Meet Ellis... Again
6800 words? I really spoil you guys... I hope this tides you over for a bit because I'm gonna work on Grey Warden Gilda and a oneshot er two.
Rainbow Dash occupied four worn hoofprints outside of the apothecarium. She had been standing in the same spot for over 15 minutes. Her mind played every prediction she could come up with of how he would react, and none of them contained a yes. She thought up every way she could approach him. Start with idle conversation and then slip in the question, or just ask outright? She fidgeted with indecision, her wings twitched under the strain of frustration.
“Uhh... hey, Dominic. Do you think you could do something for me? No no no... Uh... I was thinking, since you’re such a great guy and all...! Grr!” Dash quietly rehearsed herself. She wasn’t used to asking other ponies for favors this way. Usually, she’d find one of her friends and politely rope them into whatever she needed them to do, like when she got Fluttershy to come with her to Cloudsdale for the Young Fliers Competition. That wouldn’t work in this case. To start off, Dominic was not, in any sense of the word, a social butterfly. His approachability on any given day was limited. She looked over the stonework building that he lived and worked in. Rusted ironwork jutted from the edge of the roof. The cobbled stones were all shades of grey, grey, and grey. It was pitted with signs of weathering and decay. Twilight had described it as macabre. Naturally, Rainbow Dash had asked what the hay that meant. She said it meant “creepy”. The cyan pegasus replied saying that she could have said that in the first place. Twilight merely rolled her eyes.
On the wall next to the door was a half-circle, curved side facing up. On the left side was a swatch of dark red. On the right side was a swatch of bright green. In between was several other colors that graduated to and from the respective colors. On the bottom center of this half-circle was a pivoting dial, attached to a black and white arrow that would point to the different pigments. This simple, seemingly pointless device was what Dominic used to display his approachability for the day. After weeks of him exploding at ponies due to his impatience, Twilight had set that there as a solution to that issue, so every time his mood changed, he’d set the dial accordingly. Green meant he was probably skipping in joy and breaking out into songs about flowers and birdies (that’ll happen as soon as pigs fly). Red meant he was ready to kill something with his stare. Not surprisingly, the dial was inversely indicative to how absorbed he was in his work. Today, the arrow pointed right in the middle, leaning slightly to the left.
That meant that it was more or less a regular day for the chemist, but that doesn’t help Rainbow Dash at all. She was, after all, about to come to him with the most personal request she had ever asked. She would be in a similar nerve-wracked state regardless of the pony she had to ask. Her eyelids pinched together. She walked up the small, stone porch leading to the building’s heavy, wooden door. Carefully, she put a hoof on the frame and, with some effort, pushed it open. The door ringer chimed.
The first thing that hit her was the smell. Nowhere in Equestria can anypony find the same collection of stenches. It was like a 50-year old rotten sock saturated in cleaning chemicals, left out in the sun to dry, and baked in a dirty oven. It drilled into Dash’s snout relentlessly, nearly making her loose control of her stomach. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed onward into the dimly lit residence. The store part was, true to its fashion, an area of walls lined with shelves housing potions and mixtures. In the back of this area was a quaint wooden counter, obviously newer than the house itself. Behind the counter was Dominic’s workplace, a room stuffed with tables that were cluttered with funky shaped glassware. A plethora of liquids bubbled and siphoned into other containers from a web-work of tubes and spigots. The smell became stronger as Rainbow Dash got closer to the workplace. Peering around the corner, she could see her intended objective.
Dominic had a quill in his mouth, scribing some notes on a sheet of parchment. His brow was taunt with concentration and his hooves were rested on the edge of the table. He stopped only to dip his quill in a rather gummy and well used clay inkpot before he began to scribble more notes down. Dash stepped into his workplace and cleared her throat softly.
Dominic’s fur bristled as he impersonally spat out the quill onto the table and reared his head towards the intrusion.
“WHAT?!”
She recoiled, her well-rehearsed plan suddenly forgotten. The chemist earth pony sighed.
“I’m terribly sorry Rainbow, I had no idea it was you. I didn’t even hear you coming in! Must have been too engrossed in writing this.” He picked the quill back up into his maw. “Did you need something, my dear?”
Dash fidgeted. Up close, and true to her previous words, he smelled terrible, so bad that it was distinctive from the background smell. “Uh... yeah. Just... just a small thing...”
He brushed his long, unwashed hair out of his eyes and continued to write. “Well? Anything that I can be of assistance?”
She started to sweat. Her words snagged in her throat. “I... I just... need a potion for something...”
“You’re going to have to be more specific than that. If you need a potion, then I could most likely provide it.”
Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth and tightened her eyes together. Her voice cracked. “I need a potion that can give me hands!”
Dominic stopped writing. He stopped thinking. He took several moments to register and re-register her request. When it was thoroughly processed, and when he double-checked to make sure he didn’t mishear, his neck muscles went limp and his head fell to the table with a soft thump.
“Oh Rainbow Dash... you’re killing me...”
