//------------------------------// // Chapter IX- Growing Second Thoughts // Story: Equestria's First Human // by Ceehoff //------------------------------// Equestria’s First Human- Part IX Written and Drawn by Ceehoff “There goes Twilight Sparkle… I can’t believe she is friends with that thing!” “Ugh, she’s wasting her time. Why can’t she just go plant her face into her books for a change?” “What’s causing her to do such a thing?” “Maybe that thing hypnotized her and put her in a trance, so once it has a chance, it kills and eats her.” “Better her than me! I’m not falling for that trick. It’s her funeral.” “Could be it possible that that thing is a weapon sent by the Dragonfire?” “It’s possible. I mean, the group started not so long ago. They’ll do anything to take Princess Celestia down. They will do the craziest things. They are demons like that thing is!” “Too bad its first victims are Twilight and Spike. I’ve grown to like them. Now, not so much.” “I thought I would be safe here. I guess I was wrong.” “Guess we won’t be needing books, then... Off the list for today. For that matter, more than just today.” Those were the things Twilight Sparkle had overheard the pony folk whisper to each other. It was probably not a good idea to use her hearing-enhancement spell. She could not soak in the venom of their words anymore. Her eyes straining with tears, she ran back towards the library. No…NO! It’s not true! He is nothing like they say! They’re liars! Liars! she shouted in her mind as she ran. He is not a weapon! He is not a plague! He is not a monster! Then her dark self took its turn to pollute her mind. Look what he did to you. You were Ponyville’s only librarian. You were Ponyville’s friend. You were Equestria’s Element of Magic, the last Element of Harmony... Now, you are nothing. You are scum. You are considered contraband and now alone. All because of him… He did this to you, and now, he must pay the price for ruining your life. Helping him is useless now. Send him out. Kick him out. Have Celestia banish him to the farthest reaches of the galaxy! He would be better off left alone and forgotten forever… It would serve him right, and it will reward you with the life you’ve had before you met him. Twilight’s forehead pounded with pain and controversy. She nearly screamed. The spectral beast of internal war twisted her throat painfully. Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP! Oh Celestia, why is this happening to me? Why?? He is not scum! I'm not scum! But, why are they treating us like we are!? Her little cavalcade of internal conflict was forcefully interrupted when she ran into something heavy. She yelped as she landed on her side and skidded on the dirt road by seven feet. “OWW! Unghhh…” said a voice. Twilight, full of embarrassment, apologized to the voice. “Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry! I—EEP!” she squeaked when she saw who the voice belonged to. It was Connor. He was rolling on the ground in pain. She must have hit him pretty hard for him to be down like that. Or… “I think your horn nicked me…” he said, lifted his blood-stained hand. "Right on the ribs." “Oh, Celestia! I’m so sorry, Connor! I-I had no idea, that…” she was stopped by her darker side, cackling in her mind. Good…Serves him right for getting in your way… Twilight squeezed her eyes tight, forcing the evil thought out. Shut up! she growled inside. She walked closer to see the damage she had done onto him. It was not fatal. It was just a scratch…a pretty big scratch, for that matter…big enough for it to bleed plentifully. It was on the right side of his ribcage, trailing from just below his breast, underneath his armpit, and stopped just on the edge of his shoulder blade. Considering how hard she hit him, she must have knocked the wind out of him. “Are you okay?” she fretted. “Nngh," he breathed through his teeth. "I probably might need a bandage.” She nodded quickly. Where could she find a bandage? There was nothing present. Then, she noticed the library just a few yards in front of her when she turned around. Because of the internal turmoil that resided in her mind, she hadn't noticed that she had already reached the library. She was about to run inside, until she saw some ponies in the distance. To her fright, they were starting to turn their heads towards her. Twilight knew she had to be quick to patch up Connor before they saw her. She darted into the library and shoveled through the drawers in her kitchen to find bandages. She found two things: a small, cheap band-aid and a roll of medical tape. It would take her too long with the medical tape, especially when ponies were nearby to watch her every move. With that, she snatched the small band-aid with her magic, and ran back out to patch up the injured human. In an eye blink, she ripped it out of the paper casing and placed it on his wound. “There! All