//------------------------------// // I Need A Laboratory // Story: Dexter's Lab: Equestria // by RenegadeAlias //------------------------------// Notes: Apologies for the long wait, life has been busy lately. I hope you enjoy, as usual help me out my pointing out grammar mistakes / typos, I don't trust MS word to catch them all. Enjoy and leave a comment! Dexter gave a hesitant reply to Applejack’s greeting. She didn’t take much note of it though; she figured the colt would be nervous or even shy. By the looks of her, Dexter wouldn’t have guessed she was a farmer from the start. Both her mane and coat were clean and in relatively good condition. However she did look rather strong. “Nice to meet you Applejack,” He replied with a hint of nervousness. “Aura, can I talk to you for a moment?” He said to the unicorn before ducking back into the hall. He didn’t realize the idea of staying with a farmer was unsettling until now, nor did he know how to explain why exactly. It came to him as a flashback. --- With a gust of air, the meager flame of a nearly spent candle died. “Aw shoot, my candle dun burned out.” Not a second after the voice had finished did a figure burst forth with a startling and blinding light. “LOOK, I MADE A POTATO POWERED LIGHT JUST FOR YOU!!!” “GAHHH!!!” There was a loud smash, then darkness. . . . “It glowed an evillll glow! . . . He’s a bad seed ah tell ya.” ‘Dexter, what have you done? These people are going to... gulp ... hurt you.’ --- “Are you sure she is not a throw-back technophobe with possible violent tendencies toward the scientifically inclined?” He asked rather quickly, earning a strange look from the counselor. “Umm. . .” Aura took a moment to respond, she didn’t exactly catch what Dexter said because he said it rather fast. “If you’re questioning her character, you should know she is an element of harmony. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone else in this country with as much integrity as her.” “I’m not worried about integrity, Counselor.” He replied as he adjusted his glasses. “I’m worried about ignorance. Does she have any reason to hate science, machinery, robots or physics?” “You have nothing to worry about, Dexter,” She said with a dismissive wave before moving back inside, motioning for Dexter to follow. “Somethin’ tha matter Dex?” Applejack asked with an eyebrow raised, she hadn’t moved from the spot they left her in. “No, everything is fine.” He sighed. “Just a little nervous is all.” “Ah can understand that,” Applejack replied, trying to reassure him with a warm smile. “But yah don’t have ta worry about a thing.” “Um, can I ask you why?” Dexter said, scratching his head. “Why what?” she replied. “Why you volunteered to take me?” Dexter finished. “Well, it’s not every day ya come across a young colt like yer’self lying unconscious in a crater.” Applejack explained. “And ah couldn’t call what I saw in the mirror a decent apple if ah didn’t do what ah could ta help out. Mah brother said he couldn’t see anything wrong with ya and wanted to take ya home til ya woke up, but ah insisted we bring ya to a doctor to get checked out.” Dexter nodded; he had to admit it was the sensible thing to do in such a situation. “And don’t you worry about being a burden neither, it’s no trouble fer us.” Applejack went on. “We got a few extra guest rooms back at the farm, usually we put family in em' when they’re in town. But nopony is here right now.” “Well, I am grateful.” Dexter replied, though a part of him couldn’t help regret that he’d be on a farm again. Applejack and Dexter left soon thereafter, Dexter waving goodbye to Aura. The blue unicorn was quite relieved to have the handful of a colt off her plate now. Though she did say she would check up on Dexter regularly, and that she would inform him the moment she found out anything about his relatives. Though Dexter knew they’d never be found, this was all a hallucination. . . right? They were halfway through Ponyville when Applejack asked where he was from; needless to say his home town was a place she’d never heard of. But she was able to gather that he wasn’t from anywhere nearby, so she decided to give him a small tour. It would be enough for him to know his way around. To Dexter, Ponyville was an odd place. The houses were made out of the strangest materials, and sometimes had even stranger architecture. In fact, the library was apparently made out of a tree and one of the local bakeries bore a resemblance to a gingerbread house. It drove the engineer part of his genius insane. Then again, he was insane in more ways