Ulysses stared at the mares surrounding him on the train. They all looked at him strangely. Looks that Ulysses couldn't decipher.
"So let me get this straight, You're from another universe entirely?" Twilight asked. Ulysses nodded.
"But...How?" They all asked. Ulysses continued to stare at them.
"I don't know. Not my doing. Perhaps someone else's." He said. Rainbow Dash gave a confident smirk.
"I knew it! I knew you were hiding something!" She boasted. Ulysses turned his gaze towards her.
"Never hid anything." He said monotonously. Twilight frowned at him.
"You hid the fact you were from another dimension." she stated.
"You never asked." he said. Twilight facehoofed.
"Look, it doesn't matter what you hid. All that matters is that you're from an entirely new universe." She said. "Now then, I want you to tell us everything about your world." Ulysses sighed.
"The world I come from, a land lost to war. From the fires of radiation that scorch the air, To the men who lost themselves in hatred. The Divide, A place where a nation taking it's first breath was murdered by that courier." He started. "Bull and Bear, East and West. Men blindly following a symbol they don't understand. The factions of the Mojave desert." The ponies stared at him in confusion. "Explaining my world is difficult, The only way to truly know it is to experience it." They all let out a collective groan.
"You know, you're a wierd pony." Rainbow Dash stated.
Soon the train lurched to a stop, letting Ulysses and the others off onto a platform outside of Ponyville. The ponies soon dispersed, leaving Ulysses alone to wander the streets of the town.
As Ulysses walked he couldn't help but let his mind wander. He walked in a lost daze, not focused on the trail ahead of him. He was snapped out of his musings when he heard two little girls voices.
"Get outta here, Blank flank!"
"Yeah, Only ponies with Cutie-Marks are cool." Ulysses turned his gaze to see two ponies confronting three more ponies. The two were currently standing in front of the other three with smug looks plastered on thier faces. The others looked unamused.
"Go away, Diamond Tiara. Nopony wants to hear it." He heard an orange pegasus' cracking voice say. He stepped up to the group of them. None seemed to acknowledge his existance.
"You jealous that we have our Cutie-Marks and you don't?" The one named Diamond tiara said. The other three didn't answer. "Of course, I wonder what kind of Cutie-Marks a bunch of losers like you would get." She finished. The other girls gave her an angry look.
"At least Ah'm not some snooty, stuck-up, pony like you!" one said. "What does your Cutie-Mark even mean?" Diamond Tiara smirked.
"It doesn't matter, I know I'm just better than you." It was at that moment Ulysses decided to intervene.
"You don't even know the symbol on your body means? Then how can you say you're better than them?" He said. His voice must have startled them all, as he saw the little fillies jump in surprise. Diamond Tiara glared at him.
"What's it matter to you?" she asked. Ulysses glared back.
"You don't know what the symbol means, yet you flaunt it like an Old World relic." He deadpanned. "You show a symbol without meaning. You might as well not have a mark at all." He said. The little filly gave him a look of resentment.
"My Cutie-Mark is the best thing ever! I'll tell my daddy on you." She said smugly. Ulysses narrowed his eyes.
"You know nothing of meaning, So childishly naive. You are no older then they are, yet you see yourself as mature,elder." He started. "You don't see the true meaning of anything. Once older, you will feel the pain of meaning. Tell your father the truth, That you cannot see the meaning of your mark." Ulysses stated. Diamond Tiara turned in a huff, and left with her subordinate. The other three fillies looked at Ulysses in awe.
"Gee thanks mister," Applebloom said to him. The other two smiled brightly at him.
"Yeah, She's really prissy and stuck-up!" Scootaloo said. Ulysses looked at them silently.
"No need to thank me, needed to teach a lesson." He said. "The marks on your body determine who you are, and when you know not of it's meaning, you know not of who you are." He said. He almost turned and walked away, But was stopped by the three fillies.
"Wait mister! Who are you?" Sweetie Belle yelled to him. Ulysses gazed at them.
"My name is Ulysses." Applebloom widened her eyes at his words.
"You're that new pony AJ was talkin' 'bout." She said disbelievingly. "She said you was a wierd pony. Ya'll seem alright to me." Applebloom smiled at him. Ulysses gave her a questioning look.
"Who is this AJ?" He asked. Applebloom gave him a trange look.
"AJ's my sister, Applejack." she said. Ulysses nodded.
"the pony with the Old world hat," He started. "Never mentioned a sister." he said. Applebloom shrugged.
"She never talks much about me." she said. Ulysses turned again to walk away, but was stopped by Sweeie Belle.
"Wait! Can you show us your Cutie-Mark?" she said. Ulysses frowned under his mask. He sighed and moved his tattered jacket aside, showinng the children the Legion bull in all it's glory.
"Caesar's Legion," He started. "Born from the conquest of eighty six tribes. They roam the Mojave, enslaving and killing all who stand against it. Only challenged by the Bear, NCR. You wouldn't understand the mark on my body, And I shouldn't have it on me. Bull has no place in me." Ulysses said. The children looked at him in wonder.
"So, that means you're part of This Kaiser's Legion?" Sweetie Belle said. Ulysses narrowed his eyes.
"Not anymore." He said. "Will take off this mark, the pain it's inflicted should not catalyze through me." The fillies looked at him in shock.
"But you can't take off your Cutie-Mark! That's illegal!" Scootaloo exclaimed. Ulysses turned around again, intent on leaving.
"Not of your people, laws don't apply to me." He walked. Leaving the little fillies standing in shock.
"We got to go tell Twilight!" Applebloom said. The fillies turned and ran.
Ulysses walked briskly. He hoped he wouldn't encounter anymore ponies today, He encountered more than then enough. He stopped abruptly when an earth pony with nice clothes stopped his path.
"That's him, Daddy!" He heard Diamond tiara yell. "That's the pony who said my Cutie-mark is stupid!" the earth pony glared at Ulysses.
"Who are you to talk to my daughter like that?" He started. "I've a right mind to report you to the autorities."
"Your daughter is a child who doesn't understand meaning." Ulysses said. The earth pony narrowed his eyes.
"It doesn't matter, you harrassed my little girl about her Cutie-Mark!" He said. "What say you in defense?" Ulysses glared at him.
"I wasn't harrassing, Teaching. She was harrassing young girls about the lack of said marks. Never meant to offend, only teach a lesson." he said. The earth pony huffed.
"Whatever your reason, I expect it to never happen again. Are we clear?" He tried threatening. Ulysses glared, but nodded his head. The Stallion turned and left with Diamond Tiara, Who stuck her toungue out at Ulysses. Ulysses turned, anger rising, and continued to walk.
Ulysses walked throught the town, The bright midday sun beating down on the courier. Ulysses walked to the only location he knew.
Twilight's Library.
He opened the door, greeted by the sight of the three fillies from earlier, speaking to Twilight Sparkle. They all turned thier heads to face him. Twilight frowned deeply.
"So the Cutie-Mark Crusaders tell me that you want to cut off your Cutie-Mark." she said. "You do know I can Report you to Princess Celestia and have you arrested." Ulysses glared at her.
"I'm not of your people." He said. He turned and walked out of the door. "My choices are mine alone. You've no right to tell me otherwise." He said as he slammed the door. Twilight sighed as he left.
"Hope I didn't just make a big mistake."