patched up! You can go now. No need to thank me,” she said before hastily running back inside. “Wait, Twilight! Is Spike in there?” “Uhhhh, no! I mean, yes! He's in here, physically, but you can't come in here. He’s got, uhhh, the sniffles! So, he can’t come out!” “No, I don't!” Spike’s voice echoed from inside. “There, see? His little voice is all stuffed up.” “Sounds fine to me,” Connor raised an eyebrow. “No offense, but I have been around him a lot more than you have. I know when he has a cold. I can read it perfectly like a book,” she smiled nervously. "Yyyeah...." he replied slowly before clearing his throat. "So, uh, Twilight, you think you can help me with making friends with Ponyville today? “Ohhhh, you know I would love to, but I'm really busy with... Things. You know, taking care of Spike, and... business." She did not dare to mention the sale. She thought if she mentioned anything about the sale toward him, she might hurt his feelings. "Oh, okay..." the human sighed in disappointment. "Sorry. Well, you know what I think?" she began, putting a consoling grin on her face. "You could try to make friends with them all by yourself. I mean, it shouldn't be all that hard. Plus, in plain sight, you've got the ability. Everypony does, pretty much." "Hmm..." the human's eyebrows furrowed in disapproval. "I don't know. I think it'd be better if you'd help." "I'm sorry, Connor, but I cant, even though I would rrrrrreally love to," she said, straining the enthusiasm. Her antsy eyes scanned for any nearby ponies who would be listening. "But..." "Anyhoo, I gotta go! Lots of sales, I mean, business to take care of! Later, Connor!" she exclaimed before shutting the door in his face. The human slumped his shoulders as he sighed in disappointment. Great... More work... Just what he needed. Her business would wait. Why couldn't she help him? He didn't want to do this all by himself. As his shoulders slumped, he was reminded of his current condition by a painful twinge under his arm. He looked down through the collar of his shirt to look at the bandage. It looked pretty damn pathetic. By the look of it, it looked more like a piece of tape stuck on top of a crack on a concrete sidewalk. The wound was about six inches long, and the band-aid only covered a half-inch of it. Not much of a bandage. Plus, it was placed on wrong. It was like Twilight did not even care where she put it. Connor stared at the door and then walked away. As he walked, he began to puzzle. It was strange… Twilight seemed okay and cool with having him around at first. Now, she was acting suspicious, high-strung, and paranoid. What the hell was with that? Inside the library, Twilight peeked outside the window, seeing the human walk away. When he was out of sight, she turned her sight to the ponies in the distance. Her ears folded back onto her scalp. Mission failed. They had seen her tend to him. She received even more criticizing looks, and the ponies started to walk away from the library, not even turning around to glance. The only things Twilight was able to see now were trees, buildings, and feeble grass blades emerging from the ground. She whipped around, pressing her back against the wall. Groaning, she slid down the wall and hung her head. "No, no, no!" she whispered fretfully. ---------- “Hey, Rarity!” Connor said as he knocked on the door to the boutique. “Twilight’s acting pretty weird, so I decided to come back.” The door opened halfway to reveal a worried unicorn. Only her face was visible. “Oh, is she? That’s pretty odd…” she replied coyly, even though she knew exactly what was going on. “So, can I come back in?” “No! Oh, nonono, darling! Not yet! You can’t come in just yet,” she said quickly. “Why?” “Well, uhhh…” She turned her face away from the door to think. What kind of excuse can she come up with? Seeing that she had no time to think, her horn glowed and rolls of cloth, pins, thread, string, and other tools spewed from the shelves and drawers around her. They scattered all over the floor like confetti. “I have a lot of cleaning up to do. My stars, does this place get messy so quickly!” she feigned surprise. The human's brow lowered. “Yeah… It does. Well, uhhh, do you want any help cleaning it up? I mean, if that's all right with you, then--." “NO!” The sudden volume in her voice startled the human. “I mean, no, I can take care of it myself. It’s my mess, and I, alone, will clean it up,” she cried out, tossing her head back dramatically, making her mane bounce. “Iffff you say so,” he slowly said. “Besides, it has to look lovely and neat for the big sale today.” She slapped her hoof over her mouth, realizing her slip-up. “I-I mean it has to look lovely for... for... for walking around in! I can’t enjoy the glamorous decorations with this mess upstaging them. I can’t even walk through it!” the white pony laughed, making it look like