Chapter 1 - You Might Recognize Me From Such Fanfics as "The Dardanelles Are Missing" and "Calling All Shut-Ins!"

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A profound stench wafted up his nose and fired enough neurons to jump start his unconscious brain. Vague thoughts and impressions fluttered through his mind as his consciousness begrudgingly reached for the other senses, and a grunt of irritation was uttered out of reflex. What the Hell is that smell? Rhyming, yay. It's too early for rhyming. What time is it? It's too early, whatever it is. So on his stream of thought moved, accelerating as slumber seeped away and he became more aware. Sunlight on my face? I didn't leave the curtains open. Wait, I'm not lying on my bed.

This sudden realization was soon followed by a flurry of sensory data that flooded his mind, telling him that something was inordinately wrong as his memories of the night before had no match to the information that his nerves now reported. His eyes snapped open immediately, though they closed again in an instant as the brilliant sunlight was nearly blinding to the sensitive orbs. Okay, slowly now, he told himself, cautiously working his eyelids so that they stretched out and let in more light so his pupils could adjust, before he finally peeled the fleshy lids apart.

The scene that met his rapidly adjusting sight was one that confused him. The first thing he recognized were trees, tall, gnarled, and strewn with vines that seemed to form a nearly solid wall of flora around the small clearing he lied in. Confused, he glanced around and saw that this was only true of half of the clearing's edge, as the other side of the crescent shaped gap in the forest was the shoreline of a swamp that stretched off to his left. The trees in that direction were more loosely packed, but nevertheless cut off his line of sight after only a few dozen yards, and so the figure had no idea just where he was, other than it was somewhere in the wilderness.

Well, that's great, there's only a few hundred thousand square miles of wilderness left in Florida, the figure thought, with a mix of sarcasm, exaggeration, confusion, and growing panic at the bizarre situation. Okay, I need to stay calm. Think man, think! Am I sure I wasn't out drinking or something last night? I know I actually haven't been out to a bar ever in my life – well, except that one hole in the wall. But no, not recently, I went to sleep in my bedroom last night. So why the frell am I here?

A few moments of thought brought no revelation to his mind, and so the figure turned to look over his body to see if he was at least dressed. Thus he received another shock as he saw that he was not only naked, but that his body had been altered, as well. The shape was entirely wrong, as were the four limbs that ended in blunt hooves instead of hands and feet. Instead of pale skin, he saw a green coat of something that would be described as hair or light fur.

You've got to be flippin' kidding me. No, no way, this isn't real. I'm not that insane yet, am I? By now he had noticed his breathing had accelerated, and he could feel his body filling with adrenalin as the confused panic rolled through his mind like a runaway freight train. Just as it started to reach a crescendo, however, he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Okay, calm down. Panic never helps, he thought, using his willpower and experience to counter the fear and bring his mind under control. Okay, you're going to open your eyes. And then you're going to pay very close attention to everything. Look for any indication that this isn't real. Because it isn't. Oh God please don't let me be stuck in my own mind, please!

The panic had started rising again as his train of thought drifted, but the figure quickly wrestled himself back under control again. He slowly opened his eyes and then took a long look around the clearing. Nothing had changed, though now that he was paying more attention he picked up on several details that his first pass had missed. Chiefly, he noted that a green blunt object had replaced his nose in his stereo vision, and that it seemed to be longer than the old facial feature. He was not particularly surprised at this as he noted his body still very much looked as it had before, and so it fit his mind's readjusting map of his body's form. His gaze took in this form more intently now, and he saw that in addition to the aforementioned changes he sported three new limbs he had never possessed before: a pair of wings and a brown tail.

So I'm a pegasus. Appropriate, I guess, for my madness. The figure had to force back the fear again, though it was easier this time as he started to mentally adjust to the situation. Adaptation is key to survival, he thought, picking up on the subtle changes occurring in his paradigm. Okay, so adapt. Adapt. Adapt. Sweet mother of pi in all of its blessed irrationality, what the Hell is going on?

And so on it went for some time with the forest green pegasus lying on his left side while his thoughts raced back and forth, vacillating between panic and attempts to calm himself down. He eventually began to get a handle on his emotions, and soon he drifted into pondering his predicament. So how did this happen? This isn't something that just occurs, it's more like something out of a bad fanfic-

His eyes widened, and then screwed shut as he moved a foreleg up to press the hoof against his elongated face. Oh mother of God, no. No. No no no no no. Please don't tell me that in the vast multiverse that another me has succumbed to writing this drivel. He opened his eyes at that, and then sighed as he noted that a pair of saddle bags were sitting near him. He had seen them before, of course, but the panic at his transformation and apparent insanity had kept him from being concerned with them. Now, however, he shifted his unfamiliar body up and tucked his four legs underneath it so he could lean his head over and grasp the bags' cloth back strap in his mouth. Oh yeah, this is gonna be fun, he sarcastically mused, as he pulled the bags around until they were in front of him and then left them sitting upright on the ground. So what has other-me left for my enrichment? A portal gun? Atomic batteries? Muffins? He thought, as he studied one of the latches holding the bags closed, and then pondered how he was supposed to open it without fingers.

Hm, I always did like the idea that the hooves involve a bit of magic, the figure thought, and he reached forward with his right foreleg to press the tip of the hoof against the cloth strap. He imagined it holding on, and much to his relief, it did. The grip was weak, certainly nothing compared to the strength even a geek's fingers could exert, but it was strong enough that the pegasus figured it would work well enough for most daily uses, so long as he was gentle and patient. Well, myth confirmed. Thanks for the idea, CardsLafter; I'm sorry the other me is ripping you off, but I'm grateful for it.

Thus encouraged, the pegasus manipulated the latch on the bag open and then looked inside. He was mildly surprised to see that the container was mostly empty, holding only a smaller bag that looked suspiciously like a coin purse. He carefully dipped his head into the sack and grasped the top of the smaller bag with his teeth and then pulled it up. Its hefty weight and the glint of coinage when he opened it confirmed the theory, and the figure pulled the small bag open a bit more so he could poke the edge of his hoof in and nudge the coins around in order to get a count. Ten coins, but some with larger denominations, he thought as he counted the totals up. About twenty, it looks like. Is that a lot? I wonder what the inflation rate is here? Wait, isn't that about how much I had in my wallet when I went to bed? Is that Celestia's cutie mark? He bent his neck down further upon noticing the embellishment on the coins, and a closer examination showed that indeed, the mark he recognized from a certain show was upon one facing, and an equally familiar and royal mark sat on the other. Wasn't that in another fanfic I read? Great, other-me is just ripping off left and right now.

He sighed as he returned the coins to the purse and then closed and placed it back into the right side of the saddlebag set. The pegasus then turned his attention to the left hand – or would it be left hoof? And which left hoof? He mused – side and opened it up.

Inside sat two objects, both of which he was rather surprised to see. One was his hat, a large floppy design the inner label proclaimed a “HAT, SUN HOT WEATHER”, but he personally thought of as a “swamp hat”. He had purchased in an army surplus store during a trip to visit friends, and it held strong sentimental value because of that. Thus the primarily green digital camouflage was a familiar sight, and it steadied his nerves to have the favored headgear available. The pegasus quickly removed the hat from the bag and then spent a few moments wrestling it onto his head. His inarticulate fore hooves, mane, and the upthrust ears atop his head provided barriers, but soon enough the hat was perched carefully and steadily atop his head, his pony ears folding down until they were horizontal, underneath the brim. He then cinched the cloth strap hanging beneath his chin so that the hat would remain secure in even a strong wind, and then turned his attention to the other item in the saddlebag.

He found himself mildly confused at its appearance; it looked similar to an MP3 player, but it matched no design he could remember having seen. It also lacked earphones or buds that would allow a body to listen to it, and this perplexed the pensive pegasus even more. He looked around the inside of the saddlebag for a moment to see if it sported any pockets that could contain such an accoutrement, but detected nothing. A mystery for later, I think, he thought with a shrug, and then closed up the bags and secured their latches. Time to see what I can do.

On that thought, the pegasus focused his attention back to his own body. He took careful note of his limbs and position, and then slowly started to gather his hooves underneath him to push up. Gradually he started to rise, his muscles protesting at the drawn-out movement, but the male ignored the minor pain as he worked on keeping his balance. It proved rather easy to accomplish on all fours, and soon he was all the way up, providing a slightly better view of the area. Not that it helps much, the figure thought before he carefully started to move around. Much to his surprise, the alien feeling of his new body fell away rather quickly, almost as if the muscles and nerve endings were already conditioned to work in a quadrupedal body. A sudden thought entered his mind, and the pony shuddered at what it implied. Oh God, please don't let me have displaced some other soul from his body, he thought, shifting worriedly on his hooves. After a moment the fear died down, and his reason once again prevailed, reminding him of the items he'd found. The hat is yours, and you have about as much real money as you did last night. And I doubt an MP3 player would be on a pegasus. So just calm down, relax, and try not to freak out.

With that thought, the new pony took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves before he resumed moving around to get the feel of his new body. Over the next fifteen minutes he walked, cantered, galloped, and ran while turning around to stay in the small clearing and clear of the marsh off to one side. Well, that was easy enough, the pegasus thought, as he stopped near his bags to catch his breath. I'm hardly even winded. At least if I have to go through with any of this I won't have to be wheezing like a fatty. He felt buoyed by this idea, and he smiled a bit as he bent his head down to grab the bags. Now let's see how well I can get these things on by myself without hands.

His first thought was to simply turn and try to place the bags on his back, and he started to do precisely this when he caught sight of a break in his green coat. Oh, hey, I even got one of those, he thought as he moved his rear leg out a bit to get a better look at the cutie mark adorning his side. It was a bit more complex than most he remembered from the show, consisting of an open book, while the book itself was superimposed over an upturned sword so that only the hilt and the top of the blade were visible from behind the rest of the mark.

What the Hell does that mean? The stallion thought, furrowing his brows. I guess the book means writing, but the sword? My obsession with military stuff? Is that even a talent? He snorted at the thought and mentally shrugged off the mark's meaning for the moment. Ah, it can wait. Right now I need to get these things on and then head for the closest town. Which is almost certainly Ponyville, given the trope I'm in. He stifled a sigh at the thought, and instead went back to working with the saddlebags he still held in his mouth.

It took several more minutes of work to finally seat the bags properly, the difficulty of lacking hands compounded by the unfamiliarity of his body's form and the lack of correct methodology. He nevertheless persevered, and soon enough had the bags secured along his back, nestled just abaft his wings. There, I hope those stay in place, he thought. The last thing I need is to have to do this again, or having them bump into the wings.

At that thought the stallion realized he had forgotten about the extra set of appendages, and seeing nothing else pressing at the moment, he focused his kinesthetic sense towards the limbs. Not having had any in his previous body, the new pony found it hard to get a mental hold on the muscles that laid within.

A memory hit him just then, and the pegasus smiled a bit as he started to fill in the missing sensory information with his own overactive imagination. He was only half surprised when the limbs attached to his sides twitched, and his smile spread into a full grin as the movement was enough for his brain to get a hold of the nerves. He started to send conscious commands back along the same pathways to make the wings twitch more, allowing him more familiarity with the sensations and feedback from the alien appendages. Soon he felt confident enough to spread them, and he did so slowly in order to avoid spraining something should he do it wrong.

It took nearly a minute, but the stallion was looking back at his wings with a curious feeling he couldn't quite pin down. These things are a bit big, ain't they? He wondered, noting that the wings seemed larger than the renditions he'd seen on the show. Meh, maybe it's just the difference between watching the animation and actually being here? Maybe all of their wings are larger here? He shrugged his shoulders, noting that his wings shifted with the motion. Ah well, another trivial tidbit, he thought as he folded the wings back up, again moving slowly to make sure there were no problems.

His thoughts shifted back to his situation as the novelty of the new limbs was put aside. I should be on my way before daylight fades, the stallion reasoned, taking a look up at the daylit sky to see where the sun was, and soon found it to be rather high in its arc. So it's around noon then, which means that I have about half a day left. Now... which way to go? A glance around the edge of the clearing revealed some more details, including several openings that looked to be game trails. He briefly wondered if he should try flying up to get his bearings, but decided against it since he had no idea how to fly even a mechanical aircraft, let alone with actual flesh and blood wings. Out in the wilderness is no place to try out new and possibly dangerous travel techniques.

A sound of something snapping reached his ears just then, and the figure froze briefly before whipping his head around to look about the clearing. He saw nothing out of the ordinary, but something in his gut started to scream that he was being watched. Crap. It figures I'd be in the Everfree Forest; the trees are a dead giveaway. Why didn't I notice that sooner? What the frell is out there? His thoughts raced on multiple tracks as his eyes made another scan of the area, and the pegasus finally decided that discretion was the better part of valor as he slowly turned and trotted towards a trail that he thought led west.

Another noise, this one of a large body moving through the brush followed by a ground-shaking thump, caught his attention. The stallion paused briefly to glance back and saw that a manticore had leaped into the clearing from a hiding spot in the trees. Had he not moved off when he did, the beast would have surely taken him in its pounce, though the grace was minimal as the huge leonine creature was only a few meters away.

Not that the stallion stayed to measure the distance. The sight of the manticore was enough to trigger his survival response, and he turned and ran off at full speed along the path he'd chosen while the burly predator roared and then gave chase.

His choice proved to be fortuitous, as the narrow trail was barely wide enough for the pegasus, which left the wide-framed beast hunting him to bulldoze its way through the underbrush lining the path, slowing it down. The pony didn't pause to think on this, though, as he was keenly focused on making sure he didn't stumble or run into anything. On this went for a period of time that he would later swore lasted an eternity and a half, but soon enough the trail lead to another, larger path that was almost wide enough to be called a road.

The pegasus paused in his headlong dash, knowing he had gained ground on the manticore. He took a look around and then cursed softly to himself as he saw that there were no other small game trails nearby, and the wide path he stood on would easily accommodate the ravening beast hot on his tail. Maybe I can outrun him on a straightaway, the figure thought as he arbitrarily took a left along the main path and then bolted off, pushing himself to a not inconsiderable ground speed.

He was hundred yards away when the manticore burst through the last of the underbrush and stopped to gain its bearings. The stallion glanced back and felt a bit of relief at seeing the distance, hoping that it would prove too much for the beast to overcome. This hope was dashed in an instant, however, when the manticore spotted him and then set off in a gait that belied its size. The pony's lead slowly eroded, and soon he was feeling panic rise as he could hear the beast only a few yards behind him.

Okay, I'm screwed, the pegasus thought, as he took a turn in the path as hard as he could, his hooves digging into the loamy soil. The manticore barely slowed as it used its cat-like agility to easily handle the corner, and it roared as it finally got close enough to take another leap at its prey.

The pony had glanced back at the noise, and upon seeing the manticore flying through the air at him, his instincts kicked on full throttle. He jumped into the air and unfurled his wings in a heartbeat and then slammed the limbs down hard, propelling him forward and upward just a hair's breadth ahead of the manticore's claws, leaving the beast to yelp in surprise and pain as it missed its target and instead slammed into the soft dirt of the trail.

Several moments passed before the pegasus realized what had happened, and he glanced to his back in shock to see that his wings were working almost on their own. As he became aware of them, though, whatever automatic instinct that had been working in his head shut down, and he yelped as suddenly the limbs went limp and he started to drop. Okay, flap! Flap flap flap flap flap! He mentally screamed at himself, and soon enough his wings were obeying the urgent commands. After a few moments, the figure calmed down and then laughed a bit as he extended his wings wide and just glided a bit to keep from tiring the muscles. Jumpin' jackrabbit on a bicycle, I'm doing it, I'm flying! He thought, feeling giddy as the adrenalin started to wear off. I guess the drivers were pre-installed on the hardware, all I needed to do was find them, he mused with a chuckle.

The mirth died as he heard a now-familiar roar behind him, and the pegasus glanced back again to see that the fearsome manticore had taken to the air as well. It rode on large, bat-like wings that extended from its forelegs and sides on long boney spars. Even as the green pony looked on, the beast pumped its wings and started to gain speed.

“Oh, come on!” The pony shouted, and then turned his head back forward so he could see where he was going. The ground was a bit undefined to his eyes due to his unfamiliarity with flight and observing landmarks from above, but he could see the clouds in the air well enough. He spied one gray-bottomed cumulus that seemed especially close, if at a higher altitude. Maybe I can lose him if I fly through that, the pegasus thought, and he pumped his wings harder as he angled upwards. However, turning to head for the cloud proved to be an issue, namely because he wasn't sure how he was supposed to do it. Come on, isn't there a tutorial or something? He flippantly thought in brief annoyance. How do pegasi turn? He admitted he didn't quite know, but after a second of thought he remembered that he did know how aircraft turned. Rudders and ailerons, he remembered, and then glanced backwards again. He ignored the gaining manticore and instead looked at his wings and brown tail to see if they could be of any help. None of the three limbs looked like they could do the things he wanted, however, but he resolved himself to try it anyway as he returned his head back to its forward and upright position. Right, let's see if imagination can help again. Okay, imagine just the tips of the wings, twisting ever so slightly...

His luck seemed to hold out as he felt the wings adjust to the mental commands, and the pegasus spared a quick grin as he turned and aligned with the cloud. The snarl coming from behind wiped the grin off of his muzzle and he quickly began to pump his wings again, pressing himself hard to keep ahead of the beast. His effort paid off and within moments he reached the cloud.

Unfortunately, he had forgotten that clouds and pegasi reacted differently to one another in this world, and instead of soaring through an insubstantial patch of condensate he found himself impacting on the bottom of the cumulus. The cloud acted like a soft pillow and arrested his momentum before it rebounded and tossed him down towards the ground. Even worse, the cloud had an electric charge that promptly zapped straight into his body as soon as he touched it, and the pegasus screamed in pain as the jolt knocked him senseless for a moment. Helpless, he fell downward, his outwardly splayed wings the only thing slowing his descent.

Clarity came back to the green pony soon enough as he felt a huge paw wrap around his rear legs, jerking him to a stop upside down in mid-air. His eyes snapped open and saw that the manticore had caught him, and was even now slathering its lips with a large tongue while it pumped its wings to remain hovering. Mindful of the chase its prey had given it, the beast simply decided to devour the pony then and there, and it swung its mouth wide open as it worked to raise its foreleg – difficult given that it had part of the wing attached but it managed – and then prepared to drop the pegasus into its maw.

The green stallion trembled as he felt fear start to overwhelm him. Yet just as he was about to surrender to the terror, a different emotion arose in defiant challenge; rage. No, he angrily thought, as adrenalin surged through him once again, bringing new strength. The terror evaporated before the heat of the anger he felt towards the beast that held him, that dared to want his life, and the pony's eyes narrowed as he was brought closer to the manticore's maw. No I am not going to go down that easily! With this thought, he twisted his torso in a human-like manner and cocked back his right foreleg as he brought the hoof up and aimed it.

The manticore paused in raising its prey up as it felt the prey in its paw start to shift, and it turned its attention to the green pony briefly before the pegasus let loose with his punch. A war scream erupted from the stallion's throat as he slammed the hoof forward and into the tip of the manticore's nose, his mind recording it in the slow motion of an adrenalin rush, and he felt grim satisfaction upon hearing and feeling cartilage snap from the blow.

A scream of pain and shock from the beast nearly deafened the pegasus, though he found that the least of his problems as he was suddenly falling again after being reflexively released. Time still seemed sluggish to him, however, and so the green pony found it easy enough to twist his body and spread his wings wide. He felt them bite into the air and then quickly turned them up, changing his angle of attack so that he pulled out of his dive. Part of him wanted to resume running, but the rage in his heart demanded something more, and he continued his maneuver until he was climbing again, heading almost straight up towards the manticore as it hovered, oblivious to its prey's movements. The pegasus grimaced in feral glee at this as he pumped his wings to gain speed, and he held both forelegs up and in front of him as he aimed his body towards his target.

Hooves impacted on soft, tender, sensitive flesh a split second later. The pegasus felt tissue rupture and tear even through his thick hooves, and he felt a bout of sympathy for the manticore while he rebounded from the impact zone. The sympathy died quickly enough as the beast's reflexes made it kick out its rear legs to defend itself, and a massive claw on one of the paws caught the green pony across his chest. He screamed in pain at this, though the sound was lost amid the horrible screeching coming from the manticore itself as it fell from the sky, completely out of control.

The pegasus spread his wings out and brought himself into a hover, though this time the effort of flapping them caused a throbbing, searing pain in his chest. He glanced down and saw a ragged cut across his front and realized that the claw must have grazed or even torn some of his flight muscles. That will make it harder to fly, he thought, and the idea of something so wonderful tarnished by the injury only stoked his rage and anger back to where it had been a few moments prior.

A groan of pain came from below, and the stallion's eyes narrowed again as his gaze was drawn to the wounded manticore lying a hundred feet below in the small clearing it had crashed in. “Oh, I'm not done with you motherfucker!” The pegasus bellowed just before he pushed himself into a dive and aimed for the leonine creature. Just before he hit, the stallion folded his wings in tight and then shifted his body so that all four of his hooves would impact at the same time, and bone crunched loudly as the pegasus landed on the manticore's rib cage.

The beast roared in pain, though it was relatively quiet as most of the air had been forced out of its lungs, leaving it unable to move much. The shock of the impact also shook up the attacking pony as well, however, and he rolled off of the beast and flopped to the ground for a moment, too stunned to move. He came back to his senses a split second later, however, when one of the manticore's flailing limbs managed to connect, and the pegasus felt new pain erupt on his face and neck as the clawed paw slapped him away, sending the pony on a short ballistic flight.

The stallion yelped and groaned in pain as he landed, and he took a moment to collect himself before he struggled back to his hooves. He could feel the hot, wet stickiness of blood pouring from his multiple wounds, but he ignore the sensation as he turned to look at the writhing manticore only a few feet away. The beast continued to cry out and moan in pain, and again the pegasus felt a strain of sympathy rise up within him. All the damage I did, and the fall... He ain't getting up again. The thought went through his mind like a ringing bell, and for a moment he wondered what he should do about it. His intellect, having been shoved aside for most of the battle, finally came to the fore and reminded him what he had to do. Mercy and need wrapped up in one, the pegasus thought, as he spied a particularly large rock nearby, before he limped over to it while favoring his right rear leg. Must've landed harder than I thought, the pony darkly mused as he forced himself to stand on his hind legs despite the pain. At a thought his wings snapped out and back to act as a counterbalance, and he quickly knelt down briefly to hoist the stone into the air using only his forelegs.

The stallion grunted and nearly screamed in pain at the stress the heavy stone put on his injured body, but he ignored it as he walked on his rear legs to the manticore's head. The beast had started to go into shock and so was not wildly flailing at the moment, but it snarled and snapped at the pony as he came close.

“You made a big mistake, buddy,” the pegasus grunted, as he lifted the rock above his head. “You never, ever fuck with a human!” And with that, he brought the stone down atop the manticore's head.

A loud crunch and the sudden stilling of the predator's body told the pegasus that the deed was done, and he quickly dropped back to all fours. Okay, now I... need to... His thoughts started to run ragged as the adrenalin left his system, and the pain in his body, especially his chest and face, returned to the fore of his consciousness. “Oh God, that hurts,” he mumbled before he fell to the ground and everything went black.

Chapter 2 - In Which the Suckage Increases

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He awakened slowly, his brain still too fatigued for a rapid rise to consciousness. Gradually, he willed himself awake and then opened his eyes to take in the area around him, though his mind was still sluggish and for a time he did not comprehend what he saw.

Fortunately the sensory information kickstarted the synapses in his brain, and the pegasus blinked a few times as his mind finally slipped into figurative gear. He greedily drank in the details of the room, noting its walls of warm, light rose and the other, empty beds that stood in a row with the one he rested upon. A few paintings and other subtle, cheerful decorations adorned a spot or two on the walls, and one large window in the middle of the far wall let in brilliant sunlight, while a set of double doors sat at the far end of the room.

Where am I? The stallion thought as he brought his head up and looked around some more to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He also checked to see if he was still a pony, of course, and he snorted as this was the case. I guess I'm in a hospital, he mused as he looked over himself and saw bandages over the wound on his chest and wrapped around his right rear ankle. He could feel smaller such dressings on his face and neck, and his memory reminded him of the swipe he'd taken to the head.

So how did I get here? He asked himself, turning his attention inward. His memory offered up brief flashes of sight and sound recorded during momentary lapses of his stupor, and the stallion realized that someone had found and carried him off. Two someones, I think, he realized as precious few more details became clear from the memories.

The doors leading out of the ward opened then, and the pegasus froze in surprise as he saw a male unicorn walk through, a clipboard of some sort levitated before him and a pair of thin saddlebags at his sides. Well, if I had any doubts of being in ponydom before, they're gone now, the green stallion thought as the other pony looked up and stopped in surprise.

“Well, look who's up,” the unicorn said in a friendly manner as he resumed walking forward, a smile now on his face. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I've been hit by a bus,” the pegasus replied in a mumble. “Where am I?”

“Ponyville Medical Clinic,” the unicorn replied as he turned his attention to the chart he levitated. The pegasus grimaced and then closed his eyes as he silently screamed at the author. You are a scheming double-dealing dirtbag, you fat-arsed son of a-

The unicorn said something, interrupting the pegasus' train of thought. “I beg your pardon?” The latter asked as he blinked his eyes in surprise.

“I said my name is Doctor Light Suture,” the tan unicorn repeated himself. “I treated your wounds when you were brought in. You are quite lucky, if the mares who found you are to be believed.”

“Lucky?” The pegasus asked. Mares? Who?

“Yes. A mail pony was apparently taking a shortcut across the Everfree Forest when she saw you trying to escape a manticore. She flew and got help but you had apparently finished the fight by the time they returned.” The unicorn lowered the chart and then gave the pegasus a long look. “I've seldom heard of anypony escaping a manticore attack by his lonesome. And I don't think I've ever recalled hearing of such an attack ending with the death of the manticore.”

The green stallion blushed and then turned his head to the side. “I just did what I had to do,” he said, and then returned his gaze to the doctor. “So, how bad is it?”

“As I said, you were lucky,” Suture replied, glancing to the clipboard. “The laceration over your chest didn't sever any muscles, though it tore a few. Fortunately some mending spells have kept the damage from being permanent. The cuts on your face and neck were shallow and will heal nicely, and your ankle was only sprained.” He lowered the clipboard and then placed it on a nearby end table, and the pegasus finally realized that a light tan glow had been enveloping the object when that aura finally disappeared. “All in all, you're in good shape, though I would like to ask you a few questions about some issues I've found.”

“Issues?” The pegasus asked, sounding shocked. “Like what?” Is my pancreas a piece of crap here, too?

Suture turned his head back and then used his telekinesis to open one of the bags at his side and remove several sheets of film. “We took some x-rays to make sure nothing was broken, and we found some oddities,” he said, and then levitated the pictures up so the pegasus could see them. They were dark, of course, but after a moment Suture scrunched his face up slightly and all three pieces of film lit up as if from within. “This first one shows your wing structure, which is normal if excessive for a pegasus. Your span exceeds the national average by thirty percent, and I wanted to make sure this wasn't an effect of some rogue magic in the Everfree.”

The pegasus looked at the picture for a moment, completely at a loss of what to say for a moment. “I don't believe so,” he finally said, shrugging his shoulders as he looked back at the unicorn.

Suture raised an eyebrow at the noncommittal response. “You're not sure?” He asked, questioningly.

“Well, I kinda don't remember much from before the fight,” the pegasus lied. Yes doctor, I'm not sure because I was born a partially-hairless semi-aquatic ape in another reality and didn't have wings before so I don't know how they got that way. Like I'm really going to say that without proof! “I think the manticore knocked me on the head pretty good.”

“Hmm,” Suture hummed to himself as he lifted the clipboard back up with his magic and then read through the paperwork there. “I didn't see any indications of a concussion during diagnosis or treatment,” he said, and then fell silent for a moment as if in thought. Finally, he shrugged and then set the board down again. “But I suppose a mild one might be missed. How much do you remember? Your name, for instance? Your home town?”

The pegasus froze up again as these questions brought him to the unfortunate realities of his transplantation. Crap, what do I call myself? Where do I say I'm from? How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? The last question came from his flippant side, and while superfluous it nevertheless reminded him that too much woolgathering was not going to be helpful. Finally, he just sighed and then shook his head. “I can't really remember my name right now,” he said, lowering his gaze in mock embarrassment. Suddenly, inspiration hit, and the pegasus looked back up. “I do remember I'm from the Flower Peninsula, though,” he said, hoping that his guess was accurate.

“Ah, you're quite a ways from home, then,” Suture said, somewhat friendlily. The doctor's light tone evaporated quickly, however, as he sighed and took out a tiny pen light from his saddlebags, which impressed the pegasus given all the other magical work he was doing already. “Can you keep your eyes open for me? I need to check your pupil response.”

“Sure, doc,” the green stallion replied, opening his eyes as wide as they could go. The light quickly flashed in both pupils, and the pegasus felt a small sense of pride that he only felt his eyes tear up at the temporary abuse instead of the eyelids snapping closed.

“Well, those look normal,” Suture said as he turned the light off and then returned it to its place in his bags. “I admit I'm a bit flummoxed. You shouldn't have any memory problems at all.”

The pegasus shrugged again as he maintained a calm exterior. Inside, though, his mind was racing as he sought ways to keep his secret. “Maybe that rogue magic you mentioned?” He suggested, hoping that the new track might work.

“Possibly,” Suture allowed, and then shrugged himself. “I did find a bit of unusual background magic in you during the preliminary medical scans, though it seemed dormant then, as it does now,” he said, and then again picked up the clipboard to glance through its contents. “I don't think it should be affecting your memory, but then again I went into medicine, not advanced magical studies. I may have to get help from the town librarian for this...”

The pegasus felt his eyes bulge at that as a surge of panic briefly raced through his mind. “Er, maybe my memories will come back in time?” He asked, trying to sound hopeful. “I mean, I just now remembered where I was from. I'm pretty sure it'll all come back to me.”

Suture grunted at that. “Perhaps,” he said, and then looked over the pegasus again before glancing back at the x-ray exposures that were still hovering in mid-air. “Let's see if we can jog it loose, then. Do you remember anything about your body structure?”

“Er, not really,” the green stallion responded. “Why, what's wrong?”

Suture sighed at the question. “Again, it's not so much something is wrong, just unusual,” he replied, and then moved the middle picture a bit closer to the pegasus. “Your bones show a greater density and size than most pegasi have. In addition your musculature is rather hefty for one of your breed, and you're taller than average by a fair margin. Frankly, your build is closer to that of an earth pony than a pegasus.”

The green pony frowned as he absorbed this information. “I don't know what to say, doctor,” he said, after a moment of thought. “I just can't remember a thing about it.”

Suture looked frustrated at the answer, but he kept any such feeling out of his voice as he continued, floating the last picture forward. “Finally, your teeth appear to have been damaged. It looks as if several of your incisors have had part of their tops chipped away, yet the pattern is so regular and symmetrical that it looks natural.”

The green pegasus furrowed his brows as he looked over the picture, trying to make sense of the new structure of his head. Fortunately the teeth were the focus of this picture, and he clearly made out the full set. Everything looks fine. He said incisors? They look okay, so do the molars and canines-

His mind froze as he finally realized what had perplexed the good doctor. Canines are meat-eaters' teeth. Ponies don't eat meat. But I have canines, still. He moved his tongue around his mouth to double check, and he found that the sharp teeth were indeed there, and that the teeth next to them had the usual shapes that assisted in tearing flesh.

“Are you alright?” Suture inquired, and the pegasus started a bit as he realized he'd been silent for a time.

“Yes, I'm okay,” the green pony replied, a story forming in his head. “That actually does bring a memory back: it's a congenital defect.”

“Really?” The tan unicorn asked, frowning a bit in disbelief. “I don't recall anything like this from my schooling.”

“Well, it kinda runs in the family,” the pegasus replied with a shrug. That's not even a lie. “It doesn't keep us from eating or having a decent life, just looks strange. I don't know what else to tell you about it, it just is.”

“I see,” Suture said, his voice revealing that he didn't quite accept the explanation so readily. Nevertheless, he gave his head a shake and then returned the x-ray pictures back to his bags. “Well, as I said they are more anomalies than real medical issues. Aside from your injuries, you're in perfect health for a young adult pegasus. I was originally going to have you released this afternoon, but I think I'd rather keep you here for observation if the memory loss is that significant.”

Crap, the pegasus thought, and he let his face display his feelings. “I don't think I care for that idea, doctor.” Mainly because I don't want to be in this town longer than I have to, he thought. I just know if I stay here something bad is going to happen, if not to me then to the town or its inhabitants. At the very least I fully intend to spoil the fun of the fat idiot writing this slop.

“I cannot just let you go if you don't even remember your own name,” Suture countered. “At the very least I'd want the librarian come here and give you a once over. She's quite experienced in advanced magical theory and would be able to make sure that nothing uncontrolled is at work here.”

The pegasus frowned deeper at that, and he shook his head slowly. “Doctor Suture, I do appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. Really,” he added, and then emphasized this by shifting his body to climb off of the bed. He set his hooves down on the floor quickly, though he paused to wince as his right rear hoof throbbed in pain. “Okay, maybe I'm a little sore here and there. But like you said, I'm fine,” he said, as the unicorn gave him a concerned look. “I just really want to get out.”

“Even though you have memory problems?” Suture asked, disbelievingly.

“I'm sure it'll all come back,” the pegasus replied, looking firmly into the other pony's eyes.

A moment of silence stretched out between the two before Suture shifted on his hooves so he could lean to the side a bit. “You're not behaving like a fellow who's lost his memory,” he flatly stated. “You're not worried or concerned or visibly struggling to get your mind working right. Rather, you're behaving like somepony who has something to hide.”

I always did suck at acting, the pegasus thought, as his face twisted into a look of frustration. After a moment, he closed his eyes and sighed. “Look, doctor, I do appreciate that you're concerned,” he said, his voice calm as he opened his eyes again. “But I just can't talk about it.” Because you'll either throw me in the pony equivalent of the looney bin or turn me over to the government goons, he mentally added. I don't care how nice the place looks on TV, I'm not trusting my survival to merely a perceived lack of xenophobia.

“Are you in trouble with the law, son?” Suture asked, a concerned look on his face.

“What!” The pegasus blurted, his expression turned incredulous. “No, of course not! I swear to God I ain't done a thing wrong!”

“Okay, okay, calm down,” the unicorn said, raising a hoof to make an placating gesture. “I just wanted to make sure. Ponyville doesn't need that sort of trouble here.”

“Yeah, just ursa minors and rampaging dragons,” the green stallion said with a snort. He then froze as he realized what he had said. Crap on a sandwich.

Suture, though, just sighed at that and shook his head slowly. “I see we're becoming rather infamous even down where you're from,” he muttered dejectedly, with a glance to the side.

“Only a bit,” the pegasus replied, giving the unicorn a small smile to show some sympathy, as well as to let loose some of the relief he felt at not having tripped over his meta knowledge. Dang law question got me distracted. I'm going to have to work on keeping my head clear to keep from doing that again. “But you know Flor- the Flower Peninsula has its share of crazies, too. Lord knows the news services refuse to let that go.”

Suture blinked and turned to look at his patient again. “Who knows?” He asked, curious.

Oh crap, I did it again, the pegasus thought, fighting hard not to bite his lip in panic. I can't lie about this, I just can't. He took in a deep breath as he thought quickly. “The Lord God, creator of the universe, and all souls that live within,” he said slowly, cautiously picking his way forward. Multiverse now, but one concept at a time. “It is my faith.”

The tan unicorn gave the green pegasus a confused look for a few moments, but soon shook his head a bit to get some of his gray locks away from his face. “That's a new one on me,” he said, and then shrugged. “Anyway, we're getting off topic. From your reaction to my question and your blatantly poor acting from earlier, I can tell you're rather truthful about not being on the lam,” Suture continued, though he kept a frown on his face. “I suppose if you really don't want to talk about your past, I can't force you. And since you really don't have any memory problems – that is, if you were indeed making it all up?” He waited patiently while the pegasus nodded. “Then I believe I can release you after all.”

The green pony sighed with relief at that. “Thank you, doctor Suture,” he said, a more relaxed tone riding on his words. “I'm sorry I lied to you, but I like my privacy undisturbed.”

“I suppose so,” the unicorn allowed. “However, it will be a while before you can go. I want you to at least spend the rest of the day here and off of that ankle to give yourself some more time to heal,” he added, his voice and expression brooking no argument. He glanced to a clock hanging on the wall as he continued to speak. “It's about half past nine, and the healing potions should be finished mending your wounds by five in the afternoon. Until then, I want you on that bed and keeping your weight off of that ankle.”

“Nine thirty in the morning?” the pegasus asked, surprised. “How long have I been here?”

“Your rescuers brought you in yesterday a little after three in the afternoon,” Suture replied. “You've been out since then, at least. I was actually coming in to rouse you if you hadn't awakened already.”

“I see,” the green pony said. “Well, I guess I should get back into bed, eh?”

“I would prefer that,” Suture stated heavily. The pegasus gave him a sheepish little smile and then turned and pulled himself back onto the furnishing he'd been resting on. “Good,” the unicorn said with a nod. “And just one more thing: I know you like your privacy, but I'll at least need your name, if only for my records.”

The pegasus nodded at that as he thought hard for a moment. So what do I call myself here? He thought, and then pondered on his appearance. Dark green coat, dark brown tail and – I presume – mane. Odd cutie mark, large wings, probably good strength, at least for a pegasus... He noticed the doctor giving him another odd look, and so the pegasus sighed as a name popped into his head. Well, I do loves my Metal. “Call me Thunderbird, doctor,” he said, and then raised a hoof up and gently thrust it towards the other pony.

Suture nodded as he brought up his own hoof and shook the proffered limb. “Thunderbird, nice to meet you,” he said as they broke the gesture. “A bit of an uncommon name, there. I suppose you were named for the creatures that live beyond the Dragonlands?”

“Something like that,” Thunderbird answered, with a soft smile. “It fits, though, since I like to wander.”

“I see,” Suture replied. “Well then, Thunderbird, I'm sure you're famished so I'll have the nurse bring you some breakfast,” he said, and then chuckled when the pegasus' stomach rumbled slightly, causing Thunderbird to blush a bit. “I've got other work to attend to myself. I'll check back on you later, but for now, I do really mean it that you need to stay off of that hoof for the day.”

“I will, doctor,” Thunderbird replied with a smile. “Thanks for your help.”

“Anytime, sir, anytime,” Suture said as he turned and walked off.

Chapter 3 - I Am a Sick, Sick Man

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The day passed slowly for the green pegasus, having as he did very little to do and nothing to entertain his mind. He tried to relax and fall asleep but a strong aversion to napping had been part of his personality for years, and despite the changeover into pony form he retained that dislike of interrupting his conscious time with something as unproductive as slumber. Not that I'm being productive now, the newly self-named Thunderbird thought, with a sigh. Rather to the contrary, I think I've nearly driven myself mad. Well, madder. Slightly... Okay, I was bat-chucking insane before, and now I've just amped it up a tad bit, happy?

He grumbled at that. Of course I'm not happy. I've never liked my insanity nor these ridiculous internal dialogues.

Yet you keep indulging in them, don't you?

Yes. What was that line from Braveheart? 'In order to find his equal an Irishman is forced to talk with God?'

You ain't God.

No sheet, Sherlock. I'm not Irish, either.

You're descended from Irish.

And Norwegians and Magyar. But what I was referring to was the fact that without anyone else to talk to I am forced to talk to myself.

They say that's only a problem when you not only answer, but argue with yourself. And how often do you do that? Aside from now, that is.

I'll have you know the arguments I have with myself and the characters living in my head are entirely safe, sane, and not at all revolve around ponies.

I never said anything about ponies.

...Blast. Confound you, woman!

I'm not a woman, I'm a duck.

The sound of the door opening distracted Thunderbird from his increasingly silly internal dialogue, and he raised his head off of the bed to see nurse Redheart walk into the ward. The white earth pony politely smiled at him as she approached the bedside. “Hello, Thunderbird, how are you feeling?”

“Better,” the pegasus replied. “Ankle definitely hurts a lot less, now.”

“I'm glad to hear it,” Redheart said as she bent her head down to read the chart doctor Suture had hung on Thunderbird's bed after lunch. “The doctor will be by in an hour to give you a final once-over before releasing you, but I don't think there will be any issues,” she added as she brought her head back up to face the green pegasus. “Aside from that, you have a visitor and I wanted to make sure you felt like receiving one before I let her in.”

“A visitor?” Thunderbird asked, his expression showing confusion. “Who? I don't know anyone here.”

Redheart suppressed the urge to raise an eyebrow at the other pony's odd word use as she gave him another polite smile. “One of the mares who brought you in wanted to make sure you're okay and speak with you, if that's alright?”

Thunderbird blinked at that, and he took a moment to think. Soon enough, however, he nodded. “I don't see why not,” he said. Besides, if I'm going to be stuck here then I should really be nice to these ponies. No need to ostracize myself right off the bat by being a jerk.

“Good, I'll go let her in,” Redheart said, before she turned and walked back out of the room. Thunderbird lied on the bed and quietly wondered who it would be while he waited. He didn't have long to speculate before the doors opened again and Redheart returned with a gray, blonde-maned, walleyed pegasus in tow.

Sweet snicker-snack, it's Derpy! The stallion thought, and then immediately chastised himself for using the derisive nickname. Ditzy Doo. Use Ditzy Doo. Like Scooby Doo. I wonder if there's a connection there?

“Mister Thunderbird,” Redheart said as she and the gray pegasus drew close. “May I present miss Ditzy Doo, Ponyville's best mail carrier and one of the two mares who found you yesterday.”

Ditzy blushed at the description. “Please, miss Redheart, you flatter me too much,” she said, her voice betraying a faint Estuary accent. She then turned her attention to the stallion lying on the bed. “I'm glad to meet you, sir.”

Sweet mother of pi, she's English! Thunderbird just sat there in shock for a moment as this ran through his head. Doctor Whoof fans would wet themselves in joy if they could hear her now!

“Mister Thunderbird?” Redheart asked, startling the green pegasus out of his reverie. “You seemed out of it for a moment. Are you all right?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry, I was just woolgathering a bit,” Thunderbird answered sheepishly, and then turned to Ditzy. “It's a pleasure to meet you, miss Doo. I understand I have you to thank for my rescue.”

“Oh, not just myself,” Ditzy replied with a smile. “I did get some help from miss Fluttershy when I- I say, are you alright?” She asked upon seeing the green pegasus tense up.

“Er, yes, I'm fine,” Thunderbird replied, closing his eyes briefly as he struggled to get his thoughts and emotions under control. Dammit, not Fluttershy! She would've seen the dead manticore and oh God oh God she would feel so bad and now I feel bad and dammit! “I just was thinking of something that popped into my head,” he continued and opened his eyes.

“Well, I'll let you two talk then,” nurse Redheart interjected into the brief pause in the conversation. “You can stay until five, miss Doo.”

“Thank you, nurse,” the gray pegasus replied. Redheart nodded and then turned and walked off, heading for the doors while Ditzy returned her attention to the stallion. “So, how are you healing up?” She asked, curious.

“Quite well, thank you,” Thunderbird replied, as he managed a smile. “Doctor Suture mentioned that there might be some scarring on my chest, but I don't mind that. A scar just shows you were stupid enough to try something, and lucky enough to survive it.”

Ditzy laughed at that. “I've heard similar in my time,” she said, and then looked around casually. Her manner shifted a bit as she saw that Redheart had left the room and closed the doors behind her, and the gray pegasus turned her suddenly straight gaze back to the stallion on the bed. “Probably from the same place you did.”

Thunderbird noted the change in her demeanor, and he raised an eyebrow in response. “You'll pardon me, miss, if I say I find that unlikely.”

“As unlikely as a human being put into Equestria and turned into a pony?” Ditzy asked, her voice utterly serious.

Thunderbird froze again at the question, his eyes going wide for a moment. Soon enough they narrowed, and he looked over the other pegasus intently. “And how the Hell do you know that?” He asked, his voice low.

“I lied just a bit about when I came upon your battle,” Ditzy replied, blushing slightly though her tone remained serious. “I saw you land the final blow and then went to get help to carry you. But more importantly, I heard what you said just before you dropped the rock. The hat you wore was also a strong hint, as well.”

“I see,” the green pegasus said, his voice soft. His gaze swept around the room once before he stared intently into the mare's yellow eyes. “Are humans common knowledge here, then?”

“Hardly,” Ditzy scoffed. “Quite unknown, in fact.”

“Then how do you know about us?” Thunderbird pressed.

Ditzy raised her eyebrow at the stallion as she replied. “It's a long story, and I'm not comfortable sharing it here,” she said, and then glanced behind her to make sure the nurse hadn't returned. “It should suffice to say, however, that I do know a bit about your birth race, and even the fact that in some realities parts of Equestria are showcased on the telly.”

“Hmm,” Thunderbird hummed, and then fell silent as he thought for a moment. “I find your ideas intriguing, and wish to subscribe to your newsletter,” he finally said, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Ditzy laughed at the joke. “A funny pony, I see,” she said, and then nodded to the stallion. “And rational enough not to launch into hysterics or violence, too.”

“Oh there's time for those later if I feel like it,” Thunderbird replied with a smile. It faded quickly, however. “But seriously, I'm not here to cause trouble. Hell, I don't even know why I'm here, other than the idea that this is a very, very bad fanfiction.”

“Oh dear,” Ditzy sighed. “That could be unpleasant. Self-insertion of some sort, I take it?”

“Only the worst from other-me,” Thunderbird replied with a huff. “If that is the case and Pantheistic Solipsism holds true to Heinlein's postulation.”

“Ugh,” Ditzy said, bringing a hoof up to press against her face. “You would have to be a fan of his.”

“Hey,” the green pegasus snapped. “He was a dang good author!”

“Who did more to weaken the Fourth Wall than every fanfiction crossover combined by enabling them to exist in the first place,” Ditzy retorted after lowering her hoof. “Good author or not, that makes him and any alternate you writing these events rather unpopular with me.”

Thunderbird had to think for a moment to work his way through the gray pegasus' sentence. Then he facehoofed himself. “We're getting so meta on this it's ridiculous.”

“Indeed,” Ditzy replied, and then sighed. “Alright, we can't affect the meta level, save by trying to raise the author's ire and him replying with unpleasantness.”

“And we don't want that,” Thunderbird interjected. “Because if he is another me, then his and my idea of dealing with uncooperative characters usually involves slapping them with self-hovering fish. Then it gets weird.”

Ditzy blinked a bit in surprise at this statement and then stared at the green stallion, who blushed. “I really like absurdist, surreal humor,” Thunderbird explained.

“Monty Python strikes again, I see,” Ditzy muttered, and then shook her head. “Right. Look, I've been in this situation before, so take my advice: just try to forget about the meta. You can't change it and it will only drive you crazy thinking about it.”

Thunderbird frowned at that, but he nevertheless nodded in agreement. “Fair enough. We'll put that aside for now, then,” he said. “So where does that leave us?”

Ditzy sighed again and took a moment to straighten her thoughts. “Well, doctor Suture said you were going to be released soon. Come by my house afterward and we can talk about things,” she explained, and then offered a small smile. “Despite my tautness, I really do want to help. 'Paying it forward' as the saying goes.”

“I see,” Thunderbird said. “I look forward to speaking further with you on this, miss Doo.”

“Likewise,” Ditzy replied. “To find my house, just take a left after leaving the clinic and then the last right before the street you're on dead-ends, then the next left onto a dirt path and follow that until it reaches my house on the outskirts of town. The path runs right up to my door so you can't miss it.

“As for now, I have an errand to run,” Ditzy continued. “So I shall take my leave of you.”

“Of course, miss,” Thunderbird replied, bowing his head towards the other pegasus. “Until later, then.”

* * * *

Later came, as it always does, and Thunderbird found himself discharged from the clinic with a clean bill of health and a quiet, if forceful, word from doctor Suture about 'staying out of trouble.' The green pegasus had been surprised, as well, by the fact that his bill had already been paid by Ditzy Doo, and this made him redouble his determination to speak with the much maligned mail mare again. I thought for sure I'd have to stay here and get a job to pay the tab. I hope I can do something to pay Ditzy back for the help.

He glanced around as he walked slowly, taking in the sights of the small town that had become so famous in some circles. Thunderbird saw none of the major sights, save the tops of the town hall and the unmistakable Sugarcube Corner in the distance, yet the quaint building style was familiar and the sight of the few ponies on the road in this part of town made the pegasus smile softly. Freakin' adorable things, ain't they? He asked himself.

Giant heads, huge eyes, and somewhat stubby limbs; all engineered to evoke the protective response one feels towards infants, a voice – his voice – answered him.

Oh, stop being so crass. They're cute and adorable and I just want to give them hugs.

God, could you be more of a woman?

Shut up. Men don't have to be copies of Duke Nukem, or Chuck Norris' characters. It's okay to like cute things.

The voice didn't answer him, which let Thunderbird return his attention to his walk and pony watching. It was during the turns at the latter that the stallion noted that he was getting some curious looks in return. Probably the hat, Thunderbird mused. He had been elated to find that the few possessions that had come through with him had been recovered by Ditzy and Fluttershy, albeit his hat's chin strap had been broken and the fabric torn. Maybe I can get that fixed, he thought, and then sighed as he realized what that meant in this town: Rarity. Well, I can do that. Just go in, ask for a repair, simple as that. No need for excessive interaction, quiaff?

Aff, star colonel, aff, Thunderbird replied to himself, a wan smile spread on his muzzle. But first, to Ditzy Doo I go! Hi ho, hi ho, to Ditzy Doo I go!

The terrible butchery of a song bounced his his head as he moved from a walk to a trot, and the distance melted away as Thunderbird followed the gray pegasus' directions. Soon he was moving out of Ponyville proper and heading along the indicated dirt path as it wound westward. He didn't have far to go, however, as Ditzy Doo's house was not far removed from town. Only a few hundred yards. Enough for a bit of extra privacy but not way the heck out there; the kind of house I'd own back home if I weren't poor, Thunderbird thought as he approached the two-story cottage. It was built rather mundanely and in accordance with the favored local style, though unlike most other homes the green pegasus saw that the mailmare had hung a sign on the outside, next to her door:

Ditzy Dew and Dinky.

