Introductions
Chapter 3: Introductions
"Hi! Do you like your party? Well? Do you!" Pinkie Pie bounced in place, grinning from ear to ear as she gleefully interrogated the young pegasus colt standing numbly before her. Considering that her first word to him that evening had been "SURPRISE!!!" with enough force to make Dawn's ears ring, he counted himself lucky that the pink mare had at least shown enough decorum to lower her volume to something that might have been remotely considered normal. The Canterlot Royal Speaking voice had fallen out of favor for a reason. Princess Celestia decided that she was a little tired of having to replace her officials every two years or so because they had gotten hard of hearing after spending an extended time in her presence. If Pinkie's voice could exert so much force with a single word, one shuddered to envision what the effects would be after enduring such an assault every day of your life over the course of years.
The colt contented himself by tuning the exuberant pink mare's words out and comparing her to his new mother (seeing as he wouldn't be able to get a word in edgewise for a while yet). They were a study in contrasts to be sure, almost total opposites in some cases. Where Fluttershy was shy and retiring, Pinkie was outgoing and practically forced herself into the presence of others. Fluttershy was quiet, to the point of nearly whispering most of the time, even with the ponies close to her. Pinkie was outrageously loud, even when she wasn't making a concerted effort to deafen somepony. Dawn found it hard as to how two ponies so thoroughly at odds could become such good friends.
It took him a few seconds to realize that Pinkie had finally stopped ranting and was staring at him expectantly. "It's...nice," he said, glancing around.
Pinkie Pie tilted her head in confusion, not seeming to like his answer. "Nice?...Oh...that's...nice." Her head sagged and her mane and tail seemed to deflate like a pair of fluffy balloons. While Dawn was instinctually wary of the pink mare, he didn't like seeing her upset. It seemed...unnatural somehow.
"I'm sorry if my response was a bit underwhelming," Dawn offered gently, "It's just that I've never been to a party before, so I don't really know what to think about this one."
Pinkie's forlorn attitude vanished like a bit in the hooves of an accomplished stage magician. Her eyes widened to an almost impossible degree as her mouth opened to draw in a gasp that forced Dawn to brace himself against being sucked towards her. "Oh that's terrible! You've never had a party before. That's so sad!" Then she froze as a new thought occurred to her. "Oh wait! That means that this is your first party! Oh wow! Now I have to go and make sure that it's even more super-special-awesome than ever!"
Dawn held out a hoof, forestalling any movement on Pinkie's part. "I would say that the fact that it's my first party makes it super...uh...what you said enough."
"You think so?" asked Pinkie uncertainly, glancing around as though sizing up whether or not the party needed additional rounds from her cannon.
"I'm certain."
"Come now Pinkie dear. How is this darling colt supposed to enjoy this party you worked so hard on if you drag him off into a corner and interrogate him the moment he arrives?" Pinkie and Dawn turned to see Rarity making her way through the ponies milling around the main room of the Sugarcube Corner.
During the day, this was where ponies sat at tables and enjoyed the treats they purchased at the counter, which was now covered with a bright pink cloth to allow it to serve as a buffet table, with plates piled high with varying delicacies and foodstuffs. A bowl of punch, surrounded by small cups, sat on one end. The tables that normally filled the shop had been moved into the back room to open up space, which Pinkie had filled with implements for her favorite party games. A music player with a moderately-sized set of speakers sat in one corner, cycling through various songs at random and playing them out just loud enough to provide a comfortable ambience, but not so loud that anypony had to shout over them just to be heard.
"Come dear, you are in dire need of a round of Pin the Tail on the Pony. Let's leave Dawn and give him the opportunity to mingle." Throwing a perfectly manicured hoof over Pinkie's shoulders, Rarity gently led her away from the young colt, turning to throw him an understanding smile and a wink over her shoulder. Dawn had to admit that Rarity seemed to have a keen sense of social situations that completely eluded him.
Now that his senses were no longer occupied by Pinkie's presence, Dawn took the opportunity to get a better look at his surroundings and take in the party. Whatever else he might have said about the manic and somewhat aggravating mare, she seemed to have elevated party planning to a science. The room was decorated tastefully with banners and streamers in soft blue and green colors, Dawn's favorites, which instilled him with a sense of calm and ease. Thanks to the party games she had set out and the food she had provided, guests had plenty to keep themselves occupied so that Dawn would not find himself uncomfortably becoming the center of attention unless he wished it. Even the number of guests themselves seemed to be a concession to Dawn's personality. There were plenty of ponies present to be sure, but their numbers were sparse enough that, even when moving through the thick of them, Dawn was fairly certain he wouldn't feel too overwhelmed. The whole affair was quite calm, but relaxed, rather than subdued. Many of the ponies Dawn saw were simply content to hang out and chat with each other, rather than feeling obligated to be overly active.
At his mother's urging, Dawn had been involved with the planning from the very beginning. To his surprise, Dawn found that "getting involved" consisted of answering a few questions before Pinkie sped off to begin her work. If the final product was any indicator, Dawn was impressed at how well Pinkie had designed the affair to suit his sensibilities.
About the only thing he had had an actual say in had been the location. Obviously, Fluttershy's cottage was out. The Apples would have been willing to lend their barn to the festivities, having done the same in the past. But that had also been ruled out on account of all the extra space, which might have given Pinkie ideas about expanding the size of the event. Both the library and the Carousel Boutique had been ruled out as their respective inhabitants didn't feel like cleaning up after a Pinkie Pie Party. Rainbow Dash's house was also a no-go, being accessible only to pegasi (and Twilight simply did not have enough cloudwalking spells to go around). In the end, Pinkie's home/place of employment had ended up as the natural choice, both for its suitability to their purposes and the fact that it was one of the only places left on the list. Its moderate size kept Pinkie from inviting too many ponies. The Cakes, who actually owned and ran the bakery, had graciously offered to take the twins to visit relatives in a neighboring town on that night to allow Pinkie to use the venue as she pleased...so long as she cleaned up afterwards.
