//------------------------------// // Mixed Perceptions // Story: The Fused and The Severed // by Golden Cake //------------------------------// After sleeping for a night in this farm’s weirdly clean barn, which Twilight Sparkle had locked me in last night, I woke up to the sounds of chickens crowing. I didn’t think a rock farm would have animals. After a while, Twilight had let me out of the barn and told me how this would work for me, as I bent my legs to meet her at eye level. “You’re either with us, or against us,” she said. “If you fight to support our farm, and help us when we need it, then we’ll have your back till the end.” “But if you try to hurt us,” she warned. “Then we won’t hesitate to throw you out, and end you if you try coming back.” I looked down at the floor as I thought about what I would do. ‘I shouldn’t stay, I should be getting back to my team, they’re probably worried sick, especially Wild. But getting from here to the other side of Equestria by myself would be suicide.’ Twilight must’ve noticed my uncertainty and placed her hoof on my leg. “Look, if you don’t want to live here, we won’t force you to, and you can leave peacefully. I would believe that you didn’t have bad intentions when you stumbled upon our farm did you?” I shook my head, and thought about my group. Maybe if I was honest with Twilight about how much I needed her help to get back to my group, maybe I could prove myself and help out here, at least for now. “Twilight,” I started. “Look, I have to get back to my group. I know you don’t like Celestia, but I need to get back to my friends, and I can’t do it alone.” I told Twilight about how I could gain her trust by helping her and everypony else out, if they were to help me get back to my group when they trusted me enough, and she seemed to agree to my terms. “Doing chores will be nice and all,” she said. “But I need to know who you are as a person, to know if you’re truly worthy of trust.” I looked at her curiously. “So I will ask you some questions about who you really are, and in exchange, I’ll tell you who me and my friends are, so we can prove our trust to you,” she said. I agreed to her terms, as she held out her hoof for me to shake, which I grasped with my hand, before I stood up. Twilight then invited me to have breakfast with everypony, so they could get to know me a bit, and I happily obliged. I was actually starving now that I thought about it. During breakfast, we ate some amazing breakfast burritos, made by a pony named Pinkie Pie. As we all sat at the large table, I introduced myself to everypony and was grateful that they didn’t seem to be too bothered by my different appearance. There were actually ten ponies in this group, which was impressive for a group of citizens living without military assistance. Twilight told me that three of the ponies, and the filly, were found by her just the other day. I guess Twilight was the type to always help those in need. As we continued eating, I got to know everypony’s names and got some pretty good bases of who they were as we talked. Rainbow Dash was a strong, show off type of pegasus, with a light blue coat and rainbow mane. She had strong loyalty for her friends, and she asked me how life was on Earth, and I said it was fine, or at least it used to be before all of this. Fluttershy was a meek, but very deeply caring pegasus, with a yellow coat and a large, pink mane, who didn’t talk to me much while we ate. Rarity was an elegant, generous unicorn with a pure white coat and beautiful blue mane, who loved talking about fashion and cleanliness. Pinkie Pie was a pink earth pony who liked to lift other’s spirits as much as she could, even if she wasn’t doing great in the moment. She was quiet most of the time while we ate, but she still smiled and seemed happy to be with her friends. Applejack was an honest, hardworking farm pony, with a bright, crisp orange coat and a peach colored mane, with a farmer’s hat. She was probably a pretty big part of why this farm was so well kept, and she talked about her future plans of someday turning the farm into an apple orchard, once she got everypony’s approval, which actually sounded like a smart idea. And Twilight Sparkle was a magically capable unicorn, with a bright purple colored coat and purple colored mane with a pink stripe. She seemed to be the glue of her friends that kept them together, and kept the small problems from getting out of hand. Out of everypony else, she seemed the most interested in learning about me, whether that was because she saw me as a threat, or she just wanted to learn about my species, or Celestia’s military, I wasn’t sure. As we ate, Rarity couldn’t stop talking about how ‘simply horrendous’ the cloth I was wearing around my waist looked, and how much better I would feel wearing something ‘higher quality’. I suppose the cloth I was wearing wasn’t the most fashionable thing ever, especially since it was partially stained with severed blood, but it served its purpose for now. The four other ponies who were very new to this group also told me about themselves. Aloe was a sweet, relaxed earth pony, who used to work at the spa in Ponyville. Lotus was Aloe’s twin sister and worked in the spa alongside her before the invasion. Octavia Melody was a civilized earth