The Adventure of the Apex Legion

by DeffBwade

Chapter 3: The Legion's Arrival

"Y-you turned me into a pony?!" I asked the two princesses.

"Ponyville is a very nice place. Quite a quaint and quiet little town," she said, "In fact, it's where my student, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends recently opened a brand new school. One that teaches friendship to all creatures throughout the lands."

"It sounds like a nice place. I do prefer living in a quiet neighborhood," I said.

"My name...will be...Apex Legion," I said.

"Very well then," Princess Celestia said with a smile before raising her hoof up again, "I, Princess Celestia, hereby declare that you, Apex Legion, shall take up residence in Ponyville."

"He'll definitely fit right in at Ponyville," she said looking at the window and towards the little town.

"Indeed," Princess Luna said, walking next to her, "But...sister. Are you sure it was wise not to tell him?"

"For now, I believe it's for the best," she said with a sigh, "But now, let's see what awaits for him, and when the time comes...I'll tell him the truth."

In a flash of light, I appeared with my head spinning and hooves stumbling all over the place from the sudden flash of the teleportation spell. It took me a few minutes to reorient my balance and get my head straight.

"God. I am not gonna get used to that."

I'm pretty sure you have to, seeing how there's magic and all on this world. It's bound to happen when you go back to Earth.

Damnit.

After recovering from the dizziness, I looked over myself and saw that I still had the saddlebag, as well as the bag of...what did Princess Celestia call them? Bits? As in bitcoin? Nah, I'm kidding.

Does this world even use bitcoins?

I have no idea.

I then started to look around my surroundings. I was in the middle of a field filled with grass and other luxurious plants. In the distance I could see what I assumed to be Ponyville, and Princess Celestia was right. It is a pretty small town. Many of the buildings had a medieval-style to it, timber-framed with distinct thatched roofs and everything. There were other buildings that stood out from the rest. The first was a farm I could see to the right of Ponyville, including a barn, many...apple trees I believe, and whatnot. I guess I could finally see a farm up close. Go figure. The other building was-

Holy shit.

"God damn that looks beautiful."

It seemed to be another castle, and I'm not lying when I say it looked amazing. It was purple and gold in color and had this whole tree-like design to it and it looked like it was made out of crystals. More crystals formed some sort of star shape on top of the castle.

Didn't Princess Celestia say that her student lived here? Maybe it belongs to her. What was her name again? Twiggly? Twiggles Sparkler? Sparky? No wait. Midnight Shimmer.

What...the fuck? That's not even close. It's Twilight Sparkle. Just like those god awful vampire romance books and movies. Like seriously? Who the fuck cares about whether an emo vampire and a hot guy that can turn into a wolf are better? I'm just kidding Twilight fans, please don't kill me.

Next to the crystal castle was another building that stood out. Like seriously, there was a walkway from the castle to this one. It looked like it was embedded into some hills behind it and...were those waterfalls?! They were! There were actual waterfalls shooting down from some of the building's sections and falling into a stream that surrounded the front of it.

"Holy shit. I wonder what that's for."

It must have some sort of significance to it seeing as how it's next to...*gasp*...wait. Didn't Twilight Sparkle also open a school that teaches friendship for all creatures?!

I never though I'd say this, but I actually wanna check that school out.

Maybe you'll get your chance sooner than expected. I think I see someone approaching.

I looked back ahead of the path to the town and there was indeed someone...somepony...approaching me. Seeing as their nose shape, muzzle I believe it's called, was square shaped like mine, I assumed it was a male. He was also an earth pony if the lack of wings and a horn were any indication. He had a pale, light grayish spring bud coat, light sea green eyes, a mane and short tail that were pretty stylish and were a mix of light cyan and moderate opal, and a cutie mark of a trio of sea turtles.

As the pony got closer and closer, I saw that he was also attached to a set of carts. One cart was filled with apples, another was filled with pillows and blankets, and another was filled with apples.

"Good afternoon," the pony said as he walked past me.

"Hello there," I responded with a smile and slight nod.

Oh god. That guy had a surfer voice.

Well, his cutie mark is literally a trio of turtles. Maybe his special talent is...surfing? Or it could be pretty much anything sea related.

True.

I looked in the direction the pony was heading and saw...pretty much the opposite of what Ponyville is. Instead of a bright, sunny, quiet, little (mountain) town that looked like I could be safe in, I saw a dark, brooding forest that looked like it could be perfect for a murder by the Slenderman or Jack the Ripper. Actually, he's a male, so he's probably fine.

"Why the fuck is he going into that dark forest anyway? And what's with all the supplies? Is he having a campout or something?"

Maybe, but I think the bigger question is why is there a big, spooky forest just on the outskirts on a peaceful looking town?

Why am I even so concerned for this pony's life?

