What Huckleberry Hound expected was a nice, quiet and well-paying job in a brand new world. What he got instead was an adventure full of magic, monsters and mayhem. Oh, and Pinkie Pie.
After losing his job due to fighting with another employee, Huckleberry Hound finds a job offer in the newspaper that reads "We have a fabulous new job for you in Equestria, a peaceful world, and one that promises good pay. Positions available now!" Said job offer didn't specify what the job was, but the words "good pay" were enough for Huck. So he packs his bags and makes his way there, following the directions the map gave him. A bizarre portal trip later, he arrives in a world with colorful equine creatures, and learns from a hyperactive local that this is the Equestria the paper was referring to. Despite the weird new surroundings, Huck ends up getting a new job as a member of the Royal Guard thanks to Princess Celestia, and settles into a comfortable life with his new friends.
Of course, wherever Huck goes, trouble isn't far behind. Not long after starting his new job, a horrific monster from ages past is unleashed, turning ponies into crystals and consuming Ponyville with dark magic.
And Huck finds out that he's first in the line of defense to stop it.
Some "fabulous new job" this turned out to be.
A Hanna-Barbera/MLP:FIM crossover (possibly the first of its kind) filled with silly antics, some slice-of-life moments and cameos from various characters!
"Not until I teach you to not insult me again, you good-for-nothin' coward!"
It was a fairly normal day at Peter's Perfect Packaging Store.
The employees on their afternoon shift all perked up at this noise, but just barely.
"Should we go see what's going on?" a red-haired man asked.
At the sound of a yelp of pain and a loud crash, followed by the breaking of glass, a short bear with messy fur and a red baseball cap said, "I guess so. They've gotta be in the hallway."
Curious, the mixed assortment of humans and animals that were gathered there made their way to the hallway to see who was fighting whom this time. After all, it wasn't as if fights between employees wasn't normal. There were fights almost every week, hence why there was a major shortage of employees.
What they saw when they stepped into the hallway was definitely a surprise, though. Sitting on top of his opponent landing blow after brutal blow on his face, Huckleberry Hound yelled, "You wanted to see me get angry? Well, you got what you wished for!"
Immediately, whoops and hollers came from the crowd, cheering the hound on. Others stood there with mouths agape, hardly believing what they were seeing. Huckleberry Hound, possibly the most laid-back, easy going and cool-headed hound dog man had ever known, was beating the everliving tar out of a fellow employee. And it wasn't just any employee either: it was none other than Stinky Dalton, one of the meanest members of their crew and notorious for picking on people like Huck.
Judging on Huck's reaction, it was clear that he was fed up with Stinky's crap.
Everyone was so caught up in the fight that nobody heard the manager and the supervisor coming in until they started yelling. They burst through the crowd, running over to pull Huck and Stinky away from each other, which took a lot of effort. Stinky snarled at Huck, who gave him a hard glare.
"Seriously?! I expected this kind of behavior from Stinky himself, but from you?!" the supervisor demanded, glaring at Huck.
The coonhound crossed his arms, his expression knotted into a rare scowl. "I attempted to walk away from the fight, sir, honestly, I did. But he started it first. He kept insulting me and then threw me into the wall," he said. "After that..."
"That's a lie and you know it!" Stinky spat, his voice filled with rage. "You just can't admit that you're an utter failure of an employee!"
"Why don't you come over here and say that to my face?!" Huck yelled, attempting to lunge at Stinky, only to be held back by the manager.
"That's enough, both of you. I want you to head to my office, immediately," he ordered sternly. With his hands still firmly clasping Huck's upper arms, he dragged him over to his office, while the supervisor dragged Stinky off to the other side of the building.
That left the employees standing in the hallway, wired and gossipy. The second the doors to both offices closed, the hallway was filled with excited chatter about the fight and of course, the inevitable firing of both Huck and Stinky.
In other words, it was just another normal day at Peter's Perfect Packaging.
"And you see, T.C., that's why I ended up losing my job. To be honest, Stinky was askin' for it."
There was a pause on the other end, and Huck had to remove the phone from his right ear as his friend, the ever cool and ever confident Top Cat, burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter at his tale. He heard a loud crash and knew that he must've fallen out of his trash can again, and he himself had to stifle a chuckle at that.
"Sorry about that Huck, but that...that was too funny to not laugh at," Top Cat replied. "One, because you hardly if ever get angry, and two, since I'm surprised you didn't clock him sooner."
"Well, you know how I am, T.C.: I never attack people unless they continue to mess with me," Huck answered. "Stinky didn't learn that until my fist met his face."
"Yeah, well, at least I know now that you're not a complete doormat like I thought," Top Cat said. "So, what have you been up to ever since then?"
"I've been looking for work, but I can't seem to find anything," Huck answered. "You know how the economy is."
"Tell me about it. It's not easy to get money nowadays," Top Cat groaned. "Tell you what. I'll see if I can find any job offers in the local newspaper. If they have anything, I'll send it to you."
Huck brightened at this news. "You'd really do that, Top Cat?"
"Of course. Consider it a favor from an old friend," Top Cat answered. "Besides, you saved my skin from Officer Dribble the last time you came up to Hoagy's Alley. But don't forget, this'll be two you owe me, Huck."
"Thanks for reminding me, Top Cat," he said. "I should probably let you go, before Dibble comes around and starts yelling at you again."
Top Cat sighed. "I swear, that man's name is like another word for 'buzzkill'. See you around, Huck. You're still coming to New York in the summer, right?"
"Yeah, I'm thinking of it, as soon as I save up some more money for the trip. Tell the rest of the gang I said hi," Huck said, and hung up. After putting the receiver back, he looked over at the clock on his wall, and saw that it was eleven o'clock, meaning that the mail had already come by.
"That must mean the newspaper's come by, too," he said to himself. Jumping out of the chair, he grabbed his red baseball cap that was hanging on the coat rack, put it on, and opened the front door. Picking up his newspaper, he made his way to his mailbox, which was practically bursting with mail. Huck then realized that he hadn't checked the mail in at least a week, since he'd been busy at his other jobs.
He pulled out the huge stack of letters, skimming through them in seconds. Most of them were bills and junk mail, while others were letters from his old friends that he hadn't seen in a few months. After making sure that he had the mail securely tucked under his arm, he went back inside his house.
His mind wandered back to his conversation with Top Cat, and he realized that he should also look in the newspaper for job offers. There were over a thousand jobs available, and he never knew unless he tried it out for himself. It had worked before, and he could do it again.
Ignoring the rest of the mail for now, Huck opened the newspaper and started to comb through the various job offers. There were some for computer programmers, technicians, repairmen, construction workers and electricians, but none of those sounded appealing to Huck. He remembered well the disasters he'd caused trying out those jobs; his stint as an electrician had caused a week-long blackout in New York City. But that was a story for another time.
Huck was about ready to give up when a larger advertisement on the right side of the paper caught his attention. It was red and gold, a stark contrast to the black and white blurbs in the section. Stars and spears decorated the borders of the advertisement and the words were written in bold red text.
Looking for a new job? WE have one for you! Fabulous new job in peaceful world, Equestria, and one that promises good pay! Offer ends soon! Positions available now!
Directions below" 1957 Mirror Pool Lane Right off of I-40
Huck stared at the job offer for a little longer, the gears turning over in his head. He knew that some offers were too good to be true, and turned out to be scams built to steal people's hard-earned money. Plus, the advertisement was kind of vague: whoever created it didn't bother to mention which world this job was located in, or what the job even was. Even the scammers who routinely flooded Huck's mailbox gave a description of the job, at least.
Even so, the words "good pay" were much too promising to pass up. So far, he'd been on an unlucky streak when it came to salaries, with some of his jobs paying below minimum wage. He also added in the fact that he needed the money to pay off the mortgage for his house and for his trip to New York in the summer, as well as other necessities.
Huck closed the newspaper, confronted with two choices: do the sensible thing and walk away from the offer, or take a chance and jump into it without researching it first.
Number two won out.
"You're going to just go over there without even thinking?!" Top Cat yelled on the other end of the phone.
Huck sighed, then placed the receiver back to his ear. "Well, you always said to take chances, Top Cat. And that's what I'm gonna do," he replied. "After all, they promised good pay, and it gives me a chance to explore something new. To be honest, I've pretty much held every position here that you can think of. I'd love to see what kind of jobs they've got in this new world they're talking about."
Top Cat groaned. "Huck, this whole thing sounds like a scam. I mean, who the heck offers you a job on another planet? That's just ridiculous!"
"Top Cat, you do realize you're talking to a former Galactic Guardian, right?" Huck noted, slightly offended. "Believe it or not, Yogi and I were traveling to other planets saving people from danger." His voice took on a dreamy tone. "Those days were the best, hanging out in the disco club..."
"Huck, as much as I'd like to hear you reminisce about your Galactic Guardian days, I don't have a lot of time before Drizzle comes back on his beat," Top Cat replied. He knew Huck well enough to know when he was about to launch into one of his anecdotes, which lasted for a whole day in some cases.
"Sorry about that," Huck said sheepishly. "I appreciate your concern, Top Cat, but I'm low on cash. I've got bills and the mortgage to pay, and I've already had to take out some of my vacation money to pay the former. And I don't want to cause another nationwide disaster like what happened when I was an electrician."
"So you were the one behind that blackout a few months ago!" Top Cat accused.
"...I didn't say anything about that." Huck hoped that the feline would buy that as an excuse.
"Oh, for the love of...look, Huck, what I'm saying is, you really need to reconsider this offer. I mean, you could get treated like crap on this other planet, or this job could turn out to be crappy," Top Cat said. "Or you could end up in a world ravaged by war!"
"Maybe so, but I won't know unless I try it. And I've already looked up the name of the place that they mentioned in the paper. The planet's called E-quest-ria or something like that," Huck said. "From what it said on the internet, the planet's much more peaceful than Earth is, and it's got some really nice scenery, too."
"Huck, you do know you can't believe everything you read on the Internet, right?"
"There really ain't any other reliable sources I can count on. This E-quest-ria place doesn't even appear in any books," Huck argued.
"Hence why I think it's a scam. It obviously doesn't exist," Top Cat snorted.
"If it didn't exist, then why would there be directions on how to get there at the bottom of a newspaper?" Huck demanded.
"Well..." Huck smirked to himself as Top Cat tried and failed to come up with an answer. "Oh, alright, fine. You got me there. Still...it seems odd that they didn't leave you a contact or anything."
"True...maybe I'll meet somebody when I get there," Huck said.
"Eh, it's worth a shot. But...be careful out there, Huck. The last thing I need to hear is an article in the news about somebody who was killed in another world," Top Cat warned.
"I promise I'll be careful. And if it turns out to be a scam like you said, I'll be back, lickety split," Huck said. "And if I don't come back...you have my permission to forcibly drag me back."
There was a beat, and then Top Cat said, cheekily, "If that's the case, I hope you stay there for a long time."
Huck rolled his eyes, but only in jest. "Alright, you old joker. See you in about a week or two, depending on how long I stay." He hung up the phone, and jumped off the couch, heading to his bedroom to pack his things. The sooner he made his way there, the sooner he could apply. And the sooner he could apply, the better.
Even so, he couldn't help but think that maybe Top Cat was right. Maybe he was rushing into things a little too quickly. He normally wasn't this greedy, after all, and he liked to be well-informed of the position he was receiving before applying. He was surprised that he'd been able to find so much information about Equestria itself, but almost nothing on the position that he was being offered. He even typed in "Equestria job offer scams" and pulled up nothing after searching for hours. He'd thought about mentioning that to Top Cat, but that would only convince the alley cat to try to persuade him even more to drop it.
"Ah, well. I still need to see for myself if this is a good fit," Huck said, pulling out his suitcase. "Besides, it's not like I haven't encountered things like this before."
An hour later, Huck parked his small sedan on the side of the road, seeing the street for Mirror Pool Lane through his headlights. He looked all around the small, open park, noticing that not a soul was out tonight. The only illumination was the large, silvery moon that hung in the sky, which painted a glassy reflection on the water's surface. Huck stepped out of his car with his suitcase in hand, scratching his head in confusion.
"The newspaper said this was the right place," he muttered, frowning. "Maybe if I go farther down I can get a better look at the area. This is the only part of the county I haven't been in, after all."
Huck made his way through the park, making sure to look where he was going. He had heard some strange stories about Mirror Pool Lane, stories that made him somewhat leery of going there. There were stories about people who stepped inside and came back out with duplicates of themselves. Another story had been about a man who had fallen in and disappeared, never to come back again. As he approached the edge of the pool and looked around the area beyond, Huck had to remind himself that those were nothing more than stories made up by people who didn't want them to go to the pool.
No matter how hard he tried, he still saw nothing.
After another few seconds of searching, Huck sighed, defeated. "Seems like Top Cat was right. It really was a scam," he said. "I hate to admit it, but he was right..." Feeling angry with himself for falling for a trap that easily, he turned around from the sight of the lake and prepared to make his way back to his car.
That was when he'd stumbled into something large and heavy. Letting out a small "oof" in surprise, he shook off his dizziness and looked up at the being, who he assumed to be a large man.
"Sorry about that, sir," he muttered sheepishly. "I guess I got in your way..."
The man didn't answer for a long moment, and Huck thought he must not have heard him or he had and didn't care. But both theories were proven wrong when the man looked down at him, and glowing green eyes stared back into his. Huck felt his heart leap into his throat with fear, and he jumped backwards, horrified. The coldness coming from this man's eyes sent goosebumps crawling under his fur.
"Oh, you got in my way, alright," the man hissed. His voice was a watery whisper, and colder than a midwinter's night. "And you, like everyone else who gets in my way, are going to be extremely sorry for doing so."
"C-Can't we just talk this out?" Huck stammered.
"That will not be an option. For you see, you will not be doing any talking after I'm done with you."
Huck stepped back again, suddenly wishing that he had taken Top Cat's advice and not gone out here foolishly on his own. Now here he was, about to be killed by this cold, lifeless man, who was starting to pull out a strange sword from his pocket.
