• Published 21st Dec 2015
  • 22,469 Views, 697 Comments

That Strange Stallion - Gunther the Green



There's a new pony in Ponyville but they just can't figure him out. He answers questions but that only crops up more questions.

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The Strange Farewell

That Strange Stallion

The Strange Farewell


While some would like to awaken in their own bed at their own time, Sweet Melody and Broken Record did not have that luxury. Due to some bad luck and poor timing, the family had to take refuge from a storm inside of a very weird friend's house. That wasn't bad per say but when Lullaby woke them up just before sunrise, they knew they were in for a stressful morning. The sound of a baby wailing right next to their ears gave the both of them a headache.

"I think it's your turn," Record said groggily. He rubbed his head with both hooves to try and unsuccessfully stave off the headache.

"It's always my turn," Melody grumbled. She gave a sniff which immediately told her what the issue was. The foal needed changing. She halfheartedly looked around the roof, praying that there was something she could use. It was then she noticed a bag sitting at the end of the bed with a crudely written note. It said 'I stopped by your place to get some essentials for you. Hope this helps'. It wasn't signed but she knew it had to have been Martin. She immediately began looking through the bag to find the things she required.

"What's that?" Record asked as she began to change the baby.

"Seems like Martin broke into our house a second time to bring back some of Lula's things. Look at this, he even picked out her favorite blanket! Wait, never mind, he took all the baby sized blankets," she smiled regardless.

"Ugh, I'm gonna have to lug all those back," he flinched away at Melody's glare, "I mean, we should thank that stallion as soon as we see him again." She gave a firm nod and finished cleaning the baby.

Record went towards the bathroom to see if the stallion was still asleep in there. Melody entertained the baby for a bit with babbling and 'Where's the baby?'.

He ignored the strange contraption, which had changed over night, and opened the door normally. A quick glance around the tiny room showed that Martin wasn't there. Although, there was a pillow and a bed sheet laid out in the tub. Probably where he slept. But if he wasn't here, then where was he?


It was a lovely pre-morning, soggy too. Pinkie was waiting out in the park for Martin at their agreed time. They had said that they would work together to clean up as much of Ponyville as they could before anypony else could to surprise them. Both of them being early risers helped them greatly.

Although, Pinkie was excited for an entirely different reason. Yesterday before the storm, Twilight had gathered the girls for another meeting concerning Martin and she had big news. She had finally interrogated Martin herself and she learned a lot. The most important thing she learned though, was his super secret power. Apparently, he had some sort of weird energy that he got from somepony that lets him do all kinds of neat stuff. It had gotten some surprised looks from all the girls, except Fluttershy who was more scared than surprised for some reason. Pinkie was hoping to see some of that first-hoof.

"Morning Pinkie," she was suddenly greeted out of her thoughts. She looked down the path and saw Martin walking towards her, looking ready to go.

"Morning Martin," she called back with a little giggle, "What brings you out to this magnificent morning? Maybe you're meeting a memorable mare to mayhaps map out the mess the storm made?"

He chuckled at her antics, "Well, perhaps I'm being punctual to the play-date I had planned with a possibly peppy pink party pony of Ponyville who is popping to clean plenty of piles of debris? Please pass the poker, Pinkie."

"Aw, no fair, you got an easy letter," despite her words they both laughed at their own joke.

"Maybe," he agreed, a wide grin on his face. She gave him a playful shove. "If we want to clean up before the rest of Ponyville awakens, then we better move fast."

The two early birds looked around at the destruction of the storm. There was mud, twigs, trash from overturned bins, fallen shingles, and other such debris. The town had taken a bit of a beating but it was over and done with at least. It was unlikely they could finish everything before somepony got up. Unless something special happened.

"So Martin, think you should do a little somethin, somethin to help the process? You know what I mean?" she asked, giving him a few nudges.

He chuckled again, "Ya, I probably should if we want to finish this as fast as possible." With no further prompt, two white tentacles sprang forth coming from either side of his barrel. Along with those, the light formed into a large bowl shape that sat on his back.

Pinkie couldn't help but beam at the display. It was so amazing! She couldn't help but wonder why he didn't use it more often. If he did, she wondered how nopony had noticed sooner than Applebloom. "So how are we doing this?" she asked, not bothering to explain her lack of surprise.

He didn't question it though. "Try and pick up every piece of debris you can and toss it into the bowl. I'll carry it somewhere to drop," he explained.

She looked around at the amount and couldn't help but ask, "Do you think you can carry all of it alone?" He may be super strong but she didn't want him to over exert himself so early in the morning. She knew the other girls would have their own concerns with him.

He waved a dismissive hoof, "I'll be fine. Let's just try not to make this go on for too long. I'm not sure how long I can keep this up for," he nodded towards his back. Right, better get started.

The two of them walked down the dark roads of Ponyville, picking up every mess they could spot. Martin kept to the middle of the road and snatched up anything within grabbing distance of his tentacles and dropped them into the bowl. Pinkie however, doubled the effort by dip, diving, and leaping around Martin. Picking up everything that Martin couldn't. Each time she picked up something, she would toss it into the ever growing pile on Martin's back. By the time the sun peaked over the horizon, they had picked that portion of Ponyville clean. The other residents would come out soon to assist, so Pinkie thought it best to stop before somepony notices Martin's power.

"Come on Martin, Mayor Mare made this area for gathering debris," Pinkie told him, leading him towards the designated place. Martin followed without hesitation, his bowl almost filled to the brim. Pinkie made a circle in the dirt for him to drop. He walked over and stood next to it. The bowl began slide off his back towards the circle and dropped the debris into it. As soon as the bowl disappeared, ponies began to come out of their homes.

Pinkie gave an internal sigh of relief. While it would be nice to show everypony how amazing Martin is, Twilight had made it a point to not reveal it. According to her, they wouldn't be able to handle it. She didn't really believe it but she listened anyway. Almost everypony in town was his friend by now, so they'd totally accept him.

Martin wiped some sweat off his brow. Guess it was true then, using his power puts more strain on him than actual physical activity. "Hey Martin?" Pinkie called his attention, "I've been wondering. What else can you do with that neato power of yours?" She knew he could make things out of them but could he do anything else with them?

"Well they allow me to sense certain things if I focus," he explained, "A sort of sixth sense. It allows me to perceive beyond what my body normally allows."

"Cool! I got something like that too but it's completely random. I call it my Pinkie Sense," she told him.

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Pinkie Sense?"

"Ya. I can sometimes predict what's going to happen soon based on how twitchy, achy, or other weirdness happens with my body," she explained. Which brought up an interesting thought. Martin has so much trouble with doors, why didn't she get any ear flop, eye flutter, knee twitch combos? Can her Pinkie sense just not pick up on Martin?

"Really?" Martin asked, curious. "Such as?"

"Well when my tail twitches, that means somethings going to fall from the sky," she said, pointing to said appendage.

Martin gave a brief glance upwards, "It must have been going nuts last night then."

"Nah," she dismissed, "It's completely random. I think it mostly calls out to the things that come out of nowhere. Too sudden to see normally." Her body would go nuts if every possible chance of a prediction happened.

"Hmm, I wonder," he tapped his chin in thought. Without warning, every hair on Pinkie's body stood straight up and poofed out.

"Woah! What's this?" she asked looking down at herself. She'd never had this Pinkie Sense before. She looked like an over sized puffball. She looked back up and saw Martin rolling on the ground laughing hysterically. Her fur flattened out, returning her to her original look. It took a few seconds but he calmed down enough to get into a sitting position.

"I think you have a Pinkie Sense for when I frown," he said slightly out of breath. "Wow, I didn't think me frowning was so rare that it was Pinkie Sense noteworthy," he said, another chuckle bubbling from his throat.

She stared in disbelief at him. "It happened because you frowned?" she skeptically asked. She didn't think he had any reason to frown.

"Here, watch me," he told her. Suddenly she puffed out again, but she continued to focus on Martin. His lips turned downward into a forced frown. She couldn't help but stare at it. It seemed so out of place on his face. Martin had never come close to ever frowning as long as she's known him. He didn't even look like the same pony.

He gave some effort to keep from smiling, but the way she looked was too much and he went into hysterics again. Her fur flattened out once more. "Is your frown really that rare?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Well I've never come across anything that would make me upset enough to frown," he answered with a shrug. "The closest I've ever gotten is the fake one I showed you. I use that for when I'm in competitions."

She raised an eyebrow at him, "Why would you frown in a competition? Was it a frowning contest?" She wondered what kind of contest that would be. Maybe it was to see low a frown could reach. Oh, or maybe it's to see who had the longest sustaining frown. She just imagined a line of ponies trying to keep a straight face as somepony did goofy things in front of them. Those palace guards must be champions of it.

"I'd totally lose that contest. But, no. You see, several of my friends are really serious or proud. When they see I'm smiling during the game, duel, or whatever, they get upset. So, for them, I frown to show that I am taking it seriously," he explained. Huh, that seemed kinda weird to her. She'd want her opponent to smile if they were playing a game. So she knew that they were having a good time.

"Martin!" somepony suddenly called towards them. The two of them looked over and saw Melody galloping towards them. "There you are. I've been looking for you," she said while coming to a stop.

Martin looked between the two pink mares, "Huh, I always wondered if you two had similar shades of fur." Pinkie gave a giggle but Melody instead leveled an unamused stare. "Hello Melody, did you sleep well?" he asked.

"I slept fine. I woke up a bit early but I'm used to that. I wanted to thank you for all that you did last night," she told him.

"What happened last night?" Pinkie asked, curious.

"Melody got stuck out in the storm and got a little lost. So I invited her to stay in my room until the storm was over. Then her husband got lost out in the storm. Brought him home too. Then I went out to grab their baby from their house. So the whole family stayed with me for the night," Martin explained.

"Wait, why didn't she follow you to her house? Did she want to have a sleepover with you?" Pinkie asked.

Martin moved to answer but Melody cut him off, "Yes, absolutely. He's such a kind stallion that I wanted to bring my whole family over for a sleepover." Melody wasn't about admit to both her screw up and Martin's secret.

Martin raised a confused eyebrow at her lie but didn't call it out. "How are Record and Lullaby doing?" he asked.

"They're both fine," she fibbed some more. Record was probably miserable right now, having to take care of Lullaby alone while also bringing their supplies back to their house. "What about you Martin? You exhausted yourself the most last night," she inquired. He seemed fine at the moment but he had to have woken up pretty early just to go back to their home for the supplies.

"I'm fine, I got a decent amount of sleep," he waved off her worry.

Pinkie's curiosity was peaked again, "Exhausted doing what?" That seemed worrisome to her. She feared he may not be able to last through the day.

"Um," Melody hesitated, having trouble coming up with something that could physically exhaust the stallion in his own home.

"I overexerted myself with my power to find Lullaby," Martin answered honestly. Both pink mares shushed him but stopped when they noticed the other was doing it too.

"Wait, you know about it too?" they said together.

"Of course. Melody fainted when she saw it the first time and Pinkie clearly saw it when we used it to make that pile," he said while nodding towards the debris.

Melody gave a quick glare to Martin for revealing that but stared back at the other mare. "Look, Pinkie. I know you're a bit of a blabber mouth, but can you please not mouth off about Martin's power?" she asked.

"What?" she looked over at the other mare, surprised, "I'm great at keeping secrets. I haven't broken a Pinkie Promise yet."

"Oh really?" Melody raised a skeptical eyebrow, "From what I hear, you're the one that blabbed about that Gala ticket. The very reason why my stroller got stolen."

"Ya, but that wasn't a secret," Pinkie countered. Melody continued to glare at the party pony, not buying her claims. Martin watched the two of them with increasing nervousness.

"So? I had my personal belonging stolen. If it hadn't been for you-" Melody was about to rage at Pinkie but Martin put himself between them.

"Woah, woah! Easy there, let's not say or do something we'll regret," he tried to stop an argument before it started.

"She needs to know that there are certain things you shouldn't do," Melody continued, pointing at the other mare.

Martin slowly brought a hoof up and pushed her's down. "Look, mistakes were made and accidents happened. That doesn't mean you should be upset with each other." Melody looked away with a harrump, but Pinkie gave her a sad look. Martin reached out and wrapped his forelegs around them and brought them up against his body. "Come on girls. You two are friends, you should remember the good times. Not the bad. Here, try it. Melody, you say something you like about Pinkie." She just turned her head up and away, not bothering to answer. "Come on Melody. Do it for me?" Martin pleaded.

