//------------------------------//
// Is Meeting the Locals a Good Idea? 
// Story: The Lost Courier 
// by Astral Aegis 
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I've been wandering along the outskirts of a small village for about 3 hours now. I know for a fact that its Ponyville, but I haven't entered due to not wanting to be tackled by a certain rainbow pegasus and imprisoned. I need to keep in mind the I have no idea if this is the Equestria from Friendship is Magic or not. They could be slavers, drug addicts... I've read to much fanfiction on these topics. I'll just ignore those thoughts for now.

Before I arrived on the Ponyville outskirts I packed up camp and didn't run into much aside from the odd TimberWolf. My little killing spree in the castle was enough to get the message through. I'm glad it was, I didn't want to waste any more ammo as I have a limited supply of .357. I do have a machete though, so that's a plus.

From what I could see ponies were wandering around the market place talking to friends, buying foods, flowers, whatever else was there. A cafe was serving a few ponies waiting outside at the tables. An orange earth pony was hauling barrels of apples to a stall, I'm guessing that was Applejack due to the stetson she was so fond of.

That's all I could see from my current position. I didn't come out on the main path into the Everfree due to not wanting to be spotted. My armor blends decently well but I needed to shut off my pip-boy and my helmet so that the red glow wouldn't give me away.

"Damn... Should I even attempt to make contact with them or should I just take refuge in the Castle of the Two Sisters, fortify the place a bit," As I debated what I should do, I checked the time on my pocket watch so I didn't bring attention to myself. "Noon... Plenty of time to continue scouting."

Gently, I crawl away from the bush I was hiding in and moved to a different hiding spot so that I could view the town square. Better start observing and taking notes before I get caught.



Some time has passed, it's now 3 pm and I've managed to gather data on the base layout of the town. There's a market district, a residential district, a food district which is filled with a few cafes scattered about, a town square, Sugarcube Corner, the Golden Oaks Library, and a train station. There is more to it, but I've only managed to get down these details before nearly being spotted.

Throughout my expedition, I've only found 5 of the Mane 6. Rainbow Dash who was sleeping on a cloud, Applejack selling apples with her brother at the market, Fluttershy on the outskirts of town taking care and talking to animals, Rarity going to the local fabric shop to buy supplies to make dresses, and Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. I'm surprised she hasn't noticed me, then again she was the one who almost caught me. If I had to pop a guess, Twilight Sparkle isn't in Ponyville yet. So I can narrow my time frame to about 1 year or less before the return of Nightmare Moon. As the members of the Mane 6 who are present in Ponyville seem about the age they were in the show.

At least I have new information and a general idea of the time frame I'm currently in. I should probably retreat to the forest for the time being since I want to set up camp and come up with a plan to judge what I'm going to do.

"Well, see you soon, Ponyville. Hopefully, it's on good terms." I whisper mostly to myself as I pull back from the Outskirts of the town and back into the Everfree Forest. By good terms, I mean not having to appear threatening or get in trouble with the ponies, that would suck.

I carefully tread backward until I make it to the edge of the trail and start to walk in the general direction of the castle. I'm not going to decide on where to stay or what to do until I get my head on straight. I've been in Equestria for only about 3 days so far. Not much. I might meet up with Zecora if she is around. I think I still remember the way to her house. If I can't find it by nightfall I'll just set up camp normally. This time without any headaches. I still have no idea what that was about...



Guess what? I didn't find Zecora's house and I tripped on a root. Again. I had my helmet on so I didn't feel it too much as it was mostly just shocking and happened suddenly. I think I was daydreaming about going on random adventures like a fool. I should've been watching where I was going. But I digress.

It's now 6 pm and getting dark. FAST. I need to find a place to camp. A clearing would be nice but I might have to clear an area out myself. That's probably a better idea than to wander around in the dark.

With a fluid motion, I unsheath my machete and get to work. A few minutes later the ground is cleared and the edges of the camp are camouflaged so that no one finds it while I'm either away gathering firewood or sleeping. I probably should grab a few rocks for a ring around the fire.

