//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: Phantom and Friends Part I 
// Story: Equestria's Phantom 
// by RayRox360 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 4: Phantom and Friends Part l

The only thing he could hear apart from the blood pounding in his ears was the sound of his own harsh, ragged breathing. He knew he was moving by the way the buildings flew past him, but he couldn't feel his legs as they pounded against the rocky asphalt.

His pants were ripped and torn, his normally white shirt stained red. His pale skin was smudged black in some areas, and his ebony hair clung to the sweat shining on his forehead.

Around him, the buildings of Amity Park were old and decrepit. Pieces of shattered glass littered the streets and crumbling piles of bricks and stones paved the sidewalks. Fires burned around him, flames shooting through broken apartment windows, car roofs or simply burned black marks into the crumbling road.

His lungs ached as he sucked in another gulp of air before stealing a glance behind him. He narrowed his eyes in confusion when he saw nobody behind him. Slowing slightly, he scanned farther down the street and saw that it was empty as well.

His legs came to a stop, hoping to catch his breath for the first time in forever as he turned back around. A strangled gasp tore its way out of Danny's mouth.

The bright green blast slammed into his chest, searing his skin as his body went flying backwards. His head slammed into the brick wall before he slid down, slumping against the floor.

Blearily opening his eyes, he felt his heart seize up as a large blaster was aimed at his face once more. Staring past the gun's barrel, his eyes met those of his parents. Desperation met emptiness and hatred as they stared back at him.

He whimpered and clutched at his hair as he tucked his knees to his chest and curled his head away. "Mom . . . . dad . . . please stop." He whispered.

The shine of the nearby fires cast their reflections on the glass surface of their goggles as they stared down at the boy, faces empty and devoid of any and all emotion.

Suddenly, two hands reached out between them and clamped down on their shoulders. The palms lit up in a bright pink light before the forms of his parents shot up in flames before disappearing.

Raising his head, Danny's eyes widened as Vlad narrowed his eyes and grinned, slamming the tip of his boot into the teen's chest, sending him straight through the wall. He tumbled along the ground before slamming into the side of a car.

He groaned and raised his head slightly, only for a foot to slam into his cheek, sending his head snapping to the other side as his back landed hard on the ground, glass and stone pressing up into his back.

"I warned you, didn't I?" Vlad growled with a smirk as he pressed his foot onto Danny's chest, keeping him in place. "I warned you what would happen if you stood against me."

CRACK!

Danny whimpered as he felt the snapping of bones underneath Vlad's boot, empty blue eyes staring up at the sky. "You're pathetic. You can't stop me here, and you can't stop me in Equestria." He grinned. "You're doomed to fail, Daniel. So why don't I put you out of your misery?"

A black gloved hand reached down and clamped down around the teen's neck, hoisting him up into the air.

Danny gasped as he was slammed into one of the nearby walls, his windpipe slowly crushed underneath the man's grip. Through the growing black haze, Danny watched as Plasmius raised his glowing pink hand, the heat coming off of the ecto-blast making Danny wince and turn away as best he could.

He shut his eyes as Vlad thrust it forward.

Danny head shot off the pillow, the room spinning for a moment before he felt himself slipping off the covers. His yelp of surprise was followed by a load crash and a soft groan of pain.

For a moment, he wondered if it had all been nothing more than a bad dream, at least until he glanced down and saw that it was hishoovesthat had gotten tangled in the covers.Okay . . . . not all a dream. He muttered to himself.

Before he could get to his hooves, he heard the sound of footsteps outside the room and a knock on the door. He craned his head to see Twilight appear in the doorway as it creaked open, a look of concern mingled with confusion on her face. "You okay" She asked, helping untangle him from the sheet.

"Yeah, I'm fine." The colt started, letting a small chuckle slip from his mouth. "Back home, I have a habit of being the clumsiest pony around." He explained, congratulating himself on the inside for remembering to usepony.

Twilight smiled. "I think we're all 'the clumsiest pony around' at one point or another." She said with a smile. "Come on, breakfast is ready." She said as she led the colt out the door.

As they walked down the hallway, Danny couldn't help but stare up at the high ceilings and arching windows that shimmered as the morning light seeped through them.

The mare led him to a large room, a table sitting in the middle with different chairs set up around it.

Danny smiled when he saw Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Spike seated around the table. They each had stacks of pancakes placed around them, Danny noticing there were two empty seats, plates in front of them as well.

Walking over with Twilight, the two quickly took their seats, the others greeting him with a smile.

As they continued to eat, Danny found himself staring at the stack of food in front of him. At the moment, he was still trying to process how the large mound of food toppled on his plate could be for merely one pony.

After a moment, he noticed the chatter around the table had stopped. Lifting his gaze, he noticed everyone had stopped and were now staring at him.

Rainbow Dash swallowed the last bite of food in her mouth and threw him a look of confusion. "Uhh . . . are you okay?"

Danny turned to her and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, it's just . . . I've never seen so much food for just one pony." He said with a smile.

"Doesn't your mother make breakfast for you?" Rarity asked.

Danny shrugged. "Meh, whenever she has time to, the waffles usually end up forming their own battalion while the fried eggs plan an air strike."

He was met with seven pairs of confused faces, which made him chuckle nervously and rub the back of his neck. "That's . . . just how bad it is." He said quickly, a loud "ohh"echoing off the walls.

The teen let out a sigh of relief before tuning back in to the girls, who were in the middle of a particularly interesting story about a chaos-wielding maniac they apparently defeated. Safe to say, there came a time in the story where he was completely and utterly baffled.

"After Discord turned us into the opposite of our true selves, we split paths and vowed never to speak to each other again." Twilight explained.

Danny swallowed a mouthful of pancake before letting out a chuckle. "I'm guessing that didn't last very long?"

Rainbow Dash smirked and shined her hoof against her chest. "Well, duh! Nopony can get the best of us, especially when you havemeon your team." She boasted. The multiple looks she received made her clear her throat and flatten her ears slightly. "Alright, alright, it helps when you have a unicorn with a pretty good memory spell."

The girls giggled while Danny rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, once Twilight freed us from Discord's spell we were able to use the Elements of Harmony and turn him back to stone." Rarity said with a smile, only to leap back out of her chair as Pinkie Pie popped out from underneath the table. "Which was really too bad because he would have made a great party planner!"

