//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 - Beginnings in Ponyville // Story: A Pony's Humanity // by DJSkywalker //------------------------------// “Come on, you slowpokes! Flap those wings!” Rainbow shouted out, watching with an annoyed smirk as Blue and Twilight both clumsily flew up after her to their landing cloud. “Foals can fly faster than you two! Are you mares or do-dos?” Through hard breaths, he took the chance to snark back, “If you haven’t noticed, Dash, I’m neither!” Once his hooves felt the soft plush of the cloud, he collapsed onto it with a huff. “Sweet comfort!” Moments later, he heard another puff, looking over to see that Twilight collapsed next to him. “Must we be so…,” Twilight had to take a deep breath before continuing, “... so extreme, Rainbow? That had to be at least five kilometers!” Rainbow rolled her eyes, crossing her forelegs as she continued hovering above them. “5K is nothing to an experienced pegasus! And once I whip you both into it, you’ll be doing 10k just as easy!” Her enthusiasm drawing pained groans from her two “students”. Two weeks had passed since Blue’s sudden arrival in Ponyville and a routine had quickly developed for the residents of the Golden Oaks library. The mornings begin with Blue awakening from his slumber to the smell of a delicious meal typically cooked by Spike. Both of them would end up being up earlier than Nyx and especially Twilight who was never much of a morning pony that he learned. He and Spike made a pact that coffee will always be available should Twilight wake up early. Though those morning hours allowed the two males to talk, getting to know each other better. Nyx would be down not much later to get a filling breakfast before she would head out to school, walking with her friends which eased Blue’s worries. He could remember that traveling alone wasn’t a very safe endeavor, especially for young girls, but Spike waved away his concerns. The dragon told him of tightnit the community of Ponyville was; the kind where everypony knew your name. And apparently Nyx had made quite the name for herself. It had taken a few days, but eventually the small family of three had decided to tell him what happened with the young filly. A story of blood rituals, a scared little girl who didn’t know who she was, a cult that wanted to make her into a monster, and how Nyx had decided for herself that she would use her powers to protect ponies and reject the corruption called “Nightmare”, destroying it from her body. Ending happily with the filly being returned to normal, thanks to a “Princess Luna”, and being officially adopted as Twilight’s daughter. He learned the reason they were hesitant was because there were some ponies out there that had yet to forgive Nyx for becoming “Nightmare Moon” and bringing about an eternal night. At first, Blue wasn’t convinced of this, but they had been adamant of such a feat being possible, especially as he was reminded of his blow up at learning the princesses could move the sun and moon with relative ease. While more shaken by the knowledge of moving planetary bodies, he held no ill feelings towards Nyx. “She’s a child, Twilight. Magic or not, I’m not gonna act like she’s the plague,” he told them then. “This doesn’t change a single thing about the way I see her.” He had smirked and ruffled her mane, ending in a happy, relieved laugh. Things had felt much less tense since then. Only for it to become much worse when Rainbow had dragged Twilight and him off for flight training. And she was far from an easy teacher, pushing them to exhaustion each day, which thankfully had at least one in between for rest. Blue continued sucking in as much air as he could between each exhale, his lungs burning. “I don’t think… athletics were a me thing…” That got his coach to chuckle above him. “Honestly, I can tell. All Twilight does every day is read so it makes sense she’s so winded. With how much of an egghead you seem to be, I wouldn't be surprised if you weren’t just as bad if not worse.” “Ouch… my pride…” he snarked, before it fell as Rainbow got a look in her eyes. “If ya got time to chit chat, ya got time to flap!” She lifted up the whistle around her neck and gave it a sharp blow before kicking the cloud out from underneath the two of them. Rainbow watched the two frantically try to get their wings moving before swooping in to catch both of her students before setting them safely on the ground, trying not to laugh as she bit her lip. “You really should have seen that coming!” Twilight groaned as she nearly fell on her face from a mixture of surprise, fear, and exhaustion. “That wasn’t funny, Rainbow. We nearly fell to our deaths!” Rainbow flapped over and patted Twilight on the back. “Oh come on, Twi, you know I’d never do that. Loyalty, remember? I’d never leave ya hanging, or falling in this case.” “Loyalty?” Blue questioned, trying to remember the stories he’d been told over the past few weeks. “That’s… the elements right? The super crystals of whatever that shoots rainbows?” While Rainbow nodded, Twilight rolled her eyes. “The Elements of Harmony are more than just crystals that shoot rainbow lasers. They are physical manifestations of Harmony