HIPPOPHOBIA - CHAPTER 17
Conrad, Turner, and Big Macintosh enjoyed the slow walk back to the cabin, feeling like a great burden had been lifted from their shoulders, now that the want-it-need-it crisis was finally over. They took it slow, basking in the sun's warm rays and relishing in their triumph.
"Looks like the worst is finally behind us," Turner said as they neared his foalhood home.
"Yeah," Conrad said in agreement, reaching for the door handle, "Maybe now, I won't have to deal with any more scares."
"SURPRISE!" a chorus of ponies cheered as the door opened and the lights flicked on.
Conrad nearly jumped out of his skin, clutching his chest as he stumbled back. "Wh-whah?"
Inside was Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Lyra, Bon Bon, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. His vision was filled with pink and blue as Pinkie Pie sprang up from seemingly nowhere in front of him.
"Surprise!" she squealed, "I knew you'd be coming back here, so I gathered everypony up to give you your belated Welcome to Equestria party, but I know you're scared of crowds of ponies and stuff, so I kept the party small. Were ya surprised?"
"Uh, yeah, heheh," the human nervously chuckled.
"Gerrrrreat!" Pinkie cheered and bounced away from him.
Lyra was the first to approach the human. "Conrad? I... I just wanted to... to--"
Conrad held up a hand to silence her. "It's OK, Lyra; I know you were just under a spell. I'm not mad at you. Woulda told ya sooner, but you kinda ran away like..." He laughed softly. "Well, you ran off like me from a pony when I first got here."
Lyra giggled and blushed. "Still, sorry all the same. I would love to get to know you better, just... well, I won't bring that little incident up."
He laughed louder this time. "Yeah, I'm still trying to forget that, myself."
Lyra allowed herself to laugh a bit harder as well. "Well, I'm glad to hear you're not upset with me. If you're staying in Ponyville, maybe I could show you around sometime? You know, now that all this craziness is over?"
The human smiled. "I think I'd like that. Hard to appreciate a town when you spend most of your time on the run, you know?"
Lyra nodded. "Yeah, I can see how that might make things difficult." She looked around and noticed a few of the ponies who weren't chatting amongst themselves were waiting for a chance to meet the human in person. "Looks like you've got some other ponies who want to meet you. We can talk more later, OK?"
Conrad nodded back. "Sounds good. See you later."
Lyra bade him goodbye before walking away, her tail swishing somewhat as she rejoined her roommate near the snacks table. She said something to Bon Bon who simply replied with a bemused eye roll.
Fluttershy was next, making Conrad a little nervous of her; he wasn't aware of any spell being on her the times he'd run into her. "So, uh... you're Fluttershy?"
The butter-yellow pegasus meeped and hid under her mane, nodding slightly. "Um... y-yes. I'm... I'm sorry for..."
Conrad knelt down to look her in the eyes, making her shy back even more. "You're not the only one who was having a bad day. Honestly, I think everyone had a touch of madness recently. At least I landed in something soft."
"You're not mad at me, are you?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well," Conrad said, "I'll admit I am, a little, but given what's been going on, it really wasn't the worst thing that could happen to me." He rubbed the back of his neck and grinned sheepishly. "Honestly, I'm more afraid of you than anything."
That got Fluttershy to look up at him. "A-afraid? I'm so sorry. I didn't want that. I just had some advice that I took too far trying to get ponies to respect me."
"Did that advice happen to have anything to do with you breaking creatures' necks?" Conrad asked in a low voice, trying not to sound accusatory.
Fluttershy looked shocked. "What? What ever gave you that idea?
Conrad rolled his eyes. "Come on, I saw you kill a bear with your, well, bare hooves."
The small pegasus blushed and giggled into her hoof. "Oh, no, that was just me working on Harry's stiff joints. The poor thing overstretched himself when trying to climb for honey. I told him he's too heavy to be in trees like that, but he doesn't always listen."
The human raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Wait, you expected a bear to stay away from honey just because you told him to?"
Fluttershy nodded. "Yes, all my animals listen to me... Well, most of them do. Some are more stubborn than others."
"So, you can actually talk to animals?"
"Yes, since I was a foal," Fluttershy answered, "It's what my cutie mark represents." She turned to show her side to the human.
"Interesting," Conrad said, holding his chin, "I guess you can tell a lot about a pony by looking at those." He chuckled. "Honestly, I figured they were some kind of cultural thing, but I never realized how important they could be."
"They're more than important," Rarity said, stepping up next to Fluttershy, "They're magic; they show up when a pony realizes their true calling in life."
"I see," said Conrad, turning his attention to the newcomer, "I take it by the diamonds on your leg, you're the Miss Rarity that Turner mentioned?"
She nodded and offered her hoof. "That is correct, darling."