Because he seemed to be around your age and he's also intelligent like a normal human being, and your kind soul is preventing you from just forgetting about him going into that dangerous looking forest?

Should I go after him?

Yeah, you should.

In the middle of the Everfree Forest, five friends were hanging out and kinda doing their own thing, waiting for their sixth friend to return with the supplies. They didn't think it would happen, but they actually managed to learn friendship and get along with each other, despite some conflict. After the School of Friendship was shut down by the EEA, their chaperones were angered and practically forced them to come back home. However, they didn't want to say goodbye to each other, so they decided to run away in order to stay together.

They didn't know much places they could stay at since they each come from different kingdoms. Fortunately, their changeling friend, Ocellus, remembered one place that they learned about at school: the Castle of the Two Sisters.

Gallus, the griffon of the group, flew through the air and having a good time. While the Everfree Forest was filled with dangerous creatures like timberwolves and manticores, it still was kinda nice to look at. It sure was nicer than his old home, that's for sure. Back in Griffonstone, the buildings were dilapidating and the other griffons had grumpy looks on their faces. Attending the School of Friendship sure was an upgrade.

"Huh, this place is way cooler than I thought it'd be," he said as he landed back inside the castle and started flying upside down with his arms behind his head.

Yona, the yak, was seen trotting down the stairs until she tripped on one of her braids. Even though she liked the braided look ever since she was properly taught how to do it in Yakyakistan, she had trouble keeping them under control. It would constantly get in her face, she would accidently smack others with them, and she would trip on them almost 24/7.

"Even I'm impressed," Smolder, the dragon of the group, said as she ate the small gems off the many pieces of armor, "What's it called again Ocellus?"

"The Castle of the Two Sisters," Ocellus said as she looked at one of the many books she brought with her. She always did love to learn new things, "I remembered it from class, Princess Twilight's History of Pre-Equestrian Friendships."

"Huh, who knew?" Gallus said as he landed next to Ocellus, "School was actually good for something."

"Yona not really like school," Yona said with a stern face before smiling and bringing Gallus, Ocellus, and Smolder into a hug, "But, Yona like new friends."

"Smolder...like...breathing!" Smolder strained as she tried to get out of the yak's tight hug. She was never really one for affection anyway, whether it's physical or emotional. Same could be said for Gallus, or griffons in general...except maybe Gabby. She always was the exuberant type, just like Professor Pinkie Pie.

"Hey you guys! Sandbar's back!" they heard their hippogriff friend, Silverstream, said while pointing out one of the windows in an excited tone, to which the others started to head out.

Sandbar walked down the pathway towards the Castle of the Two Sisters. He never really liked going through the Everfree Forest for pretty much any reason, but...it was for his friends and he fortunately knew the path to the castle. As he approached the castle, the cart filled with apples bumped on a rock, causing one of the apples to fall off. If he was paying attention, he would have noticed a paw reaching out from the bush and grabbing the apple.

The doors to the castle suddenly opened with Yona yelling, "Cupcakes are best cakes!" before she started full on sprinting towards Sandbar.

With a scream, he closed his eyes and braced for impact. Fortunately, Gallus had his back as he flew up behind Yona and used her braids to make her trip, making stop right in front of the green pony, tail wagging and panting like a dog.

"Thanks for the assist, Gallus," Sandbar said with a sigh.

"I was saving the cupcakes," he sarcastically said with a scoff before he and Yona started eating the cupcakes.

"Pillows!" Ocellus excitedly said as she flew into the bundle of pillows and blankets, nuzzling into them, "How nice! The castle is gonna be so much more comfy."

"And fun! Pillow fight!" Smolder said before she grabbed a pillow and threw at Sandbar.

Sandbar immediately grabbed the pillow that hit as Smolder charged at him with another one in hand. Never in his life had he had this much fun with friends. That school sure was the best thing that ever happened to him, even if it was shut down. As he and Smolder battled it out, they heard loud buzzing above them. They looked up in curiosity and saw a giant bug bear flying over them. Normally they would scream in terror at the sight of a bug bear, but its color scheme indicated that it was just Ocellus, as well as the many pillows in its hands. Ocellus crashed into them with pillows before turning back to normal, making them all laugh.

All of this while unaware of the presence of another pony hiding in the bushes and watching them.

Woah! Did you just see that?

You mean the bug girl that transformed into a giant flying bear? Yes, I saw it! That was amazing!

Legends and myths that actually exist and can talk? Magic actually being a thing and not just straight up bullshit? Nice and serene scenery? And now creatures that can shapeshift into other creatures? I have a feeling I'm gonna like this place.

Also I feel like calling her "bug girl" is racist, so...

We say racist stuff all the time. As jokes at least.

True.