716 White Sand Way

NO SOLICITORS

Thunderbird did a double-take as he read the sign. Ditzy DEW? All this time we've been misspelling her name? He facehoofed at that, and then sighed. So much for the Scooby connection. Hmm, 'The Scooby Connection.' Sounds like a pop alternative band. Heck, it probably is one.

He pushed aside the idle musing and moved the hoof from his face and brought it up to knock against the door. A muffled call of “one minute” answered him, and the stallion sat down on his haunches to wait patiently.

Ditzy Dew opened the door a moment later, her eyes spread in her classic 'derpy' look, though this evaporated into thin air once she saw who had knocked. “Ah, you're right on time,” she said, and then stepped back. “Please, come in.”

“Thank you, miss Dew,” Thunderbird said as he stood back up again and then walked into the cottage. Once into the foyer, he paused to take off his hat with a hoof and then pressed it into one of his saddlebags.

“Ah, a gentlestallion,” Ditzy observed with a smile as she closed the door and then trotted past her guest. “If you would, please leave your bags by the door and then come into my parlor. I have tea set up if you are so inclined?”

“Never had tea before,” Thunderbird said as he shimmied the saddlebags off of his back – not as hard to get used to these things as I thought – and then followed Ditzy into a room that was on the cozy side of 'small'. Two low-slung couches and a coffee table between them filled most of the available space, though there was also a small end table that held a variety of knick-knacks of indeterminate design. “But I'm always open to trying new things,” the green pegasus added as he sat down pony style on one couch after Ditzy waved him to it.

“Good to hear,” Ditzy said as she focused on the tea service sitting on the coffee table. Carefully, she bent her head down and grasped the handle of a teapot in her mouth before slowly pouring two cups. “Would you like sugar?” She asked, after she had set the pot back down and begun to reach for a covered bowl.

Thunderbird nodded. “Please. I'm afraid my American tastes would demand a bit of sweetness,” he said, smiling somewhat sheepishly.

“I thought that was where you were from,” Ditzy said in a conversational tone as she uncovered the bowl and then grasped a set of tongs in her teeth. She used them to pick out three cubes of sugar for her guest before picking a single one for herself, and then returned the items to their proper settings. “I've been there a few times. Well, some version of there.”

“Oh?” Thunderbird asked as the gray pegasus sat down. “You surprise me yet again, miss Dew. I didn't think inter-dimensional travel was so easy,” he added as he reached for his teacup and a spoon, careful to make sure his hooves could actually pick up and hold the devices.

“Not for most ponies, it isn't,” Ditzy replied as she picked up her own cup and then took a careful sip. “But as I'm sure you've noted by now, I'm not like most ponies.”

“That would be an understatement of English proportions,” Thunderbird observed, and then took a cautious sip from his cup. “Mm, not bad,” he said, setting the cup down.

“Thank you, it's my personal blend,” Ditzy said as she shifted in the couch to get comfortable. “Well then, I believe it's time to explain myself,” she added. “It's a bit of a story, but I should really start at the beginning for you to understand it well.”

Thunderbird nodded to his hostess. “I don't exactly have anywhere else to be,” he friendlily said with a smile.

Ditzy smiled back before she looked off to the side to gather her thoughts. “It started, really, when I was a young filly,” she said, returning her gaze to the stallion sitting across from her. “I would see things that no other pony could see. Strange shapes and colors, odd wrinkles and folds I never had the words for. I don't know if seeing them affected my eyes, or my eyes being “derped” as the vernacular goes enables me see them, but when my eyes drift I can make out these shapes at will.

“Of course, when I tried telling other ponies about these things, they thought me unwell in the head.” Ditzy paused at this and then sighed. “My lack of vocabulary to describe the strange artifacts only furthered their confusion, as did my staring into what they perceived as empty space with my eyes askew. Doctors looked at me and pronounced that I simply was “special” in that way that is reserved for those of deficient faculties.”

“Well, that sounds familiar,” Thunderbird mumbled, and then blushed when he saw Ditzy giving him an odd look. “Sorry. Just that when I was a kid the so-called “experts” made the same proclamation about me because I “asked too many questions” at school.”

“At school?” Ditzy repeated, sounding surprised. “Isn't that what schooling is for?”

“Apparently not, if you're a lazy union teacher trying to do the bare minimum of work the school requires to collect your paycheck,” Thunderbird growled. “I had excellent teachers as well, and God bless 'em 'cuz they're half the reason I didn't end up killing myself. But I don't think I can forgive the coldhearted factory-worker mentality of the schlubs who threw me in an “emotionally handicapped” class and then washed their hands of me because my curiosity made me “difficult”. Looking back on it, I'm sure those two years of those classes screwed up my development, because before them I had no trouble making friends, and afterwards it was a living Hell for me to socialize.” He fell silent for a moment, and then sighed. “I'm sorry, miss Dew. You were telling your story, not asking for mine.”

“That's quite all right,” Ditzy replied, giving the stallion a warm smile. “It's nice to know I wasn't alone in that situation.” She nodded as the stallion smiled back at her, and then continued. “But yes, as you have undoubtedly surmised by now the things I were seeing were indeed quite real. Eventually I became fed up with the treatment and I decided I was going to prove it to everypony by catching one of those shapes so I could finally make ponies see it.

“Imagine my surprise then when one early summer's evening I ran straight at one of those shapes near the ground, leaped at it, and then found myself in the bright sun of a spring morning.” She paused at that to take a sip of her tea. “Not only that, but I was in the recess yard of a school, surrounded by strange colts and fillies I had never seen before. Fortunately, they were rather distracted by an earth pony filly doing something with a hoop of some sort, so nopony noticed me appear, but it was rather frightening to me. I frantically looked around and saw the shape I had just jumped at behind me, and I instantly figured out it wasn't a thing, but a path of some sort. I waited for the other children to wander off after that one filly before I turned around and jumped back to where I had started.”

“Wait a second,” Thunderbird said, raising a foreleg. “I saw that episode, and the little filly Deerr, I mean Ditzy,” he quickly corrected himself, blushing slightly. “That is, they showed on the TV. I thought it was just an artifact of the show creators having no time to waste on background characters.”

“It probably was,” Ditzy replied. “But remember, if there are infinite universes then no matter how unconnected they are, the events in one will match the fiction of another.”

Thunderbird gave her a pensive look. “Are you sure you're not an author's tract?”

“I think that spot is taken by you,” Ditzy replied in a slight huff. “Didn't we agreed not to drag meta into this?”

“Right, right,” Thunderbird said, and then sighed. “Sorry. Please continue, miss Dew.”

Ditzy nodded at his words, though she waited a moment to sip at her tea again. “Very well. I suppose given the talk of other universes I can skip over some of the more drawn out portions of my story. Suffice it to say, those 'shapes' and 'things' I saw were in fact non-Euclidean geometries of folds in space-time and even the spirals of trans-dimensional bridges.”

“Ponies have words for these?” Thunderbird asked, his curiosity too great to check. “And know who Euclid was?”

“No, we don't,” Ditzy replied, unaffected by the interruption. “When I was young I just called them “paths.” Paths that only I could see, and apparently only I could traverse, as other ponies walked right through them without effect. I realized even I could pass through them, if I so wanted, by a simple matter of will. Of course, it helps being able to see them before I run into one, which is why on that show you mention you may see me often with my eyes askew.”

“I see,” Thunderbird replied, and then fell silent. He took a sip from his tea as he thought for a moment, and then nodded. “Alright, so you can see shortcuts through time-space and even realities. May I then suppose you've learned about such concepts, humans, and even the show by traveling along these paths?”

“Indeed,” Ditzy answered, evenly. “As I grew older I realized I could go places other ponies couldn't, and I reveled in it a bit. That's when I acquired my cutie mark.” She paused then to briefly unfurl a wing and used it to wave back towards her flank.

“I've been meaning to ask about that, if I may,” Thunderbird said, and then waited while Ditzy gave him a polite smile and nodded. “I would have asked what it was for, but I suppose your talent is traversing the ordinarily untraversable. So I would instead ask how do bubbles fit into that?”

Ditzy chuckled at the question. “I wondered that myself, until one of the universes I went to had a nice human gentleman who was rather friendly and unflappable about seeing a talking, flying pony. He explained that the bubbles are actually representations of the wormholes I use, or so he claimed using mathematics that were far over my head. I find that rather odd because the shapes I see don't look like bubbles, but it's the best explanation I've heard so far.”

Thunderbird kept his face impassive for a moment before he raised an eyebrow. “Fascinating,” he calmly spoke.

Ditzy giggled at the stallion. “I've seen that show, too,” she said with a smile. “You match the mannerism well.”

The green pony felt his face break into a wide grin at that. “Thank you, miss Dew.”

“Oh please, you may call me Ditzy if you want,” the mare said with a wave of her hoof. “I think we're past family names by now.”

“Well, okay then,” Thunderbird replied. “You can call me Thud.”

“'Thud'?” Ditzy asked, raising an eyebrow. “Why would I call you that?”

“Three reasons,” the green pegasus said, and then bright up his right hoof. He then paused and turned his head to stare at it for a moment before he sheepishly grinned and then laid it back down. “Firstly, 'Thunderbird' is a name I like, but it's a bit long for repeated use in casual conversation. Secondly, there was an old aircraft back home called the Thunderchief and it was nicknamed the 'Thud' by its crews, so that kind of fits here. And lastly, I suspect I'll be making a lot of thuds as I try to learn how to use these,” he added, and then carefully unfurled his left wing.

“Goodness, those are large,” Ditzy said, eyeing the wing as Thunderbird folded it back down. “But I saw you fly in that fight yesterday. That's how I even knew there was a fight in the first place; I saw you fly up with a manticore on your tail.”

Thunderbird grunted at that. “Yeah, but that flying was almost all instinct,” he said with a shrug. “I think I could remember enough from the fight to get into the air by myself, but I doubt I know all the tricks and moves that someone born to it would know.”

“I daresay that is the truth of the matter,” Ditzy said with a nod. “But if you can fly just by instinct, then I doubt it will be too hard for you to learn. I could teach you, if you'd like?”

The green pegasus blinked in surprise at that. “Really?” He asked, a bit awed. “That'd be great! Er, well,” he added, suddenly blushing a bit. “Except I plan on leaving Ponyville as soon as possible.”

“Why would you do that?” Ditzy asked, and then tilted her head in curiosity.

“Well, I hate to drag meta into this again, but frankly I must,” Thunderbird began. “If this is indeed a bad fanfiction story, and self-insertion at that, then I intend to derail it.”

“Again, why?” Ditzy asked, and then shrugged when the stallion gave her a look. “I may not like such stories, but they do exist at the author's behest. Why would you try to go against that?”

“Because I don't trust myself in more ways than one,” Thunderbird replied. “Firstly, I don't trust my own skills. I know of a story or two that managed to carry off the 'human in Equestria' and 'self-insertion' tropes rather well, but those were done by authors of skill, talent, and humor, who had a planned story laid out. I tend to have none of those attributes and write my stories by throwing characters into a situation and then seeing what they do. That doesn't always make for a good story, and in the case of the previously mentioned tropes, it could only be disastrous.”

“How are you so sure about that?” Ditzy asked. “I've heard it said that writers are not the best judges of their own work.”

“Maybe so, but it's hard to feel like you're good at it when you read your work and see every moment you struggled over word choice, or wince at a lost opportunity for character development,” Thunderbird countered. “Then you read something that's been highly rated by a multitude of fans, and you just want to go crawling away lest someone notices you and laughs at your sad attempts at matching it.”

The blonde-haired pegasus across from him gave Thunderbird another questioning look. “I don't have a sample of your work to judge from,” Ditzy began, “and I certainly don't know if this alternate-you is as equally capable, but the fact that my language hasn't decayed into incomprehensible pidgin tells me he at least isn't a complete fool.”

“Perhaps he isn't, but that doesn't mean he can carry off this kind of story.” The green stallion iterated.

“If we are indeed in a story, and your transfiguration isn't some sort of cosmic accident,” Ditzy countered.

“I'm pretty sure that cosmic accidents don't involve this sort of thing,” Thunderbird said, his voice nearly a scoff.

Ditzy tossed her head to the side at his statement. “And if it did, how would you find out then?” She asked, smirking a bit as she saw the logic jam up the gears in the stallion's head. “You wouldn't, of course, because the person being moved and transfigured wouldn't normally find her way back, now would she?”

“I suppose not,” Thunderbird begrudgingly admitted. “But the events around this seem too similar to such stories for me to think of it as anything else.”

Ditzy sighed at that. “Remember my advice: forget about the meta. Because if we're not in a story, then you're just driving yourself insane for no good reason, and if we are in a story...” She stopped then and shrugged. “At least an author like yourself is a better one for a character to be affected by.”

Thunderbird furrowed his brows at that. “How do you mean?”

“You said you like to throw characters into situations and see how they react?” Ditzy asked, and then received a nod. “Well, that conserves free will, now doesn't it? We're basically free to make our own decisions, with the author merely providing input, guidance, and determining events, a bit like one of those dungeonmasters from that silly game some of you humans like so much.”

“I suppose so,” Thunderbird allowed. “But it still doesn't mean that there won't be some nasty surprises. And convoluted contrivances to coerce certain characters into desired actions.”

“Nice alliteration,” Ditzy commented.

“Thanks,” Thunderbird replied. “My point is, if I stay here in Ponyville then there's an increasingly good chance that I will be forced into interactions with certain individuals. I not only distrust other-me in what he wants to accomplish with that, I also distrust myself and my ability to control my own behavior near certain ponies.”

“Oh, really?” Ditzy asked, a sudden smirk appearing on her face. “Like whom?”

Thunderbird blinked at the unexpected question, and he nervously cleared his throat before speaking. “Er, well that doesn't really matter, because I'm not playing that game. So instead-”

“Who's Best Pony?” Ditzy interrupted.

“Rainbow Dash,” Thunderbird replied without thinking. Then he realized what had happened, and he blushed profusely while he facehoofed. “Oh God, save me from myself,” he muttered

Laughter answered his plea, and Thunderbird dropped his hoof back down to see Ditzy Dew enjoying his embarrassment. “Oh my, that worked like a charm, didn't it?” She asked gaily.

“I'm glad someone is enjoying my utter mortification,” Thunderbird ground out.

“Oh relax, 'Thud',” Ditzy teased. “I just didn't take you for a Dash fan. You seem too calm and smart for that.”

“Dash isn't stupid,” Thunderbird snapped. “She's just not book savvy.”

“Oh my, it's worse than just her being your favorite, isn't it? You have a crush on her, don't you?” Ditzy asked with a grin, and then chuckled when Thunderbird groaned and tried to bury his head under a throw pillow on the couch he rested on. “Come on, Thud, there's nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Yes there is!” Thunderbird countered, snapping his head back up to give the other pegasus a pained look. “She's a fictional character where I come from, and a non-human one at that! I'm not supposed to think that way about such persons!”

“Says who?” Ditzy asked.

“Says everyone!” Thunderbird replied with a snort. “It doesn't matter how much one anthropomorphizes a character, having even just a crush on a fake pony is considered a matter of extreme mental sickness.”

“Then why don't you stop?” Ditzy interrupted, garnering a frustrated look from the stallion. “Certainly you have enough control to declare that this crush is terrible and move yourself on?”

Thunderbird thought in silence for a moment before he sighed and then looked to the side. “Because it's not like I have women fainting over me back home,” he said, quietly. “And it was only a silly crush. I've had them before; I knew it would go away with time. I thought that in the meantime I could quietly enjoy the feelings it gave me, and no one would be the wiser.”

“That's an excuse, not an explanation,” Ditzy pressed. “Everypony- everyone has crushes like that. But not all of them are on another species, now are they? So why did you let it go on?”

Again, a moment of silence fell across the pair. Soon enough, however, Thunderbird sighed again and then shook his head. “I was brought up with the lessons that 'it's not the outside that counts, but the inside,'” he began slowly. “We weren't supposed to make judgments based upon a person's skin, or features, or anything else so shallow. I grew up with that, internalized that, and I still believe it to be utterly true even today. The body is but a mere container for the soul, for the real person who sits within.” He stopped for a moment, and then turned his head to look into Ditzy's eyes. “To me what matters isn't the outside shape, but the mind, heart, and soul within. A being can look like a horse and smell like skunks, but in the end if it can talk with me, reason with me, and empathize with me, then it's a person, and I will treat them as such, regardless of the physical.”

Ditzy nodded quietly at the stallion while she absorbed his words. “So your crush on Rainbow Dash is because of who she is, not what she is, and in fact is in spite of what she is. Correct?”

Thunderbird bit his lower lip, and then nodded. “Right,” he said.

“Then what's the problem?” Ditzy asked, raising an eyebrow again. “We, too, have been raised to make judgments on other ponies, other people, based on who they are underneath. What you've said isn't mental sickness, but is probably one of the best ways of treating with other sapient beings out there.”

“It's a sickness because she's not a human, and we're not supposed to have any such ideas about non-humans,” Thunderbird countered halfheartedly.

Ditzy shook her head at that. “I've been to human worlds, and I've seen what they're like, remember?” She asked. “I'm sure that taboo was in place because the animals of human worlds are just that: animals. Unthinking creatures that can't return such feelings. A crush on one of them? Yes, that is sickness,” the gray mare said, ruffling her wings a bit in disgust. “But we ponies of this reality are thinking beings, persons through and true. We are people, and a crush on one of us would only be sick if you let it deflect you from your real life concerns.” She paused at that, and then gave the stallion an inquisitive look. “You didn't, did you?”

“No,” Thunderbird replied forcefully, looking the gray pegasus in the eyes. “I may have a twisted mind and possibly some sort of undiagnosed mental disorder, but I do know the difference between reality and fantasy.” He stopped at that, and then pointedly looked around the room. “Or at least I thought I did.”

“You still do,” Ditzy said, warmly and with a smile. “It's your reality that has changed, not you. From what I've seen so far you've been working to adjust, to adapt, and if I may say so, you're doing an excellent job so far.”

“Thank you,” Thunderbird said, blushing again.

“You're welcome,” Ditzy returned. “I have an idea of what you're going through, having been to a few places myself where I worried I couldn't get back home again,” she continued after she finished her tea and then placed the cup on the table. “It's hard, really hard, trying to adjust your mind to a new set of rules, not just in culture but also in physics. At least I was lucky enough to retain my birth body and my innate ability to find my way home again. For you I suspect this ordeal is weighing a bit heavier, and that can't be made better with your author-based meta knowledge.”

“I believe that would be another understatement,” Thunderbird replied as he, too, placed his cup back on the table. “It's why I want to leave Ponyville as soon as possible. I just know other-me is going to have something crop up to provide action, and I don't want it to affect my favorite ponies.”

“I think you may be overemphasizing the threat there,” Ditzy countered. “If the author is indeed another you, then I'm sure he's just as eager to avoid doing permanent harm to the ponies here.” She paused then to tilt her head and look over the green pegasus across from her. “I think you're more worried about losing control of yourself and overstepping boundaries. And I think you're deathly afraid of the fact that crush of yours might become something more.”

“It won't,” Thunderbird snapped. “I'm staying away from the mane six, I don't care how much I or other-me wants otherwise.”

“Didn't we just go over this?” Ditzy asked, exasperated.

“Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that there's another boundary we haven't talked of,” Thunderbird replied. “As you say, I have meta knowledge. That gives me all sorts of one-sided leverage and advantages that no one should have over another. It wouldn't be fair.”

The gray mare stared at the stallion for a moment, and then nodded. “I see,” she said, and then offered a small smile. “You really are a gentlestallion. You don't want to use your knowledge against others, even by accident, and you don't want to tempt yourself either. Am I correct?”

Thunderbird nodded at that. “Yes, ma'am. It just wouldn't be right. Despite everything else that happens in my life, I try to do the right thing.”

Ditzy nodded back, and then smiled again. “You're a good pony, Thunderbird,” she said, causing the stallion to blush. “I'm glad to see that. It makes what I'm going to offer you an easy thing.”

Thunderbird looked up at the gray mare at that. “Can you take me home?” He asked, hopeful.

Those hopes were dashed a moment later, though, when Ditzy shook her head. “I'm sorry, but I have no idea which reality you're from. And even if I did, I don't change shape when I go through a pathway, so I doubt you would turn back into a human. I don't think you'd want to be the only pony in a world of humans.”

“No,” Thunderbird said, and then turned his gaze down and shook his head. “No I would not.”

Ditzy nodded again at that. “So I can't take you home. But what I can offer is a place to stay while you get on your hooves, and lessons on pony culture and flying, as well.”

“Really?” Thunderbird asked, looking up to the other pegasus. “You'd do that for me, a stranger? After all you've already done for me?”

“I wouldn't call you a stranger anymore,” Ditzy replied, smiling again. “And as I mentioned in the clinic, I'm “paying it forward” from the times I was stuck in a human world and received wonderful, caring help from people who would have benefited more by taking advantage of me.

“Also, as I said you're a good pony- no, you're a good person,” Ditzy continued, as she leaned forward from her couch to give her words extra weight. “Charity isn't a human-only concept, after all.”

Thunderbird blinked in surprise, and then smiled. “No, it wouldn't be,” he agreed. “Very well, miss Dew. I humbly accept your offer, and give you my most profoundest thanks.”

“Oh my, so formal,” Ditzy said with a chuckle. Then her countenance turned serious as she leveled her gaze steadily on the other pegasus' eyes. “There are a few conditions, however. Firstly, you'll need to get a job: I don't earn all that much and another mouth to feed means more income to pay for it. Since I'm offering to help I won't charge you rent, but I do expect you to chip in to cover expenses. Secondly, you need to help with housework. This is a fairly big cottage and having a ten-year-old daughter means there's often a lot of cleanup to be done. Thirdly, while I am trying to help you, I don't run a hotel and I'm not going to serve you, so get used to taking care of yourself if you aren't already. And lastly, don't ever bring pears here.”

Thunderbird laughed at the last one. “So, the Doctor makes housecalls, does he?”

Ditzy smiled somewhat sheepishly at that. “Oh, so you all know about him too?”

“A bit,” Thunderbird said, smiling broadly. He then bowed his head towards the mare. “Miss Dew, I find those terms perfectly reasonable and acceptable. You'll have my utmost cooperation.”

“Very good,” Ditzy said, and then slipped off of her couch. Thunderbird followed likewise while the gray mare continued talking. “Let's get you settled into the guest room and then we can start dinner.”

“Lead on then,” Thunderbird replied. Maybe it won't be so bad here after all, he thought as he followed Ditzy through the house.

Chapter 4 - Missed It By That Much

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Thud.

Well, that's become a prophetic nickname, Thunderbird darkly mused, as he lay on the ground, his head, neck, chest, and forelegs pressed into the dirt with the rest of his body balanced in the air. He stayed like this for a few moments as he caught his breath and thought about his most recent failure. I think I wasn't moving fast enough for the turn and side-slipped. Gotta work on that.

The lessons had started in earnest the next day after accepting Ditzy's offer, and the green stallion had worked hard to learn the differences between ponies and humans, and most importantly to him, flying. Fortunately, there seemed little differences between his society and the one he found himself in now, which meant that most of the lesson time in the past three days had been focused on getting him used to flying. Or rather, used to not crashing, Thunderbird mentally added as he finally started to shift his body around so he could regain his footing. Or would I call that hoofing? He bemusedly asked himself as he folded up his wings.

“That wasn't too bad a spill,” Ditzy Dew said, as she landed next to the bruised stallion. “You just took the turn too hard.”

“And slipped because of a lack of sufficient momentum,” Thunderbird agreed, with a nod. “Yeah, I figured that's what it was. I kinda felt it as I started on the turn, but I was afraid to flap my wings.”

Ditzy shook her head at that. “You shouldn't be. I did explain how pegasus magic keeps air flowing past the wings even during flaps, right?”

Thunderbird blushed and nodded. “Yes, you did, and I do remember it. But...” He trailed off and then sighed as he glanced around the meadow northwest of town that the two used work on his flying. It was somewhat remote and unused, and so they were unlikely to draw unwanted attention.

“But what?” Ditzy asked, tilting her head slightly in curiosity.

“I still feel like it would be a problem,” Thunderbird finally said, and then looked back at the other pony. “I just have this inkling that I shouldn't rely on the magic so much, and more on the physical nature of my wings.”

“That sounds like your old sense talking,” the gray pegasus evenly commented. “You are more worried about maintaining your wings out for lift than you are in using them to accelerate or maneuver. You're going to have to get past that and realize you need to use your wings for propulsion as opposed to relying on an engine.”

Thunderbird raised an eye at Ditzy. “I do understand that,” he said, patiently, and then sat on his haunches. “But you can't deny I'm built a bit differently than you or other pegasi. Something just tells me that I shouldn't rely too much on that trick.”

“It's not a trick, it's a technique,” Ditzy countered, and then shook her head. “If you don't use your terminology better, then ponies will wonder how you ever got off the ground.”

“Heck, I still wonder how I got off the ground,” Thunderbird said with a grunt. “I'm still a bit freaked out on how easy movement is for me. Humans spend the first five or six years of their life learning the basics, and here I am in a new body already running around and even flying on the first day.” He shook his head at this. “If it wasn't for how unusual I am, I'd be worried I took over some poor pony's body.”

A moment of silence passed between them before Ditzy sighed. “Well, you obviously need to listen a bit more to my instruction than your instincts at times if you want to fly like other pegasi do,” she said, in a charitable tone. “Certainly you'll at least need to be proficient if you want to apply for that weatherpony job that's been open.”

Thunderbird only grunted at that. Jobs in Ponyville were scarce at the moment, as he'd found to his dismay. There were a few, of course, but he lacked the skill or experience for most of them. Two years of college, an Associate's degree, and twelve years of solid retail work don't mean crap to a village economy, the stallion morosely thought. Of course it didn't mean crap back home, either. At least here any pegasus who can fly decently can get a job on the weather team if there's an opening. Of course, “flying decently” is the problem here.

“Thud, are you alright?” Ditzy asked, waving a hoof in front of the stallion's face.

“Oh, sorry,” Thunderbird said, blinking his introspection away before giving the mare a smile. “Just woolgathering.”

“You do that a lot,” Ditzy observed, and then grinned. “Are you sure you're a Dash fan?”

Thunderbird razzed the other pegasus, who laughed. “Okay, I won't go there again,” Ditzy said, and then glanced upward towards the sun. “It's about time I head for work, anyway,” she said, spreading her wings. “You should practice a bit more before you go looking for work today.”

“Yes ma'am,” Thunderbird replied, automatically, but with no less sincerity. “I'll take another hour or two, I think, and then trot into town.”

“Good,” Ditzy said as she started flapping her wings and lifted into the air. “And leave that hat behind this time. Until you get it fixed it's just going to make you look ragged.”

Thunderbird rolled his eyes before he looked up at the gray mare and gave her a wan smile. “Yes, mom,” he said, his voice sarcastically saccharine.

Ditzy rolled her eyes back, though her expression was far more effective as both eyes rolled in the opposite direction from one another before settling on her usual walleyed look. “Just for that you're doing the dishes tonight,” she said, with mock severity.

“Spoilsport,” Thunderbird replied, and then razzed the mail mare again. The razz soon faded into a genuine smile, however, and he raised a hoof to wave at the other pegasus as she turned to fly off. “Goodbye Ditzy! Have a nice day at work!”

“Thanks! And good luck to you, too!” Ditzy called back, before she turned and accelerated as she headed for the center of town.

Thunderbird watched her go for a bit before he took in a deep breath and then slowly got back to his hooves again. Alright, I'm going to try that turn again, this time flapping, he thought. Then he grinned as he spread his wings out again. And just for kicks, I'm going to do it my way, as well, until I get it right.

A few hours later Thunderbird trotted into town as he had promised, a few more bruises on his body and a smile on his muzzle. Hah, I knew I could do it, he thought, remembering the change in the routine he'd made. Felt a bit easier, too. I think Ditzy's doing her best – pun not intended – but I think I'm right, and these differences mean that everything she teaches me won't be one hundred percent accurate for me.

Still, enough of it is that you should keep paying attention, the stallion told himself. He nodded at the thought and let his smile slip back a notch. Stay focused and in control, man. Remember the plan: get a job, get comfortable with living around ponies, then get the frack out of here.

The reminder was enough to return his attention back to the world outside of him, and Thunderbird saw that he was again the center of focus for several ponies in town. Is it because I'm new, or because I'm just so big? He knew his unusual frame was a fair size larger than most ponies, though he'd seen enough males in town to know he still wasn't quite the tallest or beefiest by a long shot. So no chance of being made an Irken leader. Rats. The dark green pegasus suppressed a chuckle at the joke, and instead focused on his walk through the streets as he headed for the jobs board that sat outside of town hall. There anypony seeking to hire temporary or permanent workers often posted bills advertising the job, and there Thunderbird had gone each day since accepting Ditzy Dew's offer, hoping for a position he could apply for. And not just 'cuz it's a condition, the stallion reminded himself. Because it's right to work for a living. It's right to earn your own money and help others with it when you can.

This motivation kept a spring in his step as he moved through town, and he let his mind idle as he engaged in one of his new favorite pastimes; pony watching. It still warms my heart to see these cute little freaks, he thought, with a grin as he entered the town square. I hope I never get tired of it.

Thunderbird pushed such thoughts aside then, as he approached the jobs board. Two other ponies were there already, though one was leaving just as he arrived, and the other quietly kept to himself, which suited the introverted green pegasus just fine. He sat down patiently on his haunches and then took his time to read over the various postings. Sadly, he saw nothing new, though a bright spot was that the weatherpony want ad hadn't been taken down, either. Just stay up a bit longer, he thought, smirking at the ad. Part of him wanted to rebel at his desire to acquire the job, knowing it could bring him into regular contact with one pony he wanted to avoid. The fact that the job was a third shift position, however, kept him eager for it. I didn't know they had graveyard for that kind of work, he mused, falling into a daydreaming state. Though I guess it makes sense, as even weather here probably doesn't stop just because night has fallen. Air masses move, clouds drift, frogs get sucked up by tornadoes, that sort of thing.

“'Scuse me,” a twangy voice said from behind him, briefly startling the green pegasus. He turned his head around to see that the other stallion who'd been looking at the board had moved off, and had been replaced with an orange mare wearing a hat, who nodded to him as she moved up to the board. Once there she turned her head to the left and then reached into one of the saddlebags she wore before she pulled out a sheet of paper and then pressed it to the board.

Oh Shinto, Thunderbird thought as he beheld the obvious. He just stared in shock for a moment as Applejack held her ad up with her left hoof while the other reached back into the right side saddlebag. She pulled out a small nail fit for joining wood stuck to her hoof, and then carefully maneuvered it until she had it pressed against the board, whereupon she tapped it a few solid times until it held the ad up without trouble. Satisfied, the orange mare nodded once to herself and then turned around to leave. Or at least she started to, but froze when she saw the green pegasus staring at her. “Uh, somethin' Ah can do for ya?” She asked, giving him a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, uh,” Thunderbird muttered, as his mind was startled back into thought. Quickly he glanced to the ad and then back to Applejack, and then took in a small breath. I'm going to regret this, but I need a job, he told himself, and then nodded to the mare. “Looking for help?” He asked, hoping she didn't notice the effort he made at restraining himself from just reaching over and hugging her.

“Uh, yeah,” Applejack replied, somewhat unsure. She gave the stallion a once over and then frowned. “It's farm work, though. Ah don't think a pegasus, even a big ol' one like you, could do it,” she said.

Thunderbird felt his pride bristle a bit at that, and he drew himself a bit straighter where he sat. “Miss, I may not be an earth pony, but I still have four hooves and the muscles to use them,” he said, barely able to refrain from using Applejack's name before she introduced herself. “Granted I'm probably not gonna be up to par with an actual earther, but I can at least pull my own weight.” He saw the mare give him a confused look, and then turned his head down a bit. “Uhm, that is, if you don't get any earth ponies applying. I'm sure one of them would work out better for you.”

Applejack continued to give this strange stallion a perplexed look for a few moments before she finally shook herself slightly. “Well, we need a helpin' hoof 'round the farm soon as possible, an' a good part o' th' day's gone already, so Ah guess it won't hurt to give ya a try,” she said after a moment. “It's conditional, though. If'n ya can't pull the weight or an earth pony who knows what she's doin' comes along Ahm gonna have ta turn ya out, y'understand?”

“Yes ma'am, that's perfectly reasonable,” the stallion said, and then held out his hoof. “Name's Thunderbird, but you can call me 'Thud.'”

“M'name's Applejack,” the orange mare returned, reaching up to shake the proffered hoof. “Ah hope you're ready fer some work, Thud, 'cuz the Apple family don't pull no kicks when we farm.”

“I'll do my best, miss Applejack,” Thunderbird replied as they broke the shake. Then he stood and shook his head towards the mare in a gesture. “After you, then.”

* * * *

This is a mistake, the voice in Thunderbird's head said as he trotted after Applejack towards her family's farm.

Maybe so, but as noted previously, I need the freakin' work, you moron.

The voice didn't answer him, and so Thunderbird put his misgivings from his mind as trod along the dirt road as it meandered west of Ponyville. The terrain became somewhat hilly as they went, and Thunderbird gave a silent prayer of thanks that his constitution seemed to be handling it so far. Last thing I want to do is let down AJ, he thought, and then smiled. She is Second Best Pony, after all.

Applejack glanced back at that moment. “Somethin' funny?” She asked, friendlily.

“Oh, yeah,” Thunderbird replied, shrugging with his wings. “Just remembering a joke.”

“Care ta share?” Applejack asked.

“Ah, you had to be there,” the green stallion replied, shaking his head a bit. “Sorry, I'm just not good at that sort of thing.” Also I don't think you'd understand the Best Pony thing, much less where it comes from.

The mare shrugged as she walked; no mean feat for a quadruped. “Well, okay then,” she said, and then turned her head back around to face the front as the road started traveling up the side of a low ridge. “We're almost there, so don't be draggin' your hooves.”

Didn't cross my mind, Thunderbird thought, but he decided against any spoken reply. Instead he just focused on keeping up with the farmer, and thus was a bit surprised when he saw her come to a stop at the top of the ridge. Then he crested the rise as well and stopped at her side. “Whoa,” he said.

“Welcome ta Sweet Apple Acres,” Applejack said, her voice tinged with well-earned pride. As the name implied, acres upon acres of farmland stretched out across hills and dales, the vast majority of it devoted to apple trees. A fairly large patch, though, was devoted to corn, and beyond that Thunderbird could see a recently tilled field of rich brown dirt.

The green pegasus wished he could whistle at the view, but he had never learned how in his life, and so just nodded appreciatively. “That is a mighty nice farm, miss Applejack,” he said, warmly. “I reckon I ain't seen a prettier spot of land outside of Flor- the Flower Peninsula.” I have really got to work on that.

If the farmer noticed the slip up, she didn't seem to care. Instead, she turned to flash a smile at Thunderbird. “It's the family's pride and joy, that's fer sure,” she said, and then started off on the road again, leaving Thunderbird to play catch-up.

“So what will I be doing for you?” Thunderbird asked, feeling curious now that the farm was close.

“Well, mah brother, Big Macintosh, kinda needed a day off,” Applejack began. “He's been workin' hard lately, and he finally realized all work and no play drives a pony ta an early grave. So you'll be doin' some of his work 'round the farm. Spreadin', uh, fertilizer over the potato fields, mainly.”

“I see,” Thunderbird said, and then mentally sighed. “Fertilizer,” huh? He thought. Ah well, a job's a job, and at least spreading dung around is still better than retail.

* * * *

Several hours and a few dozen barrels of 'fertilizer' later, Thunderbird found that his assessment had been correct: definitely better than retail, he thought with a smirk as he set down the rake he'd been holding in his mouth, making sure it was clear of any filth. He'd gotten used to the stench after an hour, and the sight of the brown fields now covered with the rich, if revolting, muck made him feel like he'd actually accomplished something worthwhile. It was a feeling he'd seldom felt working for large chain stores, and he paused by the empty barrel cart as he relished the sensation.

“Well, ya did a right nice job there,” Applejack said as she trotted up next to the stallion, wary of the expended barrels sitting on the ground nearby. “'Course, ya took a couple of hours longer than mah brother would have, and an hour longer than most earth ponies woulda taken.”

Thunderbird felt his ego deflate a bit at that, and he turned his head slightly to give the mare a sidelong glance. “Miss Applejack, if you take issue with my performance, I would have preferred being notified of it earlier so I could've worked to correct it.”

“Whoa, Nelly, don't get your tail in a twist,” Applejack said, holding up her right forehoof towards the stallion. “Ya did good work. Ahm just tryin' ta keep your head th' right size, if'n ya get my meaning.”

Thunderbird turned himself a bit to fully face the other pony and then gave her a wan smile. “I see. Well, I can't blame you for helping me out on that,” he said, with a chuckle. “I try to keep myself from getting a big ego, but it's nice to get a h-helping hoof with it every now and then.” Dangit, almost said 'hand' there.

Applejack smiled back. “Well, Ah can appreciate a pony who has his head on straight,” she said with a nod. Then she turned and looked out over the rest of the farm. “Still, takin' as long as ya did means Ah got most of the other work ya were supposed ta do done already, so this'll probably be all fer today.”

“Oh,” Thunderbird said, feeling himself deflate even more. “I'm sorry miss Applejack, I didn't mean to have you take all my workload.”

“Ah ponyfeathers,” Applejack said, and waved a hoof towards the stallion. “Ya took one of th' worst jobs on th' farm and didn't complain a bit 'bout it. An' the fact that nopony else has showed up since Ah posted th' ad means ya saved me from doin' the work mahself, and Ah got more done 'cuz of it.” She nodded towards the pegasus at that, and then glanced up at the sky. “Anyways, it's gettin' late, and like Ah said there ain't any more big things that we need help with today, so if ya go ahead and load th' barrels in th' cart and stick all th' equipment away next to th' pig house, Ah'll be givin' ya your pay and ya can be off.”

“Sounds good,” Thunderbird said with a nod. Then a thought struck him, and he blushed a bit. “Uh, is there somewhere I could clean myself up after I put the stuff away?” He asked, lifting a soiled hoof slightly.

Applejack chuckled at that. “I thought ya'd never ask,” she said merrily, and then pointed towards the farmhouse with a hoof. “There's a tub out back behind th' house for this sorta thing. Ah'll go fill it up while you're putting th' equipment away.”

Thunderbird raised an eyebrow at the mare. “I can do that myself, miss Applejack. I don't want to hold you up any more than I already have.”

“Now don't you start that again,” the earth pony replied, her brows furrowed slightly and a slight chastising tone in her voice. “Us Apples pride ourselves on takin' care of visitors and hired work alike. 'Sides,” she added, and then gave the pegasus a smirk. “Yer all filthy, an' Ah don't want that gettin' spread around none where it ain't gotta go.”

The green stallion chuckled at that. “Alright, fair enough,” he said, and then started to stretch. “I'll go ahead and put this stuff away and then head over to clean up.”

“Now yer talkin' sense,” Applejack said with a nod. “When yer done with yer cleanin' ya can come 'round the front of the house and Ah'll have yer pay waitin'.”

“Well okay then,” Thunderbird said with a smile. Applejack smiled back and then turned to trot off towards the farmhouse, leaving the green pegasus to turn and look over the assorted collection of barrels and the cart they'd been resting in when he had arrived earlier. I'm glad all I had to do was pull the dang thing out, Thunderbird thought as he started working on his plan to organize and load the barrels. This stuff was heavy and repulsive enough just spreading it on the ground. I can't imagine having to load it into the barrels and getting the dang things onto the cart in the first place.

With that shudder-inducing thought, he set to work, first wrestling the barrels over to the cart and then lifting them up and putting them in in an organized pattern that conserved as much space as possible. Once he was done Thunderbird made sure to put the rake in and then went to the harness and then shimmied into it. A few minutes of pulling placed the cart in the spot it had been waiting at when the stallion had first seen it, and he quickly disengaged himself and then turned to trot off towards the house. There he found the tub was waiting and full of water, just as Applejack had promised, sitting alongside a stretch of wooden wall that lacked windows on the ground floor.

Well, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition, cleanliness and privacy in one, Thunderbird thought as he walked up to the tub and then reached for a bar of soap that the orange earth pony had left for him to use. The water he dipped it in was cold, but he ignored the temperature as best he could while he worked to clean the filth from his hooves, legs, and any parts of his body that had been unfortunately splattered. Disgusting, he thought with another shudder. Now that the work was done his distaste returned in strength, and he furiously scrubbed every portion of his body that had come even remotely close to the fertilizer, as well as the soiled parts themselves. Fingers would be real handy about now, the stallion thought, and then chuckled briefly. Heh, handy. But seriously, the soap barely stays attached to the hoof, and I know these ponies wouldn't something like that in their mouths. Especially after scrubbing pig crap with it. Hmm, I wonder if soap-on-a-rope has been invented here yet? Might have to do that if it ain't, it could earn some bits.

Thunderbird mulled on this as he finished washing up, but soon put such entrepreneurial thoughts aside. He set the soap down on on the grass and then went to the side of the tub facing the house and set himself so that he faced towards the back wall. Once in position, he lifted up a back leg and then pressed it against the tub and then slowly pushed it up until it tipped over and dumped the tainted water onto the grassy ground. There, no fuss, no muss, the pegasus thought as he picked up the soap bar and placed it on top of the overturned tub. Then he rubbed the hoof that had touched it on the dry grass to get any bits of it off. I hope they'll let that bar sit in the sun for a day or so before they use it again, let the UV kill the thrice-damned bacteria on it.

With that thought the stallion turned and trotted off, following the sides of the farmhouse as he made his way around towards the front. As he passed the back door he could smell food being cooked, and his mouth watered at the various apple-scented confections being made. I have to admit, these ponies do good enough things with their food to make their vegetarian diet edible and even appealing, Thunderbird mused. But still, if it weren't for the fact that all the animals here have some sort of personality, I'd probably have killed one of them by now for the meat. Well, one more, at least, he added, remembering the manticore. I wonder if manticores taste good? Bah, who am I kidding? I don't know how to butcher animals properly and I doubt ponies would have a book about that.

Such ideas dropped from Thunderbird's mind as he rounded the last corner of the house and headed for the steps leading up to the front porch. Applejack waited just outside of the front door, and she waved the pegasus up to join her. “Ah see ya clean up purty good,” she observed friendlily.

“It's one of my few good qualities,” Thunderbird replied with a smirk.

Applejack chuckled at that. “Well, that an' hard work Ah'd say,” she said, and then turned to face a table upon which sat a small bag. “Speakin' of which, here's yer pay,” she added, and then waved to the bag with a hoof. “Twenty-five bits fer five hours of work.”

Thunderbird raised an eyebrow at that, but then quickly forced it down before the hat-wearing pony could turn back around. Yeah, that's not much compared to minimum wage back home, but you have no idea how their bits are valued; that might actually be a generous amount. With that musing, the stallion smiled and nodded to the mare. “I thank you, miss Applejack,” he said, and then moved over to grasp the bag in his mouth.

“Not even gonna count it?” The earth pony asked, a curious look on her face.

“Nah,” Thunderbird replied, speaking around the bag in his mouth. “Eff'ry'un knows you're 'onest. Can't shee ya cheatin' any 'ony.”

“Well, glad ta know nopony's forgotten 'bout that,” Applejack said, and then raised up a hoof and offer it towards the stallion. “I gotta admit, Thud, y'all surprised me. I didn't think a pegasus could do decent farm work,” she said as Thunderbird shook her hoof. “Where do ya live, anyway? If I got more work I might give ya a head's up 'fore I post an ad.”

“Oh, om 'aying with-” He began, but Applejack interrupted interrupted him with a sigh.

“Y'all can put the bag down, yanno,” the orange mare said.

“Oh,” Thunderbird said with a blush, and then set the bag down on the railing surrounding the porch. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I'm actually just passing through, sorta. For the moment I'm staying with a friend of mine, Ditzy Dew.”

“Ahhh, so yer that feller that th' town's been talkin' 'bout,” Applejack said, a look of understanding washing over her features.

“What?” Thunderbird asked, confused. “What do you mean, talking about me?”

Applejack shrugged at the question. “Jus' that Ditzy and my friend Fluttershy brought ya in ta the clinic after findin' ya all tore up an' next to a dead manticore. Then ya go straight ta stayin' with Ditzy and well, that sets ponies a talkin', yanno? Wonderin' who ya are and such.”

“Ah,” the pegasus said, and then sighed. “Well, that's understandable.” He fell silent for a moment as he thought, and then shook himself gently. “Anyway, I should be going. I'll be looking for other work while I'm in Ponyville, so I hope you won't count on me being available?”

Applejack slowly nodded in reply. “That ain't a problem. Can't expect ya ta hang around doin' nothin' just on th' off chance of us needin' some help here,” she said. “It was good ta meet ya, Thud. Y'all take care now-”

“Hey Applejack!” A voice shouted from the sky beyond the porch roof, interrupting the orange mare. It was quickly followed by the noise of hooves hitting the ground, and Thunderbird felt his stomach implode as he recognized the voice coming from behind him. “Pinkie sent me to- Hey, who's this guy?”

Applejack gave the stallion a confused look as she saw him tense up. She put it out of her mind, however, and instead walked forward and around Thunderbird's side to get a clear look at her friend. “Rainbow, ya have th' tact of a quar-ay eel, ya know that?” She asked as she leaned against one of the posts framing the top of the stairs, crossing her right legs in front of the ones on her left.

“This from a pony who regularly puts Rarity into fits?” Rainbow counted as she folded her wings in and then walked over to the base of the porch steps. “Besides, I'm not the pony who's just standing there with his back to me, so why don't you get on his case, huh?”

The earth pony blinked a bit in surprise at that, and she glanced over to the side to see that Thunderbird was essentially frozen in place, save for his wings, which fidgeted. “Uh, you okay there, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, standing up from her leaning.

“Yes, fine!” Thunderbird said, and he slowly turned around to face the earth pony, a fake smile plastered on his muzzle. “I'm just a bit tired, that's all,” he said. As he did, however, he caught sight of the other pegasus, and despite his best efforts the stallion felt his head twist on his neck so he could drink in the view. As it had been painfully obvious to him by now, a cyan coated, rainbow-maned pegasus stood on the ground only a few feet away, giving him a look that mixed both suspicion and confusion, and the sight made him freeze up from a variety of emotions. Oh God, why dost thou torment me?

A brief moment of silence passed before Applejack cleared her throat. “Anyway, Rainbow Dash, this is Thunderbird. He helped out 'round here while Big Mac took a day off,” she said, while she gestured towards the stallion with her head. “Thunderbird, this here's-”

“Rainbow Dash,” the cyan pegasus interrupted, her tone confident as she unfolded her wings and then flew up to hover at the same level as the porch. She proffered a hoof towards the stallion as she continued to speak. “Weather pony and best flier in all of Equestria.”

The green pegasus just stood there as he struggled to contain two very conflicting runs of thought in his mind. On one hand, Rainbow Dash is less than five feet from me and I want to hug her until her head pops off like a bad PEZ dispenser. On the other hand, I desperately want to avoid embarrassing myself and her and so I just want to run away from here as fast as I can, screaming like a little girl along the way. The competing desires locked up his mind long enough for both of the mares near him to start to wonder. “Hey, am I not good enough to shake hooves with?” Dash demanded in a huff.

That snapped Thunderbird out of his reverie, and his eyes widened in panic at the mere thought of offending the cyan pony. “No! I mean yes! I mean-!” He stopped himself as he felt his thoughts start to disintegrate, and then raised up his left forehoof before he abruptly slammed it into the porch, startling both of the other ponies that were present. The old habit did the trick, though, as it acted like a reset switch and brought his speech center back into working order. “I-I'm sorry, miss Dash, I d-n-didn't mean to insult you,” he ground out, despite the stuttering that always cropped up in his speech when he became nervous. He then brought up his right hoof and quickly and brusquely shook the flying pegasus' offered limb. “It's b-been nice to meet you. I g-gotta get going n-now, time's wasting, burning both candles by the ends of the stick, you know,” he said, mixing up his metaphors terribly and knowing it, which only added to his embarrassment. “S-see y'all later,” Thunderbird said, and then abruptly walked down the steps of the porch, contorting his body to keep any prospect of touching Dash remote, and then trotted a few feet away. Scarcely had he finished when he unfurled his wings and then flapped hard, launching himself into the air without any thought save get out of here now.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash watched him go, and both mares wore near identical expressions of surprise at seeing the green pegasus' wingspan. “Well, that was a mite strange,” the orange earth pony observed as Thunderbird's form receded into the sky.

“Boy, you sure know how to pick help, don't you AJ?” Rainbow chuckled. “Caramel loses stuff all the time, and now you have a crazy pegasus who can't talk right.”

“He was talkin' jus' fine 'fore you got here,” Applejack mused, a frown on her features. “Right up 'til ya...” She let her voice drift off then as a new idea entered her head. “You ever met him 'fore, Dash?”

“Me?” Dash asked, turning away from watching the sky to face her friend. “Never saw him before in my life,” she added as she floated forward and then landed on the porch where Thunderbird had been standing. “Why?”

“'Cuz he got all tense when he heard yer voice an' that's when he started actin' all strange,” Applejack replied. “Seems he knows who you are, even if ya don't know him.”

Rainbow gave that a moment of thought, and then briefly closed her eyes and then shrugged. “Eh, I've had lots of fans,” she said, before opening her eyes. “Remember back when you guys had to dress up as Mare-Do-Well?”

“As if Ah could forget,” Applejack said with a huff. “But Thud weren't actin' like a fan.”

“Who?” Dash asked, a confused look on her face.

“Thud. It's his nickname,” Applejack explained. “Anyway, Ah seen what yer fans're like, and he weren't no fan,” she said, and then grinned. “'Twas more like an admirer.”

