//------------------------------// // 4 // Story: New Friendships (My First Fanfic) // by Blazer //------------------------------// As soon as I closed my eyes, I fell asleep. I also woke up in the next second, which slightly annoyed me. When am I ever going to sleep?? I thought. However, I was hesitant to open my eyes when I started hearing voices. “Hey, he moved! He must be awake!” “Oh, calm down, sugarcube, I’m sure he’s just dreaming.” “I really wish I could catch up on my beauty sleep, but he just HAD to take the sleeper car!” “Girls, keep it down. We don’t want to wake him.” “I wouldn’t worry about that; he did sleep through all of the times we moved him. You even bumped his head on the table, remember??” “Haha, Fluttershy, you’re such a klutz!” No way… It couldn’t be. I kept my eyes extremely narrow, peering out through the small slits. Unfortunately, they noticed. “Hey, he’s waking up!” “Oh, boy, I wanna be here for this!” Knowing there was no point in faking anymore, I sat up, rubbing the sleepiness from my eyes. They all fell silent, watching me closely. I looked around at the familiar faces, starting with Twilight and Spike, and ending with Rainbow Dash. Grinning sheepishly, I decided to break the ice. “Uh, so, hey guys? What’s up?” I said as casually as possible. “What’s up? That’s all you gotta say??” Rainbow Dash asked, a hint of hostility in her voice. I backed off. “Whoa, chill. I have no beef with any of you…” Twilight stepped in front of me. “That’s right. We’re not here to scare him into running again. She glared at Rainbow Dash, who huffed, flipping her bangs off of her face. She turned back to face me, smiling. “Sorry about the rough intro, I’m Twilight Sparkle.” I nodded. “Yeah, I know your names.” I pointed at them from left to right. “Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Spike and Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “How the heck do you know our names??” I hesitated, the true reason on the tip of my tongue. I didn’t want to explain how I knew their names, as they probably would deem me crazy if I told them about their TV show. I remained silent, shrugging helplessly. Applejack shook it off. “Whatever; maybe he heard us at the emergency meeting. He did fall down later.” I was suddenly intrigued. “Wait, I really did fall??” Twilight stepped in front of Applejack. “Yes, you did. But before we go off into more tangents, tell us about yourself, since you already know about us.” I stepped off of the bed, facing the viewing gallery. Clearing my throat, I stood tall, using my thespian skills to draw out a loud and clear voice. “My name is Keith. I’m 17 years old, and I’m a senior in high school. Nice to meet you all.” Pinkie Pie appeared out of nowhere. “You’re a senior?? But you’re only 17!!” Rainbow Dash turned away. “I think you’re not telling us something.” She stated flatly. I shrugged. “What else would you like to know? I’ll answer anything.” Rainbow Dash turned dramatically. “Are you a spy? A double-agent? An advocate for evil? An antagonist?? A villain?!” She asked, almost interrogating me. I was flabbergasted by the questions, stammering a little before answering. “W-what?? No! I’m just an average guy—er, colt!” The train slowed noticeably, and the conductor popped his head into the car. “We’ll be arriving at Appaloosa in a few minutes! Don’t forget to—” He cut himself off when he saw me, his eyes widening slightly. “U-uh, gotta run!” He said quickly, slamming the door behind him. I looked at the door, a confused look on my face. “What’s up with him?” Twilight sighed. “You’re just a little strange to most ponies; everyone knows that you’re not from this area, and even doubt you’re from Equestria at all.” “They’re right about that…” I mumbled under my breath. Rainbow Dash was in my face in the next instant. “What was that??” She asked, a scowl on her face. I bumped into the bed out of surprise. “N-nothing! Just saying they’re way off!” I said. The train slowed to a gentle stop. The conductor’s voice came over the intercom. “We’ve arrived in Appaloosa!! Don’t forget your bags, and have a nice day, everypony!!” The mic clicked off. Twilight nodded toward the door. “Cmon, let’s get you up to speed.” Before she left, however, she pulled something out of a daypack she was carrying. It was my Element hat. She tossed it to me carefully. “You left this at the castle. It’s a nice hat; you should take better care of it.” And with that, she trotted out the open door, hopping out onto the platform. Everypony followed suit, except for Rainbow Dash. She eyed me carefully, then began to leave. She couldn’t resist a parting shot, however. “I’m watching you.” She said quietly, then left. I sighed loudly. “I’m already in over my head… And I wasn’t going to get involved.” I followed the ponies out into the blistering heat. I squinted in the bright sunlight, my eyes roving across the town. Appaloosa was just the way I remembered in the cartoon: Just like an old western movie, but a lot more cheery. However, most of the townsfolk looked like they were packing up and leaving. Many actually began boarding the train that we had just gotten off of. I caught up to the girls who were talking with Braeburn and Sheriff Silverstar. “Why is everypony moving off, Cuz?” Applejack asked. Braeburn sighed. “Things really haven’t been that peaceful while we waited for you. That dragon’s been burning up our orchards and scorching up the Chief’s ancestral pastoral