Transforming Into Friendship

by Setten Sun

So This Is Friendship?

We galloped fast through the forest, and I sensed the ponies were afraid. Several times I glanced over my shoulder to see what they were running from, but saw nothing. What were these creatures so afraid of? Why did they fear these woods so much? Was it just the dogs I drove off, or was there something more here, something worse I didn’t know about? Now that I wasn’t an Alakazam anymore, the forest seemed almost normal and harmless, but the ponies’ fear made me edgy. A twig snapped, making them jump. I was curious. If they were so afraid of this place, why were they here at all?

And more importantly, why were they being so accepting of an outsider, someone they didn’t even know? I fixed my gaze on the pony directly in front of me, the orange one. There was an odd mark on the side of her rump, three apples clustered together, and I remembered Twilight said her name was Applejack. The pony seemed relatively fit, with a shiny coat and strong muscles, but she also looked as if she’d never been in a fight before. I couldn’t see a single scar, cut, or missing piece of fur on her body.

Apparently I stared for too long, because after a moment I heard some snickering from the small foal next to me. I glanced over and saw Applejack’s little sister, Applebloom, smiling at me with an odd, knowing expression on her face. I frowned, confused, and returned my attention back to the path. Maybe it wasn’t polite to stare at other ponies in this place.

After a few minutes, Applebloom said, "Hey, Mister?"

I glanced at her, wondering whether to answer. Finally, I said, “Yeah?”

"We’re friends, right?" she asked.

“Well,” I said, “I’ve never had a friend before, but I guess that doesn’t mean we can’t be.”

"Good,” she said, and lowered her voice. "What do you think of my sis?"

Not thinking much of it, I replied, "Well, she looks pretty fit. She’s got a good build, so I figure she’s strong and has decent endurance. That’s always a plus.”

The little white pony next to Applebloom had apparently been listening in, because she said, “What about my sis? What do you think of her?”

“Uh ... you mean Rarity, right?” I asked. The little pony nodded, so I said, “Well, she speaks really well, and seems to take great pride in her feminine look. But I’ve got to tell you, I’m not sure about either one of them. Their bodies are without a scratch or even a hair out of place. I mean, they seem to love you two very much, so I can assume that they’re kind ponies. But at the same time, they seem really inexperienced."

Obviously, the other ponies were listening to our conversation as well, since they all did a stutter step, and gave me a quick, scandalized glance. Applejack and Rarity both turned red for some reason, and Applejack said, "There ain’t nothing wrong with being inexperienced. I just haven't found that special somepony yet."

"A lady will not do such a thing until she has found her other half," said Rarity primly.

I could tell they were flustered, but honestly, I couldn’t understand why. And why in the world would they need to find ‘that special somepony’ before they learned to battle? Perhaps they were too embarrassed to battle in front of just anyone because their skills were so underdeveloped. Yes, that must’ve been it. “Hey, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” I said lightly, “Tell you what. I’ll teach you both." They stopped dead in their tracks and whirled around. The others followed suit. I took a large gulp as I looked into their eyes. They looked pissed.

Now what did I do?

"You have some nerve!" Rarity yelled, and she slapped me across the face. I instinctively jumped away to avoid the rest of her Double-slap. Unfortunately, I landed right next to Applejack. Her face was deep red beneath her hat, and she shouted, "What makes you think we’re even interested in somepony like you!" She turned around and tried to hit me with a hind-hoof Stomp.

I dodged her strike, frustrated by this reaction, and asked, "What’s wrong? Where I come from, we do it all the time with others we don't know! It’s nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, the more we do it, the better. How else are we going to improve our skills?"

This argument didn’t seem to do the trick. Now they looked completely appalled. Rainbow Dash demanded, "What kind of bucked-up place did you call home?"

What kind of question was that? "Well,” I said, “the place I come from is a lot like here, except every ... pony fights one another."

Rainbow Dash gaped at me for a moment, and then understanding blossomed on her face. "Wait, were you talking about fighting this whole time?"

"Of course,” I said. “In my homeland, you need to be strong to survive. Otherwise, you die. Wait. What did you think I was talking about?"

The ponies turned redder than ever, and turned away

What did I say wrong? I couldn’t understand. With my head down, I said, "I’m sorry if I offended any of you. I just never really spoke to other... ponies before, except to trade threats, so I guess it’s my fault."

The ponies didn’t reply. The rest of the walk out of the woods was awkwardly quiet. Every now and then a pony turned her head and looked back at me, but when I tried to meet her eyes, she quickly looked away. These creatures were so strange, I couldn’t understand them.

