Ty slowly squinted his eyes open, seeing what he could tell to be the main six across from a chair he was sitting in. He could hear they were bored as Applejack gossiped, "Y'all hear Trouble Shoes got pardoned? Apparently, he's on a lucky streak." That was when somepony actually noticed him, that being Rainbow Dash.
"Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to wake-" Her smug remark was interrupted by a loud crash as Ty lunged toward the stairs, only to bring the chair with him. He looked down at his barrel and saw it and his front hooves were strapped to the chair by a lasso.
"Gee, way to trust me on this, guys," he said, garnering some unimpressed looks.
Twilight responded with, "Say's the guy who's so secretive we don't even know his name?"
"Touche," Ty admitted. Fluttershy came over and lifted him off the ground as Ty started to get aches in his head and back. "I really need to stop getting knocked unconscious," he groaned.
"You and me both," Rarity grumbled while rubbing her horn in pain as her friends rolled their eyes at their friend who was well known for doing... the exact thing she just said she needed to stop doing. Ty recognized that his headache originated in his horn too. We must've smacked our horns together, he thought.
...
Rainbow Dash broke the awkward silence with, "So, are you going to answer that?"
Ty looked confused. "Huh?"
"Your name. What is it?" she answered.
Ty visibly cringed. "One. I don't know who you are, and two, I... can't tell you."
Everypony simply ignored number one and went straight for the more suspicious answer. "Now why in the world would y' not be able to tell us your own name?" Applejack wondered.
"Normally when you say you can't tell, you really just mean you don't want to say," Ty said in a dryer tone than usual.
"Why don't you?" Twilight asked.
"I didn't say that," Ty responded.
"It was implied," Twilight said, clearly getting annoyed.
"No, it was assumed," Ty said back, closing his eyes in disagreement.
"Uhhhhhh!" Twilight groaned. "Look, are you going to tell us anything!?"
"Well maybe if this little predicament didn't look like this. I mean, you've got me tied to a chair in what looks to be a basement. What is this, an interrogation?" Ty joked. Twilight and Pinkie looked at each other before responding.
"No!"
"Yes!"
"What?" Twilight looked over.
"But that's what you said it was!" Pinkie exclaimed back. Twilight nervously looked back at Ty to see he had an unimpressed expression on his face.
"Hehe..." Twilight laughed nervously. "Could you give us a minute?" she said before pulling the rest of the girls upstairs.
SLAM
"Wasn't aware I had a choice," Ty grumbled.
On the main level of the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight was mulling over her ideas to figure out who Ty was and why he was here. It might've gone better if she wasn't repeatedly smacking her head against one of the tables. "That's it! I'm out of suggestions," she sighed.
"How about that there stare of yer's Fluttershy? That oughta get him to squeal," Applejack asked. Fluttershy hung her head with a somewhat concerned look.
"Are we sure that it's really necessary?"
"I don't have any other ideas for him!" As Applejack said this, Rainbow Dash's ears perked up.
"Then how about one of our old ideas for you?" Rainbow Dash said with a sly look on her face.
"Ya' mean that stunt y'all pulled with Pinkie back in Dodge Junction?" Applejack wondered with a confused look on her face. Nearly everypony had that same expression except Pinkie, who had a vaguely excited look, Twilight, who still had her muzzle in the table, groaning her lungs out, and Rarity, who was still rubbing her horn in pain.
"Yeah! If it works on a pony as strong-willed as you, it'll definitely work on some rando from the woods!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"It's one of our last ideas," Twilight groaned, pulling her snout off the table, "so it's worth a shot."
"I still don't know," Fluttershy whispered.
"I agree, darling," Rarity said. "How do we know this pony is worth the effort?"
Rainbow Dash was getting impatient. "Oh, forget this!" she shouted, flying downstairs with a burst of speed. Pinkie was already hopping after her.
"Rainbow Dash..." Rarity groaned.
In a flash of rainbow, Ty was already staring into a pair of rosy eyes with a shocked expression, breaking his concentration.
"Spill it!" she screamed in his face.
...
"No."
He frowned as she just kept staring, eyes tilted. She seemingly teleported back a foot, then she did it again before turning around and galloping towards her friends. She huddled into the group of five. "What now?" she asked. Pinkie slowly rose up in front of her, an overly excited look on her face.
"Eh. Sure," Rainbow said, getting a squee from Pinkie in response. "Just do what you did last time and it should be fine."
