"Weeeellll?" Pinkie asked "Are you surprised? Are ya? Are ya?"
'Surprised is an understatement...' Booker thought to himself.
"...yeah, guess I am..." Booker stated, almost no excitement in his voice.
The pink mare squealed in glee, and zipped down the street, faster than anything he'd ever seen. He had no words- he could only wonder what kind of hellhole he'd stepped into by accepting this job.
"She always that hyperactive?" he asked.
"Don't let her fool you, she's smarter than she looks." Applejack stated as the group exited the train station.
"Not what I asked..." Booker grumbled as Anna squirmed in his grasp.
"Well, life's never borin' with Pinkie around."
"Heh, I'll bet."
The group fell silent as they walked into the small village, Anna's fussing the only thing breaking the silence.
"Hey Twi, why don't you ask Mr. DeWitt about his super-power?" Rainbow piped up.
'I swear to god, she's going to get it...not today, not tomorrow, but she will...'
The purple princess stopped, then turned to stare at the both of them.
"What? What do you mean, 'super-power'?" she asked, confusion on her features.
"It was so awesome! You should've been there!" the cyan mare gushed "The orthros had Anna in its clutches, then- then he lifted it into the air without even touching it!"
'Is it possible for her to say something and not exaggerate it?'
Twilight cocked a brow, glancing between Rainbow and himself.
"Yeah, I know- you'd think it's just magic; but get this, he doesn't have a horn! Isn't that awesome?!" she said, pointing a hoof at him.
The man in question took offense to being referred to like a science experiment, and spoke his piece.
"It's not-"
"It most certainly is!" Twilight all but shouted, shattering Booker's eardrums "Beings that can use magic without a horn are scarce in Equestria! A certain draconequus being the only one."
"Oh did I hear my name being called?" a disembodied voice echoed, making Booker jump.
A sudden white flash enveloped his vision, and something that could only be described as a creature straight out of of hell appeared before him. The mix-and-match creature was grinning like a madman, staring at him intently with its red pupils.
"What in the-"
"Hello," it said, baffling Booker "I'm Discord, master of Chaos and Disharmony."
The thing held out its only paw, confusing Booker.
"So..." Booker began "...you must be the one I file a complaint to."
A beat of silence, and the creature began to chuckle, then chortle, then devolved into all-out laughter. The thing howled as it rolled on its back.
"I say something funny?" Booker asked, unamused.
The thing's laughter died down, wiping a tear from the larger of its eyes.
"Well, it was funny to me." Discord said, looking around at the indignant looks he was recieving from the herd, save Fluttershy.
Discord then seized Booker's free hand, shaking it up and down rapidly.
"I can't tell you how refreshing it is to finally have another non-equine to talk to!" he said, grinning manically.
"Ahem," Twilight interuppted "we're right here, you know!"
Discord rolled his eyes, then disappeared in a flash. The demon-creature then reappeared in another flash beside Fluttershy.
"Oh, I'm well aware of that," Discord said, making the pegasus squeak as he picked her up "I find our little chats just so entertaining."
He rubbed his knuckles into the pegasus' flowing mane, making the pony in question blush heavily.
Booker rolled his eyes, and addressed Twilight; ignoring the strange creature's odd behavior.
"I need to go, where can I talk to someone about housing?"
"You'd need to go and talk to Mayor Mare, I suppose," she replied after awhile, not noticing the man's eye twitch "and there's always the message board at town hall."
"Huh...thanks..." Booker stated, glancing around at the crowd suddenly gathered around them "where would the town hall be?"
Twilight pointed down the street, to a tall, carousel-like building standing in the center of a circle of thatched-roof houses.
"Uh..." he began "...see ya around."
He turned on his heel, and began walking towards the town hall, leaving the six ponies, baby dragon, and draconequus in the street, along with the few ponies watching the group curiously.
"Hmmph, how rude," Rarity commented, brushing a lock of purple mane out of her eyes "though he did seem like quite a gentlecolt- and that cravat looks simply dashing on him! I'm not quite so sure about the rest of the ensemble though...perhaps he'd allow me..."
The unicorn blushed, discovering herself the focus of her closest friends.
"Well...I can't help it if his style intrigues me."
"That makes two of us..." Twilight grumbled, just loud enough for her friends to hear.
"Me three," Applejack stated "something about that fella don't sit right with me."
"I-I- think he was a very nice...um...whatever he is..."
"Ah ain't sayin' it was a bad feelin'," Applejack responded "it's like...ya bite into an apple, and it tastes like an orange."
"Ugh, I absolutely hate that." Discord chimed in, much to the palomino mare's annoyance "What? I do! It completely ruins my taste buds. I'd much rather taste plums than oranges."
"Anyway," Applejack continued "dignitary or not, I say we should just be on the look out."
"I don't think that would be enough." Twilight responded, rubbing her chin in thought.
"Whatever do you mean? He's a completely unknown species to us." Rarity stated.
"Exactly...which is why I think it'd be best if we get to know him- maybe if we find out why he does what he does, it'll explain any behavior he might have down the road."
"I don't know what you guys are so worked up about," Spike said, causing the mare's gazes to turn to him "I think he's alright- he's like a mix between a dragon and a pony."
"How do ya figure that?" Applejack asked, genuinely curious.
"Well...how do I explain this..."
The baby dragon began to pace back and forth, chewing at the tips of a claw.
"It's like...he's mean, like a dragon, but he only lets it show to ponies he doesn't like...and then it's like he's a totally different guy when he's around Anna."
"I suppose you have point, Spike." Rarity agreed, forcing a furious blush to work its way onto the dragon's features "I mean, not all ponies are...shall we say...civilized, as you and I."
"I think you're all just being silly." Discord stated with finality, disappearing.
"Good riddance..." Rainbow mumbled.
"Much as I hate to admit it, Discord does have a point- we could avoid a lot of trouble if we just get to know him."
The seven were unanimous in their decision.
Booker set Anna down as he approached the center of town, leading the small girl firmly by the hand.
"Well, this is it." he muttered to himself.
The message board was easy enough to find- it was just a simple bulletin board tacked to the side of the carousel-like building, right next to the set of double doors that led into it.
"Lodging...lodging..." he muttered to himself, looking up and down the assortment of papers stapled to the board.
"Bingo." he stated, finding a few papers requesting a room to rent.
Wanted: Roommate- must share bed, must pay half of utilities. No foals and/or pets.
~Blocky Bluff
'Well, that's out...'
Room for rent: must be clean, preferable if not loud or noisy.
~The Great and Powerful Trixie
'Damn it...'
Housemate requested.
Foals and pets accepted.
Utilities can be shared if possible.
~Ditzy Doo
'Simple enough,' he thought, ripping the paper off the board 'just need to go to...728 Haydrop Lane...'
He wanted to bash his head against a brick wall; maybe then he'd be put out of his misery. He plucked Anna off the ground, paper still in hand, and began to search for the address listed- the sooner he could settle in with whoever this Ditzy character was, the sooner he'd be able to figure out what he was supposed to do here. If he was lucky, he'd maybe even be able to find a steady-paying job; living paycheck to paycheck was risky enough as it was.