• Published 26th Apr 2020
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Equestria's Ray of Hope - The_Darker_Fonts

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Normality

That night, after a warm shower and a sandwich, he stood by his window once again, restless. He was unsure as to why he was so eager to get things going, but the thought of waiting two more days was making him anxious. He sighed as jumbled thoughts continued to rattle around his head, giving him a headache. The night sky didn’t give him any answers, simply watching his plight with blind eyes. He sighed. Why did it have to look so much like the one back on Earth? This only muddled his brain further.

With another sigh, this one of resignation, he turned away from the window and the blasted night sky. Flopping face first onto his bed, he moaned. There was really nothing he could do at this point but wait, and that didn’t seem to settle his mind any further than the secretive night sky. He tried to reason with himself, that it didn’t matter until Thursday, but then his brain would make another silly prediction, and it was back to square one.

He flipped over in his bed, still fully dressed, and began to pull his blankets around him. He knew he probably wouldn’t get a wink of sleep with his mind where it was, so he changed his thoughts to something more trivial to distract them from the more pressing matters. He began wondering how he would ever get meat, but then almost smacked himself. There were fish; he’d seen those in the river as he crossed over the bridge. There was also a large, untamed forest right outside of the town’s limits. There had to be deer or rabbits or something in there

Plans began to formulate in his head at how to get them. He could try to make a snare or something, though he wasn’t sure how successful that would be, seeing how he’d never done such a thing. He could also try to make his own weapons, but their usefulness was at least as questionable. All of this would be excellent to know come wartime. He would have to ask Twilight if she knew anything about weapon making.

Another thing he’d have to wait for. He took a deep breath as his thoughts raced back to the restless subject of waiting. Cursing to himself, rolling to his other side, trying to figure out the best way to put his mind at ease. The answer was almost immediate, and almost so simple that he smacked himself. He couldn’t do anything until Thursday anyways, why should he worry until Thursday. Near instantly, his mind shut its rollercoaster of questions and doubts shut off. He sighed in peace, staring out into the night sky from under his covers. He was still bothered by the fact that it looked so much like Earth’s sky, but he laid that off too.

Before he knew it, he was dozing off once again. Sighing in content, he shifted into sleep, the warm darkness overtaking him. The night sung to him as he slept, crickets now residing in the flower beds planted in his front yard chirping softly in the language of the night. Fireflies, unseen by his sleeping figure, flew in a softly glowing cloud across the hills to a certain hut on the edge of town.

It was shaped like a tree, as indeed it was, hollowed out but still alive with browning leaves. Its branches were lined with bird boxes, feeders, nests, holes, and perches, all taken by sleeping fowl and mammal residents. In the window on the upper story, a buttercream pegasus was nervously pacing across the floor, mumbling to herself. A small white bunny watched the spectacle anxiously, eyes trained on his caretaker and friend. She continued pacing before abruptly turning to her companion.

“Why would anypony feel like they’re useless,” she asked, concerned. “It’s not like he doesn’t have a cutie mark to show him his true purpose, so why would he… feel so useless? He has friends here, and we all want him here, so why would he”- she shuddered- “want to die. And it’s not like I’m a therapist! I just listen and try to help where I can. I can’t actually do this! Oh sweet Celestia, why did I put myself up to this?”

The white hare smacked a paw over his face, trying to act as casual as he could without being rude. As much as he loved and respected Fluttershy, she really had a bad habit of over-worrying about things if she thought too much about it. She was like this at first with Discord, before she and he became more… comfortable. Yes, only comfortable, nothing more. Half the time, the little bunny didn't even know what she was talking about, with all her stammerings and trailing off, but he still tried to give advice. Now was not one of those times.

He squeaked at her in annoyance, telling her to slow down and actually tell him what was wrong so he could actually help. Something had happened at that party the other night, something he needed to know. Fluttershy had come home flustered and completely worn, barely giving him a greeting before falling asleep on the sofa. Whatever it was, it was affecting her now, and it was somehow tied to the elusive stallion she was mumbling about.