Before she could reply, his hooves were thrown up in the air in exasperation. “It’s just so stupidly consistent! Almost every one of you girls come to me with completely random requests! And now you want hands? WHERE THE FLYING FAUST DID HANDS COME FROM-”
He clopped to the ground as a coughing fit exploded from his trachea, wracking his entire body. To Dash, it sounded like he was gonna croak right there and then, but Dominic’s coughs always sounded like that. Something wrong with his lungs or something, she couldn’t remember exactly why at that moment. He finally finished, albeit he was breathing quite heavily.
“Don’t let me get worked up like that...” His eyes watered with the exertion. “But really, I’m afraid of what you girls think about in your spare time. Where did your deep, dark fetish come from?”
His deep-blue gaze unnerved her even further, if such a thing was possible. “Uh... well... this guy came to Ponyville. He’s not a pony. He calls himself a ‘human’ or something-”
“And you just happen to mention this off-hoofedly? Tell me, why wasn’t this new development the first thing to reach my ears?”
“I was gonna get to it...”
He waved his hoof. “Sure, sure...”
She continued, more hesitant than ever as she recalled the embarrassing fiasco she so unwittingly created. What came over her, she had no idea. When she saw those hands, something clicked in her brain. Something that she didn’t believe could exist within her psych. She’d never been this... this... wanting of something in all her life. She’d always wanted to fly fast, she’d always wanted to be a Wonderbolt, but this was something deeper. Something carnal. Something within her body that craved it with a fiery passion. She wanted to feel it for herself. The flexible stimulation. The sensation of dexterity. It almost hurt.
“Well... he has hands... and I thought they were kinda cool, so I want to try ‘em and stuff...” Her voice petered out at that point.
“Why can’t you go to Twilight with this? I’m sure she has a spell that could suffice.”
“She... she doesn’t have one.” Dash lied. She couldn’t possibly face the unicorn after what happened earlier.
“Rainbow, I’m not some kind of personal provider of wanton satisfaction! Where does the practicality come into play? You certainly don’t need... hands to fly.” He was like that. The need for practical reasons was a trait he shared with Twilight.
“I just wanna try ‘em out, that’s all.” She offered meekly.
Dominic thought for a moment. “No.”
“What? Why?”
“Every time I give you girls a potion merely to ‘try’ it always ends up in an embarrassing disaster. I have enough foresight to know that this time will be no different.”
She got closer and implored with all her might. “Oh, come on! Please! A couple hours is all I need! What could possibly go wrong?”
The aged stallion gave her a hard glare. “My disposition still stands. I will not risk yours or anypony’s well-being to sate your... inane desires.”
Rainbow Dash appeared smitten as Dominic went back to his table and resumed his writing. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must return to my work.”
Failing to think of anything else to say that would convince the old-timer otherwise, she rushed out the front door, taking off to the skies immediately thereafter. She was glad to be out of that smelly place, but her urges were still eating her inside-out. She had to think of something else...
Meanwhile, Dominic dried his ink and flipped the parchment over, preparing to mark the other side.
“Mares...” He muttered.
+++++
It goes without saying that you learn something new everyday. Their situation was no exception. That day, Twilight learned much about humans and their futuristic and fascinating world. Applejack gained a new perspective on judging character.
Rarity learned that humans could run fast.
But for the time, the denizens of Ponyville were treated to quite a sight. A rough, dirty bipedal creature hollering at the top of his lungs, running for the sake of his safety and well being, followed by a frothing mad alabaster unicorn sporting tailor’s equipment. Some ponies were scared, some were confused, some ponies realized their destinies to become great heroes and someday bring peace and prosperity to Equestria from the hooves of evil, fashion loving demon mistresses before winding up in a padded room tied up in a straight jacket, cackling madly about their non-existent conquests.
But that’s besides the point.
Fortunately for Ellis, Rarity never had that much endurance to begin with, so she soon tired out and calmed down long enough for Applejack and Twilight to convince her that she and the human could co-exist. The fashionista agreed to allow him to wear his garb for now, which was as far as anypony would get with her. This was Rarity, after all. She huffed and begrudgingly followed the gang back to the library, all the while glaring venom at Ellis.
The orange earth pony approached the human. “Hey, Ellis...”
Ellis looked at her, his sweat made his bangs cling to his forehead. “Yeah, AJ?
“Ah talked to the mayor an’ ah made a promise to take yer... weapon from ya.”
Ellis hesitated. He’s had that machete for a long time; put the grip-tape on it himself. But, since he more-or-less escaped from the zombie apocalypse, he honestly didn’t need it anymore. Still...
“We won’t break it or nothin’. We jus’ need tah keep it so nopony will get scared.” Applejack reassured.
“Well, ah guess that makes sense. Just take care, it’s kinda important to me.” He undid the sheath strap that encircled his chest and held out the blade within its scabbard. A purple aura surrounded his possession and it was levitated from his hand.
“Don’t worry, Applejack.” Twilight brought the object with her back into the library. “I have the perfect place for this, if you don’t mind, that is.”
Applejack waved her hoof. “No problem, Twi. There ain’t no better pony to keep it safe than yerself.”
