//------------------------------// // Tails of Precaution // Story: The Impact of Humans on Ponies // by the koopanater //------------------------------// "*Gulp* Ahh... That's the good stuff." "Ya said it." After the water transfer finished, life went on like normal, but now with Flint along for the ride. And after introductions to Applejack and Pinkie, there was little problem going forward. This continued for two weeks, though strangely Flint was seldom seen by his new friends. They didn't mind however, seeing as he was new to the new world. Right now though the scene is set at Sweet Apple Acres, Alex and Applejack sitting on an old stump drinking some water. "Never thought ay'd be workin' the farm, but this' pretty fufillin' work." Alex said, raising his water bottle up. "Well I've learned that fate is somethin' else." Applejack responded. "I mean if it wasn't fer Rainbow's sonic rainboom I might just be in Manehattan still." "Guess it is funny." With another sip of water, Alex sighed. "Speakin' of, what're yer thoughts of the new guy?" "Hmm... not sure to be honest." The farmmare admitted. "He seems like a good guy, no doubt about that. And yet... he's quite strange." Alex gaze turned to Applejack, so she began to elaborate. "It's just that, he seems like he's keepin' a secret from us." "Meh, ay can see where yer gettin' at, but who can say though." Alex said. "He may just need to open up around us. An' who knows, he may be hidin' it since it's embarrassin'." "Yeah..." Taking one last sip of water, Applejack got up from the stump and faced Alex. "Welp, break time's over. Let's get back to work." "Aye aye, boss. Let's continue." The two resumed the farm work, taking care of the chores around the orchard steadily. As they were however, Applejack noticed that Alex's attention wavered every now and then, his mood dropping slightly before shaking his head to continue. "Are ye okay?" Applejack asked, Alex turning to her. "You've been spacin' out quite a lot." "O-oh, it's nothin'." Alex deflected. "Ya sure? Yer lookin' a bit pale." Alex hesitated for a bit, his eyes looking down. "A-ay'm sorry lass, but ay ain't ready to say." "Alex, this is some-" "No no, it's not like that. " Alex interrupted. "Ay'd tell ye if ay could figure it out." "...An' what is 'it'?" "...Ye remember the dragon migration, right?" Applejack nodded. "Well ay saw somethin' that day. You'd think it'd be a hallucination from what ay saw, but it just felt... too real to be just that. Hell, it a bunch of emotions mixed in my mind about this whole thing." "What emotions do you feel." "Can't exactly say, but let's just say... it's not a good feelin'." Alex's description startled Applejack a bit. "Ay wish ay could say that ay'm just exaggeratin' here, but what I saw sparked somethin' in me that ay could never understand." The two stood there for a while, not sure what to say. "L-let's drop this topic for another time, Alex. We've got work after all." "Y-yeah, let's do that." Despite them focusing on their work yet again, the silence and air around them was awkward and tense, neither of them willing to spark another conversation until the end of the day as they walked back to the farmhouse so Alex could grab his stuff and a snack before heading home. When they saw the farmhouse come into view however, they saw Flint talking with Granny Smith on her rocking chair, the soldier waving and walking into the orchard in a different direction. "Was that Flint, Granny?" Alex asked as he and Applejack got near. "That's what he called himself." She answered. "Never met him until today though." "What was he doin' here?" "He was goin' off about lookin' around the orchard, sayin' it was fer a job of his. Don't know what for though, never told me. *sigh* He's somethin' else, he's polite yet..." At this point Granny began to ramble, no sign of stopping anytime soon. At least this gave the two friends time to talk. "He wants ta look 'round fer his job?" Alex questioned, eyebrow raised. "When the hell did he get one?!" "Don't know, but now that I think about it..." Applejack put a hoof to her chin, thinking back. "When I did see him last time, he was crouched near town hall." The two looked at each other for a bit, but ultimately decided to leave it at that. "Not much we can do." Alex shrugged. "Besides, ay wanna rest up fer the day." "Alright then. I'll see ya around then." As the two were giving their goodbyes however, their minds stirred with the things that happened today, wondering what everything meant. A Few Days Later, SugarCube Corner As Rainbow and Applejack entered the bakery, they looked around to find that a good amount of their friends were talking. Approaching them, they all greeted each other. "Hey hey you two." Alex began, giving a fist bump to Rainbow. "Ye've been doin' good?" "You know it." "Glad to see y'all." Cali said with a tilt of her hat, snacking on some cookies with Jasmine. "You too." Applejack said, pulling a seat up to sit next to Twilight and Huston. After some time between friends' small talk, they noticed that Flint entered the building, taking a quick look around. "Hey Flint." Twilight greeted, getting Flint's attention. "Hm? Oh, hello