That Strange Stallion

by Gunther the Green

The Strange Home

While some would believe in first impressions, Private Dust Bowl of the Royal Guard was ordered to do no such thing. It was some time mid-day, slightly cloudy, mostly smokey. Currently the Elements of Harmony were outside of town to deal with the intruding dragon. Said dragon had taken roost near the town and was snoring up a large quantity of smoke that threatened to encompass the sky. The elements would be fine. A dragon is nothing compared to Nightmare Moon. However, were they enough for this 'Martin'?
Apparently, a couple of nights ago, Princess Celestia had suddenly sensed a powerful wave of strange magic emanate from Ponyville. No unicorn or otherwise could sense any such power though. Were they simply too weak to comprehend the abnormal power or was it so otherworldly that only the Princess was capable of sensing it? Whichever it was, it didn't matter. What did matter was that something big had happened at Ponyville the other night and the Princess had saw fit to inform Captain Shining Armor in case military force was necessary. That incident was possibly seen by the Princess's protege, Twilight Sparkle. According to the letter that arrived that very night, due to tomfoolery by two colts, an Ursa Minor had wandered into the edge of town. While she was running to the scene to deal with such an event, a burst of light had sprung forth and revealed some tentacle creature who's body was obscured by the housing separating them. She reported no strange magic coming from it despite being miles closer to it than the Princess. When she arrived at the scene, the tentacle monster had disappeared and all that was there was the subdued Ursa Minor and an exhausted Martin. The Ursa was returned home immediately and she hoped to question Martin but he had fainted before she could.
The turn of events had worried the Princess slightly. The pony was much more capable than his personality let on. He also has some sort of connection with the tentacle monster and wave of magic. Upon this clarification, Captain Shining Armor had insisted on taking a unit to detain the stallion, for the protection of Ponyville and his sister. But the Princess had denied him this order. She had personally seen who he was, she had gotten letters from Twilight Sparkle in her observations of him, and her sister, Princess Luna, had personally seen the inner most working's of his mind. There wasn't an ounce of malice in his form, nor hate, nor jealousy, just homesickness and a desire to help.
While she didn't allow for an entire detachment to go out. She would allow a single guard to go and observe the stallion. And that guard was Dust Bowl, a lowly private, but the one who has had the most interaction with Martin out of the Royal Guard. His foreknowledge on the stallion made him the leading candidate. He was ordered to question and observe that strange stallion and he was going to do that duty. Personally, he thought Martin was an interesting guy but he has too much mystery around him. Perhaps this is only a facade?
As Dust Bowl continued on his inner monologue, Martin sat patiently in front of him, reading out of the geography book that Twilight had loaned him. Not too long ago, with their combined efforts, Spike and Martin had finished the chores that had dealt with the animals. Spike offered to help Martin further keep an eye on the animals until Twilight and the others got back, but Martin denied him, saying that Spike should take a break after all the effort he put in. Martin had then walked Spike home, leaving the animals to their play/nap time unsupervised for the moment. The both of them had noticed Dust Bowl on the walk back. Martin had wanted to greet him but Dust was too entrenched in his monologue. They waited a minute, but when he didn't come out of it, they continued on their way. Now that Martin had returned, he patiently waited for Dust to finish.
Dust blinked back into awareness and stared at Martin in surprise as if he just appeared. He drew himself into a defensive stance, "When did you get here? Explain yourself!"
"I dunno, about a minute or so ago," he said with a shrug. Martin closed the book and placed it in his saddlebag. He gave Dust a big smile, "Heya Dust Bowl, good to see you again. You doing ok?"
Dust relaxed his stance, taking a breath to calm his nerves. "I'm fine, you just surprised me," he gave an hasty excuse. No need to tip him off and retaliate.
"So what brings you out here?" Martin asked, "Are you on a secret mission?" Dust tensed up at that. How did he find out already? Can he read minds? "Or are you just here by yourself because of some R&R?" Oh, he's just questioning why he was alone.
"You know, those aren't the only reasons why somepony of the Royal Guard would be alone," Dust pointed out.
"Maybe," Martin shrugged again, "But it's the only ones I can think of. By the way, I like what you did with your fur, but how much dye did you use to do that?" he asked pointing at his coat and mane. That's right, Dust had come on this mission without his enchanted armor, so his real colors were seen. Those colors were a red coat and feathers with a light blue mane and tail. His Cutie Mark was a cloud of dust. But the fact he recognized his changed colors raised a new question.
"There was no dye, the armor has a spell on it that changes what we look like. Makes dual guarding much more symmetrical and easy on the eyes. I'm surprised you recognized me, what tipped you off?" he asked curiously.
"Well I recognize your face and general feel," he answered before getting a confused look, "Wait, Doctor Horse and Nurse Redheart broke you out of that armor, why didn't you change to this then?"
"I still had my helmet on," Dust said tapping his own head, "Even having that much armor on will change our look."
"Huh, interesting," he said while looking up in thought. Dust shook his head to refocus his thoughts. Why was he so calm around this stallion? He's dangerous and an unknown. Dust should be on edge, for crying outloud! But Martin was just so disarming, curious, and friendly. "So why are you here?" he questioned again.
Luckily Dust came prepared, "I've been dispatched to monitor the area while negotiations happen. If something were to go wrong or a third party wished to interfere, I would be the one to report it or attempt to intervene." While sounding legitimate, it was a bold faced lie. Princess Celestia had complete faith in her student and it was extremely unlikely that there was some kind of third party that wished to take advantage of a sleeping dragon.
"Well that's nice of the both of you," he smiled at him.
That got a raised eyebrow out of Dust, "Both of who?" he asked.
"Well you for coming down here to help and your leader for being concerned enough to send one of his or her soldiers," Martin explained. Dust would have swelled with pride at the compliment but the fact that it was all a lie put a damper on it. "Well it was nice to catch up with you Dust, but I gotta head back to Fluttershy's cottage and check on the animals. I think I may have left them alone too long. You have a good day," Martin waved to him before turning and walking down the path.
"Take care," Dust waved back with a smile. He quickly shook his head to reorganize his thoughts. He was getting too caught up in his friendly nature. He needed a different approach if he wanted to get unbiased results. Perhaps the town's ponies could shed some light on who he really is.