grounds. Food’s been hard to come by, and we’ve been depending on the residents’ private orchards. The Buffalo are having an even tougher time, as they don’t have any orchards to keep their people fed. We’re really stretching our stores thin, and—” “But there’s gotta be something we can do!” Twilight interjected. I coughed politely. “Well, the best thing to do would be—” Applejack butted in. “Hey, hold on, sugarcube. This is official family business.” I looked down, embarrassed. “Oh, uh… sorry. I just thought—” “Don’t worry, we could take all of the suggestions we can get right about now.” Braeburn said comfortingly, ignoring Applejack’s irritated look. I looked at Twilight hopefully, who returned the look expectantly. “Well, let’s hear what you have to say, Keith.” I thanked her silently, turning to Braeburn and the Sheriff. “Well, have you guys started rationing food yet?” Silverstar nodded. “We’ve given everypony a bucket of apples every week, but at this rate, we’re not going to last much longer. We’ve even forced most of the original townsfolk out, since they’d rather move back towards Canterlot, near the comfort of the Princess’s castle.” I thought for a second. “Have you tried importing goods from anywhere else? I know it’ll be expensive, but it’s only temporary.” Sheriff Silverstar shook his head. “Unfortunately, we don’t really have anything to trade, or anyone to really trade with. The only other folks around here that are willin’ to trade are the Buffalo, and we’re both in the same situation.” “Well, anything you guys have excess of? Any excessive amounts of clothing or commodities?” I asked. The Sheriff thought for a second, a grin brightening his face. “I think I might have an idea.” ~~~ Twilight tightened the daypack around her back, carefully closing the leather straps. “Well, I think we’re ready to head out. We’ve got to get this dragon away from here before we can really do anything for the town.” Rarity sighed. “Another long walk to give me sore hooves. I’m looking forward to a nice hot bath after this…” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. We haven’t even started walkin’ yet! Quit yer yappin!” Twilight noticed Rainbow Dash was still watching Keith closely. She hovered a little ways off of the ground, trying to listen in on the conversation between the three bronies. Twilight trotted up to her, clearing her throat. “That dragon isn’t going to move himself. We’ll need your guts, Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow Dash looked back distractedly. “What? Oh, yeah. Be right there.” Twilight looked between Rainbow Dash and Keith, the fact that she still doubted his trustworthiness very obvious. She approached Rainbow Dash, pulling her tail so she slowly came to a resting position on the ground. “You need to quit worrying about him. If the Sheriff and Braeburn don’t have any trouble talking to him, I’m sure he’s nice enough to be a good guy.” Twilight said, attempting to comfort the stressed Pegasus. “Don’t blame me when he turns around and ditches us in the future.” Rainbow Dash stated. Twilight became confused. “What? Why would—” Rainbow Dash whirled on the unicorn. “Why do you think he avoided us initially? Why do you think he was so careful not to reveal his presence, and yet he’s suddenly buddy-buddy with us? He’s hiding something. I know it!” Twilight was shocked. “Rainbow Dash, you can’t judge him that way! Just because he’s a foreigner, you can’t doubt his motives. Plus, you barely know him, so you’re just going to have to get along. I know it doesn’t seem fair, but bear with me for now.” Rainbow Dash looked indignant. “I won’t trust him, but I’ll lay low for now. If he shows ANY sign of turning on us, I’ll—” Twilight stopped her with a hoof. “Yes, I’ll always listen to you from then on. But IF that happens.” Rainbow Dash shushed her. “Quick! Here he comes!” ~~~ I trotted back to the girls confidently. “Well, I think that situation’s solved. The Buffalo are going to trade their Turquoise jewelry for some more supplies, while the town’s going to export excess clothing. Although the most they’re going to get is flour, it’ll be enough for the time being.” Twilight was impressed. “Nice job; so the town should be fine, yes?” I nodded. “Braeburn said he and the Sheriff would take care of the rest, and he’d contact the Chief as well, so they’re good for now.” Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash, smiling triumphantly. “Well, what did I tell you??” Rainbow Dash said nothing, except for a quiet “Hmph.” I raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong? She still doesn’t trust me?” Twilight shook her head. “I-it’s nothing. Anyways, we’d better get going. Keith, why don’t you stay here and help Braeburn and—” “He should come with us.” Rainbow Dash blurted out. My eyebrow climbed higher. “You sure? I thought I was too much of a stranger to go with you guys?” ~~~ Twilight pulled Rainbow Dash close, whispering furiously. “Are you crazy?? He’s probably not going to be ready for the danger involved in—” Rainbow Dash shushed her quickly. “We can keep an eye on him; that way we can make sure he’s not doing anything suspicious behind our backs.” She whispered back. Twilight looked down worriedly. “I guess that’s fine, but—” Rainbow Dash smiled back at Keith innocently. “She says its okay. Cmon!” Twilight watched the group trot off towards the source of the smoke. She shook her head. “For our sake, Rainbow Dash, I hope you’re wrong.”