everyone." Flint nodded politely. "How are all of you today?" "We're doing okay." Huston said. "Would you like to join us?" "Sorry, I can't stay for long." The soldier said. "There are still things I need to do for the day. Maybe next time." Flint then walked up to the counter where Pinkie popped up. Before she could greet him however, she was greeted herself by a piece of paper being offered to her, to which she took. Looking it over, she smiled at Flint before putting a serious face on, dashing into the kitchen with a salute. A bit later she reemerged, carrying a paper bag she passed to Flint. With a silent thanks, Flint left as Pinkie waved with her classic smile, ducking back behind the counter. As this exchange happened, everyone watched with curiosity. "Well that was... something." Twilight said. "I'll say." Rainbow continued. "It was like some crazy scene out of Daring Do." "...I won't deny it's a bit strange." Cali commented. "What was that guy doing?" "You think he was playing around with Pinkie?" Jasmine asked, tilting her head. "Maybe, but that's just one of the weird things he's been doin' since comin' here." Alex mused. "He's been sneakin' 'round the place. Not ta sound suspicious, but what could he be doin' ta cause this?" "You think he's a spy?" Rainbow suggested, though everyone looked at her like she was crazy. "You do realize who we're talkin' about, right?" Applejack reminded. "Who would he be spyin' for, let alone thinkin' anypony would ask him when he's bigger than Big Mac." "Hmm..." Huston thought for a moment, looking up to where Pinkie was. "Pinkie? You there?" "What's up?" Like usual, Pinkie popped up between the group, startling them. "Ah, *sigh*. I wanted to ask you about what Flint gave you." "Sorry, that's confidential." Pinkie answered with a hop. "But it's important to him!" As Pinkie hopped away, everyone looked with different emotions. "What in the hell did she mean by that?" Alex questioned. "How should I know?" Cali bounced back. "For all we know he just bought a cupcake." "*sigh* Maybe we should stop for now." Twilight suggested. "We can ask him about it later. Besides, he's our friend, we shouldn't jump to conclusions." Everyone looked at each other for a bit before voicing their agreements, returning to their conversation from before. After some time they all decided to leave, giving their regards to Pinkie. As they were leaving however they bumped into a familiar face. Well, more like toppled them as a certain merchant was sent to the floor. "Grah! Hey, watch where you're- oh, it's you guys." "Sorry Zenix, are you okay?" Huston asked as he helped him up. "Yeah I'm fine buddy. I'm just a bit hungry." As Zenix was dusting himself off, he looked over his friends with a grin. "So, have any news?" "*sigh" Is that seriously you're way of starting a-" "Wait, hold that thought." With two fingers raised, Zenix zipped into SugarCube Corner, coming back out a few moments later holding a strawberry cupcake. "Okay, now we can talk." Zenix said as he took a bite out of the sweet. "...Like any news gets past you." Cali mentioned. "Eh, just figured you'd have some info about the new guy." Zenix shrugged. "I've been gathering a bit about him-" "You've been what?" Everyone asked with confusion with turned heads and raised eyebrows. "If you let me finish, I've been gathering info about him because a client of mine wants to know more about him, and most notably if he's dangerous." "Dangerous?" Jasmine and Rainbow asked together, Rainbow continuing on. "Why would they think that?" "Well if you think about it, all the humans you've met are quite strong." Zenix explained as he took another bite. "I mean, you've seen some of us in action, and even you can't deny that those feats aren't exactly 'pacifist'." "What are you trying to say?" "What I'm saying miss 'war against an orchard', is that unlike the cushy ponies, we've been living in a much more harsh and unforgiving world for most of our lives." Zenix said, getting shocked looks from everyone. "I hate to sound cynical, but it's the truth. And besides, who knows what could happen in a new world? You aren't held back by the old rules and laws you once knew, and depending on the circumstance, you might know more advanced tech that can change the world forever. You've seen and read those types of stories, who's to say that they're showing the bad side to it all." "...Dude. That's just..." "Sorry, that's just how my world, the business world, is." Zenix said, finishing the cupcake and putting his hands under his shawl, looking down with a sad smile. "You can't really trust anyone, not even your own employees, and you learn quickly that the only ones you can trust are yourself and your own judgement. If you don't, you'll be chewed up and spit out with nothing to your name. Seen it many-a-time." "...Still, it doesn't mean everyone you meet is going to take advantage of you." Huston disagreed, stepping forward. "There's always going to be someone out there that can be trusted with your life, and if you cut yourself from everyone, you may drive that person away." "Oh yeah, and what about you?" Zenix shot back, a sneer on his face. "You