//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: A New Friend // Story: The Elements in Harmony // by No One and Nobody //------------------------------// Chapter 4: A New Friend As Twilight ran through the streets of Ponyville with her friends, following Pinkie, she thought about what they were about to face. My friends and I have faced many different monsters in our past adventures, however I can’t shake the feeling that this one might be different. The way the girls described it, it was almost as though it was trying to protect them from the cockatrice. The more she thought about it the more it made sense. That would explain how Maud was able to communicate with it. Maybe it didn’t mean Equestria any harm at all. In which case she would need to keep Rainbow under control. Rainbow was definitely capable of keeping a cool head under pressure, however she was also capable of flying straight in at precisely the wrong time. Not to mention ever since she had shown up this morning, she had been rather touchy, especially on the subject of the monster. But then again, if that's the case, why did it run away? As they neared the Everfree, they joined up with Fluttershy and Zecorra. “A little sage advice,” said Zecorra, “This creature may not be very nice.” “Or it could be a new not-pony looking to live in Ponyville,” said Pinkie, jumping up and down. “In which case, I get to welcome him with a big party.” “You can party with what’s left of him,” said Rainbow, smacking her left hoof with her right. “Easy Rainbow,” said Twilight, “We don’t know for sure this creature, whatever it is, is dangerous.” “It attacked the CMCs,” said Rainbow, glaring at Twilight. “The way I see it, it was protecting the girls from the cockatrice.” “So what, we just walk up to it, introduce ourselves and say, ‘welcome to Ponyville, would you like some lemonade?'? I don’t think so Twilight.” “The least we can do is give it the benefit of the doubt,” said Twilight, looking around at her friends, “Which means we don’t attack it unless it attacks us first.” “Fine,” said Rainbow, scowling, “But I’ll be ready just in case your ‘benefit of the doubt’ slows your reaction time. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to save your skins.” “I wish you all the very best, and hope you pass this trying test. Let me know when the coast is clear, so that I may return to my home without any fear.” “Sure thing Zecorra,” said Applejack as they headed into the forest. As the ponies left, none of them them heard the zebra muttering to herself with a disturbed expression on her face. “I hope this creature does not spell doom, and yet I sense a great evil is coming soon. When I get home I must look into this. If it is as bad as it feels, it could spell the end for all of Equus.” Thomas stepped carefully trying to maintain his balance. Just because he was blind didn’t mean he had to let Maud know it. Better for her to think that I am slow because I am a rock, than to know how vulnerable I actually am. Maud, however, didn’t seem to care how carefully he was moving. She stayed just a little ahead, looking back every now and then to make sure he was following and stopping so as not to lose him. She’s being awfully nice. Is it because I’m a rock, or is she just naturally like this? If so then I might want to rethink my Rainbow Dash wallpaper on my computer. For somepony who had come off as cold and unemotional in the show, Maud was turning out to be a wonderful pony. Maybe they’re all just this nice and I’m over thinking the whole ‘grab your torch and pitchfork; let’s kill the monster’ thing. Just as he thought this though, Thomas became aware of five ponies ahead of them advancing somewhat rapidly. He stopped in his tracks and when Maud turned to look at him he pointed in the direction of the approaching ponies and tried to let her know, through pantomime and hand gestures, that more ponies were coming. “Do you trust me?” asked Maud, looking calmly at Thomas. He almost took a deep breath, before he realized he couldn’t and then he nodded his head (or what passed for his head) and continued following Maud. We were going to meet more ponies anyway. I just hope I was right and Rainbow is in a good mood. Twilight and her friends were making good progress through the forest today. But it