Fluttershy was in a really good mood after their little adventure up the mountain. She had bested her fears, saved her friends, and got a little more confident in herself. Only a little though. It was impossible to conquer ones self so quickly. So she would take it one step at a time. Baby steps. Rainbow Dash wanted to finish breaking that ball kicking record she had set out for earlier and the other girls had decided to cheer her on. Although Twilight wanted to write a new friendship letter to Princess Celestia about what had happened and Fluttershy herself wanted to go check on her animals and make sure no accidents had happened with Martin around.
She walked down the path to her cottage with a spring in her step and a flap in her wings. She spotted her cottage soon after. Everything looked like it was in order. Nothing seemed broken, and there weren't any misbehaving animals. She pushed open her door and stared around inside. The inside was relatively clean and quiet. That was weird, she'd normally be greeted by at least Angel when she got home. "Martin?" she called into the house.
"Around back, Fluttershy," she heard an answer past her wall. Several of her animals came around and greeted her more personally. She smiled at each of them but got a worried look. Several of them seemed nervous, much like how she found them after getting them breakfast, but not as bad. Had something happened? She walked around back and saw Martin sitting up on an upside down tub with a small audience of critters listening to him tell a story. Angel seemed to have been used as an unwilling puppet if the way he was being held in Martin's hooves was anything to go by. As soon as the rabbit spotted Fluttershy, he wretched himself from Martin's hold and dashed towards her and hid behind her legs. "Guess I'll finish that story another time. Harry, remind me to start when Stok willed the trees out of the way," Martin told Harry the bear. Harry gave Martin a quick salute and the animals dispersed, some gave a quick greeting to Fluttershy while others went off to play. "Hi Fluttershy. Good job out there. Saw the big guy fly off and everything," he greeted her with a smile and a wave.
"Hello Martin. Thank you," she greeted back but with a more forced smile. Oh dear, another name she needed to tell Twilight, on top of the world threatening secret. She would have told her during the trip but she was afraid it would ruin the mission. "Who's Stok?" she asked. May as well ask now instead of leaving the burden on the others.
For some reason Martin chuckled at that, "I bet you Equestrian's would love Stok." Fluttershy's tilt of the head was all the incentive he needed to continue, "This may get a little complicated so I'll ask up front, do you know what a golem is?" She took a pause to search her memory but ultimately came up with nothing and shook her head. "Well a golem is a magical construct made out of inanimate objects, most are commonly made up of a solid substance such as rocks. Anyway, Stok happens to be one. Specifically a plant golem. You see, several years ago, outside of our town, a druid was attempting to create an army out of the plant life of a nearby forest. A druid is a magician specializing in plants and animals. His first successful golem was Stok, who he created out of a flower. Not just an ordinary flower but a very rare one. However, because he was made from a flower, Stok was incredibly thin and frail. He was only meant as practice. Before the druid could go onto bigger projects, Jordan came in and subdued the druid. This was a problem for Stok, because he no longer had a purpose in life with his master put in jail," he explained. Fluttershy stared surprised at Martin. This had been the most detailed he's ever been about something concerning his home. But somepony made out of plants? She could only think of timberwolves as a close relation. Were timberwolves considered golems? "Luckily Jordan took pity on him and helped him out. He offered to return Stok to his original form of just a flower. There was no time limit so he could do it whenever he wanted. He advised Stok to try out his new form first before he returned to being just a flower, in case he preferred this one better. So far, I think he's enjoying it," Martin chuckled again.
Fluttershy was glad it had a happy ending, somepony finding a new purpose in life. But she couldn't help but ask, "Why would we like Stok though?" The story didn't seem to have any concept that would appeal to all of Equestria.
"Well, Stok has a special ability that came with his status as a plant golem. On his head hangs a bush that acts kinda like a pony's mane for him. And in that bush grows all sorts of different plants, be it flower, fruit, or vegetable. The cool thing about it? He can grow them at will, at an incredibly fast rate, and they're all completely edible," Martin explained.
Fluttershy couldn't help but stare at Martin weirdly after his story. According to him, he knew somepony who's actually a flower, can apparently will trees apart, and has an unlimited supply of plants growing from their head? By the way he spoke, eating from his head is commonplace. "Does he sell his fruit?" she asked him. Stok could be the most profitable being out there if they attempted to sell their fast growing fruit.
But Martin shook his head, "Stok has no value for money. He doesn't need to eat or sleep. The only thing he requires is sunlight. He can also be watered but that's more like a treat then an actual necessity. He doesn't have any activities he considers fun either. If he's got nothing to do, he'll just lay face first on the ground and be a bush."
She raised an eyebrow at that, not entirely sure how somepony can be a bush. She decided to attribute it to his status as a plant golem and drop it. "Ok," she said simply, "Well thank you for watching the animals. I hope none of them misbehaved."
"Nah, they were all sweethearts. Even the angry looking rabbit behaved, kinda," Martin said looking behind her at the glaring creature. Fluttershy looked back at Angel, who was making a 'shoo' gesture at Martin. Seemed like Angel couldn't warm up to Martin. That's too bad. "If there's nothing else, I should get going. Still have a lot of things to get done," he mentioned.
"Oh, I'm sorry for keeping you," she apologized.
"No worries. You have a good evening Fluttershy," he said. With one more wave, he turned and left. Fluttershy and Angel watched him leave. Angel gave a firm nod, glad that the weird stallion was finally gone. Fluttershy couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive about telling Twilight what she learned. Both about the world threatening secret and the implication of Stok's creation. The creation itself was not worrying but what it told. It told that there were villainous ponies, not just monsters that needed to be dealt with in Broken Depths. While bad ponies aren't uncommon, even in Equestria, it's the swiftness of being dealt with that worried her. It implied that villains were commonplace for Broken Depths. What had that town had to deal with?

