That Strange Stallion

by Gunther the Green

The Strange Friendship

While some would be glad to be released from the clinic, Heavy Weight was dreading going back out to face his consequences. His reputation was probably gone. All because of some upstart who somehow could pull a massive amount of weight. If he never saw that stallion again, it would be too soon. Unfortunately, his wishes would go unanswered.
"Heavy!" somepony called to him. He looked over and saw the little twat he was thinking about, slide up in front of him. "You're all better now," he smiled brightly up at him excited like a dog. His tail was even wagging, for goodness sake.
"Relatively," he said while he softly touched the bandage around his barrel. He still had a few weeks before he could take off the bandage, but he could at least walk around and do some work. "Why are you so happy to see me? We're not friends," he grunted and started walking away from him, "And why are you bouncing?"
That didn't seem to deter Martin since he literally bounced along side him to speak at eye level with him. "Good communication starts with eye contact," he said, "and Pinkie showed me how best to bounce on your hooves. It's a neat trick, makes going about your day new and exciting. As for your other question? I felt guilty for being the reason you were injured."
"As you should, it's your fault this happened," he agreed. But that didn't matter right now. Right now he was heading back to that gym because he was told to either fix the Bridle Pull or pay for a new one by the owner for breaking it. He'd rather fix it then pay out of his own bits.
"So as an apology, I'm gonna help you fix that equipment!" he said excitedly.
Heavy's frown deepened, "I don't need or want your help. Just leave me alone." Although he was fibbing about needing help, it was at least a two pony job. But he wasn't about to ask him for help. He'd ask one of the ponies exercising in the gym. Hopefully there were some there at this time of day.
"Nuh uh," he said shaking his head.
"What do you mean, 'Nuh uh'? It's not something you can deny. I am telling you to leave," Heavy glared at the bouncing stallion.
"Nuh uh," he said again. What, is he five? Well Heavy wasn't going to have any of that. He took off in a full gallop, trying to get as much distance as he could. "Heavy, wait!" Martin called after him. But he didn't, he continued down the road, making several twists and turns that he lost track of where he was going. Eventually he came to a stop, huffing and puffing, hoping he got away. "Nope still here," he suddenly heard beside him. He gave a shout in surprise as he spun around to face the smaller stallion. He took a second to compose himself and glared down at him.
"Stop following me," he stated firmly. Why couldn't he just listen? Once again, Martin shook his head denying him his peace. Heavy grunted and decided to run again. This time looked back and saw Martin just bouncing after him, surprisingly keeping up. "Go away!" he shouted back towards Martin.
Suddenly Martin's face contorted into panic, "Heavy stop!" he pleaded. Heavy's face scrunched up in confusion, but he didn't stop. What was he so worried about? He looked forwards and his heart nearly stopped when he saw a small brown and white colt about to be stomped by his hoof. Time seemed to slow down as the hoof drew closer to the wide eyed child. Without warning he felt a great pull on his tail and he was pulled backwards into his flank. Thankfully, the colt was uninjured, but was now tearing up in fear.
Heavy was about to come up with an excuse but was interrupted as Martin stepped in between them. "Pipsqueak! How ya doin, little buddy?" he asked a bit too quickly, "Sorry about Heavy here, he just got out of the clinic and really wanted to use his legs." Heavy raised an eyebrow at Martin as he stood up. Why was he making up an excuse for him? He can explain himself easily enough.
He was about to complain about that, but stopped. The colt seemed to have his spirit lifted immediately when he noticed Martin. The tears that were coming were immediately blinked away, "Martin, you're back! Are you here to tell another story?" Upon that question, there was a small cheer from several other children. Heavy finally noticed that he had run into the playground of the school house during his blind run through the town. How far had he run?
"Well," he playfully hesitated, "Alright, but only for a minute, me and Heavy are scheduled to fix some equipment later." He turned to Heavy, "You can get a head start toward the gym. I'll catch up when I finish here," and then turned back towards the group of children that had gathered in front of him, "Alright, do any of you remember who I talked about last time?"
One pony near the back raised her hoof, "You told us about chief of police, Officer Vern." An officer? This guy personally knew a police pony, the chief no less?
