//------------------------------//
// Never Catch a Break 
// Story: The Quiet Kid: Day by Day 
// by aegishailstorm 
//------------------------------//

"Twilight! Starlight!" William swung the doors of the castle aside and walked on in as calmly as way possible. "We need to  talk!"  He had just gotten home from a rather... Relaxing camping trip in the far north with Joey. The arrival of a certain changeling turned it from just a camping trip into a half camping trip half scout sniper mission. Now, he hadn't killed much of anything while out in the woods spying on Chrysalis and her 2 companions. And while most of it he intended to keep  secret, there were still a few broader questions he had a few questions for Twilight and her friends.

1. Please explain all previous encounters with hostile changlings after I left

2. How the hell did y'all almost lose your entire kingdom to Tirek?

3. Is Starlight Glimmer still a communist? 

The last one was particularly infuriating for him. He thought he had left that nonsense behind when he had left earth. But no, apparently it has to follow him wherever he goes. And some of the rumor's he had heard from some, 'informants' hadn't exactly been reassuring. William was most certainly on the more aggressive side of the 'America good,' spectrum.  Back on earth, whenever someone started trash talking his nation in public, or on the internet he usually had a tendency to... Well... lose it. And casually remind the neckbeard's on the other side of the screen that the only reason they could wine about their issues with the government publicly was because of of the 1st amendment. And that the the 2nd protects the 1st. He preferred arguing with people face to face. Because the cowards didn't have a screen to hide behind. 

"Yes William!? Where have you been?" The doors to the castle's library swung open and Twilight poked her head out from behind it. " Hey Twilight, uh, I've been out camping with Joey. And while I was out there, I got really deep in thought. And I've got a few things to ask you." He gave her his questions. And she beckoned for him to come inside and sit down. And explained everything to him. Well, almost everything. She didn't have a answer for the whole, 'communist,' thing.

"Alright, is that everything?" William nodded, "Yep." He scratched his neck, and tapped the cushioned arm- hoof rest on the seat. "Sorry I couldn't give you an answer for the last thing. You should go on and ask her." He stood up and left without saying bye. Obviously, he hadn't told her about his encounter in the woods. He knew she'd freak out and contact the princesses. And that was something he couldn't allow.  This didn't need to be blown out of proportion. And so he had decided pretty early on that would keep this knowledge between himself and Joey. He shut the castle doors and looked out at the town. " How did this happen?" He asked himself, " How could a species like this be so incapable of taking  care of themselves? I was a damn miracle they lasted this long. But now he was here. He wasn't here to be Superman. He was here to enjoy himself. And fight fight's worth fighting. He whistled to himself as he walked through through the outskirts of town on his way to Starlight's office in the School of Friendship. He still hadn't gotten over the name. 


"Oh please, it's not real! And even if it is, there's no evidence to back it up!" He turned around to find Granny Smith, Applejack's grandma. Yelling about some, 'spirit of nature,' which was inhabiting her families orchard. Out of curiosity, he decided to walk over and ask her about it. He had learned to be warry of Equestrian superstitions, well, some of them. Mostly just the supernatural ones, because they often had their basis in fact. 

"So, what are you talking about?" He asked the old earth pony, " Oh, hi there. Oh, I was just explaining to this stallion over here that earth spirit that Golden Delicious keeps going on and on about isn't real! Goes by the name of The Great Seedling" William snorted. And looked just beyond her to catch a glimpse of a dark green earth pony galloping away "That's the actual name of an actual pony? Wow, this place is running out of ideas!" He clasped his head and shook it.  "Tell me more about this creature." She chuckled, " Oh, I'm afraid you'd have to go find her if you want more information. She's up by the farm helping with the harvest." William smiled, " Thanks. Also , harvest time?" He reached into a pocket and pulled out a calendar, " Holy ####! It's August already?" He walked away with a sigh. As the saying goes, time flies when you're having fun, when you're trying not to get killed, or both. 

William was sure to attempt to validate or disprove Mrs. Delicious's claims. He finally believed he had found a contender for creature with the weirdest name in Equestria. But first, he had to go  have a... "Talk," With one Starlight Glimmer. He barged over to the school, and knocked on her window. " Hey! Starlight, let me in! We need to talk!" 
"Hold one William, I'll be right there!"
He waited for a moment as hoof steps closed in on the window, then it slid open.  At the same time, he climbed on in, and shut the window behind him. " Why can't you just use the door like a normal creature?" She asked him. William chuckled as his face darkened. " Nice to see you too Starlight. I need to have a, talk with you about some things you did a while ago."

"What things?" William scowled, " I'll word it simply, are you a communist?" She smiled awkwardly, " Well, I was, but not anymore. Listen, I owned up to my mistakes. I enslaved those ponies against their will." William nodded, " Alright, that's good to hear. The relation between commies and I is kind of... Ifiy, if you get what I'm implying." She sat back down in her desk chair, " No, I don't." William waved, "Ah, don't worry about it. Hey, unrelated question, do you know anything of a nature sprit that inhabits the Apple farm? Look's like cross between a deer and a tree? Goes by the name of, 'The Great Seedling?" She shrugged.
"No, unfortunately, I don't. Is that everything?"
"Yes." He vaulted over her desk, slid the window open, and hopped out. He hit the ground running. " Thanks for the help. He was heading south, towards the Apple family's farm.   

