Chapter Six
“Day Two, 48 Hours Remaining”
That night, after Pinkie and Twilight had left to go back home and Terra had gone off to bed (taking both dolls with her, though I didn’t really mind. I’d been planning on giving her the Charmander doll anyway), I brought my messenger bag up to my room and put it on the desk. I shut the door and took a seat at the desk to begin taking stock of what exactly I had on me, starting with my basic travel kit (y’know, my pocket items). Once those were given a space on the desk all to themselves, I took stock of… well, my inventory.
I had my Berretta 92FS along with three extra clips, one of which was empty (I only ever bring one full clip with me along with the empty one which means at some point I’d ended up with two extra clips). I checked to make sure the safety was still on, removed the clip from the pistol and replaced it with the empty one, then ejected the bullet I kept in the chamber before opening a desk drawer and putting the gun and its ammo inside.
I removed the box of writing utensils and the two notebooks, the power cables for my iPod and phone (complete with USB adapters for electrical outlets), along with the small bag that held the speaker system I’d bought for my iPod. I left these on the desk and continued rummaging in my bag.
I pulled out the leg holster for my Berretta and set it aside. I pulled out a set of throwing knives, which I don’t usually pack in my bag. I pulled out a long combat knife, the kind used by US Special Forces (it was even the high quality stuff, too), and set it aside as well. I also pulled out my little LED flashlight and a coil of freakin’ rope.
Now I understood what I was dealing with… it was my Standard Adventurer’s Kit, there was even trail mix in there. Whaddaya know.
After my quiet revelation, I pulled out the letter I was supposed to deliver to someone here, though for the life of me I couldn’t remember where I’d gotten it or who’d given it to me. I shrugged and looked at the front, which had a name on it in elegant script.
It said The Doctor.
I gaped at it. How the hell was I supposed to deliver a letter to the freakin’ Doctor?! I face-palmed in preparation for the headache I knew was gonna come.
“How the hell did I get roped into this?” I muttered to myself. I decided to go downstairs to get a glass of water and cool down.
As I was going down the hall past Terra’s room, I decided to crack the door open and check on my companion. She was sleeping soundly in her bed, covered almost completely by her blanket, and she was clutching both dolls to her as she slept.
It was seriously the most adorable thing I’d ever seen.
I just wish she didn’t have to sleep in the clothes she’d been wearing for an unknown amount of time (her cape was actually downstairs hanging from a rack next to the front door along with my hat and hoodie). I decided that first thing in the morning, we were going to Rarity’s to get some sleepwear made. I really hated taking advantage of Rarity’s generosity, but until such time as I could start making money I was kinda stuck.
I closed the door to Terra’s room quietly and proceeded downstairs, through the hallway and into the kitchen. I pulled a pitcher of chilled water out of the fridge and poured some of it into a glass, which I took a deep pull of.
I took my glass into the living room and sat on the couch. I was really tired and I wanted to go to bed, but I had too much on my mind.
What was I gonna do about the situation I was in? It’s not just about Twilight, or the other girls, or even the Princesses. There was Terra who, despite her acceptance of the situation, wasn’t going to be able to return home for a long time. I wondered how she truly felt about all of this. Even though she’s been relatively calm about the whole thing, if I were her, I’d be freaking out big time.
Hell, I very nearly lost it myself earlier today. I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about moving into the home of a guy the girls obviously cared deeply for, especially Twilight. I’m fairly certain she’s not comfortable with me living here, but there’s not a lot that can be done about it.
I placed my hand on my head as I leaned back against the couch. Let’s not forget that I’m probably going to be experiencing some of the events from the show, which is just gonna be fun, fun, fun.
“We are certain it will not be as bad as thou believes.” A regal voice said from beside me.
I open one eye and glance over to my right, to see Princess Luna sitting on the couch next to me, giving me a penetrating stare.
“Oh… Lovely.” I said exasperated “I fell asleep on the couch holding a half-empty glass of water.”