Martin smiled kindly at the pony, "That's right. He's the nicest guy I've ever met. But now I think we should move past him. Today I'm going to talk about one of the biggest mystery of Broken Depths, a being called Stranger." The children 'oh'ed at that, anticipating the story. Even Heavy found himself curious enough to stay. The name Stranger sounded like something out of a horror story. "Over a thousand years ago, before Broken Depths was ever built and even before the country was colonized. There was a single creature who lived where it would be built, a shapeshifter. She was the only one of her kind. She had the amazing ability to change her form into any living and non-living thing. She could be anyone or anything. But even though she had this power, she was very lonely, she had no friends or family," he told them.
"That's so sad," one of the fillies said.
Martin nodded, "It is, but this story has a happy ending. Because soon, the founder of Broken Depths came to this location and observed Stranger's loneliness. He spoke with her often, although he couldn't find out anything about herself and her past, they still became good friends. And you know what he did for his friend? He decided to make a town. A town where she could settle down and have friends and a family. I can only assume she was over-joyed but she doesn't really talk about it with me," he finished. Wait, what?
Heavy looked at him weirdly. Did he just insinuate he personally knew a being that has been around since before Nightmare Moon's banishment? And what kind of town name is Broken Depths? But the children didn't seem to notice the strangeness and simply 'aww'ed, thinking it as a nice conclusion.
"Martin, is that you over there?" a voice called from inside the building. Everypony looked over and saw Miss Cheerilee standing at the front door of the school building. "I thought I asked you not to distract the children just before recess ended. Your stories take their attention away from class," she admonished him with a frown.
"Hi Miss Cheerilee," Martin called waving a hoof at her, "Sorry about that, me and Heavy were running about, well he was running, I was bouncing, and we accidentally ran here." Heavy gave him a half lidded stare. The way he said it didn't make it sound right. The reason for said blind running could be speculated into any number of wrong ways.
But Cheerilee sighed in resignation, "Very well Martin," she easily forgave, "Just please try to not do it again." From her tone of voice, he could only guess Martin has disturbed the class a lot with his antics, although in not enough severity to make her angry.
He raised a hoof in a salute fashion, "You got it Miss Cheerilee," he then waved to the school children, "You lot be good now." There was a chorus of 'bye Martin' as they dispersed and Cheerilee walked back into the building. Martin turned around and was surprised to see Heavy still standing there, "Heavy, you're still here? Did you want to walk with me after all?" he said with a bright smile.
Heavy recoiled a bit in disgust, "No of course not," he denied too quickly, "I was just, uh, catching my breath."
"Wanna borrow my net?" Martin unexpectedly asked. Heavy blinked at him weirdly. Why did he suddenly bring up a net? Oh wait, he knew where this was going. "To catch your breath," Martin chuckled at his own joke but Heavy didn't find it funny. "Hey, did you see what Cheerilee did?" he asked another question.
Heavy raised an eyebrow at him, "What, lecture you?" While slightly entertaining, it was hardly noteworthy.
"She just schooled me," he laughed outright at that. Heavy however groaned and placed a foreleg over his eyes. Why was he making puns now? Was he purposefully trying to irritate him.
Heavy walked away not bothering to try and distance himself from Martin, feeling the effort was useless. Martin himself bounced alongside him, his head bobbing with an unheard tune. Heavy decided to make a topic, if they were going to talk, as he knew they would, they were going to be serious about it. "So tell me, why were you so worried before, when I was about to run into that colt, if you could have easily stopped me?" he asked.
"I was worried for the both of you," he explained, "For that child's safety and for your reputation." Heavy blinked in surprise at that announcement. He was concerned about what everypony thought of him? What for? "Both of you are my friends," he answered the unasked question, "If I have the power to help you, then I'm going to do it. It's the way I've always done things."
Heavy huffed, "Well don't expect me to repay you, you're the reason it happened in the first place," he pointed out. All of his current problems were because of this stallion. However, for some reason he couldn't muster the hate he started out with.
"I don't need money, I'm already repaid by the bright smiles and happy lives of the ponies around me," he said with a chuckle. While a nice sentiment, it didn't really put food on the table or a roof over your head.