seemed eerily quiet, even more so than usual, in fact. “Twilight,” said Applejack, trotting up to her friend and looking around at the trees, “Have ya’ noticed how… quiet everything is?” Twilight's ears had been swiveling in every direction for the past few minutes so she knew exactly what AJ was talking about. “Yes AJ, I have. Something’s definitely going on.” “Told ‘ya it was a monster,” said Rainbow, hovering along behind them, her hooves tensed in a ready position. “Let’s keep the name-calling to ourselves until we’re sure,” said Rarity, gulping. “Thanks,” said Twilight. “Ooohh, I can barely wait!” said Pinkie Pie, shuddering under the pent up tension inside her, “Pretty soon I’ll get to meet a new pony… or blow up an evil villain. Either way it’s going to be great!” “Easy,” said Twilight, raising a hoof and slowing down, “I think somepony’s coming.” As the rest of the group slowed, they too could hear the soft hoof steps of Maud and the massive THUDs of the creature behind her. After a few more seconds Maud came into view and just beyond her was the thing. Twilight couldn’t really describe it. It was taller than Celestia. However, it did stand a little lower than some of the trees around here. It stood on its two hind legs and it had a very sturdy-looking, lopsided frame. However as the creature stepped out from the shadow of the trees, Twilight gasped and her ears flattened themselves against her head in shock. It was composed completely out of stone. It looked like a small mountain had just gotten up and walked off. She could hear her friends behind her also gasp in shock. This was nothing like what they were expecting. “Hey Maud!” yelled Pinkie, hopping over to her big sister, apparently unfazed by the monstrous monster, “Who’s your friend?” “I don’t know,” said Maud, looking at Thomas, “I met him a little while ago. He’s a rock.” She forgot to ask his name?! Oh well, I guess nopony’s perfect; after all she’s definitely not as social as Pinkie. “Is he friendly?” asked Twilight, keeping an eye on Rainbow Dash. “He’s more scared of you, than you are of him,” said Maud, “I found him hiding from Rainbow. He was afraid of getting hurt.” Rainbow nodded in satisfaction and said, “Good for him.” Nopony noticed the creature’s head jerk towards Rainbow’s voice. “What about my sister and her friend?” asked Applejack, glaring at the 'creature', “What was all that about.” “He can’t speak,” said Maud. “So how did you communicate with him?” asked Twilight, her ears perking up a little. “He wrote on the ground.” Twilight thought about this for a second and then her ears stood straight up as her face shone from an idea. Her horn glowed and with a flash of light there appeared a small chalkboard and piece of chalk in front of her. The creature jumped at the sound and backed away a little. “It’s OK,” said Twilight, holding out the chalkboard in her magical field, “Here, you can write on this.” Twilight was confused as the creature seemed to feel around in the air as if looking for what she was giving him. Maud reached out and guided his hand to the chalk board. For a pony it would have been a relatively large board, but for this fellow it was a tiny thing. He held it in his hand and taking the minuscule piece of chalk he wrote one word on the chalkboard. FRIEND. He turned the board to the seven ponies and stood there. Twilight was impressed. This creature was not only intelligent, it could write. She started to say something but was cut off by AJ. “What about Apple Bloom an' Sweetie Belle?” The creature seemed to hesitate for a second before it wrote on the board again. WHO? “The two fillies from last night.” COCKATRICE. DANGER! “So you were protecting them?” Once again the head of the creature jerked towards Rainbow’s voice, and this time Twilight saw it. YES. Twilight was becoming more and more curious by the second. The creature was definitely scared of Rainbow and it couldn’t seem to see the chalkboard when she had given it to him. Maybe it’s blind. Pinkie bounced over to the creature and gave him a long look. “We’ll have to have an extra-large party to accommodate you big fella. Hey Applejack do you mind if we use your barn?” “Ma barn?” said Applejack. “For the big party to welcome…” Pinkie stopped and turned to look at the creature again, “What’s