cut yourself off from the world as well. Who are you to preach that I should open up?" "I know I did, and that's something I regret." Huston said with guilt in his eyes. "Because I cut myself off from someone I trusted, and I may never get the chance to thank them." Zenix was about to retort, but he stopped when he process what Huston said. "Thank them?" "For allowing me to become who I am today." Huston said with a sad, yet thankful smile. "I may have never become an artist in any way without her. So while saying sorry for what looks like abandoning her looks appropriate, I think a thank you is the best response." The group went silent for a while, with everyone looking at both Huston and Zenix in hesitant anticipation. "Nnnrrr." Zenix growled after a few moments, turning away. "I still say that trust is much better spent on your own feats, but whatever floats your boat. Besides, we still don't know much about the guy, and after hearing the rumors about shadows sneaking around after dark in the most unnerving places like the Everfree Forest's borders." Hearing that earned a gasp from the group. "I know, crazy, but that's what I've heard. Take that information as you will." Before anyone could ask, Zenix was walking away, showing no interest in continuing. "...Well that was, uncomfortable." Applejack admitted. "Yeah, won't deny that." Alex agreed. "...Let's stop thinking about that for now." Huston suggested. "I wonder what reason Flint has to go to the Everfree forest." "Honestly anything is up in the air with that." Twilight said, putting a hoof to her chin. "It's one thing to go at all, but at night?" "Could he really be a spy?!" Everyone looked at Rainbow again, though not because she was talking crazy again. "...You know what sure, put that in the list." Twilight shrugged. "If only there was a way to tell." "We could put together a stake out, but I doubt we could get away with that with someone in the military." Alex thought out loud. "Stake out?" Jasmine thought, before a thought hit her. "Wait, what if we got Storm and Fluttershy to help?" Everyone turned their attention at her, willing to listen. "Well we could have them watch him when he goes out at night since Storm is nocturnal and Fluttershy lives close to Everfree Forest." "That's... actually a pretty good idea." Applejack admitted, others voicing their agreements. "Now hold on a minute." Cali stopped. "You do realize that this has happened multiple times in the past." "What happened multiple times?" Alex asked. "Someone in our group thinks that something is suspicious, outrageous, or a very big issue and decides to do something about it, which ends up becoming an even bigger problem than what they though. I'm not saying what's been happening isn't weird, but we may just be blowing things out of proportion, unless I need to remind you about the Pinkie Sense or the time travel incidents." Twilight visually shuttered at that memory. "You do have a point." Rainbow said. "But right now is different. Besides, it's just a few days of look out duty. What's the worst thing that could happen?" "If that wasn't enough Zenix is actin' on this because someone 'ere thinks he's dangerous." Alex mentioned. "He may be weird, but he knows too much ta be written off." "...You realize Rainbow just said the worst thing to say." Cali groaned as she pinched her nose in annoyance. "But sure, go for it. I'm just saying my piece before goin' off the handles." With Cali's warning, the group began to plan out their stake out. The Next Day, Fluttershy's Once everyone managed to hash out all the details of the plan, they spilt up to discuss the plan with the key pieces to the plan. Fortunately the two were okay with helping, one much more eager to do so. Of course the only thing to do now was sleep on it as that was the time everything happened. Once the morning did rise however those involved in the plan quickly got themselves ready and left, leaving those who weren't in the loop confused. They headed over to Fluttershy's place, where their pony friends were waiting with Storm hanging off of Fluttershy's wing. "Took you guys long enough." Rainbow shouted at the humans as they walked up. "Yeah yeah yeah, shaddup lass." Alex retorted. "Not everyone can be yer kinda fast." "Let's not delay for much longer." Twilight said, turning to Fluttershy. "So what exactly happened last night?" Watching Storm chitter for a bit, Fluttershy began to explain. "S-so he says that Flint did leave the house last night. He was walking around town, though Storm said he seemed... aimless. He did take pauses at times, looking at different buildings from time to time." "Okay, and did he do anything when he was looking at them?" Jasmine asked, to which Storm shook his head. "Well that's a bust." Alex groaned. "Did he do anythin' else that night?" The bat chittered a bit, to which Fluttershy translated. "Apparently, the last thing that Flint did last night was go to the edge of the Everfree forest and buried something in the ground." This managed to catch the attention of the heroes. "What did he bury?" Applejack asked. Storm scratched his head with a look that said he didn't know. "All he said that