//------------------------------// // Day of Ceremony // Story: OC, Oh Crap! // by SmokeShadow95 //------------------------------// The next day came with everyone wishing for a new beginning. The three strangers were glad Twilight wasn't angry with them, but that was still a bad impression on only their second day. They didn't want that, nor did they need it. They were on shaky ground is was being strange creatures even by Equestrian standards. But the day was one of ceremony. It was to be the day that Twilight and the Mayor introduced them to Ponyville. So, one by one they rose from their beds earlier than any of them liked. Spike came around at 7:00 AM and woke them all up. He took some pleasure in it, too. He was in hot water with Twilight as well and was hoping this would get him back in her good graces. “Okay, okay. I'm up,” Austin groaned as he rolled out of bed. “I really wanna punch that baby dragon sometimes,” Tessla grumbled. His eyes were still closed, but he was awake. “I'm awake!” Ben's head shot up, but he immediately regretted it. He lay back down for a minute before getting out of bed. They all threw on whatever clothes they had and walked out to meet Spike. He was waiting for them in the hallway. He didn't say anything as he turned and started walking. Austin just started following him. Tessla and Ben shrugged and then started following Austin. After a moment of silence, Spike started to speak. “Twilight is talking with the Mayor now,” He explained. “You are going to meet her and have breakfast with her. During that time you will talk and she will get to know you. The ceremony itself isn't until 10:00 AM. At 9:00 AM Rarity will be here with your fancy attire for the ceremony. Are you all clear on how the day will proceed?” “I have a question,” Tessla proclaimed. “Why are talking like that?” Spike groaned. “I am trying to be more professional so Twilight will forgive me for screwing up yesterday.” “When did you screw up?” Spike whirled around and angrily pointed at Austin, who asked the seemingly stupid question. “You know darn well when I screwed up! You were all there!” Austin knelt down to Spike's level so he could speak with him. “Spike, you did all you could to salvage a day that Twilight needed. We are the ones that screwed up. You saved her and that staffer from having a full blown meltdown.” “I tried explaining that to Twilight, but she wouldn't listen to me,” Spike said. “That's probably because this day is even more important to her. It's important for us as well. Trust me, we won't screw up today. But, can you try to act like you in the meantime?” “I guess I can do that,” Spike said. He and Austin shook on it and they started walking again. It didn't take as long to get to the dining hall as it did before. They were greeted by the same lovely smells as the morning before. At least it was going to be a good breakfast. The four walked in to see all of the Mane Six there as well as the Mayor. Spike froze when he saw them all. “When did you all get here?” “Just a few moments ago, darling,” Rarity answered. “Yeah, now get your scaly butt on over here so we can eat already. We've been waiting on you.” Ah, Rainbow Dash. As blunt as ever. This time the three of them were given seats closer to Twilight. She sat at one end of the table with Spike right next to her. To her immediate left was Tessla and Ben. To her immediate right sat the Mayor and then Austin. The Mayor was still staring at them as they sat down. They most certainly were the strangest looking creatures she had ever seen. Even as Twilight floated a plate full of delicious food to her the Mayor's stare remained. It shifted between the three of them and was currently stuck on Ben. “My, my. You are certainly. . .” The mayor searched for a word that would sum him up and not make her seem offensive. “. . . big.” Ben gulped down the last bite of food before responding. “I am getting that a lot, Mayor.” “Oh, I am not surprised at that. He he,” The Mayor whispered. She turned her eyed away from Ben and over to Tessla. She stared at him at a moment. “Why are you the only one with a mane?” Tessla was mid drink in a cup of orange juice when the Mayor asked him her questioned. He choked back a spit take before he covered the Mayor in a mix of orange juice and spit. He composed himself again and answered as best he could. “It's not a mane, actually. The men of my world wear their hair in a variety of ways, from short to long. I chose to grow my hair out to this length. Although I would like to wear it up, but I don't have a hair band.” “OH! I simply forgot in all the commotion, dearie.” Rarity apologized and floated over a purple, stretchy hair band. Tessla apologized and put his hair up in a single cluster that hung behind his head. “Oh, what is that hairstyle called?” Rarity asked. “It's lovely.” “It's a pony tail.” All sound in the room stopped. Not a thing moved. Tessla stopped