Dawn milled through the crowd, moderate though it was, taking everything in. The ponies who had been invited were all close friends of his mother and her immediate friends. Over on one end of the room, he spotted a mint-green unicorn laughing amiably with a cream-colored earth pony. In another section of the room, a pair of grayish blue pegasi, one with a flowing green mane and the other a blue and white spiked mane, chatted amicably with a white pegasus mare sporting a pink and green striped mane.
Slipping over to the counter turned buffet table, Dawn sampled a few of the treats on display and was surprised to find that, even here, Pinkie Pie had accommodated him. While pastries of various shapes and sizes, included Pinkie's favorite cupcakes, were represented, none of them disagreed with the young colt. While Dawn had been living the life of a civilized pony for the better part of a month now, his digestive tract was still getting the hang of digesting foods that used processed ingredients. While a run-of-the-mill cupcake might no longer send him running for the nearest toilet, the typically sugary confections still made the colt woozy at best. Dawn doubted that he would ever develop much of a taste for sweet things, definitely finding that his palate preferred savory dishes. He particularly enjoyed pickles, something his doctor had recommended (along with yogurt) to actually help his body digest foods better. Fortunately, none of the foods Pinkie provided were overly sweetened. Dawn was particularly enjoying a muffin studded heavily with a mix of berries when he turned and looked into a pair of the most unusual eyes he had ever seen.
The eyes were amber in color, but that was hardly remarkable considering that his own eyes were a vivid turquoise. Even that aside, pony eyes tended to run the gamut of the visible spectrum. No, what was truly strange was the fact that the two eyes seemed to move independently of one another, frequently pointing in different directions. It was a little disorienting to be honest.
The eyes belonged to a gray pegasus mare with a blonde mane and tail. Though it was hard to make out from his position directly in front of her, Dawn thought he could see a cutie mark composed of a cluster of small bubbles decorating her flank.
"Hi," said the gray mare with a tone of cheery friendliness that could have rivaled Pinkie Pie, "Are you the pony this party's supposed to be about?"
Dawn nodded slowly. In spite of the fact that her manner made him think first of Pinkie Pie, he found her presence much less overbearing and easier to deal with. She didn't make him feel like he was being overwhelmed by her very presence.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Ditzy Doo."
Dawn bobbed his head in polite acknowledgement. "Dawn Lightwing. I've heard about you from somewhere..." he paused to think while an uncomfortable expression ran across Ditzy's face, "Oh that's right. Scootaloo and her mother stayed with you when they were looking for a new house."
The gray mare heaved a sigh of relief and chuckled. "Yeah, that's right." She stepped aside to reveal a small unicorn filly. The filly was a grayish purple with a blonde mane that matched Ditzy's. She was a fair bit younger than Dawn and stared up at him with wide, amber eyes. "By the way, this is my precious muffin."
Dawn blinked as the little filly introduced herself. "I'm Dinky!"
He gave Ditzy a questioning look. "Your daughter, you mean?"
Ditzy's smile widened and she nodded eagerly. "Yep, she's my muffin."
"Your eyes are really neat!" exclaimed the filly, looking up at Dawn, who flinched slightly, "How'd you do that? Can you teach me how to do that?"
Dawn cleared his throat nervously. "I didn't do anything for them to be like this. Unfortunately, I was born this way."
Dinky tilted her head as though she didn't quite understand. "Why do you say that like it's bad. I really wish I was born with eyes like that."
Dawn didn't quite understand how to respond to that. He turned to look up to Dinky's mother, who laughed a little at his discomfort. "Thanks to me, she's used to being around ponies with weird eyes." As though to prove her point, Ditzy's eyes once again drifted in separate directions.
"I can see that," Dawn admitted, "I'm guessing that condition gives you a few problems."
Ditzy sighed and nodded slowly.
"Having your eyes wander around like that must wreak havoc with your depth perception," observed the colt. Seeing the confused look the mare gave him, he decided to simplify. "You have a hard time telling how far away things are."
Ditzy nodded again, smiling now. There weren't many ponies who understood her disability. Most were happy with their own, rather unflattering, assumptions about her behavior.
"And I'm also guessing that they also make it difficult to see directly in front of you when they stray like that, which means you have trouble seeing where you're going."
"Wow, you're pretty sharp," said Ditzy with a cheerful grin, "Most ponies just assume I'm stupid."
"I can sympathize," replied Dawn, realizing that he had found a kindred spirit of sorts.
The ice broken between them, Dawn and Ditzy began to talk while Dinky chimed in every once in a while. Dawn shared stories of his time in the Everfree Forest, while Ditzy related some of her own misadventures, one of which involved her accidentally wrecking Town Hall because she had misjudged the distance between it and some thunderheads she was trying to disperse.
The party was only in its early stages. While Dawn and Ditzy were getting acquainted, the Apple family (minus Granny Smith, who was happy to be in bed at this hour), along with their new tenant and the night's second guest of honor, arrived. In spite of his previous experience, Red River didn't seem overly troubled by the prospect of spending an evening at Pinkie's party. The outgoing earth pony had already spent the past few days working the Apple Family's apple stall. With his friendly nature, he easily attracted customers and boosted the family's profits more than enough to make up for the salary they paid him for his work. In addition, he was already becoming well-acquainted with many of the other ponies in town.
"Not a bad job, if I do say so myself," mused Red River as his eyes swept over the room, taking in the decorations and the other guests, "I don't think any of the social functions in Canterlot are even half as good as this." A slight smirk graced his face. "And their mares aren't even a third as beautiful as these lady-ugh!" The azure stallion winced as Applejack's elbow connected firmly with his ribs. Red River looked over to see Applejack glowering at him.
"Ah didn't bring ya down here so ya could ogle mares," she growled irritably.
