//------------------------------// // The Wanderer Arrives // Story: Where the Wanderer Will Rest // by DerGroBeHengst //------------------------------// “Thank you for your diligent work; this will be another great addition to the Canterlot museum”, a pure white alicorn with a billowing rainbow hued mane magically gripped a fragile looking statue of a howling wolf as she sat atop her throne a spacious room, adorned with banners and tapestries, a long red carpet that stretched from the two similar thrones to the large doors that led to the room. “Always a pleasure to serve”, standing at about the same height; a pale white stallion with a jet black mane that spilled into his face: covering it completely as he bowed. He wore an elegant black jacket and a red scarf that covered the remainder of his face. He reached into his saddle bag at which a dark blue alicorn pointed her horn at him. “What treason is-“, she began but was cut off by the taller one. “Luna, there is no need for that. He has provided his services loyally since he was no bigger than colt.” “It’s true, I’d never harm Celestia-“, her horn began to glow. “The audacity of addressing her so informally”, as she drew closer he began to sweat more profusely. “Luna! Enough! ”, she turned back to her sister and backed away, the stallion took out what he had in his bag: a small wrapped package. “Um… I heard Celestia’s head has been hurting since the changeling invasion so I brought some remedies from my time in Zebrica…”, he left it in front of Celestia. “Thank you that’s very kind. Luna, I want you to apologize to our guest: you are royalty and should act with more tact” “But Celestia, he was acting suspiciously… ”, she pleaded with sad eyes but her sister merely gave her a stern expression. Her expression softened and she leaned in to whisper into her sister’s ear: after a few seconds Luna’s face contorted in embarrassment. “Oh… I had no idea I was being so insensitive “, she turned to the stallion and gave him a sympathetic look: pulling her ears back,” I am very sorry, I didn’t know anypony in Equestria-“ “No, it’s quite alright. I would be suspicious of me too, we only met a little while ago… but I did hear of your return so I got you a present. “, Luna’s ears perked up as the stallion dug through his saddle bag. He pulled out a modestly decorated wooden box that had carvings on the outside, depicting the waxing and waning of the moon. “Oh my, what is it?”, the moon alicorn spoke with excitement and batted breath. “Open it”, he said with a smile. Her dark blue magic surrounded the lid and as soon as it opened a beam of light shot out: projecting a magical image of the full moon as an eerily sweet lullaby played. “In my travels I came across a tribe of ponies in the Far East that worship the moon and sun respectively, they make these and I thought you would like it. Was I right?” Luna was almost too entranced with her gift to speak but soon shook herself back to the matter at hand,” It’s glorious! We wholeheartedly thank you for this considerate gift!” Celestia admired her sister’s expression of happiness and glee as she swayed with the music of her gift, “Now for the matter of your payment…” “Huh? I’ve already received a gracious amount bits for-“ “I insist, it’s been quite some time since I’ve seen my sister so happy and I seem to remember you having said something about a dream of yours”, Celestia’s smile gave away what she was thinking and an expression of pure joy spread across the stallion’s face. “You can’t possibly mean-“ “I do indeed; I will send word to Ponyville at once. You will receive a generous piece of land to do with as you please” “I can’t say thank you enough! I’ll pack my things immediately! Thank you Celestia! Thank you so much! “, the stallion ran quickly out of the throne room in a burst of anxious speed. “Sister, is it wise to send him there? Given what you told me it could potentially be a disaster.” , Luna said as her attention momentarily shifted from the music box. “He’ll be alright, besides being immersed in that atmosphere might help him with his problem” ~ A train screeched to a halt in front of the Ponyville station: the motion stirred the large stallion from his sleep and he got onto his hooves from the cot he laid upon. He sleepily dragged his black hooves towards a nearby window and his sleepiness melted away as he took in the sight of a town filled to the brim with happy ponies going about their day. He quickly made for the door as crates and boxes were being unloaded onto the station platform. One of the hefty looking ponies that was in the midst of unloading noticed the large stallion and called over. “Hey! You’re him right? Where do you want all this stuff?” “There should be an address “, he said as he stepped closer: digging through the pockets of his coat, “ if you can’t do it yourselves just call and have it shipped there but either way, thank you for the help “, he