Slowly, she took a deep breath, looking out the window expectantly, like she was waiting for somepony. “There’s a new creature in Equestria, Angel,” she muttered. “He’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. He’s hairless save for his mane, bigger than Harry, and so confusing, I just can’t understand him. Something really bad happened to him in his old life, I know that, but he refuses to tell me what. I think I understand, since we only met yesterday and he might have trouble trusting anypony, especially after the terrible way Twilight brought him here. He has a large scar on his stomach, but he seems to pay it no mind.”

Angel immediately began screeching in condemnation, asking how she would be close enough to him to see his stomach. Fluttershy flushed, looking down.

“It's not like that, Angel! He arrived without any clothes save for the bit around his lower middle. That’s another thing, he wears clothes all the time. He’s very insistent on it, and seems to take pride in his own decency. Anyways, he seems to be fairly happy on his exterior, considering his circumstances, but I’ve seen through that shell. He’s quite frankly a mess, with things that have happened in his life that I can’t even begin to understand.

“Last night, during the party, I saw his fake exterior, and saw… something else. He- he wanted to k-kill himself yesterday, just hours into his arrival here.”

Angel Bunny let out a small gasp, his tiny jaw dropping in surprise. He had heard and seen plenty of terrible things in his life, it was a byproduct of living in the wild. But this, this was something he had never heard of before, was unprepared for. He couldn’t even begin to comprehend why such a notion would, could, exist in such a peaceful place.
That was it, the problem. The creature, whatever it was, was another evil being here to conquer Equestria and take Fluttershy from him. Angel told Fluttershy so, making her head shake sadly.

“Oh, I know this is terrible to say, but I wish that were the case, I really do. Then, in the end, he would understand the Magic of Friendship and all would be okay. But this is much worse Angel. Poor Ray was brought here by Twilight to fight a war. And he will. Oh, this is all so terrible and confusing and scary, and I don’t know how I can ever help poor Ray with it all, when I can’t even deal with it myself.”

Angel rushed over and took the watery-eyed mare’s hoof, leading her over to one of the sofas. He tittered to some of the squirrels that lived in the house, along with the family of mice, to go and get some tea for their caretaker. They rushed off to do so as Angel gently patted Fluttershy’s hoof, her silently staring out the window at a group of fireflies.

The fireflies, continuing their journey, drafted off towards a controlled section of woodlands. The playfully flitted about near-ripe apples as they moved along the grove, coming upon a small treehouse amidst the trees. Inside the simple wooden structure, a yellow light shone from a lantern in the center of the room, giving light to the three fillies within. They sat, whispering despite their privacy.

“Whatdya think about Ray,” Apple Bloom asked, grinning broadly. “I think he’s a real charmin’ guy, in spite o’ th’ teasin’!”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo agreed, giggling slightly. “Who would’ve thought of ‘booty mark’?”

“I don’t know,” Sweetie Belle jutted in. “he seemed kinda strange. Didn’t you see his eyes. They looked haunted, like he had seen something really really bad. And what about his running, like he was searching for something and he was scared of losing it forever.”

“That’s silly talk,” Apple Bloom said, lightly shoving Sweetie. “He’s perfectly normal! Just like us!”

“I’d say we’re hardly normal,” Scootaloo said with a smile. “I mean, we go to the School of Friendship, are friends with the Princess, and have saved Equestria for Celestia’s sake!”

“Good point,” Sweetie Belle responded. After a brief moment of silence, she smiled mischievously asked, “So who do think he’ll end up with?”

“Ooh,” Scootaloo muttered thoughtfully, rubbing a hoof on her chin. “That’s a hard one.”

“What if he ends up with one a' our sisters,” Apple Bloom asked, quirking her eyebrow mischievously. All three fillies exchanged looks with smiles on their faces.

“Rarity,” Apple Bloom shot.

“Nah,” Sweetie Belle shot down. “She has Spike, and she isn’t gonna give him up. Rainbow Dash?”

“Nope,” Scootaloo denied. “She’s still hung up about Soarin. AJ?”

“Far as I know, th’ only apple of her eye’s th’ one that needs pickin’,” Apple Bloom said thoughtfully.

“Wait a minute,” Sweetie suddenly cut in with a panicked tone. “Didn’t you say something about Ray telling you he was only fourteen?”