Questioning the townsfolk was not really helping Dust Bowl's cause. He had interrogated everypony he could about Martin but the general consensus was that he was nice, weird, and he told strange stories. There were a spatter of ponies who disagreed but that's to be expected. So far he's learned nothing new about the stallion that he hadn't already been informed on by the debriefing he received from the captain. As to be expected of Princess Celestia's student. She had already gathered all information from the townsfolk before hoof and sent it to the Princess. Although, there was one specific pony who refused to answer when asked. An amber maned mare who was playing with her foal in the park. It seemed that she has a grudge against young Twilight Sparkle so any insistence on her experience with Martin she refuses because she knows that information is either for or because of Ms. Sparkle. The spiteful mare denied him an answer even when he revealed himself as a Royal Guard and ordered her to tell him. Once again she refused, saying that he doesn't look like a royal guard and would only accept that order if he was in full gear. Dust gave up at that point. Besides the fact his armor was back at the barracks, he needed to be incognito for this mission as to not arouse suspicion of royal interference in this settlement. Meaning he couldn't arrest her for interfering with an official investigation. Not that he had the guts to stand up to an angry and spiteful mother.
Once again Martin had found Dust Bowl having an inner monologue out in the middle of the road. This time however, he decided to try and do something nice. Martin gave Dust a few taps and shoves to make sure it was safe before placing his head against Dust's barrel and pushed him towards a different part of town. Amazingly, Dust's stiff body didn't topple or sway as he slid across the ground.
He got several curious stares as he pushed the statue like pony through the town. A few murmured about what could be happening. Had he created a life-like sculpture? Was he taking a paralyzed pony to a professional? However, none of them intervened or called any sort of authority. They felt that whatever it was, it was probably just Martin being weird or just his helpful self as usual. Nothing to get worked up about.
Soon after, both Martin and the still stallion found themselves inside Sugarcube Corner. He was a regular at the sweet shop. He came in and out of there often to talk with Pinkie, buy some sweets, or help out around the shop. Today, it was Mrs. Cake at the register. At first she smiled at Martin but that became a confused frown as he pushed Dust towards one of the tables in the shop. "Hello Martin, is everything alright?" she asked the stallion as he walked up to her.
"Nah, everything's good. Hi Mrs. Cake. Hello Mr. Cake!" he called into the back of the building. Martin stretched an ear out for a response but he didn't get any.
"Carrot Cake is out making deliveries with Pinkie right now. With that heavy storm being scheduled tomorrow, a lot of ponies are stocking up to ride it out," she explained. Martin pulled off his bag of bits getting ready to purchase. "What can I get you, dearie? Your usual?" she asked him. He'd been there often enough for her to know what he liked. A chocolate brownie with chocolate chips inside.
"Yes please, and can I get a batch of sugar cookies for Dust over there?" he said nodding over to the still frozen stallion. Mrs. Cake went into the kitchen to get the cookies and make the brownies while Martin took out the required bits and put it on the counter. Sugar cookies were already made but Martin's brownies were special made so those took time.
She came back to the register and deposited the bits. "Is your friend there alright?" she finally asked.
"Ya, he's just thinking a little too hard," Martin chuckled but Mrs. Cake raised an eyebrow at him weirdly, "What I mean is that he's so entrenched in his own thoughts that he's ignoring the outside world. Which apparently includes his own body movements. At this point I'm curious if he has a condition or not. This is the second time today he's done this." The both of them looked towards Dust in anticipation, as if he'll come out of it any second. When he didn't, Martin shrugged and took the plate of sugar cookies to the table with his teeth.
"I'll bring over your brownies when they're done, dearie" she called over to him.
Martin set the plate down and waved back to her, "Thank you." He took a seat and grabbed one of the cookies, shoving the whole thing in his mouth.
At that moment, Dust blinked back into awareness. His sudden change in location immediately putting him on edge. As his eyes settled on Martin, his face hardened into a glare. "Vile cur! How dare you kidnap me- Are you eating a cookie?" he interrupted his own tirade.
Martin nodded and swallowed what was left in his mouth, "Yep, you want one?" he asked, pushing the plate closer to Dust. Dust blinked confused, weirded out that his kidnapper was offering him cookies. "Don't worry, I didn't make them. Mr. and Mrs. Cake did and they make the best sweets, so you know they're good," Martin described.
Dust nearly jumped out of his skin when Mrs. Cake's voice called towards them, "Thank you Martin." He had thought they were alone in some unknown place. Dust took a second to further inspect his surroundings. They were indeed inside of a bakery. He glanced over to where he heard the voice come from and spotted a plump blue mare with a swirled pink mane. He finally relaxed, knowing that he wasn't alone or kidnapped.
"Why did you bring me here without my permission?" Dust asked. What could have possibly possessed him to drag a pony across town just to give him sweets?
"Well you were kinda stopped in the middle of the path and were an inconvenience to ponies walking on it," Martin explained, "I know that's not a good enough reason so I brought you to Sugarcube Corner as an apology. I wasn't sure what you liked so I thought sugar cookies would work."
"Actually peanut butter cookies are my favorite," Dust answered him. His mouth watered a little at the thought.
Martin smiled at him, "Ok, I'll order you a batch." Martin walked back over to Mrs. Cake and gave her some more bits for the order. Meanwhile, Dust facehooved for his own incompetence. Why in the world did he reveal his favorite sweet to this pony?! He needed to stop getting caught up in the other stallions happy-go-lucky nature. It was distracting him. Those thoughts were immediately put aside when a plate of peanut butter cookies were placed in front of him. This time, Dust drooled outright and dug into the plate, not bothering to give his thanks. If he took the time to glance up, he would see Martin with his own plate of a single brownie. He ate the brownie at a much slower pace. Choosing to enjoy each bite.
They ate in mostly silence. Any actual noise coming from Dust devouring his food. When Martin wasn't taking bites out of his brownie, he stared off into the window with a small satisfied grin on his face. Dust looked up and saw Martin's wistful look. He looked out the window as well but saw nothing of interest. Just ponies going about their day. "What are you looking at?" Dust asked.
"Life," Martin said cryptically with a chuckle, "I wonder if you'd like Officer Vern." Dust reached into his memory on his report of what they know of Martin and vaguely remembered a mention of some police officer.
"What makes you say that?" Dust asked.
"Well I ask that specifically cause you both uphold the law and protect the innocent. But I think of Officer Vern right now because I think I can see his philosophy in progress," Martin answered.
Dust raised at eyebrow at him, "What philosophy is that?" he asked further.
"Officer Vern is always going on about making the world a better place one act at a time. To always make tomorrow a better day, even if today is the best day ever. It can always get better," Martin explained. He turned to Dust Bowl, "Officer Vern was my role model growing up. My parents were excellent in their own right but he stood above the rest. He's kind, thoughtful, and would do anything to make sure you were safe. Even though his age has caught up with him for the most part, he still puts out his best."
"He sounds like a swell guy," Dust agreed. The pony must be some piece of work if Martin looks up to him. "What makes you think his philosophy is in progress?" he asked looking out the window again.
"You see that large red pony in the vest?" Martin pointed out the window to Heavy Weight. Heavy was leading a line of stallions in a small jog but the oddity was that he had a smaller stallion resting on his back. "It seems Heavy took my advice in being a little nicer. I can tell from here the ones following him are a little more motivated then him just yelling at them," he explained.
"Friend of yours?" Dust asked. The question was unnecessary. He had already questioned the ponies of the town so he knew who thought good things of the stallion and if his previous experience with Martin was anything to go by, he would consider anypony who thought anything of him a friend. Heavy Weight had despised the stallion but Martin had still considered him a friend.
"Yep," Martin answered with his usual smile. "You're not lactose intolerant right?" he suddenly asked.
Dust raised an eyebrow at him, "No, why?"
Martin didn't answer and simply stepped away from the table, taking his empty plate with him. He walked up to Mrs. Cake and placed the plate on the counter. "If it wouldn't be much trouble, can you please get a glass of milk for Dust? I don't need any. I think I'm done. Please save the rest of the brownies for me," he asked her, placing some more bits on the counter.
She smiled at him, "Of course Martin, you have a good day." She went into the back to get the milk out of the refrigerator.
Martin walked towards the open door and stopped in front of it. "It was nice to chat with you again Dust. Try and not stop in the middle of the road again," he waved to the other stallion and left.
Dust could only stare at the doorway as Mrs. Cake brought over the glass of milk. He turned to the plump mare, "Exactly how much did he spend on my meal?" Dust asked.
Mrs. Cake smiled kindly at him, "Oh, quite a bit. He must consider you a good friend." That wasn't right. He was here to discover the threat level of the weird stallion. Not to get buddy-buddy with him.
"Where does his income come from?" he asked further.
"Well, as far as anypony's seen, he does some quick chores for any price they give him. Some ponies even went as far as to not pay him for his good deeds. He just takes it in good spirit. Honestly, he could stand to make demands out them. Not making a fuss is just encouraging them," Mrs. Cake told him with a roll in her eyes. Taking advantage of somepony like that just wasn't right.
"He can't be making all that much from just odd jobs," Dust pointed out. Martin had only been in town for a short amount of time. There was no way he could accumulate that much so quickly.
"Well, yes and no," Mrs. Cake answered cryptically, "Martin is incredibly efficient. He is able to do plenty in just a few hours. He's no professional though. He's not making enough for any long term plans, either. We once had a chat and the subject came up. He told me that he's only making enough for his day to day antics plus rent for his room. What he did for you now means there are things he can't do later. He's selfless but I wish the dear wouldn't be so self-sacrificing. There's a point where you take it too far." She shook her head in slight worry before heading back to the counter, leaving Dust to his thoughts.