now stood inches from the worker, towering over him and reached down: placing a small bag of bits in the worker’s hoof. “Sir, this is way too much for a tip-“ “Aw it’s fine. I’ve also reserved the dining car for you and the others so go on in and get some breakfast. I’ve got some sightseeing to do “, the worker was left slack jawed with his generosity and left before he could even protest. The stallion continued through the town, excitedly observing everything, enjoying the wafting smell of freshly baked bread and sweets as he walked. He continued to walk on until a sudden realization hit him: he had no idea where he was going. He looked around carefully: trying to spot the most important looking building under the assumption that it was probably town hall. By sheer luck her managed to see its mahogany colored roof just past some buildings and quickly changed course. He drew closer and noticed the large clearing that led up to the building, feeling infinitely denser for not noticing it sooner. He trotted right in and made his way to mayor’s office by following the directory. He poked his head in tentatively into the room, “Hello?” A nervous gray maned mare paced back and forth in the office muttering to herself, “Sorry I’m not taking walk ins today, I’m expecting an important appointment” “Oh well I was told to come here today” “You don’t understand. Princess Celestia herself gave word for me to receive a very important guest!” He stepped inside: trying to speak again but the mare cut him off, “I cannot express the importance of greeting this pony with the utmost tact and professionalism… if only I knew what he looked like… ”, she was now standing mere inches from him which made him back into the wall behind him as though he were being menaced with a weapon. “Oh no! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to startle-“, she looked down at a paper the stallion had dropped: it was a royal certificate written and signed by Celestia, “…Buck!!” “I can’t believe she spent half an hour apologizing” , he wandered into town again under direction of the mayor, she assured him that he library could provide him with a map of the town so he could find his way around. She told him to look for the large tree in the middle of town: which he found rather quickly, just as he was about to knock a little purple and green dragon open the door. “What’d you forg-“, he stared at the large imposing stallion and grew nervous, “Hey there… what can I do you for?” “A baby dragon? Well if you work here I could use a map… ” , he smiled at the young dragon and his low, relaxed voice put the dragon at ease. “Sure but you might wanna come in I’ll have to look for em”, he open the door wider to allow the stallion in, “So are you here to visit?” “No, actually I’m moving here but I found out today that I don’t really know where I’m going” “You’re really moving here? That’s great we can do guy stuff together… if you want that is”, the dragon quelled his excitement for fear of looking uncool in front of his new potential friend. “I wouldn’t be opposed to that, been a long time since I stayed in one place long enough to have real friends” “Yes! You have no idea how bad I wanted to have a guy to pal around with. The only guy I really talk to is Big Mac and he’s too quiet. I mean I love my friends but sometimes I want to do something that doesn’t involve girls… I’m Spike by the way”, he continued as he searched through scrolls and books. “The name’s Bo, so do you run this library alo-o-o- did you say girls?”, he said with a nervous smile. “Yeah, like I said they’re great but I almost never get to do guy stuff…”, Spike continued to riffle through a pile until he pulled out an old map and handed it to Bo. A grin spread across his face, “I should totally introduce you to my friends, Pinkie’s gonna want to throw you a party anyway” Bo smiled nervously and began to sweat a bit, “No, that’s fine I’m sure I’ll see them around, thank you for the map and I’ll drop by some time so we can hang out. S-see ya”, he turned as the library door swung open and a lavender mare trotted in. “Oh Spike I forgot- oof”, she bumped into the large stallion: making her fall back onto her flank. As she gathered her wits she inspected the large figure: stopping when she got to his eyes. She was the first person in a long time to see his eyes behind his ebony mane, they were normally calm and compassionate but right now they were wild and frantic. “AHHHHHH!!!” , they screamed in unison, the lavender mare hid behind the door and the red eyed stallion took refuge behind his new dragon friend: who was at a loss for words. “Right… uh Twilight?” “Spike! There’s a huge pony in the library!”, Bo let out a soft whimper when she brought his size into the matter. “Twilight, this is my new friend Bo: he’s moving here”, Spike then turned around to speak to a shaking Bo, “Bo, this is Twilight: she hatched me and I’m her assistant” Twilight