"Oh really? How many bits is a smile going for these days?" Heavy joked sarcastically. Martin blinked at him before doubling over in a fit of laughter. Heavy didn't bother to wait for him and continued walking.
Martin quickly caught back up after his laughing died down, "See, I knew you weren't just Commander Drill Sergeant." Heavy frowned a little at both the implication and the wrong use of military ranks. He then sighed, resigning himself to an explanation.
"That whole persona back at the gym was just me acting," he told Martin, "I need to do that to properly motivate them." At Martin's confused look, he went into further detail, "Being loud and obnoxious means they will all pay attention to me. Lording myself over them gives them incentive to follow my orders. I also need to keep my distance. They don't need a buddy to coddle them, they need a trainer to tell them what to do. So I make them call me Sir and insult them."
"Is that for their benefit or yours?" he asked seriously but the bouncing he was doing ruined the effect.
"Both," he said simply. While it seemed cruel, he will say that the system has worked thus far. They got the training they wanted and he doesn't get emotionally attached to them. That is until this stallion showed up. He broke the illusion.
"Well, it seems to work for you, but I think you can be a little bit nicer," he said. Heavy snorted, no way that was happening. He couldn't chance being seen as soft. If a rumor like that spread, he wouldn't be able to get the serious body builders to follow his orders. That's what he thought anyway.
He decided to change to subject before it got too mushy. "What was with that story with the stranger? You said it was a mystery but nothing about it was mysterious," he said. He was honestly curious about some shapeshifter who may be as old as the Princesses.
"Not the stranger, just Stranger. Although, that's not actually her name, it's a title we gave her," Martin explained, "The mystery is we don't know who or what she really is. Shapeshifting is an ability, not a species. There are several others in our town who can shapeshift but Stranger is unique. She's lived in our town for as long as it has been built, so she has to be at least one of the residence in it, but we can never figure out which one. Magic, medicine, and science can't figure it out. Even when asked she refuses to answer."
As he finished explaining, they arrived at the gym. Heavy went in first, opening the door with a hoof. For some reason when he looked back at Martin, he had stopped bouncing and was staring intently at his own hoof. Deciding to ignore it as just another thing weird about him, Heavy walked over to the pile of gym equipment that he had fallen into several days ago. Miraculously, it seemed like nopony had touched it and all the pieces were there with no visible dents. Looked like he had just jostled some screws loose and it fell apart. "This should be easy enough, alright Martin if you really want to help, then you're going to have to follow my instructions exactly," he told the smaller stallion.
Said stallion smiled up at him, "You got it, what do we do first?" Heavy's neutral look lifted a little at the agreement. He didn't think it'd be that easy to get him to listen. Especially because of the chase before.
He went over to the tool box that was provided for them and took out a screwdriver with his teeth and set it down next to the pile. "I'm going to set two pieces together and reapply their screws. What I need you to do is hold them in place until I can secure them," he explained while moving the pieces together. Martin nodded and used his own hooves to hold them there. With no further prompt, Heavy began the difficult process of turning a screw with his teeth.
"You must have a really good dentist if you can use your teeth like that," Martin commented. Heavy just grunted, not being able to answer. "Hey Heavy, what's the best time to go to the dentist?" Heavy grunted again with a light shrug this time, not really caring about the question. "Two-th Hurty," Martin finished but didn't outright laugh, just smiling widely. Heavy however gave a small chuckle, finding it mildly funny.
When it wouldn't tighten anymore, Heavy dropped the screwdriver and tested the two pieces. "I think we shouldn't have any trouble with damages, but actually getting all of it together will take time," Heavy commented. He looked over at Martin who had this huge mischievous grin on his face.
"Is it eating a clock? Because that sounds time consuming," this time Martin did outright laugh. Heavy wanted to be mad at him, but he couldn't help but chuckle. This guy may be a hyperactive brat but at least he can tell a joke. That and he was good with kids, helped anypony he could, visited him when he was in the clinic, and made an effort to preserve his reputation. Heavy watched him try to see what pieces went where, one piece slipping out of his hoof and knocking him on the head. Maybe he wasn't as bad as he originally thought. He was still annoying, just not bad.
As Heavy said, it took a while to fix the equipment, but with teamwork, they were able to finish in decent time. "Huh, finished a lot faster then I thought we would," Heavy commented, "Good job there, Martin."
