I prepared to strike, my hackles rising and my white ruff beginning to stand on end as I bristled at Applejack. As I did so, my eyes were already predicting her attack path, I was still not quite at 100% so I would have to be weary to keep out of her reach. Thus, I would have to rely upon my flames and my shadow balls to do the job.
Meanwhile Applejack was constantly keeping her eyes on me, ready to break into a charge at any second. She took the option to remove her hat and tossed it to the ground, while her tail swished violently from side to side.
Our conflict however would never come to pass.
“By Celestia, Applejack, he’s the first alien ever to come to Equestria and you want to get into a fight with him?” Twilight said with a small sigh as she stepped in front of Applejack and turned to me. “I apologize for her rudeness, Cres, please forgive her.”
However Applejack gritted her teeth. “Twilight, this is no time for your shenanigans,” she stated while slamming a hoof down into the ground. “He ain't some ‘ambassador’, he’s just some beast who’s trying to fool you with his story.”
“Why would I bother lying?” I asked her with an annoyed sniff. “It gains me nothing, though you are correct in me not being an ambassador,” I acknowledged. “I am simply an Absol looking for absolution, and apparently failing at it... as I have for years.” I could not keep more than a touch of bitterness from that sentence.
“Cres... we just want you not to eat the forest critters when they’re near my cottage or the town... can you do that?” Fluttershy asked, trying to be the voice of reason.
I frowned at her. “I still do not see why you can claim such a large area for yourself. It seems rather selfish,” I said. “You are not going to eat them yourself are you?”
“What... no, obviously not,” Fluttershy said with a disturbed look.
“Then as I said, there is no reason for it,” I replied before shaking my head. “But I suppose if it will keep the arrogant orange one from attempting to ‘fight’ me then I will eat only those that live away from the edge of the forest.”
Applejack’s eyes narrowed at me, but her stance did relax a bit, but doubt and distrust still covered her face. “You better...”
“Once again, I have no reason to lie,” I told her irritably. “Why bother?”
“To outsmart us,” Dash said.
“That would be Belle’s job, and she is not here,” I told her blandly. “I simply wish to find my absolution. I am stuck here until I achieve that goal and may return to my Belle.”
“Just what do you mean by absolution?” Twilight asked him with curious eyes.
“I committed a crime several years ago and I am seeking a way to lift it from my conscience and find forgiveness in the eyes of Father Arceus,” I said simply. “No more, no less.”
“So you’re a criminal,” Applejack said, clearly not pleased by that fact.
“Indeed,” I said with a small nod. “Though it pains me greatly to be even after many years.”
“What... did you do?” Fluttershy asked timidly.
“I...” I trailed off and shook my head. “I’d rather not say.”
“Or you haven’t thought it up yet...” Applejack murmured.
I couldn’t help myself. I let out a low and dangerous snarl. “Why would I make it up?” I demanded through clenched teeth. “It is something that has haunted me for years and I have been attempting to find absolution for every one of them.”
“Well sorry if I’m having a hard time believing ya,” the orange mare replied indifferently.
“Okay... well we should probably all go back to my library,” Twilight said, stepping forwards. “As long as you don’t mind Cres.”
“So long as I am not put in another pit, I would not mind that greatly,” I replied while directing a glare at Applejack.
“Oh, don’t worry, we wouldn’t do that too you,” Fluttershy said kindly. “Especially now that you know not to eat the woodland critters around my cottage and the town.”
“I already said I wouldn’t,” I replied with a small nod. “I am a Pokemon of my word after all.”
“We’ll see about that,” Applejack commented.
I turned to Zecora who had stepped back to allow us room to talk. “Thank you again my friend,” I told her simply before giving her a bow. She just smiled at me and the others.
“Goodbye to you all and do tell Rarity that I have said ‘hi’,” the zebra replied, though she was mostly addressing the others.
My paws carried me forward until I was standing directly in front of the ponies, or more specifically Applejack who had stepped forwards to form a ‘shield’ of sorts between herself and the other members.
“Ah, orange one, I take it that you have declared yourself my ‘attendant’?” I asked her while my red eyes stared into hers.
“You got that right, varmint,” she replied, staring right back into my eyes.
“My name is Cres,” I told her pointedly. “Failing that, you may call me an Absol, or just Absol.”
“And my name is Applejack, but it seems like you don’t care in remembering that, so why should I with yours,” she replied.
“Because, you owe me your life,” I answered simply.
She scoffed. “As if.”
“Oh, and I suppose those bandages are from a farm accident; ranch hand,” I replied. “If I had wanted you too then you would be rotting already.”
Her eyes narrowed at me. “If I wanted too, you’d be puking your guts out,” she stated. “If you think one little ‘cut’ is going to make me respect you, you’re wrong.”
