The Masks We Wear

by JourneymanChronicler

1.2

There's a fine line between telling lies and telling half-truths, but a line nonetheless. I try not to cross it, but no one's perfect.

1.2

Rainbow Dash was annoyed for three reasons. First, she had to get up early which was never a good start to any day. Second, despite getting up early she was running late. Third, she had to get up early which was so annoying it counted twice.

"Stupid, alarm clock," she said, as she glided to Sweet Apple Acres. "Y'know you could've been a little faster getting me up this morning." Flying next to her was a tortoise with a magic powered propeller strapped to its back. He looked towards his owner and lifted his forepaws in his best impression of a shrug, although it took him a full ten seconds to do it.

In the little guy's defense, he had tried. He was awake when her alarm failed to ring and did his best to wake her as fast as he could. The problem was that he slept in the corner of her room, and it was a long walk to the head of her bed. He had to use the Daring Doo novels stacked by it as a stepladder in order to get up there. It had taken half an hour to get to her, and after summiting it he woke her with a gentle chomp to the ear when poking her for five minutes failed to get the job done.

Dash rubbed her sore ear and winced. "And if I wanted to get my ears pierced I would have asked Lotus or Aloe to do it." The tortoise looked down, and she sighed. "Hey, hey, it's okay, Tank." She reached over and gave him a light pat on the head. "You did good, bud. It's the morning, so I'm just grumpy." Tank looked back up and smiled, his cute grin made awesome by the flight goggles he was wearing.

"Now Scoots and I can have all day to practice," she said angling towards the Apple family home. The thought of her little "sister" lightened Rainbow's mood. She hadn't known how fun it could be being an older sister until Scootaloo had asked her to take her under her wing. At first, they hung out more often. They would read comic books, play games, and Dash had even managed to get the little filly hooked on Daring Doo novels. It was actually kind of weird to have fun helping her write a book report for school.

"If school would have us read awesome stuff like this than it wouldn't be so boring," Scootaloo had said. She almost included the statement in the report itself, but Twilight, who had agreed to proofread, suggested it be left out.

Doesn't mean it's not true, Dash had thought.

She was as annoyed as the filly was that they hadn't been able to start flying lessons with how busy things had been lately. Dash was anxious to get started. In the few times they had managed to do some things she had seen something in Scoots, determination. Scootaloo did every exercise without a word of complaint and sometimes went as far as to force Rainbow to get her to stop.

I don't care what anypony says. That kid has a fire in her that will beat anything holding her down.

She smiled as she descended to the ground and into a gentle landing. She felt the weight of Tank landing on her back and heard his flying contraption sputter to a stop. She trotted up to the farmhouse's front door and knocked.

"Ah'm comin'!" she heard through the door, and a moment later it swung open. Applejack stood behind the door and smiled. "Well Ah don't believe it! Ya actually managed to get yourself up!"

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Dash asked.

Applejack chuckled, "Sugarcube, Ah've only ever known you to get up early for two reasons, and I do believe cider season ended a month ago and you don't have any Wonderbolts Tickets. The whole town would know if ya did."

Dash rolled her eyes, "Yeah, well, now you have three." She trotted inside the house and looked around. "Are Scootaloo and the girls still here?"

Applejack shook her head, "Nope, they left for the lake about an hour ago. Scootaloo practically dragged them out by their tails. Something about, 'needin' time to stretch.'"

"Yeah," Rainbow said with a chuckle, "she kind of took that lesson to heart."

"Well, ya better not keep her waiting," Applejack said, walking Rainbow out the back.

"Aren't you coming?"

"Ah will be. The girls wouldn't wait for me to get the animals straighten out," she said. Rainbow looked toward the pig pen and saw that they all looked nervous.

"What's the matter with them?" she asked.

"Not rightly sure, myself," Applejack said, rubbing the back of her head. "Something seems to have spooked them this morning. I asked, and they don't know what it was. They just keep talking about some weird feelin'. I've been givin' them extra stock today, and it seems to calm them down. They don't feel it anymore at least."

"Hm, weird," said Rainbow. "So you'll be coming once you're done feeding them?"

"Yep!"

"Cool." Rainbow crouched and spread her wings. "Let's fly, Tank." The tortoise's propeller sped up, and he lifted off Dash's back. Dash leaped into the air and shot into the sky.

"If Applebloom and Sweetie Belle get into the water make sure to watch them until I get there!" she heard Applejack shout.

"Will do!" Dash yelled back before looping in the air and pointing herself towards the farm's lake. She pumped her wings and settled into a gentle pace so Tank could keep up with her.

"Hey, you didn't feel anything weird this morning, did you?" she asked. Tank looked up in thought and did his slow shrug again.

"Hm," sighed Dash, "maybe something was making noise in the forest."

Tank nodded as if to say, "Probably."

"Everything should be alright," she said. "Nothing ever leaves the forest."

I hope.

Rainbow crested a hill and saw the lake appear in front of her. That was when she heard the screaming.

Oh no!

It was something she had never seen before. However, what it looked like was not what scared her. It was what it was doing. Two fillies ran across the grass and hid behind the wagon that had pulled them there, but the other, an orange pegasus, was cornered against the oak tree next to the lake. The creature was walking towards her menacingly with its claws ready to swipe.

"Hello, said the spider to the fly," it said.

Inside of Rainbow Dash every protective instinct she had kicked in, and her vision went red.

NO YOU DON'T!

"Tank, execute anti-creep maneuver!" she yelled. The tortoise dove away, and Rainbow tucked in her wings and sped towards the monster.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY LITTLE SISTER!" She collided with the it, and they went flying across the field. It slammed into the ground cutting a track a few hooves long. Rainbow rode it out on top of its back. When it came to a stop she reached with her forelegs and bent one of the creature's legs up and over its back trying to pin it.

It lifted its head off the ground. "What the-" but was silenced when a ballistic tortoise shell dropped on top of its head. It didn't move after that.

"Shoo," she said. "Good work, Tank." The tortoise popped out of his shell and smiled up at her triumphantly. "Scootaloo, I need you to-"

"Dash," Scootaloo yelled, "get off of him!"

What!

"What?" she said. "It tried to eat you."

"He wasn't tryin' to eat us," Applebloom said, running over to them. "He was playing with us!"

"Yeah, we were playing tickle tag, and he was it," Sweetie Belle said. Rainbow noticed she was wearing a pair of round sunglasses.

"Ike, are you okay?" Scootaloo said, poking it's arm.

From beneath Dash came a muffled reply, "I think she broke my coccyx."

"Dash, let him up." Rainbow looked at Scootaloo and then to the creature. The filly gave her a pleading look, and Dash sighed. She let go of the leg and hopped off its back, but she faced it in case it tried anything funny. Tank looked at her confused.

"It's okay, Tank. You can get off of it," she said. The tortoise's propeller sped up, and he flew to his usual spot on Dash's back. The creature lifted up its head and started to spit out dirt.

"Blah! This dirt has such an interesting flavor," it groaned. It had a deep voice which possessed the barest hint of a rasp which faded in and out depending on the words. It was almost melodic.

It shook its head and lifted itself into a sitting position crossing its legs in a very odd way. It shook some of the dirt from its dirty blonde mane and looked at her with a pair of green eyes. Now that it was facing her Rainbow decided that it wasn't really that terrifying. It was odd in that it was something unfamiliar, but it was far from scary. The only intimidating thing about it was a wicked looking scar on its cheek that lent it a certain amount of awesomeness.

"So," it said, "to whom do I owe the pleasure? Oh, and for clarity's sake, it is not an it. It is a him."

"Uh," Rainbow said. It had spoken a little faster than she expected.

"This is Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo said, latching her hooves around Dash's neck and hugging her. "The most awesome big sister in Equestria!"

"Ah, so you're the one Scoots has been telling me about," he said.

Scoots?

"I suppose your war cry should have been enough of a clue. Good shot by the way," he said, rubbing his lower back. "No permanent damage, so I think I'll let it slide." He didn't sound angry as he offered her his hand, and Dash looked at it confused.

"Uh, dude?" Scoots said. She lifted hers hooves and clopped them together. The creature lifted an eyebrow before realization flashed across his face.

"Oh yeah," he said and curled his hand into a fist. Dash looked at the fist before raising her hoof and bumping it. Her hoof clinked against a silver ring around one of his fingers.

"Um," she mumbled, lowering her hoof, "sorry for plowing you into the ground." For a second he looked confused before he buried it.

"Y-you were p-protecting your sister, s-so I understand," he said. His voice had a slight quaver to it like he was nervous about something.

What's got him so weirded out?

"Oh wait!" he said, his nervousness disintegrating. "I'm being very rude. My name is Isaac, at your service." He bowed to her.

"Uh, Rainbow Dash," she said.

"The name would seem appropriate," he said, looking at her mane. Dash frowned.

"Hey, are you making fun of me?" Isaac raised his hands, which Dash saw were completely clawless, and held them up defensively.

"Not at all," he said. "It's actually very pretty. I've seen a lot of people attempt rainbow hair, but no one that pulled it off."

Dash narrowed her eyes at him. "Girls, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure!" they said.

"Over there," she pointed up the road. Isaac moved to stand. "Just the girls," she said. He paused before settling back down and shrugging. She gave him another once over and walked up to the road with the girls.

"Alright," she said once she thought they were out of earshot, "where did he come from?" The girls looked at each other and then shrugged.

"We didn't ask him that," Applebloom said. "We found'im sleepin' by the lake."

"And you didn't think to go get somepony?"

Scootaloo looked down. "I knew you would go check him out, so I did what you would do."

Dash sighed, "Squirt, I can check out weird creatures because I'm older and awesome. You're still too young and are just an awesome pony-in-training. He could have been bad news." She glanced over her shoulder at Isaac. He still sat in his spot and gave her a friendly wave when he saw her looking at him. "He could still be bad news."

"He isn't bad," Sweetie Belle said. "He's nice."

"Yeah and he's really cool too!" Scootaloo said. "You should hear him sing."

"He sang so well we made him our mascot!" Applebloom said.

"You made him your what?"

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders Musical Mascot," they all said.

"And what does he do?" Dash asked.

Again the girls looked at each other. "Y'know he asked us the same question. We don't really know what we want him to do right now."

"Mostly he just plays us songs when we ask him," Sweetie Belle said, adjusting the glasses on her muzzle. "He's also fun to play with."

"Sweetie Belle, where did you get those?"

"Get what?" She asked. Rainbow tapped the glasses. "Oh, these are Ike's. I was the one who got him when we were playing tickle tag. I told him I would stop if he let me wear his glasses." They wobbled on the filly's snout. "I don't think they were built for pony faces."

"Hm," she said. "So what is he?"

"He's a monkey b-" Scoots started to say before Applebloom shoved a hoof in her mouth.

"He's a human," Applebloom said, "which are distantly related to monkeys."

Human, why does that sound familiar?

"Or chump pansies," Scootaloo said, pulling Applebloom's hoof from her mouth.

"Chump what?" Dash asked.

"Chimpanzees," Isaac said. "A member of the primate family, oh, and can I have those back, Sweetie Belle?" Dash turned and stared at the hu-something or other. They had to be forty hooves away, and they had been quiet.

How the hay did he hear that?

"Sure," she said. The filly cantered up to him, setting the glasses in his hand. He placed them on the bridge of his nose where they fell into place. He thanked Sweetie Belle, but Dash could just barely make out the words. Whatever he was, human or not, must have had ears like a dog to make out their conversation.

Dash got up and walked towards him warily. She wasn't afraid of him. There were very few things that she was afraid of, and even fewer things she would admit to being afraid of. He was bigger than her, sure, but his arms and legs looked like twigs. She was confident that if he tried something stupid she could tie him in a knot. What did frighten her was how easily the fillies seemed to trust him. On the one hoof, it was great that they weren't afraid of someone for looking so different, but on the other they knew nothing about this guy. He could have been some crazed pony-killer for Luna's sake.

I swear. Cheerilee really needs to do more stranger awareness classes.

Dash froze in mid step, and her eyes went wide with shock.

By Celestia, I'm starting to think like my dad!