than one . . . wasn't he? Dexter, who was no stranger to hallucinations, had to admit that this was one of the most detailed hallucinations he had ever experienced. Dexter was the type of genius that could innately remember everything that had ever happened to him. Sometimes it was to his detriment, as memories like Dee Dee’s stupid dance ‘the fanciful unicorn’ were forever burned into his mind. But now his memory served him in a different way. Dexter could remember every moment since he first laid eyes on the bizarre looking equines. He could also remember every detail of his life before that. But if his brain was screwed up by a hallucination, shouldn’t he be struggling to remember everything? Shouldn’t his memory be just as unreliable as the rest of his malfunctioning mind? That was the problem; his memory was as reliable as ever. “Could . . . could this be real?” Dexter asked his reflection. The two earth ponies had stopped briefly at a fountain and Dexter was now looking at his reflection in the water. A colt with a white coat and blue eyes stared back at him. His orange-red tail and mane matching the color of the hair Dexter remembered. “Ginger!?” Dexter looked up to see a chestnut pony with a brown mane and a sand dial cutie mark. “How come he gets to be ginger?!” However, as quickly as the pony appeared he was dragged off by a grey pegasus that looked perpetually cross-eyed. “Yah say something hun?” Applejack asked as she finished chewing on an apple, casting a look at the two retreating ponies. “Hey, Miss Applejack.” He began. “It’s jus Applejack, Dex.” She answered before looking at him. “You said you found me right? Can you show me where, exactly?” He asked. “Well, sure. I reckon Ah’ve already showed you everything else. I don’t see why not” She said before motioning with a flick of her tail for him to follow. They walked in silence until they were on a small road leading out of Ponyville. Less than half a mile into the walk Dexter spotted what appeared to be a small crater. “This is where we found yah, you were right down there.” She motioned toward the hole in the ground. However, when Dexter looked at it he didn’t see a crater. He saw a near perfect hemisphere. “That’s odd . . .” Dexter said to himself, earning Applejack's attention. “What is?” She replied, watching Dexter jump into the hole. “This is a near perfect hemisphere.” He replied, thinking allowed. However, when he noticed her confused grimace he elaborated. “A perfect sphere, and by extension a perfect half-sphere, cannot form inside a gravitational field. It’s theoretically impossible.” “Unless,” The hamster started to run. “Something altered the curvature of the local space-time geodesic and suspended the effects of gravity, while producing a new localized field of space-time that suddenly and rapidly expanded outward from a central focus. But only a singularity or. . . wormhole. . . could do that.” He trailed off. Applejack had absolutely no idea what he just said. But this presented another problem for Dexter. He could recall working in a wormhole generator until something went horribly wrong. Dee Dee, the bane of his existence, had pushed a button or fifty. As his brain continued to race, Dexter absentmindedly sat on his haunches. However, when he did so his hoof bumped against something in the dirt. He didn’t recognize it at first; it looked like a piece of a shoe. It was his shoe. Pushing away more of the dirt revealed a few more items. A torn piece of his original lab coat and a small pouch of that he used as a tool kit in his laboratory. “How?” He asked no one in particular. The whole time he was getting a slightly worried look from Applejack. “Is this real?” He said as he carried the tool kit out of the hole. “You all right Dexter?” Applejack asked, causing his gaze to snap from the kit and onto her. “You’re real. . . aren’t you?” He still sounded skeptical. He walked up to her and poked her chest with a muddy hoof. Poke. . . “Umm . . . Dex?” Poke . . . Poke . . . Poke . . . “Will ya quit it?” She said, swatting away the annoying limb and brushing some mud off her chest. “I, uh.” Dexter began. “Sorry Applejack, I just . . . realized something.” “Care ta share?” “Not really.” --- Applejack was now leading them both to her home, Sweet Apple Acres. After that little weird moment with Dexter, she had remained silent for most of the way home. Occasionally she glanced at Dexter, as if to make sure he wasn’t having another ‘moment.’ Truth was, she didn’t know what to think. He seemed a little weird, but then again many of the townsfolk were a lot stranger than him. After formulating and being confronted by a theory that partially explained his situation, Dexter wanted to freak out for a second time. However, there was one thing stopping him. He knew he was being watched, watched for real. This wasn’t a hallucination. At least, that’s what he believed now. So either his descent into madness had been averted, or was now complete. Either way was irrelevant now. He believed it was all real, and that made for a lot of unanswered questions. The most glaring was ‘magic.’ At least, that’s what the unicorns called it when they lifted objects in a glowing aura of light. He couldn’t believe that it was ‘magic,’ but whatever it was deserved full investigation and scientific analysis. The second most glaring question was, how in the world was he picking up objects and manipulating them with a hoof? In fact, why had he turned into a pony in the first place? Until now, he thought it was all due to the hallucination. The third question was, how was he going to get home? Could he even get home? And those three were only the tip of the iceberg. The scientist inside Dexter hungered to know. These questions burned inside his mind, and he resolved that he would not rest until he got the answers. But for that, there was one thing he required above all. “I need a laboratory.” He declared. There was one small problem, he had shown off his abilities at the hospital. He had learned long ago to keep his scientific prowess a secret, as exposure can cause problems. Dexter had a nagging feeling that his stunt at the hospital would come back to haunt him, he would have to be more careful. --- Sweet Apple Acres was actually nice in Dexter’s opinion. It was a far cry from the dusty farm he had gone to for summer camp, and the daunting rows upon rows of apple trees made for one of the finest orchards Dexter had ever seen. “Wow, have enough apples?” Dexter asked, earning a chuckle from Applejack. “Enough apples? Never.” She replied. “But if yer looking for some, you won’t find better apples or a better orchard then what ya get at Sweet Apple Acres.” She declared proudly. “If you’re ever looking for a snack, take an apple from the baskets. We always buck the ripe ones, and they taste the best.” “Thanks,” He replied gratefully. “Mah brother n’ sister are probably inside having lunch right about now.” She continued. “I’ll introduce ya and then we can get you settled in.” The farmhouse had a cozy feel to it, and it was definitely large enough. The decor was exactly what he’d expect from an old-fashioned farmhouse, and he could tell that he was going to miss some of the luxuries afforded by human technology. That is until he got a lab up and running. Introductions were simple enough. The elderly mare was named Granny Smith, her coat was the same color as the apple of her namesake. She seemed nice enough, if not a little out of it. But she seemed to pick up Dexter’s name fast enough. The big red one, who was significantly larger than Dexter, was Big Macintosh. He had green eyes and an orange mane that was slightly brighter than Dexter’s. His significantly larger size and strong build was slightly intimidating to the colt at first, but he proved friendly enough the few times he spoke. The last one was an excitable yellow filly about the same size and age as Dexter. She wore a pink bow that was only slightly brighter than her red-pink mane. “Hi,” She chirped. “Ah’m Applebloom! What’s yer name?” “Dexter” What followed was a barrage of questions, asking Dexter everything from his hoof size to his birthday. Dexter ended up making up most of his answers; however her assault upon his ears ended when she spotted a mark on his flank. “Oh mah goodness!” She gasped with excitement that set off warning bells for Dexter. “You’ve got yer cutie mark!” She gestured with a hoof to the colt’s flank. Dexter craned his head around to look at his flank where he spotted a symbol he had never seen before. The mark was completely black and contrasted with his white coat. The primary piece of the mark was undoubtedly an atom, a standard symbol for science. Obscured by the atom was a large D, the logo on his suit whenever he was playing superhero. All of this was overlaid on a double-sided wrench, the tool he could be seen using the most. “What the?” Dexter said, slightly nervous. “Cutie mark?” He asked the filly as he tried rubbing it away. “What the heck is that?” “It represents yer special talent.” The filly responded with a raised eyebrow. “Don’t you know what a cutie mark is?” “Yah, of course