it was supposed to be humorous. “Oh…Well, all right,” Connor spoke with little uncertainty. "But after that, you think you can help me win over Ponyville?" "Oh, sorry, dearie, but I'm really busy right now." "What are you talking about? It's just a mess. I'm sure it won't take very long to clean up. C'mon, you can help!" "Sorry, Connor, but you are just going to have to wait. Forabouttwelvehours," she added quickly before closing the door. The human threw his hands up into the air, scoffing. Rarity, too?? ---------- “Git yer apples! Git yer apples here! Fresh from Sweet Apple Acres with lotsa love! Well, howdy, good sir! Care for an apple? Great! We got Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Pink Mare, Red Gala… Granny Smith, you say? Don’t be eatin’ mah grandma!” she laughed. “Ahh, just yankin’ yer chain, sir! That’ll be two bits. Yup, she’s fine as fiddle! Thank ya for yer concern!” Even from far away, Connor could see that Applejack was selling apples like a mad pony. His stomach growled as soon as his eyes lingered on the apples that lay neatly in their baskets. They looked so smooth, lustrous, plump, and above all, delicious. He could go for a nice, juicy apple. He did not have much of a breakfast at Rarity’s, albeit the fact that it was to die for. The unicorn really needed to learn how to eat breakfast the American way: hearty and heaping. However, if she did that, then she would look a little heavy. The thought of her covered with love handles and rolls of fat made him shudder violently. He would much rather prefer the thin and slim Rarity. “Hey, Applejack!” he called without even thinking. Before the cowpony could respond, everypony sight ran and vanished within four seconds. The only two figures visible were the human and the country pony. Connor sighed, annoyed. He should have known better than to just walk into a congregation and not expect everypony to run from him. He felt stupid. For Applejack, she was pretty stunned by how quickly everypony vanished. Looking at the solitary, tall figure, she did not know whether to feel annoyed that he scared off all of her customers or to feel sorry for him. “Well, tangle my mane..." she said, scratching her head underneath her hat. "Jus' look at 'em run! Does this always happen to you?” The human nodded meekly. “And it’s that bad?” she asked with a hint of sympathy. “Actually, it's pretty fun. I've been keeping record of how quickly they could evacuate. They just broke their own record by two seconds!” the human said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Applejack bunched her brows together at his attitude. Connor held his shoulder in shame. “I’m sorry. It’s just been a crazy morning. I’ve already been shooed away by Twilight and Rarity today. I don’t really know why.” "Them? Shooing you away?" she said, drawing back in offense. "Well, that's pretty disappointin'. Must've woken up on the wrong side of the bed.” "I hope so." “Anyhoo, what's goin' on, partner? Did ya come here fer an apple?” she asked with a positive grin. “That’s the reason why I’m here,” the human smiled, glad that she noticed. “What've you got?” “Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Pink Mare, Red Gala…” she listed each one. “Wait... ’Pink Mare’? Don’t you mean ‘Pink Lady’?” “No, ah meant ‘Pink Mare’.” “Pink M... Wait, is that how you say it? Pink Mare? Back on my planet, we had 'Pink Lady'.” "Ya don't say?" Applejack said in big interest. "Yeah. Whoo, I might not get used to this whole word placement thing..." “S’quite all right, sugar cube! So, Pink La—Ah mean, Pink Mare for ya? D’oh! Now ya got me doin’ it!” she laughed. Connor could not help but smile at her friendly attitude. “So, Pink Mare, please.” “Comin’ right up!” she said behind her teeth, which were clenched down on the stem of the apple. “That’ll be two bits!” He slid his hand down his pocket, until he realized he only had quarters in his pocket. Even though he had some money, it was not the kind of currency that these ponies used. "Oh, I don’t have any money, though. Not from your type of currency, that is.” The cowmare bopped her own forehead. “Oh, that’s right! Ya came here ‘bout two days ago, and ya don’t have that kind of money on ya yet. The hay with it! It’s on the house!” “Cool!” he said as he took the apple. "Oh, uh, Applejack. Do you think you could help win over Ponyville today?" "Darn tootin', partner!" she said with a swing of her foreleg. "But, ah've got a lot of work to do right now. Lotsa apples to sell today. A lotta ponies git mighty hungry during a big sale." "Sale?" "Oh, right! Today's the Pre-Princess-Celestia's-Royal-Visit Sale!" "Pre-Day Sale? Uhhh..." "Havin' Princess Celestia visit our humble town is a perty big deal. So big, that it kinda gets a little commercial. Not very sophisticated, if ya ask me." "Oh..." Boy, had he been there. Especially during the Christmas