//------------------------------//
// The Third Day: Toast of the Town 
// Story: You Do (Not) Belong 
// by 2dextreem 
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You Do (Not) Belong



The Third Day: Toast of the Town




To anypony else, the day would have been considered nearly perfect in most regards.

Anypony else would have appreciated how the air carried a relaxing, decadent hint of flowery fragrance mixed with the sweet scent of apple blossoms blowing in from the nearby orchard. Anypony else wouldn't help but smile at overhearing the nearby sounds of delight made by young fillies and colts enjoying a day off of school, townsfolk bonding over a bit of gossip, or the full-bodied laughter of good friends sharing a joke. And anypony else would have been grateful to feel the gentle touch of Celestia’s Sun sitting high and proud in the sky, warding away the early spring chill with its warmth.

Anypony that is, aside from the one individual in Ponyville that was about as far removed from a pony as one could possibly get. An individual who was quick to attribute his profuse sweating to that very same sun, blazing away as it was, as opposed to blaming it on the one thing he refused to think about.

One, two, one, two, one, two... Connor droned in his head, looking straight at his sneakers and counting his steps, as he tried to avoid eye contact with any of the locals until Twilight finished escorting him to her friend Rarity’s place of business. But although he could keep his vision in check, he couldn’t help but hear the reactions as his presence was noticed. And there was virtually no way he couldn’t be noticed as, standing at a respectable 5’10”, he was easily the tallest living thing around in a town populated by a bunch of pastel-colored quadrupeds that barely broke 4’.

Connor found himself thinking that he was having a lucky -- or, perhaps, unlucky -- string of predictions this morning, as he walked on by numerous colorful forms that he caught in his peripheral vision. He could hear the conversations cut short mid-word, the absence of noise almost painfully apparent, and it wasn’t long before they started up again, this time with the topic changed to something completely different.

“Hey, you see that?”

“See what? Oh... Now, there’s something you don’t see every day.”

“Who is that? What is that?”

“Dunno. Never seen anypony like... him? It looks like a him, right?”

“What d’you suppose he’s doing with Twilight?”

As far as he could make out, that was the general gist Connor got from the barely audible mumblings he could pick up in earshot. Unable to concentrate on his shoes any longer, he steeled his nerves and brought his gaze slightly upward, taking a cautious look at his surroundings.

Only confirming what in his mind he already knew, almost every one of the ponies that he and his purple-furred companion walked past had their unsettlingly large eyes trained on the odd man out. Connor was by no means an expert in reading pony facial expressions, but it was easy enough to pick out the general consensus of interest and bafflement. Although, not a one of them bore any sign of fear or suspicion, even though they were keeping their distance, which was small comfort indeed as Connor’s preconceptions were already coloring his interpretation of what he saw.

Uh huh. That’s right. One of these things is not like the other~ One of these things just doesn’t belong~ Are we almost there, yet? Is it hot out here? It’s really hot out here.

Nervously pulling at his neckline, Connor forced himself to look forward to see Twilight walking along completely casually, at least appearing to be oblivious to the fact that her occasional greetings to the ones they walked past went unanswered. Desperate to fill the awkward void with something, anything barely familiar, Connor found his voice, and wasted no time in airing his grievances.

“I knew it. I knew this was a bad idea. I am very uncomfortable right now and I don’t mind saying so.” Connor said, his voice taking on a bit of a wobble.

“Will you relax?” Twilight called out behind her. “Jeez, you look more wound up than Rainbow at last year’s Best Young Flyers competition.”

“Can you see the way they’re staring at me?” Connor replied in a hushed whisper, completely ignoring the fact that he didn’t know what the hell she was talking about just then.

“They’re staring because you look like you’re about to jump out of your own skin. If you don’t calm down, other ponies are going to assume something’s wrong.”

“All the same, I’d feel a whole lot better if I was invisible right now.” Connor paused for a moment as the thought gained traction. “Say, you don’t suppose--”

“No, I can’t.” Twilight cut him off, predicting his request before he could even suggest it. “Well, technically, I can, but that’s beside the point.”

“The point?” Connor scoffed. “What point? Is there a reason I’m being paraded through town like some sideshow?”

He had more to say on the matter, but in a moment of foresight decided not to continue on that line of thinking, as his big mouth was liable to say something even more inflammatory. Unfortunately, he had already said enough, and in the prolonged silence that followed, Twilight stopped walking on the spot and sighed, turning to face him as they continued their conversation beside a large stone fountain with a pony statue at its center.

“You’re the only one to blame for making this hard on yourself,” she chastised him, trying to seem reasonable yet apparently nearing the end of her tolerance. “The point of all this is to get you to open up to other ponies. Actually talk to some of them instead of pretending they don’t exist. You want to feel like you’re welcome here? Say hello to somepony. Introduce yourself. Be friendly. At the very least act like there’s nothing wrong. Soon enough, they’ll get on with their business and we can get on with ours.”

She was right, of course, Connor realized as he swallowed a lump in his throat, unable to come up with some kind of response right away. He took a deep, shaky breath and adjusted his glasses before talking again.

“You’re probably right... I just need to get over myself. I’m not usually like this, I swear. I just...” he paused, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “I just don’t know where to even start.”

Then, as fate would have it, Connor would get his chance right then and there, as both he and Twilight were diverted by another pony calling for their attention.

“Hello~! Good morning, Twilight!” came a cheerful, spritely, though older-sounding female voice, originating from an earth pony mare with washed-out, tan-colored fur cantering towards the fountain at an easy clip.

Her mane and tail were an understated wispy silver that resembled a billow of steam, and jostled ever so lightly as she moved. Though Connor couldn't quite see from this angle, her cutie mark looked like that of a rolled up scroll tied with a blue ribbon. But truly setting her apart from the undressed multitudes of other Ponyville residents, she seemed to be wearing some kind of white dress collar with a puffy green adornment displayed on the front. Curiously enough, her blue eyes, hidden behind a comically undersized pair of half-moon glasses perched on her snout, betrayed none of the wary caution Connor had witnessed in the other ponies.

Twilight instantly spoke up in recognition of the new arrival. “Oh! Hello, Mayor! Good morning to you, too,” she said happily with a wave of her hoof. “What are you up to today?” she followed up with, as the pony who was apparently the mayor came right up to the two of them, smiling.

“Thank you, dear. I was actually on my way back from the post office just now, and I just happened to spy you and your curious friend here,” she regarded Connor with a sense of calm intrigue. “I’ve never seen you around Ponyville before, so I assume you must be new in town?” the mayor asked in a very straightforward manner.

She’s awfully forward, Connor thought for a second, before he felt a soft nudge on his leg where Twilight was poking him with her hoof.

“Well?” she muttered to him when she had grabbed his attention. “Go ahead and introduce yourself.”

Connor took a quick breath and turned back towards the tan pony, scratching at his scalp. “Uh, hi, my name’s Connor, and... and it’s a pleasure to meet you, Mayor, um...”

“Mayor Mare, though most ponies just call me Mayor. Please feel free to do the same,” the Mayor replied disarmingly as she extended a hoof.

“Okay, Mayor,” Connor said, taking her hoof in hand and shaking it lightly.

“I must say, you are quite the interesting individual,” she continued as she lowered her hoof. “If I may ask, where are you from? You understand, as mayor I take it upon myself to know these kinds of things when we have a new arrival in town.”

Looking to Twilight for a quick affirmation, Connor saw her raise her eyebrows and nod her head a bit, signaling the go-ahead for him to see if his plan was going to work. “I’m from a place called... Amareica.”

“Amareica? Can’t say I’ve heard of it before...” Mayor Mare held a hoof to her chin as she thought. “Though I’m not too surprised, seeing as I’ve never met an Amareican either! It’s fairly far removed from Equestria, I take it?”

“Oh, yeah. Really far away,” he explained, hoping that she wouldn’t press for any more specific details, as he had none prepared.

“Well, then, on behalf of myself and the rest of us here, allow me to officially welcome you to Ponyville. I can see you’ve already met our resident librarian.” She cast a quick look at Twilight, who then sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck with one foreleg. “Tell me, Connor, what brings you to our fine town? Business or pleasure?”

“Uhh... Not... sure?” he answered cautiously. “Coincidence? It wasn’t really planned.”

“Oh, I see.” The mayor flashed him a knowing smile. “Spur of the moment vacation, I take it? Fancy yourself a bit of a globetrotter?”

“You could say that.” Connor looked off to the side, wondering for how much longer the politician pony was going to be grilling him. He had to admit to himself, though, that first contact was going far smoother than he had anticipated.