Martin took the compliment with his usual smile, "Thanks Heavy, you did great too. We should celebrate." Martin started backing up towards the open door with Heavy close behind.
"What'd you have in mind?" he asked. Martin looked up in thought. As he got close to the door, it suddenly began to close and Martin didn't notice. Out of reflex, Heavy put a hoof out and stopped the door an inch from Martin's flank. Martin blinked in surprise, turning to stare at the door while taking a step away and then stared up at Heavy.
The larger stallion shoved the door all the way open and stared down the lanky blue pony on the other side, "Hey, watch it!" he shouted. The blue pony shrank under the glare, trying to stutter out an apology.
"Hiya Toe-Tapper," Martin suddenly appeared between them, surprising them both, "Watcha doin?"
Toe-Tapper eased up when seeing a familiar face but still cowered under Heavy's gaze. "Were you trying to come out the door? I'm terribly sorry, I assumed somepony had left it open on accident," he explained.
"Oh, we did leave it open on accident, but it's all good," he said while tapping a hoof on Heavy, "Neither of us is injured so, no worries, ok?" he tried to reassure. Toe-Tapper glanced at the bandages around Heavy's barrel and raised an eyebrow at Martin. "He already had those," he reassured again.
"Well, I guess I'll be on my way, good bye Martin, I hope your friend feels better," with that Toe-Tapper walked away. The tension in Heavy's shoulders disappeared as he breathed out.
He glanced towards Martin who was looking up at him in admiration. "What?" he asked hesitantly, not sure if he would like the answer.
"You just protected me from the door menace," Martin said while hugging his foreleg, "Thank you." Ok, now this was getting weird. Heavy shook his foreleg to try and get Martin off. He did let go and began walking out again, forwards this time. "Come on, you definitely deserve something for that," he said.
"All I did was stop a door, you make it sound like I just saved your life," Heavy complained, "Don't make a big deal out of it". This stallion made no sense and was that music he was hearing? Oh, no.
"You know, when we first met, I didn't think you liked me, but now, I'm sure you do," Martin said confidently, "I guess that means we put our differences behind us? Ha! You get it? Put our differences behind us?" he said while elbowing the now frowning Heavy.
"I'd like to leave you behind," but Martin just laughed it off and began to sing.

Look how we get along together,
I think it's great the way we blend,
You seem to try and break this tether,
But now I see that's just pretend,
We'll find our way through stormy weather,
Just you and me right to the end,
Hey buddy, looks like we're two birds of a feather,
And, gee, it looks like I got me a friend,
Now you go.

"Take it Heavy," he gestured towards Heavy to continue the song but Heavy ignored him and kept walking. Martin bounced along side him. "Hey Heavy, What do you call a flower before it opens?" he asked.
"What?" Heavy said finally paying attention to him.
"What do you call a flower before it opens?" he asked again.
Why was he quizzing him? "A bud" Heavy answered.
Martin's smile doubled in size, "I love it when you call me bud!" he said while hugging Heavy around the neck. Heavy groaned in annoyance as he shoved him off. But that didn't stop Martin. He bounced alongside the glaring stallion and continued to sing.

Look how we get along together,
You are incredibly annoying
I think it's great the way we blend,
You're like a disgusting little shroom
You seem to try and break this tether
This isn't something I'm enjoying
But now I see that's just pretend
I should have left you back in that room
We'll find our way through stormy weather
You want a friend? Go to the tundra!
Just you and me right to the end. Hey buddy
Or better yet, find a hydra!
Looks like we're two birds of a feather
Don't call me buddy!
And, gee, it looks like I got me a friend
Uh uh! Not me!
Now you try

"Take it Heavy," he gestured towards the other stallion again. Once again he was ignored. "Hey Heavy, I got you some bits, where should I put it?" he asked.
"What?" his ears perked up at the sound of money.
"I got you some bits, where should I put it?" he asked again.
"Put it there," he said holding out a hoof to him.
"Put it there?" he asked excitedly, "Alright!" he said while grabbing the hoof with both of his and giving a firm shake.
"Oh stop it!" he said while pulling his hoof free and stomping forwards.