what he buried was small and glowed slightly." "And is that all you can say for the night?" Huston asked, to which Storm nodded. "Not much information here, what now?" "Maybe we could see what he buried?" Alex suggested. "And why would we?" "Well who knows what he buried there!" Rainbow announced. "He could have planted some crazy human bomb for all we know." This was the third time everyone looked at her, though it was once again crazy. "...Unless it's another military experi-whatever, I don't think that it." Cali deadpanned. "Plus, why would he plant a bomb in the middle of nowhere?" Applejack asked, Rainbow struggling to think of an answer. "I kinda want to check as well." Jasmine admitted. "It may not be a bomb, but it could still be dangerous." "You too Jas?" Cali looked at her friend with concern, to which she nodded. "*sigh* I guess I have no choice but to follow." It didn't take long before everyone was on board with investigating, so they let Storm guide them while Fluttershy stayed behind. It didn't take long before they reached the place where Flint was, with Storm sitting on a spot on the ground that was loose. "This the spot little buddy?" Jasmine asked, the bat nodding. "Okay, thank you." As Jasmine was petting her pet, Alex grabbed a flattish rock nearby and began to dig away. Before long he managed to scrape up something that matched Storm's description of being small and glowing. As Alex picked it up though, there was some blue sparks that emitted from it, the glow ceasing and letting the group look at it closely. When they did they saw it was a small stone orb with some kind of rune carved onto it. "What the hell is this thing?" Alex questioned, putting it up in the sky. "I think it's a warding stone." Twilight mentioned, everyone looking at her in confusion. "It's something that is made in Canterlot. It's a magical item that emits a magical frequency which disturbs certain organisms' magical-" "Can ye speak in 'average Joe' language?" Alex asked, Twilight deadpanning. "It's a tool that can keep monsters away." "Wait, so he planted an electric fence?" Alex questioned. "Where did he even get that?" Jasmine wondered. "Don't know, but it looks like he wasn't doing anything wrong." Huston noted. "You see!" Cali said exasperated. "You blew this out of proportion again! Gah, just bury the thing again and forget this ever happened." "Actually, we'd just be burying a rock at this point." Twilight commented, getting curious looks. "Warding stones are quite fragile due to the nature of the runes and magic used. So much so that once activated, it won't take much to dispel the magic." "So it's useless now." Applejack summed up, to which Twilight nodded. "Well that's a problem." "How is it a problem?" Rainbow asked. "In fact, why would he even have the need to put it here? It's not like the Everfree forest is sending monsters out every day-" "Grrr" Everyone froze as they heard growling nearby. Looking at the forest, they all began to panic when they saw not one, but three manticores emerging from the forest. "OH YE'VE GOTTA BE KIDDIN' ME!" Alex screamed as the beasts leaned down to pounce. Before they could realize what they were doing the manticore on the left pounced. Just as the beast was about to land the group was tackled on the side, narrowly missing. Realizing what happened, everyone got up to see Flint standing before them, pistol in hand. "Flint?! What-" "We can talk later." The soldier shouted. "They're coming at us." Not given much choice, the group readied themselves for the attack. The manticores engaged, the heroes splitting up to engage. Cali, Applejack, and Jasmine fighting one, Huston, Rainbow, and Twilight fighting another, leaving Alex and Flint to engage the last. Unlike the last time they had to deal with a manticore however, they group had much more experience in battle and were able to take them out. The first beaten with the combination of blinding wind magic and powerful blows by Cali's group, a decisive three-way blow to the head in Huston's group, and constant attacks by Alex and Huston. Once the three manticores fled back into the forest, everyone sighed as they lowered their guard. "Thanks fer the help lad." Alex thanked, but was interrupted by Flint getting up close. "Why in the world would you dig the warding stone back up?!" Flint questioned loudly, startling the group. "For that matter, why are you all here?!" "We're here because everyone was thinking you planted a spy camera or somethin'." Cali answered, everyone looking betrayed. "What? You guys were the ones who overreacted." "What happened to Ms. 