The third step Huck took made him lose his balance. Before he could even grab hold of something, he went tumbling into the lake. On instinct, he closed his mouth as soon as he went underwater in order to prevent his lungs from filling with water.
The mysterious figure attempted to grab him from the pool, but whether it was to rescue him or to finish killing him, Huck didn't know. But he did know that he was going to drown if he didn't get some air soon, and he swam farther away, towards the glittering surface of the lake, the thoughts of sweet refreshing air propelling him through the cold, salty water.
In less than a second, Huck burst through the surface, gulping air greedily. Wiping the water from his eyes, he turned to see if the mysterious figure had still followed him...
..and encountered something else entirely. He saw that he was no longer at Mirror Pool Lane, but he was in a cave that was surrounded by glowing blue crystals. Sunbeams filtered in through a jagged crack in the ceiling of the cave, and outside, he could hear the scurrying of animals.
Huck was confused by this. There was no way in the world that he could have swam into a cave; he had only swam far enough to get away from that horrible man seeking to kill him. He figured that he'd swim to the center of the lake and then make a run for it when he reached the other side.
Well, obviously, that wasn't going to happen.
I'd better get out of here and find out what's going on, Huck thought to himself, and swam towards the edge of the pool, pulling himself out of the water. After shaking off the excess water, he made his way towards a steep incline which he believed to be the way out. Judging from the amount of steps there were, he was going to be making quite a climb.
"Well, I needed the exercise anyway," Huck said, before climbing up the stairs.
About thirty minutes later, Huck emerged, huffing and puffing, from a small entrance carved into the side of a mountain. Pausing to catch his breath, he took a look outside the cave in order to get a view of the area. What he saw made his jaw drop.
A lush forest surrounded him, which gave way to a large opening in the middle. The sun shone brightly in the sky, which was clear save for a few clouds. Past the large opening, Huck could see rooftops of houses, which appeared to be made of either hay or straw.
He blinked, utterly surprised. This looked nothing at all like Mirror Pool Lane, which had no buildings as far as he'd seen.
Or maybe he was wrong. Maybe there was a small neighborhood beyond the borders of the lake, hidden by the densely large woods. That had to be it.
But that still didn't explain how he'd ended up in a cave from swimming towards the center of a lake. Or how it was suddenly the middle of the day when he'd walked out of there.
Deciding that he would have to wait for an explanation, Huck walked out of the forest and made his way into the large clearing. Maybe some of the locals could help him sort out things, as well as helping him find a way back home. He walked onwards, taking in the full sight of the large town spread out before him. Chatter and cheerful singing could be heard somewhere in the distance.
"I guess they must be having a festival," Huck muttered, and started to make his way into the town, taking note that all of the inhabitants were horses. They weren't like his friend Quick Draw, who towered over him by at least three feet. These horses were about a foot shorter than him, had colorful manes and coats, and had strange symbols on their flanks. And unlike Quick Draw, they walked on all fours.
Some of the ponies waved at him, but most simply stopped and stared, as though they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Huck tried not to follow their stares, but after passing about ten ponies, it was starting to get a little unnerving.
I wonder why they're all starin' at me, he thought. Back home, nobody ever minded a blue-furred dog. Hopefully, I can find somebody who'll give me directions...or at least a back road I can use to get home.
No sooner had he thought that than something crashed into him so fast and violently, he went flying halfway across the town square, crashing into the ground with enough force to carve a trench through it. After skidding to a stop, he coughed out the bits of stray dirt and grass that had found their way into his mouth.
"What in the Sam Hill just happened?!" he cried, startled and irritated, opening his eyes.
There, standing nose to nose with him, was a pink pony with a magenta mane and bright blue eyes. She blinked a few times at him, and then a large smile broke out on her face. Huck could practically see himself in her teeth.
"Hi!" she chirped. "I've never seen you before!"
"Uh...that's because I just came here...." Huck couldn't think of another explanation.
The pink pony gasped. "Oh my gosh! I saw you from across the street and thought, 'Hey, he must be a newcomer from another world since, you know, there aren't any dogs with blue fur and funny clothes here in Equestria and stuff'. So, I thought 'Better go welcome him!' and I sprung from waaaay across town to greet you!" she said, bouncing up and down on top of him. Each jump made his stomach do cartwheels. "I can't wait to introduce you to some of my friends! They'll be happy to meet you, too!"
Huck stared at the pony as she bounced about and chattered, at a complete loss for words. Out of all the people he'd met, he'd never met anyone this hyper.
But the other reason for his silence was because she had just said that there were no blue-furred dogs in Equestria.
Equestria. As in, the Equestria that had posted that vague job offer in the newspaper.
Well, dog my cats. This place turned out to be real after all! Willing himself to stay calm, Huck cleared his throat as the pony continued chattering about how she'd met her friends. "Excuse me, miss," he coughed.
The pony stopped mid-chatter to pay attention to him. "Yes?"
"Uh, do you mind if I get up now? I can hardly breathe with you jumpin' on me."
"Oops! Sorry!" She leaped off of him, jumping back at least a few feet. Huck stood up and brushed the dirt off of his fur.
"Thank you kindly, miss," he said. "Now, who might you be?"
"I'm Pinkie Pie! I set up parties around town and do lots of other things!"
"Nice to meet you, Pinkie. I'm Huckleberry Hound, but most of my friends call me Huck," he said, extending his paw towards her.
To Huck's surprise, Pinkie did a small handstand, followed by sticking out her left hoof. "Nice to meet you, too!" she said, enthusiastically shaking his paw with enough force to shake him. After setting him down, she performed a backflip, landing on the ground lightly before asking, "What brings you to Ponyville?"
Recovering from the handshake, Huck said, "Well, that's something I'm not quite sure about. It's a long story, and I'm mighty tired. Is there a place we can go to talk?" His stomach growled. "And uh, maybe find something to eat?"
"Sure! Let's head on over to Sugarcube Corner! You can help yourself to some punch and cake!" she said, and started to happily bounce in the direction of a building that looked like an explosion of sweets. The roof's thatching appeared to be made of gingerbread cookies and vanilla frosting, and even the highest spire of the building looked a large cupcake, with three candles on top.
"B-But I don't have any money on me!" Huck exclaimed, running up to Pinkie.
"Don't worry! It's on the house!" And with a bounce, Pinkie was through the door.
"Well, at least I'm not navigating this here new world alone," Huck said, making his way into the shop. Hopefully, he'd be able to get some answers to his questions.
The bells overhead jangled a cheerful little tune as Huck walked inside Sugarcube Corner, taking a moment to inhale the smell of sweet vanilla frosting and chocolate cake. The whole place carried a cheerful atmosphere, as there were some smaller ponies in the corner with party hats and playing games. The other patrons separate from the birthday party were sitting a smaller tables, chatting quietly. None of them really paid attention to the strange new patron that had entered, although a few seemed a little surprised.
Huck scanned the shop for an empty table, and found a small one next to a purple unicorn with a dark blue mane that was streaked with magenta. She was talking to a small purple dragon with green spikes, but he hardly seemed to be paying attention. He was staring at a white pony with beautiful indigo hair and deep blue eyes, who appeared to be hard at work sketching something in a notebook. Judging from the dreamy expression on his face, Huck guessed that he was in love with her.
Well, I might as well introduce myself to some of the locals, he thought, and strode over to the far side of the room, where the group was still talking. The dragon broke away from staring at the white unicorn to face him as he approached, and nudged the purple one, who seemed to be explaining something.
"Ow! Spike, what was that for?" the unicorn asked, an accusing tone in her voice.
"Um, excuse me, ma'am," Huck started, "you don't mind if I take this here empty seat, do you?"
The purple unicorn stared at him in surprise. The dragon, who Huck guessed to be Spike, asked, "Is this guy, like, a long-lost relative of Applejack's?"
Huck started to say something, but that was when the white unicorn, with a quick glance in his direction, said, "Of course not, darling. Applejack's a pony. He's a dog. I don't see how in the world he's a relative of hers."
"Well, I'm nobody's relative from around here," Huck answered. "I'm actually from another world, and I'm tryin' to figure out how to get back-"
"Oh my stars!" The white unicorn looked absolutely horrified as she took a good look at Huck. "What ever happened to your coat?!"
"My coat? I ain't wearing a coat!"
"I think she means your fur," Spike said.
Huck looked down at himself, and saw just how dirty he was. His collision with Pinkie had driven him deep in the trench, and his blue fur was caked with dirt. He looked up at them with a sheepish grin.
"Well, Pinkie Pie collided into me," Huck explained.
"Leave it to Pinkie to do something like that," the purple unicorn said, rolling her eyes playfully. She then looked over Huck's shoulder. "Speaking of which, here she comes now."
Huck turned to see Pinkie trotting over to the table with a tray laden to overflowing levels with cupcakes. These were topped with pink frosting, covered in rainbow sprinkles and towered into a pyramid. On her back, there was a tray with a bowl of purple punch with some lemons floating in it, as well as glasses and straws.
"There you are, Huck! I was wondering if you'd found a table yet!" Pinkie called cheerfully. "I see you've met some of my friends!"
"Oh, well, I never did introduce myself, did I?" Huck said. He tipped his pork pie hat in a gentlemanly fashion. "I'm Huckleberry Hound, but as I told Pinkie earlier, my friends call me Huck for short."
"Nice to meet you, Huck," the purple unicorn said. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and this is Spike, my assistant, and Rarity." She motioned towards her friends in turn as she introduced them.
"Nice to meet ya, Huck!" Spike said.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, darling," Rarity greeted.
"So," Twilight started, "you said you're from another world, right?"
"Yeah," Huck said. "It's kind of a funny way how I got-"
Huck was once again cut off mid-sentence as Twilight enthusiastically jumped up from her seat and leaned in his face, grinning widely. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! It's so exciting to see another dog that can talk! Are there more dogs like you back in your world?" she said.
"Uh, yeah. A whole bunch, actually," Huck said, not quite understanding Twilight's enthusiasm.
"That's amazing! This opens up so many opportunities for studying the patterns of other animals, especially talking ones! Do you behave like a normal dog?" Twilight asked. "Or do you act like some of the humans that I've met before?"
"Well, kinda like a combination of both..."
"Uh, Twilight, I think you should slow down," Spike said. "Dude just got here."
"Oh." Twilight leaned back from Huck's face, a shy blush on her cheeks. "Sorry about that. I guess I overwhelmed you there."
"Naw, it's okay. I've just never met somebody who's wanted to study me before," Huck said, still trying to recover from his shock.
"Twilight's kind of a nerd," Spike said. "You'll get used to it."
"Very funny, Spike," she answered, to which the dragon grinned cheekily.
Huck chuckled at that. He knew many, many colorful people back home, but this group made his friends seem tame in comparison.
"Oh! And I absolutely adore your blue fur, Huck! I must make you an outfit that compliments it!" Rarity gushed.
"Oh, you don't have to do that, Miss Rarity," he said. "You're much too kind."
"Nonsense! If you're going to travel around Equestria, you need to look fabulous doing so," Rarity explained, dismissing Huck's refusal. "After we have our snack, I'll take you back to my shop and have you fitted. I've never made an outfit for a dog before, but it'll definitely be fun!"
"Shuckins, I...I don't really know what to say," Huck said. "Other than thank you kindly, of course."
"Can we eat now?" Spike asked. "I'm kinda hungry."
"Don't let me keep you from eating, Spike," Huck said. "Go ahead and dig in!"
"You're welcome to eat some, too!" Pinkie said, and gave five to the hound.
"Thanks, Pinkie," he said, before biting into one. It was a chocolate cupcake topped with strawberry frosting; his favorite combination. "These are delicious."
"I know!" Pinkie then leaped into the air, and then dove towards the pyramid of cupcakes, her mouth stretched wide. Spike, Twilight and Rarity all took cover as Pinkie swallowed the entire pyramid with a large slurp, sending icing flying everywhere. She then lay on the table, looking like a miniature blimp covered with icing and sprinkles. "I made it myself!" she said proudly before belching loudly, much to the annoyance of several customers.
Huck stared at the sight before him with wide eyes, his own cupcakes hitting the floor. Pinkie's eating habits put Yogi to shame. He turned to Rarity, who was picking bits of icing out of her hair.
"Does she do this all the time?" he asked.
"Every time," she said, and then she gasped. "Oh my! You've got icing all over your fur! And it's mixing with the dirt!"
"Miss Rarity, it really isn't a big deal-"
"Of course it's a big deal! I will not leave you to suffer anymore disasters!" Rarity's horn ignited with a blue aura, and soon Huck found himself being lifted in mid air as Rarity took him with her.
"W-Where exactly are we going?"Huck asked.
"To my store, Carousel Boutique, of course! We're going to get you cleaned up, and then you're going to try on my design for my new outfit!"
Huck stared at Twilight, who was trying hard not to burst out laughing. He'd come with Pinkie in order to find a way out of here, not be a dress-up doll. But the finality in Rarity's tone had made it clear that he had no choice in the matter. He sighed.
To be honest, I kind of needed a bath anyhow, he thought.
A few hours later, Huck regretted his decision to not protest.
As soon as they had gotten to Rarity's shop, she had put him in a tub and scrubbed him until he was certain she'd rip his fur off; the unicorn had insisted on doing this until she was absolutely sure that all the dirt and icing was gone from his fur. After getting dried off, Huck found that Rarity wasn't kidding when she said she was going to make him try on her fashions. He'd stood there for hours while she'd taken measurements, adjusted the outfits and then started completely new ones whenever a bolt of inspiration hit. He'd tried to sneak away once, and had immediately been dragged back to the center of the room, trying one about three or four more outfits.
It was starting to drive him crazy.
When the fourth hour rolled around, Huck considered leaping out of the window and making a run for it, but that was when Rarity announced, "I think I've finally got it!" She came out of her inspiration room, using her magic to hand Huck her two-hundredth design. "Go ahead! Try it on!"