All four entered the library once again. Twilight went upstairs, Ellis’s machete still floating close to her. She then rested it on a shelf above her bed. With an intense glow from her horn, the cubbyhole faded, replaced with an enchanted invisible wall. It was virtually indiscriminate from the rest of the wall; even the grain matched it perfectly. Nopony, save herself and a few other talented unicorns, would be able to see through the illusion. A perfect plan, hiding something in plain sight. There was no question about the sanctuary of Ellis’s machete. As she turned to head back downstairs, Spike’s bed caught her eye, which reminded her of her intention to send a letter to Princess Celestia. She completely forgot! Mentally facehoofing, she trotted over to her assistant’s crib.
A sudden thought struck her. How could he have slept through that incident earlier? She knew that the little dragon was a heavy sleeper, but not at this time of the day.
“Spike!” Twilight admonished. “It’s way past noon! Time to get up!”
No response.
Using her magic, she yanked the blankets off of what she assumed was the snoring body of Spike. Her fears were confirmed when she found only a collection of pillows and stuffed dolls that were expertly placed to look like him. Anger burned on the unicorn’s cheeks. Spike, she realized, thought he could fool her with such a childish trick! It worked, for the most part, he must have been gone for a long while, considering that Ellis’s episode was at least a few hours ago. The one day Twilight hadn’t bothered to wake him up, he had to go and pull this stunt.
But where was he now?
She was soon answered by the sound of her bedroom window creaking open. In stepped the escapist, a bulging satchel hung around his shoulder. He took no notice of the furious pony and instead relished his loot, holding it up in his claws. He quietly chuckled to himself.
“Safe at last. You’re all mine... -OOF!”
He ran face-first into the librarian. The bag fell from his grip and its contents spilled from inside. They were pearls, an unusual treat for dragons, but not out of the question. They weren’t deep-earth gems, but made by the giant clams off coast. Minerals all the same. Spike sputtered as he met eyes with Twilight.
“Oh, uh, hey Twi! Uh... I brought you some... uh... souvenirs?”
She only glared. “Spike! How could you? You tricked me and snuck away for some pearls?!”
He stood up, frantically shaking his head at her accusation. “It’s not what it looks like! I swear!”
“Where did you even get them?”
“Uh... the merchant outside of town. He was just about to leave, so I got some of the pearls...”
“You STOLE THEM?!”
“No no no! I paid for them! Honest!”
She pointed to the ivory orbs resting on the floor. “You don’t have enough bits to pay for all those!”
“I... uh... sorta threw in a couple of my dragon scales too... the guy seemed to like them...”
Coastal ponies were like that. They treasured uncommon things often, and it wasn’t everyday that you get a chance to collect a few genuine dragon scales. Still, she believed exploiting his own body for monetary gain was wrong. Her glare only intensified.
“Why couldn’t you have asked? I could have let you buy a few!”
Spike tapped his index claws together. “Well... I was afraid that he’d leave soon! You weren’t here, and I didn’t want you to know that I was gone without your... permission...”
Twilight facehoofed. “Spike... it’s been hectic around here... What if I needed an urgent letter to Celestia?”
“I’m sorry, ok? I just wanted some pearls! Is it really that hard to understand? The guy only comes to Ponyville once every few years!” He crossed his stubby arms and pouted.
Twilight sighed. “Do you even know what’s been going on around here?”
He glanced back at the window. “Does it have something to with the town being completely empty?”
Ellis called from downstairs. “Hey Twi! Who ya talkin’ to?”
“Who’s that?” Spike inquired.
“That’s Ellis. He is the reason why Ponyville is empty. We’re sorting that out right now.”
Spike began to pick up the pearls and put them back in his bag. “Why would he be the reason?”
“Go meet him and see for yourself.”
“Alright, alright.” He began to hop down the stairs when the bag he was holding was magically pulled from his claws. “Hey! What gives?”
“Oh no, Spike, you aren’t getting these until you’ve made up to me for sneaking out like that!”
“But... but...” The baby dragon weakly protested. He really couldn’t say anything that would convince the unicorn, so he stomped off in a huff.
When Spike was gone, Twilight went back to the enchanted cubbyhole and hovered the bag through the non-existent wall. It rippled and shimmered like the surface of an agitated pond, but soon it returned to its former disguise.
”Why hadn’t I thought of this earlier?” She silently wondered.
+++++
Ellis gawked at Spike.
Spike, in turn, gawked back at Ellis.
The two merely stared at each other, mouths agape. Their arms hung limply at their sides. Their eyes were as wide as saucers. The silence suffocated the air around them. Rarity and Applejack had no idea whatsoever of what was going on. It was as if they were locked in a wordless conflict to see who would react first. The tension electrified the atmosphere. Finally, the human raised his arm and pointed directly at Spike.
“That...” He said befuddley. “...Is a miniature Barney.”
At that same moment, in a parallel universe, someone, somewhere, suddenly died of a massive stroke.
“I’m a dragon! And my name is Spike!” He shouted with leftover indignity from having his treats taken away.
Ellis scratched his chin. “You cain’t be a dragon! Yer way too small.”
Applejack cleared her throat. “He’s a baby dragon.”
“I’m not a baby!”
The human stooped down to observe the spiteful creature. “If yer a dragon, where’s yer wings? Don’t dragons got wings?”