Fluttershy smiled. "Well, that was way back when. Now he's really turned himself around."

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Yeah, now instead of tormenting all of Equestria, he only tormentsuson special occasions."

Danny chuckled before blinking in thought. "Hey, just whatarethe Elements of Harmony?"

Twilight instantly popped up from her seat, a big grin on her face. "Ooo! Ooo! I got this!" She beamed, the others rolling their eyes as small smiles spread onto their faces. The purple mare cleared her throat and straightened herself in a manner that strangely reminded Danny of whenever Jazz would get ready to lecture him.

"The Elements of Harmony are ancient relics that correspond to six key factors of harmony and balance. Each relic corresponds with a certain aspect of friendship and can only be wielded by a true follower of said aspect." She explained. "For example, Applejack is the Element of Honesty, Fluttershy is the Element of Kindness, Pinkie Pie is the Element of Laughter, Rarity is Generosity, Rainbow Dash is Loyalty, and mine is Magic."

"Together, we create a bond of magic more powerful than any other magic known to ponydom. We've used the elements to stop more than one particularly bad pony." She finished.

Danny paused at that and furrowed his brow.

Clockwork sent me here to save this world from Plasmius because he said they couldn't defend themselves. But if these six girls have saved Equestria countless times already, then why would this be any different? . . . Why would they need me?

He shook himself from his thoughts and quickly focused back into the conversation.

Applejack placed a hoof to her chin in thought. "You know, I still get a little uneasy sometimes being without the Elements."

Twilight nodded. "I know what you mean. Sometimes I wonder if we made the right choice. But I know we're strong enough to handle anything that's thrown our way, elements or no."

"Yeah . . . but I still can't believe we had to give them up like that. I was finally starting to get used to them." Rainbow Dash sighed.

The teen perked at this. It appeared they weren't connected to their elements anymore.Maybe that's why Clockwork sent me. They don't have the power to defeat major enemies anymore.He scrunched his face in thought.These girls seem to know a lot more about this world than I do. IF they can help with my assignment then . . . then maybe I s-should . . .

"You okay there, Sugarcube?"

Danny lifted his head as Applejack's voice dragged him from his thoughts. "You kind of zoned out there a bit." She said with a smile.

The boy gave a smile of his own. "Sorry, I tend to get lost in thought sometimes." He explained.

Pinkie Pie nodded. "Yep! Twilight does that all the time!"

"I do not!"

A chorus of disagreements rang out, causing the alicorn to pout in her seat. Danny snickered behind his hoof at the scene before a stray thought popped into his mind once more. "Hey, I got a question. How come you live in this huge castle, Twilight? I mean, it seems like something a princess would live in." He chuckled, pausing when he noticed the six ponies and dragon staring at him in shock.

He flattened his ears slightly, sensing he screwed something up. "What?"

"Ummmm . . . . Twilightisan princess." Fluttershy said, confused as to how the colt couldn't already know this.

Danny nearly choked on a bite of his pancake. "You're a princess?" He shouted in shock.

The ponies glanced at each other in confusion. "Dude, where have you been?" Spike asked, earning a whack in the back of the head from Twilight. "Hey!" HE shouted indignantly, rubbing his now sore scales.

Danny rubbed his foreleg nervously. "I a-actually don't, umm . . . . ." He started, wracking his brain for an excuse as to why he didn't know what was obviously a trivial thing. "My. . . . my parents aren't really the best when it comes to teaching about new things." He finally choked out. "They're usually too wrapped up with their work anyways." He muttered.

Once again . . . . not atotallie.

Twilight narrowed her eyes in thought. Perhaps this was the opportunity they needed to figure out just who this kid was. She smiled and turned towards the other girls, who each nodded in agreement. "Well then . . . maybe we can help with that." She said, prompting Danny to look up in confusion.

He gave a small scoff as he rolled his eyes. "What? You gonna take me on a tour of the town or something, show me what makes you allsospecial?"





"In hindsight, I probably should have seen this coming."

Applejack glanced down at the mumbling colt as the two walked happily down the dirt trail. . . . well, Applejack walked happily. Danny went more along the lines of'being dragged against his will while still trying to show appreciation, which ends up looking more like despair.'

"Oh stop your bellyachin'. Sweet Apple Acres is one of the jewels of Ponyville. We're one of the best farms in all of Equestria. I'm sure you'll love it." The farm horse said cheerily as they continued down the trail.

"Yeah, MENIAL LABOR, WHOO!" Danny cheered sarcastically, Applejack nudging him with her back hoof as she rolled her eyes.

Danny let out a small sigh and lowered his head back down to gaze at the rocks and ant holes as they slid past his hooves, making sure to hide his look of worry from the mare next to him. The girls had all agreed to take time to hang out with the small colt, teaching him about their hobbies and lives.

To any outside eye, it would seem like a simple nice gesture. But Danny knew better. He could tell from the second they met that the girls felt uneasy around him, especially Twilight. They were probably just doing it to keep an eye on him.

Why am I wasting my time with these people - ponies! GAH! As soon as I get the chance, I am so out of here! I need to be out there looking for Plasmius, not dressing up for tea parties and sharing cakes or whatever they do in Rainbow Sunshine Land of Smiles and Sprinkles!He muttered to himself angrily.

Just focus, Fenton. Focus on your mission. You'll be out of this sooner or later.

"Soo . . ." Applejack started, her voice seeming to hold a certain sense of unease. "What did you say the name of that village of yer's was again?" She asked, turning to glance at the colt.

"Amity. Amity Park."

"Uh-huh. And uh . . .any specific reasons you decided to leave?" She asked, biting the inside of her cheek as she finished. Danny narrowed his eyes as he watched her shift her eyes towards the ground.

Alright, she's obviously not the best liar.He thought to himself before remembering Twilight's words on the Elements of Happiness or whatever crap it was.Honesty element, huh? Man, that's gotta be rough.

Nevertheless, he let out a small sigh as he opened his mouth. "Nope." He said curtly, popping the'p'. "Just wanted a change of pace." He stated.

Great, if they're all gonna try and play twenty questions with me, then I'm in for a great frikkin day! I swear, the faster I'm out of here, the better.He narrowed his eyes slightly. Then again, you did want information. Maybe now's the time to get it.

"So . . . seen anything weird around here lately? Maybe any new ponies around town?"

"Only new feller' we've seen in a while is you, Danny" Applejack said before turning towards him. "Why?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Just wondering." He murmured.

