Fine Fangs

by AmethystAce

Chapter 5

A month has passed since I came here, and boy was it an eventful one. It started out rather rough, though. Quite a few ponies saw me and Rainbow fight and from there rumors spread like wild fire. They made up some pretty ridiculous ones I'll admit.

They ranged anywhere between a beast that snuck into town and tried to kill Rainbow Dash, to an alien that was trying to abduct it's first test subject. That last one came from a stallion with questionable sanity at best, so no one put much stock in it.

They weren't that kind about it though. I was told a few times that I simply didn't belong. One mare tried to get a guard to 'take care' of the 'monster'. Thankfully, the guard had a good head on his shoulders and told her no.

There was some good in the past month though. I no longer live with Fluttershy. After everypony cooled down a little, she helped me get a loan from the local bank and I bought a house/place of business.

It kind of reminds me of home.

It's was a moderate house with an old work area. The price was low due to three things.

1. It's outside of town and close-ish to the Everfree.

2. It was kind of run down due to lack of upkeep. Not too bad, but some stuff needed replacing.

3. It's old owner, Birch Craft, was killed by timberwolves on the property.

Timberwolves apparently don't like it when you trespass on their territory, which is exactly what the building of Ponyville did. The guards dealt with them for the most part, but the house simply was too far out for them to assist Birch in time. Normally I wouldn't like to live in an area that is prone to attacks from wooden, flesh eating golems, but I was told that there has been little to no timberwolf presence around Ponyville for about a month now.

Thanks to the skills my grandfather taught me, I was able to take up the mantle as Ponyville's new carpenter. I wasn't an expert by any means, but I was good enough to make a living off of it. Ponies actually came to me to have me fix things for them, but when I go out, I can see it in their eyes; I'm not liked. Conversations hush around me. Gazes are averted, and those that aren't held distrust and I could literally smell the fear in the air. I didn't like it, but I'm sure they will warm up to me eventually.

The Pink Terror Pinkie threw me a 'Welcome to Ponyville' Party at Sugarcube Corner about a week ago. Not many ponies showed, but I appreciated it none the less. It was a party to remember. I met the rest of Fluttershy's friends; Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity. I also got to actually know Rainbow Dash.

Twilight asked me a few questions about me and my past, but when I told her I didn't remember much, she looked a little downcast. We still chatted about each other, I had to make up more lies about my predatory appearance. I told her it was an example of trickery, where a creature looks dangerous so that predators avoid it. Twilight actually took it as an acceptable answer. She gave me a gift at the party as well, a bestiary with information on all beast in Equestria and basic info on sapient creature. I told her that I would begin studying it when I got home, which seemed to please her.

Rarity was polite throughout the entire party. When we talked, she always seemed to know how to avoid the wrong questions, never bringing up my past. After learning that she was a seamstress, I took an immediate liking to her. I told her that I vaguely remember my grandmother being a seamstress, who taught me a thing or two about hand sewing. I also said that I don't remember much more than that. She told me to come by her shop the following day to get my measurements. I was immensely thankful as constant daily use and washing of my current clothes was not doing them any favors.

She made me realize how much I miss my grandparents. I hope they were able to cope with my death.

Pinkie was obviously the the hostess of the party, so of course she introduced herself to me. The spastic, hyperactive pony apologized for chasing me in a manner that only she is capable of; extremely fast talking, leaving me confused, then bringing me a dish of vanilla ice cream. I thanked her and ate some, only to find the taste to be... off. I could taste the fats, the salt, everything else but the sweetness. I would have been upset about this, as vanilla was my favorite ice cream, but the texture on my sandpapery tongue was simply amazing. When I heard Pinkie giggle, I realized that I had unconsciously closed my eyes and was actually purring.

Rainbow gave me the stink eye until Fluttershy told her to talk to me. She sighed, muttered something like 'let's get this over with', and made her way to me. I was the one to start talking first. "So, I know we got off on the wrong foot, and I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I should have watched where I was stepping."

She held her glare before dropping it. "Ya, I guess I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have reacted so badly." Rainbow then smirked, "I also shouldn't have beat you so bad."