Her ears lowered in guilt before sighing in defeat. "Alright, alright. Lullaby's last birthday party was the best party I've ever seen," she admitted. Pinkie looked over at her with a bit of surprise. "Lula looked so happy. She just enjoyed everything about it. You did amazing, you should be proud of yourself."

"Oh, well, thank you," Pinkie smiled at the other mare.

"Now it's your turn Pinkie," Martin told her.

"Oh that's easy, she's an amazing singer. She doesn't really do it that often but when she sings to her foal, it's incredible!" Pinkie gushed.

Melody looked at her in full surprise, not expecting such an honest and quick answer. "Thank you," she said with a hint of a blush.

Martin moved the mares in front of him and pushed them together, "Forgiveness is easier than you think if you both make the effort." They stared briefly at each other before giving the other a big hug.

"I'm sorry," they said together. They giggled at their synchronization. Martin smiled at them, glad another friendship didn't burnout. The pink mares separated themselves but the connection remained.

"Ok Pinkie, I trust you. I know you won't tell, because you keep your promises," Melody said. "I should get back to Record before he does something else dumb." With only a wave of a hoof, Melody walked away.

Martin sighed in relief, "I'm glad that worked out. Wouldn't want my friends to leave while still angry. If you can, never walk away mad. Letting something stew will only make the grudge grow." She looked at Martin with a tilt of the head. It made sense kinda, but wasn't it also true that you should let ponies cool off first? She didn't want to call him out on it though, didn't want to make him feel bad.

"Thanks for helping, Martin," she told him. She probably would have felt horrible if she actually did those things and never got to apologize because they wouldn't talk.

He smiled kindly at her, "Your welcome. Just remember, there's always hope for forgiveness. Never forget that."

She smiled back at him, "I won't." Hope. Somehow, that word felt right around Martin.


When Rainbow Dash heard that Martin had some kind of super power, she expected Martin to transform into somepony epic or at least more intimidating. However, as she stared at him, she couldn't imagine him as anything but his goofy self. He had these big expectant eyes and happy smile. Right now, she had invited him over to the area below her house. She had promised her friend that she would invite him over to her house and she was going to keep that promise. One problem. How? She completely forgot to ask Twilight for that cloud walking spell. When she finally remembered, Twilight was too busy looking at a bunch of papers. So now she floated above him, stumped on what to do next.

"So how are we doing this? Magic flying dust?" Maritn asked. Rainbow suppressed an irritated sigh. If his ideas weren't reckless, they were sometimes just downright weird. Magic flying dust? Why would somepony enchant dust to make somepony fly? That seemed so weird.

She frowned at him, "Of course not. I'm just trying to figure out how to keep you up there. We need balloons, magic, or some other thing to keep you on or above the clouds." Maybe she could ask Pinkie for something.

"Oh, is that all? That's simple, I could just stand on the air," he said, confusing the mare.

"You can what?" she asked skeptically. Once again, Martin said something completely unbelievable. At this point, she should be expecting these things.

"Well, I can create platforms for me to stand on. Like so," he said while a hoof-sized white disc appeared in front of him at barrel height. Rainbow's eyebrows flew up in surprise. She landed and looked intently at the disk.

She looked at it from every angle. It was simply white, see through, and apparently solid. So this was Martin's super power? It seemed so... lame, honestly. It wasn't colorful, it wasn't exciting. It was just... there. Functional. Boring. Why couldn't he have an epic power? Like-like, laser teeth! Something interesting at least.

"You think this little thing is going to keep you up there?" she asked him with disbelief.

"Sure, just watch." He slowly raised a foreleg and placed it on top of the the disk. He pushed onto the disk and raised himself up, bringing another foreleg forwards and up. Immediately another disk formed for him to step on. His hind legs followed him up in short order and corresponding disks appeared for them. Step by step, Martin ascended up what looked like invisible stairs. An invisible spiral staircase no less. Disks appearing and disappearing for him as he needed.

Rainbow flew next to him as he ascended. She looked down as they distanced the ground and realized something. "Hey wait a second, why didn't you do this when you jumped off that cliff?" she asked him with a slight glare. He could have saved himself from falling. He made her worry for no reason.

"I said I wanted to fly," he reiterated. "This isn't flying."

"Neither was the falling you did either," she gave him a deadpan look. He gave another chuckle as they made it past the lower part of her house. He stared in wonder at her house. She swelled in pride at that. The multistory cloud building and rainbow falls held the stallion's attention. "Here we are. Home, sweet home," she declared, waving a hoof towards it.

"Wow," he said in wonderment, "It's amazing. There's nothing that comes even close to this in Broken Depths." Rainbow had a confident smirk. Glad to have something that someplace as weird as Broken Depths doesn't have. "Is that liquid rainbow?" he asked, walking over to the puddle.

"Yep, just don't try to eat it. Rainbow's are for looking, not eating," she informed him. He silently stared at her with expectant eyes. She just knew what question was on his mind, "They have sorta spicy taste. Now come on, I'll give you the grand tour." She gave a quick glance to his hooves and noticed he was standing above the cloud on his little disks. Good, no need to worry about him falling yet.

"You know, this makes me wonder," he started looking towards Ponyville, "Why do you live so far away? You're on a cloud. Couldn't you just live right above the town?"

She gave another frown, "Are you kidding? You can't have a cloud above the town off schedule. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to live closer but it would cause too many problems. We have to be precise in the weather or we'll need a drought or another storm to compensate for the mess up."

"That's too bad, but I see your point." He looked back towards her house, "So how about that grand tour?" She led him into the house and he looked at everything in wonder. "This is incredible," he said looking at every little thing, wow'd by some simple pegasus ingenuity.

"Ya it is pretty amazing," Rainbow bragged. She wasted no time in showing him all of her stuff. Especially her Wonderbolts memorabilia. The stallion still barely knew a thing about the team. Well she was going to educate him in all that she knew. "Martin would you stop trying to eat my house? I keep telling you, clouds don't taste like cotton candy," she ignored his response of 'But rainbow's are spicy!' After she straightened out a few rules. This was the third time she's glanced back and seen him try and take a bite out of any part that resembled a cloud. It was weird! "Look, there are a few things here that need some ground rules."

He gave her a bemused look and looked down, "Does it still count as ground rules when we're up here like this?"

Rainbow couldn't help but roll her eyes at the joke, already expecting it from the stallion the moment she said it. "Rule number 1: Don't touch. I know all about your bad luck and tendency to get into accidents," she stated while giving a weary glance towards her stuff.

His smile turned nervous and slightly embarrassed. "Good grief, do I do it enough that there's a rumor about it going around?" he asked.

She frowned at his question, "Rumor nothing, ponies have seen your accidents. What is up with that anyway? You can do this," she pointed towards the platform he created to lay on, "But you can't stop your bad luck?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, "I'm afraid luck manipulation is out of my capabilities. Sides, I wouldn't want to take it away even if I could."

She looked at him with a befuddled expression, "Why the hay not? You want bad things to happen to you?" That was probably the weirdest thing he's said so far, surpassing his goddess friend. Why would anypony want to keep their unluckiness?

"It's not the bad luck itself I'm talking about, but the experiences it gives me. It makes life interesting. Life would quickly become boring if everything went my way. There would be no challenge, no effort, and no satisfaction. It gives me plenty of things to work through and it makes me proud to be able to overcome them," he stated with a bit of conviction.

Rainbow tilted her head a bit at the certainty of his words. She could kinda see where he's coming from but, "That's not all caused by bad luck though. I still say, if you could, just wish it away." Maybe then she could actually perfect all of her maneuvers and impress the Wonderbolts.

"Maybe," he agreed with a shrug, "But think of it like this. Had I not been unlucky. I would have never messed up that spell and arrived in Ponyville. I would have never become friends with you or the other girls." She blinked in surprise at that. He had a point. He took his accident and made some good out of it. "Rainbow, you can't wish away your problems, but you can certainly overcome them. Grow stronger from them. You need to make the effort though. Ignoring a problem won't make it go away. However, with some effort, help, and strong will, there isn't a problem out in the whole wide world you can't over come. A bit of hope won't hurt either," he said that last bit with a wink.

She shook herself out of her surprise and gave a confident smile, "Well you don't have to worry about a thing. Ain't a problem yet that can slow down this mare!" Hope. He certainly seemed to have a lot of that and he refused to give it up for any reason. She could respect that.

He smiled at her, "Right. So about your Wonderbolts stuff-" he began but Rainbow interrupted him.

"Don't touch it!" Meaningful words or not. The stallion still had his bad luck.


Fluttershy was getting more and more nervous each passing minute. Yesterday, it had been confirmed that Martin had a frightening power. Ever since Martin helped give the animals a bath, several of them had went crazy trying to tell her something about the stallion. Each of the nervous animals said it was dangerous or scary. She wasn't sure if she should believe them though. The other animals were fine with Martin and she herself saw how nice he was. However, now that Twilight confirmed what he really was, she wasn't so sure what she should feel.

So, in order to resolve this situation, she asked Pinkie to give Martin a message to come over. As soon as the mare left, though, she almost immediately regretted her decision. She would be alone with the stallion. Maybe she still had time to get Rainbow Dash.

Her train of thought was interrupted by a familiar 'thunk' and a masculine voice, "One of these days, door. Our roles are going to be reversed and I'll... Probably still open for you. Wish you would too." She recognized the telltale sign of Martin at her door. Fluttershy was surprised at herself, she didn't jump or squeak in fright at his sudden arrival. She just felt almost calm at the familiarity.

She walked over to the door and slowly opened it for Martin. He seemed to be shaking his head due to the crash. "Hello Martin, thank you for coming on such short notice," she greeted.

He smiled kindly at her, like he always does, "Hi Fluttershy. It was no trouble, It's always interesting to come out here."

"Thank you, but I'd like to ask you about something Twilight told me," she said as she invited him into her house. She had asked all of her animals to go out and play, including Angel. So she could question him without worry. "She said you had a special power. You wouldn't have used that on the animals, did you?"

"Not really on them, but ya, I used it. Why?" he admitted. He declined the couch and instead felt more comfortable laying on his back on the floor just staring up at the ceiling. What was he doing?

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble, do you think you can show me what you used?" she politely asked. She looked up at her own ceiling but didn't see anything of interest.

He gave a light shrug before manifesting his power. Two tentacles came forth from his back and pushed him upwards from the ground. "Just this," he answered simply.

Fluttershy didn't share his casual sentiment and was quaking in her hooves. She would have dove for the couch but she was doing her best not to run. She was doing this for her animals and she won't back down. "A-are they dangerous?" she stuttered.

Martin hummed in thought, which only made her more nervous. He didn't outright say 'no', so there is a possibility of danger. "I haven't really tried to crush anything yet, so I'll just say no because of sheer inexperience," he finally said.

"Inexperience?" she couldn't help but ask. With how they were holding Martin up, she doubted experience would hamper their pony crushing capabilities.

"This power is more complicated than you think. It took a lot of practice for me to just get these things to be functional," he mentioned pointing to the two extra appendages. "Anything more detailed then this would be flimsy, which includes tentacles with crushing capabilities. These can hold but they don't have the force or weight to crush," Martin explained. He rested his foreleg hooves on his barrel and continued to look at her roof.

Her curiosity finally got the best of her and she asked what was on her mind. "What are you looking at?" It was kind of rude to not look at the pony you were talking to.

"I'm thinking of busting a hole in your roof," he answered bizarrely.

"Wha-wha-what?!" she stuttered, taking a step back. Oh dear, maybe she misjudged the stallion or offended him and now he was going to destroy her home.

"Not that I think your home is ugly," he immediately said after noticing her nervousness. "I just thought that it might look interesting if you had a skylight. Just being able to lay down and look up at the night time stars in the comforts of your own home.

"Please don't," she begged. Although having a skylight that could open would be useful for some of her larger birds, she just didn't have enough of them for it to be used that often. Plus she didn't want Martin kicking holes in her house and she knew he could.

"I won't, I won't," he waved a dismissive hoof, "It's just a thought. I'm sorry for even thinking of destroying part of your home."