So far, this unassuming mare had, without warning or hesitation, treated the wayward human with an altogether unexpected degree of warmth and familiarity. Her sincere expression of welcome was definitely not the general reaction he had expected, being an alien suddenly thrust into open pony society without cause or explanation. If circumstances had been like anything he could imagine on Earth, the news crews would already be on the way... followed closely by helicopters, army jeeps, and tall, imposing men in black suits and sunglasses.

...Carrying very big guns.

“Well, I believe anypony would agree that you couldn’t have picked a finer place to visit,” Mayor Mare explained, her tone taking on the aspect of a well-rehearsed pitch. “Our cozy little burg hosts some of the kindest and most charming citizens you’ll ever meet, and the local attractions are--”

“Excuse me, Mayor, sorry to interrupt,” Twilight interjected while the tan pony was forced to put the brakes on her spiel. “But while I’m sure Connor would love to hear all about Ponyville, there’s time for that later, and we really should get going. I hope you understand.”

The Mayor looked at Twilight and blinked a few times before getting the message. “Oh, of course, of course. Terribly sorry. Sometimes I just get a bit carried away, you know?” Mayor Mare said with a laugh that sounded a bit forced. She then coughed loudly into one hoof before continuing. “Well, I certainly won’t keep you from your business any longer,” she followed up apologetically before turning to Connor one last time. “I do hope you enjoy your stay in Ponyville. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, please feel free to stop by Town Hall anytime.”

“Uh, thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” Connor nodded slightly. “It was nice meeting you,” he added after some hesitation.

Mayor Mare responded with a warm smile and a short, courteous bow. “Believe me, the pleasure was all mine. Well, then. Connor, Twilight, have a wonderful day. Toodeloo~!” the tan pony said merrily before calmly passing around the two and cantering off to her destination.

Both human and unicorn watched her go, neither one saying anything for a couple of seconds before Connor let out a puff of air between his lips and broke the silence. “Soooo, that happened.”

“It sure did.” Twilight chuckled and gave Connor a wry grin. “See? That wasn’t so bad, now, was it?”

The teenager countered by rolling his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. What can I say? You were right,” he grudgingly admitted, accepting the fact that he just might have been worrying himself to death over nothing.

Connor took a moment to once more look around his immediate vicinity. To his surprise, many of the ponies who were paying exclusive attention to him moments before had indeed went on to continue whatever it was they were doing. Of the remaining few who were still looking in his direction -- or at the very least sneaking furtive glances -- Connor had the impression that their actions were merely an expression of curiosity, and nothing else. Certainly not any indication of fear, malice, stigmatization, or negativity, he soberly observed, having been relieved of his initial anxiety.

“Of course I am. Now, do you think you can keep it together long enough to get to Rarity’s?” Twilight chided him.

“I think I can manage,” Connor responded sardonically. “Let’s just hope for no more surprise encounters. After all, we’ve got a schedule to keep, right?”

“I couldn’t agree more,” the unicorn said, satisfied. She then turned around and started walking again at a brisk pace while Connor followed shortly behind.

And in stark difference to his behavior at the beginning of this outing, it was while managing to keep his head up and his eyes forward, emboldened by this small victory and almost confident that he could handle pretty much whatever came next, even if he still wasn’t particularly jazzed about it.


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It was certainly no Leonard DiHoovsie, but Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but admire her drawing’s progress as she hunched over the sheet of paper in front of her. Her features screwed up in determination, the unicorn filly paused for a moment in her furious scribbling to reach out a hoof and grab a different color crayon off of the pile lying nearby on the round table in the foyer of her sister’s home/boutique. Returning her attention to the paper, she proceeded to fill in the rest of the colors in the curled pink and mulberry mane that belonged to the representation of herself.

After another minute of adding details and refinements to the setting, as well as the images of the two ponies she shared it with, she held up her nearly completed work in front of her with an amused smirk of appreciation.

“Why, Sweetie! That’s gotta be the durned nicest cutie mark Ah ever dun seen!” she announced in an exaggerated role-play of her close friend and fellow Cutie Mark Crusader, the farm-pony Apple Bloom.

"I think so too!” Sweetie said again, in a different, slightly raspier tone. “It’s so cool, it’s even cooler than Rainbow Dash’s! Way to go!”

“Aww, thanks, girls! It really is nice, isn’t it?” she followed up in her natural high-pitched voice. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll both get yours really soon!”

Sweetie looked hard at the drawing for a moment more, her expression slowly fading before giving a tired sigh and laying the paper back on the table.

Glumly, she turned her head to peer at her own flank: an unbroken expanse of grayish-white fur, bemoaning it for the fact that it and her two-dimensional duplicate shared the same thing in common. Sadly, not even her robust imagination could come up with a solution to the constant conundrum presented to her and her two friends, hence why the result of her little arts and crafts session remained "nearly" complete.

Sighing again, she rested her chin on her hooves and leaned forwards on the table, staring at the paper as if, through sheer force of will, she could make her cutie mark appear spontaneously in front of her. If it did, it would certainly be the most exciting thing likely to happen that day.

Suddenly, Sweetie’s ears perked up at a hollow knocking sound that echoed throughout the room, and her sea green eyes were drawn to the source of the disturbance: the boutique’s front door. She watched it for a moment, then huffed with indifference and continued sulkily staring forward. A few more seconds passed until the knocks were repeated, louder this time.

“Sweetie? Could you be a dear and get the door, please?” called out the voice of her older sister from up the stairs leading away from the main foyer.

“Ooookaaaay...” the filly called back in halfhearted acknowledgment. With a slight grunt, she lifted herself to her hooves and plodded her way to the door, and as she did so, she could hear a muffled voice coming from the other side.

“I’m just sayin’. Golden Oak? Carousel Boutique? And they look like that? I’m sensing a theme, here.”

Sweetie pondered the odd male voice for a pause, having never heard it before, then shrugged it off just as quickly as she reached up to the door handle to undo the latch...


----------------------Moments Earlier-----------------------


Staring up at the tall, three story building, only one word could come to mind in order to describe it: Extravagant.

Connor let out a low whistle as Twilight led him up the path leading to the front door of the establishment. “Fancy-shmancy,” was the term he had aptly decided to apply to the building, with its garish, flowing curves, spindly columns, tall oval windows, and a layered, pink and blue checkered color scheme. It was like a Renaissance-themed wedding cake, adorned on the sides of the top half with a number of pony statues mounted on poles, making the Carousel Boutique quite live up to its name.

“If there was one way to describe Rarity, that would probably do it,” the Twilight noted with a chuckle. “She actually designed this building herself, you know.”

The two of them stopped in front of the entrance: a smooth purple door bisected horizontally down the middle, and inlaid with two diamonds of frosted glass. Twilight wasted no time in raising a hoof and knocking gently on the door.

“You ponies sure seem pretty literal when it comes to naming your establishments,” Connor mentioned offhandedly, as he tried to peer through the glass into the room within, but with no success.

Twilight cocked her head slightly and thought for a few seconds. “I don’t understand what you mean,” she admitted, before turning again to face the door, knocking for a second time, only a bit more forcefully.

“I’m just sayin’. Golden Oak? Carousel Boutique? And they look like that? I’m sensing a theme, here.”

At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a candy store in this town that was actually made of candy, thought Connor.

“Hmm...” Twilight made a half-agreeing, half-concerned grunt as she scrutinized the door which still had yet to be answered. “Maybe Rarity isn’t--”

She was interrupted suddenly as the sound of a latch clicking came from the other side. A second later, the two halves of the door swung inwards accompanied by the light tinkling of a door chime, revealing the small white unicorn who stood behind it. She was obviously very young; most likely a child, as she was at first glance barely taller than Spike was. This was confirmed as the pink and purple-maned, stubby-horned filly droned on in a bored, disinterested tone that seemed out of place with her high-pitched voice.

“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where everything is--” She stopped suddenly, as her half-lidded eyes registered Connor’s form, and she followed it up, and up, and up, until she was craning her neck to look directly at his face while wearing an utterly blank expression.

The filly’s light green pupils remained locked on for an uncomfortably long number of seconds until Connor, saying nothing, merely raised an eyebrow. This at least elicited a reaction from the muted pony, who slowly tilted her head to the side without breaking her fixed, baffled gaze.

Finally unable to bear the silence any longer, Connor spoke first. “Uh... Hi? Helloooo.”

Again, no response, aside from her pivoting her head in the other direction. Twilight, meanwhile, was looking back and forth between the two before she rolled her eyes with a huff and addressed the filly by name.