"Are you okay?" a deep voice asked. She shook her head and saw Isaac eyeing her with concern.

"I'm fine," she said, trying to drop the thought as fast as she could. "So a human, huh? I swear I've heard that before."

"Really?" Isaac said. "From what I got from the girls, they had never seen a human before."

"I've never seen one either, but I swear I've heard about them before," she said, scratching her head. "Nope can't remember. I suppose Twilight would know."

"Twilight?"

"She's one my friends," Dash said. "Runs the Ponyville library and is a super egghe- I mean- is super smart."

"Really?" Isaac said, raising an eyebrow. "She sounds like some, uh, pony I'd like to meet."

"I suppose I could take you to her," Dash said.

I really wanted to start training with Scootaloo today, but dealing with this guy is probably more important.

"Ugh," groaned Dash, "Sorry, Squirt, I'm afraid I'm going to have to get him sorted out."

Surprisingly, the filly didn't seem so upset. "That's okay, Dash. Hey, can we come with you?"

"Sure, I guess," Dash said. She turned to Isaac. "Well, are you coming?"

"Yeah," he said, "just give me a minute to get my stuff. " Isaac shuffled his legs and stood up. Rainbow's head tilted back as she followed him up, and her eyes widened. At his full height, Dash's head barely reached his waist.

He's giant.

"Tall," she said dumbly.

"Heh, yeah. I've been asked to change a lot of light bulbs," he said. He walked towards the tree, and Dash noticed the clothesline that had been strung out from it. He put on the pair of blue pants hanging from it and strapped on a weird looking belt around his waist. It had a second clip that wrapped around his leg that secured a holster.

"What's that?" Dash asked.

"Some defensive equipment," he said, rolling up the line and placing it in his pocket. He stepped into two blocky, black things and laced them up. He didn't have hooves, so Dash suspected they protected his feet. Lastly, he pulled up the black bar that had been jammed into the ground. A couple of straps hung from it, and he put them around his shoulders which held the bar across his back. He took a moment to straighten it and walked back to Dash.

"Took you long enough, " she said.

"What?"

Dash shook her head and took the air. She hovered up until she was at his eye level. "Alright, town is that way so try to keep up, okay."

"No problem," he said. "Come on girls!"

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle loaded into the wagon, and Scootaloo took the handle bars of her scooter. Her wings let out a loud buzzing sound as she took off down the road.

"Catch us if you can, Ike!" she shouted as she sped past him.

"Ha, you're on," he said. He took a long step and jogged after the wagon.

He's faster than I thought he would be.

Apparently, his long legs were good for something. In one bound he stepped three times further than a pony could. He could match the wagon's pace, but he could never out run it. Rainbow Dash suspected Scootaloo was keeping it slow to make the chase more entertaining. It was still too slow for Dash, but she and Tank flew behind in order to keep an eye on him.

She glided up next to him. "So, Isaac-"

"Ike."

"What?"

"My friends call me Ike," he said, his green eyes peeking up at her from behind his glasses. His ever-present grin still on his face.

This guy's weirder than Pinkie Pie... okay, maybe not that weird, but he smiles just as much as she does.

"Um, alright, Ike," she said. "Where are you from?"

"A city called Baltimore," he said.

"Wait, you're from Baltimare?" she said, surprised he was from someplace she knew. That was until he shook his head.

"More not mare," he said. His brow furrowed. "There's a city here called Baltimare?" Dash nodded to which he sighed and mumbled something about "parallels".

"Baltimore is a bit far from Equestria," he said. He glanced beside her and cocked his head. "Cool tortoise."

"He's a tor-, oh, thanks." She had gotten used to correcting ponies when they called Tank a turtle.

At least he's smart enough to know the difference.

"Did you make that?" he asked.

"No, that was Twilight," she said.

He looked at Tank once more, "Clever."

"Yeah, she is," Dash said, and it grew quiet. "So, how did you get here?" she asked. His smile broadened.

"Mostly, I walked," he said She was about to question that when Scootaloo turned around and drove up beside the two of them.

"Come on, dude, you can be faster than that," she said and kicked it into overdrive, taking off down the road.

"Not again!" Sweetie Belle shouted.

"We'll see about that!" he said. Apparently, he could go much faster than Dash expected, because he shot off after the girls, Sweetie Belle screaming the whole time. The screaming could probably justify what happened next.

They rounded a bend, and Ike was doing a fair job of at least keeping up with the wagon. When a lasso appeared out of nowhere.

"Git away from those fillies, ya varmint!" shouted a familiar voice. Ike didn't have a chance to respond as the lasso wrapped around his torso and yanked him off his feet. He slid to the ground on his belly and was pounced on by an orange and yellow blur that bound his wrists and ankles together over his back. He was completely hogtied in a second.

"Woo, Ah'd say that's a new record," said Applejack as she sat on Ike's back. "Girls, he didn't hurt you did he?"

"Let him go, Applejack!" shouted Applebloom.

Here we go again.

"What?" Applejack looked around and spotted Dash. "Dash, what's goin' on?"

"I'll explain everything, AJ, but you need to let him up." Applejack looked confused but nodded. She tugged on the knot, and Ike's limbs flopped to the ground .

"Ugh, girls," he said, lifting his head.

"Yeah, Ike?"

"No more chasing or screaming," he said, and his face fell back to the ground. "This dirt tastes just as interesting."

---

"Remind me, again, why we have to have this special order sent in so soon?" asked the baby dragon, who was skimming through a tome heavier than he was. The book was encased in a violet shimmer and pulled away from him.

"Because if we don't we'll have to wait another few days," Twilight said, as she opened the book and rapidly leafed through the pages. She paused, squinted at a line, and glanced at a note she had levitating next to her. "Put Mare Curie's Alchemic Substances on the list."

Spike groaned and scribbled the title on his growing list. "Twilight, that's sixty books, so far."

"It should be sixty-two," she said.

"Whatever," he said. "The point is why do they all have to be ordered today?" Twilight put the book back in its place and starting looking over the shelf.

"Because these are special, limited availability books that have to be signed out by the Princess herself," she said, taking out a book, looking it over, and placing it back on the shelf. "The Summer Sun celebration starts in Manehattan in a few days, so if we miss today the Princess will be too busy to okay the order for the next four days." She pulled out another book and looked inside. "Wernher von Brand's The Luna Project as well."

"What are you studying?" he said, jotting down the name.

"Nothing in particular," she said, "this is assorted material for the different things I plan on studying in the next six months."

"So this is what you'll be studying until December?" he said.

She shook her head. "No the six months after December. It'll take until then for the paperwork to be sorted through."

Spike scratched the side his head with his quill. "So, wait, this is so you're not behind studying... six months from now?"

"Uh huh," she said. "The Princess signs the order, and then the archivists sort through the paperwork."

"How much paperwork could it possibly be!" he said. Twilight gave him a flat look before levitating a stack of paper twice as tall as he was on to her desk.

"Is that it?" he said. Spike's claw twitched like it was expecting doom.

"No," she said, "it's half." She placed a second pile of paper beside the first. "Once we're done finding all the books I'll have to fill these out."

"You will?" he said, his claw relaxing.

"Yes, hoofprint only," she said. Spike sighed in relief.

You can relax, but this means my hoof's going to be leaving marks everywhere for a week.

"I think that's the last of them," she said, taking Spike's list. She nodded. "That's it." She trotted up to her desk, getting an ink tray from the drawer. "I won't need you for the rest of the day, Spike."

"Great!" he said. "If you need me, Twi, I'll be in dreamland." He took one step up the stairs when a loud knocking came from the door.

"Spike could you get that," she said as she readied the ink tray. She heard Spike walk down the stairs and the door open. Twilight raised her hoof about to press it into the tray.

"Oh hi, Pi-"

"TWILIGHT!" shouted a high pitched voice. Twilight, startled by the noise, slammed the side of the tray sending it flying into the air. With a quick telekinetic grab, she caught it before it could spill all over the floor.

"Twilight," shouted the neon pink pony as she galloped up to her. "Twilight, something is wrong!"

"Pinkie Pie, you nearly caused me to paint my floor black," Twilight said, placing the ink tray back on the desk.

"Wait! You mean that just fell?"

"Yes, thanks to you," she said. Pinkie Pie started to tremble.

"Twilight, something is wrong," Pinkie Pie said. "Something is very undeniably uber badtastically wrong."

Badtastically?

"Pinkie, calm down," Twilight, putting a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "What's the matter?"

"Can't you tell?" she said. "No twitchy eyes, no itchy hooves, and no ear flops! That tray fell, and my tail didn't twitch!" Pinkie grabbed Twilight by the shoulders and looked her dead in the eye. She couldn't remember seeing Pinkie Pie this scared, but right now she looked terrified. "My Pinkie Sense isn't working!" Twilight stared at her, confused.

"So let me get this straight," Twilight said. "You're this worked up because your body is acting... normally." Pinkie nodded frantically. "Pinkie you've told me before that it comes and goes."

"Yes, but I've never had a drought for this long," she said.

"Alright," Twilight sighed, "when was the last time you felt something."

Pinkie tapped a hoof to her chin. "Last night, right before I went to bed. My back left hoof twitched, my nose itched, and my right ear flopped."

"And that means?"

"That Gummy was hiding in Mr. Cake's hat. It took me ten minutes for me to get him to let go."

"Of the hat?"

"No, Mr. Cake's head," she said.

"And that was the last time?"

She nodded. "I haven't had a single feeling since then, and I've seen things when I should have felt something. Pound cake barfing on Pumpkin Cake, Gummy in Mr. Cake's hat again, and I wasn't there when a little colt lost a balloon in the marketplace. I NEVER LET FOALS LOSE THEIR BALLOONS!"
Pinkie looked like she was about to weep until she pulled an emotional one-eighty. "But I had an emergency all-day-sucker stash nearby, so I managed to get rid of his frowny in jiffy." She sniffled, "But that poor, sweet, innocent balloon. It never had a chance!"

"Okay, so what do you want me to do?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I was thinking you could hook me to those machines like you did last time," Pinkie said. "You remember, right?"

Kind of hard to forget.

"Yes, I remember being put in the hospital trying... several times," Twilight said.

"Please, Twilight, this time I won't give you any trouble about it," Pinkie said, giving Twilight a teary look.

Twilight glanced at the forms on her desk and then back to Pinkie.

Friends come first.

"Alright, I guess I can compare you results from last time to now and see if there's any difference."
Pinkie smiled broadly and wrapped Twilight in a massive hug. "Thank you, Twilight! Thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU!"

"Pinkie, I can't breathe," Twilight wheezed.

"Oh, sorry," she said, releasing the unicorn.

Twilight took a moment to catch her breath. "Spike," she said, "Pinkie and I will be in the lab if you need us."

"Alright, so... can I go to bed now?" he said. Twilight rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Okay," he said, turning back to the stairs, "have fun picking Pinkie's brain." He took one step up the stairs when, again, there came a loud knock at the door. Spike groaned and hopped down from the stairs. "I'm never getting a nap at this rate."

"Who is it now?"

Spike shrugged and opened the door. "Hi, Rainbow Daaa..."

Twilight and Pinkie Pie turned to the door and saw Rainbow Dash and Applejack walk into the library followed by something else. It was so tall that it had to duck in order to get through the door, especially with a pegasus filly riding on its shoulders. As it entered, Twilight saw that its arms were behind its back giving two other familiar fillies a double-piggyback ride.

When it got inside, where it could fully stand, it took a few curious glances around the room. A gentle smile upon its face the whole time.

"Quite a collection, you've got here," it said in a deep, distinctly male voice.

Pinkie gasped violently. "Twilight," she said, "we'll have to reschedule. Priorities first." In a pink blur, the party pony shot out the library, going between the startled creature's legs to do so.

Only Pinkie would think throwing a party is more serious than potential brain trauma.

"Um," said the creature, "did I do that?"

"Sort of," Rainbow Dash said.

"I didn't mean to scare her," he said.

"Trust me," Dash said, "You didn't ."

"Then what was-"

Suddenly a pink head appeared between his legs again and gave him the most serious look Twilight had ever seen Pinkie make. She eyed him for a second while he glanced around apparently at a loss.

"Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, or snozzberry?" she asked.

"Uh, chocolate?"

Pinkie broke out into a huge grin. "Thank you!" she said and was gone. The creature blinked and looked around.

"I... yeah, um, what?"

"Sugarcube," Applejack said, "It's best not to try and hurt your brain figurin' out Pinkie Pie. Darling's sweeter than apple pie, but she can a bit..." Applejack faltered trying to find the right word.

"Random," Rainbow Dash offered.

"Yep, that's about right," she said.

Twilight stared at the strange creature as he talked with her friends. She had read every book that detailed the world's sapient creatures, but whatever this was didn't belong to any of them. However, as she took in more of his features, she felt a nagging sense of familiarity.

I've read about this creature somewhere. I just can't remember where?

A shout interrupted her thoughts. "Yo, Twi?"

"Huh?" she said, shaking her head.

"Equestria to Twilight," Rainbow Dash said. "Are you in there?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine," Twilight cleared her throat. "Who is this?"

The creature stepped forward and bowed, Scootaloo waved at Twilight as she dipped towards the ground.

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Sparkle. My name is Isaac, at your service," he said.

He's polite at least.

"Uh, nice to meet you," she said nervously. Something in the back of her mind wouldn't let her drop the weird feeling he was giving her. She wished she could remember what she had read about this creature. "Girls, why are you on his shoulders?"

"Because he gives awesome piggyback rides. Seriously look how tall he is!" said Scootaloo. Twilight had to agree with that and was thankful that the library's main room was so high. Scootaloo's head would be dragging across the ceiling if it were anypony else's home.

"Excuse me?"

The creature looked down to where Spike was tugging on his pants leg.

"Are you an alien?" asked the baby dragon, his face was a comical mix of awe and fear. Twilight was surprised Spike had been bold enough to approach him.

"Probably," he said with a smile.

Spike looked at him in confusion, "You mean you don't know?"

"Well, I could be, but Dash said she's heard of things like me before," he said. This time it was Twilight who looked confused.

"You have, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked.

Dash shook her head, "I've never seen them before, but he says he's a human which I swear I've heard about. Does it ring any bells to you?"

Twilight's heart dropped in her chest.

That's it! That's what it was!

Twilight remembered the book in an instant. It was an old mythology textbook detailing some of the myths and legends of Equestria's past. The passage on humans had barely been a page long in the massive text. There wasn't much known about them, and their time in Equestria had been brief.

Humans had appeared a thousand years ago not long after Nightmare Moon's banishment. They had never been seen before in Equestria's history, and one day an entire population of them appeared out of nowhere. The humans seemed to not recognize Equestria as well, and it was theorized that they may have come from another world as there was no other explanation that fit.

They were noted for being frail, but what they lacked in physical strength they made up for with mental capability. They were predators like griffons and shared a similar diet. Unfortunately, first contact had not gone well between ponies and humanity. A few proved to be kind, others paranoid, and some violent. The worst part was that it was impossible to tell which was which. They could act kind and gentle but really be scheming or mad. The strangest could be cold and distant but never harm anypony.

The duality of the species made them hard to understand and harder to approach. A few misunderstandings occurred between the two groups, and several ponies ended up getting hurt. Humans proved to be dangerous when provoked, and the Princess was about to intervene when something strange happened. They vanished.

They had grouped together and formed a small community in what was now the White Tail Woods. A group of pegasi went on a routine surveillance mission and found the area deserted. When the settlement was explored it looked like everyone had got up and left. Meals were found half eaten, fires still smoldered, and tents were half built. The area was searched, but the humans were never seen again. Eventually, their brief existence faded into obscurity, and, if not for the Princess confirming the story, they would be little more than a myth.

The author warned at the end of the passage that if anypony were to find another human that it would be best left alone. He said they were too unpredictable to be brought into polite society and best left in the forest.
Twilight regarded the apparent human warily. He did match the physical description to a point. He lacked the sinister aura the author had claimed they possessed.

Now that I think about it that author seemed to call everything that wasn't a pony sinister.

He looked harmless, especially with three fillies riding on him. However, Twilight still felt nervous. The book clearly described humans as being hard to understand. For all she knew his kind exterior could be an act and beneath that could be a... monster. Twilight gulped.

What do I do? He could be dangerous, but if I react too suddenly he could hurt somepony. For Celestia's sake, he has three fillies he could use as a shield. If they really are clever he might have planned it that way!

"Hey, Ike, can you let me down? My legs are goin' to sleep," Applebloom said.

"Yeah, mine too," Sweetie Belle said. Twilight froze worried the human would grab the girls, so he could keep his shield.

The human laughed, "Sure thing." He kneeled down and let the two fillies jump off.

Okay maybe not.

He reached up. "You too, Scoots."

"Ah, why?" she said, obviously enjoying her perch.

"Honestly? Because I'm getting a crick in my neck," he said. The pegasus pouted but let him remove her anyway. He set her on the ground and rolled his neck. There was loud crackling sound that made the fur on Twilight's neck bristle.

"Heh, sorry. My spine's been a little abused today," he said, shooting a glance at Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

Applejack looked down, "Sorry about that."

The human grinned, "Eh, that's not the first time a woman's tied me up." Applejack turned red, and Rainbow Dash strained to keep from laughing.

"You walked right into that, AJ," Rainbow Dash said. She chuckled before looking back at Twilight. "So, Twi, is Ike an alien or not?" It took Twilight a second before she realized Dash was talking about the human.

"Maybe," she said, "humans were last seen about a thousand years ago. Most ponies think they're a myth."

"Apparently, they're more than a myth if we got one standin' right here," Applejack said.

"The Princess knew of them," Twilight said. "The only reason they aren't widely spoken of is that they were here for less than a month. They showed up, caused a stir, and vanished."

"That's where I heard of them!" Rainbow Dash said. Everypony looked at her in confusion. Dash sighed, "In Daring Doo and the Lost Sea there was part where she talked about civilizations that had vanished, and she mentioned the Humans of White Tail Wood. I can't believe I forgot that!"

"Hm, the humans barely communicated with anypony, but some have guessed that they came from another world," Twilight said.

"Huh," Isaac said, "I guess that makes me a legit alien after all." Twilight tilted her head. Something about what he had said sounded off.

"What do you me by, 'legit alien?'" she asked.

Isaac sighed, "I suppose I'll give you the details." He looked around before shrugging. He walked over to the wall by the door, leaned against it, and slid to the floor. He crossed his legs, laced his fingers behind his head, and seemed to recline into them.

Isaac took a deep breath, "I'm a bit of a traveler. I tend to walk wherever the road takes me. This time, it seems to have brought me to your world."

"Wait," Rainbow Dash said, "how could you have walked here if you came from another world?"

"I said 'mostly,'" he shrugged, "I've also ran, rode, jogged, and hang-glided to get where I am." Rainbow gave him irritated glare. "I did walk here, though. It may have been through a portal," he held up a finger, "but it still counts as walking." Rainbow tried to respond but ultimately facehooved in defeat.

"That still doesn't answer what ya meant by 'legit alien,'" Applejack said.

"If this world had other humans in it I would consider myself a 'nondomestic human'. However, given there are no other humans here at all I'm just a regular alien," he said. From the way he spoke Twilight figured he had given this speech before.

That explains why he's calmer than the humans from before. He's used to being in strange places.

"Are you from the world the old humans came from?" Twilight said. He unlaced his fingers and scratched the stubble on his chin in thought.

"It's possible," he said, "It could be my world, could be a world I visited before, the one after this one, or none at all." He stopped scratching and shook his head. "Unless the humans said anything about the world they came from there's no way to tell, and even then it would be hard to know for sure."

"This is so cool," Scootaloo giggled in excitement. "We have an alien as a mascot!"

"Mascot?" Twilight said. She looked to Applejack and Rainbow Dash who gave her "we'll explain later" looks. For now, Twilight felt the academic inside her begin to get excited about what this human could tell her.

He is a completely different creature from a completely different world! A potentially dangerous creature from a potentially dangerous world, but, still, this is a hippologist's dream come true... Lyra's going to be so jealous!

"Twilight, you've spaced out on us again," Dash said.

Twilight shook her head, "Huh, oh, sorry." She cleared her throat, "Do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

He shrugged, "It depends on the questions, really, but sure."

Twilight's heart fluttered in excitement, and she levitated a notepad and quill over to her. When she looked back at him he was staring at the quill.

"That's a nifty trick," he said.

Twilight blinked, "What is?"

"The levitaty, lightshow thingy," he said.

"It's basic magical manipulation. Most unicorn foals could do it."

"Oh so that's what your magic looks like!" he said. "My world doesn't have anything like that."

Everypony in the room looked at the human in disbelief. Magic was a fundamental part of the entire universe, so what he said was basically equivalent to saying there was no such thing as gravity.

"That's impossible," Twilight said.

Ike shrugged, "Maybe here, but my world seems to turn without it."

Twilight's academic side suddenly became ravenous. She pushed all of her fear and uncertainty away for the time being.

I have to know more!

"How?" she asked.

"How what?"

"How does it work? How could a society, a race, a world, a universe function without magic?" she asked. Her heart pounded from the excitement.

"That's a long story," he said.

"Well, ya better tell it, sugarcube, because I don't think Twi's goin' to let leave until you do," Applejack said, finding a comfortable spot on the floor. The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat down, as well, the curiosity of childhood gripping them and the prospect of learning about their new friend being to awesome to pass up. Rainbow Dash groaned, as she realized her entire day was shot, and found a spot to lounge.

"Learning about an alien would be kind of cool, I guess," she mumbled. It was as close as she was going to get to admitting she was a little curious as well. Isaac looked over his audience and chuckled.

"Well, mom always said, 'if you had audience you might as well perform,'" he said and took another deep breath. "So where else to begin but the beginning."

He wasn't kidding about that, because he did start at the beginning; the beginning of everything. He was a great storyteller, his gestures and visualizations even kept Rainbow intrigued. He painted a world that was both fascinating and horrifying. An entire universe born from a point that grew into everything. He told of dust becoming stars, and stars forming galaxies, and how a little blue world sprung up about, as he put it, "a rather unimportant star in a rather unimportant galaxy."

The world he described was similar, yet alien. Everything worked on its own. The sun and moon moved in their "predictable patterns," creatures fended for themselves, and the weather could barely be predicted—let alone controlled—which Dash thought was the weirdest thing she'd ever heard. Somepony brought up that it sounded a lot like the Everfree forest, and after a moment of explanation, Isaac agreed.

"Stretch that forest out to the size of a planet, and that would basically be my home world," he said. No pony could decide whether that was interesting or frightening.

"How the hay do you survive in a world like that?" Scootaloo said.

"Simple," Isaac said, "by being the smartest thing there." His story then narrowed to that of a single species, his own. Humanity started humbly, just as any creature, until it figured out that being clever meant surviving. Ever since, they continued to get smarter. In a world where magic apparently didn't exist technology took its place. If they didn't have something they built it. Rainbow Dash interrupted him several times when he began to describe his species' flying machines, and when he said they had landed on their moon both Dash and Twilight nearly passed out. He did remark most of his species' history wasn't perfect.

"We lived in a violent world, and if you weren't violent along with it you died," he said. Everypony's expression darkened at the words until Isaac looked up with a whimsical smile. "But, call me an optimist, I think we were finally getting to the point where we realized we didn't have to be that way anymore. Seriously, humanity can do anything when it puts its mind to it." He chuckled lightly, "How many species can slow the rotation of an entire planet?"

"You did what?" Twilight gasped.

"It was only by a few milliseconds," he said, "and it was an accident. Imagine what we could do if we put our minds to it?"

Something tells me I don't really want to know.

"Ah," Isaac said, clearing his throat, "How long have I been talking?"

"Not long," Twilight said. "It's just been-" she glanced at her wall clock "-six... hours?"

Did he really talk that long?

Twilight glanced at her notepad and was shocked that she had stopped taking notes at around the time he was explaining galaxy formation.

Did I really get that lost in what he was saying? I guess it is possible to lecture too well.

"Hey, Ike, what did ya mean by 'were getting to the point?,'" Applejack asked.