your name.” It wrote its name on the board and turned it around. TOM. Rarity let out an involuntary gasp and the creature quickly scribbled something else on the board, before turning it around. THOMAS. Rarity smiled and chuckled a little, “For a minute there you had me worried darling.” As they made their way back to Ponyville through the forest, Twilight tried to stay back, closer to Thomas. When she got a little closer he held out the chalkboard to her. So he can see me. Then why did he act like he couldn’t see the chalkboard before? Maybe he just heard me. Twilight shook her head and said, “Keep it. It’s the only way we can talk to you.” Thomas nodded and wrote something else on the board. OTHER PONIES FRIGHTENED? “Don’t worry,” said Twilight, smiling at Thomas, “I had a talk to them; my friends won’t hurt you.” NO. OTHER PONIES. It took Twilight a second before she realized what he was asking. “Hey girls,” she said to her friends, “Why don’t we take the long way round Ponyville to get to Applejack’s farm, we don’t want to scare everypony in town.” “What about Zecorra?” asked Fluttershy. “Oh right. You can go tell Zecorra that we’ve decided Thomas isn’t a threat.” “Yet…” said Rainbow. squinting her eyes at Thomas. “Meet us up at the barn.” Fluttershy nodded and, flapping her wings, took off towards her cottage through the trees. Twilight noticed that Thomas stopped as Fluttershy left but then continued on again after a couple of seconds. If he’s scared of Rainbow why did he seemed worried when Fluttershy left? Twilight put a hoof on Thomas’s arm and said, “This way Thomas, we’ll lead you there.” As the six ponies and Thomas walked along over the luxurious grassy fields outside of Ponyville Twilight, ever curious, kept asking Thomas questions. “So what’s it like being made of stone?” CAN’T BREATH. CAN’T EAT. CAN’T- Thomas stopped writing and erased the last part. I wonder what he’s hiding. Thought Twilight to herself. “And you’re OK with that?” DON’T NEED TO. “Right, because you’re a rock. Have you always been a rock or did you just become one?” “He won’t answer that question,” said Maud, cutting in. “Well are you a stallion or a mare?” continued Twilight. MALE. “I see,” said Twilight. So, you don’t think of yourself as a pony. “Hey Twilight,” said Rainbow, flying a little nearer. Twilight watched as Thomas jumped again and his head jerked towards Rainbow. “Don’t you think you’re being a little too friendly to this guy?” Thomas stopped and Twilight glared at Rainbow. “It’s OK,” she said, approaching Thomas, “Rainbow’s just a little action hungry. She doesn’t really mean that… Do you Rainbow?” Rainbow snorted and said under her breath, “Didn’t seem that scared of me last night with the flowers jab…” None of the other ponies heard her, but Thomas did. His sight handicap was already beginning to make him more dependent on his other senses. “It’s OK Sugarcube,” said AJ, stepping up to Thomas, “Ya saved mah little sister from a cockatrice. That means yer OK in mah’ book.” “And you saved Sweetie Belle too,” said Rarity, “Speaking of which I should probably get her to thank you. What you did was very brave of you. Of course the cockatrice probably wasn’t that scary since well you are…” Rarity stopped there, trying to come up with a polite way to phrase large, heavy, big or made of stone. “Immune to its abilities,” she finished. “I guess bein’ made’a stone has its advantages,” said AJ. That got Twilight thinking again. Was he protected from the cockatrice because he is already petrified or because he’s blind? Either way would make sense. However, it would seem that he can see. Twilight watched as Thomas stepped over a plow as though he could see fine and kept walking through the field. “Um Thomas,” she said, “Do you mind if I let Princess Celestia know about you? You are no longer a danger and I don’t think she’d object to you staying in Ponyville now.” Thomas lifted the chalkboard and wrote some more. WHO? WHAT? WHERE? “Oh, sorry,” said Twilight, “I forgot. Princess Celestia is the ruler of all Equestria, and my friends and I live in the town of Ponyville over there.” Twilight pointed in the direction of Ponyville and watched as Thomas turned to look in that direction. Definitely not blind. However, at that moment, Rainbow floated in front of Thomas