“By Arceus, you’d give a Snorlax a run for his money in terms of stubbornness; though to be frank I believe it would beat you in beauty,” I told her before quickly stepping past her and appearing next to Fluttershy. “So, Fluttershy, would you please describe to me the amount of room I have to hunt?”
As I fell into conversation with Fluttershy and the group began to move back out of the forest I heard Applejack quietly whispering to Rainbow Dash. “Keep a close eye on him up in the clouds.”
“Yeah, of course,” Rainbow replied before she jetted into the air in a flurry of flapping wings.
I turned to Fluttershy and quite clearly said. “I don’t believe she likes me.”
“Oh... I suppose not,” Fluttershy said softly. “Although I’m sure given time you two will become the best of friends.”
I turned to give Applejack a skeptical look. “I rather doubt that,” I stated.
As we walked down the forest path, I could not help but feel the oddest sensation... it was as if I was being watched, aside from the constant glare from Applejack. I subtly glanced around, but found no one.
Night was beginning to fall as we left the eaves of Everfree and I let out a yawn, I’d had a busy day... and although I’d spent most of it asleep, I was unreasonably tired.
“It looks like we will have to conduct whatever business you had planned tomorrow,” I said suddenly. “I am far too tired to continue today so I will make my way back to my camp and-”
“Nuh-uh, you’re not escaping us that quickly,” Applejack stated. “You’re not leaving our sight.”
“I was unaware I was a prisoner,” I said with a small frown. “Though, I suppose I may as well be.”
“Well, to be fair, you did say that you were a criminal,” Twilight put in. “So, even if you aren’t it makes sense to keep an eye on you.”
“True enough,” I agreed. “So; who shall I be staying with? Fluttershy?”
“Oh... I don’t know...” Fluttershy said with a small frown. “I know you said that you wouldn’t hunt on my property but I don’t really... trust you yet,” she added in a rush.
“Ah,” I stated before wrinkling my nose. “I apologize Twilight, but I will not be staying with you.”
“Why?” Twilight asked curiously.
“Because your entire house stinks of ink,” I replied with an indifferent tone. “No offense.”
“I... none taken?” she replied, not quite sure what to say.
“Then I guess you’ll be staying with me,” Applejack said.
“Can I not stay with Rainbow Dash?” I asked with a distasteful look at the mare.
“Not unless you want to fling yourself down to the earth a hundred yards above it,” she replied. “Though if you do, then by all means go ahead.”
“That sounds unpleasant,” I told her. “I suppose I will be staying with you then. Fear not, I won’t eat any of your livestock.”
“Oh I’m sure you won’t,” she said with a mild disbelieving tone.
“You know, I am being rather polite for your benefit, the least you could do is humor me,” I said flatly. “It is as if you don’t know the first thing about courtesy; and that is coming from someone who spent the last year praying on a mountaintop every single day.”
“Oh I know it, it’s just I don’t see much reason to give any to you,” she replied. “Though you should count yourself lucky I’m even letting you come near my home and family.”
“They will be fine,” I replied with a short shrug. “Though I hope you do not mind rising early. I hunt at dawn.”
The mare just gave me a flat look. “That won’t be a problem for me... I’ve risen way earlier than that before.”
"Congratulations then,” I told her. “I was not aware it was a contest.”
“Okay; well, so long as you two are comfortable with that I’m going to turn in,” Twilight said. “I have a lot of letters to write to the Princesses.”
I wrinkled my nose at that but managed to force a smile on my face. “Goodbye than Twilight,” I told her before looking at Fluttershy. “And goodbye to you as well Fluttershy.”
“Goodbye Cress,” the mare said with a smile. “I hope you remember those boundaries we went over.”
“I do,” I replied, nodding my head before turning to Applejack. “Lead the way, Applejack.”
The mare nodded her head slowly before turning around and started walking, though now and then she kept slightly glancing back at me.
“So, are you going to give me the silent treatment for our entire time together or are you going to ask me any one of the dozens of questions which I’m sure are running through your mind?” I inquired.
“And let you try charm me with your honeyed words? I think not,” she replied.
“I think you overestimate me,” I replied. “Now Belle; if she ever wanted to she could lie her way across the entire world,” I continued with a proud tone in my voice.
“And I’m supposed to be comforted by that how?” she asked while glancing back at me with a flat look.
“You’re not...” I told her with a subdued sigh. “I... only saw her for the first time in two years three days ago... forgive my mind for wandering to her.”
The mare shook her head and turned her head back forwards, and the two of us fell into silence once more.
“So why don’t you like ink?” she asked, not bothering to turn her head around, though her ears did perk towards my direction.
“Ah, that,” I said with a small sigh. “When I was but a kit, not quite an adult but not a kitten, I pulled a carton of ink off of my... Master’s desk. It fell on me and I was the world’s first completely pink Absol.”