“A what?” Rainbow Dash asked, her voice rising in surprise. After a moment, though, her face turned from shock to smiling, and the cyan pony laughed a bit. “Okay, funny joke, AJ. Come on, what's really that guy's problem?”

Applejack didn't reply right away, and instead just moved a bit so she could lean against the porch railing and cross her legs again while keeping her friend in front of her. “Th' only problem Ah can see, Rainbow, is that Thud went from bein' nice, if a bit testy, ta freakin' out the instant y'all landed,” the orange earth pony said, and then reached up with a free foreleg to tip her hat to the side a bit. “Ah can only see 'im doin' that if'n he's either got a feud with ya, or if'n he's sweet on ya. An' that didn't look like no bit of anger ta me.”

Silence fell across the two friends for a moment as the pegasus absorbed Applejack's words. Then a blush furiously spread across Rainbow Dash's face and she shook her head. “Naw, you're pulling my tail,” she said, uncomfortably. Then she lowered her head a bit and then looked at the floor. “I'm not girly enough for colts to see me that way.”

The orange earth pony had to mentally restrain herself from walking over and smacking her friend with a hoof. Instead she just sighed aloud and then shook her head. “Believe it or not, Rainbow, there's some stallions out there who like a tomcolt,” Applejack said, and then gave a pointed look to the pegasus as the latter pony brought her gaze back up. “An' just 'cuz ya don't look like th' fillies in those fru-fru fashion magazines Rarity has don't mean yer ugly.”

“Easy for you to say,” Dash grumbled. “You've got Soaren eating out of your hoof every time he visits.”

Now it was Applejack's turn to blush. “Ah think y'all're a bit confused,” the earth pony said, as she shifted to stand fully upright on all four hooves again. “Soaren just really likes th' pies we make here.”

“Yeah, right,” Rainbow Dash sarcastically replied. “That's why he makes the trip here every weekend when the Wonderbolts aren't touring. Sure, AJ, sure,” the cyan pegasus said, smirking at having turned the tables on her friend.

Applejack frowned and gave Dash an irritated look, though it soon disintegrated into a sheepish one as she glanced to the side. “Well, he does talk ta me a bunch when he comes by,” she allowed. “An' Ah can't say he ain't pleasant as punch an' easy on the eyes.”

“See, now that's what a guy who likes you acts like,” Dash said, and then shook her head. “He doesn't act all strange and afraid.”

“Mebbie so,” Applejack allowed, and then faced her friend with a shrug. “Still, somethin' about ya made 'im go googly,” she added, and then glanced around. “Can't see any- oh, shoot.”

“What?” Dash asked, her curiosity piqued. “Something wrong?”

“Yeah, ya might say that,” Applejack replied, and then raised a hoof to point towards a conspicuous bag sitting on the porch railing. “Ya spooked Thunderbird so bad he dun left his pay here.”

Rainbow gave the earth pony a brief, poisonous look. “I didn't do anything, he's the one who flipped out,” she muttered.

“Well it was still 'cuz of you that he left it here,” Applejack pressed on. “So it would be good of ya ta bring it to 'im. Right?”

“I didn't do anything wrong,” Dash protested. “All I did was come here to give you a message from Pinkie Pie, not play delivery mare for some brain dead stallion.”

Applejack facehoofed and sighed at that. “Rainbow, y'all can be so selfish sometimes,” the earth pony grumbled out. Before the pegasus could reply, though, Applejack walked forward and then took the bag in her teeth. “Ahm gonna 'ave ta take 'is ta Ditzy's now,” the orange mare said, somewhat more clearly than Thunderbird as she had more experience. “Tell me Pinkie's message later.” And with that Applejack turned and walked down the steps to the ground below before aiming for the road back to Ponyville.

“Wait, Ditzy? As in Ditzy Dew?” Rainbow asked, her curiosity suddenly piqued, and she jumped off the porch to fly through the air until she was keeping pace with the ground-bound pony. “You mean that guy is the one that killed that manticore? The one the town's been talking about?”

“Yup,” Applejack replied, around the bag in her mouth. “Seemed kinda shy 'bout it.”

“Why'd you hire him?” The pegasus asked, her face contorted in confusion. “He killed a giant predator with a rock. Weren't you worried about him going nuts?”

“Didn't know who he was at 'irst,” Applejack replied. “Didn't 'ind out 'til a 'ew minutes ago. 'E acted all nice an' proper like a gentlestallion all day.”

Dash didn't say anything to that, and the pair of ponies fell silent as they continued on their way. Finally, after a few moments the cyan pegasus sighed painfully. “Alright, I guess I could take that pay to him,” she said, her voice low.

Applejack stopped at that and then lowered her head to set the coin purse on the ground. “Was that th' great an' powerful Rainbow Dash admittin' she was wrong?” The orange earth pony asked with a smirk.

Rainbow blushed profusely at the jibe. “Look, I was just put out by you talking nonsense, that's all,” she protested. “I don't want you to go wasting your time going to town since I'm going there anyway, and this way I can give that stallion a talking to.”

“Oh?” Applejack asked, her smirk never having left her face. “Ah take it ya like 'em dangerous, then?”

“Shut up, that's not it at all,” Dash replied, her voice heated. “I just want to let him know I'll be keeping an eye on him so he'd better not try anything funny!”

Applejack chuckled at that. “Oh, Ah'll bet you'll be keepin' an eye on him, Dash,” she said, smarmy. “Especially certain parts of him, am Ah right? Ah bet them wings of his really got yer attention, now didn't they?”

Rainbow Dash growled at that, or as much as a pony could growl anyway, and she quickly descended to the ground and then snatched the coin purse in her mouth. “This, isn', o'er,” she vaguely threatened, before she turned and then blasted off into the sky, furiously flapping her wings.

Applejack chuckled as she watched the pegasus go, and then turned around to head back to the farmhouse. Well, ain't that interestin', the earth pony mused.

* * * *

Thunderbird took in several deep breaths as he glided towards Ponyville, the descending sun at his back. Okay, open mouth, insert foot. Well, hoof in this case, he thought with a blush as he gave an occasional wing flap to maintain his altitude. Smooth moves back there, Exlax.

Oh shut up, he snapped with himself. You know darn well that it's for the best. The less she thinks of you the less likely she'll want to even look at you. This is what you wanted, to avoid interaction with the Mane Six, especially Dash. Well now you've got a bad first impression to keep her from being curious, so all you have to do is just shut your damn mouth and keep to yourself until you can make enough money to afford food and lodging for when you move on.

The argument was laid out in his mind with such precision that the mortification at behaving like a dunce in front of Rainbow Dash started to melt away. Yeah, it's better this way, Thunderbird told himself as he reached the outskirts of town and then banked to start losing altitude. Just play it nice and cool, and you won't have any problems.

He winced as that thought went through is mind, and Thunderbird shook his head a bit. Okay, no tempting God with thoughts like that, dumbass. Just stay focused on your goal, and try not to hit anything when you land. That last thought was especially pertinent in his mind as the pegasus continued to drop through the air in a shallow dive. Already he was only a hundred feet above the town's tallest buildings and his speed had increased as a result of the drop. Kinetic potential becomes kinetic energy, released as one descends, Thunderbird remembered, though he kept the ruminating brief as he concentrated on looking for a good place to set down. He didn't have any particular destination in mind, he just felt the need to be away from the Apple farm and so had headed into Ponyville proper to spend some time alone while surrounded by crowds. Some nice anonymity would be welcome now, the green stallion thought as he spied a park and then banked to aim for it. Just walk around, maybe look at some shops and figure out how much the pay I got is worth.

Thunderbird's legs and body froze up at that thought, though he overcame the involuntary gesture quickly as it caused a sudden drop in altitude. You've got to be kidding me; I forgot my pay back at the farm?! He mentally railed against himself at that, and despite his social instincts, started pumping his wings and angling up to regain altitude. I know Applejack is honest as heck so it's safe and all, but anyone who doesn't take care of their money gets screwed in the end, the pegasus mentally grumbled to himself as he once again rose into the air. I guess I just better head back and hope Rainbow's already left.

A few moments of flapping produced the desired altitude, and Thunderbird banked to the left, repeating the turn that had given him trouble earlier in the day. This time, however, he concentrated on the innate pegasus magic as Ditzy had instructed him to do, and instead of making it work to keep air moving over his wings – and thus generating lift – he instead forced air across his entire body towards the back. It wasn't enough to accelerate him greatly, but it was enough to keep power in the turn despite his wings being fully extended. Thunderbird felt a bit of pride at that as the maneuver mixed good speed with the agility that fully deployed feathers gave a winged creature, and it let him reverse his course in half the time a pegasus at his speed normally would have been able to do.

Thus it was a surprise to the cyan pegasus tailing him when he finished his turn coming directly for her. It was equally a surprise for Thunderbird as well, and both pegasi had a second to stare in shocked disbelief before they reacted. Rainbow Dash, having spent most of her life in the air, immediately turned upward and pumped her wings rapidly, while Thunderbird, used to the ground, folded his wings in and let gravity pull him downward. The two airborne ponies passed within a foot of each other, their slipstreams whooshing in their ears as they avoided the collision.

Once he realized the danger was past, Thunderbird snapped his wings open again and then looked down to gauge his height. Oh crap, he thought, realizing he'd fallen a bit without any lift and his angle of attack was far too low; he was heading to the ground at a speed he didn't care for, and so pulled his wings up to trim his flight. It took a few tense moments, but eventually he leveled out just above the rooftops in this section of town and then slowed his flight until he could transition into a hover.

“Wow, that was actually pretty cool,” Rainbow Dash said as she flew down to join the stallion, who turned in mid-air to face her. “It was almost like a Wonderbolt move.”

Thunderbird gave her a hard look. “Yeah, thanks,” he sarcastically sniped, the adrenalin having keyed him up too much to be nervous. “I'm glad you enjoy almost ramming into another person, but I'll keep to avoiding that whenever possible.”

Dash was taken aback by the change in the stallion from the last time she'd seen him. It didn't last long, however, as her pride made her go on the offensive. “Hey, I'm not the one making crazy turns without checking behind himself first,” she countered. “If you'd tried that in Cloudsdale there'd be a fifty pony pileup right now.”

“Except I wouldn't try that in Cloudsdale because there I'd expect to have pegasi flying all around me,” Thunderbird snapped back. “As opposed to here where I'd have thought that you of all ponies would know not to tailgate!”

The cyan pegasus stared at the green one for a moment, before she started to speak. “Who the hay do you think you are, anyway?” She asked, as she furrowed her brows in anger. “I don't care where you are, bad flight discipline is stupid no matter what!”

Thunderbird blushed at this, and he felt his anger leech away. “Yeah, well,” he muttered, and frowned a bit as he raised a hoof up to rub his neck. “I didn't think there'd be anyone behind me,” he weakly said, and then gave the cyan pegasus a rueful look. “I'm sorry,” he grated out.

“Well...” Dash said, surprised at the sudden deescalation. “I guess I shouldn't have been following so closely without warning,” she said, her voice lowering a bit as she realized her complicity. “I'm sorry too, okay?”

“Okay,” Thunderbird said, and then smiled sheepishly. “I never thought I'd see you back down so readily.”

Rainbow Dash let a confused look wash over her face at that. “Uhm, yeah. I'm not always as stubborn as some ponies make me out to be,” she said. “Though I guess I do get carried away sometimes,” she added with a blush, though it was quick and her confused look returned. “But have we met before? You seem to know me.”

“Oh, uh,” Thunderbird stumbled out, mentally kicking himself for letting his knowledge of certain ponies slip out again. “I, uh, saw you in the Young Fliers' Competition last year,” he said, coming up with the story on the spot. “I was in the audience.” Technically true! He thought. “That sonic rainboom you did was just wicked sick,” he said, smiling and infusing some not-unreal fan glee into his voice.

“Oh, yeah,” Dash said, her blush returning briefly. Soon enough, however, it was replaced by a well practiced look of confidence, and she closed her eyes so she could brush her mane with a forehoof. “I'm just that awesome, yanno?”

Despite himself, Thunderbird chuckled. Must refrain from fan squee, he told himself, and then cleared his throat. “Well, I should be going,” he said, feeling his nervousness return as the adrenalin wore off while his fanboyism rose. “Sorry again for the mishap,” he added, and then turned to head back west.

“Hey, wait a second,” Dash said, causing the stallion to halt in mid-motion. “I was following you 'cuz- Oh, shoot,” she interrupted herself as she realized she'd dropped the bag. “Just wait here a moment, okay? I'll be right back.” She waited a moment for Thunderbird to nod confusedly before she turned and then raced off, leaving a rainbow trail in her wake. It was by this trail that the green stallion watched her zip all around the portion of Ponyville the two had nearly collided over, and a few moments later he saw this trail approach him at high speed. Thunderbird couldn't help but flinch a bit as the rainbow maned pegasus came to a crash stop in front of him, though he was proud of the fact that he at least didn't try to get out of the way.

Dash noticed it as well, and her opinion of the stallion rose by one small iota. “'Ere, ya 'orgot ish,” she said around the bag in her mouth. Thunderbird blinked a bit in surprise as he recognized the small pouch Applejack had put his pay in, and he quickly reached out both of his forehooves and held them together. Dash set the bag down on the cupped hooves and then nodded to him. “AJ asked me to bring it to you, so, uh, there ya go,” she said. Then she remembered the other reason she had wanted to catch up, and the multi-hue maned pegasus set her eyes in a hard look. “And also, I know you're the guy who killed that manticore. So don't get any ideas about causing trouble in town, alright? I've got my eye on you.”

Thunderbird blinked at the sudden change of topics. “Why would I cause trouble?” He asked, quite without thinking.

“Er, I dunno,” Rainbow said, caught off guard by the question. “It's just, ponies don't usually kill animals, even the vicious ones. I just want to make sure you're not a psycho or something.”

The dark green pegasus rolled his eyes at that, his mind still a bit too jumbled up to think things through. “Oh please. Just because someone is capable of using lethal force doesn't mean they're psychotic,” he said, his voice laced with disdain. “And to be fair, that thing was trying to eat me, which I take special offense at.

“So unless a pony is going to try and kill me, I shan't be causing any problems of that nature,” Thunderbird added. After a moment of thought, he went on in a more conciliatory tone. “But for whatever reason you did it, thank you very much for bringing this to me,” he said, hefting the coin purse still in his cupped hooves. “You have a nice day, miss Dash,” he said and then nodded to the cyan pegasus before he turned and flew off, headed for Ditzy's house.

Rainbow watched him go off with a frown on her face. Something about him seems off, she thought. Not wrong or bad just... off. She shrugged at the thought and then put it out of her mind. “Now, what was I doing before all of this?” She asked herself, putting a forehoof under her chin in thought. “I went to AJ's, because Pinkie-” She paused in her rumination as she remembered the cause that had brought her out to Sweet Apple Acres. “Oh haystacks and hail bait, Pinkie's message!” With that, the multi-hued pegasus turned and did an impression of a comet as she arced through the sky back to the Apple farm.

Chapter 5 - Meanwhile, At the Hall of The Super Best Friends

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Thunderbird sighed in relief as he landed in front of Ditzy Dew's cottage, his flight back having been free from any further aerobatics or drama. He set down on his hind legs only at first, still flapping his wings a bit to keep the front half of his body suspended while he set the coin purse on the ground. Once it was down, he quickly set out both of his forelegs and then settled to the ground on all fours. Well, that could have gone better, he thought as he folded his now stilled wings up in their resting position on his sides. But I suppose it could have been worse, too. At least no bones were broken and Dash doesn't hate me.

But you want her to hate you, another part of him said.

No, I don't. I want her to ignore me, he countered. Hatred is just the opposite of... Well, you know. It can generate as much attention and interaction as any intense emotion. Ignoring me, however, will let me slip into the background. Anonymity is what I want, and that's what I'm going to get.

Not with the whole town talking about you, he reminded himself. Apparently you're a target for scuttlebutt.

New people always are, he countered. They'll forget about me soon enough when something else happens. And this being Ponyville, I only need to wait a week or so for that, right?

His mind didn't throw anything else at him then, and so the stallion sighed in relief and then bent down to grab the coin purse in his mouth. He was an inch away and his mouth wide open when he froze as he realized that Rainbow Dash had also been carrying the pouch in her mouth, as had Applejack. Oh Fudruckers...

* * * *

Ditzy Dew chopped up the carrots, careful to hold the sharp knife with the light gripping magic inherent in all ponies' hooves. This is going to be a wonderful stew tonight, she thought as she balanced her upper body against the edge of the countertop. Like all such furnishings the edge had been worn smooth to make the position comfortable, or at least acceptable to ponies who needed to use their forehooves to manipulate objects. Sometimes I envy humans, with their fingers and thumbs, Ditzy mused as she worked on dinner. Of course, I wouldn't want to give up my flying for it. Too much fun, that is.

She heard the front door open just then, interrupting her train of thought. “Dinky, is that you?” Ditzy called, knowing her daughter would be back soon from playing with her friends.

“It's just me, miss Dew,” a deeper, masculine voice replied.

Ditzy felt her curiosity rise as she recognized Thunderbird. “Alright, Thud,” she called back. “I'm making dinner in the kitchen if you need me for anything.”

“Sure thing- Whoa!” A soft thud followed the last word, joined almost immediately by the noise of coins clinking on the ground and the soft muttered curses of a particular pegasus.

Curious, Ditzy set down the knife and then lowered herself to all fours before she turned and walked from the kitchen into the main hallway that connected all the rooms on the ground floor with the front door. A quick glance down the hall showed her that Thunderbird had seemingly tripped, and he was now lying on his belly with his legs, and surprisingly his wings, splayed out as wide as the narrow corridor would allow. In front of him was a bag that had split open upon hitting the floor, spilling a pile of coins out on the hardwood, and the dark green pegasus was fuming as he eyed it. “Figures, it goes all this time without breaking and now it rips open.”

“I believe you humans have a phrase for that sort of thing,” Ditzy said as she walked over and then leaned down a bit to start nudging the coins into a pile. “You call it 'Murphy's Law' I believe.”

Thunderbird chuckled ruefully as he regained his footing and then moved over to join Ditzy in cleaning up the small mess. “Ah yes, Murphy has been gracing my life for as long as I can remember.”

“Well, he couldn't have been along much today,” Ditzy suggested as she took a step back once the coins had been piled up. “Seems you found some work.”

“Yup,” Thunderbird replied, but then abruptly frowned and looked down at the coins. “Uhm, may I leave this here for a moment?” He asked, gesturing to the pile. “I'm going to go and get the other coin purse from my bags.”

“Of course,” Ditzy replied as she turned to head back to the kitchen. “Just don't take too long. Dinky is supposed to be home soon and I don't want to let her think that messes are okay.”

“No problemo, señorita,” Thunderbird replied, affecting a deeper, fake Spanish accent. Ditzy laughed at that as she continued into the kitchen, leaving the stallion to turn and head for the stairs up to the bedrooms. A quick trot down the upstairs hallway to the guest room – the very last door – netted him the coin purse he'd somehow acquired when coming to Equestria from where it sat upon a dresser, and another quick trot and descent had him picking up the coins within minutes.

At least I can carry this bag in my mouth without feeling creepy, Thunderbird thought. He still felt weird at knowing that the old bag had been held in the mouths of two of his favorite ponies. How come I didn't think of this before? He angrily thought at himself. Ponies use their mouths for picking up a lot of things. That means a lot of things I've picked up with my mouth have probably been in another pony's mouth already. Ugh, how the Hell do they not find that a little weird?

And yet here you are holding a bag in your mouth that's been God knows where, he answered himself as he picked up the coin purse in his mouth and then walked towards the kitchen. Hypocrite much?

Shut up. I never said I wouldn't bite the bullet and bear it, I'm just wondering why no one here has made mouth condoms yet. The mental image this brought up made him both shudder in revulsion and snort in amusement.

“Something funny?” Ditzy asked as the dark green pegasus entered the kitchen, though she only briefly glanced away from where she was making dinner. Thunderbird grunted an affirmative as he walked over to the small table and two bench seats that sat in a breakfast nook at the back of the kitchen. There he set his coin purse down on the table and then moved to sit on one of the benches. “Just had an amusing thought. It's not fit for public consumption, though, so I'll spare you it.”

“If you say so,” Ditzy said, easily. “So you found work today?” She then asked, as she turned to pick up the carrots she'd been working on and tossed them into a large pot sitting on her stove.

“Yeah,” Thunderbird replied, sounding reluctant.

Ditzy glanced over at him and saw that a mild blush was on his face. “I take it there's a story behind that answer?” She asked, curiously.

“You might say that,” Thunderbird said, and then sighed. “There weren't any new postings when I got to the job board today, though one did get posted up as I was looking them over again. Turns out Applejack needed help on the farm for a day.”

“Oh, really?” Ditzy asked, and glanced at the stallion again.

“Ya really,” Thunderbird answered with a chuckle. When the blonde-maned pegasus tossed him a confused look, he shrugged. “Sorry, internet meme back home,” he explained, and then grunted as he returned his thoughts to earlier in the day. “But yes. I decided to swallow my pride and fanboyism and offered to help. She didn't have any other pony around so she took it and I spent the afternoon, uh...” He stopped then as he thought of politic way to describe the work. “Distributing the end-result of porcine disposal units.”

“Spreading pig crap?” Ditzy asked, a chuckle following her words. “You needn't to worry about my sensibilities, Thud. I've seen and heard worse,” she added as she went to work on some leeks.

“I'm beginning to believe you have,” Thunderbird said with a nod towards the gray mare when she glanced back at him again. “But yes, I spread pig crap on the potato fields for the Apples. I wasn't very fast, or so I'm told, but AJ was still grateful I spared her the work, so she paid me twenty-five bits for the five hours of work.”

“Well, that was nice of her,” Ditzy said as she finished with the leeks. She quickly added them to the cooking pot and then turned the stove on so the stew could begin cooking. “Five bits an hour is a decent wage for unskilled labor,” the gray pegasus explained as she turned and walked over towards the kitchen table. She paused halfway there when she saw Thunderbird sitting upright like a human instead of lengthwise like a pony, but she mentally shook it off as she finished walking over and took a – normal – seat across from the stallion.

“So I guess inflation isn't really a hefty thing here in Equestria?” Thunderbird asked.

“Not really, no,” Ditzy replied with a shrug of her shoulders. “Gold doesn't tend to change in value much. At least not here,” she added. “That and having an immortal monarch sitting on the throne for thousands of years tends to stabilize economic policies.”

“I'll bet,” Thunderbird grunted. “So anyway, that's a good amount of pay then, I take it?”

“Well, decent enough,” Ditzy replied. “It's not the best money you could make, certainly not as much as that weather job you're eyeing. But farmers aren't known for being rich, nor is the work known for being technically demanding, so the pay isn't something to jump for joy about.”

“Just so long as I ain't getting cheated,” Thunderbird said. “Not that I'd think AJ would cheat me, mind you, but there's such a thing as being honest and pinching every penny 'til your employees' pocketbooks are emaciated.”

Ditzy nodded at that. “True,” she agreed. “But no, the Apples have always been good ponies. Never very wealthy in money, though they have some of the largest tracts of land around.”

Thunderbird sniggered at that, and Ditzy gave him a look of confusion before a memory popped up in her head. “Oh, grow up,” she said in a huff.

“No no,” Thunderbird said, with mock sincerity as he held out a hoof. “Please, do go on about Applejack's huge tracts of land,” he added, and then broke out laughing before Ditzy could even reply.

The gray mare sighed and furrowed her brows. “It's not that funny,” she muttered as the stallion continued to laugh.

“I'm sorry,” Thunderbird said after only a moment of laughing. “I'm not laughing at you, Ditzy. It's just funny how that came out, that's all,” he added, and smiled at the other pegasus. “And as you know, I'm a huge fan of that sort of thing.”

“Please don't remind me,” Ditzy replied with an opposite-direction eye roll.

Thunderbird shook his head lightly at that. “Well, you've had your revenge just now by making me jealous of your ability to do that with your eyes.”

“What ability?” Ditzy asked in false innocence as she made herself walleyed.

“You are an evil minx of a pony,” Thunderbird countered with mock severity. “You test me, and I shall have you strung up on the yardarm for insubordination!”

Ditzy chuckled at that. “Oh surely, captain, you can make an exception for little ol' me?” She asked, and gave a cute eyelash batting. While her eyes were still split.

“Alright, you win,” Thunderbird said, raising both of his forelegs into the air in a gesture of surrender. “That look you just gave was simultaneously the cutest and most disturbing thing I've seen in a long time. I yield to your weirding ways, Bene Gesserit witch.”

The gray pegasus gave the green one a confused look, which overrode her walleyed stare and brought both eyes back onto an even keel. “Is that a cultural reference?” She asked.

“Maaayybe,” Thunderbird said, and attempted to innocently glance off to the side. “Oh, hey, your water is boiling,” he added, and pointed towards the steaming pot on the stove with a foreleg.

Ditzy gave the stallion a brief, silent razz before she stood up and walked over to the stove to tend to the household's dinner. “So, getting back on topic, are you going back to work for Applejack again?” The gray mare asked before she picked up a long handled spoon in her mouth and then stirred the stew.

“Probably not,” Thunderbird replied as he stretched out a bit. “She said it was only 'cuz Big Macintosh was taking a day off. But she said if she had any more work she might drop by here and lemme know, since I told her where I was staying.”

“Ah,” Ditzy said after putting the spoon down, and then turning the heat on the stove down so the stew could simmer. “Well, there's always that weatherpony job. You think you're up for trying out for it yet?” She asked as she returned to the table and then sat down.

“I dunno,” the stallion said, his voice suddenly low, and his eyes cast downward to look at the table surface. “I, uh, kinda had a run-in with Rainbow Dash after I finished working for Applejack.”

“Really? What happened?” Ditzy asked, and then waited patiently as Thunderbird went through the events that had only recently transpired, making sure he didn't leave out his own panicked responses no matter how embarrassing they were. “So I dunno if I could get on the team if she's running it,” he finished, and then sighed.

“Well, to be fair, the team is technically run by the mayor's office,” Ditzy slowly said, picking her words with care as she also worked to think about the situation. “But yes, as the most senior weatherpony, she has all operational control. So you could still get the job, since the mayor does all the interviews and hiring, but Dash could basically cut your hours down to a pittance and give you all the worst duties if she wanted to.”

Thunderbird groaned at that and then facehoofed. “Oh that's just what I want, a boss who has it in for me,” he grumbled, sarcastically.

“I wouldn't say that,” Ditzy hastily added. “Look, you may know a bit about Dash through the telly, but I've actually lived here my whole life and have had a lot of actual interaction with her. She's really not that bad, just a little leery of ponies she hasn't had the time to evaluate.” The gray pegasus paused at that to gather her breath and her thoughts before she continued. “From what you've said, she might think you're odd, but the near-miss might actually help your case, as it showed quick thinking that saved both of you a lot of pain. She respects ability and dedication, and all you need to do is be patient and work long enough to show her that you have those things and she will be alright with you. In the mean time, she's professional enough to give you some slack until you're up to speed.”

The green pegasus took a look at Ditzy for a moment as he absorbed and processed her words. “How do you know so much about Dash's personality?” He asked, genuinely curious. “It sounds like you've talked with her more often than just occasionally helping with the weather.”

Ditzy smiled at that, and then shrugged. “As I told you a few days ago, weatherpony work is easy enough for any pegasus who can fly decently. A few years ago I was laid off from the post office due to budget cutbacks,” her smile disappeared at that, and she sighed briefly. “It was a screwup, really. I love princess Celestia as much as the next pony, but things have been so much smoother since princess Luna returned.

“But I digress. I had to keep money coming in so I took a spare position on the weather team for a few months before the post office called me back to work. Dash can be surprisingly patient when she wants to be,” Ditzy said, and then smirked. “The problem is that she doesn't want to be patient often. Still, she does like to give ponies a chance to earn her loyalty, so as long as you really work at it, she will probably cut you some slack.”

“I see,” Thunderbird said, and then fell silent as he pondered what the gray mare had just told him. While he did this, Ditzy stood up to go and resume work on the other components of the stew, leaving him alone at the table with his thoughts.

It wasn't long, however, before his ruminations were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening again. “I'm home, momma!” The familiar voice of Dinky Dew sounded from down the hall. “Can my friends come in?”

“Welcome home, muffin!” Ditzy called out, and then turned from the stove to trot into the hallway. “And what did I tell you about proper words, young lady?”

“Oh, sorry,” Thunderbird heard, and he smiled as he could imagine the remorseful look on the young filly's face. “May my friends come in, please?”

“They certainly may,” Ditzy said, and then Thunderbird heard her turn and walk back towards the kitchen. “But you all must stay out of the kitchen while I'm working on dinner. Also, please mind mister Thunderbird, he just got back from a job not too long ago.”

A chorus of affirmations came back, followed by the sound of many tiny hooves pounding on the flooring as they ran up the stairs. Thunderbird twitched an ear as he heard something familiar in those voices, and he cast a glance to Ditzy as she emerged from the hallway. “Dinky's friends wouldn't happen to be three of Ponyville's most infamous fillies, would they?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“If you mean Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, then yes,” the gray mare answered with a sigh as she walked back to the stove. “I hope that's not a problem?”

“Not really,” Thunderbird said. “And even if it was, I'd leave rather than put you and your daughter out any more than I already have.” He chuckled at that. “Besides, Dinky's so adorable that I think my heart would explode if I did anything to upset her.”

Ditzy chuckled at that as well. “I'm glad to hear it,” she observed as she finished the next step of food preparation and then turned away from the simmering stew. “Although I'm not surprised. You've been so exceedingly patient with her. Are you sure you don't have kids of your own?”

The pain that stabbed into Thunderbird's chest was cold, as it usually was. And as always it left a hollow feeling behind. “I'm quite sure,” he replied, his voice flat and emotionless.

The gray mare froze upon hearing the tone and saw the stallion's face was contort in a grimace, his body tensed up. “I'm sorry,” Ditzy said quietly, and then walked over to stand near the table. “I didn't mean to prod at a sore spot.”

“It's alright,” Thunderbird said, and then started the movements that would get him off of the seat and properly on his hooves. “I'm sorry if I was short with you. It's just...” He let his voice trail off for a moment, and then sighed. “I want to raise a family. I want to find the woman of my dreams, someone who will get me, and have kids with her. But back home I was a fat waste of space that no woman would ever look twice at, and here...” He shrugged. “Not even worth thinking about, here.

“So it hurts,” he continued, softly, his voice barely heard above the sound of food cooking on the stove. “It hurts every time I'm reminded of it. Of the false hope I had for years, and the emptiness of where it used to sit now that I've realized the truth of the matter.” He paused, and then shook his head. “Excuse me, I think I need to head off alone for a bit,” he said, his voice even as turned to head for the cottage's back door. “I'll be out practicing my flying if you need me.”

“Alright,” Ditzy said, her voice a bit sad. She could tell, however, that trying to say anything more wouldn't be the right course, and so she nodded to the stallion as he pressed open the door. “Dinner will be ready in about an hour or so.”

“Thanks, Ditzy,” Thunderbird said, as he stepped through the door. Suddenly he paused, and then glanced back and gave the blonde-maned pegasus a brief smile. “You're a good friend,” he added, and then walked out.

* * * *

“So Dinky,” the red-maned, yellow earth pony began as the four fillies finished talking about their day. “Who's that guy yer mom mentioned?”

“Oh, mister Thunderbird?” The gray unicorn of the bunch replied. “He's a friend of my mom,” Dinky explained as she sat on her bed, Sweetie Belle sitting next to her while Applebloom and Scootaloo sat or stood on the floor, respectively. “She said he had an accident recently and needed to stay with us until he could get back on his hooves.”

“That's not what I heard,” Scootaloo said, her face and voice telling of her enthusiasm for the subject. “I heard that he's that pegasus everypony in town is talking about, the one who killed a manticore just by looking at it!”

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle both gasped at this. “No way!” Sweetie said.

“Yes way!” Scootaloo replied.

“Nu-uh,” Applebloom countered, garnering a surprised look from her pegasus friend. “You can't kill a manticore with a look!”

“Oh yeah?” Scootaloo said, turning to give the earth pony a challenging look. “Fluttershy stopped a cockatrice with a stare!”

“Yeah, but she didn't kill it,” Applebloom said, standing to give Scootaloo and equally challenging expression. “And she's Fluttershy! Ah don't think there ain't a pony anywhere else what can do her stare!”

Sweetie Belle frowned a bit, and then looked to the other unicorn filly. “What do you think, Dinky?” She asked, hoping to defuse the situation between the two more rambunctious friends.

Dinky, for her part, looked down at her forelegs as the other fillies turned their attentions to her. “Uhm, well,” she began sheepishly, and then looked up. “My mom told me he killed it, but she didn't say how,” the gray unicorn explained. “She said she only told me because she knew that the other ponies would be talking about it, and she wanted me to know the truth. She said that mister Thunderbird is just a nice pony who had to do it because he had no choice.” It wasn't all that her mother had told her, nor was it all she knew about where the Dews' house guest was really from. But she made me promise not to talk about him being a human, the little unicorn thought. And I always keep my promises!

“Wait, so he really did kill a manticore?” Scootaloo asked, looking a bit shocked.

Dinky nodded in reply, thought it was Applebloom who spoke next. “Weren't you th' one who started talkin' 'bout it?” She asked, confused.

“Yeah, but I thought it was just a story,” Scootaloo confessed, blushing a bit. “You know, like that story of how there's a bunch of ninja ponies who deliver daisy sandwiches. Or how if you say Pinkie Pie's full name three times in the mirror she appears and then you're never heard from again.”

Dinky frowned at the last one, having never heard of it before. “If you're not heard from again, then how does anypony know it's true?”

“Uhm...” Scootaloo said, her face contorting as she worked hard to think of a way out of the logic problem.

“Aren't you scared of being in the same house as him, though?” Sweetie Belle asked as she looked at Dinky, having already decided to move the conversation onwards.

“Not really,” Dinky replied evenly. “My mom says she trusts him, and she's really good at knowing who to trust,” she explained. “And he's really nice, and funny too.”

“Really?” Scootaloo asked, and then continued after she received a nod from Dinky. “So what's he look like, anyway?”

“He's big, dark green pegasus,” Dinky said, and then shrugged. “And he has a brown mane.”

“Wait,” Applebloom said, holding up a hoof. “Does he have a book an' stuff for his cutie mark?” She asked.

“Well, yes,” Dinky replied. “He says it's because he's a writer.”

At the mention of his talent both Scootaloo and Applebloom seemed to lose interest, though Sweetie Belle remained attentive. “Ooh, what's he write?” She asked.

Dinky frowned as she thought about the answer. “I don't think he's told me,” she admitted. “But he says he likes to write fiction,” she added. A glance to her two more rambunctious friends showed that they didn't quite follow. “You know, made up stories.”

“Oh,” both Scootaloo and Applebloom said, finally understanding. “That's cool,” the orange pegasus said. “Not as cool as Rainbow Dash, but still cool.” The other three fillies shared a chuckle at that, which left Scootaloo confused. “What?” She asked.

“Nothing,” Applebloom said, and then turned to look at Dinky. “Didja ever ask him how he got his cutie mark?”

“Oh, uh,” Dinky said, glancing to the side. “No.”

“Well, why not?” The farmer pony asked. “We're all tryin' ta get our cutie marks, ain't we? Why don't we go ask that guy how he got his?”

“Yeah!” Both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exclaimed. Dinky, though, just shirked back a bit. “Uhm, yeah,” she said. “But momma told me not to bother mister Thunderbird,” she said, in a quiet plea.

“We won't bother him,” Applebloom said as she and the other two “crusaders” stood or climbed down from the bed. “We're jus' gonna ask him, and if'n he says no, we'll just come back here, okay?”

“Uh, okay,” Dinky allowed. He probably already has a story made up, anyway.

* * * *

Okay, just a bit higher now, Thunderbird thought as he climbed almost straight up, his wings pumping hard. He could feel the burn in his muscles as he pushed them, but it was a good feeling he relished even when he had been in his weaker, original body. I should've made the time to work out, he scolded himself. But gyms are too public. Too many people. Too many things I don't understand.

He shook his head to get rid of those thoughts. Well I've lucked out now, so don't blow it. Keep doing exercise like this every day, got it?

Jawhol! He answer himself, and then returned his focus to his flight. The dark green pegasus leveled out and then transitioned to a hover as he turned in mid air to look down at the ground a few hundred feet below. Here Thunderbird paused and went over the trick he had accidentally discovered only a few moments before, having flown about in his frustrated emotional state before slipping in mid-turn again. Now, though, he sought to recreate the effect he'd used to keep himself from hitting the ground, and the pegasus smiled broadly as he remembered the thrill of it.

“Alright,” he said, speaking aloud to himself. “Here goes nothing.” With that, he flapped his wings again, angling their thrust so he flipped his front end downward to enter a dive. The wind immediately started to whip past his ears, which only increased as the dark green pony tucked his forelegs forward, his hind legs back, and his wings angled as far back as they would go, all to decrease wind resistance. He felt especially proud at his wings, as they formed a delta shape parallel to his horizontal axis, much as some supersonic fighters had back home.

Not that I'm trying for a rainboom, Thunderbird reminded himself, and then angled his wings up a bit, using the back-pointing tips like ailerons. He wanted his dive to level out in a more controlled fashion than last time, and so was glad to trade the decreased speed for a shallower glide path. However, his speed remained on the far side of 'reckless' and his angle acute to straight down, so Thunderbird grit his teeth as the ground rose, fully intending to meet him with the force of one half of mass times velocity squared. Still Thunderbird kept his course, aiming for a patch of clear meadow a few dozen yards from Ditzy Dew's cottage.

Almost there, the pegasus thought as the ground became uncomfortably close. Finally the time came, and Thunderbird snapped his wings out and forward, spreading them mostly, but not all of the way out. The limbs screamed in pained protest at the force the slipstream imparted on them, but the pegasus kept them out and angled them up to shallow his dive, which rose slowly, but faster as the milliseconds ticked by.

At the last second, Thunderbird threw the last bit of reach into his wings, making them stretch out straight to either side as he yanked their angle of attack upwards, and then leveled them before he could stall. His feathers he kept bunched up as much as possible, though, which allowed the large wings to catch a cushion of air between themselves and the ground, which was now only just three feet below his underside.

Thunderbird grinned maniacally as he remained level and moving fast, riding on the air cushion and the momentum he'd picked up from the dive. “YEEEEEEE-HAAAWWW!” He cheered, screaming at the top of his lungs as he whipped past Ditzy's cottage in a blur. He felt his mind and soul clear out, reveling only in the adrenalin, the joy, and the triumph of having performed his trick, and Thunderbird smiled broadly as he continued to ride the ground effect. Eventually, though, he felt his speed slow down too much to maintain his height, even with the trick he'd learned earlier of using pegasus magic to gain thrust across his whole body. Reluctantly, but still with a feeling of triumph, he snapped his wings down hard to propel himself up far enough so that he could do a full stroke without fear of crashing. Soon he regained a respectable altitude of a dozen feet or so, and a more modest velocity that allowed him to easily make a turn to head back for the field behind Ditzy's house. I need a rest, he thought as he felt the fatigue in his wings.

The flight back was quick, despite the lower speed, and Thunderbird found himself surprised to see that Dinky and her friends – 'we are the cutie mark crusaaaders', he sung briefly in his mind – had come out back. He was then embarrassed as he saw them all staring up at him, and the stallion shook his head briefly as he angled down for a landing. Oh goody, more interaction. Almost as if a hack was writing this drivel by copying that one story where the CMC recruit Dinky, the pegasus angrily thought.

Stop that, another part of him chastised himself. Don't be an angry jerk around the kids. They deserve better.

You're right, you're right, Thunderbird thought, mentally surrendering to himself as he finally landed a yard from the fillies, taking a few steps on his hooves to bleed off the last of his momentum.

Scarcely had he stopped moving when the tiny orange pegasus he recognized as Scootaloo pushed herself forward. “Wow, that was awesome!” She said, looking up at the dark green stallion with a grin on her face.

“Oh, you saw that, did you?” Thunderbird sheepishly asked, blushing a bit.

“Yeah!” The four fillies yelled as one. “How'd you do that?” Scootaloo added, taking the lead.

“Hmm,” the green stallion hummed as he thought on how to explain it. “Well, you see, when an airfoil of sufficient size is close to a solid surface, it can generate additional lift by creating a pocket of increased air pressure between it and the surface,” he said, and then smiled as he felt he'd recalled the proper explanation. The blank looks he got from three of the fillies, though, soon sapped his happy expression.

“Uhm, okay...” Scootaloo said, frowning as she struggled to understand the terminology. “What does that mean?”

“It means he used his wings to trap air between them and the ground,” Dinky said, friendlily. “Then he rode it like a surfboard until he got too slow for it.”

Thunderbird grinned at the gray unicorn. “Yes, exactly, Dinky. Thank you,” he said, briefly raising his right foreleg to point it at the filly.

“Oooohhh,” the other three youths said, understanding growing in their eyes, though in one case it was supplanted by admiration. “That's wicked,” Scootaloo said. “How'd you find that out?”

“Er,” Thunderbird started, surprised at the question. “Are you telling me no one here has heard of the ground effect before?” He asked back.

Scootaloo just gave him an odd look. “The what effect?”

“Ground effect,” Thunderbird repeated. “It's the name of the process Dinky explained.”

“Oh,” Scootaloo said, and then frowned in thought for a moment. “I don't think I've heard of the name or the trick,” she added. Then her eyes widened and her wings started fluttering. “That means it's a whole new trick! Which means Rainbow Dash hasn't heard of it yet!”

“So?” Sweetie Belle spoke up, casting the question at her friend.

“So, that means that I can tell her about it and she'll think I'm so cool for knowing it!” Scootaloo explained, as she started to fidget in anticipation. “Ooh, I can't wait! I've gotta go tell her now!” She added, and then turned and shot off like a bullet. “I'll see you girls tomorrow!” She called out over her shoulder as she ran around the side of the house, her little wings buzzing to give her a bit more speed.

The stallion and remaining three fillies watched her leave with only a mild bit of surprise on their faces, before they returned their attention to one another. “I'm sorry about Scootaloo, mister Thunderbird,” Dinky said, quietly. “She likes to run around a lot.” Both Applebloom and Sweetie Belle echoed this sentiment.

Despite himself, Thunderbird let out a brief laugh. “That's okay, Dinky,” he said, and then took a step over to rub a forehoof on the top of her blonde maned head. “She's a good kid. So are the rest of y'all,” he added as he stepped back and then took a look at the other two fillies.

All three of them beamed with pride. “Thanks, mister Thunderbird!” Dinky said for the lot of them.

“Dinky, didn't I say you could call me 'Thud'?” The dark green pegasus asked.

“Er, yeah,” the little unicorn filly said, and then rubbed a hoof in the grass as she went on. “But momma said it's not polite to call an adult by a nickname.”

Thunderbird nodded at that. “True. Unless, however, that adult asks to you call him by his nickname,” he said. “So please, call me Thud. And that goes for you girls, as well,” he added, looking over Applebloom and Sweetie Belle again.

“Why'd ya have that as a nickname?” The yellow earth pony asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

“Because that's the noise I make when I mess up flying and hit the ground,” Thunderbird said, and then laughed briefly. “I'm a bit of a clumsy pony, you see.”

The girls chuckled all chuckled at that. “So, uh, Thud,” Sweetie Belle began. “We were wondering how you got your cutie mark?”

The stallion blinked at that, and then glanced over to Dinky, who gave him a tiny shrug. “Well, you see...” he began, unsure of what to say.

Fortunately, though, he was saved from anything further when Ditzy Dew opened the back door. “Alright girls, it's almost dinner. Dinky, you need to come in and wash up. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, I'm sure your families will want you home for your meals as well.”

“Yes, miss Dew,” the two non-Dew fillies chorused, and then turned to walk off. “See ya at school tomorrow, Dinky!” Applebloom said as they left.

“You too, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle!” Dinky said, waving a hoof in goodbye. Once they rounded the corner of the house, Dinky stopped and then looked up at Thunderbird with sad eyes. “I'm sorry if we bugged you, mister Thunderbird.”

“Aw, that's okay, Dinky,” the green stallion said as he started them both walking towards the cottage. “Y'all are kids, and kids will be kids, no matter where you go. You just enjoy your time being a filly, and make lots of good memories to treasure, okay?”

“Okay!” Dinky replied with a grin, and then bounded off ahead to pop into the back door that Ditzy had left open. Thunderbird only chuckled at the filly's swift change of emotions, and he followed along at a more sedate pace. Just before he entered the cottage, however, he paused and then looked towards the west, where the sun was even now starting to set. I guess it's not so bad here, he thought, and then turned to head in. Just so long as I stay clear of the major ponies as much as I can.

Chapter 6 - Rock over London, Rock on Chicago

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The ticking of a grandfather clock marked time and provided a counterpoint to the silence of the office Thunderbird found himself in. He sat in a wide chair, pony style to not disturb his host, while she patiently and calmly went through the application he had just tendered. A bit more informal than I'd expect for a mayor's office, the dark green pegasus mused as he looked over the various decorations. Potted plants were an obvious but welcome choice, but what truly surprised him was the large amount of photographs and artwork, all showing Ponyville and its denizens at various points in its short but rich history. Having been in a few government offices in his time. Thunderbird knew that the effect could have been formal and distant, yet the specific subjects of the pictures were all simple scenes of ponies enjoying one another's company, of large gatherings for festivals and the like, and curiously intimate landscapes of various parts of the town's geography.

All in all, a good bunch of reminders of who a public servant's responsibility is to, Thunderbird approvingly thought. This Ivory Scroll certainly knows her job. No wonder she's been re-elected for twenty years. Ditzy had of course given him a brief history lesson about the mayor before he had flown into town to apply for the weather team position, and the stallion was grateful for it as it placed her within a context he could use to relate to her. It certainly made the beginning of the interview easier on me, Thud remembered. So did having my stuff with me. He glanced to the floor at his side just then to eye his saddlebags, which he'd brought to carry the application he'd filled out at Ditzy's house, as well as his other possessions. I probably should have emptied the bags out, but really, a hat, a small electronic device, and a sack of coins hardly make for a burden on my back. And it was nice to know I've got everything here with me. Not that I don't trust Ditzy, just that I don't like leaving my only connections to home and my money anywhere out of my sight.

He was brought out of his ruminations then as the mayor placed the application down on her desk. “Well mister Thunderbird, I can't say I'm impressed with your work history,” she said evenly, gesturing to the portion that the pegasus had to be 'creative' with in order to match his experience with the reality he was now in. “Working for a chain of stores isn't exactly prime training for weather work.”

“I understand that, mayor,” Thunderbird interjected. “But neither is it a detriment. I'd like to think that the many years I put into that line of work”—that soul-crushing, Godforsaken work—“shows that I am, if anything, dedicated to giving my employer the best performance I can, and that I'm steadfast in my efforts.”

The mayor nodded in reply. “I can see that,” she allowed, and then glanced down at the paperwork again. “But this is an entirely different line of work.”

“Which is why I'm applying,” Thunderbird said. “Ma'am, have you ever worked retail for an extended period of time?”

The tan-coated mare pursed her lips as she went over her memories. “I can't say that I have,” she admitted. “I did do so for a few months before I realized my calling and entered the public sector.”

“And it wasn't exactly fun, was it?” Thunderbird asked, and then continued without waiting for an answer for he already knew it. “Now imagine having to do that for twelve years, and you should understand the depths of my distaste for continuing in that vein.

“So I'm looking for work that is most assuredly not in line with my previous experience,” the green stallion continued. “I know that puts me at a disadvantage, but as I said, I do have years of steady work behind me to show that I'm not some hair-brained fool. I'm not some guy who's going to slack around and screw everything up. Mind you, I know I'll make mistakes, but I promise you I do at least learn from them and as long as I've worked, I've known how to buckle down and do what needs to be done.”

The mayor, Ivory Scroll, pondered his words for a few moments. Finally, she nodded. “Well, I can certainly see where you're coming from,” she said. “I don't think I can just hire you, but I'm willing to give you a chance. So if you're willing to prove your words, I'll arrange for our team captain to give you an examination of her own design to see if you're fit for the work.”

Thunderbird felt his body freeze as his stomach twisted into shapes that would drive an elder god mad. Oh shiatsu, he thought. Rainbow Dash? Testing my skills? Images of flying through loops of burning fire and wrestling tornadoes danced through his mind, followed by the cyan pegasus throwing heavy objects for him to catch.

“Mister Thunderbird?” The mayor asked, startling the stallion.

“Oh, yes, sorry,” the dark green pegasus said, a blush on his face. “Well, miss mayor, if that's what you feel you need me to do, then I'll do it.”

“Good,” Ivory Scroll said, a polite and sincere smile on her muzzle. “I'll go make the arrangements.”

* * * *

Thunderbird trotted out of town hall, and then paused at the top of the steps leading to the main square to take a few calming breaths. It's okay man, you can do this, he told himself, and then began to walk down the stairs to the square. So Rainbow Dash is going to give you some sort of test. It's okay, just remember what Ditzy said: Best Pony Dash is professional, at least when it comes to her job. What's the worst that can happen?

Two words, he answered to himself. “Ghastly Gorge.”

...Well, shit.

The dark green stallion grunted to himself as he terminated his internal dialogue and returned his full attention to the world around him. He found that he had wandered off from the main square and was now walking almost lazily down a street lined with storefronts. So long as I'm awaiting my executioner, I might as well do some window shopping, Thunderbird thought as he glanced to his right, into a store's bay windows. He then paused and did a double take before chuckling to himself. The Quill and Sofa store. Oh Lord, I am so tempted to go in there and ask the owner how you get that combination.

