A Crown's Atonement For Their Misdeeds

by UnknownOrigin

Chapter 3: A Tour of the Town

The tour began as soon as we left Twilight's house, with Spike having us stop immediately outside of the door.

"Alright Null, our first sight of the tour is me and Twilight's home: the Golden Oak Library. This is where Twilight and I have stayed ever since we first arrived in Ponyville all those months ago, with it also serving as Ponyville's local library, as anyone is able to come in and check out any books they need." Spike said.

Now that I was able to take a look at the building, I had to say, the idea of a library within a tree was somewhat of a clever and unique idea. It must have also taken an extremely long time for the tree that made up the main structure of the building to grow to this size, and judging by the leaves and greenery that still adorned the branches, it showed that the tree itself was still in perfect health.

"Quick question. How long has the library been around?" I asked.

"Its been around for quite some time, as it was here when I first moved to Ponyville. I would check out various books about the local animals so that I would be able to properly take care of them." Fluttershy answered.

That at least somewhat answered my question. This also lead me to safely assume that both Twilight and Spike managed and ran the library at the moment, given how I never saw anyone else managing the library. That, and if the room that you entered into upon getting in the library held the only books within the library, then it would definitely not need a lot of people, or ponies I guess, to manage.

"Anyways, let's continue with your tour Null. Our next stop: Sugarcube Corner. I really hope they have those muffins I like." Spike said as he began to head off, with Fluttershy and me following close behind him.

---

As we continued walking through Ponyville, I was able to notice a few of the ponies that we had passed stopped what they were doing to glance at us, though I assumed the reason why was still the same as last time. To be fair, I probably was something no one in this world had ever seen before and that I was also somewhat out of place with everything around me being vibrant and colorful while I was somewhat the opposite, making me stand out a little more. I also noticed that the stares that people were giving me seemed to make Fluttershy somewhat nervous, as I assumed she thought that those stares were meant for her. Spike on the other hand didn't seem to notice them as we kept walking towards out destination. I decided to take this time to ask a question that has been on my mind ever since I saw the residents of Ponyville for the first time.

"So, can someone explain to me what those on everyone's flanks are about? I've noticed them for a while now, and I kind of want to know what they are." I asked.

"Oh. Those marks are known as cutie marks." Fluttershy answered.

"Cutie marks?" I asked.

"Yep. Essentially, a cutie mark represents what sort of special talent a pony has, whether it be that they are good at building things, being very good at playing a certain instrument, or just being good at performing a certain task, cutie marks represent who a pony is." Spike said.

"So they represent what sort of special talent a pony has? Interesting. But what about those that don't have a cutie mark? I saw that a few ponies, mostly the younger ones, don't have one." I asked.

"Well, that's the thing. A pony's cutie mark appears as soon as that pony has found out what their special talent is. A pony usually finds their special talent when they're still young, so that's why you'll see that even though some of the younger ponies may have one, others don't." Spike explained.

"What if a pony isn't able to find their special talent? Does that essentially mean that they won't have a cutie mark for their entire life?" I asked.

"It's like I said, ponies usually find their special talents when they're young, so it's not often you see an older pony without a cutie mark. From what Twilight has told me, there have been some cases where a pony wasn't able to find their special talent until they were much older, though the oldest that a pony has gone without getting their cutie mark was about until they were 40 years old. Turns out their special talent was, ironically, being patient, as they're cutie mark was that of a ticking grandfather clock." Spike said.

So it is possible for ponies to potentially go their whole lives without ever getting their cutie mark. And from what Spike had said, getting a cutie mark involves a pony finding out what they're special talent is, and once they have found what that talent is, their cutie mark appears. That begs another question, what happens if a pony finds out they are talented in two things? Do they get a second cutie mark? Do they get a second one but it replaces the original? Does the original cutie mark stay and they don't get a second one?

Wow, I'm definitely getting ahead of myself here. Alright, let's calm down and shift our focus to something else.

"Hey Fluttershy, what does your cutie mark represent? I'm guessing it has something to do with animals, since it's just three butterflies?" I asked.

"Well, I guess you are kind of right. My cutie mark represent my kindness to others and my willingness to take care of animals." Fluttershy answered.

That actually made a lot of sense. Fluttershy has been nothing but kind to me ever since I woke up in Twilight's house and has even taken care of. Even though I was from another dimension, she was willing to show me kindness and allowed me to stay with her last night. That part about her also taking care of animals was also somewhat obvious as well, as she literally had a multitude of bird house both inside and outside of her house.

"Alright, looks like we're here! Null, welcome to Sugarcube Corner." Spike said.

I looked over to see Spike gesturing towards what was one of the weirder things I have seen in this world. It appeared to be a house made out of gingerbread, though I assume that was not actually the case, and also had what appeared to be a frosting like design non the roof of the building. Sticking out of the roof appeared to be a tower-like structure that had the appearance of a cake, with three candles at the top of the roof completing the look. Judging by the delicious aroma I was smelling coming from the building, I could only assume that this was some kind of bakery.

