A New World, A Fresh Start

by drnkntst

Chapter 16

Chapter 41

Rick was barely conscious when they arrived at the hospital. Twilight had been reassuring him the whole way. “You’ll be okay. It’ll all be alright. Please, just stay with me.”

“Twilight… I’ll be… fine… I’m more… worried about… Pinkie… She was… looking… forward to… the party.” Rick held out his hand and rested it on Twilight’s head. “Thank you.” He grinned weakly. He was hurting, on the verge of passing out from the pain. He couldn’t stand the thought of her blaming herself for something else that wasn’t her fault.

“Twilight, Rick!” Applejack was galloping to catch up. “Is he gonna be alright?”

“I’ll be fine… AJ. I’m… tougher… than I look.” He managed to grin again. “I told… you it… was a bad… idea to drive… through Canter…” He finally lost what strength he had left and passed out.

“And I told you, he is a friend! Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both approved of his remaining here!”

“I never said he wasn’t a friend, I just said he looked suspicious. I never would have fought…”

“ATTACKED! You attacked him! He had no defense and you attacked him!”

“No… he protected his family…” Rick said quietly.

“Rick, you’re awake!” Twilight turned to him. Her eyes were red and puffy, she had been crying.

“Of course I am, you were shouting, yelling really, at this poor guy whose only crime was doing what he thought was right to protect you.”

“I… buh… he… he attacked you.” She looked like the carpet had just been yanked from under her.

“No, he fought off a strange monster that had emerged from another, larger, louder monster. I don’t blame him.” Rick nodded at Shining Armor. “I just don’t like him right now.” He chuckled and then winced.

“I am sorry that I attacked you. My name is Shining Armor. I am the captain of the royal guard and Twilight’s big brother.” He held a hoof out to Rick.

“I’m Rick Rhinestone. I’m her friend.” He held out his fist and bumped the hoof. “Nice to meet you. You certainly pack a wallop.” He smiled and rubbed his chest.

“Yeah, you have to be strong to be captain of the royal guard.” He thumped the front of his barrel for affirmation.

“Well, I would say Celestia and Luna are in good hands, er hooves.”

“Don’t forget about me.” The pink unicorn from before walked into the room. Rick could clearly see she had did indeed have wings, but unlike the other princesses, her hair was in fact hair.

“Princess Cadence!” Twilight ran over to the newcomer, apparently named Princess Cadence.

“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake.” They mirrored each other and giggled. The song and dance took Rick by surprise. It was like something you would expect a child to do with their close family.

“So this is the one Twilight has been writing to us about. According to her letters, you are a kind and honest soul. I see now that it is true. When Shining faced you, you ran away from the ponies inside your vehicle so that the fight would be drawn away from them instead of asking them for help. Even now, you stopped Twilight from unleashing her rage on the pony who injured you. If that isn’t kindness, I don’t know what is.”

“As I told Celestia, they are my family and I couldn’t stand losing them.”

“I know that, I also know they are all waiting on you for your big party. If you like, I can perform a healing spell and you won’t have to miss out.” Princess Cadence grinned.

“Really!” Rick instantly regretted his outburst as he winced at the pain.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” The princess smiled. She closed her eyes to concentrate. A turquoise glow formed around her horn and Rick’s wounds. He could feel warmth emanating from it, almost as if the glow itself was alive. The best his mind could come up with to describe it was… love. Not in a romantic sense, but more like how someone wants to protect something rare.

“How do you feel, Rick?” Twilight asked as the glow faded.

“Like a million bucks! That was amazing, thank you.”

“You are most welcome, but what do deer have to do with anything?” Cadence asked looking as confused as every other pony in the room.

Once Rick stopped laughing, he answered. “Sorry, back where I come from, our money was called dollars but was often referred to as bucks, short for buckskins, I would really like to not get into the reason why.” The ponies joined in on his laughter.

The doctor came in to do a final checkup, shortly after, Rick was cleared. Since there was still time before the party, Rick decided he would get his truck as originally planned and bring it to his garage. All the ponies wanted to try out his amazing machine, so they joined him. Even AJ who was in the waiting room, she eventually stopped staring daggers at Shining Armor.

Chapter 42

“So this… monster is called a ‘truck’ and you humans use it to travel long distances?”

“That’s right, although a pick-up truck like this is only one of many varieties of vehicles we use. There are also vehicles that fly and boats the travel underwater.”

“Amazing,” Shining Armor observed.

“Well, there is no magic on Earth so we have to make due. One’s like this are extremely common. I’d be happy to explain how it works but we would be late. After the party maybe.”

Twilight, Shining, AJ and Princess Cadence all climbed in the cab. Cadence and Shining sat in the front since it was their first ride. As they rode through town, many ponies steered very clear as they went past. They didn’t panic simply because they recognized the passengers. Rick reiterated to AJ how the was just a preview of what would happen if they had driven through Canterlot like she had wanted not too long ago.