I couldn't hold my grin back as I pointed and said, "Hey, It was me who was winning. In fact, I wasn't using one of my hands AND I wasn't unconscious for as long. So take that." I crossed my arms and stuck my tongue out at her.

She laughed at my antics. "Hey, ya seem like a pretty alright two legged... cat... thing." I gave a small chuckle at that. "Just, let's never bring up what happened during our fight." She said that last part with much less humor and a lot more seriousness. Her cheeks carried a rosy tint.

I raised an eyebrow, giving her my full attention. "Did something happen other than us beating the snot out of each other?" I inquired.

She just laughed and said, "That's the right mindset. I'm going to go enjoy the party, we should hang sometime. See ya!" and wandered off to go talk with Pinkie. They seemed to be talking about drinks, if their gestures are anything to go by.

Applejack was the last one to talk to me, and she wasn't smiling. "Jus' who are ya?"

"What do you mean?" I asked. It was clear she was apart of the majority, the ones who didn't trust me. For a people who preached acceptance, they sure do dislike outsiders.

"Your story jus' doesn't add up. Ya told Fluttershy ya didn't remember anythin', only to suddenly remember a bit about your life and your species. Now, Ah'm not attackin' ya or anythin', but Ah know whatcha said isn't tha truth. So, again, who are ya?" My eyes widened and my heart wrenched. She's just like my ol' man, simple in appearance and actions, but much smarter than appearance suggests.

Oh, and she also seemed to have caught on to me.

"I-" I started, unsure on how to respond to how easily she cut through my half baked story. Never could bake, always burned or undercooked anything I made.

Anyway, I was thankfully interrupted by Rainbow. "Hey AJ, we didn't finish our drinking contest from the last party. How about we see who can really out-drink the other?"

Applejack looked like she didn't want to end the conversation with me, but she also didn't want to leave Rainbow hanging. "Ah'll be there in a sec." She then looked back to me. "Don't think we're done here. Ah don't want ta be rotten, but Ah can't trust someone who lies about who they are." Then she trotted over to Rainbow. "Alright, ya lightweight. Let's see who can hold their cider."

The rest of the party was great, ending with Twilight stopping Applejack and Rainbow Dash before they gave themselves alcohol poisoning. Before we all left, I asked Twilight if she could help me for a second.

When I got the house, I could feel a nip in the air. Winter was on it's way and I had to prepare for it. So, I started building a rather sizable shed next to the house to store food so that I didn't have to hunt as much. Genius, isn't it? I gave myself a pat on the back for thinking about it.

I asked Twilight if she could enchant the building to act as a large freezer. On the following day, she came by and started lacing the building with runes. She tried to explain the concept of runes and magic to me, but stopped when she realized it was going way over my head. I didn't bother saying anything and was genuinely trying to listen, but I couldn't keep up. One awkward silence later, and I had a fully functional freezer. Despite saying I didn't have too, I paid Twilight for her services.

After she left, I put a lock on the door and put a sign on the door. The sign read 'Stay out of my shed!' After a job well done, I went back into my house, opened the bestiary to a random page, and began to read. Dreugh. Few aquatic creatures match the size, strength, or intelligence of the Dreugh. Although still fundamentally animals, Dreugh possess...

---

A lone timberwolf was hunting at the edge of the Everfree forest. It had tracked a jackalope to this area and began to search for it's late night meal. It stopped when the trail exited the forest and entered the settlement. Alpha said don't leave forest unless Alpha is with. Dangerous creature in pony den. It then ran off, both in search of new prey and in fear of attracting whatever predator was within the town.

Author's Note:

I am so sorry that this took so long to get out, but I am not without my reasons. Work has been giving me more hours, me sharing a computer room with my father and brother (who think that I have completely done away with the fandom) while our house is fixed. I will be back home soon and will be able to make content in earnest!

Just like every chapter I have ever written, and probably ever write, this is raw and unedited. Hope You enjoy!

Comments

[AnormalUnicornPony]

'Stay out of my shed!'

Again lol. Good reference.

[Furlok Serket]

9054561
I read that and started singing.
NA NA NA gonna eat your brains.