Ponies meet Boy Part 2
"Brrrrrrrrr……….. Sounds spooky." Blueben responded while having an intense chill work its way up his spine. "What happened after that?"
"After he said that he just walked straight out of the door without uttering another word." Responded Twilight.
"And that varmint expects the Princesses to welcome him with open hooves after how he acted. Humph!" Applejack said after slumping onto the couch next to Blueben. "I hope I never see that wrangly monster again."
"The thing is though.." Twilight said with her hoof at her chin. "Princess Celestia still agreed to meet with him despite how he acted."
"Not to disrespect The Princess but she said that before he tried to kill Rainbow Dash!" Applejack retorted.
"Even so, she agreed to meet with him as he had asked and I know she would never go back on her word." Twilight said looking towards Applejack. "She must have had a good reason for it."
"Well no one 'round here has seen 'im sense and GOOD riddance!"
"And look what WE got instead!" Pinkie exclaimed pointing at Blueben.
"Please don't do that again…….." He said visibly embarrassed. Then he looked at a nearby clock. After seeing the time he stretched himself out and got off the couch. "Looks like break time is over for me ladies. I gotta get back to work."
"What all do you have left to do?" asked Twilight.
"Like I said before I just have to get the big stuff in my moving cart in here and unpack. After that I'm done moving in." He said as he started walking through the boxes to the door.
"Hey, wait up Blueben." Applejack shouted to him getting up. "Let me help ya."
"You know you don't have to help me right?" Blueben asked giving Applejack a confused look.
"I SAID I'd help ya remember? Besides, nopony should start in someplace new all by themselves."
"She's right!" Pinkie added putting herself in front of Blueben again. "I still need to throw you a party."
"Thanks I guess......." Blueben said looking around awkwardly. He then turned and smiled smugly towards Applejack. "If you're so eager to help me then are you ready to do some hard work? I got some pretty heavy stuff back there."
"Pfffffffff, you kiddin'? Movin ponies in is nothing. You shoulda seen me during applebuck season last year. THAT was hard work." Applejack replied smiling smugly back.
"We'll see about that now won't we?" Blueben said chuckling.
"Hey wait." Twilight said placing a bookmark in the book she had borrowed. "I'll help out to."
"Think you could handle it little lady?" asked Blueben.
"I got my magic on my side. It won't be a problem." Twilight responded joining the group.
"Ok." Blueben said as he shrugged. "The more the merrier I suppose." Blueben then led the way to where he had parked his cart. It looked pretty big for one pony to pull. It was large, brown, and wide enough to fit ten ponies inside of it in a row across it. Strangely though despite it being obviously a moving carriage it had absolutely no writing on it whatsoever. No label, no company logo, no nothing.
"Where did you get this?" Twilight asked noticing how it was completely blank on the outside.
"A friend of mine from back home gave it to me after he heard that I was moving." Blueben said while opening the back door of the carriage. Inside of it were several house furnishings. Couches, tables, a desk, a few podiums, and even parts for a large bookshelf sitting next to a very big stack of books. It was a lot of stuff. "Let's get started."
The four ponies worked hard for a good while that day. While Blueben and Applejack carried in the couches and tables with nothing but their backs, Twilight uses her magic to telekinetically take things into the house where Blueben tells her he wants them. She personally volunteered to assemble his bookcase and organize his books. Pinkie Pie spent the whole time............ simply being Pinkie Pie while she helped them out. As Twilight organized Blueben's book she couldn't help but notice some strange things...........
"Hey Blueben." Called Twilight.
"What's up?" he asked walking to Twilight who was sitting next to his now assembled bookshelf.
"What's this book all about?" She brought the book closer to Blueben. The title read, "The Serial Killer Files" Right on the cover with an eerie blurred display of various ponies' faces in the background.
"Oh yes. That book." Responded Blueben taking the book with his hoof and putting it on the shelf. "Some time ago I was thinking of a character to add to one of my stories. I wanted to make him an especially villainous character so I bought this book as a reference guide for ways I could make the character be scarier. I would NOT recommend this book for the faint of heart. It gets pretty nasty to say the least." He put it on the highest shelf on the bookcase. "I don't want some youngin' getting their hooves on this so I would appreciate it if you would just leave it on the very top shelf."
"And another thing........." Twilight said looking at him. "About that book you gave me earlier. I was wondering if you would let me borrow that for a while."
"Sure you can, just as long as nothing bad happens to it. That book was very hard to find." Blueben told Twilight before heading back to work. Twilight took another look at the book she asked him about. Then she went straight back to what she was doing before. After a while just about everything had been moved in. Applejack and Blueben entered the back of the moving carriage to get started with the last load of stuff. Blueben went to one side of the carriage where all that was left were a pair of shining wooden end tables waiting to be moved. Blueben picked them up and set them outside with the upmost care. Just as he was about to bring them in Applejack called to him.
