Equestrian Titan

by Codex92

The New Kid in Town (Part 1)

The morning sunlight shone down on Canterlot City, early morning risers getting up to start their day, including the teachers and staff at Canterlot High. Hidden in the bushes near one of the school's science labs, Beast Boy grimaced as he began to regain consciousness. He let out a groan, rubbing his face, thankfully resilient after crashing through what felt like glass.

"Well, looks like something crashed through," a female voice said from inside the building. The Teen Titan overheard them as he slowly got his bearings, sitting up on his knees while making sure his face wasn't badly scarred with glass shards. "Twilight did warn us about something coming through."

"Let us hope we don't have another dangerous creature running around our school," another female voice said. "I'd be surprised if this becomes a normal thing in the next few years."

"Don't tempt fate, sis," the first woman playfully chided.

He didn't hear them anymore, probably leaving the classroom and heading elsewhere. Beast Boy opened his eyes, looking back at the building and the hole he seemed to have made as a falcon, which was now covered by a piece of plywood to keep the breeze from flowing in. Peeking out through the foliage, he had no idea where he was; clearly in a different town, but nothing familiar like Jump City.

"Where am I?" he asked himself. Hearing a pair of footsteps, he ducked inside the bushes and peeked through the leaves. It was a pair of adults making their way to the entrance, but to the shape-shifter's surprise, their skin were different than normal color just like his. One of them was a darkish purple with light pink and white hair, the other was pure white with pink hair, the former dressed as a teacher while the latter was most likely a nurse. "Whaaaaaaa-?"

The women paused, hearing Beast Boy, but he quickly turned into a fly, hiding from them as they looked toward where the sound came from. "Did you hear that, Redheart?" the teacher asked.

"I think so," the nurse replied, then let out a huff. "It better not be Snips or Snails sneaking around in the bushes again. Those two can be so troublesome when they hurt themselves, even if it's just a small bump."

"Try teaching those three girls who get into a lot of mischief in my class," the other woman said. "Every time I see them in the library, they keep looking up music videos on school property, and I have to reprimand them every single minute."

Beast Boy watched them walk off, perched on a leaf, stunned by who he just saw. Flying up a little higher, he saw more of the staff at what he assumed was a school, and they all had different colored skin with lots of varying different hair colors, from one solid shade to varying ones in streaks, stripes, even just the fringes of their hairstyles. Hovering back down in the bush he woke up in, he shifted back to normal, dumbfounded.

"This is definitely not earth," he uttered to himself. "Ok, what happened before I got knocked out? I ran away, flew into a portal that came out of nowhere, and now I'm here in a different town where the people all have different skin tones that aren't like the usual colors normal people have...Either I ended up in an alien world, or another dimension. I need to call the other Titans for-" By instinct, Beast Boy reached into his pants pocket to grab his communicator. He remembered he left it back in the Tower, and why he ran away in the first place. "...Oh...right..."

Beast Boy silently pondered what he was going to do now. With no way to contact his friends, if it was even possible in another dimension or alien world, he was stuck here. While contemplating his predicament, a thought came to him. Maybe this was fate helping him escape from his old life, to get away from the pain in his heart from feeling different and Terra having no memory of her life as a Titan or the relationship they had. It may have been selfish for him to leave his team, but he couldn't deal with his self-conscious thoughts about the citizens in Jump City and his depression in losing the Terra he knew.

"...I guess...if I'm stuck here...I can try to start over," he concluded. "Live a normal life and not as a mutant hero who turns into green animals to beat up bad guys." Looking down at himself, his hero outfit would definitely stand him out among the rest of the people here, especially teenagers. "But I could use some new duds. Too bad I didn't bring money with me...if they even accept the same currency." Looking back at the building, an idea came to him. "...Since this is a school, they must have a lost and found storage somewhere...And maybe they have some lost clothing that might fit me."

Looking around to make sure no one was watching, Beast Boy turned back into a fly, buzzing after the two women who nearly caught him, slipping through the door as they entered the school. Squeezing through one of the air vents, he then turned into a mouse and skittered through the air ducts, looking through each room until he found where previous lost items in the school were held. Leaving the air duct, he leapt down to the floor, turning back to normal as he looked around the empty office, hitting the jackpot as he searched a nearby cabinet.

After a bit of digging, he managed to find some clothes that fit him, though it was a bit tacky and felt like they were kept in the 70's. Beast Boy shrugged, taking it as he put on the mismatched, hippie-style outfit he donned after stripping out of his suit. Now sporting a tye-dye shirt, a dark pinkish jacket, and a pair of lime green pants, all that was missing to make him look like a hippie was a pair of shades and an afro wig. There was even a backpack that was still in good condition, a simple black and completely empty, stuffing his old outfit inside for safekeeping.

"Not exactly the best find," he grumbled. "But it's something, at least.

Before he could scrounge for a small mirror to get a better look at himself, the slight noise he made caught someone's attention, the door to the room slamming open. "What do you think you're doing!?"

Beast Boy shrieked, quickly turning around as he was confronted by an older woman. She had blue skin, long dark and pale blue shaded hair, wearing a light purple blouse, the blue crescent moon on the white collar of her shirt, long blue pants, and white heels. From the way she was dressed, she looked like one of the school staff, or more likely one of the higher-ups like the principal.