“So that’s why?” Applejack asked, sounding a bit incredulous. “That sounds like a very poor reason to hate ink.”
“I was pink for two months.” I told her flatly with a shake of my head. “Do you have any idea how excruciatingly painful that is if you are a kit? The only upside was that I believe that’s when Belle began to think of me as more than just her friend.”
“No... but I still see it as a poor reason to hate ink,” the mare replied. “Much as you thinking the weather is too ‘perfect’ to growl at it.”
“Ah, that reminds me,” I looked up at the pristine blue sky and growled at it. “As an Absol I can sense weather conditions with my blade,” I explained. “It is part of my innate nature to predict disasters... generally when you have unnatural weather conditions likw that, it means that there is some form of Pokemon mucking about preparing to unleash a severally powerful wind storm or a freak tornado.”
Applejack glance back at me with a raised eyebrow. “Well... it’s common weather here, since the pegasus ponies are the ones who control it.”
“Oh...” I frowned for a moment. “That must be convenient, though I don’t quite understand how when the clouds are miles in the air.”
"Actually they’re only a few hundreds yard away and-” she stopped herself and shook her head. “It just is, okay,” she stated turning her head back forward.
“Belle would have a scientist’s heart attack,” I mused to myself as I eyed the clouds. She was right... they were closer than I was used too. “Or... she’d be so excited by all the new possibilities that she would lecture me about it for hours,” I added with a fond smile. How had I survived two years without her beautiful brain?
We remained silent for a little while longer before I asked.
“So, you’re family, what is it like?” I inquired politely.
“What about my family,” she asked suspiciously.
“I’m going to be staying with them, in some form or another,” I explained irritated, irked by her suspicion. “So, I would like to know a little bit more about them.”
“Who says you’ll be getting to know them,” she stated.
“I suppose I just assumed,” I said with a small shrug as we walked along the gravel road. “I guess I was wrong about that. I would not harm them you know.”
“Don’t be surprised I don’t fully believe it,” she said.
“Why would I bother?” I asked her incredulously. “There’d be no point in eating them, they aren’t prey. Not to mention that they would most likely put up a fight of some form and as I’m still recovering from my last I wouldn’t take the chance of becoming wounded again,” I listed off. “And besides that, it’s wrong to kill without just reason.”
“I’m sure,” the mare muttered out in a cynical tone.
“It’s true,” I said in a low voice. “I pray for every life I take... speaking of which.”
I bowed my head and closed my eyes though I managed to keep up with her regardless.
“Father Arceus, I have taken another’s life in self-defense as well as defense of an innocent. I pray that the soul of the Manticore I have slain reached you and that you welcomed it with open arms,” I intoned clearly and with my usual conviction. Then I opened my eyes to see Applejack looking at with a bewilderedly raised eyebrow.
“What?” I asked her, confused. “Do you not want the Father to accept him?”
“I have no idea who this ‘father’ you’re talking about,” she replied flatly.
“Father Arceus, the creator of all Pokemon,” I said reverently. Despite his refusal to answer my call personally... upon further thinking, I’d realized that Giratina hearing my pleas was most likely his doing.
“Never heard of him,” she told me. “Then again, I don’t think us ponies, or anything in Equestria, are called ‘Pokémon’.”
“That’s true enough,” I said with a small shrug. “Still, I’m sure whatever deity watches over the souls of this world appreciates my prayer.”
“Hrmph,” was her only reply.
I gave her a sidelong glance, I was not overly troubled by her lack of faith... Arceus knows I was not exactly a moderate and I didn’t expect others to follow suit. She however ignored me as we approached a large farm. The smell of apples filled the air and I felt the small part of my brain that remembered my last Puff let out a long mournful sigh.
“Apples...” I said in a soft tone.
“Yes, I hope you don’t ‘hate’ that smell too,” Applejack said, glancing her head towards me.
“Quite the opposite in fact... one of my last good memories with my Master was him giving me an Apple Puff...” I said before looking down. “My last good memory in fact.”
“Master?” Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, my human Master,” I answered. She still gave me a questioning eyebrow, still not understanding what I meant. I let out a slight sigh. “In my world there are two main groups. Pokemon and Humans. We live together in harmony for the most part but times were not always good so the Humans created ways to capture and store us safely,” I began to explain, most of this is recycled from Belle’s lectures, so I could have been mistaken about any number of things .
“Over time the ‘Poke Balls’ stopped being used that way and instead we became living weapons in their wars which makes sense. Why send a dozen humans when all you need to tear through a wall is a single Aggron who has skin made of solid steel?” I asked rhetorically.
“Anyways; as times went on humans became less inherently violent, or maybe more so but in a better less destructive manner, and Pokemon became their pets. Thus, they became our Masters,” I finished.