“Well you are very tired, Leon.” She replied, giving me a small smile “Tis to be expected when the stress of one’s day becomes too much to bear, and thou has had a very long day indeed.”
I groaned and looked at her again.
“How long were you waiting for me to fall sleep, Princess?” I asked her, to which she put a hand to her chin in thought.
“Hm, about two or three hours.” She said, and then gave me a warm smile “We checked on your companion whilst we waited, and we are pleased to report that she is sleeping peacefully; Thou needn’t worry about her.”
I breathed a sigh of relief, and gave her a weary smile.
“Thanks. She puts on a strong face, but I know she’s probably scared out of her mind about this whole thing.” I said, looking up at the dream-ceiling.
“Actually…” Luna interjected “She has complete faith in you, and believes you won’t let anything happen to her. We even gave her a small test, in which we had a mental projection of you turn on her, taunting and threatening her.”
I sat up straight and spun on the Princess, but stopped when she held up her hand.
“She was not fooled and stood her ground, firm in the belief that thou would never, in a million years, wish to harm her.” Luna said, her voice filling with pride “We were humbled by her conviction and we let her be, while ensuring she would get a good night’s sleep.”
I stared at Luna, unsure of what to say.
“I… Thank you, Princess. Though I wish you hadn’t felt the need to torment Terra.” I said as my eyes closed in exhaustion “She’s been through so much already, I don’t want her psyche getting anymore scarred than it already is.”
“Terra is stronger than thou believes, Leon.” Luna stated which caused me to look at her quizzically “She admits that while she is afraid, there are people she wishes to protect and that she is going to remain strong for them.” Luna stared hard at me “In much the same way thou desires to protect her, she also wishes to protect you, because she can see how vulnerable thou truly is. If anything, tis thee who hides what thou truly feels.”
“Oh?” I asked her curiously “And what is it that I truly feel?”
“Thou hides a deep darkness within thine soul, and thou are afraid that if you feel doubt for even a second, it shall consume you, and thou knows this.” Luna stated matter-of-factly, and I knew she was right.
I was never happy with my world, for very personal reasons that I did not want to talk about, at least not with Princess Luna. To be truthful… it went further than unhappiness and that’s what scared me. Terra was a comfort to me because she gave me something to focus on, but I feared for when that would no longer be true.
I sat back once more in the dream-couch and put both my hands on my face, giving out a low groan. I felt Luna place her hand on my shoulder and I looked at her. She gave me a hopeful smile.
“Do not fret, Leon, for we are going to be there to help you up should you fall. And by ‘we’ I mean all of us; myself, my sister, the Elements of Harmony and Terra.” She said resolutely “We shall not abandon thee to ruin, so long as we draw breath.”
I gave her a small smile and put my hand on hers, grasping it lightly. After a moment, she stood from the couch and walked over to the door, which she opened before looking back at me.
“I suggest you return to your bed if you hope to sleep well. Do not worry, I shall make sure you are well-rested for the morning.” She said with a small smile, before crossing the threshold and closing the door behind her, the sound of which woke me from my light slumber.
I looked around at the living room, virtually unchanged from when I’d sat down or even when Luna had spoken to me, though I noticed my glass of water had been placed on the coffee table, despite me having no memory of doing so.
I sat in silence for a moment, before draining the last of my water and returning the glass to the kitchen before heading back to my room upstairs. I paused once more by Terra’s room, but decided to continue onward. She didn’t need me worrying about her all the time, and I knew it.
The next morning, after a light breakfast, Terra and I set out to Carousel Boutique. We had to ask for directions at one point from a pretty mare selling roses (I also think she likes me, from the way she was batting her eyelashes), but we found our way easily enough.
Once there, Rarity immediately took Terra aside and began to get her measurements. I made a point of waiting outside the boutique until she was finished, though this proved somewhat unfortunate when the Cutie Mark Crusaders showed up.
Applebloom was wearing a shirt the same color as her bow, with a pair of overalls that looked like they were more for fashion than function (given that she’s about ten, I honestly doubt Applejack makes her do anything that would actually require sturdier material), with a pair of small ranch boots on her hooves.