season. "Well, anyway, sugarcube, ah'd love to help ya, but ah've got mah hooves full as it is with sellin' these apples," the orange pony said, showcasing a basket of them to prove her point. Connor's lips twisted in disappointment. Crap... Turned down again. However, he felt a little more relaxed this time. Unlike Twilight and Rarity, Applejack looked like she really wanted to help him. He did not wish to egg her on any further. "Well, okay. Maybe when you're done?" "Sure thing, partner," she grinned. "Cool. Thanks, Applejack!" “See ya!” she replied with a tip of her hat. The moment Connor was out of sight, Applejack felt a cold shiver run up her spine. Something negative was looming in the air. She looked around to see a throng of ponies surrounding her. The looks they gave were not the least bit positive. There were glares. There were cold stares. The friendly cowpony felt like she was being gored by hundreds of needles all around her. As tricky as it was with all the negativity polluting the air, she smiled. “Apples! Apples! Git yer apples here! Fresh from Sweet Apple Acres! Anypony care for some apples?” No response. Not even a cough. Just stares. “Err… that’s right, everypony! Ah’ll be right here if anypony wants any apples. Ah ain’t going anywhere! Anypony want some apples? Do you, sir? Do you, ma’am? How ‘bout you, lil’ missy? You, young man? Get ‘em before they rot!” Nothing. “Anypony?” she asked weakly. Then, everypony turned to walk away. Applejack could have sworn she had heard one of them say that she was another victim. Soon, the cowpony was alone with her stall and apples. She rested her head on top of the counter, sighing sadly. “So much fer keepin' the farm up. Ah think ah can see why Twilight and Rarity kicked him out...” ---------- “Oh sweet Lord, this is amazing!!” Connor exclaiming as he feasted on his apple. This apple tasted better than the one he had when he met Spike. Pink Mares (or Pink Ladies) were always so full of flavor. They tasted so flavorful and sweet, that it felt like drinking apple juice straight from a glass. The contents were soft enough to sink one’s teeth in, but not in a gooey kind of way. It felt like biting into soft styrofoam. Whoosh! Connor immediately paused. He could have sworn that he saw a peculiar shadow pass over him. After a little more looking around, he shrugged. It was probably just his imagination. Whoooosh! "Whaddahell?" He jumped. All he could see was the blue sky along with some large looking clouds. He squinted in suspicion. Not turning his eyes away from the sky, he opened his mouth to take another bite of the apple. KA-BOOM! A lightning bolt crashed directly behind him which seemed to feel like it struck only two feet away. "HOLY SH--!" He flinched, causing the apple to fall out of his hand. At the same time, he bit his hand, thinking the apple was still there. The human yelped in pain as he wagged his hand in the air. “Oh, come on!!” he groaned. He looked up to the sky to see Rainbow Dash lying on top of a cloud, kicking her legs in the air, and laughing her flank off. “Gotcha! Ha ha ha! You should’ve seen the look on your face! Priceless!” Rainbow said as she wiped a tear from her eye. “Oh, real funny, Rainbow.” He looked down to the ground to find his apple on the ground. “D'ugh! And there goes my apple…” She still had the giggles residing in her lungs. “Whoops... My bad.” Connor sighed. As much as he hated to part with such a heavenly fruit, he could not turn down an apology. “Eh, don't worry about it. I can get anoth--Wh--Whoa, wait a minute! How are you doing that?” “Doing what?” Rainbow Dash asked with a tilt of her head. “Standing on that cloud!” "Huh?" She looked underneath herself. “Oh, this? It’s something only we pegasi can do. Non-pegasi go right through these things,” she exclaimed with a brisk swipe of her hoof. Connor raised an eyebrow. “Wow. So, that means you could sleep on that thing?” “Sure can! It’s really comfortable! Much more comfortable than your spring mattresses. Score one for the pegasi!” she exclaimed, throwing her body back onto the cloud. Her entire back up to the middle of her body was buried in white softness. From underneath, the human could see her hooves stretch out toward the sky along with a strained, yet content sigh of comfort before her legs drooped over the edges like limp noodles. Connor felt like yawning himself. “I'd like to have one." Rainbow's head poked out from behind the pony-sized cloud. “Are you a pegasus?” "Er... Well, no.” “Like I said before, you'll go right through these things. Even if you place one on top of your mattress, you’ll still go through them. You'd have better luck trying to abduct a sheep.” “Dang..." pouted the human. “Hey, hey, hey! I didn't make the rules,” she chortled. Connor sighed, reluctantly accepting the facts. “What are you doing anyway?” he asked. “I’m clearing the