The mare continued to give me a perplexed look before shaking her head. “That... doesn’t make a lick of sense to me... but then again pretty much everything you say doesn’t.”
“I thought I explained it rather well personally,” I replied as we neared a large farm house.
She stopped a few yards away from it, and I did so as well. It was a large red building with the typical farm house decorations. I sniffed and found that the air was even more full of apples.
“Big Mac, I need to talk to ya,” she called out into the farm house.
Nothing happened for a moment or two, but then the front door to the house open and a large red ‘pony’ emerged. He caught my eye immediately because to be honest, he was the first pony I’d met to physically impress me in any way other than oddity. He was big as a house and I had the oddest feeling that he might even be able to give a certain Rapidash friend of mine a run for her money in terms of strength. Big Mac glanced at me, and gave a questioningly raised eyebrow at Applejack.
“I’ll explain later, right now I want you to make sure Apple Bloom or Granny Smith don’t enter the barn any time soon during the night or in the morning,” she told the red stallion. She then frowned slightly and rubbed a hoof under her chin. “In fact... have Apple Bloom pack some of her stuff and head over to Sweetie Belle to spend some of the nights... I’m sure her parents won’t mind.”
Big Mac nodded his head wordlessly and head back inside. Applejack then turned her head towards me. “Come on, I’ll take you to your ‘room’,” she informed me while gesturing her head to a building next to the farm house.
I followed and was shortly lead into a large building filled with industrial farm equipment, and hay... lots and lots of hay. It smelled like... hay (duh), rust and oil. My nose wrinkled in disgust but I sighed, I’d slept in worse places, at least there would be a roof over my head if it rained; thank Arceus. I’d once had to spend the night in the middle of a field in a torrential downpour... it was not one of my fonder memories, nor was the next day.
So I turned to Applejack and smiled. “Thank you for the room,” I told her. “Do you happen to have a blanket of some sort?”
“The hay can keep you warm if you dig yourself into it,” she replied.
I stared at her for a moment. “I know that you may not like me, but as my host the least you could provide is a blanket,” I told her with a frown.
“And like I said, you’re lucky I’m even letting you come here,” she restated firmly.
“Well I wanted to sleep in my camp but you made me come here instead,” I said angrily, my nerves starting to fray. “So either you find me a blanket of some sort or I cut a hole through the side of this building and return there.”
Applejack’s eyes narrowed at me, but she reluctantly said. “Fine... you’d better be here when I come back,” she stated as she turn and exited the barn.
“Thank you,” I told her with a smile. “And don’t worry, I will be.”
She came back a few minutes later with a folded blue blanket clenched between her teeth. She tossed it over to me with a simple flick to her head. “There you go, happy?”
“Very,” I said after I caught the blanket and began arranging it on the floor. “See you at dawn.”
“You better,” she replied as she exited the barn once more.
I spent several more minutes arranging the blanket properly before I settled down atop it. A small sigh of contentment escaped my lips before it was followed quickly by a yawn. It had been a long day for me... though not an overly unpleasant one. Perhaps I was one step closer to finding my absolution.
4057864
I can only guess the author didn't notice our comment out of the several dozens of comments so far.
Either way, it's just 1 letter so it's not that big a deal anyway.
um why is he listening to them?
applejack is starting to piss me off with her attitude are you sure that we cant get rid of her somehow or maybe something with applebloom in a lot of fics i read where shes like this as soon as they do something (usually saving the cutie mark crusaders from something) shes always nicer to them but if she keeps up like this im gonna metaphorically punch her
4058212
Maybe because he finally realised that antagonising every single local inhabitant you meet by being a prick is a bad idea.
Little typo.
And sheesh, AJ's stubborness in this fic is getting to be annoying. She's my favorite pony, and I don't like it when she's depicted as being so completely hard-headed as to defy reason. Cres is being perfectly polite, and she's not even giving him a chance. I can understand a little wariness and skepticism, but this outright hatred is something completely illogical.
Your really making it easy to dislike Applejack.
He wants his blanket, dammit.
4058196
Finally fixed it, and yeah, it slipped through the cracks
4058263
Thanks for that typo And you're right, it would be a bit illogical if she was acting like this without a reason... thing is she has one. Furthermore, as even the most recent episode showed, AJ's stubbornness/hardheadedness can be ridicules.
4058233
I'll direct you to the above
4058373
Absolutely marvelous... oh fuck, I made a pun
The 6 or so errors I caught:
Should be "to."
Should have a period after "head."
I'd reword the second half of the dialogue, but the "to" should be "too." Too perfect vs. to perfect.
A person below me caught that too. Should be "weather."
Should be "perfect weather conditions or unnatural weather conditions," although I would simplify it to just "unnatural weather conditions," as perfect is rather unnatural as well.