Conrad took it and shook it. "Pleased to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine," Rarity replied, "And do forgive dear Fluttershy; she wasn't making up excuses when she said she took that minotaur's advice too far. And honestly, could you blame her if you had an entire crowd of ponies cheering for you after you've just had a lesson in assertiveness? Though, personally, I think he was teaching her how to be a bully, but that's just my opinion."
Fluttershy blushed and hid her face again.
"It's OK," Conrad said, "A cheering crowd can be as powerful as magic, sometimes."
"Thanks," Fluttershy said softly.
"So, Conrad," Rarity said, "I've been meaning to ask you why you need clothing, but now that I've had a look at you, I take it your kind isn't the most well-protected against the elements. Is this correct?"
Conrad blushed and held his arm. "Uh, yeah, there's that, as well as other things. Let's just say that they're so ingrained into my culture that in some places, it's actually a crime to take them off in public."
The unicorn's eyes widened. "Are you saying that your people wear clothing all the time?"
The human nodded. "Pretty much."
"And you've been stuck in those clothes since you got here?"
"Yeah, about a week now, I think," Conrad said, "Kinda lost track on that. Feels like forever, either way."
Rarity gasped, "Why, darling, you simply must allow me to make new outfits for you! You clearly are in desparate need!"
Conrad shrank back a bit. "Thanks, but I really have no way to pay you fo--"
"Pip, pip, pip," Rarity interupted, "Not another word. I haven't had many chances to design for bipedal people, so consider the experience payment enough. Besides, how could I be expected to charge someone who's been through what you have? Why, it would be possitively heartless to even consider such a thing!"
Conrad felt she was being a little dramatic about that, but chose to keep that to himself. "Well, if you say so, I guess. Still not sure it seems fair to you."
Rarity waved her hoof and, as far as Conrad could tell, attempted to beatbox at him. "Oh, please, darling. You're the first human anypony's ever actually seen in real life. You're positively mythical! If anypony were to see you wearing one of my outfits..."
A light went on in Conrad's head. "Ah, I see what you mean. Well, if my endorsement can make up for whatever you give me, I'll be more than happy to do so."
Rarity's eyes sparkled brightly. "Oh, thank you so much, dear! I expect to see you at my boutique soon. Your friend, Turner, knows the way. I so cannot wait to get started!"
The next ponies Conrad met were none other than the three fillies he saw on his second day in Equestria. They immediately bombarded him with all kinds of questions, all the while flooding his emotions with their intoxicating adorableness that made him feel like he was on the verge of another heart attack.
"Alright, you girls, break it up, will ya?" Rainbow Dash said, getting a drawn out 'awwww' from the three of them. "Heheh. Sorry about that. They get a little crazy sometimes."
"Heh, it's kids being kids," Conrad said casually, "Or, foals in this case."
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Humans call their children kids?"
"Depends on who you ask," Conrad said.
"That's weird," Dash replied, "Anywhoodles, How ya holding up?"
Conrad shrugged. "Eh, I'm doing alright. Just glad to finally have all that crap behind me, y'know?"
"Yeah, I hear ya," Rainbow said, "So, maybe sometime we could try flying again?"
"Wait, what?" Conrad asked.
"You know," said Rainbow Dash, "when you're not running for your life and all that. You're actually not as heavy as you look, and maybe you'd enjoy getting to see Ponyville from another angle."
Conrad rubbed the back of his head. "I-I dunno, Dash."
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "What? Ya scared of heights, too?"
"Nah, just falling," the human replied, "Well, more like the sudden stop that comes after."
"Oh puh-leeze!" Rainbow said, waving a hoof at him, "I've never dropped anypony before. If ya ride on my back instead of dangling under me, you'll be fine, and I promise I won't do any loops or spins or anything..." She shot him a grin. "Unless you feel like experiencing real awesomeness."
"I'll think about it," Conrad said, hoping to push the topic away as soon as possible.
As new friendships were forged, Conrad was finally beginning to feel welcome in this strange magical world. After some time of Conrad hanging out and getting to know the ponies better, the door swung open, revealing a very triumphant-looking Twilight Sparkle.
Pinkie rushed to the door to welcome her friend. "Twilight! You made it! Are you ready to par-tay?!"
The unicorn slid her friend aside. "Soon, Pinkie. Right now, I have one last loose end to tie up." She stepped inside, followed by two golden armor-clad royal guards.
"Uh, Twi?" Applejack asked, "What's a-goin' on here?"
Ignoring the farm pony, Twilight pointed a hoof accusingly at Time Turner. "There's the changeling, officers! He's not even the real owner of this cabin!"
The music that was playing stopped with an ear-splitting record scratching sound. Everyone looked in confusion between Twilight and Turner, the latter of whom looked shocked.