“Um, yeah, why,” Scootaloo answered for her, staring in confusion at her fellow Crusader.

Apple Bloom’s eyes widened as she caught the drift. “Ya don’t mean…”

“Guys,” Scootaloo yelled in annoyance at the display. “I’m not as smart as you. What’re you gettin’’ on about?”

Cautiously looking over at her friend, Apple Bloom whispered quietly, “Big Mac’s six years older than Sugar Belle.”
Scootaloo’s eyes widened as she made an unspoken realization. All three exchanged glances once again, this time in horror rather than mischief.

“That cannot happen,” Sweetie muttered, the other two nodding simultaneously in agreement.

“But how do we prevent it,” Scootaloo asked out loud. “I mean, how do we stop love from actually happening?”

“Cherilee, that’s how,” Apple Bloom reminded, grimacing at the memory.

“Well, we’re practically sisters, right,” Sweetie asked, gaining nods of agreement. “Well, if we’re like sisters, then if he becomes part of one of our families, we won’t have to worry about that.”

“Ya mean… adoptin’ him,” Apple Bloom asked. After a few moments of thoughtful thinking, she called out, “Dibs!”

“Hey, we didn’t even agree to that,” Scootaloo yelled indignantly. “Besides, how would that work?”

“Well, we could go to Mayor Mare and ask to get paperwork to legally allow him ta join th’ Apple family. Maybe as a sibling, since it would be kinda awkward if he became my nephew.”

“We didn’t even consent to that plan though,” Sweetie objected. “Why should you get him and not either of us?”

“‘Cuz I’m th’ one that introduced him ta y’all, was th’ first one ta meet him, and he also’ll be workin’ th’ farm for th’ next six months at least. Makes sense to me.”

“She does have a fair point,” Scootaloo allowed, looking to Sweetie to gauge her reaction. She huffed in disappointment before nodding in agreement. It did make the most sense.

“Hey y’all, look,” Apple Bloom suddenly yelled, rushing over to the window. She pointed out a cloud of tiny embers floating right outside the window. “Lightnin’ bugs!”

As the other two fillies rushed to the window beside their friend, the mass began flying away. It floated up and over the trees, leaving the orchard as they migrated before a lightless, empty moon, where a certain princess stood. She watched her own domain thoughtfully, staring out over the land that was now blanketed in the calm of night. She closed her eyes, entering the Realm of Dreams.

She gently drifted between the hundreds of windows, all glowing with visions of what her little ponies were dreaming of. She smiled at many of them, even chuckled at a few, as she continued her journey through the realm. She was on a mission to find a specific dreamer, one that her friend had brought to this world. She hadn’t entirely been sure if he would’ve slept at all yesternight, due to his new and drastic circumstances, so she was checking now. Sure enough, she came across a foreign window.

She looked into it, wondering the things that humans might dream. She gasped in surprise, pulling herself out of the monstrous nightmare she had just viewed. Tentatively, she reentered, wincing at the violence of such a dream. She had seen her fair share of death and gore in her years as co-commander of all of Equestria’s armed forces, but nothing compared to this child’s mind.

Blood was splattered on every surface of the dream, pained screams echoing throughout the realm. Dead mares and stallions, many of which she recognized, lay in bloody heaps. The little ones ran, screaming in terror as minotaurs chased after them with weapons and teeth bared. She recognized the Cutie Mark Crusaders as they ran from a trio of the monsters. In the distance, she could see the human screaming as he tried to tear through the hundreds of minotaurs that infested the dream. He swung his sword desperately, only to have it bounce off of the beast's thick hide. Before she could end this terrible nightmare, she saw him look in her direction, making a chill run through her.

The entire nightmare faded into black around her leaving her quite literally in the dark. She shivered, keeping herself still as a voice asked, Who are you? Are you the instigator of all of this?

No, she responded slowly, trying to understand the depth of which this human understood the Realm of Dreams. It was obviously well, as she could barely sense his consciousness here, but not as well as her. Obviously not. She had relinquished her knowledge of this realm to Twilight, not her power over it. She made herself into a larger version of herself to give her a more powerful appearance. We are not here to harm thee, human. We merely wished to see what thou dreamest of.