"If you're ever in the mood for a delicious pastry or a sweet treat, then the Sugarcube Corner is your answer. It acts as Ponyville's local bakery, and they make some of the best delicious treats around." Spike said. "They make stuff such as cakes and cookies to even ice cream and candy."

Well, looks like I was right about this place being a bakery. The fact that it also acted as a sort of ice cream parlor and candy store combined would definitely make it quite appealing for anyone wanting to sate their sweet tooth. I also remember Pinkie Pie saying that she had to work here today, so maybe we would run into her.

We made our way over to Sugarcube Corner and entered the doorway into what I assumed was the sort of main lobby/dining area. Scattered across the room were a number of tables and chairs that I assumed were for ponies to eat what they had bought. Across from the entrance on the other side of the room was a display filled with various types of pastries and sweets with a counter right next to it where I assumed was where patrons would pay and order something. Along the left wall of the room from where we had entered, there was a simple wooden staircase that led to what I assumed were the upper floors of the bakery. Finally, there was a sort of wall divider that separated the counter from the kitchen, with the divider having a large sort of viewing window that allowed patrons to view the kitchen with there also being a sort of swinging door that led into said kitchen. The kitchen itself was filled with a large number of ovens and stoves, as well as a fridge and even an ice-cream machine in the back.

The three of us made our way to the counter towards the back, where Spike hit a bell that was set on the counter that I assumed was for notifying anyone working in the kitchen that there were customers waiting.

"One moment, I'll be with you shortly." I heard a female voice call out.

A couple of seconds later, and the swinging door that led to the kitchen opened as an earth pony walked out of it and was carrying a tray of cookies on her back. The earth pony had a light blue coat and her mane and tail were a mix of pink and light pink and was styled in a way that made it looked like it was swirling ice-cream or frosting. Her cutie mark was that of three cupcakes with pink frosting and a red cherry on top.

"Fluttershy. Spike. It's good to see you two. What can I get for you both." The earth pony said as she set the tray on top of the display.

"We're doing great Mrs. Cake. Can I get a peanut butter muffin?" Spike said.

"Of course. And what about you Fluttershy?" the earth pony, who I now knew as Mrs. Cake, said.

"Oh, umm, can I get a strawberry muffin please? Do you want something too, Null?" Fluttershy said.

I hopped off of Fluttershy's back to get a closer look at the various sweets and pastries within the display. As I did, Mrs. Cake noticed me and looked somewhat surprised at my sudden appearance.

"Oh! I wasn't expecting for you to have brought one of your animal friends Fluttershy. Though I must say, I don't think I've seen anything like it before. Is there anything you want, little one?" Mrs. Cake asked me.

I looked at the various pastries and sweets within the display, each one offering a different option of what I could have. A lot of them looked really good too, such as chocolate chip muffins, donuts with a variety of frostings and sprinkles, and even croissants that looked as though they were fresh out of the oven. Eventually, I saw something that I was sure to like.

"Can I have one of those cookies with frosting on them?" I asked.

Mrs. Cake once again wore an expression of being surprised as I assumed she wasn't expecting me to actually talk. She quickly regained her composure and answered. "Certainly. Will that be all from you three?"

All of us gave a quick "Yes." to let her know we had decided on what we wanted. After which, Mrs. Cake picked up three small paper bags and began putting each of the things we ordered into each separate bag. After she had finished, she gave each of us a bag, Spike grabbing the one containing his muffin, while Fluttershy sat both bags that contained her muffin and my cookie onto her back.

"Alright. That will be 11 bits in total." Mrs. Cake said.

Fluttershy opened one of her saddlebags and pulled out what a small purse, before opening it and placing 11 of what appeared to be gold coins on the counter which Mrs. Cake took. After that, all of us headed towards a nearby table and sat down with the treats that we had ordered. Thankfully, Fluttershy opened the bag containing my cookie and sat it down in front of me so that I wouldn't have to struggle opening it. All of us began to eat what we had order, with Fluttershy and Spike eating their muffins while I ate my cookie. In all honesty, it was possibly the best thing I have had in a very long time. While I was able to eat things once I took over whoever wore me while I was trapped within the Master Crown, a lot of the time the things I ate were pretty dull and flavorless. As such, this cookie was as if I had just woken up from the greatest nap ever. The cookie itself was somewhat chewy and had a sweet taste to it, allowing that sweet taste to last while I ate it. The frosting was possibly the best part, as it was both rich and sweet, allowing the flavor of it to really improve the overall sweetness the cookie already had.

"Null, are you ok? You're crying." Fluttershy said.