“He’s an uncommon breed of wingless dragon.” Twilight explained matter-of-factly as she descended the steps. “But he’s still classified as a dragon.”
Spike’s cheeks went hot and he folded his arms. “Thanks a lot, Twi...” He’s always felt ashamed of his lack of wings.
“But you can still breath fire, right?” Ellis questioned. “‘Cause really, breathin’ fire’s the important thing.”
Spike could send notes to the princess via magic fire, but his actual fire-breathing skills were not-so-good. It wasn’t very hot, nor very long; it was only about 2-3 feet, and Twilight forbade him to practice in the library. When he did practice, he’d usually tire out after four or so times.
“Uh... I’m working on it.”
Applejack queried the human. “Ellis, do you have dragons where yer from?”
“Nope.” He replied plainly. “We also don’t have unicorns ‘er pegasi ‘er magic.”
Twilight took interest. “Then how do you know of them?”
“Where ahm from, those are all made-up things from old myth. Magic ain’t possible there, either, as far as ah know.”
“Myth?” Rarity spoke. “How inconsiderate of them!”
“You don’t seem that surprised to meet a dragon...” The lavender unicorn mused.
He raised an eyebrow. “Twi, I’ve seen a lot of crazy shit, and considerin’ what happened today, I don’t think anything can surprise me anymore.”
A soft knock sounded from the door, causing all head in the room to turn it its direction. The door opened and Fluttershy stuck her head inside.
“Um... Mayor Mare sent me to get all of you. The town meeting is going to start in 30 minutes.”
Twilight walked over to her writing desk. “You guys go ahead. I have to write to Celestia first.” Levitating parchment, quill , and ink, she began composing her letter. Rarity, Applejack, Ellis and Fluttershy exited the library and headed in the direction of the town hall. Spike stood beside the writing desk, twiddling his claws.
“Uh... Twilight? Don’t you want me to write it?”
“No, Spike.” She replied without even glancing up form her scribing. “I’ll do the writing this time. It’s only a short note.” When she was finished, she proof-read the letter to make sure it was passable.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I am writing to inform you of the recent events here in Ponyville. A creature by the name of “Ellis” was found by Applejack in her grove. He is not a pony, but something that I have never seen or heard about before. He calls himself a “human”. Bipedal, intelligent, capable of complex emotion and speech. He is friendly, thankfully, and is about to be introduced to the town. I shall keep you informed of any future events.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
“Ok, Spike, send it on its way.” She rolled the paper up and sealed it with a scarlet ribbon. Spike grabbed it out of the air.
“You got it!” Sucking in a deep breath, he incinerated with his signature emerald fire into a twinkling puff of smoke. The two watched it snake out the window and fly towards the palace.
“Come on, lets catch up with the others.”
+++++
Applejack hustled to get beside Fluttershy. The canary pegasus acknowledged her with a nod.
“Did ya have any luck with Pinks?”
“Well... no. She’s out of the kitchen, but then she locked herself upstairs. I tried everything! I even tried getting her with apple-maple hard candies, but she still won’t come out.”
The orange farmpony flinched. “That bad?”
She nodded yes. “I’ve never seen her this irrational before. I don’t know what’s gotten into her...”
“AJ?” Ellis intervened. “I’d just like tah say that ahm sorry fer that again.”
“Ellis, this ain’t yer fault. Pinkie’s jus’ being more stubborn than cold molasses.”
Fluttershy glanced back at the group. “Where’s Rainbow Dash?”
“We haven’t seen her since... well... ya know...” Applejack made a vague gesture, not willing to mention that event. That was something AJ would rather forget.
Arriving at the towering town hall, the five were ushered into the building by a pair of blue-uniformed police ponies. They seemed on edge with the human in their presence, despite Applejack’s assurance. When they were all inside, Mayor Mare stood stoically waiting. Her legs faltered ever so slightly at the sight of the imposing bipedal, but she kept her diplomatic composure to the best of her ability.
Twilight stood between them and spoke, hoping to ease the strain. “Ellis, this is Mayor Mare. Mayor, this is Ellis McKinney.”
Ellis stooped to a crouch and held out his hand, smiling sincerely. “It’s a pleasure tah meet ya, Miss.”
The mid-aged mare took the hand with a half-hearted shake. This was not at all what she had been expecting. She imagined the human looked terrifying or vulgar to cause such a disturbance, but his appearance was only strange. In addition, is mannerism and behavior was polite, yet informal and friendly. Still, she clung to some of her skepticism as a precaution. The population of Ponyville would not be as accepting as Twilight and her friends. She needed to maneuver this carefully.
“Likewise, Ellis, and welcome to Ponyville. I apologize on behalf of everypony in this town for this whole misunderstanding.”
Ellis broke the handshake. “Oh it’s no trouble at all, ma’am.”
A secretary came up to the mayor. “Five minutes, Miss.”
“Thank you.” She turned to the ponies standing next to the human. “I’d like you all to be by my side when I give the announcement. With any luck, having you four will put the crowd at ease.” She sighed. “I’m not going to lie. This is going to be more difficult than you can imagine. I have no idea how hundreds of ponies will react to this!”
”We could hogtie Lily, Daisy, an’ Roseluck. That’ll solve ‘bout half the problem.” Applejack mused silently.