Huck took a look at the new clothes that she had designed. It was a men's blazer colored a deep blue, with a crisp white shirt and matching pants. In place of his yellow and red pork pie hat was a navy blue fedora with a white band across it. The blazer's left breast pocket had the letters "HH" stitched with rubies and gold.
"Alright," he said, and tried the clothes on. To his surprise, it fit him perfectly. Looking at himself in the mirror, he couldn't help the smile that showed on his face. "This...this is actually very nice, Miss Rarity. Thank you."
"Indeed it is! You look fabulous!" she said. "I just need to make one or two adjustments before I let you take it with you." In a flash of light, Huck's new outfit had disappeared from his body and was back with Rarity, who trotted over to her inspiration room.
"I should've warned you about Rarity," Twilight said. "There's no stopping her when she's in 'the zone', so to speak."
"So I've noticed," Huck chuckled.
"Before we came here to make you look good," Spike started, "weren't you going to tell us everything about where you came from?"
"Yeah! I wanna hear all about Huck's world!"
Huck jumped back, his heart racing a mile per second, as Pinkie Pie pronked around in circles in front of him. "Wha...what in the Sam Hill? Where did you come from?!" he asked.
Pinkie paused mid-pronk and shrugged, standing on her hind legs to do so. "I came in through the back," she said, as if it were the most natural explanation for everything.
To Huck's surprise, Twilight and Spike looked mildly surprised at Pinkie's entrance. "Pinkie tends to do this a lot," Spike added. "You'll never know where she'll turn up."
That's nice to know, Huck thought, and cleared his throat. "Well, I'd suggest getting comfortable," he answered. "It's a long story."
"Ooh, I love long stories," Pinkie added, right before pulling a large bowl of popcorn from out of nowhere. She began stuffing her face with it, which earned her a shocked look from Huck.
"Don't mind her," Twilight said. "You can go ahead and start."
So Huck did. For the next ten minutes, he regaled his small audience with the story of how he had come to Equestria and what had brought him there. When he was finished, everyone was silent. Even Pinkie had stopped eating, which was a surprise for everypony. Rarity, who had come in late due to making the adjustments to Huck's outfit, was stunned. Spike looked over at Twilight, who appeared to be puzzled.
"Twi, are you okay?" he asked.
"Hmm..." Twilight scratched her chin with her left front hoof. She then looked up at Huck. "Something about this isn't right. You said you came here through a pool in the middle of a cave?"
"That's right," Huck answered. "To be honest, I have no idea how I did that."
"Neither do I. Mirror Pools just create duplicates of whoever steps into them," Twilight said. "That's what you fell into back in your world, by the way."
"So...those stories I heard about back home were true?" Huck asked, eyes wide. "That people came back with duplicates of themselves?"
The group stared at each other and then at Huck. Rarity asked, "You've heard of Mirror Pools before?"
"Well, kind of. Where I live, there's a lot of stories surrounding Mirror Pool Lane, where that there Mirror Pool was," he explained. "I thought those were just ghost stories, but I never thought they'd be true..."
Twilight looked at Huck, seeing the fear and worry on his face. Clearing her throat, she said, "Don't worry. I'm pretty sure there's a pretty good reason for this."
"There'd better be," Huck said. "I'm half worried that there might be a duplicate of me back home."
"Come with me back to the castle, and we can check the book about the Mirror Pool," Twilight said.
Huck looked puzzled. "The castle?" he repeated.
Twilight, who had already stood up and was making her way out the door, turned towards him with a sheepish grin. "Oh...I kind of forgot to mention this...I'm a princess," she explained.
Huck's jaw was level with the floor as he watched Twilight unfurl her previously unseen wings, which Spike climbed onto in order to reach her back. He had been making friendly conversation with a princess the entire time? He stared at the alicorn and her friends as they made their way out the door, only pausing to turn around to check on him.
"Are you coming, Huck?" Rarity asked.
Huck swallowed, as his mouth had gone drier than cotton. "C-Coming," he said, and jogged after them.
Twilight's castle, which sat in the far back of Ponyville, was one of the tallest and most unique buildings in the whole town. It appeared to be a crystal tree that had purple buildings embedded in it, bordered with gold. There were six crystal chains dangling from the second story of the castle, each colored a different color of the rainbow.
It was the most spectacular castle that Huck had ever seen. He stared up at it, almost bending over backwards to do so.
"Well, dog my cats," he breathed. "You really are a princess, Twilight." He paused, and then bowed before her. "I mean, Your Majesty," he corrected himself.
Twilight looked slightly uncomfortable at Huck's posture. "Uh, you really don't have to do all that, Huck. You can just call me Twilight. After all, it's not like I rule over you or anything," she said.
"You sure you're okay with that?" Huck asked, picking himself back up.
"Absolutely," she said.
"Oh, that's good," Huck said. "I was half-worried that you'd chop my head off for not calling you that."
"My goodness! What would make you think Twilight would do that?" Rarity asked, horror in her voice.
"Well, a king I once worked for said that anybody who didn't call him 'His Majesty' would lose their head," Huck replied.
"You worked for a king?" Twilight seemed surprised as they walked inside the castle.
"Yeah, as a knight, but not for very long, though," Huck responded, looking around the castle in awe. "I later had to leave because he was trying to force me to marry his daughter."
"I thought people would be happy to marry a princess," Spike said.
"Not me." Huck grimaced at the memory. "The princess was so ugly that marrying her was punishment for failure to slay a dragon. Even the dragon felt bad for me. He helped me escape, actually."
"Wow." Spike stared at the hound dog with wide eyes.
"Here we are!" Twilight said cheerfully, swinging open two large, golden doors. "Welcome to the library!"
Huck stared, awestruck, at the massive library that towered into the sky. Books of every color and size surrounded him at all angles.
"Wow," he said at last. "Where do we even begin to look?"
"At the 'M' section," Twilight said, "which is way up there."
Huck looked up at the second story. "Okay," he said. "I've got a feeling that this'll take a while."
"There's no need to rush research," Twilight said. "Come on, I'll help you look!"
Huck shrugged, and he and the others followed Twilight, who flew over to the second story. Huck sighed. "I wish I had wings," he said.
"Twilight would be happy to hear that," Spike said. "She's mostly gotten the hang of using them, but she tells me all the time that she wishes she were still a regular unicorn."
"She wasn't born as a princess?" Huck asked.
"Nope. She earned her role as a princess as part of this test," Spike explained. "She was originally just a nerdy, anti-social unicorn pony from Canterlot."
"I heard that, Spike!" Twilight snapped from upstairs.
"She may not like to hear it, but it's true," Spike said. "Come on. Let's head upstairs before Twilight tries to drag us up there."
Huck climbed up the stairs, his mind running on what Spike had just told him. Shuckins...there's a whole lot about these pony folk that I don't know about, he thought.
When he reached the top, he saw Twilight laying on the floor, her horn aglow and seven books floating around her. She tsked as she threw several aside, not caring as they crashed to the floor, some with enough force to break spines.
"Twilight, darling, don't you think you should be a little more careful?" Rarity suggested.
"I don't have time to do that now, Rarity!" Twilight answered. "I need answers, and I need them fast!"
"Well, she kind of has a point," Spike noted.
With a groan of frustration, Twilight placed the book back where she had found it. "I can't seem to find anything about Mirror Pools allowing travel! There has to be an explanation somewhere!"
"Twi, I think you need to just-"
"What if something horribly wrong is happening? What if something evil traveled through the portal the same way Huck did and is running loose through Equestria? I need to know just how the heck that's possible!" Twilight said, her voice rising in panic.
"Uh, Twilight?" Huck started. "If you're worried about something coming out of that there cave, I'd suggest that we should investigate where the Mirror Pool is and find out what's going on."
"I agree," Rarity said. "It certainly won't do us any good to panic just because we couldn't find the answers in a book."
Twilight sighed, defeated. "Okay, I guess you're right," she answered. "I just hope that my suspicions aren't true."
"I can lead us to the Mirror Pool!" Pinkie piped up, bouncing excitedly. "I've been there before!"
"Yes, we all remember what happened when you found it," Twilight replied, a small smile on her face. "Come on, guys. Let's find out what's going on."
"So this is the Everfree Forest, huh?" Huck inquired, looking around at the strange plants and animals that scurried about. "I didn't see this part of the forest when I came out of the cave."
"The Everfree Forest is very large, and very dangerous," Twilight explained. "There are monsters like manticores, hydras, cockatrices and much more."
"M-M-Manticores? As in, the creature with a body of a lion, dragon-like wings and a scorpion' tail?" Huck shuddered.
"Yep, that's the one," Twilight said. "You wouldn't want to come in contact with any of those."
"What kind of a place is this?" Huck muttered. "I thought it was supposed to be peaceful here."
"Well, whoever wrote that ad offer in the newspaper lied," Rarity said. "There are many dangers here in Equestria, and that's just right here outside the borders of Ponyville."
"Had I known that, I never would've come here," Huck said. Then again, I didn't even think that this place was real...
"I FOUND IT!" Pinkie's shout could have been heard from halfway across town. Twilight and Rarity raced ahead, forcing Huck to jog to catch up with them.
A few seconds later, they were in front of the large opening that led to the Mirror Pool. Pinkie happily pronked around the scene, chattering away about fun it would be to go in the pool again.
"This is where I came out of?" Huck inquired, more to himself than to anybody else.
"Well, there's no other Mirror Pool in the Everfree Forest," Twilight replied, walking to the entrance of the Mirror Pool. Her face was contorted into a small, suspicious frown as she looked down into the entrance. "You didn't move the boulder I had placed here, did you?"
"What boulder?" Huck was genuinely confused. "When I came out of there, sunlight was streaming through that hole. That's how I found my way out."
"But...you put a boulder here to block the Mirror Pool after that Pinkie Hurricane disaster was cleared up," Spike said to Twilight. "It should've stayed plugged up."
"That must've been a mighty big boulder," Huck noted. "Either somebody really strong moved it, or smashed it to bits."
Everyone turned and stared at him. He shrugged. "Those are the only ways that boulder could've been moved," he said.
"Looks like somepony moved it and smashed it to bits," Pinkie noted. "Look over there by that tree!"
Everyone looked in the direction that Pinkie was looking in. Farther in the back of the forest, there was a pile of rubble not too far from the opening of the pool. Only a few large pieces of rock made Twilight recognize it as the boulder she'd used to plug up the Mirror Pool.
"Who could've done this?" she whispered.
"I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."
The hairs on Twilight's coat rose as a watery voice echoed into existence. Pinkie, Rarity and Spike started to shake with fear, and even Huck started to take a step back. Twiling ground her hooves into the ground, her shock melting away to reveal an angry scowl.
"Who are you? Show yourself!" she demanded.
There wasn't a response for a long time. Then a rush of roaring wind burst from the opening of the Mirror Pool, followed by an emerald green mist that spun around to form a cyclone of energy. Everyone braced themselves, prepared to fight or flee.
The cyclone collapsed in on itself to reveal a tall creature dressed in tattered black robes. It had reed thin arms which were bone white, and black fingernails gleamed in the bright light. Green eyes peeked out of the hood, glowering down at the party. Power flowed out of them in glittering streams of purple mist. Rarity screamed and Pinkie jumped backwards, holding onto Huck in fear. Twilight backed away from the mysterious creature, feeling the evil and coldness coming from it. She hadn't felt anything like that since King Sombra had invaded the Crystal Empire.
But something inside her told her that this thing was worse than Sombra.
Much, much worse.
"W-What is that thing?!" Spike demanded.
"I don't know...but I don't like the looks of it," Twilight responded at last.
"I..I remember you," Huck said, staring at the creature. His tone became heated with anger. "You...you sent me here!"
"He did?" Pinkie asked.
"Yeah." Huck glared at the human. He really did follow me here...
"Everypony, prepare to run! I'll hold him off!"
"You are woefully outclassed, little pony. You won't last long," the figure spoke, sending ice racing down Twilight's spine. It then turned in the direction of her friends. "And neither will any of your friends."
Only the flicker of the creature's hand gave Twilight the barest of warnings. A deadly bolt of green and black magic raced through the air, aimed right at Pinkie. Twilight's horn ignited, prepared to cast a force field over them, when Huck threw Pinkie over to Rarity a split second before the bolt made contact. A hollow explosion sounded moments later, and Huck was sent flying in the air, screaming in agony.
"HUCK! NO!" everyone screamed. There was a loud crash as the coonhound hit the ground, rolling to a stop near a boulder. He struggled to stand up, but collapsed a second later. It was then that Twilight noticed that part of his fur was singed.
"That takes care of one problem. Now for the others," the figure said, turning towards Twilight. Another flick of the hand, and another bolt raced towards her.
Twilight wasn't slow this time. In a burst of light, she teleported to where Rarity and Pinkie were, right as the bolt crashed into a bush. The bush was incinerated on contact.
The figure turned towards the three ponies and the dragon, who were all starting to get into fighting positions. Twilight's face was full of rage, as was Pinkie's. Spike stood his ground in front of Rarity, who looked ready to charge headlong into it.
It was one thing to threaten them. It was something entirely different to attack a defenseless stranger.
"You shouldn't have done that," Twilight said softly, right before her horn ignited with magic. She disappeared again, and a split second later appeared in mid-air, sending blasts of magic towards her enemy. The human disappeared in cyclone of green mist just as a bolt of magenta magic zipped through, tearing a hole through a tree.
"Twilight, behind you!" Rarity called.
Twilight turned around, just in time to put up a barrier as the human unleashed a torrent of green and black energy bolts. She then teleported again, this time right above the human. Gathering all of her magic together, she sent a large sphere of magenta light crashing down on the human, watching with grim satisfaction as it crashed to the ground with enough force to shatter it. She heard the surprised yelps from her friends below, and realized that she had to be careful. As angry as she was at this creature, she couldn't risk using such attacks when her friends were right in the blast zone.
"Girls, take Huck out of here and get back to Ponyville! I'll handle this thing myself!" she shouted.
"Should we send for help?" Spike asked.