The mare cast him a strange look as her mind began to relay what Twilight had spoken to them about once they had finished their breakfast.

Danny walked through the door, a small stack of plates balanced precariously atop his head as he helped the small dragon beside him clear the table. Twilight craned her head and made sure the door swung closed once more before turning back to her friends.

"Are we really sure it's a good idea to be alone with the kid right now?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Fluttershy tilted her head back over towards the door. "Oh come now, Rainbow. He hasn't given any reason to distrust him, so why should we?" She explained to the others, who couldn't help but slightly agree on the matter. What right did they have to judge the teen?

Twilight furrowed her brow. "No, I know. But still . . ." She trailed off slightly before continuing. "I just can't shake that vision I got. I know for a fact it meant something, not to mention I had a dream about it last night." She stated, the others widening their eyes in shock at the news.

"Another one? What did you see?" Applejack asked.

Twilight gave a small shudder, something that didn't go unnoticed by the girls. "I . . I can't really say, but it was definitely freakier than the vision. And IknowDanny is involved somehow. Whether it's good or bad still hasn't presented itself."

"Well, what are we supposed to do, then?" Rarity asked. "If those visions were as horrid as you say, we might need to take necessary precautions. But what if we're wrong? What if we're wrongfully judging a perfectly innocent child?"

Pinkie Pie nodded her head. "Yeah, we didn't see what you did, Twilight. But to us, Danny seems pretty fun!" She said with a smile.

"Yeah, but we've been wrong about ponies before!" Rainbow Dash argued. "I mean, I thought Gilda was cool until she suddenly turned on me. And that girl I met at the Wonderbolt Academy seemed fine until she showed who she really was. And I'm sure none of you have forgotten our little encounter with a certain Starlight Glimmer!"

Everypony visibly tensed at the mention of the mare. It had been a few weeks since they had saved the small village and lost Starlight, but the wounds still held fresh. And what Rainbow Dash said was true: they had been fooled before.

"So . . . what do we do, Twi?" Applejack asked, the others turning towards the princess.

Twilight's face scrunched in thought as she stared down at the floor. Apart from the visions she had seen, the colt seemed to be a normal teen. He was snarky and tense, but was genuinely a good kid-at least from what she had seen. The last thing she wanted to do was make a snap judgement on an innocent kid who hadn't done anything to her. She had already learned not to judge a book by its cover the hard way and she didn't intend on doing it again.

Still . . . she couldn't ignore those visions. They were so . . . dark. So cold. So menacing. And she just knew it had something to do with that colt. And whether she wanted to or not, she instantly focused those dark, cold, menacing feelings and projected them onto the colt himself. She couldn't help but be wary.

Whether those visions were a message or a warning was still unclear, but Twilight knew she couldn't just stand by and do nothing, especially with a possible threat on the rise. If it turned out the colt was dangerous and somepony got hurt because she chose to sit around and do nothing . . . . she wouldn't be able to live with herself.

She sighed and turned towards the others. "Go ahead and spend time with him. Try and get on his good side, see what you can dig up on his past. Maybe if we can figure out more about him we can start to put this puzzle together." She explained. "But make sure to stay on your guard. The last thing we need is to be blindsided." She said firmly before feeling a small twinge of guilt at her coldness. "But . . try to be nice. He's still a kid, after all. And he hasn't done anything."

'Yet.'She murmured to herself.

The others glanced at each other for a moment before nodding their heads in agreement. Twilight glanced at Applejack and then tilted her head towards the kitchen door. The workhorse blinked for a moment before nodding in understanding. After taking a moment to contemplate where she would take the teen, she took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen.

"Hey Danny, ever been to a farm before?"

Applejack cast the teen another sidelong glance before turning to focus on the dirt road ahead of her.This is gonna be a long day . . . .

Oblivious to the inner turmoil within the mare next to him, Danny continued to drag his hooves along the dirt path, fully intent on keeping thislittlevisit quick. Hopefully I find something on Plasmius soon. Then I can get out of here.

"Here we are!" Applejack said with a smile, startling the teen out of his thoughts as the pair climbed over the small cresting hill. Over the peak, a large red farmhouse stood off to the side, a sea of rolling green leaves dotted with red could be seen around it. Danny's eyes widened at the sight.

Then again . . . . can't hurt to scope out the area.

The mare led Danny down the path slowly, the colt drinking in the sight of the land. Dude, this the cleanest farm I've ever seen." He breathed out as he tried to find the goat crap and other animal feces that would litter a normal farm.

"Try telling that to Rarity."

"What was that?"

"Nothin'! L-Let's get you inside!"

Danny blinked in mild surprise as Applejack quickly led him into one of the side barns that seemed to have been converted into a house. "Wow, so you actually live here?" The colt asked, turning towards the mare, who nodded proudly.

"All my life."

Danny chuckled and shook his head. "I could never do that. All the bugs, the smells, the crazy neighbors, the scary stories about past farmers who went crazy and chopped up their families for the hogs, and that one scarecrow in the field that everyone swears isn't staring at you but youtotallyknow it is!"

Applejack blinked for a moment before slowly turning towards the teen. "What kind of freakshow farms have you been around?!"

The teen let out a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his hoof. "Guess I just read too many stories." He chuckled before a serious face washed over him and he frantically whipped around. "But you don't have a scarecrow, do you?"

The mare chuckled before guiding him into the house.

Entering what could only be assumed to be a living room, Danny gazed around at his surroundings. The room was small, but broke off into different sections and doorframes. The bottom half of the walls were lined with wood panelings that revealed their age based on the faded streaks and scratch marks. To the side stood a long couch beside a small table, different picture frames stacked upon it.

Danny glanced around for a moment longer before turning back to Applejack. "So, is it just you here?"

The mare raised her hoof in a'one-minute' gesture before taking a deep breath.

"COMPANY!"

The feeling of ringing ears was one Danny was not a stranger to, though he couldn't really say he enjoyed it, nonetheless. Still, he found it slightly impressive such a small mare could bellow so loudly it literally made his head hurt.

Not more than a few moments later, the sound of soft hoofsteps could be heard above them. Danny raised his head as he watched a shape appear at the top of the stairs. It was a small cream-yellow filly with bright red hair and a large pink bow tied around her head.