Oh, the human responded, sounding dejected, knowing that she had caught his terrible nightmare. He seemed ashamed of it, like it was his fault that it had happened. He appeared, wearing a black tunic and cream shorts, looking down. Even in her enlarged state, he still towered over her. His eyes were sad, worn by something that Luna was very familiar with. Guilt.

He was guilty for the fact that he was not impossibly strong, enough to save the ponies he had barely met. They were also laden with tiredness, something that was rarely seen in a realm such as this. His eyes spoke of much more, of tragedy, of self hatred. Of death.

Who are you, and how did you get into my… nightmares, the human asked. You seem to know much of this place, so I must guess that you are some form of sleep demon. I’m never visited with angels.

Nay, human. We are no demon, or angel for that matter, she corrected. She searched his mentality, finding his name was Raymond, but seemed to prefer Ray. We are Princess Luna, Princess of the Night and all her holdings, ex co-ruler of Equestria. We know thine name as Ray, the human Twilight deemed the champion of Equestria.

You know of this, Ray asked suspiciously. Yes, he would be a good champion. She could see now, even before she looked further past his defenses. Of course you do. But you should know that I am not fighting under Twilight’s order or name. I fight under my own name, and under the banner of Equestria. For no one else but my land and myself.

A very strange notion, but a noble one. We see thee as a noble being, pure in heart for the cause.

A heart? Luna could hear the scoff in the human’s head. That’s a first, but I guess I need one in order for it to break.

What do thou speakest of, Ray?

There was panic in his mind as he asked, Wait, you heard that?

Of course. I am in your head, so your thoughts are portrayed to me as if you were speaking to me.

Near instantly, a panicked image appeared. Luna gasped at the sight. A bloody hand gripped a bloodstained knife. Blood covered his stomach, which was still freely flowing onto the stark white hospital sheets. A needle was being put into his arm as he hoarsely asked for water, vision fading to black. Several concerned looking doctors with masks and gloves were exchanging unheard remarks, applying pressure to his wounded stomach. A beeping monitor was showing his heartbeat, which was dangerously low. Immediately, Luna knew this image was no nightmare, but a memory.

What was that, Luna asked trying, to focus past the bloody image. All she found however, was darkness. No human, no images, not even the little bit of light she never dared go towards in every consciousness. She had been kicked out of the humans head. She knew in that moment that she had seen something that the poor child had not intended for her to see. Private or not, it was a concerning image, one that she would have to talk to Tia about. If anypony knew what to do about such a thing, it would be the one with the most experience with heartbreak.

She teleported away as the cloud of lightning bugs settled amongst the apple trees. They covered the branches in tiny, glowing veins, blinking to each other throughout the night. Suddenly, a bat swooped down, scooping up two in its hungry jaws in its hit and run. The swarm didn’t seem to notice, continuing to cover the branch as if two of their own hadn’t been slaughtered amongst their brothers and sisters. The bat, finding the lightning bugs’ taste to be rather chemical, flew away in search of a different group of bugs to consume. Its journey led over an outcropping of buildings at the edge of town, where it found a tasty group of moths. As night wore on, it traversed its way to a singular building amongst the hills, where swarms of insects were, attracted to the fresh flower beds. As the sun began to rise, it tucked under a ledge under the window, set to sleep for the day. A sudden blaring beep came from inside the room, followed by an unholy word, as the occupant of the room, having already been awake, was surprised by the loud alarm.

Ray whacked the sleep button on the alarm clock, rubbing his dry eyes as morning sunlight streamed through. He shook his head, standing up and rushing over to the bathroom to take care of business. He couldn’t keep his mind off of the strange pony that had entered his mind. How much had she seen? How much did she know? Those questions had kept him awake ever since he had forced the alicorn from his head and awoken.

He pondered over those questions more as he ate through two bowls of cereal. Mulling over the possibility that she hadn’t actually seen, that he had only panicked at the thought of what she might’ve seen, gave him some peace. That didn’t mean that he still wasn’t worried that he had actually booted the Princess of the Night out of his own head. Well, he figured, it wasn’t his fault she invaded his mind and thoughts. She should’ve known what his reaction would’ve been with such a revelation. So far, it seemed that every Princess he had met would wrong him in some way or another. It was a trend he didn’t want to continue, for he was pretty sure that if there was a Princess of the Night, then there was a Princess of the Day.

