//------------------------------// // Hello: 9 // Story: The Human Condition // by Gilded Tome //------------------------------//         Andrew landed with a thud outside the library and the red disc that had appeared in front of his chest just in time faded. Rainbow Dash stood on top him, her two front hooves on his chest as she looked down at him. She stared at the human intently, her face cast in a nasty snarl.         “Why are you here and why were you attacking Twilight!” She shouted at the human. “Talk you hairless minotaur, talk!         “I wasn’t attacking her you crazy dumbass!” Andrew yelled back as he shoved the pegasus off of himself. “I wasn’t even touching her!”         “But you were going to! Don’t try and deny it!” Rainbow Dash fired back after a quick roll back onto her hooves. “No I fucking wasn’t!” Twilight, who had only barely managed to get out of the way of the two previously airborne agitators, ran outside and stood between them. Applejack and Fluttershy, who had until then been staring in shock, rushed to mitigate the shouting match. Both Andrew and Rainbow Dash stood in combative stances, ready to go at it again at the drop of a hat. “Whoa there Andrew, let’s just calm down!” Applejack said, trying to keep Andrew in check as Fluttershy did the same to Rainbow Dash. “I was calm, until a psychotic technicolor pegasus came out of nowhere and sucker punched me!”          “Shut up minot-”                       “Rainbow Dash, Stop! This is Andrew! He is our friend and he isn’t a minotaur.” Twilight shouted over Dash’s rebuttal. “He’s the one who Pinkie Pie is throwing the party for!”         “That’s right!” Pinkie pie shouted, appearing from behind the human.         “Holy shit!” Andrew screamed as he jumped away from the pink earth pony. “Where the hell did you come from?!”         “From behind you silly filly!” Pinkie replied.                  “That’s- but you- and I-” Andrew stuttered and stopped over his words. “You know what, fuck it, I don’t care.”         “Aww, that’s no fun” Pinkie said, mostly to herself.         By now the remaining party members had made their way to the street, seven or so ponies in total. They all watched the developing scuffle with shock and interest, even Rarity had levitated her couch to the street and cracked her eyes just enough to watch. “Minotaur’s are nothing but trouble, you know that Fluttershy!” Rainbow said as she attempted to fly over her, but Fluttershy just followed her into the air.  “Let me at him, I’ll get rid of him! When I’m done-”                  “Rainbow Dash stop this instance!” Fluttershy shouted at her friend as she stared her down. “Andrew is our friend and we don’t hurt friends!”         “Wait… you’re serious?” Rainbow asked, looking to each of her friends in shock. “He’s your friend?”         “Yes and he is the one Pinkie is holding the party for, and you just punched him for no reason.” Twilight added, as she walked up to Andrew. “You okay?”                  “Yeah, though I think I did some magic though, so… whoops.”                  “Well it’s better than the alternative I suppose.”         Rainbow Dash drifted to the ground and Andrew stood up out of his lower stance, his hands now by his side. Rainbow Dash looked around at her friends confusedly before looking to the human.         “Dashie, maybe you should apologize?” Fluttershy suggested         “But I don’t understand… you look like…” She said clearly very confused, before desperately looking to Twilight. “Twilight he was going to attack you!”         “No Rainbow Dash, he wasn’t.” She responded gently, at least partly sympathetic to her pegasus friend due to her encounter with the human a day or so ago. “He is a friend, he wouldn’t hurt me, or any of us for that matter.”          “Unfortunately, it seems like most of them agree with Rainbow Dash.”  Andrew said quietly, looking around the street. As the group followed his eyes, they saw that the commotion had drawn the attention of quite a few ponies. The vast majority of them whispered and pointed, all of them looking at the now slouching human. He sighed and turned to Pinkie Pie. “I’m sorry Pinkie Pie, I’m not in the mood for parties anymore.” He said as he turned around and walked down the street past her. “But… what about the party games?” Pinkie asked, but not receiving an answer.         “Where are you going Andrew?” Twilight asked. “You’re going to get lost and its getting dark.”         “Don’t worry about it.” He said without turning around. “Don’t look for me, I’ll be fine.         And with that, Andrew walked away from the group, the ponies watching him walk down the street and out of sight.         “Consarn’ it Rainbow Dash, what possessed you to attack him like that?!” Applejack shouted at her friend, who was now sitting on the floor of the library. “He didn’t do nothing to make you act like that!”                  Rainbow traced patterns in the floor with her hoof, avoiding eye contact with her friends. It had been an hour or so since Andrew had walked off into the night, and Applejack had yet to let up.  The farm pony paced in front of her friend, with Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Big Macintosh sitting behind her. Big Mac had been at the party and had elected to stay when it had broken up. Twilight and Fluttershy were explaining things the crowd that had formed during the commotion outside.         “I don’t know really… when I saw him so close to Twilight I just assumed he was attacking her because…” Rainbow Dash explained trailing off at the end. “So I tackled him.”         “Darling I may not be much for a scrap, but I know enough that that was not just a tackle.” Rarity corrected.         “Fine okay! I jumped to conclusions and I sucker punched the mino-”         “For the last time Rainbow Dash he isn’t a minotaur, he’s a human.” Twilight corrected as she returned, shutting the door behind her and Fluttershy.  “And he is Princess Lunas personal student.”         “Fine I sucker punched the hu-Wait what?!” Rainbow Dash yelled, jumping up. “I sucker punched Princess Luna’s personal student!?”         “Yes you did, but that isn’t all. Andrew doesn’t have full control of his magic yet. He said managed to cast an incomplete shield spell, but that spell could have easily been a lot less defensive and a lot more offensive.”         Rainbow Dash gulped audibly and shivered before looking back at the ground.         “…I really messed up huh?”         “Ya sure did.” Applejack said as she made her way to the door. “C’mon everypony, we’ve got human to find.”         “Maybe we shouldn’t look for him.” Fluttershy said, stepping in front of the door. “He seemed to want some alone time.”         “I agree with Fluttershy” Twilight said. “I’ve seen him… upset before. He is an adult, he can take care of himself until he feels like coming back.”         “Are you two serious? You want to leave Andrew out there by himself?!” Applejack yelled, flabbergasted. “It’s getting dark out there an’ he’s all alone. He could be out there all night!”          “I’m… I’m not sure…” Twilight said indecisively as she chewed her lip. “Alright, maybe we should go make sure if he is ok. But don’t try and force him to come back, he really will not like that… just let me leave a note for Spike in case he wakes up.”         “Finally yer makin’ sense!” Applejack said before turning to address everyone. “Alright, so Big Mac and Rarity are with me, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy with Twilight. We will check from here to the Sugarcube corner, then down around the town hall and then the park. Twilight, take your group back down the railroad station, then make your way to the park, where we will be waitin’. Hopefully one of us will find him. Rainbow Dash, you go on home. I suggest ya spend this time thinking of a proper apology.”         The teams split up and lefts the library, with Rainbow Dash moping her way out after. She took off into the night sky, heading towards her cloudominium at an unusually slow pace.         Applejack led her group away from the library and away from Twilight’s group. Soon the Golden Oak library was out of their immediate sight, as they all walked through town looking for the human.           “So Applejack, I think it may be time for a proper explanation?” Rarity asked as they walked. “While Dash’s actions were indeed rude, I must admit I found myself quite shocked by this ‘Andrew's’ appearance.”         “Ah suppose ah can’t argue there.” Applejack agreed after a pause. “Well… According to Twi’ he fell right out of the sky ah few days ago. Got pretty badly banged up in the process, an’ almost died. Luckily fer him Princess Luna was there to heal him, cept in the process he gained the ability to use magic… somethin’ called mana tracks…?”         “You mean mana pathways.” Big Mac corrected, receiving a surprised look from Applejack and Rarity. “We all got em.”           “Uhhh yeah, that’s the one. In the process of healing him he got those mana pathways, but he also drained the Princess’s magic somethin’ fierce. Apparently it destroyed ah whole hospital room…” Applejack paused as she looked down between two houses. “Anyway the princess managed to teleport them both to the moon, were they had a heart to heart. They came back half ah day later, which is when he and Twilight had a bit of a scuffle.” “He got in a fight with Twilight?” Rarity asked, shocked. “That doesn’t inspire my confidence darling!” “She jumped to conclusions just like Rainbow Dash, but he forgave her pretty quick for that one. He even admitted it looked pretty bad ‘cause he was leanin’ over the princess and all. She had collapsed from exhaustion and he was tryin’ to help her.” “Oh no! Is she well?” Rarity asked worriedly. “Yeah, she’s on the mend now, spent a whole day in bed.” “Well I suppose that’s a relief...this story is quite astounding, I don't think I would believe it if it wasn't you telling me Applejack” The group walked past Sugarcube corner, the smell of baked goods permeating the area even at that time of night. Applejack’s stomach rumbled, in all the commotion she hadn’t thought of eating, which meant her last meal was a small breakfast before they headed to the train. “Anywho, after they came back, we spent some time hanging out. He’s a nice stallion, a bit of a joker, but a good stallion either way. Not to mention both of the Princesses seem to like him.” “Well I suppose if Princess Luna and Princess Celestia both approve of him, I don’t see how I could think differently, despite his clashing wardrobe.” “Oh, about that. He doesn’t wear clothes to be fancy.” Applejack said, very glad that the quickly darkening street hid her blushing. “He comes from ah place where clothes are worn all the time. It’s considered a cultural taboo to be seen without