"Ya' know, an intercom system would do wonders for-" The filly started as she lifted her head, fully expecting to see Twilight, Rainbow Dash, or one of her sister's other friends. She was not, however, expecting to see a face she wasn't familiar with.

It was a tall colt, around the same size as Snails from school. He had a pure white coat except for his hooves and ears, which faded to be as black as his hair, making his startling blue eyes stand out even more. On his flank, a white shooting star in a dark night sky could be seen.

"Umm . . . hi?" The filly said, confusion evident in her voice.

"Applebloom, this is Danny. He's staying with Twilight while he's in town." Applejack explained, the filly nodding in understanding as she moved closer to the colt, holding out her hoof in greeting.

Danny stared down at her as he shook her outstretched hoof. "So you're Applejack's sister?" He asked, taking slight notice in the fact that her flank was bare.

Okay . . . Strange World Thing #52: Not everypony in this world has these tattoo things. So what's the deal with these things anyway? It better be gone when I get back home or my mom's gonna kill me.He muttered to himself.

Applebloom nodded proudly and swung her head to the side as she noticed two more ponies enter the room. One was a large red stallion with messy orange hair, and the other was a small older mare with a green coat and white hair. Both instantly took notice of the colt in the room.

"Well, who's this young'un?" The green mare asked as she walked over.

Applejack gently pushed Danny forward. "Granny Smith, Big Mac, this is Danny. He's new in town." She explained.

"Applejack Granny Smith? Big Mac?" He echoed. "Why the heck are you all named after ap-never mind. Apple farm. Apple Family." He muttered, turning back towards the others, who were giving him strange looks. "Just ignore me." He waved them off. "I'm a moron on special occasions."

Applebloom giggled at that as Granny Smith narrowed her eyes, staring at him up and down before rubbing his head, black hair fluffing up underneath her hoof. "A bit scrawny, but nothing a little Apple Family cooking can't fix." She said with a smile.

"Yep." Big Mac said with a smile of his own.

"A little what now?" Danny asked, turning up to Applejack, who was giving him a sly look. He gulped and turned back towards the others, who all mirrored the same face.

"Okay . . . . just gonnavery calmlytry and. . .jump out the window!" He shouted as he whipped around, only for four pairs of hooves to wrap around him and drag him into the kitchen.





Danny groaned as he flopped down on the grass, stomach sloshing as the desire to hurl mounted ever higher. "Alright . . . if that was your go at attempted murder, then props for creativity." He moaned as he tried not to think about the amount of food he had been forced to digest.

Applejack laughed as she patted the colt on the head, knowing she had to get back to work.

The colt scrunched up his nose in annoyance. "Oh, you think that's funny? Well, two can play at that game!" He shouted out as the mare began to place baskets around the bottoms of the trees, rolling her eyes at his shouts.

"Oh really?" She called.

"Yep! You know what's worse than farming?"

A scoff floated into the air. "What's that?"

"Farm puns!"

The mare froze and whipped back around, eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't. . . "

A sly grin spread onto Danny's face. "Wouldn't I?" He asked before rising to his feet. "Why did the scarecrow win the Nobel Prize?!" He shouted, not bothering to wait for an answer."Because he was outstanding in his field!"

"Don't you dare!"

"What day to potatoes hate the most?"

"Fry-day!"

"Stop it!"

"What farm animal keeps the best time?!"

"A watch dog!"

"Ugg!"

"What is a scarecrow's favorite fruit?!"

"STRAW-BERRIES!"

"You're going the right way for a smack upside the head!"

"What kind of pig knows karate?!"

"PORK CHOPS!"

"That's not even clever!"

"WHO TELLS CHICKEN JOKES?!"

"COMEDIHENS!"

"Alright! Alright! I give! I give! You win!" The mare screamed, hooves to her ears as she crouched down onto the grass, eyes squeezed tightly as she prayed for either the jokes to end or for her head to explode.

Danny chuckled and walked over, a smug smile on his face. "Never mess with me, Applejack. I am the Pun Master and Iwillmake you suffer." He said menacingly as the mare rose up to her hooves once more.

"Yeah, yeah, alright. Now I really gotta get to work." She muttered, moving back over to the trees as Danny took a seat on the grass once more, watching with curiosity as the mare turned away from the tree and lifted her back hooves. Slamming her back legs into the tree's trunk, a large pulse shot up the structure before apples began to rain from the leaves.

She smiled in content before turning towards the next tree, but not before she caught sight of Danny's confused face.

"What? Never seen a pony buck apples before?" She joked, only to pause as she noticed the slight blush that faded onto the colt's white cheeks as he raised his shoulders slightly and turned away.

"Oh . . .well . . . come over here. I'll show ya'."

Danny blinked for a moment before complying, walking over to the next tree that Applejack had lined up. "Well, we could always climb up and pick the apples one by one, but that would take most of the day for only a couple trees." She explained. "So we decided to buck them."

She lifted her back hooves and slammed them into the tree's trunk, the apples falling down into the baskets below once more. "That way, we get all the apples down at once." She explained.

Danny nodded in understanding before turning to glance at all the trees that still needed to be bucked. "How come you're doing it all by yourself?"

The mare shrugged. "The others all have different chores today so it's just me right now." She explained, moving over to the next tree. As she readied to buck the trunk, she glanced down and blinked in surprise at the colt that was now right at her side.

"Want some help?"

The mare stared at him for a moment longer before chuckling. "Sure, if ya' want to." She said, opening her mouth to instruct him to move some of the baskets away from the bucked trees, only to pause as he instead moved over to one of the un-bucked trees.

She couldn't help the smile that spread onto her face. As much as she loved farming, she knew it wasn't everyone's cup of oats, especially the colt who had made it apparently clear farming wasn't his lifestyle. Yet here he was, a colt she had met only a day ago, offering to help with some hard duties.

A chuckle made its way out of her throat as she watched the colt position himself against the tree. Though she made it look easy, apple bucking was not an easy task for a pony to do, let alone a child.

With this in mind, she never expected for the apples to rain as the colt bucked his back legs against the tree, the wood splintering slightly underneath the hooves. Her mouth dropped at the sight of the apples dropping as the unphased colt moved onto the next tree. The first time she had bucked a tree, her legs had been so sore she had barely been able to walk back to the house, let alone continue bucking. Yet, Danny barely seemed to be phased by the endeavor as he bucked another tree.

Applejack's mouth slowly closed back up as her smile returned.