Despite the alluring mystery of furniture mixed with stationary, Thunderbird decided to continue down the street and get an idea of the sorts of places the town supported. Somewhat to his surprise, the town's business district sported a number of antique shops, two small cafés, a full sized restaurant, and a at least two farming supply stores. Dear God, it's like every small town I've ever been in, he thought, feeling a sense of déjà vu. It's like Tryon, Landrum, Fairport Harbor, Narcoossee, and Saint Cloud all rolled into one. The only things missing are the gas stations, gun shops, and feed stores, and that's only because the ponies are their own transportation, only have medieval weapons, and shop at the market like normal folk.

Abruptly, one store caught his attention, and Thunderbird brought himself to a stop in front of a small shop at the end of the street, where the stores started to give way to regular houses again. It was in a small building that looked to have been a proper house itself at one point but later converted into a business, with a sign tacked over the front door proclaiming its name and hours of operation. “Vinyl's Scratch: Music, Equipment, and More.” No way, the stallion thought. This can't be her, can it? Oh, I have got to find out! With that decision made, Thunderbird moved his head back to make sure the straps on his bags were taut, and then turned back to the door and then pressed on the metal plate that seemed to replace doorknobs on most business's entrances. The door opened readily to the sound of a bell, and the stallion stepped inside.

Thunderbird blinked a bit as the interior was much darker than the outside, more so than he would presume from a business establishment. Still, it was not uncomfortably dark, and soon enough he saw that the house's old living room was now some kind of display floor for an assortment of musical instruments, primarily electronic in nature though a few acoustic guitars could be seen. How the heck do they play guitars without fingers, anyway? Thunderbird mused, as he let his eyes trace over the room until they alighted on a counter that had been built in a corner, laying between the living room and the doorway that led to the kitchen in one wall and a hallway leading deeper into the house on another.

As he looked over the various, smaller instruments sitting on shelving behind the counter, a white unicorn with a two-tone blue mane and tail walked in from the kitchen entrance. “Hey there!” She said, her muzzle decorated with a broad smile that reached up to her violet eyes. “Can I help you with something?”

The green pegasus blinked a bit in surprise at hearing her voice, as it was scratchy and not especially feminine, though not really androgynous, either. He recovered after only a moment, though, and then smiled. “Hello. I'm kinda just looking, if you don't mind?”

“Not at all, dude,” the mare replied, bobbing her head a bit in understanding. “I don't get many customers so any company's not bad at all. I talk a bit, though, so don't mind me.”

Thunderbird chuckled. “Miss, if there's anything I don't mind, it's a pretty lady talking to me,” he said with a smile, and then walked up to the counter and offered a hoof. “Name's Thunderbird, but you can call me Thud if'n you prefer.”

The white unicorn blushed at the compliment, but she took it in stride and easily reached up to shake the proffered hoof. “Thunderbird? Wicked name. I'm Vinyl Scratch, but you might know me by my DJ name—”

“DJ-PON3?” Thunderbird asked, pronouncing it “pone-three,” and then smiled when the mare gave him a surprised look. “I've heard of you, miss Scratch.”

“Oh really? Are you a fan?” Scratch asked, a smile returning to her face.

Thunderbird shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “Well, no,” he said, and then rubbed his right forehoof against the other leg as Scratch's smile turned into a look of confusion. “I've heard of you, but to tell the truth I haven't heard any of your actual work.” Except fan works playfully attributed to you, the stallion mentally added. Many of which are awesome, but I got no idea if you're that good as well.

Despite his admission, Vinyl's smile returned again, albeit to a lesser degree now. “Aw, that's cool. I'm still trying to make it big, yanno? That's why I still run the store here,” she said, and then waved a foreleg around the showroom. “Got any sort of modern instrument you could want up here, and the traditional stuff in the spare rooms in the back if you prefer them.”

The stallion chuckled ruefully at that. “Ah, no. I'm sorry miss Scratch, but I've got the musical talent of a rock and the signing voice of a blender,” he explained. “I just saw the sign out front and thought I'd see if it was really your store or not. Although, as long as I'm here, I wonder if you sell music, as well?”

Vinyl's face had fallen a bit at his polite negative, but the mention of music brought her spirits back up again. “Sure thing, dude! I've got any style or genre you could want,” she said, and then waved for the stallion to follow her behind the counter. “C'mon, I keep the albums in the kitchen.” With that, she turned and walked into the aforementioned room, leaving Thunderbird to trot through the singular opening in the counter and then follow through the doorway.

Ordinarily, the kitchen would have looked quite mundane, even for one made by and for ponies. This one, however, had numerous stacks of records and cassette tapes piled high on almost every available countertop, table, and chair, with only a tiny bit of space available for a single pony to make meals and eat. Scratch herself was already at one stack of media, using her magic to lift up and sort through the various albums. “I've got all the big names here, the Whoof, the Blue Moods, the Mossy Stones, the Weevils, “Elvy” Pressmane, the artist formerly known as Prancer, all that good stuff.”

“Wow,” Thunderbird said, and then blinked in surprised. Jeeze, how many ways can someone mutilate a band's name? “Okay, not bad. Where do you keep your Metal?” he asked, deciding to move things along. Besides, I'm morbidly curious at how bad some of those names are.

The unicorn mare, though, just paused and then turned around to face the stallion. “Uh, dude, this is a music shop,” she said, giving him a confused look. “If you want metal, go to the smith.”

Thunderbird returned the confused look, and then raised it with a cocked eyebrow. “Uhm, no. Not metal metal, I mean the Metal genre. You know, a subset of rock and roll?”

Scratch frowned as she lowered the records down and then released her magical hold on them. “I've never heard of it. Is it new?” she asked.

Silence reigned for a moment as her words sank into the pegasus' brain. “You're kidding, right?” he asked, as he raised a single eyebrow. “Because that's like, some kind of sacrilege. You don't joke 'bout that sort of thing, that just ain't right.”

Vinyl gave the stallion an incredulous look. “Dude, seriously, I've never heard of any kind of music called 'Metal' before,” she evenly replied.

Thunderbird blinked hard. “Maybe you call it something else, here?” he asked, bemused. “How about I name some bands and you tell me if any of them sound familiar?” Or at least sound like whatever ponified name they'd have here, he mentally added.

“Okay,” Scratch said, slightly dragging out the second syllable. “I don't know that Ponyville or even the Heartland has different names for rock music, but I'll see if I recognize anything.”

“Alright,” Thunderbird agreed, and then paused to gather his thoughts and his breath. “Well, my favorite band is Iron Savior, how about them?” he inquisitively asked.

“Never heard of 'em,” Scratch replied, with a shrug of her shoulders that lowered the front part of her body briefly.

Well, they do do mainly sci-fi themes, Thunderbird thought, and then pressed on. “Okay, how about Sabaton?” he asked, but the reply was a shake of the head. “Turisas? Alestorm? Iron Maiden? Keldian? Manowar? Gamma Ray? Megadeth? Accept? Helloween? Hammerfall? Saxon? Judas Priest? Iced Earth?” Every question received a confused, odd look, or a shake of the head, and at that moment something small snapped in his mind. Thunderbird walked up to Vinyl Scratch and then pushed his face into hers. “For the love of God, please tell me you've at least heard of Metallica?” Even if their post-Black stuff does suck donkey balls.

“Dude, personal space,” Scratch replied, as she lit up her horn. Thunderbird blinked in surprise as he felt something pull on his tail and drag him back a few paces.

“Oh, er, sorry,” the green stallion said, as a blush crept over his face. He lowered his head and stared at the floor as he continued. “I just kind of got carried away there, miss Scratch.”

A moment of silence met his words, though it was cut mercifully short by a mare's sigh. “Aw, that's okay I guess,” Vinyl said, and then offered a wan smile as Thunderbird looked back up at her. “I can understand dedication to good music, after all,” she said, and then briefly shifted her hips out so the stallion could catch a glance of her cutie mark. “I wouldn't have this if I wasn't a bit crazy about it myself.”

Both her and Thunderbird shared a brief chuckle at that, and the stallion grinned as a thought entered his head. “Well if that's the case, would you care to listen to some Metal from my personal collection?” He asked. “I've got a bit of it on me right now.” A whole metric assload of it, actually, he didn't say. “Hopefully you'll see, or rather, hear what I'm talking about.”

Scratch thought about it for a moment, and then shrugged again. “Sure,” she said, a bit of her earlier cheeriness seeping back into her tone. “C'mon back into the main room with me,” the mare added as she turned around and led the stallion out of the kitchen. “I've got a set of portable pony-back speakers I've been meaning to test.”

“Really?” Thunderbird asked, his tone surprised as he followed the unicorn out. “That sort of thing common 'round here?”

“Nah,” Scratch said, as she led them into the showroom and then across it to a shelf set up on the wall opposite of the kitchen entrance. On top of it sat an unusual, canvas harness that held a pair of full-range speakers. A universal jack poked out of the cloth at one point, near a small pocket that looked about the right size for a Walkman. “This thing is usually for pegasi making long-haul flights, where they want to listen to music to keep their brains from shutting down, but still need their ears uncovered so they don't miss a dangerous noise,” the white unicorn explained. “Unfortunately, most ponies in Ponyville are happy with their phonographs and other old stuff. Kinda limits my sales, but I make up for it by repairing all the old junk when it fails.” The unicorn shrugged at that. “Anyway, I haven't had a chance to test this set since it came in last month. I sold the only tape player I had just before the shipment came in and like I said, most of this stuff is old; too old to use the new jacks. So let's hear what you got there, crazy stallion.”

Thunderbird smiled at the mare, and then turned his head and neck back so he could work at the saddlebag on his flank. A few practiced maneuvers soon had the bag open for him to duck his head into, and he quickly lowered it to lightly clasp his teeth around the mysterious music device that had come with him. Or appeared with me, I should say, the stallion thought as he lifted the device out and then moved it to the shelf. I've never heard of any portable device with a five-petabyte drive, especially one loaded with just about all the music I've ever owned or heard. He had spent nearly an hour staring at the device once he'd taken the time to examine it, and Thunderbird suppressed a shiver at the memories of inspecting the touchscreen device's onboard owner's manual. I mean, sweet Jesus, five petabytes!

“What is that thing?” Vinyl asked, her brows furrowed in frustrated ignorance. “I've never seen anything like it.”

“Oh, it's just a little toy I found,” Thunderbird said, trying not to sound superior nor disturbed by having the device. “It's got some terrific data density, though.”

“Data what now?” Scratch asked as the green pegasus balanced on his hind legs and used his foreleg hooves to move the speakers' plug towards the universal jack on the music player.

“It means it holds a lot of songs inside it,” Thunderbird replied, and then turned the device on before he dropped to all fours again. More ripping off of CardsLafter, he thought as the player went through its brief start-up cycle. Dang thing never runs out of juice. I wonder why? He pushed such thoughts aside as the menu came up, and he reached up with a hoof to cycle through the stored songs. “Now, let's see, what would be a good song to introduce you?” he asked aloud, more for Scratch's benefit so she knew what he was doing. Suddenly the idea hit him, and Thunderbird smiled as he selected a specific song. “This one is called 'Caught Somewhere In Time' by the band Iron Maiden.”

“Yeah, you mentioned—” Vinyl started to say, but then was cut off as the music started. She listened intently through the intro, and then widened her eyes as the song picked itself up and promptly ran off with her attention.

Six minutes later, the song died out and Thunderbird reached over with a hoof to put the device on pause before it jumped to the next shuffled track. “So, miss Scratch, what do you think?” he asked, turning to the mare.

“I think that song just kicked my flank,” Vinyl replied, a grin on her face. “Not quite to my personal tastes, but it was definitely an awesome performance.”

Thunderbird chuckled at that. “Well, I don't expect everyone to love the same things as I do. I like electronic music myself, but Metal will always be tops in my book.”

“I don't blame you,” Vinyl said with a nod. “Like I said, it may not be my favorite, but it's pretty wicked. What else you got in that fancy thing?”

The green pegasus grinned. “I've got plenty. Mostly Metal, but a lot of other stuff, too if you've got the time?”

“Lay it on me, Thud.”

* * * *

Rainbow Dash flew through the air with a borderline recklessness, as was her idiom. While most days this was due to her practicing to join the Wonderbolts, today it was due to the fact that she was dodging past houses, shops, trees, and any other obstacle one finds close to the ground. “Alright, where is that weirdo?” she asked herself as she soared along. I can't believe the mayor wants me to see if he's capable, she thought as she zipped along, looking for the uniquely large pegasus. The guy's got a loose screw or something. Still, if that's what the mayor wants, I'll give the guy a chance. Just one, but a chance.

Of course, it would help if I could find the doofus. The cyan pegasus frowned as she took another pass along Mane Street, getting a series of annoyed looks from the ponies whose manes she disrupted with her slipstream. Ivory Scroll said she turned him out two hours ago. I checked at Ditzy's already but nopony's there, and I even went to Sweet Apple Acres, but AJ said she hasn't seen him. Dash was naturally becoming quite frustrated, and part of her wanted to just go to the mayor and tell her to write off the strange stallion.

Rainbow shook her head at the thought as she made a turn. No, that's not fair. The mayor said she didn't give him a specific time because she didn't know when I'd check in, so I guess I can't blame him for not hanging around town hall doing nothing. But still, where is he?

A few more minutes and several passes through town finally saw the mare slow to a stop in mid-air by the business district. “That's it, I give up,” Dash said, crossing her forelegs over her chest as she hovered in a bipedal-like attitude. “I don't know where that strange... weird... music?” she asked, as her attention was caught by strains of an unfamiliar song. “Huh?” she muttered, and then looked around until her ears found the source of the music. Vinyl's store? That doesn't sound like her usual stuff, Dash thought, and then gave herself a mental shrug. Well, I've got nothing else to do until Dunderbird pops up, she thought, and then promptly pushed herself into motion. A quick flight was followed by a hasty landing, and Dash paused outside the door to Scratch's shop to listen to the music and the voice singing.

That sounds pretty good, actually, Rainbow thought, as she pushed the door to the shop open, only to flinch when the sheer volume of the music assaulted her ears. She winced and folded her ears back automatically, yet her curiosity was piqued as the strange music took on a clarity because of its volume. Thus she pushed in and then stopped to let her eyes adjust while her ears absorbed the vocals.

The sudden onslaught of the solo section hammered into her ears, and Dash closed her eyes as the alien strains enraptured her mind. She stayed like this throughout the rest of the song, just listening, until the final vocal and drumbeat ended the song with an abrupt cutoff that stunned her brain and left her breathless for a half moment.

“Enjoyed that, did you?” the familiar voice of Vinyl Scratch asked, and Rainbow smiled broadly as she opened her eyes to look at the white unicorn.

“Hay yes! Where'd you get that music from?” the cyan pegasus asked. Then she realized there was a third pony in the room, and she glanced over to the stallion briefly. She started to turn to Scratch again, but then did a double-take as she realized who it was. “Hey, it's you!” she said, pointing a foreleg at the green pegasus.

“Uh, yeah,” Thunderbird said, quiet despite the recent song still ringing in his ears. Despite knowing that he needed to meet with the rainbow-maned pony, he still felt trapped by her sudden appearance. Especially because she's between me and the door.

“You two know each other?” Scratch asked, an expression of mild surprise on her features.

“Sort of,” Thunderbird answered. “We, ah, nearly collided yesterday.”

Vinyl chuckled at that. “That's common enough when Rainbow's around,” she merrily said.

Dash rolled her eyes at the unicorn. “Funny, Vinyl,” the blue mare said, and the looked to the stallion. “Where the hay have you been? The mayor sent me to look for you fifteen minutes ago.”

Thunderbird blushed as Dash addressed him, and he felt his throat start to clamp up a bit. “Uh, just hangin' out, you know?” he asked, nervously. “Figured I'd take a look in here, listen to some music. That sort of thing.”

“He's got some pretty sweet tracks in his collection,” Vinyl piped in, smirking a bit as she saw the sudden tension in the room. “We were just listening to one. What'd you say it was again, Thud?” Scratch asked as she glanced to the green pegasus.

“It's called 'I Want Out' by Helloween,” Thunderbird replied, feeling a bit less tense talking about his favorite music. “It's a good example of old school speed metal.”

“Yeah, it's wild,” Scratch said with a nod. “That Metal stuff is pretty awesome. I still like the electronic stuff you got better, though.”

“Well, to each his own,” Thunderbird replied, managing an easy smile at the unicorn. “Or her own, in your case. Point is, there's room enough in the world for all sorts of awesome music.”

“Gotta agree with ya there,” Vinyl added with a chuckle.

A cleared throat brought both of the music appreciating ponies' heads around to face Dash, who looked on impatiently. “Look, it was definitely awesome. And radical. But I've got business with this weirdo,” she said, and pointed a hoof at Thunderbird. “Gotta see if he can handle the weather team work he's applying for.”

“Yeah, we should get going on that,” Thunderbird agreed, and then turned to fully face the white mare at his side. “Miss Scratch, it was fun hanging out with you today,” he said, a grin on his muzzle.

“Same here, dude!” Scratch replied, with a grin of her own. “Come back anytime. Well, anytime I'm open, anyway,” she added, and then watched for a moment as the stallion turned to collect his music player.

“Fanks,” Thunderbird said as he picked up the player and then put it into his saddlebags. “Say, how much are you selling that rig for, anyway?” he asked, and then gestured towards the speaker harness.

Vinyl grinned again. “Normally I'd sell it for seventy bits. But I kinda like you, so I'll give it to ya for fifty.”

Thunderbird blushed a bit at the compliment. “Why, thank you, miss Scratch,” he said. Then he sighed briefly. “Don't quite have the money for it yet, but if that price stays good I'll be back for it after I get some pay saved up.”

“Heh, no probs man,” Scratch said, and then held up a hoof. Thunderbird raised his to shake, but before he could do so the mare just bumped her hoof into his and then lowered her leg. “It'll probably be here, with the way ponies in this town upgrade.”

“Sweet,” Thunderbird replied, and then turned and nodded to the other pegasus in the room. “Alright miss Dash, let's get to business.”

* * * *

The two flying ponies made the trip in silence to a field just north of Ponyville. There Thunderbird saw a series of clouds of different sizes, shapes, and shades set up and waiting patiently. Now there's an adjective I wouldn't have assigned to a cloud, the dark green pegasus mused as he followed Rainbow Dash. Of course in this world clouds actually behave sometimes. Speaking of which... His thoughts trailed off as he watched Dash alight on the nearest of the stationary moisture pockets, and he concentrated on his own maneuvering so he could do the same without disturbing the other pegasus or disrupting the cloud. Good thing Ditzy taught me how to handle this stuff.

“Alright,” Rainbow said, after she watched the stallion land to her right. “The mayor wants to give you a shot since you're the only pony who's applied since the position came open. Since it's just overnight monitoring and you'll be coming to get me in a real emergency, I've only set up a basic course,” the weather mare spoke, giving off an air of annoyance. Then she pointed a foreleg off towards the left side of the arranged clouds. “First, I want you to sort that group on the left. Line them up from smallest to largest parallel to the fence below.” Dash pointed down just then, and Thunderbird cautiously edged forward to look over the side of the cloud, and he indeed saw a property line fence on the ground. “You won't be timed, but if you take too long that will definitely be a mark against you.

“Next, I want you to disperse all of the clouds in the central group,” Dash continued, again pointing her foreleg towards the subjects of her words. “I will be timing you on this one. I don't expect you to match my awesome speed, but if you can't do it quickly enough then we can't use you.

“Finally, the group on the right,” Dash added, though this time she just gestured with her head as she lowered her leg back to the cloud. “Two are rain heavy, the third is electrically charged. I want you to figure out which is which, then start one of the rainclouds pouring and then move the second one out to the center area without it raining.” Rainbow fell silent for a moment after she finished speaking, and then looked over at Thunderbird. “Think you can handle that?” She cockily asked.

“Well, we'll see, won't we?” Thunderbird evenly asked, and then cast a sidelong glance at the other pony. “Are you going to give me a countdown, or shall I just go?”

“Whenever you're ready, flycolt,” Dash replied with a shrug.

Thunderbird grunted at that, and then took a long look around the area. After that, he took in a deep breath and then absentmindedly nodded. “Alrighty then,” he said, and then jumped off of the cloud, his wings spreading out a moment later. He flapped his wings hard a few times to gain some altitude over the aerial course and then turned to glide over the clouds on the left side of the field. A few moments of study revealed to him the proper order and the line, and soon the green pegasus swooped down and promptly began to shove clouds as instructed.

* * * *

Alright, I guess he's not completely incompetent, Dash thought, as she watched Thunderbird align the clouds in the first test far more easily than she thought he could do. Let's see his speed, then, her mind added as the dark green stallion turned and then shot off towards the center of the test field with a furious pumping of his wings. Heh, typical rookie mistake, she thought, as she watched Thunderbird approach the central cloud group too fast to make the close turns he'd need to cut through the spread out bank. Then suddenly his wings snapped out and remained stretched, and to Rainbow's surprise, the green pegasus made an abrupt, sharp turn that should have spilled the air under his wings and sent him careening downward.

Her memory of yesterday came back as she watched Thunderbird cut a swath through several clouds in a row by curving hard and riding the centrifugal force of his turn. We did almost crash because I didn't realize he could turn that well, Dash admitted to herself as she watched Thunderbird soar out from the cloud cluster a bit before turning back to make another curving pass. How does he do that, though? You can't maintain a turn like that without power and a steady wing surface, and pegasus magic isn't that strong... usually. Rainbow begrudgingly added the last word, as she realized she was watching another pony that seemed to have figured out the same idea she had after making a sonic rainboom for the first time as a filly. Airflow across all surfaces, so you don't need to change wing position to get more power, and so you can keep skin-tight control through the whole turn.

Rainbow Dash shook her head briefly at that as she continued to watch Thunderbird. But it took me years of training and practice and straining to get this way, she thought as the green stallion finished his second task and then turned in his flight to angle for the last test area. He admitted on the application that he doesn't have much flying experience beyond getting from one place to another. Is he just a natural? She had to admit part of her felt a bit jealous at that, though she put it out of her mind as she keenly kept an eye on Thunderbird. Okay, difficult part of the test coming up. If he hits the wrong cloud too hard and gets shocked I'll probably have to catch his flank before he hits the ground.

* * * *

Thunderbird approached the closest of the dark clouds, and then transitioned to a hover just a meter or so away from it. Alright, so how am I supposed to tell which has rain and which is loaded with electricity? he wondered, with a frown crossing his muzzle. He snorted at the situation, but as he did something tickled his nose, and he coughed slightly in response. Wow, that was like taking a hard sniff of some moist air.

If lightbulbs could really appear over a person's head when an idea struck, one would have appeared then. Moisture! Thunderbird realized. And strong, too; must be a rain-heavy cloud. Okay, let's move this one first, that way if I screw up and start it raining I still have a chance with the other one. With that, he pitched his wing flaps to nudge himself forward, and then took in a deep breath and lightly placed he forelegs on the side. He let out his breath when he couldn't hear the sound of rain, and then flapped his wings and turned both himself and the cloud around until he was aimed at the center of the test area. After that it was a simple affair to push it over to the indicated area, and soon Thunderbird was gliding back towards the two remaining clouds.

Now, gotta be careful here, he told himself, as he approached the closest cloud and slowed to a near stop. He then took in a big wiff, and then widened his eyes. Ozone! Thunderbird propelled himself backwards with a few heavy flaps before he resumed a hover. His heart still beat fast, however, and the pegasus took a moment to catch his breath. Okay, definitely not that one, then, he mused, and then turned and flew to the one remaining cloud. A quick sniff for caution's sake told him it was a 'wet' one, and a quick landing on the top started the water pouring from the underside.

“Not bad,” a voice said, and Thunderbird turned around on the cloud to see Rainbow Dash hovering a few feet away. “Good call smelling the clouds; you won't believe how many ponies don't use anything but their eyes.”

“You'd be surprised at what I could believe,” Thunderbird retorted. “So, did I pass?”

Dash gave him a long look, but soon enough nodded. “Yeah, you pass the basics,” she admitted, warily. “But don't think this means you can go storm-busting by yourself or anything like that.”

“Perish the thought,” Thunderbird replied, evenly. “I'll just be happy to have a decent job that doesn't suck the soul right out of my body.”

The cyan pegasus gave him a look. “Uh, yeah,” she replied, unsure. “Anyway, let's fly back to town hall and talk to the mayor. I'll let her know you can at least keep an eye on the place.”

“Well okay then,” Thunderbird said, and then launched himself into the air. He didn't take off immediately, however, but remained in a hover as a new idea entered his brain. “Say, miss Dash,” he began, and then couldn't help but smirk as he asked the question on his mind. “Is it safe to jump on top of that lightning cloud just once and have it go boom?”

Rainbow frowned back at the green pegasus. “That's really sort of more advanced work,” she replied, warily.

“Bull,” Thunderbird countered. “I heard you used one as a prank on Nightmare Night,” he said, and then smiled broadly as the mare blushed. “I'm not even asking to push it near the ground, I just wanna stomp on it once and let loose some thunder.”

Dash sighed exasperatedly. “Fine,” she ground out, as she crossed her forelegs over her barrel. “But make sure you land on the top; you might get shocked otherwise.”

“Woot!” Thunderbird said, and then flew towards the aforementioned cloud. He approached from above, and then slowly, deftly landed on the coagulated mass so that the cloud merely rumbled slightly rather than spit out lightning.

Okay, careful now, the stallion told himself. Then he grinned madly, took in a deep breath, and then reared up on his hind legs. “I! Am! THOR!” he shouted, and then slammed his front limbs back down to the thundercloud. Bolts of lightning shot out and into the air at that, as the ear-splitting thunder of their passage roared into the heavens. Thunderbird winced at the noise, but soon started laughing in a maniacal fashion.

Rainbow Dash looked on this scene with some concern. Didn't Luna laugh like that when she was Nightmare Moon? The cyan pegasus mused, and then flew over to the cloud. “Uh, are you okay?” she asked, as she hovered just above the cloud and its occupant as the latter's laughter died out.

“Just fine, miss Dash,” Thunderbird replied, in between chuckles. “Just getting some fun in before the work begins. I know I'm not going to be able to do this all the time, after all,” he added, with a friendly smile.

“Uh, yeah,” Dash said, as her mind reset its picture of the stallion again. Does this guy like to be contrary? she mused to herself. “Anyway, if that's out of your system, let's go talk to the mayor.”

“Aye aye, captain Bligh,” Thunderbird replied, as he tossed a salute with his right foreleg.

“What?” Dash asked, no utterly confused.

Thunderbird blinked, and then blushed as he realized what he said. “Oh, uh, sorry; old cultural reference,” he explained. Then he spread his wings an took to the air in a hover. “Please, lead on.”

Rainbow shot him another confused look, but then shrugged to herself and turned to head back to town. Whatever. I won't be dealing with him except on shift changes, anyway, she thought, with only a brief pause to glance back to make sure the other pegasus followed her. The sooner I'm done with this, the sooner I can ignore this weirdo and get back to practicing for the Wonderbolts.

Chapter 7 - In Which Introductions Are Made

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Thunderbird happily flew through the air over Ponyville, a smile on his muzzle and his wings beating strongly. Woo-hoo! New job! he thought, triumphantly. The mayor seems to be happy, Dash is content, and best of all she's clearly annoyed at having to deal with me. Truth be told, this last part actually hurt a bit, but Thud was more than willing to put up with it. It'll save a lot of pain and discomfort to just keep a distance between myself and the Mane Six, he reminded himself as he spied Ditzy's home and angled into a shallow dive. Soon enough he landed at the front door, and then pushed it open. “Anyone home?” he called out, as he stepped into the entrance hallway and then closed the door behind him.

“Right here,” a familiar voice said, followed by Ditzy poking her head out from the kitchen. “How did the interview go?”

“Pretty good,” Thunderbird replied, with a grin. “I got the job.”

“Well, that's wonderful!” Ditzy said, with a broad smile, as she backed into the kitchen so Thunderbird could walk in. “When do you start?”

“Tomorrow night,” Thud replied, as he wandered over to the refrigerator. “Which gives me tonight to stay up and adjust my sleep schedule,” he added, as he reached and then opened the fridge. “So do we have anything with caffeine in it?”

Ditzy smiled and shook her head a bit at Thunderbird's familiarity. Nice to see him loosen up a bit, she thought. “I'm afraid not,” she replied. “Other than tea, that is.”

“Hmmm,” Thud hummed, as he looked through the fridge, and then closed it. “It might work,” he allowed, as he turned to face Ditzy fully. “Thing is, I don't suppose you happen to know the mix for iced tea?”

The gray pegasus rolled her eyes at that. “You Americans and your iced tea,” she muttered, good-naturedly.

“Hey, iced tea is awesome,” Thunderbird countered. “At least, if you do it the Southern way and put in the sugar when the tea's still hot. I went to a wedding in Ohio once, and the dang Yankees had cold, unsweetened tea as part of the refreshments. Can you believe that?” he asked, with a shake of his head.

“Imagine that,” Ditzy wryly replied, with a smirk, and then chuckled when Thunderbird razzed her. “As a matter of fact, I don't recall what mix is used to make a good iced tea.”

“Dang,” Thud replied, and then glowered off to the side. “I never learned myself, and I don't intend to spend a lot of money experimenting just yet.”

“You could always go into town, you know?” the mare asked, as she walked back to the table where she'd been reading a newspaper. “Most of Equestria is sufficiently American-esque that iced tea is a popular drink at most restaurants,” she offered as she resumed her seat.

“Hmm,” Thud mused, as he walked over to join Ditzy at the table, though he remained standing at its head. “Not a bad idea, but I don't wanna get a seat at a table just to get myself some tea. Especially since I'm going to need a bunch of it to stay up tonight.”

A moment of silence followed that, as Ditzy pondered her next words. “Well...” she began, drawing the word out. “I know you wanted to avoid the element bearers and all, but Sugarcube Corner tends to sell that sort of thing, and in large amounts, too. You could probably get a fairly decent deal on it, as well.”

Thunderbird frowned at that. “Is there no other place in town?” he asked. “Not even a supermarket?”

“They don't exist here,” Ditzy replied, as she looked down at her paper and tried to find her place. “Our world's not as industrialized, so we don't get food flown in from across the planet just to have fresh vegetables in the off season.”

“Dang,” Thud said, and then sighed. “Alright, I guess if I withstood Dash's little test today, I can stand approaching Pinkie Pie.”

“A test?” Ditzy asked in surprise, as she raised her head to look at the green pegasus again. “The mayor didn't just hire you?”

Thunderbird shook his head. “Naw, she wasn't too sure on the whole 'retail' thing, so she asked Dash to set up a test of sorts,” he explained. “I passed well enough for her to sign off on me taking the simple midnight overwatch job.”

“So, no sparks flew?” Ditzy asked, with a smirk and a twinkle in her eye.

Thunderbird blushed, even as he shot the mare a scathing look. “No, miss smarty pants,” he sardonically replied. “Believe it or not, some of us aren't interested in complications.”

“Uh-huh,” Ditzy replied, with an infuriating smile still on her muzzle. “So do you plan on staying up all night here?”

“Uhm, yeah?” Thunderbird replied, as he blinked in confusion. “Why, is that going to be a problem?”

“Only if you make a lot of noise,” Ditzy answered, as she returned her gaze to the newspaper. “You might want to get something to read from the library while you're out, too, so you don't fall asleep from boredom.”

Silence met the last sentence, and it stretched out for several long moments. Finally, it started to become awkward, and Ditzy looked up to see Thunderbird was staring at her with a frown on his muzzle. “You're doing this on purpose, ain't ya?” he asked.

Ditzy smiled at that, and then let her eyes split their focus. “Do what?” she asked, in a voice that made her sound less intelligent than she really was.

“You are evil,” Thud said, as he pointed a foreleg at the mare.

“Because I made a suggestion?” Ditzy asked, with a smile and still walleyed.

“You're evil because it makes perfect sense,” Thud countered, as he lowered the leg, but continued to give Ditzy a glare.

“Oh, come off it, Thud,” Ditzy retorted, as she made her eyes focus properly. “If you're going to be here a while as you build up money to move away, then you're going to come across every pony in the so-called 'Mane Six' at some point; they're just too important to Ponyville society,” she added, and then looked back to the paper. “Case in point, here's an article talking about how Rarity is once again donating excess profits to the orphanage in Canterlot, which is going to be symbolically handed off with one of those giant checks at town hall in a few days.”

“Really? You guys have those stupid checks, too?” Thunderbird asked, his anger now assuaged by his interest in things pony. He looked down at the newspaper and read a bit. “Huh... well, I guess I see what you mean,” he allowed, somewhat begrudgingly. “I suppose a trip to the library wouldn't be out of the question.”

“And it would let you have someplace else to get information from,” Ditzy added, and then huffed in mock exasperation. “Your voracious appetite for information has drained me of everything I know. Alas, I must now take up the mask of 'Derpy' for real, as my mind is empty,” she added, and then leaned back and placed a foreleg over her face.

“Drama queen,” Thud said, with a chuckle. “Alright, you've made your point,” he said, and then turned around and started to walk away.

Ditzy lowered her leg and looked at the stallion in confusion. “Going already?” she asked. “You just got back.”

Thud paused at the entrance to the kitchen, and then turned his head around to look back at the mare. “Yeah, but one thing I've always liked is to get unpleasant tasks out of the way as soon as possible,” he said, and then shrugged his wings. “Lets me stop worrying about them and concentrate on the fun stuff.”

“Hm, good idea,” Ditzy said, with a nod. “Take care, then.”

“Thanks, you too.”

* * * *

The flight into the heart of Ponyville was easy enough, as was finding Sugarcube Corner. Man, what a gaudy place, Thunderbird thought, as he glided down towards the front of the spectacularly-decorated business/abode. I know, it's all fantasy for the show, and here it's just what the ponies do, but I'm sorry, it's gaudy to the point of making me want to add some Battleship Gray to the outside just to offset it.

He put such thoughts from his head as he landed with a hard 'thud' of his hooves slamming into the ground. Such a prophetic nickname, Thunderbird mused, even as he smiled. I beat the Fates to that one! He chuckled at that, and then proceeded to walk up to the front door and push it open to the sound of a small bell. Self-deprecation for the win.

“Welcome to Sugarcube Corner!” the voice of a plump, blue mare said, and Thunderbird couldn't help but smile a bit wider as he recognized Cup Cake. “How may we help you today?”

“Well,” Thunderbird began, as he walked up to the counter and looked down at the shorter pony. “I was told y'all sell some iced tea here, and I was hoping you sold the mix for it,” he said, and then let his smile turn into a sheepish grin. “I kinda need to stay up late tonight, and I figure the caffeine in it would help.”

“Oh! Well certainly, that's not a problem,” Cup Cake replied, with another smile. “You must be that new pegasus the mayor just hired.”

Thunderbird's smile vanished as he blinked. “Wow, that's some fast work by the grapevine,” he said, as his smile returned.

Cup Cake chuckled. “Well, small towns are like that, dearie,” she said, and then turned to head for the back room. “I'll go check our stock and see what I can get ya.”

“Thank you, missus Cake,” Thunderbird replied.

The elder pony paused at that, and then turned her head around. “I don't think I gave you my name yet,” she said, confused. “Did we meet before?”

Thunderbird blinked, and then felt an eye twitch. “Uh, no, missus Cake,” he said, with an uneasy smile as he silent railed against himself. “I was just told your name by a friend of mine who visits here.”

“Ah,” Cup Cake replied, her confusion replaced with her usual pleasant demeanor. “Like I said, I'll be right back,” she added, and then turned he head around so she could see where she was going.

Thud waited until she was gone, and then sighed. I am a gorram idiot! Stupid stupid stupid STUPID! he thought, with a frown as he sat down on his haunches to wait. I've gotta be more careful, the last thing I need is for someone to wonder how I know their name before I've even met them!

“Hey, you look sad,” a voice said beside him. “You know what would cheer you up?”

Thunderbird grunted at that, and then turned to see a pink face giving him the widest smile he'd ever seen. His eyes widened as he met her gaze, and then to his surprise the mare's own eyes widened as well. “It's you!” they both said, at the same instant, albeit in different tones; Thunderbird's a lower, almost growl-like utterance, while the pink mare's was more of an excited squeak.

A moment of confusion passed over them both as they realized they'd echoed each other. “Wait, what do you mean, it's me?” Thunderbird finally asked.

“Ohmygoshit'soneofyou!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, the words mashing together even as she surged forward and then wrapped the stunned pegasus in a powerful hug. “I've always wanted to meet one of you and now you're here and also a pony I don't know how but I'm so happy I could explode twice!” she added, her words barely discernible for all the speed she released them with.

“Pinkie,” Thud whispered, all thoughts of avoiding the use of his meta knowledge gone as he felt the mare's steel-like forelegs crush the air from his lungs. “Can't breathe.”

“Oh!” Pinkie gasped, and then released the stallion, who collapsed to the floor and heaved in great lungfuls of air. “I'm so so so sorry I was just so excited that I finally get to meet one of you and I'm so glad and happy you all aren't just figments in my head like momma Pie always said even though Granny kept telling me I wasn't cuckoo for cocoa puffs.”

“Pinkamina Diana Pie,” Thunderbird spouted, as he lay on the floor, and gave the mare an irritated look. “For the love of God, just gimme a minute to collect myself,” he said, and then took a deep breath. “Please.”

“Ooohhh,” Pinkie said, and then smiled. “Sure thing!” she added, as she sat down on her haunches and then patiently waited.

Thunderbird grunted at that, and then began to regain his previous sitting position, this time facing the pink party pony. “Okay...” he said, and then frowned at Pinkie Pie as she continued to just smile her unsettling grin at him. “Do you know what I am?” he asked, unsure.

“Yup!” Pinkie replied, with a rattling shake of her head. “You're a pony! Well, a pegasus and a stallion at that or did you mean what you were before because I don't quite see who's on the other side I just know you're all there and watching and most of you are really nice and funny and a few are kinda weird and a tiny few are really scary but I know they can't hurt me because they're not here!” she said, in her insanely rapid-fire voice. Then she paused, blinked, and some of the poofiness went out of her mane and tail. “You... aren't one of the bad ones, are you?”

“What—no!” Thud said, instantly, his stern countenance swiftly exchanged for a sympathetic, concerned one. “No no no, Pinkie, I'm not one of the really bad ones,” he added, and then reached out with a foreleg and placed it on the pink pony's shoulder. “I promise.”

“Pinkie promise?” she asked, warily.

Thunderbird frowned. “Do I really gotta?” he asked, his voice a bit whiny. Pinkie Pie just nodded her head haughtily, and he sighed. “Alright, alright,” he said. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” he said, and made the motions as he spoke, albeit he was careful to avoid poking his eye with a hoof at the end.

Pinkie's mane and tail returned to full poof, and her smile returned. “Yay!” she said, and then once again leaped forward to wrap the pegasus in a hug, although she restrained herself this time. “Now you can tell me all about yourself and what you're doing here and how you watch us even though I never see anything!”

“Uh,” Thunderbird muttered, as he felt a bit uncomfortable with a female he didn't personally know wrapping him in a hug. “If you never see the audience, then how do you know we're watching you?”

“Pinkie sense!” she replied, as she released the stallion and then went to bouncing up and down on all four hooves in front of him. “You guys always start to watch when something exciting happens but not all the time so when you are I can feel this weird tingle along my back but not like the kind where I'm having a lucky day it's a different kind of tingle sort of how there's different flower smells but they all smell like flowers.”

“I see; that actually makes sense,” Thunderbird said, with a nod. “How do you know about there being many of us, and how we're different from one another?”

Pinkie stopped hopping at that, and she looked thoughtful as she pressed a hoof to her chin. “Hmmm,” she hummed, and then thought for a moment. Then she smile broadly again. “I don't know!” she proclaimed and then started to bounce again. “I just do!”

Thunderbird sighed yet again, though a smile rested on his face almost constantly now. “Pinkie Pie, you are positively insane,” he said, with a shake of his head.

“Really?” Pinkie asked, with a grin. “That would explain a lot.”

A laugh escaped the stallion's muzzle, and Pinkie joined him in it. “You certainly live up to your element,” he observed.

“I wouldn't have it any other way!” the mare replied. “So, tell me how did you get here and what's it like where you're from and all that other stuff.”

“Er, not right now,” Thud said, as his smile finally slipped off. He looked sheepish as he rubbed a hoof along the back of his neck. “It's a long story, there's a lot to tell. And frankly,” he added, and then glanced to the door leading to the back room. “I kinda don't want any pony to learn about it,” he said, and then looked back at Pinkie. “I would really appreciate it if you kept this a secret.”

“Aww,” Pinkie replied, as her own expression fell. “But my friends never believe me when I tell them about how we're being watched and I was hoping you'd tell them so they stop thinking I'm crazy.”

Thunderbird winced, and then lowered his head. “I'm sorry, Pinkie,” he said. “I just... I really don't think it's a good idea,” he added, and then looked back up at the other pony with a sad visage. “Trust me, I'll explain why when we get a chance to talk about this. But please, for now, just keep it under your hat?”

“But, I'm not wearing a hat,” Pinkie replied, with a confused look.

Thud chuckled a bit at that. “It's an expression, Pinkie,” he explained, with a small smile on his muzzle.

“Oh,” Pinkie replied, with a grin. “Okay, uh,” she said, and then frowned again. “Heeeyy! You never told me your name, mister!” she added, and then poked the stallion with a foreleg.

The pegasus chuckled at that. “Just call me Thunderbird,” he said. “Or 'Thud' for short.”

Pinkie giggled at that. “Oooh, that's funny! Okay, 'Thud'!” she said, and then bounced some more. “We can talk about all that stuff later. But if you've been watching, then you know what I gotta do for you.”

The smile faded from Thunderbird's face. “Please don't,” he said. “I'm not really comfortable with large groups of people.”

“B–but,” Pinkie stuttered, as she took on a stricken look. “I always throw a party for every new pony in town.” She pouted, and her eyes widened and turned misty. “I've never not had a party.”

“Hnng,” Thunderbird grunted, as he took one look at Pinkie's expression and winced. “Okay, okay!” he exclaimed, and then sighed and closed his eyes. “You may throw me a party.”

“Really?” Pinkie gasped, and then waited for Thunderbird to silently nod his head. “Yay!”

“But,” the pegasus added, as he opened his eyes. “A small one, please,” he pleaded. “I really, really feel uncomfortable being the center of attention for a large group of people,” he explained, in a pained tone of voice. “It really freaks me out.”

Pinkie blinked as a sudden look of understanding passed over her features. “Ooohhh, you're like Fluttershy, then,” she observed.

“Yes, somewhat,” Thud replied, with a nod. “I don't mind small groups, but any more than eight or so really starts to make me feel uncomfortable if they're all paying attention to me, even if it's only briefly.”

“Oaky-dokey Loki!” the pink pony proclaimed, with her usual smile. “A small welcome-to-Ponyville-mister-strange-pony-who-watches-us-all-party!”

Thunderbird sighed again, and then raised a foreleg to cover his eyes with a fetlock. “What did I say about keeping that secret?” he asked.

“Oh, I never said I'd tell everypony the real name of the party,” Pinkie replied, and then winked as Thunderbird looked at her again. “But that's what it's going to be called in my head.”

“Heh, fair enough,” Thud said, and then managed another smile. “But it'll have to wait a bit; I just got hired for the overnight weather shift, so I can't go partying when I'm at work.”

“Ah, okay,” Pinkie said, and then paused to think. “I'll have to plan this carefully then,” she said, and then jiggled in place, somehow. “This'll be fun! I haven't had a good party challenge in over a month!”

“Well, so long as you're happy,” Thunderbird proffered. “Now, where is missus Cake?” he asked, and then glanced towards the back room again. “I need that tea mix so I can go hit the library for some reading tonight.”

“Really?” Pinkie asked, her tone perplexed. “What are you going to do tonight?”

Thunderbird blinked, and then grinned madly as the perfect opportunity came up. “The same thing we do every night, Pinkie,” he said. “Try to take over the world!” He paused at the end of this, and then started to laugh.

Pinkie Pie caught on after a moment, and then giggled along with the stallion. “That's silly,” she declared.

“Eeeyup,” Thud replied, in his best Big Macintosh impersonation.

Pinkie giggled again, but shook her head. “Nah,” she said. “You don't sound anything like Big Mac.”

“How'd you know who I was trying to impersonate, then?” Thunderbird asked, with a raised eyebrow.

“Nopony around here says that except him, and maybe Applejack,” Pinkie replied. “And you were pitching your voice too low to be Applejack.”

“Heh, true,” Thud said. “Good ear, Pinkie,” he added.

“She can be good at that when she wants to,” Cup Cake interjected, as she returned to the main room with a fairly large sack on her back. “I'm sorry I took so long, dearie. We haven't had much demand for iced tea lately and when I checked our ready use container, the leaves hardly had any scent at all,” she explained, as she moved to the counter and then tilted her back so that the bag slipped onto the countertop. “So I went to check our storeroom, and this sack's all nice and sealed so it should be good. Just tell me how much you need mister, ah...”

“Thunderbird,” Pinkie Pie offered, just a split second before the stallion himself could speak.

“Ah, yes, mister—wait,” Cup Cake interrupted herself. “Aren't you that pony that killed a manticore?”

Thunderbird sighed, and then closed his eyes. “Yes, I did,” he tiredly said, and then opened his eyes again to give the blue mare a steady look. “To be fair, it was trying to eat me.”

“Oh, oh yes,” Cup Cake hastily said, and then smiled, although it was somewhat strained. “Of course, mister Thunderbird. Nopony blames you for protecting yourself.”

“I'm glad,” Thud dryly replied, and then offered a wan smile of his own. “Now, I'm probably going to need enough to make, oh...” he added, and then looked off into space as his mind worked. “Probably about five—no, make that six pitchers,” he said, and then returned a neutral gaze to the elder pony. “About a gallon each.”

“Ah, one second then,” Cup Cake replied, and then ducked down to gather some things from below the counter. Performing her job seemed to ease her nerves, and soon the mare was quite calm and friendly again as she measured out an appropriate amount of tea mix and then packaged it in a sealable plastic container. “That'll be five bits, then,” she proclaimed, once she was finished.

“Alright,” Thunderbird said, and then proceeded to reach into his saddlebags, withdraw his coin purse, and then counted out the price on the countertop. “There ya go,” he said, as he nudged the five coins over with a hoof. Then he added one more. “And a bit extra for the trouble.”

“Oh, no, it was no trouble at all,” Cup Cake protested.

“Still, I appreciate good customer service,” Thud replied, and then grinned. “Lord knows I've been on the other side of the counter long enough to recognize it when I see it.”

Cup Cake blinked at the reference, but she maintained her pleasant smile. “Well, I do appreciate it myself,” she said, and then rang up the sale on the old-fashioned register and passed all six coins into the till. “Thank you very much for your business and generosity,” she added, as she hoofed over the container and the receipt. “Please come back again soon!”

“I just might,” Thunderbird said, with a nod, and then placed his coin purse and tea into his saddlebags. “Take care,” he added, and then turned and trotted out of the store, pausing only to push the door open. He stepped outside and then stopped to take in a long, deep breath. Okay, one pony down, he thought.

“Hey!” a familiar voice said behind him, and Thud closed his eyes in annoyance.

Shouldn't have opened my big metaphorical mouth, he thought, with a grunt, and then turned to see that Pinkie Pie had followed him out. “Yes?” he asked, cautiously.

“Can I come with you?” Pinkie asked. “I know you don't wanna talk about stuff much but I'm just so curious and eager and I wanna know a little bit now also I kinda want to see my friend Twilight again and she's the librarian but you probably already know who she is because I know you guys have watched us when I'm around her sometimes so you probably know all about my friends but I kinda wanna ask about that to,” she spouted off, her mouth running like a machine gun. Then she gave another wide smile. “So, can I come?”

Thunderbird blinked, and then grinned a bit. “I don't know, can you?”

“Huh?” Pinkie asked, and then tilted her head in confusion. “That's what I'm asking.”

“Yes, but can you?” Thud asked, again, with a smirk. “You certainly may, but whether you can or not is something only you can answer.”

Pinkie Pie blinked at that. Then a look of realization passed over her face, and she razzed the green pegasus. “You're gonna be good friends with Twilight,” she said, with a mix of teasing and sulking in her tone. “She's all picky about grammar, too.”

“Good grammar is a foundation of good culture,” Thunderbird stated. “A language one uses helps define and shape one's culture, just as the culture defines and shapes the language. Someone who has little or no discipline over their own language thus has very little control over their own culture, including their beliefs and morals,” he added, and then nodded. “When your understanding of language is poor, then you are easy for others to manipulate and control.”

Once again the pink pony could only give Thunderbird a befuddled stare. “Really?” she asked, confused.

“Verily,” Thud replied, and then stood. “Anyway, all grammar aside, I won't mind if you tag along,” he said, and then blushed a bit. “Frankly, I'd kinda like to be shown a good way to go on foot since I may not be able to fly all the time.”

“Oaky dokey Loki!” Pinkie replied, all sense of confusion gone and replaced with her typical energy. “C'mon, I'll show you!” she said, and then started to bounce down the street.

Thud managed to chuckle a bit as he noticed how the show captured her idiomatic bounce rather well. He then trotted off after her, and soon maintained a pace just off to her right.

“So, where are you from?” Pinkie asked, as they moved through town. “What's it like?”

Thud glanced around at that, but soon relaxed when he saw that, while there were several other ponies on the street with them, they were all a good distance away. And miraculously, Pinkie is modulating her tone so it won't project, the stallion mused, and then took in a breath. “I'm from a place called Florida, one of fifty states in the United States of America,” he said. “It's mostly flat and swampy, and warm most of the year, so it's usually very humid.”

“Ooh, neat,” Pinkie said. “What's a 'state'?”

Thunderbird shook his head. “That gets into politics and history and it's a bit involved. Let's just say it's a nice place, and I really love the nature there,” he said. “It's also on a different world from this one.”

“Wha—?” Pinkie blurted, as she abruptly stopped in mid-air, hung there for a half-second, and then lightly fell to the ground. “You mean you're not from Equis?” she asked, as the pegasus stopped to face her.

