The ride back to Appaloosa was mostly uneventful for you. Aside from running into a bruised and grumpy Braeburn and a knocked out buffalo chief (who's body fell on you when you went to use the bathroom), nothing else happened on the ride back. When your train was close to the Appaloosa station, you hid in the bathroom as you changed out of the "El Hunko" suit and hat and into your favorite stetson (the one that looks like the 11th Doctor) that you brought before you left Appaloosa last time. After making sure that Braeburn and the, now awake (but grumpy), chief buffalo got off first and that noling was watching, you stepped off the train and back into Appaloosa. You walked around town, getting surprised but happy looks from the townsfolk. You waved and said hi to all of them, and they waved back and said hi and howdy back, Carrot Top even ran up to you and hugged you (then asked if you could patch her squeaky doors). You felt so happy to see them again after how long you've been gone. You ran into Braeburn, and you were only able to say "Hi Br-" before he gave you a bone-crushing hug (you seem to be on the receiving end of that lately). You barely managed to tell him that you needed air before he dropped you and you hugged him back while whispering (you were trying to re-catch your breath),
"Nice to see ya again best buddy."
After you were done hugging and saying hi to the townsfolk, Braeburn took you to the "The Salt Block" for a round of your favorite apple treat, Apple Crisp a la mode with "cider, the good stuff" (Sweet Apple Acres cider).. After consuming seven bottles and five dishes and putting three dishes and two bottles into The Inventory (for your daughter to eat later along with the gourmet hoof-crafted donuts you still had from Donut Joe's), you and Braeburn headed back to his house. After catching up with each other, Braeburn explained how the gala went from "More boring than watching a cactus grow" to "As exciting and dangerous as a rodeo riot" and you explaining that your 'family emergency' is over with, and that it was all a false alarm. Your conversation went something like this:
"Nothing to worry about, just my grandbuggy blowing up his house-"
"How in tarnation is that nothing to worry about?!"
"It's nothing to worry about when it's the eighth time he's done that."
After that you both hit the hay and your life in Appaloosa began... again.
HALF A YEAR LATER
The next 6 months were pretty uneventful with a few exceptions. The first exception was that a month after the Grand Galloping Gala, you took Nightshade out on a picnic to the outskirts of Appleloosa to see "The Secretariat Comet", but it later would turn out that the Secretariat Comet caused magical anomalies all over Equestria including an army of giant cockatrices attacking Canterlot and a "giant marshmallow pony" attacking Manehattan (*). Unfortunately for you, the Comet also resulted in an army of super-powered Tasmanian devils (Think Taz from Loony Toons), Chupacabras, and Vampiric Jackalopes (the latter was especially interesting/puzzling since Nightshade mentions reading in a book that Chupacabras and Jackalopes are normally natural enemies, but it was probably a side-effect of being Comet-powered) heading towards Appleloosa and your picnic happens to be in their path! However, one threatened/frightened Nightshade and the resulting "Nightmare Cloak" beatdown/rampage (which was even more powerful due to the Comet) later and what was left of the army was sent fleeing (or limping away) in terror while you, however, just collapsed from exhaustion. You woke up a couple days later in the local hospital with Nightshade sleeping next to you and you just smiled at how adorable that was and fell back asleep. After that night there were no Tasmanian Devils, Chupacabras, or Jackalopes sighted anywhere near Appleloosa ever again.
A few weeks after that incident, you finally got the newspaper issue talking about the gala disaster (Appleloosa always did get the news late). It was headlined, "Grand Galloping Flop: The Fall of the Hooded Offender!" The article talked about how big of a disaster the Gala was. It went on about how the Hooded Offender 'viciously' attacked the gala-goers and ruined Prince Blueblood's chances of ever having foals, but it also talked about how part of the castle collapsed with the Offender inside. When eye-witness were question by reporters, there were mixed opinions on what happened:
"The Offender saved us. If he didn't hold up the ceiling when he did, we would be dead!"
"He's a monster! He attacked everypony in sight and almost killed me!"
"He sacrificed his life so that I could live to see my beautiful wife and two foals another day, but he also put an exploding collar around my neck almost a week before that. He was definitely not a simple creature..."
"He totally ruined like, any chance I had to have that dreamy prince's beautiful babies! I hope he like, burns in Tartarus!"
When the royal guard captain was asked, he gave no comment besides that the incident was being investigated. You admit you laughed until you passed out when you saw the picture of Blueblood in the hospital. Naturally this also led to conspiracy theories about the Hooded Offender ranging from "There were Multiple Hooded Offenders" to "The Hooded Offender is Just Hiding"
.