came out of her hiding spot and walked tentatively to the large stallion, “Hi… I’m Twilight… so you’re new to town?” The stallion looked up at her and nodded nervously, as he did his mane moved in and out of his eyes: revealing a strange trait he had. She magically moved his mane out of the way and was face to face with him in seconds out of curiosity. Before she even realized that she was invading his personal space she became focused on the jagged marks over his eyes: like someone attempted to carve an “X” into his face but never crossed it, leaving two lines over his deep scarlet eyes. “You… have scars?” He became panicked: his eyes moving frantic, cheeks reddening to match his scarf, “Ahhhh!! Stay away!!”, he yelled and leapt backwards like a mad stallion, slamming himself against a bookshelf, sending a few books falling down around him. “Twilight, what did you do?”, the young dragon said accusingly. “I’m sorry but seeing scars are a rare thing, I didn’t mean to make him uncomfortable”, she caught something out of the corner of her eye: the underside of the end of his scarf had an Aquarian star embroidered in gold. She recognized it as the symbol for knowledge and saw a potential intellectual companion. “That symbol, are you a scholar? Where did you study?” She bombarded him with questions as Spike tried desperately to slow her down. Bo spotted an opening in between the two and rushed out leaving a gale force gust in his wake. “*sigh* One guy friend Twilight, that’s all I ask…” “Sorry…”, she said as she straightened out her newly disheveled mane. She looked down to find a folded piece of paper with an address written on it, “Spike, we may have a chance to explain ourselves…” ~ The stallion ran until he felt he was at a safe distance away. Running and cowering had caused him to build up an appetite; luckily his panic had brought him close to a building that looked to be made out of gingerbread, he couldn’t imagine it being anything other than a bakery so he walked in. He immediately made his way to the counter and inspected the confections that were on display: stooping over as he did so. A smiling orange stallion with a paper hat trotted towards the counter and waited for a moment before addressing his customer. “Hey there, what can I-“, Bo stood up and greeted the stallion’s smile in kind, towering over him, “get… for… you…” “Everything looks good, I’ll eat any three you recommend but if you don’t mind I’m taking a booth”, he held up his newly acquired map and started over towards a booth, “need to get acquainted with the town’s layout”, he sat down and scanned over his map as the orange stallion gathered three desserts he thought the customer would like. A soft humming began from what seemed to be upstairs and a pink form came bouncing over to the orange stallion. “Good morning Mr. Cake”, a gleeful voice called. “Hey Pinkie you’re right on time, take these to the one with the red scarf at the booth, I’m going to go help the missus with the next batch” “Pinkie?”, he repeated mentally, he couldn’t place it but it sounded familiar. He remained occupied with the maps, thoroughly familiarizing himself with the town; he never even bothered to look up when he heard the two talking. “Here ya go… wait a minute I don’t know you and I know everypony!!” “Well I am new to town”, he reached for his sweets and began eating while still immersed. “*gasp* Oh my gosh, oh my gosh I absolutely have to throw you a party!!!! I need a cake and decorations… better get my cannon”, her speech grew quicker and quicker the longer she spoke and Bo only just noticed that this was a feminine voice. He finished chewing and looked up to see an energetic pink mare looking right at him with eyes that sparkled with happiness. He swallowed hard after noticing how close she was. Okay this isn’t bad, sure she’s close but it’s not as close as the unicorn from before. Just smile, tell her your name, pay for your food, and make your way towards the exit. You don’t have to panic, she works here and you’re a customer, you can do this. “So what’s your name?”, somehow in the brief interval of his thoughts she had already procured a cake and was brandishing icing. “My name is Bo Minuano, I just got here today, and I just remembered that I have somewhere to be-“, he made for the door but the pink mare blocked his way and began to protest. “No, you can’t! You have to stay for the party so everypony can meet you!”, got hardly an inch from his face and he circled around he ran while screaming hysterically. “Waaaait!! You didn’t pay”, Pinkie called out after him from the doorway. Bo stopped dead and turned around very calmly and walked back, “Right, sorry: how much is it?” “About ten bits…” “Here’s fifteen, I really enjoyed it”, he smiled and gave her the bits. “Yup Sugar Cube Corner’s the best around” “I’ll take your word for it… now back to what I was doing”, he turned and began running again; leaving a dust