Scootaloo was wearing… a t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. I’m not gonna go into a terrible amount of detail when the attire was so simple (I’ve been known to wear gray shirts with my jeans before. Does that sound interesting to you? That’s what I thought).
Sweetie Belle was absolutely adorable. Where her sister, Rarity, was the woman men fell over themselves to be with, Sweetie Belle was the girl all the boys had a crush on when they were ten years old. She wore a frilly white dress that went down to just past her knees, with cute little white buckled shoes on her hooves. Her blouse was white with frills on the sleeves and was tied in the back with a bow.
As they approached the boutique talking animatedly amongst themselves, I stood absolutely stock-still, wondering if they would notice me standing next to the freakin’ door if I didn’t move. What’s funny about it is they very nearly did walk into the boutique without so much as wayward glance at me until Applebloom looked up as she passed and stopped to stare at me.
If you want a good example of what I was doing, I’ll give you this: Have you ever seen someone put up a caricature of a cowboy in their yard leaning against a tree or a mailbox or some junk like that? There ya go.
Applebloom and I stared at each other for a moment. She was soon joined by Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, both of whom had walked into the boutique, but came out when their friend hadn’t joined him.
“I don’t think it’s real.” Scootaloo said.
‘Oh, this should be good.’ I thought as I fought back the smirk that was trying to develop on my face. I remained very still even as Applebloom walked up to me and prodded at my gut with her finger.
“Hey, Sweetie Belle, does yer sister always put ‘er fake ponies out like this?” She asked, never once looking away from me.
“Not usually, and she doesn’t dress the ponnequins up unless she’s using them to fill out an order.” Sweetie Belle replied, giving me the most curious look on the whole damn planet. My eyes were starting to burn because I hadn’t blinked or looked away from where I’d first met Applebloom’s eyes and my lungs were beginning to protest the decline in oxygen.
‘Just a bit longer, this’ll be worth it if I can just wait for their attention to go somewhere else.’ As if answering a prayer, Rarity came out and addressed the three fillies in front of me.
“Hello, girls.” She said, smiling at each of them “Have you seen Leon around at all? He left the boutique while I was getting his friend’s measurements and I wished to tell him it was his turn.”
The fillies all looked at Rarity (who hadn’t noticed me either), and none of them were looking at me. ‘Now’s my chance!’
“Ah ain’t seen anypony ‘round here named ‘Leon’, Rarity.” Applebloom replied “All we’ve seen is yer fake pony, here.”
Rarity gave a sigh “Oh well, I do hope he returns soon. I was going to make him a coat to go with his marvelous hat.” Then she frowned “Wait, one of my ponnequins is out here?” At which point I spoke up.
“Nope, though I just happen to be around the corner.” I said, which caused the Cutie Mark Crusaders to scream and leap away from me like I’d pulled a gun on them, though I nearly died of laughter at Scootaloo’s response.
“SWEET CELESTIA, IT’S A SPY!” She screamed, jabbing a finger in my direction.
I roared with laughter at this, but even through all of that I heard a thud behind me. I turned around and saw Rainbow Dash flat on her back, holding her stomach while bursting with laughter, tears streaming down her face.
I also noticed a white unicorn with electric blue hair and purple sunglasses on her face standing against the boutique near Rainbow Dash, also caught in uncontrollable laughter.
I recognized Vinyl Scratch immediately, and felt a little embarrassed (you would too if you met her while wearing her image on your freakin’ shirt. I was really glad I was still wearing the hoodie).
Everyone’s favorite DJ was wearing a dark gray pullover hoodie (mine zips up) with a pair of tight-fitting torn jeans (five words: Oh My God, That Ass) and white sneakers with electric blue laces in them on her hooves. She wore a set of headphones around her neck, the kind that looked very expensive, with the cord disappearing into her hoodie pocket.
“Nothing starts a day off right like a good prank.” I said, giving the athlete and DJ a wide grin, at which both of them got their laughter under control while Rainbow Dash picked herself up off of the ground.
