//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Friend or Foe // Story: Equestria's Peril // by KJay //------------------------------// Applejack's hooves, head, and hind end ached. Her hooves; from a long day of Applebucking, hind; from the cut she had sustained earlier that morning, and head from all she had absorbed in one day. Despite her nerves, something else lingered in her mind. A kind of...sadness, though she couldn't quite put her hoof on it. Her thoughts wandered from one topic to another until it rested on Daniel. She glanced at Canterlot Castle from her orchard and thought about him even more. She didn't admit it out loud, but Applejack did in fact, miss him. She missed his help around the farm, how good he was with Applebloom, and even his crude sense of humor every now and then. In the past week, he had spent the most time with her telling her about himself and Kelly, listening closely anytime she told him about herself and her friends. Even though her and Daniel were completely different biologically, she still managed to find common ground with him and become good friends. AJ didn't even realize how much she enjoyed his company until he was gone. "He'll be back, don't you worry." She consoled herself. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "So she finished, and he says, 'Babe, that was great, and as I promised I'll do whatever you ask. So, she replies..." Daniel then picked up his glass of milk, and filled his cheeks without swallowing. He delivered the punch-line, "Kish me," he gurgled as a small amount of milk dribbled down his chin. Kelly sat next to him in the dining area reserved for the royal guards. His face was in his palm for the longest time, embarrassed by his dirty-minded friend. Some of the guards groaned in disgust, others chuckled awkwardly. A female guard shook her head dissaprovingly, while Meta Shroud fell out of his chair, laughing. "Humans certainly have an...interesting sense of humor." Chival commented. "Well, Meta sure seemed to enjoy it. Daniel, I think you and him were meant to be sparring buddies." Kelly slapped his friend on the back as he finished his own drink, despite the innapropriate joke. "Revolting." An unknown voice spoke. Most of the guards, plus both humans brought their attention to a scowling pegasus guard with a small scar above his right eye. "Ah c'mon, Plexis. It was just a joke." Meta defended his student. Plexis gave the dark-coated unicorn a mean look before grunting, and excusing himself. "I think it's safe to say I've lost my appetite." Plexis grumbled as he left the mess hall. Kelly gave Chival a perplexed look. "Don't worry about him, it's nothing personal toward Daniel. Plexis never cared much for other species; humans included I suppose." "Any reason why?" Kelly ventured. Chival shrugged. "Ever since he was initiated a few years back, neighboring species were always just a threat to him. My guess is he grew up in a bitter environment, and vents that anger at races other than his own...mostly anyway." "And that scar?" Daniel spoke up. Chival shifted uncomfortably. "Well, he doesn't like anypony to mention it so...I don't know...maybe another time." "It seems like the only good reason to keep him around is because he's one of our best aerial fighters." Meta stated. "Just try your best to avoid him." Chival finished, and both humans nodded. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I am gonna be sore in the morning." Kelly climbed into the semi-comfy mattress and massaged his training indused injuries." "Hey! I just thought of something." Daniel bolted upright. "What are we gonna do about meat?" Kelly quickly sat up and shushed his friend since other beds with snoozing guards weren't far from them. "I don't know. Let's just wait until tomorrow and ask Celestia what to do about that." A couple minutes went by, but slumber was the last thing on either of their minds. "What do you think Fluttershy's doing?" Kelly voiced his thoughts. Daniel grinned in amusement. "Probably sleeping. Awwww maybe she's thinking about you too." Daniel cooed and mocked his friend by making kissing sounds. Kelly's face grew red hot. "Shut your mouth!" He retorted a little louder than intended. "Why don't you both shut up?!" A sleep deprived guard bellowed a few beds away. "G'night...loverboy." Daniel taunted and closed his eyes. Kelly sighed and did the same. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following morning was started with a very early wake up call. The humans wanted nothing more than to sleep in, but taking on the responsibilty to protect Equestria was too heavy a burden to be put off. "Go get some breakfast, and meet us on the training grounds in about an hour." Meta was clear to the point and left the humans to plan their day. Kelly reached for an apple but stopped when he noticed a hay sandwich not far from it. His eyes shifted back and forth to the fruit and the sandwich. "Hmm...maybe I'll just try it." He grabbed the bread and examined the straws between them. Smelling it didn't really tell him whether he should try it or not. It simply smelled...like fresh hay. He took a catious bite, as if the sandwich might explode. Daniel just stared at his curious friend, giggling. Kelly felt the bread mix in with the dry straws. The taste wasn't really satisfactory, but it also wasn't what he expected. After a few seconds of cringing he searched for a place where he could reject his food. He spat out the bite in a nearby waste basket, as Daniel approached him; laughing mildly. "What? Horse food not to your liking?" Kelly smiled. "Nah, it's great. Here try some." He pushed the bitten morsel to his friends mouth. "I think I'll stick with my apple." Daniel started to walk off, but stopped and turned to his friend. "Careful, you might start growing hooves soon." "Hilarious." Kelly rolled his eyes. "It was, wasn't it." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight let out a ferocious yawn as she descended the stairs of the library. "Good morning Owlowiscious." "Who." "Morning Spike, your up early." Spike was busy making breakfast. "Yeah, couldn't sleep real easy last night, and I couldn't go back to sleep once I woke up. Y'know...considering." Spike didn't have to finish. "Yeah, I do. Don't worry though, that's in the past. Next time we'll be ready." "I sure hope so." Spike replied half-heartedly. Twilight practically inhaled her breakfast. She wanted to get right to work on getting Ponyville back on its feet. "I'm going to City Hall to check up on housing arrangements, and I'm going to survey some of the repairs around town so I'll be gone for a while." "Ok, don't worry about things here, I've got it all under control." Spike reassured. "Good to hear, number one assistant." Twilight left with some quills and scrolls leaving Spike to look for something to do around the house. He was distracted though. Yesterday's unexpected attack wasn't the only thing on his mind. He had in fact heard everything that Celestia had told the elements and humans. It was daunting to the baby dragon to think that something so sinister could intrude upon his, and his friend's peaceful lives in Ponyville. He regretted eavesdropping. "I hope Kelly and Daniel can help us stop this." "Who." Spike raised his brow at Twilight's pet. "Kelly and Daniel. You kno-...ah geez." Spike soon went back to work. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hello, Mayor. How is everypony doing?" Twilight prepared to document the first report. "Well, here's a list of some of the families whose homes were lost. We have a few reports on injuries that need to be monitored, but nothing too serious..." Twilight kept up easefully; scribbling down information in an organized manor. After the Mayor had given her knowledge, Twilight gave her thanks and was off to evaluate the damage in town. There wasn't a significant difference since she last saw the town, but repairs were coming along smoothly. After determining some blueprints, and repair models, she estimated it would take two, maybe three weeks for repairs to be finished. Twilight did what she does best by utilizing different ponies for construction jobs. Earth ponies were mainly responsible for creating foundations for the floors of the homes. Pegasi were tasked with completing the walls and roofs when necessary, and unicorns were busy with transporting supplies such as lumber, bricks, shingles, etc. Twilight was just finishing up on some calibrations when her unicorn friend spotted her. "Twilight, darling! How are you?" Rarity trotted towards her lavender friend. "Oh, hello, Rarity. I'm doing okay I suppose. What about you?" "Oh, I'm coping, despite recent events. I'm on my way to see Fluttershy at the spa." Twilight gave her friend a confused glance. "Now? I mean, do you really think this is the best time?" Rarity frowned, unaware of how out of place her plans seemed. "Just because one goes through a horrific episode does not mean one should just throw all priorities of glamour out of the window. Besides, I've been helping. Why just earlier, I hauled some lumber alongside some unicorn gentlecolts." Twilight gave rarity an unconvinced look. "Rarity, the only time I ever saw you do any heavy lifting was with that rock that Discord tricked you into believing was a diamond." Rarity scowled. "How many times must I say, never let us speak of it again." Still, Twilight wasn't buying it. "Okay, so maybe I just walked with them and told them they were doing a marvelous job, but, I still helped." Twilight rolled her eyes, but smiled as she did so. "I should be getting back to the library, it's almost noon." "Indeed, Good day, my dear." Twilight gave a farewell, leaving Rarity to pick up the pace since she was once again running late. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Fluttershy sat quiet as a mouse reading one of her favorite magazines: Mare's Health. It wasn't soon after the bell rang indicating someone had arrived. "*Huff* Sorry I'm late again *Huff* Fluttershy." "No worries Rarity. I just can't believe you have manicures on the mind when so much has happened recently." "Yeah, Twilight thought the same thing, but if you ask me, a day here is just what we need to unwind and forget about our troubles." "I suppose." Fluttershy said meakly. The two approached the desk, and ordered the usual treatment for each. It wasn't until they both sank into the mud when Rarity was feeling gossipy. "So, how are things at the cottage?" "Oh, wonderful. I'm really happy those monsters didn't come near my animals. Angel Bunny is still...difficult at times, but I do my best." "Thats good." Rarity glanced at the ceiling, conjuring another topic. "Hey, Rarity..." The white unicorn glanced back at her friend, almost surprised. "Yes, Fluttershy?" Fluttershy looked down, searching for the right words to continue. "Have...you ever had...somepony...um...like...you?" Rarity didn't make any noticable reaction to her friend's question. She took a second to try to understand exactly what Fluttershy meant. "Do you mean somepony having...feelings for me?" Fluttershy nodded. "Well, um. Perhaps there have been instances where somepony has taken a liking to me. I do recall drawing the attention of a handsome colt in high school. We had quite the fling him and I." "W-was he obvious about his feelings towards you?" Rarity put her hoof to her chin. "At first he wasn't. However, after we got to know one another, he began to be most affectionate." "What did you like about him?" "Well, he was handsome as I said before. He was always sweet to me, and he did have somewhat of an eye for fashion." Rarity was going to continue, but she felt compelled to ask why her friend why she would want to know all of this. 'Perhaps Fluttershy has her eye on a stallion!' Rarity pondered. This thought forced a grin to cross her face. "Darling, do tell, why are you so interested?" Fluttershy sank back even further and mumbled. "Oh, it's...it's nothing. I'm sorry." "Oh dear, I'm not upset or anything. I just want to know one thing." "Y-yes?" Rarity grinned even wider. "Is there a special somepony for you?" Rarity giggled, anticipating Fluttershy's answer. Fluttershy blushed brightly; overcome by embarrassement. "Uh...well...it's just that..." "*GASP* There is somepony! Who is it?! Who is it?! Do I know him?!" "Well, it's kind of complicated..." "C'mon, c'mon tell me!" "I-I don't know Rarity. I'm not even entirely certain if-" "Tellmetellmetellme!" Fluttershy sighed and closed her eyes. "I think...and this is not for sure but...I...I think..............Kelly might like me." Fluttershy brought haste into the final words. Rarity's smile dissapeared. On the outside, she looked to be in mild shock, but on the inside, she felt bubbly at what was probably one of the juiciest peices of gossip she had ever heard. Her smile returned. "Really? What makes you think that?" Fluttershy opened her eyes, amazed by her friend's subtlety. "Well. Remember when him and Daniel first got here, and we found out that they were omnivorous?" Rarity cringed at the memory. "Yes, I do." "When I found out that humans hunted little woodland creatures, it was heart-breaking, and I wanted to say something to them, but I just couldn't find the right words so I decided to just avoid them if possible. But, it wasn't until the very next day that he came to my cottage to talk." "What happened?" Rarity leaned in. "He seemed...upset that I wouldn't talk to him. I felt like maybe he wanted to resolve it, so I asked him what kind of animals he had eaten. He told me that him and Daniel had never killed any smaller creatures. I was relieved to hear that he only hunted animals who could defend themselves. When I looked at him, he had this expression...like...when your really happy to see somepony...I don't know, it's pretty hard to explain." "The way he looked at you gave it away?" "Not really. Soon after that, he pleaded for my forgiveness. I felt so bad at that point for shunning him. I had no idea that he cared so much about what I thought. Of course, I had to forgive him, and when I did...he hugged me." Not even telling Rarity that the boutique had