I do.” Dexter lied hesitantly, rubbing the mark as if he could brush it off. He didn’t remember spotting it before, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. Dexter just hadn't checked. He had only just started taking things seriously, and despite seeing the marks on the other ponies, he hadn't bothered to pay any attention to them until now. “So, what does it mean?” Applebloom asked enthusiastically.”What’s yer special talent?” “Umm, I don’t know.” He lied. Though, due to the loud gasp of disbelief from the other pony child, he regretted it immediately. Dexter was still regretting what he did at the hospital. He didn’t want to show off his abilities, but now he apparently had a mark on his hind side showcasing his ability to the world. “What do ya mean ya don’t know?” Applebloom asked as she shifted to examine his cutie mark again. She had no idea what the mark could mean just by looking at it. “How can you not know yer own special talent?” “I, uh, never knew I had one.” Dexter replied. “Well, what were you doing when you got yer mark?” She asked. “I don’t remember,” Dexter said, truthfully this time. He didn’t recall doing anything to receive the mark, for all he knew the mark had always been there. A part of him was curious about how he got it, from a scientific standpoint. Applebloom, on the other hand, felt it was a travesty for someone to not know the meaning of their cutie mark. It was like someone forgetting their own name. “Hey, how about you come with me and the other crusaders?” She offered, failing to explain what she meant by crusaders. “Ya can’t join the crusaders because you have yer mark, but you might be able ta find out what it means while we try stuff ta earn ours!” “Umm . . . thanks but no thanks,” Dexter replied, he couldn’t waste time playing with the filly. He’s got science to do. However Applebloom wouldn’t be dissuaded so easily. She was cute and she knew it, a dangerous combination. “Aww, please?” She sniffed in sadness as she put on puppy dog eyes. “No.” Dexter turned away, he could be one cold- “Please?” Applebloom said, standing in front of him again. She was fast for a filly. The effect of her puppy-dog eyes had shifted gears from begging puppy to kicked puppy. Her once prominent bow seemed to deflate and her lower lip started quivering as she sulked. “But I . . .” Dexter trailed off, he could feel his ability to resist erode with each passing second. It felt like someone had grabbed his heart and started to squeeze. “I . . . well I guess I-“ “Yay!” She cheered before grabbing Dexter by the neck and dragging him off. He only managed to cast a glance back at Big Mac and Applejack, his eyes pleading for them to save him, but the siblings simply smiled and waved goodbye. --- “AAAHHHHHHHH!!!” Dexter let how his less-than-manly scream as he made a mad dash out of the Carousel Boutique. Three foals in tow: Appleboom, a white unicorn named Sweet Belle, and an orange pegasus named Scootaloo. Normally Dexter didn’t make the habit of running away while screaming like a loser, but today was special because of a little ‘accident.’ It all started when Applebloom dragged Dexter to her friend Sweetie Belle’s house, the ‘Carousel Boutique.’ Well, it wasn’t actually her house but rather her older sister Rarity’s house. But said older sister wasn’t home at the moment, she was at the spa. The Boutique was so girly looking, Dexter thought he’d ‘lose his Y chromosome’ the moment he stepped in the place. The three fillies were meeting up to finish a school project. It was also their latest attempt at getting a ‘cutie mark.’ They were trying for a special talent in ‘historical presentation’ if Dexter remembered correctly. This project happened to be a paper mache volcano. It was a simple project, if not boring, in Dexter’s opinion. But he agreed to help since it was the only way to avoid Applebloom’s comatose inducing kicked-puppy look. However, in the fillies’ enthusiasm, they made their volcano too large. It wouldn’t erupt with simple baking powder and vinegar. Something more powerful was needed. A simple problem with a simple solution. Nothing could go wrong, right? That’s when Dexter asked Sweetie Belle where her sister kept the cleaning supplies, and to his surprise, there was no shortage of household cleaners available. Sweetie Belle’s older sister must have been a slight neat-freak. Now Dexter may have lacked foresight at times, but he was by no means stupid. Viewing the chemicals he found inside a locked closet, he made sure that his selection would not produce poisonous fumes. That