//------------------------------// // Chapter 35 - Starting Easy With Kindness (Edited by JBL 06.12.17) // Story: The Last Descendant // by Cup of Coffee //------------------------------// Growing up in a small town, I never had the luxury of picking any job I wanted. People in big cities had that going for them; there was all manner of businesses to choose from if you had the necessary requirements, and in many places you could work your way up the system. In a town where there was a couple thousand people maximum living there, the options were limited for a guy without a proper education. Working at a gas station, flipping burgers, being a cashier at the local supermarket, or waiting tables I could do, but those jobs were already taken. Working at the bowling alley had been something that I found myself doing, though I didn’t mind at all. I tended the register, cleaned the lanes at the end of the day, put away shoes that smelled like sulfuric acid, and sold ready-made pizza, ice cream, and soda to hungry customers. What I liked most were the hours. The alley opened at three in the afternoon, and I always had time to sleep in on mornings. My co-workers and my boss had always been supportive people. They knew about my condition and were understanding whenever a bad day rolled around. In Equestria, I noticed that most days I woke early, the desire to sleep in restricted to the occasional morning. Today would have been one of those days if it wasn’t for Twilight. She woke me at seven, told me to get dressed, and before I had fully wakened, we were already out of the castle. The moment the doors opened, I was assaulted by Pinkie. She jumped at me, gave me a big hug, then pronked away while greeting us as if nothing had happened. I felt a familiar line by Johnny Depp come to me: “Something very wrong with that horse”. Or more likely, something right. “Ugh,” I moaned, walking down the road with Twilight beside me and rubbing my eyes. Ponies were already awake, opening their businesses and readying their stands at the marketplace. Some shot me odd glances as we passed, probably because I sounded like a zombie. “I thought you went to sleep early.” Twilight laughed lightly at my bedraggled appearance. Spike sat on her back, looking only slightly more put-together than me. “Book. I took a book from the library before I went to bed last night. Read almost two hundred pages.” I paused for a second to stretch my limbs. “Books tend to have that effect on certain ponies.” “And me,” I muttered. We continued on, Twilight cantering eagerly down the road and me stumbling along. From behind my heavy eyelids, I noticed we were heading away from Ponyville. The fresh morning air gradually fought against my grogginess as we drew closer to our destination. I knew we were going to Fluttershy’s, as Twilight had mentioned it during breakfast. Or it could have been a dream, I don’t know. Soon enough, I recognised the idyllic environment of Fluttershy’s cottage. The birds were already in the middle of their morning song as we approached, but their merry tunes swiftly ceased the closer we got. Peering at the trees and the birdhouses, I saw the flying critters’ curious eyes fall on me. They’d never seen anything like me before, but at least they didn’t fly away. We crossed the small bridge and approached the door. Twilight knocked and waited, and it didn’t take long before we heard hoof steps approaching from within. The door opened, revealing a pegasus that seemed certainly more well rested than me. “Good morning, Fluttershy.” “Good morning, Twilight.” She looked to Spike and me. “Good morning to you as well, Magnus and Spike.” “G’ morning,” Spike and I replied in sleepy unison. She eagerly stepped aside. “Come in, I was just about to feed my little friends. We can have tea first.” Twilight and Spike walked inside without hesitation and I followed. Her door was a bit low, so I had to duck slightly to get under the door frame. Inside, the first that struck me was the heavy odour of animals that hung in the air, but not uncomfortably so. The interior of her house was small yet cosy, all of her furniture pony-sized and practical. We had stepped right into her living room. To our left was a doorway that led into a kitchen while next to the door was a staircase that led upstairs. A hearth stood to our right, and straight ahead there was a small lounge area, consisting of a chair, a small table, and a sofa. A white rabbit was relaxing in a basket next to the chair. The little bunny stared straight at me, but made no attempt to run away. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but the way that bunny looked at me… It was different somehow. There were bags of animal feed stored throughout the house, and I almost stubbed my hoof as we passed one. Birdhouses hung from the ceiling, as well as small walkways under the ceiling that led to parts unknown. A pair of white mice used the walkways to scurry to safety into a hole carved out of the wall the moment they spotted me. If I was back on Earth, I’d say this place had an infestation problem. Considering their owner, they probably lived here. While we took our seats, Fluttershy went to the kitchen and came back with a tray of tea in her mouth which she carefully placed on the table. “Magnus, do… do you drink tea?” she softly inquired. “I do, thank you.” I took a cup from the tray, sipping the brew. “Berries? Very good.” “Thank you.” She still sounded cautious, though at least she shot me a smile. She passed a cup to Twilight and Spike and sat down, taking a cup for herself. “So, have you given any thoughts about what you and Magnus are going to do today and what you're going to teach him?” Twilight produced a quill and paper. Fluttershy slowly swirled the tea in her cup while blowing gently on it. “I don’t really know. Maybe he can help me with the animals, if he wants to, that is. I also need to buy more food for my furry friends as well.” “Helping? That’s a good start.” Twilight jotted down a few notes. “But what about what you can teach him?” The yellow pegasus sat in silence for a few seconds before facing me. “Maybe… you want to learn about animals?” Twilight pondered for a while. “That could work. Equestria is home to many different species of animals, and who knows; maybe Earth has similar types of wildlife. To be honest, I was expecting something else, but I think that’ll suffice for now. Maybe you guys can come up with something else later. Remember, Magnus, ask if you want to know more about anything. We’re here to help.” I emptied my cup and placed it on the table. Twilight’s advice was sound, though I had already decided upon that path last night. “I’ll remember that.” I looked at my cup, then to Fluttershy. “Good tea—can I have some more?” *** Twilight and Spike left shortly after, saying that they had some things to take care of. Twilight promised to return after a few hours and that she had no doubt that I was in capable hooves. Fluttershy herself didn’t look too confident, but said that she was happy to help anyway. We walked outside, seeing Twilight and Spike off. The moment they left, there was an awkward silence between me and the shy little pony. Her pet bunny sat on her back, still staring at me. The way it stared unnerved me for some reason, those beady eyes watching my every move. I waited for Fluttershy to speak first, perhaps a hint of what we were supposed to do, but nothing came forth. “So, where should we start?” I finally asked, breaking the silence between us and folding my hands behind my back. Fluttershy turned to me. “Um…” She looked around the immediate area. “M-Maybe we can start feeding my animal friends?” There wasn’t an animal in sight. She probably had a pen or enclosure for them somewhere nearby. “Sure, where