"Get a letter to Princess Celestia as fast as you can!" Twilight braced herself as the creature raced towards her, a long, jagged sword in its hand. She backed off as it swung, the tip of the blade brushing against her right hind leg. "HURRY!"
Spike looked uneasy about leaving Twilight, but that was when the creature aimed a bolt at Huck. He jumped down, relieved to see a familiar magenta glow cover the unconscious hound. The bolt bounced off of the force field and pinwheeled into another bush, setting that one on fire.
"Come on, Spike!" As soon as Twilight's force field went down, Rarity used her magic to lift Huck onto her back. She grunted at the weight of his body on hers, but seeing as the hound was injured, she couldn't care less. "We've got to get to Ponyville Hospital, now!"
With that, the three made their way out of the Everfree Forest as fast as they could, leaving Twilight alone with the creature. She turned towards him, glaring into his glowing eyes.
"You refused to heed my words, pony. And you will die for doing so," the creature snarled.
An uncharacteristically cocky smirk crossed Twilight's face. "Bring it on."
Dog Days By Rare Twinkie Chapter 3: New Enemies, New Friends
Across Ponyville, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were sitting at one of the many tables, their hooves locked in a death grip. As each tried to overcome the other, Fluttershy stood watch as the unofficial referee, stretching her hooves impatiently. Normally, she wouldn't have minded being a referee for their competitions, but they had been going at this almost all day, and she was getting hungry.
She was relieved to see Rarity, Pinkie and Spike run into town, hoping that they would be able to get her out of having to prove who was the strongest pony. But something about their anxious, serious expressions kept her from calling out to them. They seemed to be in a hurry as well, leaping over rocks and barely avoiding crashing into other ponies. Even Rarity was foregoing her usual care as she ran after Pinkie and Spike, who were at least a few feet ahead of her.
When she saw the unconscious dog on Rarity's back, Fluttershy couldn't keep silent any longer.
"Oh, my goodness!" she cried, loud enough to get Applejack's and Rainbow's attention. They stopped their hoof-wrestling competition and turned to see their friends running past.
"What's the rush, guys?" Rainbow asked.
"It's horrible, Rainbow Dash, just horrible!" Rarity cried, pausing to breathe for a moment. She groaned as she adjusted the unconscious Huck onto her back. "A horrible creature attacked us in the Everfree Forest!"
"And it attacked Huck, too, with a big bolt of lightning!" Pinkie added, swinging her hooves out wide for emphasis.
"What in tarnation were y'all doin' in the Everfree Forest?!" Applejack demanded.
"It's a super long story, but to make it super duper short, Huck got hurt by that mean monster and now Twilight's fighting it by herself!" Pinkie explained breathlessly.
"WHAT?!" Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash shouted.
"Why didn't you stay to help her?!" Rainbow asked.
"She told us to get Huck to the hospital," Rarity said, inclining her head to Huck, "as well as get word to Princess Celestia about what's going on."
"Say no more, Rares. We'll go help Twilight fight that crazy creature, right, girls?" Rainbow said, turning to Applejack and Fluttershy.
"You betcha," Applejack agreed.
"Um...I think I'll stay back and help Rarity and Pinkie take Huck to the hospital," Fluttershy said softly. "The poor thing needs help immediately."
Rainbow sighed. "Alright, Fluttershy. You guys get that dog to the hospital," she said. "AJ and I will take on whatever's fighting Twilight."
"I'll send a letter to Celestia back at the castle!" Spike said.
"Come on, everypony! We have no time to lose!" Applejack shouted.
With that, the group split up in three different directions, hoping that they would reach their assigned destinations in time.
The creature lunged at Twilight, answering her challenge without a word. She leaned backwards, avoiding the thrust of its sword, and lashed out with a kick to the face. There was an audible crack as her hind legs connected with the creature's face, and Twilight was certain that several bones had been broken. The force of the kick launched the creature back, sending it crashing into the ground. She quickly gave chase, a sphere of magic gathering at the end of her horn.
This is almost too easy, she thought. I'll be able to subdue this creature and meet back with Rarity and the others in no time. I just hope that Huck is-
Her thoughts were interrupted by a hiss of electricity and a clap of thunder. A black and green blur whizzed past Twilight, blisteringly fast. She saw the large, looming shadow behind her, and gasped.
"You were unwise to lower your defenses, pony," the creature boomed, and in a lightning fast motion, brought the sword down on her back with enough force to send her tumbling out of the sky. She slammed into the ground, and the creature raced towards the spot that Twilight had crashed in, sword aimed at her chest.
Twilight saw the creature zooming towards her, and winked out of sight, reappearing at least ten feet away from the crater that she had landed in. Rather than crashing into the ground as she thought, it quickly changed its direction by five feet and chased after her, black and green energy gathering on its sword. Twilight once again winked out of sight, and then reappeared behind the creature, a sphere of light gathering on her horn. She fired the sphere, only to be caught off guard when the creature whipped around and deflected the beam back at her with its sword. Twilight had no time to move, and she was hit head on by the attack. She hit the ground again with a pained scream.
"You were unwise to challenge me, pony. Now, you die!" The creature laughed, a sound that made every hair on Twilight's coat stand on end. With glowing eyes, it drove its sword into the ground, sending a torrent of green lightning surging towards her. Twilight struggled to get back up, to take off before the attack made contact, but that was when something lassoed her around her waist. The next thing she knew, she was yanked backwards with incredible force, and once again found herself landing on her back. A rainbow streak raced over her head, crashing into the creature and tackling it out of the sky.
Twilight rubbed her eyes and stared into the face of her savior. "Thanks, Applejack," she said. "I owe you one."
Applejack untied the rope from Twilight's waist. Her expression was grim. "No problem, Twilight. Rarity and Pinkie told us what was goin' on," she said. "Rainbow thought you might need some help."
"You'd have no idea how right she was," Twilight said, getting up. She looked over and saw Rainbow swiftly avoiding the creature's bolts of green lightning. "That thing is giving me a hard time."
"What the hay is that thing?!" Applejack asked.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out! And the only person who knows the answer is currently in Ponyville Hospital!" Twilight snapped.
Applejack opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by a loud shout. She and Twilight turned to see the figure fly through the air and straight into a tree. He slid off of its slick surface and hit the ground with a thud.
Rainbow backflipped in mid-air, a proud expression on her face. "Woohoo! Now that's what I'm talking about!" she cried.
"Way to go, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight raced to the creature, who was struggling to get up. "Now, let's find out who or what this thing is."
Right before she got close to it, the creature locked eyes with her, and Twilight jumped back, getting into a fighting stance.
"Mark my words, pony, this is far from over." His body started to glow a bright green as he said those words.
Applejack covered her eyes. "What in the world is he doin'?!"
"I have no idea!" Twilight shouted back. There was a loud explosion, and when everyone uncovered their eyes, they saw that the creature was gone.
"Ponyfeathers! He got away!" Rainbow snarled.
"We've got to find him before he does anything else!" Applejack cried.
"He used a teleportation spell in order to make his escape. He could be anywhere!" Twilight explained. "First things first, we need to tell Princess Celestia what's going on."
"TWILIGHT!" The alicorn turned around to see Spike running towards her, a scroll in his claws.
"Spike! Did the Princess get the letter you sent?" she asked, running to meet him halfway.
"Yeah. She wants you to meet her at Ponyville General Hospital as soon as possible," Spike said, "since she wants to talk to Huck about what's going on."
"Right. Come on, girls," Twilight said. "We can't keep the princess waiting."
"Other than a few injuries, he's perfectly fine. He'll have a horrible headache when he wakes up, but he'll live," the doctor said.
"Wow. After getting blasted by dark magic, that's all he's sustained?" Rarity asked, surprise on her face.
"Yes. I've never seen a dog like him before. He must be of an extremely rare breed," the doctor said, looking over at his patient.
Huck was laying in the hospital bed, his eyes shut tight. He had bandages on his left arm and across his head, and there was an IV tube in his left arm as well. Pinkie sat on his left side, her bouncy curls slightly deflated and a saddened expression on her face. Fluttershy sat next to her, a hoof around her friend's shoulders.
"Thank you, Doctor. I'll tell Twilight as soon as she arrives," Rarity said.
As soon as he left, Rarity turned towards her friends. She was just as worried about Huck as well, especially since he'd taken a blast of dark magic head on during their encounter with the monster. A flash of anger went through her as she remembered how coldly the creature had declared that he would kill them all after Huck had saved their lives by almost giving up his own. It was times like that she wished she had Twilight's magic skills, as she could have used them to put that creature in his place.
She was interrupted from her thoughts when she heard a loud groan come from Huck. She turned so fast, she thought she heard a bone pop in her neck. Fluttershy and Pinkie stared at Huck in surprise as he slowly opened his eyes.
"Wh...where am I?" he asked. He winced as a sharp pain tore through his head. "Ow, my achin' head..."
"HE'S AWAKE!" Pinkie squealed, her mane instantly reflating. Before Huck could even utter a word, he was gathered up in the small pony's hooves, squeezed so tightly he could hardly breathe.
"Oh, thank Celestia!" Rarity cried, running over to Huck's right side and giving him an equally tight hug. "We were so worried about you!"
Huck coughed weakly. "Thanks, Rarity, Pinkie...I appreciate y'all taking me here," he said, gently patting Pinkie on the head with his good arm.
"You poor thing!" Fluttershy gasped, her expression full of concern. "Who would do this to you?"
At the mention of "who", the battle from earlier flashed into Huck's mind. His expression melted into an angry scowl. "That's what I'd like to know," he said.
"Uh, Huck, I think you're scaring her," Pinkie said.
"Oh. Shuckins, I'm mighty sorry about that," Huck apologized quickly. "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at the person who attacked me."
"Oh, that's good. I'd be a little angry at someone who attacked me, too," she said.
"I'm Huckleberry Hound. Or, Huck for short," Huck said. "What's your name?"
"I'm Fluttershy. Wow, a dog that can talk! That's so amazing!" Fluttershy then leaned into Huck's face. "Where do you come from? Are there more talking dogs where you come from?"
"Uh-huh," Huck answered, "and cats, and bears, and mountain lions and more."
"Wow! I'd love to visit it someday!" Fluttershy said. "It sounds so exciting!" When she saw Huck's stunned face, she backed off, a shy blush on her face. "Sorry...I get kind of excited when I meet animals..."
"That's okay," he said. "It's just that you're not the only pony who's leaned in my face today."
"We can visit Huck's world together, Fluttershy!" Pinkie chirped, pronking in place.
"Uh...how about I find a way to get back home first, and then I'll see what my friends say about it, okay?" Huck replied. He didn't know how his world would react to foot-tall colorful ponies...especially ones like Pinkie Pie.
The doors to his hospital room opened, and Twilight peeked inside. She smiled when she saw Huck awake, and then turned to speak to someone outside the door. "See, I told you he'd be awake by the time we got here, Rainbow."
"Well, go in already!" a scratchy voice replied. "The princess is waiting to speak to the guy!"
Twilight walked into the room, followed by three ponies that Huck had never seen before. The first pony was dark orange with white freckles under her dark green eyes, and a blond mane that was tied with a small red scrunchie on the end. She wore a cowgirl hat, and had a lasso on her back.
The second pony was light cyan, and had a short mane that was every color of the rainbow. She flew into the room ahead of Twilight, and the third pony stepped in. This pony was taller than Twilight, and had a pristine white coat, a long flowing mane divided into streaks of cerulean, turquoise and a light pink and magenta eyes. She had on gold jewelry and wore a crown on her head which made Huck immediately realize that she was royalty of some sort. Rarity, Pinkie, Spike, Rainbow and Applejack all bowed down before her as she came to his hospital bed.
"Huck, I want you to meet one of the rulers of Equestria, and my personal mentor, Princess Celestia," Twilight introduced. "Oh, and my friends, Applejack and Rainbow Dash."
"Howdy, partner," Applejack greeted.
"'Sup," was Rainbow's response as she hovered over them.
"An honor to meet you, Huckleberry Hound," Celestia spoke, her smile warm. "I take it you've enjoyed your time in Equestria so far."
"Howdy, folks...and Your Majesty," he said, bowing as best as he could before Celestia. "Shuckins, well, aside from landing in the hospital, this place is quite interesting. I never expected to meet a lot of colorful people here."
"You're one to talk about colorful," Rainbow piped up, which caused Huck to look up at the pegasus, who was hovering over him. "You're a blue dog!"
"Rainbow!" Twilight admonished.
Huck didn't seem the least bit bothered by her comment. "Trust me, that's kind of normal for me," he replied. "People tend to do double takes when they see me back home."
"Indeed." Celestia's smile disappeared to reveal a concerned frown. "I wish our meeting was under more pleasant circumstances, Huckleberry, but seeing as a dangerous creature came from your world and into Equestria, and has attacked my former student and her friends, I need you to tell me everything that you know about this creature."
"Well, it's not much, Your Majesty," Huck answered, twiddling with his thumbs, "but all I know is that that...thing tried to kill me back in my world. I ended up falling through a Mirror Pool, and ended up here. I reckon he followed me so he could finish the job."
"I was just explaining to Huck that Mirror Pools don't allow for travel between worlds," Twilight explained to Princess Celestia. "The creature that attacked us was using dark magic. Do you think that he could've used it to alter the Mirror Pool?"
"That is possible, but I'd need to see it for myself in order to be certain," Celestia said. "And you said that it escaped after Rainbow Dash and Applejack arrived to help you, correct?"
"Yep! I sent him packing!" Rainbow Dash said, mimicking a few punches. "We were about to go look for him, too, but that was when Spike told us about your response."
"I see. In either case, I'm relieved that nobody else was hurt," Celestia noted. "What you did back there, Huckleberry, was very brave."
"I almost forgot to thank you!" Pinkie cried. She then looped her hooves around Huck's neck again and shook him back and forth. "Thank you so much!"
"Y-You're welcome," he answered, trying to gently push her off. "I kind of reacted on instinct."