"It-it's okay. I know you had the best intentions at heart," she forgave him, still nervous. Even though those intentions are unnervingly destructive. Honestly, she didn't want to know what led him to that thought.

"But you called me here because of me using my power on your animals," he flipped over and landed on the ground on his hooves, the tentacles dispersing. "If it will make you and your animals feel better, I will never use it around them ever again," he promised.

"I don't want to impose, but if you could," she tried to say delicately. She didn't want him to deny a certain aspect of himself, but there should be a time and place for it.

Then he went through some familiar motions, "Cross my heart, hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye." With the hoof in his eye, oddly without wincing, he sealed the Pinkie Promise. Fluttershy could feel a weight lift from her chest. It seemed he was serious about keeping that promise. "I hope you'll give me another chance to prove myself, with or without my power," he said with a reassuring smile.

She gave him her own smile, "If it's not too much trouble." Hope. Maybe she should have a little more in Martin, as he does for her.

"Well while I'm here, how about I finish that story for the animals? You're welcome to listen in," he told her. He walked out the still open door and immediately made his way to Harry. "Harry! Buddy, I'm going to start that story again. Can you remind me where I left off?"

Harry nodded and then began to growl and make motions with his paws. Martin nodded along with an occasional 'uh huh'. Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle at the adorable sight. Harry finished his charades by spreading his paws out wide.

"Uh huh, yes, right! I now know what I must do," he declared. "I must actually learn the bare minimum of charades to know what you just said." Harry leveled an unamused stare at him. "I know, I know. That pun was unbearable." This time Harry slapped a paw over his eyes. "Too much?" he asked Fluttershy.

She smiled kindly at him, "A little." She was glad he still remained himself. Well mostly, she wished he would play with the animals in a less rough manner. Those poor bunnies.


Big Mac was having a slow day at the apple stall. It was his turn to watch it and it seemed like there weren't many customers today. If he had to take a guess, it was probably because someponies overstocked for the storm and had no need for any apple products. That was fine with him, he'll still get the occasional customer who want a quick bite. Speaking of, one was stepping up to him now. "Howdy Martin," he greeted the smaller stallion.

"Hiya Big Mac," Martin smiled up at him. "Got any grapes?" he asked with a chuckle. Big Mac raised an eyebrow at him, confused at the question. "Nothing. Anyway, anything interesting today?"

"Well, if ya want something interesting," he started, reaching into the cart and pulling out a jar, "Granny Smith made a couple jars of apple jam if you're interested." Not the most sought after product, but it could get a few takers.

Martin pressed his face against the jar to get a closer look, "Neat, I've never even heard of apple jam. I don't doubt it exists. I've just never heard of it. Is it any good?" he asked, peeling his face off the jar.

Big Mac gave a nonchalant shrug, "It's pretty good." It wasn't one of the best of what the family puts out, but it was still tasty.

"Nice, I would like one jar please," he requested, taking out some bits. He set them on the cart and turned, allowing Big Mac to place the jar in his saddlebag.

"Make that two," a deeper voice intruded. The two stallions looked over and and saw Heavy Weight approaching. The stallion still had the bandages around his barrel but he was definitely looking better.

Martin stared at the two stallions, "Huh, again, my friends have similar colors," Martin compared. The two other stallion gave him a weird look but didn't call him out on it. While they were both red with an orange mane, Heavy was a darker shade and a head taller. "You getting a snack too, Heavy?" he asked.

"More or less," the largest stallion answered. "I see Little Mac here is selling. Think you can give me a jar?" he asked. Big Mac frowned a little at the nickname, but did bring out another jar.

"You two know each other?" Martin asked.

"Eeyup," Big Mac answered simply.

"A long time ago, when I first came to Ponyville and I started my gym training program. Little Mac here was one of the first to join. He actually impressed me, much like you did. He doesn't swing by as much but it's interesting when he does," Heavy continued. Big Mac hummed in agreement.

"You two ever get confused for being related to each other?" he asked further.

"Sometimes, more then once I've been asked if I was part of an offshoot of the Apple family. The answer is always the same. No, I'm part of the Weight family," Heavy said. That got a curious stare from Martin

"Wait, does that include Featherweight?" he inquired.

"That's right. He's a distant cousin of mine, but we are related," Heavy nodded. They didn't talk that often but he felt that they should after the school house incident. To make sure everything was alright.

"But he's a pegasus," Martin couldn't help but point out.

"If there's even a shred of pegasus or unicorn in an earth pony family, then there's a chance one can be born as one," Big Mac answered this time.

"Huh, that's interesting," Martin briefly glanced up in thought before gazing back at Heavy. "So how much has Big Mac improved since you first saw him?"

Said pony swelled a little, expecting another compliment. "Not very, I think he's just fattened out," he answered casually.

Big Mac glared at the other stallion, "Ah think ah've improved quite a bit since then."

Heavy wasn't intimidated and gave a confident smirk, "Oh really? Want to put your hoof where your mouth is? Hoof wrestling. Right here, right now." Heavy propped up his elbow on the cart and challenged the other red stallion.

"Alright," Big Mac responded, propping his own elbow on the cart. The two of them wrapped their hooves together and started the wrestle without even a countdown. Martin watched with interest as the two large stallions struggled to make the other one falter. The grip seemed to sway from side to side but neither one was willing to give up. It seemed dead even until a voice cut in.

"What in the hay do ya'll think yer doin?" a feminine voice said. The voice startled Big Mac which was all Heavy needed to finish the contest in his favor. The smaller red and green stallions looked towards the source while the largest cheered to himself in victory. "Big Mac, are you shirking your duties to play with a fun house mirror look-alike of yerself?" Applejack said as she approached the boys.

Heavy stopped in his cheering to glare at the mare for the comment, "Excuse me?" He took a surprised step back when she got up in his face with her own glare.

"I ain't talkin to you," she said. She walked up to Big Mac and gave him a scrutinizing look, "Well?"

The questioned pony glanced towards the sky in an effort to keep from looking her in the eye. "Nope," he answered.

She continued to give a hard stare at her older brother until Martin stepped inbetween them. "Hey, Applejack. Could you do me a favor and walk with me? I'd like to talk with you," Martin suddenly said, dragging her away from the scene. She gave some protest but she couldn't get herself out of his grip.

The two red stallions watched as the mare and the stallion left their sight. Slightly bewildered by Martin's action. "Best two out of three?" Big Mac asked.

"You're on," Heavy immediately agreed. They went back to opposing each other but did share one thought to thank Martin for what he did.


"Dag nabbit Martin, let go of my hoof!" she shouted at him. Despite her struggles, Martin was able to drag her for several blocks. His strong grip didn't really surprise her, given he's pulled up whole trees before. He finally did stop when they had arrived at the park. He seemed to really like this area for some reason. He loosened his grip and she was able to pull her hoof free. "What the hay was that about?" she asked, still miffed.

"Just giving them a little more time to have fun," he explained while laying spread eagle on the grass.

Applejack gave a raised eyebrow at the odd position but hardened her stare quickly after. "Big Mac is supposed to be workin that stall, not playing with every customer he comes across," was her retort.

Martin gave a chuckle, "I think I'd go there more often if he played with me after every purchase." He tilted his head quizzically, "What's wrong with having a chat when there are no customers to serve?"

"Ain't nothing wrong with that, but he wasn't chattin. What if a customer had come by? They'd just be standin there gettin antsy," she described. That was no way to run a business and it would ruin their credibility.

"No, I think he'd forfeit and acknowledge them. Like he did with you," Martin countered. "Why don't you trust your brother?" he suddenly asked.

"Of course ah trust my big brother," she immediately said. "But everypony needs a kick in the flank once in awhile to get us going again. No ah do not kick my family," she immediately corrected when he started getting that incredulous look he's always got. You could tell this pony that the sky was pink and he'd consider it.

"Sure you do," he said back. She narrowed her eyes at him, mad that he was insinuating she would ever hurt her family. "You kick apples trees all the time," he smiled widely at his joke.

Her glare eased up but didn't disappear. "That ain't funny," she said sternly. His smile lowered and he apologized. That kind of joke was just in bad taste.

"Well don't I feel lower than a snake's belly in a wagon rut," he said, his smile coming back full force.

"Really?" she raised an eyebrow at him. Was he making fun of the way she talks now?

"Of course, gotta make us as happy as a clam at high tide," he continued his little game.

She rolled her eyes and him, "You don't want me to ruin the boys fun? Fine, but can you do something for me in return?" Like the others, she had her own thoughts on Martin's 'power'. She knew it existed. Both Twilight and Applebloom confirmed it. What she was curious about, though, was what his limits were.

"Sure, whatcha need?" he asked. See, that's what she liked about Martin. No matter the time of day or who was asking, he'd always be ready to help anypony. Now if only he'd stop injuring himself.

"Got a special project for ya. It'll be tough but ah think ya'll can do it," she said.

"Ok. If you believe in me, then I can't let you down," he agreed. "So what will I be doing?" he asked further.

"You'll see," she answered mysteriously. She honestly wondered if this job would be too much for even him. They'll see in a little while either way.


Applejack led him towards an area he probably remembered. It was the part of the orchard that Martin had uprooted the trees of and apparently where Applejack first saw Martin use his power. The whole place was caked in mud from both the rain and the wind. That was of little consequence though. The real problem was glaring them in the face.

Martin circled around the pile of tangled trees. Branches were hooked together and the trees on the bottom were half buried in soft mud. "What happened?" he finally asked.

"We weren't able to finish turning all the trees you uprooted into pieces before the storm. In retrospect, it was a dumb idea to pull them all out at once. Anyway, the storm knocked all these trees together and twisted them up," she explained. "What I need ya'll to do is try and clean up this mess," she said simply. It seemed kinda unfair to make Martin do all the work for their mistake, but this was probably the only thing at the farm that needed getting done that could possibly be difficult for the stallion.

"Hoo boy," he said uneasily, rubbing his neck. "Well I did contribute to this. I had better fix it," he justified Applejack's reasoning somewhat. He walked over to the pile about to begin but looked back at the mare first, "You may want to keep a fare distance away, Applejack." She raised an eyebrow at the command but decided to heed the warning. With Applejack away from the pile, Martin closed his eyes and began to focus.

The farmer felt the ground quiver as the area lit up with a white light. She shielded her eyes briefly but the intense light went down quickly. When she could see again, she looked back at Martin and immediately dropped her jaw. Floating around Martin's back were four tree sized white tentacles. She had no real time to gawk at them as Martin set out to work immediately. The large appendages reached over and pulled out trees from the pile left and right. He set them off to the side, making sure they were a good enough distance away from each other so the branches and roots didn't get tangled again. Within a single minute, he had successfully separated the trees, ready once again to be turned into fire wood. She looked around in wonder at the display but what held her attention at that point was Martin himself.

The tentacles had disappeared but their affect on Martin remained. He stood on his four legs spread out and shaking. He was dripping with sweat and his mouth was open taking in desperate gasps. Applejack was afraid he was going to have a heart attack or something. She wanted to see how much he could handle but this was a worse of a reaction then she imagined. "I'm alright," he said between breaths. "It's just been a tough few hours. This has been the most I've used my power in a single day. I need to work out more," he attempted to joke, but it fell flat for Applejack. That's right, the other girls were probably curious about it as well and she knew for a fact she wouldn't have been the first one to meet up with him. Well she was going to make it up to him.

She lifted the tired stallion onto her back and walked over to one of the still standing trees nearby. "Here, you rest there while ah go get you some water. Martin, ah'm awful sorry for putting this on yer shoulders," she apologized while setting him down in the shade.

He just smiled kindly at her like he always does, "It was within my limits, don't worry. I'll be fine in a few minutes. I would like that water though, please." She wasted no time in running home and getting a ladle of water. She was careful not to spill it as she brought it back to him. He slurped it up almost immediately, giving a content sigh of relief. He laid down fully and rested.

Applejack decided to keep him company while he rested and took a moment to lay down in the shade as well. She didn't wait long to start a conversation, "Ah just gotta ask. Why do you go so far to help others? There could have been any other number of ways to deal with that pile, but you decide to place the burden all on yerself." Some of his actions can turn into being downright unhealthy, but he still goes out of his way to help. Putting himself at risk like that just wasn't right.