"What do you want me to do with these?" Blueben looked at where Applejack was standing.
She was pointing at ten large metallic cases that lined the furthest back wall of the carriage. They all had a large number of locks on them, each one bearing a strange symbol of a different color. While Applejack didn't know what any of what those symbols meant she noticed what each one was colored. One red, one orange, one yellow, one green, a second identical green symbol with a star in it, one blue, one indigo, one a violet pink, one black, and one white. Most of them were about the same size except for the case bearing the indigo symbol. That particular case was very tall. It almost reached to the ceiling of the carriage.
"Oh yeah.......... those............ " Blueben said with a sigh. "These are extremely delicate items. I don't want to bring them in until after we get everything unpacked and set up."
"What exactly are they?" asked Applejack scratching her head.
"I couldn't really tell you." Blueben shrugged at Applejack. "A guy I worked for told me to keep these. He never told me what they were."
"And you never opened them?"
"He told me they were delicate. I didn't want to risk anything with them until I got fully moved in. He kinda.......... thrusted these at me just before I started planning on moving here."
"Well that's weird." Applejack said, "Why do you think he would do that?"
"Hay if I know." Blueben shrugged again.
"Well if these things are so delicate then we can't be too careful now can we?" Applejack said getting out of the carriage.
"Indeed." Blueben responded as he followed her. As Applejack walked back into the house Blueben turned around and tightly locked up the carriage behind him.
Pinkie Pie was bouncing all over the living room peaking at all the boxes that had been brought in. She picked one up began studying it carefully. As she looked at it she had a curious look on her face............. It would have been a much more serious expression if she didn't have her tongue sticking out as she did it. "I wonder what's in this one........" she said as she slightly shook the box.
"I would love it if you would please stop doing that." Blueben told Pinkie Pie with concern.
"Why?" She asked.
Blueben took the box from her and opened it up. It contained various soaps and cleaning products plus a toothbrush, deodorant, and a comb. "It has all of my toiletries in it." Blueben then reclosed the box and took it up a nearby flight of stairs. Pinkie Pie followed him for some reason. Curiosity, playfulness, a need to stalk a Colt like a little pony creeper? Nopony could tell you for sure. Regardless though, as Blueben was setting all of the essentials into theire proper places in the bathroom he heard Pinkie shouting something.
"Look at this awesome room!!"
Blueben raised his eyebrow and walked to where he had heard the shouting come from. Pinkie Pie was bouncing for joy as she looked through a nearby door. Blueben looked inside over her shoulder. The room was very big, bigger than anypony would expect one room to be in a house this size. It already had a large mirror in it across from the door and had a large closet area behind what looked like old sliding doors.
"This room would be perfect for a party room!" Pinkie Pie said as she walked in.
"A party room? Really?" inquired Blueben.
"Yeah, oh you could fit soo much stuff in here. You could put a buffet area over there with cupcakes, rolls, cookies, some hay fries. OH! And here would could put a LIFE SIZED pin the tail on the pony poster. Oh oh oh! And THIS could be where you could out a kickin' sound system. Play some swingin' music. Put a dance floor here with some lights over it. Then we could dance and party ALL we wanted. I have this one dance move that I have GOT to show you. You ever heard of the moon trot? It's so awesome! Watch watch watch!" After her rapid fire speech she began demonstrating the dance move she just described all across the floor of the room.
But Blueben paid no attention to that. His own mind was deep in thought. He had his own ideas for the room. "Yes." Blueben thought to himself. "This would be the perfect place to house those things. I could replace that closet over there with a giant steel door. Put some locks on it, some needing keys others needing something electronic. Yes, this room would be perfect." With a smile and a nod Blueben started to exit the room. But at the last second he turned around to see Pinkie Pie still trying to perform that dance move she tried to tell him about. "And people back home think I'M weird." He thought to himself with a chuckle.
"So............. Pinkie Pie........." Blueben asked trying to be more friendly to the odd pony.
"Yeah?" responded Pinkie stopping her dancing.
"Do you really know everypony in Ponyville?" Blueben asked.
"Sure do. There isn't anypony in Ponyville I don't know." Pinkie confirmed cheerfully.
Blueben thought that this might actually be of some use to him. As odd and as slightly annoying as she was Blueben thought that it would just be too mean to dismiss her so quickly. Maybe he would even start to actually like her after a while. Besides, meeting as many ponies with her as he can might be of some help getting used to his new environment.
"Well in that case I would like to maybe go on a little stroll with you through Ponyville and meet some of your other friends. Since I'm new here and all." Blueben said with a smile.