The first among (us) the group is the green pony I saw entering this forest, and let me tell you something. Being all sneakity sneak sneak through here was pretty easy. I swear it would be easy to commit a murder here. The last time I walked through was...I think it was 7th grade during a school field trip. Yeah. For a week, we went to a camp...somewhere...and actually learned stuff for science class. We even called it 'science camp.' Not even joking. But yeah, one day my group had me have a small hike through a forest, on a predetermined path of course. The only sounds being nature itself and the crunching of leaves, and the immaculate tress. It was both nice and scary at the same time.

The second among (us) the group was the previously mentioned the bug girl (still feel like saying that is racist by the way). Well...it was like a mix of a bug and a pony. She (assuming by the almost shy voice I heard) had moderate cyan eyes, a light amaranth neck fin and tail fin, pale, light grayish, artic blue chitin, and a brilliant amaranth elytra.

Yeah that's right, I know my bug facts.

Also not gonna lie, she looks pretty cute.

Y-you think a girl is...cute?

Not like that dumbass! More like...a puppy begging for ear scratches.

Oh...got it.

The third creature was an actual griffon. Looks a bit like a lion? Looks a bit like an eagle? Yep, that's a griffon. I believe the green one called him Gallus. Heh, Gallus the Griffon. Nice play on alliteration. He had moderate azure eyes, brilliant cerulean fur with a pale, light grayish amber chest and eyebrows, head feathers that are a gradient of brilliant cerulean to brilliant amber, wings and tailfeathers that are moderate cerulean, and brilliant amber talons and beak.

Do you think what Luz said in the Owl House is true? Do griffons have spider breath?

I'd...rather not know.

The fourth creature was-holy shit, that's a dragon. A real life dragon. I'm pretty sure it was a female due to her feminine appearance. Her eyes were a moderate cyan, her spines were moderate orchid, and her scales were brilliant gamboge with a light gold underbelly, wing membrane, and ear fronds.

"Thank god that dragons are friendly in this world, as well as them being quite small. I would've imagined them being the size of an airplane."

Well...assuming that she's the same age as the green one, she's still going through puberty, like you.

The fifth creature was what I believed to be a yak. Horns? Check. Fluffy coat? Check. Has muscles that can crush you like the Hulk? Check. She (based on her feminine appearance) had moderate olive eyes, a moderate scarlet mane with two braids that hung loosely, a grayish amber undercoat, a grayish vermilion overcoat, a light brownish gray muzzle, and horns that are dark spring greenish and dark turquois gray. She was also wearing some kind of...blanket...on her back, as well as pink bows.

Seriously, don't try to piss her off.

Yeah, no, I hear you. I do not want to receive the Bane treatment and get my back broken.

"You guys!" I heard an excited, feminine voice say, grabbing the others attention.

I looked in the direction of the voice and saw a sixth creature. I didn't really know what she was exactly. She looked similar to Gallus, but she had a more pony-like appearance instead of a lion.

If I remember correctly from Harry Potter, I believe she's a hippogriff. Half bird and half horse-er...pony.

How do you know that? I've never even watched Harry Potter.

What the fu-you know what? Nevermind.

Anyway, she had moderate blue violet eyes, a mane that was a mix of light cornflower blue and light cornflower bluish gray, a light magenta gray coat, and pale, light grayish orchid beak and claws. It also looked like she was wearing a necklace made out of seashells.

"I just found STAIRS!" the hippogriff said with as much enthusiasm as when Jrod receives his Taco Bell.

"YAS QUEEN!"

I already feel like I'm gonna like her.

You and me both dude.

"And...we care because?" Gallus said.

"Stairs are awesome!" she said.

"Um...what?"

Is it...um...is it some kind of fetish?

Please...don't make me think about that.

"We don't have anything like them underwater cause you know..." she said before changing into a more fish-like appearance, hindlegs turning into a mermaid tail, forelegs and wings turning into fins, and beak disappearing, "...no way to climb them."

"Woah. She's a fish now. A seapony."

That...probably sounds just as racist as "bug girl."

The other creatures "oohed" in realization before the hippogriff transformed back to normal.

"This place has everything!" she said before her face turned from excitement to one of slight sadness, "If only my family back home can see it."

I saw the dragon toss an apple, which bopped her on the head, to which the hippogriff ate it with a smile on her face.

"I wish the other changelings could meet you all," the bug girl said, "You're not nearly as strange as the stories say."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Gee. Thanks," the dragon said sarcastically before she adorned a smile, "But yeah, hanging out with other creatures is actually...er...not bad."

I smiled at this. This is what I like to see. Creatures of diverse cultures getting together and becoming friends. No fighting, no hostility, and no cracking any sexual or racist jokes. Don't get me wrong though. I enjoy all the shits and giggle I have with my friends back on Earth. But here...there's just...friendship. Perhaps this School of Friendship could be better than I tho-

My thoughts were interrupted by a rustling of bushes next to the group of friends, getting their attention. Out of came...um...what the fuck is that thing?