pony who was a former cellist, but still plays in her free time, based on what she told me. And Apple Bloom was a determined, little earth pony filly, who was Applejack’s little sister. I got the feeling that Applejack was really happy to see her again, since she refused to sit farther than a few feet away from her as we talked and ate. In return for all of this personal talk about them, I told them about myself. I told them about how I lost my little sister and my parents back on Earth. I also told them a little bit of what being in the military was like, and I even told them how unsure I was about working in the military alongside ponies at first, but I also stated how much I warmed up to them and respected their determination in doing what needed to be done, and protecting those that they love, just like a human would do. Right when I got back to finishing my first burrito, Twilight out of the blue asked me about my bracelet that I had on my wrist. Twilight asking me had peaked everypony else’s curiosity, and even though I wasn’t sure how comfortable General Celestia would be with me sharing military tactics with civilians, but I felt that telling them might not hurt anything, so I told them about my fusion bracelet. “This isn’t just any standard bracelet,” I said, as I held up my wrist for all of them to see. “This was made by both Equestria and Earth’s militaries, when they became one. It gives anyone who uses it, even if they’re different species, the ability to merge their bodies and minds, combining their strength to make someone new.” “How’s it work?” Applejack asked. I looked at the bracelet. “It stores my DNA, that way I can unfuse back into myself when I need to. It also sort of becomes a part of the user when it’s equipped, and it’s not meant to be taken off, see?” I then tried forcing the bracelet off of my hand, but after a few seconds of basically just pulling and hurting my wrist, I stopped. “That’s fascinating,” Twilight said, while keeping her eyes on my bracelet. “I didn’t even know that the princess was using such interesting methods for her armies.” “Yeah,” I said, as I got back to eating my burrito. “It’s pretty cool. But both people who’re fusing have to be wearing the bracelet, it’s the thing that makes fusion possible.” Once we all finished breakfast, I washed my plate, and asked Twilight what I should do. “We’ll, this is your first day here,” Twilight said. “For now, just try helping everypony else out with their tasks.” Twilight then told me what everypony else was doing today, and I decided that I’d start by helping out Applejack and Applebloom with the new apple trees and crops they were planting today. Once I got to the edge of the farm, to where everything was being planted, Applejack saw me and waved. “Howdy there, Dan,” she said. “What’re you doin out here?” I told her that I was just seeing if any of them needed help, and she smiled. “We’ll, Ah’d really appreciate you taking that plow and making a new row of ready soil, if ya reckon you can handle that.” I nodded, and grabbed the front of the plow and pulled. I wished Equestria had actual vehicle plows, but technology has never been as advanced here as on Earth, so I would just have to live with it. When I was done pulling the plow and making a long row of soil, ready to plant with, I was sweating in the intense heat, and got back to Applejack and Applebloom and helped them plant seeds. “Well ah’ll be, you’ve sure got some strength, for a human,” Applejack said as she wiped her forehead with a cloth, before throwing me a separate cloth. I laughed in between breaths, as I wiped off my forehead. “Thanks, and thanks for the rag.” Applejack smiled. “No problem, sugarcube.” Once we were done planting some fresh crops, mostly apple trees, but also some watermelon, I looked around for Fluttershy to see if she needed help with the animals. On the other side of the farm, next to the barn, I found Fluttershy, who was leaning over the fence of a pen, trying to feed carrots to a pig. “Come on, Bakin,” she said sweetly. “You say you’re not hungry, but this is good for you!” Once Fluttershy turned around and noticed me, she jumped, falling into the muddy pen. I stifled a laugh and hopped over the fence, holding out a hand for her to get back on her hooves. She looked hesitant for a moment, but smiled, as she grabbed my hand and I pulled her up to her hooves. “Here, let’s get you cleaned up,” I said, as I opened the gate for us to walk through. She was covered head to toe in mud, but luckily there was a little outdoor box shower next to the barn. Once Fluttershy shut the door and cleaned herself off, I gave her a towel that was in the farmhouse, and she dried herself off. “Thanks,” she said quietly. I nodded, and asked her if she needed help. Fluttershy looked back at the pen of pigs. “Well, Bakin and his friends aren’t eating their vegetables. They say they filled up on breakfast, but it’s almost lunchtime by now.” I looked at the pen, then back at her. “Can I try?” Fluttershy smiled, ever so slightly, and handed me a bucket of carrots and lettuce, which she was carrying with her mouth. I didn’t bother thinking about how unsanitary that probably was, and stepped into the pen to give the pigs their food. When they didn’t accept the carrots or the