He giggled nervously, trying to find an excuse as to why he broke into the office. "Uhh...hi?"

"School is about to start, and you're breaking onto school property?" the woman questioned, crossing her arms while leering at the delinquent.

"W-Well, you see, I'm kinda new here," Beast Boy said, tapping his fingers nervously. "I just moved here last night, and...I got a bit lost finding the principal's office. T-The door was opened so I thought this was it...and uhh...yeah."

The Titan gave her a wide grin, hoping his lie was believable. She was a bit skeptical, even as she looked back at the door with a grimace.

"...There are signs near the doors that tell you whose office belongs to whom," she stated.

Beast Boy began to sweat. "...I'm not that observant with signs?" he said in excuse.

The woman let out an irritated sigh, keeping her composure as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Clearly, the generation of youths today are going to the dogs," she muttered to herself. "Alright. I'll show you to the principal's office."

The animal shapeshifter breathed out a sigh of relief, surprised his bluff actually worked. He followed the woman out of the empty room and into the main office. After a bit of navigating through the halls, they arrived at the principal's office, Beast Boy seeing the name "Celestia" as the school's head principal. Inside was said principal at her desk, her skin a pure white with long hair of light colors of green, blue, and pink. She wore a tannish-yellow dress jacket over a white and purple shirt, a sun-shaped pin attached to the collar, and a pair of purple dress pants. Beast Boy was already beginning to feel nervous; he had never been enrolled in school since he was homeschooled by his late parents, and just being around this principal, despite how calm and friendly she looked, he didn't want to find out how angry she could get.

"Well, hello there," Celestia greeted the green-skinned hero, then looked at the woman who escorted him. "Vice-Principal Luna, who's this?"

Beast Boy winced as the principal mentioned the woman, who he now knew was named Luna, was the vice-principal. "I heard him rummaging around the lost and found box in the office," Luna said. "Knowing all the students at this school, he's definitely a new face, and somehow managed to sneak in without any of the other members of staff spotting him."

Celestia looked at Beast Boy, who began sweating profusely as he expected being sentenced for breaking and entering, but the principal looked back at Luna with a smirk. "You forgot to lock up that office last night, didn't you?" Luna winced, but she didn't seem to deny the claim, grumbling irritably while looking away with her arms crossed. Celestia chuckled, then focused her attention back on Beast Boy. "So, young man, what are you doing snooping around my school?"

"W-Well, uhh...I'm new around here...and want to...enroll?" Beast Boy stated timidly.

"I see. And you moved here to Canterlot City from where?" Celestia asked.

"Jump City," he answered. The two women looked at each other, never hearing such a place. "It's, uhh...really, REALLY far away. Like...across the sea?"

"You mean you're a foreign exchange student?" Celestia asked.

"Y-Yeah! That's it!" Beast Boy exclaimed, quickly calming himself before he got caught in his lies. "I'm a foreign exchange student! Here to join...this school!"

"I have not heard of another school informing us of an exchange program," Luna said.

"Me either," Celestia agreed. Curious, she typed at her computer, looking through the school records and any email notifications on anything she must have overlooked. "Hmm...I don't see anything about an exchange student coming to CHS. Even if we did, we would have gotten word weeks in advance."

Beast Boy winced, gulping nervously as he tried to come up with a decent lie. "Uhh...M-My old school had some...really messed up systems and stuff. Pretty bad," he lied. "So, instead, they sent a letter through the mail. It...should have arrived the other day?"

Both women doubted the teen, but Celestia gave Beast Boy the benefit of that doubt and looked through some of the recent mail the school had gotten that weren't put through their computer systems. "Let's see..." As the principal skimmed through the addressees of the letters, she hummed in confusion. "Uhh...Oh dear. Some of these are actually utility bills for the residences in town."

"Ugh, again?" Luna groaned in irritation. "It's like these weird video game subscriptions that keep getting in my mailbox at home, and they're addressed to some of our students, not me...I have a feeling I know who's responsible for the messed up mail sorting; one of our own students."

"Are you sure, Luna?" Celestia questioned skeptically. Luna approached the principal, whispering something to her about who she suspected it was. It dawned on Celestia, surprised, but believable over this special student. "Oh my...It was no wonder she was interested working with mail...I guess no one can stay mad at someone as special as her..."

"I still wonder how she's still able to see with those eyes," Luna said, pitying this special student, which caught Beast Boy's interest. "Thankfully, she's safe from being bullied here with her...'condition'."

Celestia nodded solemnly in agreement, then turned back to Beast Boy. "Well, if the letter is lost in the mail, hopefully we'll get it sorted out in a few days," she said, relieving the Titan a little. "Until then, we'll enroll you into the system as a new student, then see if your records finally arrive to put in. What's your name?"

"Bea-err...Garfield," the Titan corrected himself, almost giving out his hero name out of instinct. "Garfield Logan."

