everything, Tank would still need to sleep for about a day or two before he realizes it's spring?"
“Well, I was figuring out something and I wanna run it with you first… Can I have a pet? Just until Tank wakes up?” Rainbow Dash asked. Fluttershy nodded.
“Well, of course!” She bit her lip a little bit. She prayed that Rainbow Dash wasn’t as picky as last time. Francis, however, admired how bold this pony looked. Memories flashed of himself riding on a large white stallion, though he soon noticed from his size and how he positioned himself on the horse that he was remembering himself as a cat…
However, Francis didn’t mind that. In fact…
“Can I be your pet? Please?” Francis asked. Rainbow Dash’s eyes shrunk.
“Did… Did that cat just talk?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Y-yes?” Fluttershy answered.
“That… Is… AWESOME!” Rainbow Dash instantly picked Francis off of his bed and put him on her back. “Can I keep him? Can I? Can I? Can I?” Rainbow Dash asked as she grinned.
“Um… I guess if it’s okay with-“
“Yes!” Francis answered as he clinged onto her neck
“Okay then…” Fluttershy said.
“SWEET!” Rainbow Dash gave Fluttershy a big hug before she flew out. Francis was thankful to have held onto the scruff of Rainbow Dash’s neck, as the sheer speed could take anyone off of her. “Hang on! I’m gonna take you to my place in ten seconds flat!” Francis closed his eyes as she flew upwards towards Cloudsdale. “So what’s your name?” She asked.
“F-fraaaanciiiis!” Francis shouted.
“Eeeeeh, yeah, no. I’m gonna call you Ajax.” Rainbow Dash said. "So how old are you?" She asked.
"T-ten!" Francis said.
"Ten? That's kind of old, don't you think?" Rainbow Dash asked. It took Francis a little while to get what she meant. However, before Francis could tell Rainbow Dash his 'not-a-cat' circumstances, the fast pony stopped flying and the two settled on a white fluffy cloud where there was a tall, almost condo-like building. Rainbow Dash trotted into the condo with Francis on her back. As they entered though, a bellhop pony stopped them.
“Aaaaah, sorry mam,” the pony spoke in a very nasally voice. “We have a no cats policy here.” Rainbow Dash glared at him.
“Since when!?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“S-since last month! One of our tenants had a very bad allergic reaction to a cat on our annual ‘Pet-A-Pet Day’.” He said.
“Well horsefeathers!” Rainbow Dash sighed. “Sorry, Ajax, looks like it’s back to Fluttershy…” Rainbow Dash said to Francis. However, Francis looked around and noticed he was in the air, as the clouds were at his eye level. Francis began to tremble. “Eeeerm, Ajax?” She asked.
“Take me down…” Francis muttered.
“What?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Takemedowntakemedowntakemedowntakemedowntakemedown!” Francis clung onto Rainbow Dash’s neck and started to whimper. Suddenly, his claws came out and pierced Rainbow Dash’s neck.
“Ow! O-okay! S-sorry!” Rainbow Dash said as she then flew down from her Cloudominium back to Fluttershy’s house. When Rainbow Dash landed, Francis let go of Rainbow Dash, though he was still trembling. “Ow… Think I’m bleeding somewhere.” She said.
“Rainbow Dash! What happened?” Fluttershy flown out of her shed.
“Apparently my place has a no cats policy. Whodathunk it. Also, he got a little skittish when we got above ground.” Rainbow Dash looked to the cat, though he was slowly getting over his trembling. “He’s feeling better now.” She said.
“Aaaaw, poor thing must be afraid of heights!” Fluttershy patted the kitty with her wing. “There, there…” Rainbow Dash sighed.
“Well, I at least tried.” Rainbow Dash then patted Francis on the back. “Hey, if ya don’t mind, could I visit Ajax every now and then?” She asked. Fluttershy raised her eyebrow. “That’s what I called him.” She said.
“Oh, well… of course!” Fluttershy smiled.
“Great! See ya later, buddy!” With a simple bro hoof to the cat, Rainbow Dash flew off.
“B-but my name is Francis…” Francis muttered. Francis sighed.