itself, granting their bearers the power to bring order to chaos. Loyalty, honesty, laughter, generosity, kindness, and magic. They are serious business.” As Twilight lectured, Blue took the chance to stretch his wings and back, trying to ease the soreness from the day’s exercise. “Aren’t you too tired to lecture?” he questioned which caused the alicorn to shut her mouth for a moment, her cheeks growing red as she narrowed her eyes at him, causing the stallion to lean back with a swallow of fear. “N-not that there’s anything wrong with a good lecture from time to time,” he said in an attempt to save himself, nervous chuckle included in the end. “What he said!” Rainbow quickly added when Twilight moved the glare to her before anything could be said. “W-well, I have my shift to get to with the weather team, see ya!” Before the multi-hued pegasus sped off into the sky, a trail of color fading behind her. Twilight smiled proudly to herself, nose lifted high, getting a roll of the eyes from Blue. “Well, with our teacher on the run, I think we can call it quits on flying. Shall we head on back?” he asked her. “Hm,” Twilight hummed while tapping her chin, “alright, sure. But on two conditions!” Blue blinked at his landmare, tilting his head. “There’s conditions just to go back to the library?” “Yup!” she eagerly replied, lifting a hoof into the air. “First, once we’re back, you’re gonna sit through a full explanation of the Elements of Harmony and their importance to Equestrian history!” He felt his shoulders droop, deadpanning at Twilight heavily. “Seriously?” He groaned when she stood firm on the decision. “And the second?” Then his head shot up as he heard a gurgling, looking at Twilight who was suddenly red in the face, then to her belly. She cleared her throat, trying to hide her blush. “Second, we stop to get something to eat on the way.” She smiled in embarrassment as Blue suddenly fell back before getting right back on his hooves. “That one, I’m with you at least,” he relented before chuckling. “Where we gonna go? Savory or sweet?” “Definitely sweet, I’m absolutely craving chocolate right now.” Twilight then took point as Blue followed in hoofstep with her, heading through Ponyville itself as the lunch hour passed around them. Blue took the time to admire the townsponies at work, seeing them go about their daily lives. He remembered the looks he got the day after he arrived and stepped out of the library with Twilight, overhearing the beginnings of rumors that their town princess had found a stallion to bed. Both of their faces had been beat red at hearing such a thing and shut it down immediately. Such an unsightly rumor would have been ill for any royalty and they had only just met. ‘The nerve of some people,’ he’d thought to himself. And with such salacious stories squashed, he had been able to explore the town more, even wandering into the market where he’d met up with Applejack again, where she had let him try one of her family farm’s name brand apples. He felt bad about not being able to pay, until he had bitten into the fruit and discovered he’d been had. Just that single apple had been so juicy and delicious to his taste buds that he simply had to have more. Even though his realization was immediate, Applejack’s smug look having told him enough, there was little he could do without a cash flow. Sadly, with little work experience in his brain and still just learning the culture of the world around him, employment was still out of his reach, though Twilight promised to lend him some “bits”, as they called their currency, to let him get food every now and then. He promised to pay her back, of course. As Twilight continued to lead them, Blue got a big grin on his face seeing their destination up ahead. A building that seemed like it was made of confections rather than just a place that sold them called Sugar Cube Corner. He recalled Pinkie dragging him to the place only a couple days after he arrived, though it had seemed more like he’d been teleported there with how fast it happened. He’d been welcomed to the sight of pastries and cakes the likes of which he felt would overwhelm his brain. All the smells were sugary sweet and made his mouth water from desire. Unfortunately, it became a horror show when he and Pinkie came to the realization that he didn’t like any of the pies. Fruits, puddings, anything. His taste buds rejected each and every recipe the Cake family had on hoof. Thankfully, they were saved from a Pinkie-based explosion when he managed to like the cakes instead. Though from the day on, Pinkie had sworn to find a pie that Blue would eat and like. A promise that was still being kept as he and Twilight walked inside the confectionery, the former being nearly bowled over as Pinkie skidded to a fiery stop in front of him. “BLUEY!” she screamed excitedly, pushing the stallion back into Twilight who looked just as surprised as he did. The pink pony then lifted up a plate with a slice of pie on it, coated in some kind of nut. “Try this one! It’s pecaaaaan~,” she sung, trying to waft the smell of the dessert into his nose. He sighed, using his wing to pick up the offered fork, holding it as he’d been practicing over his many days. “Alright, one