The changeling grunted as he pushed with all his might the box. The box slowly moved, scraping a little with each push. The changeling panted, groaned, even screamed a little—but the box only scooted a little. He closed his eyes, he opened his mouth, took in a breath of air, and exerted all his effort on the act of moving the box.
Yet, it only moved a little.
Humerus finally wiped the sweat off of his face and plopped himself on the floor. He was gasping for air. Then, he stood up.
"Really?" Rainbow Dash asked, hovering over him, flapping her wings while she sported a mean look. "Is that all you can do? I didn't place a lot inside that box!"
"You placed an anvil!" Humerus yelled.
"I didn't place an anvil," Rainbow replied. "I only placed a collection of Daring Do books inside. There's nothing heavy about that!"
"For you, maybe," Humerus said. Then, he looked at the sky, the bright blue sky. It was clear. "Can I just take a break and rest, maybe sleep for some time?"
"If you want to be a Daring Do fan, a real one, then you gotta have the ability to prove it!" Rainbow said. Then, she took off to the air and did a few tricks.
But Humerus looked away and looked back at the box. "But, what has pushing a box have to do with being a fan of Daring Do? I just have to read it and talk about it and maybe go to a fan convention here and there—maybe meet A.K. Yearling herself, which I did—and there was also, I don't know, maybe also getting a book signed by—"
"Wait!" Rainbow yelled.
She rushed her way to the changeling.
She stopped right in front of him.
Her eyes were wide open.
Her mouth was wide open.
She was pointing a hoof at the changeling.
"You met A.K. Yearling herself?!" Rainbow Dash shouted, retaining her calm composure.
"Met her in some mysterious jungle," Humerus said. "I didn't know why she lived in such an isolated place—then, she explained to me why. It's because, sometimes, the fans get too crazy for her work, so she has to stay isolated and in a secret place so nopony can damage her or her work. It's for safety reasons."
Rainbow Dash was still pointing at the changeling and still had her eyes and her mouth wide open.
"She was also moving when I saw her."
"What do you mean that she was moving?" Rainbow Dash asked, suddenly adopting a suspicious tone.
"She was moving her things—her belongings, her books, everything. Moving to another house, I guess."
"A.K. Yearling changed places?!"
"Don't know where she lives now," Humerus said. "Just saw her wagon with her things inside and I guess she moved right after I met her."
Rainbow Dash still had her eyes and her mouth wide open. She made no sound; she still stared at the happy and smiling changeling.
"Uh, what's wrong?" Humerus asked. He frowned.
"How come I didn't know that she moved?" Rainbow Dash asked, now having a suspicious tone again. She inched towards Humerus with an angry look on her face. "Don't tell me that you're lying to me! Don't tell me that you're somehow a more avid Daring Do fan than me!"
"Uh, we can, uh, go back to the town, shall we?" Humerus said, trembling and slowly going away from her. "There's lots of, uh, things that I have to do in, uh, some place that I certainly have business in!"
And Humerus flew away.
And Rainbow Dash flew after him.
Humerus was screaming as he flew, flying quickly past the trees of the landscape. He flew over the grass and kept a straight line throughout.
He looked back.
The pegasus was fast approaching. "I'm not even at full effort, Humerus! I just know that you're hiding something!"
"Agh!"
Humerus flapped his wings faster.
Past the trees.
He looked back.
Rainbow Dash was still approaching.
Humerus screamed again.
He flapped his wings faster.
Then, he fell to the ground.
Rainbow Dash swooped him up and placed him on his four hooves on the ground. Rainbow Dash landed on the ground.
"Now, how is that—uh, how did you know about this?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Like you said, Daring Do's house was supposed to be a secret to everypony but the most dedicated of fans!"
"I was just, uh, wandering in the forest, in the jungle!"
"And, why did you do that?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I wanted to." Humerus smiled.
The pegasus groaned and placed a hoof on her face. She closed her eyes, groaned again, placed the hoof on the ground and glared at Humerus while tapping a hoof. "That's not good enough. And, I want a quick answer because I am currently on break from my work at setting up the Daring Do convention over at Canterlot!"
"You're really far away to be on break!"
"We're not even that far!" Rainbow Dash said, pointing a hoof towards the mountain city in the distance. "Look, I just don't want to argue or cause any more trouble because of you, Humerus! I don't want some fan of Daring Do to prove that he's better than me! The only other ponies that are just as avid and are just as dedicated as me are Twilight Sparkle and Quibble Pants—that's all!" She hovered over the grass and inched closer and closer towards Humerus. "So, stop acting like you're OK in this matter, because this has 'suspicious' written all over it. OK?"
Humerus nodded. He gulped.
Rainbow Dash landed on the ground and sighed. She placed a hoof on her head. "Looks like I've gotta help the ponies there. Don't make me even more angry at you than now." Then, she flew off towards Canterlot.
Humerus stood there on the grass, looking on at Rainbow Dash.
Humerus sat beside Eucalypti as Pinkie Pie went around with plates of desserts. On the table in front of them there was one chocolate cake and a few apple pies.
"I didn't know you had such a confrontation," Eucalypti said, sounding concerned and uneasy. "You do like the Daring Do books, right?"
Humerus nodded. "And, now, Rainbow Dash is irritated with me."
"Don't let that bother you!" Eucalypti said as he took a bite out of the chocolate cake. He gulped his food down. "Everything is going to be alright, if not today, then surely by tomorrow! I don't believe it when ponies say that they will remember certain bad things or actions—remember, yes, but they won't demand you to repay them."