Well he's not exactly normal . . . . but can't say he's not a sweet kid.She thought to herself.

"Hey, Applejack!" Danny called, catching the attention of the mare once more.

"Yeah!"

"What kind of things do farmers talk about when they're milking cows?"

" . . . . Well, I've never thought about it but I guess ya' can talk about anything ya' want-"

"UDDER NONSENSE!"

"DANG IT, DANNY!"





The lighttinklingsound of the bell overhead floated into Danny's ears as the pair walked through the door. The cylindrical room was large with different pedestals placed around. Atop each one, a different outfit was displayed on a pony-shaped mannequin.

Of course . . .The teen muttered to himself as Applejack led him into the boutique.

Farther into the workshop, the two noticed Rarity working along the back wall, face scrunched in concentration as she finished sewing together two pieces of silk. Blinking in satisfaction, she turned around with a smile as she noticed the two newcomers.

"Oh, Applejack, Danny. So wonderful to see you two." The mare said with a smile as she walked over. "Danny, why don't you head on into the next room. I'll be there in a moment." Rarity said, motioning towards the door on the back wall. The teen glanced at the two mares, quickly realizing they wanted a moment alone.

Probably to talk about me.He silently mused, slightly annoyed. Nevertheless, he moved towards the door as instructed and left the two mares in piece.

As soon as the last trace of a black tail disappeared, Rarity turned back to face Applejack. "So, how was it?" She asked, ready for whatever the mare's answer could be. Applejack merely shrugged her shoulders. "Like how you'd expect. He was a little hesitant about the wholefarmidea-"

"Who isn't?" Rarity muttered, blinking back into reality as Applejack threw her a glare, to which she responded with an apologetic smile.

"-anyways . . . after he got used to it all, he was fine with it all. He even offered to help me with some of my chores." She explained, Rarity tilting her head in slight confusion. Evenshewas reluctant to work on her friend's farm, let alone a colt they had met a day ago. "Well . . . . alright. If you say it's fine."

Applejack nodded. "He is." She smiled, turning back towards the door, only to freeze. "Oh and I should warn you, he can get a little . . .pun crazyat times, so watch out for that. It's a killer." She smirked. Rarity smiled, closing the door behind the mare as she walked out.

Rarity glanced back at the open doorway in which the teen had disappeared before taking a deep breath. Upon first meeting, the colt had seemed a little odd, what with the way he fidgeted and tensed, not to mention the bandages and whatnot. And Twilight's vision certainly did not help matters. But . . . there was something about the teen that made her hold her judgment. Something that made her remind herself that he was still just a kid.

But that didn't mean she was going to drop her guard. She was generous, not stupid.

Walking into the next room, she found Danny over by the shelf of fabrics, staring in boredom at the different colors. The mare frowned slightly as she began to think through her plan with the boy once more. She had originally been going to show him around the boutique and explain her usual routine for creating new clothes and attires.

Yet . . . thinking back on it, maybe bringing the teen to a place where sewing kits and dresses were the norm wasn't really the best idea, which the teen quickly made obvious.

"So . . . let me just try and walk through your thought process here." The teen started as he turned towards the mare. "Fifteen-year-old kid . . ." He raised one hoof. "Dress boutique . . . ." He held up the other hoof. " . . . . . Well I've never seen a more perfect pair in all my life." He smirked.

Rarity couldn't help the smile that grew upon her face as she rolled her eyes. "Oh come now. It's not as bad as you make it out to be. And itdefinitelycan't be any worse than being stuck on a farm."

Danny shrugged. "That's true. At least here, I won't start off white and then become orange after 45 minutes." He muttered, shaking his back hoof lazily, watching a small cloud of dust float from his hoof to the floor. Rarity shuddered in disgust at the thought of so much dirt before moving over to her sewing station, Danny slowly trailing behind her.

"So. . . you like the town tailor, or something?"

Rarity scrunched up her face at that. "Well, I would hardly call it that. I mean, yes, Idofix up holes and tears sometimes, but that's not all. I'm responsible for creating and designing new pieces of trend-setting clothes for ponies to where. And not just here, I also have boutiques in Manehatten and Canterlot that I have to deal with and design for. It's actually a very demanding process, especially when you have to create more than twenty sets of each piece of clothing I make for high demand."

Danny couldn't help the look of surprise that fell onto his face. "Seriously? God, that sounds awful." He confessed.

Rarity let out a laugh. "Oh, maybe for you. But It's what I live for!" She exclaimed happily.

The teen stared at her for a moment before a small smile fell onto his face. Rarity caught the look and gave a small smile of her own. She suddenly glanced to the side and frowned as she noticed the pile of clothes to her right. "Hmph . . . I should have had those new pieces folded by now, I've just been caught up in this little project." She sighed, glancing down at the long strip of blue fabric that was still pressed against the bottom of her sewing machine.

Danny glanced over at the clothes before shrugging his shoulders. "You want some help?"

Rarity blinked for a moment before turning her head towards the teen. "Umm . . . of- of course. I would greatly appreciate it." She finally uttered out, watching as Danny moved over to the pile of clothes. Strange. She wouldn't have pegged the teen for someone willing to involve himself in something he had already made clear he wasn't interested in. Perhaps she could ask Applejack on it later.

Nevertheless, she turned back to the long stretch of fabric pinned by her sewing point and turned on the machine once more, diving back into her work. As her hooves flowed along the fabric, smoothing out any wrinkles as it inched itself through the machine, she couldn't help but steal glanced towards Danny.

Instead of the bored, regretful look she would expect on a fifteen-year-old boy trapped in a dress boutique, he looked dutiful, as if he was really striving to do a good job. And judging from the tight corners and smooth fabric on the clothes he folded, it was working.

Rarity gave a small smile as she turned off the sewing machine and began to inspect the blue fabric closely. "You know, you're pretty good at that."

Danny gave a small smirk of his own as he continued to carefully fold and stack up the clothes next to him. "Yep, it's a hidden talent of mine. My parents are so proud. The colleges are justlining up." He grinned.

Rarity felt a small hint of surprise bloom in her as she felt a giggle leave her lips at the teen's wittiness.

"Besides, I've gotten a lot of practice in this department. I usually help my sister with the laundry anyways."

That peeked interest as Rarity lifted her head.

"So you have a sister?"

Danny nodded. "Yep, two years older, two times smarter, two times as annoying."

