I crouched down and retrieved my harmonica before diverting my attention to the stallion addressing me.
“What are you?” After brushing off my trusty instrument I deposited it within my pocket and turned to face this stallion. Upon doing so I noticed he was covered in scars; the cause of which looked as though they might have been burns. I also realized I hadn’t answered his question.
“I suppose you’ve never seen a human before? Its fair enough I suppose, as I hear humans are not a common sight in Equestria... Oh and my name is Daniel.” The stallion then looked me over before speaking.
“You’re far from the strangest thing I’ve ever seen… What are you doing out here anyway?” Before answering I examined him once more. He had a burgundy mane and tail which were a bit scraggly looking but somehow seemed to fit him just fine. He also was adorned with a scarf… or the charred remains of one rather, said scarf was covering his neck and acting like a makeshift hood.
“I needed time to think. You?” Think… I’ve done quite little thinking since I’ve been here.
“Couldn’t sleep and I needed to clear my head.” This stallion then sat on his haunches, but kept his distance from me.
“I had my fill of sleeping; near 18 hours worth. I doubt I could fall asleep if I tried.” I lie back against a tree stump and retrieve the handgun from my pocket. It’s been nearly a week since I last cleaned it…
“What is that thing?” I turned to him to see his head cocked, much like the others before him.
“It’s my colt,” Upon saying that I confused the thing even more. “Or rather my M1911, it is a handgun.”
“Oh… What is a ‘handgun’?” I forgot Equestria hasn’t developed firearms…
“Imagine… a small bit of metal that goes the speed of an arrow tenfold. This device, known as a handgun, fires said small bit,” I released the magazine from the death dealer and presented it to him. “It can hold up to 7 of them in this thing here called a magazine, or clip if you’re feeling a bit politically incorrect. Each one of these small metal bits is called a bullet; they vary in effectiveness from power and quality, but each one will usually kill you dead.” After finishing the statement I began to disassemble the M1911 for cleaning.
“What is it you’re doing now?” He’s awfully curious…
“Cleaning it; if left unchecked it can suffer irreparable damage… Who are you anyway? I mean here I was lecturing you about firearms and their respective maintenance and I don’t even know your name…”
“It’s Lathyrus.”
“So do you live in Ponyville or are you just visiting?”
“I guess you could say I’m visiting…” You and me both…
“Hey do you know what happened to the town? It seems like there was a fire recently...”
“Sorry… I just got here.”
“I guess you wouldn’t know what happened to that farm then either?”
“No.”
“Oh well I’m sure I’ll find out eventually… Hey can you hold this for one moment?” He gave me a dead pan look before lifting his hooves.
“Actually I think I can get it…”
------------------------------------->: ~~Back at Fluttershy’s~~ :<--------------------------------
I climbed out of my whicker prison and continued down the stairs of the kind one’s lair. As I made my way to the containers wherein sustenance was kept I noticed a lack of the bipedal monstrosity. I shrugged off the concern and had hope that it would run off for whence it came.
I scaled the wooden crag which held the relief for my gullet. In doing so I failed to recall the foul beast that guarded the treasures within. It had a coat stricken sanguine from the obvious amounts of prey to fall before, as well as eyes that pierced the night. Its howl was the nightmare of my kin; haunting my kind for generations. As I stared into the abyssal glare of the brutish creature I could see the blaze within, filled with animosity and hunger.
I grabbed my trusty bludgeon and charged at the monster…
------------------------------------->: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ :<--------------------------------
CRANG
“MEEP!” I bolted upright in my bed to the cacophony of crashing pots and shattering plates. Among the dissonance I could make out the whining of a kit. I darted out the door and down the stairs to find out what was happening. As I rounded the corner I found Angel chasing the fox kit with the same soup ladle he used to beat Danny.
“Angel! Stop that this instant!” The command fell on deaf ears as Angel continued his pursuit of the cub.
“Angel!” My voice was lost in the surrounding ruckus once more. Angel had somehow launched himself onto the muzzle of the kit and was, amazingly, keeping his balance while he looked the poor thing dead in its eye.
“ANGEL!”
At that moment, it seemed as though all of Equis stood still. The situation that was developing between the kit and one detestable bunny was quickly extinguished. Angel and the kit shared a quick glance before turning back to the usually meek pegasus.
“I’m sorry Angel, but you have to be nice to our new friend… Chasing him with a ladle is no way to act. Thankfully you didn’t wake Danny… wait… Where is Danny?”
------------------------------------->: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ :<--------------------------------
The moon’s presence began to falter as its height reduced; signaling the approaching dawn. I sat there conversing with Lathyrus for most of the night; discussing topics ranging from societal norms, where I was from, what I did, even what Earth was like... all of which I could barely recall. It was a fruitful conversation, as I learned more from him then that book ‘How Equestria Was Made’. If I ever meet that ‘Pinkie Pie’ character I’m going to have to have a word with her about staying on topic and title choice.
“So Equestria is ruled with a totalitarian-monarchal leadership?”
“In short… yes. While the government itself is tolerable; the two leading it are so far upon their pedestal they oversight many of the problems throughout the country. The self-righteous harlots... They're no better than the abominations that they derive from."
“Interesting…” before we could continue the discussion there was a soft-spoken yet audible voice coming from afar.
“Danny…” Is that Fluttershy?
“Did you hear that?” Lathyrus asked as he scanned the immediate area for the source.
“That would be the one who nursed the wound to my head. I sort of snuck out while she was asleep.” Right after the end of my statement Fluttershy took notice of me and began to gallop towards me. Also I could make out a faint statement come from somewhere else... it sounded like it said 'damnable pegasi'.
“Danny! There you are… Don’t you ever run-off like that again! I was so worried…” She trailed off as she looked around. “What were you doing out here all alone?” What?
I looked around for Lathyrus but it seemed as though he had vanished into thin air.
“I needed some fresh air and time to think. Sorry for not leaving a note.”
“Well as long as you’re sorry. Um… I think we should head back home… if you’re okay with it that is…”
“Alright then, lead the way.”
As we began to make our way back to the familiar cottage I glanced back to the hill top.
Was he real?