been ransacked would be enough to tear her away from Fluttershy's story. "Yes, go on!" "I wasn't sure what to do. Eventually, I hugged him back and he held the embrace for a good while. After we stopped, he told me he had to go but that he would like to visit sometime. I still thought it was strange how quickly he warmed up to me, but he seemed nice so I said he could." "Did he?" "Oh yes, very often. We talked alot. Angel Bunny was a little jealous of the attention I think, but Kelly's company was joyful." "What did you two talk about?" "We talked about where he was from, and I told him about what I do, and how I earned my cutie mark. He was really interested in learning about me mostly." "That settles it. He likes you." Rarity declared. "A-are you sure...I mean, don't you think it's kind of weird that he would have feelings for me?" "Well, yeah. I see your point. Don't you think there might be a good reason for it though? He's kind to you right?" "Oh yes. He's very very sweet." "And he enjoys listening to what you have to say?" "I belive so." "He might not be a stallion, but at least he can talk, and shows these kinds of emotions just like us." "I...guess." Silence lingered for a short time. "Do you like him?" Fluttershy was expecting something like that at any time, but the question still managed to catch her off guard. "I...uh...well..." Fluttershy could feel her cheeks burning again. "Yes? No?" "I don't know..." "Do you mean...theres a possibility?!" "I don't know!" Fluttershy elevated her voice slightly, but sank back as she did so. "Darling, I know it's strange, but what if you took a leap of faith?" Fluttershy felt even more conflicted with her friend edging her on. "He's a completely different species..." She replied, barely audible. "If he were a stallion, would you?" "...I...think I might." "See, you do have a 'thing' for him." "Rarity, please...I..." It took a second for Rarity to realize how uncomfortable she was making her friend. "Oh my, Fluttershy. I'm so sorry, I didn't know this would be upsetting for you. I've just never heard of you liking anypony." "It's okay, really it is." "Forgive me?" "Of course, Rarity." The subject was dropped, but still stuck in the pegasi's mind. It was around one in the afternoon when the two finished their day at the spa, and said their farewells. Fluttershy was now worried about two things: how she would handle her new human friend liking her (if he really did). Plus, how was she going to cope with all of her friends knowing about this, because as much as she trusted Rarity, even Fluttershy knew that mare couldn't keep a secret for long. ------------------------------------------------------------------- After yesterday's quick session, Chival, and Meta thought it would be best to work on defensive techniques first. Both humans were making similar progress, but after walking away with fresh cuts and bruises, it was apparent that they still had much to learn. Kelly was making his way toward the mess hall for lunch with Daniel shortly behind; angrily mumbling to himself. "C'mon, man. I know it's aggrivating, but we'll get better." "Yeah..." Was all Daniel said, not wanting to vent his anger towards his friend. Kelly took a sharp turn straight around a corner just down the corridor from the mess hall when he accidentally collided with Plexis. Plexis stumbled backwards from Kelly's superior size, as Kelly tripped and fell to the side of him. "Crap, I'm sorr-" "WHY DON'T YOU LOOK WHERE YOUR GOING?!" Plexis took an offensive stance over the human. "Back off Plexis! I said I was sorry!" Kelly put his hand on his knee and began to stand up, but not before Plexis could butt him with his head and knock him back on his seat. Kelly glared daggers at the pegasus. He wanted nothing more than to return the favor, but decided against it. Kelly watched Plexis carefully as he attempted to stand up a second time. About this time, Daniel had rounded the corner. "Do you humans have the sight of a cave bat?" Plexis taunted. "Pfft...asshole." Kelly swore. "Excuse me." Plexis scraped the marble floor. Kelly wanted to stay quiet, but he was being pushed, so to speak. "You heard me!" "Just don't bother with him, dude." Kelly hardly ever heard Daniel be the voice of reason, but took his friend's advice. "C'mon, let's go." Both humans walked past the fuming guard, but Plexis was already sick of their presence in the castle, in Canterlot, in EQUESTRIA! He didn't trust them as far as he could buck'em. To him, they were nothing but a danger, just like those damn griffons and dragons. If they thought they could smart-mouth him and get away with it, they had another thing coming. He scraped his hoof a couple more times, selecting his target. He