Rarity felt a smile form on her face, which dimmed slightly as she remembered what Twilight's instructions had been.

"So . . . tell me a bit about your family."

Danny felt his movements slow slightly at the question, a growing silence beginning to fill the air as he felt the smirk on his face instantly fall.Right, of course. How could I forget what this really is?He thought to himself. Just poke and prod at the new kid for answers. Then again, he couldn't feel too bad about it, considering their suspicions were correct. After all, he couldn't exactly call himselfnormal. Still . . .

That didn't give them a right to judge him. At least . . . . notyet.

Rarity bit the inside of her cheek and glanced nervously at her surroundings, aware of the awkward silence that was continuously growing around the pair.Perhaps this wasn't the best idea. . . She mused to herself. Suddenly, she watched Danny continue to fold the clothes, not bothering to raise his head or look away from his work as he finally answered.

"There's not much to tell. I live with my mom, dad and sister. No pets, cranky neighbors, average life."

Once again, not atotallie. Then again, that neighbor bit was true. But who wouldn't get a little peeved when your neighbors are constantly blowing things up in their basement and blocking all the sun from your yard with an Ops Center you're absolutely sure isn't up to Building Code.

"Any friends?" Rarity asked, realizing the teen was beginning to get a little annoyed, if only by the slight strain in his voice. Still, she couldn't ignore her instructions.

"Two."

"That's all?" She asked, watching as Danny's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Don't really need any more." He almost growled.

"Alright then . . . well how about your parents? What do they d-"

"What does this even matter to you anyway?! I'm here! They're not! Can we just drop it?!" He shouted angrily, turning a glare towards Rarity. The mare blinked in shock as she reeled back slightly at the teen's sudden outburst.

Danny took a deep breath and placed a hoof to his head, brushing the black bangs out of his face. "Sorry . . . guess I'm just a little more stressed than I thought. I-I didn't mean to . . um-"

"It's alright." Rarity soothed. "I probably shouldn't have brought it up anyways." She realized, turning back down towards the piece of cloth at her hooves. Danny let out a small sigh before dropping the matter and turning back towards the smaller pile of clothes in front of him.

Actually, the outburst had surprised the teen slightly as well. Though he knew their questionswerebeginning to get on his bad side, he hadn't expected to get so angry at the mention of his parents. His mind drifted back to the dream he had suffered through last night. It was a dream he had been having often lately.

He tried not to think too much of it, listing it off as sleep deprivation and empty fears, but lately he couldn't help but wonder if there was more to it than he thought. Maybe he was more afraid than he thought. Maybe he was more afraid of hisparentsthan he thought. But he simplify shook away the thought, as he now did often. It was stupid to be afraid. It's not like they would actually hurt him . . . . .right?

He didn't have time to answer his question when the back door suddenly swung open and three new figures rushed into the room. One he instantly recognized as Applebloom, but the other two were mysteries to him. One was an orange filly with dark purple hair and lighter matching eyes. The other was white with pink and purple swirled hair, reminding him of Rarity.

"Hey, Rarity." Applebloom called, a small smile appearing on her face as she took notice of the colt standing across the room beside the white mare. Motioning for the two other fillies to follow, she walked over. "Hey girls, this is Danny, the colt I was telling ya'll about." She explained. "He's staying with Twilight at the castle."

"Wow, really?" The orange filly asked. "How come?"

Danny gave a shrug of the shoulders. "Probably cause she's real suspicious of me, so she sent her friends to babysit to make sure I don't do anything like step on a crack or litter or whatever." He muttered, Rarity visibly wincing off to the side.

The fillies shared confused glances with each other before Danny shook his head. "Sorry, not important. So who are you guys anyway?"

That seemed to be enough to snap Applebloom back into reality as she motioned over to her friends. "Oh, well this is Sweetie Belle and this is Scootaloo." She said, pointing to each respective filly as their name was called. Sweetie Belle nodded. "Yep, we actually came to borrow some materials for the clubhouse." She explained, running over to the fabric shelf, levitating a few swabs of clothing, yarn and needles into the air.

"Thanks sis!" She called as she raced out of the rooms with her friends before the mare could even blink, let alone stop her. Rarity huffed and began to mutter underneath her breath as she turned back towards the cloth underneath her hooves. Danny chuckled at the scene before turning back to the clothes in front of him.

Suddenly, a loud squeal of delight ran out into the air, making Danny jump in surprise. Raising his head, he watched Rarity stare at the finished blue cloth with a large smile before raising her head to stare at Danny. The teen gulped at the look on her face before feeling his body begin to tingle, a light blue hue wrapping around him before tugging him forward.

His hooves scraped along the floor before he came to a stop right in front of the mare, the magic around him dissipating, leaving his body shivering slightly. Before he could voice his displeasure at being yanked around like a ragdoll, he felt something be draped around his neck and shoulders.

Glancing down, he realized the blue cloth the mare had been working on had turned out to be a light blue scarf that matched the color of his bright blue eyes. "Ooo! You look absolutely adorable!" Rarity squealed out, pressing her hooves against her cheeks. Danny couldn't help the smile that spread onto his face as he watched the mare's face light up.

"Rarity, this looks great!" He said happily, the mare beaming next to him. "Well it's not everyday I get to work with a color pallet as unique as yours." She explained, straightening out the scarf on his shoulders.

"And it works even better now that the pegasi are finally beginning to bring in those colder wind fronts. we'll have snow sooner than you think" She said with a smile. Danny smirked at that. "Well that's good cause I just so happen to have left my winter clothes back home, and something tells me it might be a little difficult getting them back." He chuckled, considering nopony else knew the extent of his statement.

Suddenly, Rarity's face lit up at the teen's words. "Really? You have no winter attire?" She asked with a knowing smirk. Danny felt his ears flatten as he began to slowly scoot backwards. "Well that's not entirely...I mean I'm sure I can...heh...wanna heresome...puns?"

"I will hear none of it! Come!" She screamed, levitating the wide-eyed teen into the air, trailing behind her. "There's so much to do!"

"Ugg...me and my big mouth."





Danny felt the shiver run up his spine, roughly shaking his head as he tried to blink the last hour out of his mind.Ugg . . so many sewing needles. He shuddered. Still, the light autumn breeze that was currently sweeping through the air helped to calm him down. Even though the boutique hadn't been the mostwonderfulexperience, he couldn't say he didn't have fun.