While Red River made an effort to placate his employer, Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom were already moving off towards the buffet line. With his stature allowing him to see over the crowd, Macintosh had already spotted Dawn and Ditzy and was now moving to meet them, his youngest sister in tow.
"Howdy!" chirped Apple Bloom as the two siblings reached their destination, "How do ya like Pinkie's party?"
"It's quite pleasant," admitted Dawn, smiling at the two Apple ponies, "I was afraid she might make it much more raucous. But this is a nice way to meet other ponies."
"Ah think ya have it a little easy though," remarked Big Macintosh, moving to stand next to Ditzy, "There ain't many ponies as sweet as Ditzy here."
The gray mare blushed fiercely at the compliment and leaned gently against the massive red stallion, who smiled and leaned ever so slightly back. The affectionate exchange did not go unnoticed by Dawn and Apple Bloom, although Dinky appeared to already be used to it.
"P-perhaps I should go meet some other ponies," said Dawn quickly.
"Ah'll come with ya," added Apple Bloom as she quickly fell into step with him, leaving Ditzy, Dinky, and Macintosh behind.
"Are your brother and her...?"
"Yep," replied Apple Bloom, directing an amused glance over her shoulder, "But they're so shy about it that they're always tryin' to be d...dis...what's that word?"
"Discreet," said Dawn.
"Eeyup. Anyway, a few months ago, Ditzy hurt her hoof somethin' nasty and Mac just about went out o' his mind worryin' over her. Just about everypony knows about 'em no, So Ah wonder when they'll go ahead and make it official."
"Is there something stopping them?" Asked Dawn. Apple Bloom shrugged.
"Big Macintosh is the most popular stallion in town," squeaked a new voice. Both Dawn and Apple Bloom looked over to see Sweetie Belle coming up to them. "He's really popular with all the mares. I heard my sister say that he's afraid that some of them might get jealous of Ditzy and do something bad to her if they announced it."
"But enough gossip," exclaimed the white filly, "This is a party, let's go have some fun while we're waiting for Scootaloo to get here!" With that, she grabbed the hooves of her two friends and towed them off to try some party games with her.
Meanwhile, a polychromatic streak came rushing in through the door. Rainbow Dash skidded to a halt just short of ramming into a very startled Pokey Pierce before grinning and posing dramatically. "Okay guys! Now that the coolest pony in town is here, this party can officially get started!"
"Geez Rainbow," sniped Twilight Sparkle as she stepped into the room, Spike riding on her back, "You know this party is for Dawn, so could you tone down the self-promotion?"
"Sorry Twi," teased Rainbow, giving her friend a cheeky grin, "Coolness stops for no mare."
"Is that so?" Rainbow froze at the sound of the new voice as its owner made his way in next to Twilight. Storm Front quietly took in the sights for a moment.
And embarrassed blush spread across Rainbow's cheeks. Her attitude dropped immediately and a sheepish grin plastered itself to her muzzle. "Sorry, I get carried away sometimes."
"Only sometimes?" muttered Spike, who received an irritated rap to the top of his head for his troubles.
"Anyways, this party is for Storm Front too," declared Rainbow, "So let's head on in."
Storm Front nodded impassively before gracefully making his way through the moderate crowd. Oftentimes, ponies seemed to only notice him peripherally, stepping aside to give him room to pass, but otherwise not bothering him in the slightest as the stallion made his way to the food.
Rainbow frowned as she watched him depart. Like the rest of the group privy to the situation, she knew Storm Front's real reasons for being in Ponyville and had been more than willing to give him a spot on the weather team. She was a pony short after what had happened to Flash Spark anyway. Storm Front quickly proved himself an able worker, efficiently doing what was assigned to him and more. In this period of drought, where finding stray clouds to gather was especially important, a pony like Storm Front, who made an extra effort to do more than his fair share, was an excellent addition to the weather team.
In addition, even though he hardly interacted with any other ponies on the team, they were slowly beginning to follow his example. In spite of the rather troubling nature of the current situation, Rainbow couldn't be happier with the overall improvement in her own team.
But something about the storm cloud-colored stallion bemused her. Storm Front was quiet and unassuming. In fact, it was disturbingly easy to forget he was in the room if you weren't thinking about him at the time. He was the kind of pony who could stand right in front of you without being noticed unless he deliberately did something to attract your attention. Rainbow honestly didn't know what to think about this strange new pegasus. He wasn't particularly friendly, nor was he hostile in any way. He simply kept to himself and nopony seemed overly troubled to leave it at that.
The only pony she had seen Storm Front interact with regularly, in the few days since she had hired him, was Twilight. Storm Front was a frequent visitor to the library and spent much of his free time amongst the books and scrolls of Twilight's collection. Rainbow never inquired as to what Storm Front read, guessing that his choice of literature was just as dry and boring as Twilight's.
"It's nice to finally see Dawn getting acquainted with other ponies." Rainbow Dash turned at the voice to see Melon Cream trotting through the door.
The sky-blue mare only barely noticed an orange and fuchsia blur go barreling past her hooves with a brief "Hi Rainbow Dash!" before Scootaloo was off to find her friends.
Melon watched her daughter go and shook her head with a brief chuckle. "To think I would see the day she would be more excited about something other than seeing you."
Rainbow chuckled. "Well, Dawn is the one teaching her to fly after all. I'll bet she's pretty eager to move on to more advanced stuff after getting stuck with the basics for a full week."
Across the room, a gray pegasus colt looked away from his brother and their conversation with a couple of other ponies from the weather team to see Scootaloo barrel almost directly into Dawn Lightwing. Rumble scowled at the gleeful manner with which Scootaloo greeted the ebony colt. Why doesn't she treat me like that?
Rumble felt an angry jealousy build in his chest. He hated the fact that Scootaloo snubbed him, but was perfectly happy to be nice to this other colt, who just happened to wander into town. He would have been happy to help her learn to fly if she had asked him. With a low snort, Rumble looked away and simply glared at a nearby wall.