figured if he could take down the bigger one, the other wouldn't even think about messing with him. Plexis charged and closed in on Daniel , just before the human could react to the sound of clopping hooves right behind him. Plexis dug his head right into Daniel's side, igniting agony in a bruise from training. Daniel shut his eyes tight and took a quick deep breath. He was already pissed off from training, and not only had this little bitch fucked with his friend, but now he was straight up assaulting him. He opened his eyes not even a second later, and only saw red. Daniel let out a yell of pure anger that echoed down the corridors and beyond. He turned on the pegasus and brought both his hands in a clenched ball down on the stallion's head. Plexis was wearing his armor but could still feel the impact from the human's force, giving him an instant headache, and enraging him further. Daniel felt pain pulse through his wrists from slamming Plexis' armor, but ignored it as he charged the small horse. At this proximity Plexis didn't have time to take off and swoop in to retaliate, instead he attempted to do a 180 and buck the human right in his gut, but Daniel had closed in quick enough to wrestle the pegasus to the ground. "NO! STOP!" Kelly rushed over to the two brawlers and attempted to pull them off one another, but every time he got close enough he was met with an unintended fist, foot, or hoof, knocking him back. "STOP GODDAMMIT!" But in the midst of the anger and violence, neither Daniel nor Plexis could probably even hear him. Daniel tried to get a balanced hold with his knees as he relentlessly wailed on any spot Plexis was void of armor. Plexis used his wing strength to overpower Daniel as he kicked and punched the human anywhere he could. Kelly was about to try and seperate the two again until he heard more guards approaching down the hall. "CHIVAL! HELP!" Kelly called out to his mentor who was already galloping towards the commotion. Once the unicorn was there, his horn began to illuminate as two flashes of light popped, making the brawling human and stallion dissapear. About a second later, two more orbs of light flashed as the 'gladiators' reappeared. "What in Torturous is going on here?!" Chival demanded. "This motherfucker attacked me!" Daniel shouted. "These humans CANNOT be trusted!" Plexis cried. Not sure who to listen to first, Chival turned toward his student. "What happened here?" Kelly gave Plexis a quick scowl. "Me and Daniel were on our way to get some lunch when I accidentally bumped into Plexis. I tried to apologize, but he wouldn't listen to reason, so we just ignored him. We were about halfway down the hall when he rammed Daniel from behind." "And that's how the fight started?" Kelly confirmed with a nod. "Plexis, is this true?" Plexis didn't give a clear answer, he simply grunted and looked away. "Plexis, I know how you feel about other species, everypony knows. But Kelly and Daniel are not the enemy." "Maybe not to you." "Plexis, you and I both know that if Ferindher has returned, then we need all the help we can get to stop him, these humans are no exception." "Just wait, Chival. You won't be so happy about their so called contribution when they stab you in the back." "And just what makes you think we would do that?" Kelly asked. "Carnivorous, ill-tempered, dangerous, walking catastrophes is all you are. No better than griffons or dragons." "Daniel." Chival addressed. "Because this was self-defense on your end, I'm not holding anything against you. But if at all possible, try to avoid any more major conflicts. These are the kinds of mishaps that will interfere with your training. "Yeah, yeah." Daniel was starting to cool off. "Plexis, I'm afraid I'm going to have to mark this assault on your record." Plexis rolled his dark blue eyes. "Whatever." "Everypony back to your posts. You two might want to go get that lunch while you can, the next session starts at 3 o' clock." The humans nodded. "Plexis, go about your duties, but I'm keeping my eye on you." Chival, along with a few other guards left, beckoning Plexis to follow. Plexis turned to leave with them but stopped, and turned his head to where he could see the humans out of the corner of his eye. "You two may have everypony else fooled, but I can see right through you. If you plan on staying here..." He faced forward. "...You watch your flanks." He left to catch up with the other guards. "Ooooh, scary." Daniel mocked while wiggling his fingers. Kelly giggled at his mimicry. "C'mon, let's get some grub." Need your opinion on something guys...romance tab, yes or no? nothing too cloppy of course. Tender stuff. Tell me what you think in the comments. P.S. Its great to be back!