and said, “But watch it buster. I’ve got my eyes on you.” At the sound of Rainbow’s voice, Thomas stumbled back. He can see which direction I was pointing, he knows where Ponyville is, but he didn’t jump until after he heard Rainbow. I don’t get it. “Easy there partner,” said AJ, grabbing Rainbow by the tail and pulling her down to the ground. The minute Rainbow set hoof on the ground Thomas seemed to calm down a little. He can’t see things in the air! Only things on the ground. Thought Twilight, her eyes growing wide. He’s only half-blind. As they continued on through the orchard, Twilight thought more and more about what she had just figured out. Better not tell Rainbow. She’ll just antagonize Thomas. However if he ever does show that he’s evil, at least we’re not helpless. “So where did you come from Darling?” asked Rarity, who seemed to be warming up to Thomas a little. In fact, everypony, except Rainbow, seemed to be getting along with Thomas. “What’s the matter?” asked Twilight, pulling Rainbow aside. “What do you mean?” “Come on Rainbow, you’re the Element of Loyalty; you’ve made plenty of friends in Ponyville. Why are you suddenly treating this new friend like he’s the enemy? You don’t have any proof.” Rainbow snorted and said, “Insulting me is all the proof I need not to trust this guy.” The two were interrupted by Thomas holding out his chalkboard. WHAT INSULT? “Like you don’t know buster,” said Rainbow, flying up into his face. Thomas seemed to anticipate what Rainbow was doing and backed up as she left the ground. He’s hiding his handicap very well. “I heard you in the forest after they all left,” said Rainbow, glaring daggers at Thomas, “I heard what you said to me.” “But Rainbow,” said Rarity, “Thomas can’t talk. How could he have insulted you last night?” Rainbow seemed to deflate a little and landed back on the ground. “Well I didn’t see anypony else in the forest and this guy was the only one around,” she said somewhat less assuredly. “But he can’t talk,” said AJ. “Maybe he’s just faking it.” “He’s a rock,” said Maud. “Besides he told me he couldn’t even breathe,” said Twilight. “Well-well-well… Hfmg!” Rainbow crossed her hooves in anger and said, “I’m still not sure, but I guess I can’t really hold an insult against you if you allegedly can’t talk.” They continued on again towards Sweet Apple Acres, this time with Rainbow walking along with the rest of them. When they got to the farm, Applejack went to find her family and Pinkie Pie continued with the rest of them to the barn. She opened the door and let Thomas walk in first. This is where they would spring the trap if they were the US Military. Thought Thomas to himself. Just then there was a whoosh like something falling and something heavy landed on top of him. It wasn’t a net, and it wasn’t even heavy enough to hurt him. But it did knock him to the ground. As he landed he could feel a large pony standing behind him obviously surprised that his attack hadn’t done that much harm. Big Mac. Uh-oh. Big Mac charged Thomas, deaf to the pleas of the four mares standing in the doorway. Don’t hurt him-don’t hurt him-don’t hurt him. Thought Thomas as he backed up. Big Mac was faster than he looked. However it seemed that no matter how strong he was, Thomas was stronger. Maybe I’m not made out of ordinary stone. Thomas kept his hands out in front of him and tried to keep Big Mac from really hurting himself. He kept trying to buck Thomas in the chest. Luckily Thomas’s hands seemed strong enough to hold off his kicks. Gotta stop him without hurting him. Thomas felt around the barn and thought he could feel a heavy patch of something in the corner. It’s not solid enough to be manure. I think it’s hay. Thomas reached out a hand after Big Mac had made another kick and, picking him up, flung him gently underhand into the pile of hay. Big Mac landed, jumped out and charged Thomas again. Thomas deflected a kick and threw Mac into the hay again. He did this a few more times until Applejack came back and grabbed Big Mac by the tail. “Is that any way to greet a guest?” she said sternly, “Especially a guest who saved our little sister from a cockatrice.” Big Mac looked at Applejack and then back to Thomas. Then he hung his head in shame and said, “Nope.” Thomas tried to hold back his fan-girling