"I'm surprised you haven't been corrupted by the dark magic that hit you," Twilight said. "Do you have any sort of hidden magic abilities?"
"Uh...no. I'm just your average, run-of-the-mill dog from North Carolina," Huck said. "I don't have any secret abilities whatsoever."
"Uh...what's North Carolina?" Rainbow asked.
"It's the state where I'm from," Huck answered, "back on Earth."
"Oooh," the ponies gasped.
Celestia chuckled. "I see you have a lot of explaining to do to your new friends," she said.
"They've been asking me all about my world ever since I got here," Huck said. "I do have one question, Your Majesty."
"And what is that?"
"Uh...what happens now, since I'm pretty much stuck here? That job offer I found in the paper is pretty much a scam," Huck inquired. "And it's pretty much the only reason I came to this place at all."
Celestia put a hoof to her chin. "I'll find something for you to do during your time here," she answered. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must speak to my student privately."
"Ah, I see. Well, it was nice meeting you, Your Majesty."
"Likewise. Get well soon, Huckleberry. We'll be in touch." Celestia then strode to the door, Twilight trotting after her.
As soon as the door closed, Huck said, "Wow. Two princesses in one day? How many rulers are there in Equestria, anyway?"
"Oh, there are many, many more," Rarity said. "Celestia and Twilight are just two of the rulers here."
"Huh..."
"Can you tell us about your world now?" Pinkie asked eagerly, leaning into Huck's face for the fourth time. "Pleasepleasepleaseplease?!"
"Okay, okay," Huck answered, gently shooing Pinkie away. What is it with these creatures getting into people's faces? "Well, if you really wanna know everything..."
"You said you wanted to speak to me privately, Princess?" Twilight asked.
"Yes, Twilight," Celestia said. She stopped, turning to face her. Her expression was serious. "I am very concerned about this situation, you see. I sense that dark magic is at work."
Twilight nodded, trying her best to not shudder at the memory of the creature she'd fought. "That creature...it looked like a human, but I'm not quite sure it was. He was cold towards us, so indifferent as he tried to kill my friends...I don't know what would've happened if Rainbow and Applejack hadn't come in time."
"Indeed. That creature could have gotten loose and attacked innocent ponies," Celestia answered. "I'm not too happy that he got away, but that just means we'll have to search for him."
"Do you want me to lead the search, Princess?"
"Yes. You and your friends are the only ones who can find and defeat it," Celestia said.
"What about Huck? Until we capture this creature and find a way for him to get back home, he's stuck here!" Twilight said.
"I told him that I would find something for him to do, seeing as he was currently looking for work," Celestia noted. "And I think I know just the job."
Twilight looked confused. "What job is that?"
"You'll see in a week or two," Celestia explained, her smile sly.
Two weeks later...
"Pinkie, don't you think you should be eatin' your food instead of juggling it?" Huck choked out, trying his best to not burst into another fit of laughter.
"Of course I'm going to eat it, Huckie! I just wanted to cheer you up, since you look so blue!" Pinkie said. She was standing on top of a ball, juggling pancakes, a syrup bottle and some berries while dressed as a clown, making a funny face as she did so. At last, Huck couldn't hold it back anymore, and burst out laughing, even though he had started to eat his own food. This action caused a pancake to go down the wrong pipe, which made him start choking.
"Pinkie! Look what you made him do!" Rarity admonished.
"Don't worry, guys! I've got this," Rainbow said, flying over to the choking hound and smacking him in the back with her hoof. With a hacking cough, the piece of pancake flew out of Huck's mouth and landed in Rarity's hair. The unicorn screamed in horror at the sight.
"MY HAIR!" she cried, and hurriedly grabbed a napkin to wipe it out of her hair. Applejack struggled to contain a snicker, while Rainbow fell over laughing. Huck, in between coughs, also started to laugh, much to Rarity's embarrassment. "Seriously! This could've been a horrible, horrible disaster! Do you know how long it takes to get food out of your hair?!"
"It ain't that bad, Miss Rarity," Huck said between giggles. "At least it wasn't a bottle of syrup!"
"Yeah, Huck's ri-" Pinkie gasped as the bottle of syrup went flying out of her hoof and landed on Rarity's head. In seconds, her mane and face was covered in sticky maple syrup.
"Oops," Pinkie apologized.
Rarity's face went beet red, and Huck almost fell over laughing, as did everyone else at the table. With a small sigh, Rarity excused herself from the table and made her way to the bathroom, muttering about how many times she'd have to wash her hair to get the syrup out.
Huck held his side with one hand, wiping his eyes with the other. "Hoo boy, that was too funny," he gasped. "Thanks for cheering me up, Pinkie. I kinda needed that."
Pinkie smiled brightly. "I told you laughing would make you feel better!" she said.
"How's the arm, Huck?" Twilight asked. "It's not bothering you too much is it?"
"Naw, not really," Huck replied, holding up his cast. Already there were some signatures on it from Twilight and her friends. Pinkie had written hers in pink frosting. "I've survived worse when I do my jobs."
"Really? That's awful!" Fluttershy gasped.
"How many jobs do ya do anyway?" Applejack asked.
"Eh, it depends. I never seem to hold a job for long, though," Huck said, playing with his pancakes. "Something crazy always happens to me that leads me to get fired or I leave myself."
"Such as?" Rainbow asked.
"Well, when I was an electrician, I caused a blackout in another city for a week."
"Wow," Rainbow replied. "I don't think I'll be asking you to do any utility jobs for me."
"You and me both," Huck said.
"Well, maybe Princess Celestia will find a job for you that doesn't involve some crazy disaster," Fluttershy added. "That way, you won't get hurt on the job again."
"Thanks, Miss Fluttershy," Huck said. "I mighty appreciate that.
Just then, the doors to the dining room room opened, and Spike came running in. "Twilight! Celestia has a letter for you!" he said.
"Really?" Twilight used her magic to bring the letter out of his hands and she opened it, reading it.
"What does it say? What does it say?" Pinkie asked.
" 'My dear Twilight, I am pleased to inform you that I have finally secured a job for your guest, Huckleberry Hound. Please have him come to Canterlot so he can apply for it. I look forward to seeing his skills. Sincerely, Princess Celestia'," Twilight read.
"Well, Huck, it looks like you won't be stuck here doing nothing after all," Applejack said.
Huck stared at Twilight, utterly surprised. "Shuckins...when she said she was going to find something for me to do, I didn't think she was actually going to get me a job," he said.
"What makes you say that?"
"Well...back home, people who tell me they'd find me something to do never got back to me," he explained. "Either they got too busy, or they didn't really mean it in the first place."
"Celestia always keeps her word, Huck. When she says she's gonna do something, she means it," Applejack explained.
"Yeah! You won't have to worry about being lied to by the princess," Rainbow said.
"And she wants me to go to this here Canterlot place today?" he asked.
"Yep! So, you'd better finish up your food, since you have a job interview with her," Twilight said.
"Doth my ears deceive me? Huck's going for a job interview?!"
Everyone turned to see Rarity standing in the doorway, her mane clean and done in elegant curls. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement, and a familiar feeling of dread began to sit in Huck's stomach.
Oh, no...
"I simply must make you an outfit appropriate for a business interview! And since you're going to Canterlot of all places, you need to look professional and posh!" she said.
"M-Miss Rarity, I could just wear the outfit that you gave me weeks ago!" Huck protested, ready to jump out of the chair and run.
"But that's more of a travel outfit, darling! You need something that shows that you're serious about working!" Rarity came over and pushed Huck out of his chair, making him drop his fork. "And I have just the design for you!"
"Somebody, help!" Huck cried, right before he was shoved out of the door.
Twilight chuckled. "I hope Princess Celestia won't mind Huck coming for his interview a little later than intended."
"Yeah," Rainbow sighed. "Knowing Rarity, this is going to take a while."
A few hours later, Huck and the rest of the ponies were at the train station, waiting for the train that would take them to Canterlot. Huck was dressed in a white suit with a dark blue shirt and a matching white tie. As she had done with his previous outfit, Rarity had stitched his initials on the left breast pocket with rubies and gold.
He only hoped nobody would mug him for his clothes while he was in Canterlot.
"OOH! Here comes the train now!" Pinkie squealed. Huck looked up to see a pink and purple train with heart emblems dancing along the sides pull up into the train station, which let out a burst of steam as it pulled to a stop.
"All aboard!" the conductor called.
"Gosh, even the trains are colorful here," Huck muttered.
"Come on, Huck. We can't keep the princess waitin'," Applejack said, nudging him softly.
"Oh, right," Huck said. He gathered his suitcase and made his way on board the train, with the ponies following not long after.
Little did anybody know that something was watching them from the shadows. A pool of black magic had sprouted up on the wall, and two green eyes peered out, watching as Huck and the ponies boarded the train. The eyes narrowed as it followed Huck, who was talking to Twilight and Spike.
"So, he's going to be in Canterlot as well? Just my luck. I'll have to remain on the low until he leaves...then and only then can I put my plan into action."
With a watery laugh, the portal disappeared, just as the train pulled out of the station.
In Huck's opinion, the city of Canterlot looked even more magnificent up close. He'd heard many stories from Rarity and Twilight about how grand it was, but now that he could see the purple, white and gold spires towering above, and the elegantly dressed ponies that walked around the town, he felt as though he were slightly out of place. He'd never been in a kingdom this fancy before; all of the castles and kingdoms he'd worked in years ago paled in comparison to this.
As the train started to pull to a stop, he felt the familiar nervous jitters start to settle in his stomach, the ones he always got before going in for a job interview. He licked his lips nervously, feeling halfway ready to run back to Ponyville on foot if he had to.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned to see Twilight standing there. She looked slightly concerned. "Are you okay?" she asked.
Huck forced a small smile on his face. "I'll be okay. I'm just a bit nervous," he admitted.
"Oh. Well, I can't blame you for that. You are applying for a job in Canterlot, after all," she replied, leading him out of the train.
Huck stared in awe at the tall buildings and the elite of Canterlot, who were practically dripping with jewels. They all laughed haughtily at some joke that a white-coated stallion with a blue mane had made, their heads raised snootily in the air. The other ponies who were walking about gave Huck a once-over before continuing on their way, some snickering rudely. It made Huck boil with anger.
"Don't mind them, darling," Rarity said. "These Canterlot ponies can be quite...snobbish."
"That's one way of putting it," Applejack said.
"So, Huck, how do you feel about the new job?" Rainbow asked.
"Shuckins, well...I feel grateful to Princess Celestia for getting me the job in the first place," Huck noted.
Huck sighed. "But...I feel mighty nervous," he answered, "for two reasons."
"What reasons are those?" Pinkie asked.
"One, I'm in a city with a lot of super-rich ponies. And two, I'm afraid I'll screw up on the job," he said, "like every other job I've held."
"Don't worry, Huck," Fluttershy said. "I think you'll do great at your new job."
"Thanks, Fluttershy, but I've never done great at anything," he said. "I'm an utter failure of an employee, just like everyone says back home."
"Oh, Huck, don't believe them! They're just trying to make themselves look better than you," Pinkie said.
"I know that, but...it still gets to me," Huck said. "I mean, y'all all have jobs and positions, which you enjoy. Me...I've never had that feeling when I do my jobs. I always feel so empty and drained afterwards."
"Well, why don't you find something that you like to do and focus on that?" Applejack said. "That's how everypony gets their professions after all."
"I hope I don't sound too rude in asking this," Huck started, "but do those...symbols on your flanks have something to do with your professions?"
"Yep! Everypony here has a cutie mark, which symbolizes their special talents and what they were born to do," Twilight explained.
"Y'all are born with those things?"
"No, darling. Everypony earns their cutie mark by discovering their special talent on their own," Rarity corrected.
"Kinda like how people do it back on Earth," Huck noted. "Only thing is, people don't get signs on their sides telling others what their talent is. They kinda go through different things before settling on one thing. Well, that's how most people decide on a career."
"How do you decide on a career?" Twilight asked.
"Well, ever since I was a boy, I wanted to be a builder. I always liked putting stuff together," Huck said, "and I liked to invent some new things."
"So, why didn't you become a builder or an inventor?" Rainbow asked.
"...A lot of things popped up," Huck said quietly. His tone was sad. "Long story short, it's why I ended up with a lot of jobs in the first place."
"But, how come-" Rainbow started, only for Twilight to stop her by placing a hoof on her shoulder. She inclined her head to the somber expression on Huck's face, and she stopped short of speaking.
"I kinda don't like to talk about it," he said. "'sides, I don't want to sadden y'all or anything." He let out a sigh and gave a small smile. "So, where is Princess Celestia's castle?"
Everyone looked at each other with worried expressions, but it was clear that Huck didn't want to talk about it anymore. Fluttershy finally broke the silence.
"It's actually right up ahead," she explained. "We'd better get going. She'll be waiting for you."
"Right." Huck adjusted his hat and picked up his suitcase. "Come on, y'all. Let's go ahead and go in."
Uneasily, the ponies walked in after Huck.
"I'm glad you were able to come, Huckleberry," Princess Celestia greeted upon Huck's entry.
Huck stood up from kneeling and placed his hat back on his head. "Thank you for inviting me here, Your Majesty," he said politely. "This is one fancy castle. I reckon this place is even fancier than Twilight's castle." He stared at the stained glass windows in awe.
Celestia chuckled. "Indeed, this place is quite grand," she said.
"I feel a little out of place in places like this, y'know. Like...I'm a commoner who doesn't belong," Huck answered. "Well, to be honest, I am a commoner back home..."
Celestia walked over to Huck and gently placed a hoof on his shoulder. Her smile was kind. "Huckleberry, no matter what the other ponies of Canterlot say, your societal status matters little to me," she said. "Commoner or not, I believe that you have a good heart and an even greater work ethic. You'll do well here among the others."
Huck felt heat rising onto his face, and he looked shyly at his feet. He was certain that his whole face was as red as a beet. "Shuckins...thank you kindly, Your Majesty," he answered. "But I still feel weird about takin' this here job offer. I mean, what if I screw up?"