It was finally time. In just a few short minutes Twilight would finally get her turn in interrogating Martin. She had a checklist ready with all her questions and a separate set of paper for notes and the answers he may or may not give. So far all the other girls had done well in getting information out of Martin and shown that he wasn't bothered in the slightest by the questioning. He even welcomed it. They had done their part and now it was time for hers. Although, Fluttershy's investigation may have set Twilight a little on edge.
"Twilight, would you calm down and stop pacing? You're going to make a new entrance to the basement," Spike tried to get her to rest. She'd been at it for several minutes rambling to herself about the possibilities of what the 'Secret of Broken Depths' may be.
Twilight used some magic to bring Spike close to her. She grabbed his face with both front hooves and pressed his against hers. "Calm down?! Spike, there's something so powerful in Broken Depths that the whole world is in danger from it! How can I remain calm when something like that exists and we have no idea what it may be?!" Twilight had worked herself up with worry. Several strands of mane sticking up at random spots. "There is absolutely nothing in this library that tells of any artifacts that holds even a fraction of what that implies! This is the whole world Spike! Not just Equestria, the Badlands, or any other country, the whole world!" she ranted.
"But Martin said the best of the best are guarding it. So we have nothing to worry about," Spike tried to reassure.
Twilight's eye twitched. Briefly Spike thought she was going to throw him towards the roof but she instead sighed and gently put him down. "Maybe you're right. We should be glad that it's Martin and his friends who know about the secret and not somepony much less reliable. We just have to trust them," Twilight resigned herself.
"Including the delinquent and psychotic criminal," Spike mistakenly pointed out. He immediately regretted his decision when she started twitching and her horn began to glow.
Spike dove for cover as Twilight gave a mighty, "Ugh!" and released the magic. The burst blasted the books off the shelves and made the whole tree quake. When the tree stopped shaking, Twilight slumped onto the ground.
Spike pushed his way out of the pile of books that landed on him and walked over to the exhausted mare. "You ok, Twilight?" he asked concerned.
She gave a tired sigh, "I'm alright, but there are so many variables that I'm not even sure which part to be worried about anymore. And now the library's a mess." She looked around at the destruction she caused. It would take a while to reorganize the books.
A sudden rapid knocking at her door made her jump a little. "Twilight, are you ok?! I heard an explosion," a voice on the other side shouted. It seemed her outburst had worried Martin into rushing over. Spike opened the door for him and he took a step inside, his eyes scanning the whole room. He gave a sigh of relief when he saw both her and Spike were fine. "I'm glad you're alright. Hi Twilight, hi Spike, what happened?" he inquired.
"Hello Martin. Just a little... Magical mishap," Twilight said with a nervous smile, hoping to dissuade him from delving further.
Martin chuckled, "I know how those go." He glanced around at the empty shelves and piles of books, "Need some help?" he said gesturing to the shelves.
"Yes please," both Spike and Twilight said together. Spike desperately wanted help with all the books, but Twilight thought it was a decent excuse to keep him there for a while. Originally Twilight simply called him over with the excuse of getting him a library card. That wouldn't last long enough though for all of her questions. So this kinda worked out.
With a short pause to plan out how they were going to conduct the operation, the three of them went to work. Since Martin didn't know the layout of the books, him and Spike would be working together. Spike would stand on his head while Martin would pick up the books from the floor, hoof them over to Spike, and move to the correct location for it. Twilight could do her part alone, just a simple glance at the book and some magic to get everything in place. Although her attention was on her list of questions she would ask. It was now or never.
"Thanks for coming over, Martin," Twilight told him. She had several books floating around her, not really paying attention to the boys.
"It's no trouble. I was more then happy to. Although, when you said I was getting a library card, I didn't think I'd be picking out every book," he joked. He gave a chuckle while Spike and Twilight only had smiles. The reason behind the mess ruined the joke for them.
While they worked, Twilight asked Martin about several things about his home and the beings he knew. Martin was more than happy to answer most of the questions. Even Spike asked a few of his own questions. However, the questioning delved into something that would change Twilight's outlook on Martin forever.
"Martin," she called to him. A stack of papers sat next to her, all about information she had learned from her investigation. The quill gripped in her magic was well used by this point and she had taken a decent chunk out of the blank pages she had brought. Spike stood on Martin's head, grabbing the book that was offered to him and searched for it's correct spot. They had almost finished cleaning up the whole library with the time it took. Spike was glad for that, he even learned some interesting things from the weird stallion. "During the incident with the Ursa Minor, some white tentacles had appeared around the area we found you and the Ursa. Do you know what that was?" she asked.
"Of course," he smiled kindly at her. He had done that a lot during the questioning, not minding all the questions. "Don't worry, that was just me. See?" Without warning, two similar white tentacles appeared from his back, floating above it.
Spike and Twilight stared at the tentacles with unreadable looks. The suddenness of their appearance leaving the two of them in a state of shock. Seconds ticked by as they stared at the oddity until their shock transformed into surprise. "Ah!" Twilight shouted, leaping backwards across the room, away from the stallion. Spike gave an equal shout of surprise and lost his balance. However, before he could fall onto the ground, the tentacles gently wrapped around his waist and set him on the ground. When he was released, he immediately ran towards Twilight and the two of them hugged each other for comfort. Martin stared at them, confused at their reaction. "Wha-What is that?!" she shouted.
Martin gave a brief glance towards the tentacles and then back to her, "Me manifesting my power in the form of tentacles?" Something about what he said made Spike realize something. He released the hug and sifted through Twilight's pile of paper. Looking for her list.
Twilight seemed to gain some courage and glared at Martin. "What have you done with Martin? Let him go!" she yelled, believing something had taken over the stallion.
Martin raised an eyebrow at her antics, "You're already assuming I'm possessed. Twilight, I've always been able to do this."
"Don't lie to me. Martin would never-" she ranted at the other pony but Spike interrupted her by shoving her list in her face.
"Twilight, look!" Spike said, pointing towards a specific message on the list. It was asking about what he told Applebloom. The 'manifest his power into physical objects' point.
She stared in disbelief at both the list and Martin. Spike lowered the sheet, allowing Twilight to slowly walk up to the stallion. She avoided staring at the tentacles and focused on his face, looking for anything that may be different. Martin stood completely still as she approached. She stopped when she felt close enough, which happened to be foreleg distance. "Martin?" she asked, staring deep into his eyes.
He gave her that kind smile he'd always give, heartfelt, honest and true. "Yep, still here," he answered with a bit of a chuckle. With the fear effectively broken away, her curiosity broke forth.
Twilight walked around Martin's form, analyzing every detail she could. She poked and prodded the tentacles both physically and magically. Spike looked on in interest but still kept his distance. "This is incredible. Some form of energy that isn't magical and can form into tangible appendages. This isn't magic. This is something else. Martin you have to tell me!" As she shouted this, she took hold of Martin with her hooves and shook him.
His eyes spun as she shook him, "They were a gift." His answer finally got her to stop. He shook his head once more to right his thoughts before continuing, "I don't know who specifically gave it to me but it came from a higher being. They saw something in me and decided to give me this power. I've had it for a few years, improving and discovering new abilities. Apparently, according to Theo, this power was supposed to let me cast magic," that got a surprised look from Twilight. A given power that could let earth ponies cast magic? "But for some reason my body can't manipulate magic. Like, at all. Theo's tried to teach me but almost every single one has failed."
"Almost?" Spike asked, feeling his fear ebb away.
"Every time I try to use it, the end result is always a burst of magic. Never changing. Until a few weeks ago. On the day of my arrival, me and Theo were practicing magic. I was cycling through spells I'd seen Theo use, each ending in a useless burst of magic. Until I used the teleport spell. I still technically failed that spell, but something different had finally happened. The burst of magic was more violent then usual and it threw me backwards, into a portal I had accidentally created," Martin answered.
"Wait," Twilight called as she slowly put the pieces together. Theo hadn't accidentally sent him here. "Martin, you caused your own arrival?" It kinda made sense. Multiple times he mentioned that Theo was an expert in magic. It was unlikely he could mess up a spell so badly that it sent his best friend to an entirely new country.
Martin gave her a knowing smirk, "I already told you that. I believe my words were 'We were practicing magic together and one messed up teleport spell later, I end up here.' At no point did I say it was Theo's spell."
"You didn't exactly say it was yours either," Spike pointed out.
"I didn't think it would make it look like Theo was the guilty party," Martin said with a shrug, "So I will say it right now. Theo is completely innocent. This was entirely my fault."
"Incredible. Do you think you can show me?" she asked, getting some notes ready. This was a ground breaking discovery. She could be honored for finding something so amazing.
"You sure? We're almost done putting the books back. It might knock them all down again," he pointed out. He was right, there was only a few scattered around. Spike was actually picking them up while they talked.
"Please don't," Spike pleaded.
"It'll be fine, I'll brace them." Twilight horn glowed and a magical aura surrounded every book in the library. "Go on," she urged him to try.
"Alright. Spike, you may want to grab onto something," he called to the dragon. Said dragon heeded the warning and grabbed onto Twilight's leg. The two of them watched as Martin closed his eyes and began to focus. Twilight could suddenly feel Martin drawing on magic she never knew he had. She'd scanned him several times but this is the first time she'd ever felt this. The power began to build but without warning, something inside it snapped. The magic became unstable and it erupted outward. The tentacles on his back exploded into white particles and an invisible force pushed everything around him back. The whole tree shook much like it did earlier but Twilight held the books still. When the tree finally stopped shaking, Martin opened his eyes. Some furniture had been shifted but the room looked relatively the same. Spike gave a sigh of relief when Twilight released her spell. Looked like they wouldn't have to worry about clean up.
"That always happened?" Twilight asked.
"Always," he answered simply.
"I'm not sure what to say. I'd like to help you but this... I don't even know where to begin." This had to be the foreign magic Princess Celestia mentioned. She had to get the Princess's advice.
"Don't worry about it," he dismissed, "Me and Theo will continue to work at it. No need for you to get worked up. I'll be fine." He gave one more look around, "So since this is almost done, you think I could get that library card?" The two librarians raised an eyebrow at him. After the shocking discovery and demonstration, he still wanted that?
Having no reason to deny him, Twilight brought the necessary documents for him to sign. His mouth writing was horrible but she let it pass. Twilight would have investigated his power further, but she had already had a lot of information to go over and she wanted to disclose what she learned to the Princess, in case she had any insight on the situation. So for today, she would let him go.
With the newly commissioned library card in hoof, Twilight escorted Martin out of her home. For some reason Martin blinked in confusion and looked up, into the branches of the tree. He smiled widely, "Looks like we had an eavesdropper."
Twilight looked at him weirdly but followed his gaze. Up in the branches, she could see the back end of a red flank with a cloud of dust as a cutie mark. She recognized that mark. "Is that Private Dust Bowl?" she asked. What was the Royal Guard doing in Ponyville?
"Yep, apparently he was tasked with keeping an eye out for the negotiations with the dragon, in case something went wrong. Although, I'm a little confused on why he's still here. The negotiation is over. Is the dragon coming back?" he asked Twilight.
Her only answer was to shake her head in the negative. "Private Dust Bowl! May I speak with you?" she called up to the red stallion. The pegasus gave no indication of hearing, or even moving for that matter. "Is he alright?" she asked again.
"I think he's just in another monologue session. For some reason when he's thinking really hard to himself, he freezes up like a statue. He'll stay like that until he finishes. One time I caught him in the middle of the road and pushed him all the way to Sugarcube Corner, several blocks away. So he could be at this for a while," Martin explained. Statue-like, huh? Twilight used some magic to pull the frozen stallion out of the tree. Martin was right, he didn't move an inch as she set him down. She waved a hoof in front of his eyes but he didn't even blink. Maybe this was how those palace guards keep straight faces when ponies bother them.
"Do you want me to take him with me?" Martin offered.
"No," she denied, "I've got a few things I want to ask him. You have a good night Martin." He smiled kindly at her and nodded. With no further prompt, Martin walked away. Twilight looked back towards Dust, idly wondering when he'll come out of it.
Several minutes passed. Twilight had taken a moment to grab a random book and started to read. Waiting for Dust to come out of his own thoughts. By random chance she had come across her book about slumber parties. Even at her age she hadn't gotten a single slumber party. She had asked Cadance, when she still foalsat for her, if they could, but her duties as a princess meant she couldn't stay over night at her home.
At that moment, Dust finally blinked back to awareness, immediately seeing his location had changed. "Martin, would you stop moving me when I'm-You're not Martin," Dust said noticing it was a mare instead of the stallion he expected.
She raised an amused eyebrow at him, "No I'm not."
Dust's body went rigid as he stood at attention. "I am terribly sorry Miss Sparkle. I meant no offense to your appearance."
"Don't worry about it," she dismissed, "But why are you here? Did Princess Celestia send you." Has she lost the Princess's good faith?
"Your brother actually," he answered while relaxing his stance. "The Princess had sensed a power all the way from Canterlot Castle. Believing it to be Martin, Captain Shining Armor had requested he take a unit to detain him. Although, the Princess denied him, she did still allow him to send one soldier to scout out the situation. The captain picked me to be that scout."
"My brother did?" she asked. Dust confirmed it with a nod. "Well you can go back and tell them that Martin is no danger to Equestria. Some of his friends may be, but Martin himself would never give harm to any of us."
"You're sure?" he asked, still a little skeptical. She gave him a firm nod. He gave a resigned sigh, "Yes Ma'am, I shall relay your message." Ultimately, nothing had happened for him. No arrest, no mystery solved. Didn't look like he was going to get promoted any time soon.
Twilight watched as Dust took wing and flew off, back towards Canterlot. She had studied Martin for several days. His kindness, his joy, his fears. She'd just seen first hoof what his real power was, but knowing this, she felt more safe, not less. He didn't deserve to be arrested for simply having the capabilities of being dangerous. She still had plenty of questions to ask, but that could wait for another day. She walked back into the library eager to go over the notes she had made.