"Huh?" I said as I blinked a few times. Turns out what he was saying was true, as I could feel small tears rolling down from my eyes. It was definitely a weird feeling, as I don't think I've ever cried before. I have seen people cry when I was trapped within the Master Crown, but that was mostly because they were sad or upset about something. However, I wasn't really sad at the moment, quite the opposite actually, I was happy. Happy that I was able to taste something like this, something that didn't taste dull or bland, something that actually tasted good. "Sorry. I just haven't tasted anything this good before, so I guess I just started crying because of how good it tasted." I said.

"Yeah. Sugarcube Corner has possibly the best sweets in all of Equestria. Maybe even the entire world! I know I love everything here, especially these peanut butter muffins." Spike said as he finished his muffin.

After we had all finished eating our food, we all got up from the table and headed back to the counter, with me hopping back onto Fluttershy's back.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Cake? Is Pinkie Pie here?" Fluttershy asked.

"Not at the moment. She's currently delivering a few things for us, and we aren't able to leave Sugarcube Corner as we also need to finish making a few things." Mrs. Cake answered.

"Oh, ok. Could you possibly give this to Pinkie once she get back?" Fluttershy said as she pulled a white paper bag out of her saddle bag. "It has Gummy's medicine in it. Pinkie talked about how Gummy had a sore throat, and I was able to get this together for him. It should help ease the pain and cure his sore throat in a couple of days"

"Of course. I'll give it to her as soon as she gets back." Mrs. Cake said as she took the bag.

"Thank you Mrs. Cake." Fluttershy said as all three of us headed for the door.

Before we left, however, I quickly turned around from my spot on Fluttershy back and said "Thank you for the cookie Mrs. Cake! It was the greatest thing I've had in a long time!" Before the door closed, I caught a glimpse of Mrs. Cake with a smile on her face as she gave me a small wave.

As we were now outside, we once again began heading towards a certain direction. I took this moment to ask "So, where are we heading next?"

"I believe our next stop is where Rarity is, at the Carousel Boutique." Fluttershy said.

---

As we headed towards the Carousel Boutique, I once again took the time to ask a few more questions that I had on my mind. These questions somewhat involving the gold coins Fluttershy had used to pay for the food we had gotten earlier.

"Fluttershy, what were those gold coins you used to pay for everything we got earlier?" I asked.

"Well, those were bits. They're Equestria national currency, meaning that they can be used to buy anything in Equestria. Well, almost anything. I have heard of places that don't really use bits as a form of currency, rather that they will use things such as gemstones and even crops." Fluttershy answered.

"If you want a closer look at one Null, you can look at this one." Spike said as he pulled out a bit from the bag Twilight had given him and held it up to me.

For the most part, the bit was that of a simple gold coin, quite small and was shining a bit in the sunlight. However, the imprint on the side of the bit that was facing me appeared to be that of a sun while the imprint on the other side of the bit was that of a crescent moon. I recalled that Twilight had talked about how both of the princesses of Equetria were able to raise and lower both the sun and moon, so maybe the imprints I was seeing on the bit were representing the princesses and their powers over the passage of day and night? After I was done looking at the bit, Spike put it back in the bag, allowing me to ask another question.

"So what kind of pet does Pinkie have? I guess it must be something soft if it has the name Gummy." I said.

"Oh no, Gummy is actually an alligator." Fluttershy said.

"What?" I said. I couldn't have heard that correctly, right? Pinkie owned an alligator as a pet. Wasn't that extremely dangerous? Having an apex predator of rivers that could easily tear through one's flesh as a pet sounded way to dangerous and didn't really sound like something a pony as pink and cheerful as Pinkie Pie would have as a pet. Maybe something like a small and energetic dog or a parrot, but not an alligator. "Are you telling me that Pinkie Pie's pet is that of an alligator that could easily eat or injury someone if they made it mad? And its name is Gummy?"

"Not at all! Gummy isn't harmful in the slightest. The reason Pinkie named it Gummy is that it's still a baby, and it doesn't have any teeth at all." Fluttershy said.

That only made me question things a little bit more, but I was a little bit relieved to hear that Pinkie, while owning a dangerous predator, didn't have something as pet that could easily eat someone.

"Hey, we made it!" Spike said, prompting me pull away from my thoughts and look ahead at the building in front of us. "Null, this here is the Carousel Boutique. This is were ponies can come to and pay get outfits made by Rarity herself for any occasion, whether it be a formal gettogether, a wedding, or even something for everyday wear, Rarity makes sure that the outfits she make will fit the occasion and will allow the wearer to look good as well."

The building in front of us had a sort of dollhouse like appearance to it. The structure of the building itself was somewhat tower-like, similar to the town hall Fluttershy had pointed out earlier today. The ground level of the building itself had windows right next to the front door, showing off various outfits worn by what appeared to be the pony equivalent of a mannequin. The structured continued until there was a part that I assumed was how the boutique had gotten its name, with multiple poles surrounding one of the upper floors that had pony-shaped statues within the poles, giving off the appearance that a carousel had been placed right on top of the boutique.