"Huckleberry, everyone makes mistakes," Celestia replied gently.
"Yeah, but my mistakes always end up hurting people. I was always a little clumsy," he said. "And in royalty, that can get you fired, real quick-like."
"I always believe in giving others second chances," Celestia explained, "sometimes more if necessary. So, you won't need to worry about being fired immediately if you mess up. That doesn't mean, however, that I won't call you out for any actions you make on your own."
"Got it, Your Majesty. I'll keep myself in check as often as possible. Or find someone else to do it for me," Huck replied.
Just then, the doors to the throne room opened and a gray-coated unicorn stallion with a silver-blue mane strode into the room, dressed in gold armor and carrying a spear. His gold eyes swept around the room before settling on Huck, which then narrowed into a small, condescending frown.
"So, you are the Huckleberry Hound that Her Majesty assigned to my squadron, I presume?" he boomed, his accent thick and his voice rough.
"Uh...yes, sir," Huck replied. "I came for a job interview and everything, sir."
The male pony gave him a quick once-over before sniffing. "Hmph. Very well. I am Captain Thunderfrost of the Royal Guard. Under my command, you will become an excellent guard," he said. "Have you had any experience in being a guard?"
"Yes, sir. Back home, I was a prison warden, and a security guard," he said.
"And how long was that?"
"Uh...about a few weeks or so. I had to quit since I started several new jobs."
"Interesting. Being an Royal Guard, however, deals with a lot more than simply protecting the royals. As a member, you must also look out for all of the people in Equestria and beyond," Thunderfrost explained. "You are expected to fight to the death in order to protect this country. Is that understood?"
In other words, it's kinda like being a soldier, Huck thought to himself. "Yes, sir, crystal clear!" he said.
"Good. Now come along with me. We have several papers to sign before you can start your training," he said, "and seeing as a new threat has been made against Equestria, I need to get it done within a week."
"A-A week?!" Huck exclaimed.
"It's a lot of work," Thunderfrost answered, "but you'll live."
"R-Right, sir," Huck replied, somewhat uneasy. With a small smile towards Princess Celestia, he made his way out of the room and jogged to catch up with Thunderfrost.
As soon as the doors closed, a familiar voice filled Celestia's ears. "Do you think it was a good idea to set him into the Royal Guard, sister?"
Celestia turned to face her little sister, Princess Luna, who had come in from the other room. Judging from the curious expression on her face, Celestia guessed that Luna had heard the whole conversation. She nodded.
"Yes. I have checked every position that was available, but most didn't want a stranger from another world taking jobs," she explained. "I felt that having Huckleberry Hound join the Royal Guard would give him the confidence he needs. The more confidence he has in himself, the more confidence he will have in his work."
"So, you saw the same thing that I saw, in other words."
"Yes. And knowing my student and her friends, I'm sure they've noticed it as well in his behavior."
"This is a lot of papers to sign," Huck muttered. "There are even some for insurance?"
"Yes, in case you end up injured on duty. We'll compensate you for any damages," Thunderfrost said. "In the unfortunate event that you are killed in the line of duty, who would you like to send your funds to?"
"Well...there's my ma, my girlfriend Desert Flower, and my five brothers," Huck said, naming off the people he knew. "I'd leave some to my friends, too, but I don't have that much."
"I see." Thunderlane watched as Huck signed the paper that he'd been talking about. As soon as he'd finished, he took the papers and stacked them. "Thank you for signing them, Mr. Hound. I expect to see you here bright and early tomorrow morning, at 7 A.M. sharp."
"You're welcome, and thank you, sir. I look forward to working with you and the rest of the squadron," Huck said, extending his paw.
Thunderfrost extended his hoof to meet Huck's paw, and shook it firmly. "Likewise."
The moment Huck stepped out of the office, a very familiar voice squealed in his ears, "What happened? Did you get the job? Did you?"
Huck chuckled, turning around to face Pinkie, who was bouncing happily in place. "Yes, Pinkie. I'm supposed to start tomorrow," he said.
Pinkie gave a big cheer, and then she started to shudder violently. Huck immediately became concerned. "What's the matter, Pinkie?!" he shouted.
Pinkie launched into the sky like a rocket, two streams of pink and magenta trailing behind her. The force blew Huck into the walls of the castle, and he shook his head, watching as Pinkie cheered in midair, fireworks exploding around her.
"WOOHOO!" she called. "You did get a job here after all!" She then zoomed over to where Huck was standing, grasping his face with her hooves. "You know what this calls for, right?!"
"No," Huck replied.
"A PARTY!" She then released his face and started to do cartwheels out the door. "Come on! We've got to meet with the rest of the girls for lunch, and then it's off to Ponyville so we can throw you a big party!"
Huck stared, utterly bewildered by what he'd just seen. "And Spike said I'd get used to this sort of thing?" he muttered aloud.
An hour later, Huck found himself sitting outside with the rest of the girls, who were all chatting excitedly about many things. It hadn't taken long for Pinkie to blurt out the news that he'd gotten his new job, and Huck had gotten rounds of congratulations from all of them. Rarity insisted on celebrating at one of her favorite bistros, which was the one of the best in Canterlot.
The nasty look the waiter had shot him when he'd ordered a ham sandwich had quickly told him that the cuisine wasn't catered to dogs, however.
"So, where are you going to stay in the meantime?" Twilight asked.
"Are you staying in a suite in the castle like Rarity did for Twilight's birthday?" Fluttershy asked.
"I'm only staying in the suite for a little while. Princess Celestia offered it to me so that I'd be able to attend the training sessions on time," Huck answered. "I told her that she didn't have to be so generous, but she insisted."
"The same thing happened to me, darling," Rarity said. "I was eternally grateful to the princess after she offered me a stay in that private suite."
"I can't thank you enough for helping me get this job, Twilight," Huck said. "If there's anything I can do to repay you-"
"There's no need, Huck," Twilight interrupted, lightly waving a hoof. "It was nothing."
"That's a whole lot of nothing! If you hadn't told Princess Celestia that I needed work, I would've been stuck doing nothing the whole time. And for that, I'm truly grateful, Twilight," Huck said.
Twilight smiled. "You're welcome, Huck."
"Hey, are we done with lunch now? I want to get back to Ponyville and prepare the 'Hooray! Huck got a new job and new friends in his new world' party!" Pinkie cried.
Huck chuckled. "Alright, Pinkie. We'll get goin' soon enough," he said. "I just want to finish up this daffodil sandwich." Just as he started to take a bite of his sandwich, something hard and pointy struck him in the head. He turned around to see something tall and gangly crash into a nearby table full of Canterlot nobles. Horrified gasps rang out through the bistro as the figure sent a teapot crashing onto an elder mare with a curly blond mane. Her face went beet red, and her entourage glared at the figure with disgust.
"Well, I never!" she grumbled, before abruptly getting out of her chair and leaving. The other ponies left soon afterwards, muttering something about a "stupid human who should've never been let in".
"Grrr...Muttley, you blundering fool! Look what you made me do!"
A snickering, whistling laugh filled everyone's ears, which only served to stupefy the other ponies.
"Who in the blazes is that?" Applejack asked.
"I don't know," Twilight said. She then noticed out of the corner of her eye that Huck's eyes were wide with surprise as he watched the figure get up. "Huck, do you know who that is?"
"I...I sure do," Huck answered. "Dick Dastardly and Muttley?! Here?!"
Standing up to his full height, Dick Dastardly towered over the fellow ponies, giving them all cruel stares as he looked at them. A mangy brown dog wearing a pilot's helmet appeared next to him, snickering still at his master.
"Ah, Huckleberry Hound," he said, spitting out the name as though it were poison.
"Dick Dastardly," Huck answered curtly, his expression curled into a frown and his voice cool. "What brought you here to Equestria?"
"That's none of your business," Dastardly snapped.
"Nice to see you again, too," Huck replied.
Pinkie looked from human to dog and back. "So...you guys know each other?" she asked.
"A little too well," Huck said. "Dick Dastardly and his dog Muttley are nothin' but trouble. You'd do best to stay away from them, Pinkie."
"You're one to talk, you mangy hick. You and your crazy friends caused me nothing but trouble during those treasure hunts," Dastardly growled.
"Maybe if you weren't tryin' to steal them for your own evil purposes, we wouldn't have had to run into you," Huck counter. "I was glad when we had collected all of those treasures, since it meant that I wouldn't have to worry about seein' your ugly face again."
"What was that?!" Dastardly roared, going almost as red as his hat.
Muttley once again let out that snickering laugh, which only served to infuriate Dastardly. He slapped the mutt upside the head, which made him growl in anger.
"I've said it for years, and I'll say it to your face," Huck answered. "Dick, you're the greediest, rudest and just plain annoying human I've ever met. Nobody likes you or your bad-tempered, snickering dog. I reckon you got tired of people telling you that, but it's the truth, no matter how much it hurts."
"Alright, that's enough!" Twilight turned to Huck with a very severe glare. "There's no need to be rude, Huck. He didn't even do anything!"
"This doesn't concern you, pony," Dick Dastardly said, glaring at Twilight. For a moment, the alicorn became slightly unnerved. The anger coming from his eyes was almost paralyzing. The other ponies noticed this, and Rainbow, Rarity and Applejack slowly stood up from their chairs, locking eyes with the human. Pinkie "oohed" at the sight, while Fluttershy shrank in her seat. Huck sat in his chair, arms crossed and looking unimpressed and angry.
For a long moment, nobody spoke. Even the bistro went silent, as all eyes were glued on the scene at the table across from them.
Finally, Dick Dastardly stood up and turned away from Twilight. He gave an aside glance to Huck, who focused on him with that same unimpressed, angry look.
"Stay out of my way while you're in Canterlot, dog," he snarled, "or else you're going to pay for it. Dearly. Are we crystal clear on that?"
"Trust me, Dick, you don't want to do that. Because if that involves hurting my friends, you're going to be the one paying for it, dearly," Huck answered back, his tone low with anger. "Are we crystal clear on that?"
A chorus of "oohs" arose from the other ponies. Dick Dastardly said nothing, but the veins in his head looked ready to burst. With a jerk of his head towards Muttley, he made his way out of the bistro, almost kicking over a few other patrons. Muttley pointed his fingers towards his eyes and then at Huck's, and then he left as well. Excited chatter arose moments later.
"Phew, that's a relief," Applejack muttered, sitting back into her chair. "I was worried that things were going to get physical."
"I'm glad it didn't," Fluttershy squeaked.
"Huck, what was it with you speaking so rudely to him?" Twilight asked.
Huck turned towards her with a somewhat surprised look. "If you knew half of the things he did to me and my friends, you wouldn't be talking to him all polite and lady-like, Twilight," he said.
"So...this Dick Dastardly is from your world too?" Rainbow asked.
Huck nodded. "Yeah. Everyone knows who he is, and everyone hates his guts. He and his dog ain't nothin' but trouble," he said. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was here to stir up somethin' in Canterlot."
"Even so...I don't think threatening him was a good idea," Twilight replied.
"He threatened to make me pay dearly if I got in his way. I may not be a genius, Twilight, but I know that he's gonna go after what friends I have here in Equestria," Huck answered. "And at the moment, he meant you six."
Spike coughed from his position near Fluttershy.
"Well, seven, countin' Spike," Huck added quickly. "And I'm not going to let anybody hurt any of y'all, especially that freak."
"Whoa...you're mad," Rainbow remarked, looking both surprised and cowed at Huck's angry look.
"Of course I'm mad! He shouldn't have threatened my friends!"
"Huck, take a minute to calm down," Fluttershy advised. "Getting worked up about it isn't going to help matters."
Huck turned towards the yellow pegasus, who came out from under her seat and flew over to him. Her expression was gentle as she looked at Huck.
"But, Fluttershy-"
"But nothing," the pegasus said sternly. "I understand that you're upset, but I don't think you need to get too worked up over him. If he bothers you again, you have us. We'll stand up to him and tell him to back down. There's standing up to a bully, and then there's being one." She looked down at the ground, sadly. "I know. It happened to me once."
Huck paused, considering what Fluttershy was saying. After a moment, he sighed. "You're right, Fluttershy. I didn't mean to get that nasty with Dick Dastardly, but he's...he's just so annoying. I reckon he likes to get a rise out of folks."
"I think from now on, you should just ignore him," Fluttershy suggested. "That way, you won't have to worry about saying really mean things to him."
"...alright. I'll try and do that," Huck answered. "Thank you, Fluttershy. I kind of needed that. It takes a lot for me to get angry, but when I do get mad..."
"It's hard for you to pull it back, right?" Fluttershy asked. Huck nodded. "You just need to keep practicing at reigning it in, that's all. That's what I have to do all the time."
Huck smiled, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see the rest of the ponies smiling back too. He was glad that Fluttershy helped him control his anger in time, or else he might have done something that he would have surely regretted. And he certainly didn't want to do that to his new friends.
"Even so, I gotta admit, the way you stood up to that Dick Dastardly guy was pretty cool," Rainbow remarked. "He had just threatened us and you didn't even bat an eye when you told him off."
"Well, it's nothing I'm proud of," Huck said.
"Are you kidding? I would've been in a shouting match with that guy," Rainbow said.
"How about we talk about this on the way back to Ponyville, girls?" Twilight said, standing up from her chair. "We can't miss our train."
"That's right! Come on, Huck! We've gotta go!" Pinkie cried. Before Huck could even say anything, the pink pony was already dragging him single-hoofedly to the train station, much to the confusion and the amusement of the Canterlot elite.
"Come on, girls," Twilight chuckled as she paid the tab. "Knowing Pinkie, she's not going to wait for us forever."
A few hours later, Huck found out quickly that Pinkie hadn't been kidding about being the town party planner.
When he'd arrived at Sugarcube Corner after dinner, he was shocked to see the townspeople alongside Pinkie and the others. The pink mare smiled brightly as he walked in, slightly awed.
"Here he is! Let's give him a warm welcome, everypony!" she cried.