Isn't it Sweetie Belle?
Apart from that, there may or may not be about 6 or so others. I generally miss half of them if I'm reading for enjoyment, and I just noticed what you said about your editor when I was about to leave the page. Keep up the good work, and if you ever need a quick edit if your editor isn't back for the next chapter, I'm always open to help until Friday (state academics meet down in the capital, so I'll be 5 hours away from my house.)
4058351
fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/235/7/b/Max_the_Cat___My_Blanky_by_jamminwolfie.jpg
4058263
Sorry, but hard-headedness even beyond reason is canonical for AJ. Or have you forgotten Applebuck Season? Or most recently Somepony to Watch Over Me?
4058249 yes but there being unreasonable
Just like that? No epic fight scene? Oh well good chapter anyway.
4058391
Thanks for the catches man
Glad that you're enjoying it!
4058263
Eh, the story's went from the opening being a higher Tier 2 story to a Tier 3 after the dialogue and character personalities were a bit off. I think he could have made the dialogue richer and more developed, but then we'd see an average 500-1.5k more words in each chapter, and this is supposed to be a small story project, not an epic.
Tier 0 --> legendary stuff that you would publish and deserve some acclaim.
Tier 1 --> a bit under the border, but still fan fiction and has some minor errors. Generally is entertaining to read and you obsess over it.
Tier 2 --> similar to Tier 1, but suffering from some errors and dialogue needs some work. Characters are slightly off-centered, but it's still a great story and you love every word of it.
Tier 3 --> character personalities are quite a bit off, but not entirely. Dialogue is not developed enough to explain this personality offset, so the reader wonders why the character is not acting like it normally would in the show/game/movie/whatever. However, the premise and main character are still fairly well-done, and thus is it worth reading and enjoying.
This goes all the way to Tier 13... the worst/evilest Tier of them all...
Tier 13 --> u w0t mate? Grammerz u no well good. Worstest story incositent and lulz.
Edit: Ed2481 says he has a reason, so I'll wait for it before I pass... *wait for it* Judgement! AHAHAHAHAH, get it!? Arceus can learn Judge- er... anyway. That will fix the source of Applejack's aggressiveness/Stubbornness, but I'm still a bit miffed by the speed of the dialogue because I feel like there's so much potential that's being skipped. Sweet Mother Teresa on the hood of Mercedes-Benz, I really need to write my own damn story before I critique other people's stories-- makes me look like a jackwagon.
3927635
Late to replying to your comment, but I have to thank you. Decided to use Spotify and put all of Bill Talent's albums on my phone, and damn: they're amazing. You deserve a high-five and a thank you for exposing me to an artist I actually enjoy.
4058263 Well, there is some logic to this. He has been killing things and he burned his way out of one of her traps. If anything, she's not being hard-headed, she's being cautious. She doesn't want anything happening to her friends, familiy, ponies of Ponyville or the critters seeking refuge there.
Then again, I'm not Applejack so who am I to say what she thinks?
4058249 everyone else is being a so called "prick" and disregarding cres as a sentient being with much more power than they realize. the main canidates:
Applejack: seeming very territorial, having to resort to brute force in every single argument. She fits very well because she wants to protect everyone but being selfish at the same time. i see her like the NSA and the CIA combined, always keeping tabs and being cold against newcomers even though they seem very neutral, such as Cres.
I wonder if anyone else was thinking this... CMC Pokemon Masters, YAY!
Also, wonder if the princesses know about Arceus?
Og the irony of possibly having Apple Bloom as Cress' friend
in fact Applebloo is much more stable than Applejack when it comes to unknown possibilities
4038559
Called it!
Well, AJ is digging herself deeper and deeper a hole... at least she bothered to answer some of his questions about weather and stuff...
I mean, really... the amount of times he suggests he lies... it's like nobody ever lies in Equestria... not even about some small thing like not liking a dress your friend made for you... oh... wait...
Technically, even if he did commit a crime, unless the proper international agreements are signed, from law's standpoint he's as clear as... crystal, I suppose. In Equestria, of course. It also is dubious that he actually did commit that crime... it still seems more like an accident...
And unless they have laws that explicitly forbid to kill wildlife, even for your own survival, then he's not guilty of any crime(...well fine, whatever it is he did to Applejack... minor scratch I believe? With no intent to kill/severely harm, he even stated as much) and thus, at most they can keep an eye on him by observing him. Definitely not dictating him where he can and can't go (unless it's their private property), much less forbidding him from returning to the forest.
That's all assuming they don't have some bizarre legal system. And also taking into account it's 1 AM and I'm tired, maybe I'm dumb now...
I think it's agreed that Applejack can tell when someone is lying. I don't think she would be this distrustful of anyone, as even though she may have had some cause, she should tell that he's honest.