them on.” “Really? That it is quite interesting.” Rarity “Maybe I shall make him an outfit more suited for a personal student of Princess Luna!” “I’m sure ide like that.” said a voice off to the side of a street. “Just as long as it’s not gem encrusted, not a big fan of bedazzled jeans” The three made their way to the bench the voice had come from, to find Andrew staring at the night sky. He had laid back on the bench, his arms folded behind his head. “Thought I asked you guys not to look for me? Can’t a guy get some alone time?” “We were worried about ya Andrew, It’s getting late an’ we weren’t sure if ya could make it back to Twi’s.” Instead of answering Andrew pointed over the ponies without turning his head. The ponies followed his finger, which pointed in between two buildings on the other side of the street. There, plain as day, was the top of Twilights home cresting over a fence. “Oh…well shoot.” Applejack said, muttering most of it. “I could’a sworn we were farther away than that.” “Nope” Andrew answered simply before sitting upright. “So you must be Rarity, right?” “That is correct, and may I say you certainly know how to make a first impression.”         “Yeah, well I didn’t exactly plan on being attacked by the world’s most adorable psychopath.”  Andrew explained with a scowl. “I hope that didn’t color your opinion too much.”         “No darling, you don’t have to worry. I won’t lie, your arrival was indeed a shock, but I’m quite used to Rainbow Dash’s tendency to jump to conclusions, despite this instances severity.” “Thanks, I appreciate that.” Andrew said as he stood up and walked to the largest pony in the group and stuck out his hand. “And you must be Big Mac?”         “Eyup.” Big Mac replied, reaching out to shake Andrew hand with his hoof.         “I’ve heard you don’t talk much.”         “Eyup.”         “Cool, some of the smartest people I know are silence enthusiasts.” Andrew laughed when Big Mac’s only reply was to lift an eyebrow. “So. You guys here to drag me back to the party?”         “Not quite, we sent everyone else home, including Rainbow Dash.” Applejack answered. “Twilight and Fluttershy even explained what was going on to everyone who was watching outside.”         “Well that was awfully nice of them.” Andrew said. “Alright fine, I’ll come back. But only ‘cause I’m starving.         “Sure Sugarcube, whatever you say.”         “Where are the others anyway?” Andrew asked as he looked around.         “Oh they’re makin’ their way through the town lookin’ fer you” Applejack answered before turning to her brother. “You mind Big Mac?” “Nope” He responded simply as he walked away. “You can prob’ly meet them at the station if ya hurry, otherwise the park is yer best bet.”         “Eyup.”         “So you’ll stop by soon for to be measured?” Rarity asked as the group entered the front door of the library. It was still covered in decorations, with streamers hanging from the wall and balloons tied to the furniture.         “Probably tomorrow, if that works.” Andrew replied. “This is the only outfit I have and I only trust Twilights magical cleaning so far.”         “That would be lovely dear, tomorrow is completely free. Now are you sure I can’t use jewels, I think a few Onyx gems will go great with-”                    “Sorry Rarity, no jewels. Guys don’t wear jewels where I come from.”         “A pity, though I’ll admit a similar trend seems to be arising here as well. Why just the other day I had a stallion come in requesting to have the gemstones removed from a rather dashing outfit, so unfortunate. I almost couldn’t do-”         “Oh Rarity, stop torturing the poor stallion, he doesn’t want to hear about all your boring fancy fashion right now.” Applejack said before Rarity could get any deeper. “C’mon Andrew, let’s get somethin’ to eat while we wait fer the others to get back”         “Hmph! I seem to remember a different tune last time I had to repair your hat.” Rarity shot back as Andrew and Applejack made there was to a table laden with sweets and pastries. “Maybe next time I’ll be much too busy to fix it ‘Lickity split like’ while you wait.”         “Aw don’t be like that Rarity, you know ah appreciate yer talents, but maybe eight hours after our last decent meal isn’t the best time for it?”         “Oh my, I hadn’t realized it had been so long, my apologies Andrew”         “itsh okay you coul’nt hab known” Andrew replied, a rather large éclair hanging from his mouth. Rarity looked disgusted at Andrew’s poor manners, but Applejack only laughed.         “Now yer speakin’ my language!” Applejack shouted excitedly before digging into the plate she had made for herself. Rarity turned her head away from the confectionary slaughter as the two scarfed down cookies, sweets and pastries. “So” Andrew asked in between bites. “Do you guys ever eat healthy here, or have I just been really lucky?” “Healthy? At a party? Now that’s just silly!” Pinkie Pie shouted, jumping from behind the table that Andrew was sitting at. “Holy shit!” Andrew shouted after spewing the cup of punch he had just sipped from. “Jesus Christ on a crutch Pinkie Pie! Don’t do that!” “Aww, your no fun!” Pinkie complained after wiping her face of punch. “I’m plenty fun, I just don’t enjoy heart attacks.”         Before she could counter, Twilight burst in the front door, breathing deeply and looking around anxiously         “Andrew watch out-” She started before noticing that Pinkie Pie was already standing next to the table. “-She’s already here. Did she…?         “Yup”         “Celestia help us, Pinkie Pie did you listen to anything I said? You can’t surprise Andrew like that, his magic is too unstable to be testing his self-control!”         “Oh don’t worry Twilight, he won’t do anything bad, he’s the good guy!”         The group looked at each other in confusion at Pinkie Pie’s declaration.  Twilight’s reprimand stopped short as she tried to parse Pinkie’s meaning. Before she could manage that Fluttershy and Big Mac walked through the still open door, which Fluttershy quietly shut behind herself.           “Oh I’m so glad you’re safe Andrew.” she squeaked out. “We weren’t sure if we should go find you or let you have some alone time…”         “To be honest I’m kinda glad you guys found me. Now I’ve had some alone time and I still get dinner. Well if you call two and a half pounds of the best pastries and candy I’ve ever had dinner. Seriously Pinkie Pie, this stuffs amazing.”         “Thank you! The Cake’s helped me with the cakes, and Bon Bon helped me with the bon bons, but I made everything else myself!”         “You mean Punch didn’t help you with the punch?” Andrew joked, still finding the ponies naming conventions funny.         “Don’t be silly… She’s away on vacation!” Pinkie replied, oblivious to Andrew’s surprise. “But I’m glad you like it!”         “I- I do, thanks. I’m sorry your party got kinda ruined…”         “Oh that’s ok, it just means that I get to throw another one to make up for it! And cause getting ready for the part is half the fun, I’ll get a whole one and a half times as much fun from one event!” A few ponies rolled their eyes at Pinkies excitement, but they kept their thoughts to themselves. Andrew recovered from his surprise and thanked the perky earth pony before excusing himself to wash up.         “The kitchen is around the corner, on your left.” Twilight explained when he asked. She watched him go before turning back to her friends. “So girls, what are we going to do about him and Rainbow Dash?”         “Ah don’t rightly know.” Applejack said as she sat back from the table, her plate clean. “But my guts say to leave it be. Rainbow Dash seems ta understand she did somethin’ wrong, an’ I trust Andrew not be stubborn about it.”         “I agree with Applejack.” Rarity added. “While I don’t know Andrew as well as you three, he seems like a nice enough stallion. I say we let them work it out at their own pace.”         “Yeah, and he would never do anything unfair” Pinkie Pie agreed rather resolutely, drawing another weird look from Twilight.         “Alright… I suppose that’s fair enough.” Twilight said after seeing Fluttershy nod her head in agreement. “And lets all try and help him fit in over the next few days, he’s a long way from home and I’m worried his easy going attitude is hiding his real anxiety.”         They all agreed wholeheartedly, talking about what activities they could include human in. Rarity was considering if he would enjoy a trip to the spa when he returned, shaking water droplets from his hands.         “So, what I miss?” He asked as he sat down next to Applejack. “You guys figured out what you’re gonna do about me and Rainbow Dash?”         The girls looked at each other anxiously as they tried to bluff their way out, doing a variety of impressions from flabbergasted to shocked that he would assume they would talk behind his back. Rarity had immediately jumped to hurt, openly wondering how he could think they would do such a thing like talk behind his back when he held up his hand.                  “It’s okay guys, I caught the beginning from the kitchen. I think it’s a pretty fair question.”         “We decided to leave it alone for the time being. You’re both reasonable ponies.” Twilight explained. “Just go easy on her okay? It may be hard to tell from your perspective, but she was just trying to help.”                  “She’s been under a lot of stress lately as well.” Fluttershy added. “She applied for the Wonderbolt academy training program, and she still hasn’t heard back from them yet.”         “She did? How long ago was that?” Twilight asked.         “Uhh… a couple weeks ago?” Fluttershy replied uncertainly. “She didn’t mention it to any of you?”         “She never mentioned it me” Applejack answered looking at her friends.         Twilight and Rarity nodded, agreeing with Applejack, while Pinkie Pie scarfed down left over in the back ground, seemingly oblivious.         “Oh no, I hope I didn’t tell a secret.” Fluttershy said, worry and panic creeping into her voice.                  “Ah wouldn’t worry about it Fluttershy, she probably just forgot ta mention it.” Applejack said reassuringly. “You know how forgetful she can be.”         Andrew sighed as he rubbed his face. It was beginning to become a habit with all this stress. He was beginning to feel lost among all the problems that just kept popping up.           “Well I’ll keep that in mind.” Andrew promised, leaning back in his chair and stretching. “What are the Wonderbolts anyway?”                  “They are a branch of the royal guard, considered the best of the best when it comes to aerial acrobatics and combat.” Twilight explained. “Although the combat part is more or less ceremonial at this point, they mainly put on air shows.”         “Oh, so like the blue angels.” Andrew replied, receiving several curious and confused looks. “They are basically the same thing. Part of the military, but they don’t fight, just put on air shows.”         “I was under the impressions that humans were incapable of flight.” Rarity said curiously.         “You’re right, we can’t fly by ourselves. But we can fly planes.” He explained, only to get even more confused looks. “Planes are basically machines that fly.”         “Machines… that fly?” Applejack asked, obviously very skeptical. “Ya mean like a hot air balloon?”                  “No no no, completely different principles. To be honest I’m not sure of all the details, but essentially the wings create differences in pressure that give the plane enough upward lift to stay off the ground.”         “That’s how our wings work” Fluttershy said, unfolding on of her own. “With magic and its natural shape.”         “Right, well we do it artificially. With big honking jet engines and lots and lots of gas.”         “That’s… mighty impressive, iffen yer tellin’ the truth” Applejack said, still clearly skeptical.                          “Yeah, it is when you think about it.” Andrew agreed. “To be honest I kinda took it for granted, just another part of everyday life.”         “Ooo tell us another one!” Pinkie Pie begged, having returned from her binge. She was laying on the floor, looking up at Andrew like a child waiting for story time.         “Yes please, go on! This is all incredibly fascinating.” Twilight agreed, having floated over a quill and a stack of paper.         “Uh, ok… we have these things called computers…”         The “party” continued into the night, the group quickly falling into a pattern. Andrew would describe an amazing technology, which the ponies couldn’t understand and usually refused believe. In return the ponies would tell Andrew something about Equestria, an adventure or some amazing creature that Andrew would immediately wave off as impossible. They had just finished telling Andrew about a particularly amazing quest in the Crystal Empire when Spike came down the stairs, rubbing his eyes.         “Uh guys can you keep it down? It almost twelve o’clock.” He complained, letting a big yawn out after he did.         “Oh shoot, is it that late already? Me and Big Mac have ah early morning tomorrow, we’ve gotta go get some sleep.” Applejack said as she got up and made her way to the door, with Big Mac following close behind. “If ya got some time tomorrow Andrew, stop by the farm. I’ll introduce ya to the rest of the family!”         “Sure thing, I’ll stop by after I see Rarity, an hour or so after twelve.”         “Alrighty see ya then, bye everypony!”         “I believe it may be time for all of us to get some sleep” Rarity said after Applejack and her brother left. “I will see you tomorrow Andrew?”         “Yup, sometime around twelve probably. Don’t worry about you schedule, I can wait when I get there.”         “As I said earlier, tomorrow is a free day. Or rather a designing day, but I can pause my drawings long enough to take you measurements and show you some cloth.”         “Alright, see you then.”         Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie said their goodbyes as well, with Pinkie Pie promising to come by tomorrow to help clean up the decorations. She left with a few plates stacked with the leftover food, and a hopeful request that Andrew will stop by Sugarcube Corner soon.         “Damn, I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.” Andrew said as he stretched out of his seat.                  “It has been a crazy day.” She agreed, yawning deeply.         “It’s been a crazy three days, fingers crossed the next few aren’t like that.”         “C’mon, I’ll show you the spare bed, it sounds like you’ve got a busy day tomorrow.” Twilight said with a knowing smile. “But a good night’s sleep will help that be bearable.”         “Amen sister, lead the way.”                  Andrew stretched, his back popping a few times before he released he straining muscles. He made his way to the bathroom and checked himself in the mirror. Stubble was starting to form on his chin and as he turned he could see the bruises on his back from his scuffle with Twilight, as well as new ones from his chromatic encounter with Rainbow Dash. He wasn’t overly concerned about the bruises, he had his fair share of them in his life so he knew these were mostly superficial and would be gone in about a week.         After brushing his teeth with a toothbrush Twilight had given him, he hopped into the shower. It was a bit shorter than what he was used to so he had to hunch down slightly to fit. He weathered through it though and soon stepped out feeling refreshed and awake. He got dressed, pausing when he realized that his clothes were literally the only things he owned Equestria. He tied his shoes and mentally promised to change that as soon as he got situated.  Taking a deep breath he left the spare bedroom and made his way into main room, looking for Twilight as he went. He found her reading off to the side of the room, which Andrew was surprised to find was devoid of all decorations.         “Hey, you guys took down the streamers already?” He asked. “I would have helped if you had woken me up.”           Twilight looked up and fixed Andrew with a big smile.         “Oh, Good morning Andrew. Don’t worry about it, Pinkie Pie came over earlier and helped me cleanup” She explained. “She says hello by the way.”         “Oh… well I feel bad I wasn’t up to help, you still cou-”         “She was here at six in the morning.”         “-okay feeling a lot less guilty now.”         “I figured as much.” She said as continued reading. The conversation quickly died, leaving Andrew feeling a bit awkward.         “Uh… watcha reading?” He asked, breaking the silence.         “Oh, sorry! I guess I got a bit caught up. It’s a book about teleportation, I figured it was a good place to start in our research in trying to send you home.”         “Oh, well thanks I guess.”         “No need to thank me, we made a promise and I intend to keep it.” She said as she placed a bookmark and closed the book. “Speaking of homes though, we should go see the mayor now so that you can get to Rarity’s on time.”           “Oh, right, I completely forgot about that. I’m supposed to visit Applejacks farm after that as well. You wanna come with?”         “Sure, I haven’t been to Sweet Apple Acre’s in a while.” She said as she put the book on a shelf. “Spikes out doing ‘errands’, so maybe we will run into him along the way.”         The two started to get ready for their trip to the mayor’s office and then to Rarity’s and Applejack’s, which mainly consisted of Andrew watching Twilight pack, empty and then re-pack her saddle bags.         “I really don’t think we’ll need anything Twilight, we aren’t even leaving the town.”         “Well technically Sweet Apple Acre’s is outside the town so…” Twilight trailed off when she saw the rather amused look Andrew was giving her. “…Right, no need for the saddle bags.”         “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Shall we?” He asked while motioning to the door with a wide gesture.                  “Alright, let’s go.” The two made their way through the streets of Ponyville, soon passing the bench were Andrew had laid last night. Unlike the night before the town was fully awake and ponies walked every which way. They all seemed busy as they went about their business, though it seemed like every single one had to stop and stare at the human as he and Twilight passed by.         “I’m beginning to understand why you find this annoying.” Twilight said as a mother pushed her child behind herself as they walked by. “I can’t believe they are so wary of you. You don’t even look that threatening.”         “I’m not.” Andrew replied. “You told me about how they reacted to your Zebra friend, and the only thing different with her is her stripes.”         “A fair point I suppose.” She admitted. “Well give them some time, I promise they will get used to you.”         “I’ll hold you to that.”         The two passed by the final house before the town center, in the middle of which was the town hall. The market filled the far end of the town center, a bustling area filled with produce laden shoppers and fancy market stalls. Luckily for them most of the shoppers seemed focused on their errands, so they made it to the town hall without any incident. Twilight lead the way into the building, heading off to one of the rooms connected to the large center hall.         “You know where you’re going?” Andrew asked, receiving only a reproachful look back. “Alright, dumb question.”         “The mayor’s office is just through here.” Twilight said as she pushed a door open. On the other side a mare sat behind a desk, pecking away at a typewriter.                  “Hello, how may I heeeeaaaawwwlp.” The mare said, her final world stretched and pitched into an almost yelp when she saw Andrew.           “We are here to see the mayor, is she in?” Twilight asked, her annoyance at the earth pony’s reaction clear.                  “S-she is b-busy at the m-m-moment…” the mare stuttered out. “Would y-you like t-to make an ap-p-pointment?”         “Are you sure? She should have known we were coming…” Twilight said, pressing the secretary.         “S-she is b-busy.”         “Well then… perhaps we will try again later.” Andrew cut in before Twilight could say anything else. “We’ll be back, tell the Mayor Twilight Sparkle and Andrew Dike where here for her.”         “A-all right…”         Andrew pulled Twilight away from the nervous mare, leading the way out of the room and into the main room of the town hall.         “Why did you pull me away, I’m sure the mayor isn’t that busy.”         “Because I would rather not be the pushy new guy, which is exactly what it would look like if you forced her to meet with us, or we decided to sit and wait.” He explained as he made his way back to the town center. “Besides I’ve got other stuff to do today, so let’s go see Rarity and Applejack, then we can check here again after.”         “Well alright, I suppose that’s fair enough.” Twilight admitted. “Though I don’t know how you can be so nonchalant about everything.”         “She was just scared, can’t blame her for that.” He said with a shrug. “Besides I’m not always nonchalant. I’m still kinda pissed with Rainbow Dash.”         “Yeah… I’m still shocked she attacked you so suddenly. I mean she has always been a bit impulsive but never so… violently.”         “Stress does weird things to people. If she is as stressed about that academy thing as Fluttershy thinks she is…”         “I suppose, Celestia knows I’m not exactly the poster child of stress management.” Twilight admitted as she followed Andrew down the stairs of the town hall.                  “So I’ve heard.” Andrew said before turning to Twilight. “Alright, which way to Rarity’s?”         “It’s actually right on the other side of the town hall. C’mon, I’ll show you.”         Andrew followed the lavender unicorn as they made their way around the large circular building. As they did Andrew got a much better look at the town market. Ponies of all types walked around, going from stall to stall. The fringes of the crowed noticed the human, who was a full head taller than them. Andrew gave a sarcastic wave as quite a few ponies stared at him, many of who were jostled by their neighboring shoppers as they stopped to get a better look.           “It’s just across this bridge” Twilight said as she stopped to wait for the human, who had fallen behind.                  Andrew turned from the crowd and hurried to Twilight. He followed her across the stone bridge,  looking over the edge as he did. A lazy stream flowed under the bridge, ducks, frogs and fish swimming almost as lazily as the water flowed.                  “You know, I could get used to the small town easy going attitude” Andrew said loud enough for Twilight to hear further ahead.         “It takes a while, but this town grows on you.” She responded as Andrew finally caught up to her. “It grows on everyone.”         “I don’t doubt that.” Andrew said, almost under his breath. “Now what the hell is that?”         “That’s Carousel Boutique, Rarity’s shop.”          “…And I’m gonna have her make my clothes?” Andrew said, beginning to worry. “Maybe I’ll just have you duplicate them a couple times, that would work.”           “We’ve been over this Andrew, duplicating things is tricky. The newly created object can just disappear out of nowhere, not exactly something you want your clothes to be able to do.”         “… Fuck me, I’m so screwed.” “Relax, if there is anything Rarity is good at other than gemstones, it’s catering to her clients                             Andrew and Twilight entered the shop, a series of ringing bells announcing their presence. “One moment please!” Rarity shouted from the second floor.         “It’s just us Rarity, take your time” Andrew shouted back, as he walked further into the room.         The Boutique was heavily decorated, with sparkling inlayed designs and drapes of frill lined cloth hanging from every available edge. Ribbon bows and gems further decorated the room, turning it into a lavish sanctuary of design. Andrew made his way past a small circular stage that occupied part of the shop, surrounded by mirrors. He stopped by a pony mannequin, which wore what he could only describe as a harness with a simple cloth covering the back.                  “Huh…” Andre said as he pulled at one on of the straps that adorned the mannequins head. “Kinky.”         “No, that’s just Saddle Arabian fashion. I could show you much more provocative clothing if you want.” Rarity said as she made her way down the stairs, her joke leaving a sly smile on her face. Andrew spun around to look at the mare, mouth working but no words emerging. “Oh my, I believe that is the first time I’ve seen you speechless.”         “I…I just have no idea how I’m supposed to respond to that.” Andrew eventually said as Rarity finally made it to him and Twilight.         “Oh no worries darling, I was only teasing you.”  The white unicorn said with a laugh. “So, are you ready to be measured? It may take a bit.”         “Really? But my measurements only took a few minutes last time you did them.” Twilight asked, following them as Rarity led Andrew to her modeling pedestal.           “Well that’s because I already know your measurements darling, as well as the average pony sizes.”  Rarity explained as she levitated her measuring tape from a nearby desk. “I don’t know any of Andrews’s measurements, or the average for his species. I’ll need to make every measurement I can.”         “Oh, I didn’t realize it would be that difficult.”         “Not necessarily difficult darling, just time consuming...” She paused to chew her lip in thought. “…though if you wrote down the measurements for me it would take considerably less.”                  “Of course, happy to help!” Twilight said enthusiastically, levitating a nearby scroll of paper and quill to herself. “Ready when you are.”         “Alright, let’s begin with your lower waist.” The fashionista said as she wrapped her measuring tape around Andrew’s waist. “Seems to be about…”         Rarity began to call out numbers for Twilight to copy down, efficiently making her way down Andrew’s lower half. Twilight’s list grew longer and longer as Rarity eventually finished measuring his legs and moved on to his upper half.         “So tell me darling, are you allergic to any kinds of cloth?” She asked as she wrapped her tape around her lower chest.         “Nope. Well none where I’m from at least, for all I know I could be deathly allergic to your equivalence to cotton.”         “Well I certainly hope not. While silk is an elegant material I don’t think I would recommend making an entire daily ensemble out of it. Spread your arms out.”         “I’ll take your word for it.” Andrew agreed, lifting his arms up as Rarity asked him to do so. “I should point out I don’t like tight clothing, or neon colors.”         “Hmm, well I suppose I can work with that” Rarity said, now measuring his arm length. “Any preferences in color, other than ‘not neon?’”         “Uh… red? Maybe blue? Oh and green. Shirts and pants tend to be one color each as well.”         “My word, for creatures that wear clothes so much you are very boring about it.” Rarity complained. “You can lower your arms dear.”         “Right, thanks.” Andrew lowered his arm, and the three once again went back to a steady rhythm of measurements and notes.         “Rarity, have you seen Spike today? Twilight asked, looking up from her list.         “Yes dear, he stopped by earlier to see if I needed anything from the market.” Rarity answered as lowered her tape, rolled it up and levitated it back to its spot on her desk. “But that was an hour or so before you got here.”         “Does he do that a lot?” Andrew asked. “Just get up and go?”         “Yeah, he has been really flexing his independence these last few months.” Twilight said with a sigh. “He’s growing up so fast.”         “I for one am glad to see him becoming more independent.” Rarity said with a smile. “He’s been my wittle Spikey Wikey for such a long time, it’s only natural for him to grow out of it eventually.”         “I suppose…” Twilight agreed reluctantly. “I’m just so used to having him around constantly. It’s … making me anxious how often he just goes off alone.”         “How old is he?” Andrew asked as he stretched out the kinks he had gotten from standing in the same poses for so long.         “He’s seventeen, eighteen in a few months. He may look young but it’s about this age that dragons hit their first real growth spurt.”         “Damn, dragon puberty must be a bitch and a half if it takes that long to hit.”                  “Well dragons don’t age the same way we do, or how humans do from what I gather.” Twilight explained. “They can essentially live forever if they aren’t killed, getting larger and larger over time. Their first growths spurt marks the first of a half a dozen or so before they reach the continual growing stage.”          “Damn… note to self. Stay on Spikes good side.” Andrew said. “Oh it will be hundreds of year before he get any larger than a carriage.” Twilight assured him. “Unless he get caught up in his own greed again, then he might get bigger than a house by the end of tomorrow.” “Oh well in that ca-Wait seriously? There is no way that’s possible!” “Oh it’s more possible dear” Rarity assured him. “One too many birthday gifts and he was bigger than the biggest building in Ponyville.” “I did some research after it happened and apparently” Twilight said, beginning to explain before Andrew could even ask. “it’s an ingrained magical reaction that’s part of every baby dragons instincts. It’s in case a child’s parents are killed or go missing. The child goes through a magically enhanced growth spurt so it can either protect their parents hoard until they return, or protect its new inheritance.” “Jesus Christ seriously?” Andrew asked, shaking his head. “You know what, I’m just gonna give up on being surprised by what magic can do from now on.” “Well dragons are special. They wield wild magic like no other species can.” Twilight explained, as if that sentence made it all clear. Rarity picked up on Andrews growing anxiety over the complexities of magic and cleared her throat. “Alright darling, let’s not confuse the new apprentice before his mentor even get here.” She said, further cutting of anymore of Twilights lecture. “Speaking of which, I should get back to work. I would like to get this draft done before Princess Luna arrives so I can present it to her in person. Perhaps I shall stop by later with some sketches for you Andrew?” “Sure thing, if its not to much trouble.” Andrew said as Twilight escorted him to the door. “Thanks again for all this, I owe you one.”     “Oh don’t concern yourself with that darling, a chance to work on clothes for an entirely new species is payment in and of itself.”         The two left the boutique, with Andrew walking backwards out of the door, waving goodbye as he did. He closed the door behind himself and turned around, nearly bumping into Twilight as he did.         “Whoa Twilight, why did you-” Andrew began as he looked at the lavender pony. She wasn’t paying attention though, and Andrew quickly realized why.         “Uh… Hey you guys…” Rainbow Dash said, rubbing her right leg nervously. “Fancy running into you here…”         Andrew crossed his arms, looking rather annoyed at the light blue pegasus. Twilight looked from one to the other, worried there might be another fight. Thankfully when Rainbow Dash spoke again, she sounded distinctly embarrassed, not confrontational.         “Um Twilight, could I uh… could I talk to Andrew in private for a while?” She asked, before looking to Andrew. “If you don’t mind…”                  “Sure Rainbow Dash. We were on our way to Sweet Apple Acres, so just show him the way there when you’re done.” Twilight said before shooting a look at Andrew and whispering “Be nice! I'll see you in bit.” before walking away, heading off to see Applejack. The two remained standing, with Rainbow Dash refusing to make direct eye contact with the human and Andrew tapping his fingers in annoyance. Finally Rainbow Dash gave up and looked to the annoyed human.         “Walk and talk?” she asked simply.         After a long moment of pause, Andrew let out a sigh.                  “Fine, but this had better be good.”