With a massive roar, Hulk came crashing to the forest floor, once again scaring away all of the woodland creatures that lived there. He snarled and took off in a full sprint, tearing through trees and rocks, not caring what got in his way. He ran for a long time, never stopping until he was certain that he was far enough away from the town with those accursed ponies. Only when he thought that he was safe did he stop running and started to walk. He was in a wasteland now, with no trees and a cloudy sky over him. Hulk looked around with a sigh before marching on.
"Stupid ponies want to hurt Hulk, why can't they leave Hulk alone?" he muttered to himself, clenching his fists at the thought of how they attacked him.
'Because you destroyed their home,' Banner's voice echoed throughout his mind. 'And tore apart their city. And attacked their princess. And--'
"Puny man be quiet or Hulk smash you!" Hulk growled, turnung around and looking for Banner. When he couldn't find him, he snarled and continued to walk through the wasteland. Hulk didn't care that he had to fight the ponies, because Hulk knew that the ponies would try to hurt him in the end. Everyone else had done it, why would they be any different?
'You should give them a chance Hulk,' Banner said again, causing Hulk to growl. 'They are different than the people of Earth or anywhere else. Maybe here you won't have to be hurt or hunted.'
"That's what Banner always says about new place, but Hulk always will be hunted," Hulk said with a sneer. "Avengers, Hulk's planet, it not matter where Hulk go."
'But this place IS different! Hulk, these ponies are so much different than humans it's incredible. Their concern isn't war or domination. It's to help others and try to live their lives the best they can. If you gave them a chance maybe you could--'
"Puny man be quiet!" Hulk roared, slamming his fist into the ground. A massive shockwave formed from the impact and shook the land, also silencing Banner in the process. Hulk panted as he looked up, growling to himself. He then sighed and stood back up, continuing his walk. That's when he heard the voice.
"HEY!" Hulk growled and turned around to find the pink pony he'd seen earlier standing behind him, fire blazing in her eyes. "Hey there mister meany, why did you attack my home and friends? Why Banner?" Hulk snarled when he heard Banner's name and marched up to her, his nine foot frame completely overshadowing her as he glared down at her. Much to Pinkie's credit though, she never flinched.
"Puny pony should leave Hulk alone, before Hulk smashes puny pony," Hulk growled at her, pointing towards Ponyville.
"And Banner should tell me what he was thinking before I have to use my party cannon on you," Pinkie replied with an evil smile, staring straight into Hulk's eyes. Hulk's fury rose even higher at mention of Banner's name and he let loose a roar that shook the whole continent.
"BANNER NOT HERE RIGHT NOW! PUNY PONY SHOULD JUST GO AWAY!" Hulk roared, grabbing Pinkie and bringing her close to his face so she could see his rage.
"Okie dokie then, can I please talk to Banner? I want to know why he did what he did?" she asked with a smile on her face, not intimidated by the Hulk's rage.
"WHY CAN'T PUNY PONY UNDERSTAND!? BANNER NO HERE!" Hulk roared, tightening his grip on Pinkie and making her squeak in the process.
'Hulk, put her down and let me out,' Banner said softly, trying to calm the Hulk. 'She just want's to talk to me, there's no need to do this.' Hulk snarled, but then dropped the pony onto the ground. Pinkie sprang back up immediately and went right back to questions.
"Well, you certainly seem angry. But that's okay because everypony gets angry sometimes," Pinkie said with a grin. Hulk didn't know what he hated more, her smile or her cheerful manner. He turned to leave, tired of dealing with her, but she ran around in front of him and frowned.
"Oh no, you're not getting off that easily. I still need to talk to you about how sad you made everypony." Hulk's already thin patience was at its limit, and he was tired of hearing this pony talk. "So why are you so angry? Did you wake up on the wrong side of bed? That's happened to me before and I didn't like it either. Or maybe you--" She was cut off when Hulk grabbed her by the throat, but because his hand was so big that meant he grabbed about eighty percent of her.
"Puny pony be quiet," he whispered. Banner was immediately afraid. The only time Hulk ever whispered was when he was really annoyed. He prayed for Pinkie's sake that she kept her mouth shut. He didn't really know her that well.
"Maybe you need a nap? Maybe mommy and daddy could--" Hulk roared in fury and swung his arm that was holding Pinkie back, aiming for a lake that he spotted in the distance. He then threw her and watched as she went sailing off towards the lake. He smirked once she was out of view and turned around to continue his walk.
"GRAH!" he roared in shock as he jumped back. Much to his (and Banner's) surprise, Pinkie was standing right in front of Hulk, a smile on her face.