“Sweetie, this is Connor. He’s a friend of mine,” the mare said in the low, patronizing tone one normally reserves for dealing with children. “Is Rarity around? I need to talk to her.”

The pony named Sweetie shifted her gaze for a moment to look at Twilight, as if just then realizing she was there, then she blinked a few times as the tiny gears in her head started to spin again.

“Uh... Sure, Twilight,” she said, hesitantly looking back up at Connor with a wary eye. “I’ll... go get her... Wait here.”

Sweetie took a slow half-step backwards, cautiously peering out between the door and the frame until the very last second as she slowly nudged it closed once again. Once again left to themselves, Twilight and Connor looked at each other, sharing similarly bemused expressions. Connor, for one, found the situation to be just slightly amusing.

“Well, that wasn’t awkward at all,” he commented sarcastically, sincerely hoping that her reaction wasn’t going to be indicative of a trend.

Twilight shook her head. “I wouldn’t worry about it. She was probably just surprised.”

“Deer in headlights might be more accurate,” Connor muttered. Or would that be pony in headlights? Heh, he thought wistfully. “Cute kid, though. Is that just a nickname or is her name really Sweetie?”

“Sweetie Belle,” Twilight explained, nodding. “She’s Rarity’s little sister. Rarity foalsits for her parents when they’re out of town sometimes.”

“Okay...” Connor took a second to deduce what she meant by "foalsitting," then mentally filed it away in his ever growing list of ponyisms.

Their short conversation was then interrupted, when he heard the light sound of hoofsteps running up to the door, and a split second later, it swung open yet again with the sound of the bell chime.

Standing in the doorway now, Connor could only assume, was the illustrious owner of the Carousel Boutique herself. She was a unicorn mare like Twilight, but that was where the similarities ended, for her fur was a crisp, snowy white, and perfectly spotless save for the three azure diamond shapes adorning her flank. Also unique about her was the way her deep purple mane and tail bounced ever so slightly before settling into a wavy, curved, carefully coifed configuration. Finally, the pony’s royal blue eyes, masked underneath a light dusting of blue eyeshadow, seemed to shine with youthful vigor as they went to Twilight, and the mare launched right into conversation.

“Hello, Twilight!” she said as she greeted her friend, positively beaming with enthusiasm. “I must say, I wasn’t expecting--”

Suddenly, she noticed Connor was also standing at her doorstep, and her cheery smile gradually gave way to a look of mild concern. Whatever she was about to say was lost as she examined him, slowly looking him over as if she was unsure of quite how to react, which made Connor cringe inwardly just a bit under her scrutinizing gaze. 

“Hi. You must be Rarity,” Connor said innocently, trying to break the ice.

He was holding out hope that this encounter too would go just as smoothly as his run-in with Mayor Mare. However, no response to his greeting was rapidly forthcoming, and there was a brief period where he was uncertain whether or not Rarity was going to space out just like her sister. But to her credit, she rebounded much more quickly than Sweetie did.

“Oh, um... Yes, that is correct,” Rarity said finally, slightly taken aback. She then turned to face Twilight. “Twilight, dear, would you care to explain?” she asked, clearly choosing to defer to her friend in a situation that was understandably beyond her grasp.

Twilight gave her a weary smile. “Of course, Rarity. His name’s Connor. I met him yesterday, and he’s gonna be staying in town for a while. I know he looks a little strange, but he’s okay once you get to know him.”

At her friend’s welcome reassurance, Rarity’s demeanor relaxed just a bit, though she still spoke cautiously. “I see. And where is he...” She paused, quickly shaking her head, then decided to address Connor directly. “My apologies; where are you from?”

“It’s a place called Amareica,” he responded casually, his former hesitance gradually disappearing with practice, as he was finding it increasingly easier to talk as the day wore on. “I’m not surprised if you haven’t heard of it. It’s really far away.”

“Amareica... You’re right, I haven’t heard of it. Well, I suppose it doesn’t really matter. Any friend of Twilight’s is a friend of mine. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Rarity said genuinely, and the smile she sported earlier returned as she spoke once again to Twilight. “Now, darling, as much as I’m glad you stopped by, I get the feeling it wasn’t just to introduce me to your new friend.”

“Nothing gets past you, does it?” Twilight returned with a chuckle. “Actually, yes. There is a favor I wanted to ask you. If you’re not too busy, that is.”

“Oh, not at all, Twilight! I always have time for my friends.”

Twilight seemed visibly relieved. “That’s great! But first, can we come in? It seems kinda silly to stand around talking about it on your patio.”

“Of course, by all means! Right this way,” Rarity insisted, inviting them further into the boutique with a flick of her head as she turned to enter herself.

This is turning out easier than I expected, Connor thought to himself. Don’t screw this up now, just gotta play it cool. Let Twilight do all the talking.

Following the alabaster pony, Connor, followed by Twilight, stepped through the door and got his first good look at the inside of Rarity’s place of business. The primary thing that struck him was just how purple everything was. The floor of the boutique was the barest shade of mauve, but it might as well have been white in relation to the solid pink color of the walls and the richer crimson hues of the curtains that were stylistically draped around the room. Off to the right side was a small circular table, with papers and coloring implements scattered all around, surrounded by three full-body mirrors. Other than that, there wasn’t much else besides a door to the left, a hallway with some stairs leading off the side, and a couple of stands hosting more mirrors and baskets of styling tools. He also noticed that Sweetie Belle was apparently making herself scarce, but that wasn’t surprising, given her initial reaction.

And as Twilight closed the door with an application of magic, Rarity continued talking.

“I’m absolutely delighted you came to visit, by the way. As it happens, ever since that unfortunate fiasco at your brother’s wedding, there’s been a bit of a dry spell in terms of orders from Canterlot. And that dreadful ‘lightning spell’ or whatever you said it was certainly didn’t help matters at all.”

“Uhhh, heh heh... Yeah, I guess not.” Twilight looked off to the side as she uncomfortably rubbed one foreleg against the other.

“It’s been so terribly dull lately,” the white mare continued as she paced around the room. “Even trips to the spa start to feel stale when you’ve already gone four times in the past week. And since I have to stay here and watch Sweetie for the weekend, I’ve taken to rearranging my upstairs workroom for lack of anything better to do. It’s been simply driving me crazy.” Rarity complained heartily, holding a foreleg to her head in dramatic fashion.

She’s quite the drama queen, Connor thought dryly to himself as both he and Twilight listened to Rarity air her multitude of grievances for the better part of a minute. At one point though, she seemed to notice that either they were patiently waiting for her to finish, or that no expression of sympathy was going to be forthcoming. Only then did the debonair unicorn decide to cede the conversation to her guests.

“Ah... But enough about my problems,” she said with just a hint of modesty. “What was it you needed, darling?”

“Yeah, about that. It’s not so much what I need, but what he needs.” Twilight jerked her head in Connor’s direction. “Connor needs something else to wear, and as you can probably tell, he can’t just get new clothes from any old shop in Ponyville. So, I was wondering if...”

Rarity’s eyes widened by a degree, and almost took on a bit of a sparkle as Twilight talked. “If I could design something for him?” she interrupted with a tone of barely restrained anticipation.

“Yes, actually.” Twilight seemed thrown off slightly by her friend’s enthusiasm. “That is, if you didn’t mind, of course.”

“Would I mind?” Rarity asked, while her smile evolved into a full-on grin. “Of course not, Twilight! In fact, I’d be delighted! It will be a challenge, surely, but that’s exactly the kind of thing I need to pull myself out of the doldrums.”

She turned once again to Connor, and she looked him up and down, this time with a look of avid appraisal. “Yes, we’ll definitely be able to do something with this. Oh, it’s been ages since I made anything for a... well, for someone like you. Aside from Spike, of course, but designing for him is hardly stimulating. Don’t you worry, dear. Once we’re finished, I’ll have you looking absolutely fabulous. You’ll be the toast of the town!”

“Uh,” Connor answered her nervously. “Thanks... I think.”

“Thanks a lot, Rarity. I knew I could count on you,” Twilight said to her friend, who was now spiritedly humming as she pranced towards the door that led further into the boutique. “I have other errands to attend to, but I’ll be back later to see how everything’s going.”

“Wait, you’re leaving me here?” Connor asked the lavender mare as she turned to leave, a look of worry coming over him as he registered her comment.

“Relax, I’ll be back in around an hour.” She looked back at him with a smirk. “Trust me, Rarity knows what she’s doing. You couldn’t be in more capable hooves.”