When you're a loner there's less hardship
I know you like me, just admit
You don't go finding friends to like
Alright, I'm gonna give a stare
Why don't you pack your blasted friendship
Go on, admit it!
And take yourself a healthy hike!
Take a look, you're really gonna care
There aren't many ponies in Hayladesh
I'll break your levee
Why don't you go and start a trend
Come on, Heavy
"Oh knock it off!" he said having enough of the smaller stallion, finally looking towards him. He immediately recoiled when he saw Martin give him adorable puppy dog eyes. "Ugh, no grown stallion should be able to make that kind of face!" he complained while trying to look away, "Just stop, Martin!"
"Say it," he commanded. Heavy hesitated before sighing in defeat.

Alright then! I kinda, sorta, maybe, I guess
You mean you like me?
A little
You mean it?
Don't push it!

Oh, looks like I got me a friend! Oh, looks like I got me a friend!

"Ok, yes, I consider you a friend," he said it with a sense of defeat but he had a small smile. This was his first friend in a long time and he could honestly say that it felt good. The pony next to him just radiated how good he felt. "You never did tell me where we're going," he pointed out.
"Oh right, well, I was just going to have us head over to Sugarcube Corner to grab a snack," he said with a far off look in his eye, "I could really go for some brownies."
Their chat was interrupted by a loud whistle. The both of them looked over and saw Applejack waving, "Martin, come over here, I need yer help with somethin."
"Huh, no brownies then," Martin turned back towards Heavy, "Duty calls. But I won't leave you hanging." Martin pulled off his bag of bits, took one of Heavy's forelegs, and dumped out a few bits into it. "I promised you some bits, and I will keep that promise. You have fun Heavy," with that he put the bag back around his neck and trotted over to Applejack.
Heavy could only stare at the retreating stallion as he replayed the events of the last couple of hours in his mind. He had been released from the clinic, been chased, nearly injured a colt, heard a story about a thousand year old shapeshifter, fixed some equipment, sang a song, gained a new friend, and was given bits to spend on sweets. Quite honestly that was more eventful then the entirety of last month, and that was ok with him. But he should take that advice and relax with a snack.

Today hadn't really been a good day for Applejack. Oh everything was fine for the most part, but it was ruined the moment that show mare named Trixie showed up. She had tried to give the show off some humility but she got hogtied instead. However, hopefully she could regain some dignity by getting some decent work into and out of Martin... That sounded a lot better in her head. Anyway, it was her turn to interrogate him. She was to find out more about this criminal 'Triple B' and this goddess named 'Tria'. She didn't know what Rainbow was thinking when she believed him when it came to that.
Right now she was trying to coach him on how to properly buck a tree, but so far they've made no progress. It probably didn't help that Big Macintosh accidentally opened the barn door into his face earlier. Boy was spouting nonsense about some giant red dog slapping him afterwards but he seemed to recover easily. She sighed as he flopped over for the tenth time, "Maybe we should take a break. Yer not getting this."
He sat up and shook the dirt out of his mane, "Don't worry Applejack, I'll get it eventually." She snorted, they've been past 'eventually' and were heading into 'never' territory. She could be bucking her own trees but she had to stay here and help him. She guessed it kinda worked out, she could ask him stuff while he rested.
"So ah heard ya'll were tellin Rainbow about some pretty strange things," she started.
He looked at her strangely, "The jokes?" he asked.
"What? No, course not. Although she did say you liked making puns a bit too much," she mentioned, "No, I'm talking about that Triple B and Tria thing." There was no reason to beat around the bush, plus it's been shown by the others that talking about his past doesn't really bother him. She didn't know what Twilight was worried about, this pony didn't look like he had it in him to explode, literally or figuratively.
"My friends? Ya, I guess they're pretty weird," he admitted. See, not even the slightest bit upset. "What about them?" he asked.
"Well first off, why are ya friends with a criminal? Shouldn't ya turn him into the police or Militia you mentioned?" she asked. Friend or not, if they did some illegal acts they should be turned in.
"Turn him in? Besides the fact that I can't, that would just be cruel to both the police and Militia," he explained.
"What do ya mean ya can't?" she asked.