It looks like some kind of porcupine, or perhaps a hedgehog. Just look at those quills on its back.

"Um, most other creatures," the pony said, "What is that thing?"

"Am I the only one who didn't sleep through Professor Fluttershy's Critter of Comfort and Conflict class?" the bug girl said with a sigh, "It's a puckwudgie."

The hell is a puckwudgie?

Shit if I know, but I'd rather refer to it as a hedgehog.

"Maybe I could make friends with it," the bug girl said before she transformed into a hedgehog and started making autistic noises with a smile. The only response she got was the little hedgehog growling at her and putting on a predatory face, as well as other hedgehogs jumping out from the same bush, also with a predatory face and growling. She backed off and turned back to normal, "Oops."

"Yak plan better," the yak said before letting out a battle shout and charging at the hedgehogs, who turned around and shot out quills towards her direction.

"Holy shit!"

Before they could puncture her, the hippogriff came up with a cart in her hands...claws and shielded her. The yak silently thanked her before a hedgehog hopped onto the cart and growled. The hippogriff smiled at it before the yak pulled her away just in time for more quills to be shot out. The hedgehogs surrounded the group of friends, forcing them to use the carts as a last means of defense. The hedgehogs turned around and aimed their quills towards them.

I ducked down just in time to prevent the little critters from seeing me, but I turned around, I saw more of them slowly approaching me. I smiled and laughed nervously as they turned around and prepared their quills.

As the puckwudgies continued to slowly approach them, Smolder peeked out from cover and threw a pillow, which was immediately shredded by multiple quills.

"Think Ocellus!" Smolder said out of desperation as Ocellus rubbed her temples, "Did Professor Fluttershy say anything about how to beat puckwudgies in her lecture?"

"Hn! I'm sorry! I can't remember!" she responded.

"I'm gonna go ahead guess it's not pillows, apples..." Gallus said before he held a cupcake up in the air, which was punctured immediately, "...or cupcakes."

Their thoughts were interrupted by the sound of more quills firing, followed by a scream. Not one of theirs, they knew that for sure.

"OH JEGILAL!" the voice screamed, drawing the attention of all creatures in the area. The group of friends peeked their heads out of cover just in time so see another pony run out of the bushes. He was a pegasus around their ages, had a dark gray coat, a black, spikey mane, chocolate brown eyes, and had a cutie mark of...a smile? Maybe his special talent is making others smile, like Professor Pinkie Pie.

The pony ran past the puckwudgies surrounding them and hopped over the carts and next to them. They just looked at the pony in confusion before he chuckled nervously.

"H-hey there. D-don't mind me. I'm just...I'm just gonna hunker down with you guys," the pony said.

"You? Again?" Sandbar asked.

They wanted to question who this pony was, why he was in the Everfree Forest alone in the first place, and what the heck "jegilal" means, but they had more concerning issues to deal with.

"Come on guys! We have to think of something!" Smolder said.

"Wouldn't class have been about how to make friends with them?" Silverstream asked.

"H-hold on," the random pony said, "That's not actually a bad idea. Let me try that."

The pony got up and slightly poked his head out, only to immediately retract it back just in time for more quills to hit the carts. In retrospect, what was he thinking? What exactly did he think was gonna happen? He turned towards the group with wide eyes and small pupils.

"Yeah, let's...let's not try that," he somehow calmly said, despite almost being punctured in the head. That...that would not be pretty.

"Uh...guys? They're getting really close," Sandbar said. They peeked out and saw that they were indeed getting closer and closer.

"Yona not scared. Yona have friends," Yona said with a confident smile before putting a paw in the middle. Out of all of them, Yona was the one that showed how proud she was for becoming their friend the most. Together, they can-no. They will get through this. Everyone else put their hooves, claws, whatever in the middle.

"Yeah! Even though I don't know who any of you are," the pony said as he also put his hoof in the middle.

I like this yak's spirit.

Same here, but sooner or later I'm gonna have to ask these people's...ponies', creature's...names. I can't keep calling them what they are cause that's just racist. And don't say I say racist stuff all the time. Those are all for shits and giggles.

Duly noted.

Now, back to the matter at hand...let's go fuck some shit up! With the power of tee-am work!

It's pronounced teamwork.

I do what I want!

Three hedgehogs growled then leapt at us, but before we could defend ourselves, a rainbow blur rushed past us, grabbing the critters and sticking them onto a tree by their quills. We all looked up and saw a female pony, a mare I believe is what they're called. She was a pegasus who had magenta eyes, a light grayish cyan coat, a cutie mark of a cloud shooting a lightning bolt that was the colors red, yellow, and blue, and a mane and tail that were the colors of a rainbow. The mare wiped her brow and smiled down at us before flying away.

