Trust Is Earned, Not Easily Given
Detroit, Michigan.
8 days before Halloween.
Every second that passed by, the tension on the room only grew. Besides Rainbow Dash’s wings beating, I could hear faint noises of moaning coming from the outside. I still sat on the ground, Nino’s head on my lap and my back against the door, white hood covering half of my eyes. As calm as I was in this situation, only one thing could process in my mind.
The fucking mane six are in my house.
Half of me wanted to keep crying after killing a zombie, something I had never done. The other half wanted me to jump up and hug all of the ponies, hoping they would accept me with smiles and laughter. Yea, I could see it now, Pinkie coming up to my face and introducing herself, her mane smelling of cotton candy and other sweets. Rainbow Dash challenging my strength and how cool and awesome I am. Applejack asking me about farm work and apples. Rarity wanting to figure out the right measurements to create clothes for a being she has never met before. Fluttershy asking me about Nino, and if I like animals. Twilight Sparkle asking me about human history, eating habits, how we walk, talk, all that basic stuff. Well, basic for her. I could see all of us being friends. But then I realized something...
I wasn’t in some Human in Equestria fic. No, I can see the fear and terror in their eyes.
Pinkie’s mane and tail weren’t their usual puffed up, frazzled mane. They were flattened straight, almost touching the ground. Her eyes were filled with look of fear and sadness, her eyes looked as if they were already on the verge of tears.
Rarity had a look of disgust and fear. She stared wide eyed at me, her pupils moving around. I didn’t know if she was horrified about what I was wearing, or...
‘The blood...’ I thought.
I could hear Fluttershy cry softly behind her long, light pink mane. She curled up into a small ball, trying to avoid eye contact with me. I tell you what, scaring Fluttershy, even though it was just my presence, hit me. Hard.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash both glared at me, ready to fuck me up if I even moved. Applejack gritted her teeth, the sound of it traveling to my ears. Rainbow Dash’s wings beating harshly, filling up the room with the sound of flapping. She too, glared at me. Her rainbow mane was all frizzled and messy, like it usually was in the actual show. She glared daggers into my eyes as well, but I ignored her gaze and turned my eyes towards the last pony.
Twilight Sparkle. There she stood, her eyes wide in fear and curiosity. I honestly wasn’t surprised, she was a bookworm after all. For some reason, she looked very tired. Her mane was a slight mess, almost like it was during the “Smarty Pants” incident. Under her eyes, bags began to form, signaling me that she was, as I thought, very tired.
I stared at all of them, one by one, then as a whole. I had only spoken one word, and the room had been silent since. I wanted to break the tension again, but I wasn’t sure how to. What? Do I tell them why I was covered in blood, bawling my eyes out and sitting on the floor with a look of sadness and-
Oh god...The blood, the axe, the meat cleaver on the table. They must think I’m some crazed creature, ready to pounce on them whenever I pleased. I didn’t want them to think that I was a threat, but how the hell do I break this silence?
I look down at Nino with my eyes, who just shifted his gaze to me. He was looking me in the eye, telling me to do something. I knew what I had to do.
Slowly, I reached my right hand into my pocket, trying to take out my phone. I see Applejack glare at me, but I proceeded anyway. Slowly pulling it out, I can hear an angry, defensive voice.
“What the hay do you think you’re doin?” Applejack said coldly. Snapping my hand away from my right, I only stared back at the cowpony.
I started to breathe a little heavily, but I did my best to keep calm. Gulping, I slowly raised my right hand, trying to show that I had no intentions of injuring her or her friends. Applejack and Rainbow both clenched their teeth, trying their best to intimidate me.
It only worked slightly.
“I’m not going to harm you, I just want to-”
“How do we know if you’re not going to hurt us? For all we know, you could be lying!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
‘Didn’t I just say I wasn’t going to- Oh wait that’s right.’ I sighed. I scratched behind Nino’s ear, making the dog stick out his tongue happily. My eyes looked down to the happy dog, drawing a small smile across my face. I looked back at the angry rainbow maned mare. She only glared back.