Dust Bowl had just started his flight back to Canterlot when he heard somepony call his name. "Dust! Hey Dust, come back!" He looked down back towards the town and saw Martin waving a hoof towards him. Dust contemplated whether to actually answer the call or not. Ultimately, he had nothing to lose. His big break had flopped so he may as well indulge in some of his own opinions.
Dust turned around in the air and flew back to Martin. With an almost lazy drop, he landed in front of the other stallion. "Hello again, Martin," he greeted with an almost sad undertone, "Come to see me off?"
"Yep, saw you heading off to that castle in the distance so I thought I'd give you a farewell gift." Martin reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a colorful bag with a ribbon tying it close. He set the bag on the ground between them and did something unexpected. He lifted himself onto his hind legs and wrapped his forelegs around the other stallion in a warm hug.
Dust froze up in shock. Surprised about what was happening but didn't make a move to stop it. "W-what's this for?" he asked.
"Your farewell gift," he said giving one last squeeze. He released the hug and picked up the wrapped gift. "This is for looking out for the girls. One batch of peanut butter cookies," he smiled kindly.
Dust sighed in defeat and nudged the package away. His guilty conscious caught up with him. This stallion had been nothing but nice and cooroperative. May as well reveal the truth. He wasn't exactly prohibited from telling anypony. So he probably won't get in trouble. "Look Martin, I didn't come here for the negotiation," he said preparing for the worst reaction.
Martin's smile only doubled in size, "I know. Some of the ponies you questioned told me what you asked. But even still, I know you were looking out for the girls because of me. So take it," he moved the package towards Dust again.
He stared deeply at the gift, "Why?" he asked, "Why are you doing this? I don't deserve it. I lied to you. I went behind your back in an effort to ruin you. So why?"
"Easy. It's because we're friends," he answered simply.
Dust's disbelief morphed into a happy smile and he accepted the gift, putting it in his saddlebag. "Thank you. And thank you for still considering me a friend. I want to repay you but I have to get back to my unit. So I guess this is goodbye."
"Ya, but don't worry," he said while giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, "Good bye's aren't forever."
With no more words to exchange, Dust flew into the air, somehow feeling lighter even with the added weight. Honestly, Dust was going to miss that strange stallion. For now, he needed to go back to Canterlot and give his peculiar report.