didn’t stop things from going horribly wrong. It all spiraled out of control when Dexter made a fatal mistake, he trusted the fillies to follow directions. “Add only a little bit of the clear liquid,” Dexter said, shoving a bottle into a set of orange hooves. “And add all of the blue liquid,” Another bottle shoved into a set of yellow hooves. “Mix it all in a metal bottle and place the bottle inside the volcano.” Dexter spoke in terms of color rather than chemical names to simplify it for the fillies. However, it wasn’t a good sign when the volcano started getting really hot. “I don’t understand, it shouldn’t be doing that.” Dexter said. It only took a single question for Scootaloo and Applebloom to descend into an argument about who was supposed to add all of what. Dexter tried to open the cap on the metal bottle, he really did. He wanted to release the pressure before it had the chance to build up, but it was too late. The bottle was nearly hot enough to burn and the pressure on the lid wouldn’t let it move. “Umm . . . heh” Dexter gave a nervous chuckle. “Run.” Extreme heat, extreme pressure and a metal container to let the energy build. Dexter knew these three things were what made the difference between a childhood volcano experiment and a volcano-shaped bomb. So now Dexter was hollering like an idiot as he went running from the Carousel Boutique, three confused fillies following closely behind. “What’s wrong Dexter, why are you screaming?” Scootaloo asked from somewhere behind him. Not a second after Scootaloo finished her question was there an ear-shattering pop. It sounded like a firecracker going off, and was followed by the sound of shattering glass. The foals stopped and turned around. All the windows and doors of the boutique had either been shattered or blown open. A white froth, which was meant to be the volcano’s lava, oozed out of the ground level windows and doors. “Oh no no no!” Sweetie Belle lamented. “Rarity is going to kill me!” “Yeeaaahh . . .” Scootaloo responded, “You might want to stay with your parents tonight.” The foals took another moment to watch the foam oozing out of the boutique. “Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Applebloom? As far as anyone is concerned, we were never here.” Dexter turned away from the scene and started to casually whistle, trying too hard to look inconspicuous. --- “Dexter, you imbecile.” Dexter berated himself as he paced his bedroom. It was the room Applejack had given him for his stay at Sweet Apple Acres. “Two days with these Equines and you convince half of them you're crazy, and then bomb a boutique!” He was being a little over-dramatic. Applebloom had immediately spilled her guts out to her family, tattling on herself and Dexter about everything that had happened with her failed school project the moment they returned home. Needless to say, Applejack wasn’t happy. Though Granny Smith thought it was a riot. Applejack must have developed immunity to Applebloom’s ‘kicked puppy’ look, because no amount of sulking stopped Applebloom from being awarded a week’s worth of extra chores as punishment. Dexter, however, was sent to his room. He was told that Big Mac would be along shortly to give him his punishment. “Dex?” Big Mac said as he pushed the door to Dexter’s room open, causing the colt to jump. The colt felt miniscule as Big Mac approached, towering over the foal. Seriously, he should be classified as a horse and not a pony. “Y-yes?” Dexter asked nervously. “You do somthin’ wrong?” He asked simply. “Yes,” Dexter admitted, feeling himself shrink under his gaze. “And I’ll do whatever chores I need to as recompense or until . . ." Dexter trailed off as Big Mac raised a hoof. “Don’t worry, yer gonna get yer fair share of chores whether yer in trouble or not.” Big Mac replied. “But the question is, you did something wrong and you know it. Are you going to do it again?” “No,” Dexter replied hastily. “Good enough fer me,” Big Mac replied before stepping aside. “You can go.” Dexter hastily moved to leave, wanting nothing more than to get away. However, he was just about out of the door when Big Mac spoke again. This time his voice was completely clear, losing any trace of his accent. Now he just sounded deep and foreboding. “But seriously Dexter, don’t do it again.” he said, sending a shiver down Dexter’s spine. --- Somewhere on the far side of Ponyville. “Yes, but I would still like to give it a shot just to see if it can tell us what is going on.” Band-Aid said to one of his nurses. He and two nurses were arguing about using their latest