William walked thought the gates at the edge of the farm, and immediately spotted the pony he was looking for. "Good morning Applejack, how's the harvest going?" He gave her a wave. Which she, and Applebloom returned in kind.  " Y'all have any information regarding, this, Great Seedling thing?" He watched as a smile crept over the filly's muzzle. " Did you hear William? He think's it's real." She looked from her sister to the confused operator, " You do think it's real, right?" William brought up his hands. "Eh... I need proof. Which I'm looking for, and no, I don't want Golden's help. Or information, other than a rough description of the creature. "  This was something Applejack herself was able to provide him with. 

"I'll have ya know, I stopped believing in it a long time ago." William rolled his eyes, " It's to you earth ponies as Bigfoot is to rednecks. I understand." He turned away, and began looking for a place to set up shop. " That hill looks like a nice place,  hey, Applejack? Are you ok with me hiding out in a tree?" She was already off helping Big Mac with something. 



The particular hill he had chosen overlooked the rest of the farm. He had chosen a tree on the southern most slope on it. With wide, sturdy branches and a clear view of the entire farm. It would be the perfect place to make a stand against any invading force. Or in this case, a place for William to keep a lookout for that so called, "Great Seedling." Which, after some more research at the town library. He think he had an answer for, a small portion of sentient deer in Equestria seemed to be naturally imbued with magical powers rivaling that of Equuestria's most powerful unicorn wizards from birth. A small portion of those possessed immortality. So, as it happens, this, 'earth spirit.' May not have been a spirit after all, but rather, one of those special deer. And with their close connection to nature. It made perfect sense that this one would have taken up the task of nurturing farms all around Equestria. Now, up until now, there hadn't been any physical of photographic evidence of it, but, with William now on the hunt. He hoped to be able to meet it in person, and maybe even have a conversation with it. 

For this particular event, he had pulled out all the stops which he had. That being, all of his hunting knowledge from back on earth.  Now, he sat on a tree, with an infrared thermal scope attached to the to a top end of  bipod. Sipping apple cider, and watching the shadows grow longer and longer as the sun dipped over the horizon. He hadn't seen Joey all day, but as far as he was concerned. That wasn't really important. He had amplified ear protection over his ears. And a country playlist playing over it. "My Rifle, My Pony, and Me." Was playing over them.  He cleaned the cider off his cheek, and rocked his feet. 

"And so, the sun set's on another Equestrian day. " In an instant, the sun set over the horizon, and the mon began peaking up over the western horizon. Along with it came the stars. As soon as this happened, he peered through the scope just in time to see Applejack and her sister heading home. From their attire, William could tell that they had also been looking for the immortal deer. Obviously to no avail. To him, it meant nothing, just because they had failed didn't mean he would. Especially not with his equipment. 

As the hours slowly ticked by, William began to grow more complacent. He would much rather have been waling around looking for the creature. But in this case, he was acting in the roll of an ambush predator. He rocked himself back to rub his tired eyes, and tipped back to look back into the scope. As he did, he spotted just what he was looking for, the vague shape of a massive deer. Hopping into a bush, and out of William's line of sight.

"Bingo. Why did I say that, I hate Bingo." He snarled to  himself as he folded his gear up, made it disappear, and crept down into the dark farm. " Another conspiracy in the bag. There, that's a better saying." He murmured to himself, tuning his headset to pick up hoof steps. 


"Wait, don't run. Who are you?" It was Joey, William had just heard his voice through the trees. He could also make out a second set of hooves. Quickly, he clamored his way through the bushes. And peaked his head out from behind a tree. It was Joey, sure enough, talking with the immortal deer. "An alicorn? Heh, I haven't been keeping up with the world. William watched the 2 introduce one another. Apparently, Joey had been out hunting for William, and had stumbled across the Great Seedling instead. William slowly stepped out. As soon as the deer spotted him, it turned to run. 

"Wait! I'm not going to hurt you, I see you've already met my friend." The deer paused, " Uh, I really have to go." William laughed, " Go where? As far as the rest of the world is concerned, you're a rural legend. A folk tale. Besides, I can keep a secret. Name's William," He stuck out his hand, and the deer stood there, and blinked at the both of them. "Well, you going to shake it?" He cautiously inched forward, and shook it. "Sorry, it's just, I haven't talked with any creature in a really long time. My name's Green Star. Though, you might know me as the Great Seedling."

William nodded," Eh, fair enough, I've gone by a few titles in my time as well. Stay a while and talk." And just like that, he had befriended yet another extremely powerful magical creature the felt suspiciously like something out of a Greek myth. And a rather nice one at that. Though, one he never intended to tell Applejack, or anypony else about.