"Things were coming up on a day-to-day basis around the time I left, so I didn't see how it turned out," he said.

"So, ya just got up and left?" she said.

"Pretty much," he said. She opened her to speak again but was cut off by a low rumble. Ike's face flushed in embarrassment.

"Uh, sorry," he said, "I haven't eaten anything today."

"Now that ya mention it, neither have-" Applebloom started before her own stomach growled which was follow by pretty much everypony else.

"That settles it," Rainbow Dash said as should she stood up and stretched, "everypony's hungry."

"Twilight," Spike said, "I don't think we have enough for everypony."

"Oh," Sweetie Belle started, "don't we have the picnic basket in the wagon, Scootaloo?"

"Uh huh," she said.

The filly stood up and trotted to the library door, "I'll go get it. There's enough for everypony, and we shouldn't waste it."

"Yeah," Applebloom said following her friend, "Ike, you're goin' to love our apples."

The human laughed, "I nearly tried a few this morning." Applejack eyed him suspiciously. He held up a defensive hand. "I saw it was a farm before I took any."

Applejack shrugged, "Nah, don't fret about it, sugarcube. We don't get our tails in a twist over a few missin' apples. A fact Ah'm certain somepony takes a little too much advantage of." Applejack peered over her shoulder at the cyan pegasus, who was trying to get a loose feather. She stopped her preening long enough to look up and shrug, and Applejack rolled her eyes.

Twilight sat quietly trying to sort through all of the information that had been given to her. Most of Isaac's world wasn't that different than their own, but it did lack a lot of the balance.

It's almost like it lacks harmony altogether. I bet Discord would love it.

"It sounds chaotic," she said.

"Hm?" Isaac grunted. He had zoned out in his corner of the library.

"Your world."

Isaac smiled and shrugged, "I won't deny that, but even chaos has its patterns if you look at a big enough picture."

Now I really want to know what Discord would think. Although, Tartarus would freeze over before I invited him here.

Twilight nodded when a thought came to her, "Do you travel alone?"

"Hm," he said, "No, not always." He craned his neck and looked out the window wistfully. The sunlight peaked through and seemed to set the blonder parts of his hair ablaze, and his smile seemed to dim. It reminded her of the look Granny Smith got when recalling a fond memory. It made him look a lot older. His fingers began to fumble over each other, and Twilight saw that they were twisting the ring on his finger like they were checking if it was still there.

"Just recently," he said. There was an air of finality in the statement, and Twilight figured it was best to drop the subject.

"How old are you?" she asked.

He didn't blink or look away from the window. "Twenty-five," he said.

Only three years older than I am.

She was about to say something else when he spoke, "I wonder what's taking the girls?"

Through the door a series of voices suddenly spoke up.

"-is real!" said Sweetie Belle.

"Yes, darlings, I'm sure your alien mascot is quite fascinating," said a familiar voice.

"Quit, teasin' us , Rarity," Applebloom said, "We can prove it. He's in the library."

"Well, let's have a look then, shall we."

"Uh oh," Applejack said, "Ike, ya best brace yerself."

"Huh?"

It became abundantly clear when the library door shot open and Ponyville's premier fashionista trotted in with her usual dramatic flair that Isaac had been sitting a little too close to the door. As the door swung open, Twilight saw the briefest flash of surprise on Isaac's face before it disappeared behind the door with a dull "thunk".

Applejack winced beside her, "Ah didn't think it would have to be literally."

"Ah, hello darlings," Rarity said. Twilight, Spike, and the girls waved, but all were too stunned to say anything. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom trotted in with a basket and looked around the room.

"Wha- Where'd he go?" Applebloom said.

Rarity smiled, "Oh, he's right here, darlings." She indicated to a blank space of air in front of her. "I must admit that he looks absolutely adorable in his spacesuit. Don't you little guy?" Rarity brushed her hoof through the air like she was ruffling the antennae of an alien half as tall as Spike.

"Rarity," Sweetie Belle groaned, "Stop playing with us. He's not there."

"Yeah," said Applebloom. "and he's not that short anyway. He's really tall."

"Of course he is," Rarity said, looking at another blank spot with her head tilted up. Twilight guessed it wasn't far enough if he had been standing there. There was a exasperated groan from the two fillies. "Oh, honestly, girls. The both of you are almost nine. You really are too old for imaginary friends."

Scootaloo jumped up to her friends' defense. "He's not imaginary!"

"Really," Rarity said, "then where is he?"

"Behind the door," a strained voice squeaked. Rarity froze and her eyes widened.

"You probably killed him," Scootaloo said flatly.

The door slowly swung closed to reveal a dazed human. His eyes looked unfocused and his sunglasses hung crooked on his face. His smile had gone from relaxed to just plain goofy.

"Hi," he said, his voice was slurred like he'd gone through several barrels of cider. "Mah nam's Isick, at yur serbis."

"Are you okay?" Rainbow Dash asked. He looked at her, his eye's still swimming in his sockets.

"Ah sucks, Dash, I'm fi-" he gasped, "look a double rainbow!"

Dash groaned and looked to Rarity, who was gaping in shock. "Great job, Rarity, you scrambled his brains!"

Scootaloo trotted up to him and waved a hoof in front of his face and then bopped him on the nose. The poke seemed to work, as his eyes snapped focused, and he shook his head.

"Ow," he said, putting a hand to his forehead.

"Oh, sir, I am so sorry," Rarity said, shooting to his side. "Please, I did not wish to cause an interplanetary incident. Let me escort you to the hospital personally."

Isaac's smile returned to its gentle norm, and he waved her off. "No. No native cures. No witch doctors. I'm fine," he said.

"Are you sure?" she said.

He held up a finger. "Yeah, just give me a second to-" he rotated his head and there was a pop "-HA! There we go! Everything's realigned."

"Well, I'm still sorry," she said.

"Don't worry about it," he said. He grimaced as he used the wall to slide back up until he was standing. Rarity's head tilted back as he did, and Twilight realized she had been right about earlier. Rarity's head was nearly pointed straight up as he got to his full height.

"Oh my," she said, backing up just a few paces.

"Told ya he was tall," Scootaloo said.

"I believe tall would be an understatement," she said, but then her eyes caught something. "Darling, those clothes!"

Isaac glanced at his shirt and trousers. "What about them?"

"Well, they're a little I subdued. I expected an alien to wear something little more... flashy," she said.

"How would you know what an alien would wear?" Twilight asked.

Rarity coughed into her hoof and a blush became apparent on her cheeks. "N-n-no reason at all, dear. Just pure speculation."

Twilight tilted her head in confusion as Rarity continued to look Isaac over. Twilight felt something poke her side, and she looked down to see Sweetie Belle. The filly waved for Twilight's ear, and the older unicorn leaned down.

"She has a stock pile of science fiction novels hidden under her bed," Sweetie Belle half whispered, half giggled. "She has more of them than she does those romance novels."

"Really?" Twilight said. Sweetie Belle nodded.

I never pegged Rarity as a sci-fi fan.

"Well, subdued or not red is definitely your color," Rarity said. "It screams power, but it's gentle enough to feel warm and approachable like a hearth in winter."

"Thanks," he said.

"The glasses might be a little much."

"Ha ha, no," he said, "they stay."

"Are you sure, dear, they draw away from your sc-. Oh, oh dear, I hadn't notice that yet," Rarity said. "I'm sorry. Hm, maybe your right. The glasses should stay, but your physique, it's so different from anything I've ever seen. It's so long and angular, not blocky and square like a minotaur. You must come to my boutique and show me the rest of your wardrobe."

"Your boutique?" he asked.

"Oh, where are my manners," she said. "I am Rarity, owner of Carousel Boutique. I'm the primary provider of Ponyville's fashion needs."

Isaac raised an eyebrow and glanced at the ponies in the room, and his eyebrow only seemed to move higher.

"There aren't many formal occasions in Ponyville this time of year, except perhaps a wedding or two," she said.

"So clothing is only for formal affairs here?"

"Most of the time," Rarity said.

"We usually wear something at all times," he said.

"Why?" Dash said.

"Everything kind of hangs out, and it isn't really a pretty sight to see... among other things," he said. Twilight saw him tug on the sleeve of his shirt, pulling it lower.

"Now I really must see the rest! A race that wears clothes all the time, it's like something from my dreams," Rarity said with whimsical smile.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm afraid this is about it," he said. "I tend to travel light."

"What?!" Rarity gasped. "Darling, that simply won't do." Rarity smiled and her eyes brightened. "Idea!" she said in a sing-song manner. "I'll make you a wardrobe myself."

Isaac held up his hands. "You don't have to do that. Besides, I don't have any way to pay you for it."

Rarity waved her hoof dismissively. "It is no trouble at all. Working with a form such as yours is a challenge any designer would die for and would be its own reward."

"Wow, thanks," Isaac said with a surprised chuckle.

"Mister Isick, generosity is my element," she said.

"Ha, I wouldn't doubt that," he said, "Oh, and sorry I was a little stupefied a second ago." He knelt down to her level and bowed. "My name is Isaac, but my friends call me Ike." He took her hoof in his hand and gave it a gentle kiss. "At your service."

"Blah," Scootaloo gagged which made the other crusaders and Rainbow Dash laugh. Applejack shot them a look, but it did little to silence them.

Rarity blushed, "Well, Mister Ike, you seem to be quite the gentlecolt."

He stood back up and smiled. "I find it helps."

"I can imagine," Rarity said. Her eyes widened as she seemed to remember something. "Oh, girls, I forgot why I was coming here in the first place. Pinkie Pie told me take all of you to Sugarcube Corner."

"To what?" Isaac said.

"It's a quaint little bakery that one of our friends works at," Rarity said.

"He's technically already met her," Twilight said, knowing exactly what was waiting for the human at the bakery.

"Oh really," Rarity said, her smiled indicated that she realized what was going on as well. "Then you really must come with us, darling. Pinkie Pie just loves meeting new ponies, um, I mean people."

Isaac rubbed the back of his head, "That's not the impression I got this morning."

"Trust me, dude, you could never understand Pinkie Pie in a million impressions," Dash said.

I have to agree with that one.

Twilight was still a little nervous. Isaac had given every outward hint of being a kind person, yet that passage from the book kept giving her a nagging doubt in the back of her mind.

What if Pinkie does something to upset him? I'll just have watch over him at the party.

"Come on, everypony, let's get a move on," Applejack said.

"Ah," Applebloom said, "Ah really wanted Ike to try some of this," she said pointing to the basket.

The human chuckled and leaned off the wall. "Don't worry, Applebloom, I'm sure I'll have more than enough room." He reached into the basket and pulled out an apple. He took big chomp, exposing his sharp canines as he did. For some reason this sent a chill down Twilight's spine.

Now I know I'm being ridiculous. Any griffon is just as carnivorous as he is, and none of them have ever frightened me.

Yet, when his face went flat and his eyes went wide with shock, Twilight had to fight back a shiver of terror.

"Ike?" Applebloom said.

"These-"

"Yes?" she said a hint of worry in her voice.

"Are the best apples ever, of all time," Isaac said. He proceeded to devour the fruit in seconds, which somehow calmed and unnerved Twilight at the same time. "Oh, it's been too long. Applejack, you and I will be doing business later."

Applejack laughed, "Always good to have a satisfied customer."

"Yeah, AJ's apple's are great," said an impatient Rainbow Dash, "Now let's get to the bakery before I eat my own wings."

"Alright," Isaac said, "lead the way."

Twilight sighed in relief as everypony began to file out of the library. Isaac was about to follow when he stopped and looked down. Twilight once again saw Spike tugging on the human's pants leg.

"Oh, sorry for ignoring you, little dude," Isaac said as he dropped to a knee. "Ike," he said, lazily holding up a fist. Spike looked at it for a second before bumping it.

"It's cool, dude," he said, "I'm Spike, Twilight's assistant... and sort of little brother."

"Really?" Isaac said. "Well, Spike, if I may be so bold you don't exactly look like-"

"A pony," Spike said. "Nah, I'm a dragon. Twilight's raised me since the day I hatched."

Isaac's eyes lit up. "Fascinating!" he said and then put on a wry grin. "Well, Drem Yol Lok, mal dovah."