The next day had arrived for the town and everypony was busy. Each and every one of them were preparing themselves and the town for the heavy storm that was scheduled to happen tonight. Preening plants so the wind wouldn't knock any loose branches off to cause damage. Locking doors and boarding up windows, getting any last minute food to ride out the storm were other such activities ponies were doing. Unfortunately for Sweet Melody, she was late on the uptake. Her entire morning had been taken up because Lullaby had just been horrible. Mess after mess, crawling about when she was trying to change her, and refusing to eat her mulch. The storm was almost upon them and she wasn't ready at all. They had already used up all their leftovers the other day when she took Martin to the clinic. She left her Record to look after Lullaby while she went out. Luckily she made it to a few shops before they closed for the storm. Unluckily though, the storm had just started while on her way home and she was caught out in the open. The rain was thick and she couldn't see that far in front of her. She looked around and shivered. Both at her wet coat and the fact that she had lost track of where she was. The downpour obscured everything around her and sapped her energy, leaving her increasingly tired. She desperately looked for anything familiar but she couldn't recognize anything in the darkness.
Without warning the roaring of the rain was silenced and stopped hitting her all together. She looked up in surprise and saw she was inside a transparent white dome. Melody looked to her side and spotted a familiar green stallion with a worried smile on his face. "You ok Melody?" he asked. Her immediate response was to say she was fine but it caught in her throat when she noticed something on his back. Coming from his back was a pillar of white light that reached to the top of the dome. She looked back at his face with a shocked look. Her already exhausted self couldn't take the situation anymore and she fainted dead away. "Woah!" Martin called, wrapping a hoof around her shoulder and against his body, keeping her from falling into the mud. "Looks like someone needs a sandwich," he said while bringing her on his back and walking in a direction. The dome kept them both dry on the journey.