piece of equipment, something that Dexter was so kind to build for them. They were trying to solve a medical mystery. One of their patients, who was sick for an unknown reason, had miraculously got better. “But it’s not sanctioned,” One of the nurses argued. “Yes, I know that.” Band-Aid responded. “But we have absolutely no idea what went wrong or why the patient is getting better. All our other tests have proved inconclusive. And for all we know the patient could get worse the moment they set hoof out of the hospital.” “Fine, but note my objection. I don’t want to be held responsible if something bad happens.” The nurse defended. “Fine, but just go and bring in the patient.” He told her before she left. “Nurse Redheart, go turn on the Mark One.” The other nurse returned, pushing a pony in a wheelchair. She placed the patient in the center of the device’s ring. “Whoa, what’s this?” the patient asked as she examined it. “Oh, it’s just something we hope will tell us what was wrong with you and why you got better.” Redheart replied with a reassuring smile. “Here we go!” Band-Aid said as he hit the scan button just as the nurses got out of the way. However, the moment the displays lit up Band-Aid’s eyes bugged out. “N-Nurse R-Redheart, can you come h-here for a moment.” He said, at a near whisper. Fear saturated his voice. “What is it?” Nurse Redheart said worriedly as she stood beside him. “What’s wrong?” However, when she looked at the screen she nearly tripped. The scan showed an overview of the patient, however it wasn’t a pony. “SHE’S A CHANGELI-“ Nurse Redheart started to shout in surprise, almost not believing what she was seeing. However, her outburst was cut short. Band-Aid had used his magic to cover her snout and snapping it shut. “Everything okay back there?” The patient called out, wearing a worried yet hopeful expression. The nurse and doctor hesitantly peeked over the displays. “Everything’s fine!” Band-Aid replied, although his reassuring façade was well practiced he couldn’t tell if the changeling suspected that something was wrong. It was rumored that Changelings could sense emotions. Something he hoped was only a rumor as he glanced at the near-panicking nurse next to him. “What are we going to do?” Redheart whispered into his ear. “I mean, I’ve never met a changeling before. At least as far as I can tell. Is it going to eat us?” It took a moment for Band-Aid to respond. “Listen, I’ll stay here. Hopefully it doesn’t know we’re on to it.” Band-Aid began, still whispering. “Play it cool and walk out of here, then immediately send a message to the guard headquarters in Canterlot. Tell them what’s happened here.” “Okay,” Nurse Redheart replied, still with fear in her voice. “A-Anything else?” “Yes, make sure your letter tells them about the Mark One device. Canterlot has been looking for ways to reliably detect changelings ever since their attack. It’s critical they know about this device.” He said still with a hushed tone. “Then afterwards send a message to the closest guard garrison and have them send a squad immediately.” “Anything wrong here?” The patient asked, seemingly popping up out of now here. Band-Aid hurriedly cut the power to the device, causing its displays to sputter out before the ‘patient’ could anything. “No, nothing. Nothing at all.” Band-Aid replied hastily, sweat starting to form on his head as he addressed his ‘patient.’ “Though, I’d like to keep you here overnight. You know, for observation. Just to make sure that you’re okay.” Band-Aid turned to Nurse Redheart and mouthed ‘Go.’ She immediately turned and left. “Are you sure that is necessary?” The patient asked, bighting her lip. “You seem to be . . . afraid. Are you sure there is nothing wrong?” “Yes, I’m sure. Now please return to your bed.” --- That night Dexter slept well, the bed he had been given was surprisingly comfortable and he had no problems falling asleep. The following morning was spent doing chores with Appleboom, under the careful watch of Applejack. The work was, surprisingly, not too difficult for Dexter. He wasn’t a stranger to manual labor, being the sole person responsible for his laboratory. However, his equine body felt much more accustomed to it. Especially when he had to pull something like a cart, four legs were definitely better than two in that regard. Though he really didn’t like getting sweaty with fur, sweating was a lot worse with fur. That, and his only other regret was not being able to spend the time looking for a hidden location to build his laboratory. But he wasn’t about to complain. He'd