"What?" Spike said.

"Heh, I'll explain later," Isaac said. "So what do ya need?"

"I wanted to know what that is?" he said pointing over Isaac's shoulder. Twilight then noticed the black bar strapped across Isaac's back. One tip stuck over his right shoulder and the other near his left hip. She had been so focused on him she'd let it slip by her.

What is that?

"What this?" Isaac said grabbing the bar near his hip. "It's just a sword."

"A s-sword," Spike said. "You're not going to use that are you?"

Isaac's smile dimmed ever so slightly as he looked at the black scabbard . "I severely doubt it." He let go of the sword and looked at Spike. His smile was still there, but his eyes were serious. He held up a finger, "The first thing they teach you about a sword is that it is best when near and unused."

Spike nodded and glanced down. "And that?" He pointed to the holster strapped to Isaac's leg.

"I suppose you don't know what a firearm is?" Isaac said. Spike shook his head. "Let's just say it comes with the same first rule."

"Okay," Spike said. Isaac smiled and ruffled the spines on Spike's head.

"Don't worry about them, Spike. Traveling can be a dangerous business," he said. "They're just tools nothing more. Now come on." Isaac stood. "I'm very interested in this bakery." At that his stomach growled again which made Spike laugh.

Isaac rubbed the back of his head, "One part of me in particular."

Twilight watched as the human and baby dragon walked out of the library. Her mind was spinning with questions.

He's kind and considerate, yet he's scarred and carries weapons that he eludes to know how to use. UGH! Why are humans so complicated? He acts like he can't hurt a fly, but he knows how to use a sword. And that whole, "Traveling can be a dangerous business," screams that he's used them before. I don't know whether to trust him or call the guard on him.

Twilight let her mind stew for a second more before following the group.

He can't use magic, so I can easily stop him if he does something. I'll have to keep an eye on him tonight.

They walked through the streets without much of a problem as there appeared to be very few ponies out at the moment.

Everypony's probably at the bakery.

"So, Mister Ike," Rarity said, "you said you travel? You must have a lot of stories."

Isaac smiled, "More than I could properly retell. Of course the stories aren't as interesting as the people you meet," he laughed, "or the ponies you meet in this case."

"I can imagine," she said.

"Actually, Twilight's magic reminded of this one fellow I knew, Vorgan," he said. Twilight cocked her head interested. "Great blob of a creature," Isaac continued, "he looked like a walrus in a business suit, especially with that mustache he had. Nice guy though, he laughed a lot. A deep belly laugh that practically shook his entire shop. Anyway, he had these fronds on his head he could giggle and move things with his mind."

Twilight thought about the image and found it completely ridiculous. She also became very proud of the fact that she had a horn instead of fronds.

Isaac laughed, "Unfortunately, he went cross-eyed every time he did it. Poor guy had no accuracy whatsoever. I can still hear his wife shouting at him, 'Vorgy, a little to the left!', and of course he would shouted back, 'I know what I'm doing woman!'" Isaac laughed for moment at the memory. "They were good people. Gave me a place to stay when I really needed one."

Rarity smiled, "I hope you find Ponyville just as accommodating."

"Rarity, It's not often I'm greeted so openly," he said. "I haven't felt so welcome in-" his smile dimmed again "-a while."

Rarity smiled, "And it's just been half a day. Who knows what the rest of it will be like." Rarity cast a knowing grin at Twilight who returned it half-heartedly.

They rounded a bend, and Sugarcube Corner appeared in front of them.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say the gingerbread house is the place," Isaac said.

"What gave it away?" Rainbow Dash said.

"The fact that it looks like it was designed by Willy Wonka, and because I can smell-" He deep sniff and stopped talking. "Y'know what, let's just go!" Isaac sped up to the bakery's door.

"Who's Willy Wonka?" Dash asked.

"Hay if I know," Applejack said. "Must be a human thing."

Isaac opened the door and held it open for everypony. "Ladies first," he said.

"Mister Ike, I do believe you're giving the Canterlot nobility a run for their bits," Rarity said.

"Nah, mostly I'm worried about getting stuck in the door," he said.

They trotted in with Isaac last. He bent low in order to do same. As he stood up a look of confusion crossed his face when he notice how dark the place was.

"What's with the lights?" he said.

Click.

"SURPRISE!" shouted about fifty ponies that had crammed themselves inside the bakery.

"Dah!" THUD!

Isaac was surprised. So surprised that he leapt a half hoof into the air. Unfortunately, there was only a quarter hoof of clearance between his head and the roof. He collapsed like a piece of timber.

"Alright, that one was my fault," he groaned.

"Oh you poor thing!" said a timid little voice. A butter-yellow pegasus with a long pink mane rushed up to his side. Isaac groaned one more time and looked at the pegasus.

"Would you look at that, an angel," he said. Fluttershy blushed and hid her face behind her mane.

"Oh, I-I'm not an angel," she said. "I'm just Fluttershy."

"Isaac," he said, holding up his fist, "at your service."

Fluttershy tapped the fist politely. "Here, let me look at that," she said, pointing at his head, "um, if-if that's okay."

"Nah, it's alright," he said. "It'll take a lot more than that to crack this thick skull. See." He rapped his knuckles against his head to demonstrate.

"Okay, well, at least let me help you up," she said.

"Thank you," he said as she put a hoof on his back and lifted him into a sitting position. When he was upright he paused looking at the crowd. Twilight looked around and saw every expression one could imagine when somepony saw an alien. Some were afraid and actually backing up, but there were a surprising number of ponies who looked at him in awe. One mint green unicorn was gaping at him. Suddenly, from the crowd a pink flash darted out to the human stopping inches in front of his face.

"Helloareyouokayyoudidn'thurtyourheaddidyouIhopethatdoesn'truinthepartyImadeforyouohwheremyaremanners I'mPinkiePie!"

Isaac starred at her for a moment. "Okay just to clarify. You said, 'Hello, are you okay? You didn't hurt your head, did you? I hope that doesn't ruin the party I made for you. Oh, where are my manners, I'm Pinkie Pie.'" Pinkie Pie nodded.

He caught all of that?

"Okay just checking," he said. "I'm fine. My head's okay. This party's for me? And, my name is Isaac, but my friends call me Ike, at your service."

"Of course, the party's for you," Pinkie Pie said like it was obvious. "You're the newest new po-, um?"

"Human," he said.

"-human in Ponyville, and I always throw a party for every new pony in Ponyville, and since I've never seen a human before you must be new, so I threw this party together and invited everypony I could because I thought, since there was nothing like you, you must be lonely, and I don't like it when ponies, or humans, are lonely. You see?"

Isaac blink once then again, "Yeah... uh, makes perfect sense."

"Well, then get off your tushie and let's party!" she said. She ran off to the back of the crowd leaving a confused Isaac sitting on the floor. He shook his head and stood up. The crowd, who had been murmuring about the party's guest of honor, fell silent as they noticed his impressive height.

Isaac looked at the crowd before smiling, "Hi, every, um, pony." He found were Twilight and the her friends had positioned themselves and sidled off towards them. Everypony started murmuring again. He found a stool next to them and fell onto it.

"Boy, and I thought my ADD was bad," he said.

"Yeah, that's Pinkie Pie for you," Rainbow Dash said.

"Wait a minute?" he said "That's Pinkie, as in Pinkie Promise Pinkie?"

"Yes?" Twilight said.

Isaac sighed and set his face into his hand, and mumbled something about being, "demoted back to Child Logic."

"So Ike," Dash said, "you said you were hungry right?" Dash held out a cupcake. "Here, take a bite of one of these. The Cakes make the best cupcakes you'll ever eat."

"Thanks, Dash," he said.

"Don't mention it," she said. Dash slid over to Twilight who heard a suppressed giggling. Twilight looked at Dash who was on the verge of hysterical tears.

"What's so funny," Twilight asked. Dash slid something from behind her back.

"Do you remember your welcome party, Twi?" Twilight looked at what her friend held in her hoof and paled. It was a rather familiar bottle of hot sauce.

Oh no!

She turned only to see Isaac take a huge bite out of the cupcake. Rainbow Dash hovered beside her waiting for it to take effect.

"Mm, you're right," he said, "this is go-" He paused. "Hm, is hot in here, or is it just me?" His cheeks were turning red and sweat was rolling down the side of his face.

"I think it's just you," Dash said. He coughed and pulled on his shirt collar.

"Oh really?" he said a tear falling from his face. "That's odd. I must be coming down with something." Rainbow Dash couldn't contain herself any longer and burst out laughing.

"Twilight could you tell Pinkie Pie we're leaving for the-" said Mr. Cake as he and his wife trotted up beside them. He stopped when he noticed the laughing pegasus and poisoned human. He eyed the human warily for moment before his face went flat when he realized what was going on. He looked to Twilight, "Hot sauce on the cupcake?"

Twilight, who was too terrified to look away from the human, nodded dumbly.

Mr. Cake nodded, "Hon, can I have the baby bag?" Mrs. Cake gave her husband the bag. He rifled through it for a second before pulling out a bottle of milk. He pulled off the top and held it out to the human. "Here, son, drink this."

"Divines bless you," Isaac squeaked as he took bottle and chugged its contents. Mrs. Cake took the baby bag before looking inside confused.

"Dear," she said, "you did give him the one with the formula, right?"

"Of course, hon, otherwise it would be the-" Mr. Cake's eyes widened, and he looked inside the bag. "Oops."

If Isaac heard this he apparently didn't care. It was too late anyway as the milk was already gone. "Sweet merciful relief!" he said. He looked at the empty bottle and held it out. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," said an embarrassed Mr. Cake. "You must be the new 'thing' Pinkie threw this party for. I hope that wasn't too off putting."

"Hey," Dash said, "no pony's a part of Ponyville until they've been pranked by me." Mister Cake rolled his eyes.

"No harm done," Isaac said. "It was good until I got to the liquid fire."

"Ha!" Dash laughed. "You should have seen the look on your face."

The human's grin turned devilish. "Dash, I hope you know what one deals out they shall receive in triple."

"Ha! You're on," she said. Mr. Cake shook his head and looked back at Twilight.

"Miss Sparkle, would you be nice enough to tell Pinkie Pie we're leaving," he said.

"S-sure," she said still glancing at the human.

Maybe I should relax. If that didn't set him off I can't imagine what could.

"W-where are you going?" she said trying to calm herself.

"Manehattan," Mrs. Cake said. "We've got relatives there that are dying to meet the children, and since the Summer Sun Celebration is being held there this year we thought we'd make an event out of it."

"Where are the twins?"

"Right here." Miss pulled the baby carriage over with her tail. Inside the two Cake twins were somehow sleeping over the noise of the party. Isaac stopped his verbal sparring with Dash long enough to peek inside.

"HNRK!" he said grabbing his chest.

"Are you okay, dear?" Mrs. Cake said.

"I'm fine," he said his voice strained. "It's just I was wrong. I was so very wrong. There is something worthy."

She stared at him for a moment. "Okay," she said and looked to Twilight. "You'll tell her?"

"Of course, Mrs. Cake," Twilight said. "I hope you enjoy your trip." They said their goodbyes and walked out the bakery.

"I've seen a lot, but those were the cutest things ever. No contest at all," Isaac said.

Twilight's ear twitched. It occurred to her that while she had asked about the human's world she knew next to nothing about him. Twilight opened her mouth to say something when an mint green mare appeared between them. She looked at the human like he was a mountain of gold, and the size of her smile seemed physically impossible.

Of course she picks now to show up.

"Um, hi?" he said. The unicorn squeed in delight and started looking him over.

"Stereoscopic binocular vision, bipedal locomotion," she lifted up his lips revealing his teeth, "omnivorous oral arrangement," she placed her hooves on each side of his head, "and a massive cranium to body mass ratio! Oh you're fascinating!" she said clapping her hooves together. Isaac eyed her for a moment, and she blushed as she realized her forwardness.

She backed away and coughed into her hoof, "I'm sorry that was rude of me, Lyra Heartstrings." She held out a hoof. Isaac smiled and bumped it.

"Isaac, but my friends call me Ike, at your service."