with his hands still in his hair. He looked about and saw that all eyes were on him. All eyes except those of Austin and Ben. They were preoccupied with holding in their laughter. Tessla cleared his throat and finished with his hair. “Yes. It's true,” Tessla said. “My world is messed up.” More than a few nods followed that, along with a few gaping mouths. That was broken up the sudden and totally unexpected fit of giggling that was coming from a totally unexpected pony. Rainbow Dash was trying to hold and failing miserably at it. When asked by Twilight what was wrong she simply flew out of her seat and fell into a fit of howling laughter. “Ahahahaha! Hey, Tessla. If that's a pony tail, wouldn't that make your head a pony's ass?” Dash's remark made many around the table have mixed reactions. Ben and Tessla had to use every ounce of their significant self control to not hit the floor and roll around laughing. Austin had just slightly more luck with it than Ben did, but they both were still failing at it. As for Twilight, her head hit the table as soon as the word 'ass' left Dash's mouth. She repeated the action a few times before she finally just let her head rest there a moment. And Twilight wasn't the only one to have that kind of reaction. Rarity exclaimed her shock and held a hoof to her head. Then she fainted and was still in the process of recovering when Twilight spoke up. “I apologize for this, Mayor,” Twilight pleaded, “If I had known Rainbow Dash would be so vulgar, I would have left her outside of this breakfast.” “Hey! I'm not a pet. You can't just leave me outside whenever you want!” Dash defended herself. “My warding spell a few days ago says differently,” Twilight teased. She knew Dash still had a few bruises from the time she repeatedly bashed into her library windows. It was the same day Tessla first showed up. Dash grumbled. She hid it well, but she did still feel a small twinge of pain every now and then. “That's quite alright, Princess Twilight.” The Mayor said, “To be honest, I was actually expecting something to go wrong here with all of you here, and then there's these three.” The Mayor motioned at all three of the strangers. Tessla was eating. Ben was still chuckling to himself. Austin was breathing heavy and deeply in a last ditch effort to bring himself together. He was still bringing it all together when he turned to face the Mayor. “I'm sorry, Mayor. I haven't introduced myself.” Austin held out a hand just enough for the Mayor to take it. “My name is Austin. It's a pleasure to meet you.” The Mayor leaned back at first. She looked down at the hand offered with wide eyes, unsure as what to do with it. She looked back over her shoulder at Twilight, who was smiling and trying to push the Mayor closer without actually touching her. It was more like a reassuring wave with both of her hooves. The Mayor got the hint. She leaned back in until she was sitting normally. Austin's hand was even closer to her now. She looked at it nervously before finally reaching a hoof out. She just barely touched the tips of his fingers and that was that. Austin followed through with the rest of the hoof/hand shaking. “Nice to meet you, too, Austin.” The Mayor nervously replied. The breakfast continued for about an hour after that. The Mayor got more familiar with them all. She heard all the stories about how they all arrived in Equestria. She was particularly tickled by Ben's story. As the morning drew on the Mayor relaxed. She had conversed with all three of them and found their company to be rather pleasant, or not as unpleasant as she originally thought. Their time together was coming to an end, however and she had only one last question to ask. It was directed to the other ponies that she shared the table with. “So, what do you all think of these three?” The room fell silent for the second time that morning. Every pony finished chewing their latest bite of food. They swallowed it nervously and avoided eye contact with just about everything. Rainbow Dash focused in the image of herself she saw shining through at the bottom of her plate. Fluttershy was the first to speak up. “I think they're all quite nice. I like Austin, because he has strong opinions about animals. He really likes reptiles, like snakes and lizards.” “What about tortoises?” Rainbow Dash asked fervently. “Tortoises are reptiles, so he would like them too,” Fluttershy softly spoke. “You got one more point in my awesomeness scale, buddy. Maybe two.” Dash said a bit more aggressively than it was meant to be. “But the whole boop thing set you back at least fifty, if not more.” Fluttershy waited for Dash to float back down to her seat before continuing. “I also like Tessla. He has a nice mane, or hair. Whatever it's called,” She said with a smile. “And Ben is quite nice and gentle, for being so big.” The others echoed Fluttershy's kind words, but in their own way. They even added a