We began making our way to the front door and entered the building itself. The ground floor appeared to be that of the actual boutique itself. The first thing I noticed were the multiple pony mannequins that were spread out in the room, all of them wearing a variety of different outfits. Over towards one of the walls was that of a small stage surrounded by mirrors, with a small door nearby leading to what I assumed to be a dressing room. Also nearby the stage was that of a row of three wooden tubs that were each situated in front of a mirror. The last two things I saw were a set of stairs leading up to what I assumed were the upper floors of the boutique and a small entryway were I could hear what appeared to be the sounds of someone using a sewing machine.

"Null, could you go tell Rarity that I've dropped off Opal's medicine upstairs? It sounds like Rarity is in her sewing room over there." Fluttershy said, pointing her hoof towards the entryway I saw earlier.

"Sure." I said as I hopped off her back and began hopping towards the sounds of sewing. I made my way through the entryway and found what I assumed to be a sort of workshop. Here and there were more pony mannequins that were wearing outfits, though some of them gave off the feeling that the outfits displayed on them were incomplete. There were also some shelves lined across one of the walls that held various rolls of fabrics and balls of different colored yarn. Towards one end of the room was a somewhat large workbench that had a variety of measuring tools and papers on them. Finally, right next to the workbench, was Rarity currently using the sewing machine on what appeared to be some sort of dress.

"And, done! Cheerilee will surely be happy to have this dress for her family get together." Rarity said as I saw a her horn was covered in a light blue aura. The dress she was working on was soon covered in the same aura and began levitating towards one of the mannequins, before the outfit itself was soon fitted onto the mannequin. She soon turned around and jumped a little as she saw me in the entryway. "Ah, I wasn't expecting to see you Null. Would you mind telling me why you're here?"

"Fluttershy and Spike are essentially showing me around Ponyville while both of them run their errands. Speaking of, Fluttershy wanted me to tell you that she put Opal's medicine upstairs." I said.

"That's good to hear. Poor Opal hasn't been feeling to good as of late, so hopefully the medicine Fluttershy brought should help her feel better." Rarity said.

I hopped over to her while looking at all of the mannequins wearing outfits around me. "A lot of these outfits look really good. Did you really make all of these yourself?" I asked.

"Why, thank you dear. Yes. I made all of these outfits from scratch myself. I find that making outfits for others was something I enjoyed doing greatly. As such, I opened the Carousel Boutique a few years ago. One day, I hope of achieving my dream of opening my own boutique in Canterlot. As such, I'm using every outfit I make as inspiration to make everything I make even better." Rarity said.

So she wanted to open her own boutique in Canterlot? Judging from the name, it may have been a bigger town or city than that of Ponyville. Maybe it was the capital of Equestria? Regardless, as she was talking about her making outfits, an idea formed in my head. If I was going to end up looking like Magolor, why not play into it a little bit.

"Hey Rarity? Can I ask you something?" I asked.

"Hm? What would you like to ask me darling?" Rarity said.

"Could you possibly help me make an outfit for myself?" I asked.

"Well this is sudden. Why would you want an outfit?" Rarity said.

"Well, seeing how good you are at making all of these outfits, I guessed it wouldn't hurt if you helped me design and make one. If anything, you may be able to get some inspiration from the design as well." I said.

Rarity put a hoof to her chin and appeared deep in thought. "Hmm. You could be onto something. I have made outfits for both ponies and small pets before, but maybe designing and making an outfit for something like you could give me some new ideas for anything I could make in the future. Ok, I'll be happy to help make an outfit for you Null."

"Alright, thanks Rarity. Now then, where should we start?" I asked.

The next good while was spent with the both of us discussing how the outfit would look. Thankfully, I knew what I wanted it to look like, and Rarity was able to get the design down perfectly. After that, another good while was spent with Rarity taking measurements of various parts of my body so she could get the measurements of certain things right. Fluttershy and Spike both came in to see if the both of us were ok, though I told them that it may take a little while until we were done. Spike said he was simply going to get some of the things Twilight needed for him and left the boutique. Fluttershy stayed behind, with me assuming that she was waiting for me to be done. Eventually, everything had been completed. All that was left was for Rarity to make the outfit.

"I must say Null. This really is something unique. It was quite fun as well making something for you. Though I must ask, do you really want these things as well. No offense, but it doesn't look like you would be able to use them." Rarity said as she pointed to a specific thing about the outfit.

"Yep, I'm positive about it. Thanks again for helping me with this Rarity." I said.

"Of course dear. It shouldn't really take me long to actually make this. I'll have it done by tonight and give it you at Twilight's." Rarity said.