"Forgive my rashness. It's just when I saw you I kind of flipped out. I'm an amateur hippologist, and you're the historical find of a lifetime," she said.

"Hippologist?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, the human equivalent would be an anthropologist."

"Anthropologist?" Lyra said raising a hoof to her chin. "The study of-" Lyra's eyes shot open and she burst out laughing. "I think that means something completely different in Equestria, and now I that I think of it I know exactly what to call my sister. She certainly chases enough stallions."

"I don't get it," Dash said.

"Anthropology translates directly into study of man," Twilight said.

Dash thought about it for a second and shook her head. "Egghead jokes."

"I have to introduce you to Bon Bon," she said taking his hand. "Here come this way."

"I don't kn- whoa!" he said as he was pulled off the stool.

"Wait," Twilight said, "I need to-" It was too late. Lyra had already yanked him across the bakery.

Darn, I still need to watch him.

"Darling, let him go," Rarity said. "It's his party he should have some fun and mingle with everypony."

"How can you be so calm?" Twilight asked. "He's an alien that we know nothing about. He could still be dangerous."

"Dangerous!" Rarity said. "Twilight, I assure you that if I knew a stallion half as genteel as Mister Ike I would not be single." She looked over the at the human. He was sitting in corner talking with Bon Bon and Lyra. Lyra was miming a plucking motion and pointing to her cutie mark. Isaac nodded to her and made a strumming motion with his hand.

"To tell truth," Rarity said, "I wonder if he wouldn't mind settling down. I might not have to find a stallion."

"Rarity!" Twilight said.

"Is there a problem, Twilight?" Rarity said with a mischievous smile.

"Two that I can see," Twilight said. "One, you've barely known him for an hour, and two, he's not a pony."

I wonder exactly how many of those science fiction stories she has are romances.

Rarity laughed, "I thought you, of all ponies, would be open-minded about these things. Besides, I'm just thinking out loud anyway. It would be scandalous wouldn't it? I could say that I had to look to another world to find a stallion of good character. Oh, stop looking at me like that, Twilight, I'm only teasing."

"Ah'm with Twilight on this one, sugarcube," Applejack said. "He might be polite, but don't ya think he might be too polite."

"Too polite?" Rarity said. They all look back at the human. He had gotten a deck of cards from somewhere and was doing sleight-of-hoof (or hand in his case) tricks. Pinkie Pie had joined the crowd of fillies, colts, and Lyra, and they were all watching intently. Apparently, his long, nimble fingers were perfect for the tricks. He pulled an ace of diamonds from behind Pinkie Pie's ear, and there was a rumble of applause.

"Too polite?" Rarity said again. "Darling, I've never heard something so ridiculous."

"Well, something's still givin' me a weird feelin'," Applejack said. "Ah know it's silly, but ah just can't shake it."

"What about you, Rainbow?" Rarity said.

"What about me?" Dash said.

"What do you think of our guest?"

Dash shrugged, "I don't know. He's cool I guess. I don't think he's going to hurt anypony. I mean, it was squirt and the girls that found him this morning, and he didn't try to do anything to them. He was alone with them for almost an hour."

"See a gentlecolt, and he's good with foals," Rarity said. "I really don't know what's got you girls so worried."

"S-sorry, but w-why are we worried?" The girls turned and found Fluttershy standing next to Dash.

"Twilight and Applejack are afraid of Ike," Dash said.

"Oh, why? He seems so nice," Fluttershy said.

"If that isn't evidence I don't know what is?" Rarity said. "Our sweet, innocent Fluttershy isn't even afraid of him."

"Now wait just apple-bucking minute, Ah never said Ah was afraid of him. Ah said, he gave me a weird feeling. Ah just don't know why." The girls looked at him again. He was laying on his back and holding a colt, Pipsqueak by the look of it, in the air. The colt laughed, and Isaac's deep laugh could be heard along with it.

Applejack's eyes widened, and she stomped on the ground. "That's it!"

"Heavens, darling, don't scare us like that," Rarity said. "What is it?"

"Ah'm not the Element of Honesty for nothin'," Applejack said, "and Ah know for a fact that was the first truthful smile I've seen from him all day."

"What?" Rarity said looking at the human again. "Applejack, I believe you're over reacting. He's been smiling since I met him."

"Yeah, but it's been a put on," Applejack said. She eyed the human before frowning sympathetically. "Ah wonder what could've happened to a him to get him that way."

"What do you mean, Applejack?" Twilight said.

"Somepony can never be that way and later laugh like that and be cruel," Applejack said. "Something makes them that way." She shook her head. "He's hiding something, but I think it's best to let it go."

"Applejack, if what he's hiding is dangerous-" Twilight said.

"Twi, trust me on this," Applejack said. "He ain't dangerous to no pony but himself." She looked at him again, and her eyes saddened. "Ah can't tell ya what to think about him, but Ah think he needs friends more than anything right now."

They watched him lifted the colt into the air again, and Applejack chuckled. "He looks good with a smile."

Twilight thought over what Applejack said.

Could he really be faking that smile so well?

The party continued for a while after that. Twilight kept an eye on the human the whole time. She tried to look for what Applejack had seen, but every smile looked as genuine as the last on his face. The only reason Twilight didn't let it go was because this was Applejack's element. She would never question her friend's judgment in that area.

The party continued on, and it was around eight o'clock when she felt a thud next to her and heard a heavy sigh.

"Some people I've met would say this party was a little kiddy, but I never was one for growing up," Isaac said. Twilight looked at the human. He had slumped onto a stool and reclined against the bakery's counter. Sweat trickled down his forehead from where the foals had been using him as a jungle gym, and he'd taken off his glasses and hung them from the neck of his shirt.

"The kids are about to leave," he said. "It's a shame. There's this thing I like to do at parties at home, but I'd need an electric guitar."

"You mean like this?" Pinkie Pie said. She had popped up from behind the counter and pulled out a red electric guitar. Isaac's eyes widened in surprise and looked at the instrument with astonishment.

"Yes!" he said reaching for it. He stopped and looked at Pinkie Pie. "M-may I?" he said.

"Absofruitolutely!" Pinkie Pie said. "The sound equipment's over there."

"Pinkie Pie, you are awesome!" he said, taking the guitar. "Girls!"

The crusaders walked up to the counter. "Yeah, Ike?"

"You want to help me with something cool?" he said.

"Yeah!" Scootaloo said.

"Good, I'll set this up and tell you what to do." He got up and walked over the sound equipment. He was whispering instructions in each of the girls' ears.

"Pinkie Pie, where did you get that guitar?" she said.

"Vinyl, lent it to me," she said. "I got this feeling we were going to need it. Oh that reminds me, my Pinkie Sense is working again."

"What," Twilight said, "When?"

"About a minute after I left the library," she said.

Twilight stared at her friend incredulously. "Really just like that?"

"Just like that!" she said. "Well, specifically right after I went through Ikey's legs. My first feeling told me I needed to ask him what kind of cake he liked which is weird because usually it tells me directly."

"Wait," Twilight said, "your Pinkie Sense came back after you touched Isaac?"

"I suppose," Pinkie said and then gasped. "Do you think he has magic healing powers?"

"What?" Twilight said. "No, it's probably just a coincidence."

Suddenly, there was a loud "Bong!"

"Whoa, is this thing on?" said Isaac's amplified voice. "Alright, can everypony hear me?" There was a smattering of affirmatives from the crowd. "Good, first I'd like to thank everyone for a great party. I haven't felt this welcome in... um, ever, so give yourselves a round of applause for that." Isaac paused as the crowd stomped on the floor. "Second, another round of applause for Miss Pie for organizing this mess." He paused again and again the crowd applauded.

"Okay, It's been a wonderful night, and I realize the little ones have to go home soon, so I figured before that I'd treat you to something I would do every chance I got at every party I attended at home. If I could direct your attention to my three lovely assistants. There's going to be some crowd participation with this, so follow their lead everypony. It's simple all I need you to do is this." He stomped the ground twice and then clapped. "Assistants, if you please."

The fillies stomped the ground twice and clapped their hooves together.

STOMP! STOMP! CLAP!

"Can everypony do that for me?" he said. A couple of over enthusiast colts started at that, and he waved them down. "Everyone has to do it together okay? Alright on the count of three! One, Two, Three!"

Sugarcube Corner shook as everypony followed the lead of the three girls and the human on stage.

STOMP! STOMP! CLAP!

The human smiled wide as everypony fell into sync and created a perfect beat. After a few beats, he lifted the microphone and started to the sing. It wasn't much of a song, Twilight thought. It was more like a chant. He finished a verse, and the three fillies chanted in sync.

"WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOU!"

A few a ponies looked confused until Isaac quickly said, "Come on everypony, you've gotta sing with them."

When the girls chanted again they were joined by half the crowd.

"That's it!" Isaac shouted and jumped into the second verse. When the girls chanted again it was with the whole crowd. Isaac sang the third verse and signaled for everypony to keep chanting. Somewhere in the mix Twilight had found herself chanting with everypony.

Isaac picked up the guitar and struck one of the strings. A long note rang out that gradually gained volume. It built to a crescendo, and Isaac suddenly began to rapidly pluck at the strings. Everypony stopped chanting, but they kept stomping in time. Twilight had never heard a guitar be played quite like this, but she could tell Isaac knew what he was doing. He finished the song, and everypony went wild. So wild that it took many of them a moment to realize he had started another song.

There was not an audience with him this time, and he carried the whole song by himself. It was a more traditional song as far as Twilight could tell, and she was soon swaying to the rhythm.

"This is awesome!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she swayed to the music.

The song faded into the quiet, and everypony went nuts. Instead of starting a new song, Isaac bowed to the audience and waved for the crusaders to join him. They ran up to him and joined in a final bow to the crowd. As he did, Twilight thought she saw something for second. He smiled wide, and his eyes seemed to smile with him.

It is different.

It didn't look any realer than his other smiles, but it definitely looked brighter and more alive. He got off the stage, and when he got back to Twilight his normal gentle smile was back on his face.

"The only thing I regret is I could only play the rhythm section," he said.

"Where did you learn to sing like that?" Dash said as he settle back on his stool.

"The three T's," he said waving to a group of foals that were leaving the bakery, "teachers, time, and talent." He stopped waving, and a thoughtful look crossed his face. "Mostly my mom and dad."

Twilight's ears perked up. This was the first time he had mentioned anything about himself.

"My parents were teachers, but of an interesting sort," he continued, "Dad was a music professor. He taught me to sing and how to play the guitar and piano. My mom was an acting coach. She taught me how to perform." His smile brightened.

"They both loved performing, and I grew up with it. Music and acting were my life until I started traveling."

"Why'd ya decide to start traveling?" Applejack said.

"Who wouldn't want to see new places?" he said without really answering the question. He tilted his head back into a deep yawn. "Oi," he groaned, "I'm going to see if I can barter for a hotel room."

"I've got a spare room," Twilight heard herself say.

What did I just do?

"Really?" he said. "Thanks, Twilight, but I wouldn't want to be any trouble."

"It's no trouble," she said again. "Besides, the library is the only place big enough for you to move around in comfortably."

"Okay," he said, "The room's not too close to yours, right? I've been told I snore."

"That shouldn't be a problem," she said. It was for the best, she figured. Her house was technically a public building, therefore it had security spells that would trap somepony who intended to harm to anyone else. She had written some of the logic for those spells herself, so she was confident that her home was the best place for him.

"Alright then," he yawned.

"Hey, Ike?" Twilight looked down and saw Scootaloo on the ground. "You'll come and watch tomorrow, right?"

"Sure, Scoots, by the lake?" he said.

She nodded, "Great, I'll see you then." She trotted off, "Goodnight, Ike."

"Goodnight," he said. Rainbow Dash hovered up to the stool next to him.

"What did she want you to do?" Dash asked.

"She wants me to watch the two of you train tomorrow," he said.

Dash smiled, "Alright, but you're going to need more than those sunglasses to keep me from blinding you from my awesomeness." Dash got up and started flying towards the door.

"We'll see," he laughed. "Leaving?"

"Yeah," she said, "gotta get up early and make sure I'm there in case the girls find another alien by the lake."