few of their own. Rarity praised the creative minds of Tessla and Austin, but chose to leave Ben out of it. When asked about it she simply said that adding pockets was not creative. Dash had no opinion worth anything other than a few choice words about Austin. She was quickly hushed by Applejack. She herself had no opinion to offer, saying that while they seemed nice enough she didn't know 'em well enough to make a sound opinion. It was a well said and respectable statement. Pinkie Pie shouted out that she like them all the same, and that that was a lot. Everypony was expecting that, though. I mean, really, is there a pony that Pinkie Pie doesn't like? These guys were far from ponies, but Pinkie Pie liked them all the same anyway. With all their opinions heard that left only one pony left. The Mayor turned to Princess Twilight Sparkle to find out what she thought of these three. Twilight was a little nervous, but chose to follow in her dear friend Applejack's hooves. Honesty through and through. “They can a pain in the ass sometimes,” Twilight stated, “But they aren't all bad. Austin has an interest in magic. I can understand and respect that. Tessla seems to like the lore of Equestria and has already done some reading into the creatures that live here. And as for Ben, I hear he likes the kitchen. Maybe he can make breakfast for us all one day.” Twilight finished her testimony on the three and waited for a response from the Mayor. She just stared blankly back at her for a few moments. It was actually Dash who spoke up first. Hopefully she would have something reasonably nice to say this time. “What the hell?!” Maybe not. Dash jolted up and out of her seat. She hovered there for a second before darting over and hovering in between Austin and Tessla. “You mean to tell me that of all three of you guys, you two are eggheads just like Twilight?” “NO,” Both Austin and Tessla said simultaneously. Austin shot Twilight a sympathetic glance, but he wasn't sure if she fully got it. He turned back to Dash as he could feel her gaze burning a piercing hole through his one shirt. “We enjoy a good book every now and then, Dash.” Austin told her, “But we are not quite on the same level as Twilight when it come to 'eggheadness' so to speak. And I am more of a storyteller than a story reader.” “So, what? You guys are half eggheads?” Dash seemed genuinely confused at the whole thing. “Sure, let's go with that,” Austin dismissed the whole topic then and there. Dash accepted it and went back to her seat. Twilight was seriously considering an antiDash spell for the castle. The Mayor didn't seem to mind at all. She even got a chuckle out of it. “Well, I better be going then, Princess,” The Mayor said as she got up to leave. Twilight walked her out, but not before giving Rarity a look. It was the look. Rarity got and followed it promptly. That is, after she finished her glass of cider. Once Twilight and the Mayor were away Rarity shot up and ran over to the three guys. She poked and prodded them with her horn to get them to move faster. She did not have the energy to drag anyone today, and the day itself was too important. Rarity rushed them all into a room and presented them with their ceremony outfits. They weren't that bad. They looked like black tuxedos, kind of. They had long black pants and pair of nice dress shoes to go with them. That was good seeing as how their shoes were all damaged in the fall. Up top they had nice white button up shirt, but no ties of any kind. Over that was a black dress coat that went down to everyone's mid thigh. Rarity was catching on quick when it came to making clothes for them. But they weren't putting them on. Rarity sighed and magically unfolded some screens to go between the three. Once that was done they immediately got into changing for the big event. It didn't take them long to change and there were a few issues. The first issue was simple for Rarity to take care of. It was that Tessla pants were a bit too small around the waist. She just glanced over to his side of the screen and poof, like magic they fit perfectly. She smiled to herself as she waited for any other problems that might arise. And sure enough, they did. The second problem came from Austin. It was another matter of size, but one not so easily fixed. Everything of his fit just fine except for one item. His pair of shoes. They were quite small. Rarity came over and stared at them and at his feet. “I had everything perfect,” Rarity murmured to herself. “How could I get this so wrong?” “It's not your fault Rarity,” Ben said from across the screen, “Austin just has big feet. Even back in our world they are unusually large for someone of his size.” Rarity glanced back at a clock that was on the wall. “Oh no! There isn't enough time for me to go back to the boutique and find another pair of shoes for you. What am I going to do?” Ben came out from his screen side looking all