//------------------------------// // Welcome to Equestria // Story: Newbreed // by Pernix //------------------------------// "Well shoot, fellas, we've tried just about everything." Applebloom depressingly stated. "Zip-lining, hang-gliding, surfing, skating, building, baking, singing, dancing, drawing..." Scootaloo replied, trying to muster up more activities that the group had tried. "And still no Cutie Marks..." Sweetie Belle added. The three young ponies continued down the dirt road, trying to come up with more ideas to test out. Along the walk, Scootaloo noticed a strange figure walking towards them. "Look up there!" Scootaloo shouted. The group watched for a second, as this strange figure proceeded to walk down the dirt path towards them. "Hide!" Sweetie Belle abruptly shouted at her two companions. The three fillies then immediately leaped into a nearby bush, waiting to observe the mysterious being that was about to pass by. "Whaddya reckon it is?" Applebloom asked curiously. "I dunno, but we'd better be careful." Scootaloo added. The group watched as this creature passed by in front of them, totally oblivious to their presence. About half of a minute had passed before the creature had gone further up the road, far away from the group. Since, the fillies had never seen a creature like this before, they figured that it must be a never-before-seen species. This was thought about for a few seconds, when Applebloom hatched an idea. "I got it! Let's catch that thing!" Applebloom shouted excitingly. "Catch it? Are you crazy? That thing probably eats ponies like us for breakfast!" Sweetie Belle hesitantly stated. "But think about it for a second. Wouldn't it be awesome if we DID catch it? What if it would give us our Cutie Marks?" Scootaloo added, also excited over the idea. "CMC Monster Catchers! That's gotta be it! That's our special talent!" Applebloom shouted. "Let's do it!" the three fillies unanimously shouted, before disappearing back into the bush. Marcus continued down the road, trying to think about how he had arrived in such a mysterious place. As he walked along the path, the sound of twigs snapping was heard from behind him. After turning around to see where the sound came from, he shrugged the instance off, and continued on his walk. Out of nowhere, the Cutie Mark Crusaders leaped out from the trees, fully equipped for this "monster-wrangling" mission they had come up with. "Get 'im!" Applebloom shouted. Marcus quickly rotated his body, trying to spot who had spoken. Before he could react, Applebloom threw a lasso around his arms, as Scootaloo kicked him in the back of the legs. "What the--!" Marcus shouted, utterly shocked at what was happening. As he fell to the ground, Sweetie Belle placed a burlap sack over his head and shoulders, as Applebloom tied another rope around his legs. In only a matter of seconds, Marcus was immobilized and subdued. "We did it! We caught the monster!" Scootaloo shouted with glee. "See anything?" Sweetie Belle said, glancing at her flank trying to spot the mark she'd been waiting for. "Nothing..." Scootaloo replied. "Well... maybe we have to show it around! Y'kno, like any monster-catcher would!" Sweetie Belle replied in a hopeful tone. "Yeah, that might be it! Who should we show it to?" Scootaloo replied. "I know! Let's show Applejack! I bet she'd know what to do with a critter like this!" Applebloom stated. "...But, this thing is awfully big, ain't it? We can't carry it back with us..." Applebloom added to her previous statement. "Let's just string it up, then we'll bring Applejack back to see it!" Scootaloo joyfully replied. The fillies then used all of the strength they could muster to pull the rope that suspended Marcus onto a tree branch. Once completely tied, Marcus could do nothing but remain tied up, upside-down in a tree. "Alright, let's go get Applejack!" Applebloom shouted. The CMC ran back up the dirt road, eager to bring a witness to their catch. Marcus remained strung up, thinking to himself about what could have happened a few moments ago. "...Ugh... because my head didn't hurt enough... What were those things? Horses? But, that's not possible. Horses can't talk like that... It's just not possible..." Millions of different ideas and thoughts rushed through his mind as he tried to come up with an explanation for what had happened. In the end, he decided to play it off as what he saw, which was the fact that he had just been taken down by three talking ponies, each the same height as his kneecaps. How humiliating. After what seemed like a few hours, the three fillies came prancing back up the road, with a much taller pony alongside them. "Now ya'll had best have a good