“Don’t worry, Miss Mare, you can count our help.” Twilight encouraged.
Mayor Mare smiled. “I’m sure your help won’t go unnoticed, Twilight.” She paused, then added: “It would probably be best if you four went first. I’ll come to speak for our guest after they’ve been calmed down.”
Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity took their leave to meet the crowd. Only Ellis and Mayor Mare were left in the room. After a moment of silence, the mayor directed a firm scowl towards the human, causing him to flinch.
“Listen here, Ellis, and listen well.” Her voice, which had previously been polite and neutral, now dripped with unreserved venom and frustration from having to pull together an entire town from the brink of anarchy. “You may have gained the trust of Twilight and her friends, but you haven’t gained mine. You’re trouble, whether you intend to be or not. If you cause any more harm, I guarantee you will hear from me! Do I make myself clear?!”
“Yes, ma’am.” Ellis gulped. She reminded him of his old high school math teacher. He was scared shitless of his old math teacher.
“Good.” She and the human both headed for the door.
Meanwhile, outside, a vast, multicolored crowd of equines endured the idleness. The constant, bearing noise of a hundred conversations at once truncated everypony’s ability to hear. In the front of the crowd were news reporters: earth ponies and unicorns sporting tan jackets, fedoras, pencils, notepads, cameras, and facial hair. They talked amongst themselves above the din of the crowd, vocalizing their impatience, but also anxious to extract some juicy knowledge of what some ponies witnessed as a upright hairless monkey running through the streets. This was definitely front-page news. Pegasi rested upon clouds stagnantly hovering above the grounded ponies and unicorns below. They, too, chatted and waited for the arrival of the town’s mayor. In the back of the crowd stood a sweating, green unicorn, her heart thumped with wild anticipation. Her name was... well, take a friggin’ guess.
The door opened and out came four well-known ponies; four of the six who had saved Equestria twice from the belligerent evils of Night Mare Moon and Discord. Some ponies stopped their conversations to listen to what they may say, while most others continued to buzz on with theirs. The four only conversed among themselves, inaudible to the rest of the crowd, when finally Mayor Mare stepped out with Ellis behind her.
As if one flipped a switch, the background noise ceased immediately when the human came into sight. All that was heard was the after-breath of several gasps. The cameras began blinking out harsh white flashes. The mayor climbed atop the speaking pedestal and panned over the captivated audience before finally speaking.
“Citizens of Ponyville!” The speakers broadcasted to the whole of the crowd. “We are gathered here at this hour to to put at rest the growing fears and unbecoming rumors circulating throughout. Firstly, there is no creature, monster or otherwise, that wishes to do us harm.”
There was a collective exhale of relief. The newsponies furiously scribbled into their notepads as Mayor Mare continued. “Secondly, the one who many of you may have assumed to be hostile has declared his cooperation with our authorities. He is a visitor from a faraway land, and he may look strange, but we mustn't judge him by his appearance. Twilight, prodigy of Princess Celestia herself,” She gestured to said profusely blushing unicorn. “And Applejack, the most dependable pony of Ponyville, have both personally assured me of his good behavior, and I trust that each and every one of you will do the same. Fillies and gentlecolts, Ellis McKinney!”
Ellis was suddenly shoved onto the spotlight in front of the amassed pastel ponies. The crowd started to exchange hushed whispers and remarks as the human began to sweat. He, like any average person, couldn’t smooth their way in front of a huge, scrutinizing audience. Ellis cleared his throat of phlegm and spoke quietly into the microphone.
“Uh... hi. Name’s Ellis. Ahm... uh... new here... and stuff...” He itched the back of his neck with his trembling fingers, frantically searching for more words he could use. “It’s a... uh... nice place y’all got here...”
Mayor Mare saw that he was starting to fumble and leaned into the mic right next to him. “Any questions?”
Dozens of hooves were noisily raised into the air, each one eager to gather information from this new being. The mayor scratched her chin.
“Uh... yes! You there!” She randomly picked a pony.
“What’s your favorite color?!”
Ellis grabbed the mic. “Red, I guess.”
Mayor Mare facehoofed. “Next question...”
“Oh! Oh!” A cross-eyed grey pegasus flailed her forelegs on a stratocumulus above. “Do you like muffins?”
Miss Mare massaged her temples as Ellis answered that question too. “Oatmeal n’ brown sugar’s mah personal favorite.” Derpy squee’d in delight.
“How did you get here?” A more sensible pony asked.
“Man, I’ve been tryin’ tah figure that out all mornin’. Wish ah knew... Jesus...”
The crowd went silent as they contemplated in confusion.
“Who’s Jesus?”
“Isn’t he that guy who hangs out at the bowling alley?”
“Did somepony say my name?”
“He’s kinda a jerk...”
“HEY! DON’T BUCK WITH DA JESUS!”
“That’s enough!” The mayor called out. She pointed to a journalist mare in the front who was waving her hoof in apparent frustration. “Your question?”
“Finally!” She coughed and levitated her pencil to her notepad. “Mr. Ellis? Now that you are here in Ponyville, what is it that you will be doing here?”