spiffy and fancy like. Everything of his was fine. His shoes to his shirt fit perfectly. He took a few test steps to see how everything felt and he was satisfied. Everything was fine. He saw Rarity freaking out and walked up to her. As he did he noticed a few things that allowed him to come up with a solution. “Rarity, I have an idea that just may work, but only if you want to do it.” “Anything!” Rarity exclaimed panicked. “Could you possibly make Austin's regular shoes look like the dress shoes?” Ben gestured to the two pairs of shoes that were conveniently places next to one another. Rarity stared down at them for a moment. “Yes, that might work. It is a shortcut that I don't normally take, but this day is too important to let a pair shoes ruin. They will feel like the old shoes, but look like the nice ones.” Rarity focused all her concentration on the shoes and before their eyes they changed. After a flash of magic there seemed to be two pairs of nice dress shoes before them. Austin slipped the bigger pair on and tied the laces quickly. He walked out with Tessla to stand with Ben. Rarity looked at them with awe and wonderment in her eyes. They were ready. Every pony from Ponyville and a few that were just visiting were gathered in front of town hall. It was actually because of this that they were able to sneak three large, strange, and unknown creatures through town and through the back door to the town hall. The Mane Six were already there and waiting. Spike was outside with the CMC. As Rarity arrived with them all in tow they could hear the Mayor starting her speech. “Citizens of Ponyville, I am standing here now to give you a very important announcement. This comes from the Princess of Friendship herself, Twilight Sparkle.” The Mayor pointed a hoof over at Twilight who was just a few steps away from her. Twilight blushed and waved to the crowd as they cheered her on. The Mayor calmed the crown back down and continued her speech. “Just a few days ago, Equestria was graced with the arrival of three strangers. They come from a far off land unknown to ponykind.” That was the cue. Austin, Tessla, and Ben were shoved onto a spot that lead directly to the outside with only a curtain separating them. The girls all surrounded them on that spot. Tessla nervously fidgeted with his collar. He hated these kinds of public spectacles, and especially the ones where he was the spectacle. That was one thing he and Austin would always have in common. They hated being in the spotlight. Ben was either enjoying it, or not really caring about it at all. “And now I give you the three strangers, new to Equestria.” The Mayor waved a hoof back towards the curtain and it raised up quickly. Twilight moved to stand by her friends. As the Mayor said each of their names in turn they would emphasize a bit. “Austin!” The Mayor exclaimed. Twilight pointed with a wing to Austin while Fluttershy hovered above his head and pointed down. “Tessla!” Applejack stood next to him while Pinkie Pie bounced on his other side. He smiled as Pinkie's antics calmed his nerves a little bit. “Ben!” Rarity stood close to Ben and Rainbow Dash hovered just over his shoulder. The Mayor turned back to the crowd after they were all introduced. It was silent. All pony eyes were locked onto the three of them. A cricket sounded off from within the crowd and that was the most sound heard for several moments. After that it was just whispers and murmuring that ran through the crowd. Twilight stepped forward to speak. “I assure you theses three are not to be feared. I know they look really strange, but I am sure you can look past that. Me and my friends did. And you can trust our judgment, can't you?” Twilight's words fell upon the ears in the crowd. At first they did little but create even more whispers and murmurs. After a few moments they got louder and three ponies stepped forward to stand by them. Three small ponies with a small dragon right behind them. The CMC ascended the stairs of the stage where they were all standing. Sweetie Belle walked up to Austin and looked up at him. He looked down at her. Then she reached out with her hoof and placed it on his leg. A small, collective gasp traveled through the crowd, but nothing happened. Sweetie Belle was safe and unharmed. Apple Bloom ran up to Tessla and gave him a swift hoof punch to shin. He held back the shouts of pain and anger that threatened to escape him. Finally, Scootaloo went up to Ben and cautiously reached out to touch her hoof to his leg. But as she got close a loud crashing sound scared the wits out of her. A large thunderclap sounded off above their heads. Scootaloo jumped up and ended up hugging Ben's leg for dear life. Rainbow Dash flew towards the sky as a large pink cloud formation was moving in. “Hey! There isn't supposed to be any clouds in the sky today. What gives?” The answer came in bolts from the pink cloud. They shot out and Dash