4058249 As others have stated before me, the ponies are the ones being pricks. They're forcing their way of life onto Cres just because they see him as a beast, not a sapient being who can think and act for himself on a higher level than those of the common Everfree Forest dweller. They see him as something not a pony, and they immediately put him below themselves because, as we all know, ponies are soooo much better than every other race out there in the world. So hell, looks like they get to dictate what's right and what's not based on their views.
Though having two ponies that can literally control the sun and moon respectively helps them with keeping others in check. You're not conforming to our way of life? Well, better eliminate you then.
So, are you trying to make Applejack completely unlikeable here? Because she is. She really, really is.
I know she's a stereotypical "southerner," but making her absolutely racist/specist and intolerant of other creatures that aren't ponies is kind of...eh...
4060289 There's also the matter of hunting grounds; Fluttershy essentially said the edge of the forest are out-of-bounds, yeah?
Well, from my perspective, the edge of a forest is where there's one tree between the forest and the terrain beyond it.
Apparently Fluttershy's definition of edge is a mile wide ring.
4060934 Yup. In all honesty, I don't think Cres should have caved that easily. He could've brought up any number of arguments, ranging from: they're not your animals, so you have no say in what I can or cannot hunt, to: just because I am here now does not mean I have to abide by your rules. Your way of life is fine for those of you who it affects, but you have no right to dictate how I live mine. If I am in need of food, I will hunt, no matter where it is.
4060995 Well, he IS seeking absolution for his 'crime' - which, if I'm reading into rightly, is an accident in itself. It may be that, in order to reach his goal, he's allowing compromises with the decisions of others, such as only hunting the weak and overfed animals instead of just animals in general.
Though I think that him eating as is his diet being considered "disturbing the natural balance" is bullshit - Fluttershy's doing that already with her 'rules'.
Christ, Pegasi controlling the weather is goddamn unnatural, in my opinion.
4060289
He's in their country, so tell me, what's so strange about expecting him to abide by their customs, laws and culture? If the Ponies went to the Pokémon world, Cres would expect them to do the same. They're not being pricks, Cres is. "Oh you have your own culture here that's been established for I-don't-know-how-long and you clearly have your own rules about hunting and the like? Well fuck you I shit on your culture and do whatever I damn well please even though I'm the stranger here and the task of addapting lies with me." If you had a stranger in your home, you would want him to live by your rules as well. That has nothing to do with being sapient, a beast or which culture is superior, it's basic manners.
Frankly, the comments here that are defending Cres' behaviour and are all toxic and outraged at the ponies are baffling. Applejack and the others have every damn right to be distrustful and warry of him, seeing as he is violent, completely disregards local laws and culture, has no respect for the culture of the land he is a stranger in, has repeatedly been shown as unwilling to adapt or ammend his behaviour to fit the law and culture despite repeated requests of the ponies to do so, is completely unrepentant for his transgressions and, as cherry on the cake, has repeatedly threatened to kill them for trying to make him live by the laws of their country. Who the buck does this guy think he is?
Yeah, clearly the ponies are the bad guys here. How dare they try to keep up the way things have worked in Equestria for centuries and live the way they have always lived. Assholes, all of them!
4061304 The part about a stranger in my house was creepy...
If I had a stranger in my house I'd call the cops...
4061304 And clearly they control all life as they see fit. No, I don't think they do. The Everfree forest is the prime example of that. It's the one area (canon wise) that's been shown to have no regards for pony "law". It grows as it pleases, it controls its own weather, and the animals take responsibility for themselves instead of lazing about and letting ponies dote on them hand and paw. Any animal that goes into the Everfree, which is a zone where ponies have no say in what goes on there, as NATURE actually fends for itself, as is the natural order, is free game. If you say where you can or cannot hunt in an area where your pony "laws" do not apply, you're the bad guy there.
He has pointed out that he does not eat sapient beings, nor those owned by sapient beings, because they have been claimed. Fluttershy claiming areas where she does not legally own the land is her being selfish and she has no right to do so.
This entire debate spawned from him hunting in an area with no governing body ruling over it. He doesn't hunt anywhere populated, with ponies/pets living there. He hunts where there are no societal preventions, where the only law is that of natural order. The strong consume the weak. If ponies have not been able to tame the Everfree since its creation, and are making no further attempts to do so, then Cres is perfectly within his rights to hunt there.
4061510
It's part of Equestria, so no, he really isn't. Or did you forget that Celestia and Luna once ruled from that place ponies haven't been able to "tame"? What ponies say goes in Equestria, Everfree is part of Equestria, so what ponies say goes for Everfree too. Just because most ponies avoid it due to its chaotic nature doesn't mean it falls outside of Equestrian jurisdiction.