"Triple B is too dangerous, he's stronger then me and no amount of police could detain him," great, not only is his friend dangerous, but he's also difficult to actually lock up, "Lucky for us, we've actually been slowly turning him to the side of good."
"What, really?" so it wasn't entirely hopeless. But that still wouldn't excuse the crimes he's committed. Even if he was doing good, he'd still have that hanging over his head.
"Yep, he's actually made a deal with Jordan, the only guy stronger then him. Jordan could beat Triple B but only after lots of fighting and even more wanton destruction. So they agreed, as long as Triple B kept his crimes to petty things, Jordan wouldn't go after him," he explained. What the hay? Just how strong are the ponies where he's from? "We're slowly bringing him to our side with friendship. But I think the real reason is because of his Nana," he continued.
"His Nana?" Applejack asked. Apparently even a criminal loved his family. Though, she could see it happen. Family is there for both the good and bad times.
He chuckled a little, "It's the one family member he loves most in the world. She helps keep his morals in check. You should see them interact, it's funny to see Triple B interact in a somewhat normal conversation. Here, let me show you, I think I have my impression of them down," he cleared his throat and began yelling in a different tone, "Yo Nana! I'm going to rob a store, ya want anything?!"
He then changed his tone into an old mare with a scraggly voice, "Ya Beebee, pick up some eggs! I'm makin waffles tonight!" he chuckled at that.
Applejack raised an eyebrow at him, "Why were ya yelling?" It seemed completely unnecessary.
He tapped his ear, "Nana is hard of hearing, so literally every conversation with her has to be yelled. If you try it in a normal tone, she just yells at you saying 'What?!'" Huh, mare must be up in her years, at least Granny Smith hasn't reached that point. She supposed this Triple B couldn't be all bad it he's taking care of family. He was still a criminal, no getting around that.
"So what about this Tria fellow? What's her story? Ya called her a goddess of all things, ya talking about figuratively or literally?" she asked, switching to the next topic.
"Literally," he answered but then hesitated, "I don't think I should tell you." Both of Applejack's eyebrows flew up at that. There was finally something he wouldn't talk about? "You see, Tria's made some mistakes in her life that she's not proud of. It's not my place to gossip about her screw ups. If you want to hear about her past. You'll have to seek her permission," he explained. Wow, he's respecting a pony's privacy. She thought he'd be glad to blab about anything from his town, but even he has limits. She could respect that.
Applejack decided to drop the topic, "Well, I think that's long enough for a break."
"More bucking?" he asked waving towards the trees. 'More'? That stallion hadn't even started.
She shook her head, "Nah, I think bucking just ain't for you. But I got me an idea. Heard from Big Macintosh that yer some kind of power house under all those skinny bones of yours. So I figure, we'll try something that takes less skill, and more raw strength." She walked towards an area of wilted trees.
"What do you mean?" he asked following along.
"Ya see these trees?" she asked gesturing towards them, "They've run their life and need to be cut down. Normally me and Big Macintosh do it, but he still has those bandages. So that ain't gonna work. I figure, with your help, we'll be able to do it. Just let me get the saw and we'll get started." She turned to leave but he stopped her.
"No need, I can get this tree out without cutting it down," he said in a confident manner.
She rolled her eyes at him, "I don't think your headbutt is going to knock down that tree." She hoped he wasn't planning to injure himself again, loophole or not she told him to not get injured.
"Nah, I'm going to suplex it," he said.
"What," she said flatly. Without warning he wrapped his forelegs around the trunk of the tree and started pulling it. She felt the ground underneath them shift and she could hear several roots underneath snap. She swore she saw his hooves glowing with a white aura as he gave the tree a quick lurch and uprooted the whole thing. He bent over backwards and slammed the tree behind him, quickly moving out of the way of the rest of the trunk. She could only stare at him as the dead leaves fell around them. "Martin, did you just suplex that tree?" she finally asked.
"Yes," he said simply.
"Why?" she inquired.
"Because I could," he told her.
She took a second to stare at him further, "Think you could do it again?"
That's how Martin found himself uprooting trees with his bare hooves. Now, Applejack could call him out on being bizarre. But this actually strengthened his claim about his town and friends. If Martin had said earlier that he could pull up whole trees, she would have marked it as another one of his tall tales. But he could actually do it. He may be weird, but he was a useful kind of weird. That made her wonder what other tall tales were actually true. She'd let the others worry about that, for now, she had several logs that needed to be turned into firewood.