“Is that what you call it?” Thunderbird asked, nonchalant over Pinkie's loose association with physics. He waited until she nodded, and then smirked a bit. “Some of us thought you called it that; it's a good name for a world with ponies on it,” he said, and then resumed his walk. Pinkie followed suit, and abandoned her bounce for a conventional trot. “We call our world 'Terra'.”

“So you're, like, from space?” Pinkie asked, her voice squeaking a bit in excitement.

“Aheh, no,” Thud replied, and then shook his head as the look on Pinkie's face fell slightly. “From what I understand, it's another reality altogether.”

“Oooooohhh!” the pink mare said, as her eyes grew wide. “Sort of like that one Daring Do book, Daring Do and the Planet of the Apes?” she asked.

Thunderbird slammed his hooves down and nearly fell over as he came to an abrupt stop. “Wait, did you just say 'Planet of the Apes'?” he asked, as he faced his companion.

“Yup!” Pinkie replied, with a grin. “See the book is about Daring Do and she finds a temple that's actually a portal to another reality and she goes to this one place where humans are real and not myths and stuff and they're all 'whoa weird pony' and she's like 'augh apes' and then a lot of things explode in increasingly ridiculous ways.”

“'Humans'?” Thud asked, as his mind seemed to grind to a halt. “But Ditzy told me that humans are unknown in Equestria.”

“Huh?” Pinkie asked, with a frown. “Humans are myths, yanno? Stuff from olden pony tales where they rode on pony ancestors called horses and fought monsters and each other.”

Thunderbird just sat in silence as he pondered this new information. Then, he laughed. “Really, now?” he asked, with a grin. “So we're the myths here? Imagine that.”

Pinkie Pie gasped at that. “Oymygosh! You're a real human?” she asked, with a shocked look on her face.

Thud looked around at that, paranoid that someone might come up and hear them talking, but fortune seemed to be smiling on the two ponies, as no other denizen of Ponyville was nearby. “Well, I was,” he finally said, as he turned to sheepishly smile at the pink pony. He held up a hoof at that, and then slowly let the grin slip off his muzzle. “Kinda not anymore. Went to bed in my home all normal like, then I woke up as a pegasus in the Everfree Forest.”

This time it was Pinkie who stood for a moment to think things over. “Wow,” she finally said. “That's ka-ray-zee,” she added, slightly stretching each syllable of the word.

“Tell me about it,” Thunderbird muttered, with a roll of his eyes. “Ditzy Dew's been helping me out by giving me a place to stay for now. And with a job I can earn some money, save up, and then move away from here.”

“Why would you move away?” Pinkie asked, confused. “Don't you like Ponyville?”

Thunderbird sighed. “It's not that,” he said, and then once again turned to resume their walk, with the pink mare following. “I really can't talk about it. I'll just say it has to do how we watch you ponies, and leave it at that.”

Pinkie frowned at him. “That makes no sense,” she protested. “Also, it's teasing. You're teasing me with forbidden knowledge or something like that snake charmer did in Daring Do and The Quixotic Caliphate.”

Thud hesitated briefly, but soon regained his wits. “Actually, that's not a bad analogy,” he muttered. “Just know that I've got some forbidden knowledge of my own, and it's probably best that I not hang around Ponyville for too long.”

The two fell into silence for a few moments as Pinkie contemplated the stallion's words. Eventually, she looked over at him again. “So, do humans eat meat like in the stories?”

“Yup,” Thunderbird replied, and then turned to smile at her. Unlike his usual smile—where he showed no teeth, as his human face wasn't really shaped right for it to be or look natural—he made sure to expose his canines, and even bent his lower lip under one of them to emphasize its point. “Animals are tasty.”

Pinkie gave him an unreadable look for a few moments. “Do you eat ponies?” she asked, warily.

“Nope,” Thud replied, with a shake of his head. “While back home horses and ponies aren't people—they don't talk or think abstract thoughts—they're considered special companions to humans, and we tend to value them too much to eat them,” he explained. Except for some of the more undeveloped cultures, he mentally added, as he decided now wasn't the time to explain the vast panoply of different groups spread across Terra. “And since humans are the only people where I come from, I consider eating a being who can talk and reason to be cannibalism, so I won't be eating ponies here, either.”

“That's good,” Pinkie said, with some audible relief. “So what's meat taste like, anyway?”

“Like meat,” Thunderbird replied, with a shrug of his wings. “I can't really describe it any other way. It's a completely unique taste and texture compared to plants, and every animal species has its own flavor to it.”

“Huh,” Pinkie muttered, and then fell silent. It was in this unusual quiet that the pair finished their journey to the library; they arrived after a few minutes and now stood at the front door.

Thunderbird glanced over to Pinkie Pie, and then raised an eyebrow when she just stared forward in thought. “You okay?” he asked. “You're not usually the pensive type.”

“I'm fine,” Pinkie replied, as she turned her head to give the stallion a smile. “I'm just wondering what that's like to eat stuff like that and it's kinda creeping me out so I figured I'd think about making a pie instead but then I was wondering whether a cake might be better or ever cupcakes but as soon as I thought of cupcakes something in my head said 'not right now' and in the end I was thinking pancakes might be good but then it's not breakfast time anymore and I thought it might be fun to have breakfast for dinner sometime.”

Thud chuckled at that. “Well, okay then,” he said, turned back to the library door, and then raised a hoof. He hesitated, and then glanced to the pink mare at his side. “By the way, you can totally have breakfast for dinner on occasion,” he said, and then knocked on the door even as Pinkie let you a happy squeak at his declaration.

“Come in, we're open!” a voice said from beyond the door, and Thunderbird suppressed a shudder as he recognized the source. Why oh why couldn't that be coming from Tara Strong instead of a purple unicorn? he wondered, even as he reached down to the doorknob and then twisted it open with the mild telekinetic power that all ponies had in their hooves. At least Tara Strong is damn sexy.

The door revealed a library that looked every bit as the one from the show, yet as with much of his experience being there, Thunderbird easily saw far more detail and texture than the flash animation could ever hold. Books, of course, lined almost every space that could conceivably hold them, a round table with a unicorn bust on it sat in the midst of the common area, and across the room a pair of doors lead to other parts of the combination tree/house. A set of stairs ran up the inside wall to the second floor balcony, where more bookshelves waited, as well as another three doors.

And coming out from one of those doors was a purple unicorn whom Thunderbird quickly recognized. She laid her eyes on the visitors, and quickly focused on the one she recognized. “Pinkie!” she warmly said, as she trotted down the stairs and then moved over to the two newcomers. “Not that I'm unhappy to see you, but what are you doing here?”

“I'm just showing my new friend Thud here where to find the library and also planning his welcome party so I figured I'd go ahead and invite you while I'm here,” the party mare explained.

Thunderbird did a double-take at that. “Whoa whoa, hold up there,” he said to the pink mare, even as he held out a foreleg and pressed the side of it against Pinkie's chest. “I'm sure miss Sparkle has lots of better things to do than to go to a welcome party for someone she doesn't know.”

“Well duh, she doesn't know you!” Pinkie replied, with her characteristic grin. “The whole point of a welcome party is to meet everypony and they get to meet you so you all can know each other!”

The stallion sighed at that, and then closed his eyes and moved the hoof that had been pressed to Pinkie's chest up to cover his face with the fetlock. “Just don't, Pinkie. For the love of God, just please don't.”

“But,” Pinkie replied, in a tone that told Thunderbird all he needed to know about her emotional state. “I thought you said I could throw you a party? How can I throw one if I can't invite my friends?”

Dear God, my eyes are shut and I can still see her pout, Thud thought, and then dropped the foreleg and looked at the sad mare. “Okay, fine,” he said, with a slow shake of his head. “Go ahead and invite whoever you want.”

The pout disappeared instantly. “Really?” Pinkie asked, happily.

“Yes,” Thud replied. “Just please, no more pouting. I can't bear to see a pony so unhappy.”

“Yippie!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, as she jumped straight up and wiggled her legs while airborne, before she came down to a heavy thump of a landing on all four hooves. “This is gonna be so totally fun, you'll see!”

“We certainly will,” Thunderbird agreed, in a half-mutter.

“Well!” Twilight Sparkle interjected, a slight titter of nervousness in her voice as the two visitors turned to face her. “I'm glad that's settled, then. Was there anything else I could help you or your friend with?”

“Actually, I was looking for some books to keep my attention tonight,” Thunderbird replied, before Pinkie could speak. Small miracle, that; thanks God, he thought, and then pressed on. “I've gotta stay up to switch my sleep schedule so I can work the night shift on a new job I just got.”

“Oh?” Twilight uttered, as she tilted her head a bit in surprised thought. “And you came here? You don't think books are boring?”

Thunderbird laughed. “Boring? Heck no, books are awesome,” he said, with a grin.

“Well, I'm glad somepony else thinks so,” Twilight smugly said. “So few come in to ever check something out that I wonder if Ponyville has a literacy problem.”

“Silly Twilight,” Pinkie said, as she walked over and patted the unicorn's head, which caused the latter to step back and shoot an annoyed look at the pink mare. “Ponyville loves books! Just that most ponies have already read the stuff in the library that they're interested in before you moved to town.”

“I suppose,” Twilight begrudgingly allowed, and then turned to direct a more pleasant mien towards Thunderbird. “So, what sort of books were you looking for?”

The stallion thought for a moment before he replied. “History, for one,” he said. “Politics, maybe an action novel, science-fiction if you have a good one.”

Sparkle's eyes had widened a bit in mild surprise at the requests Thunderbird made, though she took on a confused expression as he mentioned the last genre. “I'm sorry, science what?” she asked.

Thunderbird found himself freezing in abject horror for the second time that day. “Science-fiction,” he stated. “Or maybe you have it listed as 'speculative-fiction'?”

Twilight frowned at that. “I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you're talking about. All fiction is speculative, isn't it?”

This is truly a forsaken land, Thunderbird thought, with not a little melodrama. No Metal and now no Sci-fi? Uncouth! Outwardly, he just shut his eyes and then sighed for the umpteenth time in only a few hours. “So there is no genre of fiction that takes ideas from both science and sociopolitical theory and meshes them with current and developing cultural and technological trends to explore the... pony condition?” he asked, having barely caught himself from slipping, and then opened his eyes again.

The purple unicorn blinked at that, and seemed to lean back a bit as the ideas entered her mind. “Er, no,” she said, her tone surprisingly mortified. “But it sounds like there definitely should be.”

“On that we agree,” Thud replied. “I suppose if you've got no sci-fi then a good adventure novel should suffice. Oh, and an atlas,” he added, as the idea entered his mind.

Twilight looked over the pegasus stallion for a long moment. “Sure,” she finally said, and then turned towards the books and lit her horn. “Let's take a look at a few books, then.”

“And I'll be going,” Pinkie Pie interjected, and garnered a glance from the other two ponies. “I've got lots of other stuff to do today and a party to plan but since Thud is going to be working all night I've got to plan it well so I'm off! See ya Twilight, Thud.” With that, she turned and promptly bounced her way out of the library, only pausing to close the door behind her.

It was Twilight Sparkle who sighed this time. “She's a dear friend, but sometimes I just want to run screaming when I see her,” she said, softly.

Thunderbird laughed again. “I know exactly what you mean,” he replied, with a smile. “Now, 'bout them books?”

“Oh, yes, of course,” Twilight replied, and then turned back to her task and relit her horn. Several books were encapsulated in her aura and were quickly removed from the shelves and then deposited upon the central table. “I'm afraid the only atlas we have is a reference book, so I can't lend it out, but you're welcome to stay a while if you want to look over it.”

“Fair enough,” Thunderbird replied, as he followed Twilight over to the table. “Thank you for your help, miss Sparkle.”

“It's no problem, mister...?” she asked, with a raised eyebrow.

Here we go, the pegasus mused. “Thunderbird,” he stated. “Though you may call me 'Thud' for short if you'd like.”

“Thunderbird,” Twilight repeated, with a raised eyebrow. “That's an unusual name.”

“Got it from a song,” Thud said, with a grin. And I'm not even lying!

Twilight rolled her eyes at that. “Ha ha,” she said, somewhat sarcastically. “Still, it's interesting that you're named after the great birds that travel the world, barely stopping once a decade for rest.”

Well, ain't that an interesting little tidbit? Thunderbird thought to himself. “My parents liked 'em, what can I say?” he asked, with a shrug. Then he turned to the books and eyed over the titles. “Let's see, Canterlot Politics for the Uninitiated, A Brief History of Equestria, Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone, and The Royal Geographic Society Atlas,” he said, and then turned to nod at the unicorn. “Very good selections, miss Sparkle,” he added, with a grin. “Just the kind of thing I'm looking for.”

Twilight beamed a bit at that. “Well, I do try to be a good librarian,” she said, with some pride in her tone. “In any case you're obviously new to town, otherwise Pinkie wouldn't be giving you a welcoming party, so I'll go write up a new entry in the log book,” she added, and then turned to trot over to a small desk set against the wall.

“That's how you keep track of check-outs?” Thunderbird asked, genuinely curious.

“Yes,” Twilight replied, as her horn lit again and she picked up a quill and flipped open a fairly large book with her magic. “Libraries in larger cities use cards and the like, but Ponyville is small and quiet enough that this works well,” she explained, and then started scribbling in the book. “So, where are you staying for now? Or do you have a house already?”

“No house,” Thunderbird replied, as he used a hoof to open the library's atlas. God willing, I won't need one before I move. “I'm staying with my friend, Ditzy Dew,” he explained, while his eyes looked over the table of contents.

“Oh?” Twilight asked, as she looked up from the book and over to the stallion. “So you're the one that, uh...”

“Oh for the love of pi and all its blessed irrationality,” Thunderbird groaned, as he turned his head to give the unicorn a look. “Why is every pony in this town making such a big deal about that?”

“Er,” Twilight muttered, as she fidgeted where she stood. “It's just odd, you know? You defeated an apex predator, something ponies seldom do even in groups, let alone by themselves.”

Thud briefly sighed. “Yeah, well, admittedly I was lucky,” he said, and then turned his head back to the atlas. “Had a few breaks go my way. That sort of thing.”

“I see,” Twilight said, distantly. Thud ignored her tone and instead hoofed over a few pages to look at the map he wanted to see; “Central Equestria and the Duchy of Canterlot”, good, he thought, as he started to absorb the information.

Behind him, meanwhile, he heard the scritches of quill on paper start up again, though it was short-lived. “Alright, I'm done with that,” Twilight said, the odd tone gone from her voice. “Go ahead and take the books when you're ready to leave,” she continued, as Thunderbird turned his head towards her and gave the unicorn an even look. “Just bring them back a week from now, or sooner. If nopony is waiting on them, you could re-check them out at that time.”

“Thank you, miss Sparkle,” Thunderbird said. “I hope you won't mind me sticking around a bit to look over the atlas?”

“Not at all,” Twilight replied, with a polite smile. “Let me know if you need any additional help.”

“I will, thank you,” Thud replied, and then turned back to the book.

* * * *

Now this is a nice way to spend some time, Thunderbird thought, as he nudged over to the next page of the atlas with a hoof. He was lying down on his belly now, simply looking over the various maps of Equestria and the world beyond. It's a lot bigger and more varied than we gave it credit for, he mused, as he read over the vague maps of the Dragonlands. Pity the dragons apparently don't like sharing information, he thought, as he switched between the atlas and A Brief History of Equestria once in a while, using information from both to form a more coherent picture of the pony world. Maybe when the ponies develop satellites they can finally get some accurate depictions of the dragons' territory.

With this idea, he turned a few pages over and went back to studying the northern Equestrian cities, and more importantly, their positioning. These were the first cities built after the move from the frozen north, Thunderbird thought. Seems like the Hearth's Warming story was indeed an abbreviated version; the history book indicates old fortresses, and the cities are all at strategic choke points in various valleys and along rivers. Fascinating.

A sudden idea entered his head, and the stallion chuckled. That's why reading this feels so familiar! he thought, as he flipped through a few pages in the history book. The Three Tribes of ponies fighting each other is like the Three Kingdoms era of China!

“Are you laughing at a history book?” a voice asked. Thunderbird startled a bit, and then looked up to see a familiar purple reptiloid standing a few feet away, holding some books in his arms. “I mean, how can anything in that be funny?”

Thud grinned, both in recognition of the dragon, and at the fact that he was amused at having figured something out. He then cleared his throat. “Just had an interesting thought,” he explained. “I noticed some similarities between the history of Equestria and another place I know about.”

“Oh,” the youth replied, and then awkwardly turned back to a shelf and resumed his previous work of restoring books to their proper locations.

Thunderbird suppressed another chuckle at that. He's probably worried I'm going to launch into a lecture, the stallion mused, and then returned his attention back to the two books in front of him. Fortunately for him, I'm no more interested in talking about China than he is for hearing about it, so I'll just let him be.

Spike seemed grateful for the renewed silence, and his movements became natural again. This lasted for a few minutes, though when the books were put up, the little dragon walked over and then spoke up again. “So, uh,” he began, and then waited for the stallion to give him his attention. “Why are you looking at both books at once?”

Thunderbird smiled again. “Because I've always found that history seems more alive to me when I have a map to show me the places the author is talking about,” he said, and then pointed to the atlas with a foreleg. “Especially since a world atlas like this lets you know exactly where the events took place relative to your home. Knowing where and how I could get to these places suddenly makes them real, and not just some words in a book.”

“Huh,” Spike said, his expression and voice revealing the thought he found himself in. “I never thought of it that way before.”

“I don't think many people do,” Thunderbird agreed. “To them history is boring, but I think that's because a lot of authors don't take the time to really engage the readers' imaginations. Maps help a lot, but so do pictures, either artwork depicting past scenes or photos of artifacts maintained or recovered from the past.” He paused at that, and then sighed. “Of course, the way authors write is important, too. As well as the reader needs to be willing to learn, and not just think 'history is boring' or 'it's for nerds', or other crap like that,” Thud added, with a shake of his head. “Lots of people are just willing to go through life ignorant of what came before, and thus have no idea how to shape the future.”

The youthful dragon just stared at Thunderbird after the latter finished speaking, and the silence stretched for an awkward moment. Eventually, though, Spike spoke: “You're related to Twilight, aren't you?” he asked.

Thunderbird laughed at that. “Not hardly,” he stated, friendlily. “I've never been this far away from home in my life,” he stated.

“Really?” Spike asked. “Where are you from?”

“A long, long ways away,” Thud replied. Not sure if 'Flower Peninsula' will work so well anymore, he thought, as he remembered how relatively close it was, comparatively speaking. No telling how homogenous the culture is in Equestria, so I'd best stick to vague references lest someone figure out my lie. “Frankly, I'd like to keep it at that. No offense,” he added, with a sheepish look.

“Heh, okay,” Spike replied, as he held both hands up. “It's no scale of my nose,” he added. “I'm just glad that you're a lot more sensible than some of the ponies around here.”

Another chuckle escaped the green stallion at that. “I hear that,” he said. “Them silly, silly ponies, am I right?”

“You betcha,” the dragon said, with a chuckle of his own. “You seem like a cool guy,” he added, and then held out a fist. “I'm Spike.”

“Thunderbird,” the stallion replied, as he reached out to hoof bump the proffered limb. “But you can call me 'Thud', since it's shorter and I run into things.”

“'Thud', huh? That's kinda cool, actually,” Spike said, as he scratched his chin with a clawed hand. “A nickname like that gets you noticed...” his voice trailed away as he seemed deep in thought. Then his eyes seemed to light up, and a grin spread across his face. “I gotta get me one!”

“For what?” Thunderbird asked, though he already guessed. Poor Spike, always chasing after Rarity.

“Oh, uh, nothing important,” the dragon replied, with a blush that spread across his scales, which incidentally confirmed Thunderbird's supposition. “Just, it's one of those things a guy's gotta have, right?”

“I guess,” Thud replied, with a shrug and a knowing grin. “Anyway, thanks for not freaking out about me,” he added.

“Oh, the manticore thing?” Spike asked, and then waved a hand. “I think everypony's overreacting. You should have seen them when a large pack of bunnies 'stampeded' through once.” The young dragon made air quotes with his claws as he spoke. “They acted like it was a tornado that got loose or something.”

“I can imagine,” Thunderbird said, his face a picture of amusement. “Although I'm not sure if a group of bunnies is called a 'pack'. Aren't they called a 'hutch' or something?”

Spike shrugged. “Heck if I know,” he replied. “And I'm not looking it up, either; Twilight makes me do enough work as it is,” he grumbled, and then turned to look over the library. “I still have to sort out the rest of our returns from last week.”

“Sounds like a pain,” Thud offered. “Doesn't she help out?”

“Well, yeah,” Spike allowed, as he rubbed a hand over his forearm. “But half the time she's busy with an experiment, or studying, or running off and saving Equestria from certain doom.”

“That last one is a valid excuse, at least,” Thunderbird observed, with a chuckle.

“Heh, yeah,” Spike agreed, with a nod. “Don't get me wrong, it's not terrible and Twilight helps me out as much as I help her. Just sometimes I wish she'd realize that using her magic is a lot quicker and easier than me doing this by myself.”

“I can see that,” Thunderbird agreed. A thought entered his head at that, however, and he raised an eyebrow as he pieced something together that made him grin a bit. “Or maybe that's part of it?”

“Part of what?” Spike asked, confused.

Thunderbird continued to grin, though he toned it down a bit as he spoke. “From what I understand, you're a very young dragon, right?” he asked, though he knew the answer already. When Spike inevitably nodded, the pegasus continued. “Well, young is young, no matter where you go. You're still very much a child by most accounting, and one thing children always need is a better understanding of the world, how it works, and how to persevere in the face of challenges, while still remaining appropriately humble.” Thunderbird paused for breath, and then shrugged his wings for emphasis. “I'm willing to bet that Twilight is making you do stuff like this so that when you get older, you'll remember what it's like having to do menial, boring work, so that when you go out into the world and start interacting with other people, you'll remember what it's like to be on the bottom rung of things so you'll be more polite and treat them better than if you were a spoiled little brat.”

Silence fell over the pair then, as Spike contemplated the stallion's words, and Thunderbird merely waited to see what the little dragon would say. Eventually, the youth spoke: “You know, you might be right,” he said, with a sheepish grin. “I remember growing up in the castle—er, I mean, in Canterlot,” he quickly amended. “And a lot of the noble colts and fillies always acted like big jerks for no good reason. You think it's because they didn't have work to do?” he asked.

“Probably, amongst other things,” Thunderbird replied, even as he suppressed a smirk. Oh Spike, I already know Celestia raised you, he thought, but refrained from speaking about it. “But a big part of people treating each other terribly is a lack of sympathy and empathy, and when you have to do some boring, backbreaking, thankless work, then you learn to really empathize with others who may have it as bad or worse than you, because you at least have a glimmering of what it's like to deal with that category of tribulation.”

Spike blinked at that, and then gave the stallion a wary look. “Are you sure you're not related to Twilight?” he asked, again.

“Truthfully, I think it's pretty much impossible,” Thunderbird replied. Unless she has hairless semi-aquatic apes in her family tree, he mused. This sparked another idea in his head, and a recent memory as well. “Oh, that reminds me, do you guys have any books on old mythology? Specifically, humans?”

The dragon hesitated for a moment, as the non-sequitur threw him for a loop. “Oh, I get it,” he said, as he seemed to come to a conclusion. “You're actually related to Pinkie Pie, aren't you?”

Thunderbird chuckled briefly at that. “No, but that's a good guess,” he said, and then leaned his head towards Spike, and then waved the dragon to come closer with a foreleg. Although uncertain, Spike complied and as soon as he got within two feet, Thunderbird smiled. “I've actually got a copy of Pinkie Pie in my brain,” he explained, softly.

“Wh–what?” Spike asked, clearly taken aback by the confounding words.

“See, Pinkie isn't a real pony,” Thunderbird went on. “She's actually an eldritch being that was born in the time before time. Her body was hewn from the living bones of the First World as it was torn asunder in the creation of our present universe, and she was there when the void took shape and gave birth to the myriad stars and planets that we now see in the night sky.

“Lonely, she wandered the heavens, but saw only silence and dead rocks. Then when life arose on this planet and others, she rejoiced for now she had some other beings to engage herself with. So she used her immense powers to take pony form, and then moved to live with mortals. Thus she has lived for untold years, always moving, never staying too long in one place, lest we notice that she does not age and never dies.

“I admire her, you know,” Thunderbird added, with a nod. “She could be lording her power over us, or using it to rule an empire and force ponies to worship her as a goddess. Yet all she really wants is to make others happy, to share laughter as is her purview. For she is Laughter Incarnate, amongst other names; the Wallbreaker, the Opener of Ways and Means, the Pink One, the Muse of Muses, Oracle, such are her myriad titles, and she deserves all of them, for she inspires as much as she disturbs with her bending of the fabric of reality and piercing of time's veil.”

Thunderbird finished, and then looked to Spike, whose face showed disbelief. Yet there was an undercurrent of fear, as well, and the pegasus realized his words had a special effect on a being who had witnessed Pinkie Pie's antics up close. “She... but...” Spike sputtered, and then shook his head. “But how does that mean there's a copy of her in your head?”

“Because as I said, one of her titles is 'Muse of Muses',” Thunderbird patiently explained. “She is a source of inspiration, of creativity. From her flows all the great works of m—ponies,” he stuttered a bit, nearly having said “man.” “From the most heartwarming tales to the worst horror stories, all are sparked by her influence. And a few unfortunate creators are blessed—or, some would say cursed—with a piece of her personality, a copy she places into their minds to spur them towards greater and greater heights.” Thunderbird paused at that, and then proceeded to give the dragon a wide-eyed stare. “And I am so infected.”

Silence fell over the pair again, heavy with unspoken words. “Y–you're pulling my tail, right?” Spike finally asked, his voice as quiet as his eyes were wide.

Thud smiled at that. “I am pulling your tail,” he admitted, and then started to laugh.

His mirth only intensified when Spike's expression turned from fearful to shock and anger, and the baby dragon stamped a leg on the ground. “That wasn't funny!” he declared.

“Yes it was,” Thunderbird countered, and then promptly rolled onto his side, away from the dragon, as his raucous laughing temporarily made him lose control of his body. He stayed like this for a solid five minutes, until finally he began to sputter. “Help,” he ground out between laughs. “I can't breathe!” he added, and then started to gulp air.

“Oh my gosh,” Spike said, suddenly concerned despite the joke played at his expense. He walked over to stand next to the shaking stallion. “Can I help?”

“Just... gimme... a moment,” Thud managed to get out between gulps of air and the occasional chuckle. His amusement slowly faded as he focused his will upon it and forced it down, until the curiously strong emotion finally submitted and he could breathe easily again. “Sorry,” he said to Spike, as he shifted once more to lie properly on his stomach. “Very rarely something will make me laugh so hard it kind of reinforces itself, and I get stuck like that,” he said, and then let loose a brief, strained chuckle. Once again he forced his amusement down, and then shook his head. “I'm okay, though, just needed to get it out of my system.”

“Are you sure?” Spike asked, still concerned. “I could go get nurse Redheart from the hospital or something.”

Thunderbird waved a foreleg in the air. “Nah, I'm fine,” he said, as his breathing returned to normal. “Like I said, I've done this before.”

“Well, alight then,” Spike said, and then smirked. “I guess that's fate's way of getting you back for the joke.”

“Maybe,” Thunderbird allowed, with a sheepish grin. “Anyway, what were we talking ab—? Oh, right,” he interrupted himself, as the memory popped up. “Do you have any books on human mythology?”

“Uh,” Spike temporized, as he was once again taken off guard by the sudden shift in the conversation. “Sort of. We have four mythology books that mention humans, and three of them are pretty much exclusive to humans, but this one mare is constantly checking those out.”

Thunderbird blinked at that, and he chuckled again, despite his intentions. “She wouldn't be minty green and a unicorn, would she?” he asked.

“Yeah, how'd you know?” Spike replied, perplexed.

“I'm a bit interested in humans as well,” Thunderbird explained. Mainly because I am one, he mused. Or was, anyway. Still am, where it counts. “Not many are, so we tend to hear about each other.”

“Ah,” Spike said, knowingly. “Twilight is like that with Starswirl the Bearded, and she knows about a bunch of other ponies who study his stuff,” he expounded. “So, yeah, those books are out, but we still have a general mythology book that has a few human stories in it if you want.”

“That sounds good,” Thud said, with a nod. “Would you grab it for me?”

“Sure thing,” Spike said, and then turned to skitter off towards a shelf in the distance.

I probably should get going once I have that, Thunderbird told himself. He stood and closed the books he had been perusing, and then put the ones he was able to take home into his saddlebags, which he'd removed from his back and placed on the floor near the table some time ago. He was forced to use his teeth for them, as his hooves' gripping ability didn't work well against the weight of such tomes, and Thud grimaced a bit at the action. I don't think I'll ever get used to this, he mused.

“Here ya go,” Spike said, as he came back carrying a book in his hands. He set it on the table in front of Thunderbird so the latter could get a good look at it. “Common Myths of Equis; it's got a chapter on the old human stories.”

“Thanks, Spike,” Thunderbird said. “Do I need to go and write this in Twilight's log book or something?”

“Nah, I got that,” Spike replied, with a dismissive wave of his hand. “It's part of my job, anyway, so you can get going if you need to.”

“Ah, thank you again,” Thunderbird said, and then moved the book to his saddlebags as well. “You're a groovy little dragon, you know that?”

Spike pretended to buff his claws on his chest, and then held them out for an idle examination. “Yeah, well, it comes from being the most awesome dragon in Ponyville,” he said.

“That's not hard when you're the only one,” Thunderbird replied, and then smirked when he he saw the wry look of being caught out wash over Spike's face. “Anyway, I gotta get going,” he said, and then turned and walked towards the door. “Thanks again, and be sure to tell miss Sparkle that she has my thanks as well.”

“I will,” Spike said, as he followed the stallion. They both paused at the entrance as Thud opened it and then stepped outside, which let Spike grasp the door with his hand. “I hope you visit again; you're a lot better company than you look,” he added, with a smirk, and then closed the door as Thunderbird chuckled at the barb.

Ahh, I guess that wasn't so bad, Thunderbird allowed, as he turned around and breathed deep of the clean air. He blanched a bit when he realized the sun was near the horizon, and then blushed in embarrassment. Wow, that took longer than I thought it would, he realized. Better get back to Ditzy's.

With that thought, he trotted into the street, checked around to make sure he wasn't about to slap a pony, and then spread his wings and took to the air with a few, strong beats. Once he was above the level of most houses, Thunderbird transitioned into forward flight and then turned to head for the house he shared with his friend and benefactor. I will never, ever get tired of flying, he mused, as he soared over the rooftops. I always knew it'd be fun, but imagining it is nothing compared to the fun of actually doing it.

He frowned as his mind pulled out an unintentional double entendre, and then shook his head. None of that, now, he chastised himself, and then returned his attention to flying. Even as he did, however, a familiar feeling started to work its way up the back of his head. I feel inspired, Thunderbird mused. I need to do something creative, like write a story... But what about? The last stuff I wrote back home was pony-related fanfic, and here it would just be boring. Or a little creepy, since it would be about six real people who actually exist here and would probably be offended if I wrote a story 'bout them.

Thud then remembered the lack of science-fiction, and soon new ideas roared through his head. A grin spread on his muzzle, and he increased the speed of his wing flaps. I wonder if Ditzy has any paper and a pen?

Chapter 8 - Vaulting the Carnivorous Ichthyoid

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Thunderbird yawned mightily as he awakened to the ringing sound of a wind-up alarm clock. Working almost entirely on autopilot, he hopped out of bed and immediately moved to cross the room to where he'd placed the timepiece on the small desk opposite his bed. It was a calculated move to ensure that he would wake up enough to remember that he needed to stay awake, as he had a job to get to.

Of course, it would have helped if he were still bipedal; years of reacting to his electronic alarm clock at home had inculcated an automatic response to move on two legs. Now in pony form, Thunderbird barely got out of bed before he promptly fell onto his face. The pain from the impact jump-started his mind, and after the initial disorientation his memories flowed back in. How the Hell do you fall on your face when you're a quadruped? Thud grumbled to himself, as he stood up on all fours and immediately went to turn the alarm off.

God, I can't believe I'm doing this schtick again, the pegasus grumbled to himself, as he went to the small dresser and opened the top drawer. A few deft movements of hooves and application of gripping magic soon had a hair brush strapped to his right fore-hoof, and he began to brush out the inevitable mess his hair always ended up in after he slept. I don't know how some people can wake up and not need to straighten their hair out, Thud mused. Lucky sunsabitches.

His mane set—God help me, I'm actually calling it my mane, now—Thunderbird quickly turned to his tail and stroked out the few loose knots it had acquired as well. Fortunately it never seemed to suffer the same issues that plagued the mass of flexible keratin on his head, and so Thud finished his ministrations in only a few moments. No shower today, he told himself, as he turned to walk to the bedroom door, and then opened it and entered the hall beyond. Gonna be sweaty anyway, Dash said so. Why the Hell am I working on the same team as Dash?

That question had plagued his mind the last day, and Thunderbird was perturbed at the fact that he was softening his “no-interaction” stance in regards to the Mane Six. Worry later, work now, another part of his mind reminded him, and the pegasus quickly shut down his thoughts until he made his way downstairs and into the kitchen.

“Good evening,” Ditzy Dew said to Thud, as he entered and walked over to the pantry. “Or should I say 'good morning'?” she asked, from her seat at the room's table.

“Whichever,” Thunderbird grunted, his voice rough. He opened the pantry without preamble and then quickly rooted around for a breakfast cereal. Once this was found and firmly gripped between his teeth, the stallion turned and walked over to the dish cabinets.

Ditzy, meanwhile, chuckled slightly at the image. “Still not a morning pony, eh?” she cheerfully asked.

“No,” Thunderbird ground out, and then fell silent as he opened the fridge and retrieved the milk from within. He remained quiet as he fixed a bowl of cereal, returned the raw materials to their appropriate stores, carried the bowl of milk-enhanced cereal to the table with his mouth, and then set it down across from Ditzy Dew.

“I know you like to be quiet most of the time, but this is kind of ridiculous,” the mare said, as Thunderbird quietly took his seat and then started eating. The stallion merely gave her a tired look, and then returned to his food; this prompted Ditzy to shake her head at Thud. “Could you at least use a spoon?” she wryly asked, as he dug into the bowl.

Thunderbird paused just long enough to bring his head up and out of the food. “I don't have hands. But I got a muzzle, so I'm usin' it,” he muttered, and then returned to his meal.

Ditzy sighed at that. “Just don't do this where Dinky can see you,” she admonished. “The last thing I need is her picking up a bad habit like that.”

Thud grunted an acknowledgment, but otherwise remained silent as he polished off his breakfast. Once finished he cleaned up after himself, went upstairs to brush his teeth, and then promptly made his way back down to the front door.

Ditzy was waiting for him there, and she held the door open for him. “I do hope you have a good night,” she said, as Thunderbird casually walked past her.

“I'll try,” he replied, as he paused outside and began to stretch all six of his limbs. “Lord knows it'll probably be boring as Hell.”

“Maybe so, but it pays the bills,” Ditzy replied, as she cast her eyes over the stallion's large wings while they were fully extended. “Just try not to fall asleep.”

“Thanks, mom,” Thud sarcastically replied. He fell silent for a moment, and then sighed. “But yeah, I'll try,” he sincerely added, and then glanced over to the other pegasus with a faint grin. “Thanks.”

Ditzy Dew smiled politely at the sincere expression. “Of course. Now you'd best get moving before Rainbow Dash decides to come looking for you.”

Thud scoffed at that, but held his tongue as he spread his wings and leapt into the air. Strong wingbeats propelled him into the night, and soon he was a fading silhouette in the sky. Ditzy Dew watched him go, and then sighed tiredly. “Would be nice to get a full 'thank you' now and again,” she muttered, as she turned and walked back into her house. Ah well, I've known he isn't all there right after he wakes up since he moved in, she reasoned, and then closed the door behind her.

* * * *

Rainbow Dash paced impatiently on the lone cloud the weather patrol used as a meeting spot. He's not late yet, she reminded herself. He's not late yet, and if he knows what's good for him, he won't be. She snorted a bit as she thought of what she would do if the strange stallion failed to show up on time. Bucking lightning out of clouds? Nah, he seemed to enjoy that. Then again, let's see how he feels about it after having to do it for six hours straight.

The sound of large wings beating through the air brought Dash out of her ruminations, and she bit back a sigh of disappointment as she turned to watch Thunderbird make his approach. His movements seemed jerky and his landing on the cloud was rough, but overall Rainbow couldn't find anything to really fault him on. “Looks like you can keep to a schedule, at least,” she said, with a smirk.

Thunderbird bit his lip as he fought to keep a retort in. You're one to talk, dame naps-a-lot, he thought, and then took a slow breath to calm his short, morning temper. “Yup,” he said, equably. “So, what do we do to change the shift over, then?”

“Nothing much,” Dash evenly replied, satisfied that the new worker knew his place. “The pony leaving the shift handles the paperwork in town hall, including marking when her relief gets in,” she explained, and then turned to walk towards the opposite edge of the cloud. She paused just long enough to motion with a wing for Thunderbird to follow, and then resumed speaking once he moved up to join her. “Your job for now is just going to be watching for clouds coming out of the Everfree Forest, or the occasional natural cloud when they form.”

Thunderbird blinked at that, and he gave the mare off to his left a befuddled look. “Natural clouds?” he asked. “I thought you ponies made all of them yourselves?”

Dash raised an eyebrow at the way he said 'you ponies', but quickly set it aside as unimportant. “Most of them. But a few rogue ones pop up now and again,” she replied, with a wing-shrug. “Sometimes we corral 'em over the empty north fields, but we've got all the rain we need for now, so just buck 'em clear.”

“Clear the clouds, gotcha,” Thud replied, and then yawned. He brought a foreleg to cover his mouth with a fetlock while he did, and then lowered it sheepishly as Rainbow gave him a look. “Heh, sorry, still getting used to being back on night shift.”

The mare shrugged again. “No problem, I know how that is,” she replied. “Any questions?”

“Uh, yeah,” Thunderbird replied. “No one told me about the paperwork. Where do I get it from? Is there a certain way to fill it out? Where do I file it?”

Dash dismissively waved a foreleg at the stallion. “Don't worry, I asked Thunderlane to come in early tomorrow and show you the ropes with that stuff,” she said. “Ponyville can go a little bit without a weatherpony while you two get that all straightened out.”

“Uh-huh,” Thunderbird muttered. “Well, anything special or unique I should know about the weather around here?” he asked.

“Nah,” Rainbow replied. “We've got a good crew here, so things run smoothly,” she said, and then turned her head to give the stallion a hard look. “Just don't screw that up, okay?”

Thud suppressed another sigh, and then nodded. “Understood,” he flatly answered. “Does screwing up include taking a few flights? I don't want to fall asleep from sitting still all night.”

Rainbow smirked again at that, and her estimate of the stallion rose another small notch. “There's no problem with that,” she replied. “Frankly, I'd like it if you go flying around, make sure you don't miss anything. Just keep an eye out and you can do loops all night for all I care.”

Another nod came from the green pegasus, and he relaxed a little. “Alright, sounds like a plan,” he said. “I think I got it from here, miss Dash.”

“Alright then,” Rainbow said, and then paused to stretch her limbs out. Unlike Thunderbird, she stretched very much like a cat, arching her limbs in ways that made the stallion blush to look at.

Stop looking at her, Thud told himself, as he turned his head to look out over the village. His eyes seemed to have their own mind, however, and he found his focus flitting back over to the mare as she finished her stretching. That's wrong stop it stop stop stop, he mentally repeated, only to finally tear his eyes away as Rainbow flicked her gaze up to look at his face. Shit, did she see me? God, what's wrong with me? Why can't I be normal?

“Well...” Dash began, haltingly. “Good luck, and try not to fall asleep,” she added, and then turned and promptly flew off of the cloud before she dove out of sight for the ground below.

Thunderbird stood still for a few minutes as he listened to Rainbow's wing beats fade until she landed on the town square below. Pony ears are pretty good; the errant thought crossed his mind as he turned to face the direction of the Everfree Forest, and then sat on his haunches and carefully peered through the night skies to make sure no rogue clouds were in the air. It wasn't until he heard the doors of Ponyville's town hall open and close that more thoughts started to roll through his head. Why couldn't I be normal? Why couldn't I have grown up all stupid and blindly arrogant as everyone else? I'd have had a normal life and wouldn't be here thinking about ponies like this.

He shook his head somewhat violently in an attempt to clear his mind. Eventually, however, his mind went back to the image of Rainbow Dash's languid movements and an unfortunate, yet familiar reaction made itself known. Oh-kaaay, enough sitting, Thunderbird nervously thought, as he stood and then stretched his wings before he jumped off the cloud. The large airfoils bit into the dense night air and soon the stallion was flapping hard in an effort to distract himself with physical exertion.

* * * *

Rainbow Dash trotted out of town hall, and then paused to close the main doors behind her. Ponyville was quiet and small enough that no locks were needed for the entrance and the large chamber that formed the majority of the building's interior. Indeed, it was even considered a service to the community to leave it open, as two desks were set up with stacks of some of the most commonly requested forms that a citizen of the town would sometimes be called to fill out, including the weather patrol's checklists and logbook.

The paperwork sure is easy for a government job, Rainbow mused, as she turned and then walked down the stairs leading to ground level. She paused there, however, and then sighed. So why did it take me twice as long to finish tonight?

The sound of wings cutting through the air drew her attention skyward, and the cyan pegasus watched as Thunderbird flew off the watch cloud and promptly began to head towards the border with the Everfree. Right, that's why, Dash thought, while a light blush ran briefly over her cheeks. Stupid colt, with his stupid wandering eyes, she mentally grumbled, just as she took to the sky and powered into the night. Stupid Applejack, putting stupid thoughts in my head. Stupid... her mental rant trailed off then, as the small niggling of her conscience made itself known. Rainbow sighed as she slowed her wings and angled for home. Stupid me, for stretching like that in front of him. What the hay is wrong with me?

She silently cursed Applejack again as her wings stilled and she glided towards the front portico of her cloud house. If it hadn't been for her dumb idea that the creep has thoughts for me... And he is a creep, Dash reiterated to herself, as she alighted on the clouds that formed her home, and then folded up her wings. The way he talks, how he acts, he's just so... so weird! And Pinkie Pie said he's cool but won't say why, and Scratch actually thinks he's interesting. A frown graced her muzzle as Rainbow nudged open her front door and quickly walked into the solitude of her home. Why is everypony going crazy? Can't they see he's just a... A...

Rainbow froze in her tracks as she realized that, aside from a few brusque comments, Thunderbird had been mostly decent with her. This of course made her frown deepen, and she grumbled in her throat as she closed the door to her house and then promptly walked over to the special enchanted pen where her pet, Tank, lived. Forget that stupid stallion, she thought, and then smiled as the tortoise slowly awoke and pushed his head and limbs out from his shell to give his mistress a slow, warm look. “Hey there, Tank, mommy's home,” Dash cooed, unafraid to use a mushy tone and cutsey word selection when the only one who could hear her was her pet. Carefully she leaned over the pen's light fencing—there more to remind the tortoise of where the safety of the enchanted floorboards ended than to keep him in—and picked up Tank with the hooves of her forelegs, while her wings slowly flapped to keep her position stable. “How's my little stallion doing?” Rainbow asked, as she brought the tortoise up and rubbed her nose against his.

Tank made a happy sort of noise and returned the gesture with his idiomatic leisure. Dash felt her worries and cares melt away, and not for the first time she felt relieved that circumstances had her pick Tank over the falcon. That bird was cool, but I don't think he'd let me do this sort of thing, Rainbow mused, as she placed Tank back in his enclosure. “I'll fix us both some dinner, then it's time for bed,” she addressed the animal, and then turned and walked off towards her pantry.

Her thoughts drifted as she worked on the meals, and Dash frowned as the new hire on the weather team once again wandered through her mind. If it was just the ogling me, it'd be easy to dismiss, she thought. But AJ's words keep bouncing in my head. The idea of any stallion having some sort of attraction to her beyond the merely physical was alluring, and Rainbow found the idea tended to stick for the oddest reasons. He doesn't stare at me like he wants a one-night rut, she realized, as she thought back to the interactions she'd had with him. He's not intimidated by me like some stallions are, either. He just looks at me like an equal. He looks at me.

The idea made her blush again, and Dash found she had to shake her head clear it of such ideas. I'm just getting carried away, she thought, as she picked up Tank's dinner bowl in her mouth and turned to carry it over to the pet's pen. Me an' AJ are just seeing something that isn't there; Thunderbird is just a weird pony who doesn't act right, that's all. Even Twilight said he was kinda strange, the way he just asked for some weird kind of fiction nopony's ever heard about, and then sat and stared at maps for hours. Another shake of her head helped to clear her thoughts. Just another weirdo in a town full of weirdos. With that settled, she set down Tank's meal and then went to dine on her own hefty salad.

* * * *

Some hours later the sun rose over the eastern horizon, and Thunderbird smiled as he managed to greet the day properly for the first time in his life. Always sleeping in late before, or working until after the dang thing came up, or just plain busy with something else I wanted to do, he mused, as the first sliver of the burning star crested over the distant mountains. But here, now... His thoughts trailed off as he simply sat still and appreciated the natural beauty. A bit flat without any clouds, Thud mused, but still, gorgeous. Thank you, God, for letting me see this.

Around him he could hear the first signs of the world waking up, as birds began to sing, and a few ponies started to make noise in the streets as they walked to whatever errand was urgent enough to have them rouse so early. Idly curious, Thud moved to the edge of the weather patrol's watchcloud and looked down upon Ponyville. The twilight's gloom still held the ground in the grip of shadows, but this was starting to lift as the sun continued to rise further in the eastern sky, and soon the pegasus could make out the various shapes of ponies quite easily. Most of the early risers were heading towards the market, he noted, often with large saddlebags on or while towing a cart. Ah, shopkeeps and the like, Thunderbird mused, as he returned his attention back to the skies. The boring, unchanging skies, he further thought, and then sighed. I miss Florida's weather already. Hot and humid to the point of near agony it may have been, there was something undeniably beautiful about the clouds as they formed every day, shifted and moved, and then rained. Nothing like this sterile artificiality. Thud spared a moment for a rueful chuckle. Funny, I get away from Humanity's penchant for 'fake' food and plastic, and only to find out Ponies have their own hangups with the natural order.

He mulled on this as the day continued to brighten, and soon enough the ground below was finally lit by the rising sun. Ponyville came alive more than ever as shops opened and workers flowed through the streets towards their employment. Still others made a second wave of migration towards the marketplace with empty saddlebags, clearly intent on their shopping needs, while a few headed towards the permanent stores in town. All in all, the scene was so picturesque that Thunderbird wished he had his digital camera with him. Then again, how would I get the pictures off of the memory card to show others? he asked himself. I'd need my laptop too, I'd guess. And the chargers for both. Thud sighed at this. Sometimes I wish this place had more modern conveniences, even if those same conveniences occasionally cause as much trouble as they save.

The flapping of wings caught his ear just then, and Thunderbird turned his head around until he saw a familiar figure approaching his location. “Permission to come aboard, sir!” the pegasus asked, as she stopped short of the cloud and gave a friendly salute.

Thunderbird laughed briefly at the mare's antics. “I'm pretty sure the weather patrol isn't military, Ditzy,” he said, and then waved the gray pony forward with a foreleg.

Ditzy Doo just chuckled as she flittered over and then landed only a meter away from the bigger pegasus. “Maybe not, but I got you to crack a smile, didn't I?” she asked, with a smirk as she tucked in her wings.

“What're you, Pinkie Pie now?” Thud countered, a smirk of his own upon his muzzle. “Nice cap, by the way.”

“Thank you,” Ditzy unironically replied, and then reached up to make sure the blue mailpony's cap was perched correctly upon her head. “I always did like the hats, even if the uniforms always chafe my skin right through my coat.”

“So you never wear them?” Thunderbird asked.

“Not unless there's an inspection going on,” Ditzy replied, with a shake of her head. “Sometimes one of the Canterlot big horns decides she needs a vacation and takes an expenses paid tour through the outlying offices. Of course, they always start in Ponyville.” She paused at that, and then sighed as she turned to sit her haunches on the cloud, parallel to Thunderbird's position. “A pain in the flank if you ask me.”

Thud chuckled again, which garnered a look from his friend. “Sorry, it's just I know exactly what you mean,” he said, with a grin. “When I worked at Wally World back home, every year we put up with a wave of 'inspections' from the various bigwigs whenever they had the year-end meeting at the convention center in town.”

Ditzy managed an almost masculine-sounding grunt back. “I can imagine,” she replied. “Anyway, enough about my job, how was your shift last night?” she asked, as she turned her head to look over at the stallion.

Thunderbird shrugged his wings. “Boring as Hell, for the most part,” he answered, and silently prayed Ditzy wouldn't pry further.

His hope was unfulfilled, as the gray mare gave him a sly smile. “'For the most part', eh?” she asked. “And what part wasn't boring? When you met Rainbow Dash for the changeover?”

“I have no idea what you mean,” Thunderbird lied. He was unfortunately terrible at it, and thus could only blush as Ditzy chuckled at him. “I 'm serious,” he reiterated.

“Sure you are,” Ditzy sarcastically replied. Before Thud could respond, however, she stood back up on all fours and then stretched her wings. “I'm sure I'll hear all about it later when I stop for lunch at Sugarcube Corner; the grapevine will have everything down by then.”

Thunderbird grumbled. “Stupid small town nosiness,” he muttered.

“You'll get used to it,” Ditzy assured him. “Anyway, I left the back door to the house open, so go in through there. Just don't take too long.”

“No prob,” Thud replied. “I just gotta wait for Thunderlane to get here so he can show me how to do the post-shift paperwork.”

“Oh, him,” Ditzy said, with a roll of her eyes. “Word to the wise, he's a complete slacker and won't hesitate to try and drag you down to his level if you let him. Best to keep things on the straight and narrow.”