The party had gone rather well, as far as Dawn was concerned. While he hadn't spoken to everypony, he had essentially "met" all the guests as far as he was concerned. More importantly, they had seen his eyes and had not been repulsed in any way. And he had had plenty of fun playing the party games with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who now included him in their number; a fact that, for some unknown reason, filled the colt with a strange sense of foreboding.
So it was with a great deal of satisfaction that Dawn slipped into his new bed, which had been procured by Fluttershy shortly after his adoption, in his new room, which had likewise been prepared, and drifted off to sleep. Another two peaceful days would pass before the next major event in Dawn's life, his first day of school.
"Do you have everything you need?" asked Fluttershy as they stood outside the schoolyard gate.
"Yes," replied Dawn, making a quick check of his brand new saddlebags just to be on the safe side, "I have all my supplies, the books you picked up, and my lunch."
"Oh good," replied Fluttershy with a smile. She wanted to do everything she could to make Dawn's first day of school perfect. Of course, there was only so much she could do. "Do you want me to meet you after school ends?"
Dawn shook his head. "Scootaloo will be wanting to continue her flying lessons, and then there's whatever else these 'Crusaders' do, so I might not be heading home for some time.
"Alright, but remember to get back in time for dinner," instructed Fluttershy, truly feeling like she was a mother now, "And you'll want some time to work on your homework too."
Dawn nodded. Fluttershy glanced around, seeing that she wasn't the only parent dropping her foal off. "Dawn. This may be a little difficult, but some of your classmates may not be as nice about your eyes as other ponies."
The colt tilted his head, silently inviting an explanation from her. "Foals can be mean sometimes. They aren't really bad and there's nothing wrong with you. It's just that they don't know any better. So please, don't let anything that some ponies might say about you in school get to you, okay."
Dawn nodded again, not feeling the need for a response, even though he could have easily pointed out that, in his experience, most adults' treatment of him in the past had been just as baseless (minus the whole "not knowing any better" part). Fluttershy smiled encouragingly at him and leaned down to nuzzle him gently. To her surprise, Dawn nuzzled her back. She had been expecting him to shy away from the gesture of affection, like many colts did when their mothers acted like that. "Have a good day," she whispered before planting a kiss on his cheek.
Dawn gave her a final nod of acknowledgment before stepping through the gate and making his way into the school. Fluttershy watched him go, a single tear trickling down her face. "I really hope everything works out for him."
Fluttershy stepped away from the gate and began heading towards the market to purchase the supplies she needed to care for her animals. Unbeknownst to her, a rust-colored earth pony watched her leave before turning his eyes back to the schoolhouse and then fixing them back on Fluttershy in an angry glare. Hanging back, so as not to be noticed, he began to follow her.
"Class, this is Dawn Lightwing. He was just recently adopted by Fluttershy and will be joining us from now on. I expect everypony here to do their best to make him feel welcome." Dawn bobbed his head politely as Cheerilee finished his introduction, taking a moment to sweep his eyes over the classroom and take in the various responses to him.
Cheerilee had felt a little uncomfortable at the prospect of relating Dawn's family circumstances. Many ponies were reluctant to admit that they were orphans or that they had been adopted at some point. But, at the same time, Fluttershy was fairly well known around Ponyville, so Cheerilee knew that some kind of explanation would be required as to how she suddenly had a son. Dawn had given her the go-ahead in the first place and didn't seem the slightest bit troubled by the topic coming up.
"Dawn, why don't you take the seat next to Scootaloo," suggested the teacher. Dawn angled his head ever so slightly to give her a raised eyebrow, to which she responded with a sheepish grin. Dawn walked straight to his desk and took his seat next to an eager-looking Scootaloo.
For the rest of the morning, Dawn observed and listened as Cheerilee conducted class. He watched how Cheerilee managed the other foals, calling on them to answer questions, moderated discussions, and assigned activities to manage time and keep their interest peaked. Naturally, with so many different individuals in one room, it was obvious that no single method of teaching would work for everypony. But by using a variety of techniques, Cheerilee did her best to keep the entire class involved. Dawn didn't really participate. He answered when he was called on, which was rare, and did the assigned activities. But for the most part, he simply observed the classroom environment and tried to determine how to best fit in it without disrupting it.
The behavior of the other students didn't elude Dawn either. His sharp ears picked up the whispers of various pairs of students, talking when they were certain Cheerilee couldn't hear them. He also felt a number of eyes boring into him from every angle. He was new. He was strange. So even as Dawn watched, he was watched in turn. Fortunately, he could pick up very little hostility from any of the surrounding foals. There was a great deal of curiosity. That was easy to understand. He was a novelty after all. The two fillies he had seen when Fluttershy had brought him over were still watching him with looks of carefully concealed disdain. However, he sensed another intense gaze coming from a different part of a classroom. A gray colt was eyeing him with a look that resembled anger. However, the exact emotion behind it was something Dawn could not place. He simply opted to ignore it and continue on as though he had noticed nothing.
"Apples! Get your Sweet Apple Acres apples right here!" Red River's voice rang across the market, easily discernible from the shouts of the other stallholders. It was the kind of projected voice that could be heard in any crowd. Fluttershy usually saved the Apple family stall for last when she made her market visits. She bought a substantial quantity, both for herself and her animals. It was easier to buy the apples last so that she didn't have to haul them along for the rest of her shopping. As it was, she was considering stopping by the school to see how Dawn was getting along, but thought better of it. Young colts tended to despise their parents fawning over them, especially when there were witnesses around.
"Hello Miss Fluttershy. How has your morning been?"
The butter-colored pegasus couldn't help but smile at Red River's question. While normally quite loud and boisterous, his manner and voice always tended to soften when she approached so that she didn't feel uncomfortable around him. It was a nice gesture, which Fluttershy greatly appreciated.