"Wait, what's a changeling?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"A changeling," the purple unicorn explained, "is an insect-like pony that takes on the form of other ponies to feed on the love of others. Time Turner has been using his pony disguise to steal love from Conrad through their friendship!"
"Now see here, Twilight," the stallion said defensively, "You have no proof to such a heinous accusation!"
Twilight's manure-munching grin only spread wider. "Gentlecolts?"
The two guards split apart, making way for Derpy and Doctor Hooves to enter their cabin. Turner's blood ran cold and sweat started to bead around his face at the sight of his past self and sister.
"Wait a minute!" Bon Bon said, "Why does one have wings and the other doesn't, huh?"
"Yeah!" Lyra joined in, "They could just look similar to each other, right, Turner?"
Before he could answer, Turner's body was framed in a cold, green flame that climbed up his body from his hooves.
Conrad looked in horror at his friend. "T-turner?!"
The earth pony's head spun as he tried in vain to put out the flames. "No! Please! I... I don't want to go!" In a blinding flash, the stallion was gone without a trace.
Recovering quickly from the shock, the two guards quickly ran out the door in search of the alleged changeling.
Conrad, however, knew better.
Twilight, tossing her mane back as she tilted her muzzle up victoriously, began to strut around the room. "As I suspected. Now the guards will catch Time Turner, and the princess will see to it that it's properly taken care of. Ooh, just wait until she hears about this! She'll be so happy that I could help you, Conrad!"
The human's expression hardened, and his hand locked up into a fist.
Taking no notice of this, Twilight continued her tirade. "Don't you all worry about a thing. Our human friend here is in good hooves now. With that parasite out of the way, he can start looking to us for true friendship." She spun around to face the human. "Isn't that gre--AAH!"
Twilight's sentence was cut off by Conrad's fist striking her on the cheek, sending her sprawling out across the floor and eliciting a gasp from everypony present.
"YOU BITCH!" Conrad screamed at the top of his lungs, "HOW DARE YOU CLAIM TO BE A BETTER FRIEND THAN TURNER?!"
Twilight looked up at him from the floor, holding her sore cheek in her hoof as she lay on her side on the hard wood. "Wh-what?" was all she could manage to say.
"Conrad, calm down!" Applejack cried.
Ignoring her, Conrad went on. "Turner has done nothing but help me since the moment we met! If not for him, I would be dead right now! What have you done? You've bewitched me, chased me all over town, treated me like a monster, and even made Princess Celestia herself have to intervene twice since I got here! And all the while, Turner has taken care of me and hidden me in the hooves of ponies that actually give a damn! I don't care if Turner was a changeling or not; he's been a hundred times the friend to me you could ever be. If you ask me, he's earned every drop of love he could get and more, because he was the realest friend I had here, and now because of you, he's gone! He probably doesn't exist anymore because of you!"
"Darling, what are you talking about?" Rarity asked, comforting a shivering Fluttershy who'd buried her face in the unicorn's shoulder.
"What am I talking about?" Conrad nearly spat, "Time Turner was no changeling; he was a time traveler! He went back in time to save her!" He pointed at Derpy.
"Me?" the gray mare asked, touching her chest.
"Time Turner is what the original Doctor Hooves started calling himself after he made a deal with Discord to save Derpy's life," Conrad said, trying to lower his voice, "That was the price he paid: losing his wings, and having to live in secret away from his family"
"How could that possibly be true?" Doctor Hooves asked, "How can you know this?"
"The Best Young Flier's competition," Conrad explained, "Derpy was doing a thunderhead pinball routine when something went wrong."
"But she was able to pull up at the last second," Rainbow Dash said, "Everypony there saw it."
"No," said Derpy, "He's right. I was unconscious the whole time I was falling. I blacked out the instant that storm cloud hit me."
"Turner saved Derpy's life as well as my own," Conrad said, turning to Twilight, "and now, because of you, he's gone."
All eyes fell on Twilight. The unicorn looked around, at the friends who looked at her in disbelief, at the human seething with rage, and the two pegasus siblings who's expressions showed they didn't know what to think of her.
"I..." she stammered, "I didn't mean... I'm so--I'm sorry!" Panicking, with no way out to run, Twilight charged her horn and teleported away.
Everypony deflated after that, Pinkie Pie doing so literally as she hung her head. "Party's over, everypony..."
Conrad sat on the porch by himself after everypony had left. After explaining his situation to Doctor and Derpy Hooves, and after they saw what good shape he'd kept the place in, they agreed to let him stay in the cabin as long as he needed to. Conrad was thankful, and wished them both well as they left.
As he sat there in the light of the setting sun, several questions ran through his mind. Where is Turner? He couldn't really have been a changeling, could he? Can changelings even learn time magic? Twilight acted like changelings are monsters or something. What would Princess Celestia say about him? And if he isn't one, then what happened to him? Did he... Tears ran down his cheeks as he fought off that train of thought.