Thunderbird nodded with a knowing look on his face. “I know the type,” he revealed. “A line from Skyrim sums it up: 'a poncy little milk-drinker, that one.'” He chuckled at this.

Ditzy, though, simply gave the stallion a confused look. “Skyrim?” she asked.

“Oh, it's a video game,” Thud explained. “Kinda popular, actually; I'm surprised you didn't hear about it when you went to one of the human realities.”

“Well, it's not like I carried out an exhaustive survey,” Ditzy replied, with a shrug. “And human worlds tend to be insanely populated to the point where something could be famous in some circles and those outside would never hear of it.”

“True,” Thunderbird allowed. A frown then crossed his muzzle. “'Insanely populated'?” he asked.

“Yes,” Ditzy smugly replied, with a nod. “You people breed like rabbits.”

Thunderbird frowned at the mare, though his expression turned into a smirk a moment later. “Well, it is a rather fun pastime,” he snarked. “You should try it sometime.”

“Ha ha,” Ditzy sarcastically retorted. “If you haven't noticed, I do have a daughter.”

“Could be adopted,” Thunderbird countered, in a mischievous tone. “In fact, fan speculation back home has that amongst the possible origins of Dinky.”

Ditzy Dew sighed and rolled her eyes at that. “You people and your hyperactive imaginations,” she good-naturedly muttered, and then smirked a bit. “You all just don't want to think about your favorite ponies 'doing it', do you?”

“Well, that's part of it for some,” Thud replied, his tone shifting into one of discomfort. “But yanno, sometimes it's just because we want to see a character that we have represent the best aspects of our humanity.”

“Uh-huh,” Ditzy deadpanned. “And chastity is one of those things?”

“It is when paired with adorable things,” Thunderbird countered.

Ditzy scoffed at that. “Whatever,” she said, and then took to the air to hover a few feet above the cloud. “In any case, I must be off. Take care, Thud.”

“You too, Ditzy,” Thunderbird replied, a soft smile on his face as the mare turned and flew off towards the north. Once she was gone, however, the stallion let his face slip back into the slight scowl he wore as his 'neutral' expression, and then looked out over Ponyville again.

Time seemed to pass more quickly now, as the sun rose into the sky and the town started to settle down from the morning rush. Wish I had a watch, Thud mused, as he began to wonder if his relief would ever show. I know I've seen ponies on the show with watches; I wonder where I could buy one and how much would it cost?

The sound of flapping wings approached the cloud , and brought Thunderbird out of his reverie. A glance to the side showed him a black-coated pegasus on approach, and the unique cut of the stallion's mane told Thud that his relief was finally here.

“Hey there,” the newcomer said, slightly out of breath as he landed. “Sorry I'm late; alarm clocks, am I right?” he asked, with a grin.

“I suppose,” Thud replied, his tone even but with an eyebrow raised. “Thunderlane, I presume?” he asked, even though he recognized the stallion from the show.

“Yeah, that's me,” Thunderlane answered, and then walked forward once he caught up on his oxygen intake. He then walked up to Thud and then extended a hoof. “I'm guessing you're Thunderbird?”

“Aye,” Thud replied, as he reached out to shake the proffered hoof. “He be me.”

Thunderlane gave him a bemused look as the the greeting ended and the black stallion withdrew his hoof. “Uh, you okay?” he asked.

“No,” Thunderbird replied. “I'm tired, you're late, and we still have work to do,” he expanded. “Forgive my brusqueness, but I really just want to be shown how to do the paperwork so I can get it done and go enjoy what free time I have left in the day.”

“Geeze, which side of the cloud did you wake up on?” Thunderlane asked. He didn't wait for an answer, though, and instead moved to stand next to Thud and pat him on the back with a wing. “C'mon, dude, relax, life's too short to be worried about doing everything like clockwork.”

“There's a difference between enjoying life and not doing your job right,” Thud countered. “And right now, I just want to finish my responsibilities so I can call it a day.”

“Okay, okay. Chill,” Thunderlane replied. “I get what you're saying, dude. C'mon, let's hop down to town hall and I'll show ya,” he added, and then turned around to spread his wings before he hopped off the cloud.

Thunderbird took in a calming breath, and then moved to follow. He hopped off the cloud and spread his wings just in time to catch some air and glide down in a tight spiral, until he landed next to Thunderlane with an appropriate 'thud' that startled the charcoal pegasus. “Geeze, that was rough,” Thunderlane observed.

“Meh,” Thud replied, as he folded his wings up. “It's not the hardest I've hit the ground.” Nor is it the worst impact I've had, he mentally added, as he remembered the automobile accidents he'd been in before.

“Okay,” Thunderlane said, and then shook his head a bit. “Alright, c'mon then,” he said, and then started to walk towards the steps up to town hall. Thud followed quickly, and both pushed through the doors and into the main room.

Doesn't have quite the same feel as the courthouse back home, Thud mused, as he recalled several jury duties he had gone to. Of course, it's not quite fair to compare the two; Ponyville is a small town, and Orange County has what? Over a million residents? Something like that. He pushed such thoughts from his mind as Thunderlane and he headed towards a set of desks set off to the side of the main room. Each had an electrical desk lamp and stacks of papers neatly organized on their surfaces, as well as several writing implements. Oh thank God, they actually do have pencils here, Thud observed. I freakin' hate quills.

“Here we are,” Thunderlane said, as the two stallions stopped in front of the left desk. “Ya just grab the time sheet here,” he said, and then slipped a binder over and opened it up. “Find the last entry, and then scribble in your name, the time, the pony relieving you...”

* * * *

“...And that's it!” Thunderlane finished, with a smile. “Not so bad, right?”

“Nah,” Thud replied, as he finished the last sheet. “No worse than my job at Sears,” he added, without thinking.

“Sears?” Thunderlane asked, and Thud winced as he realized his mistake. “What's that?”

“A store back home,” Thunderbird answered, as he put the finished worksheet aside and set down the pencil. “I worked in the parts and service department for a few years, and I had to keep track of customer information.”

“Ah,” the charcoal pegasus chimed in. “I get ya,” he said, and then waved a wing to indicate that Thud should follow. “Parts and service for what, though?” he asked, once both stallions were walking towards the exit.

“Appliances,” Thud replied, after a moment to think. Ponies have fridges and stuff, it shouldn't hurt to mention them. “You know, refrigerators, stoves, that sort of thing.”

“Cool,” Thunderlane added. He was silent for a moment as the two passed through the doorway and exited town hall. “Well, that's it; you're free,” he added, and then turned his head towards Thunderbird. “So, off to your plans?”

“I guess,” Thud replied, with a wing-shrug. “I don't got no real plans. I'll probably just find someplace to grab dinner and fly around some.”

Thunderlane blinked at the double-negative, but soon enough grinned. “Hey, wanna join me for breakfast, then?” he asked. “I had to skip it to get here before I was too late, so I'm gonna hit Sugarcube Corner.”

The former human gave Thunderlane a queer look. “Ain't you supposed to be working?”

“Do you see anything for me to do yet?” Thunderlane asked, with a smirk. “Lemme guess; Dash gave you the whole 'don't screw up' speech, right?”

“Not exactly a speech,” Thud answered. “But yeah, she kinda implied it would not be in my favor if I slacked off.”

Thunderlane chuckled. “Yeah, she gives all the new ponies that bit. Don't let it worry you; she's not that bad, really. Just keep the weather to the schedule and she won't mind if you take a bit of time to run an errand or get some lunch.”

“I'm sure she'd still be upset at a new person doing that,” Thunderbird replied.

“Yeah, maybe,” Thunderlane allowed, and then grinned again. “But luckily, I'm not new. And you're not on the clock, so what's the big deal? C'mon, let's go get some muffins.”

Thud frowned at the other pegasus, but soon sighed. “Alright, but it's your funeral if Dash gets ticked,” he relented.

“Hey, it usually is,” Thunderlane agreed, and then turned and started to trot down the steps. “Even when it's not my fault,” he added, as Thud caught up with him. “She just doesn't like me, for some reason.”

If Ditzy's right, then it's 'cuz you're a slacker, Thud mused. Ah well, I'm officially clocked out, so it's all on his head if this miffs off best pony.

With that thought Thunderbird returned his attention back to the outside world, and followed Thunderlane through Ponyville's streets. “So, where are you from, anyway?” the other stallion asked, with a glance behind him.

“A long ways away,” Thud replied. “No offense, but I'd rather not go into it.”

“Oh, okay,” Thunderlane said, somewhat surprised. “Well, what are you doing in Ponyville?”

Thud forced a sigh down as he sped up a bit to walk abreast of Thunderlane. “Honestly, it was a bit of an accident,” he explained. A cosmic one. “Got caught in a storm, stuck in the Everfree, chased by a manticore, the usual.”

“That's the usual?” Thunderlane asked, with an incredulous glance. “Geeze, I'd hate to see what you'd consider a bad day.”

“So would I,” Thud agreed. The pair fell silent at that, and remained in companionable silence until they got to Sugarcube Corner and saw the line out the front.

“Geeze, busy again,” Thunderlane observed.

“Yeah, it's almost as if everyone wakes up at the same time and wants breakfast on the go,” Thunderbird wryly observed.

“Oh, ha ha,” Thunderlane sarcastically replied. “You're one of those types, aren't you?” he asked, as he led Thud to the end of the line.

The addressed pony raised an eyebrow at the charcoal pegasus. “And what type would that be?” he asked, curiously.

“Smart, and snarky about it,” Thunderlane replied, with a tired sigh. “As if it weren't bad enough with half the weather team getting on my back.”

Thunderbird shrugged at that. “Ah, don't worry about it,” he said, friendlily. “I tend to keep to myself, so unless you give me a good reason I'll leave you alone.”

“Oh?” Thunderlane asked, with a raised eyebrow of his own. “And what would be a good reason?”

“Depends on what you do,” Thud replied, with a slight grin. “Can't really say what's what 'til it happens.”

Thunderlane snorted at that, but kept his tongue as the line moved forward. By now the pair were at the main door and soon stepped into the bakery's customer area. Thud took a moment to look around and was surprised to see the tables set up for dining in were surprisingly empty. I guess the rat race is alive and well here, too, he mused.

“So...” Thunderlane said, which drew Thud's attention back to the charcoal pony. “Can I ask why you don't want to talk about where you're from?”

“I don't know, can you?” Thud asked back.

Thunderlane snorted. “Ugh, you're a grammar stomper too,” he said.

“Someone's got to be, otherwise the language deteriorates into slapdash dialects of nearly incomprehensible gibberish that alienates the group using it from the majority,” Thud countered. “That may be how new languages form, but as far as I'm concerned English as it stands is good enough.”

Thunderlane gave his companion a befuddled look. “English? Don't you mean Equish?”

To his credit, Thud only paused for a moment before he closed his eyes and nodded. “Yes. Yes, that is exactly what I meant,” he said, and then opened his eyes to give Thunderlane an even look. “See? Regional dialects impede understanding.”

“I guess,” Thunderlane allowed. A moment of silence passed between the two stallions before he spoke again. “So anyway, can I ask why you don't want to talk about where you're from or not?”

Thud suppressed the urge to correct Thunderlane a second time. Once is fair, twice is just being pedantic. “Not much to tell, really,” Thud cautiously replied. “What do you want to know?”

“I dunno,” the other pegasus muttered. He thought for a moment, and then spoke again. “Just, why don't you wanna talk about it?”

“Well...” Thud said, as he let the word trail off while he thought. “Let me just say that the main reason is I'm kinda homesick,” he explained. “And I can't really head back there right away”—or ever—“and I just don't want to make things worse by talking about it.”

“Oh,” Thunderlane said, and he stretched the word out. “Uh, sorry.”

“It's okay,” Thud replied, evenly. “You didn't know.”

“Still, I didn't mean to—”

“Hey!” A cheerful voice chimed in, and startled both stallions into finally noticing that they had reached the front of the line. And standing on the other side of the counter was the incessantly beaming face of Pinkie Pie. “How are you two doing? What can I get you?”

“Hiya, Pinkie,” Thunderlane said, and was echoed a second later by Thud. “I missed breakfast, so I'm going to need the morning special with coffee.”

“Okay!” the infamously friendly earth pony replied, and then looked to Thud. “It's like dinner time for you, isn't it?” she asked, curiously.

“Indeed,” Thunderbird replied, with a small but sincere smile. “But right now I'm hungry enough to eat a—just 'bout anything, so what's the morning special?”

“Oh, that's two fresh muffins of whatever the day's flavor is and hay browns and either a tall glass of milk or a cup of coffee!” Pinkie explained.

Thud could only blink as two things from the rapid-fire sentence hit him. “Hay browns?” he asked. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Hay cooked in a buttered skillet until extra-crispy!” Pinkie added. “Really gives a good crunch and offsets the muffins' delicious squishiness!”

“Okay,” Thud temporized. “But I thought this was a bakery, not a greasy spoon?”

The smile slipped off of Pinkie Pie's face at that. “What's a greasy spoon?” she asked, confused.

Thud took a moment to blink in surprise before his brain kicked into gear. “A diner; it's a roadside diner specializing in cheap, tasty, but fattening food,” he explained. “I thought you and the Cakes just baked stuff here?”

“Ahh,” Pinkie replied, and then regained her smile once she understood Thunderbird's reference. “We do have a full kitchen, and don't mind making stuff for ponies when it's slow,” she explained back.

“Slow? But it's—” Thud began, though he immediately cut himself off as he looked around and realized that there was no line behind the two weather ponies, and that most of the crowd had cleared out, save for a couple sitting at a table in the corner. “Huh, it was busier in here a moment ago,” he observed.

“Yeah, you two got here just as the rush ended!” Pinkie said, still with her idiomatic grin. “Good timing, huh?”

“Yeah,” Thud replied, a knowing tone in his voice as he turned his head to give Thunderlane a look. The latter had turned his head to glance off to the side and had an expression of feigned innocence on his face. “Anyway,” Thud continued, after a moment, and turned his head back to Pinkie. “If that's the case, then how about hash browns instead of hay browns?”

Once again the smile slipped off of Pinkie's face, and both she and Thunderlane gave Thud befuddled looks. “What's a hash brown?” Pinkie asked.

“You're kidding me?” Thud asked, and then shook his head a bit. “Hash browns are just like hay browns, only with diced or shredded potatoes seared to a golden color instead of hay.”

“Ooooh,” Pinkie said, and once again her smile returned, this time with even more force. “That sounds absolutely yummy! I can easily do that instead of hay browns if you want?”

“Excellent,” Thud replied, and then smiled. “A morning special with that, then. Oh, and milk.”

“Super!” Pinkie replied. “Just sit down and I'll go started on those!” she added, and then turned around and walked into the back room. “Missus Cake! I've got two specials to make!”

“Okay Pinkie, I'll take the counter,” the familiar voice of the matronly pony answered from the same room, and soon she appeared in the same doorway her employee had moved through.

Both Thud and Thunderlane had already moved away by then, and had picked out a table to sit at and wait for their meals. “I never thought Sugarcube Corner was a diner, too,” the former mused.

“Like Pinkie said, you gotta hit it at the right time,” Thunderlane spoke up. “Kinda limited, though, since they are a bakery first and don't really stock anything for customers except stuff for their specials.”

“I get ya,” Thud acknowledged. “Still, just a bit surprising to me, that's all.”

“Yeah, it doesn't look it from outside, does it?” Thunderlane asked, by way of agreement. “Pretty good food, though.”

“Hmm,” Thud just hummed. The pair fell silent at that, but only for a moment. “So, are you originally from Ponyville, or elsewhere?” the green stallion asked. Might as well find out more about the background ponies.

“Me?” Thunderlane asked. “I'm from Cloudsdale, originally. My parents moved us here when I was a colt, though, so I think of Ponyville as home,” he explained, good-nautredly. “I've visited Cloudsdale a few times, but I like it here; nice and relaxed and easygoing, no hectic schedule.” Thud raised an eyebrow and gave Thunderlane a spurious look at that, and the latter blushed a bit under the stare. “Okay, yeah, maybe a bit of a schedule,” he allowed. “I'll eat my breakfast quick and get to work soon enough.”

“Then it's good I made yours first!” Pinkie's bubbly voice intruded on the two stallions, and they jumped a bit in surprise as the pink pony walked up to them and then knelt down to shift the plate she was carrying on her back onto the table. Upon the simple china was a pair of muffins and strands of hay that had indeed been crisped up and glistened with the added butter. “And here's your drink!” Pinkie added, and then whipped out a cup of coffee from nowhere with her hoof and placed it next to the plate.

Thud frowned. “Pinkie, where was that drink?” he asked.

Thunderlane gave the other stallion a panicked look. “Dude, don't ask,” he said. “You'll just get a headache.”

“No no, I want to know,” Thud insisted, and then looked to Pinkie, who wore a pensive expression. “Because I'm not sure I want to drink or eat something if I don't know where it's been. No offense, Pinkie, I just want to make sure it won't be irradiated from whatever pocket dimension you yanked it from.”

The weather pony across from Thud gave him a confused look, but Pinkie Pie's face lit up. “Oh, that's close but not quite the right flavor,” she said. “See they're in the same spot they were before, I just turn them to the side so that they can fit!”

Both stallions blinked hard at that, but Thunderbird soon recovered and his eyes lit up. “You mean they're in the same spot, but you turn them ninety degrees from everything else along a curled dimension?” he asked.

Pinkie Pie squealed, and then bounced over to wrap Thunderbird in a hug. “You got it, you got it!” she happily exclaimed. “Nopony ever gets it but you did!”

“I have no idea what the hay is going on,” Thunderlane flatly observed.

Thud politely extricated himself from Pinkie's grip before he turned and gave the charcoal pegasus a smirk. “See, what Pinkie does is that she keeps stuff in the same traditional Cartesian coordinates, but then rotates them along non... uhm, what's the word?” he asked himself, as he turned his head to the side and blinked as he thought. “Non-linear, I think,” Thud added, and then turned back to Thunderlane. “She turns them around in the non-linear dimensions predicted by string theory so that they can occupy the same space but at a different attitude compared to normal space-time.”

Flat silence met Thud's pronouncement, with both Thunderlane and Pinkie Pie giving the green stallion befuddled looks. “Huh?” the former muttered.

Thud sighed. “She turns things sideways from everything else,” he explained.

Again, a silence. “What?” Thunderlane asked, utterly perplexed.

The green stallion facehoofed. “Nevermind, 'Lane,” Thud said, as he lowered his foreleg back down. “Just know that it's not black magic, merely non-Euclidean geometry.”

Thunderlane blinked. “Uh... okay,” he said, and then looked down at his food. “I think I'm gonna eat now,” he said, and then started to dig in.

“And I'll go get your meal cooking,” Pinkie chimed in, and then turned to walk back to the kitchen. Just as she finished the first part of that evolution, however, she stopped and then beamed towards the entrance to the bakery. “Hi girls!” Pinkie said, and then waved a hoof towards the door.

Both Thunderlane and Thud turned their heads towards the door, and they saw Twilight Sparkle standing there along with Fluttershy. The latter seemed to be nervous as she looked over Sugarcube Corner's front room, while the latter simply stared at the table around which the two stallions sat. This tableau exited in silence for a moment before Twilight finally seemed to shake her head clear of something, and then walked forward. Fluttershy was caught off guard, and thus had to skitter a bit to catch up and then walk so that her purple friend shielded her from the others they approached.

“Are you two here for our special?” Pinkie Pie asked, as the newcomers walked up. “I'm already making one for Thud here and he told me about a neat change to it that sounds really good so I might even try some so do ya wanna know what it is or would you like it as a surprise or do you just want the regular old hay browns?”

The wave of verbiage stunned Twilight for a moment, but she soon recovered and shook her head. “No, thank you, Pinkie. I had breakfast at the library,” she replied.

“Oh, okay,” Pinkie cheerfully said. “How about you, Fluttershy?”

“Uhm, that's okay,” the buttercream pegasus replied, her voice at a volume usually reserved for libraries or funeral homes. Hearing her was made more difficult for Thud as Fluttershy continued to shield herself with Twilight. “I wouldn't want to be any trouble.”

“Oh, it's no trouble at all!” Pinkie exclaimed, and then again turned and this time managed to head off for the kitchen. “I'll make it another special, and you can try the hash browns!”

“Hash browns?” Fluttershy asked, but her tiny voice didn't carry and Pinkie continued into the kitchen.

Her timid response was not noted by anyone else, as Twilight remained fixed on Thud, who reciprocated while Thunderlane worked to devour a muffin. Eventually, Thud made a discontented grunt and spoke up. “Is there a problem?” he asked.

“Oh, uh, sorry,” Twilight said, as she shook herself out of her apparent stupor. “It's just... I mean, did you actually understand Pinkie Pie's explanation just now?”

Thud blinked a couple times in surprise. “Uh, yeah?” he replied. “I mean, I guess so. What's not to get?”

“But how could you even figure out what she was talking about?” Twilight pressed. “And you referenced multidimensional concepts I have only come across in the most theoretical lectures back in Canterlot and applied them to Pinkie's explanation in a way that makes sense.”

Her words caused both Thunderlane and Fluttershy to put their attention directly on the green pegasus, and Thud blushed a bit in response. “Yeah, so?” he finally asked.

Twilight developed an eye twitch at that, but was prevented from saying anything as Pinkie Pie trotted up and then shimmied a plate onto the table to sit in front of Thunderbird. “Here you go,” she said, and then whipped a tall glass of milk out of nowhere and plopped it down beside the plate filled with has browns and two muffins. “Let me know how those browns turned out because that's the first time I made them with potatoes.”

“Alright, thank you Pinkie,” Thud said, and managed a smile at the pink pony. He then turned back to the meal and then hesitated. “Uh, no flatware?” he asked, with a glance towards the hostess.

“Oh, right,” Pinkie said, and then reached into her mane with a hoof. She abruptly yanked the limb free of her hair and slapped a fork and a butter knife down onto the table. “There ya go.”

Thud eyed the flatware warily. “Were those sideways, or merely stuck in your mane?” he asked, carefully. “Because no offense—again—I just don't want to eat off of anything that was in someone else's hair.”

“Nope, they were sideways,” Pinkie replied, with a smile. “And I'm not offended; the Cakes were really big on me learning how to keep stuff fresh and separate when I started working here so I get that you want to make sure the stuff you eat off of is clean.”

“Ah, excellent,” Thud said, and then turned his attention to his break-dinner-fast. “The hash browns look good,” he added, and then picked up the fork in his hoof's magic grip and tested a bite. “Mmm, done pretty well, too,” he added, after swallowing.

Pinkie Pie was practically permeated with satisfaction. “I'm so glad; it's the first time I cooked potatoes that way.”

“Potatoes?” Twilight asked, and then looked at Thud's plate. “Huh, so instead of frying hay, you had her fry potatoes?”

Thud paused and looked up at that. “Yes. Now, do you mind?” he asked, in a huff. “I'm trying to have my dinner here.”

Twilight finally looked chagrined at that. “Oh, sorry,” she sheepishly said, and then backed up a step. “It's just, I really would like to talk about how you can understand Pinkie Pie so well. Could we speak after you're done?”

The stallion paused, and then sighed. “Sure, whatever,” Thud said, and then went take a bite out of a muffin. “Forgive my brusqueness,” he added, after a swallow. “But I haven't eaten anything since breakfast and I'm kinda starved.”

“Oh, of course,” Twilight said, and then backed up again. “I'll let you finish then,” she added, and then turned to walk over towards another table. Or she started to, but had to halt when she nearly tripped over Fluttershy, who remained frozen and staring at Thunderbird. “Fluttershy?” Twilight Sparkle confusedly asked. “What's wrong?”

“T-teeth,” Fluttershy uttered, so quietly that only Twilight could understand the word. The pegasus' unusual behavior, however, garnered the interest of every other person there, and she blinked as she realized that she was now the center of attention. “Eeep,” she mewled, and then started to back away from the table with the weatherponies.

“Er,” Twilight said, and then turned her head back to give Thunderlane and Thud an apologetic look. “Thanks for your time, you two. I'll speak to you later,” she added, with a look to Thud, and then turned and trotted off to lead Fluttershy to a table in a more reclusive corner of the main room. The buttercream pony was all too eager to move, and soon they were gone.

“That was strange,” Pinkie Pie observed, from where she'd been forgotten by the others. Then she shrugged to herself. “I'll ask about it when I bring her her breakfast,” she added, and then turned her head to look over the two stallions munching on their meals. “Anything else I can get you two before I go?”

“I'm good,” Thunderlane answered, a sentiment that Thud echoed.

“Okey dokey Loki!” Pinkie said, and then trotted off for the kitchen once again.

The weatherponies watched her go, and then by mutual silent agreement returned to their meals.

* * * *

“Are you alright, Fluttershy?” Twilight Sparkle asked of her friend as they both settled into their seats. “I know meeting ponies is not easy for you, so I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble.”

“Oh no, it's fine, Twilight,” Fluttershy replied, with a soft smile. It was short-lived, however, as the anxiety resumed its place on her face, and she glanced over to the stallions eating their meals. “It's just... that green pony, he's... He's the one...”

“That killed a manticore,” Twilight interjected, and then waited as Fluttershy nodded. “Well, I can see why it would disturb you,” the unicorn began.

“Oh, no,” Fluttershy interrupted, and then eeped as she saw Twilight give her a confused look. “Uhm, it's not that, since I know how rough things can be in the Everfree forest, though it is kind of scary to know a pony could do that. But...” she shivered slightly, and then glanced over at the green pegasus again. “When he went to take a bite of his muffin, I saw his teeth,” she explained, and her voice dropped from its normal, already quiet volume to that of a mouse whispering in church. “He... he has omnivore teeth.”

Twilight blinked in surprise. “Omnivore? As in, eats plants and meat?” she asked, just to make sure that they both understood the word correctly. When Fluttershy nodded, the unicorn briefly pursed her lips. “I don't mean to be rude, Fluttershy, but are you sure of what you saw?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Oh yes, I know what they look like from dealing with all my animal friends who are also omnivores,” she explained, her tone and expression more confident as she delved into her area of expertise. “They have the grinding molars and sharp incisors for plants, but also the sharp, pointy canines for tearing flesh away in manageable chunks. And, uhm, their incisors are also good for cutting into meat, as well.”

A wave of nausea washed over Twilight Sparkle as Fluttershy spoke. How the hay can she be so afraid of new ponies, but talks about predation as if it were gardening? the lavender pony asked herself. “So, you think Thunderbird is, uh, like that?” she asked, warily.

“Well, he seems like it,” Fluttershy replied, albeit with less firmness than before. “Remember how I told you Ditzy got me to help take him to the hospital?” she asked, and then waited for Twilight to affirm the event. “Well, from what I saw, he had to have pursued the manticore to finish it off rather than run. That's more predatory behavior than most ponies display.”

“That sounds psychotic, actually,” Twilight replied, and then glanced to the side to take in the eating stallion across the room. “Somepony like that could be dangerous.”

“He could be, but he's not!” Pinkie Pie said, as she seemed to pop out of nowhere and startled both Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle. A plate was balanced on her back, and she quickly shimmied it onto the table in front of her pegasus friend. “I had a good talk with him the other day and it turns out he's really nice but kinda kooky and moody and sometimes he can be a bit of a meanie pants when he's pressured but that's okay because not everypony is the same and you know how that's like, right Twilight?” Pinkie asked, finishing her verbal assault as she placed a glass of milk and flatware out for Fluttershy. Her gaze, however, never left Twilight's face.

For her part the purple pony was left unnerved, and a little bit embarrassed. “Er, yeah,” she said, sheepishly, as she brought up a foreleg to rub the back of her head. “But still, anypony who would willingly follow a manticore to finish it off—”

“I don't think it's that bad, actually,” Fluttershy quietly interrupted, capable of such a feat by the sheer quality of her rich voice. The attention she got from her friends made her shrink in her seat a bit, but the pegasus continued to speak. “I mean, it's not something most ponies would do, but... most ponies don't have teeth like his, either.”

Twilight frowned a bit, but this time it was in thought as she pondered Fluttershy's words. “Are you suggesting he might be a new subspecies of pony?” she asked, curious.

“I–I don't know about that,” Fluttershy stammered out. “I just meant—I mean, if he is an omnivore...”

“Huh? Where'd you hear that?” Pinkie Pie asked, confusedly.

“Oh, uhm,” Fluttershy temporized, as she shifted in her seat a bit. “I saw his teeth, and they look like the teeth on other omnivores.”

“Oooohh, you saw those,” Pinkie knowingly said, as she nodded her head.

“Wait, so you saw them, too?” Twilight Sparkle asked. “So he really is a meat-eating pony?”

Pinkie shocked Twilight just then, as in place of her usual perkiness the pink earth pony just shied back a bit and rubbed a hoof over the other foreleg. “Uhm, I kinda promised him I wouldn't talk about that,” she explained. Her usual good humor returned quickly, though, and she beamed at her friends. “But don't worry, he's really a good pony and nice, too. I mean, he was in your library for a while I heard, and he didn't do anything mean did he?”

“Er, no, he didn't,” Twilight admitted, somewhat sheepishly. “I mean, all he did was look up some basic information... about...” she trailed off, as several pieces of information started to fit together in her mind. “Pinkie, is Thunderbird from outside of Equestria?” she asked.

“Uh, maybe?” Pinkie nervously replied, with a shaky grin. “Why? Does it matter?”

“Well, sort of,” Twilight said, cautiously. “I mean, if what Fluttershy is saying is true, then when you combine that with the fact that he uses uncommon pronouns, makes odd cultural references, and was trying to learn basic facts about Equestria, then he might be from an isolated tribe of ponies that nopony has even heard of before!” The unicorn's voice grew more and more excited as she talked, and she looked off into space as her mind worked. “It could be an important discovery to our understanding of ourselves as a species and as a civilization. I mean, how would a tribe of omnivorous ponies live? What kind of culture would they have? How would they be different from us, and how would they be alike? Would their predilection towards eating meat mean increased aggressiveness? Would they hunt like griffons do? Maybe that's how Thunderbird was able to kill a manticore single-hoofedly? Oh, so many questions, so much to study!”

Both Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy shared a worried look as Twilight ranted. “Uhm, Twilight, maybe you should consider mister Thunderbird's feelings?” the pegasus meekly asked. “I mean, he's been here for almost two weeks and this is the first time I've heard anything like this said about him,” Fluttershy carefully added, and then shirked back slightly when Twilight turned her attention to the pegasus. “What if he doesn't want to be studied?”

Twilight blinked several times at the questions, and soon a blush spread over her face as she scrunched down slightly in her seat. “Oh, yeah,” she said, with a sheepish grin. “I guess it would be rude of me to try and barge in with a lot of personal questions, huh?”

“Maybe,” Fluttershy allowed, and then fell silent as she shared in the embarrassed moment with her friend. In an effort to change the topic to something less uncomfortable, she finally turned her focus to the plate of cooling food in front of her. “Mm, this smells good, Pinkie,” Fluttershy said, as she reached down and grabbed a fork with her hoof.

“I know, right?” Pinkie asked, even as Fluttershy tried the hash browns. “I was telling Thud about the special and he kinda thought that hay was a bad thing so instead he suggested potatoes and I thought that sounded really good and I made some up for him and they smell so good I even tried a tiny bit myself when nopony was looking and it's really tasty.”

“Mm, I'll say,” Fluttershy agreed, after swallowing a bite. “I never thought you could fry potatoes.”

“Hmm,” Twilight Sparkle hummed, as she observed the situation. “He doesn't like hay? That's odd for a pony... but then, if he's had an omnivorous diet he's probably used to more high-calorie foodstuffs than we are...”

Fluttershy and Pinkie shared another look, though this one was more amused at their common friend's contemplative behavior. “Anyway, I've got to go clean up a bit,” Pinkie said, and then turned to trot for the kitchen. “Be back soon,” she added, as she departed.

As with the two stallions across the room, Fluttershy and Twilight fell into a companionable silence as the former worked on her breakfast and the latter contemplated what she had just learned. And more importantly, she wondered how she could learn more.

* * * *

Thunderbird felt odd as he finished his second muffin, and then sipped his drink. “Ever get the feeling that someone's walking over your grave?” he asked Thunderlane, as the latter nursed his coffee.

The addressed pony frowned. “That's a creepy thing to say,” he observed. “What does that even mean?”

“Sorry, it's just a cultural idiom back home,” Thud explained. “It means I got a weird feeling, like something's off.”

“Oh,” Thunderlane said, and then glanced around. “It might be 'cus Twilight Sparkle is staring at you,” he casually spoke.

“Huh?” Thud replied, with a hard blink of his eyes. Then he glanced across the room and made brief eye-contact with the lavender unicorn before she turned away. “Oh,” he said, flatly. Great, now she's curious, he mentally grumbled.

“Lucky,” Thunderlane said, with some envy in his voice. “She's hot.”

Thud blushed at that and turned his head around to glare at the other pegasus. “I'm pretty sure that's the furthest thing from her mind,” he stated, flatly.

Thunderlane just smirked at that. “Oh yeah? What about you, then?”

“What about me?” Thud retorted.

“C'mon, you can't tell me you look at a nice piece of plot like that and don't think about the possibilities,” Thunderlane pressed.

A frown crossed Thunderbird's muzzle at that. Great, he's one of those guys. “Believe it or not, some of us don't think about sex every five seconds,” he said aloud. Then an idea floated across his mind, and Thud smirked a bit. “And if I were you, I'd be wary of even thinking those sorts of thoughts around Twilight Sparkle. She is Celestia's personal student, after all; even if she hasn't mastered mind-reading yet, I wouldn't be surprised if the princess has.”

Thunderlane blinked in surprise. “Can unicorns do that?” he asked, a bit of shock in his tone.

“Do you really want to find out?” Thud replied, conspiratorially. “Especially since the first you'll realize it's true is when your nuts are being twisted off and you become a eunuch.”

“N–no,” Thunderlane weakly protested. “Princess Celestia wouldn't do that.”

“Again, do you really want to find out the hard way?” Thud pressed, and did his best to keep the smirk on his face from growing into a wide grin. “Probably best if you try to keep your head under control... or rather, both of them.”

The charcoal pegasus gulped at that, and then briefly yelped in fear as Pinkie Pie showed up. “Hiya!” she said, as she trotted over rather than appear out of nowhere. “How were your meals?”

“G–good,” Thunderlane managed.

“Pretty darn good,” Thud agreed. “Although it's offset by the fact that I usually prefer... something more substantial than muffins for a dinner,” he added, warily.

Pinkie seemed to get the message, as her eyes widened a bit and she smiled knowingly. “I'm sure. But you still enjoyed it, right?”

“Definitely,” Thud replied, with a nod and a polite smile. “I'm probably going to come by here again in the future.”

“I hope you do!” Pinkie said, even as she bent her head down and started to bus the table. She gripped the plates, glasses, and flatware with her mouth, heedless of any contamination, and stacked them expertly on her back. “Anyway, come up to the counter to pay, okay?” she added, once she was done.

“Okay then,” Thud replied, with a nod.

Thunderlane also nodded, but remained quiet until Pinkie left. “Well, I guess I should get to my shift,” he said, and then stood.

Finally, Thunderbird thought. “Equestria thanks you for your diligence,” he said, dryly.

“Yeah, yeah,” Thunderlane replied, somewhat testily. “I'll see you later,” he added, and then started to walk for the counter. Along the way, however, he froze briefly as he saw Twilight Sparkle had stood up as well, and was making her way over towards where Thunderbird sat. As a result, the charcoal pegasus shifted to the side, and did his best to scrape against the wall and then the counter as he tried to keep away from the unicorn.

Thud stifled a laugh as best he could as he watched Thunderlane have a minor freakout. Oh my Lord, is everyone here this naïve? he mused, as he considered the fun he could have. Then he shook his head. No, no, don't be a dick, now. A little fun is fine, but try to avoid starting a panic.

He then suppressed his thoughts and amusement, as Twilight walked over. “Hello again,” she said, friendlily. “I hope you don't mind, but I wondered if we could talk a bit now?”

Most of the mirth left Thunderbird's mind at that. Okay, just be cool, he told himself, as he politely smiled at Twilight. “I suppose,” he said, evenly. “Have a seat?” he asked, and then gestured to the one Thunderlane had been sitting in.

“Thank you,” Twilight replied, and then moved to take the proffered chair. She took a moment to get comfortable, and then just sat there fore a few moments more as she seemed to contemplate something about the pony she sat across from.

Thunderbird quirked an eyebrow at her. I guess I'd better get the ball rolling. “So, still wondering about me understanding Pinkie Pie?” he asked.

This seemed to startle Twilight out of her introspection, and she nodded a bit. “Yes, uh, mostly,” she said, with a sheepish smile. “But, something else occurred to me a moment ago and I was wondering how best to word my questions.”

A frown crossed Thud's muzzle once again. Great, what now? “Oh?” he asked.

“Yes,” Twilight replied. “See, I was talking with my friends and... well, some things came up, and I kind of pieced together an idea.” She paused to gauge Thunderbird's reaction, only to see that he just looked confused. Twilight took in a calming breath and then continued. “I was wondering; you're not from Equestria, are you?”

Thud sat back at that, and Twilight noted that he became slightly bemused. “Uh, I'm not sure what you mean,” he temporized.

“Well,” Twilight began, a bit confused as to the stallion's reaction. “You use strange and uncommon pronouns, you've made references to myself and others to cultural idioms that don't seem to exist in Equestria, you were at my library looking up basic facts that most foals learn in school, and to top it off...” She hesitated then, as a worry niggled into her brain. If he's aggressive, will he attack me? Twilight wondered, but soon her curiosity and confidence in her ability to defend herself won out. “Well, my friend Fluttershy noted that your teeth are... unusual.”

She saw the stallion tense up, and a determined look settled across his face. “Oh?” he asked, simply.

Now it was Twilight's turn to frown, and she did so in a manner that Thunderbird found adorable, even in the current situation. “Yes,” Twilight replied. “She saw you take a bite out of your muffin and said that they look like omnivore teeth.”

Silence was the only reply to greet her statement, and Twilight could only fidget as the pegasus across from her simply stared her down. After a few, awkward moments, he finally took in a deep breath, and then let it out slowly. “So what is your question, miss Sparkle?” he asked, a hint of irritation in his voice. “What is it you're building to?”

Twilight shifted a bit uncomfortably. I'm not so sure about this anymore, she thought, but nevertheless pressed on. “Well, it all points to the fact that you're not from Equestria. So I would like to ask you if that's true? Are you from outside of Equestria? And do you—I mean, are you actually... omnivorous?” she asked, nervously.

Once again, Thunderbird's face set into an upset mask, and he remained silent for a few moments as he thought. Not asking if I'm a human, but I guess there's only so much you can infer, he mused. After another moment of silence, he shook his head. “Miss Sparkle,” he began, and then paused again as he worked out the words in his head. “You're a pony of science, correct?” he asked, and then waited for her to nod. “Then let me tell you something you don't want to hear, but need to anyway: some knowledge is not worth the cost to learn it.” With that, he shifted out of his seat and turned to face the unicorn. “Now if you'll excuse me, I have a bill to pay,” he added, and then walked off towards the counter.

Twilight watched him go, too confused at his words and actions to follow up on her questions. This didn't last, however, as the ever-curious unicorn finally snapped out of her shock and climbed out of her chair. “Wait, what do you mean by that?” she asked, as she trotted over to where Thunderbird was paying missus Cake.

Thud sighed as he tightened up the little bit pouch tied to the base of his left wing. I really gotta thank Ditzy for showing me that trick, he mused, even as he folded his wing back down. “Miss Sparkle,” he began, while he turned to face the unicorn. “Is this going to be a thing with you?” he asked, tiredly. “Are you just going to hound me for information whenever you see me?”

A blush washed over Twilight's features, and she took a step back. “Uhm,” she muttered, unsure of how to respond.

“Because I really don't want to play that game,” Thud continued. “I'm not keen on the whole 'avoid someone' shtick; checking around every corner, timing my travel to stay away from you, that sort of thing. It's far, far too tiring and annoying and I'd rather like it if we didn't act like adversaries playing a cat-and-mouse game.”

The blush on Twilight's face deepened, but her posture remained somewhat defiant. “Well, you could solve that by just agreeing to talk to me like a normal pony,” she replied.

“And you could stop it by respecting my privacy,” Thud countered. “I'm not an experiment to be studied, analyzed, collated, and summarized.”

A moment of dread silence filled Sugarcube Corner, but soon enough Twilight backed down, both figuratively and metaphorically, as she took a step back and looked down. “I'm sorry,” she said, quietly, and then looked back up at the stallion. “It's just that, if what I've observed is true, then you seem to be from an unknown tribe of ponies. You could know things that could expand our knowledge base, and help us learn more about ourselves even as we learn about you and where you're from.”

Thud frowned, as the pleading tone and expression on Twilight's face tugged at his heartstrings. “Twilight,” he said, unconsciously slipping into an informal tone of address, even as his tone grew soft and imploring. “You don't know what you're asking,” he said, sincerely. “Whatever you suspect about me, it's wrong. And I would greatly appreciate it if you would just let the matter drop.” With that, he turned his head to nod at Cup Cake. “Thank you for your hospitality, missus Cake,” he said, and then turned and started to walk to the entrance.

A pink blur moved from the side and intercepted him halfway to the door. “You're not going to go away angry, are you?” Pinkie Pie asked, from where she stood in front of the pegasus.

Thunderbird sighed. “I'm not mad, Pinkie,” he said. “I've just reached my limit of... personal interaction for the moment,” he explained.

“But you're still upset,” Pinkie pointed out. “So can—may I give you a hug before you go?” she asked, and then gave him a pleading look.

Thunderbird winced. Gorram, that's super effective, he thought. “Look, Pinkie, I...” he trailed off as the pink pony ratcheted up her appeal with a sad pout and wider eyes. “Augh! Okay, fine, you may give me a hug,” Thud finally relented.

“Yay!” Pinkie cheered, and then sprang forward and wrapped her forelegs around Thunderbird's neck and pulled him into a hug. Her head wedged in next to his, and she just squeezed.

For his part, Thud relented with a sigh, and then shifted around a bit so he could lift his left foreleg and partially return the friendly embrace. He patted his hoof over Pinkie's back and chuckled. “You're a crazy pony, you know that?” he asked, the irritation gone from his voice.

“So you say,” Pinkie jovially replied, even as she released the stallion and stepped back. “But I still knew how to get you to smile,” she added, noting the grin on Thunderbird's muzzle.

“Even a broken clock is right twice a day,” Thud playfully retorted. “But thanks, Pinkie.”

“Anytime!” Pinkie beamed. “You just have a good rest of the day, okay?”

“Heh, okay then,” Thud replied, and then walked off. “You too.” With that, he finally walked out the door. Once outside, he took in a deep breath, and then let it out. Time to relax, he thought, and then smiled as he spread his wings. A jump and a few hard flaps and he was airborne and ascending with every stroke of the feathered limbs. I will never, ever get tired of this, he reminded himself, as he soared higher and forgot about his troubles.

* * * *

Twilight Sparkle just stood still as she wrestled with a mix of emotions. Embarrassment at having upset another pony warred with some irritation at Thunderbird's intransigence, but mostly with her deep-seated curiosity at the whole affair. I shouldn't have been so pushy and nosy, she reprimanded herself. But the fact that he didn't deny it, that he even acknowledged in a roundabout way that he does have unique and new information...

“Twilight?” a soft voice asked, and Sparkle snapped herself out of her internal debate to see Fluttershy had cautiously approached. “Are you alright?”

“I'm fine, Fluttershy. Thank you,” Twilight replied, with a polite but warm smile. It was brief, however, and her expression soon fell. “I'm just a bit mixed up. I feel kind of bad that I ended up being so pushy even when I said I wouldn't. But if anything, talking with Thunderbird makes me want to really find out what his story is.”

“I don't know about that,” Fluttershy said, in a concerned manner. “He doesn't seem really interested in talking about it.”

“I noticed,” Twilight wryly observed. “And I know I shouldn't be nosy, but this is a unique situation. Just from how he reacts I know he has all sorts of information and knowledge that could be fascinating at the very least.” She paused, and then sighed again and shook her head. “But I don't want to be a jerk and try to pry it out of him, either.”

“Weeellll,” Pinkie Pie, who had wandered over in the midst of Twilight's explanation, said. “You might get him to open up a bit if you tried being his friend instead of his interrogator.”

Twilight winced at that. “Yeah, I really blew that, didn't I?” she asked, and then lowered her head and folded her ears back. “Some element of friendship I am,” she muttered.

“Don't feel bad, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, as she placed a hoof on the unicorn's shoulder and gave her a warm smile. “You're just passionate about learning. You might let it carry you away sometimes, but your heart is in the right place.”

“Totally,” Pinkie chipped in. “And if you're nice I'm sure Thud will give you a second chance he swore he was a good pony when I met him so I'm pretty sure he won't hold a grudge unless that's what they usually do where he's from.”

“Gee, thanks Pinkie,” Twilight muttered, and then sighed. “Well, I suppose there's nothing I can do right now. I think I'll head back to the library and get some work done while I think on how to make it up to Thunderbird.”

“Ohh, can—may I come along and help?” Pinkie asked, earnestly.

Twilight blinked. “Did you just correct yourself and use formal grammar?” she asked of her pink friend.

“Yeah. Thud was picky about it and teased me a bit and said stuff like 'language influences culture as culture influences language'”—she lowered her voice in an attempt to sound masculine as she echoed Thunderbird's words—“so I figured I'd give it a shot and see if I can't see what he's talking about.”

Once again, Twilight Sparkle was dumbstruck for a moment. I don't know what's more astounding, she thought. The fact that Pinkie got something so distinct and profound out of Thunderbird, or that she's actually trying to apply it. Twilight then shook her head and smiled at the earth pony. “That's a great idea, Pinkie,” she said. “Both of them, actually; I'd like some help. But, shouldn't you be still at work?”

“Oh, we've gotten through the morning rush,” Cup Cake interjected, which startled both Fluttershy and Twilight as they had forgotten they were standing by the counter. The two sheepishly turned to face the elder mare, who smiled at them. “We usually let Pinkie Pie take an hour or two off between the breakfast and lunch rushes, so long as her work's done.”

“Yup, and I cleaned all the stuff I used so I should be good!” Pinkie added in.

“Well, alright,” Twilight said. “Let's go.”

* * * *

Thunderbird sighed as he landed in front of a building that he had only been in once before, but recognized all the same. I hope I'm not being a dick or a hypocrite about this, he thought, as he walked up and then pushed the front door open. The expected bell tinkled, and Thud paused to let his eyes adjust to the lower light.

“Hiya, Thud,” a mare's voice said, and as the pegasus' eyes finished adjusting he saw the white unicorn who had spoke. “How's it going, dude?” she asked, from behind her store's counter, a friendly smile on her muzzle.

“It's going,” Thud replied, and then walked over. “How're things with you, Vinyl?”

Vinyl Scratch sighed before she replied. “Slow, as always. Had a repair job yesterday, so I don't have to worry about food for a while, so that's always good.”

Thunderbird nodded at that. Funny how their economy is so mixed between modern and medieval, he mused. “Well, I'm glad to hear that,” he said, with a friendly smile of his own. “No one should really go hungry.”

“Oh, I wouldn't go hungry,” Scratch replied, with a shrug. “I'd just have to resort to grass and hay,” she added, and then paused to shudder. “Lemme tell you, that stuff is just not satisfying. And I hate the taste, too.”

“Oh, really?” Thud asked, curiously.

Vinyl nodded at the query. “Yeah. I know I'm not in the majority of ponies, but dude, I just cannot stand that stuff unless I'm starving.”

“Well, that makes two of us,” Thud replied, with a grin.

Scratch smiled at that. “Awesome,” she said, and then held up a foreleg. “Gimme a brohoof for that.”

Thud complied, and banged a raised hoof against Vinyl's as he chuckled. “I always wanted to do that,” he admitted.

“So? Why didn't you before?” Vinyl asked, as she lowered her leg back down.

Thunderbird blinked, and then grimaced a bit. Stop screwing up you idiot! “The gesture just isn't popular where I'm from,” he replied. A half-truth is better than a lie, at least.

“Ah,” Scratch said, with a nod. Then she smiled cheerfully. “So, what can I do for you today?” she asked, in a professional tone.

A nervous grin spread over Thud's muzzle. “Nothing professional, I'm afraid,” he said, carefully. “And, actually, I might be overstepping my bounds, so if I offend then I apologize.”

Vinyl blinked at him. “What, are you asking me out?” she asked, equally cautious.

Thud blinked back, and then blushed. “No! Er, I mean, not that you're not pretty,” he hastened to add. “I just—I mean, I just wanted to see if I could bum around and listen to music again like we did the other day.”

The unicorn processed his words, and then smiled. “Well, sure! Why would I have a problem with that?” she asked, curious.

Thunderbird sighed in relief once he saw that Scratch wasn't upset. “Well, it's bumming your equipment,” he said. “You know, the stuff you're selling? I... I kinda feel bad for asking because I really should be spending money here since it's your job and all.”

“Dude,” Vinyl replied, even as she walked out from behind the counter. “You're a friend, and one who's already promised to buy something once you get the money,” she said, and then smiled as she reached up and lightly smacked a hoof into Thunderbird's shoulder. “Besides, what do you think I do in here all day when there's no work to be done? Play tiddlywinks?”

“Heh,” Thud uttered, with a sheepish grin, albeit a short-lived one. “I figured as such, but... I just didn't want to presume anything,” he said, and then paused as something entered his head. “Wait, are we friends?” he asked, surprised.

Vinyl frowned at him. “Well, yeah!” she replied, eagerly. “I mean, c'mon, you've got good taste in music and you're fun. Why wouldn't we be friends?”

“Well, I dunno,” Thud said, with a shrug. “Just back home I didn't really make friends that easily.”

Scratch shook her head at him. “Thud, you're a friend, okay?” she earnestly explained. “I don't know what ponies are like where you're from, but here we're glad to make friends if they're nice. And you're a pretty nice guy so far.”

Thud blushed at that, and the sat down on his haunches. “Thank, Vinyl,” he said, with a sheepish smile. “It's nice to hear that come from someone without me prompting them.”