"That's a great idea!!" She bounced clapping her hooves. "But before we do meet me at Sugarcube corner again after a couple of hours. I want you meet Gummy."
"Gummy?" Blueben asked eyebrow raised.
"My cute little pet alligator." Pinkie responded.
Blueben's jaw dropped and a look of confusion had bombed its way onto his face. "Seriously? A pet alligator? You're joking right?"
"Nope." said Pinkie with a smile.
Blueben shook his head trying to gather himself. "An alligator????" He thought to himself. "A freaking pet ALLIGATOR?! That has to be some kind of joke!" Blueben imagined the scene in his mind. He imagined Pinkie Pie's room or at least how he thought it would be. Everything in it pink, the bed, the sheets, the furniture, the carpet. Pink pink pink everywhere the eye could see. But in the middle of this whole mess of pink sat a large......... green.......... ghastly looking................. hungry sounding alligator just WAITING for its next meal. Blueben was shocked at the image in his mind to put it mildly. This mare was weird he could tell but THIS took it to a totally different level.
"He LOVES meeting new ponies." Pinkie told Blueben as she walked past him down the stairs. "I can't wait!" She seemed to bounce with glee from the anticipation of the arrangement she had just made.
Blueben still stood motionless. Still shocked at the idea that such a tiny and harmless looking creature would house such an enormous and dangerous one right in her own home. After a few minutes he only then noticed that Pinkie had left the room. Regrouping himself in his mind he trotted back down the stairs. The first thing he did once he got down the stairs was opening boxes. He looked at each box he opened and looked it over briefly before deciding to either set the box near the stairs or put its contents away right downstairs. He put all of his spices and cooking supplies into the kitchen, he put small furnishings like blankets, rugs, and throw pillows either in his bedroom or on his furniture. He put all of his papers and writing materials in the drawers next to his desk he set up in what he had dubbed as his makeshift study room which was right next to the living room.
"Ooooooooo what's this?" Pinkie Pie asked holding up a strange object. It was shiny like new and mostly flat. She started messing around with it and found the she could open it up. Inside the fold of the shiny metallic object she saw a whole bunch of different buttons arranged in a strange looking fashion. Most of them had letters on them while others bore all sorts of symbols. On the other side she saw what looked like some kind of screen.
"Don't touch that!" Blueben yelled swiping the object from her hooves.
"Well why not?" asked Pinkie who was trying to reach for it.
"It has a lot of personal and private things of mine stored in it and I don't want you pokin' around in there." Blueben told her keeping the shiny object out of her reach.
"Oh come on all I saw were all those buttons on it. What are all those for?" she asked him while trying to reach for the object as hard as she could.
"I am not gonna tell you that." Blueben replied sternly putting the strange object somewhere safe. "Regardless…………. Do. Not. Touch. It."
"This place is comin along mighty fine partner." Applejack commented looking at the now cleaned up and fully done up home.
"Indeed it is." Remarked Blueben planting himself next to Applejack.
"Alrighty, I guess now would be a good time to get those crates you told me about moved in now that everything else is done." She had started once again walking towards where the moving carriage was.
"No no no! That won't be necessary Applejack!" Blueben said stopping her as fast as he could. "I'll take care of that by myself."
"You sure about that sugarcube?" asked Applejack. "There was a lot of them in there and one of 'um looked pretty big.......... are you sure you could handle carryin' those on your own?"
"Of course." Responded Blueben. "Don't you worry about a thing. I can take care of those no problem."
"Alright, if you say so." Applejack said.
"Thanks a lot for the help guys." Blueben said to them with a bow. "I apologize if I seemed really tense. It's just being in a whole new place new with new ........... uhhh ponies around so having some help getting the laborious part done means a lot.
"Always happy to help somepony in need, Blueben." Responded Twilight.
"Well..........." Blueben went over to the door and held it open for his guests. "I guess I'll see you all later."
"See ya later Blueben. Thanks for the doughnut." Applejack said walking out of the door.
"Thanks for letting me borrow the book. I'll try to get it back to you as soon as I can." Twilight said putting the book into her carrying case.
"Oh it's no trouble at all. As long as you treat it right keep it as long as you need it." Blueben told her.
"Thanks again. Bye Blueben. Have a good day." Twilight said as she too walked out of the door.
"Now don't you forget about our meeting ok?" Pinkie said poking Blueben's face with her hoof.
"Meet you at Sugarcube corner in a few hours……." Blueben gulped alittle bit. "To meet your pet alligator before we explore Ponyville. I got it." Blueben smiled nervously his ears pointing backwards.
"Yay! Well, I'll see you then!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly following Twilight out of the door.