“Doing here? Well... ah dunno...” He rested his elbow on the pedestal. “There ain’t no way ah know that can get me back to where ah was... not that I wanna go back to that hole...”
“So you’ll be staying here?”
Ellis nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Another reporter, this one quite cynical by nature, took the opening. “So what next? Are you just going to stay here and do nothing?” Some other ponies agreed at began to jeer.
“No, no, man, ah just haven’t thought it through yet. Ah could do plenty a’ stuff!” He turn back to Applejack, who could see desperation on his face clear as day. “Can ya help me out here?”
Quickly, the farmpony stood by his side, ready to defend her new friend. “Ellis here is perfectly capable of pulling his own weight. He’s welcome to work with me and mah family at Sweet Apple Acres durin’ this applebuckin’ season.”
The human smiled, relieved. “See? I’m pretty darned good with farm work. Thank ya fer being so kind, AJ.”
Applejack tipped her hat. “Sure thing, Mister.”
“Plus,” He added. “Ah get tah spend some more time with ya while we work! Ah still have a ton a cool stories tah tell!”
AJ’s eyes contracted. Her stomach dropped. Her heart went cold as she visualized the result of what she had offered. She would be bucking tree trunks, knocking the prime fruit off of their life-giving branches, letting them fall into buckets and pile onto each other. And Ellis would be there, telling her stories while she bucked. Rambling on and on and on about Keith and cars and Jimmy Gibbs Jr. She wouldn’t wish it on Big Mac nor Granny Smith. She would have to listen to him.
Every minute.
Of every hour.
All. Day. Long.
“HOLD UP!!!” She screamed. The ponies gave her questioning looks. “Uh... I mean... we haven’t explored all the options fer Ellis here. Work on the farm is one thing, but... he could be more use here in Ponyville! He could... help fix up the town!”
The crowded muttered to each other, discussing the idea. Sceptical tones overshadowed the reasonable ones. Mayor Mare trotted to whispering distance of Applejack.
“What are you doing?!”
“Please, Miss Mare!” She implored. “Ya gotta do this fer me!”
“You’re pushing it, Applejack!”
Ellis shrugged, paying no mind to their conversation and addressing the town. “Honestly, ah’d have to say that ah’d probably be better at woodworking an’ shit. Ah think it’s a better idea.”
The mayor sighed in defeat. “Alright.” She placed herself back at her podium. “It has been decided. He will assist in the reconstruction of our town, starting tomorrow. I want each and every one of you to treat him as you would treat any other pony. If he wishes to take part in our community, then he has the right to earn his place.” She paused, processing for a moment. “No further questions for today. I’m sure you all have things to do. With that, I bring this town meeting to a close. Thank you all for your time.” Mare turned the microphone off and dismounted from the podium. Her, Ellis, and the four others re-entered the town hall to discuss the logistics of the human’s job placement.
+++++
Lyra bounced up and down, trying to see past the sea of equines to catch a glimpse of the speaker. Her close friend, Bon Bon, was not amused.
“Lyra! Cut that out!”
She kept hopping, heedless of her words. “But I can’t see him! I wanna see him!” Bon Bon had never seen her so worked up in all her life. She was very near resorting to plowing through the crowd to see this “Ellis” guy they were talking about. If only she had been outside earlier! She heard from a couple other ponies who decided to come out at the time that a tall... thing that ran on two legs was being chased by Rarity. Why she was chasing him, Lyra didn’t care. What she did take interest in is Ellis. Two legs? They mentioned that he was at least twice as tall as any pony in Ponyville. Such a thing was what Lyra had been searching for since...
“LYRA!” Bon Bon abruptly silenced her thoughts. “They ended the meeting! It’s over!”
“What?!” She sank to the ground in disappointment as the crowd returned to their idle conversations and began to disperse. “But... but... I didn’t get to see him...”
“You’ll probably get to see him tomor-” But she was cut off by the wild-eyed green unicorn suddenly invading her personal space.
“You don’t understand! This is really important!” Up close, she could see the beads of sweat clumping her coat together and red veins snaking around her irises.
Bon Bon assertively pushed her away. “What’s gotten into you?”
She only returned a blank stare as her mind caught up with the rest of her. “Uh... I just...”
She didn’t have any time to wait for her answer. “Nevermind...” She clopped off towards the market. “Come on, we still have some shopping to do.”
Lyra took one last glance at the town hall door, trying to imagine the shape of the human behind it before tagging behind her friend with silent determination.
”This isn’t over...”
+++++
Celestia’s orange sun hung just over the mountains behind them, casting the long shadows of Ellis and Applejack in front of them as they walked along the trail they took earlier in the afternoon. This time, Applejack had strongly insisted that she told the stories that time. Ellis didn’t object; he loved to hear stories as much as he loved to tell them, and her stories were pretty exciting. They didn’t involve a choice person being maimed and somehow living, but intriguing nonetheless. It passed the time for both of them as they strolled back to the farm.
“...an’ then Gilda screeched and took off, just like that!”
Ellis shook his head. “Ah tell ya, she ain’t no good to nobody. Ah used to know a guy like that, once...” He trailed off. “Hey, what’s she doing now these days?”