He didn't move or open his eyes as he answered her, "I was given this power for a reason. It hasn't been really explained all that well, but I know that I got it for being me. So, I won't change. I would have still done everything in my power to help even if this power didn't exist. It hasn't changed who I am, it just made me more effective. I just hope that I'm using it right."

She looked over at the tired stallion, "Ah don't think you need hope for that." Hope. Ya, she could see that. Everyday was filled with at least a little bit of hope. For Martin though? It was every second. "Martin?" she called to him as he didn't acknowledge her statement. The response she got was a loud snore. She couldn't help but roll her eyes with a smirk on her lips. He was as effective as an avalanche. Noisy as one too. She briefly wondered what Big Mac and his fun house replica were doing right now.

If she was psychic, then she would have known they were still trying to do their second hoof wrestling match out of three. Boys will be boys, as they say.


Spike and the library's newest visitor watched as Twilight almost hysterically try and make everything in the room perfect for Princess Celestia's sudden visit. She had gotten a letter that her teacher was coming by for a personal reason and felt that she would prefer it was without any fanfare. So Twilight was doing her best make her home comfortable for royalty. One problem, though. The visitor watching her work, was the Princess herself.

"Exactly how long has she been like this?" Celestia asked Spike. She had patiently watched her student work herself to the bone. However, she had showed no signs of stopping, not even when Spike had welcomed the princess inside and announced her presence. "I'm honestly surprised she hasn't noticed me yet."

"She's been like this ever since you sent that letter. She's been really out of it too since she's asked Martin all those questions. I'm starting to get worried, the last time she was like this she had a magical outburst," Spike described.

The Princess raised an eyebrow at him, "I sent that letter half an hour ago. Perhaps I should have come without the impromptu notice." She was proud that her student was being diligent but overworking oneself was not good for a growing young mare.

Spike gave a nonchalant shrug and moved to answer but an almost unheard thump came from the door. The alicorn and the dragon exchanged glances before Spike moved towards the door and opened it. Oddly, the two were greeted by an almost familiar brown tail. The pony turned around and revealed himself to be Martin.

He blinked up at the taller pony in surprise but smiled like he always does, "Well hi there Princess, hello Spike. What's going on?" Spike made a nervous glance towards Twilight for Martin's lack of respect to the Princess but it seemed she was still busy. He waved Martin into the room and closed the door behind him.

"Hello again Martin, it's nice to actually speak with you for the first time. Both Luna and Twilight have spoken highly of you," she told him kindly.

"Thank you, that's really nice of you to say," he accepted the compliment.

"We're waiting for Twilight to calm down and actually acknowledge the Princess," Spike decided to answer the question. "So why did you back up into the door?" he asked his own question.

"I think I've found a method of dealing with the doors. Maybe if I walk backwards, I can confuse them about whether I'm coming or going. I think it's working because it hurt less when I hit the door," Martin explained.

"Or it's because you have more padding in your flank than your head," Spike pointed out.

Martin gave a short pause to consider it before pointing a hoof at the small dragon, "That too." Celestia put a hoof to her mouth and giggled, amused by Martin's antics. It seemed the various reports on the stallion were accurate. She was glad that he remained his benevolent self even when he found out about the investigation. She was worried that the mistrust would hurt relations between Equestria and Martin. From what she read, it wouldn't be advised to get on the bad side of Martin's friends. She was confident things would work out though. If a place such as that can produce somepony like Martin, then it can't be all that bad.

Without warning, Twilight zoomed past the three of them, grabbing Martin in a telekinetic grip. She dragged him over to a chair and magically glued his feet to the floor. She placed a lampshade over his head and pulled the corresponding chain attached to it. The fact that it actually lit up surprised the two ponies and the dragon. Twilight ran off to the rest of the library. Not noticing the impossibility she just did.

Martin's face could be seen through the lampshade and he had a look of utter bafflement on his face, only able to utter, "What?" He tried to pull his hooves up but the magic glue kept him in place. He didn't try very hard so he didn't break the floor boards. "Little help?" he asked.

Celestia gave a resigned sigh and walked over to the overworked mare. She gently placed a hoof on her back, "Twilight, I think you've done enough."

The touch and words broke the mare out of her trance and she looked up in surprise at her teacher. She looked around the library and noticed Martin and Spike giving her strange looks. "Princess, library, not fit, Martin, lampshade," she babbled incoherently. The exhausted mare finally succumbed to her tired body and promptly fainted.

Celestia used a wing to catch her student from hitting the floor. She used some magic and floated the unconscious mare up the stairs, into her room. "Spike, would you please make sure she makes it into her bed alright?" she asked the smallest creature. He nodded and ran up the stairs. Celestia turned back to Martin and didn't bother to hide her amusement at the sight.

"Well this is one way I can brighten a life," he joked, which got another giggle out of the princess. "You think you can undo this?" he asked, wiggling his knees.

The ruler of Equestria decided to abide by his wishes and lit up her horn, removing the magic glue. Martin gave each of his hooves a shake to make sure they were fine and thanked the sun princess. "You're quite welcome, but there is something I would like to know. Not too long ago, I felt your power flair up, much like it did when the Ursa Minor wandered near town, but only myself and Luna could sense it. Can you please explain why?" she requested. She made no effort to hide the fact that she knew all about what's happened around him. According to the reports, there wasn't anything that could truly make the stallion upset. He took almost everything in good spirit.

He didn't immediately answer, as he was pulled the chain on the lampshade to turn it off and pulled the whole thing off his head. "You can actually sense it? Wow, you alicorns must be something in order to feel it. Normally only a higher being or those connected to them can, like Theo." Interesting, so only an alicorn can actually sense it in its raw state. Princess Cadance had felt a tingle, but she was probably not as in tune as the older alicorns.

"You keep mentioning 'higher beings' but what does that entail exactly?" she asked. She was curious to know about other beings that could compare to alicorns.

"Well apparently you alicorns, gods and goddesses, one of whom gave me this power, and a variety of powerful spirits," he described. Gods and goddesses. She and her sister were believed to be that in the past, but it did not seem like Martin made that same assumption. The one goddess he personally knew must be so different from them that he hadn't even considered it.

"Much like Tria? What is she the goddess of?" She knew that he refused to delve into her past but perhaps he was more willing to describe what she was.

"Tria was the goddess of disorder," he revealed.

Celestia mind immediately went to Discord, but she calmed herself. Martin was friends with this being, so it was unlikely they were as bad as the draconequus. "I can't imagine she would be glad to watch over something like that."

"Well there's a misconception about that. Disorder isn't only about the bad things. They are the majority but it also promotes individuality, competition, and evolution," he stated.

She raised an eyebrow at his words, "I see what you mean. Much like how order is not all good. It impresses upon complacency and stagnation, which can ruin a society." She was glad to see that the stallion had a better understanding about life. She was impressed. "Well I was worried that something like the Ursa Minor had happened. So I personally paid a visit to Ponyville once again. But when I stopped by, everything was fine. Which makes me wonder, what did happen?" she asked him.

He waved a dismissive hoof, "Don't worry. Some uprooted trees had been blown around by the storm last night. I used my power to quickly place them in a more orderly set up." She felt relieved upon hearing that, glad that everything was alright. It made her visit unnecessary but at least she was able to confront the stallion herself. So far, she was satisfied.

They heard a crash from upstairs along with Spike's voice. "Twilight! You need to rest," Spike insisted.

"But the Princess is here, Spike! I have to be a proper host," she countered.

"She's been here for a while," Spike told her. They heard hooves stepping down the stairs.

"Then all the more reason that I need to make up for what I did," she said as she came into view. Her mane was a mess and she still looked tired. Seemed like her nap didn't last long. Spike had his claws around her hind leg, trying to pull her back upstairs. "Princess Celestia! Good morning," she greeted.

Celestia raised an eyebrow at her and looked towards the position of the sun. "It's almost evening, Twilight."

The mare's smile faltered and tried to correct herself but Martin suddenly laughed. "If she had slept a little longer, you could have told her 'It's twilight, Twilight.'" Celestia giggled again. Twilight tried to reciprocate that, but the laugh came out as weak.

"So what brought you here today, Princess? Is-is there something wrong?" she asked nervously. She couldn't immediately think of anything that would upset the Princess for her to personally visit.

She waved a dismissive hoof, "You have no need to fear, Twilight. Martin already explained what I had sensed. He was simply being helpful again." Twilight's whole body seemed to relax at the knowledge that she hadn't done anything wrong.

"Would you like some tea?" she offered. She still wanted to be a good host.

Celestia shook her head in the negative. "It's best I return to Canterlot before I am missed." Twilight moved to say something else but Martin suddenly crawled under her barrel and stood up, lifting her on his back.

"Alright sleepy head. You heard the princess. It's time for her to go. So say good night and go to sleep," Martin told her.

"But the library," she said, starting to become drowsy.

"Will still be here when you wake up. Spike will watch it for you," he said.

"Ok," she finally agreed, "Good night Princess. See you in the morning." With that, she fell asleep on Martin's back.

Celestia smiled sweetly at her and whispered, "Good night, my little pony." For some reason a book with a title about cinematography dropped. "It's been a long time, since I've seen her fall asleep after working herself too hard," she commented.

"I'm sure the both of you miss the good old times," Martin said, watching Spike fix up the library after Twilight's panic attack. "When you're not looking back at the wonderful memories you've already had, you should look forward to the magnificent memories you're going to make," he mentioned.

She raised an eyebrow at him, "Well said, but what brought that on?"

He looked back at Twilight, "For some reason, I feel like I'll have to leave soon. So I'm working extra hard to help my friends. Either by physically helping them or giving advice. I hope I've made a difference."

"Hope, all of us could use more of it," Celestia commented. She made a glance to the horizon where the moon was beginning it's accent.

"It's easy to find, just look anywhere and you can see it," Martin pointed out.

Celestia nodded in agreement before changing the subject, "You know, I'm a bit amazed she fell asleep like that." The mumbling Twilight was doing was adorable.

"That's one thing I think we have in common Princess. We both have a comforting aura," Martin said as he ascended the stairs. Celestia smiled at the compliment but quickly morphed into surprise as Martin slipped on one of the stairs. She used magic to grab Twilight but didn't compensate for Martin fast enough and he slid to the bottom. She was about to apologize for missing him but he spoke up first. "Too bad mine is mixed with bad luck." Celestia found herself laughing again. Not at his misfortune, but along with him.


The sun had set and the moon was making it's arc across the starry sky but one mare was not quite ready for bed. Rarity was still up and about her home, shifting her belongings and bringing together her art. Unfortunately for her, due to a sudden change in a commission, Rarity was hard pressed to redo a dress in time of the deadline, which was tomorrow morning. She had to scrap her original plan and come up with something new.

As she used magic to bring around several fabric, tape measures, and scissors, she heard a 'thunk' at the door. She gave a tired sigh, already knowing who it was. "Yes yes, come in Martin," she said as she opened the door for him. As long as she's known him, he's always failed to open doors by himself. It was becoming increasingly irksome to always have to do it for him. He was a fully grown stallion for pity's sake.

Martin rubbed his jaw from the impact. "Maybe Spike had a point," he mumbled to himself. Although, too be fair, he was getting better about bumping into doors. He still hits them for whatever reason, but not with as much force. Martin looked around the room as fabric and sharp tools flew around. He ducked under some flying fabric, "Everything okay Rarity? I saw your lights on and things were flying around."

"Of course, of course. Just business as usual," her smile was strained and she gave a few weak chuckles. When she saw his raised eyebrow, she waved him off. "Don't look so worried. I'll just finish this and be right off to bed," she reassured him.

He gave a tilt of his head with a look that just said that he wasn't buying it. "Look, there's already one mare who's worked herself too hard. We don't need another one. Can't you just hold whatever this is off til morning?" he asked, moving a reassuring hoof towards her.

She reached up and pushed the hoof down, "No, no, no, that just won't do. It must be done by tonight. The mare is expecting it in the morning before she leaves. Although," she lifted the hoof back up, "If you would like to help me do this faster then I know just the means. Come with me." She pulled him deeper into her house, making sure to close the door, and pushed him up onto her stage with 3 full length mirrors.

"If I can help at all, I will but, uh," he hesitated with continuing his sentence as Rarity forced him into a frilly light purple dress. "I'm not quite sure what your thought process is on this," he finished, trying hard not to pull at the dress as Rarity tightened a corset around his barrel.