skies of storm clouds for tomorrow," she responded before flying around to kick away more clouds. "It's Princess Celestia's Royal Visit tomorrow. Don't wanna get the Princess all wet with rain when she arrives." "Wait, wait..." the human shook his head, waving his hands. "You're controlling weather??" Rainbow Dash nodded. "That's right! We get some pretty big weather down here. Comes in really fast, too. It only takes the fastest pony to keep it clear," she said, gesturing to herself with pride. “I'm impressed,” Connor said, stroking his chin. “That’s me, all right! I can impress anypony,” she boasted. “After all, if I don't impress, how will I be part of the Wonderbolts?” “Wonderbolts?” “You never heard of--?! Oh, right..." she coughed awkwardly. "They're only the greatest flight team in all of Equestria! They do all sorts of breath-taking tricks and gravity-defying stunts. So AWESOME! I’ve been trying to get on their team, like, forever!” “Sounds cool.” “It's beyond cool!” Feeling a bit intimidated by her enthusiasm, Connor stood and nodded convincingly. Then, he cleared his throat before he spoke once more. “Say, uh, mind if I help you with the clouds?” Rainbow cleared her throat and pointed to her wings. “Oh, right…” he muttered. “Thank you for the offer, but I’ve already got these two helping me," she said, pointing to two other pegasi who were still at work. "Oh... Okay," he said. "Welllll, after you're done with the clouds, could you help me win over Ponyville?" "This might take time to finish, but, heck, why not? I never leave a friend hanging," she said with a loyal smile. "Cool! How long would that take?" "Aboouuuuutt..." she trailed off in thought. "Two hours?" "Meh," the human shrugged. "I'm okay with that. Well, you look busy. See you later, Rainbow Dash!" “Later!” Rainbow waved. As soon as Connor was out of sight, Rainbow turned to the other two pegasi. “All right, guys! Let’s pick up the pace here! Mayor Mare expects the sky to be spotless, and…” She stopped when she saw them hovering in front her. They were flying a level slightly higher than hers, giving her dirty looks. They did not move other than blink and flap. “Uh, guys? C’mon! Let’s get going! The sky isn’t getting any clearer with you two staring at me like that.” No response. “What’s up with you two? Let’s go!” “You’re friends with that thing?” one of the pegasi asked. The rainbow-maned pegasus wrinkled her snout and looked at her like she asked a very stupid and obvious question. “Uhhh, yes! And for your information, he is not a thing. He’s a human. His name's Connor. He’s a good guy. You should really meet him.” Silence was in the air between the three pegasi. After an exchanged look, the two snide pegasi turned to fly away. “Hey!” Rainbow Dash shouted after them. “Where do you think you’re going? You have to help me with this, you know! I can’t do this by myself!” “Oh, we think you can. You said you’re the fastest pegasus ever, right?” “Well, duh! Why do you think I’ve been practicing so hard just to get into the Wonderbolts? They don’t take slow flyers!” “Then, you can handle it. You can clear it in ‘ten seconds flat’, like you always say.” “But, guys! This is the time of year when more clouds come rolling in! Because of the humidity, bigger clouds are more likely to pour in! It will take longer to clear those clouds without your help! Even I need help! Come on!” “Let’s go. I don’t feel like being hypnotized into becoming that thing’s dinner,” whispered the pegasus to the other. “Or captured and used for a sacrifice ritual for those Dragonfire rebels,” added the other pegasus. “Amen to that.” Rainbow Dash’s eye’s shot open in offense at what she heard. She shook her hoof in the air and shouted, “Fine! Whatever! Go ahead and ditch me! I don’t care! Who needs your help anyway? As a matter of fact, I will! I will clear the sky in ten seconds flat! Just you wait and see!” A knot tied in her chest as she looked at the cloud-infested sky. Cumulonimbus clouds towered high in the sky, like they were staring down at the small speck of hues. She gulped. Or maybe ten hours flat, she thought. Through her senses, she felt eyes staring at her. Looking down, she saw ponies looking up at her, giving her the same cold stare. She cracked a weak smile on her face as she tried to lighten the mood. “Uhhh, hey, everypony! What’s up? It’s me! Rainbow Dash: future Wonderbolt! Pictures are…(gulp) acceptable.” It only took a few seconds for everypony to trot away, leaving her alone. She hated being alone. From that moment, Rainbow Dash began to have second thoughts about Connor. ---------- Connor’s stomach growled again. He was still craving for a snack. He was pretty upset about dropping his perfect Pink Mare apple. He only ate it halfway. Still, Rainbow Dash was a nice mare. He could not stay mad at her for making him drop it. He was cool with her. Hopefully, she