"Ok, Garfield." Celestia typed away, inputting Garfield's information like he was filling out his entire life. As long as he didn't mention anything about his heroic persona and his super powers, he should be in the clear. Finally, after several minutes, the needed info was gathered and Celestia finished placing him in the system. "And done. Welcome to Canterlot High, Mr. Logan."

"Thanks," Garfield said.

During that time, students had begun to arrive and get themselves ready for classes as the bell rang. "Well, today is a Friday, and considering it'll take a couple days until we get your class schedule ready, we'll let you have the day off and get a tour of the school so you don't get lost on Monday."

"Cool. I get a free day," Garfield said with a cheeky grin. "So, who's gonna show me around?"

"She should be coming to my office right about...now," Celestia said, timing it perfectly as her office door opened up.

"Hey, Principal Celestia, Vice-Principal Luna." A teen girl walked in as she greeted the two heads of the school. She was orange-skinned with fiery red hair with several yellow streaks, wearing an orange shirt with a red and yellow sun, a black jacket, a purple skirt, and a pair black boots. She noticed the Titan sitting across from Celestia, who was staring at her strangely tough-looking outfit despite how she expressed herself. "Hey there. You new around here?"

"Uhh, yeah," Garfield said.

"Sunset, this is Garfield Logan," Celestia introduced. "He's a foreign exchange student and will be starting class on Monday. Would you be his guide and show him the school?"

"Sure, no problem," Sunset said. "Nice meeting you, Garfield. Sunset Shimmer." She held her hand out to him, who took it and gave it a friendly shake. "So, when did you move here?"

"...Heheh...Uhh, well..." Garfield tapped his fingers together, feeling unsure of himself if he should be honest, or stretch the truth a little about his predicament. "...I know this is gonna sound crazy, but...I got here last night?"

Both women and Sunset gawked at the shape-shifter in shock. "L-Last night!?" Luna exclaimed.

"You don't even have any residence planned for you to stay from your old school?" Celestia questioned.

"Yeah, I told you my old school was...pretty bad," Garfield lied. "I was told to just get on the plane and arrive here. I...slept at the airport, then hitched a ride here at around 2 in the morning."

"And what about your parents? What kind of people are they to let their own child, who is still too young to be out on his own, to just go on ahead without any residence to even settle into as they moved?" Luna asked irritably.

Garfield grimaced at the mention of his parents, lowering his head as he stared at the ground in melancholy. "...M-My...I lost my parents...when I was a kid," Garfield admitted, making Luna balk at this bit of unfortunate news as the two women and Sunset felt pity for his loss. He never did think about his parents much, but it still hurt when reminded of their fate, at least being honest about some of his life. "They died in a boating accident..."

"...Oh my...I'm so sorry," Luna apologized sympathetically.

"I've gotten over it...sort of," he mumbled.

"Well, luckily, we have set up a program for our students to offer boarding to newer students from across the country to see how Canterlot High is one of the top-ranked schools in the nation," Celestia offered. "They're up on the main bulletin board in the hall. I'm sure one of our students would be happy to make you their roommate."

"Ok," Garfield said. Taking in a deep breath to calm his nerves, he stood up, ready to get started with the tour. "Alright, dudette, lead the way."

Sunset nodded, then lead the new student out to see all the school had to offer. Celestia and Luna felt sorry for Garfield, concerned about his reasons for being here if he actually grew up poor with no one to care for him or really was in a terrible school and wanted to leave from how nervous he felt about enrolling.

---

After adding himself into CHS's school system, Sunset took him to one of the other offices to get his school ID taken, which was mandatory for all students for any scholastic activities requiring them or getting prepaid lunch in the cafeteria. Unfortunately, it was being run by the photo-crazed teen, who Garfield found out was named Photo Finish, and stuck him in odd poses while taking his picture while strangely getting the perfect smile photo on his new ID. He was still seeing spots as he tried to follow Sunset down the hall.

"Sorry. I should have warned you about Photo Finish," Sunset apologized. "She's a great photographer, but she can go a little bit haywire with a camera."

"I think I went blind," Garfield uttered. After blinking his eyes and shaking his head, he was finally able to see normally. While wandering the halls, he met a few other teens, even some pre-teens who were like the few other people he had seen since he woke this morning. All of them had different colored skin tones, and even though their hair was supposed to be as natural as their skin, it was odd seeing them so differently dyed or streaked that made them seem like they came from one of his favorite anime movies. "So, uhh...you know where that bulletin board is at so I can find a roomie to stay with?"

"It's on the way," Sunset said. "We're coming up to the gym, so we can cut across to reach the main hall faster."

"Ok, cool," Garfield said. "And as soon as possible, I'd want to get me a part-time job since I'm...flat broke."

"I can give you a tour of the city after school," Sunset offered. "There's a lot of places willing to hire. Maybe some of my friends can give you a good word with their managers." Their tour of similar halls looking at similar looking classrooms lead them to the gymnasium doors. Garfield wanted to take this shortcut to see if anyone's got a room available and maybe job applications to get some cash. As he opened the door, Sunset winced when she remembered what was going on in the gym today. "Wait, Garfield, don't go through yet! Today's-!"

Too late. He opened up the doors, hearing the sounds of excited cheering and mock battle cries as two sides of the court. Red rubber balls bounced all over the large courtroom.