“Okay, if you say so,” Connor responded, though not entirely convinced.

As he watched the only familiar face he had come to know in town open the front door with her magic and canter out with a declaration of “See you later!” his attention was diverted when Rarity loudly cleared her throat from the doorway to the other room.

“Right this way, dear. Let’s get started!” the white unicorn said with an obvious eagerness edged in her voice.

Connor gulped slightly. It wasn’t quite "Welcome to my parlor," but it was close enough.


---------------------------------------------


“Now, take off your clothes.”

If Connor had been eating anything at the time, he surely would have choked. He hadn’t even spent ten seconds in the fashionista’s workroom before the scenario veered in a completely different direction.

“E-excuse me!?” he grimaced in disbelief at the fashion designer’s sudden and unexpected request. In return, she simply raised an eyebrow and looked at him with a serious expression from behind a pair of orange-reddish glasses she had recently put on.

“Well, I can’t get perfectly accurate measurements unless you do, now can I?”

“Wha... No! No, I’m not going to do that.”

“Whyever not?” Something about Rarity’s candid expression told him she was being completely serious.

“It isn’t obvious?” he asked dubiously, to which she responded by simply shaking her head. “Ugh. Look, I... I can’t believe I have to explain this,” he muttered lowly in disbelief, teetering on the edge of outright mortification. “I’m not stripping down to my boxers in front of a total stranger.”

“I simply don’t understand why it’s that much of an issue, unless you’re simply being modest.”

“I... I don’t...” Connor rubbed his forehead, already feeling the vanguard of another headache coming on. “I’m just gonna spell it out for you. You’re a pony. You have fur, which means that clothing is optional for you. I, however, do not. You see where I’m going with this?”

Connor watched as the shades of expression played out over Rarity’s face, from confusion, to careful contemplation, and finally, to understanding, as her cheeks flushed with a slight tinge of red at the connotations.

“Oh... Oh, I-I see. Yes, well... In that case, I can understand your... trepidation,” she bashfully admitted, pawing at the ground with a hoof as she tried to look for something serve as a distraction.

“Okay. Just so long as we’re on the same page.”

Connor felt a little bad at having to all but bash the mare over the head with the implication, but it served its purpose, putting the kibosh on a situation that had been rapidly turning out for the very, very awkward.

“Look, how about a compromise? I’ll take off my jacket and shoes, but that’s as far as it goes.”

“Yes, quite. Thank you,” Rarity said shortly. “Although, I do hope you don’t mind if the measurements aren’t exact.”

“Trust me,” Connor strained. “It’s not an issue.”

“Very well. Oh, but, one more thing, dear.”

“Yeah, what is it?” Connor asked while he shrugged out of his jacket.

“What are ‘boxers’?”

Connor let out a tired sigh as he fished around in his pockets for the bottle of painkillers Twilight had given him. He had the feeling he was going to need them.


---------------------------------------------


And so it went for almost the whole session, though what transpired after the opening volley of awkwardness didn’t reach nearly as high on the scale.

The actual measuring consisted of Rarity going around with her tape measure held firmly in a blue field of telekinesis, taking and retaking sizes and writing down the results in a small notepad she kept close by. All the while trying to fill the silence by asking Connor an array of questions. Questions that were similar in style to the kind Twilight asked the day before, about himself and humans in general, though not nearly as in depth. But the conversation would, more often than not, turn to the topic of clothes or fashion.

Rarity, for one, was surprised to hear Connor’s admission that his current attire was not indicative of human trends in fashion, and was, in fact, nothing more than his sleepwear. This led, naturally, to the revelation that they were indeed the only clothes he had to his name at the moment, and that Rarity’s services were more necessary than she had been led to believe. 

Connor found it especially difficult to explain away such an obvious lack of consistency without having to give away his big secret. In a last ditch effort, he took the easy way out and simply stated that he would rather not talk about it. This, thankfully, seemed to placate the Rarity on the subject -- for the time being, at least.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity but was in fact only about ten minutes, the mare rolled up her tape measure and placed it on a nearby table.

“Well, I think that’s everything.” Rarity nodded as she spoke, after another quick look through her notepad’s contents before setting it next to the measure.

Connor sighed with relief. “Great. So, I’m done here?”

“Not quite. There are just a few more things I need to know before I get to work.”

“Such as?”

“I would like your opinion on the finished product. Customer input is very important towards the design process. Within reason, of course,” she added, smiling at what must have been something of an inside joke.

“Okay, go ahead,” Connor said wearily, as he went about picking up his jacket and shoes from where he left them earlier.

“Firstly, what kind of ensemble do you usually wear? You know, unless you’d rather not talk about it,” asked Rarity, flashing him a sly smirk.

“Ha ha,” Connor responded humorlessly, before breathing in deep and thinking for a second. “Well, usually it’s not too much different from what I’m wearing now. Just swap out the pajamas for a pair of blue denim jeans, and the T-shirt usually has some witty comment written on it. And my jacket, usually.”

On that topic, for a moment, Connor wished that he could’ve shown some foresight before he stumbled into another dimension, and gone out wearing one of his shirts that said, in big, simple letters, "I’m really excited to be here." Oh, the irony.

“I see...” Rarity commented, clearly not impressed by Connor’s fashion sense -- or lack thereof.

“I know what you’re thinking, but I’m just not very picky when it comes to clothes.”

“Obviously not,” the mare deadpanned, though Connor was content to let that comment slide. “Well, moving on. What kind of color scheme do you usually find yourself drawn to?”

“Uhhh, let’s see...” Connor thought for a spell, momentarily thrown off by the question. “I’m usually a fan of dark blue, kinda like my coat. I also like a sort of, you know, black and blue kinda thing, I guess.”

Rarity clucked her tongue in response to the somewhat poorly worded statement. “Oh, no. Trust me, darling, you are not a cool color. What you need is something bright. Something bold, that complements and contrasts your natural colors. Hmm... Contrast...”

Connor had no idea what she was rambling on about, but she at least appeared to know what she was doing when her horn suddenly flared to life, and a bulky roll of bleached white fabric edged out from a cabinet on the far side of the room. She held the cloth in her magic field as she floated it in front of Connor, mumbling incoherently to herself and making mental notes.

“Hmm. Let’s see if maybe...” Rarity trailed off as another bundle of fabric joined the first one, this time colored an inky black. For a few seconds, she levitated both items in a seemingly haphazard fashion, bunching it in some places and forming overlapping patterns while Connor waited patiently, chewing on the inside of his lip. “Yes, that might work. Needs a bit of color, though. Yellow? No, no, no. Too flashy. Maybe...”

The white and black were soon accompanied by a deep red, and all three of the rolls floated in front of the unicorn like she was weighing and comparing pieces of fruit at a supermarket.

“Yes. Mmmhmm, with that taken into account... and with that design... Some stitch-work around the edges... Yes. Yes! Eureka!” The fashionista’s sudden outburst started Connor out of his stupor.

“I take it you have something?”

“Indeed I do! The perfect blend of casual and striking. Form and function. Oh, you’re going to absolutely love it, darling! But now your part is done. I need my privacy in order to work,” she said excitedly while the workroom became a flurry of activity. Connor ducked reflexively as a pair of razor-sharp scissors whizzed past his head, and other measuring devices, sewing implements, and all kinds of cloth materials were brought out of the cabinets and circling around, all managed by Rarity’s horn.

“The idea is there but it won’t be for long! I must strike while the iron is hot! Now, out with you. Out, out, out!” Rarity suddenly threw open the workroom door, and not very subtly started shoving him in its direction with both front hooves on his back.

“Alright! Jeez, I’m going, I’m going! Don’t push!” Connor yelled as he stumbled forwards and out past the door’s threshold, whereupon it suddenly slammed shut behind him with a loud bang. “Man, what got into her?” he asked sorely as he massaged the spots on his back where the unicorn’s hooves had rather forcefully served to vacate him from the room.

Connor closed his eyes and breathed in deeply through his nose, exhaling it in a loud sigh. Well, at least it’s over with.

“Now what do I do?”

Bending and stretching to work out the kinks from standing still for so long, he took another glance around the boutique, but dismayed at finding no chairs or benches to rest on. “Guess it’s the floor, then,” he said with a sigh, as he walked over to the part of the foyer taken up by the round table and mirrors.

With a grunt, he set himself down, propped up against the short table, and with a lack of anything better to do, started biting his fingernails while thinking about ways to whittle away the hour until Twilight returned. His iPod came to mind, but he dismissed that notion almost immediately. While he would’ve liked nothing more than to waste some time playing a few rounds of Angry Birds, he figured it really wasn’t worth draining the battery for the sake of his own boredom.