reason fer' this. You three know I'm real busy at this time o' day." Applejack sternly stated. "We do, sis!" Applebloom shouted gleefully. "We got something real special to show ya'!" "There it is! Up there!" Scootaloo shouted. The four ponies looked up at Marcus, who had just about lost conciousness from being upside-down for so long. "Well, let's get 'im down!" Applebloom shouted. Immediately, the three fillies cut the rope that held Marcus in the air, causing him to fall to the ground on his head. He let out a slow, muffled "ow" after impact. "Well, gosh... what in the hay is this fella?" Applejack curiously asked. Applebloom quickly removed the burlap sack from Marcus' head, revealing his face to the four curious ponies. Once the sack was taken off, Marcus took in a large breath of air before looking upon his capturers. He was able to confirm what he had stated, that these were indeed talking horses. "Whoa..." Marcus shockingly stated. "Hey there fella! Can ya' understand me alright?" Applejack asked with a concerned look. "Y-yeah, I can hear you alright." Marcus hesitantly replied, feeling silly for conversing with the pony. "Well, there's a good start! Ya' got a name or anything I can call ya' by? Name's Applejack, proud member of the Apple family, and hard worker in Sweet Apple Acres." Applejack replied, her concerned look now gone. "My name... my name is Mark. Marcus Prescott..." Marcus replied, still hesitant. "Catchy name ya' got there! Alrighty then, Mark. If ya' don't mind me askin', what exactly are you?" Applejack asked out of curiosity. "I'm... I'm a human..." Markus quickly replied. "Human? We never heard or had any o' those before 'round these parts. Where ya' from, Mark? Canterlot, maybe?" Applejack asked, questions still brewing in her mind. "Canter-what? No... I'm not from around here... or at least, I don't think I am. I'm from Earth. Florida, to be more exact." "Florida? Ain't never heard of that place either." "I could use some answers myself. Where exactly are we now?" "Here? Well we're in Equestria, finest and dandiest place you'll ever visit!" "Equestria..." "...Well, I guess we'll be going now..." Applebloom chuckled softly as she and her friends began to back away. "Now hold on a minute, missy! Ain't you forgettin' somethin' important?" Applejack sternly questioned. "...We're sorry for tyin' ya' up like that. Didn't mean to hurt ya' or anything." Applebloom shamefully stated. "Yeah..." Sweetie Belle added. "Yeah..." Scootaloo also added. "Ah, no hard feelings. No harm, no foul." Marcus cheerfully replied. The sun began to set on the horizon, as the conversation drew on. Knowing that dusk was approaching, the group had decided to start walking together. "Sure is gettin' late... you got a place to stay, Mark?" Applejack curiously asked. "Actually, I don't. Do you know where I could get a room?" Marcus replied. "I sure do! Why not come stay the night out at Sweet Apple Acres? We've got plenty of spare room out in the barn! Nice and cozy, even some of us decide to sleep out there from time to time!" "Sweet Apple Acres, eh? Looks like I don't have any choice in the matter." Marcus happily replied. "Alrighty, then! Let's get goin'!" Applejack shouted. The group of five began walking down the dirt path, talking and conversing about each other's stories and lives, and where they were from. After Applejack and the CMC knew more about Marcus, and vice versa, the group approached Sweet Apple Acres, ready to turn in for the night. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo went back to their homes, as Applejack, Applebloom, and Marcus went out to the barn beside the farm. "Here's where you'll be stayin', Mark. There's some blankets over in the corner there, and you can pick any bale o' hay ya' prefer." Applejack informatively stated. "Thanks for the hospitality, Applejack." Marcus replied. "Ah, don't mention a thing. After what's happened to ya', it's the least we could do." Applejack happily replied. "We'll be back out here tomorrow mornin', when the sun comes up to check on ya', so if ya' need anything in the meantime, let us know." "Sounds good. See you in the morning." Marcus happily replied. Applejack shut the barn door, as Marcus picked out a blanket and a hay bale to rest in. Despite the situation he was in, he couldn't help but show a wide smile. After so long, he had finally discovered something new in his life. Something he hadn't felt in a long, long while. Kindness, and friendship once again began to stir in his heart and mind, as he once again felt their warm embrace. In a matter of minutes, Marcus was fast asleep in the hay bale, ready to greet the next day with an adventurous spirit.