"Incoming!" a voice shouted as the other side from where Garfield entered flung a barrage of dodgeballs toward the enemy team, only for the teens to flee and leaving him in their trajectory.

He screamed and panicked, but was too slow to react, getting struck by each one as they hit his shoulders, legs, and gut. The last one hit him directly in the face hard enough to stick to his head, his whole body flipping rapidly before he fell to the ground on his back with a thud. Sunset sighed, rubbing her forehead and shaking her head.

"...Dodgeball day," Sunset finished, albeit a bit too late for the groaning teen. She walked over to Garfield, grabbing the ball and peeling it off his face, leaving a red rubber imprint on his partially squished face. "You ok, Garfield?"

"Uhhhh...Anyone got the number of that bus who ran me over?" Garfield asked in his daze, eyes swirling around in his head.

"Whoa! Time out, guys!" Both teams stopped their game as one of them called a time out. Walking over to the downed Titan as Garfield came to, he saw a blue-skinned girl, her hair in streaks of a rainbow colors, wearing a white shirt with a cloud shooting a red, yellow, and blue lightning bolt underneath it, a blue jacket worn over said shirt, blue sweat pants with rainbow colored lightning bolts running down the sides of her legs, and white and blue sneakers with red soles and laces, a pale yellow lightning bolt one the sides of her shoes. "You alright, new guy?"

"Define 'alright' after getting smacked by balls at blinding speed," Garfield muttered. The girl held her hand out to him, taking the offered limb, and stood back up with a grunt. "Was this some sort of initiation I wasn't aware of?"

"More like you weren't paying attention to what was going on through the window to find out it was a bad idea to cut through here," Sunset uttered to herself. "Anyway, Garfield, this is one of my friends, Rainbow Dash. Rainbow, this is Garfield."

"Should have ducked, dude," Rainbow teased with a small laugh. "What were you even doing coming in here in the middle of the best game of dodgeball I'm having?"

"Getting a tour of the school," Garfield said. "I do wanna know where everything is, including the locker rooms."

"Those are out in the halls," Rainbow said, pointing her thumb at the doorway. "I'd love to keep chatting with you, Garf, but I've got a game to win." She snatched the dodgeball out of Sunset's hand, running back to her side, eager to finish her game. "Game's back on! Get wrecked, scrubs!"

The hollering cheers came back, Sunset and Garfield yelping as they fled back to the doors, shutting them behind them before they were assaulted by more dodgeballs, the latter more so. "...Well, she's competitive, I'll give her that," Garfield said.

"And a bit reckless," Sunset added. "We're gonna take the long way around." Garfield nodded in agreement, continuing the tour while avoiding getting hit by something else along the way. After finally getting around to the main hall and finishing the rest of the tour, Sunset showed Garfield the bulletin board the principal mentioned. "And that's pretty much all there is to see around CHS. But if you're still a bit lost, there's a map that goes with the class schedules just in case."

"I'll probably get that on Monday," the Titan said, even though he might dread learning if it meant starting his life over. The bell rang again, students filing out from their classrooms and either made their way to their next class, or to Garfield's shock, leaving the building. "Uhh, isn't it a bit too early for some of them to leave the campus?"

"It's an early day today and most of us have a free period," Sunset explained. "Mostly because a friend of mine notified us about something that happened last night, and if it was hazardous, we don't want other students to get hurt. You'll get used to some of the crazy and weird stuff that goes on at this school."

"Can't be any weirder than me," Garfield commented, pointing at his head while wiggling his pointed ears.

Sunset noticed, but was more focused on his odd apparel choice if it was the only clothes that were on his back. "Right. Anyway, why don't you take a look at the board while I head to my locker and grab my things. I'll show you around town and meet the rest of my friends. Without getting injured in the process."

"Sweet. I'll be here looking," Garfield said slyly. Sunset went down a hall to where her locker was, leaving the shape-shifting teen to watch everyone as he waited for her to return. "Wow. I think I might like being in school. Maybe that's why Terra didn't get so burdened by-"

Realizing who he was talking about, Garfield's grin fell as he thought about Terra again. Even in another world away from her, he still can't get her out of his mind. Sighing sadly, he looked at the bulletin board, hoping to distract himself with something besides the most depressing moment of his life. While looking at some of the flyers for a roommate, he was a little disturbed by the amount of money some of them needed for monthly rent. He doesn't even have a job yet, and his best bet to find any place to rest was turning into a squirrel and finding a hollow hole in a tree. His searching came upon one that was pretty simple, and with no price as he took it down and read it to himself.

Looking for a cool roomie.
Only qualification needed is being cool around a tortoise and NOT being Zephyr Breeze!!!
Come to this address if you're interested and I'll see if you're cool enough to be my roommate.
Best time to swing around my place is around 4:00 PM

And once again: NO, Zephyr Breeze! You can't be my roommate! Leave me alone!

Despite the odd message to this Zephyr Breeze, Garfield seemed to have found a perfect place to hunker down, hopefully for free. Stashing the flyer in his backpack, he looked for any job applications, though he didn't have much with how few there were that were posted. Sunset soon returned with her own backpack on while making her way through the crowd to reach him.