“We haven’t seen her since that day.” She brought up a memory with dread. “In fact, the last pony who saw her was Dominic. That was a few weeks ago. No pony nor gryphon has seen her since. She just...” Applejack hesitated. “...went missing...”
“Ya think she died somehow?”
She didn’t like Gilda, but she hated the thought of death even more. “Ah... don’t wanna think ‘bout that too much.”
“Well, then,” He decided it was as good a time as ever to change the subject. “What about this ‘Dominic’ guy ya talked about?”
“He’s a pony who lives mostly on his own, working on making potions and stuff. He’s kinda old, too, an’ not very easygoing, but deep down, he’s a kind soul. All he needs is some good company once every while.” And a bath, she silently added.
“He makes potions? What kinda potions?”
“...weird ones...” She cringed as she remembered those embarrassing “episodes” not too long ago.
The tall, red barn of Sweet Apple Acres came into view, with the Apple homestead right near it. The pair continued to talk as they converged upon the front door of the house, where Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom were waiting on the front porch. The little filly galloped to meet them both halfway.
“Ohmahgosh, Applejack! What happened in Ponyville? You look terrible!”
The elder sister realized that she did, in fact, feel terrible as well. Bags hung under her slightly pinkish eyes. Her hair was ruffled and messy from chasing Rarity and Ellis for a good quarter-hour. Combined with all the stress of the day, Applejack felt like she could sleep like a rock for a day straight.
“Nothin’ too bad, sis. It’s just been hectic is all.”
Her brother came trotting up. “Ah hope y’all got that sorted out. Ah missed ya here on the farm.”
“Sorry ‘bout that, Big Mac. And yes, we got it sorted out fine. Ellis here is going to work with construction in Ponyville.”
“May as well do mah part since ahm here.” Ellis added.
“He’s working in the town?” Mac itched his mane. “Ah thought for sure he’d be helping us on th’ farm.”
“NO!” Applejack shouted without thinking. “I mean... no. We decided that he’d be better use over there. No offense, sugarcube, but you ain’t made fer applebuckin’.”
“None taken. Ah couldn’t possibly buck apples half as good as you.” He snorted.
“Don’t start that again...”
+++++
Granny Smith took Ellis’s appearance well, considering she didn’t have a heart attack. The ancient matriarch merely rocked back in her chair and took it like meeting any other pony.
“Mah! Yer a tall one! Who’s this ya brought here, darling?”
“Uh... his name’s Ellis.”
But the next thing anypony knew, Granny was snoring loudly in her rocking chair, indisposed for the next few hours or so.
“Ah guess ahm making supper tonight...”
Ellis, Apple Bloom, and Big Mac all sat at the table, waiting patiently for Applejack to serve the food. Round, white places with apple patterned trim sat in front of them on a clean tablecloth. After a few minutes of Apple Bloom questioning Ellis on everything from here to there, her older sister entered the room balancing a large steaming bowl on her back.
“Food’s on, everypony!” She set it on the table and used a wooden spoon to dish up the hearty smelling substance onto their dishes. Apple Bloom bounced excitedly in her seat while Big Macintosh remained stoically as ever. Ellis had both his elbows resting on the table, his hands clenched together. His forehead rested on his knuckles as he appeared to be muttering something under his breath, eyes closed. Applejack could have asked him what he was doing, but instead she passed it off as one of his weird quirks, like the strange words he’d sometimes say with a little extra emphasis. She shoveled the spoon into the bowl and brought it to the human’s plate. Ellis wrinkled his nostrils.
“What is this?” To Ellis, it looked like the crud he used to get at his elementary school. Grey, pasty, mixed with lumps of what looked like raw oats and... grass? It emitted a strange earthy stench. After a day of eating nothing but fruit and cupcakes, he was really hoping for some meat.
“That there’s mah own hay casserole!” She responded with pride.
“Yeah!” Apple Bloom nodded as she bit into the top of her pile. “Iss mah favorite!”
“No talking with yer mouth full, Apple Bloom!”
Ellis couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Hay casserole? That sound like some kinda horse... feed...”
The Apple family gave him quizzical looks as he slapped his palm to his head, the stupidly obvious truth finally dawning on him. These are horses!
They don’t eat meat.
“We might have a slight problem here...”
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First.
176766 I was earlier than first!
I already read it though, so there...
176773
Silence, cur, and draw me a huggable picture of Sweetie Belle.
176766 Huggable Sweetie Belle?
Well, if that is what you desire, my dear Techpriest, then I shall see what I can do! I'll probably have to draw it in the real world, since my stupid computer is lame and dumb and won't run my tablet, and I don't wanna install it on my new computer. Bleh, real world crap. TIME FOR PONIES!
Dominic is an interesting character. I want more of him.
Also, Dash and Lyra should form a club, if they haven't already.
awesome chapter i just realized that your avatar is a tech priest from Warhammer 40k and now love your story 20% more anyway its going to be interesting to see how this all plays out keep up the great work
BIG PROBLEM INDEED
THERE IS NO BACON
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun.
Well I bet this problem will go over just swimmingly.
lololol...horse feed.
Oh shit... He hasn't explained the whole omnivore thing yet... This'll be fun.