It took awhile for Melody to awaken. She groggily opened her eyes half expecting to hear the cry of Lula. Her ear swiveled around searching for any such noise but she was only met with the noise of rain hitting the roof and walls. She slowly sat up and looked around. She was inside of a room she didn't recognize. She sat upon small bed with a single dresser beside it. The room was also much smaller then what she was used to. It only had two doors, as well. One that led outside and the other into a room she wasn't sure about. For some reason each of the doors were tied up in some strange contraption that led to a rope to hang from the ceiling in front of them. It was really weird.
Melody shimmied off the bed and landed on the hard wood floors making a loud 'clop' sound. There was a sudden noise from the beyond the unknown door and it opened. Martin stepped through as the door automatically closed behind him. "You're awake," he said while walking towards her, "Are you feeling alright? I would have taken you to the clinic but it was barred down for the storm. So instead, welcome to my temporary home in Ponyville."
"I'm fine but what happened?" she thought back to before she fainted. All that she remembered was getting caught out in the storm and seeing Martin. Nothing else.
"I believe you fainted because you saw me use my power," he mentioned while bringing the dome around himself again in a flash of light. It did not remain long however, and just as quickly blinked out of existence. Melody could only stare wide eyed at him, mouth moving but no sound coming out.
Her face suddenly hardened into irritation, "You know what? No." Martin raised a bemused eyebrow at her as she stomped towards the front door. "I've dealt with Lula pitching a fit, I've dealt with Record constantly asking about dinner, and I've dealt with this blasted storm. But I am not about to deal with whatever this is!" She opened the door and was immediately blasted by wind and rain. Melody slowly closed the door and calmly walked back to Martin. "You were saying something about your power?" she asked, accepting the towel he offered.
Melody only halfheartedly listened to Martin as he told her that about his literal gift. Her mind was more focused on her family. Without her, she doubted either of them could last the night. She took another quick glance around the room and spotted her saddlebag full of food right next to the bed. Those two would go without dinner if she didn't get back. "Do you want me to escort you home?" Martin suddenly offered. Her heart fluttered with hope briefly but it quickly crumbled upon a realization.
"That's nice of you to offer Martin, but that rain is so thick that I couldn't make head or tail of where we'd be going," she gave a sad sigh. Martin seemed to move to reassure her but he stopped when his ear twitched. He walked over to a nearby window and looked intensely out of it. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"I think I hear your name being called," he answered, scanning around. He suddenly pointed out towards the mist, "There, I see a blue unicorn with a green mane. He's the one calling you."
Melody's eyes widened in realization, "That's Record, my husband! What is that idiot doing?!" she shouted, running towards the window and trying to see through the mist. She vaguely saw a pony shape out there but that was it. Martin must have really good ears and eyes.
"Don't worry, I'll get him," Martin suddenly declared as he raced to the door. Melody made no move to stop him as he pulled the rope hanging from the ceiling that opened the door for him. The dome he conjured before surrounded him immediately as the rain poured in from outside. The dome seemed to ignore the walls and door frame as he passed through it. He took a moment to use his teeth to actually close the door before galloping off into the mist of rain.
She could easily spot his dome through the mist as he came upon the other pony. She could see it bob a little as he spoke with Record. In short order, the dome began to move back to the room and she could finally spot her hubby walking towards her with Martin in tow. Although, Record was giving Martin fearful glances, but the determined look in his eye seemed to be the only thing keeping him from leaving.
Melody opened the door for the two of them and she was immediately given a very wet embrace. "Melody! I'm so glad you're alright. When you didn't return home, I feared something terrible had happened," he was on the brink of tears as he hugged her. Martin closed the door behind him and released the dome. "I walked out into the storm and blindly looked for you. I may have wandered all night had this nice stallion not approached me," Record continued.
"You're welcome," Martin put in.
Melody however had an unreadable expression on her face. "Record, where's Lullaby?" Record's face drained of color as he realized a major screw up in his plan. She grabbed his face and started shaking it violently, "You idiot! You left our baby all alone to endure this storm! What if there's damage to the roof?! What if she crawls into someplace dangerous?!" She released him and took several deep breaths, "Do you at least remember where home is?"
He gave her a stare "I walked out into the storm-" he began to reiterate but Melody cut him off.
"I heard you the first time!" Melody slumped to the ground and began to cry, "What are we going to do? She's probably cold and alone." Record rubbed a hoof on her back and kept repeating 'It's going to be ok' to her.
Martin looked out into the rain with an intense stare. "I can go get her," he suddenly declared.
Both Melody and Record looked at him in surprise. "And how do you plan to do that? Neither of us knows where our house is from here," Record pointed out.
Martin looked back towards the married couple, "If she's the only one at your home, then I can sense for her." He placed a hoof on his own chest, "Please believe in me."
Record raised a skeptical eyebrow and looked to his wife for an answer. Melody herself looked at Martin, eyes starting to brim with hope. She stood and walked up to the stallion to speak with him face to face. "Martin, if you can bring me my baby, then please. I beg of you, bring her to me." Martin gave her a reassuring smile before going back over to the door. He opened it with the weird contraption and stepped outside, closing the door behind him. Oddly he didn't bring up his dome again.
Both Record and Melody went to the window and stared out it as Martin stepped out into the pouring rain with no protection and stood still out in the road. "What is he doing?" Record asked but his wife could only helplessly shrug. Martin suddenly raised himself onto his hind legs with the hooves of his forelegs glowing and slammed them both down into the ground. Then, without warning, all of Ponyville erupted into a golden white aura. Both Melody and Record stared in disbelief at the sight, it even looked like the rain literally slowed down. Golden drops gently falling to the ground. He scanned the area for a bit before walking off in a direction. The aura remained as he went out of sight.
"Amazing," Melody said, looking at the area. It was so pretty. Record would have agreed, if he didn't suddenly have a realization.
"I just realized, if he was heading directly to our house, why didn't we just follow him there?" They both facehoofed at their own stupidity. Well it was too late now, may as well get dinner ready. Melody wondered how she was going to do that without her kitchen utensils.