I sighed. Knowing Rainbow Dash, she would do anything in her power to defend her friends. Which is why I wouldn’t be able to move; if I did, she would most likely come up and buck me in the face. Right now, I had to settle with just talking, and no moving. Besides me scratching my dogs ear.
“So...how about that wea-”
“WHAT ARE YOU!?”
Slightly taken back by the sudden outburst, I shifted my eyes a little bit to see Twilight covering her mouth. ‘Must have been her.’ I thought, stating the obvious. I gave the little pony a small smile, but only received a scowl by Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Twilight hid behind Applejack.
“Human.” I said. “I’m a human.”
“What in the hay is that?” Applejack asked. I understood that she was being defensive but damn! Can’t a homie speak without being interrupted?
“A human is like...a monkey?” I said. This got a disapproving look from Honesty and Loyalty. I tried not to choke on my words, but I’m not very good when being stared at. “Um...A human is a bipedal creature...How does that sound?”
For a second, I thought I saw Twilight stick her head out a little behind Applejack. She might not have looked at me, but I knew full well that that mare wanted answers.
“My name is Giovanni. What are yours?” I asked.
Still, none of them spoke, only stared and glared at me. I saw Nino curled his neck towards the ponies, not doing anything. I leaned down a little to whisper in his ear. “I need you to get off of me...”
He understood, and slowly got up. Applejack stomped her hooves, while Rainbow Dash glared at Nino and I.
“What is that vermin doin’?” Applejack asked. I stared into her green eyes, feeling her judgement seep into my soul.
“He’s just getting up, don’t worry.” I said. Nino hopped on top of the leather couch. All of the ponies backed away slightly, but Applejack and Rainbow Dash still glared at me.
Getting up slowly, I raised both my hands up to my chest.”I don’t want to hurt you, all I want to do is just talk.” I slowly took off the blood stained hoodie, throwing it on top of the axe. “See?”
Rainbow Dash scowled. “Liar! You’re just waiting for the perfect moment to strike!” In response, I shook my head. “Look, If you’ll just let me explain who I am, we’ll get everything settled, all right?” I walked up slowly to them, but Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Twilight and Fluttershy backed away. Rainbow and Applejack still stood their ground.
“Come any closer, and Ah’ll buck you into next week!” Applejack said. Rainbow Dash blue smoke out of her nose.”Yea! Don’t hurt my friends!”
I sighed, getting through these ponies will be tougher than I thought. I took a second to look at how tall they actually were.
Since I’m about 5’9, the ponies looked like they only reached to my waist. Rainbow Dash however, hovered in my living room with the use of her wings, making her eye level with me. All of the ponies, excluding Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, were staring up at me, as if I were a tower compared to them.
Applejack’s and Rainbow Dash’s eyes slightly widened. “Gosh, Ah didn’t expect it being this big.”
I chuckled at the comment. “Yea, mom always said I would be as tall as my dad when I grow bigger.” I lowered my hands, hoping that Applejack and Rainbow Dash didn’t see me as a threat any longer.
“Watch out AJ, that thing has claws on its hooves.” Rainbow scowled. I only shook my head slowly.
“These aren’t claws. They’re fingers, used for gripping, and holding objects.” I said.”Look, Of It’ll make all of you comfortable, I’ll introduce myself. How does that sound?”
Silence.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” I walk up to the fabric couch, laying down on it. The couch was only 5 feet away from the mares, so it wouldn’t be too hard for them to hear me. I cleared my throat:
“My name Full name is Giovanni Towers. I’m a Mexican American 14 year old male, that's a stallion in case you're wondering,who has been growing up in southwest Detroit, Michigan.” I paused for a second, making sure they were listening.“As of right now, you’re on a planet called Earth. How you got here is beyond my full explanation. All I can say is that you came through a portal that was forming in the sky. You all fell on the ground and I took you inside my house after-” I stop myself. Should I really tell these ponies about what happened outside? Hell, should I even tell them that they are fictional characters based on a T.V. show?