"Okie Dokie Lokie!"
"This is not okie dokie." The mane six stood flabbergasted as they watched Ty sit through the whole thing with nothing more than a curious stare. Applejack and Pinkie looked especially shocked.
"What the hay do we do now?" Applejack whispered, though nopony could tell if it was out of secrecy or exasperation.
"I know," Twilight admitted. "That was one of our best shots."
"You all really need to learn to have an actual private conversation. Keep your voice down like our friend over there," Ty said, doing his best to gesture in Fluttershy's general direction. Twilight's eyes suddenly brightened as she looked at Fluttershy expectantly.
"Whimper..."
"Did you just say the word 'whimper'?"
One convincing (Equivalent to about ten minutes) later...
"I d-don't think I can do it," Fluttershy looked conflicted. "He even called me a friend."
"That was quite likely a figure of speech," Rarity said, putting a comforting hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. "Besides, we're counting on you here."
"Alright... I-I'll do it," Fluttershy agreed with a determined look in her eyes.
As she turned around, Ty's expression turned into one of concern and confusion. "Now what?" he said.
While she was next to him, she had to turn her head away from him and whisper to herself, "You can do this. You can do this. You can do this."
"Do what?" Ty asked shakily, making the pegasus jump in surprise.
Ty was honestly getting concerned as his thoughts ran wild. What if she has a poison dart frog in her mane!? She probably knows where a pony's pressure points are!
His thoughts were cut off as he realized she was just staring at him with a scowl. Her head was just inched away from his and he could feel her breath on his nose. There were flecks of spit on the side of her mouth that got him really unsettled for some reason.
"Jeez your face is gross."
...
"What!?" Everypony recoiled in shock. Fluttershy's eyes were starting to tear before she flew up the stairs, wailing uncontrollably.
"Oh, Fluttershy dear!" Rarity called, galloping up after her.
Ty attempted to call up after her. "I'm sorry! That just... slipped out." What was that about? Now that I think about it, I remember Zack saying something at one point about Fluttershy being able to see inside your soul. I thought he just read that in a creepypasta somewhere, but if she really can maybe it's best for her mental and emotional stability that she doesn't. Lord knows what would happen to me if that happened.
Everypony else just sat on the floor, jaws dropped. Pinkie just barely managed to stammer out, "I-you-b-j-w...
WHO IN TARTARUS ARE YOU!?" Pinkie screamed, pointing an accusatory hoof at him.
Ty managed to get his hearing back and replied weakly, "I don't know, maybe you're supposed to figure that out." Twilight raised her hoof to her chin, thinking.
"Well, I could check the Canterlot archives for birth records, appearance, cutie mark acquisition, occupation-"
"No don't do that!" Twilight looked back at Ty questioningly. "I mean, I'm joking." Twilight's look quickly turned accusatory and suspicious, sweat beads forming on Ty's forehead as he nervously grimaced.
"Haha! Good one." Ty looked around, swearing he heard Pinkie laugh, but she was still in the corner, pointing her hoof at him. He turned back to see Twilight continuously chuckling, a genuine smile on her face.
"Right..." Is this seriously happening, or are they just as exaggerated as in the show?
"This is gittin' us nowhere!" Applejack suddenly shouted. "Jus' git' me mah rope, then I hogtie 'em and we hang 'im up like a pinata."
Pinkie clapped her hooves together repeatedly, "Oh I love that game! I call going next!"
Rainbow looked over at Pinkie. "Ya' mean hit him? With a stick?"
"No, silly! Why would I want to be a stick?"
"No, hit him with the stick!" Rainbow returned.
"No-"
"Sake's alive! We are not indulging in Pinkie Pie's fantasies right now!" Applejack shouted, fed up.
Ty was glancing around frantically. If these ponies keep worrying, Twilight's going to end up force choking me!
Twilight had joined in the argument which was now a massive cluster of shouting. This all ceased however as Ty butted in, shouting, "Wait!"
Everypony looked at him and tilted their heads, wondering what he had to say.
"*Sigh* You all want the truth?" Ty asked, getting uncontrollable nods from Pinkie and Twilight, skepticism from Applejack, and a look of pure disbelief from Rainbow Dash. Whelp, guess it's time to start up the alias.
"Fine..." Ty groaned.
"Fluttershy! Rarity! You won't believe this!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she zipped upstairs.