"It's been lovely," answered Fluttershy as she perused the apples for sale, "I just dropped off Dawn for his first day of school earlier."
A low chuckle escaped the stallion. "That should be an experience for him. Hopefully he doesn't cause too much trouble."
Fluttershy blinked in surprise. "Trouble? But Dawn's always such a well-behaved colt."
Red River shrugged. "When you've been maligned and mistreated your whole life, you tend to behave that way to the first ponies who show you kindness in a long time. But that kid has some issues." He frowned sternly. "He's too detached. As he is now, he has absolutely no internal concern about causing pain to anyone who draws his ire."
"Wait. Wasn't he always trying not to do that?"
"That was before. The more comfortable Dawn Lightwing becomes in this town, the more hostile he'll be to attempts to disrupt this comfortable life he has now. And because of his detachment, he lacks the empathy to truly understand the pain he's capable of doling out. To him, it's something to be calculated and measured against whatever scale he thinks is important. That makes him dangerous. He could really hurt somepony like that."
A shudder ran through Fluttershy's body. Red River's words stirred unpleasant memories. Flash Spark and Applejack appeared before her mind's eye. But still, she knew that it wasn't entirely Dawn's fault. Dealing with hatred on a daily basis as he had had caused Dawn to shut down emotionally. He was slowly beginning to regain his heart after all this time.
"It'll be alright," she said, "I just have to show him the right way to do things."
Red River grinned at her response. "Now that's how a mother thinks. You'll do just fine. So what'll it be?"
Fluttershy looked around the stand, having a hard time deciding what she wanted. The Apples cultivated several varieties of their cash crop. And now that Red River was being employed to sell the produce, Applejack had wisely used the extra time to begin baking a variety of apple-related goods that could also be sold at the market. Red River had arranged it all with an impressive eye for detail. The apples and baked goods were arranged in a manner that used their colors and shapes to draw the eye quickly from one to the other, so that anypony who approached the stand instinctually surveyed the entire array of products offered. Fluttershy was easily tempted to buy more than she had originally intended.
As Fluttershy made her final choices and turned to Red River to settle the bill, she noticed an unusual look on his face. "Miss Fluttershy," he said softly, beginning to tally her total, "Don't look now, but you have a follower."
A startled "eep!" escaped the mare, but before she could spin and look, Red River's hoof touched hers gently.
"I said don't look," he told her sternly, fixing her eyes with his gaze, "Keep acting as though we're still bartering for the price. We don't want him to know we're onto him."
"Onto who?" Fluttershy asked as she followed Red River's instructions and began slowly fishing out bits.
"Earth pony stallion, dark red guy...looks like a pickaxe cutie mark...anypony you know from around here."
Fluttershy slowly shook her head and placed another bit on the counter. Red River hummed for a second. "He's been glowering at you all morning. I haven't seen him around here before, so maybe he's from out of town. Of course, I haven't been here for very long, so I can't say I know everypony, but I've seen most of the regulars to the market. I wonder how long he's been on your tail."
"Do you think it might be because of Dawn?" asked Fluttershy nervously.
"It could be. Let's see what he's up to." Red River's eyes flicked around. "You know that alley between the flower shop and the stationary store?"
The yellow pegasus nodded. "Yes. It's a dead-end."
"Do you trust me?" Red River received another nod. "Head down that alley. If that guy follows you, I'll close in behind him and we'll find out what he's up to. If he doesn't, we'll use the opportunity to lose him so you can get back home without being followed."
"But what if he finds me again?"
"If you come back to town, you'll either be hanging around here, where I can help you, or with your friends, right?" Fluttershy nodded. "You'll be fine. Just in case, I'll tell Storm to keep an eye on him if we don't settle this today."
"O-okay..."
Fluttershy placed the final bit for her payment down on the counter, which Red River scooped up into his bag, his pleasant smile back in place. "Thank you for your business Miss Fluttershy."
Fluttershy picked up the basket of apples in her mouth and trotted down the street. When she reached the designated alley, she turned down it and trotted towards the back. She had to stop herself from breaking into a run in her nervousness. It would have made little difference as the alley was a dead-end anyway. Of course, for a pegasus, that was never much of an impediment. But Fluttershy's fear always seemed to stifle her flight. So if she was too scared to take off, she wasn't getting away.
Now she heard hoofsteps behind her. Still, she forced herself to continue along as though she was unaware that she was being followed. When she reached the end of the alley, she stopped and spun nervously about, nearly tossing her apples from the basket in the process. Standing in front of her was the stallion Red River warned her about.
He was muscular, nowhere near the level of Big Macintosh, but well-built all the same. The muscles, combined with his aggressive posture and angry countenance combined to give him a brutish look.
Slowly, Fluttershy set the basket down. "Um...is there something I can help you with?"
For a long moment, the stallion was silent. When he finally spoke, it was two words. "I saw."
"Oh. Uh...what was it that you saw?" asked Fluttershy, shrinking back from his glare.
"I saw you and the demon." That last word he spat out, like he was trying to clear something unpleasant from his mouth. "You dare sully yourself by consorting with that monstrosity?"
"D-do you...do you mean...D-Dawn?" said Fluttershy, even though she already knew the answer.
"You know," said the stallion, not phrasing it as a question, "You are not being deceived. You know what he is and you still shelter that beast. You are a traitor to your own kind and shall be punished for your sins." The stallion began to move towards her, setting each hoof down with a resounding thud that betrayed his belligerent intent.
Fluttershy squeaked and backed away, but stopped as her hindquarters smacked into the wall at the back of the alley. Unfortunately, her wings were again frozen in fear, unable to lift her off the ground. Fluttershy had no means of escape left.
"I never thought you would be so uncouth as to address a lady in such a manner." The stallion froze, turning slowly around to see Red River standing in the alley mouth. "I suggest you leave before I take steps to correct your behavior."