Isaac laughed, "See ya, Dash." She waved and flew out the door. Isaac stretched his hands above his head and sighed. "I think I'll follow suit," he leaned over to Twilight, "unless you wanted to stay longer."

Twilight shook her head. "No we can go now." They stood and walked toward the door, Isaac waved a goodbye to Pinkie Pie as they did. Rarity caught them at the door and told him to see her tomorrow at her boutique. He agreed, and he and Twilight walked out into the night.

I didn't realize the party had lasted this long.

The moon was already up and only a few ponies were on the street. Some stopped and stared at the alien trailing Twilight, but she was surprised to see a few wave to him. He had certainly made an impression at the party.

"Twilight, I would like to thank you," he said.

Twilight tilted her head. "Why?"

"I wasn't kidding about the 'feeling welcome thing' I said at the party. Usually, I'm a stranger or something strange. I usually have to hide or worry someone's going to try something. It's been a while since I've felt this... at home." He looked down at her. "Thank you," he said.

"It's the right thing to do," Twilight said as they reached the library door.

"Hm," Isaac said bending under the door frame, "you'd be surprised how few people are willing to do the right thing."

Twilight thought about that for a moment before leading him up the stairs. It seemed like a sad statement, but when she looked at his face she saw the same smile it always had.

Could somepony really fake that?

"We need to be quiet," Twilight whispered as she went up the stairs. "I sent Spike home early, and he's probably asleep." The human nodded. They got to the top, and Twilight saw the purple dragon snoozing in his basket. She quietly trotted up to him and ran a hoof lovingly through his spines. Isaac watched from the top of the stairs.

"How does a unicorn get a dragon as a little brother?" he whispered.

"It's a long story," she said turning from the basket. "I'll tell you tomorrow." Her horn lit up and she opened a door. "Here's your room."

The tall human entered the guest room with Twilight following close behind. It was a small room adjacent to her bedroom. There was a set of drawers, a small closet, and a desk. It also had a door to a balcony that seemed just large enough for the human to walk about comfortably. As he moved into the room it became obvious what wasn't large enough for the creature.

"Oh, I'm sorry Isaac," Twilight said. "We'll have to get you a bigger bed tomorrow." The human said nothing as he approached the bed that was easily a foot too short for him. He turned Twilight with a serious look on his face, and for a moment she thought he was angry with her. That was until he smiled and flopped backwards onto the bed, it's springs creaking from the sudden weight.

"Twi, to me a bed's a bed," he said with a goofy smile on his face, "and this is perfect." He closed his eyes and relaxed so deeply that for a moment she thought the mattress was trying to eat him. He remained motionless for a few moments, and Twilight waited for him to say something else. When a few more moments passed and the only movement from the human was the rise and fall of his chest. Twilight tilted her head in confusion.

Did he fall asleep?

She trotted up to him, with a little more caution then was necessary, and tapped his leg. He surprised her when he shot upright into a sitting position. She "eeped" when he picked her up in a massive hug.

"Thank you so much!" he said.

She smiled nervously, a little shaken from the sudden pony-handling. "Oh, you're welcome, Isaac. It was the least I could do." He set her back down, and she righted herself on her hooves. She started to walk back to the door but slowed herself so it didn't appear like she was retreating. "Well, if there's anything else you need, please, don't hesitate to ask." She grabbed the doorknob and started to close the door.

"Twilight?" She stopped and looked back at the human.

"Yes?" she said.

"Can you please call me, Ike, all my friends do," he said, his wide smile attempting to be disarming, but his canines undid most of that. She couldn't help but think how odd it looked. Everything about his face was too small. His mouth, nose, and ears were tiny compared to a pony's, and they were all oddly shaped. His short, pointed nose seemed to be an afterthought glued to his face instead an actual structure. His ears baffled her even more. The small, round protrusions were almost covered by his mane, or "hair" as he called it, and they were stuck to the sides of his head. If his neck weren't so flexible, she knew he would never be able to pinpoint sounds with any accuracy. It also made it harder to read his emotions as they didn't lie flat or stand up when he was nervous or excited.

She then found it odd that she thought his eyes were large. They were nowhere near the size of a pony's, but they easily overshadowed every other feature on his face. The deep, green orbs didn't seem out of place, but they did draw you in. Especially now that they weren't covered by his glasses.

The only other feature on his face wasn't really as strange as it was unsettling. The two and half inch long scar that ran along his left cheek wasn't a clean line. It was a thin triangular shape for most of its length until it shrunk to a tattered line at the end. The skin looked like it had been ripped apart there instead of cut. She shivered at the visualization.

She supposed it was a good thing that his eyes drew away from it so well, or else it would be the first thing everypony saw. She looked away from the scar and back to those eyes, which were looking at her questioningly.

"Twi, are you okay?" he asked. It took Twilight a second to realize she had been staring. She caught herself and finally opened her mouth.

"Sorry," she said.

Isaac just chuckled, "Hey, don't apologize you're not the first girl to be rendered speechless by my good looks." Twilight's eyes widened in shock, and Isaac laughed again, louder. "I'm kidding, Twi, jeez. You really need to loosen up. Look, I understand that I am an oddity, and I can handle a few stares," he shrugged, "or a lot if necessary."

She nodded, "It was rude."

He shook his head, "Only if it was intended to be, and I find curiosity to be a fairly neutral intention." He stood and walked up to her before kneeling down to her level. "So, how about it?"

"How about what?" she asked.

"How about you call me Ike, and I call you my friend," he said holding out his fist. He still made her feel uncomfortable, but she realized that he wasn't doing anything to make her feel this way. He had been kind, open, and maybe a little goofy, but when Pinkie Pie was one of your best friends a little goofy wasn't something to get worked up about. The root of it was that book. A reason she quickly felt guilty about.

"It is impossible to tell the intentions of a human," the book had said.

"Twi, trust me on this, he ain't dangerous to no pony but himself," Applejack had said. "Ah can't tell ya what to think about him, but Ah think he needs friends more than anything right now."

I'm the Element of Magic, therefore the Element of Friendship. He's been reaching out for friends all day, and I've been to afraid to accept him because of a stupid book.

Twilight took a moment to realize she had just called a book stupid but brushed it to the side.

Well, not anymore. Applejack trusts him, and I trust her. There should be no question that I do as well.

She smiled and put her hoof against his knuckles.

"Deal," she said.

"Good," he said, standing. He towered over her, but this time she didn't feel as intimidated by his height.

He may be different, but that doesn't make him a monster.

"Get a good night's sleep... Ike," she said.

He laughed his deep laugh and walked to the bed. "Trust me, Twi, that will not be a problem."

"Goodnight," she said closing the door.

"Night, Sparkles," he echoed back.

Strange sure, but not a monster.

She turned from the door and walked across her room towards her own bed. She got halfway there when she saw the forms she had been filling out that morning flutter on her desk.

Great, now I will be late getting those books sent in by the Princess...

"The Princess!" Twilight gasped. "She'll definitely need a report about today." She looked to Spike only to see the little dragon fast asleep in his basket. She sighed and grabbed a quill with her magic. She felt like writing this one herself anyway.

She hadn't written a Friendship Report to Celestia in a while, and, even though the Princess had told her to take her time, she still felt a little behind. Ike had been nice enough to drop one right into her hooves. As she wrote, she realized that the Princess would probably want to meet him.

I'll have to get him prepared for that. I'll have him read up on etiquette, Rarity will need to make him a suit, and... is that music?

She stopped at writing as she heard a sound from behind her. A melody was coming from Ike's room. Curious, Twilight dropped the pen and trotted over to the door. The steady strumming of a guitar could be heard coming from the other side. She pushed open the door a crack and peered through.

She saw Ike sitting on the balcony railing with a guitar nestled in his lap. She didn't see him bring one in, but she had seen Pinkie Pie pull things seemingly out of nowhere, so she decided to let it go. His long, slender fingers danced over the strings, plucking each note as they moved. He had a far off look in his eyes, and his usual cheshire grin had shrunk to a ghost of a smile. She nearly walked into ask if he was alright when he started singing.

The song didn't rhyme she noticed, but the way he sang it made it not matter. It was slow and somber, and Ike's voice only added to the feeling. She was surprised that his deep voice could pull off such soft tones.

Twilight closed the door as gently as she could as the song ended. She didn't know what to think at the moment. She stayed at the door until she was sure he wasn't going to start again and returned to her desk. She stared at her nearly finished letter for a moment before picking up her pen once again.

She made one final line before rolling up the letter and sealing it. She levitated it up and over to the sleeping dragon, who was snoring in his basket. With the feather of her pen she tickled the dragon's nose. It looked silly, but she didn't want to wake him up just so he could send her mail.

"Ah... AH... AHCOO!" A cloud of green flame engulfed the letter, and a smoke trail flew from the dragon to out her window. Twilight watched it fly away and fade into the distance. She sighed and trotted over to her bed plopping down onto its sheets. She pulled the sheets over her and glanced at the door of her guest room wondering about the alien inside it.

Definitely not a monster.

---

It had been blessedly quiet all day, and Celestia thanked whatever deities there were for that. With all the commotion that morning the guards and staff had been on edge. The Day and Night Courts had both been called off and excuses as to why had been given. Celestia had not wanted anything keeping Luna and her from giving Equestria their full attention. For once she wished that she really was as omnipotent as some believed she was.

There hadn't been a single disturbance all day. It had been a quiet, normal day for all of Equestria. Baltimare's ships sailed as usual, Manehattan buzzed with its usual hectic congestion, ponies pressed their luck in Las Pegasus and most, as usual, lost, and the ponies of Ponyville went on with their simple lives as usual. It was all usual, usual, usual.

So why do I feel so worried?

Celestia had been tense all day and Luna had been tense because she was. She kept up her royal mask as best she could, but she knew it had slipped a few times during the day. Her anxiety had caused her be short with some of her staff over something petty. It was only once and no pony had noticed, but she still chided herself for it. This whole scenario was driving her mad.

I wasn't this worried when Chrysalis threatened the city. How could a silly fall unsettle me so badly?

She knew she was lying to herself. That feeling of nothingness had been much more than a fall. It had ripped all sensation from her and left her powerless. It had been several millennia since she had felt that exposed. Actually, she began to wonder if she had ever felt that vulnerable in her life. No memory came to her that said she had.

Celestia shook her head trying to clear it of these distressing thoughts. She sat in her quarters still dressed in all of her regalia, even though she had set the sun four hours ago. She was determined to be ready should anything threaten her kingdom and her little ponies.

I wish it would show itself!

She gritted her teeth and bit her tongue to keep her from screaming in frustration.

"I need something to take my mind off of things," she said. Suddenly, a something entered her quarters. She bristled and began to draw in her power only to stop when she saw a red-banded scroll materialized out of a cloud of green smoke. She recognized the personalized seal that bound it. She took a deep breath and sighed happily.

"Bless you, Twilight," she said as she levitated the letter up. She always looked forward to these letters. They were always a gift that she cherished receiving, and with each one her confidence in her pupil rose.

It won't be long until she's ready.

A legitimate smile spread across her features for the first time that day as she unfurled the letter and began to read.

Dear Princess Celestia,

"I really wish she of all ponies would just call me, Celestia," she said, shaking her head. "Maybe when she's my equal." She returned to the letter.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I am happy to report that my friends and I made a new friend today. I can't believe I'm writing this, but he's a human from another world.

Every single drop of blood in Celestia's body froze in an instant.

A human! One hasn't been seen in centuries! No calm yourself it could still be a coincidence. Besides a human couldn't cause what happened this morning.

She was beginning to make a bad habit of lying to herself.

I remembered that legends about humans said they were equally capable of great kindness and cruelty. I'm sorry to say that this made me afraid of him. I judged him based on what I had read and not on who he was. He was nothing but kind to me and my friends, and I only treated him with suspicion. Well, today I learned that even books can't give you the full picture of a person, and I should let their actions speak for themselves. I realize that you have the Summer Sun Festival coming up in Manehattan in the next few days, so I will wait a week before taking him to meet you in Canterlot. I have to make sure he's ready anyway, and a week should be plenty of time. I can't wait to introduce you to him.