He began searching through the book shelves for a copy of a history of the land he was now in. He found one that was approximately two thousand, three hundred, and fourteen pages. He also found a twenty page children's book labeled The Tale of Two Princesses that he decided was easier to read in the five minutes he had before he needed to leave. On the front page, there was a scribbled note.

Dear Raymond,
This is a legend that accurately depicts what happened between the two former rulers of Equestria. If you have any questions otherwise, ask any of the girls or myself. If I forgot to tell you when I brought you here, there are thirty five bits in the economics book. I’m sorry that you have to be here, but please-

Ray stopped reading the note as it turned to an apology, setting the book on the shelf as he huffed in annoyance. If he was going to receive an apology, he was going to receive it directly. He quickly found the economics book, fittingly sorted into the E section, and pulled it out. Opening it up to a spot where the pages bulged, dozens of coins fell out and thunked on the soft carpeting. Flipping to the first page, he set the book down and began reading the note left there as he picked up the spilled coins.

Dear Raymond,
This is a guide to the basic economic structure of Equestria and the surrounding kingdoms. If you were wondering, yes, bits are made of actual gold, and after some math, one bit equates to thirteen thousand, two hundred dollars. They also use gems as a form of trade, and the one I used to sample (a four carat) was worth roughly thirty thousand dollars. Anyways, I really am sorry-

Ray slowly looked down at the coins he was holding in his hand. He currently held twenty in his palms. Enough to buy a house at home. Slowly, he began laughing, shaking his head slightly as he did so. How quickly the table of life had changed. Just three days ago, he was a worked kid on the streets of Pittsburg without a purpose but with a life. Now, he was rich, with enough to completely remake his family’s situation, but no family to do so. He shoved the coin in his pocket, leaving the rest on the table as he made his way out the door.

He didn’t have to run this time, but he did anyway. It was relaxing to just watch the scenery pass as he made his way across the hills in the cool morning air. A light breeze rustled his messy hair as he made his way to the town. It passed by in a moment, and he suddenly found himself jogging through the apple trees of Apple Acres. With a smile, he came across two sleepy looking fillies as they trudged down the path his way.

“Hey,” he yelled, gaining their attention. They looked up from the path and searched for him briefly, before finally making eye contact with him. He stopped in front of them as he asked, “How was your sleepover?”

“Oh, it was real fun,” Scootaloo answered before yawning. Looking a little bleary-eyed as she continued, she said, “Yeah, we stayed up real late, talking and stuff…”

“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle added with her own yawn. “Although we mostly forgot the sleep part of a sleepover.”

“We gotta go, though,” Scootaloo said, staring back at the sun. “I’m supposed to check in with my aunts soon.”

“Same with Rarity,” Sweetie agreed. “Bye.”

Ray smiled as the two began plodding on. He once again began jogging through the trees before coming across Applejack on the trail. She was speaking to Big Mac and Sugar Belle in a hushed tone. Upon noticing him, she let a large grin spread across her face.

“Well-a howdy there, Ray,” she called, waving a hoof in greeting. “We were just talkin’ aboucha . Today’s work’s gonna be diff’rent from yesterday’s. Since we were able to take down most’ve th’ trees, we need ta stump ‘em. Unfortunately, the stumpin’ tools’re built for ponies, and seein’ as how ye’re a human, ya can’t help us with that business. Instead, we’re gonna have ya workin’ on splittin’ the trees. Axes’re on the other side o’ the house, along with the pile.”

Ray nodded in understanding, turning and walking away as he did so. The three ponies behind him once again began to start up a hushed conversation as he turned, raising his suspicions. He rounded the house and got to work, picking up the axe laid against the home’s red wall. As promised, three large piles of dozens of trees laid around the back. After a quick count, he found each pile had fifty trees in them.

He started on the first tree by taking off its branches, throwing them into their own pile. Then, he would chop the tree into three parts, and split those into four even smaller chunks. He laid those against the side of the house in another separate pile. The work was noticeably harder than only chopping them down, and soon enough, he was drenched with sweat.