Looking off to the side, he noticed the papers and coloring implements scattered across the table and saw that one of the sheets had a drawing on it. He picked it up, chuckling at the crudely drawn image of what were apparently three ponies on a background of grass, trees, and some misshapen houses that would make Escher proud. One of the pony-shaped objects sported colors that were similar to Sweetie’s, so he assumed she must have been the artist.

“Heh. Cute,” he remarked before setting the paper back down. Just then, there was a very small movement that he saw out of the corner of his eye, and he turned his head just in time to notice a hint of something small and white pull itself behind the dividing wall between the foyer and hallway.

Aww, look who it is, Connor thought, assuming the individual who was now hiding just out of sight to be Rarity’s little sister, who until this point had yet to show herself since he had walked in the door. Her actions weren’t all that surprising, frankly, and Connor felt he could sympathize with the little girl who must have been intimidated -- yet at the same time surely curious -- about the alien in her sister’s home.

Well, it’s something, at least. Connor figured that if he could engage the kid in a conversation, it would be way more interesting than staring at the ceiling for an hour. And besides, he could use the practice. “Hey, Sweetie Belle, right?” he asked in a tone that he hoped was disarming. But after waiting a few seconds, there was no reply from behind the wall. “I know you’re there.”

Connor groaned inwardly. God, I hope that didn’t sound creepy.

Regardless, this attempt was no more successful at coaxing out the shy filly than the last one. At a loss, Connor crossed his arms and pitched his head forwards with a sigh. It was then that he again noticed the drawing on the table, and it gave him an idea.

“Hey, is this drawing yours?” he asked, picking up the paper and holding it up. “It’s really nice. I like it.”

...Still nothing.

Now he was starting to doubt if there was actually anyone behind the wall, the idea that he had only imagined what he saw now seeming distinctly plausible. If so, Connor figured he must have looked pretty stupid talking into thin air, and he was about to simply give up entirely and find something else to do.

So one could imagine the pleasant surprise in store, when the pink and mulberry swirl of Sweetie’s mane inched its way out into the open, stopping when about half of her face was left hanging in view. The filly blinked a few times, her one exposed eye betraying the unsure nature of her response.

“Um... thanks?” she piped up meekly, in a soft tone of voice Connor had to strain in order to hear.

That’s adorable. Connor marveled at how the timid filly’s demeanor served to enhance the near epic levels of cuteness of the situation. But he couldn’t let himself get distracted. Bolstered by his success at luring Sweetie from her hiding place, he would have to capitalize on it by keeping the conversation relevant to her.

“You’re welcome. Now, if this one here is supposed to be you,” he said, pointing to the version of her on the drawing. “...then who are the other two?”

“Those are my friends. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo,” the filly explained, taking exactly two tiny steps forward.

“Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Alright. Sooooo--”

“What do you want?” the filly interrupted brusquely, causing Connor to draw back slightly at the nature of her remark.

“What? Who said I wanted anything? I’d just like to talk, that’s all,” he said, injecting a bit of a hurt tone into his words.

“Oh... Sorry.” Sweetie looked down and scuffed a hoof on the floor. “It’s just, whenever most ponies wanna talk to a filly like me, it’s just ‘cause they want something.”

Connor smirked. “Well, I’m not most ponies, but I think that goes without saying.”

“Heehee.” Sweetie let out a bubbly little giggle at his attempt to be humorous.

Now we’re getting somewhere, Connor thought, emboldened. “So whatcha been up to today? Just staying inside with your sister?”

Sweetie’s small smile fell into a glum straight line as she glanced over to the door that led to Rarity’s workroom, behind which the tack-tack sound of a sewing machine was now rattling away. “Yeah, pretty much,” she said with a sigh, and shifted to sit down on her flank.

“Sounds like you two don’t get along that well.”

“Oh, it’s not like that! Rarity’s, like, the best sister ever!” the filly asserted. “It’s just... well, she’s not a whole lot of fun when she gets into one of her ‘moods.’” Sweetie punctuated the last word by mimicking air quotes with her hooves, which Connor found strangely amusing.

“I can imagine. Well, what about your friends? It’s a nice day outside -- actually, it’s a really nice day outside. You could be out having fun with them.”

The unicorn filly shook her head. “Not today. Apple Bloom’s busy helping her brother and sister up at Sweet Apple Acres, and Scootaloo...” She looked off to the side, her face scrunched up in annoyance. “Scootaloo’s parents grounded her for the weekend.”

“Oh, no!” Connor brought his hands to his face in mock surprise. “What horrible thing did she do to deserve that?”

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes with a grin. “She rode her scooter into the neighbor’s rose bushes, after they told her, like, a billion times not to practice near other pony’s houses.”

“That sucks. So you got nothing to do all day and you’re stuck inside with Rarity?”

“Yup, that's right,” she agreed, before her forelegs gave out beneath her, and she flopped to the ground like a popped balloon. “It’s soooo booooring.”

“I know what that feels like,” Connor said, propping his head up with his arm on the table. “You don’t have a TV?”

Sweetie gave him a strange look. “What’s a ‘teevee’?”

“Didn’t think so. What about a radio?”

She shook her head. “Nuh uh. Rarity doesn’t like having one around the boutique. Says they’re a ‘distraction.’”

“Huh,” Connor said, scratching his chin and looking around the room. “Well, hey, we have paper and we have crayons. I’m sure there are a couple games we could play.”

“Games?” the filly said inquisitively as her small ears perked right up and she raised her head off the floor.

Bingo.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Sure, he looked pretty weird. And acted pretty weird, too. Actually, pretty much everything about Connor struck Sweetie Belle as more than a bit odd. Including a feeling he gave her that the unicorn filly couldn’t quite place, niggling at the back of her mind like one of those annoying itches at the base of your tail that you want to scratch but you just can’t quite reach. But after just a few minutes spent talking and playing with the stranger, her initial misgivings quickly fell away. Some time after their fifth or sixth round of Tic-Tac-Toe, she couldn’t even remember why she felt so intimidated before.

She supposed it helped that she had taken the opportunity to eavesdrop on the stranger and her sister when they were doing whatever it was they were doing in her workroom. She almost tripped herself trying to scramble away when the door suddenly opened with her ear pressed firmly against it, but she managed to gather as much intelligence as she could about Connor before Rarity forced him out. She had never even heard of a place called Amareica, or "humans" for that matter. Those parts sounded more than a bit suspicious to the inquisitive filly, and she thought that perhaps she could ask Miss Cheerilee about it in class the next day. Her favorite teacher knew a lot of stuff like that.

But after spending the better part of an hour keeping each other company in the main room of the boutique, Sweetie was almost feeling bad for having spied on him... Almost. Especially since Connor seemed to be making an honest effort to keep them both entertained with a bunch of simple games, some of which she had never played before. And honestly, she could tell there were times when he was intentionally letting her win, though she kept her muzzle shut whenever she suspected him of doing so.

They carried on this way for almost an hour, though it only seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. The end of their activities came when, after a prolonged period of relative silence from Rarity’s workroom, the door suddenly swung open, and out walked Ponyville’s premier fashion designer, who took slow, heavy steps that showed her tired state. She even appeared to be sweating just a little, and a length of tape measure hung limply around her neck like a wet noodle.

“It... is... complete!” she gasped out, suddenly standing up on her hind hooves and gracefully falling to the side just as a puffy red couch, enveloped in a blue aura, appeared from nowhere and slid perfectly into place to catch her.

“Are you alright?” Connor asked, standing up and looking worried about Rarity’s apparent state of exhaustion.

Sweetie, on the other hoof, just brought a hoof to her face and shook her head, embarrassed. “She’s fine. She’s always doing stuff like this.”

“I do not!” Rarity retorted, opening one eye to glare at her younger sister while she remained on the couch with her legs splayed out around her. “Well, not always.”

“So where is it? What does it look like?” Connor asked the fashionista.

“Go see for yourself, darling. I left everything on the table in there, you can’t miss it.” Rarity waved a hoof in the direction of her workroom. “Go on, hurry up and change! I can’t wait to see how it looks on you.”

“Alright, alright,” Connor said with a chuckle. “Don’t need to tell me twice.”

And with that, the human walked over to the open doorway and slid inside, closing it shut behind him and leaving Sweetie and her sister to themselves in the foyer.

Rarity propped herself up and turned her attention back to Sweetie Belle. “So, what have you two been up to while I was busy working?”