“That was awesome!” Rainbow said, wiping the tears from her eyes “I mean, me and Vinyl were gonna prank ya ourselves, but when we realized what you were planning…” She broke into laughter again as Vinyl walked up to me.
“Sup.” I said, gesturing with my head, which made Vinyl grin broadly at me.
“Sup, brony.” She replied, as we clasped hands, pulled each other in for a hug and patted each other on the back. We ended our greeting with an exploding fist bump.
“Alright, finally another pony that speaks my language!” She exclaimed, slapping me on the shoulder “In case you were wondering-”
“I already know who you are, Vinyl Scratch.” I said as I unzipped my hoodie enough to show her the picture on my shirt… which was her non-anthro form “I just happen to be a fan of yours. Name’s Leon.”
“Aww, that’s wicked awesome!” She replied as she examined my shirt more closely, but then frowned “I think they got my anatomy wrong; they put my hooves on my arms… I’m also naked.” Which caused me to chuckle.
“I can explain it later.” I said as I turned to Rarity “Now, you said it was my turn to get measured, Rarity?”
“Hm? Oh, yes of course. Right this way, if you please.” She said and walked back into the shop. I followed her in, and I in turn was followed by the CMC, Rainbow Dash and Vinyl Scratch.
I saw Terra sitting in a chair nearby and she stood as I walked in, but then she saw the CMC walking in behind me.
Time seemed to freeze, and then Terra gave a loud squeal and rushed over to the three fillies, scooping Sweetie Belle into a fierce hug.
“Ooooh, you three are so adorable!” She exclaimed happily. Sweetie looked uncomfortable while Applebloom and Scootaloo both looked glad that it wasn’t either of them. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and walked past them while Vinyl gave them an amused grin as she passed.
Rarity pointed over to a nearby curtain and said “If you’ll go back there and remove your clothing for me, Leon, so that I may get accurate measurements?”
I blushed, but complied for the most part though I stuck my head back out.
“Is there somewhere else the fillies can go? I’d rather not have them see me in my underbits, if you catch my meaning.” I said, with an embarrassed smile. Rarity gave me a smile and turned to Terra who was now doting on Applebloom, much to the little filly’s displeasure.
“Terra, dear, would you mind taking the girls upstairs to Sweetie’s room? She’ll show you where it is.” Rarity asked, to which Terra looked up, realized what was about to happen and went with the CMC up a nearby staircase.
After a moment, Rarity called out to me “You can come out now, darling, the girls are in the other room.”
‘Okay… moment of truth.’ I thought as I stepped out from behind the curtain in nothing but my underwear. It wasn’t so bad at first, at least until Rainbow Dash gave out a loud wolf whistle, which made me blush furiously.
“Oh my, Leon. I absolutely love your hair; it matches your eyes so perfectly! And you’re in such good shape, as well.” Rarity exclaimed, clapping her hands together and causing me to blush even more than I already was.
Okay. Just so everyone knows, I take very good care of my body. I’m not one of those ripped meat-heads you see advertising toning gyms or muscle building products or crap like that. I have more of a lean build that’s better for running and jumping around things, reason being that I had a… bad encounter when I was younger. I hate being pinned down and I practice techniques that can get me out of people’s grasp. That’s not too say that if I hit someone, they’re barely gonna feel it, I actually have a deceptive kind of strength.
Anyway, so while I’m in good shape, I’m really kind of shy about my physique.
So I stood there, feeling Rarity’s measuring tape flow all around me while she wrote down the measurements on her clipboard and the other two mares looked at me amused. I decided to have a bit of fun with them (not like that, pervs).
“So, ladies.” I said, addressing the two mares sitting around doing absolutely nothing except stare at me “Do you have tickets?”
“What?” Was the unanimous reply, though Rarity gave me a sly wink when her back was turned to the others.
“I said ‘do you have tickets’?” I asked them again, managing to keep an extremely flat expression.
“Tickets?” Rainbow Dash asked me incredulously.