flew circles around them to evade getting struck. She and many other Pegasus ponies retreated back to ground level. As they did this the bolts became stronger and began to only appear in one spot. The bolts rained down above the crowd. They all backed away as one bolt came crashing down where the crowd was. The bolt was prolonged and powerful. After it was down there was nothing left but a scorch mark and some hot ground. Then the pink clouds rained down onto just that one spot before promptly leaving and disappearing forever. “I have a bad feeling about this,” Twilight stated. Before all their eyes, the sight of the lightning strike shook. The ground there rumbled and then it stopped. All of the sudden a tall green sprout erupted from the ground. It clawed up from the earth as it reached for daylight. The sprout turned into a flower bud and the petals were big and yellow with pink tips. They were also closed. The sprout stopped growing once it reached about seven feet in height. With a big yawn the flower petals opened to reveal one being. “Discord,” Applejack hissed. “I still don't like 'im.” Discord stretched out his arms as if he just woke up from a long and restful nap. He opened his eyes to see dozens of ponies staring at him. One high pitched girlish shriek later and the flower petals closed one again. The ponies could hear rumbling and movement coming from inside. Just how big was the inside of that flower? After a moment the flower opened. Discord unzipped the petals and he was ready this time. He was wearing a fancy suit much like the ones Austin and Tessla and Ben wore. He snapped his fingers and a red carpet rolled out from within the flower. However, Discord pulled out an umbrella and opened it. A phantom breeze carried him away and deposited him onto the stage next to Twilight and the mayor. Everypony was looking confused. “What? Am I overdressed?” “I think you look quite dashing, Discord,” Fluttershy kindly complimented the Lord of Chaos. “Discord,” Twilight said flatly, “Why are you here?” “Why do you think, dear Princess Sparkle? I am here because of them.” All three of Discord's arms pointed over at the three guys. Twilight did a double take to make sure the number of arms she saw was just due to stress. She counted again and counted two. Okay. Stress. “So you know what they are?” “Do I! Why, they are called humans. Hu-mans. I haven't seen one of them in ages. Ah, it brings back so many memories. The chaos, the mayhem, the boredom.” Boredom?! That was not a word anyone expected Discord to use after chaos and mayhem. Weird. Unfortunately, Discord would have to explain himself later. “They do have some interesting names, though.” Discord floated on by in front of the three humans. “What might yours be?” “Ben.” “Tessla.” “Austin.” “Ahaha! Such strange and interesting names,” Discord loudly and excitedly proclaimed for all of Ponyville to hear. He settled back down to their level and stopped just short of Fluttershy. “What do you think my name would be if I was a human?” Fluttershy immediately got red in the face. It was happening. Her worst fear. The one thing she never wanted to happen was happening right now at this moment. Public spotlight! It was on her. “Meep!” She dived back and behind the curtains real quick before anypony could stop her. “I got it!” Discord announced. “John is a common human name. So is Lance. John Lancey! Discord shot up with excitement. He was happy that humans were here, but that would have to wait. There was something much bigger happening in Ponyville at the moment. One of the ponies from the crowd summed it all up in one word. “TIMBERWOLVES!!!” A pony wearing an odd looking hat ran into the crowd. The crowd separated to let him pass. He ran right up to the stage platform. “Timberwolves! Timberwolves in the town!” Everypony took a moment for the news to sink in. “Just thought you ought to know.” The pony that brought the news collapsed, fainted right there where he stood. What happened after that could only be described as such: chaos. “Well now, isn't this exciting.” Discord shouted out for all to hear. He leaped into the air and that's when he saw them. Timberwolves. A whole damn pack of them. They were coming right this way. For a second he went pale with fright. In the next second he went down and scooped up Fluttershy. She was peeking around the curtains corner. He raced over and gently set her down in his flower thing. During the chaos of all the ponies running around and all some got misplaced. This was most evident in two ponies who lost their way. Two ponies who so desperately wanted to be near to one another and hold each other close. Lyra called out for Bon Bon. They had become separated as the ponies of the crowd scattered about at the news of timberwolves. She wasn't interested in getting to safety. The only thing she cared about at that moment was finding her love. She braced herself against