"I know, I know. You don't have the same proportions or physique of a mare but this mare will most likely be dancing and I have to make sure that all of the seams stay intact. So you will be dancing," she told him. She took a step in front of him so that they could speak face to face, "If you're at all worried about your masculinity, then don't be, it's just us. I swear to not tell a soul." Although she couldn't help but giggle at the odd sight of Martin in one of her dresses, her stress ebbing away.

He looked back at himself and watched as his tail flicked from the inside of the dress. "I'm not worried about that, although I would prefer a suit over a dress. I just don't want you to hurt yourself with all this," he said, gesturing to all the sharp sewing tools.

She gave him a frown, "What, like your actions against doors? You seem to always have trouble with them but you still visit ponies. Why do you do that, anyway?" she questioned. At first she thought it was simply him being clumsy, but perhaps it was something deeper then that.

"Again, those doors are out to get me. As for your question? To be honest, I'm still not used to having four legs," he answered. Ah that's right, Fluttershy did mention that he said he somehow got four legs again. He must have had less than that for a while if he was so clumsy after their return.

"That's why you're having so much trouble with crashing into things?" she questioned further.

"Well it's main reason, yes," he told her. Well now she felt kind of bad. Here he was, simply trying to get used to his renewed form and she angrily wrote it off as clumsiness.

She gave a tired sigh, "I'm sorry Martin. I have shouldn't be so snippy with you. Especially since you've been so kind as to help me with this."

Martin stepped down from the stage, being careful not to step on the dress he was wearing, and patted her back. "Aw, it's ok Rarity. You can be as snippy as you like. It's just us ladies here," he said jokingly.

Rarity gave an amused smirk. "I hardly think you're a lady. You have neither the poise or grace of one," she spoke in an exaggerated tone.

He gave a fake gasp and placed a hoof on his chest, "Well I do declare that I do have such things. Watch as I 'strut my stuff' as some would say." He then walked forward, stepping lightly and his head held high. Rarity couldn't help but giggle at the sight. He placed a foreleg over his forehead, "Oh merciful me, it is so hot. I hope my mascara isn't running. It will just ruin my makeup." She outright laughed at that.

"If you would like, madam, I can help you reapply your makeup," she offered, having trouble saying it without a giggle.

"Oh please do, I must look my best for this years gala ball," he said as he stood up on his hind legs, placing on hoof on his hip. However, as he brought the other hoof to his cheek, there was a loud tearing sound. He looked towards the raised leg hole and spotted a tear he just made. He went back onto all four legs and gave an embarrassed smile, "Sorry."

She waved off his apology though, "There's no need for you to apologies. This is what I asked for. If the mare had taken that dress to a dance, she would have also torn it and embarrassed herself. No, this fault is mine. I will fix this and make it right." She used magic to take the dress off the stallion and put it on her sewing machine. She gave another tired sigh, "If I had more time I would have been able to make one that didn't tear so easily. But whatever happens, happens." Martin quietly watched her do her work. In no time, the dress was fixed and edited to better handle stretching as well actually fit the proportion of the mare. She turned back to the quiet stallion, "That's that then. There is nothing else I can do for the dress. If I want to put more glamour on it, I will have to go gem hunting but it's far too late in the evening. No," she said raising a hoof, already anticipating Martin offering to help. "It's best we don't search at night. Thank you for your help. Would you care for some tea and crumpets? I missed dinner and am feeling quite famished," she politely offered. It wasn't much, but she just had to offer him something.

He gave her his usual smile, "Sure, I could go for something light." He waved a hoof over to the kitchen, allowing her to go first. She gave him a nod and led him inside.

Rarity set the table with plates and utensils while water was being boiled for the tea. Martin, for his part, took out a jar of apple jam and gently placed it on the table, unscrewing the lid but not taking it off. Rarity came back around with the crumpets and noticed the jar. "Oh? Applejack is selling jam again? It's been a long time since I've tasted that," she mentioned as she used magic to set equal amounts of crumpets on each plate.

"Big Mac actually, but ya. Looked tasty so I thought I would get a jar. Never thought I would be using it for crumpets though," he clarified as she brought the ready tea over.

She poured the two of them a cup and sat down at the other end of the table. "Well I can vouch for its flavor. I find it goes very well with it. May I?" she asked gesturing towards the jar. He gave her a nod and she used magic to open it all the way. She brought the jar closer to her and used a knife to scoop some out, spreading the jam across her pastry.

Martin watched silently as she used more magic to bring her fork and knife and neatly cut her food into small pieces. He looked down at his own place and gave a shrug. Next to each utensil, tiny white tentacles came forth and gripped them. A third larger one appeared as Rarity set down the jar. It wrapped around the jam and brought it closer where he repeated Rarity's actions.

Said mare watched in bewilderment at the sight of tentacles coming from her dining table. The fork with food on it was ignored as it floated next to her mouth. It seemed Martin had just confirmed Twilight's outlandish tale of his so called power. When she heard about it, she thought he would only use it when asked or in emergencies. To see him using it so casually made her pause. "May I ask why you are doing that?" she finally inquired.

"Well I didn't want to slobber over all your nice china, so I thought this might be more appropriate," he answered before taking a bite of the jam covered pastry. His face immediately brightened as he tasted it, clearly enjoying it.

"If that is your desire, then by all means, continue," she said taking a bite out of her portion. She should be more weirded out by the sight, but it was late and she had just finished with the dress. Besides, the tiny white appendages just looked oddly adorable as they danced around her table... Perhaps she should get some rest. Speaking of the dress, "I hope the mare will be satisfied. I know I can do better but I must accept my limits."

He gave her a reassuring smile, luckily closed mouth so she didn't see his meal, "I think you did fantastically. Keep up that hope Rarity, because I know it will become a reality." Hope. Martin was all about it. If he wasn't giving hope, he was achieving it instead. That's just the way he is.

"Thank you. Now, Martin, I must ask you if you can model another dress for me tomorrow," she suddenly requested with a mischievous smirk.

His smiled turned nervous, "Can't it be a suit?"

"But you make such a pretty mare. Oh, we could even give you a makeover. How does rosy cheeks and powdered fur sound?" she continued.

"Sounds like I'm gonna need to renew my masculinity card soon," he joked. They both laughed this time. Although, Martin's was slightly nervous about if she was actually going to go through with her plan.


Ponyville was being visited by a rather mysterious creature. She wasn't a pony, although she had the shape of one. She was garbed in a brown cloak that hid her appearance. She dug at the ground with a hoof as she was watched by fearful ponies. She looked around the block, causing the onlookers to cower under her gaze. The being gave an internal sigh and removed the hood of her cloak, revealing her stripes.

This being was known as Zecora. A zebra from a far off land that found a home inside of the dangerous Everfree forest. Because of how she looked, how she spoke, and where she lived, the ponies of Ponyville were afraid of her. She comes into town maybe once or twice a month to try and get some supplies for her brews but even when she hides her form, they all still cower. At this point she dug at the ground in false hope for maybe some discarded seeds that may have accidentally been dropped. However, today was a new day.

Zecora's ear twitched as she heard hoof steps that were not her own and a joyful humming. The noise was heading right towards her. She looked in the direction of the noise and spotted a green stallion walking up the path towards her. His eyes were closed and his head nodded to an unheard song. As he passed by her, she could hear him mumble 'try everything' to himself before continuing to hum.

The humming suddenly ceased as he stopped walking. He opened his eyes with a confused look and looked back at her. He made a glance at her cloak, "Stranger?" he said weirdly.

Zecora raised an eyebrow at him, "Stranger I am to you, but what brings you from out of the blue?" Her rhymed speech flowed easily to her, years of growing up with it making it simple for her.

The stallion turned around and walked up to her without fear. "Neat a zebra. First time seeing one of those. Hi there, I'm Martin," he introduced himself. There wasn't an ounce of worry in his voice. Just a joyful and welcoming voice.

"Greetings, I am Zecora from the forest. I am here to speak with Ponyville's florist," she explained herself. No need to beat around the bush. She knew she wasn't welcome so if he can help her finish quickly, then all the better.

"Oh, I thought the rhyming was by accident. But this is much more interesting. Well, if you want plants then you probably should talk with the flower sisters. Their names are Roseluck, Daisy, and Lily," he informed. Knowing their names didn't really help her find the ponies but at least she had names to search for. Perhaps he could help a little more?

"Thank you, I shall seek them out. If you could please show me about?" she asked of him, glad to finally have somepony to talk to that wasn't afraid. He must be a new resident because he had no idea who she was. She was lucky he either hadn't heard the rumor or he didn't care.

He gave her a reassuring smile. It seemed commonplace on his face. "Sure. I know where all three live. Let's try Roseluck first. If you'll follow me." He gestured towards the direction they'd be going and started walking. Zecora followed beside him, glancing around at the onlookers. They all had looks of bewilderment. Apparently this stallion had a reputation. What kind, she wasn't sure. It couldn't be anymore bizarre than the one surrounding her.

Martin led her through town and came to a stop next to a specific building. She could see from the window that it had various potted plants inside. She couldn't immediately see the plant she was looking for but perhaps the florist could still have some hidden away. She raised an eyebrow when he accidentally walked into the door face first. He gave her an embarrassed grin as he knocked on the door with a hoof. The door opened slightly as the presumed owner peaked out it but it immediately closed when she spotted Zecora.

Martin gave the door a confused look, giving a brief glance to the zebra, before knocking again. "Roseluck, what's wrong? It's just me and a new friend." His words got an amazed look from his companion. He apparently already considered her a friend even though he knows nothing about her.

"I'm not going to let her in! She'll curse all my flowers to taste sour or something," she insisted. She was afraid of this. It wasn't unexpected but she wondered why they thought she would curse them.

Martin gave Zecora a confused look and asked, "Can you?"

"Cursing, I am not capable. Willing to do it, is even less probable," she answered honestly, slightly worried. He might take the word from a pony he knew longer.

Instead, he turned back to the door. "See? Come on Roseluck, she's a customer," he insisted.

"Forget it, Martin!" the pony on the other side remained adamant. Perhaps Zecora should insist on going elsewhere. This pony was rather adamant on staying closed.

"Roseluck, do you trust me?" he suddenly asked.

The voice hesitated but did answer, "Ya."

"Then please believe me. Zecora won't do anything to harm you or your flowers. Please?" he begged slightly.

The voice didn't answer but the door did click as it opened again. It opened further for the pony and zebra. Zecora's eyebrows raised in surprise, apparently this stallion had a better reputation then she thought. Roseluck stepped out, giving fearful glances but not backing out. "Alright Martin. I trust you, b-but if I see one hex, the deal's off," she declared.

He smiled gratefully at her, "Thank you." Zecora gave her own grateful smile to the two ponies. One for accepting her and the other for giving her a chance. Even if she couldn't find the plant, she could still consider today a success.


"Ok, everypony has their roles," Pinkie said to the other girls. They were all inside of Sugarcube Corner in a circle. The other girls had serious looks on their face except Fluttershy and Twilight. Fluttershy was nervous but Twilight had an annoyed look.

"Can-can I switch with Rainbow Dash? I-I don't think I'd be very good at distracting Zecora," Fluttershy stuttered. She was afraid of purposefully being the target of the zebra.

Pinkie rubbed her chin in thought, "Well it could work but can you really quickly drag Martin?" she asked. Fluttershy glanced around nervously, not entirely sure if she could.

Twilight finally had enough, "Would you girls knock it off? Zecora is not an enchantress, Martin is not under her spell, and curses do not exist!" Twilight was irritated with their paranoia running away with them. Even though she did the exact same thing a couple days ago.

Not too long ago, Pinkie had dragged Twilight and Spike into the building to hide because apparently 'an evil enchantress' was prowling the area. A zebra from the Everfree Forest, named Zecora, had come into town for reasons nopony knew. Spike had quickly lost interest in the story and went into the back of the shop to get a snack. Everypony in town was fearful of this zebra. She even had Applejack shaking in fear, much to Applebloom's annoyance. Applejack had dragged the filly with her as soon as she heard Zecora was in town. Pinkie even made a song, warning ponies away from her. Anyway, as they were explaining, Martin had suddenly arrived and he immediately took interest in the new thing, like always. They couldn't really hear anything as they talked but the other girls assumed the worst. Which led to now as they discussed the rescue mission of Martin.