are they?” “They usually come to me when it’s time for breakfast, but they aren’t here now. I don’t know what could have happened to them.” The little bunny on her back climbed up onto her head with his little paws, grabbed a hold of her ear, and released a stream of chittering noises. In return, Fluttershy gasped. “They are?” She quickly looked at me. “I-I’m so sorry, b-but the animals… They are afraid of you.” “Oh. Yeah, I should have seen that coming. They haven’t seen anything like me before, so they don’t know what to make of me.” “But don’t worry. Once I have a chance to speak with them, I can convince them that you are not dangerous,” Fluttershy replied, some confidence actually creeping into her voice. “Good. By the way, how do you know they’re afraid of me?” “Angel Bunny told me.” “Angel?” I looked at the white bunny on her back, who now had his tiny forearms crossed over his fluffy white chest. “Your pet?” She nodded slowly. “You can understand your pet bunny?” She nodded again. “I’m sure I mentioned it in Canterlot. B-But I could have made a mistake.” “No, you told me. But I thought it was more like a… symbolic thing… or something.” To be honest, I thought that Fluttershy was a hippie or the pony equivalent of a hippie at the time. A mare who was in contact with nature, speaking with the universe, tripping on acid, hugging trees—whatever it was that hippies did. That she could actually understand animals came at me like a fastball out of nowhere. I glanced at her pet, Angel. I had never seen a bunny or a rabbit cross its forelegs. Could they do that? His entire demeanour, it was almost as though there was a measure of sapience in him. “Out of curiosity, what does Angel think of me?” I asked. The bunny once more began ‘speaking’ to his owner, and the more he went on, the redder Fluttershy’s cheeks grew. She gasped. “Angel! T-That’s no way to speak to guests!” She turned to me hesitantly, but I held up a hand. “Save it, I have an idea of what he thinks of me.” *** After a small lecture from Fluttershy about how to treat houseguests, Angel gave a few subdued squeaks that his owner interpreted as an apology. Being the better man, I accepted the apology, only for the bunny to stick his tongue out at me the moment Fluttershy turned away. Fluttershy began her search for the missing animals, Angel keeping her company. Since her animals were wary of me, I suggested hanging back while she rounded them up. She didn’t take long to find the first critters. The birds had taken shelter in the birdhouses and the higher branches of trees. Fluttershy spent a good amount of time talking them into at least sitting on the lowest branches, and even then they kept their eyes on me. Next, my teacher began flying around to burrows and dens in the immediate area. I couldn’t see what creatures had taken refuge in there, but Fluttershy knew; she spoke softly into the holes, reassuring the residents that I wasn’t dangerous and that it was safe to come out. A badger, some snakes, a few foxes, a family of bunnies—it was like a miniature petting zoo. Even a few butterflies appeared from a nearby flower bed, though they all kept their distance. Fluttershy assured me that they only needed some time to get to know and approach me. I was willing to invest time doing that, if only to get a closer look at them. The strangest thing was how the animals seemed to coexist. Normally, a few rabbits would be the main course for a fox, and the snakes would surely go for the mice. It never happened. The animals went about their business, never worried about their natural predators being so close to them. Hell, a few mice actually burrowed into one of the foxes’ fluffy tails, all while the fox made sounds that could almost be interpreted as laughter. It was surreal. “Fluttershy.” I placed a hand on her back as she walked by me, halting her. “Why aren’t the animals trying to eat each other? Some of these animals are prey and predator. How are they so calm around each other?” She turned to look at the bizarre sight behind me. “I’ve known many of these critters since they were born, and many have lived near my home for years. I guess that since they’ve lived so close to each other, and with me taking care of them, they’ve become friends over the years,” she explained. “Some of these critters are carnivores, but they often come to me for their dietary needs. For example, the foxes are quite happy with dog food, while some of the other carnivores hunt in the Everfree Forest.” “What about the smaller animals in there?” Surely, some of the predators would come out of the forest from time to time with blood around their mouths. “I can’t change their nature. It would be wrong,” Fluttershy said after a brief pause while looking at the somewhat gloomier forest nearby. “They hunt in the forest, but never those who come here. When they visit me, they know they need to behave around each other.” With those last words, she continued on towards a small shed nearby. I followed her and saw that she had several bags of food stacked inside, marked for specific animals. “Now that all my critter friends are here, we can give them their breakfast.” She began hauling one of the bags out of the shed towards me, struggling a bit. “This is for my chickens. Maybe you can start feeding them first, then we can move onto the larger animals.” I hefted the bag onto my shoulder with ease and smiled at Fluttershy. “Just point me in the right direction, boss.” With Fluttershy leading the way, we went behind her house. She had her very own chicken coop with a low fence surrounding it. As expected, a few hens were present, scratching and pecking at the ground. Fluttershy flew ahead to inform her chickens about my presence. Though they were somewhat wary at first, the sight of food under my arms quickly brought them around. Under Fluttershy’s supervision, I scattered some of the feed on the ground. They paid little attention to me as they turned their attention solely on their food. With the hens fed, we moved onto the larger animals, the birds specifically. Fluttershy had an idea for that: I was to crouch down with bird food in my hands while she spread some of the seeds close to me, hoping that if the birds thought I was safe and ate from my hands, then the rest of the animals would as well. A tiny yellow bird was the first brave one. Miss Song, as Fluttershy later said her name was, kept a wary eye on me while she ate a few seeds. When she saw that my hands were filled with food, she took a couple of hops towards me, eating the seeds that were closer to me. “That’s it, Miss Song, Magnus has his hands full of yummy seeds for you,” Fluttershy spoke softly. The bird looked to Fluttershy, then to me, then back to Fluttershy. She kept looking at the seeds in my hands, and after a few moments of deciding, she landed on my fingers with a few flaps of her wings and began pecking at the seeds. I’ve had close encounters with animals before, but there was something strange about having a wild animal eating from your hands, even if that animal lived close to people and was somewhat used to them. In the forest around my grandfather’s cabin, there were plenty of them roaming around. I used to leave food out for them at times, and I even managed to lure a fox kit home by leaving a trail of sausage slices. However, closing the door was a mistake since it panicked when its escape route disappeared. The curtains were shredded to rags, it broke a window, and shat on the carpet in terror. Grandfather only laughed when he came home and saw the mess. Apparently, he had done something similar when he was a kid. More birds came closer, all exhibiting various stages of bravery. In the end, I had birds sitting in my hands, on my shoulders, and even one that decided my head was an ideal place to roost. Fluttershy giggled softly as I sat motionless in order to avoid scaring the birds, carefully moving my head to keep track of them. “See? You’re very good with animals.” ‘Don’t shit on me, don’t shit on me, don’t shit on me.’ *** We were almost done by the hour mark, having fed just about every animal Fluttershy cared for. The bunnies and rodents were happy with salad and carrots, while some of the omnivores, such as the otters and the badgers, wanted fish. I only had two birds left, a proud-looking eagle and a hawk. Fluttershy provided me with a bucket of fish for me to give these two aerial predators. Surprisingly, I had made feeding them into a small game. Throwing a fish into the air, the hawk acted with lightning reflexes and snapped the fish in its claws before it could land on the ground, flying over to a tree to begin its meal. “Quick one, aren’t you?” He paid me scant attention, focused on its food. “Next one, go!” I picked up another fish from the bucket and threw it higher. The eagle took off and grabbed the fish with his talons in one quick move before landing on the branch, starting his own breakfast. “And that’s all, guys, no more fish left,” I said to the two birds of prey. Fluttershy spoke to all her animals, and I did the same, though I never expected an answer. I figured that the animals were used to Fluttershy talking to them, so I simply tried to follow her example. When in Rome and all that. I turned around and began heading back to the house when a deep growl emanating from nearby. I knew that sound, had heard it before, and when I turned my head towards the direction of the sound, I knew what to expect. A large brown bear stood just thirty meters away, growling at me and baring its teeth. I froze in my tracks. Fluttershy never said anything about having a bear as a friend, and I knew that bears would go near civilization for easy access to food by rummaging through trash cans. That was probably what this one was aiming to do. However, with me standing in its way, it was faced with something new and unusual. The bear didn’t back down, nor did it attempt to avoid me. I felt as if it was sizing me up, perhaps for a meal even. I didn’t see any cubs near it, so it was probably not a female. If that was the case, it would have already attacked me. I stood my ground since I knew that running was pointless, having watched enough documentaries to recognize that bears could easily outpace humans. I turned towards the beast, bucket in hand, readying myself to act. I knew what to do, though I was understandably terrified. He was stronger, faster, and a single swipe of his paw could break my neck like a twig. I never had to face a bear before, having only seen them in the flesh at a safe distance with high-powered binoculars. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fluttershy’s cottage. ‘Thirty, maybe forty meters. If I can get there, I’ll be safe, at least safer in there than in the open. Don’t run, just casually walk.’ I began inching sideways away from the bear towards the cottage, but I never took my eyes off of it. However, the bear continued to meet my gaze, the soulless blackness in them unnerving me. To my horror, my caution was for naught as its growling turned into outright snarls and it began to charge at me! Turning towards the bear, I spread out my arms, widening my stance and making myself seem as threatening as possible. “Hey! I shouted as loud as I could. The bear came to a halt. ‘Thank God, it was a bluff.’ I read once that bears sometimes performed a ‘bluff attack’, nothing more than a fake charge to see what their prey would do. If their opponent ran, they would be considered food, but if they stood their ground, they might fight. Bears were less likely to waste energy fighting something that could and would fight back. Using the bucket as a drum, I violently began to slap the bottom of the bucket, generating a series of loud thuds. “The fuck you think you’re doing?! Get out of here! Now! Get! Shoo! Fuck off!” The bear’s growling ceased and he closed his mouth. For a moment he actually looked confused, almost like he didn’t expect me to make such a racket. “Didn’t you hear me? I told you to fuck off! Now!” “What’s all this noise?” I briefly turned my head and spotted Fluttershy come flying from behind the house. She saw the bear standing a bit away from me, and then did something that I didn’t expect, namely fly towards it. I was too late to stop her; she flew right past me. My heart lurched as I expected to bear witness to Fluttershy being mauled by a bear. The bear rose to his hind legs, standing imposingly as the lithe pegasus approached him. Instead of what I feared, she gave the bear a hug and received one in return. I was dumbstruck at how gently the bear wrapped his massive arms around her. “Good morning, Harry,” Fluttershy said without a care on the world, actually sounding happy as well. “How was your visit? Is your brother well?” The bear made several growls in reply, a few sounding almost… positive somehow. “He is? That’s very good to hear.” Meanwhile, I was scratching my head while attempting to figure out what the hell was happening. The bear had been aggressive towards me, but when Fluttershy arrived, he turned into a quarter-ton teddy bear. Just what the hell was going on?! “Fluttershy, is this bear another of your… friends?” I asked slowly, remaining where I stood, the bucket still gripped tightly in my hand. Despite his reaction to Fluttershy, I couldn’t forget how it had rushed towards me, those flashing white teeth... She nodded. “He is. This is Harry, one of my bear friends. He lives just a short walk into the Everfree Forest. Harry, this is Magnus. He’s here today to help me,” she introduced, as though the bear was just another pony. Figured that he was one of her friends. “Uh-huh. Then why was he growling at me?” “He did?” She turned her attention towards the bear. “You growled at Magnus?” The bear gave a long series of low growls and grunts. It didn’t sound like a language to me, but the way Fluttershy nodded told me she understood him perfectly. “Harry says he thought you were here to hurt me,” Fluttershy explained. “He had just visited his brother who lives a bit further into the forest and was on his way here when he saw you. He didn’t know who or what you were, so he wanted to scare you away.” I dropped the bucket with a loud clang and exhaled violently, feeling relief wash over me. I had been pretty damned sure I would not live to see tomorrow. Who the hell had a huge bear like that as a ‘friend’ anyway? “Well, he succeeded because I’m close to needing a new pair of boxer shorts.” Fluttershy didn’t understand the joke, judging by the slightly confused look on her face. A few low growls came from the bear, and she interpreted what he said. “Harry says he is very sorry for scaring you.” I shook my head, resting my hands on my hips. Frankly, I was just happy to be alive. “Yeah, no, don’t worry about it. It’s all good.” The bear seemed pleased with my acceptance. When he bared his fangs again, he looked a lot less threatening, almost like… a smile. It was accompanied by that strange demeanour that I had noticed on most of Fluttershy’s animals, was once again present. It was as if… as if… ‘Those eyes, that smile… Oh… Oh… Oh my God!’ *** Sapient. They were all sapient to various degrees. I was used to animals from Earth that possessed only basic instincts, perhaps a smidgen of intelligence. These animals were a whole other story, frightfully so. It was that spark in their eyes that unnerved me the most, like those of a thinking, breathing, intelligent human set onto a beast. Just by looking at her animals, I could almost see the thought processes going on in their minds. Most notably, this level of sapience was most demonstrated with Angel and Harry. I didn’t know the depth of their intelligence, but they definitely were smarter than any Earth animal. This revelation shocked me so much that I had to sit down and began watching them scurry about the cottage. After some time spent observing them, I began discerning certain patterns in their behaviour. When Fluttershy spoke or interacted with them, the animals acted happier and their faces would shift into the appearance of what seemed like smiles. The few mice that scurried past me had expressions of joy on their tiny faces as they played in the tall grass, though it was difficult to truly discern. Even the otters living underneath the bridge down from Fluttershy’s cottage possessed very animated facial features, currently looking somewhat contented as they lay basking in the sun. I was completely stunned by this discovery, but was actually much more weirded out. I was accustomed seeing these expressions on the faces on humans, and only more recently on ponies. Now I had to add animals on that list. Some of the other animals, such as the birds, couldn’t smile due to having beaks, but that didn’t stop them from trying. A few robins flew around the trees, looking like they played tag, and when one of them stopped fairly close to me, I could see it in its eyes how much fun it had. Even the songs they whistled, once assumed to be the usual melodies associated with birds, gained a human-like aspect to them. It made me think of other animals as well. Did they all possess this level of sapience, or were there some animals that only had basic bestial instincts? *** “Are you okay? You’re very quiet,” Fluttershy asked as we walked side by side towards Ponyville. She seemed to be rather concerned at my continued silence after I told her of the difference between the animals on Earth and the ones on this world. “I’m okay, I just shocked at how clever your animals are,” I replied. She hummed. “They are very smart.” I chuckled and shook my head slowly. “It’s not that they’re just smart, it’s the fact that they are way more intelligent than any animal back on Earth. I doubt you would be able to talk to and understand animals where I’m from.” “Are they really so different?” I nodded. “Yeah. Well, there are some animals that we humans consider very smart, but your animals are way beyond that level. I think that critters around here could quite possibly fall into the sapient category, meaning they’d be treated more as people instead of animals.” Fluttershy thought about it for a moment before asking, sounding concerned, “Do humans treat animals differently based on how smart they are?” “Not at all. Most people have pets, and we treat them as family. But… You remember how I said that humans are omnivores?” She nodded. I figured she would the truth would reveal itself sooner or later, so it would better to hear it directly from me. “Well, with seven billion people on the planet, we need a lot of food, and some of that food is meat.” Fluttershy’s ears drooped as her eyes looked at the ground. “Oh.” She sounded a bit downtrodden. “You have farms where you raise animals for food, don’t you?” I nodded and sighed. “Yeah, we do.” Fluttershy remained silent for a good five minutes while we approached Ponyville. Our conversation had turned down a path that I thought was rather dark for the pegasus, so I elected to hold my tongue. There were omnivores in this world too, and I suppose she knew what happened at slaughterhouses. That would be this little animal lover’s worst nightmare. I looked to Fluttershy, deciding to change the subject. “I had a cat when I was younger,” I began. Fluttershy immediately looked up to me, her interest piqued. “A big ~Maine Coon~ I called Hunter.” “A ~Meen Koon~?” Of course an American race of cats didn’t exist here, so neither would the name. Ponies weren’t good at mimicking the human language at all. The few times Twilight had attempted to speak English, she butchered the language so horribly that grammar Nazis all over the world would have had a field day behind their keyboards. “Yeah, it’s a special breed of cats. They grow to be pretty big and fluffy. Anyway, I got Hunter when I was about eleven years old. Grandfather said it was good to have a pet growing up, said it taught me responsibility. Hunter would sleep in my bed every night, and meow loudly into my ear in the mornings. And he had the bushiest tail you’ve ever seen.” Fluttershy’s eyes got brighter as I continued on, thankful that I had found something that had captured her interest. I told her everything about Hunter: how he liked to snooze on the couch, how mischievous he could be, nudging cups, the remote, and everything off the table. As a cat, Hunter was also a predator, but he was the laziest cat in existence. He refused to chase mice unless they walked straight past him. No, Hunter was fonder of boiled fish and chicken, but he liked going for long walks as well, thus he never gained much weight. I could let him out in the morning and he’d come back at night. Where he went, I never found out. Then, one day he didn’t come home. Grandfather and I went out to look for him, got my friends to search as well. We put up posters everywhere, but no one called. Hunter was just gone. I was dejected for a long time afterwards. Grandfather tried to cheer me up by saying we could get another cat. I refused; Hunter couldn’t be replaced. That was the last time I had a pet. I was eleven when I got Hunter, fourteen when he vanished. All the while, Fluttershy listened intently while I droned on. She would ask questions about everything my cat did and about his preferences. She really had a large heart where animals were concerned. Looking at Fluttershy, she reminded me a lot about Lisa in many ways. That thought alone made me wonder if humans had pony counterparts in this world. I amused myself by imagining that Equus was Earth a million years into the future. A silly thought, but humorous nonetheless. We reached Ponyville in due time, the town brimming with ponies. The market square had filled up with carts and stands where ponies sold their produce and customers stood patiently in line. The usual whispering and murmuring about my presence once again started, much to my chagrin. Fluttershy didn’t seem overly fond of the attention either. She tried to hide behind her mane, only a single eye peeking out at the ponies all around us. She even released a nervous squeak as a scarlet-shaded stallion suddenly swivelled around simply to stare at us. We hurried on until we had left the market behind. We kept walking until the crowd petered out and we arrived to our destination, namely a pet store. The moment we walked in, I noticed a distinct lack of pets, which seemed rather contrarian for a business of this nature. Instead, the store had just about everything a pet could ever need—cages, pet beds, toys, bird feeders, fish bowls, glass cages, terrariums, to name a few. A stallion manning the counter was the only employee I spotted in the store. He was currently receiving bits from a mare that had just bought a glass bowl with a goldfish in it, a filly prancing around the mare and giggling at the little goldfish swimming around. Both mother and child were too busy with the fish to even notice me. The stallion brightened when he saw Fluttershy though. “Hello, Fluttershy, are you here for the weekly supplies?” he politely asked. Fluttershy smiled at the stallion. She was familiar with him, that was obvious enough. “Yes, I also need a few medical supplies as well, um, if you have them.” “Certainly.” Then his eyes fell on me, and he walked around the counter to meet us, his smile never shrinking. “Hello there, uh, I’m afraid I don’t know your name. Are