Given how Fluttershy can communicate with these animals and they all clearly understand pony-speak to a certain degree, how are these animals not sapient again? Every single animal Fluttershy takes care of at her cottage clearly is intelligent to a much higher degree than what we are used to here, heck, just look at Angel Bunny. So yeah, Cres is full of shit when he says he doesn't eat sapient beings. He already has happily murdered a couple of beavers who were perfectly self-aware. Hell, he's a Pokémon who eats other Pokémon and ALL Pokémon can understand the human language AND CAN COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER. But no, clearly Cres only eats the unintelligent, dumb ones. What a hypocrit.
Cres saying "Fuck your culture and don't you dare speak againt me or I'll attack you and threaten to kill you" is him being a humongous asshole and borderline psychopath, yet for some reason THAT kind of behaviour is all fine for you people, but Fluttershy arranging a safe zone for forest animals that everypony and their mother knows exists is apparently OMG UNFORGIVABLE FLUTTERSHY YOU BITCH YOU'RE SO EVIL GO DIE IN A HOLE YOU WHORE!
Get your priorities straight.
4061612
So you're saying ponies can do no wrong, they are automatically right no matter what the situation. Good to know that ponies have successfully managed to manipulate others into realizing that they are the master race.
If they were sapient, they wouldn't need a Flutter translator. If they were sapient, they would try and reason with predators, or say something. But do they do anything like this? No, because they are not sapient.
Edit: I realize this might be a bit confusing, 'cause it is for me, and I'm the one who wrote it. The way I see things, beings in Equestria are split into two groups. Sapient and sentient. Beings like ponies, gryphons, minotaurs, etc. who have societies, can communicate to the point where everybody understands each other, and have cultural values that others can clearly see, are all sapient. Beings who exist, know they exist, can think on a higher level than just brainless animals, but cannot do any of the above mentioned things, are sentient.
Animals here are sentient. They can understand others fairly well, but other's can't understand. They do not have societies, nor do they have cultural norms/values that others can see, nor can other beings, with the exception of their own kind/Fluttershy, understand them.
As I said, natural order. The weak are consumed by the strong.
He is doing nothing of the sort. He needs meat to survive, therefore he must hunt. If the ponies don't want him to eat meat, then that's the equivalent of them saying they want him dead. And Cres attacked Applejack because she attacked first. He repeatedly warned her that he would retaliate, but she ignored it.
Yes, everypony knows it because she tells them its so. Who is she to decide who lives and who dies. Is Fluttershy God? No? Then I'll thank you to remember that should she tell others what you can or can't eat, she is being a tyrant. Also, who the fuck is saying for Fluttershy to go die, and calling her a whore? Applejack's the one everyone's pissed about lately. Fluttershy was just a minor foil that provided one nuisance to Cres that he has found a solution for.
4061701
I'm saying that you need glasses and need to learn how to read because whatever it is you read, it wasn't what I wrote. I said what ponies say goes in Equestria, BECAUSE IT IS THEIR FUCKING COUNTRY, SO THAT KIND OF GOES WITHOUT SAYING, DOESN'T IT? That has nothing to do at all with them being unable to do wrong, in fact, I didn't even touch upon that point. It's just like how in Gryphon land, what Gryphons say goes, or how in hoobahooba land, what hoobahoobas say goes. That's how such things work. It's common sense.
That, is the biggest bullshit I have ever seen. Let me ask you this: I don't speak Spanish, at all. I would need a translator to understand Spanish. Am I suddenly not sapient anymore? Or are the Spanish all non-sapient because they wouldn't understand me in return? Good lord, did you even read what you wrote?!
Also, in order to reason you need to be with two. Prey might try to reason, but if predators aren't willing to, it's not gonna do much, isn't it? I guess something that obvious just didn't occur to you. Not that that comes as any surprise.
And this is relevant to my point.......... how? Oh, that's right, it isn't. Natural order or not, they're still sapient, so Cres is a big fat liar in saying that he doesn't eat sapient beings. That was what I was talking about, so prattle on about your natural order and completely miss the point, it seems to be all you're capable of.
They do not want him to stop eating meat, they want him to abide by the hunting rules of Equestria, which he has repeatedly said "FUCK YOU" to. What he should have done is what any new arrival in a new country should do. Ask how things are done here. Fluttershy takes care of predators and they don't appear to be in any ill health, now do they? All he had to do is ask: "If I can't hunt here, then where should I go to find my nourishment?" and Fluttershy would have told him. But did he? Nope, he'd just slaughter his way wherever he pleased like a slasher-flick villain because "Bitch, I'm better than you evil-incarnate ponies, I'm the main character and everything I do is right so fuck off!".