the oncoming tide of ponies. They rushed past her in their scramble for safety. Lyra fought back against the tide, moving the opposite direction through them. This act of defiance resulted in her being a bruised and battered pony, but it was worth it. For at last, she had found Bon Bon. She was cowering underneath a table to avoid the very tide against which Lyra was still struggling. Lyra's joy was quickly cut short as a large stallion stampeded over her, knocking her to the ground. Bon Bon saw this from her place under the table. That was enough. It was time for her to act. Bon Bon mustered up the courage she needed. It did not take long as she saw the love of her life huddled up in a poor attempt to stave off any more bruises. Bon Bon rushed out and into the stampede of ponies. She bashed and fought her way through until she reached Lyra. She got her own collection of bruised from that, but it was worth it. “Lyra!” “Bon Bon!” The two mares took each other in their loving embrace and waited as the rest of the ponies passed. They did, like a river washed past a firm boulder the ponies poured around the two of them. And for a long while after the ponies were gone they still embraced each other. “Lyra, I though I'd lost you.” Bon Bon lovingly whispered her thoughts into Lyra's ear. “Never again. I promise.” Lyra whispered back to Bon Bon. Tears formed in their eyes as the two finally released each other. Lyra looked into Bon Bon's eyes, but she saw something else out of the corner of her eye. It took her attention away from her love and a stark terror rose up from deep within. Bon Bon saw this change and looked behind her. Timberwolves were closing in on them. They were almost to them. Bon Bon grabbed Lyra's hoof to run, but Lyra was too hurt. She had taken a few to many hits to her legs and that made walking difficult and painful, and running even more so. “Bon Bon, just go.” Lyra pleaded with Bon Bon to no avail. “Save yourself.” “NO! You said I would never lose you! I'm not going to now, and I am not leaving you either.” Lyra conceded the point. The two mares were equally stubborn, and even more loving. Neither of them was going anywhere. That was clearly evident. It was plain for all to see. The tears welled up in their eyes as they took each other in one last lovers embrace. The Mane Six watched from the stage platform. It all happened so fast there was not much they could do. Applejack and Rarity both held their little sisters close to them. Rainbow Dash stood in front of Scootaloo, as if making herself a wall between her and the present danger. Twilight flew up to get a clearer image of what was going on throughout Ponyville. “Oh no! Lyra and Bon Bon!” Fluttershy screamed out and pointed with a hoof. Normally, at least two of them would be off in an instant, but with as scared as some of the ponies were they all hesitated. “Rarity, I apologize in advance,” Austin said over his shoulder. He stepped forward and threw off his black dress jacket. Rarity instinctively caught it with her magic and brought it back close to her. Austin himself jumped down from the stage. He saw the timberwolves going after Lyra and Bon Bon. They were right up close, almost withing striking distance. He ran as fast as he could over to meet them. Even moving at a full sprint he wasn't going to make it in time. The timberwolf in front got to them. It growled and snarled at the two mares, but they didn't move. They were clearly terrified, but stuck in place. It was both fear and love that held them where they were. The timberwolf raised a wooden paw, with each toe tipped with sharp claws capable of shredding a pony. And it brought them all down upon Lyra and Bon Bon. Austin reached them just in time. He used every last drop of speed he could muster to reach them. He half leaped and half ran the last steps. He came right up to the face of the nearest timberwolf. He stopped so suddenly that the first hand place on the wolf's face was just to balance himself. His second hand came in the same second as the first, and was driven right into the side of the wolf's face. Austin could feel the the wood beneath his hands. He could feel the rough texture of the bark. He could feel the grain of the wood pushing back against his strength. He groaned with effort as the initial impact from his running hit was not enough. He pushed the wolf's face hard and moved it just enough to make all the difference. The sharp claws of the timberwolf came crashing down next to the pair of mares, barely missing them. The wolf cut through part of Lyra's tail, shortening it by about a third. She retracted her tail and held it closer to her body. Bon Bon did the same. Just as Austin stepped back from the timberwolf did another lash forward. Powerful jaws lashed out at Austin, but he narrowly avoided them. He backed up too quickly, though, and fell to the ground below. The first timberwolf came back