lettuce, I had an idea. I asked Fluttershy if they had beans here, and she said they did. So I went into the farmhouse and cooked up a pot of baked beans. When the beans were done, I mixed the carrots and the lettuce with them, and put them in the pig’s food trough. The pigs then sniffed the trough, and started aggressively eating from it. I looked at Fluttershy, who smiled back at me. “Thank you, I don’t know how to make beans. I guess the pigs just wanted to eat something different.” I asked Fluttershy if she needed help with the other animals, but she said she was fine, as the pigs were the only ones giving her trouble today. Once I helped Fluttershy, I went into the barn to see if I could find Rarity, and sure enough, she was there. She looked like she had set up a sort of makeshift boutique on the second floor of the barn, which I hadn’t noticed on my first night here. I saw that Rarity was sweeping the floors, in her elegant area of the barn, and I asked her if she needed any help. Rarity looked at me, as she set down the broom with her magic. “Well, I wouldn’t say that I need help, darling. But that’s not to say that there’s not a way you can help me help you,” she said, as she grinned eyeing me up and down. I gulped. “Fine,” I said. Rarity then got a little bit close and personal, as she measured my chest and my lower area. I was relieved that she let me keep the cloth on while she got her measurements. “Hold still, darling,” she said. “I want to get this right for you.” I told her that she didn’t need to go to crazy lengths to make me something super fancy, I just needed something that worked well as a shirt and pants, and preferably underwear, too. Rarity seemed a bit saddened by my disregard for fashion, so I then told her she could go as far as she wanted, as long as she didn’t exhaust herself. She then smiled, as she clapped her hooves together, then she drew outlines of a long sleeved shirt and pants, and started cutting cloth. When she asked me to get some extra fabric from the farmhouse, I happily obliged. When Rarity had all the ingredients she needed, she started stitching the cloth together. After a few hours of me nearly falling asleep in my chair, she said she was done. She made me quite a few pairs of black socks and underwear, and two sets of clothes. The first one was a pink, long sleeved shirt with blue jeans, and the other was a white, short sleeved shirt, with light blue lounge shorts. “I wasn’t sure if you’d like pink for the first one, I don’t have many colors available,” Rarity said. “But with the second one, I really thought that some radiant blue would compliment your eyes perfectly!” I blushed, and smiled at her. “Heh… thanks Rarity, I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to do this.” Rarity smiled at me, her mane was frazzled, and she looked exhausted, but she also looked happy. “You’re welcome, darling,” she said. I then picked up all the new clothes Rarity had made for me and was going to take them down to the first floor of the barn, but Rarity stopped me. “And just where do you think you are going, darling?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as she grinned. I told her I was moving them to the first floor of the barn, since that’s where I assumed I’d be sleeping for the night. “Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, darling. You should sleep in an actual room tonight, The farmhouse has an extra guest room with multiple beds, you don’t deserve to be kept out here like some animal,” she said firmly. My eyes widened. Rarity was truly a generous mare. “I… thank you, Rarity, really,” I said. “You’re welcome, darling,” she said. “Now leave one of those new threads and everything else here, and I’ll take them to the guest room myself later, in the meantime, you can shower and put on those lovely new clothes,” she said. “Gotcha,” I said. I thanked her one last time, then used the outdoor shower to clean myself off, and put on the new clothes. I was wearing the white shirt sleeve and the comfy shorts, and it was pretty nice! The fabric was of surprising, comfortable quality, despite the fact that it was homemade just today, and it fit me really nicely. In Celestia’s military, they have clothes made for humans, but I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve been in more casual attire. …I actually really liked it. It made me feel sort of at home for the first time in a long while. After I got fitted in my new, comfy clothes, I left to see if I could find Rainbow Dash, to see if I could help out with whatever she was doing. I actually found Rainbow Dash inside the living room of the farmhouse, I guessed she was done moving clouds or whatever, and seemed to be on break. “Hey Rainbow Dash,” I said. Rainbow was laying on the sofa, staring out a window, before she turned to face me. “Heey, there… Dan? Was it?” I nodded. Rainbow looked over the sofa, at the kitchen, then back at me, before she suddenly laid on her back dramatically, as if she was in pain. I knew she was faking, though. “Oh, the pain! The PAIN!!” She said loudly. I could really use some carrots from the pantry, and maybe a cup of water, all this flying today has really worn me out!!” I raised an eyebrow, as she looked back at me with puppy eyes. “Sure thing,” I said, as I