"I'm still not completely sold on the 'no curses' thing," a voice suddenly cut in. The girls whirled around in fright. Through the open top half of the door stood Martin, staring at them weirdly. Behind him Zecora, with some saddlebags of new plants, looked at them with a raised eyebrow. "Hi girls, how's your day going?"

Twilight gave some annoyed glances at the other girls, "I can find a few complaints." Each one of them were trying to avoid looking the zebra in the eye. This was getting ridiculous.

"Don't worry Martin! We'll rescue you," Pinkie suddenly declared, while facing the wrong way. It was honestly a goofy sight but the subject matter killed the joke.

Martin's smiled turned nervous, "Pinkie, I don't need rescuing. Zecora isn't a bad pony."

"Zebra," Twilight corrected.

"Zebra. I spent most of the morning with her and she's been nothing but pleasant company," he told her. That's what Twilight thought. If somepony had just actually talked with her, this whole misunderstanding would be cleared up.

"Thank you for the compliments. And thank you for helping with my saddlebag contents," she spoke her special way, spooking some of the girls.

"No problem," he accepted. He looked towards them. "Why exactly are you acting this way? What is it about Zecora that's making you act like this?" he asked.

"Oh, I can explain," Pinkie immediately volunteered and began to sing, much to Twilight's annoyance.

She's an evil enchantress

She does evil dances

And if you look deep in her eyes

She'll put you in trances

Then what will she do?

She'll mix up an evil brew

Then she'll gobble you up

In a big tasty stew

Soooo... Watch out!

Martin blinked at her weirdly. "Catchy," he commented.

"That's what I said," Twilight put in. Though, she wished she didn't have to hear it a second time.

"Your song is unkind. For no evil do I bind. I have no wicked brew and I eat the same things as you," Zecora said, insulted by the accusations of wrong doings.

Martin gave a sigh before speaking again, "Yes, she looks and talks different but that doesn't make her evil. I mean look at me. I'm way weirder then she is but we get along great," Martin told them. Each of the girls had a look of varying guilt.

"Well, you were friendly and went out of your way to get to know the ponies around here," Rarity pointed out. A good pony had no reason to act so shifty.

He turned to her, "That street goes both ways. Did any of you just try and talk to her?" Rarity slumped a little at his own point. He's was right though, they were acting just as shifty

"I suggested that!" Twilight said, proud of herself.

"Suggesting and doing are separate things," he told her, deflating her ego. "I think all of you owe Zecora an apology," he said waving a hoof towards the zebra standing next to him.

The chorus of apologies directed at Zecora surprised her on how easy they came. "You believe him? Even when fear was on the brim?"

"Well ya," Rainbow decided to answer, "Martin may be a lot of things, a weirdo, a jokester, accident prone," she glared at him for that specific detail. Zecora wondered why. "But a liar isn't one of them. If he thinks you're alright, then I'll just have to believe him. I've believed weirder things from him." Again Zecora wondered, what was it she believed that was weirder than an 'evil enchantress' being good.

"That goes double for me. Ah'm mighty sorry for shakin like a leaf whenever you were 'round. Same goes for Applebloom," Applejack said, pulling the filly closer to her.

"Ah wasn't scared," the youngest in the room insisted. Zecora gave them a kind smile, which made the farmers feel better.

"While I don't fancy your... unique 'design'. I will give you the benefit of the doubt, much like I did for Martin," Rarity added in. Zecora raised an eyebrow for the odd sentence. She didn't have a design.

"Sorry," Fluttershy said quietly from behind Applejack. She would have said more but she was still scared of the zebra. That was more of the reaction she expected. Still fearful but more accepting.

"I'm really sorry about making that mean ol' song about you. Oh, I know. The next time you come to Ponyville, we can throw you an apology party! All you need is a smile and room in your heart to forgive everypony," Pinkie said, already planning ahead. Zecora didn't really want a party but she wouldn't be apposed to it.

Twilight walked up to the zebra, "I'd like to apologize as well. Martin was right, I should have stepped up. I'm sorry."

Zecora stared in surprise at the round of apologies. She looked over at Martin who gave her a smile and nod. She returned his smile, "You have quite the influence over these ponies. Are you sure these apologies aren't phonies?"

He chuckled at her joke, "Nah, they definitely mean it. Like you, they're good girls. So I think it will be very easy for all of you to get along." This stallion was one of a kind.

"Perhaps I can talk and stay. Unfortunately that cannot be today," she told them. "Martin, you were a great boon. I hope I will be welcomed again soon."

He gave her a reassuring pat on the back, "I don't think you have anything to worry about anymore. You have a good day Zecora."

With a nod and a wave, Zecora left the building and made her way back to the Everfree Forest. She felt that today had been a good day. Now to get that brew ready.


The girls followed Martin out of the building, feeling a little better about the new friend they made. "Thanks for setting us straight, Martin. It wasn't very nice of us to do that to her," Pinkie stated. The other girls nodded in agreement. Martin hadn't been in Ponyville long but he had helped each and every one of them at least once. He's done nothing but try and better the lives of ponies around him. He's not always succeeded but he gives it his all. Even if he's from a strange place, had strange powers, and strange friends. He was one strange stallion, but they were glad to know him.

"You're welcome. I'm just glad that I have enough of your trust that you can set aside your prejudices in favor of listening to me. I'm a little surprised at you girls, though. You were more afraid of Zecora than me, and I'm not even from this planet," he laughed at the peculiarity. However, his statement made all of the girls stop and stare.

"What'd you just say?" Applejack decided to say what they all thought. Had they heard him right? He wasn't from this planet?

He looked back at them, a bit confused by the question. "You're afraid of Zecora more than me?"

"No, after that. What do you mean you're not from this planet? Are you making another weird joke?" Twilight demanded an answer.

His confusion only doubled, "What? I'm not joking. I'm not from this planet. Didn't Pinkie tell you?" All of the girls collectively look towards the pink mare.

Pinkie blinked in surprise at the sudden attention, "Huh? Why would I know? This is the first time I'm hearing about this."

"No, you asked me if I was an alien here to start the war of the sweets," he pointed out.

"And you said no!" she exclaimed.

"I said no to starting a war. I never denied I was an alien," he said it like it was supposed to be obvious.

"We thought you meant alien like a foreigner from another country," Rarity said.

"Well I'm that too, just that country is on another planet," Martin explained.

The girls openly stared at the stallion after his declaration. So Martin was a real life alien. That... would explain a few things but raises a lot more questions. "You don't really look like an alien," Rainbow Dash pointed out.

Martin looked down at his hoof, "I'm still not entirely sure why."

"I may have a theory about that," a new voice suddenly cut in. The girls looked around for the source but couldn't see anypony. Then without warning, a flash of white light appeared and from it's origin appeared a white unicorn stallion with a black mane and tail that were smooth and brushed backwards. His cutie mark was of some strange symbol they didn't recognize. It seemed to be of several thin lines seemingly going around a wispy core. On his horn was several thin loose metal bands with hanging gem stones. No matter how he moved his head though, the bands didn't fall up or down the horn. His eyes were half-lidded and his mouth was neutral. The new stallion gave a short bow, "Greetings-" but he wasn't able to get more than that.

Martin tackled the other stallion to the ground with a hug. "Theo!" he exclaimed excitedly. The other girls stared wide eyed at the display. This was Theo? Martin's best friend and powerful unicorn? Then... did that mean Martin was going home today? "Theo, I missed you and everyone else so much! How've you been? Is everything fine? What's going on?" Martin asked in a rapid fire fashion.

Theo's horn glowed, the bands rattled, and lifted Martin off him with magic. For some reason though, instead of getting up on his own, he teleported himself into a standing position. He dusted himself off with a hoof before giving the other stallion a one legged hug. "It's good to finally see you Martin. I was beginning to worry that we'd never find you. And to think we'd find you in a place like this. Looking like the locals no less," Theo mentioned, releasing the hug, but not really answering any of his questions. Martin just chuckled at him, though.

"I wasn't worried. I knew you guys would find me. You should meet some of the friends I made. Everyone, this is Theo. My best friend. Theo, these are the friends I've made over here. Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, and Applejack," he introduced them, pointing to each one. Each of the girls gave their own hello to the new stallion. "Wait, where's Spike?" Martin suddenly asked, wondering where his other close friend was.

"I'm here! I'm here!" Spike said as he came running over, his face covered in icing. Theo raised an eyebrow at the baby dragon but didn't comment. "Who's that?"

"Martin's best friend. Theo," Twilight answered.

"Oh, wassup?" Spike waved casually, taking the situation in stride. Weird.

Theo just shrugged at the dragons question. "I'm glad to meet each of you. I hope Martin hadn't been too troublesome during his stay," Theo said, getting a playful shove out of his friend.

"Ya don't have to worry about that. He was downright neighborly to everypony," Applejack said.

Theo raised an eyebrow again in confusion, "Every 'pony'?" He glanced over to Martin for an explanation.

Martin shrugged, "It's just how they do it over here. You should see what they name the places. This town is called Ponyville and that big castle up there on that mountain is Canterlot."

"I see. You must have had a grand time here. There would be jokes for you everywhere and they wouldn't realize it," Theo chuckled a little.

"You were saying something about why Martin looks the way he does?" Twilight tried to get the conversation going.

"Correct. Myself and Martin are not ponies despite our current forms. We are humans. Bipedal creatures from a across space and time," Theo explained.

Something clicked for Fluttershy, "Oh, so that's what you meant when you said you were amazed to be a quadruped. But why did you say 'again'?"

"I doubt Martin withheld information on Broken Depths, correct?" The girls nodded at his question. "Well as you probably know, our town gets quite a few occurrences. Not all of them good. What he's specifically talking about is an incident with an animal dictator. He wished to rule over us but did not like any of our current species so he had transformed us all into animals. I had become an owl and Martin had become a dog." The girls looked over at Martin trying to picture him as such. Martin helped the image by wagging his tail.

"That sounds cute," Fluttershy commented, and immediately blushed realizing what she said.

"Right," Theo said non pulsed, "Anyway, I believe this world's magic can't recognize his human form. So instead of having an anomaly walking around, it morphed him into something it could recognize. Which is also what happened to me." Twilight quickly told Spike to pull out a quill and paper to take notes.

"Which reminds me, where's your staff? That thing was practically a part of you," Martin mentioned.

"Now that statement is more literal," Theo pointed towards his own horn. "Apparently it became my horn. Which I assume is a magical conduit for unicorns?" He got a nod in response. "As much as I enjoy this conversation, it's best I return Martin home. He has many friends that wish to see him. If there is anything you'd like to ask, it would be now."

"Ya, I got a question," Spike said, raising his claw with a quill in it. "Why does he keep crashing into doors. Do they not exist where you're from?"

Theo gave an amused smirk at Martin who shrunk a little, embarrassed. "Well if I were to make an assumption. He's still not used to his current body. His eyes are much bigger then what we are used to and-" however, he was interrupted by Rarity.

"He's not used to having four legs," she finished, realizing the gravity what Martin had told her last night.

"Correct. Even if he had weeks of practice, he would not be able to completely overcome the change. The only reason he can move around so easily right now is because of the aforementioned dog transformation. Unlike myself, he got at least some practice with a quadrupedal form. I can't even walk, only teleport," Theo explained.

"So it's not because doors hate him?" Pinkie asked.

Theo gave a confused look, which Martin explained. "For whatever reason, the doors of this town are really hostile. I have yet to be defeated though," he declared.

"Odd," he said simply. "No, the doors don't hate him. He's simply unfamiliar with his current spacial awareness. Given maybe a year, he would eventually get used to it. However, he will not remain here that long."

"Um, could you please tell us why Broken Depths is so weird?" Fluttershy asked.

"The specific reason, I can't say because it's a secret," Theo started. It was the same answer Martin had given. "What I can say though is that Broken Depths is best described as the amalgamation of what our world has to offer. If something is at all possible, we've dealt with it at some point." That got a few interested looks, wondering again what they town had to deal with. There were other questions that needed answering though.

Rarity decided to ask the one question they've been trying to answer since they first met Martin. "Exactly who or what is Martin?"