bite. But whether I like it or not, Twilight and I want something sugary after Rainbow’s training. Deal?” “Okie dokie loki! Now try it!” she heavily insisted. Blue stabbed the pie and took a nice chunk out and placed it in his mouth. She watched breathless as he chewed away at the nutty concoction, before her expression fell as his own scrunched in disgust after swallowing. “Dangit! I had thought for sure southern comfort would do it! Phooey!” Blue apologetically returned the fork to the plate. “Sorry, Pinkie. Worth a shot though. So… can we…?” Pinkie perked up instantly. “Of course!” Her body stretched against the laws of physics back behind the counter, restoring to normal there. “What can I get ya?” A few minutes later with a bag full of treats for themselves and their housemates, Twilight and Blue set back off for the library. “Do you really not like pies?” Twilight asked after a few minutes of silence. Blue shook his head. “Wish I did. They look absolutely delicious, but everyone I’ve tried I just don’t like. Whether it’s the texture or the taste, none work. Apparently it’s not gonna stop Pinkie though. But hey, if she manages to finally find one, then I’ll have a pie I can eat regularly.” Twilight hummed to herself in thought. “That’s one way of thinking of it. And it does give Pinkie a goal to strive towards, so good for her.” “That’s one way to think of it, I guess.” He smiled at Twilight as the two of them came up to the library not long after. Though they were greeted to a strange sight as they walked in; Spike sweeping up some glass and a strange box on the counter. “Spike! What happened‽” Twilight shrieked, running to look at the broken window of her home. The dragon grumbled a little. “Derpy flew too high and ended up crashing when she dropped off the package. She’s so nice but the destruction is getting a bit much.” Blue took the opportunity to place the food on the table, glancing at the package. “That’s the mailmare’s name right? What did she drop off exactly?” “Actually, it’s addressed to you,” Spike responded, catching the attention of both ponies. Moments later the three of them were gathered around the box, looking at it cautiously. Spike looked between the two older ponies then to the box. “So… we gonna open it?” The stallion eyed his dragon friend for a moment before pulling the box closer and looking it over. “Does it say who it’s from?” Twilight asked hesitantly. Blue looked the box over from all angles and shook his head. “Nothing. Is that even legal?” he asked rhetorically before he began to pull the box open. With a hard rip, he broke the flaps open, pulling the remainder aside and found an envelope sitting on top of some straw. He glanced at the others before lifting the letter out, reading what it was labeled. “‘From a Friend’?” “Ominous,” Spike commented before shrinking as he’s glared at by both ponies. Blue carefully opened the envelope with his wing, almost like a letter opener before pulling out a small note. “‘You forgot these when you fell. Don’t lose them, there won’t be any replacements’? Why does none of this make any sense?” “Wait, when you fell? Could these be from whatever it was that sent you here?” Twilight asked. Blue rubbed his head. “I got no idea, but that’d make some sense. But what does it mean at all?” He gave the letter to Twilight as he dug into the box itself, pulling the straw aside until he hit something. Pushing the straw away, his eyes widened considerably as he carefully took hold of what he found. Twilight’s full attention was on the short note for the moment before she saw Blue lifting something out of the box. She tilted her head as the light seemed to gleam off them. “What are those things?” In his hooves were two cylindrical devices, both made of a silvery metal. One was fairly long, coming to a one sided tip with black bars near its base, a big orange button near the top as well. The other had more black attachments around the end, almost like a protective covering. Blue couldn’t stop staring at what he had found, swallowing cautiously as he put the black covered one down on the table gently while holding the other carefully. He took a few, wordless steps back while his hoof carefully moved up to the button and pressed it. SNAP-HISS! Twilight and Spike jumped at the sudden, unfamiliar sound, their own eyes widening and pupils shrinking to pin pricks at what they witnessed. From the cylinder had sprung for this glowing rod of light. Even from the distance they could feel the heat and their ears rung from the continued humming it was producing. Blue stared in pure disbelief at what he was holding, tightening his grip best he could before deactivating the device. And then dropping it on to the wooden floor as he fell back on his flank, pure shock on his face. “H-how..?” he asked with a shakiness to his voice. “T-that’s not possible. T-they’re fake, fiction, how are they real‽” Twilight, ever curious, inched closer to the rod, though keeping cautious of it. “Blue, what are these things?” Their eyes met, curiosity and fear clashing between them before the stallion could swallow and relent. “I don’t know how, but those… are lightsabers. And they’re not supposed to be real.”