"Ok, all set. Found anything to help you out?" Sunset asked.

"I think so, but I think I'll do some job searching in the town," Garfield said. "Let's see the sights."

---

Even though this place was called Canterlot City, the area was more like a town that seemed as big as a city. There were many houses in the neighborhood near the school, but the places of business were in another section of town, from fast food joints to convenience stores, along with a mall that had everything and more. Their first stop was at a more than average clothing store, the mannequins wearing quite fashionable designs for what appeared to be more of a suburban area.

"This is the Carousel Boutique," Sunset introduced. "One of my friends works here, and she's quite the fashion diva." Looking back at the Titan, she stared at his apparel, having a gut feeling her fashion savvy friend inside was going to have a fit at his wardrobe. "...Speaking of fashion, you kinda look like you picked up those clothes at a discount disco shop."

Garfield slumped his shoulders, leering at Sunset in offense to her statement. "It was all I had," he said. "Besides, I make this look good."

He straightened himself up, standing in a cool-looking pose. Sunset wasn't impressed, his suave stance making him look goofy with his mismatched attire.

"...We'll let Rarity be the judge of that," she said. Garfield sighed, following Sunset inside, getting a closer look at all the different outfits on display. "Rarity! You here!?"

"I'll be right out, Sunset!" After a bit of waiting, Rarity came out from what looked like a private workroom in the back. Her skin a pure white with purple hair done in stylish curls, wearing a light blue dress with patterns of double diamonds around it, a purple skirt reaching an inch above her knees, and purple and white heels with diamonds accenting her flashy style. She was a thing of beauty, but that didn't distract him enough from his own infatuations with Terra, before she became Slade's apprentice and losing her memories with the new life she had. "I need a break after working on-"

Rarity paused, gawking at Garfield as he grinned sheepishly while waving at her. "I want to introduce you to a new Wondercolt at CHS," Sunset said. "I thought we'd swing by while showing him the-" Suddenly, Garfield yelped as he was swept away by Rarity, dragged by his arm as his backpack slipped out, falling with a thud and startling Sunset. "-...town?"

Garfield was flung toward a nearby dressing room, held against his will inside while Rarity glared at him. "Help! I'm gonna die!" he screamed in terror.

"YOU'RE going to die!? Have you looked in a mirror with those clothes!?" Rarity questioned, pointing at his attire. "They look like they came from the bargain bin of bargain bins in a run down disco store! That closed down DURING that time!"

"...W-Well, it was all I had," Garfield mumbled timidly.

"I'm going to rectify that." Standing him up, Rarity pulled out a measuring tape and began to work.

Placing him in different poses to get Garfield's measurements, she got what she needed, then tore his clothes right off his back. "Ahh! Hey! Not the duds! I wanna keep those!"

"I am burning these hideous things! They are an eyesore to the fashion industry!" After taking off Garfield's lost and found clothing, she left the changing room, throwing the disastrous clothes away to burn later as she looked through something else for the Titan.

Beast Boy poked his head out nervously. "Sunset? Help?"

"Heh. Sorry, Garfield," Sunset apologized, picking up his backpack. "Once Rarity gets like that, there's no chance of stopping her."

He swallowed nervously, dreading what the fashionista will do to him after stripping him down to his boxers without batting an eye at what was on them. "Here, put these on," Rarity said, tossing a set of clothes at his face, sending him falling back into the dressing room. "I would have come up with something much better if I got to know you more, darling, but simplicity will have to do."

Garfield grumbled, but went along with it since she swiped away the only casual clothes he was able to find for free. And if she expected him to pay for these clothes, he was giving her an I.O.U until he found a suitable job to pay her. After putting on his new clothes, he looked at himself in the full body mirror in the dressing room, his worst fears assuaged with the simple look Rarity promised. Wearing a simple purple T-shirt, the hem of the collar, sleeves, and trim black, along with black loose jeans with a purple streak running down the right side of his leg, this was much better than what he found. Ironically, it was almost like his hero outfit, even with his boots, which Rarity thankfully let him keep.

He stepped out, showing the two girls his new look, Rarity nodding her head in approval while Sunset was a bit surprised by his new image. "Wow. Definitely a lot better than...whatever it was he was wearing."

"Far better," Rarity said. "Now, who is he, again? A new student, you said?"

"Yeah. That's Garfield, a foreign exchange student...from a pretty awful school," Sunset said.

"I'll say if they think those old rags were considered a proper form of attire at his old school," Rarity uttered to himself.

"Well, thanks for the new duds, but...I don't really have any cash on me to buy this," Garfield said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it," Rarity assured, shocking the teen at her overly generous gesture, even though they had just met. "Consider your new outfit a gift for the new Canterlot Wondercolt. Trust me, darling, it'll save you the embarrassment when you officially start school."

"...Wow...Uhh, thanks," Garfield said, still feeling it a bit odd that he was getting a new outfit for free, even though he felt like he should owe her for it. "I still feel like I should owe you something for this."

"There's no need, Garfield," Rarity reassured. "Just as long as you don't ruin those clothes. Or wear something as hideous as...that ensemble."

