Bush Beat’s Journey

by Tree Sharp

Chapter 5: Back to Where it all Started

The empty, rectangular room felt familiar. Its wooden floor hadn’t been cleaned in a long time, and the bare concrete walls looked as if they were begging for some wallpaper. Although there weren’t any windows, the sole door stood wide open, letting in a fair amount of sunshine from the bright summer day outside.

Bush Beat still breathed heavily from his altercation with Brightside. He shook his head and tried to reconstruct what happened. Whether he’d cast the return spell himself, he couldn’t tell. But he most certainly knew that he was back in Equestria. Back in the room in which that gang was previously going to kill him.

Slowly and cautiously, the stallion started walking towards the door, attentively looking around for traces of any gang members. Realizing that the surroundings were absolutely quiet, he walked out the door, up a flight of stairs, and into the open.

He found himself at the edge of a tiny western-style town with wooden buildings, one of which had a large sign clearly visible from the distance marking it as a saloon. Still worried, but now also determined, he trotted towards the saloon and entered it.

“Howdy, kid!” the smiling barkeeper immediately called out as Bush Beat traversed the pair of swinging doors. Save for the mare, the room appeared completely emptied out, though.

“H-hello,” Bush Beat responded hesitantly. “Where... where am I?”

“Whatcha mean, where are ya?” The dark-brown earth pony behind the counter tilted her head, still smiling. “Yer in the saloon, o’ course! Care for a drink?”

Bush Beat noticed his dry throat and pondered his situation. He was thirsty, but he also didn’t have any money on him. “I mean, what town is this?” he asked.

The barkeeper laughed. “Why, this here’s Dodge Junction!” she said, but then lost the smile. “Are ya lost, kid?”

“Lost?” Bush Beat echoed. “I...” He faltered.

“Here,” the barkeeper said as she pulled a tap on a keg to pour a liquid into a glass mug that her other hoof was holding underneath the tap. The beverage foamed as it filled the mug. Then she placed the mug on the counter and smiled. “First one’s on th’ house.”

Bush Beat nodded gratefully, seating himself atop a barstool. “That’s very generous of you. Thank you.” He took a sip of the drink and immediately recognized it. “Mmh, apple cider,” he almost involuntarily stated.

“Finest quality from Sweet Apple Acres!” the barkeeper declared proudly. Bush Beat looked at her in surprise. He had heard the name ‘Sweet Apple Acres’ before, but only in that human-made television show Brightside had showed him.

The barkeeper looked at him and continued. “If you don’t mind me askin’, how’d ya get here?”

“Botched teleportation spell,” Bush Beat replied without hesitation, like he’d previously rehearsed the lie, and took a strong gulp of cider from his mug.

“You don’t say,” the barkeeper said with a smirk. “So where’d ya come from?”

“Manehattan,” Bush Beat replied, again without any hesitation.

The barkeeper raised her eyebrows in surprise. “That’s a mighty long way to be teleportin’ by accident!” Bush Beat looked at her. He had no idea how far Dodge Junction was from Manehattan, but more importantly, neither could he tell whether she had already mentally filed him away as a liar.

“Well,” he shrugged, “a friend was helping me.” He raised the mug once more and hastily finished the drink.

A short memory flashed past Bush Beat’s mental eye. It was when he was straining himself, trying to teleport out of Brightside’s apartment, and then looking up to suddenly find himself in the underground cellar. Something about this didn’t add up. It was obvious that Brightside was a far more capable user of magic than himself. If he could transition to Equestria while hardly even trying, why couldn’t Brightside? Could it be that Brightside had actually been the one sending him back? But if he could do that, why didn’t he follow suit?

“A friend, eh?” The barkeeper smiled. “Sounds like a friend worth goin’ back for.”

Bush Beat shook his head and frowned. “I... I won’t see him again.”

The barkeeper looked concerned. “What ya mean?”

Bush Beat just sat motionless now, absorbed in thoughts and conflicting feelings. The barkeeper examined his face for a while before returning to smile. “Well, if it helps, you’re always welcome in here for sure.”

“I need a place to stay for a while,” Bush Beat said. “I could help you out in the saloon and...”

The mare interrupted him. “Kid... Ah’m not exactly overrun with customers, y’know?”

Bush Beat paused, taking another look at the empty chairs, and sighed. “I noticed.”

“Tell ya what,” the barkeeper offered, “Ah know just the right place to go.” Pulling open a drawer, the mare picked up some oblong piece of paper with golden ornaments on its corners. She placed it on the counter, sliding it towards her visitor.

Bush Beat tilted his head to read the writing. Along the top, it read in bold capital letters, One-way Ticket. From: Dodge Junction. To: He lifted his hoof to read the text. To: Ponyville. Bush Beat scratched his head briefly until he remembered where he had heard that town name before. It was that show Brightside had shown to him in the human world.

“Go to Ponyville, try to find the Hay an’ Stay. Tell ’em that Ah sent ya. The owner, she’s an old pal o’ mine.” The barkeeper smiled again, though this time the smile appeared somehow more genuine. “Name’s Tendercare.”

Bush Beat was momentarily overwhelmed and began to stammer. “I-I... I’m... Bush Beat. You are very kind. I don’t know what to say.”

“Hey,” Tendercare said, “that’s what friends are there for!” She gave him a wink.

---

After a lengthy journey, the train came to a halt at its destination. “Ponyville!” the train conductor enunciated clearly. A pegasus passenger with a pale yellow coat hastily arose from her bench and hushed towards the exit, a small suitcase dangling from her mouth. Bush Beat noticed a book left behind on the bench that she’d been resting on. He hurried to pick it up with his magic and then followed the mare who was evidently its owner. “Excuse me,” he addressed her as he left the train car behind her. “I think this is yours.”

The pegasus turned around to look at the floating object and recognized it. “Oh, my!” she said while dropping her luggage. Her soft voice was difficult to make out through the noise of all the passengers leaving the train at the same time. “It...is indeed! Did I, um, leave that on my seat? I’m so sorry to trouble you...” She turned her head to the side timidly. Bush Beat was briefly taken aback as he recognized her as the character Fluttershy from the TV show.

“No trouble at all,” he said and hovered the book in front of her.

Suddenly, a very pink pony came jumping out of the commotion and euphorically shouted out, “Fluttershyyyy!” The mare, whom Bush Beat recognized as Pinkie Pie, stopped just in front of them, though she continued bouncing up and down. “Did you bring it? Did you bring it?” she squeaked excitedly. Shortly after, three more ponies homed in on the pegasus. They were Rarity, Applejack, and... the young filly named Scootaloo.

“Oh, yes, Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy calmly replied, “I did bring it. Although I... I would have accidentally left it on the train if it weren’t for this kind gentlecolt here.” Her eyes moved over to Bush Beat.

Rarity stepped up to Bush Beat, addressing him. “Why, thank you so much, mister!” she said, while Fluttershy grabbed the book in her mouth, opened her suitcase, and placed it inside. Scootaloo jumped avidly beside Rarity and added, “Yeah! We need that for...” Intently looking at Bush Beat, she suddenly stopped. It seemed like she had noticed something about him that made her pause.

“For what?” Bush Beat asked, looking confused.

“Uuuh...” stammered Scootaloo as she looked at Rarity and then Applejack. “Can we invite him to the party?”