Theo gave a dramatic pause before answering. "Martin is a human. More specifically though, he is a messiah," Theo revealed.

"What?" Fluttershy asked for more detail.

"Martin was chosen by the goddess I follow to guide the world to a better age. He was given power to help him do that. He can manipulate this power into physical objects, extend his senses, and even perform miracles. I was given similar power, in order assist him, as I am his prophet," Theo explained. The group stared dumbfounded at the description.

"Ya, I still don't really believe all that," Martin put in. "But hey, according to him, I was given this power to help people, so that's what I'm going to do." The way he casually played off his status made their surprise go down. Perhaps Theo was just exaggerating. What else could they ask though?


For Navieka

"I got a question for you," Pinkie suddenly zipped up to Theo's face and looked intently into his eyes. "What is the correct way to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and how would you make it, IN FULL DETAIL!?" she shouted into his face.

Theo blinked at her weirdly, but as he couldn't walk, he couldn't step back either. He used a bit of magic and moved the mare so she was up against Martin's face instead. Martin smiled at her, "Hi Pinkie."

"Hiya Martin," she giggled but didn't back up.

"Well if I was going to make a PB&J sandwich I would probably," he began to give details to the pink mare.

"Any other questions?" Theo asked the remaining ponies, hoping for a less weird reaction.

"Ya I got one. Once Martin leaves Equestia, what'll he miss the most?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I cannot answer that for-" Theo began but was interrupted again.

"This one," Martin suddenly said, holding up a giggling Pinkie. The girls and Spike stared at him confused so he clarified. "No offense to you girls. But out of every pony I've met. I've had the most experiences with Pinkie. We hang out, talk, and just had fun. Spike comes at a close second." That made the dragon smile. He stepped inbetween all of them and brought them all into one big hug, somehow. "Don't get me wrong, you've all been great friends to me, it's just these two," he used one hoof each to lift Pinkie and Spike, "Have spent the most time with me. So I'll miss them the most."

"While a little presumptuous that you think time would equal the experience, I do see where you're coming from," Rarity put in. They had the most memories he could look back on together, it would make sense.


For TimeTravelinc

"This just occurred to me, but Martin knew right off the bat that you and his other friends would come to get him, even though he knew for a fact that he had traveled to a whole new world. That makes me wonder. You're able to go across space and time. Does that mean you've had trouble with other similar problems?" Twilight asked. Something had to have made them need a transporter.

"That's right. At this point our town is well-versed in the fabric of dimensions. Every month or so we deal with some interdimensional being or a distortion in space time. We even have had interaction with alternate dimensions of ourselves. There are also frequent visits from children from the future," Theo explained.

"Those are my favorite. They're always Jordan's children for some reason though," Martin continued.

The girls could only stare weirdly at the pair. Most of them had no idea what they were talking about. The one that did know was weirded out by what they had to deal with. "It's that common?" Twilight asked further.

"We come from a weird town," was Theo's retort. None of the girls or Spike debated that point.


"I believe that's enough," Theo called for an end to the questions. "I have no doubt that Jordan is getting more irritated the longer we remain here."

"What does he have to do with it?" Twilight asked. She still had so many questions she wanted ask about their home and what they actually were. She had just learned of a new species and they were about to leave. She had just learned the truth about her friend and he was about to leave. She felt sadness creep up on her.

"It's his machine we will be using, after all. Martin, say you're final goodbye's. I will see you on the other side of the portal." As soon as Theo said that, a large, red, oval-shaped, liquid wall appeared behind him. The girls stared agape at the sight. "It was nice to meet Martin's new friends. Perhaps someday we could become better acquainted. I wish you well," Theo said his final words before carefully stepping through the portal. It shimmered as he passed through it, settling soon after.

The girls and Spike tore their gaze away from the portal and stared at Martin who had a sad smile on his face. An unpleasant feeling settled in their gut. This was it. This would be the last time they saw Martin. His smile, his laugh, his kindness, his helpfulness, his goofiness, his clumsiness. Just gone in mere moments.

"Everyone," he began, "Thank you for everything. I fell into this world with absolutely nothing. But you ponies accepted me for who I am. You gave me a home, friends, and plenty of good times."

He walked over to Applejack and gave her a hug, "You never gave up on me, even when I failed time and time again." She hugged him back. When they released, she tilted her hat at him and gave him an honest smile. No matter what time or what she was asking, Martin was always ready to help out her farm and her family. He was always honest with them too. He could be a little more straight forward but he knew what he should and shouldn't talk about.

He walked over to Rarity and gave a similar hug, "You helped me whenever I couldn't do something myself and no matter how many times it happened." Rarity returned the hug without hesitation. When they seperated she gave him her own generous smile. Martin was always ready to help another even if he didn't profit or it took away from his own well being. He never complained or whined.

He walked over to Fluttershy gently hugged the still nervous pony, "You showed me when I should and shouldn't do something so other wouldn't be uncomfortable." Fluttershy gave a weak hug but the kind smile she gave more than made up for it. Martin had always been kind and understanding. He always listened when somepony was speaking to him and considered them whenever he did something. Even when he messes up or comes off as annoying, you just know he has the best intentions at heart.

He walked over to Pinkie, who was excited for her turn, and hugged the energetic mare, "You made sure that I was always happy with your parties, jokes, and general fun." Pinkie returned the hug in earnest, her giggly smile just full of laughter. Martin was always a joy to be around. He told jokes, played games, sang songs, and just enjoyed everything.

He walked over to Rainbow and gestured for her to come closer. When she got close enough to the ground, he hugged her as well, "You showed me the absolutely amazing things this world had." Rainbow returned his hug and showed loyal smile that supported his own. Martin made every day life interesting with his antics. He told stories, could do amazing feats, and was always there to give his support when friends were down.

He walked over to Spike and did his best to hug the smaller creature, "I accepted your help and you accepted mine." Spike hugged him back and gave him a toothy smile that was full of heart. Martin was a good friend, he listened avidly to his interests, laughed at his jokes, and considered his requests. It was sad to see him go, but he had other friends he needed to make just as happy.

Martin took off his saddlebag and the bag around his neck and hoofed it over to Spike, "In here is everything I need mailed. There's also a list of who gets what. Could you please deliver them for me?" Spike nodded, agreeing to the stallion's request.

Finally, he stepped up to Twilight but didn't immediately hug her. "I know I couldn't answer every question you had. But know that you should never stop asking them. Just because you can't immediately find it. You can still remain hopeful. The answer is out there still." He finally did hug her, "You gave me a chance and I am always thankful for that." She returned his hug and gave him a smile that was just magical. Martin was an oddball, a mystery, sometimes annoying or just downright weird. He sometimes gets in your personal space and steps into things he's not supposed to be in. He makes tons of mistakes, is a klutz, and get's himself hurt more often than he should. But despite all of that. He was a good friend and she didn't want him to change for any reason.

He stepped away from the girls and moved closer to the portal, looking up at it. The friends he was about to leave had tears in their eyes, saddened by the departure but still happy he can finally go home. "Is this goodbye?" Twilight asked sadly.

"Maybe," he answered. He turned around and smiled at them for one last time. "But don't worry," he extended a hoof at them, "Good bye's aren't forever." With that, Martin stepped through the portal and, for the first time in a long while, left Ponyville, Equestria, and their world.

They all lowered their heads in respect, silently thanking him for everything he had done for them. Well, except one mare.


Pinkie stepped through the other side of the portal a little dizzy. She quickly shook her head to right her thoughts and patted herself down to make sure all of her had made it to the other side. She looked around in wonder at all of the machinery inside the room. Absolutely nothing here was like anything she'd seen in Equestria. She really did feel like she was on an alien world.

Her ears perked up as she heard an unfamiliar gruff voice, "You done crying?" The voice was uncaring and sounded kinda mean.

She followed the direction it came in as a new voice entered. "Be nice, Jordan. He just got back, as well as had to leave his new friends." This voice was feminine but sounded a little distorted.

"That's all well and dandy," the now named Jordan said with hint of sarcasm, "But I don't like how touchy he's getting."

"It's called a hug," she heard Theo's voice again. "I know it's a rare occurrence for you, but you should still be able to recognize it," he joked. Pinkie gave a soft giggle at that.

"Ha, ha, very funny," this time Jordan's voice was all the way sarcastic now.

"I just missed you guys so much. I'd hug you too, Serra, if you actually had a body," she finally heard Martin again. That got a confused look from the invading mare. Somepony didn't have a body? Were they a ghost?

"Aw, that's so sweet," she heard the feminine, apparently named Serra, voice reply. Pinkie started to close in on their location.

"I've been meaning to ask, why are you wearing that green jacket, Martin? You weren't wearing it when you disappeared," Theo questioned. Finally Pinkie arrived in the room where the voices were and finally saw what was apparently a human. There were four of them. Three tall, what she could assume, masculine beings and one smaller, she assumes, feminine being behind a glass screen. All of them were varying shades of light pink-ish skin, a pointed nose, small eyes, no fur but did each have a mane. The boys had short manes and the girl had a long one. One was brown and looked similar to Martin's, one was black and reminded her of Theo's, one was blonde and wasn't familiar, and the girl's was a red-ish orange.

All of them were wearing clothes. The one she assumes is Martin was wearing blue pants, some oddly shaped white shoes, and a green jacket that matched the color of his coat. The one she thinks is Theo was wearing a royal blue robe with gold trim. She couldn't see any shoes like Martin, the robe was too far down. He was carrying a staff in something that reminded her of Spike's claws. The staff had a loop at the top where familiar metal bands hung. The one she assumed was Jordan wore camouflage pants with lots of pockets, he had black shoes, and wore a short sleeved black shirt. The girl she assumed was Serra wore a simple blue dress. She couldn't tell if she had any shoes because the screen didn't reach far enough down.

"Oh, I get it. Over there I grew a green coat," Martin laughed at an apparent joke he made. Jordan brought the claw-like appendages up to his eyes and covered them in irritation. Serra laughed as well while Theo only gave a chuckle. She wasn't entirely sure what the joke was but did giggle along with Martin.

Serra was the first to notice Pinkie's presence and waved to her, "I think one of your friend's isn't ready to say good bye." The other humans turned towards her. Jordan glared down at her with a frightening stare. Theo still had a rather neutral face but did give her a wave. Martin, however, did something different but welcome.

"Pinkie!" he called before enveloping the mare in a tight hug once again, lifting her up to his height. "Here's your first ever human hug. Hope you enjoy it." He released the hug but didn't let her go and instead held her at 'foreleg' length. "Wow, you seem much smaller than I remember." He set her down and sat down himself, crossing his legs in front of him. This position allowed them to talk at almost the same height. "Maybe I better make sure it's you," he winked at her and she knew what was coming.

They did their practiced chant and dance together. "Hoof bump, hoof bump. Monsters everywhere. Now stand up tall and give a good stare." As they smashed their heads together, Serra gave a giggle in amusement, Theo gave some light clapping, and Jordan just crossed his arms, not amused. The two of them seperated, falling into a fit of giggles. It was weird to do with a non-pony but it's the meaning that counted.

"So this is really you, Martin?" she asked, placing a hoof on his chest when she calmed down. Honestly she preferred his pony form, she was so used to it that looking at this creature and calling it Martin was weird to her.

He nodded, "That's right, born and raised. Don't worry. I'm still here," he reassured her. That made her smile double in size "Now, let me be the first to welcome you to my world, or more specifically, Jordan's basement." Pinkie looked around at everything but all of the machinery inside was completely foreign to her. Except the strange looking pair of gauntlets protected by a glass case. For some reason she felt that those were really important.

"Ya and don't get comfortable. You ain't staying," Jordan said as he grabbed Pinkie by the back of her neck and began walking back towards the portal room. He ignored her indignant 'hey'. It didn't hurt but it was unsettling to be lifted like that.

"Jordan," Martin called as he went after them, "She just got here. Can't she at least look around?" he pleaded. Pinkie tried to spin around and give a cute face to the stony delinquent but the way he held her made that impossible.

"No, that portal is closing and I have no plans of opening it back up until you finish dealing with your responsibilities first. So unless you want to worry her friends and family by remaining here, she goes back," Jordan said as they arrived in the room. Pinkie didn't like what he was saying but he did have a point. She would like to stay and see the whole new world but she had friends and family back home.