Luckily for Melody, Martin actually did have knives and spoons in his dresser and that the second door led to a decent bathroom. It wasn't large but it had all the necessities. Using the groceries she had bought earlier, she was able to make some alright, albeit soggy, sandwiches for both herself and Record. It took some creativity, but Melody was able to make some vegetable mulch and put it inside some pieces of bread molded into a bowl shape. Record's magic helped keep the shape as it dried up. Record had asked earlier how Martin was able to do all those magical lights and she told him that Martin said it was a gift he was given. That seemed to confuse him even more but she couldn't elaborate further then that.
The light that Martin had created blinked out of existence. Record and Melody exchanged worried glances and went over to the window to see what was happening. They immediately spotted Martin and his dome. He seemed to be holding something in his teeth. It looked like some cloth being weighed down by something inside. Something was wrong though, Martin's dome was flickering in and out of existence and his steps were unsteady. The married couple opened the door for him as the dome completely disappear. It seemed to have a muting effect because once it dropped, Melody could hear the familiar wail of her child coming from inside the cloth. She took the cloth from him and unwrapped her adorable little Lula, giving her hushed reassurances that 'Momma was here'. Record, for his part, assisted the exhausted stallion into the building.
As soon as Record closed the door behind them, Martin dropped to the ground, breathing heavily. "Are you alright?" he asked, clearly worried about the younger stallion.
"I'm alright," he tried to reassure, "Just overexerted myself there. I'll be good in a little while."
Melody took a moment to walk over to the tired stallion and gave him a peck on the forehead, "Thank you," she said in a low whisper. Martin gave a small smile before closing his eyes to rest.
It took a few minutes, but with the two parents, they were able to feed Lullaby with only a little mess. Record used the already moist towel to clean it up. Melody sat on the bed with the baby pony in her forelegs, trying to rock her to sleep but she didn't have the crib, her favorite blanket, or even the pacifier for her. Melody had tried to get Martin to rest in his own bed but he insisted that the couple use it instead. He said he would gladly sleep in the bathroom and apologized that he didn't have a bigger bed for the 3 ponies. They didn't want to stress the already tired stallion anymore than necessary so they agreed and said the bed would be fine.
"Why is she crying so much?" Record finally asked.
"She doesn't recognize where she is, she just wants her stuff," Melody sighed, "What I wouldn't give to atleast have her pacifier right now."
"Oh, I don't know about that," Martin said, suddenly sitting up and entering the conversation, "I think she has everything she needs, right here." As he said that, soft music began to play. A lullaby, of course. Why didn't they think of that?

Always there, to warm you in the winter
Always there, to shelter from the rain
Always there, to catch you when you're falling
Always there to stand you up again
Family...

The three of them listened to Martin sing. Lula's cries lowered as she became sleepier. She outright stopped when Melody nuzzled her and began to sing along.

By your side, in seconds if you ask it
Hooves out wide, to welcome you to stay
Near enough, to listen to your heart song
Always there to help you on your way
Family
Family
Family Family

Record decided to sing along as well, snuggling up with his wife to comfort their foal.

What is a family?
Caring and devoted hearts.

With endless love to share
Love that will follow you everywhere Love that will follow you everywhere

Always there, to welcome you in winter
What is a family?
Hooves out wide, to welcome you to stay
Right by your side
Near enough
To listen to your heart song To listen to your heart song
Always there to help you on your way
Family
Always there
Family
Family
Family Family Family

As the last note hung in the air, the 3 members of the family laid their heads down and fell asleep, comforted by each other's warmth. Martin smiled kindly at them as he made his way to the bathroom. The resounding 'thunk' and 'snap' didn't disturb the sleeping ponies as he smashed his face into the door. "Oh right, door, I forgot you were here. And it seems you've escaped your restraints. Well have at you." The ensuing scuffle didn't bother them either. No matter how epic it may have been.