started walking to the kitchen. I opened the pantry door, which was open a crack, and had a bucket of water splash on me, completely soaking my clothes. I heard Rainbow giggling in the living room, which started quietly, but quickly turned into full on laughter, as I tightened my fist and grinded my teeth. It took a lot for someone to get on my nerves, but this was a pretty special case, what with Rarity putting in all that time and work, in combination with how much I genuinely loved the clothes. I poured a glass of water for Rainbow and got a carrot out of the pantry. Once I returned to the living room, and saw the giggling mare, trying her hardest to keep a straight face, I splashed the whole cup of water in her face and ate the carrot in front of her. “Mmm,” I said as I chewed. “This is good!” I then swallowed the carrot, and looked at her, as she looked up at me angrily. “You want some more water? You drank that pretty fast,” I said. Rainbow forced a laugh, and unfurled her wings, leaping at me and pinning me to the ground before I could even blink. She simply sat on top of me, staring into my soul with fierce eyes. “Not a bad prank,” she said, while keeping her eyes fixated on me. “For a human, but if you really want to earn my loyalty, I need to know the kind of person you really are, and well… I suppose you’ve just showed me that didn’t you?” I tried standing up, but she had her forelegs pinning down my arms, as was putting all of her weight on me. She was surprisingly strong. “I’m not that kind of person!” I said, grunting as I strained to get her off. “You don’t know how hard Rarity worked on these clothes!! And how much I love them!” Rainbow’s angry expression retracted, ever so slightly, but she still kept me firmly pinned to the ground. “Yeah,” she said, looking at the floor. “Rarity can really get a sense for what makes you happy.” Rainbow looked back at me. “Look man, it was just meant to be a harmless prank, I didn’t want to possibly mess up Rarity’s new clothes for you or anything.” I looked at the couch, which was stained with the water I splashed Rainbow Dash with. I looked back at her. “Yeah, well, I didn’t mean to be so harsh on you in return,” I said. “Sorry, Rainbow Dash.” She then got off of me and reached her wing out like a hand for me to grasp, as she pulled me back onto my feet. “Don’t mention it, Dany Boy,” she said teasingly. “And you can just call me Rainbow, y’know? We’re all friends here, right?” I smiled. “Right,” I said firmly. “Maybe I should just call you Dashie.” Rainbow gently slapped the side of my head with her wing playfully. “Don’t you dare!” She said warningly, as she smiled. I laughed, and she laughed too. By now, it was almost dinner time, so me and Dash decided to get a head start on cooking for everypony else, since we both had taken a bit of a long break. Before we started cooking, Rainbow Dash tossed me a towel from the bathroom to dry myself and my clothes off with, and we got to work. We made diced up potatoes with carrots. I asked if we should make soup, but she said she wasn’t that great at cooking, and neither was I, so we went with something pretty simple. When dinner was ready, Dash asked me to go to the front door and literally ring the dinner bell, which I did. After a few minutes, everypony joined us for dinner, and we ate, as we talked about the highlights of our days. Twilight hadn’t found any survivors, but her and Pinkie had found some blueberries in the forest that we could plant on the farm, which was good. Fluttershy hadn’t found any more animals we could welcome to our farm today, but the ones we did have were nicely cared for by her today. Applejack and Applebloom had made a good plot of soil ready for planting, and she said the first apple trees were starting to grow. Aside from making me new clothes, Rarity had painfully cleared out the gutters on the farmhouse, and swept the inside of the first floor. And Rainbow Dash said she’d been flying through the skies most of the day, guiding rainclouds to hit our farm, and maneuvering the normal, sun blocking clouds away. Octavia had been checking to make sure the barbed wire fence wasn’t damaged, and was practicing her songs, which she said she could play for us sometime, if we wanted. Aloe and Lotus did some cleaning and had practiced massages on each other, that way we can all relieve some stress during our breaks, which actually sounded like an amazing idea. When dinner was over, before we all went to bed, Rarity told me where I would be sleeping, as she took me outside a guest room on the second floor of the house. “This is where you’ll be sleeping, darling,” she said quietly. “Just be quiet, please, Octavia, Aloe, and Lotus are already asleep in there. I nodded, and Rarity smiled, before she turned to leave and turned off the hallway light. As I opened the door and stepped inside, bright moonlight shined through the window, onto one of three beds, the only empty one, which revealed the other pair of clothes Rarity had made for me. I set the clothes on the dresser next to the bed, and shuffled under the soft, heavy covers, laying down as I looked out the window, at the pure white, glowing moon, as I smiled and shut my eyes. Maybe living with these new ponies for now wouldn’t be so bad. Not bad at all.