"That was fun! Can I do it again?" she asked with a pleading grin. Hulk looked at her in confusion. How in the world did she manage to get back here so fast? "Oh right, I'm here to scold you. That was not very nice, what you did, and I want you to go back to Ponyville and apologize," she said, giving him a stern glare. Hulk sneered and pushed past her.
"HEY! Don't ignore me. Why are you so anrgy?" she asked, jumping up on his shoulder. Hulk snarled and slammed his hand into his shoulder. He smiled and looked over...to find that Pinkie was gone once again. He looked around for her and found that she had somehow gotten herself on his leg.
"Is it because of Gilda? I know that she can be annoying, but that's no reason to crush her," she said. Hulk growled and slammed his fist into his leg, but once again Pinkie had vanished.
"Or was it that Celestia attacked you? She didn't mean it, she just thought you were a threat," Pinkie said cheerfully from on his back. Hulk roared and reached over with both hands, only to grab empty air.
"Twilight was really upset about what you did. Can't you at least apologize to her?" Hulk roared in rage and slammed both fists into the ground, blasting apart the ground at his feet and sending a storm of dust and debris all around him. Once the storm had died down, Hulk stood up with a grin on his face, knowing that there was no way that Pinkie could still be near him after that.
'You didn't have to do that Hulk, there must have been another way,' Banner said with a sigh, sad that Pinkie had to go like that. She wasn't a bad pony.
"Now Hulk can have quiet," Hulk said with a sigh of relief. He started to walk forward...until he felt a weight on his head.
"That was a close one! You really are stronger than you look and you looked really strong to begin with." Hulk looked up to find that Pinkie was now standing on his head, looking down at him with a smile. While Hulk looked up in disbelief, Banner started laughing to himself.
'It seems that she's more than a match for you, Hulk,' Banner said with a chuckle. Hulk growled at him and shook himself. Pinkie jumped off his head and landed in the crater in front of him.
"Why you no leave Hulk alone?" Hulk asked her.
"Because I'm Banner's friend. If you're always this mean, how do your friends stand you?" Pinkie asked with a shake of her head.
"Hulk no have friends! Hulk no want friends! All Hulk wants is to be LEFT ALONE!" Hulk then launched himself into the air and sailed off into the distance, launching himself again as soon as he touched down. Pinkie watched him go with a sad look on her face, realizing why he was so angry.
"Hulk doesn't have any friends?" she whispered to herself. Her face then set like flint and she took off after the Hulk, Pinkie promising herself that she'd help him make a friend, whether he wanted one or not.
-------=-=------
In a quiet meadow far away from any known pony civilization sat one Dr. Banner. He was looking down at a cold stream that was teeming with fish, surrounded by birds that had grown curious as to who he was. He hadn't moved in a few hours and the animals had grown used to his presence. The reason he had not moved in so long was because he was trying to go through Hulk's memories of what happened in Ponyville.
'I did it again,' Banner thought to himself. 'I let my anger get the best of me...and so many suffered because of it. Why did I bother staying when I knew that this was going to happen? Why do I always do this?' Banner continued to stare at the stream, watching all the animals and fish pass by him. The Hulk's voice had receeded and he knew that the giant was sleeping, but he would eventually re-awaken. But this time Banner planned to be as far away as possible from any intelligent life. He stood up slowly so as not to disturb the birds or animals and slowly began to walk, using one hand to hold up his pants. He had only made it ten feet when a voice called out to him.
"Dr. Banner!" Banner turned his head to see Twilight come flying down and land behind him. "Thank Celestia you're alright! After what happened in town, I didn't know if--"
"Why did you look for me?" he asked coldly.
"Because I was worried. We were all worried," Twilight said, pointing towards a balloon filled with the other Elements of Harmony that landed behind her. The ponies all jumped out and ran over to him, each of them visibly relieved that he was alright. "We didn't know what would happen to you after...the Hulk emerged."
"You should have just left me alone," he said quietly, starting to walk away. "You'll be safer if you do." Pinkie huffed and ran in front of him, staring into his eyes.
"No, we're your friends! And friends never abandon each other, no matter what!" she said with certainty. Banner observed her smile and determination with no emotion, walking by her without looking down. Twilight watched him leave, knowing that she had to say something to change his mind.
"Dr. Banner...we know that you're only trying to keep us safe by leaving, but you need to understand that--"
"No, you need to understand," Banner snapped, cutting Twilight off and causing the ponies to look at him with alarm. He realized that he had snapped and closed his eyes, calming himself down. "You need to understand how lucky you were that the Hulk had no interest in any of you. The fact that only your homes were destroyed was a miracle in and of itself. Next time, you will not be so lucky. That is why I need to go...before it happens again."