“Oh, nothing special. Just playin’ some games,” she said dismissively as reached over and grabbed one of the papers on the table, holding it up for her sister to see. It was almost completely covered in boxed grids randomly filled in with numbers. “He was showing me how to play something called ‘sue-doe-kew,’ whatever that means. I didn’t get it, though. He wasn’t really good at explaining it.”

Rarity was watching intently as Sweetie put down that paper and picked up another one, this time scrawled upon with a bunch of circles, straight lines and blank spaces where the human had her guess which letters made up the word he had in mind.

“And this one he called ‘Hangman.’ Beats me what these lines are for, but you take turns coming up with a word and have the other player guess the letters. That one was fun! Connor knows a lot of big words.”

Her enthusiasm caused Rarity to light up with a warm smile. “Well, I’m glad to see you’ve made a new friend, Sweetie. It’s so nice of you to help him feel welcome.” she said contentedly, causing Sweetie to beam at the praise.

Just then, the casual back-and-forth was suddenly interrupted by a trio of knocks at the front door.

“Oh, that must be Twilight, how convenient! Come in, darling!” Rarity called out, raising her voice so that it would carry through the door. Soon after, it swung open with an application of purple magic and the tinkling of the door chime, and in walked the lavender mare.

“Hello, girls. I’m here to pick up our friend,” she said chipperly, looking around the boutique to spot her bipedal companion. “Speaking of whom, where is he?”

“He’s in there, changing into the outfit I just finished up,” Rarity explained, nodding to the workroom. “Oh, it’s such an extraordinary ensemble, Twilight. Considering what I had to work with, I do believe I’ve outdone myself.”

“I’m glad to hear it, Rarity. Thanks again for doing this, I really appreciate it.”

“Think nothing of it dear, it was my pleasure.”

Jeez... There’s such a thing as being too polite, Sweetie thought sardonically as she watched the two close friends jabber on about this and that. It only made her wish she could hang out with the other Crusaders even more.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Twilight said suddenly before looking back at one of her saddlebags and using her magic to flip it open, and what appeared to be a brightly colored flyer levitated itself out. “I found this taped to your door.”

“What is it? Let me see,” Rarity inquired as she brought herself off her couch with a slight grunt of effort and trotted over to where her friend was standing.

“Me too! I wanna see too!” Sweetie joined in, and the three of them crowded around the paper as Twilight held it up for them to see. Printed in bright pink, blue and yellow, and featuring a reasonable facsimile of Connor wearing a party hat and surrounded by balloons, it read:



You are hereby invited to Connor the connor’s ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party! Planned and prepared by Ponyville’s premier party planner, the perpetually pleasant, positively perky, Pinkie Pie! There will be punch, pie, party poppers, and much, much more, so don’t miss out!

Tonight! Applejack’s barn, at seven o'clock sharp!



“A welcoming party for Connor? So soon?” Rarity remarked.

“I know, right? Pinkie definitely works fast,” Twilight agreed, placing the invitation down on the table. “I would imagine Fluttershy and Rainbow would’ve gotten theirs by now too.”

“A party at Applejack’s? That means Apple Bloom’s prolly gonna be there! Can I come, please, Rarity? Can I? Can I?” Sweetie was practically jumping in place with wide-eyed enthusiasm.

Her little sister’s antics causing her to stifle a snicker, Rarity couldn’t help but acquiesce. “Oh, I don’t see why not. But we’ll have to be home before it gets too late. Don’t forget, you have school in the morning.”

“Yay!” The filly reared back in excitement. Her outlook on the day had already ticked upwards earlier, and this was just icing on the cake. And most definitely, there would be cake in the near future.

Just then, there was the sound of a latch turning, and all three ponies took notice when the door to the workroom inched open just barely.

“Hey, sounds like you guys are having fun out there,” came Connor’s voice from beyond the threshold. “And did I hear Twilight just now?”

“That’s right, I just got here,” the lavender unicorn said back. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, just gimme a few seconds.”

“Don’t take too long, darling. I’m positively tingling with excitement!” said Rarity, and from the tone of her voice, she probably was.

“Yeah, yeah.” The ponies could hear Connor take a deep breath and exhale. “Welp, here goes.”

Twilight, Rarity and Sweetie Belle backed away from the door and waited a few seconds before, with a gentle nudge, it creaked fully open, and out stepped Connor wearing an outfit that was strikingly different than the clothes he was wearing previously.

Instead of the light pajama bottoms from before, on his legs he now sported something resembling a long pair of jeans, dark blue and stitched together in such a way that they appeared to be cut from the same length of denim, though they still looked crisp and well made.

On his upper body, he had traded in his plain white shirt for one of solid black, and instead of the jacket he had worn coming in, the coat he wore now was quite obviously where a majority of the design took place. Slightly bulky, yet formfitting, the garment was some kind of vest, with a zipper down the front, that alternated between a white as clean as driven snow, and a deep red, stylized flame pattern that licked its way across the edges on the bottom and the sleeves. Along the borders of the design was a gold-colored filament that made the rich hues pop out, almost as if they were in motion. To finish it off, around the back of the neck there was a thick hood, colored the same red as the embroidered fire and connected to two woven tassels that dangled around the front, each topped with a single gleaming sapphire the size of a marble.

Though Rarity was the only one who audibly gasped in beholding the scene, the other two ponies were still pretty impressed with her hoofiwork, and in the quiet, Connor nervously stuffed his hands into his new coat’s pockets, waiting for somepony to say something. And that somepony would just so happen to be Sweetie.

“That’s really... cooooool.”

“Heh, you think so?” Connor responded, reaching up to scratch his head. “Yeah. I agree, it is pretty awesome.”

“‘Awesome’ doesn’t nearly do it justice, darling. It looks absolutely marvelous, if I do say so myself.”

“It definitely looks fancy,” Twilight commented. “How does it fit?”

“Oh, it fits perfectly,” Connor said, shifting around in his new outfit before turning to address the designer. “It’s really great. I love it, thank you. And thanks for including socks and a new pair of boxers. That was really thoughtful.”

Rarity returned the compliment with a graceful nod of her head. “You don’t know how pleased I am to hear you say that. Customer satisfaction is my number one concern.”

“Well, consider this customer satisfied.” Connor blinked a few times before sudden realization dawned on his face. “Oh, crap, I just realized I don’t have anything to pay you with.”

But Rarity just shook her head, her styled mane bouncing back and forth as she did so. “I never expected any kind of payment, dear. This was a favor for a friend in need; nothing more, nothing less.”

“Wow. That’s really generous of you.”

“Yes... I suppose it is,” Rarity added with a knowing smile.

“Well, I’m gonna go grab my old stuff, then I guess we’ll be taking off,” Connor said as he went back into the workroom for a few moments, coming out with the rest of his clothes wrapped up in the bundle of his old jacket.

“I’ll take care of those,” Twilight told him, using her magic to snatch up the bundle and stuffing it into one of the bags she wore around her midsection. Securing the straps while nodding to herself, she then turned back to Sweetie and Rarity one more time as Connor walked over to her side. “Thanks again, Rarity. I guess I’ll see you girls later tonight?”

“We’ll definitely be there,” the ivory unicorn replied with a smile. “Take care, you two.”

“See ya later, Connor!” Sweetie piped up, enthusiastically waving a hoof. “Thanks for playin’ with me!”

“No problem. Catch you later,” the human said with a wave goodbye to the two sisters, before he turned to follow Twilight out the front door of the boutique. As they moved further away, and before Rarity could get around to closing the door, the two unicorns could hear a brief snippet of the duo’s conversation.

“So, what’s happening later tonight?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot... Pinkie’s party?”

“Oh, pfft. Duh. Completely forgot about that.”

And with the sound of the door chime, the two of them went out of sight and hearing. Rarity gave a contented sigh before trotting over next to her little sister. “I never would’ve guessed the day would happen to take such an... interesting turn.”

“I’ll say!” said Sweetie, looking up at her sibling. “I can’t wait for the party. It’s gonna be so much fun.” And in her own mind, Sweetie allowed herself a private, humorous thought:

Scootaloo’s really gonna be kicking herself for getting grounded when she finds out what she’s missing.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The hustle and bustle of the Ponyville Markets on most days could reliably be considered "lively," but the activity of this day in particular happened to take on a very specific kind of flavor. As Twilight had accurately described earlier, the details surrounding the ponies’ newest and strangest guest had spread through the town like a wildfire riding a tidal wave of gossip. So it would have come as no particular surprise to the market-goers upon seeing the stranger from the far-off land of Amareica casually strolling past the stalls, not far behind the town’s librarian and oftentimes savior from certain destruction, Twilight Sparkle.