Everypony stomped the ground in applause, some even shouting their approval. Huck didn't know what to do other than wave shyly. Back home, people never threw parties this festive.
Just then, a small glass of honey-brown liquid floated into his paw. He looked up to see Twilight standing there, levitating a glass of her own.
"What is this?" he asked.
"It's apple cider, silly! I only bring out for super special parties like this one!" Pinkie said. "Applejack's family made it!"
"Thank you kindly, Applejack," Huck said.
"You're welcome!" Applejack replied.
"Well, Huck, we're all happy that you've settled into Equestria and have made some new friends," Spike said, "and, on top of that, getting a new job. I hope you really come to like it here!"
"Shuckins...I don't know what to say," Huck said, beaming. "Thank you, everypony. I hope to be friends with all of you!"
"I'll drink to that!" Rainbow called. "Cheers!"
"Cheers!" Everyone clinked their glasses and drained their glasses of apple cider. Huck was almost knocked back by the strong, sweet taste of his drink.
"Wow! That's gotta be the best apple cider I've ever tasted!" he said.
"There's plenty more where that came from!" Applejack said, pouring him another glass. "Enjoy to your heart's content, Huck!"
"You bet I will," the hound replied, drinking the glass.
The festivities continued long into the night.
The next morning, Huck woke up to find himself covered in icing and confetti, and laying on top of Rarity. He looked all around the room, which looked like a hurricane had come in and swept everything across the whole store. Cake, confetti, streamers, and ponies lay everywhere, some snoring loudly, others moaning as they slowly got their feet.
Huck got up slowly, feeling his muscles start to ache. It had certainly been one wild party. There had been food fights, truth or dare and all sorts of party games. There had even been a karaoke session, which Huck enthusiastically joined in. Although not everypony appreciated his singing, he didn't care, as he enjoyed the songs that were being sung and had wanted to sing them himself. After that, everypony had danced until the wee hours of the morning, at which he'd decided to turn in for the night in one of the chairs. Huck guessed that he must've rolled off and ended up sleeping on top of Rarity.
He looked up at the clock and saw that it was a quarter till eight.
A quarter till eight. And he was supposed to meet Thunderfrost at seven.
His eyes widened. "I'm dead." He shoot up from the floor, barely avoiding tripping over Rainbow Dash as he ran out of the building. "I'm deader than dead!"
The cyan pegasus slowly opened her eyes, seeing Huck disappear through the doors of Sugarcube Corner through double vision. "What the hay?"
"Dagnabit...I knew I'd miss the train, but still...." Huck resisted the urge to swear as he came to the empty train station. After he'd realized that he'd missed his train, he'd run back, woke up Rarity, and asked her if he could use her bathroom to clean himself up for his job. Although she did have a headache from all of the apple cider, she was willing to let Huck inside her house in order to let him get ready for work. It had taken two washes to get the frosting and confetti out of his fur, and then he had thrown on the travel outfit she had made for him.
He sighed. At this rate, Thunderfrost must surely be reconsidering having hired him...
"Hey, what's going on, Huck?"
Huck turned to face Rainbow Dash, who was standing there looking bewildered. "Well, I missed my train and I'm running late for work!" he said. "And the next one doesn't come for another hour!"
"Hmm..." Rainbow scratched her chin with her hoof, squinting slightly. Then, her eyes widened as she came up with an idea. "No train? No problem!"
"What in the Sam Hill are you talkin' about? It's a really big problem!"
"Hop on!" Rainbow said, leaning down so Huck could get on. The coonhound's eyes widened in surprise. "Look, if you want to get to your job without some serious consequences..."
"Oh, alright." Huck made his way over to Rainbow Dash and climbed onto her back. She let out an "oof" as she tried to adjust his weight on her back. "Are you okay with my bein' on you, Rainbow?"
"Heh, Rarity wasn't kidding when she said you were heavy," Rainbow said. She tossed him a pair of goggles from out of nowhere, right before unfurling her wings. "You may want to put those on."
Huck put the goggles on his head, but barely had time to adjust them before Rainbow took off, so fast that he was certain his fur would rip off. He frantically grabbed Rainbow's mane in an effort to hold on, and she shouted back, "Hey! Quit pulling my hair!"
Whatever else Huck had been about to say was drowned out by a thunderous boom as Rainbow went supersonic, the force almost throwing him off. He dared a look down at the ground, and immediately wished that he hadn't. Ponyville was rapidly disappearing, replaced by the dark green fields and the side of the mountain where Canterlot was. If he didn't hold on tight enough, it was going to be a long fall, and he'd be nothing more than a splat on the fields.
"No sir, not yet," one of the guards replied. "We searched his suite at the castle, but he wasn't there."
"Hmmm." Thunderfrost looked at the clock. It was only ten minutes until eight. He tapped his hooves impatiently as he looked at the front door. Tardiness in the Royal Guard just wouldn't do under his watch; Huckleberry Hound would do good to learn that in the future, if and when he showed up.
"Sir, should we conduct another search?" the guard asked.
"Head into Ponyville. From what Her Majesty has told me, he's made some new friends there," Thunderfrost explained. "Perhaps they could explain where he is and what he's up to."
The guard nodded, but no sooner had he turned to open the doors than a multicolored blur streaked through like a bullet, followed by several pegasi guards. The blur crashed into a heap, revealing it to be an exhausted Rainbow Dash and a very wild-eyed Huckleberry Hound.
"I-It seems I'll be calling off that search now, sir," the guard responded.
"MR. HOUND!" Thunderfrost's voice boomed across the room. "What in Equestria are you doing?!"
Huck didn't answer, only turning to face the panting Rainbow, who was gulping down air greedily. He sat up uneasily, his expression concerned. "Are you okay, Rainbow?!" he asked.
"Not...really..."
"Shuckins, I'm mighty sorry about this," he muttered. "Also, I'm mighty sorry about being late, Mr. Thunderfrost, sir. I promise I won't do it again, sir."
"Is there a reason for your being late?"
"Not a very good one." Huck gulped as he looked up at Thunderfrost, who was glaring at him. "I spent the night partyin' away with my friends in Ponyville and I overslept. I had to rely on Rainbow Dash to get me here, or else I might've been here an hour late. Once again, I'm very sorry for neglecting orders, sir."
Thunderfrost leaned back from Huck's face, glowering down at him. "I'm only going to let you off the hook this once, Mr. Hound. But if this happens again, you will be discharged without delay. You would do well to remember that I'm not always so forgiving in the future."
"Y-Yes, sir..."
"Very well, then. After you help your friend back to the train station, I want you to come back here so we can begin your training. Seeing as you were almost an hour late, we're going to have to work three lessons in one day," Thunderfrost said. "Do you have any objections, Mr. Hound?"
"N-No, sir."
"Good. Get her out of here and meet me back in twenty minutes," Thunderfrost ordered. He turned to three of the other guards, who were whispering and laughing at Huck. "You three are still on duty! Quit gawking and start working!"
That got them to stop laughing. With a quick salute, the guards made their way to the throne room.
Huck sighed. "Some first impression I made," he mumbled.
Dog Days By Rare Twinkie Chapter 5: A Rocky First Day
"I'm mighty sorry about this, Rainbow Dash," Huck apologized. "If only I had made my train in time..."
"Hey, don't worry about it," Rainbow said, breathing a little easier. She looked down at the ground as Huck carried her out of the castle. "You can put me down here."
"You sure? You must be exhausted, what with havin' to carry me and all..."
"Dude, I told you to not worry about it," Rainbow said, impatiently flapping her wings. "You've apologized, like, ten times already. I would've done the same for any of my friends."
"Well...thanks for your help, Rainbow Dash. If you hadn't done that, I would've been fired on the spot," Huck answered. A small smile came across his muzzle. "Thanks a million, really."
Rainbow smiled back. "No problem, Huck."
When Huck made his way back into the room, he heard a low snicker come from the other side of the hall. "So...you're the new guy who wants to be part of the Royal Guard, huh?"
Huck turned around to face a brown-coated pegasus stallion with a yellow mane and lazy magenta eyes. "Uh-huh," he answered. "I'm Huckleberry Hound."
"Name's Blitzkrieg." The stallion got up from his position on the wall. "Since you're new, what with being a talking blue dog and all, I figure I'd better give you some advice. The road to becoming a member of the Royal Guard ain't easy."
"I kind of figured that, just from lookin' at Captain Thunderfrost," Huck said.
"Most ponies drop out after only two weeks of training," Blitzkrieg continued. "The regimen's pretty rough."
"I can take it," Huck answered.
"Trust me," Blitzkrieg said as they walked into the room, "you'll find yourself eating those words in three days."
Huck looked confused as he turned to face the rest of the assembled guards. Was this pony trying to scare him into leaving? It wouldn't be the first time some employees tried to spook him into reconsidering a job. After all, that's what Stinky Dalton had attempted to do.
"Alright, now that we have everyone here," Thunderfrost started, giving a particular glance over to Huck, "we can now begin this morning's training sessions. The rest of you will be working on your skills with the other trainers. I will be personally working with Huckleberry Hound."
"Special treatment for the new guy, huh?" a light blue unicorn stallion snorted.
"He won't be getting any kind of special treatment from me," Thunderfrost boomed. "All of you who have trained under me know that well. He will undergo the same training course as the rest of us."
Blitzkrieg let out a noise that Huck assumed to be a laugh. "This is gonna be good," he said.
"Cut the chatter, Blitzkrieg," Thunderfrost snapped, and immediately the snickers stopped. "All of you to your assigned trainers, now!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Huckleberry Hound, come with me to the courtyard," Thunderfrost said, and started walking away.
"Right away, sir!" Huck jogged after the unicorn stallion as fast as he could.
Blitzkrieg and the rest of the ponies watched as Huck and Thunderfrost disappeared. "How many of you think he'll be able to last one week with the captain?" he said.
The blue-coated unicorn laughed. "I bet you he wouldn't be able to last two days. Most new recruits don't."
"I say we should give him a chance though," someone piped up.
Both ponies turned around to face a white-coated earth pony with an orange mane and bright blue eyes. Her face was dusted with a light pink as she realized that everyone was looking at her. "I-I mean, he could be pretty good at swordplay."
"You're just a novice yourself, Wallflower," Blitzkrieg said. "And you haven't exactly made a lot of progress either, especially for someone who grew up in a military family all her life. Then again, what else can you expect from a mare?"
"Hey, Blitz, knock it off," the blue-coated unicorn said. "What did she do for you to say that?"
"N-No, it's okay, Spot On." Wallflower's eyes were watering with tears, but she put on a shaky smile. "I've heard the same thing from everypony else in Canterlot, so it's no big deal."
"Keep going around with that attitude, kid," Blitzkrieg sniffed, walking away towards the training grounds, "and you'll never make it in the Royal Guard."
The doors shut behind him with an ominous boom.
Spot On turned towards Wallflower. "Come on. Let's get going before we get into some serious trouble," he said.
Wallflower nodded slowly, and neither pony said a word as they walked out of the room.
"Wow, these training fields are huge," Huck noted, staring at the large expanse of dirt in front of him. Ponies of every class were outside dressed in armor, practicing with swords, javelins, quarterstaffs and every other type of weapon one could think off. Grunts filled Huck's ears as they sparred with their trainers and fellow members.
"They need to be, as there are many members of the Royal Guard," Thunderfrost explained. "Now's not the time to dawdle, Huckleberry. Come along with me to the armory. We must have you protected in order to avoid any...gruesome injuries."
Huck gulped. He knew exactly what Thunderfrost meant by "gruesome". He followed Thunderfrost over to a small awning where an older unicorn stallion dressed in dark brown trousers was handing out armor to other stallions. He looked up from his work to see Thunderfrost and Huck walking towards them, and stood at attention.
"Captain," he said.
"At ease, Old Iron," Thunderfrost said, waving a hoof. He then motioned to Huck. "This is Huckleberry Hound. He will be joining my regiment as of today, and he'll need armor, breeches and a helmet."
"Ah, a new recruit, huh? Well, this'll definitely be interesting." Old Iron studied Huck up and down. "I've never made armor for a dog before, but it'll provide an interesting challenge. It'll have to be a little thicker than the armor I normally make."
"This won't come out of my paycheck, will it?" Huck asked.
"Not at all, sonny! It comes free with the training," Old Iron explained. "I should have your armor ready for you in a few hours."
"Thank you, Old Iron. In the meantime," Thunderfrost started, turning to Huck, "I'll take you down to the weapons room so you can get a good idea of what you'll be using. You'll probably meet some of your squadmates in there."
"As long as they're not rude to me like the ponies were this mornin', I should be able to get along with them just fine," Huck replied.
"That's good to know," Thunderfrost said as they continued walking. "You don't seem to be the troublesome type."
"I don't like causin' trouble for folks. I never hurt anybody unless they hurt me first," Huck replied.
"And from what you stated, that's how you were fired from your last job, am I correct?"
"Yeah...one of the employees was really gettin' on my nerves," Huck explained. "He kept insultin' me. And when I tried to walk away, he threw me into the wall. That's when I let him have it."
"To be honest, I would have probably done so, too," Thunderfrost said. There was a hint of amusement in his voice. "I used to be your exact opposite when I was younger. It would take three ponies to drag me away from my opponent."
"That's mighty interestin', sir."
A few moments later, they were in the weapons room, which was a small white room inside the castle. Different weapons hung everywhere on the walls, and three ponies were sitting in the corner of the room, cleaning their weapons and talking. Huck immediately pointed out Blitzkrieg from the group, as well as the blue unicorn who had said that he would get special treatment from Thunderfrost. But he hadn't seen the white-coated earth pony with the bright blue eyes before.
"You three!" Thunderfrost boomed in a commanding tone. "Come over here!"
At once, the three ponies jumped to their feet, standing at attention. "Sir!" they called out at once.
"I want you all to meet the newest member of your squad: Huckleberry Hound," Thunderfrost said. "He's going to be part of the Royal Guard for the next few weeks."