After what seemed like only mere minutes, Sugar Belle was telling him to come eat lunch. While eating, he began to learn more of Granny Smith, the Apple’s parents, and the rest of the Apple family. In return, he told them a bit of his own history. He left out the darkest, most destructive parts, but even with the more refined version, he had them pitying him. He simply turned the topic to what Earth was like. They seemed most interested in aeroplanes and televisions, as in this world, such a thing had been unheard of. It was extremely difficult to hold his tongue about Earth being a different universe entirely, but whenever he slipped up, Applejack would always find a way to cover it up. He noticed that the Element of Harmony never lied, but always redirected the words to have a different tone than usual.

After the meal -apple butter sandwiches- he got back to work, sweating profusely as the late summer sun bore down on him. The work, as tedious as it was, was relaxing, allowing his thoughts to empty into a warm void of nothingness. It was comfortable, this kind of emptiness that allowed no problems, no strife, to contaminate its gray void. As he worked, with nothing disturbing his rhythm, he found that this was what he needed more than any therapy. In a way, this sort of therapeutic tranquility was the only thing that could take the constant questions off his mind.

After another short while, he had finished off the first pile, and had begun moving on to the second one, when he found that the sun had reached its setting stage. He set off to find Applejack or Big Mac to tell them he was going, when he nearly tripped over little Apple Bloom. She jumped back at the same time he fell with a surprised curse. As he came up, he saw her blushing at his language, which in turn made him blush at his own crudeness. Mentally, he made a note to break the habit. This wasn’t Earth, so such words were not as acceptable.

“Sorry fer scarin’ ya so bad, Ray,” Apple Bloom apologized. “I just needed ta ask ya a few questions before you left. Assumin’ that was what ya were doin’.”

“Yeah, shoot,” he said, earning a grin.

“Howdya feel about becomin’ a member of th’ Apple family?”

Ray smiled sadly as he answered, “Now Apple Bloom, that’s sweet and all, but I think that I couldn’t do that. Become a member of your family, I mean”

“Well, why not,” she asked with a confused look.

“It just, doesn’t… feel right,” he answered, looking away from the little pony. “I may not be able to go back to them, but I still have a family out there. I can’t just leave them on the third day of being separated with them. It would be… too early.”

“But wouldn’t yer family wantcha to have somepony to look after ya,” she retorted. “Don’t you want to have somepony to call your family while yer here. It doesn’t hafta be permanent or anything, just until ya get back ta ‘em one day. We could be siblin’s by spirit and not by blood! It’d be better than no family at all, right?”

Ray’s smile stayed sad as he met her eyes, and before speaking, he knelt down beside her. Searching her hopeful eyes, he found the usual youthful energy and goodwill that had kept him going back in Pittsburg. Come to think of it, she wasn’t too unlike Sammy, maybe older, but just as energetic and happy. It was nice enough that he found himself reaching out and rubbing the top of her head affectionately. “Sure thing, kid.”

As he answered, three ponies came around the side of the red house, all with wide grins on their faces as they smiled at their new family member. Before he knew it, they had wrapped their front hooves around him in a furry group hug. Ray squeezed them all as tightly as he could without hurting them, tears slipping out of his closed eyes. He would never admit it out loud, but this was really what he needed, what he really wanted. This way, he had a connection here, something to tether him to his own life and purpose. If these four were to be his family, then he would truly be connected to this land, an appendage of an irreplaceable piece of the town. Finally, he was truly an Equestrian, a citizen of this land and inhabitant of one of its towns, a member of one of its families. Except..

“Don’t we need to do some paperwork or something,” he asked into somepony’s mane. That somepony turned out to be Applejack as she answered, “Yup, but that can wait for later. Right now, let’s just stay like this.”

He mumbled his agreement as he felt Apple Bloom nuzzle in closer to his stomach… He gasped as her nose met a familiar patch of scarred skin, drawing back breathlessly as he pressed his hand against the burning spot. The four ponies gave him confused looks at his sudden movement. No, three ponies. Applejack seemed to know exactly what was going on in his head, where her sister had touched him.

