> My little Brony: Friendship is Epic > by lightningspark > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Enter the brony, Zac Miller > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1: Enter the Brony, Zac Miller I know what you expect me to do. You expect me to start off by telling the story of how Equestria was created and about Nightmare Moon and all that. Well, this story is a bit different. It’s starts off on a nice Winter day in New York; The sun beaming down through my window. I was enjoying this lovely morning, by sleeping in way too much. Oh right, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Zac Miller and I’m a 20 year old male with black hair, and tanned skin and unique red eyes. No one knows why I have them, they just said it was a mutation in my genetics. Either way, as I slept through the day my alarm clock went off with a loud “get up, you late sucka!”. I opened my eyes slightly, making sure some of the sun didn’t potentionaly blind me. I yawned as I sat up and stretched. My one day of rest, and I was woken up by such an annoying sound? I really gotta fix my alarm clock. I shrugged as I got up out of my soft bed. “Good morning world.” I said with a smile. Hey if I was gonna be pushed outta bed on my day off, I was gonna at least put on a smile. You see, I was a waiter at a local dinner where I worked 6 days a week. It wasn’t too stressful, it was just kind of annoying having to deal with customers. I walked down my stair case to find a messy living room, or at least messy by my standards. Old technology parts and tools littered the coffee table from last night’s tinkering. I forgot to mention, I love to build things like inventions and object that can help make life easier. That alarm clock was one of the first things I built, still gotta fix it though. Anyway, I headed towards the kitchen until my phone went off. I could tell it was my Cellphone because all I could hear was Pinkie Pie singing her “Singing Telegram”. I grabbed my phone off the counter, seeing a name on the screen. It was my coworker “Ron Howard”. He was also a waiter, but he was also a DJ from what he told me. I never really asked or cared to be honest but hey, a bit of information never hurt. I answered the phone with a swipe across the touch screen. “Hey Ron, what’s up?” I answered with a yawn. “Dude, where are you right now?!” He shouted. I flinched from the loud feedback. “What do you mean? I’m at my house resting, it’s Sunday.”. Ron huffed and mumbled to himself. He was probably calling me an idiot or something. “No it’s not Zac, it’s Monday, MON! DAY!” he screeched. My face went white as I looked at my calendar. He was right, it was Monday; Monday the 5th. I knew there was something strange from the moment the alarm shouted, “Get up, you late sucka!”. “I’ll be there in 10.”, And with that, I was off. I quickly ran into my room grabbing my uniform consisting of a white long sleeve shirt, a pair of black paints, a black vest, black shoes that had a brownish strip going across them, and my normal seeing glasses. I grabbed my dark yellow backpack from under my bed; it had a couple of pink butterflies on the side, and had a pin that looked like a blue gem. I also swiped my dark purple headphones off the counter; they had a design of a burst if magic on the left ear. You probably get it now, don’t you? The ringtone, the backpack, the headphones. Yes, yes, it’s true: I am a “Brony”. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a male or female that watches “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic”. That’s right, soak it all in, I am a 20 year old man who likes to watch a kid’s show for girls, and I’m proud of it. What was I doing? Right, I was late for work. I quickly made a run for my job, well more like a skate to my job. I actually outfitted my shoes with retractable rollerblades. It helped get to places quicker without a car. It helps for situations like this one. It happens a lot... A stern talking to later, I was already working, cleaning the tables if the empty cafe. Yes, you heard right, the whole cafe was empty. No one eating or drinking, just silence. I sighed, the cafe had been losing customers for days, an I’m pretty sure that the place will soon go under if this continues. “Man, this sucks doesn’t it?” Ronald called from the kitchen, where he was cleaning old dishes. “Yeah, soon this place will go outta business. I hope the old man has a backup plan...”