‘Later... Right now is not the time.’ I thought. I slowly rose from the couch, backing away so that they can see me. Pinkie still had her mane down, Rarity seemed calm but was still scared, Twilight left her hiding spot and walked in front of Applejack, Rainbow Dash still continued to hover, glaring at me, and Fluttershy still hid behind her mane. “So,” I began, “what are your names?”
Silence.
They still didn’t trust me. I guess I have to take some drastic measures. I gulped, and slowly made my way towards Rainbow Dash. She glared at me as I walked up to her, her magenta eyes staring into mine.
“Back off, you...you freak!!” Her voice cracked. Gotta admit, that was some cute shit right there. I took a deep breath and took of my glasses. I pointed a finger towards my face.
“Hit me.”
Everypony in the room gasped. Even Pinkie’s eyes widened at what I had just said. Rainbow Dash had a look of shock and confusion. I placed my glasses in my pocket, still pointing at my face.
“Hit me.”
“W-What?!” Rainbow’s voice cracked. I only smiled at her.
“I said hit me.” Though I was half blind, I could still see the cartoonish mare’s face grow slightly paler.
“Why?” She asked, trying to keep up the tough girl act. I smiled back at her. Out side, I was cool, but inside, I was freaking out. ‘I was talking to the real, fucking Rainbow Dash!’
“Because, you think I’m a threat, right?” I said. The mare didn’t say anything, nor did she shake her head. “Well, I want you to hit me in the face with your hoof. If I don’t hit back, that means I’m not a threat...But if I do, you can hurt me as much as you want.”
With that, I stopped talking and closed my eyes. I could hear Rainbow Dash mumbling.
“Well, you asked for it!” She said. I could take a punch, but a hoof to the face? We’ll just have to wait and-
“Now, Applejack!”
‘Wait, what?’ I quickly shot open my eyes and looked down. There, Applejack was turned around, her hind legs lifted into the air. She had a large grin on her face, as did Rainbow Dash.
“Son of a-”
THWACK!
THUMP!
No words can express the pain that just shot through my children. I brought both hands to my injured area, groaning.
“I...said...the face...not...the...” I couldn’t finish the last word, the pain was just too unbearable to handle. I wanted to cry, but I didn’t want to show these ponies my manly tears. Then I hear Applejack talk.
“What’s wrong with ya? All ah did was give ya a light buck.” She said, standing over me. I looked up at the farm pony, glaring at her. The thing is, she actually looked confused.
“You...hit my...my...ugh.”
The pain was just too much. I closed my eyes, letting the pain cover me in darkness.
________
Applejack stared down at the unconscious ‘hue-man’. Did she really buck him that hard? She stood over the giant beast, poking his chest with her orange hoof. She looked over at her other friends.
“Ah didn’t hit him that hard, did ah?” She asked. Rainbow Dash landed next to her orange friend, rolling her eyes.
“I don’t know, all I know is that he tried to attack us!” She said. She glared at the light brown freak on the floor. “You saw how tall it was, he could have eaten us!”
Applejack frowned at the large varmen. “Ah don’t know about that, sugarcube. It didn’t seem friendly, but it also said it didn’t want to hurt us.”
Rainbow Dash frowned at her friend. “And how do you know that?” She was all up in Applejack’s grill.
“Honesty.” Applejack said. “Remember, Loyalty?”
Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head with her left foreleg. “Oh yea, my bad.” She smiled sheepishly. “Still, I don’t trust this ‘hue-man’ at all.”
For about about a good 5 minutes, the ponies stood in silence, all staring at the ‘hue-man’
“Grrr...”
All of the ponies looked up to see a growling, brown-white dog staring at them. It walked slowly towards the ‘hue-man’, laying right next to its head. All of the mares backed away, not wanting to cause trouble with the beast.
All except Fluttershy.
“Fluttershy, get away from that thing!” Twilight warned. “It could bite you!”
“Sugarcube, Ah think it would be wise to stay away from that....dog?”