And why did Applejack attack first, hmmmmmm? Oh, that's right, because Cres was being an uncooperative prick who insisted he be allowed to continue on a murderours rampage wherever he damn pleased and didn't want to listen to the rules of the country he now finds himself in. Once again, he's to blame for it, not Applejack. Frankly, if I had a psycho like Cres running around declaring himself above the local law, I'd want to punch in his teeth too.
An animal caretaker who's obviously been granted a form of authority by local government to deal with the wild life. Honestly, have you even watched the show, or are you just spouting bulltrout for the sake of bulltrout because your favourite Pokémon gets called out on his crappy behaviour?
I don't know. You have any proof she is or isn't? Also, this is important and relevant, how, exactly?
Yes, clearly Fluttershy is such an evil tyrant for doing her job as an animal caretaker. Honestly, to put it in perspective, what you are doing is basically saying that a guard of a national park has no right to be angry at poachers for killing animals in his jurisdiction, because who the fuck is he to decide who lives and who dies, right?
Frankly, why the buck are you all here when clearly none of you are pony fans, given how all you've been doing here is making the ponies out for everything that is evil for simply upholding their culture and their laws. THEY are in the right here. Equestria is their country. Cres is the guest, the newcomer. HE has the duty to adapt and to abide by their rules and the ponies have every right to call him out on it if he refuses to do so. That is how integration works, not the other way around.
4061747 4061701
Guys, as glad as I am that you're passionate about your viewpoints, can you take this elsewhere (like PMs or some such) because while you both have your points (which are both valid) it's becoming a bit heated and I’d rather not see the comment section turn into a small war between the two of you. Once again, glad that you’re caring this much, but please take it elsewhere.
4061747
Uh, no it doesn't. It's a pony country because it's mostly ponies living there. only two ponies make the rules there, not every single common pony in the world.
Apparently you never read my edit. Speaking the same language is not all that makes up a sapient being. Plus people who speak Spanish can learn English. They have the capacity to learn and speak a new language, unlike the animals (canon wise, as far as we've seen, they cannot speak, period.)
And here we go. You're running out of stuff to say so you stoop to insulting me personally. Are you really that shallow that, instead of trying to debate something like a rational human being, you would resort to petty insults just to try and get back at me?
4061768 Don't worry, I'm done here. If he can't continue a conversation like a normal human being, then I would just be wasting my breath.
4061833
Funny, since you're the one who ignored a lot of my points in your "reply" while I adressed every single one of yours. Yes, clearly I was running out of stuff to say. Don't kid yourself. It wasn't an insult but a factual observation, simple as that.
But yes, because the author has requested it, let us wrap this up. There's no point in continuing a discussion with someone who only picks the points of his opponent he can find an answer to, instead of all of them, and who doesn't understand basic logic and common sense. I might as well have tried talking sense into a wall. Have a nice day.
4061768
In any case, I wanted to say, I'm glad with the direction you took in the latest chapter since Cres' disrespect towards pony-culture was starting to grate me more than a bit. Either you noticed he was getting a bit prickish, or you always planned this, but either way, I think it was a good direction to go. So much of the tension and conflict could be easily solved by just sitting down and explaining things calmly, so I'm hoping that's what Twilight has planned.
4061859 If you look back, I clearly replied to every single one of your points. The last reply I didn't, because I stopped caring about what you had said after you started insulting me. I don't care if you call it factual observations, it was still an insult directed straight at me, using complicated words that basically meant: You're a dumbass.
As for 'talking sense into me', you're basically saying you failed to get me to relinquish my own views in favor of yours, which must be so much better, because you obviously must be some divine all-knowing being. Clearly, my caveman mind could not comprehend the vast workings of a mind so brilliant as yours. Thank you, for being an uppity, snobbish, prick.
4058196 Two letters, actually.
"Giritinia" versus "Giratina".
4062042
Ah, I see.
Absolution...
Absol-ution!
MIND BLOWN!
Did you choose absolution for the pun? Or maybe their is a secret reason why he keeps referring to this word...
4062463
Both
4062088 I got the eye of the proofreader, yo.
4058408 We're talking about the ponies that were scared of a pony with stripes. One of them has ADHD, one of them has OCD, one of them is socially inept and the rest are normal weird. I would be surprised if they weren't being unreasonable.
4063513
Recoome congratulates you.
img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111209202157/dragonball/images/9/9a/Recoome_Pose.png
4064085
4064038 doesn't mean he has to put up with it
4064388 Errr... That is true.
Applejack, why would anyone who was trying to earn the trust of others, whether to genuinely befriend them or to lull them into a false sense of security, ever actually lie, claiming to be a criminal, when he actually wasn't? It would be counterproductive. You're letting your distrust cloud your common sense.
I really like your story, but I do think that Applejack seems to be laying the distrust and hostility on a little thickly.