I hope Rainbow Dash is okay... She's going to do something dumb, isn't she? I look forward to her next confrontation with Ellis! Or maybe even the Tank!
Well, quite a predicament we've got here Ellis, try explaining this one to them. They're already afraid of you killing zombies, oh boy.
176766>>*gets on knees and shouts to sky*NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~!
“HEY! DON’T BUCK WITH DA JESUS!”
I believe this sums up my feelings on the matter.
mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw2386-brilliant.jpg
CardioCragologist: HorseShit!......<____>
YOU'RE KILLIN' ME!
......looks like ellis is gonna have to learn to hunt.
" my one major problem if i was transported to equestria i couldn't eat steaks,ham,hot dogs,sausage..........O AND THE GOD OF MEATS BACON!!!'
real first
and gilda got tanked, fucking concrete. MMMMOOOOOOAAAARRRRR
>>LionHeart no bacon images.search.conduit.com/ImagePreview/?q=i+dont+want+to+live+on+this+planet+anymore&ctid=CT2776682&SearchSource=53&PageSource=HomePage&start=0&pos=7
nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANK
I just noticed, you're two words away from 7,000. Looks like you stayed true to your word of under 7k. Nicely done, friend.
awesome.
nothing wrong here. im on droid so i cant talk much
NO BACON!!!!! NO BACON!!!!!! THAT'S IT
NO SOUP FOR YOU PONYVILLE!!! NOW GET OUT
And then all of Fluttershy's chickens suddenly dissapeared without a trace.
So Dash has a fetish on hands now?
176779
SHUT YER Gob, masheen gubbinz humie, an' make me a huggable PLUSHIE of Sweetie Belle! For da Big Boss, oi meanz.
Wait.... now that I think about it will tank be able to rip up magical homing concrete out of nowhere like he can in the left 4 dead universe?
" At that same moment, in a parallel universe, someone, somewhere, suddenly died of a massive stroke."
Best line EVER. Reminds me of monty python.
This is the single most amazing fic I have ever read in terms of characterization. And I don't mean "take a character and develop them" I mean "write a story using characters within the confines of their pre-defined characterizations." Everypony sounds EXACTLY like they would in the show, and Ellis and the Tank both sound EXACTLY like I would expect from Valve.
Congratulations, sir: you have earned the sixth five-star rating I have ever given out of the 130+ stories I have rated on FimFiction.
awsome just awsome
Why do I keep hearing (and reading) of Bacon lately? Bacon and that Amnesia game. ALL OVER THE INTERNET AND REAL WORLD!
anyway, nice Barney comment. That had often occurred to me, but never thought I'd see anybody put it into a fic!
As to eating meat...it's not actually necessary for us to do. It makes survival a bit more difficult because you need to know what plants will give you what you need (and I don't, so I'd be screwed), but if he really wants meat, he'll probably get stuck fishing or maybe hunting Manticors. I doubt anybody would care much if a Manticor died, and so far it seems that only fish don't have a mind of their own in MLP.
TAKE ALL MY STARS !
what would be my reaction, "wait......herbivores. No meat in diet. No meat means no ham. No ham means no bacon. No bacon. ......no bacon. O GOD WHAT KIND OF FRESH PRINCE HELL HAVE I BEEN DEPOSITED IN?!?!"
BIG problem...
Hands!
I have a feeling Dominic might accidentally make a new virus... wait... OK, IF THAT'S THE PLOT, JUST LET ME TELL YOU; I CALLED IT!
-Glassed
I was in a bad mood. Then I read this.
I FELL GREAT NOW !!!
bahaha
This story needs Ellis finding peanut butter and gorging himself on it
PEANUT BUTTER
"No MEAT?!"
*Noms Applebloom*
176863
No bacon?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-
kdmedianow.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/explosion2.jpg
Huh, you know this is the first time I've seen Mayor Mare getting a bit assertive! Can't say I blame her though, what with the whole large, knife weidling monster thing spreading through town like a plague and causing her more than her fair share of headache. It's only natural she'd feel a little bit protective of everypony seeing as they are technically her responsibility, what with her being the mayor of the town and all.
It's funny though, because I honestly thought she was born to be the mayor of the town... in hindsight though, that seems a little bit too silly. I mean, what kind of name is Mayor Mare? I know a ton of ponies have silly names, but actually naming your kid Mayor? That's just taking the cake and eating it too.
Can't wait to see the next few chapters! Between Ellis having to explain that he's an omnivore, Celestia not having her moment to actually mettle in her newest guests affairs just yet, the town's still wary opinion of him, and a tank hiding behind some corner there's no end fo interesting times ahead!
Oh, sure, tanks are god awful news and all that and could probably snap any one of them in half with just a flick of its wrist but the fact this story is marked as both slice of life and commedy makes me think everything's going to turn out for the best.
Ellis is in screwed. But then again I fear for Zecora's safety, because odds are the Tank might attack her. So looking forward to the next chapter!
And then, Ellis suddenly had a reason to want to go home. Who cares about the ravenous horde of infected, I just want some meat!!!
Wait.... If Dominic makes potions?....... Then what about Zecora?