The blue unicorn stallion that Huck had seen earlier stepped forwards, with a smile on his face. "The name's Spot On. They call me that since I've never missed a single target," he said.
"I remember seein' you," Huck started, "and I remember meetin' Blitzkrieg."
"Blitzkrieg is kind of famous in our group," Spot On said, sliding a sly look over to the pegasus, "for being such a jerk to the newcomers."
"You're not exactly known for being a gentlecolt, Spot On," Blitzkrieg replied.
"Nopony is perfect," Spot On said.
"And last but certainly not least," Thunderfrost continued, "we have the lovely Wallflower."
The white-coated earth pony looked up at Huck with shy eyes. "H-Hello," she squeaked, and promptly ducked her head. Her face was dusted with pink.
"Howdy, Miss Wallflower," Huck replied, tipping his hat. "It's an honor to make your acquaintance."
Wallflower's blush deepened, and Blitzkrieg laughed.
"Looks like we've got ourselves a ladies' man," he teased.
"I-I wasn't flirtin' with her or anythin'!" Huck protested, a small blush of his own on his face. "I was just bein' a gentleman."
"Yeah, sure," Blitzkrieg replied, a teasing smirk on his face.
"Boys," Thunderfrost said gently, "do contain yourselves. Now, I expect you all to get along well. In-fighting will not be tolerated. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," everyone said at once.
"So, Huckleberry Hound has started his work today, right?" Luna asked, looking over at her sister from her tea cup.
Celestia nodded. "He had quite a rough start, though. As it turns out, he was invited to one of Pinkie Pie's welcome parties," she said. "Rainbow Dash had to bring him here." She sighed. "If only I had known sooner, I would have told Thunderfrost that Huck could have started his first day tomorrow."
"And what makes you say that, sister?"
"I wanted him to at least get used to the air of Canterlot. Since he's going to be staying here in the private suite for a while, he's going to be interacting with a lot of the locals," Celestia explained.
Luna nodded. "And we all know how they can be," she said, "especially towards other species." She set her teacup down and looked at Celestia. "I hope he doesn't become like that other visitor from that world."
"Dick Dastardly, right?"
Luna nodded. "I know that the Canterlot ponies are prone to gossip...but I think they are telling the truth about him. He's here for something," she said, "something that can only be found in Canterlot."
"Then I suggest we keep a close eye on Dick Dastardly," Celestia replied, "and make sure that he doesn't cause any trouble for Huckleberry Hound, my former student, or her friends. Besides, it seems that Huckleberry Hound is far from being suspicious, unlike Dick Dastardly. I received a letter from my former student detailing his protectiveness towards them when Dick Dastardly threatened to harm them."
"I wish I could have seen it," Luna said, a faint smirk on her lips. "It would have been most satisfying to see his reaction to that."
"Alright, Huck," Blitzkrieg started, leading his squadmates to the mess hall, "we all know what brought you here to Equestria. What did you do before you ended up taking up a strange job offer?"
"Well, I worked lotsa odd jobs," Huck said. "I was an electrician, a waiter, a desk clerk, a repairman and many more..."
Spot On whistled in amazement. "That's a lot of jobs," he remarked.
"It sure was," Huck said. "I'm just hopin' I don't have to take on too many jobs here in Equestria like I did back in my world. That would only stress me out even more."
"Why don't you find a job that you like and do that as a living?" Blitzkrieg said. "That would kill the stress."
"It's kinda funny," Huck said as they reached the waiting line. "Twilight told me the same thing."
The moment he mentioned her, everyone in the line turned and stared at Huck with wide eyes. Some of the ponies even looked jealous. Noticing the stares that he was getting, he asked, "Um, is everypony okay?"
"Y-Yeah, it's just...you know one of the princesses personally?" Spot On asked.
"What's she like?" Wallflower added. "I've heard she's really friendly...."
"What else would you expect from the Princess of Friendship, Wallflower?" Blitzkrieg scoffed.
"I don't think you'd expect her to be a serious bookworm," Huck said, which caught Wallflower's attention. "She also likes creatin' formulas, magic potions and stuff like that there."
"So...in other words, she's an egghead?"
"I wouldn't quite put it that way..."
"Hey," one of the stallions said, "can you arrange for me to meet her? I always wanted to visit the castle!"
"Yeah! It must be grand!" another pony said.
Huck held up his hands to calm the ponies down. "One at a time, everypony," he said. "I-I'm not an ambassador or an assistant or anythin', so I can't really arrange for you to meet her..."
"With those mannerisms, we can tell."
Huck turned around to face the owner of the voice. The voice belonged to a tall, somewhat muscular unicorn with a white coat and a black and grey streaked mane. His expression was smug as he looked at Huck.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Huck asked, his face forming into a frown.
"Isn't obvious? I mean, I can see why Princess Twilight--no, Princess Celestia--took pity on you, and they decided to let you become a guest in their castles," the pony went on. "You must have been grateful."
"Of course I was grateful! I'm stuck in another world with no roof over my head!" Huck retorted.
"I've heard that the princesses are compassionate and merciful, but this is getting ridiculous," the pony said. "I mean, first that human and now you? How many more freeloaders are coming from that world into Equestria?"
Huck's paws were balled into fists. He started to march forwards, but Spot On quickly intercepted him, holding a hoof out to stop him.
"Huck," he said softly, "think about what you're doing here."
"That's exactly what I was going to say, Spot On," the pony said, smirking at the anger that crossed Huck's face. "You do need to think about what you're doing here, Huckleberry Hound. Do you truly belong here among the ponyfolk? Or are you that desperate for money that you'll take on anything that has 'job' tacked on it?"
"Alright, that's enough, Fading Glory," Spot On said, turning to glare at the unicorn.
"You can't be mad at me if I speak the truth," Fading Glory said.
"How's about I come over there and make you eat those words, Fadin' Glory?" Huck snarled.
"Oh, I wouldn't do that," Fading Glory said. "You see, I have powerful friends who can ruin your life. You don't."
For a moment, all Huck could think about was walking straight over to Fading Glory and strangling him, just so he could make that smug smile disappear off his face. He really wanted to right about then, he really did. And yet, when he caught Spot On's concerned glance, he remembered what had happened before he got this job, when he'd given into anger. As much as he really didn't want to, he knew he had to back down. Someone had to be sensible and walk away from the situation, and it wasn't going to be Fading Glory.
Sighing, Huck said, "You know what? I don't really care 'bout what you think of me, Fadin' Glory. I may not be as fancy or proper as you Canterlot folks...but at least I know when to leave a situation alone."
"Oh, so you can do that? Interesting. The human was quick to violence when I spoke to him," Fading Glory said.
With your big mouth, anybody'd be quick to violence, Huck thought.
"Alright, now that we've got that settled," Spot On said, carefully stepping away from Huck, "how about we all sit and have lunch, huh?"
Huck turned towards Spot On, and gave him his best smile, even though happiness wasn't what he was feeling at the moment. "Let's eat. I'm mighty hungry anyway," he said.
Fading Glory only gave Huck one last disapproving glance before walking away. As soon as he was gone, most of the ponies turned around and started to gather their trays. Huck turned to do the same as well, but that was when he was stopped by Spot On.
"That was way too close of a call back there, Huck," he said. "If you start any fights around here, you'll get suspended, or even worse, you'll lose your job."
Huck sighed as he pulled twelve bits and handed them to the cashier. "I'm a might sorry about that, Spot On. I don't get angry like that," he said. "But when someone starts insultin' me, it makes me angry."
"You didn't lose your cool when you confronted that human," Spot On mentioned offhandedly.
Huck turned to gape at the unicorn, who laughed at his expression. "What? You thought nobody remembered that? It was the talk of town yesterday," he said.
"And in Canterlot, anything and anybody can become the talk of the town," Blitzkrieg said, "especially ponies like Fading Glory."
Spot On sighed. "Oh, Celestia, not this again."
"Well, it's only fair that he knows who he's dealing with," Blitzkrieg said.
"If ya don't mind my sayin' this, Blitzkrieg, I don't feel like talkin' about him right now," Huck interrupted. "I'm already kind of spent from dealin' with him."
Blitzkrieg sighed. "Whatever. Just trying to warn you, that toady is not a pony to take lightly," he said.
Huck was already lost in his own thoughts by the time they reached a table. Fading Glory's words were starting to take center stage in his mind.
Did Celestia think he was a freeloader?
Were Twilight and the others being nice to him out of pity?
Was he really so greedy that he would take on anything as long as he could do it?
By the time lunch break was over, Huck realized that he had hardly eaten a thing. But with the dizzying storm of questions forming in his mind, he hadn't felt like eating much anymore anyway.
Hours later
"Rest easy, troops," Thunderfrost said. "That'll be enough for today."
Huck almost sank to his knees in relief at this news. Every part of his body ached from the techniques he'd been learning for the last few hours. His blue fur was caked with dirt and his new armor was dented in places.
"Ugh...I'm sure glad that's over," he groaned.
"Are you kidding?" Blitzkrieg laughed. "You've gotta go through this all over again tomorrow!"
Huck thought he would faint. Blitzkrieg sighed as he got to his hooves. "So, what do you say now, Huck? Think you can keep this up for a couple more weeks?"
Huck grunted as he got to his feet. "I don't think; I know I can," he said. At least, I think so...
Blitzkrieg smiled. "We'll see about that," he said.
"No need to spook the new recruit, Blitzkrieg," Thunderfrost said. "Despite a shaky first start, he's gotten the basics down pat. It'll be the advanced techniques that'll really challenge him."
"A-Advanced techniques?" Huck repeated.
"Yes. You'll be learning to duel with different weapons, as well as being put under strict disciplinary training," Thunderfrost continued. "In the span of a month, Huckleberry, you will make a fine member of the Royal Guard."
Already I'm startin' to regret takin' on this job, Huck thought to himself.
"So, I take it that you had a pretty busy day," Celestia mused as Huck practically slouched at the table. Beside him were a couple of pony waiters that looked at him disapprovingly as he did so.
"It sure was," Huck answered. "I had expected the first day to be busy, but I didn't expect this." At the last minute, he pulled himself up in his chair in order to sit up straighter. "Sorry about that."
"That's alright," she replied. "What else happened to you?"
With a deep breath, Huck told her everything about what had happened at lunch, including the spat he'd had with Fading Glory. He sighed. "I haven't been here for a full day and people are already startin' to say bad things about me," he said.
"That's to be expected from most of the ponies of Canterlot," Celestia replied. "But at least you managed to keep yourself from doing any harm to Fading Glory."
"Yeah. I came real close to lettin' him have it, too," he said. "But he's got a point, though. I'm probably no better than a freeloader."
"Huck, you're not a freeloader," Celestia replied. "Freeloaders would take advantage of other people's generosity and not do any work themselves. But you're not doing that. Even though you came without any clothes or food, I can see you're ready to work to earn them. So I don't think you should call yourself a freeloader."
"That, and I've made some friends who are ready to help me out," he said. He sighed. "Shuckins, I guess I let Fadin' Glory's words get to me. I was startin' to wonder if I had any real friends in this place."
"Never doubt your friends, Huck," Celestia replied, pausing to drink from her tea cup.
Huck gasped. "Speakin' of friends, I forgot all about T.C., Yogi and the others! They must be worried out of their minds about me," he said. "Princess, is there any way I can talk to my friends from here?"
"Hmmm...come to think of it, there probably is," she said. "I once left a former student of mine a journal that she could use to contact me if she ever had any questions. Perhaps there is a spare one you can use."
"That'd be just swell for me to use," Huck said. "I'll have to see if I can get in contact with 'em tomorrow if I can. I told one of my friends, Top Cat, that if I didn't come back from my trip, he could forcibly drag me back."
Celestia giggled. "And isn't he the one who didn't believe that there was an Equestria?"
"Yup, that's him. I don't know how he'd get here," Huck said, laughing a bit, "but I've learned that T.C.'s unstoppable when he's got his heart set on somethin'."
Hoagy's Alley
"Come on, pick up the freakin' phone already," Top Cat groaned, drumming his fingers impatiently against the lid of his trash can. He'd tried this number three times and there was still no response from his old friend.
Benny looked up at Top Cat. "I think he might've changed numbers, T.C. Quick Draw does have a habit of moving from place to place."
"He'd better have a good reason for keepin' his friend on the other end of a phone for an hour," Top Cat replied.
Right when he was about to hang up and dial again, someone picked up the phone on the other end. A friendly Western drawl came in on the other end. "Hello?"
"Quick Draw, finally!" Top Cat said, relieved. "What the heck was keepin' ya?"
"Oh, hey there, T.C.! Baba Looey and I were at a fancy dinner party, and they told us to turn off our phones," Quick Draw said. "I had trouble turnin' the thing back on, then it fell in the punch bowl...."
Top Cat sighed. That sounded just like Quick Draw. "Okay, well, glad to hear from ya. I've got a request to ask of ya, anyway."
"Sure thing, T.C.! What's goin' on?"
"It's Huck. Apparently, he went to go answer some crazy job offer, and he hasn't been back since. I've left a whole bunch of messages on his phone, and there's still nothin'!" Top Cat explained. "I think somethin's happened to him, and we need to find out what it is."
"So, whaddya want me to do?"
"You and Baba Looey are comin' with us to find out where Huck went," he said. "You guys are great trackers, right?"
"We sure are! We'll be able to find Huck! And if anybody hurt him, we'll bring 'em to justice!"
Top Cat smiled. At least he could put some of his fears to rest now.
"So, when do you want us to come up to New York?" Quick Draw asked.
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrrow?!"
"I know it's short notice, but we've gotta figure what happened to Huck. If we wait any longer, the news could turn up somethin' about him bein' dead or somethin'."
"...Now why didn't I think of that?" Quick Draw sighed. "Alright. Baba Looey and I will be on the first plane to New York."
"Great. We'll meet ya at the airport tomorrow. And whatever ya do, don't oversleep." Top Cat hung up the phone, and then turned towards Benny. "Get the rest of the gang together, Benny. We're goin' on a rescue mission."