"Is that Professor Egghead?!" Gallus asked in awe.

"More like Professor Pride Parade."

Heh heh. Professor Pride Parade, or PPP for short. That's gonna be her new nickname.

I looked back to the rest of the hedge-okay I'll stop...puckwudgies, and saw some of them encased in a magenta aura, and others turquoise aura. The others looked back as the puckwudgies were levitated away and two more mares ran in front of us.

One was a unicorn who had moderate persian blue eyes, a pale, light grayish heliotrope coat, a mane and tail that were the colors moderate purple, lighter purple, and pale, light grayish aquamarine, and a cutie mark of a purple star with turquoise glimmers.

The other was an alicorn like Princesses Celestia and Luna, both wings and a horn. She was most likely Princess Celestia's student, Twilight Sparkle. She had moderate violet eyes, a mane that was a dark sapphire blue with moderate purple and brilliant raspberry streaks, a pale, light grayish mulberry coat, and a cutie mark of a magenta star surrounded by five smaller white stars.

The two mares then touched their horns together and expanded a shield outward, pushing the puckwudgies further away.

They touched tips.

More ponies, or actually ponies and a dragon, came into the fray.

The dragon, one that was much smaller than the orange one ran up and headbutted one of the puckwudgies with a "Oh yeah!"

He had moderate pistachio eyes, moderate harlequin spikes, light mulberry scales, a light spring budish gray underbelly, and light lime green ear fronds.

"Seriously, why is he so small?"

Well, you did hear his voice. It sounds childish. Maybe he's younger than the orange one and hasn't gone through puberty yet.

The next pony that came was a unicorn mare with moderate azure eyes, a moderate indigo mane, a snow white coat, light cornflower bluish gray eyeshadow, and a cutie mark of a trio of diamonds. She was...what the fuck was she doing?

Is she...is she giving one of them a makeup.

Yep. She is. She was giving one of them a makeup, including bows, lipstick, and blush. Its face just screamed "seriously?"

A trio of them were actually running away from the next pony. She was an earth pony with emerald green eyes, a blonde mane, a brilliant gamboge coat, a cutie mark of a trio of apples, and wearing a stetson hat. She twirled a lasso in her mouth, very impressive by the way, before tossing it and catching two of the little critters.

The one that wasn't caught was instead carried by two birds and placed into the hooves of a pegasus mare. She had moderate cyan eyes, a pink mane, a butter yellow coat, and a cutie mark of a trio of pink butterflies.

"Oh, don't hurt them," she said in a worried voice before speaking calmly and hugging the puckwudgie, "Just ask them to leave nicely?"

How the fuck is she not getting pricked by its quills?

One last pony came in, and my god she looked like cotton candy. She was an earth pony who had light cerulean eyes, dark pink mane, light pink coat, everything about her was pink. She had a cutie mark of a trio of balloons, two being baby blue and one being yellow. She also pulled out a giant fucking cannon with a smile on her face.

Holy shit man!

Professor Pride Parade placed a bunch of puckwudgies into the cannon before the cotton candy pony covered her ears and fired the cannon, launching all of them, as well as confetti, high into the air.

Jesus! Did she just kill them?!

I...I...oh, no wait. I think...yep. They have parachutes. Never mind dude. They're safe.

Oh, thank god.

"Not bad," I heard the yak say before looking away, "...er, for pony."

"Not bad? That was one of the coolest things I've ever seen," I said.

"Wow. They're amazing," the bug girl said happily.

"I had no idea our teachers were actually cool," Gallus said awestruck.

"I've been trying to tell you," the green pony said with a smile on his face.

"Did you see that?! Rainbow Dash was like 'zoom' and 'woah,' and the puckwudgies went flying!" the hippogriff said excitedly, "And then the birds came and-"

"Yeah. We all just lived it," the orange dragon interrupted, "But you're right. That was pretty amazing, even by dragon standards.

"Is every creature alright?" Princess Twilight asked as she inspected the yak's face for any damages.

"You're lucky we got here in time," the small dragon said.

"You know, this probably isn't the safest place for a campout," the glimmer pony said, and she's right. It's an abandoned castle in the middle of some creepy forest. This is the kind of place ghost investigators would check out. Who knows how big this place is.

"Does that you're gonna send us back to our homes," the bug girl said sadly before she and other creatures, except for Gallus and the orange dragon, put on what I call 'the puppy eyes,' eyes on the verge of crying, lips pouting, and even making the puppy sad noise.

"Dear god, please stop doing that. I don't know if my heart can take it."

"Not exactly. We have another option in mind," Princess Twilight said to which the other mares nodded in agreement.