*Timeskip 15 minutes*

I have gotten enough stones for a ring around the fire. Digging a firepit with a cool stick I found on the side of the trail I place the stones around it and place some sticks in the center. It was then I realized something.

"Fuck. I forgot kindling and some actual firewood. I'm an idiot." Getting up with a grunt I walk out of the campsite and begin looking for suitable pieces of wood to burn. I had an old ass zippo lighter in the junk section of my pip-boy which still worked. Thank goodness for that stroke of luck. I have a feeling I'll soon run out of luck if this keeps up.

The size of the firewood I'm looking for doesn't need to be huge, only moderate. But I can always cut them in half if I needed to. I also need to find a way to fix the chips in my machete when they inevitably do occur.

"Now there are a few pieces I could use..." I mumble to myself as I lean over to pick them up. "Decent size, including a few twigs I can use for kindling. I'll keep looking for more than I need. Always good to be prepared. Gotta make sure I don't trip again. That wouldn't be fun picking all of this up. I should also stop talking to myself."

*Timeskip back to camp*

I made a decent time on everything so far. It only took me 30 minutes to grab the firewood and 15 more to set up my tent. I got the fire started and everything too. My sleeping bag is also set up and I've just been sitting by the fire contemplating what to do with myself.

It isn't very easy suddenly being transported to a world different from your own. But even though it is a different world it's still Equestria. That gives me some decent ideas on what to do. I have a few rules in place to make sure I don't mess anything up. One: Don't fuck anything from cannon up. Two: Don't kill anything that can affect cannon such as Changelings, other ponies, griffons, etc. Three: Don't get involved with any adventures that have a big effect on the timeline like during the Changeling invasion, Discord being an ass, the return of King Sombra AKA King Edgelord, stuff like that.

One thing I really want to do before I forget is to find that Timberwolf I healed up. I feel lonely and I would like to have a loyal companion by my side. He or she, I don't really know and if I did I forgot, could also help improve my morale drastically. Keeping me from doing something insanely stupid like pissing off an Ursa Minor. THAT would suck. It could also be a replacement for Rex from the King. I remember gunning it for that adorable robot dog each time I started a new playthrough. Anyways, I'm getting off track.

I've made a few plans as to what to do when it comes to my current situation. Either I stay in the Everfree and fortify camp and wait until the show actually begins, fortify the castle which would be pretty easy, go and find Zecora and become her friend, or I just walk straight into Ponyville which is an idea, but a very bad one.

The downside of fortifying camp include: Taking up time and resources, high risk of discovery, and hunting would be a must.
The upsides include: Having a place to stay and feel safe in, having a home base, and I can easily make quick expeditions to Ponyville and the Castle should the need arise.

The downsides of fortifying the castle include: Traps could be present, the magic residue could fuck me over in the worst ways, and I could get lost in the maze of the corridors.
The upsides include: An armory, a smithy if I can get one set up and working again, solid stone walls to protect from the elements and who knows what else, a throne room to feel badass, a solid base of operations, it's easy to fortify, and I can travel to Zecora's easily if the need arises.

The downsides of finding Zecora include: trying to convince her that you aren't a threat, a possibility of a potion to the face, and finding her in the first place.
The upsides include: A reliable friend, a great listener, someone to help out, shelter, and a way of getting into the town.

The downsides of just walking into town include: A possible Rainbow to the chest, getting thrown out of town, a strong buck from Applejack that could cause my ribs to break, scaring Fluttershy, Celestia could get involved because of a random creature showing up that could possibly harm her little ponies and a few more issues that could arise.
The upsides include: Getting it done and over with, the possibility of making friends, having someone else to talk to... that's all I can think of right now.

It's getting late and I need sleep. Storing away my notes that I had made earlier in my pip-boy I take off my helmet and lay down on my bag after putting the fire out. Heres hoping for a good night's rest.