All in all, he actually enjoyed hanging out with Rarity, Applejack as well. Minus the intrusive questions, the mares were nice, and they were genuinely interested in him. He couldn't say it didn't feel good to have people enjoy your company. Back home, it was normally just him, Tucker and Sam, Jazz tagging along occasionally.

He narrowed his eyes and shook the thoughts out of his head.Focus, Fenton. He muttered to himself.You have a job to do. This is nothing more than a distraction. A distraction which is definitely not worth your time. He reminded himself, thinking back to the questions the girls couldn't help but ask.

"What are they trying to figure out, anyways?" He asked himself.Why were they so suspicious?He thought back to their first meeting. Nothing had really stood out as noteworthy, other than the strange interaction with Twilight at the beginning and-

His thoughts slowly wound to a stop as he remembered their first meeting.

Was that it? Was that why they were all acting so weird? Why they wanted him out of the room whenever they would have their"secret" meetingsthat weren't very secret? Why they were asking all those question?

What had Twilight seen?

He didn't have anymore time to ponder said question before the large building he was heading towards loomed in front of him. The sight made him to a double take before letting out a large sigh. "This place just keeps getting weirder and weirder..." He grumbled.

In front of him stood a large house-like building that seemed to be made entirely out of sweets. The roof was a dark brown mocha color with white frosting trim. the cream-colored walls stretched up into a second story with a bubbly pink roof that resembled a certain party-pony's mane.

"Fine, but if I see a witch baking in the oven, I'msooutof here." Danny muttered to himself before pushing the front door open and stepping inside. Instantly, an overwhelming wave of flour, sugar and frosting hit his nose he was certain he got at least two cavities by just walking in.

Wiping away the tears from his watering eyes, the teen glanced around the room and realized it was a store with a display window and counter. Yet the space behind said counter was empty. "Hello?" He called out, gazing around the store in search of the pink pony, yet saw no sign of her.

"Hmm. . . ." He murmured to himself before noticing the door behind the counter. Taking one last glance around the room, he hesitantly walked over and pushed the door open.

"INCOMING!"

Danny let out a yelp as a large sticky glob slammed into his face, knocking him backwards onto the floor. A groan floated up into the air as the teen lay motionless on the cold tile floor. Blinking open his eyes, he felt something heavy and sticky clinging to his face, dripping down onto his shoulders before finally drooping towards the floor.

Smacking his lips as he tried to decipher the taste of the strange substance that had landed on his face, some partially dropping into his mouth, he could barely suppress the urge to sigh as he realized it was cake batter. Wiping off some batter from his cheek, he popped the small collected glob into his mouth before rising to his hooves.

"Sorry about that!" Pinkie Pie shouted as she continued to violently mix whatever was in the bowl on the counter.

But Danny failed to hear her as he finally got a good look at the room around him. Along the walls were high counters filled to the brim with different bowls and mixers, all containing different colored substances, some oozing down onto the floor. In the center of the room stood a large island covered with large bowls and small tools, including measuring cups, whisks and various glasses.

But to tell the truth, it was hard to tell what anything was in the room considering almost everything wascoveredin cake batter.

Danny couldn't help the snicker that fell out of his mouth as he gazed around the room before wiping off the rest of the batter from his face, flicking it down to the already dirty floor. "What the heck are you doing, Pinkie?" He laughed out.

"Baking cupcakes!" She happily cheered.

Danny's eyes widened as he gazed around at the messy room once more, unconvinced the entire mess was from baking one batch of cupcakes alone. "All of this is from a single batch of cupcakes?!" He asked incredulously.

Yet Pinkie merely shook her head with a roll of her eyes, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course not, silly! I've also made some cakes, pies, muffins, danishes, cinnamon rolls,churros, bear claws, cannolis, croissants, cream puffs and eclairs!" She said with a large grin, before adding offhandedly, "Cupcakes were just next on the list. And today we're trying out a special batch of Cheesy Peanut Butter Cinnamon Surprise!"

Danny quickly did a double take as he blinked away his shock. "Oh boy, who in their right mind could resist that?" He muttered sarcastically. Yet that'muttered sarcastically'part flew right over the party pony's head as eh leaned closer. "I KNOW RIGHT?!"

He watched with a smile on his face as the oblivious mare continued to mix whatever was in the bowl. Hey, as long as the food wasn't growling at him, it was good enough in his book-and still better than his mom's.

Suddenly, Pinkie's head shot up once more as a brilliant idea popped into her mind. "Hey! Wanna help?" She asked. Danny scrunched his face before turning back to her. "Oh . . . I don't know. I'm not much of a baker. Besides, I wouldn't want to ruin thatdeliciousrecipe you're workin' on over there." He added with a smirk.

Pinkie Pie-once again, none the wiser-merely shook him off. "Oh don't worry. We're not selling this batch. We're handing them out as free samples. That way everyone can enjoy them!" She added with a large grin, never noticing Danny's less-than-thrilled face at the news.Great, now instead of paying for their diarrhea, they can get it for free.

Nevertheless, the teen quickly moved over next to Pinkie Pie, handing her the next ingredient from the open book in front of her on how to make Cheesy Peanut Butter Cinnamon Cupcakes. How the recipe even existed was still a mystery to the teen but when you're in a world of talking rainbow ponies, you learn to roll with things.

Danny couldn't help but smile as he began to work with the pink pony, who was currently humming a small tune as she added in a couple spoons of cinnamon to the bowl. She was just so . . . .happy.Danny couldn't quite understand it. Then again, maybe it was just this world, which seemed to literally be the cure for depression.

Yet the teen knew there had to be more to this world than what could be seen on the surface, if only by the way the girls were acting so weird around him. Obviously they had been in similar situations before and made thewrongdecision, so he couldn'treallyblame them.

Still, he wished he could at least show them he wasn't any threat to them. He wished he could explain why he was really here. He wished he could confess tosomeone. Yet that pang of fear that shot through his heart resurfaced as he thought about confessing, making his throat close and his mouth snap shut.

He couldn't. He couldn't confirm those suspicions. He couldn't turn this place into another Amity.

"You okay over there?"

Danny jumped as he was violently pulled from his thoughts, whipping around to face Pinkie. "You've been awful quiet, which is kind of strange considering I'malwaystalking! I mean, what's better than sharing all of you thoughts and ideas to the ponies you are closest to. I mean isn't that a true measure of-" She rambled, only for Danny to place a hoof to her mouth, realizing it could go on forever.