The ‘beast’ they were referring to was, indeed, a dog. His long, bushy tail swept the floor with every possessive movement. The dog’s eyes stared at all of the mares, including Fluttershy. She walks up to the unconscious ‘hue-man’, earning a small growl from the dog. But instead of the ‘hue-man’, she turns to her left and walks up to the dog.
Curious, the dog lifts up his head, looking up at Fluttershy. The timid mare smiles at the dog, stretching her hoof to pet it.
At first, the dog tensed, ready to strike when provoked. But as soon as he felt Fluttershy’s soft, buttery hoof, he began to relax. His tail was swishing back and forth, letting the other mares know that he was OK with it.
“Oh you poor thing, you look like you’ve been through a lot of stress lately...” Fluttershy said. The dog nodded in response, understanding what the yellow pony was saying. Fluttershy then proceeded to rub the dog's belly, flipping him over playfully in the process.
The dog started kicking the air, enjoying the belly rub Fluttershy was performing.
“Well, it does seem like it poses no threat.” Twilight said.
Applejack nodded her head. “Yea, reminds me of Wionna, that happy dog.” She smiled as she remembered the thought of her playful dog, running through the apple orchards with her little sister, Applebloom.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.”Whatever, it’s no Tank I’ll tell you that.” She then hovered over Fluttershy and the dog. “Still, he does look like a pretty cool pet.”
Rarity only smiled. “Though I am much of a cat pony, this canine does seem to be fun to play with.” She then focused her attention on the light brown ‘hue-man’ on the floor. She shakes her head.
‘This dog’s fur should be combed properly. Why does this bigger creature not groom his pet?’ She thought.
Pinkie slowly walked up to the human as well. “Well, he didn’t sound like he was going to hurt us...Should we trust him?” Though Pinkie Pie was still slightly upset, her mane slowly began to frizz up again, but not all at once. Just little strands of her mane. Pinkie’s eyes were still red from silently sobbing, though nopony, not even this ‘hue-man’ noticed.
Twilight Sparkle shook her head.” I don’t think so Pinkie, he has little drops of blood on his face, and all over that, weird, white blanky thingie over there.” She was pointing at the hoodie the ‘hue-man’ wore. “Plus, look at the dogs back. It’s covered with blood as well!”
Hearing Twilight’s sudden outburst, Fluttershy flipped over Nino’s back. “Oh...my...”
The dog has blood on his back as well, but at further inspection, Fluttershy saw no source of cuts, gashes or even scratches on the dogs fur. Curious, she walked up to the ‘hue-man’s face, and began examining him.
He had little splotches of blood on his cheeks, along with red colored ‘fingers’ as he said. She looked down at the creatures lower body, noticing his pant’s were also bloody, but ripped as well.
Like he was trying to run away from something.
“Girls..” Every pony turned their heads towards Fluttershy, who had a little bit of a serious expression.”I don’t think he wanted to hurt anypony. Just look.” She points to the ripped pants.”I think he was just trying to run away from something...”
“But from what?” Twilight asks. Then all 6 mares hear a faint groan and a small thud. They turn their attention towards the door, but heard nothing else.
Shrugging, Rainbow Dash spoke up. “So what now? Do we trust him, or do we be careful around him?” All other 5 heads were thinking of the right answer.
“I say, for the time being, that we should be cautious around him.” Twilight said. “Who knows what this thing could do..”
5 other heads nodded in agreement. Again, Twilight spoke up.”For now, let’s stay in this place until we can get some straight and forward answers from him.”
Fluttershy flew up and grabbed the big, white hoodie and covered the ‘hue-man’ with it, making sure that he would not be cold. The dog laid next to it’s owner, slowly drifting into a small slumber.
“In the meantime, let’s look around this feller’s place.” Applejack suggested. “It’s pretty big, could house us all Ah suppose.”
Rainbow however, was already lying down on the couch, snoring.
Pinkie’s mane grew slightly more frizzy. “I guess this place isn’t so bad, at least we got each other, right girls?”
All the other mares nodded, soon breaking apart to roam around the house.