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle

P.S. His name is Ike, and, even though he hides it, I think he's lonely.

"Do you think it is a coincidence?" Luna said as she finished reading the letter.

"It's possible, but the chances are slim," Celestia said.

"You said these humans came while I was... away," Luna said. "Are they powerful?"

Celestia shook her head. "No. Clever, yes, dangerous, no more than an angry pony, and they can't perform magic. They don't have the power to cause what happened this morning."

"He could still be related," Luna said. "What do you suggest we do?"

"Twilight's going to bring him here in a week," Celestia said. "I say we let her, but we should keep him under surveillance just in case."

Luna nodded, "Sister, on the off chance he is the cause of all this, what can we do?"

"Honestly," Celestia said, "I don't know. If he wanted us dead, I believe he could have done it by now."

"A show of power then?"

"Maybe. We won't know until we meet him," Celestia said.

Luna shivered, "I pray it isn't him."

Celestia nodded, but she didn't fully agree with her sister. What incapacitated them this morning was more powerful than anything she had ever felt. If this alleged human turned out to not be the cause of it, then it left a nagging question in the back of Celestia's mind.

What did?

END OF ARC 1

Author's Note:

Just so it's clear, this story begins between episode 12 and 13 of season 3.

The first thing I would like to say is THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I can't tell you guys how happy I was to see everyone's thoughts on this story. I've enjoyed reading the praise and criticisms alike. It's amazing how supportive people have been, and I hope I can continue to please you guys. Lastly, I'd like to thank GoldenArbiter for his advice, thanks bud.

Some fun little prizes, I'm not much of an artist, but if you check my blog I'll have Ike's portrait posted.

Until next chapter, I hope to post for you again soon.

-Al

P.S. I've been told I need an editor. Anyone like a shot?

Comments

[Coffee Tailor]

YAY!!! 20,000 words!! Thank you thank you thank you!!

Edit: i have to say, i like it. Although i am not one to point out such detail, i personally like what you describe as his smile, and how you can detect if its fake or not, even by looking at his eyes. The eyes determine it, if its fake, they arent really into it, but if its a true smile, the eyes are involved. Very well done i must say

[Isaac3924]

Glad to be awake at this hour!

[Zarek]

*about to go to bed*

"oh, masks we wear updated! well, it's been under 8k so far, i could probably read it before i go to sleep. "

*20k*

MFW:
i3.squidoocdn.com/resize/squidoo_images/590/draft_lens18785327module154994458photo_1320935402The_Cast_of_MIB_3.jpg

Looks like it'll have to wait...

[Pancake29]

Wunderbar!

[hs0003]

20k words?! YES YES YES

[Jestyr]

Got my attention.

[Zaknack]

Amazing chapter very well paced. Can't wait for more!

[master109]

i enjoyed this chapter so much when i finished it didn't feel like it was 20,000 words long it just went by so fast

[Isaac3924]

Right, now to say something after reading this chapter.

I find Isaac, to be suspicious, due to him, insisting the mane 6 call him "Ike" seeing as all his friends do it, and that he has touched or has been touched by every single one. Not to mention, the whole thing with Pinkie getting her sense back after touching him. Maybe he's drawing on their power? But really, I'm just postulating here. Grasping at straws if you will, only the author, knows where this story is going, and I am happy for that.

Aside from the above, there were a few typos, and rearranged words, but it did not detract overall from the chapter. Still, a revision might be considered.

Finally, I would just like to state, that Isaac's character (since being more defined in this chapter) gives me a feeling like he's a mix between "Vash the Stampede" from the well known anime Trigun, and "The Doctor" from the Doctor Who series of course, more specifically the Tenth or Eleventh.

P.S. Thanks for making me stay up until 5:36 in the morning with this wonderful story, JourneymanChronicler, you jerk.

BED NOW.

[HIEfan]

Great chapter!

[Willsons]

Well I'm very happy with this, the chapter length was great, so are the characters your building and I'm loving the whole thing.

[Teush]

There're a lot of Human In Equestria stories I've read. Some are too fast paced, some too slow. But this one keeps it in Aristotle's Golden Mean. Great job and keep up the good work!

[good0bye]

awesome nead more pleaz

[batran]

Dovah?

I think I see a skyrim reference in there

[The Dark Shadow]

He looked towards his owner and lifted his forepaws in his best impression of a shrug, although it took him a full ten seconds to do it.

[Blankman]

Cant wait for the next chapter great work

[Aru]

I like it. Good, long chapter. And you managed to pull off fast making friends in good style. It not seems awkward or just plain stupid, you pulled it off naturally. Congrats on this.
Time to wait for next chapter, and re-read first one because I have no clue what startled Celestia and Luna so much and I don't remember it from the story...

Edit: And even if this was 20k words... I haven't feel it. Really. Some stories, when you get 6k you feel it, here it just...fwoosh. Gone.

[Why Am I Doing This]

This is magnificent, can't wait for Act 2.

[The Castaway]

I am really liking this story. The pace is excellent, the character and plot development is good, and it leaves just enough mysteries to make you imagine and wonder, but not so much that you don't have a clue what's going on. Keep up the good work!

[Ser_Galahad]

"Are the best apples ever, of all time,"
RED VS BLUE I see what you did there. Now back to finish the chapter.

[Lerris]

A big chapter, and well written too. I have to say, Ike is reminding me a lot of Kvothe. Keep writing, you have me hooked.

[Insidiaphilia]

You know, when I saw this updated and saw the 20k words. I was like
But once I began reading that 20k just flew right out the window. I had been reading for an entire hour and not noticed the time slip by at all. Only an amazing story can get me that engrossed in it. You say this is your first story? You're obviously lying the whole world! Otherwise you were given some talent at writing by God himself, or you have written other stories. I'll believe the former for now.
While there were a few spelling errors, it did not take anything away from the story at all. I can't wait to see how this turns out! What will happen at Canterlot? Is Ike really lonely? Is it all a facade? And how did Twilight not connect the dots? His Mom is an actor and teached Ike; it's so obvious it hurts! If he was really making up a facade, then Ike could be hurting on the inside and just putting on a smiling face.
Ooh, so much hype for the next chapter!!!
YOU GET 4 out of 4 BANANAS!!!
instructables.com/files/deriv/F6L/4U1E/FJIVQVAX/F6L4U1EFJIVQVAX.LARGE.jpg

[Cold Spike]

Too many HIE stories with human legends lately... sorry I'm bailing out. Not that you have bad writing or anything, but I've read far too many that use the same formulas if you know what I mean. If you don't I can try and explain but let's just say that Rarity always does the same damn thing when meeting a human. ALWAYS. And that was just one small thing to make me stop reading. You are a good writer so not trying to put you down, just saying that this is no longer my cup of tea. Good luck.

[Recteik Shade]

Fantastic I hate to say this after u just gave us this but, try and hurr with they next chapter I'm liking this story!!!! Oh and I couldn't stop laughing at the .Skyrim reference

[imgonaeatarat]

Damnit... I've reached the end of the chapter... I shall continue to wait for the next installment of this fine story.

On another note.

"Twilight, I would to think you," he said.

I think you meant to put "Twilight, I would like to thank you." He said.

"Drem Yol Lok, mal dovah."

"Peace Fire Sky Little Dragon."

[weakpony]

Story is still awesome =D
You have to work on proofreading and/or get an(other) editor, I can ignore small errors, but there are so many in this I start looking for them, wich is never good in a story.
For reference, I found these in the first section (before the Celestia part, I got to go to bed, will finish story tomorrow xD):
we shouldn't waist it waste
nted, Ike, to try som remove a comma
thought about the imagine and found it image
grin at
Twilight who returned it, albeit bad break
More of a technicality that is kindof my opinion, Lyra is not aquamarine , shes mint green (yeah, aquamarine is also on the last link, again, just my opinion =D )
I would to think you," he said. would like to thank you
walk back to door but slowed to the door
Get a goodnight's sleep. good night's

[WIL_I_ZIN]

Damn, I am loiving this story so far. And you've set all the pieces in motion really well. Keep up the awesome work. :D

[KingOfTheMuffins]

doing slight-of-hoof (or hand in his case) tricks.

That should be "sleight of hand." I used to do the opposite of what you did (slay-te of hand, rather than pronouncing it "slight" of hand.)

3011648

That's good literature at its finest ^_^.

[Insidiaphilia]

3012406
Hai! You just got recognized! How does it feel?

[ProfCharles]

Good chapter, a little formulaic, but most HiE's start with the same fomular—it often can't be helped. It's the oft unseen later chapters where a good HiE shines, and I can easily say I'm looking forwards to those.

Just one thing I thought I would point out—don't forget to use commas to seperate clauses. Examples:
"Let's eat grandma" = going to eat grandma
"Lets eat, grandma" = going to eat with grandma
"I'm going to ride my bicycle Twilight" = ridding on an object called a 'bicycle Twilight'
"I'm going to ride my bicycle, Twilight" = telling Twilight you're going to ride a bike.
"I mean it was squirt and the girls that found him this morning" this sentance (from the above chapter) is tricky to read with the comma. There are two clauses here, but does the second one start after or before the it? "I mean it," vs "I mean,". From the context, I assume the first clause is "I mean", but using a comma makes it nice and clear.

I saw this problem occur too many times to point out every single instance, and I'm typing this from my iPhone, so that makes it tricksy for me to go back and find all of them (especially some ambiguous ones—clauses are tricky like that), but maybe you can keep an eye on it in later chapters.

[Ponytime]

Man I hope Ike is actually a shitload more powerful than he's been made out to be so far

[RoadRunneR]

DUN DUN DUN

[Cynical Brony]

Sweet, new arc.
Can't wait to see where this sub-plot goes.

[Sue]

There ware places where a comma or a semicolon should have been used. I can't remember where, possibly because im fucking tired

[JourneymanChronicler]

3012597>>3012819
Fun fact: I hate commas, and they hate me! However, that's not a good excuse, and I will keep a better eye on it.

[ProfCharles]

3012842
Oh, don't worry about it too much—the English language hates me period. Proofreading my own work takes forever.

[Sue]

3012842>>3013065 You could go to the proofreader group? There's an editors group so I'm sure there's a proofreaders themed one as well.

[Vynn the Ocarinist]

I cant help but picturing a young professor ozpin from the roosterteeth series "RWBY."

also, was that a RvB reference with the "these are the best apples ever. of all time" thing?

also, i can definitely see myself a little in ike. very relatable. cant wait to read more.

[Tee Sion]

Ike is going to turn out to be super powerful and shit, its gonna be super sweet!

[JourneymanChronicler]

3013145
If you're really interested in seeing what he looks like, I posted his portrait on my blog. He does kind of look like Ozpin.

[Vynn the Ocarinist]

3013165 yeah, he does. im probably going to keep using ozpin as his voice when i read.

[Veile]

Feels like it took 20 mins to read.

It really took an hour.

God I love you, you are just so great at writing.

[Archangel2107]

Glad to see more of this story so soon, it's really got my interest, that's for sure. Hoping to see more soon, excellent chapter!

[esopbelac117]

Snozzberries....are dicks. Seriously, look it up.

[JourneymanChronicler]

3013837
She said it somewhere. *Looks for it.* Yeah she said it in Double Rainboom...
...So that's what the fabric of reality tastes like!
Ugh...

[esopbelac117]

3014085 ...seems appropriately inappropriate.

[High Moon]

3012036 Drem Yol Lok when said in that order also mean Greetings.

[DstroyA]

Wonderful story still. Saw is had updated and at first I didn't even remember it, though after this chapter I think I'm going to find it hard to forget. Your writing is amazing and flows naturally in my mind. Others in the comments have posted grammar corrections though reading through myself I didn't catch any of them. They are the only thing I really see separating this from popular published fiction which I read whenever I can. From reading this I can say that I think you have a real talent for writing and if you were to put your mind to it would be able to write as a career. Live long and write fast Journeyman you are awesome.

[kovabomb]

You have a nice method of telling a tale. Your prose isn't perfect, but you do a good job. You have also laid a good groundwork for your story. I look forward to reading more.

[Lucien Chance]

Now I want to see how the ponies will react to him demonstrating his data drive.