“Geeze, the ponies where you're from must really be weird, then,” Scratch said, with a shake of her head. “Anyway, forget about all of that. Did you bring your fancy music box today?”

“No,” Thunderbird replied, with a shake of his own head. “Just was out for a fly after work and I realized I needed to listen to some music. Figured I'd come in and ask you before I go grabbing things.”

Vinyl Scratch nodded, and then smiled. “Well, how about some of my music for today?” she asked. “I'll play you some of my own stuff I've been working on.”

Thud smiled. “Sounds great, Scratch; lead on.”

Chapter 9 - Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love the Ship

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“It's Friday, it's Friday,” came the singsong voice as the back door opened. “It's Fridaaayyy.”

Ditzy Dew rolled her eyes and then gave Thunderbird a look. “You sound like a colt just out from school,” she observed. “Even Dinky isn't this excited when it's actually Friday.”

Thud just grinned back for a moment. “I know, I'm just being silly,” he said, cheerfully, and then stretched his wings a bit as he finished entering the house. “It may be Saturday morning, but it's my Friday; the end of the work week, and that means two days off and farting around.”

“Not so,” Ditzy countered, as Thud froze just before he reached the kitchen table. “Remember our agreement? Well, you've been here long enough to acclimate, so I'd like you to help by cleaning the bathrooms tomorrow.”

Thunderbird frowned at that, and then sighed. “Why is it always the bathrooms?” he muttered.

“Because it's a terrible job so it's the first to be foisted off,” Ditzy replied, as she smiled beatifically and turned around to resume working on her breakfast. “Don't worry, though, it's not like Dinky or I are real horses.”

“Thank God for that,” Thud added, as he sat down at the kitchen table and then sighed. “Alright, I'll do that tomorrow morning after you and Dinky head off to that picnic you were talking about.”

“I appreciate it,” Ditzy said, and then turned the stove off after she slipped the omelet she had made onto a plate. It's so nice having wings, she mused, as the aforementioned appendages folded back along her sides. I can actually talk and do things at the same time. Despite this musing, she bent down and grabbed her plate with her teeth. Feathers still aren't that strong.

Thunderbird watched her go through the various evolutions of cooking, and then her carrying of the plate over to join him at the table. “If I really am stuck here, I hope I get as good at that as you are,” he observed.

“I'm sure you will,” Ditzy replied, after she set her plate down and then turned to gather the rest of her meal and its ancillary items. A comfortable silence fell across the two ponies as Ditzy finished preparing her meal, and then sat down. “So, how has your week been?” she asked of the stallion.

“Decent enough,” Thunderbird replied, after only a moment of thought. “Work's been boring, but not so much that I want to tear my hair out. I've been hanging out with Vinyl Scratch, but I told you that before, didn't I?”

“You did,” Ditzy confirmed between bites. “It's quite nice of her to be so generous, but then she's always been an easygoing pony.”

“Hm,” Thud only hummed back, and then took a moment to think. “Well, she is definitely a good person. Certainly she's been nice enough to tell me about those rumors starting to run around town.”

“Ah, the ones where you're some sort of cannibal pony?” Ditzy merrily asked. “Or perhaps the one that says you're secretly Discord in disguise and working with Pinkie Pie to create a party so grand it causes Ponyville to turn inside out?”

Thunderbird stuck his tongue out at the gray pegasus. “Maybe you think it's funny, but you're not the one all the other ponies are giving a wide berth to,” he said, grumpily. “And how the heck does anyone come up with those kinds of weird ideas, anyway?”

“A little bit of information can go a long way,” Ditzy countered. A moment of silence passed as she took and chewed another bite of omelet before she spoke up again. “Speaking of which, has Twilight Sparkle hounded you like you feared?”

Thud shook his head in reply, even as he suddenly shifted to climb out of the seat. “No, thank God,” he said, and then made his way over to the refrigerator. “Although I've seen her staring at me once or twice when we cross paths after I get off my shift,” he added, as he opened the appliance with a wing and nosed his way inside. “Still, she's nice enough to let it drop for now.”

“Have you reconsidered just telling her what she wants to know?” Ditzy asked, with a rise in her voice to make sure she was heard. “I know you're concerned about how it would go, but by now ponies in town have seen you're not crazy so you wouldn't be thrown in the asylum.”

“That's not my only reason, as you well know,” Thunderbird countered, before he grabbed an item in his mouth and pulled it out and closed the fridge behind him. I hate using my mouth, he thought. But sometimes it's just so dang quick and easy.

“I know, but I think you're overblowing the whole meta-knowledge angle,” Ditzy replied, as Thud walked over with a bowl of salad wrapped in wax paper. “You really don't know all that much about other ponies and Equestria in general.”

“I know enough,” Thud countered, after he had placed his meal on the table. He waited until he could settle into his seat before he spoke up again. “Besides, there's also non-meta knowledge, as well. Given the mark on my flank, I rather suspect I know a bit more about the subject of warfare than most ponies. I'd even wager a guess that, as much as an amateur as I am compared to real soldiers and scholars back home, I could still completely redefine how nations here wage war.” Thud paused then, as he had unwrapped the salad with is forelegs as he spoke. Now that it was available, the stallion dipped his head down and took a fairly large bite and chewed it fully before he continued. “And that doesn't include stuff I don't know the specifics on, but just introducing the concepts of could radically affect how Equestria progresses.”

“And is that a bad thing?” Ditzy asked, after a sip of her coffee. “You could help things along while steering ponies away from pitfalls inherent in certain technologies and ideas. Even knowing about warfare wouldn't hurt too much; at the very least, you'd be able to tell every being in this world how generally a bad idea it is.”

Thunderbird harrumphed at that. “Why haven't you done that, then?” he asked. “You've been to other universes, or so you've said.”

“I have,” Ditzy agreed, and then paused for another bite. “But the plain fact is, I was a tourist there. I was around long enough to find out some things, but not enough to truly learn anything in-depth.”

“You could have brought back books,” Thud countered. “The similarities between Equish and English apply to the written word, as well.”

“Yes, but then ponies would ask me where I got the books from,” Ditzy explained. “Not to mention the fact that, as somepony who doesn't understand those concepts in depth, I would probably look like a fraud or charlatan. No,” she added, with a shake of her head. “Better to let Equestria find these things out for itself than for me to try and explain things, and then everypony goes off half-baked in the opposite direction of the truth because they thought me a liar.”

Thunderbird frowned as he pondered the mare's words. “Then what makes you think they'd listen to me?” he asked, curiously.

“Honestly, I don't really think most would,” she replied, and then gave a sheepish smile at the surprised stallion. “Not at first, anyway. But, since you grew up in a world with such advancements, you understand them in detail I don't think I ever could. At the very least you'd be so sure of such things that some ponies would have to listen to you if only to finally devise a way to prove you wrong.”

“And when they prove I'm right, things go boom,” Thud cynically observed.

Ditzy sighed. “I thought you were in a good mood?” she asked.

“I was, until this subject came up,” Thunderbird replied, albeit evenly as he hefted no blame upon the gray pony. “Look, Ditzy, I appreciate that you're trying to help, but I don't think spilling the beans will do me or Equestria any good in the long run.”

“And I think you're wrong,” the mare replied. She then shook her head as she continued. “I'll respect your wishes, but I would ask you to at least consider it.”

Thud remained silent for a moment, and then nodded. “I'll... think about it,” he begrudgingly agreed. “Although I sincerely doubt that anyone would take me seriously if I stood in the market and yelled 'I'm a human'.”

Ditzy smiled at that. “Maybe not,” she agreed. The conversation then lapsed into another silence as both ponies concentrated on their respective meals, though it did not last very long. “So, what are your plans for when you're not helping out around the house?”

“Honestly? I've got no real idea,” Thunderbird replied. “Flying, certainly; God, I love having wings,” he added, with a grin.

“They are rather fun,” Ditzy agreed, with a canary-eating expression of her own. “Have you been practicing those exercises I taught you?”

Thunderbird nodded, as he recalled the wing stretches and flapping maneuvers the mare had passed on. “Yup; I miss my hands more than anything, but I'll be damned if anything takes flying away from me as well!”

Ditzy giggled at that. “Spoken like a true pegasus,” she observed, with a smile. “So, want to join me for a few after we're done eating?” she asked. “I need to stretch a bit to keep from stiffening up over the weekend.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Thud agreed. “I did some flying on my shift, but stretching always helps.”

“Good,” Ditzy said, happily.

* * * *

A short time later found both pegasi outside, stretching and doing other warm-up exercises. Thud groaned a bit as he worked out a kink in one of his flight muscles, and he rubbed the spot on his chest where a scar was left from the manticore attack. I hope the muscle healed right, he wondered, as his memory of doctor Light Suture's report of his injuries rolled through his mind. Well, nothing to do but keep stretching it 'til it gets better. Or at least keep it from getting worse, if it's permanently damaged.

“Refreshing, isn't it?” Ditzy asked, once she finished folding her wings up.

“Eeyup,” Thud replied. When he noticed Ditzy giving him a look, he turned his head to her and frowned slightly. “Something wrong?”

“Well, for someone who wants to avoid meta, you're playing right into it,” Ditzy observed with a smirk.

Thunderbird blushed slightly at that. “Well... to be fair, I did kind of start using that phrase after hearing Big McIntosh use it on the show,” he admitted, sheepishly.

“Honestly?” Ditzy asked, and then giggled when Thud nodded. “Oh, that is adorable.”

“Hey,” Thud protested, with his blush growing. “I am not adorable.”

“You've said ponies are adorable, haven't you?” Ditzy asked, with a sly grin. “Well, you're a pony now, aren't you?”

Thud frowned at her, and then sniffed. “Evil pony,” he said, and spitted her with a stern look. Ditzy could only laugh at it, though, and Thunderbird sighed. “I'm not adorable,” he repeated.

Ditzy let her laughter die out, and she gave the stallion an odd look. “Sure, Thud,” she said, and then shook her head. “Anyway, that does kind of bring me to something I wanted to speak with you about, in a roundabout way.”

“Oh?” Thud asked, in mild surprise. “What do you mean?”

“Well, remember when I helped you learn the basics on flight?” Ditzy asked, and then waited for Thunderbird to nod. “Remember that I also talked to you about preening?”

The question made Thud freeze for a moment, and he blushed. “Uh...” he muttered.

Ditzy face-hoofed and sighed. “Thud, I told you, you need to do it once a week,” she stated, as she dropped the foreleg down and spitted the stallion with a look. “You don't look too bad at the moment, but it's going to start going downhill fairly fast. Not to mention having messy wings keeps you from flying as well as you should.”

“I know,” Thunderbird grumbled, even as he sat on his haunches and diverted his gaze to the side. “It's just... really weird,” he said, after a moment, and then turned his head to once again face Ditzy. “Also it's kind of hard to reach the feathers towards the base.”

“Hard, but not impossible,” Ditzy countered, and then sighed herself. “I suppose I should be happy you at least wash diligently and clean up after yourself, unlike some males I've known. But would it hurt to give a little bit more attention to your appearance?”

Thud frowned at her. “Is it really that important?” he asked, petulantly.

“Yes,” Ditzy replied, sternly. “Not to mention the whole 'fly well' aspect of it. You do like flying, don't you?”

“Of course I do,” Thunderbird replied, and then sighed. “Ditzy, the most common dream every human has is that of flying through the air. Not in an aircraft, mind you, but flying the way birds do. The only thing that could be better than getting a pair of these,” he added, and then glanced back at his wings, which he extended a bit, “would be to keep my hands and have wings.”

Ditzy chuckled a bit after Thud finished. “I believe I understand,” she said, and then took on a serious expression. “But if you mean that, then you really should be preening at least once a week,” she added, and then paused as an idea entered her head. “Of course, if you don't want to do it yourself, you could always go to the spa and let the twins work on it.”

Thud's eyes widened at that, and he shook his head. “No,” he stated, flatly. “No. No no no no no no no. No,” he added, and stomped a foreleg at the last word. “There are things I may be pushed to, methods to persuade me, changes made to my very body, but I will not go to a bloody spa!”

Ditzy folded her ears down and took a step back at the vehement statement. “Alright, calm down,” she said, soothingly. “Nopony's going to make you go to the spa, okay?”

The anger drained out of Thunderbird at that, and he sighed and lowered his head. “Yeah, I know... I'm sorry,” he added, after a moment, as he looked back up to Ditzy. “I shouldn't have snapped.”

“That's alright,” Ditzy Dew replied, with a small smile. “I understand. You're not the only stallion to find the spa to be girly, after all.”

Thud harrumphed. “Good,” he said, and then sighed. “Anyway, yeah... I guess I'd better do some preening soon.”

“That would be for the best,” Ditzy agreed, with a nod. “But before you do, there's another exercise I wanted to show you, since you're on the weather team now.”

The stallion perked up at this, and he raised an eyebrow at the gray mare. “What exercise is that?” he asked, curiosity overriding his lingering moodiness.

“A little trick pegasi use to help clear clouds without actually dispersing them with bucking,” Ditzy replied. “Sometimes we need the cloud cover, but not in a certain spot or areas, so it's easier to just move the clouds. But doing it by hoof over a large area would be time-consuming, so we focus our flight magic a bit and put off a bit of a draft and pitch our wings so that we can hover while sending a small air stream out to move the clouds away.”

Thunderbird listened attentively, and then smiled once Ditzy finished her explanation. “Oh, I saw that in the show,” he said, eagerly. “I was wondering how y'all did that.”

“Well, let me show you,” Ditzy replied, and then turned and took a few steps to put a small bit of distance between herself and Thunderbird. The stallion looked on with interest as Ditzy spread her wings and then started to flap until she was hovering only a few feet above the ground. Then, she abruptly shifted the pitch on her wings, and Thud watched with fascination as the grass in front of her began to sway with a moderate breeze.

“Amazing,” Thud said, as Ditzy landed and then turned to face him as she folded up her wings. “But, how do you focus the magic, then?”

“It's simple,” Ditzy replied, the small but sincere smile still upon her muzzle. “Remember how I taught you to pull at the core of magic within you and push it to your wings?”

“Yeah,” Thud said, as he stood up on all fours. “It was kinda zen.”

Ditzy chuckled slightly at that. “Yes, well. In any case, you just need to give it a little bit of an extra push off the bottom of your wings, instead of along them. That's why you need to cant them the way I did, so that you can still maintain a proper amount of lift while still allowing for some of your magic to push the breeze along.”

“I see,” Thud said, as he reviewed Ditzy's wing position in his mind. “So you maintain a proper thrust vector even as some energy is siphoned off into an alternate vector in order to generate wind?”

The mare blinked at the question, but soon nodded once she had a moment to parse it out. “Yes, something like that,” she replied. “Now, before you try this while flying and hovering, I'd first like you to practice while grounded, so as to avoid an accident.”

“A reasonable precaution,” Thud said, by way of agreement. Then he turned and faced off towards the trees of the nearby woods and unfolded his wings. “Like this?” he asked, as he positioned his wings while he looked over at Ditzy Dew.

“Close,” she replied, and then walked over and sat on her haunches next to the stallion so she could bring her forelegs up to his wings. “Let me just adjust this for you,” she said, and then gently pushed Thud's left wing around until it was properly aligned. “Alright, now let's see you do that with your other wing.”

Thunderbird nodded, and then positioned his other wing as instructed. “Good,” Ditzy observed, with a smile. “Now,” she added, as she stood up and turned to walk away a few paces before she turned back to face Thud again. “Take a moment to adjust your magic, and then start flapping.”

The stallion didn't reply to that, but instead closed his eyes so he could concentrate more easily. This is so weird, he thought, not for the first time, as he mentally reached for the wellspring of magical energy that Ditzy had taught him to recognize through a method akin to meditation. Most pegasi apparently learn to do this instinctually from a young age, he remembered. I had to learn about it the hard way; fortunately for me—but unfortunately for others—some pegasi have issues with it and have to learn it through meditation.

Thud shook his head as he pushed such thoughts from his mind. Focus, dammit, he told himself, and then pulled at the magic his new body had. It felt odd to him, like a pool of cool water on a summer's day that sat within his chest, and as he concentrated the feeling welled up and spread instantly to his wings. It's amazing how quickly this becomes like breathing, Thunderbird briefly mused, as he started the magic on its well-charted path to pulling air along his wings. Something you're never aware of and works automatically, unless you want to do something with it; like now, for instance.

With that thought, Thud managed to push some of his flight magic along a new path so that it forced some of the air along his wings to push downward instead of back. His practice in tweaking his turns made it surprisingly easy to do, and soon he flapped his wings and generated a strong breeze that pushed out ahead of him.

“Whoa,” Ditzy said from beside him, and Thunderbird opened his eyes to see the mare giving the field in front of the stallion a wide-eyed look. Confused, he glanced forward and saw that, unlike with Ditzy's example, his breeze pushed along farther and caused the branches in the trees ahead to appreciably sway. “I knew you had some strong throughput from before, but this is ridiculous.”

Thud frowned as he ceased flapping and folded his wings up. “It doesn't seem like much to me,” he said, evenly. “I mean, ponies like you push along storm fronts and bust clouds and even cause whirlwinds or tornadoes.”

“Yes, but those are all team efforts,” Ditzy replied, as she looked back to Thud with an impressed expression. “We work in tandem to generate that kind of weather. You, on the other hoof, might be able to do some of the lesser jobs all by yourself.”

A blush spread over the stallion's face, and he shook his head. “I'm just doing what you told me to do.”

“Yes, and doing it well,” Ditzy returned. “Now, let me see you try that again, but this time put some real force into it; I want to see just how well you can do.”

“Alright,” Thud replied, and then faces the trees again. This time he kept his eyes open as he pulled the magic along, and he grinned as it seemed to flow along the new path more easily now. I wonder if it's because I learned something new, or if the magic itself is somehow being taught, like a muscle? He pondered on this briefly, and then gave a mental shrug as he felt the energy build along his wings. Focus on what to do, he reminded himself, and then concentrated on his limbs and the growing feeling of power in them. I should probably start—

“Thud, what are you doing?” Ditzy asked from beside him. The confused tone in her voice disturbed the stallion's concentration, and he broke out of his inner focus to look over and see a concerned expression upon the mare's face.

“What?” Thunderbird asked, confused himself.

“You're supposed to start flapping, not build up magic in your wings,” Ditzy replied.

Thud frowned. “How do you know I'm doing that?” he asked.

“Because I can bloody well see it!” Ditzy exclaimed, as she took a step back and then raised a foreleg to point to the other pegasus' wings.

Surprised at her reaction, Thunderbird turned his head around and looked back at his spread wings, only to drop his jaw open as he saw the air around them rippling. “Uh,” he uttered, unsure. “Are they supposed to do that?”

“No!” Ditzy hastily answered.

Oh shit, Thud thought, even as he snapped his head around to see a worried look on Ditzy's face. A surge of panic flowed through him at seeing the mare's reaction, and Thunderbird felt his mind start to race faster, too fast for coherent thoughts. Instinct urged him to stop the magic buildup in his wings, and the primal base of his consciousness screamed to get rid of the energy already in the limbs. The first was accomplished quickly with only a slight exertion of will, but the energy pent up in his extremities wasn't so easily dismissed, and Thud's brain had to slow down enough to let him think. Gotta get rid of it, how? Dump it. Energy dump. Heat dump. Eject! As disconnected and jumbled his internal monologue was, it nevertheless gave him an idea, and Thunderbird quickly flexed his wings back so he could give them a hard flap. Even as his wings snapped forward, his mind pushed at the energy in them and forced it out, instead of using it to shove air along the surface as he normally did.

The result was not what either pegasus expected, as a pulse of rippling air blasted forth from the flexing limbs. It moved like a wave through the space between the ponies and the wood ahead, and pulled behind it a train of debris from the ground sucked up by the sudden wind before it hit the trees. Branches snapped back, and a few broke even as others were stripped of leaves before the wind spent itself and the air calmed down from the force just unleashed.

Both Ditzy and Thud simply looked on with dumfounded stares for a few long moments. Soon enough, however, they both regained their wits and then turned their heads to one another. “What in the name of Tartarus was that?” asked the mare.

“Hell if I know,” Thunderbird replied, perplexed. He was so surprised that he left his wings out and open as he spoke. “I just kinda panicked when you freaked out and shoved all the magic out of my wings,” he explained, yet only received a look of confusion in return. “What? Can't pegasi do that?”

“We bloody well can't,” Ditzy retorted. “At least, I've never heard of any non-unicorn being able to push their magic out of their bodies before.”

Thud frowned as he processed this information. “Are you sure?” he asked. “Has anyone tried before?”

Ditzy Dew rolled her eyes. “Yes, Thud. Nopony in the entire history of the pegasi have ever tried to do something like this before,” she sarcastically replied.

A blush crossed over Thunderbird's face as his ears folded back, and he sheepishly folded his wings. “I guess that does sound kind of arrogant,” he allowed. “But still, every other pegasus has their wings and magic from birth. I haven't, so maybe I ain't limiting myself with 'common knowledge'?” he asked, curiously.

Ditzy frowned herself, but soon had to sigh. “I have no idea,” she said, moodily. “All I know is that we're generally warned about too much magic in the wings; it can numb the nerves if you're not careful and don't practice exposing them to the higher charge.”

“Like through flight training?” Thunderbird asked, and then paused as Ditzy nodded. “Hm,” he briefly hummed, while he pondered. “Well, I'm not sure what to say, then. I did it, we both saw that.”

“Yes,” Ditzy replied, and let her voice trail off as she descended into contemplative silence.

Thunderbird joined her, and they stood like that for a few, pensive moments. “Well,” he said, and turned his head to Ditzy as she looked to him. “Why don't you try it?”

“Me?” Ditzy asked, with a hard blink of surprise.

“Yeah,” Thud replied, with a nod. “I mean, if it really is something that other pegasi can't do, then we can test that right now.”

She blinked at that, and then shuffled her hooves. “I'm... not sure if I should,” she said, cautiously. “Like I said, it could numb my wings, maybe do permanent damage.”

“I doubt it will from a test or two,” Thud countered. “I mean, if simply increasing the amount of magic in your wings would do that, then flight training wouldn't work, now would it?”

Ditzy pondered on that, and then nodded. “I suppose,” she said, and then sighed. “Alright, I guess I can give it a go. What did you do, exactly?”

“Build it all up in the wings, and then as you flap forward, think about pushing the magic out,” Thunderbird explained. “Not using it, not for flight, just... eject it, straight ahead. Shove it out, like you're pushing Dinky out the door to school.” He added the last part with a grin, having witnessed a few mornings where the little unicorn had been reluctant to leave.

The mare huffed and rolled her eyes at that, but a faint smirk briefly crossed her muzzle and let Thud know his jest wasn't entirely unappreciated. “Alright, smart guy,” she said, and then turned her body to face the trees. Ditzy then slowly extended her wings and built up her magic in them for a few moments. Then, with a snap and a thought, she pushed the magic out. As before, a powerful wind blasted through the air and impacted the treeline, snapping branches and tearing up leaves as it went.

Silence fell over the pair of pegasi as they looked on the results. “I don't believe it,” Ditzy said, in a mild state of shock as she folded her wings up. “How the hay did we not figure this out sooner?”

“Hell if I know,” Thunderbird repeated his earlier statement. Another silence fell over the ponies, but soon enough an idea entered his head, and that caused a wide grin to spread across his muzzle. “I'm gonna try something,” he said, as he unfolded his wings again.

Wary, Ditzy looked over at him with a frown. “Try what?” she asked.

“You'll see,” Thud replied, and then concentrated. Okay, remember, 'force, balance, push...'

* * * *

“So do you think this'll get us our cutie marks?” Applebloom asked, as she and Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle all walked towards the Hooves' house.

“Well, maybe one of us,” Scootaloo said, with a wing-shrug. “I mean, how many ponies can have cutie marks in 'stealth party invitation'?”

“And even if we don't, it's a nice thing to do,” Sweetie Belle concluded, with a nod.

“I guess,” Scootaloo replied, with a light grumble. “At least there will be a Pinkie Pie party at the end of it. Those are always worth the trouble.”

“Yup,” Applebloom added, as the group approached their destination. “But remember, it's supposed ta be a surprise fer Thunderbird, so don't go blabbin' 'bout it.”

“I do not blab,” Scootaloo heatedly retorted, as she turned her head to spit Applebloom with a glare.

The two might have carried on, but a sudden shout interrupted their budding argument. “Fus ro dah!” sounded a familiar voice, followed by the noise of a rushing wind and the thunderous crack of wood, finally followed by a heavy thump the fillies felt right through their hooves.

Startled, the three ponies looked to each other, and then silently made the unanimous decision to find out just what had happened. They bolted off as one and ran around the house towards the source of the shout, only to come to a sudden stop when they saw Ditzy Dew and Thunderbird standing in the field behind the house, facing towards a tree that had been snapped in half. The latter wore a manic grin as he folded his wings, while the former simply looked at the tree in mild shock. “Ha ha!” Thunderbird laughed. “A mighty thu'um!”

A silence fell over the scene, and at this Thud finally showed some chagrin as he blushed a bit. Ditzy, meanwhile, had brought up a foreleg to cover her face with a fetlock. “Why...” she began, her voice barely audible to the fillies. “Why is it whenever your people learn something new, the first thing you do is turn it into a weapon?”

“Because weapons are awesome,” Thunderbird replied, smugly. “Also we live in a death world where everything either wants to eat us or eat our food out from under us, so we've learned that you need to annihilate threats with extreme prejudice.”

“Bloody humans,” Ditzy growled.

“An apt description,” Thunderbird allowed, with a nod. He then looked around to keep the pause in the conversation from becoming awkward, and soon laid eyes upon the trio of fillies. “Oh, fudruckers,” he muttered.

“What?” Ditzy asked, and then craned her head to see what Thud was staring at. “Oh, hello girls,” she called to the fillies, and cursed internally as she and Thunderbird both turned their bodies fully around to face the newcomers. Of course I had to use the 'H-word'. “Are you looking for Dinky?”

“Uh, yeah,” Applebloom said, as the trio of fillies walked forward, confused looks upon their faces. “We were hopin' ta talk ta her.”

“But then we heard somepony shouting and something snapping and did you really do that?” Scootaloo interjected, and then jabbed a hoof towards the broken tree.

“Uh,” Thunderbird temporized. He shared a quick glance with Ditzy, but her features showed she was as clueless on how to proceed as he was. “Yes?” he said, bemusedly.

“Cool,” both Scootaloo and Applebloom said, though Sweetie Belle just looked on with a mien of confusion. “How'd ya do it?” the Apple pony asked.

“And what was that shout about?” Scootaloo added.

Thud paused for a moment to think, and then grinned widely as another idea entered his head. “Well, that's kind of a secret,” he said, in a teasing tone.

“Aww, c'mon, tell us,” Scootaloo pleaded. Her wings buzzed slightly in agitation as she spoke. “Please?”

“Yeah, please?” Applebloom joined in, and even pouted a bit for good measure.

“Oh, all right,” Thunderbird said, in a voice that an experienced person would recognize as the sort of tone an adult takes on when they're about to tell a tall tale to children. He could see Ditzy frowning out of the corner of his eye, but he simply grinned and pressed on as he sat on his haunches and leaned his head down a bit to bring it closer to the Crusaders. “See, I used an ancient technique called a 'thu'um', where I tap into the old magic of the world and focus it by shouting.”

“Really?” This came from Sweetie Belle, who shook off her odd introspection and moved up to join her friends, who by now were eagerly sitting in front of Thunderbird. “I've never heard of magic shouting before.”

“I should think not,” Thud said, with an air of mock severity. “For it is an ancient technique from the distant continent known as Tamriel. There a people known as the Nords learn and use this rare magic—which they call the Voice—to fight dragons and monsters.”

“They fight dragons?” Scootaloo asked, with wide eyes.

Thunderbird could only smile at the filly. “Fight them, and win,” he said, with a light hoof stomp to emphasize. “And I'm not talking about Equestrian dragons, either. Don't get me wrong, they're all big and terribly strong, but Tamrielic dragons are stronger, because they use the thu'um magic as well.”

“But how did they learn it?” Sweetie Belle asked, as she tilted her head.

“Dragons in Tamriel are born with full knowledge of the Voice; it's in their blood,” Thud explained. “But mere mortals can learn it after years of study. And beyond that, there is one kind of mortal who can learn shouts almost instantly, and whom dragons fear above all else.”

“Who's that?” Applebloom asked, as she leaned forward, clearly engaged.

Thunderbird could only smile as he saw that he had the trio in the palm of his hand—frog of the hoof, he corrected himself. “A legendary figure the dragons themselves call 'Dovahkiin', but we know them as Dragonborn.”

“Dragonborn?” the three fillies chorused.

“Yes. A mortal born with the soul of a dragon, sent by the gods to right wrongs and defend us from the ravages of the dragons, as promised in song,” Thud explained, and then paused to take in a deep breath. Then he sang:

Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin!

Naal ok zin los vahriin!

Wah dein, vokul, mahfaeraak ahst vaal!

Ahrk fin norok paal graan,

fod nust hon zindro zaan!

Dovahkiin, fah hin, kogaan mu draal!

The ponies around him winced at his singing, and Thunderbird blushed a bit as he finished. “Sorry, I know I shouldn't sing with my crappy voice, but I couldn't help myself.”

“Ah know th' feelin',” Applebloom offered, sincerely. “But what do them fancy words mean?”

“Ah, that's the language of the dragons of Tamriel,” Thud replied. “There's a whole song detailing the Dragonborn in their language. Sadly, I can only remember the chorus off the top of my head, but I think I might have the song stored in my MP3 player.”

“Your what?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Thunderbird blinked as he realized he had slipped. “Uh, it's what I call the little box I own that holds music inside of it,” he explained. “It's rather complicated.”

“Alright, girls,” Ditzy Dew finally intervened. She walked up as she spoke and made sure to stop where she could impose herself in the others' lines of sight. “That's enough of mister Thunderbird's silly stories. If you want to find Dinky she ought to be waking up about now.”

“Silly stories?” Applebloom asked, and then turned her head back to Thunderbird. “Ya mean ya made it up?”

“Sorta,” Thud admitted, with a sheepish grin. “Someone else made up the story back where I come from. I just told it a bit different, that's all.”

“Aww,” Scootaloo mournfully interjected. “I thought it was awesome that a place like that existed.”

“Well Scootaloo, it kinda does,” Thud replied, and then tapped the side of his head with a hoof as the other ponies looked to him. “Up here. It may not be real, but the stories are fun and have a certain reality of their own.” More than you could ever believe, he thought, as he remembered his current predicament. “Even if there's no place like Tamriel in this world, it's still real in your mind and the minds of everyone else who hears and loves those stories.”

The orange filly took on a pensive expression at that and seemed to ponder on Thunderbird's words for a moment. She was brought from ruminating, however, when Applebloom cleared her throat. “Well, it may have been silly, but it was fun, too,” the Apple stated. Then she gave Thud an annoyed look. “Though it was kinda mean ta play a trick on little fillies.”

Thunderbird chuckled a bit. “I wouldn't have let you gone off without telling you the truth,” he replied, with a small shake of his head. “I just wanted to pull your tail for a bit. No hard feelings?”

Applebloom thought for a moment, and then smiled. “No hard feelin's,” she said, and her two friends followed her example and offered smiling nods in agreement. “'Sides, it's a neat story. Can ya tell us more sometime?”

The stallion laughed a bit at that. “Sure, Applebloom.” Thunderbird replied, with a friendly smile. “I'd be happy to tell y'all some of the stories from the Elder Scrolls universe sometime.”

“The what?” Scootaloo, confused.

“That's the name of the story series I was talking about,” Thud explained. “I'll explain more about it later,” he added, and then smirked. “Besides, don't you have a friend to go see now?”

“Yup!” Sweetie Belle said, eagerly. “Come on, girls, let's go grab Dinky!” she said to her friends, and then glanced back at Thud before she started to walk away. “Thanks for the story, mister Thunderbird!”

“Any time, girls,” Thunderbird replied, as the trio of fillies trotted off, with Scootaloo and Applebloom echoing Sweetie Belle's sentiment. He watched them go, and then sighed in relief as they entered the back of the house. “Well, that could have gone worse,” Thud observed, as he turned his head around to look at Ditzy Dew.

“Indeed,” Ditzy replied, with a sigh. She then gave Thunderbird an appraising look. “You deflected them nicely, though. Good call with the thing about shouting magic, it was just crazy enough to work.”

“Well, it helped that it's an actual series of video games back home,” Thud explained. “Including that Skyrim game I mentioned the other day.”

“Ah,” Ditzy said, as a wave of understanding washed over her features. “Well, at least it saved us both from our gaffes. And I admit you even had me interested a bit there with that story.”

“They are a fun bunch of stories,” Thud observed. “But that's for another time, I think.”

“True,” Ditzy agreed. “Right now, I think it would be best if we go ahead and break here and think about what's happened,” she continued, pensively. “Your ability to find new abuses of pegasus magic is rather disturbing.”

Thunderbird raised an eyebrow at Ditzy. “Abuses? Seriously?” he asked, deadpan.

Ditzy just sighed again and shook her head. “Perhaps I exaggerate. But you have to admit, this is rather unexpected.”

“Yeah,” Thud agreed, and then frowned as he looked over towards the tree he felled. “Unless you want to bring meta into it.”

“Let's not,” Ditzy replied, in a tired tone. “We can't affect it, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Thunderbird answered. A brief silence fell over the pair, but was soon broken up when the stallion grunted. “So, what now?”

“Now?” Ditzy asked, with a raised eyebrow. “Now, we go about our lives while we think about what this discovery means,” she replied, and then lightly smirked. “Which means, of course, you need to preen.”

Thunderbird sighed at that. “Yeah, fine,” he said, tiredly. “I also need a shower, too,” he added, with a sniff towards the place where his arm met the torso.

“Ugh, males are males no matter which species they are,” Ditzy wryly observed. “Anyway, you should shower first; the water might mess your preening up. Plus, you probably won't get the taste of your own filth in your mouth while you're working.”

A shudder ran through the stallion. “Thanks for the tip,” he said, and then stood up. “I guess I'll go do that now, then.”

“Indeed, and I need to check in and make sure the fillies aren't setting fire to the house,” Ditzy replied, and then turned to lead the way.

* * * *

A short time later, Thud walked out of the upstairs bathroom, sighing happily. Nothing like getting clean to really make you feel better, he silently mused, as he headed down the hall and to his room. A shake of his head dislodged a few droplets still hanging onto his mane, and the stallion felt his mood darken a bit. I'm going to need a haircut soon. I've already let it this mane grow longer than the hair on my old head simply because that's how ponies do it, but I won't stand for it getting longer than it has to be to avoid questions or odd looks.

He put such thoughts from his mind as he closed the door behind him, and then looked around the bedroom out of habit. The sparsely furnished room held little in the way of character, save for Thud's few possessions and the books he'd borrowed from the town library. Gotta return those today, he mused. It was nice that Spike gave me an extension a couple of days ago so I could finish reading them, but now that I'm done they really need to get back to where they belong.

Of course, his train of thought continued, even as he sat down in the middle of the room and slowly extended a wing. That means I'll have to deal with Twilight Sparkle, most likely, Thunderbird realized, even as he moved both head and wing so he could start working on his feathers as Ditzy had taught him when he began his flying lessons. I was lucky she was out when I went the last time, but I can't count on that every time.

Thud wanted to sigh at the prospect, but decided that doing that while his muzzle was deep in feathers was not the best of ideas. Instead he simply focused his attention fully on preening, and soon enough forgot about most of his worries as the subtly pleasing nature of self-grooming took over. I always did like this sort of thing, he mused, as he tugged at a loose feather and felt it pull out all too easily. Man, that's a weird feeling. Not sure if I'll get used to that. Probably will, it feels so good when stuff like that gets pulled out. Like clipping a toenail or scratching off some dead skin that refuses to leave the proper way. Probably a survival evolution, getting small amount of pleasure or satisfaction from grooming each other and ourselves. Still nice, though.

On his thoughts went, as Thunderbird mused on simple things to let his mind wander so he could focus on his necessary task. Ten minutes passed in a similar vein until the stallion finished, and then spread his wings out and smiled. Yeah, they do look a lot nicer now. Ditzy's right, I need to do this at least once a week from now on. A glance to the floor revealed the small pile of various feathers that had been yanked from their old positions; twelve in all. An auspicious number, Thud mused, as he partially remembered old myths. Five and seven are supposed to be lucky, if I recall correctly. Is twelve also lucky, or does it mean something else?

He only pondered on this for a moment before he shrugged, and then stood back on all fours and went to pick up the discarded feathers in his mouth. Ditzy never did say what to do with them, Thunderbird mused, with a frown. His first time preening had been under Ditzy Dew's tutelage, but no feathers had needed to be pulled then. The show never mentioned it, but fan stories range the gamut from “pegasus feathers are intimate and personal” to “meh, just toss 'em in a pillow if you don't want to throw 'em away.” A few moments of thought eventually led Thunderbird to simply place them on top of his dresser until he could ask Ditzy what pegasi actually thought about such things. I might want to keep one or two as a memento, anyway, he mused, as he headed for the door and opened it so he could leave.

“Ditzy?” Thud called out, as he walked down the hall and headed towards the stairs leading to the ground floor. “Got a question for ya,” he added. Silence was his only answer, though, and Thunderbird frowned as he moved downstairs. He checked every room on the ground and discovered that the house was empty, though once in the kitchen he found a note lying on the table. Curious, he walked over and sat down to read the hoof-written missive.

Thud,
I listened to Dinky and her friends and found out they have a bit too crazy of an idea for cutie marks today. I've talked them out of it, but I'm going to chaperone them for a while to make sure they don't try it anyway. You have free reign of the house, but I would suggest that you go out today. And I don't mean straight to Vinyl Scratch's store. She's a good pony and well worth knowing, but you really should try making more friends. Yes, I know how trite that sounds given what the Show where you're from is about, but they did get it right in that ponies do value friendship greatly, and only having a few kind of makes you look odd. You did say you want to blend in, after all.
-Ditzy Dew
P.S. Returning those library books would be a good start. Twilight won't bite your head off.

Thunderbird sighed as he finished reading. Ugh, I have so much more sympathy for Twilight Sparkle in episode one, now, he wryly thought. Some amusement crept into his mind, and the stallion shook his head. I was just thinking about her earlier, picked out twelve feathers, and now this? Alright, I can take a hint, God. With that Thud stood up and headed back towards the stairs.

* * * *

The air was clear and refreshing as Thunderbird winged his way towards Ponyville's public library. I miss computers, video games, the internet, and above all my hands, the stallion mused, and then closed his eyes briefly as he slipped into a glide. But flying is one heck of a fine consolation.

He opened his eyes at that thought so he could plan his descent. Gotta remember to account for the mass I'm carrying, Thud reminded himself, and then glanced back to the saddlebags on his back. Still looks secure, so long as I don't do a barrel roll, he silently joked, and then returned his attention forward. Ponyville was laid out before him, and towards the center of town he could make out the more prominent landmarks, including the library inside a living tree. You know, I gotta find out someday how they do that. The brief thought rolled through his head and then was banished as the more serious consideration of flight path planning took forefront. Several other pegasi in the air, though most are distant. Some birds in the air, but either through experience or native intelligence they're staying low and out of the way. Looks clear straight to the library. With that he adjusted his wings and then dove and turned at the same time so he could descend in a spiral. A muted thud announced his landing, and Thunderbird smiled as he looked up to see he had arrived right where he had aimed: directly in front of his destination.

Yup, I'm awesome, Thunderbird mused, as he straightened up from the half crouch he'd landed in to absorb the energy of his impact. His sense of accomplishment dimmed, however, as he remembered who likely awaited him inside. Well, no sense putting it off, he thought, and then took in a deep, calming breath. Alright, remember back to when you took Dash's little test; the ponies are not going to eat you alive, there's no instant “run out of town” switch on them, save for the obvious really bad crap that you won't do anyway. So just stay calm and carry on.

With that Thud steeled his resolve and walked up to the door. Unlike with the show the real library had a sign on the door listing its hours, and after a moment to confirm that the place should indeed be open, he reached up and pressed down on the handle and pushed open the entrance. The inside gave him pause, however, as it was dark and quiet. “Uh,” Thud muttered, suddenly unsure. “Hello?”

A wave of light and sound washed over him as the interior lamps flicked on and a significant crowd of ponies shouted “Surprise!” A certain pink pony led them in the cheerful surprise greeting, and had practically popped up in Thunderbird's face.

Thud reacted as could be expected: he yelped in fear and scuttled backwards several steps. Immediately after this, though, he reared back on his hind legs and quickly brought up his forelegs, the left in what his untrained subconscious hoped was a guard position, while the right cocked back to unleash a punch. It was about then that his conscious mind caught up and finally took stock, and he paused to see that a not-insignificant collection of Ponyville's residents were inside, all giving him looks of amusement and a bit of surprise. Pinkie Pie herself offered a sheepish smile as she trotted out of the library's front door to meet the pegasus, but she soon regained her normal verve. “It's your 'Welcome-to-Ponyville Party!'” she announced, happily.

Thud could only stand there for a moment as his breath, accelerated from the adrenaline rush, started to slow down. “...Really?” he asked, bewildered.

“Yup!” Pinkie answered, in typical manic fashion.

Another moment of thought was required, but Thud soon realized he had overreacted, and a blush spread on his face as he dropped back to all fours. “You coulda warned me,” he muttered.

“But then it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?” Pinkie countered. She then walked over to Thunderbird's side, wrapped one of her forelegs around his shoulders, and then started to move forward while she gently pulled the stallion along. “Come on, I invited as much of Ponyville as can fit in the library.”

The blush on Thud's face deepened. “I thought we agreed on a smaller party?” he asked, grumpily.

“Weelll, I thought about it,” Pinkie began, and then lowered her voice. “And then I thought about it some more. Then a little more. Then I felt sleepy, so I ate a cupcake and that reminded me about the party planning and so I thought about it even more—”

“Pinkie,” Thunderbird deadpanned.

“—I realized that since you don't like being the center of attention, a bigger party might actually be better,” the pink party planner postulated. “See, if there were only a few ponies, you'd easily be the center of attention since there would be less partygoers and you're so new everypony would be curious. But if there's a lot, then they can focus on each other and the food more instead of you, so you actually will be more anonymous in a crowd.”

Thud paused at that, conveniently just outside of the library's door. He turned his head to regard Pinkie, who had withdrawn her leg from him and now sat on her haunches with a concerned look on her face. “I... didn't really think of that. Thank you, Pinkie,” Thunderbird said, and then ducked his head down as he felt his embarrassment grow even more. “I'm sorry I tried to tell you how to do your job.”

“Hey, it's okay,” Pinkie said, and then leaned forward to wrap Thunderbird in a hug, to the stallion's mild surprise. “You're far from home and that's making you grumpy. I understand,” she said, and then released him.

“Well, that and I'm naturally an asshole,” Thunderbird admitted, with a sheepish smile. “So, thanks for putting up with me.”

“Of course, what are friends for?” Pinkie asked, a warm smile on her muzzle. She then placed a hoof on his shoulders and began to lead him into the library once again. “Now come on, everypony's waiting!”

Thunderbird could only grimace at that. Well, let's face the executioners...

* * * *

She had promised not to treat him like an experiment or a wild animal. But the analytical mind of Twilight Sparkle couldn't help but observe and document—at least in her head—Thunderbird's reactions.

Expected fight or flight response at first. Instead of maintaining flight mode, though, shifted into a defensive stance of some sort; possible sign of increased aggression or training, perhaps both. Apparently entire initial reaction was on instinct, now that Pinkie's talking to him he's calm and relaxing, so however powerful the instinct is in him conscious thought can override it. Oh, I wish I could just sit down and ask all sorts of questions and get answers. Twilight shook her head at that thought. No, no, I promised. Pinkie promised, even. I am not going to harass Thunderbird.

Her ruminations ended just as Pinkie finished bringing in the startled stallion. “Everypony, meet Thunderbird!” she announced, with a wave to the green pegasus. Thunderbird smiled and waved a hoof sheepishly at the partygoers while Pinkie continued to speak. “He's a nice guy from really far away and he's still trying to get the hang of things around Ponyville, so let's give him a friendly welcome, okay?”

The crowd seemed to agree, and they all waved or offered polite and sincere greetings. Thunderbird cleared his throat and spoke up after the wave of salutations. “Thank you,” he said, although his voice sounded strained, as if he were reluctant to speak. “My name's Thunderbird, but y'all can call me 'Thud'. I really appreciate being offered an open h–hoof by Ponyville,” he added, and Twilight could only file his odd hesitation at 'hoof' away in her growing mental picture. “Just a little forewarning, I'm still a bit tired from work and I'm on third shift, so I might not be all here this morning. So please don't take that as misbehavior on my part.”

“I don't think anypony is going to blame you for doing the hard work that nopony else around here wanted to do,” Pinkie Pie stated, and Twilight had to marvel a bit at how the pink equine was able to frame the stallion's arrival as a benefit to the town. And it's an accurate implication, given how long that weather job was open but nopony wanted to touch it because it was third-shift, the unicorn mused. She had to shake her head slightly then, as Pinkie continued speaking. “...So just enjoy yourselves and have a great party!”

A strong cheer came from the assembled ponies at that, and most of them turned to each other and started to form the little cliques that every social gathering seemed to engender. Twilight was already in her own; her closest friends, minus Pinkie Pie, were all standing around her near one of the snack tables, and she was reminded of this fact when a voice intruded on her ruminating. “A bit high-strung, isn't he?” Rarity asked.

A snort came from Rainbow Dash. “Yeah, he is,” she agreed. “You should have seen him the other day at AJ's, first he was all loopy, then he just snapped at me.”

“From what Ah heard,” Applejack interjected. “Ya dang near collided with 'im an' he gave ya an earful 'cuz of that.”

Rainbow harrumphed. “Well, we wouldn't have come so close to it if he hadn't turned more sharply than I thought he could.”

“You mean to say that it was his fault for being as maneuverable as you, Dash?” Rarity asked, with a jesting tone.

“He isn't as maneuverable as I am,” Dash heatedly protested. “He just... surprised me, that's all.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow at Rainbow Dash's relatively subdued reaction. Hm, she's typically more animated when somepony picks at her skill, the unicorn mused.

Any further thoughts were pushed aside, though, as Pinkie Pie lead Thunderbird over to her friends. “And these are my bestest friends in the whole world!” Pinkie said to the stallion, as they reached the group. “But I think you kinda already met most of them.”

“Something like that,” Thud said, and then offered a smile to the waiting mares and one small dragon. “Hello, ladies. And mister Spike there, of course,” he added, with a nod to the aforementioned dragon, who seemed to stand a little taller at being remembered. “How are y'all doing?”

“Jus' fine and dandy,” Applejack replied, for the group it seemed, as none of the others were willing to speak up. This piqued Rarity's curiosity, but she suppressed any speculation as Applejack continued to speak. “It's nice ta see ya again, Thud.”

“Likewise, miss Applejack,” Thud replied. He then turned and looked to the other mares in turn. “Same to you miss Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy,” he added, and then nodded to Rarity. “We ain't met yet, but I would presume you to be miss Rarity Belle?”

“Indeed I am, mister Thunderbird,” Rarity replied, with a beatific smile. “I presume you've heard of me?”

“A few ponies in town have mentioned you, aye,” Thud smoothly lied. “I've been meaning to drop by your shop, actually, and see if you could repair my hat. It was damaged in the manticore incident.”

Rarity did not even bat an eye at the mention, and Thunderbird's opinion of her rose a notch. “Well, I'm not particularly busy at the moment, so I would be glad to take on a patch job,” she replied, friendlily. “It's not made of any special fabric, is it?”

“Well, it's a cotton-polyester blend,” Thud replied. “I know you usually work on high fashion, so I hope you won't be offended to work with that?”

A blink and a perplexed look was the initial response of the fashionista. “I'm sorry, dear, but I don't know what that 'poly-whatsit' is,” she replied, confusedly. “Could you explain?”

Now it was Thunderbird's turn to blink in confusion. “Polyester,” he said, equally confused, and thus he didn't think too clearly. “It's an artificial fabric.”

“Artificial?” This came from Twilight Sparkle, whose curiosity was inflamed once more. “You mean it doesn't come from a natural source like a plant or animal?”

“That's what artificial means, doesn't it?” Thud replied, as he cast his now concerned gaze to the lavender pony.

“Well, yes, but I've never heard of anypony making an artificial fabric,” Rarity interjected, with a placating tone. “However, there are a number of fabric types I've come across that are proprietary secrets, so perhaps it's not beyond the realm of possibility. Maybe if you described it to me I might recognize it?”

Thunderbird turned his head to the side and thought for a moment. I shouldn't say anything, he told himself. But I'm knee deep already, and if I refuse to say more it'll be more suspicious. He took in a slow breath, and then nodded as he returned his gaze to Rarity. “Well, it's basically a form of plastic,” he began. “I'm not sure exactly how it's manufactured, but I think it's made from petroleum, or some other hydrocarbon. Typically it's a very sturdy and strong fabric, but it's also rough and somewhat uncomfortable by itself, so most clothing manufacturers typically blend it with a natural fabric like cotton or wool to give the resulting mix a softer and more comfortable feel.”

A round of confused looks met the stallion, and he worried a bit as Rarity frowned. “I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you mean, good sir,” she said, and then looked over to the other unicorn in the group. “Twilight, could you explain?”

“I'm... not sure I can,” the addressed pony replied, a look of confusion on her face. “I know what plastic is, and I do know that alchemists make it from petroleum. But I've never heard of it being made into fabric, and I don't know what a hydrocarbon is.” Twilight then looked over to Thunderbird, and tried to restrain the growing eagerness to learn so she wouldn't jump in his face. “Could you define the term?”

Thud blinked at that. Dammit, I stepped in it this time, he thought. He felt trapped, and uncomfortably shifted on his hooves. “Well, a hydrocarbon is any number of chemical compounds comprising mainly of chains of hydrogen and carbon, with different lengths and patterns,” he explained. “They're generally used to make polymers like polyester because they contain a lot of carbon to build the long-chain repeating pattern molecules.”