you here for pet supplies as well?” “Afraid not, I’m here to help Fluttershy.” I nodded in her direction. She was already browsing the shelves, having found some type of pet basket that had piqued her interest. “Oh yes, I remember my missuses mentioning last night that you would be staying in Ponyville for some time. Ah well, it’s nice to see another friendly face around town.” I was a bit taken aback at how friendly this guy was. I almost expected him to insist I leave the store before my presence dissuaded customers. “Thank you, it’s nice to feel welcome.” “Well, Ponyville is a friendly town, and with so many friendly ponies around, it kind of rubs off on you,” he said, turning to Fluttershy. “Now then, Fluttershy, tell me what you need and I’ll get right on it.” *** We left the store with plenty of food for Fluttershy’s critters and some first aid supplies. It seemed she was capable of patching up any injuries her charges incurred. However, she wasn’t a licensed vet—that honour fell on Doctor Fauna, another mare in town. With all the stuff Fluttershy bought, it looked a rather cumbersome load to carry all the way back to her house. Fluttershy offered to help with one of the bags, but since it was half the size of her, I decided to take the load upon myself. They looked heavy, but as soon as I got them up on my shoulders, I judged them to be manageable. Fluttershy carried the rest in her saddlebags. To get back, we had to cross through the market again. We got the crowd's attention just like last time, but knowing that I was the subject of their attention, I tried my best to act like they weren’t there. No matter how much it bothered me, I looked forward to the day when no one would stare at me. We got roughly halfway through the market when we found a familiar orange farm pony at her stand. She waved a hoof when she saw the two of us. “Fluttershy, Magnus, over here!” Her stand had nothing but baskets filled with apples all around her, a few of them empty. The bag of bits resting on her counter indicated that her day had been productive so far. “Hello, Applejack,” Fluttershy greeted her with a smile when we got near her. “Hey, Applejack,” I said, her wares catching my attention. Nice, large, shiny, red apples. Damn, I missed apple pies from home, especially the ones Adam’s mom made. Her pies had always been thick and juicy, and I had always ended up with around my mouth being thoroughly sticky. Applejack seemed to have noticed where I was looking, and with a flick of her foreleg, she grabbed two and lobbed them at us. I barely managed to grab it in time, but had to put down my bags in order to eat it. “Ya look hungry. Twilight not feeding you right?” “Well, Spike’s the cook, and a damn good one too.” I bit into the apple, savouring its crunchiness and thankful it wasn’t sour. It would go great in a pie and some vanilla ice cream. Applejack chuckled at my reply. “Ah don’t think Ah’ve ever seen Twilight cook before. ‘Course, that must have been because of her studies. Always her nose in a book, not looking after herself. Say, that gives me an idea on what to give her for Hearth's Warming Eve. A cookbook would suit her just fine.” ‘Sure sounds like Twilight. Then again, I’m sure she would read it, but I’m not too certain she would actually cook anything.’ “So, Fluttershy, what’re teaching Magnus today?” Applejack asked while I finished my apple, core and all. Fluttershy slowly chewed her apple and swallowed, her actions certainly more daintily than I could have done. “Oh, I haven’t really taught him anything, but he has helped me with my critters today. Oh, did you know he once had a cat?” Fluttershy positively beamed. “Really?” Applejack looked to me with a raised eyebrow. “Didn’t figure you for a pet pony, uh, I mean, person.” “Only ever had one cat, never got around to getting another one.” I once toyed with the idea of getting a dog, but never found one suited for me. Plus, dogs required going for a walk every day, and it wasn’t always that I was in shape to head outside on a daily basis. “By the way, Twilight and Spike dropped by earlier,” Applejack interrupted my musings. “Looks like Ah’m gonna be your teacher tomorrow. Not sure what Ah’m supposed to teach ya, but Ah guess Ah’ll figure something out. Farm’s awfully busy nowadays.” She nodded to the baskets full of apples. “Harvest begun?” It was the end of summer, the usual time when farmers would begin reaping their produce. Though I had never asked, I did assume it to be the same here as on Earth. Applejack nodded. “These are just the early harvest. We don’t start properly until next week. Mah brother harvested these this morning, Ah’m sure you met him at Pinkie’s party last night. Red earth pony, kinda big, never talks much.” Scratching my head, I thought back to last night. Sure, there had been plenty of ponies, but after a while they all kind of blurred together as boredom set in and my desire to leave had gotten stronger. “Sorry, but I can’t remember them all,” I explained sheepishly. “Don’t you worry about that. Ah’m sure you’ll meet him tomorrow.” “Excuse me, are you two buying or simply wasting time?” an irritated voice snapped from behind us. Fluttershy and I turned around, finding an earth pony mare impatiently tapping her hoof. She had a matching sour look to her face to go along with her voice. Fluttershy clearly recognized the mare judging by her reaction, almost shrinking in her presence. Applejack seemed to know her as well, her usual friendly smile diminishing ever so slightly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hold up the line,” I replied while stepping aside. “Yes, we’ll just return to my cottage now. Bye, Applejack,” Fluttershy said quickly with a wave of her wing and began trotting away. “Guess that’s my cue. See you tomorrow, Applejack.” I bent down and hoisted the bags back onto my shoulders, following Fluttershy. The unknown mare shot me a hostile glare as I passed her by. “Bye you two,” Applejack called back, then spoke to the mare. “Hello, Mrs Rich, what can Ah get you today?” “Perhaps something that can rid this podunk town of that horrendous creature,” she said loud enough that her words could carry over to me. I paused in mid-step, though Fluttershy continued on until she realized I wasn’t following her. ‘Did I hear that correctly?’ Seeing that she had my attention, she shot off another barb, “Perhaps you have some form of pest repellent at your quaint little farm that will work on it.” Fluttershy released an audible gasp and she quickly looked over her shoulders at me, one hoof covering her mouth. This day had started so well. All it took was one mare to bring my mood down several notches. It seemed that I wasn’t as impervious to their behaviour towards me as I had hoped. With a heavy sigh, I turned around. The mare seemed to be finished spewing her vitriol about me and ordered a dozen apples from Applejack. The farmpony herself looked directly at me. She knew I had heard the words, as she looked absolutely stupefied. The mare was an earth pony. Her coat was pale pink, her mane and tail purple, and her cutie mark was a diamond ring. I stared at her long and hard, engraving her imagine within my mind. I didn’t intend on forgetting her anytime soon. I turned back around and began walking. Fluttershy looked up at me when I passed her, noticing my stricken look. “D-Don’t listen to her,” Fluttershy stammered while catching up with me. “You’re nothing like what she said.” “I know,” I quietly replied, my voice sounding hollow even to my own ears. People like that existed everywhere, even here in this land, among these colourful equines. It was a harsh reminder that no matter how peaceful this world seemed, it was foolish to believe that everyone here cared about my well-being or even my existence. It was one I would do well to keep remembering.   *** Our walk back to Fluttershy’s cottage was one made in silence, at least on my part. Fluttershy did her best in trying to be supportive, telling me that Spoiled Rich was just one pony and that I shouldn’t listen to her, and that the rest of the inhabitants of Ponyville were glad to have me here. Although she made a commendable effort to cheer me up, my mood wasn’t so easily repaired. After getting back and storing the supplies Fluttershy bought, she started making lunch. It consisted of a few simple sandwiches with eggs, tomato, cucumber, and cheese, and even though I had to remove a few flower petals from them, they were delectable. While we ate, some of the animals entered the kitchen. While earlier they kept a safe distance from me, they now appeared somewhat willing to approach me. I hadn’t smiled nor spoken much since our return, and I wondered if the animals had picked up on my mood. Even Harry the bear had an uncertain look in his eyes as he stuck his head inside the window, peering at me strangely. Since these animals were intelligent, I suppose that they could also feel and display empathy. Even Angel seemed to be affected, as he avoided taking any pot shots at me or shooting me any glares as he sat on the table, next to Fluttershy’s plate. He uttered a stream of chattering at Fluttershy, to which she replied, “I’ll tell you later.” After finishing our lunch, Fluttershy made lemonade and invited me to sit with her in the living room. After getting comfortable, she sat down in her chair and took a deep breath, nervously rubbing her hooves together. “I-I know that our trip in town didn’t go as I hoped it would, and that Spoiled Rich hurt your feelings, but you should know that not everypony is like her.” I nodded. “I know.” Her words weren’t that easy to forget. This wasn't the first time I’d met people like her. School and high school had more than its fair share of stuck-up assholes. As a kid, I knew that children and teenagers weren’t all nice, but as I got older, I learned the same could be said for adults, perhaps even more so. In the end, I realized that not talking about those people was the best course of action. They were simply not worth exerting any amount of time or effort on. As far as I was concerned, their lives would be better put to use planting trees to replace the oxygen they wasted by existing. Leaning back, I rubbed my face with one hand and exhaled. “Let’s just forget about her, huh? Maybe we can talk about something else. Do you have something you want to teach me?” Fluttershy smiled faintly before giving a short nod. “Okay, let’s try that. Um… I don’t know what could be useful for you, though.” “That’s okay, anything you can think of is useful for me.” She mulled the matter over for a moment. “Oh, I know. There’s something everypony knows, but you’re new here.” She pointed a hoof to the window. “That forest out there is the Everfree Forest. You should never go in there unless you’re with somepony who knows their way around the most common paths. It’s very dangerous.” I looked out the window. From inside the cottage, the forest looked ordinary, if a bit wild. The trees were tall and gnarled, and the nearby foliage made it seem like a hike through the forest would be an arduous journey. “What makes it so dangerous?” “The animals in there are wild and dangerous, but some of them are my friends and they live there. However, there are animals that are not so nice. There are big, scary hydras nesting in the swamps and cragadiles that like to camouflage themselves as rocks in order to hide. Timberwolves roam the forest as well, and they never travel alone. Sometimes they come a bit close to Ponyville, and one time they came out of the forest in order to attack the Apple farm. Even if they’re smashed, they can form into one giant timberwolf.” I asked for clarification about the animals, and the animal expert continued with her explanation. Hydras were exactly what I expected: multi-headed reptiles that grew to an immense size. The cragadile was a crocodilian beast with tough skin that dwelled in shallow waters and sometimes crept up on land in order to hide among rocks to ambush unsuspecting prey. Timberwolves were similar to normal wolves except for the fact that they were composed of sticks, wood, and leaves, and emitted a foul stench that gave them away. A pack predator, timberwolves were some of the most dangerous predators of the forest, seeing as they had the audacity to come close to Ponyville while the rest of the beasts were content avoiding civilization. She went on, regaling me about a creature called a parasprite which had caused no end of trouble for her and her friends, as well as several creatures that had its existence, at least for me, in the pages of a book on mythology, such as cockatrices and manticores. She also added that at least one fully grown dragon lived in the forest, but she didn’t know exactly where. That didn’t exactly fill me with confidence about my safety.   Finally, Fluttershy spoke of the largest and perhaps most dangerous beast living in the Everfree Forest: the Ursa Major. It was a leviathan of a bear that had a coat resembling the night’s sky. She had actually encountered a cub once that was large enough to step on houses! The shiver that ran down my spine when told about the dragon paled in comparison to hearing what that beast could do. The memory of Godzilla and its path of rampage flashed through my mind. Luckily, the Ursa Major and its cub, the Ursa Minor, were so rare that the one seen in Ponyville was the first sighting in over forty years. Still, its visit demolished several houses, causing a few ponies to have to live with friends and neighbours for a couple of weeks while new homes were erected.   I found myself admiring Fluttershy and her strong principle of kindness towards beasts, as well as the fount of knowledge that she possessed that belied her relatively young age. The more she spoke, she increasingly reminded me of Lisa, as if the two were made in the same mould, although Fluttershy had significantly more animals to care for than Lisa had. She only had a few horses and a dog while Fluttershy had an entire menagerie. Fluttershy also wanted me to tell her of animals on Earth and what they were like. I described what types of animals we kept as pets as well as the wide variety of wild animals that existed, though I refrained from mentioning what we kept as livestock, having learned from my mistake. I also mentioned horses, a subject that caught her interest. I honestly thought she would think of the subject of unintelligent horses with some degree of unease. Instead, she almost had the same look in her eyes as Twilight when she desperately needed to know something. I have her a brief history of the domestication of horses, as well as their general physiology. I also mentioned ponies from Earth, those cute little things that six year old girls loved so much, seeing as they were the closest analogy to Equestrian ponies I could think of. My little comment regarding children actually made Fluttershy grin. When I asked her about it, she admitted wanting to see how they looked and wondered if they would have liked a ride on her back. Of course, I then had to describe babies to her. Detailing them as little pink raisin things that cried a lot covered most of it, though, earning me another smile from Fluttershy. An interesting fact we both realized was that our two planets were very similar when it came to fauna. Two very different planets, separated by time and space, yet somehow both contained much of the same animals. It was almost as if beasts from one planet had migrated to the other. With the existence of the portals, the