I guess I may have screwed up a little bit this time. Spike went loco when he saw me whack Rarity over the head with a frying pan. I grumbled, dropping the piece of kitchenware on the ground and started pulling out the pins sticking out from my left palm.
“Yob tvaju maty…” I cursed, yanking another one out. At one moment, I had tripped and brought my hand up just in time for Rarity to make a pincushion out of it. She was… handy with that measuring tape, to say the least. She’d wrapped it around my ankles. Nevertheless, I won in the end. Now, I’m almost finished with removing these needles and pins from my arm. Once the last one drops on the cobblestones, I can’t help but examine the rivulets of blood running down my arm. Shit. Kind of hurt, to be fair. And there were no bandages nearby, too. Double shit.
Spike was still wailing in terror at the motionless Rarity. I knelt down in front of the unconscious unicorn and started to check her. Pulse – fine. Breathing – normal. Injuries – none to be found aside from that frying pan-induced lump on her head.
“Uspokoysja, Spike! She’s just unconscious. She could use an ice pack when she wakes up, however. We should get her back to her shop, no?”
“I… Okay.” He sighed relievedly as I lifted the object of his affections in my hands and followed him back to the boutique.
I sighed, trying to not become overly irate at the white unicorn a ways off from me as I plucked another needle out of my arm.
“Rarity, you do that again, and I will wreck you. What is your fucking problem? Stop – chyort! – stop that!”
“Rarity, please, she’s a friend!” Spike piped up from behind his chair.
“She looks horrid! Just look at that fabric and stitches! I must fix that!”
“Then how about you stop trying to bleed me to death by stabbing me with your needles?” That seemed to give her pause and she shook her head furiously.
“O-of course. I-I’m sorry I reacted like that. I just have never seen apparel so atrocious!”
“Well, I don’t care! I come from a place where survival is the only thing that matters. So, do I have your word that you won’t try to kill, maim or rape me?”
“Oh, why would I do such a-“ I looked at her meaningfully and she cringed. “Never mind. Well, anyways… I am Rarity.” She put the measuring tape away and I relaxed some.
“And I am Alyona.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Your friend Twilight sent me over here. Said she was busy today or suchlike and I’m not one to sit around, doing nothing.”
“Hmm. So, about those clothes… Could you perhaps allow me to take your measurements? I can’t stand by and leave you dressed like that.” She… actually had a valid point. My shirt was still torn from where I’d taken a strip of it for Bourbon’s wound. My trousers could use a wash. Truth be told, I smelt a bit badly, too.
“Hmm… Okay. But no funny business.” I stretched my arms out as she lifted the measuring tape in her magic. I still have no idea how that stuff worked, but it seemed harmless enough. As she went to work, we began to chat.
“So, Alyona, how old are you?”
“24 years old.”
“Oh. Where do you come from?”
“Moscow.” Her brow creased in confusion.
“Well, I can’t say I’ve ever heard of such a place. What’s it like over there?”
“Cold. Deadly. Poisonous. Radioactive. Toxic.”
“What?” She gasped in shock, her tools of trade falling on the floor.
“Well, we have some time, so I’ll tell you what I told to Celestia and Twilight. Ladno?”
“W-what’s that mean?”
“It means ‘okay?’”
“Oh. Well, sure, I guess. If it’s okay with you.”
“Hmm. How about we round up the rest of your friends and then I’ll tell my story to you all at once? Easier that way.”
“True enough. Well, once we’re done with this, we could go and introduce you to others. It’s been a rather slow day today for me as well.”
“We're agreed, then.” I answered, waiting as she jotted down a series of numbers on a nearby levitating notebook with a pencil.
“Um, what sort of clothing would you like, Alyona?”
“It should be simple and durable. Something that lasts.” She grinned at that.
“Well, that should be quite the challenge for me, don't you think so? To create something for the everyday occasions, yet make it look stylish at the same time!” She laughed, and I chuckled softly, amused somewhat by her enthusiasm.
“You sure there's no way I can convince you I don't need new clothes?” She gave me a meaningful look and I shrugged. “Okay, okay... No need to get your panties in a bunch.” She frowned at that, but continued working.
She finished a couple of minutes later and then we headed out to meet the rest of her friends, Spike perched atop my shoulders. He was ecstatic of his new vantage point, too. Rarity smiled at the sight.
“You seem like a good sort, Alyona.” I grinned at that.
“Of course I am. Something on your mind?”
“No, merely curious as to where you are from. But I guess we'll find out.”