. I was replyed by the sound of loud snoring. I peeked into the kitchen to see Ron sleeping standing up. Nothing new though, Ron had this weird habit of sleeping at the most strangest times. That’s gotta be why he has those dark rings around his eyes I threw a towel at him, waking him up with a snort. You’d think this wouldn’t be how we spent our day, but it was. Suddenly the door opened, causing the bell to ring. I looked to my left to see a medium built man with brown hair, and blue eyes. He was wearing a winter coat, long brown pants, and dark brown shoes. He was probably 6 years older than me. Finally a customer, now I could do something else besides clean. “Um, table for one sir?” I said in a warm voice. He nodded, which I then proceeded to show him to his table. He sat down, which was my signal to take his order. “Coffee, black if you would.” He mumbled. Black coffee, this man was evil. Any person who drinks coffee that bitter was automatically evil or a mean person in my book. Still, the customer is always right. I nodded, and went to get his coffee, with the feeling of familiarity knawing at my thoughts. I saw him before, but where? “Where did I see him before...” I muttered as I walked home. The day went by fast, and I was walking back home to my lovely abode. The man’s face kept showing up in my head. I saw him before, I just couldn’t place a name. I shrugged as I listened to the song “The Legend You Were Meant To Be”. It was a good song, and yes it was from MLP: FIM. My music was interrupted by a loud bang, followed by a bright light shooting from the sky. It shot straight into an alley that was across from me. I looked up at the sky, my mouth agape. What was going on? What was that thing? Were we being attacked by aliens? My questioning stopped when the light exploded, causing a hole to appear in the ground, and a shock wave to push me back. “What’s going on!?” I shouted, the fear in my voice escaping. The sound of groaning and movement could be heard in the alley as I stared into it. What should I do? Should I take a look, should I run? I didn’t have time to answer, mostly because I was already walking toward the hole. My heart started pounding of expectation, excitement, and fear. I peeked my head over the hole, keeping my distance, the sound of breathing being heard from the crater. I looked around quickly to see what it was. It was... No, no way. No god dang way was I seeing this right now, but it was, with my own two red-colored eyes. What I was seeing or who I was seeing was... “Fluttershy?!”. To Be Continued > Keep Calm and Flutter On > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2: Keep Calm and Flutter on Okay, calm down, you’re just imagining things, that’s all that’s happening... One more peek though. I looked into the crater and sure enough, I wasn’t imaging it. My eyes were staring at a light yellow mare with a pink mane and tail, and three butterflies on her flank. Her eyes where a light teal, and they had a nice sparkle to them. I rubbed my eyes a bit, making sure I wasn’t seeing things. Sure enough, she was still there, sitting in the middle of the hole. I can’t believe this, Fluttershy was here, in dumb, boring old New York. No wait, forget that, she was in my WORLD! But she was just a cartoon character wasn’t she? My mind started to race as I kept my eyes on her. That’s when the unthinkable happened. She stared back at me! I quickly hid myself, hoping she didn’t see me. She was real, she was here, in front of me! It was happening! Now if I was a normal brony I would most likely run up, hug her, then take her home, but I’m a different type of brony; a closet brony. That means I’m more if a level headed brony than most. I started to weigh my options. I could either 1: take her home and care for her like a pet, 2: leave her and let her roam around aimlessly, or 3: call animal control. Was the last one racist? Okay, on one hand, if I take her home, I can keep an eye on her and make sure she’s safe. On the other hand, if I chose to let her be, then I’ll be free and won’t have another responsiblity. On the other OTHER hand, if I call animal control, she might get hurt or worse, experimented on. I shuddered at the thought, mostly cause I knew that would happen. I sighed, knowing full and well what I should do. No matter what way you slice it or how you worded it, I was still a brony, and the whole “help a friend in need” thing that MLP went by, was stuck in my head. I slid down the crater, making sure I didn’t slip. As I landed on the ground, I thought of something, “what would I say to her?”. Would I just tell he straight up, would I just pick her up and run. Now I wish I thought this through. Gaah, that doesn’t matter now, all that matters is that she’s safe. I walked silently, making sure not to startle her. I stop as she looked up at me slowly. This was it, what I say will either make it or break it. “Hi there, you doing okay?”