"Jordan, please," Martin begged, giving a face towards the delinquent.

Jordan glared at the smaller man but did eventually relent, "Alright, alright. Serra! Get him the clip." Serra gave a quick 'on it'. Pinkie wondered what he was talking about but was glad to see that he wasn't as mean as he let on.

"Clip?" Martin asked him.

"She can't stay, but you can give her a parting gift that will keep the connection," Jordan explained. He set the pony down in front of the portal and turned around, exiting the room. "Later kid."

"I'm a pony, not a goat!" Pinkie called to him but she was ignored. She watched him leave and couldn't help but wonder that this was the strongest guy in Broken Depths? He looked bigger then Martin but he didn't look that old comparatively or that muscley. She wondered what made him so much better then Martin. Speaking of Martin. She looked back up at him as he knelt down to her level. "Is it good bye again, already?"

"Afraid so," he told her. "But this time, I want you to take something." As he said that, a metal claw came down from the roof with a green mane clip. He took the clip from the claw, "Thanks Serra." He nodded as she gave her 'your welcome'. He brought the clip behind her head and put it deep inside her mane. "With this, you will always be connected to my world. Home is where my heart belongs, but some of it remains with you and the others. So never lose that. When I come back for a visit, I will always appear in the area where this clip is. Keep a look out for me, ok?" he asked of her.

She gave him a nod as she began to tear up again, "Ok. Good bye Martin." She gave him a strong hug. "See you soon." She hoped and prayed.

He hugged her back, petting her mane lightly, "See you soon."

A flash of light filled the room as Pinkie stepped through the portal. When it faded the portal disappeared. For now.


Dear Princess Celestia,

Today, a good friend left us, returning home to where he rightfully belongs. We're all sad to see him go, but we know deep in our hearts that he will always be a part of Ponyville. I learned that you should never judge a pony by what they are or where they're from. You should always give them a chance to show the real them.

Martin may be gone, but what he gave us will always remain. He gave us something that can always give us comfort during a dark time. He gave us something that can always help us through problems that seem impossible to overcome. He gave us something that will always be there if we simply look for it.

He gave us Hope.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

The End

Author's Note:

I-I did it? I finished the story?
YES! I finally did it! I made a complete story all on my own! (with helpful suggestions from commentors) You guys have no idea how much this means to me. I can always start a story but I can never finish one. I've made countless other stories but I stopped at the beginning because I didn't know where to take it next or it didn't interest me anymore. I had actually planned to stop after the 6th chapter if the story flopped. But you guys, you actually liked a character I had spent years creating the setting for. I felt so proud, I wanted to do more for you, so I kept going, through writers block and lack of motivation. So thank you, thank you very much.
As for the ending, I'm sorry to any of you who don't like what Martin actually is, but he has always been that from the beginning. Like in the previous chapter, nothing about Martin has changed despite the reveal. I actually hinted at this reveal several chapters ago, it was a 'blink and you'll miss it' moment. It was back in The Strange Analysis. Although, the line may not be correct in mythos, it was the only thing I could think of that the character could relate it to.
I know the message was kinda crammed into one chapter, but I thought it would be best to show the aspect that Martin represents the most.
As you've all probably noticed, I finally have cover art! You can all thank the magnificent Mix-up for his hard work and dedication. Give a hand to one awesome artist. It was his artwork that finally gave me that last bit of inspiration to finish this story, so thanks a lot to him. You can show your appreciation as well by checking out his Deviant Art page. You may find something you like.
Ps. I hope all of you enjoyed my story to the end. I'm still not confident that I'm a good writer, but I am glad for all of your support. So thank you. Thank you very much.
PPS. I didn't put a lot of references in it, but there are some there (I think). Good luck searching through 20,000 words.

Comments ( 130 )

Well this was a nice story to read. I had fun reading it, I hope you do well on your next story that you do, if you do another one!

One question....

Is there a follow up!

What?... it's over?:fluttercry: but seriously, this has been a great story.

This was probably the perfect way to end this story. I loved that you had Martin figuratively give each of the girls a little bit of himself to remember him by.

Followed the story from start to finish. Now it's going to my favourites so I can find it when I want to read it again. Excellent story, and what a perfect way to end it.
I hope you keep on writing here so I can read stories such as this one :twilightsmile:

Really nice story. Loved all of it straight from the beginning all the way to the end.

A great story! I'd be curious to read more about these characters and situations. Seems a shame if more of the unique setting wasn't explored, and more Equestrian events not visited without Martin's input. Heck, something with Discord is begging to happen.

7343092
I had briefly thought of making a a short story series called "Martin Meets" where he meets several characters from MLP, but I don't think I could make it work since I don't know the rest of the cast well enough to feel comfortable portraying them correctly.

This was amazing story, I wish it lasted a little longer. But was amazing as it is :pinkiehappy:

Applejack led him towards an area he probably remembered. It was the part of the orchard that Martin had uprooted the trees of and apparently where Applejack first saw Martin use his power.

Apple Bloom

Only mistake I could find also thanks for the lovely read.

7343319
Actually that is correct. Back in "The Strange Friendship" she had seen Martin's hooves glow when he uprooted the trees. It's only at that moment did she realize that was him using his power and not a trick of the light. So she had seen it there before Apple Bloom did.

Great story! I loved the ending! Keep being awesome!:heart:

7343339 Oh okay never mind then.
But anyways thanks for the story it's been a blast. :P

7343583
Your welcome. It was fun to write

This was an incredible story, I loved every moment. I kind of wish it'd lasted longer, but I'll certainly be re-reading it many more times none the less.

7342892
Well thank you, I enjoy your story as well. Although, I've fallen off seeing it's updates, but at the time I did read about Gaia, I found it funny.
I don't think I'll ever make a story again as successful as this one, but I can certainly try.

7342764
Maybe someday. But not anytime soon.

Good Ending, I Love it.
Just finished this final chapter..... wow, never thought an Strange Stallion with Hope - Mystery characters would bring one of the most entertaining experiences I had with a fimfic. Everytime i see "The End" It give me a nostalgic.

Hope

Undertale references.

Good bye's aren't forever

So? Does that mean... here will be a sequel?

"So why did you back up into the door?" he asked his own question.
"I think I've found a method of dealing with the doors. Maybe if I walk backwards, I can confuse them about whether I'm coming or going. I think it's working because it hurt less when I hit the door," Martin explained.

He may be up to something... :pinkiecrazy:

"So it's not because doors hate him?" Pinkie asked.
Theo gave a confused look, which Martin explained. "For whatever reason, the doors of this town are really hostile. I have yet to be defeated though," he declared.

Ahhh I liked the old explanation better... :derpytongue2:

"Martin was chosen by the goddess I follow to guide the world to a better age. He was given power to help him do that. He can manipulate this power into physical objects, extend his senses, and even perform miracles. I was given similar power, in order assist him, as I am his prophet," Theo explained. The group stared dumbfounded at the description.
"Ya, I still don't really believe all that," Martin put in. "But hey, according to him, I was given this power to help people, so that's what I'm going to do."

:rainbowlaugh: I can see that happening:scootangel:

Loved the story, great work.

this was so great read and i enjoyed every chaper.

Well was an interesting ending. I feel that it was several chapters that have been crammed together into one big chapter, because it felt a little rush in the confrontation between Celestia and Martin as well as the encounter with Zekora. Seeing Martin actually getting exhausted after overusing his powers was interesting too and seein tg a more vulnerable side to him, as well as seeing the limit of his patients, comparative to his normally chirpy demeanor.

Compared to your earlier chapters you have improved a lot in your writing, and I hope you will keep on improving on that front.

Still it was nicely rape together in the end. I am happy that my work for you has help you doing the final stretch of your story.

I hope that the sequel will be just as good for you.

OK I have a question..... Where does he come from??

7346419
If you mean in story, he's from Broken Depths, Texas.
If not, then Martin and Broken Depths is my personal creation I made for years. It doesn't exist anywhere else on the Internet (except some chats between me and my best friend). Yes I take inspiration from multiple sources (usually songs) and shove them all into one place to interact.

Comment posted by pvzMLP deleted Jun 29th, 2016

Aww already? I'd love to see more of this though

7346482 well.... You have a great imagination

why is it that the color green is associated with strange?:facehoof:
oh well great fic dude!:twilightsmile:
another fic to add to my library!:twilightsheepish:
woot!:trollestia:

7347836
Well thank you. Making characters comes easy for me. I just can never actually describe how anything looks. I really need to sit down one day and just write out each character's name and a short description. Wanna know how many there are? Martin barely scratched the surface with the ones he mentioned. That was actually what I was going for when Serra was shown in the last chapter.

Just wanted to say that I loved the story from start to finish. Haven't really ever commented my entire time being here, but I just had to leave one saying this was an amazing story.

Congratulations on finishing this story. Also I don't trust that goddess, never trust a silver platter.

This was a nice story. Quite enjoyable, without being fast-paced. Overall, one of the better stories I've read. Good job! Onwards!

Congrats on finishing the story. It was a great ride and I'm glad that I was a part of it.
Thank you.

Holy Cow, the way you incorporated the questions were great. I was laughing so much I started crying. Once again, THANK YOU

7355770
And thank you for taking my request

7343124 Well darn. I was hoping someone would indirectly tell me the connection so that I could act smart and agree with them. Maybe next time.

7358671
Can't win them all. Although, if you'd like to try another guessing game. I may have something. I have a little joke going between myself and my sibling. I told them that no one can properly pronounce Stok's name from just looking at it. Think you can figure it out? His name is not a pun on Stock, even though he basically is with his bush hair.

7346482
This story is amazing, you should make Broken Depths and its inhabitants into an actual novel. You've created an imaginative, captivating world and your characters are well written and round. Seriously, you're awesome dude.

7361424
Thank you for the compliment but I think you're exaggerating a bit. You've only seen one of the characters (the most extroverted one) and snippets of others. So it would be difficult for you to say that they're all well rounded. Although I will try my best to show all the ones Martin mentioned in 'Visitors from an Alternate Depths'.

7358984 S-s-senp-p-pai n-noti-iced? Ok, first of, love your work bro/bra, hope for more in the future. Secondly, challenge accepted mi amigo! So the "St" is pronounced normally, like in stroll or sting. The "k" is the same as the "st", pronounced normally, moving on. Now the "o". You said that:

His name is not a pun on Stock, even though he basically is with his bush hair.

Because of my faith in simplicity, I'll say that Stok is either pronounced "stōk" or "stäk", being the pronunciation of stoke (I'm so stoked for this party man!) or stock (the thing you know cuz you mentioned it).

It's amazing what you can do with Google. So, am I right or am I wrong Author-Chan?

7362843
Stoke is correct. Very good.
I've forgotten mostly why I made his name like that or why I spell it as Stok. Something about it speaks 'simplicity' to me. Which defines Stok as he has no soul, no emotions, and barely any wants and fears. Guy doesn't even have organs, he's just a mass of plant innards.
Just a little hint at the next chapter of my other story. Stok will be the center of that one.

Change Twilight's and Rarity's hope colors to brighter shades, it's hard to distinguish the different colored ones....

it was a good story, but I suppose martin had to go home some time.....:raritycry: we'll miss you martin!!!!
oh wait!:raritystarry:

Just a little hint at the next chapter of my other story. Stok will be the center of that one.

martin an friends live!! an on/near equestria!!:pinkiehappy: WOHOOO!!!!

And thus ends the tale of another Gary Stu, though a well written one.
When they are well written, I am willing to read them. Which is why I didn't quit halfway through the first chapter.
Good job on the story and I wish you luck on your future endeavors.

Good story, too bad it's finished... Maybe a sequel so we can see Martin or one of his friends and Discord? And Chrysalis also.

7386744 I meant my sister threw my boot at me cause I wouldn't stop telling the "Whose On First" joke.

7407122 Oopsys well thanks for the info

7407254 I don't know why they would be in a youtube but whatev's

7187176 I WAS SO WRONG OH MER GERD ALL YALL PEOPLE READ THIS ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE END IS SO OUT OF LEFT FIELD THAT IT STRANGELY WORKS PRETTY WELL AND IS QUITE ENTERTAINING AND IF YOU ARE READING THIS THEN YOU SHOULD READ THIS STORY OK BYE

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