Garfield let out an irritated huff, still thinking he looked good in the getup he found, but relented as he went with the fashionista's opinion. Sunset handed him his backpack back, saying goodbye to Rarity and continued on their way through the rest of the town. While admiring more of the area, Garfield's stomach began to growl, his depressed state back home barely making him eat, and he had nothing to snack on back at the school.

"Uhh, Sunset, there anyplace we can chow down?" Garfield asked sheepishly. "I...didn't really eat anything since yesterday."

"Really? Not even on your trip over last night?" Sunset asked. The shape-shifter shook his head in response, preventing feeling anymore pity after revealing how he lost his parents. Sunset hummed and looked around, spotting a building with the name "Sugarcube Corner" on a sign on top of the front door on the other side of the street. "Let's get something there. One of my other friends works there. We can kill two birds with one stone."

"Sweet," Garfield said, eager to sink his teeth into whatever sweets the restaurant had. As they walked inside, business in the bakery was average in the afternoon, some of the students from CHS sipping from shakes as they hung out. There were so many different scents wafting from the freshly baked goods in the kitchen, making the Titan salivate and his stomach growl even louder. "Oh man. I must be in tasty treat heaven. Pinch me, I must be dreaming."

"Okie dokie!" Someone granted Garfield's wish, pinching his arm hard. He yelped, quickly turning to face a pink-skinned girl with curly and floofy pink hair, almost looking like it was made out of cotton candy. Underneath the work apron tied around her, she had a white T-shirt, a trio of balloons in blue and yellow hidden behind said apron, a frilly pink skirt, white leggings, and white and blue shoes with pink laces. Garfield didn't even see this girl anywhere in the shop, at a table or even behind the counter, and she just suddenly appeared out of thin air and pinched him. "Hello!"

"Hey, Pinkie," Sunset greeted, barely disturbed by the widely grinning girl suddenly standing beside them.

"What-Who-How-Why!?" Garfield stammered, trying to figure out how she got here. "Where did you come from!?"

"I was right beside you the whole time, silly!" Pinkie said, further baffling Garfield, though her bubbly attitude reminded him of Starfire.

Garfield looked at Sunset, doubting this strange girl was even anywhere near them most of the day. "Garfield, this is Pinkie Pie. She's a little bit...kooky."

"...Right," he mumbled.

Before he could introduce himself, Pinkie grabbed Garfield's hand and shook it hard, shaking him as well as he yelled. "Hi, Garfield! I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie reintroduced herself in her own way. "You must obviously new because I know everybody in town, and I don't know you, which means you ARE new and new people means new friends, and I love making new friends!"

"N-Nice m-meeting you, too! C-Can I-I-I have my a-a-arm back!?" Garfield demanded.

Pinkie let go, leaving the shape-shifter shaking like he was in the middle of an earthquake with his arm outstretched. "So, where are you from? Are you hungry? I like your ears! Are you DC or Marvel? What's your favorite color?" Pinkie rapidly spouted, even as Garfield recovered from the insanely powerful strength from the bubbly teen.

As soon as he regained his balance and some feeling in his arm, he stared at Pinkie, processing the odd question she asked him. "Wait, what was that last one?"

"What's your favorite color?" Pinkie asked again.

"No, before that," Garfield corrected.

"Where you're from?" she asked.

"The second to last thing you said," he said, starting to feel a migraine, and he didn't know why.

"Oh! I like your ears!" Pinkie said, making the green-skinned teen groan in irritation.

"Never mind," he grumbled, his stomach distracting him from the ensuing headache he was going to get.

"Well, that answers one of Pinkie's questions," Sunset said.

"And Sugarcube Corner's the BEST place to sink your sweet tooth into!" Pinkie added. "But, since all your teeth get to munch into a yummy pastry, then shouldn't the expression be their sweet 'teeth'?"

Garfield raised a finger and opened his mouth to respond, but the more he thought about it, he started to question Pinkie's logic about one's sweet tooth. "...Uhh...You know, that is weird," he said to himself. His hunger came back on topic from his rumbling stomach. "Heheh. Uhh, I kinda don't have any money to buy any food, even though I really wanna try some of these goodies..." He looked at Sunset with a timid grin. "Can you spot me a couple bucks?"

"I got this, Sunset!" Pinkie answered for Garfield's guide, skipping off and stood behind the counter. "For new customers, allowed by Mr. and Mrs. Cake, A.K.A. the owners, they can get a free sample to try our sweets, and maybe buy some more in the future!"

"And she has a really good memory of who she meets," Sunset said. "Trust me. Two dopey boys, Snips and Snails, tried to disguise themselves to snatch a ton of free samples when they came back."

"They weren't good disguises anyway," Pinkie said. "So, if you'd like, Garfield, you can take a pick out of any of these yummy-nummy desserts!"

"Wow. New clothes and a free sample? Must be my lucky day." Garfield approached the display case, unable to decide which one he wanted to try. They all looked so good and smelled amazing, it was a tough choice as he pressed his face into the glass. His eyes soon fell on a simple looking pie, the flavor "Apple" displayed in front of it. "It feels like forever since I had pie. I'll try that apple one!"