Another silence met this small speech, and soon every pony—and one dragon—in the immediate area had turned to look at Twilight Sparkle. What they saw on her face, though, would run a cold chill down their backs, as she wore a look of utter bafflement. “I... don't understand,” she said, a bit of surprise in her voice. “You used a lot of words I've never heard of before.”

“You...” Thunderbird began, but trailed off for a moment as his mind pulled out a disturbing thought. “You do have atomic theory here, don't you?” he asked.

Twilight frowned, and then shook her head. “No, I've never heard of that. Could you explain it?”

Time seemed to stand still for Thunderbird as he mentally reeled at the question. “No,” he said, finally, and then brought up a hoof to jab it in Twilight's direction. “No, I refuse to believe that you don't have atomic theory,” he said, and then lowered his hoof back to the floor. “You have plastic, you have controlled electricity. You even call it electricity; why else would you do that if you didn't know what electrons are?”

The lavender unicorn could only take a step back at the sudden vehemence in Thud's voice. “We... we call it that because the first pony to figure out how to tame lightning was called Electron Volt,” Twilight cautiously explained, as Thud's expression slowly changed into one of incredulity. “Apparently his mother wanted to call him something different, so she picked a nonsense name for him. At least, that's what history says.”

A twitch started on Thunderbird's face, and he could only stare in abject horror at Twilight Sparkle. “You... don't know what electrons are?” he asked, and received a head shake. “Nor protons, neutrons, or isotopes?”

“No, I'm afraid not,” Twilight replied. “I... don't suppose you could define them?”

“And while you're at it, what do those thing have to do with fabric?” Rainbow Dash asked, as confused as everypony else in the group, save Thud.

“Because, Dash, atomic theory is essential to a proper understanding of chemistry,” Thunderbird explained, slowly, as he looked to the cyan mare. “You can't figure out how to finagle chemical elements into a molecule worth having if you don't know how atoms are built in the first place. And if you don't have that understanding, then you can't make advanced chemicals.” A thought crossed his mind then, and Thud looked to Twilight Sparkle again. “Which begs the question: how the flip do you guys make plastic without understanding what it is?”

Twilight bristled a bit at the mildly condescending tone that Thunderbird made his query in. “Typically the alchemists who work in that field use a mix of reagents and magical fields to produce artificial materials like plastic,” she replied, somewhat smugly as she was finally talking about something she did understand.

“Magic,” Thud said, and then shook his head. “Of course it's magic,” he added, and then sighed. He gave a weary glance over the mares around him, who looked back with a mix of confusion and, in the case of Twilight and Rainbow, some irritation. Thunderbird fought back another sigh, and then looked to Rarity. “Anyway, miss Belle,” he began, before the silence could grow awkward. “I'm sorry for getting carried away with the conversation. We were talking about a repair job, and I would like to know if you would rather I go elsewhere?”

Rarity blinked at the sudden shift of topic. “Well, let's not be too hasty, here,” she said, her voice holding a friendly and unhurried tone. “I did mention there's a few fabrics out there that are secrets known only to their creators. One of them might be this polyester you speak of, so by all means come by my shop on Monday and I'll see what I can do.”

Thunderbird smiled at that, tiredly but sincerely. “Thank you, miss Belle, I appreciate that,” he said.

“Oh please, call me Rarity,” the white unicorn replied, as she raised a foreleg to press a hoof against her chest. “Miss Belle is my mother.”

“Well, okay then, miss Rarity,” Thud said, with a smirk.

Rarity echoed the smirk. “An amusing fellow, I see,” she observed.

Thud shrugged his wings. “I do try,” he replied.

“Do you ever,” Spike chimed in, for the first time. The ponies all looked to him, and he could only smirk himself as he looked back on his memories. “You should've listened to this guy the other day when he half convinced me Pinkie Pie was some sort of super-powered alien. He really had me going for a while.”

Both males shared a chuckle at that, and soon Pinkie joined in. “That's silly, I'm not an alien!” the party mare spoke up, in a jovial tone. “I don't have any antennas on my head!”

“Antennae, huh?” Thud mischievously spoke, as he brought up a hoof to rub against his chin. “So does that mean unicorns are aliens?”

A brief round of silence met that question, though it was soon filled with giggles from Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Spike. Rarity and Twilight Sparkle blushed slightly, while Fluttershy remained the silent wallflower half-hidden behind Dash, as she had been during the entire conversation. Even she had a slight smile, though, at the silliness of the joke, though it was Pinkie who spoke up. “You're a silly pony, Thud,” she said, and then prodded the stallion with a hoof.

“Well, as my friend back home said, I am a sad, strange, bizarre little... pony,” Thud replied, hesitating only a bit where he almost said “man”.

“That's a mean thing to say,” Rarity observed.

“Yeah, but he didn't really mean it,” Thud replied. “Except in the nicest way.”

“You can say something like that in a nice way?” Rainbow Dash asked, skeptically.

Thud smiled at her. “Of course. For instance, I could say about you that you're the nicest, c–coolest jerk I've ever met.”

A blush spread over Rainbow's cheeks, but she was preempted from any retort as chuckles sounded from most of her friends; only Fluttershy remained silent. After a moment of this, Dash managed to smile a bit. “Okay, I guess I can be a bit over the top,” she admitted.

“Somethin' like that,” Applejack said, with a smug grin. “But we like ya anyway.”

“Oh, ha ha,” Rainbow replied, and then razzed her friend. “You just wait, Applejack, there's a prank with your name on it.”

“Bring it on, ya overgrown feather duster,” Applejack snarkily replied, as she gave a sly look at the pegasus. “Ah ain't no pushover.”

“We'll see about that, cowpony,” Dash retorted, with a smirk.

“Hey!” Pinkie interjected, as she bounded forward to join her friends. “If you two are going to have a prank war I totally want in on that!”

“Now, that wouldn't be fair, sugarcube,” Applejack lightly protested, in a manner that told those around her she was being more playful than confrontational. “You two are th' best prankers in Ponyville, Ah'd never stand a chance.”

“True! Hmm,” Pinkie said, and then stuck out her tongue as she thought about the situation. Then she brightened up as an idea hit her. “I know! We'll make it a three-way prank war!”

Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash blanched at that. “Uh, no thanks,” Dash replied. “I remember the last time we had a three-way prank war,” she added, and then shivered. “I can still feel the itching powder in my feathers.”

Pinkie frowned and pouted slightly. “Aww,” she said, and then brightened once again. “Okay! Anyway, I better take Thud around and introduce him to some of the other ponies otherwise it wouldn't be his welcoming party because half the reason is getting everypony a chance to see the new guy so c'mon Thud.” The chain-fire blast of words rolled over the ponies, and while they were trying to decipher the words Pinkie quickly wrapped a foreleg over Thunderbird's shoulders and dragged him off.

Silence was all that came from those left behind, but it was fortunately brief. “Well, that was a most interesting introduction,” Rarity observed. “Quite an unusual fellow that Thunderbird is.”

“Yes,” Twilight Sparkle spoke up, to end her silence. The odd, contemplative nature of her voice brought the attention of those around her to look at the unicorn's face. A look of uncertainty was there as Twilight looked down to her assistant. “Spike, would you do me a favor and bring me a quill and some paper?”

“Uh, okay,” Spike replied. “Why?”

“Because I need to make notes,” Twilight answered, and then cast her gaze of to where Pinkie Pie was introducing Thunderbird to the three ponies known in town as the “flower trio”.

“Uh, Twilight?” Fluttershy finally spoke up. Although her voice was quiet, her friends nevertheless jumped as they had forgotten she was even there. “I thought you agreed you wouldn't study Thunderbird like an experiment?”

Twilight blushed slightly. “I did,” she admitted, with a nod. “But that was before the conversation we just had.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Because, Dash, what Thunderbird was talking about seems to be an entirely new way of looking at matter and the physical world, one we have yet to uncover ourselves,” Twilight explained, patiently, as Spike moved off to gather the requested supplies. “I'm not sure if he's lying or not, but if what he revealed is actually true, it could mean an immense advancement to Equestrian science,” she concluded.

Applejack frowned at her friend as the unicorn still seemed bothered. “You okay, Twi?” Applejack asked, curious. “Ya don't seem too thrilled at th' chance ta learn somethin' new.”

Twilight blinked at that, and then looked over to her farmer friend. The two stared into each other's eyes for a moment before the unicorn broke and turned away. “I'm also concerned, now,” she admitted.

“Concerned?” Applejack asked. “'Bout what?”

“Well,” Twilight temporized, and then grimaced. “It's not a complete theory, but I think that Thunderbird might actually be from a previously unknown group of ponies outside of Equestria.”

The farmer took a moment to digest the words, and then shrugged. “So?” she asked.

“So, that's not all,” Twilight replied, and then briefly glanced back at the buttercream pegasus in their group. “Fluttershy got a look at his teeth the other day, and she said that they're omnivore teeth.”

“Omniwhatsit?” Rainbow Dash interjected, confusedly.

“She means he can eat meat as well as plants,” Applejack explained. The other mares all gave her a surprised look, and she huffed. “Ah raise animals, girls; Ah gotta know what some o' them fancy science words mean so Ah don't feed 'em the wrong stuff.”

“Oh, right,” Twilight said, somewhat embarrassed. “Anyway, my point is that when you add it all together, Thunderbird is potentially from an unknown tribe or civilization of meat-eating ponies who might have more advanced science than we do, and he's shown himself to be more aggressive than Equestrian ponies, almost predatory. Now he's here and has borrowed books about Equestria to learn about it.” She paused at this, and then glanced over towards the stallion in question again. “That combination just... makes me concerned.”

“So you think he's a spy?” Rainbow Dash asked, unsure. Yet even as she spoke, a tiny voice in her head cheered in vindication. I knew it! He's a total freak!

“I don't know,” Twilight replied, and then sighed. “That's the problem; I just don't have any information. For all I know, he could just be a nice pony like Pinkie says. But I need to find out if that's the truth, or if there's something I—something we need to be worried about.”

Another brief moment of silence passed between them, though once again it was Rarity to broke the pause. “Well, I've heard some ghastly rumors about him, but Thunderbird does seem like a nice pony,” she said. “I'm sure you'll get to the bottom of it, Twilight, but my gut tells me not to worry.”

“Same here,” Applejack added in. “Th' feller seems nice enough, and Ah don't think no spy would find anythin' interestin' 'bout shovelin' pig crap 'round th' farm.”

Rarity winced at that. “Applejack, dear, could you please try not to be so vulgar?” she asked.

“Well, that's what he did fer me th' other day,” Applejack countered. “How else am Ah supposed ta tell ya 'bout it?”

The fashionista rolled her eyes, but it was Rainbow Dash who spoke next. “I don't know,” she said, warily, with a brief glance across the room to the subject of the conversation. “He's been a weirdo since I saw him at Sweet Apple Acres. How can you two just be cool with him being some kind of weird predator pony?”

“Probably the same way you were friends with Gilda?” a tiny voice asked, and all present turned their heads to regard Fluttershy. The shy pegasus shirked back a bit as a frown crossed Dash's face. “I'm s–sorry for bringing her up again, but she was a griffon, and you had no problem with her,” Fluttershy finished, and then shied behind Twilight again.

Dash felt stung by her words, though, and she sighed. “Yeah, you're right,” she admitted, and then sat down on her haunches with a frown. “But he just always acts so weird, it's really bugging me.”

“Which he only does when you're around,” Applejack interjected, and then smirked at her friend. “Ah told ya, soon as ya came 'round the farm he flipped out like he's sweet on ya.”

“Don't start that again,” Rainbow retorted, as she turned her head to give the orange mare a harsh look. “I don't need any more of your nonsense bouncing around in my head.”

“It's not nonsense at all, Dash,” Rarity chimed in, which got her inquisitive looks from all of her friends in the group. “The colt's clearly smitten with you. While you and Applejack had that back and forth about a prank war he was looking at you and smiling the goofy sort of grin stallions get when they're not thinking clearly. And when he made that joke about you being a so-called 'jerk', he almost said 'cutest' instead of 'coolest'.”

Rainbow Dash could only open and close her jaw wordlessly for a few moments as she reeled at the unicorn's words. Finally, she seemed to regain her wits, and she issued a strained chuckle. “Okay, you two got me,” she said, resignedly, and then looked to Applejack. “That's a good prank, getting Rarity in on this.”

Applejack frowned, as did Rarity. “Dash, Ah ain't said word one 'bout Thud ta Rarity,” the former stated.

“And anypony with a good eye can see that he's nervous around you, like he's afraid to make a mistake,” Rarity added. “That may be why he always seems so 'weird', as you put it.”

Dash was silent for a moment, but soon shook her head. “You two are crazy,” she huffed, and then stood up. “I'm going outside to get some air,” she added, and then promptly walked away, towards the door.

Her friends watched her leave, each unsure of what to do. Once she departed through the main entrance, though, Twilight turned to Applejack and Rarity. “You two are sure about this?” she asked, carefully.

“As sure as we could be without bein' able ta read minds,” Applejack replied, to which Rarity added a nod. “All I know is Thud acts weird 'round Dash, like he's tryin' not ta crush somethin' underhoof.” She paused, and then shook her head and smirked. “Ya shoulda seen 'em when Rainbow landed at th' farm. Poor feller looked 'bout ready ta have kittens.”

“Hmm,” Twilight mused, as she tapped her chin with a hoof. “That's odd. If he hadn't met Dash before, yet had that reaction, that would imply he had some sort of prior knowledge of her.”

“Dash told me Thud said he was at Cloudsdale durin' that young fliers' competition,” Applejack explained, as she recalled the conversation she'd had with Dash after the latter's near-collision. “Said he'd seen her there.”

Twilight took on a pensive expression as she thought over Applejack's explanation. “That doesn't make sense,” she said. “He may not have been forthcoming about exactly where he's from, but he didn't refute my theory of his extra-Equestrian origin, either. I'm almost positive he's from outside the known lands, but if that's so and his arrival was recent, then how would he know who Dash was and how she won a flying competition he wasn't here for?”

“Well, far be it from me to question your logic, darling,” Rarity interceded. “But perhaps your theory is wrong and he isn't from outside Equestria? Or at least, maybe he's been here for a while?”

“No, I don't think so,” Twilight replied, with a shake of her head. “Just now he was ignorant of the state of science here, he's used odd pronouns around everypony he talks to, and he borrowed books that have basic information on Equestria that most foals should know after attending school. No,” she repeated, and then frowned as she looked into space and thought. “When you add that to the other facts, I'm pretty sure he's not from anywhere we would know of. And if he had been here for a while, he would have learned these facts before arriving in Ponyville.”

A short silence met her statement, and Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy all shared concerned looks with each other. “Okay,” Applejack began. “Let's say yer right. What're ya gonna do 'bout it?”

She almost wished she hadn't asked the question, as Twilight simply took on a perplexed expression once again. “I honestly don't know,” the unicorn admitted, with a small shake of her head. “As I said, I'm concerned, but as I was reminded,” she added, and then paused to glance back to Fluttershy and offered the pegasus a brief but warm smile. “Thunderbird is a pony and deserves to be treated fairly; I shouldn't go acting like he's an experiment, after all.”

“Ah'm glad ta hear it,” Applejack replied, with a nod and a satisfied look. “The feller seems right nice an' upstandin'. It'd be a shame if'n ponies treat 'im poorly jus' 'cuz he ain't from 'round here.”

“Well,” Rarity interjected, in a placating tone. “I'm glad that's all settled. The question remains, though, of whether you're right or not, Twilight, and what does that mean for us and Equestria?”

“Those are very good questions, Rarity,” Twilight Sparkle admitted, and then sighed. “At the very least, I can start researching any references Thunderbird makes in case there's been previous contact that's gone largely forgotten. So the more I hear about what he says and does, the better my search will go.”

“Why Twilight, are you asking us to spy on mister Thunderbird?” Rarity asked, with mock scandal.

Twilight fought to keep from rolling her eyes, and instead just shook her head. “Nothing like that, Rarity. Just... keep your ears open and if you hear or see anything about our town's latest resident, let me know.” She then looked to Applejack and Fluttershy. “And that goes for you two as well. Please?”

“Well, Ah guess it ain't sneaky so long as we ain't goin' out of our way ta keep an' eye on 'im,” Applejack mused, and then nodded. “Yeah, Ah'll let ya know if'n Ah hear anythin'.”

“I... guess I can pass along anything I might hear,” Fluttershy gently chimed in.

“Good,” Twilight said, and then smiled with visible relief. “Thank you, girls. This is a load off of my mind, knowing that I'm not entirely crazy.”

“No, just a little crazy,” a voice cut in, and the mares startled slightly before they turned their heads to see Spike standing practically next to his adoptive sister, holding the items she had requested he fetch. Spike gave them all a wry look and tapped a foot while he shook his head. “Forgot about me again, Twilight?” he asked, with a sigh.

“Aheh,” Twilight replied, with a sheepish grin. “Sorry, Spike. How long were you standing there?”

Spike's attitude picked up at her apology, as he did not like to hold a grudge. “Just long enough to hear you talking about Thud,” he replied, as Twilight lit up her horn and deftly picked the writing materials out of his hands. “If you want to hear stuff about him, I talked to him the other day. He said some interesting things, too.”

“Like what?” Twilight asked, even as she began her notes.

* * * *

“Thank you so much for saving my bacon,” Thunderbird said to Pinkie, sotto voce, as the two walked away from the remainder of the Mane Six.

“Saved your what?” Pinkie asked, nonchalant.

“Uh, nevermind, you don't want to know,” Thunderbird replied, and then shook his head. “Thanks for pulling me out of there. And nice job defusing AJ and Dash.”

“You're welcome, and thanks!” Pinkie replied, with a grin. “I've had lots of practice with them. Anyway, let's introduce you to some ponies so they don't get all suspicious and go 'why isn't that new guy talking to us? Does he have something to hide?' and stuff like that,” she added, pitching her voice differently as she gave her examples.

“Heh, alright,” Thud said, and then took in a calming breath. This can't be any worse than dealing with the Mane Six, he told himself. You can handle it.

“Hello, Pinkie!” a voice intruded upon his thoughts, and Thud blinked his eyes a few times to get his focus back on the ponies around him. Three new mares were standing in front of Pinkie and himself, and Thunderbird recognized them even as the khaki pony with the red mane continued to speak. “And hello to you too, Thunderbird!”

“Hiya, Rose!” Pinkie replied. “And Daisy and Lily, too!” she added, as she acknowledged the other two ponies with a happy nod. “Enjoying the party so far?”

“Absolutely, Pinkie,” Daisy spoke up, a pleasant smile on her muzzle. “Everypony in Ponyville loves your parties.”

“And it's always nice to meet a new pony!” Lily chimed in, and then gave Thunderbird a coy look. “Especially one so good looking.”

The comment froze his mind in its tracks, and the stallion could only stand still as all thought vanished and a blush crept over his face. “Huh?” he muttered, in his confusion.

“I know, right?” Daisy spoke up again, as the three mares moved to stand in an arc in front of the pegasus. “Usually it's just mares moving in lately. It's certainly a nice change of scenery for a new stallion to waltz in.”

Oh dear God, they're hitting on me! Thunderbird realized, in utter horror. No one has ever said I was attractive before, let alone hit on me! This has never happened to me before I don't know what to do I don't know how to handle this what do I do what do I do oh GOD WHY IS ROSE GRINNING?

“Quiet type, huh?” Rose asked, a slight purr in her voice. “You know what they say about quiet types?”

“They turn out to be serial killers?” Thunderbird blurted out, desperate to change the topic.

Fortunately, the diversion worked, and the three mares in front of him all blanched a bit in shock. “Uh, what?” Daisy asked, confused.

“That's enough fun for now, girls,” Pinkie interjected, all smiles as always. “I've got a bunch of ponies to introduce to Thud so we'd better go or else we'll never get done and then we'll be stuck here in the welcoming party forever until all the stars burn out and it gets so dark we can't see so seeya!” Once again the staccato burst of words distracted their targets as Pinkie guided Thunderbird away from the small clique.

Thunderbird himself could only blink a few times as his mind struggled to catch up. “What the Hell just happened?” he asked, in a daze.

“Just the girls being themselves,” Pinkie replied, ever cheerful. “Oh, hello Lyra!”

“Lyra?” Thunderbird asked, as his mind suddenly re-engaged at the familiar name. His eyes resumed focus in time to find he'd been placed in front of another pair of mares, both rather familiar.

“That's my name, don't wear it out!” Lyra friendlily said, and then gestured to the cream-colored earth pony beside her. “And this is my friend and housemate, Bonbon.”

“Hello,” the mentioned mare said, with a pleasant smile. “I hope the flower girls didn't scar you too bad?”

Thunderbird took a moment to think and let his mind finish spooling up. “Well, it's not the first time I've felt like prey,” he replied. “Usually it's at the other end of a modem, though.”

The two gave him an odd look at the reference. “You're going to fit in real well around here,” Bonbon wryly observed, a smirk on her muzzle as she glanced to the minty mare at her side. “Crazy ponies are everywhere.”

“I am not crazy,” Lyra countered, with a huff. “Just because I think old myths have a basis in reality does not make me crazy.”

“Old myths?” Thud asked, before his brain could process. Oh, right, he thought just a second too late.

Lyra's expression brightened, and she looked to the stallion with an eager expression. “Yeah. Have you ever heard of humans?”

Despite himself, Thunderbird couldn't help but smile. “As a matter of fact I have,” he replied. “I'm a bit fond of them myself.”

The unicorn seemed ready to burst at that, but it was a sad sigh from the side that came next. “Great, another one,” Bonbon sardonically observed.

“Hush, you,” Lyra retorted to her friend, and then turned to regard Thunderbird with a smile. “It's nice to finally meet another pony who likes the old human myths. Most ponies around here don't even know the old stories, let alone want to talk about them.”

Thud smirked a bit. “Well, I just like stories with the human element in it,” he said, snarkily.

Lyra loosed a brief laugh. “Funny,” she said, with a smile. “So which story is your favorite?”

“Uh,” Thunderbird temporized, as he suddenly realized that he had no idea what stories the Equestrians actually had. That book with the chapter on humans only talked about us in general, he remembered. He decided to play it safe. “I dunno, I kinda like 'em all,” he said.

Lyra's eyes widened. “Me too!” she proclaimed. “All of them are just so fascinating, from stories that focus on single characters like Odysseus to ones that follow a bunch of different characters, like the various King Arthur iterations.”

Thunderbird blinked as he was hit with surprising information. “You've... heard of those stories?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah!” Lyra beamed. “They were really hard to find, since most books about humans all just talk about how they liked to fight and that they rode on the backs of horses. But if you dig around in some back-alley bookstores in places like Canterlot's Old Town—”

“Lyra,” Bonbon interrupted, with a roll of her eyes. “If you two are going to geek out over those silly old stories, then I'm going to go mingle.”

“Sounds good to me,” Lyra replied, slightly peevish.

“Yup! C'mon Bonbon,” Pinkie Pie interjected, and then hopped off. “Let's go mingle-jingle!”

Bonbon rolled her eyes at the party mare's expression, but she smiled nonetheless. “Alright,” she said to Pinkie as the latter moved away, and then looked over to Thud. “Nice meeting you, Thunderbird,” she said, and then glanced to Lyra. “Try not to talk his ears off,” she added, and then walked away.

Lyra rolled her eyes as well, and then sighed. “Bonbon's a great friend, but she can be annoying sometimes,” she said, as she watched the two earth ponies walk away.

“I've known people like that,” Thunderbird said, and then offered a smile. “You want to strangle 'em sometimes just to knock some sense into 'em.”

“Exactly!” Lyra said, as she turned her head back to Thunderbird with a smile. “So anyway, like I was saying, if you dig around in some bookshops you'll find really old books that tell the specific stories about humans.”

“Interesting,” Thud replied. “So you've read the Odyssey, then?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Lyra replied, with a nod. “It took some getting used to, with the weird cadence to the words, but it was a good read after that.”

“Yeah, the wording can take some getting used to,” Thunderbird agreed. “But that's the problem with translating texts from one language into another. Doubly so when you're translating text from thousands of years in the past to modern language.”

“Another language?” Lyra asked, with a frown. “I've never heard of that story being in any other language.”

Thunderbird blinked in surprise. “Well,” he slowly said, as he struggled to figure out what to say next. You know what? To Hell with it, he thought, and then sighed. If anyone can be told the really crazy stuff, it's probably Lyra... So long as her personality is really as we've speculated, that is.

“What was that for?” the unicorn in question asked, as she noted Thunderbird's sigh.

The pegasus shook his head a bit. “Sorry, just thinking,” he replied. “But yes, the Odyssey and its predecessor, the Iliad, were both originally written in Ancient Greek, and have been translated several times over the millennia. Not to mention they're both epic poems in the ancient tradition, so combine all of that and it gets a bit hard to read.” He paused for a moment to think, and then shrugged his wings. “I know it took me a while to adapt when I read the Iliad, but once I got used to it the story got easy to read and was pretty gripping.”

Lyra just stared at the pegasus for a moment, befuddlement upon her face. Thunderbird frowned as the silence became awkward, and he slowly drew in a calming breath. “What?” he asked.

“There's a prequel to the Odyssey?” the unicorn asked, her voice betraying a trace of awe. “And you've read it?”

“Er, yes,” Thud replied, uneasily. Great, how often am I going to screw up today? Maybe I should just go ho—back to Ditzy's.

“What's it about?” Lyra pressed on, oblivious to the stallion's failing mood. She also pressed forward, as well, and pushed her head into Thunderbird's personal space as she looked up at him with wide eyes. “Please, tell me!”

“Uh,” Thud temporized again, as he took a step back from the fervent unicorn. “Well, it's a retelling of the ninth year of the Trojan War, and things start to go bad for the Greeks when the hero Achilles withdraws from battle after king Agamemnon takes one of the women Achilles claimed as spoils for his own...”

* * * *

Ditzy Dew watched with amusement as Thunderbird began to speak at length to Lyra. Although the gray pegasus was too far away to hear what was being said, the ponies involved made her confident it involved a certain race of bipedal simians. Lyra looks rather enthralled, so I suspect Thud has finally started to loosen up a bit, she mused, as she sipped from a punch cup in her right hoof. I'm glad; he really needs to calm down. It's not like he has industrial blueprints memorized or anything.

As invested in her internal musing as she was, Ditzy didn't notice when a particular pegasus reentered the building a few minutes later and, with a brief pause, made a beeline for the gray mare. The colorful mane and tail did, however, alert Ditzy to the other pony as she approached, and so she was not startled as Rainbow Dash walked up. “Hello, Rainbow,” Ditzy said, as she turned around to face her friend.

“Hey, Ditzy,” Dash replied, somewhat subdued. “You got a minute to talk?”

“Well, the girls are busy with the party games,” Ditzy answered, with a glance over to where said games had been set up for the children and the children at heart. Four fillies in particular were busy with the tail pin game, and so Ditzy returned her attention back to the weather mare. “So I certainly have some time. Is something bothering you?” she asked, with a note of concern. “I saw you leave a few minutes ago and you looked upset.”

Dash winced a bit at that. “Yeah, something's bothering me,” she admitted, and then glanced over to Thunderbird. “And he's standing over there.”

Ditzy raised an eyebrow as Rainbow turned back to her. “Do you have a problem with Thud?” she asked, neutrally.

“Maybe,” Dash replied, sourly. “What's confusing me right now, though, is how you can let a guy like that live in your house?” she asked, bemusedly.

A frown crossed Ditzy's muzzle. “Rainbow Dash,” she began, carefully. “Please don't tell me you've been listening to those silly rumors?”

“Turns out they're not silly,” Dash countered, and then glanced to the knot of her friends across the room. “Fluttershy says his teeth are for eating meat, and Twilight says he's acting suspicious. You're not dumb, Ditzy,” Rainbow continued, “you gotta know these things by now, don't you?” she pressed, and only paused for Ditzy Dew to give a wordless nod as her answer. “So how can you stand having him in the house? Especially with little Dinky there, too?”

Silence fell over the two, but only for a moment as Ditzy shook her head. “Rainbow Dash,” she began, slowly, with a clear effort to maintain her composure. “Are you suggesting that I would be so foalish as to endanger my daughter by letting a dangerous pony stay at my house?”

For her part, Rainbow Dash realized she had stepped over a line, and she took an actual physical step back. “Uh, well, maybe not, uh, dangerous,” she temporized. “Just... you know, he's so...”

“Strange?” Ditzy asked, with her head canted. She didn't wait for Dash to answer, however. “He wouldn't be the first pony in Ponyville to be considered strange and unusual, now would he?”

“Well, no,” Dash allowed. “But he like, killed a manticore by himself. Doesn't that make you wonder about how d—uh, how much trouble he could be?”

“You don't need to remind me of what he did,” Ditzy replied. “I was the one who found him, remember? I had a very clear view of his work, and while I cannot say I would do the same as he, I certainly cannot fault him for his actions. As for how much trouble he could be...” At this, she let her voice trail off as she went back over the nervous hours before Thunderbird arrived at her home the first time. “I admit I had my worries in the beginning,” Ditzy allowed, but then focused a stern look at Rainbow Dash. “But I've gotten to know him since then. Yes, he has the capacity for violence of a nature that most ponies would balk at, but I know he wouldn't be violent for no good reason. If anything, I take comfort in the fact that Dinky and I are now probably safer because Thud is living with us.”

“Safer?” Rainbow asked, with a tiny squeak in her voice. “How do you figure that?”

“Because of two reasons,” Ditzy began. “First, because he can kill a manticore, I know he can handle any sort of burglar or rogue diamond dog or whatever might bother us. Secondly, because as I've said I've gotten to know him, and I've found out he cares about things like right and wrong, and more importantly I've found out what he thinks is right are the same things ponies like you and I think are right.” The blonde mare paused momentarily for emphasis, and then shook her head. “Thunderbird is a good pony, Dash. I don't know what exactly has you so put off about him, but frankly I think you'd like him if you actually went and spoke to him instead of acting like he's going to bite your head off.”

Another moment of silence passed between the two pegasi, longer than the last. Rainbow Dash blushed as she let Ditzy Dew's words sink into her brain, and she idly brought up one foreleg to rub against the other. She glanced over to where Thunderbird was still speaking with Lyra, and watched for a moment as the stallion sat on his haunches and then started to add gestures to his story. “I dunno,” she finally said, with a sigh. “He just rubs me the wrong way.”

Ditzy frowned in consternation. “Dash, are you still upset with him over that near-collision you two had?”

Rainbow's head jerked back to the other mare at that. “Huh? He told you about that?” she asked, with a measure of irritation entering her tone.

“Yes,” Ditzy replied. “He explained it to me because he was worried you'd be upset over it and wouldn't approve him for the job he was applying for. Once I explained how professional you are, he promptly relaxed and forgot about it.”

Dash harrumphed. “Did he tell you he snapped at me?”

“As a matter of fact, yes,” Ditzy replied, and then pressed on when she saw her friend pause in uncertainty. “He wasn't proud of it; seems he has a bit of a temper problem,” the blonde pegasus added, with a wing-shrug. “He told me as such when he moved in, and admitted that it can take some time for him to calm down. However, while I've seen him get angry, I have never seen Thud get carried away, and when he knows Dinky's around he even refrains from using foul language.” She paused and tossed her head in dismissive gesture that sent her mane into a brief flutter. “It's not exactly an endearing trait, but it's not the worst flaw I've seen in a pony. Not too different from boisterous arrogance, I'd say,” Ditzy added, with a wry look at Dash.

To her credit, Rainbow Dash blushed and glanced away. “Yeah, I guess nopony's perfect,” she admitted.

“Indeed,” Ditzy said, and then took a sip of her punch. “But the wonderful thing about being ponies is we don't have to be perfect to be friends,” she observed, and then gave Dash a small grin. “You of all ponies should be thankful for that.”

“Oh, come on, I'm not that bad,” Dash retorted, although her heart wasn't quite in it.

“No, you're not,” Ditzy agreed. “And neither is Thud, once you get to know him.”

“Maybe,” Rainbow allowed, and then sighed. “I guess... I guess I was just letting that one snap bug me more than I should have.”

“To be fair, he did sound like he was being a bit of a jerk,” Ditzy said, and then shrugged her wings again. “But to be equally fair, Thud has had a rough time lately; his arrival in Equestria wasn't exactly the best one could have,” she explained. Not to mention the whole reality-hopping and shape-changing bit.

Dash thought about that, and then glanced over to Thud again, and watched as his arms made odd gestures while he spoke to Lyra. “Uh, what's he doing?” she asked, in confusion.

Ditzy glanced over, and then chuckled slightly at the scene. “I think I have an idea, but let's go listen in, shall we?” she asked, as she looked back to Rainbow. “This will be a good chance for you to try and start over with Thunderbird.”

Another frown washed over Dash's face. “I don't know...” she said, unsure.

“Oh, come on,” Ditzy insisted. She walked back and then extended a wing to wrap it over Dash's withers. “Just join me and listen,” she added, as she began to move and pushed the other mare forward.

Rainbow grunted as she moved forward at Ditzy's urging. “Alright, fine,” she grumbled. “I guess I can give him a shot.”

* * * *

“...And so Achilles returned Hector's body to king Priam. The Iliad ends right about there, at the beginning of the tenth year of the Trojan War,” Thunderbird finished, and then took in a deep breath. “I may have forgotten a few things here and there, so if you ever find a copy I'd suggest reading it for yourself.”

“You bet your flank I will!” Lyra earnestly replied. “Wow, a whole story focusing solely on the war itself, I never thought I'd see one,” she added, with a small shake of her head. “It's strange, you know? Most of the old human tales are usually about politics or fighting monsters, but so many reference the massive wars they were said to wage between their kingdoms that it's hard to picture humans without conflict. Yet I've never found a story that has explained more than a small portion of a war.”

Thunderbird frowned as a small silence fell over he and Lyra; both ponies mulled over the conversation so far. “That is kind of odd,” Thud finally said.

“I know, right?” Lyra replied, with a huff. “I can't even find out how they fought, whether they were like pegasi or unicorns or earth ponies from back before Equestria's founding.”

“Ah, well,” Thud said, and then paused as he thought for a moment. Should I? I mean, I said I don't want to talk about it, but... this is Lyra here, and she's definitely as interested in humans as the fans speculated... “Where I'm from, we have a lot more human stories,” he eventually continued, after finally deciding to relent just a bit. “Especially war stories. I could tell you a thing or two about the basic technology and tactics.”

“Really?” Lyra asked, her expression switching to eager excitement again. “Could you tell me more about the Greeks, then? I found an old, old history book from pre-Founding times that actually mentioned the Pegasi tribe used 'Greek-style' armor and weapons. It's not very well known, but if it's true then it could be a link between history and myth, perhaps even establishing humans as an undiscovered race!”

“You know, that kind of makes sense,” Thunderbird allowed, even as his mind raced. She knows a lot about us, and we have myths of Pegasus and unicorns and the like... I wonder...?

“I know, right?” Lyra repeated her earlier exultation. Her eager words interrupted Thunderbird's train of thought and so he put off his musings for later as the unicorn continued. “So many things make more sense if you accept that humans may have had a profound influence on our own cultural development.”

“Like chairs and doorknobs?” Thud asked.

“Exactly!” Lyra beamed. “They're not perfectly shaped for equine use, and even minotaurs have problems with them, yet we use those designs anyway. Clearly that's an influence from another species that would find them well formed.”

“Well, that makes sense to me,” Thunderbird affirmed, with a nod.

For he part, Lyra grinned like a madman. “I'm so glad you moved here,” she said, as her eyes grew a little misty. “You don't know how frustrating it is to be so fascinated over something and nopony else could care less about it.”

Thud thought for a moment and then smirked. “I actually understand that pretty well,” he said. How many people even know about Battletech? Or care about the design history of capital ships pre- and post-Washington Naval Treaty?

Lyra blinked a bit, and then blushed. “Oh, of course,” she said, a bit sheepishly. “You probably get the same looks when you talk about humans, too. Am I right?”

“Uh, something like that,” Thunderbird replied, with a grin. “I'm actually referring to the fact that I like researching war stuff. But yeah, I get what you mean.”

“Ah, so you know more about human warfare than just the stories about it?” Lyra asked, with mild surprise.

“Definitely,” Thud answered, with a nod. “Like the Greeks you want to hear about, for instance. They would typically fight in large square formations called a 'phalanx', which worked best with the 'hoplite', their heavily armored soldiers of the upper classes.”

“Really?” the unicorn asked, with a raised eyebrow. “The upper classes would fight?”

“Yeah, that was back about—I mean,” Thunderbird caught himself, and then thought quickly. “It was supposedly when there weren't a lot of humans around, and the upper classes were the only ones who could afford the expensive armor of a hoplite.”

“Ah,” Lyra said, with a nod. “So I guess that armor was pretty extensive, then?”

“Oh yeah,” Thud replied, with a grin. “Bronze and iron, the lot of it, from helmet to breastplate to greaves and boots and a huge round shield that formed part of the phalanx's superior protective strength. Almost every inch of the human body covered in plate metal, then that shield, and add to that the spears that were their main weapons and the bronze swords for slashing should the spears get broken, and that crap was expensive and heavy.”

“Wow,” Lyra murmured. “That does sound similar to old Pegasi armament. Pre-unification, they wore armor heavier than even the earth ponies had, but after Equestria was founded they switched to the lighter sets and let the earthers carry the heavy equipment.” She paused then, and blinked. “But I guess you already knew that, knowing military stuff like you do.”

“Uh, yeah,” Thud lied, and his eyes flicked back and forth a bit before they settled on Lyra again. “But anyway, the Greek hoplite would fight in a phalanx formation, which was, if I recall correctly, a square eight men across and eight deep. That way they could overlap their shields and become near impregnable from arrows and spears.”

“Huh, how could they strike at the enemy, then?” Lyra asked, bemused.

“Well, they would carry their shields like this,” he said, and then shifted so he could hold his left arm in front of him. “And they'd have their spears like this,” he added, and then held his right arm out and flexed his fetlock as if he were trying to hold something. “And what they'd do is they'd keep the shields up until they were in range, then as one they'd shift,” he moved his left arm to the side, “and strike,” he thrust his right hoof forward, as if he were holding a spear. “Then as soon as the strike was over they'd go back to shielding.” At this, Thud shifted back into the original arm position he'd had.

Lyra, for her part, just watched in joyful awe. “Wow, so they'd only expose themselves for an attack and then go back to being fully protected?” she asked, and then grinned when Thud nodded in reply. “That's brilliant.”

Thunderbird shrugged. “Well, if there was one thing the Greeks did well, it was war. Well, that and philosophy and building the intellectual basis for Western Civilization.”

“Western Civilization?” Lyra echoed, with a curious look on her face.

Thud froze as he realized he had slipped again, but before he could speak a new voice chimed in. “What's that?” it asked, and he turned to see that Ditzy Dew and Rainbow Dash had walked up while he was talking to Lyra. Dash wore a frown of confusion, and it had been her who had spoken up. “Are you talking about the dragonlands?”

“Uh, I don't think so,” Thud temporized, as he tried to think his way out. Dammit, I need to keep my big mouth shut! He glanced at Ditzy, who only gave him a shrug of her wings, and then slowly took in a deep breath. “It's just what we call our culture, back home.”

Dash and Lyra both gave him puzzled looks, while Ditzy took a moment to slightly shake her head. Soon enough, though, Lyra spoke up. “Wait,” she said, as a light dawned on her face. “If you're saying that the Greeks are the basis of your culture, and you exist, then that means there's a real civilization that's had contact with humans!”

Thud's ears folded back as he realized the depth of his mistake. Fuck me with a gun rammer, he thought, even as Lyra bounded forward and wrapped him in a hug.

“Finally, vindication!” she crowed, and then drew back from the embrace just enough so she could look into Thunderbird's face with starry eyes. “You have to tell me everything about your home! What's your culture like? Do you have a military tradition like the old pegasi? Who's the ruler? Do you have any human artifacts? Any first-hoof accounts?”

“Lyra,” a familiar voice chimed in, and everyone in the immediate scene turned their heads to see that Bombon had returned, and she sounded tired as she continued. “You're causing a scene.”

The unicorn looked around at this, and Thunderbird did the same, only to see that much of the party indeed had paused to look in their direction. Both of the ponies at the center of the disturbance blushed, and Lyra stood up on all fours and backed away from Thud. “Eh-heh, sorry,” she said to Thud, and then looked over the party. “Sorry for getting carried away, everypony!” she called.

The partygoers seemed pleased with that, and the shindig soon returned to normal as the various ponies went back to whatever was keeping them entertained before. Lyra smiled at this, but soon yelped as Bonbon chomped on her tail and started to drag the unicorn away. “Booooon!”

“You need to calm down,” Bonbon retorted, surprisingly articulate despite the fact she had quite a bit of tail hair in her mouth. She said nothing more as she continued to drag Lyra away, and then out the front door of the library, while the unicorn simply whined and looked forlornly at Thunderbird until they were out of sight.

“Okay,” Thunderbird said, although he did not address anyone directly. “That is the second weirdest thing that's happened today.”

“Only the second?” Rainbow Dash asked, skeptical.

Thud startled slightly as the question reminded him that others were nearby. He turned his head to regard the sky-blue pegasus, and then blushed. “Well, the flower girls were looking at me like I was a slab of meat; that's a lot weirder to me.”

The incredulous look Dash gave him was joined by bemusement, and this puzzled Thud a bit until he glanced to Ditzy and saw her face-hoof. He barely had time to recognize his slip before Rainbow spoke again. “A slab of what now?”

At this, even Thunderbird face-hoofed. You know what? Fuck it. I can't keep my mouth shut, so fuck it. “Meat, Rainbow,” he began, mostly deadpan but with a tinge of irritation, as he lowered his hoof back to the floor. “The tasty, semi-yielding flesh of a warm-blooded animal, preferably. Basically, I'm saying the flower trio were sizing me up as if I were something to be bought and consumed like food rather than a person.”

For their parts, Dizty and Dash simply looked shocked, albeit for different reasons. Ditzy recovered first, and shot Thud a questioning glance, but the stallion ignored it as Rainbow let a frown cross her muzzle. “So, you do eat meat?” she asked, cautiously.

“I used to,” Thunderbird replied, equally cautious. “Equestria doesn't exactly have a plethora of delicatessens, and even if they did I'm not exactly keen on eating things that talk.”

Again, there was a look of bemusement and surprise on the mares' faces. “So... you're kinda like the griffons?” Rainbow asked. “You just eat dumb animals from outside Equestria?”

Thud blinked. Hard. “Wait... there are dumb animals outside of Equestria?” he asked, in a shock of his own.

“Uh, yeah,” Rainbow Dash replied. She felt a bit uneasy as Thunderbird gave her a hard, probing look. “I mean, otherwise griffons would be pretty heartless eating meat, wouldn't they?”

“Indeed,” Thud replied, and then looked to Ditzy. “And you didn't tell me this?”

“Well, pardon me for not being omniscient,” she replied, in a huff, as she ruffled her wings a bit. “I don't have any griffon friends, and they're not that common in this part of Equestria.”

A light seemed to go on in Dash's head, and her expression shifted into one of cautious curiosity. “Uh, shouldn't you know that already?” she asked of Thunderbird. “I mean, aren't you from outside of Equestria?”

Another round of panic flowed through Thud, albeit briefly. I am entirely out of fucks to give today, he mused. “Yes and no,” he answered.

“What does that mean?” Dash asked, as Ditzy simply stood there and let her eyes widen.

“I'd rather not say,” Thunderbird replied. “It's kind of personal.”

“Yeah? What if I don't agree with that?” Dash countered, as she took a step forward.

Thunderbird narrowed his eyes at the mare as his temper started to rise. “I would ask just what the Hell gives you that right?” he retorted.

“The fact that you're in Ponyville now, and this is my home,” Rainbow Dash answered, as her ears splayed back and she took another step forward and dangerously close to Thunderbird's personal space. “And I have no idea what kind of pony you are. For all I know you could be evil!” she added, while her wings spread open a bit in a display.

“Oh, yeah, like judging a person based just because he's different works out real well,” Thud sarcastically countered, even as his own wings spread open on instinct to counter Dash's. “How'd that work out with Zecora, anyway?”

Rainbow flinched at the question, and she took a step back. “That's different,” she weakly protested, although her heart wasn't in it.

“No, it's not,” Thunderbird replied. “Are you really going to make that same mistake? Honestly, Rainbow Dash, you're better than that,” he added, even as he finally realized his wing status, and then willfully shut them. The look of disappointment he gave Dash made the mare want to shiver at the familiarity of it, and her wings practically wilted back to her sides. “I know you are,” he added, emphatically.

A blush filled Rainbow's face, and she glanced away from the stallion to stare at the floor. Why the hay is he telling me that? she briefly mused. But... he's right. Even after Ditzy asked me to give him a chance, I just went and acted like a jerk. Her face was burning as she took in a deep breath and then sat on her haunches. “You're right,” she said, quietly. “I wasn't thinking, and I shouldn't have judged you before I got to know you.” Then, with her face still red, she turned her head and looked Thunderbird in the eye. “I'm sorry.”

It was now Thunderbird's turn to blush, as the unexpected apology took him off-guard. This is Rainbow Dash, why is she apologizing so readily? he asked himself, even as he mirrored Dash by glancing down to the floor, upon which he took a seat. I was too harsh with her; it's not her fault, and I am a creepy person. “I'm sorry, too,” he finally said, as he looked back into Dash's gaze. “I shouldn't've gotten so mad, when all you're doing is being rightfully concerned about some strange guy appearing in town. Lord knows if some odd person came into my neighborhood and starting being weird, I'd give him the stink-eye for a bit.” Thud looked down again, and then sighed. “You're right to be concerned. I'm not here to do anything bad, but you don't know that.” I'm a bad person; I hurt her.

His apology threw Rainbow Dash for a loop as well, and she found herself speechless. He's not mad? He understands? She hadn't expected him to admit to anything, yet as she looked at Thud she realized that he had put himself in her horseshoes. I don't think anypony ever tries to see things like I do. At least, not right away. Her blush had begun to lift from her apology, but now returned as she studied the stallion's crestfallen face. But why does he look so sad?

It was then that a third voice interjected from the side. “Now kiss,” came the playful tone.

Both Dash and Thud glanced to the owner of said voice, their faces somehow even more flushed than before, and saw a mutual friend. “Vinyl!” both of them half-whined, at the same time.

Vinyl Scratch just laughed at the two pegasi. “Oh geeze, you two should see the looks on your faces!” she said, while she pointed a hoof at the stricken ponies. “Ah, but seriously, when are you two going to get a room?”

Both Rainbow Dash and Thunderbird grimaced at the unicorn's teasing question, and then winced as they saw that most of the other ponies at the party had once again turned their attention their way, and most were smiling or laughing at the scene. At least one gave a whistle, and at this Thunderbird's nerves broke. “Excuse me,” he muttered to no one in particular, as he stood and then quickly walked to the door leading out of the library.

Rainbow Dash couldn't even look at Thud directly as he left, and she only watched him out of the corner of her eyes as he walked off. Once the door closed behind him, she turned her head and spitted the Cheshire-grinning unicorn with a harsh glare. “You are a serious pain in the flank, you know that?” she seethed at her friend.

Vinyl only chuckled again. “Oh c'mon, Dash, you two are so tense around one another that it's painfully obvious what you're thinking,” she replied, and then glanced to Ditzy Dew, who had simply stood and looked on in mute astonishment at the scene as it played before her. “Am I right, Ditzy?”

This caused the gray mare to shake herself out of her funk, and despite the situation, she managed a faint smile. Sorry, Thud, but this is for your own good. “Something like that, Scratch,” she allowed. “I can't say much about Dash, but I do know Thud's had a bit of a crush on her since he got here.”

“What?” Rainbow squeaked. AJ was right?!

“Oh yes,” Ditzy confirmed, with a nod and a grin. “Seems he heard about the great Rainbow Dash before he even got here, and when he saw you it just clicked.” I'm stretching things a bit here, Ditzy realized. But it's more-or-less the truth, and it's still Thud's choice whether to fully reveal everything or not.

Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, was wondering if her face would permanently change color. It was the only coherent thought in her mind at the moment, and she barely had the presence to shake her head in disbelief. “You... he... augh!” she groaned, and then stood up. “I need air. Again,” she stated, and then promptly stomped out.

Ditzy Dew and Vinyl Scratch watched her go before they turned to each other. “It's really freaky how alike they are while still being so different,” the unicorn observed. “It's like he popped out of a mirror or something.”

“Indeed,” Ditzy wryly observed. “Male instead of female, quiet and reserved instead of boisterous, introvert instead of extrovert, thoughtful and contemplative instead of brash and impulsive, slow but steady instead of fast and somewhat unpredictable; all opposites.”

“But they share the same hot temper, get flustered easily, and love to fly, amongst other things,” Vinyl added in. When Ditzy gave her a look, the unicorn shrugged. “We talk about stuff when he hangs out. Lots of armchair philosophy; he's got a weird view on things.”

Ditzy chuckled a bit. “Yes, that's Thud alright,” she agreed, with a nod. “So, how long do you think it will take them to finally see what we see?”

“Depends, are we gonna help out?” Vinyl asked, with a raised eyebrow.

“Does Celestia raise the sun?” Ditzy asked back, with a smirk. It was an expression Vinyl could only mirror.

And So?

by Rokas

Chapter 1 - You Might Recognize Me From Such Fanfics as "The Dardanelles Are Missing" and "Calling All Shut-Ins!"

Chapter 2 - In Which the Suckage Increases

Chapter 3 - I Am a Sick, Sick Man

Chapter 4 - Missed It By That Much

Chapter 5 - Meanwhile, At the Hall of The Super Best Friends

Chapter 6 - Rock over London, Rock on Chicago

Chapter 7 - In Which Introductions Are Made

Chapter 8 - Vaulting the Carnivorous Ichthyoid

Chapter 9 - Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love the Ship