As we left the woods, I saw that the sun was halfway down. The ponies’ demeanor lifted immediately. The small ones started to jump up and down, and took off at a gallop toward town. The older ponies didn't even seem to notice. They were whispering among themselves, and I could easily guess what – or who – they were talking about. But they could talk all they wanted. I was sure I could find something to do in this town of theirs while they discussed me, even if it was just looking after the small ones. So I started after the three, leaving the others far behind.

I soon made it to the town, and stopped quickly when I saw more ponies, much more. The foals were nowhere in sight, but it was hard to tell in this crowd. There were ponies everywhere, every size and every color, most of them females. They all stopped what they were doing, and stared at me as though I was some kind of monster.

This couldn’t be good. I tensed, crouched defensively, and studied the terrain, getting ready to fight if I had to. However, to my surprise and amusement, they all galloped into their houses. I couldn’t stop myself from laughing incredulously. It was easy to see now why the ponies feared the woods: they were complete cowards. I was willing to bet even a Magikarp could beat these creatures in a fight.

I walked through the empty street. With no destination in mind, I wandered around until I heard hooves behind me. Before I could turn to look, a voice said, "Halt, demon. You are under arrest for disturbing the peace. Lie down and spread your legs."

I looked to my left and saw five ponies about fifty feet away from me, all of them wearing face armor that distantly resembled Marowak’s, except made from metal rather than bone. Two of the ponies had wings, two had neither wing nor horn, and the last had a more elaborate helmet and a horn. Almost disappointed, I decided I should probably scrap my Magikarp theory.

I must have taken too long to give them an answer, because the two wingless, hornless ponies charged at me, and I immediately recognized a Take Down attack. Reacting, I used Agility, and I could feel myself grow lighter and lighter. The ponies were thirty feet from me now. I put on another burst of speed – twenty feet away – and another burst – fifteen feet – and by then it was as though they were moving in slow motion. I lowered my head and charged forward, making it to the first pony in a flash of flame. I smashed into his chest plate, using a Megahorn attack. It sent the pathetic creature flying past his three other friends, but his chest plate took most of the damage. Nonetheless, it was enough to render him unconscious. The closest pony turned her head, eyes wide and filled with fear, and she stumbled away from me.

"Stay there and I will not harm you," I warned her. Then I brought my attention back to the three other ponies, just in time to see the winged ones taking off, coming at me fast. Compared to my Rapidash form, though, they might as well have stood still, and just to show the difference in skill I used Quick Attack. Instead of going head-on, I ran to the side and went around the building next to me. I smacked the first pony going full speed, and she smashed backwards right into her companion, both crashing through the closest building.

Only one left. But as I turned to face the last pony, a strange thing happened. I started to float up into the air, trapped in a big pink bubble. I looked down at my foe and realized his horn was glowing pink as well. That pissed me off, and I began to engulf myself in flames once more, this time using Inferno.

Behind me, I heard a familiar voice cry, "What the hay is going on here?" I turned to look, my concentration broken. It was the five mares who brought me here from the forest. I felt surge of pleasure, and turned back to face my foe. "Now you’re in for it,” I said.

The five ponies trotted over to me. "A little help?" I said.
Twilight Sparkle looked at me, then at everything around me, then back at me again. She looked angry, and I assumed it was because these creatures had attacked me for no reason. So it came as a huge surprise when she turned on me, and said, "We leave you alone for three minutes, and you destroy a building, attack the town guardponies, and knock three out cold!" Her voice throbbed with fury, and I realized the other ponies were glaring at me too.

Taken aback, I said, "Wait. What? I saved your lives in that forest, remember? Now are you going to help me here, or aren’t you?”

Her horn lit up with violet light, and almost at once I began to feel unnaturally sleepy. It was Hypnosis, I realized.

"I thought we ... I thought we were friends," I murmured. With difficulty, I managed to look into her eyes, but I saw no compassion there. None. “You said we were.”

“I’m sorry,” she said coldly. “You’re just too dangerous."

I fell fast asleep.

Author's Note:

#2 down! I'm trying out the paragraph style tell me what you think I'm on the fence with the writing styles.

Also tell me your likes and dislikes plz.

Comments

[Sirob1687]

You have my attention

[Setten Sun]

3299769
Good to know I thought that you, the readers, may not have liked what Twilight did.

[Seashell Shores]

If we liked everything the characters did, there wouldn't be much of story, would there?