. Somebody kill me. Out of all the things you say, that’s what comes out?! I’m such a- a doofus! Still there was no turning back. I reached a hand out to touch her, but that’s when she did the worse thing possible. She started to cry. Not sob, not weep, not tear up, I mean full on cry. It wasn’t as bad as how Pinkie or Rarity cried, but it was a close second. I quickly brought my hand back, knowing that’s what caused her to cry. Well great job Zac, you scared her. Not only that, you made her cry! Do you know how many Fluttershy fans would have murdered me by now? All of them, that’s how many! I sighed. What’s plan B? There had to be a way to calm her down. That’s when it hit me. How did Fluttershy calm down the animals she took care of? Answer: she kept calm and fluttered on! Normal people wouldn’t know what that means, but for a brony, it was clear as day. I just hoped it would actually work. I sat down, keeping a safe distance of course. I cleared my throat and with all my heart and soul... “Ah ah ah ahh ahhhh, ah ah ah ahh ahhhh.”. I sung with all my might, but not just any song, it was the opening theme to MLP: FIM. It was a good song and no one can tell me it wasn’t. It seemed to do the trick, because Fluttershy was starting to calm down. I sighed in relief. Now that she was calm, I could finally talk to her without her bawling her eyes out. Being this close, I took the time to really study her appearance. Her mane and tail was full of split ends, and her fur coat was matted with dirt and debris. I frowned. She was definitely not as colorful as she should have been. I’m sure she was studying me as well, probably trying to figure out if I was really a threat. I had to make sure she knew I was friendly, so I guess I should talk to her... “Are you okay? You’re not hurt are you?” I squeaked. Okay, that’s better, nice rebound Zac! She looked at me with innocence in her eyes. It was as if she did nothing wrong, well it seemed that way. She nodded in response, with a surprised look on her face. I guess she didn’t think I could speak. I sighed in relief. At least she was okay, well besides her dirty mane and fur. Now, what’s my move? I can either take her home, or leave her. Neither one seems to be an easy decision, hopefully I should have a bit of time to weigh my options... As soon as I thought that, the sound of police sirens started to come into range. Great, as if things couldn’t get any worse. I gotta think fast, or else I’ll be in just as much trouble as she is. I sighed. Welp, looks like I only have one thing to do... About an hour later, I was back home. Luckily the cops didn’t notice me, and I made sure that I didn’t leave any evidence of me being their. I sat on my dirty couch, thinking about my choice. The only thing I could mumble to myself was... “What am I gonna do about this pegasus that’s next to me?” To be continued... > Bath, Dinner, and TVs > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, let’s recap here: Me, a 20 year old closet brony found Fluttershy, a cartoon flying pony, in an alley while walking home from my job, and I had the bright idea to take her home. Huh, if I said I’ve seen weirder, I’d be a bigger lier than AppleJack when she had her honesty stripped away! I mean, a cartoon character is frickin sitting right next to me on my old, oil stained couch. As if life couldn’t get any weirder. The silence wasn’t helping the situation. She hadn’t said a word ever since I brought her home. Understandable though, she has to be pretty on edge right now, considering she’s in a world where, to her, everything and everyone is different from her world. I knew I had to say something, or else communication would be, oh I don’t know, impossible. “I know you can speak. You’re safe here so, please relax.” I assured. She jumped at my sudden statement. I guess she wasn’t expecting me to speak either. She shuffled a bit, trying to hide behind her long pink mane, to which I inwardly chuckled. With a nod, she replied back, “T-thank you.”. I smiled. She seemed to be seeing me as a friendly 5’12 giant, at least in her eyes. Silence filled the air again, but I didn’t mind. She was starting to loosen up in small burst, which was probably for the best. I noticed, however, that she was trying to say something, or rather to sum up the courage to do so. I glanced at her. “You wanna know my name?” I asked. She nodded a bit hesitantly. Scratching the back of my head, I answered, “I’m Zac, Zac Miller. Just your normal, everyday dude. What about you, what’s your name?”