was cool with him. His stomach growled much louder. He had better find something to eat soon or his stomach would eat itself. It seemed pretty pissed off that the apple was stripped away from it. Then, he smelled something in the air. It smelled like cake. However, that was not all. It also smelled like cookies, muffins, cupcakes, donuts, and… Brownies!! Connor drooled in delight. It had been a while since he tasted a brownie. When was that? Two weeks? Three weeks? Hell, he did not care. He was getting a brownie immediately. The hungry human followed his nose all the way to Sugarcube Corner. Seeing the festive, iced building, he smiled. He had not seen Pinkie Pie for a while, so it would be a good visit. He would just say “hi!”, be friendly, engage in a little conversation, get a brownie, and put his stomach at ease. Connor smiled, thinking that everything was going to be okay. He walked up to the door and gave it a knock. Almost immediately, he door opened to reveal a hyperactive Pinkie Pie. “Hello! Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! Sweet-tooth Heaven!" she instantly chirped. When she opened her eyes, she gasped in surprise and glee. "Omigawsh! Hi, Connor!" "Hey, Pinki--!" "Pinkie Pie!! Honey, shut the door!" shouted a female voice from inside the building. From behind one of the counters inside, he could see a tall, skinny, yellow, goofy pony leap over it with his hooves extended in front of him. He slammed into the door, also shutting it directly in front of Connor's face as well. The human flinched mightily at the force of it being shut. Inside, Pinkie Pie was bewildered at her employers' sudden outburst. "Hey!" she exclaimed in hurt at the stallion bracing the door. "Mr. Cake, that was Connor!" "We don't care! He is not coming in here!" Mrs. Cake responded. "Not after what he did." "Did what?" the pink pony repeated. "What did he do?" "He scared away all of our customers!" Mr. Cake answered for his wife. "That's what he did!" "So?" Pinkie Pie shrugged. "SO?! Wh--?!" Mr. Cake nearly imploded. "This is the Pre-Princess-Celestia's-Royal-Visit Sale, for Luna's sake! Other than Hearts-Warming shopping, this sale is important! This sale keeps our business running smoothly!" "But your 'friend..." Mrs. Cake joined in. "... Is not going to let that happen if he is within two feet of this shop. You have to get rid of him, Pinkie. NOW." "Get rid of him??" the party pony gasped. "I can't do that! That would be too mean!" "You have to do it, Pinkie Pie," the yellow stallion said gravely. "Oh, come now, Mr. and Mrs. Cake," she said with a calming smile. "He's not bad! He's a good pony... I mean, perfume... No... Purse? Perky?" "Now, Pinkie Pie!" Mrs. Cake commanded. "No, seriously! He's a fun guy! You just need to get to know him, that's all. Ooh! We can throw a party! We could have cake, ice cream, party hats, confetti, and--." "No, Pinkie! No parties, no getting to know him, and NO letting him in!" the blue, pink-maned pony nearly barked. "It would ruin us, if he got any closer! Our business... Our reputation... Our little foals, Pound and Pumpkin!" "Don't be silly-willy, Mrs. Cake!" she coaxed the worrisome mare. "Connor's fun, fun, fun!" The two owners of the store exchanged a serious glance. As much as they dearly loved the happy, bubbly, pink pony, they did not want to have to do what they were about to do next. "Pinkie Pie..." Mr. Cake said. "If you don't get rid of him, then... We are going to have to fire you." The pink pony's bouncy mane twitched mightily at the very sound of the word, "fire". "What??" she squeaked in utter disbelief. "F-f-f-fire me?" "Yes," said the blue mare with a sigh. "If you are going to attract that thing everywhere you go, you are only going to hurt yourself. These ponies would only ignore you, no matter how hard you try to get their attention. "But--! You can't! If you fire me, then I wouldn't be able to bake anymore cupcakes! (Gasp!) Then, I wouldn't eat anymore of them! (Gasp!) Then, I wouldn't--!" "Uh, Pinkie Pie?" Connor said from behind the door. "Are you okay in there?" The pink pony turned to look at the door, now with the urge to not answer. Her eyes wrinkled in conflict and hurt. She turned back to the Cakes, pleading with her enlarged eyes on what she should do. "We would tell him to go away ourselves, but... He would most likely listen to you." The pink mare shrunk low in her position. The Cakes on one side. The door concealing Connor on the other side. She certainly did not feel like ditching a friend, but she also did not wish to lose her job as a baker. Was is true that everypony was going to avoid her if she was caught consorting with Connor? If that was true, then her futures parties would only be for naught, because everypony would avoid her and turn down her invitations. And she really... REALLY... Loved cupcakes... She turned to the door and