“Yes, tickets.” I said in an exasperated tone, like I was having to repeat myself to the most ignorant pony in Equestria (considering it was Rainbow Dash, I probably wasn’t far off.) “Do you have them?”
I saw Vinyl’s mouth form an “o”, which turned into a wicked grin.
“Tickets to what?” She asked slyly, to which I responded by striking a pose not unlike one Iron Will would use (I hope to Celestia I never meet that guy. It’d be a royal pain in the ass).
“Tickets to the Gun Show!” I exclaimed, flexing my wiry muscles. Rarity giggled like a school girl, Rainbow Dash turned beet-red and Vinyl gave out a loud cheer while throwing a bit at me, which I caught deftly.
“Alright, ladies, show’s over.” I said with a chuckle (I’m never gonna get the image of Rainbow Dash turning red like out of my head. In fact, I’m gonna tell Applejack all about it when I see her later) “Didja get what you needed, Rarity?”
“Yes I did.” She replied with another giggle “And must I say, that was an impressive display you put on.”
“Why, thank you kindly, Rarity.” I said with an embarrassed smile “Though it’s only a onetime thing. The embarrassment might actually kill me next time, and besides, I was mostly giving Dash what she asked for with that wolf whistle.” I gave the cyan pegasus a wink, which caused her to blush again “I wouldn’t have done it if Terra or the little girls had been in the room.”
When I came out from behind the curtain again, Terra and the CMC had come back down, probably because Rarity told them it was okay, though I noticed Rainbow and Vinyl were gone. Terra walked over to me and smiled.
“Did everything go okay?” She asked, to which I nodded.
“All good on my end. What about you? The girls didn’t give you too much trouble, did they?” I asked her. She nodded at me, her smile widening.
“Oh, they were complete angels!” She replied happily “And they’re so cute, too!”
Rarity looked at Terra in surprise while the CMC groaned. At this time, I knelt down so that I was more or less eye level with the fillies.
“I don’t believe we’ve been introduced yet, girls.” I said as I offered my hand to them “My name is Leon, and I assume Terra has already introduced herself. It’s a genuine pleasure to meet all three of you.”
The girls looked at me suspiciously for a moment, before Sweetie Belle smiled and shook my hand lightly.
“I’m Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s little sister!” She said, though she was shoved aside by Applebloom as she took my hand and shook it vigorously.
“An’ Ah’m Applebloom! Ah live down at Sweet Apple Acres with mah big sis, Applejack!” She exclaimed and, in true CMC fashion, she was shoved aside by Scootaloo who gave my hand a stiff shake.
“I’m Scootaloo, President of the Rainbow Dash fan club, and the three of us together are…” and she and the other two fillies took in a deep breath. I immediately plugged my ears and saw Rarity do the same.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS! YAY!”
Mother of pearl, that was loud, even with my ears plugged and judging by the grimace on Rarity’s face, she thought so, too. Terra, however, was covering her ears and hunched over in pain.
Whoops… forgot to warn her about that… my bad. I stood back up and smiled at the three fillies.
“So. What are your plans for the day, girls?” I asked. The three fillies looked at me like I was stupid.
“We’re gonna get our cutie marks today, duh!” Scootaloo stated, as though it were obvious (it was, but I had to ask for the hell of it.) “And we’re having a sleepover tonight at the farm!”
At the mention of the sleepover, Applebloom suddenly looked crestfallen.
“Oh… Ah just remembered… We can’t have it down at the farm this time, Scoots…” She kicked at the ground with her boot “Ah’m sorry, ah completely fergot all ‘bout it…”
Scootaloo face-palmed “Okay, okay. Sweetie Belle, can we have it here?” She asked Rarity’s sister, who shook her head.
“Rarity’s busy filling out several orders, so we can’t have it here.” Sweetie replied sullenly.
“Why not have it at my place?” I offered, and the three fillies looked at me suspiciously.
“Umm… not to offend you or anything…” Sweetie began “But we just met you, we have no idea who you are.”
“Oh, it’s quite alright, he’s a friend of mine along with the rest of the girls.” Rarity said offhandedly.