as best he could. Then he realized that he had lost the chalkboard. Holding out his hands he tried to show them it was missing. Twilight caught on first. “You’ve lost the chalkboard. You probably threw it with Macintosh into the hay. Give me a second.” She searched around for a minute with her magic and finally pulled out something. Balancing it on her hoof she walked up to Thomas and held it out to him. This time Thomas knew exactly where it was and grabbed it without a moments delay. That was suspicious. Does she suspect that I can’t see stuff in the air? Or was she just alternating from magic to hooves? Thomas didn’t have that much time to think about this because at that moment Apple Bloom and Granny Smith walked into the barn. “Land sakes!” said Granny Smith, “You 'ere right whipper-snapper, 'ee’s as big as a house. And ye say 'ee’s friendly?” “Sure is Granny,” said Applejack, “He saved Apple Bloom from that cockatrice didn’t he?” “Thanks mister,” said Apple Bloom, approaching Thomas cautiously. No way am I going to have the Cutie Mark Crusaders scared of me! Thomas got down slowly onto his knees and when that wasn’t low enough he let go of his joints, and collapsed and spread out until his arms and shoulders were resting on a jumble of stones that used to be his lower half. He was now barely taller than Big Mac. Then he held out his hand to Apple Bloom and extended one finger, which was about the size of Big Mac’s hoof. Apple Bloom stared at the large stone appendage extended towards her and shrank back a little, unsure what to do. Thomas tried to smile, he really did. But stone doesn’t change faces well. He rearranged the stones in his face, but none were large or small enough to convey the expression. So instead, he took out the chalkboard and drew a quick smiling face. It wasn't the same, but it got the point across. Apple Bloom smiled back at him and then raised her hoof and knocked it against his finger. Thomas could feel some of the tension leave the room as all the Apples, as one, let out a large anxious sigh. "I'm gonna introduce you to ma friends!" said Apple Bloom, "They gotta meet you!" “Let’s start the PARTY!” yelled Pinkie, pulling out her party cannon and killing the moment. Thomas held up a hand and sunk back onto the earthen floor. Pinkie lowered her party cannon and gave him a look. “What is it?” Rolling over, he held up his reply. TIRED. REST HERE? Applejack stomped her hoof and said in a cheerful voice, “You think I’d let the hero who saved my sister sleep in the forest? Sure thing sugarcube. You lay down right here and get some rest. We can have the party later this evening.” Pinkie sighed and then brightened. “This will give me time to make even more invitations. I wonder if the princesses are free tonight...” “Easy there partner,” said AJ as she and her friends left the barn, “Maybe we should take this a little slow, after all Tom ain’t no ordinary pony.” The doors to the barn closed and Thomas pulled his legs back together, rolled over to a dark corner of the barn and rested his head up against a bale of hay. He hadn’t slept all night, and while he didn’t feel as exhausted as when he was a human, he still felt a little worn out. Well I’ve met the Mane Six, I’m on speaking terms with the CMC’s and Rainbow isn’t going to kill me. To top all that off, even Big Macintosh couldn’t hurt me. With all that out of the way, maybe I should start to wonder why I’m here in the first place. As he lay there he went over as many possible explanations as he could in his head. I’m the key to saving Equestria? Someone’s playing a huge practical joke on me? I hit the cosmic jackpot and got sent to Equestria? I’ve been sent here to learn a lesson about friendship or something? Random coincidence? Runaway Fan Fiction? He really had no idea why he was here, and even after all that thought, he still couldn’t come up with a good explanation. Maybe I should just rest. The party’s later and I’m going to need all my strength to be the best wallflower I can be. Thomas wasn’t a very social person. That’s why he identified most with Twilight. But now he was a giant, strange, indestructible creature from the depths of the Everfree in the middle of Ponyville. Something tells me this party isn’t going to be like any party I’ve ever been to before.