around to exact some revenge. It lashed out in its own right and Austin backed up as fast as he could, using his hands like paddles to try and give him more speed to move. The timberwolf was faster than he was and was upon him quickly. He threw up an arm in a poor attempt to shield himself from whatever attack was coming. He expected to feel nothing but searing pain in his arm after that. “Whoa, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie shouted. Twilight had landed back down a moment ago and was currently watching the whole event between Austin and the timberwolves go down. “Good timing on that force field spell.” “Uh, Pinkie Pie, that's not me.” Twilight looked over at her friends. They looked as confused as she surely felt. “Rarity, is it you?” “Darling, you know force fields are not my cup of tea.” True. Rarity may be a Unicorn, but that doesn't mean she knows a lot of spells that are handy on combat. Most of her spells only helped her out in her boutique. But now Twilight was even more confused and even a bit bewildered as a realization dawned on her, given what her and Celestia talked about just before she returned to Ponyville with all three of them in tow. She didn't want to say it out loud, though, as it was crazy and she still wasn't sure if she was right. Austin had closed his eyes in anticipation for the immense pain he was sure was coming. Yet, after a moment or so of nothing he opened them and looked up at his arm. What he saw both amazed and confused him. A barrier of some energy had appeared in between him and the timberwolf. The wolf looked on angrily from the other side. It lashed out a number of times against the barrier, only to find its claws useless. Austin took this rare opportunity to shift himself. He shifted his stance so that one of his knees was on the ground and one was raised. He was more or less kneeling in a defensive stance in front of Lyra and Bon Bon. He stood his ground and glanced over to Twilight. He saw that she wasn't casting any magic, and neither was Rarity. Then who was creating this barrier? A thought dawned on him and he followed it up the only way he knew how. He raised his other arm and put it across his body to match his other arm. Sure enough, the barrier pulsed once as more magic was poured into it. It was him. He was the source of the magic. The timberwolf seemed to sense this as well as the attacks increased. All three of them traded turns taking swipes and lashes and bites at the barrier. It was built to take the punishment, but Austin was not ready for it. One particularly powerful swipe came down and obliterated the barrier. That didn't stop the claws of the wolf as they also slashed down Austin's chest. He roared out as the pain shot throughout his torso with a searing fury. He fell back onto his backside, but manage to get to his feet and stand again. Not that he needed to. The ponies had had enough, as well as the humans. At Apple Bloom's persistence Applejack raced out to meet the timberwolves. She ran full speed just as Austin did, but her sprint ended much differently. She ran until she had almost reached the wolves. She skidded to halt as she neared and rose up her back legs. She slid on just her forelegs the last few paces while also turning in the air. By the time she reached the wolf looming over Austin she had a powerful kick readied and waiting. She blasted that wolf with her double hoof fury. She avoided a few swipes from the other two and kicked them in turn. When Pinkie Pie came up with her party cannon the wolves decided it was time to retreat back to the Everfree Forest. “Hey there, partner,” Applejack said as she came around to Austin's side. “You took one helluva hit. Are ya alright?” “You know you're supposed to avoid the claws coming at you, right?” Dash said sarcastically. “I didn't see you out here, Dash,” Austin hissed. Dash got the message. It was his unspoken words that she understood. I didn't see you out here, so keep your damn mouth shut. “So, now what do we do?” Fluttershy asked. “Well, I saw timberwolves all throughout Ponyville when I flew up there,” Twilight reported. “Split up,” Austin said. “Tessla and Ben, both of you take a different direction and defend the ponies as best you can. Applejack and Pinkie Pie can go with Ben and help him. Rarity and Dash can go with Tessla and help him. Fluttershy, Twilight, keep watch from above and let them know of any dangers ahead of time.” For a second nopony moved, as well as no human. It took them all that second to process what he had just said. But after that second was up they all flew or ran off to do just as Austin had said. Even Dash knew it was not the time to argue with him, no matter how much she disliked him. As for Austin? He stayed right where he was. The pain from his wounds only grew if he tried to move and so he just lay down next to Lyra and Bon Bon. Why does being a nice guy have to hurt so much?