"Coming right up!" Pinkie ducked down, grabbing the pie and cut a sample-sized piece for the newcomer, then placed it on a paper plate, along with some plastic cutlery. "Dig in!"

"Will do!" Taking the plate and fork, he speared the small piece of pie and stuffed it whole in his mouth.

The moment his taste buds touched the flaky, sweet dessert, his eyes grew wide. It was delicious, but that's not what shocked him; this apple pie tasted exactly like the pie back in his world, back in the cafe Terra showed him when they went on their fast and, to his sorrow, last date. It felt impossible to make something this similar in an alternate world, but somehow, it was. His mind went back through that very date he cherished with Terra, bringing tears to his eyes, the flavor in his mouth disappearing as it upset him more with the harsh reality he suffered earlier.

"I know; a classic pie, but it's the best kind of pie for a reason," Pinkie said. "Brings a tear to my eye every time I bite into a slice. Good choice to start on!" She grinned innocently, ignorant of the depressed look in Garfield's eyes before finally noticing the distant gaze he had. He began to slowly chew, then swallowed, barely savoring the sample treat. "...Garfield?"

Seeing Pinkie losing her smile, Sunset approached the dazed Titan, surprised seeing him more upset than mentioning his deceased parents. "Garfield?" she gently called out. She placed her hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his depressed daze as he came back to reality. "Are you ok?"

He looked at the two girls, both of them greatly concerned with him after "blanking out". He didn't want to burden them with his past and wanted to start anew, but forgetting everything was impossible: his team and best friends, his past adventures, even Terra, before and after she gave up her memories.

"...Thanks for the pie," Garfield solemnly answered, discarding his plate and plastic fork in the nearest trash bin before leaving the building, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt.

"...Did I...say something wrong?" Pinkie asked, worried she came on too strong with her silly antics and overly cheerful personality.

"I don't think so," Sunset assured. "I need to catch up with him before he gets lost."

Sunset hurried after Garfield, leaving Pinkie behind the counter as she tried to figure out what went wrong.

---

Garfield walked a few blocks down the road, his mind wandering to Terra with his head low and his hands in his new pants pockets. Even though he was still hungry, he wasn't up to stuffing his face anymore. He didn't even glance at a video store he passed by to see what this world had for video games or even any movies he wanted to see. His wandering lead him to the park, lush green fields separated by sidewalks leading around a path, some foliage, a playground where some kids were playing, and even a pond. He walked over to the water, spotting a few ducks floating on the water's surface, content as they quacked and waited for someone to toss them some pieces of bread to feed them.

He sat down on the grass, watching the water fowl, almost wanting to turn into one and swim away his problems. But that would be a bad idea; even though some of the pets he caught a glimpse of didn't have normal fur either, a green duck could spout some trouble from other people as some kind of disease-ridden bird that could infect the other animals nearby. All he could do was watch the peaceful scenery, letting his mind drift off to something else and not his broken heart.

"Garfield!" Sunset called out, finally catching up to him. He looked back, almost forgetting she was giving him a tour of the town. "Hey, what happened? You ok?"

"...Yeah...I just...remembered something," Garfield said. "...It's...kinda personal..."

"Oh. I see." Sunset sat down beside him, seeing he was a little bit more calm after what happened in Sugarcube Corner. "Was it about your parents? Homesickness? That can happen, even after only one day away from home...I kinda had that feeling a few years ago when I moved here."

"Maybe a little," Garfield said, even though this pain was far worse than losing his parents or being away from Jump City.

"Well, whenever you're ready to talk about it, I'm here to listen," Sunset offered, patting the teen's shoulder. "And so will my other friends after meeting the rest of them."

"Thanks," he said, giving her a small smile. "Sorry about running off."

"It's fine," Sunset said. "Besides, coming out here, I was going to lead you around here next. There's a friend of mine who doesn't live that far away from here, and she might help you get a job if you're interested." Sunset stood up, Garfield following her down the road, growing curious as to where she was going to take him. A half mile away from the park, they came upon a couple acres of apple trees, the orchard well cared for with bright red apples fresh for the picking. Up ahead on the path was a farmhouse, a red born slightly worn down as it's seen many years of repairs. Coming out from the barn was a teen girl carrying out some crates, her skin a lighter shade of orange than Sunset's from what Garfield could see. "Hey, Applejack!"

The girl put down the heavy crates, revealing the rest of herself as she wiped her brow. She wore a stetson hat over her blonde hair, which was tied up in a ponytail, a white T-shirt with the top around her shoulders green and a red apple on her chest, a blue jean-skirt, and brown work boots with red apples etched on the sides.

"Howdy, Sunset!" Applejack called out, waving them over as Sunset and Garfield walked over to her. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Garfield Logan," Sunset introduced. "He's new in town and a new Wondercolt starting Monday. I was showing him around town and thought you might use a hired hand around your place."

"Well, we could sure use some help," Applejack said, rubbing the back of her neck as she looked out at the orchard nervously. "This year's harvest is definitely goin' to be overwhelmin' this year. Big Mac's gonna be too busy with me gatherin' and he won't be able to deliver our crops to the markets."