'action over words'?" Rainbow questioned. "It's called, 'knowing the consequences'." "Stop." Flint growled, causing everyone to jump. "What does Ms. Cali mean by that?" Everyone looked at each other nervously (save for Cali who simply watched with arms crosses) "*sigh* Okay, we'll tell you." At this point the group began to explain their suspicions, from Flint's sneaking to his secretiveness, and even mentioning some of the rumors they heard (They left out the part about Zenix looking into him) Once they finished, Flint sighed. "I guess I can understand your view." He admitted. "But I just didn't want to involve you in this." "And what is it ye didn't wan' ta involve us in?" Alex asked, to which Flint took the warding stone from him. "You see, some time ago the mayor approached me to get my help." Flint began. "She said she got a letter from the princess saying that the Everfree forest was behaving strangely." "Isn't it always strange?" Applejack asked. "More than normally as of late." Flint continued. "She said that the forest was more active than normal, in fact when she looked closer she realized that creatures within were moving about much more than normal. To the point that it looked like they were running from something." This concerned the heroes, as they were thinking about what could scare a manticore, let alone a group. "She said that she would investigate, but for now the beasts were likely to leave, so she had me take the role of town guard. I planted this stone after determining where they would most likely leave, but you broke it." "Yeah, sorry about that." Twilight apologized, her and everyone bowing. "It's fine, though I will have to get a replacement." Flint paused as he looked at the stone. "There is something concerning however." Everyone looked confused at him. "You say that the rumors say that there are shadows at night, correct." A wave of nods were his answer. "Well that couldn't be me. I'm always carry a flashlight with me, so why would I be called a shadow? Furthermore, I've checked around town, there hasn't been any signs of monsters inside, but I did notice that there were patches of dead grass here and there, even though they were in bright places." Once again concern filled the group. "That is unnerving." Huston said. "It is, but nothing I can do about that." Flint said, sighing as he put the warding stone into his pocket. "I would like to ask all of you to stay out of my way from now on when I'm working as this can get dangerous as you've seen. In return I will try and be less secretive around you." Everyone looked at each other, feeling okay with that proposal. "I mean we can, but there's one question I have." Rainbow said. "What did you and Pinkie do yesterday involving that bag." To everyone's surprise, Flint looked away slightly, with an equally slight blush. "Well... the only thing in the bag was a lemon-lime cupcake." Flint said, everyone looking at him bewildered. "Wait, so you're saying my random guess was right?!" "Look, I'm just not open about liking sweets!" "Sorry Flint!" Jasmine apologized with a bow. "I-it's just surprising." "*sigh* Whatever, let's just leave things as it is today." Flint sighed as he left, giving a wave to his friends. Even though the group were suspicious about Flint in the beginning, their trust began to build up, hoping to get to the point that Flint was open with them completely. Later "And that's my report on Flint, boss." "Don't call me that." "Hey man, you wanted this info." Unbeknownst to everyone, Zenix was watching them from the background, listening to their conversation. Now he was reporting everything to Xavier in his room, and they both were looking over the facts. "Well, at least we can say he's not acting maliciously." Xavier concluded. "At most, he's at least on our side. Although..." Xavier looked up to think. "What do you think that whole, 'shadow' thing is about?" "Hard to say." Zenix shrugged. "It could be ponies seeing things, or some creature we don't know about as of right now. For now though, I'll look into more rumors about suspicious events in Ponyville and maybe even all of Equestria if you want me to." Xavier looked at him for a moment, before sighing. "Alright, I trust you." "It's my pleasure." As Zenix was walking away, he stopped. "Is it alright to ask you something?" Xavier nodded. "Why are you going so far with this?" "What do you mean." "You're doing quite a lot for a bunch of people you claim you're not close to." Zenix began. "It's not hard to see that you've changed since coming here, I mean Mr. lonely man managed to get a girlfriend for crying out loud. I thought you never wanted to get close so you never feel heartbreak again." "...I guess it's the atmosphere." Xavier said. "It's a peaceful place, yet it's probably much more spontaneous on its danger. I want to keep everyone from experiencing what I've been through, so I want to what I can to protect them. Call it stupid for changing my wants, but I want to keep them safe, no matter what." Zenix looked at him blankly before closing his eyes and turning away. "I can't say the change is bad, but pace yourself Ver." Zenix said as he walked away. "You don't want to be the one to cause the trauma." As Zenix turned the corner, Xavier sighed as he turned to his desk. "Don't worry Zen, I'm going to protect them, no matter what." Looking at his desk, he pulled over a piece of paper with blueprints of what looked like a metal brace, something that was titled, "Project Conductor". Whatever the Engineer was planning, it would be pride, but he wasn't the only one to see the plans however as a wisp of black fog could be seen outside his window, but only briefly as the wind scattered it. The only thing left was a patch of dead grass.