But what would probably seem most surprising was the fact that Connor didn’t particularly mind this at all -- at least, not as much as he would have, given the circumstances. Now having had two successful encounters with the locals -- or three, counting Sweetie Belle -- he was feeling pretty confident in his ability to handle the situation, even if he still wasn’t eager enough to go out of his way and meet new ponies on the side of the street.

Of course, having something shiny to distract him helped to a certain degree.

“I still can’t believe this is a real sapphire,” he commented, holding up one of the braided tassels of his brand-new hooded jacket and bringing the shining blue jewel topping the end up to catch the glint of the sunlight.

“It shouldn’t be too surprising, given that hunting for gemstones is Rarity’s special talent,” Twilight responded, finding it slightly amusing that the human found the simple gem as entrancing as he did. “Quite frankly, I’m surprised those two are the only ones she used. Most of the time her outfits are more jewels than fabric,” she added with a smirk.

“Not that I’m complaining either way. I have to hand it to her, she really knows her stuff. I feel like such a badass wearing this,” Connor said as he gave his attire another once-over, admiring the fact that, regardless of Rarity’s assertions, it seemed to fit him perfectly. And despite it not being anything like he had imagined, he had to admit that the whole ensemble was probably the coolest thing he could see himself wearing -- in this, or any other world.

Twilight merely gave a short snicker and shook her head, while Connor diverted his attention from the tassels and started toying around with the front zipper.

“Sooo, what’s next for today?” he asked blithely, and the purple unicorn looked back up at him with a curious expression, mildly surprised at his recent change in attitude.

“You sure seem to be in a good mood. This morning you were a nervous wreck, and now you can’t seem to keep that ridiculous grin off your face.”

Reacting to her words, Connor made a conscious effort to relax his jaw muscles, but wasn’t quite able to achieve the desired poker face. “Why? Is there a problem with that?” he joked back.

Twilight shook her head. “No, no problem at all. In fact, it’s refreshing to see.”

“What can I say?” Connor shrugged. “I just feel... happy, for some reason. I don’t know, maybe it’s just that all the bright colors are starting to get to me.”

“Or maybe it’s the fact that you’re making friends and enjoying it?”

“...Could be,” he reluctantly replied, still not quite ready to admit that the purple bookworm could be right about that too. “What’s with the analyzing my behavior all of a sudden? Who do you think you are, Counselor Troi?” he attempted to deflect.

“What are you talking about?” Twilight queried, obviously thrown off by the reference. Deflection successful.

“Oh, nothing. It’d take too long to explain.”

Twilight huffed in annoyance, before sagely deciding to not get worked up by it and move on. “Anyways, I was thinking that--”

“Twilight! Twilight!”

The mare cut off suddenly as her ears perked up in the direction of someone who was desperately shouting her name.

Both human and pony looked about the market, trying to locate the source of the lilting, slightly accented male voice that was clamoring for her attention. Twilight saw him first: a chestnut-colored stallion with a spiky brown mane galloping towards them at a steady clip. But what was far more interesting than his fur color -- and Connor took note of this as well upon following Twilight’s gaze -- was the absolutely outlandish getup he was wearing. And Connor would have guessed that this was even by pony standards.

Across his chest, the stallion was wearing a crisp, white, button-down shirt along with a short-sleeved, leathery brown vest, complete with an array of pockets, a side-mounted pouch, and, of all things, a bright red bow tie. Above his eyes, which were a cold, dark blue and seemed to contain a deep sense of urgency, was a pair of large goggles strapped around his ears. And along one of his forelegs appeared to be some sort of band, containing an intricate timepiece and a small rod with a softly glowing crystal top strapped to the inside. As for the rest of the pony’s body, it was uncovered, displaying the stallion’s cutie mark: an upright hourglass, with the sands trapped in mid-fall.

The mysterious newcomer wasted no time in running straight up to the pair, stopping just short of ramming into them and breathlessly exclaiming while his eyes darted between the two, before settling on the unicorn.

“Twilight! This is very important. You need to tell me what’s going on, right now!” the unnamed pony demanded, casting a quick glance at Connor, who recoiled slightly under his intense expression.

“Uh... I’m sorry?” Twilight backed up a step, clearly confused and intimidated by what was happening. “Do I know you?”

“Twilight, really,” the stallion huffed impatiently. “This is no time to be playing-- What did you just say?”

“I said, I have no idea who you are,” she stressed, obviously not amused by the chestnut pony’s brash behavior. “You obviously know who I am, but you’re a complete stranger to me. And I think I would remember meeting somepony so... distinctive.”

The hourglass-marked equine’s expression fell into openmouthed disbelief almost instantly, and he stammered for a bit before gathering his bearings. “B-but Twilight, it-it’s me. The Do-- I-I mean, Doctor Clockwork,” he hastily corrected himself as he looked around his surroundings.

“Doctor who?”

Twilight’s perfectly innocent question sparked an unbidden series of snickers from Connor, drawing the attention of both ponies as he tried to play off the fact that they wouldn’t understand even if he had tried to explain the joke.

“Oh, sorry. Heheh. Ah, don’t mind me. It’s, ah... It’s nothing,” he played it off, sniffing loudly and looking away while trying to mask his grin.

The stallion looked at him curiously, before apparently deciding that his issue with Twilight was immediately more important.

“But that’s impossible... Unless...” Doctor Clockwork trailed off as his expression grew intense and deadly serious. “Twilight, what year is this?”

“Excuse me?” she responded, dubious.

“The date, Twilight. Give me the date.”

“It’s 1002 C.R. How could you not know that?”

Clockwork’s face went blank. “That’s... correct. But if you never... And if I... a-and he...” the stallion started to mumble incoherently, his eyes jumping erratically between Connor, Twilight, and the watch-like object he wore around his leg. “If that’s the case, then... Oh, dear. Perhaps that turbulence was a little worse than I thought.”

Both Connor and Twilight watched as the eccentric doctor was apparently having some kind of nervous breakdown, staring off into space and muttering some unintelligible scientific-sounding nonsense. After a while, though, he seemed to remember where he was, his head snapping back to attention and addressing his very confused audience.

“I, um... appear to have the wrong mare. Terribly sorry. Carry on. As you were!” he rambled out before swiftly turning on the spot and running off in the direction he had come. After a few paces, he suddenly stopped to take one last look at the two of them, though giving slightly more attention to Connor. He then blinked and shook his head roughly, mumbling something along the lines of “No time. No time!” before continuing on and disappearing into the crowd.

And just like that, the mysterious stallion was gone.

Twilight, for one, was nearly speechless. “I... I don’t even... What?” she asked to no-one in particular, her face scrunched up in a concerted effort to make sense of what had just transpired.

“That’s putting it mildly,” Connor was inclined to agree.

“I don’t understand. What was he talking about? Half of the things he said made absolutely no sense.” She puzzled, deep in thought, before turning up to face Connor. “And the way he spoke... It was like he didn’t just know who I was, but like he knew me personally.”

Connor gave a defeated shrug and let out a puff of air. “Beats me. Maybe he was just nuts. Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.”

“I don’t think so... but I suppose it’s possible. Still, I’ll be sure to ask this ‘Clockwork’ about it if I ever see him again. Right now there are more important things to do,” Twilight said with a nod and a final look off into the crowd where the chestnut stallion had disappeared. She then turned on the spot and continued trotting on their original path.

“And that’s it?” Connor questioned as he fell into place behind her. “A possibly crazy person in a steampunk outfit yells at you for a couple minutes and you just brush it off? If that kind of thing had happened to me, I’d be looking around for those nice men with the straightjackets.”

“Well, there’s really not much I can do about it now. And besides, stranger stuff has happened in Ponyville.”

“Really? Like what?” the human asked, and a second later followed with an addendum. “Besides the Nightmare Moon thing, obviously.”

Twilight let out a short laugh. “Well, did I ever tell you about the time the whole town was almost eaten by a swarm of gumball-sized insects?”

“You have to be kidding... Continue.”


---------------------------------------------


“...and then it turned out that by the time we got there, Rarity had them practically eating out of her hooves! They were even calling her ‘Miss Rarity,’ can you believe that?” Twilight almost breathlessly explained in between whittling away at the basket of hay fries on the table in front of her.

As it happened, Twilight had been ahead of schedule for the day, so it was much to Connor’s agreement that she decided to take a short break at one of the local cafes and get a quick bite to eat. Along the way, she had been relaying to him some of the more illustrious adventures shared by her and her friends over the years.