"I can deliver the apples," Garfield said. "It sounds like an easy job."

Applejack hummed skeptically as she examined the skinny shape-shifter. "How much can ya lift with them skinny arms, Garfield?"

"Uhh...how much do you expect?" he answered sheepishly.

"Let's see if y'all can lift one of them crates, then go up another until ya can't," Applejack said, pointing at the half-dozen crates she carried out.

"Piece of cake," Garfield gloated.

He approached the stack of crates, seeing them filled with bottles of apple cider. Garfield started with one crate, which wasn't too much of a hassle, then two, then three, but with the fourth case, he struggled to hold them up for longer than a few seconds before he had to put them down. He could lift more if he were a five-hundred pound gorilla, but he would have to keep his shape-shifting under wraps.

"Hmm...Not bad, even though that's just cider in them cases," Applejack commented. "Can ya drive?"

"Uhh...sorta?" Garfield said, scratching his head nervously.

"Can ya drive a stick-shift?" Applejack asked, pointing at the nearby pickup truck with several more cases in the back.

"...You got a moped instead?" he asked, giggling sheepishly at his odd request.

Applejack raised a brow, even Sunset as they both knew the best way to carry several dozen heavy crates of anything was in a truck, not a motorized scooter. "...Ah'll have to talk to mah brother if we can show ya how to harvest the apples and bring them to the storage shed properly instead," Applejack muttered to herself. "If ya want the job, you're gonna have to show up on time and pull your weight. No whinin' or complainin'."

"Yes, ma'am," Garfield said.

"Just give me a couple days to talk this over with mah brother and Ah'll tell ya if ya get the job." Garfield nodded, able to wait a few days without money to get some cash in his pockets. "Anyway, nice meetin' ya, Garfield, but Ah gotta get back to work."

"Ok. I'll see ya at school, boss!" Applejack let out a sigh as she left, waving goodbye to Sunset and her soon-to-be employee and she went out to find her brother. Looking up at the sky, Garfield wondered how much time he and Sunset spent on his tour. "Hey, Sunset, what time is it?"

"Let's see..." Sunset pulled out her phone to check the time, and a few other messages from some of her friends. "It's almost 3:40."

"Oh, cool! I can meet my new roomie right now!" he said, pulling out the flyer he took from his backpack. "You know where this address is at?"

Reading the address, Sunset was a little surprised, knowing exactly where the house in question was. "Yeah. When you enter the neighborhood, it's on the second street down. Although, that's-"

"Thanks!" Garfield interrupted. "I'll catch ya later, Sunset! Thanks for the tour!"

He ran off before Sunset could tell him she knew who lived there. "Oh boy," Sunset said with a sigh, making her way back home while looking through her texts. "He's gonna be in for a big surprise when he sees who he's gonna have to live with."

Comments

[DGJabberwocky]

Loving it so far

Also, how come Sunset hasn't used her mind-reading powers yet, even though she has been in physical contact with him?

[sonicfan05]

I'm liking this so far. Please keep it up!

[Voltaje]

Excellent, though if you take too much time writing, people will dismiss this story because it still hasn't arrived at an important part, otherwise, the story promises to be interesting.

[everydaygamer]

Nice to see an update, really digging this story so far.

[Garuda IV]

Can't wait to see how BB and RD react to who their new roommate is. Also wondering how long he'll be able to keep his shapeshifting abilities and actual backstory secret, especially if he's gonna be spending time around Applejack.

[Codex92]

9503595
9503733
Well, life is an issue with writing most of the time. Because of where I work, I end up staying longer than I should because my other co-workers decide to not want to show up on time or call off for stupid reasons when we need them there on extremely busy overnight hours. I want to relax more and forget about the stressful hours I'm forced to take, unable to work on my stories half the time because of my exhaustion working my behind off. I'll try completing more chapters as soon as I possibly can, but I can't guarantee they'll be done in a few days.

[MLPMekarm]

this is gonna be so much fun.

[Voltaje]

9503803
That is fine, I just am talking about weeks without an update, people will just forget the story if you didn't catch their attention with the already written stuff, a few days is fine.

[AstralFlare42]

"They weren't good disguises anyway," Pinkie said. "So, if you'd like, Garfield, you can take a pick out of any of these yummy-nummy desserts!"

They only wore fake moustaches.

[LightningChaser04]

"Wow. New clothes and a free sample? Must be my lucky day." Garfield approached the display case, unable to decide which one he wanted to try. They all looked so good and smelled amazing, it was a tough choice as he pressed his face into the glass. His eyes soon fell on a simple looking pie, the flavor "Apple" displayed in front of it. "It feels like forever since I had pie. I'll try that apple one!"

When I say I want you say Pie!
I want
Pie
I want
Pie!!
When I say yummy, you say pie!
Yummy
Pie
Yummy
Pie!!

You can see it here: ⬇️
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qPlKVgSjCyU

Sorry, old habits die hard!

[LightningChaser04]

10760860
BB can do the pie song with Soarin. He goes CRAZY over pies! 😂 Watch the gala episode if you’re confused.