When they reached the house, Rick parked inside the garage and helped AJ unload the treats as did all three unicorns, magically of course. As he entered the door, he was met with a surprise.
“SURPRISE!” Pinkie yelled as she seemingly popped out of nowhere.

Twilight just seemed drained by the pony. “Pinkie, we already knew there was going to be a party, so there was no need to yell surprise.”

“That’s okay! A surprise party you know about is still a surprise party!” She beamed and hopped away toward the snack table.

“That’s true, Pinkie.” Rick said as he rubbed Twilight’s head. Cadence and Shining were laughing behind them. They set their treats down and joined the party.

The home was fully furnished with chairs and couches sized for ponies with a recliner and sofa built just for Rick. All the seats were taken up, except for the big chair. Rick had claimed it as his ‘man chair,’ though his friends didn’t understand why or even what that meant, but as it was too big for any of them anyway so they didn’t argue.

Rarity trotted up to the group, “Rick, I’m so glad to see you are alright. Shining Armor! How dare you attack him without provocation. He is our frie-”

“It’s alright, Rarity. He did what he did to protect all of you. Besides, Princess Cadence fixed me up good as new, see?” He opened his shirt to show her the lack of burns, scarring or abrasions. “Although, I will be needing a repair on this shirt. I hope you can work your magic for me.”

“Oh dear, it’s ruined.” She looked completely disgusted by the holes that had been blasted through to the flesh beneath. “I shall simply have to start over, Darling. But not to worry, I have another ready to go for you.” She magically floated a wrapped box toward Rick, who plucked it out of the air. “It was going to be a surprise, but thanks to a certain somepony,” venom dripped from the word as she rolled her eyes at Shining, “I feel you are in simply too much need to wait.”

“Now, Rarity, I don’t blame him and neither should you.” He smiled as he unwrapped the box and pulled out a red shirt. Like the others, it had a button up front, but this one included a breast pocket with interlaced double R’s embroidered just above the pocket. “You have outdone yourself, Rarity. I love it, thank you.” He knelt down and hugged her.

“Well, of course, Darling.” She wrapped a foreleg around his shoulder to return the hug. “After all, you did save Sweetie Belle, and you even used one of my outfits to do it.”

“I keep telling you, I was just doing what any friend would. You don’t owe me anything.” He stood back up grinning at his friend. “Now, if you don’t mind, I will go upstairs and change. Try not to kill Shining Armor, at least until I get back. I don’t want to miss out on the action.” The ponies laughed as Rick headed upstairs.

When he came out of his room, he saw a grey pegasus that seemed to be stuck in one of his houseplants somehow. He could see bubbles were its cutie mark, he wasn’t trying to see. It’s just that the pegasus’ flank and blonde tail were about all he could see of the stranger. “Are you alright?” he asked as he gingerly plucked the pony out of the bush.

“Thank you, I just don’t know what went wrong.” He could now see it was a mare he was talking to. Plus, she seemed to have some sort of severe issue with her eyes, like wall eye but amped way up.

“What’s your name?” he asked as he set her on her hooves.

“My name is Derpy, Derpy Hooves.” She informed Rick and, apparently, the ceiling.

“Well, Derpy, my name is Rick Rhinestone. How about we join the rest of the party?”

“Sure thing, Mr. Rick.” The near childlike mannerisms of this new pony made Rick smirk as he lead the way downstairs. When he reached the bottom he spotted Fluttershy and approached her.
“Shy, I’m glad you came. I have a question for you.”

“Oh, what is it, Rick?” She asked while half hidden by her mane.

“Well, you are the critter expert, right? I was hoping you would help me get a pet. I’m going to be living alone now and I could use the company.”

She seemed to be overjoyed. “Of course, I would love to help you pick out a furry friend. After all, I helped Rainbow Dash pick out her pet turtle, Tank. I would be very happy to help you too. An eagle would be nice, or maybe cute little bunny. Ooh, there are so many possibilities.”

“There apparently are,” he chuckled, “but how about a dog. A nice, smart, loyal dog. They are commonplace on Earth and I know I can handle one.”

She seemed deflated by his response. “Oh, o-okay. Just come by my cottage some time and I’ll help you pick your new critter friend.”

“Sounds like a plan, Shy. I’ll be over tomorrow, if that’s alright with you.” He patted her head. After she nodded her agreement, he went to load up some of the apple treats and enjoy the company. He sat down in his man chair and enjoyed the snacks and conversations with ponies he knew as well as new ponies he was unfamiliar with. It was a good night.

Comments

[Quick-Bolt]

aww, i wanted flutters to sing the perfect pet song

[damnaion]

16# hummm and awww

[Truthseeker]

Shining Armor jumped to one HELL of a conclusion. When somebody is trying to talk to you, it is very rude to try to kill them. Furthermore Rick shouldn't have forgiven him so quickly. If Shining Armor has judgement THAT BAD then why the hell is he Captain of the Guard?

[Even Evil Has Standards]

6852640 Precisely why my respect for him diminished in The Times They Are A Changeling