“Now what was that all about,” Big Mac asked with a slightly suspicious tone.

Using a lie he had already trained for in his past life, he answered, “That just… tickled.”

Instantly, suspicion turned to mischief as Apple Bloom launched herself onto his neck. She rubbed her hoof over his sensitive neck, the longer bits of her fur brushing his neck in a way not too unlike a feather. He laughed involuntarily, the nerves in his neck crying out as they were assaulted with fur and keratin. The smooth substance seemed to be made for such things, as it made his skin want to jerk off his neck.

He shot his hands back at the little filly, tickling around her neck and under her chin. This seemed to have no effect, so he pulled out his cheat card, catching her behind her ears. The effect was immediate, her breath catching as he rubbed the sensitive spot. Her efforts were lost as she sank into his hand, eyes going lidded with the rubbing, a soft nicker escaping her mouth. She pulled back in surprise, disdain in her eye at the unusual sound he had pulled from her lips.

“Now that ain’t one bit fair,” she complained. Despite her disdain, there was still a fair amount of mischief in her eye. Instead of responding, Ray simply grinned and stood. Looking around at the four equines, he realized they adults were sharing smiles with each other. His smile fell as a new thought came to his mind.
They’re my responsibility now. If the minotaurs get through, it’ll be my fault they died. I’ll have caused the death of my own family.

His eyebrows fell into an involuntary glare at the thought, clenching his fists to keep himself from biting down his lip. Unfortunately, the gesture was noticed by everypony. Eyebrows quirked up in confusion at his new demeanor, and Sugar Belle asked, “What’s wrong now?”

Thinking quickly, he blurted out, “I need to use the outhouse.”

Applejack immediately began to laugh, and soon enough the other two girls had joined in, hooting with laughter. Big Mac simply snorted in amusement, pointing at the outhouse less than twenty feet away.

“There’s always that for use,” he commented. “We try to be civil ‘round these parts.”

“Nah,” Ray said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “I need to go home anyways, and this’ll only speed up the process.” He waved his goodbye and took off running without any second thoughts.

As he raced through the orchard, his thoughts stayed constricted around the previous ten minute’s events. He was now (unofficially) a member of the Apple Family. On the paper, it didn’t sound bad, but the fine print told him otherwise. If he were to fail in protecting Equestria, his new family’s blood would now be on his hands, as well as on his heart. Worse, however, was the fact that he would now be missed if indeed he did die on the battlefield.

In his head, he had always imagined letting himself die when victory was assured. Now, with connections in his life, living was now added onto the impossible list of things to do. He mentally slapped himself for allowing his feelings to cloud his judgement. Even though becoming a member of one of the families in Equestria was benefiting for a moment, when war came, it would be a liability. Or maybe not. He had a solid foundation now, something he had to fight for with more vigor and violence.

He sped up, as the call for nature became realer than the fib he’d told the Apple’s. He ignored anything else as he ran, his head racing through all that had happened today. So much, but also so little. In spite of being… “adopted”... the actual term for his situation was unknown to him, he had spent most of the day working. The thought was almost funny. He had expected a normal today? Of course not! Where did he think he was, back on Earth?

Rushing down a hill, and then back up, he found he was being tailed by something. It was a brief moment, but in the corner of his eye, he saw something white and pink colored flash in a small bush along the side of the road. He grimaced at it, picking up his pace to his fastest, dashing past the guilty bush, silently praying something wouldn’t just randomly reach out and grab him. Instead, he felt himself stop completely, entrapped in a sparkly golden aura. The bush rustled as something stepped out of its hiding spot.

It was another pony, this one chest high, with a clean white coat. It took Ray a moment to see both the wings on its back and horn on its head, signifying it was an alicorn. It was also a she, based on its sleek figure and curled eyebrows. Her mane and tail were interesting, floating and gently flowing through the air like waving sparkly flags of sea green, lime, blueberry, and pink. Despite being held hostage by the alicorn, he felt no fear towards her. She was studying him with an inquisitive gaze, her bubble gum pink eyes seeming to stare deeper than his skin.