The rust-red stallion let out a growl. "You would stop me from exacting righteous punishment?"
"No. I would stop you from carrying out assault," replied Red River blithely.
"Then why don't I teach you a lesson as well," snarled the stallion, striding towards Red River.
Red River waited patiently until the stallion had almost closed with him before he moved. Abruptly, his right hoof whipped up to the long-handled knife he wore over his back. Pulling it free, he swung forward, leveling the blade at the approaching thug. As he swung, the handle extended, revealing several collapsed sections that snapped into place, lengthening the weapon. By the time the tip was level with the stallion, Fluttershy could see that the weapon was not a knife, but a spear, one that was a good bit longer than Red River from snout to tail.
The angry stallion stopped short, just before he would have impaled himself on the blade, drawing back from the weapon nervously. Red River gave him a polite smile. "Now then. Tell me your name."
"Bedrock."
"Are you from Ponyville?"
"No."
"Where are you from?"
"Colt Hollow."
"What is your reason for being in Ponyville?"
"I came for business purposes from the mines."
"Are you a member of the Order of Celestial Light?"
The stallion, as though suddenly remembering his dignity, drew himself up, although he still shied away from the tip of Red River's spear. "I am."
"I see. I am placing you under arrest for attempted assault. You will come quietly down to the Town Guard station where you will be held in custody until the magistrate can decide your fate."
An animalistic snarl escaped from the stallion. Swinging his hoof, he batted Red River's spear aside and rushed at him, closing in before Red River would have had the chance to bring the weapon around for another strike. Bedrock was inside the reach of the blade anyway, so he was certain that he had the upper hoof.
Red River grinned and simply let the force of Bedrock's strike swing the spear around, spinning the shaft around his leg to reverse his grip and thrust forward with the butt of the weapon in a single fluid movement, sliding his fetlock along the shaft to extend his reach. The blunt end of the weapon thudded heavily into Bedrock's chest, its force intensified by his own forward momentum. The rust-red stallion's lungs expelled their air with a gasp and he staggered backwards. Before he could recover, Red River reversed the grip on his spear again, this time bringing the shaft directly down, shaft flexing with the force of the swing, on the top of Bedrock's head with an almighty crack. The brutish pony dropped like a sack of bricks.
Red River took a moment to sit down, popping the segments of the spear's shaft back inside one another until the shaft had been retracted back down to its original length. "Amateur," he grunted, sheathing his weapon and turning to a stunned Fluttershy. "I can take it from here. Have a nice day."
The bell announcing the beginning of recess was greeted with the excited squeals of the foals as they fled through the doors of the oppressive schoolhouse and out into the yard, where they could frolic to their heart's content until the next bell sounded their return to the dreaded classroom.
Dawn lounged under the shade of a tree, quietly eating his lunch. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom soon joined him. "So how about we get started after we eat," suggested Scootaloo excitedly, "I wanna keep going on the second exercise."
Dawn frowned. "No. Not here. The second exercise is not something to practice in the middle of a schoolyard. If you want to practice during recess, continue working on the first exercise."
Scootaloo frowned. "But..."
"Think of this as your opportunity to experiment with it. Start seeing how high you can lift yourself, how easily you can start and stop. You might even be able to experiment with moving around." Getting up from his lunch, Dawn stepped into the open and spread his wings, lifting himself barely off the ground. Then, before the eyes of the watching fillies, he began to glide sideways, only barely angling his wings. He stopped, drifted the other direction, stopped again and slid backwards a few meters before settling back onto the ground.
"Once you have full control of your magic, you will have complete freedom of movement in the air." His lesson finished, Dawn moved back to his lunch. "It shouldn't be hard for you to get the hang of. If you manage it today, I'll even give you a third exercise to practice."
"Really!" exclaimed Scootaloo. She began eating quickly, eager to jump to the next step of her training.
"Aw," protested Apple Bloom, "And here Ah thought we'd be able to get some crusadin' in this afternoon."
"It's okay," said Sweetie Belle, "We can do that tomorrow instead."
Having finished her lunch in record time, Scootaloo dashed a short distance away and spread her wings. She lifted a full pony's height of the ground and began to angle her wings. She immediately shot sideways with a startled exclamation, dipping her leading wing too much and threatening to slam flank-first into the ground.
Dawn's wing flickered and a gust of wind cushioned Scootaloo, righting her body and helping her settle back into a neutral position. All three crusaders regarded Dawn with awe, as he hadn't even bothered to look at Scootaloo before he acted. "Work gradually," he said, without looking up from his meal, "At your current level, it can be very easy to overcompensate. If you do, you'll only end up throwing yourself around. If you find yourself losing control, move back to your recovery position."
Scootaloo nodded hesitantly and tried to move in the opposite direction. She moved much more slowly than the last time. However, angling her wings a little more suddenly caused her to gain speed. With a startled yelp, Scootaloo flared her wings, briefly forgetting Dawn's warning and careened backwards at an angle. Finally remembering what her teacher told her, she brought her wings back out to level and drifted to a stop. She sighed with relief.
Maybe if I try using less magic when I move... Scootaloo drifted a little lower and angled her wings. This time, she didn't gain speed, but moved more consistently, her hooves just barely skimming above the grass.
"Good," said Dawn, this time lifting his head up to look at her, "You've figured out how to regulate your magic. Now use it to help guide your flight."
Scootaloo did as she was told and was soon drifting in every direction, shocked that she was able to control her movements so well. She even experimented with using her magic to accelerate and decelerate.
As she continued to practice, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle went back to their conversation.
"So how're things workin' out fer ya and Featherweight?" asked Apple Bloom.
A sigh escaped Sweetie Belle's lips. "They didn't work out for us. I guess we just didn't have a connection. What about you?"
Apple Bloom lowered her head, her eyes continuing to trace Scootaloo's motions through the air. "Ah ain't got a special somepony yet. Ah just don't know what to look fer in a colt."