. Yes, I already knew her name, but if I was to say “I know who you are because you’re on a TV show!”, she’d probably be confused at what the frick a TV is, or faint from the shock. Not a good idea when you’re trying to get someone to relax around you. Luckily, when you’re a closet brony like me, you kinda get a better sense of judgement when in this situation. Funny how I’m saying this like it’s a normal thing. She looked at me, or at least tried to, as she answered my question, hiding behind her own mane. Her answer was mumbled, but I could still hear her. Now I know this may sound weird, but gosh diddly damn was she cute! Her speech patterns, her personality, her colors, they were all perfect! Ever seen that one scene in Incredibles? Well, all the little shy cogs “meshed” together inside the clock known as “Fluttershy”. Good thing I’m a closet brony, because if not, I’d probably end up hurting her from lack of oxygen when I hug her to frickin death. I looked away from her, clearing my throat as my face turned a slight shade of pink from embarrassment. “W-well, it’s nice to meet you Fluttershy.” I said, with a deepened voice. Hopefully she didn’t notice my attempt to hide my flustered face. And with that, silence once again. Minutes seemed to feel like hours as we both sat there, waiting for one of us to speak. Wait, I was forgetting something. I turned to her again, face palming myself in shear stupidity. Of course, she was still all filthy! She had to have been super uncomfortable, what with all the dirt on her bare skin. Problem is, how do I get her to shower? Now I may be a human and she a pony, but that still didn’t change the fact that she was an intelligent female, and I was male, and before you say anything else, no, I’m not the type of person that gets his biscuits buttered by seeing naked ponies. That is what we call, “Crazy Furries”, which is basically if all Furries were sex crazed weirdos who never took off their fursuits. Unhealthy, I know. Either way, one thing was certain, she needed at bath. I mean, she needed it right now, regardless of how uncomfortable it may be. I stood up and stretched my limbs, trying to grow a pair and say exactly what needed to be said. “So, uh, Fluttershy,” I started, “this may seem rude but, you need a bath.”. 10 minutes later... Huh, that was easier than expected. It literally only took two 10 minutes to get her completely clean. What, you thought I was gonna explain the process of washing her down? Yeah, no. If you want something like that, go read another story, this is a PG-13 style book pal. Anyways, after I finished my own shower, I walked into the kitchen to make her something to eat. She had to have been hungry, no doubt. I mean, I would be hungry at a time like this, but that’s just me. I opened the fridge, huffing in annoyance at the site. “Great, only apples and lettuce. Guess it’s fruit salad tonight...” I mumbled. This was a constant thing for me. Thanks to the cafe going under, money was scarce at the time, so in turn, food was also scarce or at least challenging to keep on the table. Oh well, like I always say, “gotta take what you can get”. With that phrase ringing in my head, I started preparing dinner, although dinner was the last thing on my mind. I could only think about one thing, “How the hell did she get here?”. Was it a spell of some sort? No, they’d have to know about my world. Maybe it was because of Discord, but wasn’t he friends with her and the others now? Oh god, the others! Were they in my world too?! Needless to say, in the words of JonTron, I have several questions! Suddenly, the sound of a high-pitched scream broke my attention, causing me to bolt back into the living room. “What’s wrong, everything alright?!” I shouted. I found Fluttershy cowering on the couch, covering her eyes. “T-that thing, s-started to s-s-shout at me...” she squeaked, pointing at something. I looked in the general direction to only find that it was the TV. It was playing “Die Hard”, a classic action film. I looked back at her. She must have sat in the remote. “Don’t worry, it’s not gonna hurt you,” I said, trying to be as calming as possible, “It’s just the TV.”. She blinked at me in curiosity. I guess they didn’t have TV in their world. Must not have any problems with the population then. “It’s kinda like a picture book, but the pictures move and make sounds.” Like that would explain it. To my surprise, she nodded in understanding, while looking at it in astonishment. I chuckled softly. She looked almost like a puppy who recently discovered his reflection. Like I said, she is super cute. A few minutes later, and we were eating our fruit salad. I was a bit afraid that she wouldn’t like it, but I was again shown why she’s the “Element of Kindness” and all that. As we ate, my questions started to gnaw at my mind. Should I ask, or should I keep it to myself? Hmm, nope, curiosity is killing this cat tonight. “Ahem, so uh, Fluttershy,” I began, causing her to turn her head towards me, “I know this may be a weird time to ask but, how did you get here?”. She looked away from me for a moment. “Um, well, it’s hard to explain, but, well, it happened kind of like this...”