Another rustle came from behind as a more concealed figure left their hiding spot to get a better view of him. From the wavey night sky hair and deep lapis lazuli coat, he could tell that it was the mare from his nightmare last night. His eyes widened as dozens of thoughts raced through his head about what could be happening at the moment, none of them good. He assumed that the radiant pony holding him captive was the Princess of the Night’s sister, as she seemed to be completely comfortable with the arrival of the second alicorn.

“Do you see it yet, Tia,” the dark Princess asked with concern, her brow scrunched.

“No,” the alicorn, Tia, responded. “Not yet.”

“What’s going on here,” a sudden voice asked. Jerking his head towards the source of the question, he recognized the flying form of Fluttershy. She had a confused expression on her face, as if randomly coming across her new friend getting mugged by two demigods was merely a curious spectacle, not an alarming situation. Luna had also turned to the buttercream pegasus, looking none the bit concerned she had been found out.

“Nothing, dear Fluttershy,” Luna replied. “We just saw something very concerning amongst the memories of Twilight’s chosen champion. My sister and I were simply checking to see exactly what the offending image truly was.”

“I’m not her champion,” he growled, glaring at the alicorns. “And I don’t want you poking around my head.”

“Unfortunately, that only strengthens our resolve,” Tia shot back, her closed eyes scrunching. She had shut them at some point, and her head was now leaning in towards his chest. Ray suddenly felt something like a prick inside of his head, and he heard Celestia grunt as she penetrated his mental walls.

“Now, Princesses, I know it isn’t my place to say so, but, isn’t reading somepony else’s mind a little…” Fluttershy trailed off as Luna stared at her.

“No, Fluttershy,” she said, “it’s a lot.”

Fluttershy nodded slowly, landing beside Luna. “It’s not hurting him, is it,” she asked her, looking even more concerned. “And such extreme measures?”

“Because we believe that this human our dear friend Twilight brought may be more of a danger to Equestria than the vicious beasts he’s to fight,” Luna replied curtly.

“Now that’s just not true,” Fluttershy responded, giving the two alicorns a glare. “Ray would never hurt anypony!”

A sudden gasp from Tia broke off any retort from Luna. All three looked at her in confusion as her face contorted into various expressions, none of them testifying in Ray’s favor. Scrunching his eyes closed, he tried to focus on any irregularity in his mind. Instantly, he found what felt like a tiny stone in the center of his head. Something about the sensation sent Ray into a panicked frenzy. Reaching deep inside his own mind, he imagined a hand reaching out to grab the stone and throw it as hard as he could. Before he could finish the vision, however, the stone vanished, along with the feeling of being held.

Ray lurched forward as the magical barrier that had held him disappeared, the sparkly gold fading instantaneously. The alicorn stumbled back a couple of steps, and despite her offsettled nature, she held his gaze with an iron determination. There were tears in them, and he knew exactly what she had seen in the depths of his mind. It was beyond him why she wasn’t impaling him with her horn at the moment with the knowledge she now held. Then again, ponies were generally strange creatures.

Instead, she bowed to him, eyes to the ground as she apologized. “I’m sorry for this,” Tia said, turning to her sister. “Come on, Luna. It’s not as you feared. Quite the opposite.” Looking back at Ray over her shoulder, she continued. “I’m sorry for what happened to you. I will tell nopony else but my sister about those events.”

Ray tried to not let his anger show, instead opting to kill them into stone faced submission. He watched as the two alicorns disappeared in a flash of gold and purple. Turning, he found Fluttershy floating in front of his face. Her hooves were crossed in front of her, one of her eyebrows raised in a questioning matter, face flat.

“There’s something we should talk about,” Ray stated, turning to his house and walking up the path.

Author's Note:

Wow. Just, wow. This took forever to write just because of all the plot holes, cookie crumbs, and emotions I had to capture. This is the first time I've ever ran into the infamous writer's block AKA creative burnout. Next chapter's (probably) shorter. Really, I'm just so relieved I'm done with that 6,848 word monstrosity. I know, it isn't as long compared to those 23,000 word chapters out there, but still, it's the longest I've ever done. If you haven't already, go check out my (master)piece Blood Moon! Also, thanks for all the love I've been receiving, and keep safe through the pandemic and protests/riots.

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