“Those boots are simply amazing!” Francis could hear another voice. He yelped and backed away, just as Fluttershy did. Francis turned to see a white unicorn with purple hair, straightened out into curls. “Oh, my apologies, Fluttershy, but those boots on the cat are simply adorable!” The unicorn had a slight British accent to it.
“Oh, R-rarity…” Fluttershy said.
“Twilight told me about you getting a cat.” Rarity went over to look at the cat. “Yes… Yes indeed… He has such structure...” She played with his arms, looked at his tail, and even got him on his back.
“H-hey, easy!” With that, Rarity stopped.
“… And it talks.” Rarity blinked.
“This is Francis.” Fluttershy helped Francis up.
“Erm… Well… yes… Um… Fluttershy, mind if I borrow Francis for a while? He’d make an excellent model.” She said.
“Um… You might wanna ask Francis.” She pointed to Francis as she smiled, the air in her cheeks squeezing out to make a small yet cute squeaking noise.
“… Okay… Francis, darling, would you mind being my model? I have a cat myself, but she’s absolutely stubborn!” Rarity said. Francis simply blinked. What’s his response? He was barely a day into Equestria and already he’s thrust into a world of activity. First two unicorns inspected him, then a Pegasus nearly gave him a heart attack, and now some unicorn wants to make him some doll.
But… he had nothing better to do. He was stuck as a cat. Francis sighed and nodded.
“Lovely! Fluttershy, I’ll bring him back by sundown!” Rarity trotted away as Francis followed.
“Well, here we are. Make yourself at home.” Rarity said as she and Francis stepped into her boutique. Rarity trotted away as Francis looked around. He saw many different fabrics and different outfits. Francis just gagged and shook his head. The last place he wanted to be was in some girly clothing store. He struggled to take the boots off one more time, though as he did, he tripped over and crashed on the ground.
“Huh? What happened?” A new voice came in. Younger from the sounds of it. Francis blinked as a small unicorn came to him. She had curly pink and purple hair, green eyes, and a white coat similar to Rarity. She proceeded to gasp. “A new cat!” Her voice cracked a bit before she picked Francis up and hugged him. “It’s so cuuuuute!” Francis’ ribs were being crushed by the unicorn’s hug.
“I-I’m not cuuuute!” Francis strained out his words as Rarity walked. She then gasped and forced the little unicorn away from Francis with her magic.
“Sweetie Belle, don’t annoy our new model.” Rarity said.
“Aaaaw, but Rarity… Wait, new model?” Sweetie Belle said.
“Yes. I’m trying to sell a new line of fashion for cats, but you know how Opalescence is with modelling.” Rarity picked up Francis with her magic. “Which is why I’ve picked this young feline to model for me.” Rarity said. She tried to pull the boots off with her magic. “What did you do to these boots? Glue them?” She asked. Francis shook his head. After a few seconds of tugging, Rarity set down the cat. “Well, we can make due. The boots are cute on you.” Rarity said.
“Not… Cute.” Francis muttered.
“Hmmm… But what sort of outfit for you to wear…” Rarity placed her hoof to the bottom of her chin. “Something to match the boots…” Rarity said. That’s when Sweetie Belle looked across the room and spotted something.
“Oh! Rarity! Here!” Sweetie Belle went over the other side and picked up a hat off the rack with her mouth. She then galloped over to Francis and put the hat on him. The hat was a fine leathery texture with the front bent upwards and a yellow feather sticking out of it.
“… It fits!” Rarity said. She then noticed a cloth on the wall and took it with her magic, levitating over to Francis and fitting it around his body. “And a cape too! It’s so dashing!” Rarity made a pretend frame with her front legs and smiled. “Oooooh, Trottingham would love this outfit for their cats. I call it… Puss, in Boots.” Rarity said. Francis looked at himself in the mirror and saw the outfit he was in. He actually smiled.
“Wow! It’s good!” Francis said. Rarity chuckled.
“What did you think I was gonna do, put you in a dress?” Rarity asked. Francis nodded. “Well, don’t worry. In fact, I’ll let you keep the outfit. Seems you enjoy being in it.”
“R-really?” Francis asked.
“Why yes, yes you can.” Rarity said.