"We're listening," Gallus said.

"It's pretty clear you've already started learning friendship without your teachers, but we'd like to show you even more...if you come back to school," Princess Twilight said with a smile. The group of friends were a bit taken aback by this.

"Not much of a choice," the orange dragon said.

The mares looked at each other before the apple pony held her hat to her chest.

"To be honest..." she said with a southern accent, "...we felt exactly the same way when Twilight told us she was reopening the school."

"But this time, we guarantee it shall be different," the diamond pony said in an elegant tone.

"Oh yeah," Professor Pride Parade said in a tomboyish voice, "With class run my way, it'll 220% cooler!"

I'd ask what that even means, but it sounds cool nonetheless so I really don't care.

"And without the EEA...," the butter pony said as threw a huge book behind her, hitting a puckwudgie, "...it'll be much friendlier."

"I do like friendlier."

"Plus..." the cotton candy pony said in a cheery voice, "...all your nations won't go to war if you come back with us. Bonus!"

...

...

"Wait, what?" I said aloud as the others were slack jawed.

"So..mind telling us what you were doing in the Everfree Forest in the first place, and how you found us?" the orange dragon asked as we walked through the forest with the group of mares. It was nice walking through here as a large group, especially in the daytime.

"Yeah. I saw you on my way here. Did you...did you follow me?" the green pony asked.

"Well shit. I guess the cat's out of the bag.

"W-well...yes...I did," I said with a sigh, "But can you really blame me? When I saw you entering this forest, I was like 'Why is he entering that forest? I should probably follow him and make sure he'll be fine.' I mean, is it just me, or does this forest give off a really creepy and hostile vibe?"

I then noticed in my peripheral vision that the apple pony was staring at me, as if analyzing me for any kind of deception.

"Well, he ain't lying. That's for sure," she said, confirming my thought.

What, is she some kind of lie detector or something?

"You were right in following Sandbar, young one," Princess Twilight said with a smile, "The Everfree Forest is known to have some of the most dangerous creatures in Equestria. Did you not know that?"

"Oh god. How do I explain that?"

Do what all good liars can do. Technically say the truth.

"Er...sorry. I don't really go out much, nor have I really learned about it in school," I said, rubbing the back of my head. I saw the apple pony nod her head in confirmation. She really is some kind of lie detector.

"If that's the case, then thank you for being concerned about me," the green pony, Sandbar, said with a smile, to which I nodded, "You said you don't know who we are, right?"

I nodded again.

"Well, as Princess Twilight said, I'm Sandbar," he said.

"Name's Gallus," Gallus said, even though I already knew his name, but...no point in nit picking the details.

"I Yona Yak," the yak said.

"I'm Ocellus," the bug girl said.

"Smolder," the orange dragon said.

"I'm Silverstream!" the hippogriff said excitedly.

"And in case you don't know who we are," the diamond pony said, "I'm Rarity."

"I'm Applejack," the apple pony said.

"U-um...I'm Fluttershy," the butter pony whispered, but I kinda have good hearing, so I was able to hear her name.

"Rainbow Dash!" Professor Pride Parade said proudly, "Fastest pony in Equestria and member of the Wonderbolts."

"Who?"

"Starlight Glimmer," the glimmer pony said.

"I'm Pinkie Pie! And I just love, love, looove meeting new ponies," the cotton candy pony said excitedly like Silverstream before pointing to Princess Twilight and the small dragon, "And that's Twilight Sparkle, but everypony knows who she is. I mean...she is a princess after all. And of course there's her number one assistant, Spike."

"Spike? Is it just me or that sound completely generic?"

"It's nice to meet all of you," I said with a smile.

"Well...what about you?" Sandbar asked, "What's your name?"

"Name's Apex Legion," I said, "But you can just call me Legion."

"So this building is actually the School of the Friendship. I gotta say...by appearance alone, I'm already impressed."

We eventually arrived in front of the building with the waterfalls coming out of it. It looked so much more bigger up close. I could see that there was some kind of lock, as well as chains, on the front door. The apple pony did say something about reopening the school. Wonder what happened.

Princess Twilight walked up to the front with her horn glowing before she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Twilight. I was so relieved to get your letter."

I looked back and indeed it was Princess Celestia flying down, followed by other creatures. I'm too lazy to give an exact description of each of them, so here you go. There was a very old griffon with a dead eye, a navy blue hippogriff that looked like he would be in the military, a bigger yak whose hair was covering his eyes (how the fuck can he even see?), a blue dragon who looks like someone you wouldn't wanna fuck with, and a green bug that just looks friendly.

"As was Queen Novo," the blue hippogriff said with relief, "Oh, we're just glad you're alright Silverstream."

"Don't expect a welcome party from me sonny! It's time you got home!" the old griffon yelled before grabbing Gallus' ear with his beak, to which Gallus just slapped him off.