opened it only by a crack. "Uh... Who is it?" she shakily said in a sing-song tone. “Uh, Pinkie, it’s me.” “Oh, hiya, Connor! What’s up?” she said, trying to keep her voice more unwavered. She did not want to hurt his feelings... That was, she did not want to hurt his feelings any more... “Fine, but I'm just wondering why you won’t look at me.” “Ummm… my face is dirty. Yeah, really dirty! I was, uhhh, eating chocolate cake, and I sort of made a mess.” Connor’s face twisted. He did not remember seeing any chocolate cake smothered on her face. He only saw her for about two seconds and could instantly tell that there was nothing on her face. What was she up to? Was she throwing another party for him? Connor slowly nodded his head with a devious smile on his face. “You’re throwing a party for me, aren’t you?” “What...? Oh, yes! That’s right! Uhh, it’s your, um, Coming-Into-Ponyville party! Yeah!” she tittered nervously. “Wait, didn’t you just throw me that party already?” “Oops! Did I say that? I meant, erm, Bachelor Party!” “Pinkie, I’m not even married,” Connor said before he thought, And why would I, a human, want to marry a pony? That’s just against the laws of nature. Not to mention, that is weird as f--. “Oops! Did I say that? I meant, erm, Stag Party!” “That’s the same thing!” “Oops! Did I say that? I meant…” “There is no party, is there?” “Nope, there isn't...” Things were really starting to get suspicious. Connor’s voice was on the brink of frustration. “Then why can’t I come in?” “My face is dirty!” “No, it’s not.” He heard a splat from behind the door. Finally, Pinkie Pie opened the door to show him her face, all covered in bits of cake and frosting. “See? It’s all dirty from the chocolate cake I just ate. Jeezy-weezy, Connie, why are you acting so suspicious?” Connie, she said. That was the same name Scazz Johnson and Dick Small used to make fun of him. However, when Pinkie Pie said it, he did not feel at all annoyed. Well, maybe a little... The human's face twisted at the cake splattered all over her face. “That’s not chocolate cake," he said. "That looks more like red velvet cake.” Pinkie realized her mistake. Indeed, she smothered her face in red velvet cake. “Oops! Did I say that?” she giggled nervously. “I guess I was so hungry, that I couldn’t keep track of what I ate! Silly me!” “Don’t you have to sell those?” “I’ll just make another one!” she replied. “If you say so,” Connor shrugged. “But you still haven’t answered my question about me not coming in.” “It’s a really big mess in here. So big, that one can hardly walk through it.” The human was able to catch a glimpse of what was behind her. What big mess? It looked perfectly clean and tidy to him. He saw Mr. and Mrs. Cake crouching behind the counter. “You sure about that?” he asked softly, getting a little annoyed. She shifted in one direction to block his view. “Oh, yes! Absolutely positively sure! Now, if you will excuse me, I gotta go sell—I mean, sing!” She shut the door and hummed loudly from behind it. Connor felt a little more hurt. He never expected Pinkie Pie to act so rude. His growling stomach reminded him of why he came. “Can I have brownie?” The door cracked open and a hoof holding a small paper bag slithered out. He was about to take it, but the hoof dropped the bag haphazardly onto the ground before he could grab it. The hoof yanked itself back inside and the door slammed shut. "What the hell..." he mumbled, lifting his hands and slapping them against his thighs. Pinkie Pie, acting rude, out of all ponies. He bent over and picked up the bag. He looked inside it to see if the brownie was still good. Thank God, it was. He started to walk back to the library, until he realized that he could not. Twilight told him to stay out until…business hours? Connor started to walk to Rarity’s boutique. He stopped again. Rarity told him to stay out, too. Where the hell was Connor supposed to go? He snapped his fingers… Fluttershy’s. ---------- Connor knocked on the door of her cottage. No answer. He knocked again. Still no answer. He was getting pretty desperate. He really wanted to see her, after all of the junk that happened today. As soon as the door opened, Connor snapped his head back toward the door, eager to see Fluttershy. Instead, he saw nothing. Thump, thump, thump, thump... What was that noise? He looked further down to see a white rabbit, glaring up at him. Connor wrinkled his nose at the rabbit’s rotten-looking expression. For a rabbit, he looked pretty unpleasant. Still, the human showed respect. That rabbit might be Fluttershy's pet. He thought that if he expressed the same love for animals as she did, he would really swim in the waters of friendship with her. He bent down at his knees and began smothering the rabbit with compliments. “Hey, little guy! Aren’t you a cute one? You’re Fluttershy’s precious little angel, aren’t you? Who’s