“T-thanks!” Francis said.
“Well, you’re free to go for now.” Rarity said.
“Ooh! Does that mean I can play with him now?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Sure you can.” Rarity said.
“W-what?” Francis winced as Sweetie Belle squealed and grabbed Francis, dragging him away. “N-no! Please! Not the cooties!” Francis shouted. Sweetie Belle held him until they got to her bed, where she placed him on and gently laid down next to him. Her left legs secured themselves on top of Francis as she nuzzled into his fur.
“You have such soft fur…” Sweetie Belle quietly said. Francis struggled to get out, but he slowed down. Mostly because he felt… nice. Sweetie Belle soon rested her head right into where Francis’ neck was and snored gently. Francis’ eyelids drew heavy and he soon closed his eyes. Rarity walked into Sweetie Belle’s room.
“Sweetie Belle, I’m going to go to Twilight’s Castle for-…” That’s when she saw the two sleeping kids cuddling with each other. “Aaaaw, they look so precious together.” She smiled. She then took a blanket and placed it over the two before leaving.
Francis could smell sulfur in the air.
“Please… you must stop it…” A woman’s voice rung in Francis’ ears. It had a British accent, but distinct enough from Rarity. Francis could hear a subtle snarl in the background as he saw blurry images of red glows, orange skies, dark lands, and muted colors. Francis looked around. He could hear the cawing of the Crow.
“You won’t know who will fight you… and who will kill you. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be the one.” Francis could hear the Crow’s voice echo in his head. Francis frantically turned around to see where the Crow is. However, he turned around and saw the Crow staring right into his face.
“Peekaboo, I see you…” The Crow’s head slowly morphed into that of a howling wolf. The wolf opened its jaw and snapped tight.
Francis bolted out of Sweetie Belle’s grasp and panted wildly. Sweetie Belle patted Francis down and slowly woke up.
“Huh… What happened?” Sweetie Belle said. Francis shuddered before realizing it was a nightmare. He trembled as Sweetie Belle gripped onto Francis.
“N-nothing… Just… Just a bad…” Francis was on the verge of tears before Sweetie Belle petted him on the back of the head.
“Don’t worry…” Sweetie Belle said. Francis just trembled into Sweetie Belle’s arms before he calmed down.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Then his heart rapidly beat again. Sweetie Belle bolted out of the bed and ran over, squeeing as she trotted.
“Oh boy!” Sweetie Belle said. Francis got off the bed and followed Sweetie Belle to the front of the shop. As Sweetie Belle opened the door, Francis could see two ponies about Sweetie Belle’s size. One was yellow-coated with orange eyes and red hair. She had a pink bow on the back of her head. The other was orange-coated with purple eyes and magenta hair. The orange pony had tiny Pegasus wings. Given how spikey the hair was, Francis initially thought the Pegasus was a boy until he saw the little lashes on her eyes.
“Hey Sweetie Belle! It’s time for our weekly Cutie Mark Crusader meeting!” The yellow pony said. She had a soft southern accent to her voice.
“Yeah, we’re heading over to the treehouse right now!” The Pegasus said, her tomboyish tone matching the look.
“Sure thing! Oh, Rarity picked up a new cat!” Sweetie Belle then grabbed Francis and showed him to the girls.
“Aaaaw, he’s so cute!” The yellow pony said.
“N-not cute!” Francis squealed.
“And he talks too!” The Pegasus exclaimed.
“You think we can bring him over to the clubhouse?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Yeah! Of course!” The yellow pony said. The pony got onto a red wagon tied to a blue scooter. Sweetie Belle got on the wagon as well and turned to Francis. Francis looked around until he saw a black bird flying in the sky. Could it be…?
“Aren’t you comin’?” The Pegasus asked as she placed her hooves on the handles. Francis shook his head.
“S-sure.” Francis went over and hopped on the wagon. As the wagon departed from the fashion shop, the yellow pony looked to the cat.
“So what’s yer name?” She asked.
“It’s…” Francis sighed and then smiled. “It’s Ajax.” Francis said. The name took a while to grow on him and by God does he need a more masculine name for the cootiesfest that he’ll endure.