"Alright, see you then." I said as I bounced back towards the entrance to the boutique, where Fluttershy and Spike were waiting for me.

"I know you said it was going to take a while for you to get done, but I wasn't expecting you all to take over 3 hours! What were you helping Rarity make?" Spike said.

"I'll explain later." I said as I hopped onto Fluttershy's back. "Anyways, where to next?" I asked.

---

Our next destination was supposedly our last, with all of us heading towards the edge of town. It honestly took a good bit, but eventually we managed to get there. Eventually, we made it to what appeared to be the edge of a farm, as there was a white picket fence surrounding a large acre. However I was not expecting the sight beyond the fence. There were apples trees as far as the eye could see. All of them bearing bright red apples that seemed to shine in the sunlight. While I was in awe at the sheer number of apple tree, the apples themselves brought back the memories of me making the creatures of the in-between gather up those slices of that crystalline apple and me eventually being defeated by Magolor. I guess this caused me to look at the apple trees for a long time, as Fluttershy took notice of me gazing out at all the tress.

"Null, are you ok?" Fluttershy asked. "You've been looking at those trees for a while now."

"Oh, uh, yeah. I'm fine. I've just never seen this many apple trees at once before." I said.

"Well, that's Sweet Apple Acres for you. This is where Applejack and her family live. They take all of the apples on those trees and sell them in a variety of ways. From apple baked goods, apple flavored drinks, to even just selling the apples themselves, the Apple family has made a lot of money over the years." Spike said.

We continued with following along the fence before reaching the entrance of the farm itself, with me being able to see a barn in the distance along with a farmhouse not to far away as well. All of us were heading towards the farmhouse where Applejack could be seen coming out from the acres of trees.

"Fluttershy, Spike, Null! It's good to see ya. I guess you're here to deliver Winona's medicine, then?" Applejack called out to us.

"Hmhm, it's right here." Fluttershy said as she took out the last paper bag and handed it to Applejack.

"Apprectiate it, sugarcube. Winona injured her leg a little while ago, so she hasn't been able to help chase off any critters. Speakin' of, recently we've noticed a few apples missin' from some of the baskets we lay out. It's a good chance that an animal's stealin' them, but I have reasons to believe that somepony, or someponies, have been stealin' them." Applejack said

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"Mostly that there were hoofprints around some of the baskets. I can only guess it may be just a few kids judging from the sizes, but still, when I get my hands on them..." Applejack said as she began shaking her hoof.

Meanwhile, while she was talking, I noticed a pair of small ponies trying to sneak behind her towards the fence, each carrying a basket of apples on their back. One was that of a chubby unicorn colt who had a aquamarine coat and a somewhat spike orange mane and tail and whose cutie mark appeared to be a pair of scissors. The other one was the exact opposite, a tall lanky unicorn colt who had golden colored coat and an aquamarine mane and tail that weren't as wild as the first one and whose cutie mark was that of a snail.

"Uh, Applejack? I think you might want to look behind you." I said.

Applejack immediately turned around and spotted the two ponies trying to sneak away. "What the?! Snips? Snails? You two get over here right now!" Applejack said as she began running towards the two colts.

The two colts, upon seeing Applejack running towards them, dropped the apples they were carrying and began running deeper into the acres of apple trees, with Applejack following them. Without really thinking, I hopped off of Fluttershy's back and began hopping towards them as well.

"Null? What are you doing?" Fluttershy said.

"I'll be back! I'm gonna help Applejack catch those two!" I said as began hopping into the acres of apple trees.

Even though I was hopping as fast as I could, I was still having trouble keeping up with Applejack and the two colts. Multiple times they took a sharp turn around an apple tree in the hopes of trying to lose us, only for the both of us to turn the same tree and keep chasing them. However, this wouldn't last much longer as they turned around another apple tree, only for us to not see them anywhere once we turned around at it as well.

"Dangit! We lost them!" Applejack said as she stomped her hoof towards the ground.

"They looked like they were only kids, so they couldn't have gotten far." I said.

"Ah know. They must have taken another turn before we got here. If only we had some way to track em'." Applejack said in frustration.

Track them? Maybe Applejack was onto something there. Considering how scared those two looked while we were chasing them, I could safely assume that both of them were both very scared at the moment. Scared that we would either find them or catch them. In other words, they were fearful of getting caught, and I could use that fear to find them. I began to focus, trying to feel the fear they were giving off and using it to pinpoint where they were. It took a bit, but I eventually managed to feel the fear they were emitting.

"Applejack, they're over that way." I said, using my ears to try and point the direction I had felt their fear coming from.

"Really? Are ya sure?" Applejack asked.

"I'm positive." I said.

"Alright then, lead the way Null." Applejack said as I hopped onto her back, before both of us took off in the direction I had pointed to.