idea of that happening wasn’t hard to imagine. That could explain the mythological existence of hydras, manticores, and even pegasi and unicorns. As the hours passed and the clock reached six in the evening, Twilight and Spike returned as promised. We all remained a while longer as we shared our day’s activities. The details of our conversation also garnered Twilight’s interest, seeing as she immediately summoned a quill and scrolls into existence and began feverishly scribbling notes. Like Fluttershy, my details regarding horses also interested Twilight, although my description of their intelligence seemed to make her uneasy. I could understand how she felt. If I came here and found humans to be nothing more than mindless beasts, I’d also be unsettled. The sun was about to set when we finally left Fluttershy’s cottage. She followed us to the door and we parted ways with a ‘see you tomorrow’, followed by a smile and a friendly wave. Crossing the small bridge close to her cottage, I spotted the bear wandering around Fluttershy’s property. The bear saw us and actually raised his paw. The rapid motions he made with that huge paw resembled someone waving goodbye. ‘Wonder how long it will take for me to get used to that…’ *** Like yesterday, Spike prepared dinner, once more impressing me with a vegetable casserole. Although it lacked in meat or fish, he somehow made it rather tasty. After dinner had concluded and I had done the dishes, we all sat down in the library to relax. Spike had a small bowl of gems he was munching on and a comic to read while Twilight disappeared off to somewhere. Seeing as I finally had some peace and quiet, I decided to practise my magic. Finding the pebble in my pocket, I levitated it off my hand and held it in place mid-air. Rotating it around all three axes, I felt that my control over levitation had improved slightly. The stone didn’t seem as heavy as before, but I regularly had to take breaks in order to avoid exhausting myself. “That looks so weird,” Spike commented from his comfy pillow, stuffing a ruby into his mouth. I rotated the stone once vertically before turning it horizontally. “What does?” I asked. “Your magic. It’s two colours. I’ve never seen it before.” That comment made me frown slightly. “Yeah… the white part is Star Swirl’s magic.” “Star Swirl?” Spike sat up, momentarily forgetting his comic. “How’d you get it?”   “He came to me in a dream after I found out he was my ancestor.” I continued to turn it on its axes, though I now began to feel a pronounced strain. “I thought it was just a dream, but he was there, or at least his spirit was. He gave me the white ribbon in my magic.” I gestured up to my horn, Star Swirl’s white aura encircling my own like a ghostly silk trimming. “According to Princess Celestia, it was sort of a gift back in the era Star Swirl lived in. Luckily, it will fade in time.” “Huh… That’s actually pretty neat,” Spike commented with a smile. I scoffed. “I disagree. It’s like a constant reminder. ‘Hey, look at this. Now you’ll remember me as the guy who ruined your life. Enjoy.’” I allow the pebble to float down into my hand, closing my fist around it. Spike looked at me for a second before leaning back again. “Uh… well, yeah, I guess that’s one way to look at it. Although, that sounds depressing. Why wouldn’t you be happy with his magic as a memento? After all, he’s the reason you’re alive.” “It is also a reminder of everything he did to me, my family, my ancestors. You have no idea how it feels to lose everything you’ve ever cared for, and I hope you never have to either.” Spike went silent, and I slapped myself internally for taking out my resentment on him. Luckily, he did not seem to take offense and instead focused on his comics while I stuffed the pebble back into my pocket. Heading over to the shelves, I searched for some new reading material since I’d soon be through the book about the history of magic. Perhaps something about spells? Maybe some exercises or something to strengthen my magic? Thankfully, Twilight’s library was well-organized. Moving along the shelves, I finally found a book about maintaining one's magic. The index showed several techniques a unicorn could perform, several of them specifically made for beginners. In other words, perfect for me. Returning to the table with the book in hand, I had barely managed to sit down before Twilight came bursting through the doors with a whole heap of scrolls, quills, and inkwells floating behind her. She came to a screeching halt, looking around before spotting me. “There you are!” she exclaimed excitedly, cantering over with a wide grin on her face. She carefully placed her writing material and implements into neat stacks on the table before finally taking a seat on a cushion, flashing me a familiar smile. “I thought we could do the exchange of information we talked about last night. Now.” She was almost vibrating out of excitement. I gave my book a final glance before closing it and placing it on the table. “I did say that, didn’t I?” I leaned forward with my hands folded, resting them on the table. “Now would be a good time since I also have questions.” Twilight practically beamed. “Great! I have so much to ask of you. The gathering and sharing of information, I think, is paramount to learning about each other.” “Maybe. Just know that there are things I wouldn’t want anyone to know. I will filter out a few things.” She nodded quickly. “Yes, and that’s the first thing I wanted to ask you about.” She unfolded a scroll and readied her quill and ink. “During the interview, you refused to elaborate on the inventions of humanity. I know, as do Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, that humans have made great progress in terms of science and technology, yet you’ve kept it a secret. Why is that?” I knew that someday it would come back and bite me in the ass. With Twilight having helped me as much as she did, she truly deserved an explanation at the very least. I sighed, looking at her seriously. “I figured it was for the best at the time of the interview. Ponies and everybody else didn’t need to know everything about humans since it would cause problems for me in the long run. If everybody was told everything about humans and our inventions, I’m afraid that I’d never have a moment's peace again. Ponies, griffons, and whoever else would constantly be on my back, asking if I knew the solution to this problem or that. One incident I thought of, at the time of the interview, caused a lot of problems back on Earth well over a hundred years ago, resulting in a lot of people losing their jobs and livelihood. I wouldn’t want that happening here.” Twilight frowned slightly. “Wow. That sounds more than a bit ominous.” “Actually, it wasn’t that bad. Still, my point remains. It would cause problems.” “But don’t you think that you could improve the lives of many ponies—scratch that, many races, all over the world by sharing ideas?” I chewed on her suggestion for a few moments. Perhaps some inventions could be introduced, something harmless that wouldn’t adversely affect the people of this world. “Maybe I could, but if that ever happens, I’ll think about it for a long time before doing anything.” Nodding, Twilight wrote down my reply. “If you ever decide to introduce any human inventions, I call dibs on being the first to know and see them.” I chuckled at her enthusiasm. “I’ll remember that.” “Now then, onto the questions. Uh, can I go first?” I nodded. “Great. Do you know how long humanity has existed?” Resting my head on my hand, I thought back to countless hours spent in front of the TV. I had watched plenty of documentaries that had to do with the origin of mankind, and just about all of them came to the same conclusion. “The human race, called ~Homo Sapiens~ in ~Latin~, an old language of my world, is about two hundred thousand years old.” Twilight gasped. “Two hundred thousand years old?” “Mhm, early humans lived in a hunter-gatherer type of nomadic tribal society. They probably preferred living near the animals they hunted, and of course nearby sources of fresh water were also vital. However, they also ate different types of food such as fruits, berries, edible roots, and so on. All of these formed the basis of the first human tribes.” Twilight’s quill moved frantically over the scroll. “Fascinating. I guess that being an omnivore made finding food easy.” “I wouldn’t know since I’m not that old, but it’s a good assumption.” Twilight finished writing, then looked up at me. “As promised, it’s your turn to ask.” I scratched my head, thinking of what could pose as a good question. “Same question as yours. How old is the pony race?” “That’s a bit difficult question to answer.” She levitated a book from the shelves over to herself, then opened up the book to a specific page. “The age of modern ponies has been debated in the Hippology circles, but most researchers believe that the modern pony—Equus Magicae, which is Pony Latin and describes all ponies, no matter their race—is somewhere between one hundred thousand and one hundred and twenty thousand years old, depending on the depth and layer of remains and fossils that have been discovered. However, as you can see in this book, remains have been found of what many believe is the common ancestor of all ponies.” Twilight levitated over the book, the open page depicting several drawings of a somewhat larger pony next to a unicorn, earth pony, and pegasus. However, the larger creature only had a few similarities compared to modern ponies. Its eyes were smaller and muzzle longer. Its body was also marginally wider while its legs were also thinner. “Interesting.” Ancestors to ponies resembled horses from Earth to a degree, but none of the many drawings had any hint of a horn or wings. Handing the book back to Twilight, she levitated it back to the shelf and readied her quill. “My turn. When did the first human civilizations begin?” “Well, accounts differ as archaeologists continue to discover new things. For example, there was this ancient ruin that was unearthed a few years back, and it dates to at least twelve thousand years ago. But the first true civilization was probably the ~Mesopotamians~ around six thousand years ago. They are credited as the first people to refine and formalize agriculture, animal husbandry, art, writing, construction, and so on.” Her quill flew across the parchment as Twilight continued pressing for more details. I told her all I could recall about the more famous civilizations. The Egyptians, the Romans, the Greeks, the South American kingdoms such as the Inca and Aztecs, the time of the Chinese kingdoms, ancient India, as well as the European Germanic tribes. I did filter out a few things as we progressed through the ages, but for the sake of understanding, I also told the alicorn about the wars that had changed and shaped the world. I was of the firm opinion that one could not learn about human history without learning about the wars and conflicts that shaped it. While not a pleasant subject in itself, wars had thoroughly defined humans and human history. My entire ‘lesson’, as Twilight called it, lasted over an hour and a half. During that time, she managed to fill forty scrolls. When it was my turn, I asked about the history of pony civilization, as well as how the other kingdoms’ races came to be. Twilight, being the studious pony, had much to tell on the subject. The oldest country on Equus was Saddle Arabia. The current Sultan of Saddle Arabia was a direct descendant of a direct dynasty six thousand years in the making. The country was mostly desert, but had several vast green patches and oases where towns existed and farms thrived. Twilight was quick to admit that she wasn’t adept at foreign languages, thus she couldn’t even pronounce the capital’s name, but she provided a loose translation that meant something like ‘Desert Jewel’. Next on the list were the diamond dogs. Their homeland was a faraway region called Granite Mountains someplace across the eastern sea. The land was a massive mountain range dominated by snow-capped mountains and deep river valleys, interspersed by large forest regions. Diamond dogs had few towns above ground, with the majority of their cities built deep underground. No one knew when their species came to be, not even diamond dogs themselves. Each town and den had a chief, an alpha, but all alphas obeyed a central authority, the Alpha of Alphas. The kingdom of the griffons, Griffonia, was once six independent kingdoms. After warring for centuries, they eventually signed a ceasefire, which turned into peace and an alliance after many years. Through various means, such as marriage, hidden alliances, and the passage of time itself, only one griffon king remained and he joined the six kingdoms into one, founding Griffonia. A seventh kingdom, Griffonstone, refused to join, choosing to stand alone. Now Griffonia prospered and was an ally of Equestria while Griffonstone had been reduced to little more than a city state. Minoa, the land of the minotaurs, was an island nation located in the warmer regions of the eastern sea. Consisting of thirteen islands, all had a minor king. However, each potential king candidate had to pass several trials to prove himself worthy, and each king could only hold office for ten years. The minotaurs also had a grand king, one who was chosen for life. Only the minor king who could defeat the other minor kings could hold this office. According to Twilight, this form of ruling had always been the way of the minotaurs. They favoured physical strength, courage, and shrewdness in their rulers, thus this method of ruling ensured powerful rulers. The zebras lived on the continent of Zebrica, one of the largest landmasses known to ponies. The entire continent was covered by savannah, jungles, along with patches of desert. The zebra mostly lived in small towns and villages in tight-knit communities, with the capital and home of their rulers located far inland. Along their expansive coastlines, many port cities had been built that facilitated flourishing trade. According to Twilight, the Zebrican king and queen were good friends with Princess Celestia, having visited her many times. The interesting thing I noted about most of these races was how little of their history had survived. Even from what I had read on the history of Equestria, while the ponies had recorded some of their history, they all originated from the same place, namely the pre-unification kingdoms, so there wasn’t a plethora of sources. When we finally called it a day, I was almost sleepwalking in the direction of my room. I felt as if I’d been attending an entire semester of history in only a few hours. Damn that purple alicorn for being so hyped on teaching me things. And damn me for being interested in it and asking for more information. Finally reaching my room, I quickly got my clothes off and crawled underneath the covers. Yawning a final time, I stretched my arms and legs before relaxing, feeling the stress of the day wash away. Turning onto my side, I cracked an eye open and looked at my room, bathed in darkness. Discord was nowhere in sight. Thankfully, I hadn’t seen him all day. Maybe I was old news to him already? One could only hope. I was about to shut my eyes when I noticed the clock on the nightstand. Half one in the morning. Twilight had mentioned we would be at Sweet Apple Acres at seven, which was when the Apple family started their day. Tomorrow was going to be a looong day… if I survived the day at all.