Trixie had a most productive day. She had awed the locals with her skill, showed up several upstart mares, and got a decent amount of bits. She could do without those two annoying colts but she could deal with adoring fans for awhile, not like she was going to stay here that long. Right now she was preparing to go to sleep when she heard an unfamiliar voice outside her wagon.
"Huh, wonder what this is," the voice said, "It wasn't here this morning. Must have rolled in around noon." While she would normally be glad at the wonderment in his voice, she did not need this pony stopping her from getting her beauty sleep.
She stuck her head out of the window and stared down at the green stallion. "If you would please, Trixie must ask you to leave, the Great and Powerful Trixie is not doing any shows right now, so go away."
He finally seemed to notice her and smiled widely, "Wow, speaking in third person, now that's funny." Trixie glared at him. She wasn't sure what a 'person' was, but she was no clown and thus, should not be laughed at. "Hi there, I'm Martin," he introduced himself anyway, "Who are you?"
She huffed in annoyance. She was the talk of this tiny village, and he hadn't heard of her? Well she would change that. "Very well, you are in the presence of the Great and Powerful Trixie, the most amazing unicorn in all of Equestria," she declared, donning her hat and cape for added effect.
"Oh, a travelling magician, gotcha," he simplified. She glared harder at him and his words.
"Trixie is no mere street magician. Trixie is a magnificent spell weaver! One with magic that can confound the greats," she declared again.
"Really? Can you show me?" he asked for a performance. Initially, Trixie was going to deny him, but he looked simple minded. She could do some easy magic and it would probably impress him. Nothing wrong with a few extra bits.
"Very well, Trixie can spare a moment," she said while stepping out of the wagon. She used magic to pull out an egg and placed it in one of her hooves, "Behold, for Trixie will crush this egg into oblivion using nothing but her hooves." Martin stared intently at the egg as Trixie brought her other hoof and covered the egg from sight. With a bit of magic, she pulled the egg into her cloak and rubbed her hoofs together, miming the action of crushing the egg. She pulled her hooves apart and revealed that it had disappeared. His mouth opened in shock and he smacked his hooves together in obvious cheer. She knew it, so simple. Without warning, two small colts she recognized as the ones that had bothered her earlier and the baby dragon that was in her audience this afternoon, ran by at amazing speed. She blinked as they ran off into the distance.
Martin however waved to them, "Hi Snips, hi Snails, hi Spike" he called them by name but they didn't look back. "Wonder what's got them scared," he said just as something breathed down his back. Trixie looked back towards him and then up at the thing behind him. And up, and up, and even further up. Right behind Martin was an Ursa Major, the kind of beast she had claimed to be able to vanquish. What was it doing in this town?! She screamed in fear and galloped away as fast as she could.
Martin looked at her retreating form confused, "Well that was uncalled for," he said while looking up and behind himself, "Am I right?" he asked the giant galaxy bear. It growled at him and brought one large paw down onto the stallion.

Twilight was galloping as fast as she could while Spike held onto her mane for dear life. She had just been told an Ursa Major had wandered into town and she was probably the only one who could stop it. Although, if it was really an Ursa Major, she would probably be able to see it by now. It was probably only an Ursa Minor. While less dangerous it could still do a lot of damage if not dealt with.
"Twilight, over there," Spike called pointing towards a group of ponies. She immediately recognized the show off mare as well as the two colts. They seemed to be arguing over something but there were more important things to worry about.
"Trixie!" she called as she came up to them, "Spike told me everything, where's the Ursa?" she asked. Time was of the essence. The three of them wilted in guilt for some reason at the mention of the Ursa.
"I-I don't know," she admitted, "I thought it was going to chase us, but it never did. It must still be back at my wagon." Twilight was slightly curious on why she wasn't speaking in third-pony anymore. But Spike's cry of fright interrupted her thought.