"Jesus. Angry much?"

"I'm not leaving," Gallus simply said.

"What?!" the old griffon said.

"None of us are," Ocellus said before hiding behind the orange dragon, "Sorry Thorax."

"Yak not understand," the big yak said confused, "This pony joke."

Heh heh. I like the way he and Yona talk.

"No! We're going back to school," Smolder said as if it's a matter of fact.

"Never in my life would I hear someone say that with such determination."

"How? You can't even get inside," the blue dragon said before a shimmering sound brought all of our attention.

We looked back, with the mares and Princess Celestia with smiles on their faces, and saw Princess Twilight shoot a beam at the lock, successfully breaking it.

"School is back in session," she said to which every...creature cheered. Seriously, I gotta get used to that.

We then saw, Princess Twilight turning around at the sound, a bright blue portal opening before an unicorn stallion walked out of it. He had moderate turquoise eyes, a light gray coat, and a slicked back dark azure mane, tail, and goatee. I couldn't see his cutie mark due to him wearing a dark red robe. He also had some kind of medallion. It was best to assume he was somepony important.

"Who dared remove my seal," he said, anger clearly evident in his voice.

"I did Chancellor Neighsay," Princess Twilight said, "And I respectfully ask you to step aside, or classes will start late."

Neighsay? Are you kidding me? Does every name have to be some kind of horse pun.

I mean...no. There's...Gallus. There's...Silverstream. There's...what did Ocellus call him...Thorax. Well, that's actually a bug pun. There's...Twilight, Celestia, Luna. There's-

...

I'm just gonna stop talking.

"Classes won't start at all. The EEA have spoken, and none shall pass," Neighsay said before stomping his hoof and emitting a shockwave.

Jesus! What, is this guy from Dragon Ball Z or something?

"Yak pass if yak say," Yona said before she started to charge forward, but Sandbar held her back with a look that said "please don't."

"This is for the greater good. The school was disorganized, the teachers unqualified, and those dangerous and unpredictable students put ponies' lives in danger," Neighsay said, putting a bit of venom at the word 'students.'

Wait, what did he just say?

"Wait, hold on," I said, grabbing every creature's attention, including Neighsay's, "What do you mean by that last part?"

"I mean that on the day I came here to check out this school, those students attacked the school and almost got ponies hurt," he said.

"Is this true?" I asked as I turned to the others with a worried expression. Ocellus eyes widened at my question.

"It was an accident! I swear!" she cried out, "We would never do any harm to any creature!"

"Oh please," Neighsay said, pointing an accusing hoof to Ocellus, "As if anypony would believe you out of all creatures. Changelings have been known as masters of deceit and trickery for generations."

"I want to say that sounds cool, but the way he said just sounds offensive. At least now I know what Ocellus's species is called."

I glanced at Ocellus and saw that she was on the verge of tears. Oh god, oh god. Please don't cry.

"But the Changelings are reformed now," Starlight said, "They no longer need to deceive or trick any creature."

"Look...Neighsay, was it?" I said, "Maybe it really was a big whole accident after all. And if you can't believe that, then at least consider the possibility. And I would appreciate it if you apologized to Ocellus."

"I don't need to apologize to any creature, and I don't need to consider the possibility!" Neighsay shouted, "The fact is that these creatures are a danger to Equestria, and this school was supposed to defend it from them! They don't deserve friendship! It should be for ponies only!"

This straight up pissed me off. This guy...this fucking guy...actually had the audacity to say aloud that non-ponies are dangerous and that they don't deserve to have friends. All because they didn't have the same culture as ponies. All because they didn't have the same look as ponies. All because they were different from ponies. It's reasons like these that there was so much conflict in Earth's history. Thousands, probably millions of people slaughtered or sold as slaves all because they were different. I looked at Neighsay with a look of pure rage.

"Okay, that's it. Now you went too far, YOU SON OF A-" I yelled as I started to walk forward, only to be interrupted by a hoof on my shoulder. I looked back and saw Princess Celestia with a look of concern.

"Hold on. Please. I'm sure Princess Twilight Sparkle has a good explanation for all of this," she said, to which I looked back at the racist bastard and scoffed. I swore I heard Princess Celestia give a sigh of relief.

"I do. It's true that my school is EEA unaccredited," Princess Twilight said.

"Look. She said it without doing the eye thing," I heard Spike say.

"Then, it is NOT a school!" Neigh-racist said.

"It's not an EEA school. It's a friendship school, with its own rules. I should know, I wrote the book," she said before placing a really big fucking book at Neigh-racist's hooves.

OH SHIT! Take that Neigh-racist!

"These students reminded me that every friendship is special," she said pointing to all of us, "So the way we teach has to be just as unique. My school is gonna do things differently."