"But, this is Rainbow Dash we're talking about!" Humerus said. "I don't want to—well, Rainbow Dash is, well, Rainbow Dash!"
Eucalypti took a bite out of one of the apple pies.
"Are you even listening?"
"I'm indeed listening!" Eucalypti said. "I'm just also enjoying the great food that they serve here! Why don't you relax and enjoy some desserts?"
"I'm not in the mood for that, to be honest."
"Come on, Humerus! It's not that much to worry about!"
"What if Rainbow Dash is—"
"Don't go worrying about this and that!" Eucalypti said. "All that's going to do is make you sad! Instead, just enjoy the food and just enjoy, well, everything else here in Ponyville and in all of Equestria! You can tell Hexapod that—he will surely like what I said to you!"
"Where's Hexapod, anyway?"
"Currently with the Princess herself inside the Castle of Friendship," Eucalypti said, looking out the window. "The Princess will be leaving soon for some kind of conference or meeting or whatever at some place—the Dragon Lands, I guess, if the rumors I've been hearing are correct."
"You mean the news?"
"Yes, that's what I was talking about!" Eucalypti yelled. He placed a hoof on the table and looked around. "Now, let's ignore and think about what else we can do in Ponyville. There are tons of things to do here!"
"Like?"
"You tell me!" Eucalypti said. "I'm all for surprises!"
"Uh, I thought you know this place well?"
Eucalypti flapped his wings and hovered over his seat. He took another bite out of the chocolate cake and gulped the food down. "I'm always open to new ideas—the same old ideas will get boring after a while, and I just want to hear your suggestions about what we'll do next!"
"Uh..." Humerus looked at the food in front of him.
"So, you wanna go eating again?"
Humerus looked at the hovering Eucalypti. "I think we should finish our food first."
"That's a nice suggestion!" Eucalypti said. He took his seat and scarfed down more food.
Humerus grabbed an apple pie and ate it.
"What's going on, anyway?" Eucalypti said as the two changelings left Sugarcube Corner. The outside was filled with the talks and the chats of ponies nearby. "I don't want to leave without knowing what happened to you other than that event with Rainbow Dash."
"Well, at least I was happy to see her again," Humerus said. "Remembering my lessons about not being too excited for the ponies that I adore. That's what I did."
"That's the right thing!" Eucalypti yelled as he hovered over the ground. "Now, what else happened to you since the last time we saw each other? Did you get a new job? Did you discover some food that you've never tasted before? We went to the Tasty Treat in Canterlot, and it was very innovative! The style, the cuisine—it's something I've never seen before!"
"Then, try the rest of the restaurants there," Humerus said.
"I'll certainly do, Humerus!" He paused as the changelings looked around on the street. "What about the rest of the things that we can do here, Humerus? Do you have an idea in your head already? Or, do you want me to help you out?"
"I'm OK," Humerus said. "I just wanted to, well, relax like you said."
"And, relaxation is going to be there! All we need is to hear what you have to say!"
Humerus looked at Eucalypti. "What about we go to one of the stores here? Or, maybe we can go to Sweet Apple Acres?"
"I don't want to hear multiple suggestions!" Eucalypti said. "Just tell me what's in your mind and give me just one choice!"
"That's the thing. There's many choices here."
"Ah, I know what you feel," Eucalypti said, smiling. "You are overwhelmed by the choices that you can make in Equestria! I felt it right after we became good! When I first went outside the Changeling Kingdom as a free changeling, I noticed a lot of things! I saw lots of things! I saw all the options that ponies can have! Look at their stores—you have many different kinds of the same thing! It wasn't like in the days before when we only had one or two options—no, today, in this time, we're going to enjoy all the things that Equestria has to offer. Be like me! Optimistic about it all!" He grinned and flew to the sky and shouted as he did so.
Humerus looked up.
Then, Eucalypti landed on the ground. He looked at the surprised changeling. "Come on! I know that you are excited by just thinking about all the things you can do here in Equestria! You're free!"
Humerus smiled. Then, he frowned. "I think that's why I can't choose."
"Because there are so many options that you cannot choose which one you want. That's alright! Let's go ask—"
"Let me just try to decide," Humerus said. "Just give me time to think about the decision about where to go and why we should go there and we are going to be OK."
"Understood!" Eucalypti said. "Although, we should try going to Sugarcube Corner again. We already tried the popular desserts, but I haven't tried the rest of their food. I would like to try some of their other pies, for example."
"I thought you would let me think abou the choice."
"I'm just as excited as you are!" Eucalypti said. "Maybe a little too excited, but let's not get too far, right?"
Humerus smiled again. "I think I know where to go."
"Amazing!"
Pinkie Pie looked at the two changelings entering the bakery. "You're here again?!" Pinkie asked. "Wow! That's great. Do you know what that means? It means that you're going to enjoy more of the delicious food here!"
"Thanks, Pinkie," Humerus said, smiling.
"Now, what can I do for you?" Pinkie said, rushing to them and smiling. "Can I serve you some cake, or some pie? Or some cakepie?"
"One cakepie, please!" Humerus said.
"Alright!"
Pinkie rushed off towards the counter, grabbed a cakepie, and threw it at the changelings.
Humerus caught it with his hoof. Then, he threw it to one of the empty tables and rushed off towards the table with Eucalypti.
"Another happy customer!" Pinkie said.
Humerus and Eucalypti sat on the seats and looked at the cakepie on the table.
"Now, we have a cakepie to eat!" Eucalypti said. "It's going to be amazing!" he yelled.
Humerus nodded. "Yeah."
"Let's go and be full!"
The two changelings ate.