“Well, having experienced her firsthand, I’m not finding it too difficult,” Connor said in response, while taking a sip from his own tall glass of lemonade.

“Heheh... yeah. Afterwards, Spike was so disappointed that he didn’t get to play the brave hero rescuing his damsel in distress.” Twilight sighed contentedly, thinking back on the memory fondly.

Man, her and her friends get into a lot of crazy stuff together, Connor remarked inwardly, while also thinking it was really charming how the normally straightlaced and serious Twilight Sparkle got all warm and sentimental whenever she started talking about her friends.

“Alright, bit of an off topic here,” he led on after contemplatively staring through his glass at the scenery, and continued after Twilight gave an affirmative nod. “So, I’ve been hearing an awful lot -- mostly around the castle, you know -- about some big fancy wedding that happened a week ago. And then just today, your friend Rarity mentions your brother getting married. Am I right in assuming the two aren’t unrelated?”

“Yup. Shining Armor -- that’s my brother, by the way -- got himself married to the... well, to one of the most wonderful ponies I’ve ever met: Princess Cadence.”

That last comment made Connor sit up straight in his stool. “Whoa. Slow down, there. You’re saying your brother married a princess? Like Celestia?”

“Celestia’s niece, actually.” Twilight looked at him funny, as if puzzled why he would find this of particular importance. “You seem awfully surprised by this.”

Connor scoffed. “And you aren’t?”

“No, why would I be?”

“Uh, hello? You’re related to royalty!”

“I guess so. Not directly. In any case, why should it matter?”

“It... Well... Huh, I don’t know. I just thought that it would,” Connor admitted, thrown off by Twilight’s utter lack of superficiality on the subject, as if she really didn’t care as much about the status of her extended family.

“Well, it doesn’t. Cadence is such an amazing and sweet pony, and my brother is happier than ever. I’m more than glad she’s a part of my family, and it doesn't matter if she’s a princess or not.”

“Wow,” Connor said, touched by the sincerity and resolve in the unicorn’s statement, and unexpectedly, he found himself respecting her that much more for it. “She really sounds great. Your family must feel really lucky.”

“Yeah... we do,” Twilight said softly, and in the strangely awkward silence that followed, started to lightly push around her half-empty basket of hay fries with her hoof. After a while, she spoke up again. “Say, what’s your family like? I don’t think I’ve heard you mention them once.”

And with good reason. Connor stiffened suddenly at the mention of his family, and just like that, the fragile veneer of lightheartedness he had been feeling fell away like a flower wilting under the harsh light of the sun. Now he couldn’t help but think about the fact that, in spite of how well things were going, he was still trapped in a desperate situation with only the chance of remediation, and the thought of the people he had left behind only served to drive the point home. This was physically reflected in his features as his shoulders sagged and he looked off to the side despondently, while Twilight took notice and added up the result instantly.

“Oh, no, I’m so sorry! Please forgive me. I didn’t mean to... If you’d rather, we can talk about something else.”

Connor took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, not faulting the purple unicorn for her innocent mistake, and not willing to let the circumstances change the fact that, for everything she was doing for him, she at least deserved an answer.

“No, it’s alright, really. I just... wasn’t expecting that.” He picked up his drink and took another slow sip before placing it back on the table. “Well, let’s see... I have a brother, like you. His name’s Brian, and he’s three years older than I am. It’s funny... He was always doing that older brother thing and calling me out whenever I did something stupid -- which was often, when we were kids. Oh, if only he knew...” Connor chuckled weakly, shaking his head. Twilight stayed silent and still, listening patiently.

“No other siblings, but both my parents, thankfully. Other than that, I have like, a dozen uncles and aunts, God knows how many cousins, and some of the nicest grandparents you’d ever meet.” He paused, having to swallow a lump in his throat before continuing. “I even have a great-grandma still. Ninety-eight years old if you can believe that.”

He had to stop there, choking off the words, as simply talking about them now was almost too hard to bear. It took everything he had not to break down right out in the open, and he breathed deeply and shakily, closing his eyes and bringing a hand up to his forehead in an attempt to gather his wits about him. But he opened his eyes suddenly afterwards, when he felt something hard and warm touch his other hand lying in front of him.

It was Twilight, reaching out a hoof in comfort from across the table. Her face was a mask of stoicism, but her eyes, though a tad watery, held within them a steely determination.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be back with them soon enough, I’m sure of it. And don’t you go thinking otherwise,” she said plainly and with conviction.

Connor let the words sink in gradually, working up just enough effort to sniff loudly and blink away the moisture in his eyes before it could manifest. “Thanks... I needed that,” he muttered after a while.

Twilight nodded stoically and brought back her hoof. Meanwhile, Connor, very much yearning for the kind of day he was having before this unpleasant detour, made a concerted effort to lighten the mood. “Well, that went to a bad place for a second there. I could definitely use something distracting right about now.”

It wasn’t quite "Sorry, lost the happy. But the happy’s back!" but it was a start, at least.

“I’m sure we can find something,” Twilight pitched in, and Connor could sense her eagerness to put what just happened behind them as well. “There’s still some stuff on my to-do list. Or we could stop by the library and drop off your old clothes if you prefer.”

“Whatever works for you. Remember, I’m just tagging along.”

“Great. Just gimme a minute to finish off my fries. There are only a couple left, are you sure you don’t want to try one?” she offered, holding the basket out in front of her.

“No thanks. I can imagine well enough,” Connor said, managing to crack a smile, and imagining that, whatever they tasted like, it would be more comparable to a bag of yard trimmings than actual french fries.

As Twilight proceeded to get her snack out of the way, Connor stood up from his seated position to take a long stretch and a yawn, before bending over and picking up his own refreshment. As he tilted the glass back to empty it of the rest of its contents, however, he started to hear something... peculiar, just within the range of his hearing.

Not quite able to place what it was, he cocked his head to the side, trying to get a better read on the sound that was slowly but surely gaining in volume and definition. It almost sounded like... music. Like someone was singing.

“Do you hear that?” he asked Twilight, who noted the puzzled expression on his face.

“Hear what?”

“It’s music, I think. Is there a radio playing nearby?”

“Hmm... I don’t think so.”

Connor looked around, trying to find whatever direction the intangible tones were originating from. It happened gradually, but the sounds of conversation from the nearby patrons of the cafe happened to diminish to the point where he could make out the words of the song... and the yellow-coated mare that was singing them.

Her puffy orange mane swinging about as she tilted her head with the lyrics, the green-eyed pony cantered slowly across the road some distance away from the cafe, apparently lost in her own world as she sang with a rich, honeyed voice.




Every single day, the same arrangement,
Take the bits and close the sell.
Flash a little smile, small talk and entertainment.
“How are you today?”
“Hope you’re feeling well.”

But now everything’s changed.
Yes, nothing’s quite the same.
Ever since the day he came
To my humble carrot staaaand!

He should have been another customer, just another face.
But with just two words, he set my heart to ra~ace!





“Twilight, are you seeing this? She’s just singing. Out in the open!”

“Looks like it. I had no idea Golden Harvest had such a nice singing voice,” the unicorn candidly remarked.

“That’s all you can say?” Connor gave her an inquisitive look. “You don’t at least think it’s weird that she’s singing about her crush in public?”

“Nope.”

Her one word denouncement served to stun Connor into silence, and he could only watch now as, miraculously, the tone of the song picked up a beat and Golden Harvest‘s voice rose ever higher.

And Connor had to take off his glasses and clean them in order to make sure he was seeing properly, when out of the background came three unassuming stallions... who also began to sing out in perfect pitch and clarity.

“Oh, no. Please, please don’t tell me this is turning into a musical number.”

But the human would end up being sorely disappointed as the three stallions, soon joined by yet more candy-colored ponies, fell into lockstep behind the mare with the orange mane, serenading all in the vicinity with a timing that had to be anything but spontaneous.

“Okay, I’ve seen a lot of strange stuff in the past few days but what I’m seeing now is literally impossible.”

Things like this don’t just happen. he tried to reassure himself in the face of such blatant surreality. Not in real life. This has to be some kind of joke, like a flash mob. It has to be.

As the chorus ended and the song picked up in tempo, all eyes in the area went to the one pony who was quite literally stealing the show. And while Connor’s were the only ones that displayed anything but casual interest, he made one startling realization as he witnessed the choral procession.

Oh, God... They’re coming this way.











And that was when the instruments kicked in.