cloud as he did so. When he finally stopped he had nearly left Ponyville, with Everfree looming in the distance. Now that he knew the layout of Ponyville he decide it was time to see where his new home was being constructed. In a few short minutes he found the empty plot of land where his belongings were sent and on it the foundation of his new home was already constructed. “*sigh* I really thought they’d be farther along than this… I haven’t even made a reservation anywhere”, he hung his head not wanting to think of the anxiety of having to stay in a hotel when his dream home was finally coming together. Suddenly he heard something familiar, wind being displaced, anyone else could have missed it but years of living in strange places and dealing with predators of all shapes and sizes made him very aware of his surroundings. He turned to see a light blue object racing right towards the area of his house still under construction. “If it takes a hit like that they’ll have to start over”, he blurted and jumped into the speeding object’s path. He braced himself for the impact and as the object drew closer it appeared to be a pony, a pegasus to be exact. This only gave him more reason to stand his ground: there was no way a pony could take a hit like that and walk away. The pony sped towards him and just before it hit he vaguely saw a flash of colors before he dug his hooves into the ground, he held the pony back but the ground gave way and sent him sprawling back as all the momentum flipped him. The back of his head had found a rock: he wasn’t bleeding but there was a good deal of pain and his eyesight was blurred, he heard voices arguing. “Consarnit Rainbow Dash, Ah told you not ta fly here anymore! Ah kept tryin’ ta tell ya that they started buildin’ somethin’ ‘r other here but you just wouldn’t listen and now look what you did” “Come on, I said I’m sorry” “Ah'm not the one you should be apologizing to now let’s get this big fella to the hospital” “I’m alright”, both ponies turned around to find that Bo was already picking himself of the ground: as he did he began to blink away the blurriness in his vision and gradually two mares came into focus. Immediately he knew that it was the rainbow maned one who had crashed into him, the name Rainbow Dash helped strengthen that theory. The other was a blonde, orange earth pony: presumably the one who spoke with a southern drawl considering the hat. “So why are you trying to break what little there is of my house?” “Well you see… that’s actually… I should…”, Rainbow nervously rubbed the back of her neck, “Okay, I may have messed up… sorry”, she crossed her forelegs. Bo smiled in acceptance and turned back to see if he was able to protect his house: the distance between them ensured that the conversation wouldn’t cause him discomfort. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief as he saw the framework still intact though his lawn wasn’t going to win any awards after the way his hooves tore at it. “Seems to me that there’s no damage…”, he looked at the ground where his hooves dug, “Well… nothing major, so I’ll just call this a happy accident and let it go” “Really? You’re not mad?”, Rainbow Dash asked cheerfully. “No, not as long as you’re alright, can’t make such a bad impression on the locals when I haven’t even moved in yet”, he chuckled. “This is a house? Looks too big for one pony, you got a family?”, Applejack asked. “Family? Haven’t seen my family in a while… guess I should have said goodbye before I left Canterlot but I guess I’ll make it up…”, his slip only made them more curious. “Canterlot? You some kinda guard ‘r rich pony?”, Applejack began. “Gotta be a guard! No spoiled, rich pony would take a hit like that and stand back up”, Rainbow added. Bo chuckled a bit, “Nope, not a guard and only my stuff stays in Canterlot, or did until I began the move”, he reached to his neck to fidget with his scarf and couldn’t feel it, he nervously pawed at himself but it was nowhere to be found. He had now realized that the entire time they had been talking they were looking at his face without his scarf to cover it. He began scrambling around aimlessly until the duo decided to speak up. “Uh… you looking for somethin’ partner?” “My scarf! I can’t find my scarf!”, he looked around frantically: worrying Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “Calm down now, just tell us what it looks like so we can help ya find it…” “Same color as my eyes, deep scarle-“, before he could finish both mares were gazing deeply into his eyes. He quickly backed away and broke into heavy panting. “W-w-w-what are you doing?” “Well you said your scarf was the same color as your eyes, so we have to see what color your eyes are”, Rainbow argued. No matter where I go they just keep at it. I have to find my scarf… okay it’s fine, calm down and feel where the wind is blowing. And it’s blowing… back to town… fantastic. Not only do I have to