"But we can help you," Fluttershy added, looking to the others for support. "We can help you to keep the Hulk at bay. I know many ways to help hold your anger back." Banner looked at her and shook his head.
"I have tried every trick known to man and all of them have failed. He can't be cured, he can't be stopped. The only way to ensure that others remain safe is for me to be alone," he said in a sad whisper, looking ahead and walking away.
"But we can help ya, just like ya helped mah granny," Applejack pleaded, but Banner just continued to walk.
"Applejack's right, we may not have the technology of your home, but we have magic that humans could only dream of!" Twilight added, trying to give him hope. "I'm sure that one of our spells could help you." Banner came to a stop and slightly turned his head, so that they could see his weary eyes.
"I gave up on being helped or cured a long time agao," he said in a beaten tone. "All I want now is to be left alone. I thank you for what you've done for me and I'm sorry for what I did to your home. I wish you well." Banner started to walk away, but a new pony was now standing in front of him. "Celestia."
"I mistook you, Banner," the princess began, looking at Banner with a curious look. "I thought of you as much stronger willed then you actually are."
"When you live your life with a monster inside of you, then you'll see how hard it is to stay strong," Banner muttered, trying to walk past her, but Celestia held out a wing to stop him. "Was...was any one hurt during my rampage?" he asked fearfully.
"Well, Lyra will be in the hospital for weeks and I myself am lucky to be alive, but my sister managed to keep most the ponies safe from the shadows," Celestia said softly as she looked at all her bruises, causing Banner to drop his face in his hands.
"I shouldn't have been there. I always do this. I hurt them all again."
"You may have given up on yourself, Banner, but these ponies have not. They are still willing to help you." Banner looked back at the ponies, each of whom was nodding at what Celestia said and each agreed that they would help.
"If you try to help me, the Hulk will return," he told them. "And he will destroy Ponyville again. Is that a risk you want to take?"
"I'll be honest, Ponyville gets destroyed every few months," Twilight said with a smile. "But no matter how many times it goes down or what trials we face while it's being destroyed, we always stay friends and help each other. And we're willing to help you as well. Please, you've already done so much for us, let us do something for you."
"I don't want help, I want to be alone," he replied, knowing how this would end if he agreed. "I'm just a monster."
"And yet you were still willing to help even though you are a...monster," Celestia reminded him with a smile. "You are always ready to give others a second chance, yet hesitant to take one yourself. You have given them so much in such a short time, now let them give you something in return." Banner looked back at the ponies, each of whom knew about the monster inside of him, the monster that had destroyed their homes. But unlike all the other times that he had 'Hulked-out,' there was no fear or uncertainty in their eyes. Only the desire to help him.
"You gave me a new understanding of the world," Twilight said with a smile, reminding him of their study session.
"You gave me a new friend," Pinkie said with a grin. "And I love having friends."
"You gave me a chance to create for an alien," Rarity said with a grin. "No other fashion designer can say that."
"You helped me when Susie went crazy and attacked me," Fluttershy said with a sad smile. "You gave me an act of kindness.
"You showed me how to use my brain," RD said with a grin. "I'm still working on applying it, though."
"And yah gave me back mah granny," AJ said with tears brimming in her eyes. "And ah can never thank ya enough for it."
"So, that's quite a lot of good done from one who is supposedly a monster," Celestia said with a sly smile. "What do you say now, Dr. Banner? It seems that these ponies need you more than you knew." Banner looked at these ponies, not realizing that he had such an effect on them. He knew that he should leave, that running was the only way to keep them safe. But he had been running for so long, running so that the Hulk wouldn't destroy or be weaponized. These ponies didn't want the Hulk to weaponize him, they wanted Banner so that they could help him. Maybe...maybe they could.
"And it doesn't matter if you've given up, because we'll never give up on you," Twilight told him with determination.
"You truly think you can cure me?" he asked with emptiness.
"Yes. I will find a way."
Banner looked at them with doubt, knowing that the Hulk could never be cured. But...what if they could?
"I'll give you three days. No more," he said. The ponies cried out with joy and all of them tackled him to the ground. While they celebrated, Celestia was going through her game plan. She knew that Banner was a trustworthy individual, but the Hulk could not be trusted. She planned to tell Luna to keep an eye on him when they got back to Ponyville. So the ponies and Banner each got into the balloon and headed back home, ready for what the new day would bring.