"Keep going straight, and turn to the right, here!" I said as I felt the direction of the negative emotion shifting a bit. Applejack obliged, with her turning right as well. This kept going for a little bit longer, with me telling Applejack what direction we needed to go in when I felt the direction of the fear shift and her following my directions. Eventually, I could feel us getting closer and closer as I felt the amount of fear being emitted grow, filling me with energy as we followed a trail only I could sense. Eventually, we lucked out as we saw the two colts running ahead of us towards the white fence that surrounded the farm. As they looked back, I felt their fear skyrocket as they saw that we were slowly gaining on them and then proceeded to pick up the pace. I knew that if the reached the fence, there was a good chance that we wouldn't catch them. However, there was maybe one thing we could do that would allow us to catch them.

"Applejack, throw me!" I said.

"What are ya talking about?" Applejack said.

"Throw me towards them. We won't be able to catch up to them before they reach the fence, but I can get them if you throw me." I said.

Applejack seemed to think this over, before eventually nodding and saying "Alright! Let's do this!"

Applejack stopped running and held me in one of her hooves. While I was expecting her to throw me in the direction of the colts, I was not expecting for her to toss me into the air. As I started descending, I saw Applejack, turn around and lean forward on her front legs and rearing her back ones. As I got level with her, her back legs shot out as she bucked me towards the colts, sending me flying towards them at great speeds. I was somewhat disoriented as that buck had hurt a lot, but I was able to quickly regain my senses as I rocketed towards the colts. I noticed that I began drifting towards one of the tress, but this was what I had been hoping for.

Essentially, I had thought back to when I was running away from Discord the day before, and remembered how I was able to bounce off of surfaces at high speeds to evade him. I intended to use that here. I positioned myself, and as I hit the tree, I bounced off of it and towards the next one. This resulted in me going even faster than before. I continued to bounce from tree to tree, with each bounce seeing a great increase to my speed. Eventually, I had caught up to the colts and, with one last bounce, crashed into them and sent them flying into a nearby tree. Soon after, Applejack caught up to me and took in the sight of the two colts lying against the tree.

"Ah'll admit, when you told me to throw ya, I was not expectin' ya to bounce off those trees like that. Ya were possibly going as fast as Rainbow Dash." Applejack said.

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting you to buck me either. Though I think that was maybe the best move, I don't think I would have caught them that fast otherwise." I said.

We both turned to look at the two colts, and judging from the fact that they were groaning and weren't making an attempt to get up, I think I had knocked them out by accident.

"Maybe I overdid it a bit." I said.

"They'll be fine. I should have known it was these two from the start, though. Ah'll make sure both of their parents hear about this." Applejack said.

"Who are these two, anyway?" I asked.

"Snips and Snails. They're partners in crime that have recently been gettin' into all sorts of trouble and mischief around Ponyville. Ah think it all started when they accidentally brought an ursa minor into Ponyville when they heard the stories of a certain showmare and wanted to see if she could beat it in a fight." Applejack said.

I was about to ask what an ursa minor was, before I saw Fluttershy and Spike running up to us on the other side of the fence.

"Finally we found you! Are you guys ok? You both took off after those two and we tried to follow you but ended up getting lost in all the trees." Spike said.

"Both of us are fine. Those two on the other hand..." I said as I looked back to the colts who I now knew as Snips and Snails. "They might be out for a while."

"Null was the one who caught em. If it wasn't for him thinking on tha spot, they would've gotten away and probably be back in Ponyville by now." Applejack said.

"Really? Oh Null, you aren't hurt or anything, are you?" Fluttershy asked.

"Nothing to serious. Though that buck did sting a bit, but I don't really feel it anymore." I said.

Fluttershy had a look of worry and began to feel fearful as she looked over to Applejack.

"Well, he told me to throw him saying that he would be able to catch em' if I did, so I sorta acted on instinct and bucked him. Ya should have seen him, though. He was bouncin' from tree to tree as if he was made of rubber." Applejack said.

"Fluttershy, really, I'm fine." I said.

Fluttershy looked back at me, and slowly I could feel the fear that she had for me disappear as her worried look was replaced with that of a soft smile.

"Any who, Ah should probably get these two to their parents. I'm certain they're gonna get quite the earful when they hear what these two have been up to." Applejack said.

"Oh, ok. I suppose we'll see you later at Twilight's then?" Fluttershy said.

"Of course. Ah'll see ya three then." Applejack said.

After that, I hopped back onto Fluttershy's back as we made our way back to town. Eventually, Spike said that he was heading back to Twilight's and told us that he would see us later before he headed back into town. Meanwhile Fluttershy, having gotten everything she needed to do in town done, led both of us back to her house where we would spend the rest of the day. During that time, I was able to see a little bit more of what was around Fluttershy's house. Behind her house was that of a small flower garden like the one I saw when I first got here, there was a chicken coop where there were a few chickens strolling about, and there were even a few birdhouses and birdbaths here and there as well. Eventually, the sun slowly began to descend on the horizon as the moon began ascending as well, signifying that it was now time for us to head over to Twilight's, and find out what the girls would decide to do with me.