After the door closed Blueben went to his window. He watched the three mares as they walked away from his new home. After they were far enough away Blueben emerged from his door and once again trotted over to his moving carriage. He unlocked it and climbed inside. One by one he carried the mysterious metal cases into his house, up the stairs, and into the closet area of the large room Pinkie Pie had found earlier. The metal on the cases shined brightly in the midday sun making the colored symbols on them all the more apparent to anypony who would look at them. Thankfully for Blueben none of the other ponies in any of the nearby homes were watching him too closely. After he had carried all of the crates into the large room he arranged them in an orderly fashion. On the farthest left he set the crate with the black symbol on it, followed by the one with the crimson red symbol, then the orange, then yellow, the two greens, the blue, the indigo, the pinkish violet, and then finally the white on the other end. After he was done arranging them he tightly closed the closet. Blueben stood back and looked calmly at the closed closet. With a wave of his hoof numerous white locks appeared on the closet door out of nowhere. As if guided by an invisible hand every single lock that appeared clicked, hooked, set, beeped, and turned letting Blueben know that it was secure. Nopony would be able to open it with anything short of a nuclear weapon if even that. With a sigh he smiled at the door and the locks he had just conjured satisfied with his work. He looked at the mirror next to the doors and beheld his pony form. He just sat there... silently looking at himself in the mirror with no expression on his face at all. Suddenly, Blueben felt enormous pain ringing through his head. He knelt down onto the floor clinging his head in intense pain. Sweat began to run down his face. His teeth clenched and grinded against themselves. Blueben's breathing quickened as he began to panic amidst all the pain.
"Shut up......." Blueben whispered. "Shut up......... shut up......... SHUT UUUUUUUUUUP!!!" With that final yell the pain had gone from him. The sweat was still running down his face and his breathing was slowly returning to normal. He swayed slowly one way then the next as he tried to stand back up. After fully regaining his composure he looked briefly at the secured closet and then at the mirror. His eyes widened as he quickly turned his back towards both.
"Look you......." Blueben spoke slowly. "I don't like this whole situation any more than you do but like it or not you're stuck with me. I'm the one in charge of you now so you better get used to it! Some of you I know mean no harm and I apologize for all of this but I know which ones among you DO mean harm. You aren't gonna get to run around free to cause chaos like you used to and as long as I am in charge of you never will you be able to do so again! I hope I have made myself crystal clear." Blueben then started walking out of the room taking note of the numerous pairs of eyes staring at him.........which ones were looks of concern.......... and which ones were looks of hate.
************
"Wooooooowy, nothing like some good old fashioned work to help another pony." Applejack commented as the three mares made their way home.
"Yeah. He seemed like a very interesting colt." Commented Twilight.
"He seemed pretty nice if kinda grouchy." Pinkie Pie said.
"That might be because of how you jumped on him sugarcube. Did you even see the look on his face. He was as red as one of my apples." Applejack told her while giggling.
"Well... When I found that shiny thing in one of his boxes he kinda freaked about it." Pinkie Pie explained. "Twilight, do you know what that was?"
"I really coundn't tell you Pinkie Pie." Responded Twilight. "But he did say he kept some personal things on it. He might have been embarrassed or shy about you having found it."
"Oh well, that doesn't matter anyway. Him and I are gonna be meeting up later so I can give him a tour of Ponyville." Pinkie Pie said jumping again.
"It's good that he's trying to meet ponies. Unlike a certain other new pony that we had." Applejack joked poking Twilight.
"I thought I already explained that to you." Twilight retorted. "I was really concerned about Nightmare Moon. I wasn't exactly in the mood to be making friends. But now that I look back I'm really glad to have met you guys."
"Aw shucks Twilight." Applejack said smiling.
Twilight after laughing alittle thought to herself for a minute. Then using her magic she pulled out the book that Blueben had let her borrow. She looked at it with a serious look on her face.
"What is it Twi?" Asked Applejack concerned. "Is something up?"
"Nothing's wrong Applejack........" Twilight responded. "It's just that all the stories in this book were really foreign to me. When I asked Blueben about what was in here he told me that this book had various references to famous stories and myths from around the world. There were a lot of books similar to this one in the library at Canterlot and not a single one of them had any of these stories in them." Twilight then placed the large book back in her bag. "I plan on doing some research and see if I can find anything that can tell me something about the stories told in this book. What do you guys plan on doing?"
"I'm headin back to the farm." Said Applejack. "I need to check in on all the spare apples I have left from market today. Which ones to throw away. The usual."
"I gotta get ready to meet up with Blueben." She stopped for a minute then GASPED loudly once again as a lightbulb went off in her mind.
"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking Pinkie Pie?" Asked Twilight.
"Shhhhhhhh." Pinkie Pie said. She looked around and then motioned to the others to come closer. They did so and huddled around Pinkie.
"I have got the PERFECT surprise for Blueben!" She exclaimed before whispering to her friends about her new plan.