“That you will.”
“Hmm. We could go to the Sugarcube Corner first. My friend Pinkie Pie works there.
“Oh, Pinkie? I already met her when I left the hospital. She's... odd, but seems really friendly.”
“Ah. Well, that's one way of putting it, true enough. She loves making new friends, though she tends to get a bit overexcited on the occasion.”
“Mhh-mm...” We didn't say much during the remainder of our trip, just some odd snippets we threw each other's way as we walked on.
Sugarcube Corner was just about the strangest place I'd ever seen. And I've seen plenty, trust me. But this place took the cake.
Heh. Cake.
Nevertheless, we strode in, and were greeted by none other than Pinkie Pie.
“Hello and welcome to the Sugarcube Corner! Oh, it's you! Hi, Alyona! Hi, Rarity! Hi, Spike! How're you doing this fine day and what brings you here?”
“Huh. Should've guessed you'd work in a bakery. Well, anyways, I was going to tell my story to you and your friends and I decided it'd be easier if I told you all at once. Are you free at the moment?”
“What a coincidence! I was just going on a break. Count me in! We must advance the storyline!” She replied enthusiastically.
Wait a minute. Play that last bit again.
“Uh, what was that? You mentioned something about… Never mind.” Rarity rubbed her temples before brightening up. “So, are you coming, then?”
“Yippers!” The pink mare announced happily, bouncing up to us and we left the garish bakery. I spoke after a moment.
“So, where to now?” Rarity rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
“We could visit Fluttershy. She’s a kind soul. She runs an animal hospital near the Everfree Forest, but she’s terribly shy, so be tactful, Alyona.”
“I always am.” I grinned and she cringed.
“Oh, this can only go down well.”
To say that Fluttershy’s Cottage was peaceful was selling it short.
It was idyllic. Serene and, uh… tranquil. To a Stalker like me, it seemed like a dream place. Our little group walked up to the gate and Rarity opened it with her magic and we walked up the small path leading to the cottage.
I knocked on the door and waited as I heard a quiet voice from the other side.
“Just a minute…” I heard faint footsteps-no, hoofsteps as they approached the door. A moment later, the door latch clicked and the door opened, presenting us with a pink-maned pegasus with a butter-yellow coat.
“H-hello?” She looked at me and gasped in surprise. “It’s you!” I really had nothing to answer her with, so I simply nodded.
“It’s me. Alyona.” She shrunk and became very small and meek.
“Please don’t hurt me…”
“What?” She muttered again.
“P-please don’t hurt me…”
“I can’t hear you, Fluttershy. Really.”
“Please don’t hurt me.”
“Why would I do that?” My eyebrows migrated to my hairline right there and then. The meek pony in front of me tried to come up with a reason and failed.
“Oh, okay, then…”
“Well, we’re here for a reason. I’m rounding up your friends so I can tell you about me. I already talked to Twilight, but I’d rather not tell the same thing five times over, too.” Fluttershy thought about that for a moment and nodded slowly.
“Well, I’m not doing anything today, so I guess I’m free.” She gasped in surprise. “Wait! What about your friend? Is he alright?”
“Da. He’s in hospital.”
“Oh, okay. That’s a weight off my shoulders. I wanted to help him when I noticed you both all those days ago, but I was so scared…”
“It’s nothing. Well, then – let’s go. Whom do we have to find now?” Fluttershy looked at the group for a couple of moments before answering.
“Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Applejack lives very close, too. Sweet Apple Acres are just around the corner, so to speak.” I chuckled at that.
“Lead the way.” She nodded and off we went.
“So… what are apples?” I asked Rarity and her eyes widened in surprise.
“You’ve never eaten any?”
“Da. The surface is a very hostile place. We don’t grow much in the way of fruits and vegetables – just the necessities, like potatoes and suchlike.” The widespread farmstead slowly grew bigger in our sight as we walked down the beaten path leading up to it.
“Looks like a nice place, alright.” As we kept going, I kept noticing that they all kept glancing hesitantly at my holstered revolver. A while later, I sighed irately.
“I am not going to shoot anyone, guys. I’m not stupid.” To prove my point, I pulled the gun out of my holster, popped the bullets out of it and stuffed them in my pocket.
“There. Better now?” I got several nods in response. “Okay, then. Let’s keep going.” That’s when Rarity cried out in shock.
“Rainbow Dash, no!”
Who, now?
I whirled around, just as a cyan blue blur slammed into me and