"Martin must still back there with that monster!" Oh no, he's in serious trouble. But before she could go off into full gallop, a great wind blew over Ponyville as the night briefly turned into day with a flash of light. They all looked in the direction of the light and saw several large, translucent, white, featureless tentacles wave in the air beyond several buildings, reaching above them. Several ponies that came out to investigate screamed in terror and ran in the opposite direction. The tentacles came down below the line of buildings and the light began to fade.
Twilight had no idea what that could possibly be, but this was no time to hesitate. "You two," she pointed at Snips and Snails, "return home, it's possibly still dangerous out here." They immediately nodded and ran away, following the crowd. "Trixie, I'd like it if you came with me, I may need your help," she asked of the other unicorn.
"M-m-me?! I'm not going anywhere near that thing!" she stuttered in fear. An Ursa was one thing, but now some tentacle monster?! Tonight was just not her night.
"Please," Twilight begged, "One of my friends could be seriously hurt."
Trixie hesitated, but eventually agreed, "Alright, but you owe Trixie for this," she said while resuming her facade. The both of them ran in the direction of Trixie's wagon. By then the light had completely disappeared. When they arrived, they came upon the most peculiar sight. It was the Ursa Minor, like Twilight had guessed, but it was on it's back and getting a... belly rub? Up on his belly was Martin rubbing his hooves along the belly of the beast, constantly chanting 'who's a good boy'. The Ursa itself had a smile on it's face and it's tongue sticking out, clearly enjoying it.
"What-" Trixie tried to question the situation but was immediately shushed by Martin.
"I finally got him to relax," he said, sounding exhausted, "Hey, can you girls somehow bring this guy back home? That'd be great."
Twilight shook her head, she could question it later. "Trixie, levitate Martin off of it. I'll get the Ursa home," she commanded and then closed her eyes to concentrate. Trixie raised a skeptical eyebrow but did as she was told and brought the green stallion down. In a powerful display of magic, Twilight was able to make music, collect and carry a large bottle of milk used out of part of a water tower, and carry the Ursa itself back into the Everfree forest. Trixie could only gawk at the event while Martin smiled kindly at her and Spike shouted in joy. Luckily the Ursa hadn't made it too far into town so everypony and everything was safe. They probably didn't even see it. Twilight turned to the other mare slightly winded, "Thank you Trixie. You may be a show off, but you still helped when it counts."
Trixie blinked at her odd compliment before recovering, "But of course, you could have never vanquished the Ursa Major-"
"Minor," Twilight interrupted.
"Excuse Trixie?" she asked.
"That was only a baby, an Ursa Minor," she explained. That surprised the showmare and the baby dragon.
"Wait, if that was an Ursa Minor, then how big is an Ursa major?" Spike asked.
Twilight shook her head, "You don't want to know." The implication was rather chilling.
"Ahem," Trixie called attention back to herself, "As Trixie was saying, you could have never vanquished the Ursa Minor, without Trixie's help. You are welcome. But know this, you will never come close to being as wonderful as the Great and Powerful Trixie!" With that, she stomped her hooves and dust erupted around her as she made her escape with her wagon strapped onto her.
Twilight rolled her eyes at the display and turned to the pony she was really worried about, "Are you ok, Martin?"
"I'm alright," he said with a smile but it was strained and he had dark circles under his eyes. She's never seen him look so exhausted, she was worried. "Good job at taking that teddy bear back to bed," he said, his words starting to slur.
"Thanks, I hope you don't think of me as being a show off as well," she voiced her personal worry.
But he continued to smile kindly at her, "Nah, you used your magic for the right reason. If you have power and use it for the right reason, that's not showing off, that's just expressing your talent in a good way." His words gave her relief and she smiled back at him. "As for me, I'm so happy, I could kiss the road," with that, he face planted into the ground, "This road tastes terrible," his muffled words rang out and then went silent.
"Martin, are you ok?" asked a worried Spike. However, instead of talking, he got a snore in response. They both sighed in relief. He was just sleeping.
"Come on, let's get him to the clinic, I'll feel better if I know he's being looked at by a professional," she levitated Martin onto her back with Spike jumping on soon after. He was heavy but she could deal with it until they got to their destination. She was glad everything worked out but there was still one thing unsolved. What was that mysterious light and those tentacles, and did it relate to Martin in someway? Hopefully they will get some answers soon, but for tonight, all of them could use a good night's rest.