"Allowing all of these creatures to attend your school? Changing the rules...for them?! It simply won't work!" Neigh-racist yelled.

"Can you actually shut the fuck up so I can at least tolerate you? I don't know. Maybe."

"I seem to recall something about earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi doing something similar," Princess Celestia said as she flew next to Princess Twilight, "Don't you?"

"Yeah! Tell him Princess!"

"I promise you Chancellor. My school will protect Equestria," Princess Twilight said.

"Or destroy it!" Neigh-racist said menacingly before he went back through the portal, to which every creature cheered.

"And don't come back," I said aloud before going into a whisper, "Din lilla fitta."

Now that I think about it, you also said "jegilal" earlier. Didn't Princess Celestia specifically ask you NOT to swear?

Yes, but nobody heard me...I think...I hope. And even if they did, they don't know what it means. It's big brain plays, just swear in another language.

"Hmm. How is this school gonna be any different from last time?" I heard the old griffon scoff to which Princess Twilight gave a wink.

We all entered the School of Friendship and...

This brand new School of Friendship...

"Wait, what?"

...is home to everyone.

We're learning how to trust.

We're here to all have fun.

Where is that music coming from?

Are we...are we singing now for some reason? Is that what's happening?

With friendship ties that bind us.

Tighter than the strongest bonds.

Yep...we're singing. Well...more like they are. Sounds nice though. I would've joined, but I can't sing without lyrics and I'm a terrible singer. I'm just...I'm just gonna step outside.

Are you alright man?

Yes and no at the same time. Yes because this place is nice and magical and whatnot, but no because I now know that this place isn't as peaceful and harmonious as I thought it would be.

I know. That Neighsay's a bitch.

Heh. Yeah. He totally was, but Twilight's a princess. She doesn't have to listen to some...what did she say...EEA to stop her from running a school in order to help others. And also, what gives that guy the right to be a part of his cult or whatever. He closed the school because non-ponies were attending it, for fuck's sake!

Then again...he also said that it was disorganized and the teachers were unqualified.

*Sigh*...true, but just...look how it is right now.

I looked around and saw student's mingling, laughing, hanging out, all with smiles on their faces. It was pretty much like my school back on Earth, only Earth had a lot of teasing and joking around. It was quite nice.

"U-um, Legion?"

I turned and saw Ocellus, as well as the rest of her friends, walking up to me.

"Oh hey," I said, "What's up?"

"We just couldn't but notice you sitting here all alone," Ocellus said.

"Yeah! It's no fun being all alone and not hanging out with friends," Silverstream said.

"S-sorry," I said, rubbing the back of my head, "Just thinking."

"Do you...wanna talk about it?" Sandbar asked.

It was silent for a few seconds before I finally started talking.

"When I heard about Ponyville, as well as the School of Friendship, I just thought it would be a nice place to visit, and then I would continue traveling Equestria. Simple as that. But after seeing you, your professors, and...pretty much everypony else, how they all got along with each other so well, I realize...Ponyville is much better than I imagined. But when Chancellor Neighsay said that you..." I said, pointing at Ocellus, "...were deceiving us and caused accused you of hurting ponies on purpose, well, it angered me. I'm the kind of pony that doesn't like it when my friends cry, especially because of other ponies. What really ticked me off though was when he said that non-ponies are dangerous and don't deserve friendship. It's stuff like this that causes division, then conflict, then eventually...others get hurt, in one way or another."

I turned away from them in order to hide my sadness. Now, I'm not one that can easily cry unless I guess, someone close to me dies, and even then it's not heavy sobbing. Just a few minutes of tears, a few light sniffles, and that's pretty much it.

I then felt a hoof touch my shoulder before I saw Sandbar with a smile on his face.

"Well, you don't need to worry about that," he reassured me, "Ponyville is probably the friendliest place in all of Equestria, and with the School of Friendship, I don't doubt it's gonna be even better. It's how all of my friends, including you."

"Y-you all really consider me a friend?" I asked, "Even though I met you not even a day ago?"

"Of course," Ocellus said, "You stood up to Chancellor Neighsay when he was being mean to me and every Changeling out there."

"Yeah! He was all 'Changelings are just a bunch of meanies,' and then you were all 'you better apologize right now,'" Silverstream said.

"For a second there, I thought you were actually gonna straight up punch him," Smolder said.

"That would've a nice thing to see actually," Gallus said.

Heh. It actually would've, but thank god Princess Celestia was there to stop us, or else things would've gotten ugly. But regardless, these guys already consider me a friend, even though we're all so different. Maybe...maybe Princess Celestia was right. Maybe I will fit in. I made up my mind at that point.

"I've decided," I said.

"On what?" Sandbar asked.

"I'm going to attend the School of Friendship."