a good rabbit?” The rabbit responded with a deeper glare and a cross of its arms. Jeez, what a grouchy punk. Just like that cat from hell, Opalescence. Connor kept his composure. It would be a nightmare if Fluttershy found out that he and her pet rabbit were in a bad funk. The human smiled, though it was a little more difficult to do around a grouch. “So, little bro, is Fluttershy home?” Flappa-flappa-flappa! resounded the rabbit's ears when it rapidly shook its head. Aw, man... the human thought in disappointment. “Well, uh, can you tell her that I’ve been here and said, ‘hi’?” The rabbit glared still. A small vein popped in Connor’s head. What the hell was with this little turd’s attitude? “What?” Glare. “Cat got your tongue? Oh, that’s right! You can’t talk, can you? Too bad." Then, his hands made a mighty clap. "There! You see what I did? I just acted like a grouch to you. See how that feels? Doesn’t feel good, does it? Better soak in that piece of advice, before I soak it in for you.” The rabbit still glared. It was a grouch and had no feelings? What was the world coming to? “Okay, what is your problem? Carrot shoved up your furry a—.” The next thing he knew, the human found himself sprawling on the ground just a few feet in front of the cottage. Did that punk just…punt him? Connor looked back to see the rabbit with its foot sticking out in front of it. Damn! Strong legs. As Connor stood back up, the rabbit flicked out a sign that had crude, red letters scrawled on it, saying “Get Lost!”. (It pulled out that thing from nowhere. How did it do that?) Then, it slammed the door shut, leaving the human sitting alone on the ground. Inside, the little smug punk clapped the dirt off its paws. “Angel?” squeaked Fluttershy, entering through the back door. “Who was that at the door? I didn’t know that somepony was there, because I was busy feeding the chickens.” The rabbit shrugged. “Was it Connor?” her eyes twinkled as she asked. She was very eager to see him. Ever since he visited her a day ago, her eagerness grew. She felt safe expressing her true feelings at home, but not in public. She was really shy, after all. The rabbit shook its head, denying the truth that it really was Connor. That lying, little punk. The pink-maned pegasus persisted. “Are you sure? I thought I heard his voice. As soon as I heard it, I... Oh my! I felt really happy. And then, I thought—.” The rabbit interrupted her, thumping on her leg with it's hind foot. “Oh…okay…it’s not Connor…” she hung her head. “Oh, I just wish I could meet him again. ” ---------- Damn that rabbit. Connor rubbed his backside as he walked toward Ponyville. Then, a cold spectral tentacle tugged at his heart. Bad memories were flooding into Connor’s mind. He remembered the time when he was pushed out of a group of people he wanted to be friends with so badly. He remembered the time when he asked a really gorgeous girl out to prom, and she turned him down, saying, “Sure! I would love to go to prom! Oh, but wait…not with you.” All of those memories…They had connections to what was happening to him in Ponyville. He was still being ditched. Then, he thought of something else. The way the rabbit kicked him off the front steps made him think of when Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity pushed him out of their houses. Why were they treating him like that? Were they getting self-conscious of him? Were they starting to turn slowly into the rest of Ponyville: scared and prejudicial? Connor shook his head furiously. No, they could not be. They were his friends, right? Right? Then…Why were they acting like that? They were supposed to help make friends for him. He did not want to have to work for it himself. That was too much stress that he did not want. Connor stopped in his tracks. Voices echoed in his head, mimicking his equine friends' voices. They all had different wordings and style of voice, but there was one word which made everything they said to him today sound the same... "Sale." Two of the voices said it as clear as day, but the other three were sounding secretive about it. What was going on? Was this sale the reason why they were avoiding him? What... is... going... on? Looking up from the ground, he saw the quaint, yet large village in front of him, with the long, winding, dirt road slithering up to it like a snake. He sighed heavily. It was no use. If he even walked back into Ponyville, he was only going to be pushed out again. What was the use of trying? Connor sat down in the middle of the road. Sliding his hand into the bag, he felt around for the brownie that was... rudely given to him by Pinkie Pie. Once he felt the greasy, flaky surface, he pulled it out and held it in front of his face. He took a bite out of it. After two to three chews, he winced. Brownies would taste a whole lot better if he were not feeling like this. To be continued…