"Oh really?" inquired Sweetie coyly, "And here I've been hearing that you're spending an awful lot of time around the library lately."
Dawn listened silently to Apple Bloom's startled protestations with a small degree of amusement. Fillies...
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It's an amazing realization when you finish reading a chapter and a new one has just been released1
Also, Big Mac x Ditzy Doo?
I can dig it.
Excellent sir, I apploud you. *quiet but defined golf clapping fills the room*
Fantastic. You got the characterization of everypony exactly on the point as well as adding some new theory and material to the drawing board with the idea of Ditzy, of course you represented the idea that she is a smart Pegasus but having physical issues and the reputation of being unintelligent caused to be most unpopular with ponies not helping at all that everypony calls her Derpy
2999281 It's not really a new theory that Ditzy's "derpiness" is the result of a physical disability that impairs her senses in some way. I can hardly call what I've done original in that respect.
This is a superb piece of work, why would any want to downvote this amazing story? I read all related material in one sitting. I dont think it was healthy.
2999291 I haven't seen it much around Fimfiction but this is a first time some Author actually incorporated it nicely but at the same time giving the main character some observation that he knows she isn't dimwitted which isn't done much or incorporated nicely, but you've done in excellent Job in doing the Latter.
Haha awesome!
I WANT MOAR!!!
I'm so hooked on this story...
2998674
I would like to clearify some of my points a lil bit, as I now see I expressed myself poorly and with lots of exaggerations and used wrong words at times.
So yes, I tend to exaggerate a lot when I want to make my point clear and as such I never actually ment that Dawn is infailable but just rather that he is very strong in almost all aspects of life. I also want to point out that what I said is what I feel of him as of this moment and of course I completely understand that things will change in the future, but we are over 120k words in to the story now. This is already longer than a lot of stories on the site.
And with the points of whats wrong in Dawns world doesn't seem to actually be Dawn if you ask me. I'll point out some of the Dawn issues from what i remember from the story to show what I mean.
Where Dawn stomps Applejacks hat into the ground I think we can all agree that Dawn lost his temper, lost his cool. But again I don't think thats a 'problem' in Dawn but rather a plus. He shows he can loose his cool but at the same time he shows great restrains and controll as he didnt straight up beat Applejack up. Applejack on the other hand shows a very much lack of restrains and controll of emotions. Also may I point out that i absolutely loved your characterization of Applejack all the way through "Foal of the Forest". Because as we all know, Applejack don't lie, but that doesn't mean that what she says is true. A good example of a very interesting character flaw that I just don't see in Dawn.
Where Dawn broke down crying after Applejacks apology, again, while I wouldnt say a plus, it's neither a negative thing. From my personal view, if I had someone beat me up and then that same person came knocking on my door a few days later crying and saying things like: "I was wrong, you were right." I would have broke down crying myself and as such I find it very understandable that Dawn did just that. Nothing strange about it, not a flaw.
Now I want to point out that I personaly see a character as interesting not when they have some super power or similar thing but rather when they have flaws. This is completely my point of view of course. But as such I found that Spark dude from the first few chapters to be a really interesting fellow already from the very short span of time he was there. I wish he would have been a bigger part of this.
As for being as wise as Twilight. When I say wise I don't mean smart. As such I'm not trying to say that Dawn is smarter than Twilight, but wiser (again exaggerating). With that I mean that he doesn't have the information but he can take new information and use it in a good / correct way very quickly. With this I'm mostly just looking at the magic theory "lesson" that Twilight gave. And I'll admit that one occasion is not enough of me to say this but that one occasion is all I have and this is how I feel as of this moment. A simple thing as having Dawn ask a simple question would have completely made this point moot. It could have been a question where Dawn ask "is that why 'bleh' works so well with 'blah'?" showing that he understands but want to make sure that he got it right. Instead of "Oh, is that what he ment. Now everything makes complete sense." which makes he seem very "wise" especially for his age.
Anyway, bottom line is that I think Dawn is a great character. I'm very interested in Dawn but I just feel like you overdid it at his strengths and underdid it at his weaknesses. I also agree with you that young folks speaking like old wise men is a very interesting aspect and it's one of the many reasons I really like Dawn. But we must remember here that even if he is to be a "young wise man" he is still just that, young. He will make mistakes and he will make himself look like a fool because he isn't a old wise man. He will break down crying or straight up roll over laughing because kids have those moodswings.
And for the subplots. Of course any story needs to have subplots but again as for Dawn, I think you are overdoing it. As they say "Perfect is not when there is nothing more to add but when there is nothing more to take away.".
Dang it, I wanted this to just be a few short rows of clarification, not another wall of text.
Oh well, if you want me to stop this I'll just stop right here and leave it at that but I just really like discussing things especially if it's things I like such as reading / writing. I'd also like to say that I'm not saying you're wrong on any of these points here but rather I'm trying to give you my point of view and help you see your writing in a diffirent light.
// Sphex
3000320
Yes, you're at least partially right in that Dawn shows a great deal of restraint. The issue with this is that, even if he was exercising restraint, it was still a completely calculated action on Dawn's part, executed with the deliberate intent of causing emotional pain. There's also the part earlier on in the confrontation where he deliberately provokes Applejack into coming after him. It's the circumstances that cause Fluttershy and her friends to overlook the problem with Dawn's behavior. But the problem is still there, even if you overlook it. It remains and just comes back down the road as an even bigger problem. This was pretty much the sole reason for Flash Spark's existence and why he hasn't shown up again. Yeah, he had it coming to him, but that doesn't change the fact that Dawn acted with intent to deliberately and permanently cripple another pony without a second's hesitation. Again, Flash Spark's crimes allow everypony to overlook that problem. But the problem is still there. It's just been overshadowed by the circumstances under which it came to light.
With your clarification on Dawn's wisdom...you might have more of a point there.