---

We eventually made it to Twilight's house, were we found Twilight and Spike sitting on the couch with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie sitting in the nearby chairs. Fluttershy and I made our way over as she grabbed a cushion from the nearby stack and sat it down for her to sit on while I hopped onto the table. As I did, Applejack entered the library as well and joined all of us as well.

"Sorry Ah'm a little late. We had a lot more apples today than normal, so we had to store a bunch of em' in the barn." Applejack said.

"It's fine, Applejack, we're mostly just waiting on Rarity at this point. Though, she is running a little late" Twilight said.

"Yeah! She's usually one of the earliest of us when it comes to meetings like this. She's probably doing her makeup or something." Pinkie Pie said.

"Either way, we still need to discuss what we need to do about Null." Twilight said. "My idea is that maybe we should message Princess Celestia about him and see if she knows what he might be."

"I say we should keep a close eye on him. We still don't know if he works for Discord or something and wants to try and free him." Rainbow Dash added.

"I know! Maybe we could keep him around and go on dangerous and magical adventures together, like climbing a giant plant that connects multiple floating islands together and fight an evil queen who is keeping the people living on these islands captive." Pinkie Pie said.

Everyone turned to look at Pinkie Pie as she said that, only for her to shrug and say "What? It would definitely be fun."

Everyone continued contributing their ideas, from Twilight suggesting that I should be sent to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, Rainbow Dash saying that one of the girls should have have me stay with them so they can keep a close eye on me, to Pinkie still suggesting that we all go on adventures together. Eventually, the discussion came to a halt as the library door opened and Rarity stepped inside with a bag being held within her aura floating beside her.

"I do apologize for being late girls. I was just finishing up the, Null! There you are." Rarity said as she quickly came over to me. "I finished the outfit just earlier. It was quite enjoyable making what we created, and I have some new ideas that I can use in the future. Hold still, let me put it on you."

The bag she was holding was set down on the table before as pieces of the outfit Rarity and I made came flying out of the bag. I felt myself also being lifted up into the air as Rarity's aura surrounded me and the pieces of clothing floated around me. The next few moments were that of a blur as Rarity quickly put the clothes onto my body, with each piece of clothing sliding onto each part of my small body perfectly. Eventually, Rarity set me back down onto the table and took out a mirror.

"Oh, it came out perfectly. Here, take a look yourself." Rarity said as she floated the mirror in front of me.

The outfit I was wearing was exactly as Rarity and I designed it to be. The upper part of body was that of a sort of white hood that covered that had a small window in the front that allowed me to see, with the ears also being covered as well by places in the hood that allowed my ears to slide in perfectly. The hood itself was also attached to a sort of white cape that extended to the bottom of my body, with the bottom of the outside having a black solid line extend from one side of the cape to the other. The tips of the ear parts were red in color, and were separated from the rest of the hood by a silver ring. The bottom half of my body, and by extension my hidden third eye, were covered by a sort of red cloth that softly stuck to my body. Lastly was that of a scarf that wrapped around my body and sort of separated the hood and bottom part of the outfit. The scarf had a checkered patter to it, with the design being that of red and black squares that ran along the entirety of the scarf. The end of the scarf, which also extended to the bottom of the cape part of the hood, had tassels on the end that alternated between red and black. However, there was one thing that was missing that would complete the look, which Rarity took out of the bag.

"I still have to ask, do you really think these gloves are necessary? I made them exactly as how they were designed, but I still don't understand why you would want them." Rarity said as she set the gloves in front of me. The gloves themselves were somewhat like mittens, with there being a place for a thumb and a large part of the mitten allowing one to slip their fingers into it. The gloves themselves were somewhat gray in color, similar to the rings separating the red and white on my hood.

Now, here is where I wanted to see if my idea would work.

Over the day I had been somewhat feeding off of the nervousness Fluttershy had been giving off when we were traveling around Ponyville. As I did, I slowly felt myself becoming a stronger bit by bit, until I began to feel something building up within me that I knew all to well. I couldn't use it just yet because there wasn't enough of it, but all I had to do was wait for it to build up enough to the point where I could safely use it. And that moment came when Applejack and I were chasing those two colts. The fear they were giving off was just enough for the energy building up within me to finally reach a point to where I could safely use it. It was time for me to use that energy. To use the magic that I had building up throughout the day.