There was also a gossip tabloid magazine which you normally avoid (even changelings look down on the paparazzi), but you got it anyway because it was about the Hooded Offender. Apparently the Hooded Offender has an underground fan club that calls themselves "The Horde" and claim that the Hooded Offender was a misunderstood outlaw who sacrificed his life to save those at the gala. The magazine claims (given how its a tabloid, the claims were dubious at best) that members of "The Horde" included a few of the Wonderbolts (which ones weren't mentioned), rebellious teenagers, one of the Elements of Harmony (again, weren't mentioned but you had a fluttering suspicion who), some of the high class nobles, a few Royal Guards, Princess Cadance, and even Sapphire "The Pony of Pop" Shores! What was even more surprising was that, somehow, you got a "secret coded" letter inviting "El Hunko" to the Hooded Offender's memorial (the letter wasn't that secret since all they did was remove all the "Q"s, "V"s, and "Z"s). You wouldn't have gone, cause it was your own memorial and you know... you're still ALIVE. But you decided to go anyway.
When you got to the secret location of the memorial (which, ironically enough, was held in the field you fought the mares at), you saw alot of ponies from the gala, along with Zecora, Trixie (Grrrr...), a pink pegasus who looked alot like Cadance, Fluttershy, Derpy and her daughter, and even Sapphire Shores (it took all of your self-control to not make a complete fool of yourself fanbugging in front of her)! She, along with everyling else (including you), wore a black hooded cloak. There was a small statue made in your likeness, and under it there was a engraved sign that read:
The Hooded Offender
He may be said to be a villain
To be a monster, a cruel stallion
But we know the truth
He was a great stallion
With a heart of gold
And a pure soul
He saved us
He saved those who look down on him because it was the right thing to do
He was a hero
And he died a hero
He sacrificed his life to save those who went to the gala
And we place this memorial in his honor
May he be remembered forever in our hearts
As a true Hero
"Hooded Offender, AWAY!"
-The Horde
A bunch of ponies from the gala went up in front of the statue and gave speeches about how you saved their lives at the gala. Zecora, in her rhyming way talked about how she met you, how she helped you heal and how you two became friends. Finally, Fluttershy went up and talked about all the times you saved her and about how she helped you. She then tearfully talked about how you were such a good friend and how she will never, ever forget you. You went back to Appleloosa that day with tears of joy in your eyes. You would hear rumors about how merchandise, charities, and even an orphanage were dedicated to the Hooded Offender, which would tempt you to consider donning the hooded coat again and pop up as the Hooded Offender, but it was too risky,
The Hooded Offender died to protect ponies from the DFV within me and that's the way it MUST be. You would think.
A few weeks later, you suddenly got the idea to contact them with the "Long Term Communication Spells For Advanced Unicorns"book, but when you looked in The Inventory for it, you discovered that it was missing! You suspect that you lost it either when you jumped out of the train or during the events in Ponyville or Canterlot.
A few months later you finally made enough bits from small jobs and patching to buy a house! You moved out of Braeburn's place with a teary goodbye (on Braeburn's part) before you moved to your new home. The house was a decent-sized two-story building with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen with an icebox and a stove/oven, a living room, and a guest room. You put all the books you had on the bookshelf (required some patching with duct tape, but it came free with the house) and you put all your clothing in your bedroom closet (including the "El Hunko" suit and top hat, the Hooded Offender cloak (under a floor board of course), orange bandanna, and Stetson hat). While Nightshade has her own room which includes some buffalo-made toys, a few used textbooks, and her dress from the Gala, you still frequently find her sleeping in The Inventory (which you still always kept on you at all times out of habit).
Even though life's been pretty good, you always remembered that you have a debt to pay and a very high debt at that to The Doctor of all beings as well. You're afraid that one of these days you're just gonna *poof* out of existence. Hopefully you can save up enough money to pay off the debt before that happens (some days you find yourself almost wishing a dragon would attack just so you can slay it and take it's treasure horde like the heroes in old tales). You also hope he doesn't call in that debt and make you fight a bunch of aliens on a meteor to save a baby or something like that.
We now find you going to bed in a nice orange bed. As you fell asleep, you couldn't help but think how much you love the life you have right now.
To sum it up, life was perfect for Bugze that half year in Appaloosa. Sure, there were ups and downs, but you don't mind. All was peaceful for the changeling... of course with harmony, there will always be chaos. And your life is about to become chaotic as Tartarus...
TO BE CONTINUE IN SEASON TWO OF THE LIFE OF A WANTED CHANGELING!