already had a bad experience with ‘simple farmers’ in his past, and he was already in trouble. So he didn’t want to push his luck. It was around mid-day when Applejack called it quits for herself and the foals. “Applebloom, yer done for the day.” Applejack said. “Dex? Yer coming with me. Ah gotta take you ta town so you can meet the school teacher. Until yer parents can be found, yer going to have to take classes here. You don’t want to fall behind other foals yer age.” “School?” Dexter replied. He was having a mixed reaction. Dexter knew that he’s probably forgotten more knowledge than the local school teacher ever had, but he was always more than eager to learn. He also prided himself on being the best student. “Sounds good to me!” “Huh?” Applejack was a little surprised. “Not the typical response from a colt yer age, but Ah’m glad to see ya value an education. C’mon.” The trek to the school house was uneventful, Applejack idly engaged Dexter in small talk for the most of it. However, that changed when a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane flew up and greeted Applejack. “Hi Applejack!” Rainbow Dash greeted, before taking a second to glance at the colt walking alongside the farm pony. She hovered alongside the two earth ponies as they walked. “Heya Dash,” Applejack returned the greeting. “Say, has the weather team set up fer tonight’s rain?” “Yah, don’t worry Applejack. Your orchard will get its rain.” Dash replied waving a forehoof dismissively. Dexter’s brain was having a fit at the sight of the pegasus. He couldn’t work out how a horse, or pony for that matter, could sustain flight with wings. At the very least her wings should be flapping faster than a hummingbird’s. Yet here she was, flying with her wings flapping casually. He kept on looking at the blue Pegasus, trying to see if there was something he was missing. However, Rainbow Dash noticed his stare just before he could avert his gaze. “Hey Applejack, Who’s the foal? Family again?” Rainbow Dash asked Applejack, motioning toward Dexter with a hoof. “Actually not this time, Big Mac an’ Ah found him on the road to Ponyville the other day.” Applejack explained. “Accordin’ to the doctors at the hospital he’s a stray. So we’re looking after him until his parents are found.” “Dexter, introduce yerself.” Applejack said to the colt. “This here is Rainbow Dash, She’s one of mah good friends an-” “And the most awesome pony she knows!” Rainbow Dash finished for her. “Um, hello?” Dexter said. “She can be a bit of a showboat.” Applejack commented. Rainbow Dash ignored it. “Wait a second, you’re Dexter?” Rainbow Dash asked with a raised eyebrow, before a mischievous grin formed on her face. “Scootaloo told me about how you and the crusaders made that gigantic bubble mess at Rarity’s house!” Rainbow Dash started to laugh. “That was great!” “Don’t encourage em’ Dash!” Applejack replied. “The crusaders get into enough trouble without you making em’ think it’s funny.” “But it was funny! Not as good as my pranks, but definitely worth a laugh!” Rainbow Dash said between fits of laughter. “I heard Rarity’s scream all the way from my house, and when I got there, you should have seen the look on her face!” Applejack had to suppress a chuckle, the image of Rarity coming home to a boutique overflowing with strange bubbles was hard to resist. Dash’s continued laughter didn’t help very much. “You’d better watch out though, Dexter. Rarity is out for blood!” Dash said before letting her amusement die down. “I helped her with the cleanup for a few hours this morning, at least until some of the guard showed up.” “The guard?” Applejack asked, “Why would the royal guard come out here?” If Dexter had to guess, it was to investigate the boutique bombing. Maybe if he pleaded for mercy and said it was an accident they’d only charge him with vandalism. “They didn’t tell us exactly,” Rainbow Dash went on. “They said they were coming to check up on the Elements of Harmony to make sure we were alright. I did hear from one of the other weather pegasi that a changeling was caught in the hospital last night, which might have something to do with it.” “Really?” Applejack asked with slight disbelief. “A changeling? Well, that’d explain why they’d come and check on us. Probably makin' sure we weren’t foalnapped or something.” Now Dexter had no idea what a changeling was, but he was relieved to know that the guard wasn’t after him. “Yah, I guessed as much.” Dash replied. “If they haven’t been to the farm yet, they’ll probably stop by soon.” “Ah’ll keep an eye out fer em’.”