look for my scarf but now I have to stay on guard against the pink one and the purple one. “Hey!”, Rainbow’s voice brought him back to reality, “Why does your cutie mark have wings?” He froze, his eyes slowly moving towards his cutie mark: a carmine colored compass rose with sky blue wings. “I uh… there’s a story behind that…”, he took off running again towards town: partially to find his scarf and partially to escape answering that question. He finally came to a stop: it felt like all he had done that day was run, he was building an appetite again. He decided he’d cook for himself if it came down to it. “If the map is right I should be near the market now… he scanned the streets and saw a mixture of stallions and mares, which made him feel more at ease. He walked through the crowd invisibly, he enjoyed that: he didn’t like attention and if he had to bear it he did so with great discomfort. Whilst perusing the stands for something he could eat he saw something drift through the air, he turned and caught a glimpse of his scarf wafting on the midday breeze. Finally his luck had turned around: he dashed after it while carefully avoiding the ponies in his way. He got close enough to grab it with his teeth and stretched out: his teeth just missed it as the breeze picked up. It seemed that luck had smiled on him as the breeze died down, the scarf came to a halt at the hooves of a white pony and being that he was stooped over in his pursuit only one thought raced through his mind before he found the courage to look up. Please be a stallion. Please be a stallion. Please be a stallion. Please be a stallion. Please be a stallion. Please be a stallion. Please be a stallion. Please… “Oh my, this scarf is simply marvelous!”, he didn’t even need to look up but did so anyway. A stylishly done indigo mane, eyeliner, and a feminine aristocratic tone shut out any hopes of this being a stallion. It was a mare and to make matters infinitely worse it was a beautiful mare. That’s just not fair! He stood back up, unsure of what to say: if he could say anything at all. After all his encounters today he wasn’t sure he had anything left, it didn’t help that she was already within his personal space. “Are you alright dear? You look a little flushed…”, she gave him a sympathetic gaze. He averted his gaze and began to murmur, “The scarf is mine …” “Um… could you speak up darling?”, she leaned in to listen more intently: to which he backed away sharply. From behind him two mare came, the two he thought he’d lost after returning to town. “Hey! Rarity, hold onto that scarf!”, Rainbow Dash called. Rarity held up the scarlet cloth and motioned to it: her friend nodded. “*sigh* I knew finding this was too good to be true… I assume it’s yours?”, she held it out for the stallion who nodded and hastily snatched the scarf without so much as looking her in the eye. He turned to leave but the two mares cut him off. “Thanks for the help Rarity, this here is Ponyville’s newest stallion… uh Bo right?”, he nodded and tried to leave again only to be cut off by a lavender mare and a baby dragon. “Bo! Come on Twilight, hurry up!”, the dragon sped ahead of his companion and made it to the large stallion’s side. Twilight arrived just behind her assistant and immediately began to speak, “ Hey, sorry about before, I didn’t expect you to burst out of the library” “You too? Good to know it’s a habit ‘r else I’d feel a might insulted”, Applejack said proudly. “Bo, are you okay? You’re shaking…”, Spike pointed out. Bo nodded nervously and tried to speak. “F-f-f-fine… just need to get-“ A pink mare came running up and blocked his last route of escape. “Found you! Wow you run really fast but I looked all over Ponyville and I finally found you, I bet you’d be great at tag or hide and seek! Maybe we can play at your party… oh my gosh everyone’s already here so let’s invite them to the party!!”, their chatter seemed to blend into and muffle each other, it got to the point where, due to his panic, Bo couldn’t tell who was talking anymore. He just stood shaking: holding his scarf like a safety blanket hoping to make everything stop. You’re surrounded by pretty mares, every stallion’s dream… your worst nightmare. It’s all going to be okay, just calm down and play it cool, you can get out of this. You’ve been through every danger the world has to offer; you can do this. You can do this! You can do this! You can do this! “I can’t do this!!!”, he screamed: making them all fall silent. His back began to bulge and his jacket distorted as though something moved under it. It continued until two slits in the coat allowed two enormous, white wings to emerge. In a single motion they beat down once and launched him into the air at break neck speed, before they could process what was happening he was a speck in the azure sky. The dust cleared and all in attendance stared at his disappearing form. “You think he’s coming back?”, Pinkie asked.