"Uhh . . . . listen-" He started, mind wrapping around the confusing thought he had conjured up moments ago. "Aren't you gonna ask me any questions?" He finally choked out, flattening his ears slightly as he waited for her answer.

Pinkie's eyes widened as she threw his hoof away from her mouth. "Oh, sorry! I completely forgot!" She exclaimed, Danny letting out a small sigh.

"So . . . what's your favorite food?"

The teen placed a hoof against his cheek as he opened his mouth to retort an answer, only to clamp it shut in confusion as the words rang in his ears. "I- . . .what?" He muttered, turning back towards the mare.

"What's your favorite food?"

Danny blinked in shock for a moment before turning around towards the mare once more. "I-wait, wait, wait! A-aren't you gonna ask . . . ask any questions about . . . about my life? You know . . . for information on me? Like . . . like your friends did?" He finally uttered out, confused as to why the mare wasn't trying to peer into his life like the others.

Pinkie Pie shrugged her shoulders. "Nope. Not really."

The teen shook his head in disbelief at the mare's care-free attitude. "Why?"He asked incredulously.

Pinkie smiled at him. "Cause we're friends." She said without hesitation. "And I trust you." With that, she went right back to mixing whatever was in her bowl, leaving a dumbfounded colt staring wide-eyed at her. For some reason, her words just wouldn't click in his mind correctly.

He realized the other mare already considered him a friend, at least, that's what they said last night, but . . . . but something about it just wouldn't click in the teen's mind. Especially considering they were still trying to figure him out. Still trying to decipher whether he was a threat or not.

Whatever that Twilight girl had seen in her vision, it was obviously not showing him in the best light, if it even showed him at all. Still, it was obvious she still didn't trust him completely, despite what she said. Which was probably why she asked her friends to hang out with him today. though of course, it could be because theywantedto hang out with him, at least, that's what he hoped was really the case.

Yet something in the back of his mind told him that wasn't really the case. Something told him they weren't just doing this cause they wanted to. They were suspicious. They were suspicious ofhim.

The thought made a sigh build up in his chest, reminding him of home and the feelings that would always surface there.Maybe this really is another waste of time. Maybe i should just get out of here now. I mean, it's obvious they don't really care about me. Idiot, of course they don't. You're just some random kid they met yesterday, who, for all they know, is planning something dangerous. Or at least, enjoys giving ponies terrifying visions!

The thoughts in his head made sense. They madetotalsense. Yet . . . . yet there was something about Pinkie's words, Rarity's offers, Applejack's smiles. Something about them made him falter in his thoughts of ditching them, of wondering whether the girls were fake. No, no you couldn't fake what he saw. Those were real. Her smiles, her offers, her words. They were real, which meant the girls were too.

Finally, the teen grew a small smile as he turned back towards Pinkie. "Spaghetti. I'm pretty into spaghetti." He confessed, Pinkie throwing a smile of her own at him.

Suddenly, the sound of a chiming bell filled their ears as well as the sound of a closing door. Pinkie Pie poked her head through the door and noticed Fluttershy standing by the counter, a small white bunny poking out of her mane. The mare waved at her friend before motioning for her to join them in the kitchen.

Fluttershy followed her through the door and gasped at the sight of the kitchen, which now had dough, flour water and broken eggs splattered all around. "Whoa! Did a food hurricane blow through here?" She asked.

Danny shrugged his shoulders. "Just baking some cupcakes." He glanced around at the room. "Besides, I think this would probably classify as a food tornado anyways." He chuckled, Pinkie Pie bouncing over. "Yep, Danny's helping me bake some new Cheesy Peanut Butter Cinnamon Surprise."

Either Fluttershy had lots of practice in hiding her gag reflex from her pink friend, or she was insane and had a really strong stomach because she gave a smile and said, "Sounds wonderful, Pinkie. You'll have to let me try some when they're ready."

"Okay, but I suggest making sure yourwillis up to date." Danny muttered to her under his breath.

Fluttershy bopped the teen lightly on the head with her wing as she laughed softly, Danny grinning next to her. Suddenly, he noticed her mane twitching slightly. "Uhh . . ." He moaned, pointing up at the mare's hair, wondering if she knew about the-white bunny that popped out of her hair.

She seemed to notice his confusion and smiled up at the creature on her head. "Oh Danny, I almost forgot. This is my pet bunny, Angel. Angel this is Danny, the friend we met yesterday." She explained to the rabbit as it hopped onto the counter next to him.

The creature's face scrunched as it stared at the teen, and if Danny didn't know any better, he would say the bunny was . . . .annoyed?He shrugged and scratched the bunny under the chin, watching as he instantly dropped the look and began to beat his foot repeatedly on the counter before leaping up onto Danny's head, pushing his black hair down into his eyes.

Fluttershy felt a giggle leave her lips as she watched the encounter. "I think he likes you."

Danny grunted as the bunny burrowed further into his hair before turning a pleading look towards the mare. "Okay . . . how do you get this thing off of you?" He asked. Fluttershy smiled before giving the bunny a small call. Angel glanced up before reluctantly returning to the mare's side.

Instantly afterwards, a small ding sounded, followed by a loud shriek of delight, Pinkie Pie zooming back into the room, a small trail of smoke following at her hooves.

"THE CUPCAKES ARE DONE!"

Another plume of smoke rose into the air as the mare zipped back into the kitchen. Danny glanced over at Fluttershy, who gave a small shake of her head. "You get used to it." She explained, Danny nodding in understanding.

Suddenly, a final plume of smoke rose into the air as the mare sprinted back into the room, holding three newly frosted orange cupcakes. "Here, here, here! I want you guys to try it first!" She exclaimed happily, pushing the pastries into her friend's hooves.

Fluttershy and Danny each passed each other terrified glances, unaware they would have toeatthe cupcakes, with the mare in front of them, nonetheless.

Crap.

"Go on!I want to see your reactions!" Pinkie chirped happily.

The two ponies let out deep sighs before reaching to their sides, pulling large trash cans next to them in preparation as they each took deep breaths and but down on the cupcakes.

"B-BLLAAARRRGGGGHHHHH"

" . . . . . "

" . . . . . "

" . . . . . "

"So . . . what do you think?"