A hoof on his shoulder brought the human from his thoughts, and he looked to see Applejack beside him. "Oh, hey, AJ. I didn't hear you come back."
"How're ya holdin' up?" the farm pony asked.
Conrad sighed and wiped his face. "I dunno. There's so much on my mind right now. I don't know what to think about any of this." He held his arms, gripping his biceps tightly, and hunched over. "I'm worried about Turner. I mean, what if it turns out Twilight was right, and he is a changeling? Do you think Princess Celestia would be mad?"
"Sugarcube, Ah don't think the princess would be mad at him fer that," Applejack said, slowly rubbing her hoof on his back, "Ah mean, he's done so much fer ya, right? Ah think the princess would judge him based on what he'd done and not on what he is."
"Still," Conrad said, "What do you think happened to him? There was that flash, and then he was just... gone."
Applejack sat down and looked at the ground. "Ah dunno. Ah remember him doin' some kinda blinkin' thing with ya back when we were tryin' ta get ya off the farm. Maybe he just did that. Maybe he's off hidin' somewhere, y'know? Waitin' fer the heat to die down, now that Twi's all in a flurry about him."
Conrad gripped his arms tighter, not caring that he was hurting himself. "Twilight. If Turner really is gone because of her, I'll never forgive her."
The farm pony opened her mouth to defend Twilight, but stopped. How could she defend somepony, even her friend, knowing full well that pony might be responsible for someone's death? "Ah'm afraid Ah don't know nuthin' about time travel. If he's from another time, maybe then he got pushed back to that time?"
"Maybe," Conrad said, "Maybe he went forward. Maybe he's in the future now, and he got sent there to make up for all the time he spent going backwards. Or maybe he's back in the other timeline where Derpy is dead." A twinge of sorrow stung his heart at the thought of his best friend going through all that, just to go back to a world where the pony he cared about most of all was gone again. It hurt even worse to think that it could have been Conrad's fault.
Applejack noticed him grimace at the thought and pulled him into a hug. "Ya can't assume the worst like that. Don't lose hope that Turner might come back, ya hear?"
"I know I shouldn't, but what else do I have?" he asked.
"Last I checked, you have a friendship with a princess who probably knows more about magic than anypony else in the world," Applejack said, "Ah'm sure Princess Celestia could figure out what happened, and at least then, you won't have ta worry no more. In fact, Ah could put ya up on a train ta Canterlot so ya could go an' see what she has to say about all this."
"What makes you think she doesn't already know?" Conrad asked.
"Last time Twilight screwed up, well, you were there. The princess blinked herself right here ta straighten things out. After something like this, Ah'd suspect she'd do just that if'n Twilight had told her about it."
"So Twilight's keeping her trap shut." He snorted angrily. "Good. The less out of her, the better."
Applejack didn't like hearing things like that about her friend, but she couldn't blame Conrad for being angry.
"Anyway, thanks, Applejack," Conrad said, "If there's anything I can do to repay you, just let me know."
Applejack's mood lightened up a bit. "Sugarcube, don't you worry none about that. Ah'm just helpin' a friend who's been through a hard time. You'd do the same fer me if ya could."
"Still, I don't like taking things for free if I can help it," he said, "Rarity is taking my endorsement in payment for the clothes, so maybe I could do something for you. Maybe help out around the farm?"
The mare looked him up and down, then chuckled into her hoof.
"What?" he asked indignantly.
"Conrad, don't take this the wrong way, but Ah git the impression you ain't made fer hard labor."
"Well there's gotta be something I can do," he said defiantly.
"Alright, how 'bout this," she offered, "You just work the apple stall this weekend at the farmer's market. If it works out, Ah'll let ya keep the job until ya go home. That'll give ya somethin' ta keep ya busy until the princess finds a way back to yer world, and you can support yerself while git'n ta know the townsfolk better. Sound good?"
Conrad tapped his chin, then nodded. "Yeah, wouldn't be the first part-time job I've had. Alright, you've got a deal."
"Good. Then let's shake on it." Applejack spat in her hoof and offered it to him.
Conrad looked at the hoof apprehensively, eliciting a light-hearted chuckle from her.
"Ah'm just kiddin'." She wiped her hoof in the grass and smiled at him.
"Oh, OK." He chuckled back half-heartedly. "So, I should meet you at the train station tomorrow?"
"You know the way?"
"No."
"Then Ah'll pick ya up an' show ya." Applejack stood up and gave him one more hug. "Everything'll be fine. You'll see."
He returned the hug, nodding against her neck. "Thanks, Applejack, for everything."
With that, the two said their goodbyes. Conrad watched Applejack walk away, then went inside to rest after a most tiresome day. As he waited for sleep to take him, he rekindled the flicker of hope that he might see Turner again.