3000962
I'm glad we could come to some conclusions without any heated arguments.
It was a pleasure discussing this with you Mr. Moguera and I look forward to your future stories.
// Sphex
big mac and ditzy... hmm, there are a lot of stories like that out there. I'm trying to remember which one that was, but regardless of that I support the pairing. GOLF CLAP FOR YOU AND THIS CHAPTER. Keep goin and stay golden^^
3002278 It involves Ditzy hurting her hoof and that's the last hint I'm dropping.
3002428
Crap, crap, crap! I read that story! She hurt her hoof kicking a rock she thought was a dirt clot while imagining it was some bully's head! I can't remember what the story was called though!
I sense that either the dreaded LOVE TRIANGLE: between Scoots, Dawn and Rumble will occur, or maybe Sweetie will take an interest in Rumble. Perhaps you have another intention all together. I like that you're shipping Bloom with Spike, it's refreshing. Spike x Rarity gets a little old in my opinion. In any case I thoroughly enjoyed your first story and I look forward to reading more chapters of this one. Keep up the good work.
3002428
Will you post the stories name next chapter?
3002428
quick question. why in the top of the page, did you name this chapter 18?
3004021 This could have easily been a continuation of his other story rather than book 2
3004021>>3004610
Crap! Move along! Nothing to see here folks. 
In all honesty, yes. This was originally chapter 18 before I decided to take my vvery large story and chop it up into smaller pieces.
3004856 ... it was not all that long you know... i'm usually setting my min word count to 300,000... even then I finish them within the day I start them if not started at <5 PM... still cant believe I had read 1,200,000 words in 15 days... almost all of witch were school days. Aside from that little rant I genuinely like this story very much
That was awesome! Every part of this story had me curiously and happily creating the story in real-time. That's when I know the writer is truly gifted. You, moguera are amazing!
2998674>>3000320
omg so much text for two people
after i read
Red River took a moment to sit down, popping the segments of the spear's shaft back inside one another until the shaft had been retracted back down to its original length. "Amateur," he grunted, sheathing his weapon and turning to a stunned Fluttershy. "I can take it from here. Have a nice day."
i couldn't help but lol
and
those where my emoutions in order
3004856
why look how much chapters griffin the griffin has 100 or 101 1 not a chapter though but still
Am I the only one who thinks Rumble is gonna end up a cultist?
Again, I might be over thinking, and it's because of you moguera, you mess with my head!
I can't figure it out, if Red River and Strom Front are from Cult Solar. On one hand, RR uses "Order of Celestial Light", like some loyalist, instead of "Cult Solar", on the other, you might made that intentional, to mess with our heads.
I can't help but think that Red River's names is from a first person shooter of some sort. Don't know which one exactly, but I'm thinking its from an OpFlash game.
So Storm Front wants some Sparkles, Sweetie wants to be Rumbled, he wants to Scoot, and she wants to see a new day.
And yes you do Applebloom, go get your drake...
At first I thought those two were actually part of the cult... it seems I was mistaken.
3002278>>3002428>>3002806>>3003828
It is, of course, one of my all-time favorites: Ditzy Doo's Dismally Derpy Day.
Fucking cults.
Daww. I'm torn between RumbLoo and DawnLoo.
Also, DitzyMac FTW!
It has been a year, think you can drop the story name?3002428
Welp, at least one of those Cultists got ganked.
One small note here. Legally, assault is the immediate threat of violence (like someone pulling their fist up to punch someone). Battery is the actual violence (the punch itself). The stallion did commit assault. This is also why you often see "assault and battery" together in context. Just a minor nit-pick, but it's something that most people get wrong anyways.
needs end " mark.
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hmmm those braces.... and storm fronts apparently easy to miss nature...... ._. Oh my god..... Storm Front is a member of the Assassin Brotherhood! heh, welcome to ponyville, brother....
5464551 don't worry I got who those he's killed and will kill In heaven and hell
2999281 And then there's the weird explanations for it, like one eye seeing alternate realities. Either way, Ditzy is best pony.
I know the story your talking about I believe it's called "derpys ditzy/rainy day" it's about when ditzy was dealing with some bullies from her childhood. She has a plan to take care of the bullies but was taking some anger out on some dirt mounds on the path to sweet Apple acres.
I hope my cookie is peanut butter
still needs end " marks.
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What was the shout out fic?
I'm sure that Dawn will be rather baffled by the hostility from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon isn't because of his eyes--rather his butt
This, I understand quite well. It can be very challenging learning how to interact with others, a task made only more daunting by the fact that EVERYONE else seems to just understand it inherently. And no mater how much I learn from observation, People still act differently than I expect more often than not. Because of that Trying to fit in almost always backfired.
I have since learned to just... Be myself as they say, I personally have found that It's easier to apologise and explain my behavior and inability to properly assess many social situations then to make excuses for doing things that don't come naturally to me.
I think you meant to say An embarrassed blush spread on RD's face.
Sure hope you won't need a near death experience to correct your behavior.
4954091
While that may be true for us, things might be different in magical pony land. Especially if you consider that MLP:FIM is obviously set in a medieval/renaissance-esque time period. Even if it is that way for Equestrians, Red River and Storm Front are obviously foreigners, so we should probably give some leeway when it comes to Equestrian Legalese.
I love that you made Ditzy Doo's Dismally Derpy Day canon in this. Such a great story.
Apple Bloom and Spike make such the cute couple.
C'mon twilight, it's probably only a third-level spell, right? That's only a half hot of meditation apiece, you'll be fine!
Also, bedrock, at least you were smart enough to charge in close and knock the spear aside. Next time keep something on it so he can't regain control of it.
5464551 verum est omne quod permittitur,
Big Mac and Derpy/Ditzy? That's cool!
now
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Needs end " marks.
_________________
And so it begins ^_^.
What will he do when scoot makes a move?