Tapping into the magic within me, I began to focus my will on the two gloves that were in front of me. I soon felt a connection as, slowly, I could feel as though imaginary hands were putting on the gloves as I began to feel the smooth wood of the table as I began to feel what the gloves were touching, as though they were my own disembodied hands. Slowly, the gloves began to rise from where they had been sat down and floated over to my sides. I brought them in front of me so that I could properly see them and began to flex them, happy to see that they were functioning properly. I looked up from my new hands and saw that everyone within the library had their mouths open in shock. Twilight on the other hand, was looking at me as though I had broken the laws of physics.

"Wha, but, how, huh, WHAT?!" Twilight yelled out.

"Null, I certainly must say, when you requested that you wanted these gloves made along with the outfit, I most certainly was not expecting this." Rarity said.

"How are you doing that Null?" Fluttershy asked.

"I would definitely like to know! First there was that weird sludge covering you that I couldn't find anything out about, then you show us that you can talk, and now those gloves are moving as though they are a part of your body! What are you going to do next? Start levitating yourself?" Twilight asked as she began pacing around while trying to process everything.

I was willing to answer that question. I found that levitating and controlling these gloves hardly required any of the magic that I had stored within me. So, maybe levitating myself would be something that I could also do. If anything, I could move around places without having to bounce or hop. Slowly, I once again began drawing from the magic within myself and began concentrating on my own body. I found that after I began to levitate those gloves and use them as my own hands, what I was doing currently was much easier. Slowly, I felt myself begin to rise a couple of inches off the table and was now floating in midair. I began to float towards Twilight and began tapping on her to get her attention.

"Null is currently floating right now, isn't he?" Twilight asked, not turning around.

"Yep." Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight looked back at me and saw me floating right beside her before saying "You know what? I'm gonna stop questioning what you can do until we figure out what to do. Spike! Take a letter."

Spike pulled out a quill pen and a piece of paper as Twilight began speaking.

Dear Princess Celestia,
This letter is to inform you about the being that we discovered after defeating Discord.
At the moment, we have not been able to discover much about it, although we have learned that it is able to speak, allowing us to converse with it.
Because of this, we have been able to decide on a name for it, with it wanting to be called Null as well as wanting to be referred to as a male.
Other than that, Null has shown himself to be capable of levitating a pair of gloves and himself, allowing him to float around in the air.
We hope to know what we should in terms of what we should do with Null.
From your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle

After Twilight finished with the letter Spike rolled up the piece of paper before holding it up to his face. Before I could wonder what he was doing, he blew out green flames from his mouth that seemed to burn away the paper and transform it into a sort of green light that flowed out of one of the windows of the library.

"That, sort of seems like a waste of paper. Why did you burn it instead of having it delivered?" I asked.

"The details on how it works are a little bit complicated for me, but essentially I'm able to send letters to the pony being addressed on the letter by breathing my flames onto it. The flames transform it into light that is sent towards the recipient, and the letter reforms itself from the light, allowing the person its addressed to to read it." Spike said, before he burped as flames came out of his mouth and formed into another rolled up piece of paper. "And that happens when a letter addressed to Twilight is sent. She sure wrote back quickly."

"What does it say Twilight?" Fluttershy said.

"Let's see, it says..." Twilight began as she read the letter out loud.

Dear Twilight,
I am as curious as you are about the being that you have found.
Sadly, neither Luna or I know what this creature may be from the information you have provided us.
As much as I would like you all to bring the being here to Canterlot so that we may see it with our own eyes, I am afraid that I am horribly busy at the moment.
As such, I request that you and the other Elements of Harmony watch over this creature and report to me anything new you may find.
Signed,
Princess Celestia

So, I guessed this meant that I was staying here with the others. I was somewhat relieved, in a sense. I was worried that they would have possibly decided to use that wave of rainbow magic on me like they used on Discord, either turning me to stone or doing something worse. Regardless, now that I knew I was staying here, I guess I could see what sort of things this world had to offer. So far, I had already experienced things that I didn't think I ever would during my time trapped within the Master Crown. However, there was no doubt about it that the shards of the crown were scattered around this world. For me personally, I kind of hopped I would never see the shards of my prison ever again. For the first time in thousands of years, I wasn't imprisoned within the Master Crown and had a body that didn't belong to the person that was wearing me that I didn't take over. From what had happened so far as well, I was able to use magic as well. Maybe, overtime, I could also be able to use powerful magic later on? Either way, I think I was going to enjoy the time I spent in this world.

Author's Note:

Man this took a while to get done. I had intended to release this chapter sooner, but I needed to iron out a few things so that it would be ready to be put out. For those wondering what Null's outfit looks like in more detail, I combined Magolor's design in the Kirby Clash games with Magolor's color scheme of his EX fight in both of the Return to Dreamland games. His design in the Kirby Clash games is essentially this:

Other than that, nothing big is going to happen for the next couple of chapters as we see how Null interacts with what goes on in Ponyville and the shenanigans that the Main 6 get up to, as well as getting used to life in Ponyville. Until next time!