The three fillies looked thoughtfully at each other, still unsure if they should.
“Girls, I’ve got one whole room that’s not being used, a living room with a huge TV though I have nothing I can play on it, a kitchen with just about any kind of food you can imagine and a dining room with a table that seats ten.” I said, holding up a hand as I listed the features off “You three will have plenty of room to do pretty much whatever you want.”
Ok, I didn’t actually want the CMC running around my house, but at the same time if the others were too busy to put up with them, I could do my part and babysit three hyperactive girls every now and then, especially when I had plenty of room to do so.
Anyway, the fillies were sold on the idea and began chatting excitedly amongst themselves. I told them were they could find my house and they immediately scattered to the four winds to prepare.
Once it was just me, Terra and Rarity, the fashionista spoke to me.
“That was a very generous thing you did, Leon.” Rarity said when the fillies left the room “There are not many ponies that are willing to spend time with those girls.”
“Yeah. I fully expect my house will be burnt to the ground tonight.” I chuckled “Besides, everypony else is busy and I’ve got nothing better going on, so why not?”
“They’re not that bad.” Terra said “They really are such sweet little girls.”
Rarity giggled at Terra’s enthusiasm, but then pursed her lips and considered me for a moment.
“The similarities between you and… him are truly remarkable.” She said thoughtfully “He, too, was always generous and kind, sparing almost no thought for himself. He was a hero in every sense of the word and the best friend any of us had.”
Rarity had stopped what she was doing and her eyes were distant. I felt a chill radiate out from my heart as I realized I was stepping into the shoes of someone the girls had not just respected, but revered. The other guy was a hero of the highest caliber to them and I was just some guy who looked like him.
“Rarity… could you... stop comparing me to him please?”
Rarity and Terra looked at me with concern, the latter putting a hand on my shoulder.
“What’s wrong, Leon?” She asked me worriedly.
“It’s just… every time one of you speaks about him like that, I feel as though I’m stepping on the memory of man more worthy of your friendship than I’ll ever be.” I replied, unable to look either of them in the eyes.
“Oh, darling…” Rarity said, sympathy in her voice “I did not mean to hurt your feelings, and you are most certainly worthy of my friendship; you have been nothing short of a perfect gentlecolt since you arrived in Equestria.”
I looked up at her with a small smile “Thanks, Rarity.”
“It’s quite alright. I always take care of my friends.” She said, but then a thought came to her “There is one comparison I’d like to make if you’re willing to hear me out.”
“And what's that?”
“Pinkie Pie told us about when she first found you two yesterday.” Rarity said with a warm smile “She said you made her laugh more in those few moments than the other Leon had the entire time he was here. She said she liked you better than him.”
I blushed, but gave her a warm smile.
“Thank you, Rarity. I really appreciate that.” I said honestly.
“You are most welcome, Leon.” She replied, but then waved her in a shooing motion “Now, off with you two. You need to go prepare your house for the fillies, or it truly shall be burnt to the ground.”
“Right.” I said as I turned to leave, but stopped and dug around in my messenger bag for a pen and paper, then wrote down my phone number and held it out “Here, this is my number. You’ll probably want to check up on Sweetie Belle later and besides, if we’re going to be friends we’ll need to be able to communicate when needed.”
She smiled as she levitated the piece of paper out of my hand and set it aside on a nearby desk. Terra and I waved goodbye and left the boutique.
The rest of the day passed smoothly and the sun was beginning to set when Rarity came by with Sweetie Belle and two packages, one for me and one for Terra, both containing a set of sleepwear and a spare change of clothes (she gave me a gray t-shirt with Vinyl’s cutie mark embroidered on it on one arm, how cool is that?!).
The sleepover itself passed relatively peaceful, though I had to intervene on some of Scootaloo’s more… extreme ideas. That night, after I’d put the girls to bed and cleaned the place up, I went to my room and changed into a very comfortable set of pajamas with music notes all over it, at which point I collapsed exhausted into my bed and fell asleep.