. Huh, time for a flashback. Que the wobbly wipe! To be continued... > Time For a Flashback > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Equestria is a lovely place with so many nice ponies, me being one of them, a pegasus to be exact. My name is Fluttershy, and I'm a caretaker for animals, although you couldn't tell just by looking at my cutie mark. I live on the outskirts of Ponyville, allowing me to be close to my animals. Oh, I must be boring you with all this information, I'm sorry. Anyway, it was a nice sunny day in Equestria and I was just feeding my little Angel Bunny his lunch. He always gets cranky when I don't give him his meals, although it's my fault for always being a little late. That's when I heard the sound of knocking on my door. I didn't plan on any visitors recently, so it gave me quite the shock. "I-I'm coming, just a moment." I called out. After I set Angel Bunny's food down, I trotted to my front door as quickly as I could. It's rude to keep visitors waiting at the door. I opened the door to see a light blue mare with a rainbow mane and tail, and a rainbow lightning bolt cutie mark in front of me. I knew this pony all too well. Her name was Rainbow Dash; She was a friend of mine for as long as I can remember. She as also one of the Wonder Bolts, a group of ponies that are known for their amazing flying stunts. I smiled at her, as I walked out of my home. "Oh, hello Rainbow Dash. what brings you here today?" I asked. She looked at me with a serious face, to which I blinked in confusion. She only looked this serious when there was trouble. I hope that there wasn't any trouble. "Twilight said that we need to get to the crystal map. It's urgent." She explained. I sighed in relief. This didn't seem so bad. You see, the girls and I dealt with these things called "friendship problems", which the crystal map would tell us where the problem was located. Usually only 2 or 3 of us would need to go solve it, so I guess Rainbow Dash and I are the candidates for the job. "Oh okay, let me get my saddle bag. Is it going to be just us this time?" She didn't answer. She only shook her head. "Is someone else coming with us?" Again, no reply. Only her silence, that is until she said... "The map says that this is gonna take all of us to fix." Oh my... —————————————— A few moments later, Rainbow Dash and I found our way to Twilight's home, a crystal treehouse. It was located in Ponyville, home to a few of my friends and to a lot or ponies that I knew. I still couldn't believe what I heard. Was this gonna be that big of a problem that all of us was going to need to fix it. Last time we all went to solve a problem was when we had our cutie marks taken away by Starlight Glimmer. She's reformed now, but it was still really scary. By the time we got to the doors leading to the room holding the crystal map, I was shaking from fear. Could we all end up getting hurt, or worse?! Needless to say, I was really afraid. I suddenly snapped out of my thoughts from the sound of the large doors opening. Inside, 4 other ponies were sitting around the large crystal map, 2 of them being Earth ponies, one of them being a Unicorn, and the last being an Alicorn. These ponies were the rest of my friends, and the well known Mane 6. I waved to everyone, trying to be as calm as possible. "H-hello girls, I heard that we were needed." I greeted. Twilight, the Alicorn of the group, nodded in response. "Yes, thanks for coming everypony. Now if you all can turn your attention to the map, you can see that it's calling us all to this remote spot." She explained, pointing to the map. She was right. The area was completely unexplored, which was very odd. The girls and I have gone almost everywhere, and this one spot seemed to be near Ponyville. For us to have missed it, would be quite strange. "The map seems to be calling all of us here for unknown reasons. The area seems to also be uncharted territory, and it's not part of the Everfree Forest either. Needless to say, we are all going to be searching this area, in order to find out why the map has called us here.". She looked up at us, in an expecting manner. "Any questi-" Suddenly, the map started glowing a dark purple, blinding all of us. "Ooh, pretty!" Shouted Pinkie Pie. "What in tarnation is goin' on?!". That was something I wanted to know too. Everything started to blur, everyone's voices were getting farther away. I can't... Keep my... Eyes... Open... My body fell to the floor, as my consciousness started to go in and out. What was happening, why was this happening, and above all else, why was I smelling something dreadful? I opened my eyes, my consciousness starting to return. This wasn't the crystal map room. I was in the middle of a hole, the sound of unfamiliar noises everywhere. Suddenly, I heard the sound of shuffling. Oh no, oh my, someone was coming. Was it someone friendly or mean?! Oh, I'm so scared, please be nice, please! I glanced up the hole to see... A human?! > To Keep, or Not To Keep > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whoa... That's like, not very informative. Through all of that whole story, I literally got nothing. I blinked in annoyance. She obviously didn't know much about what happened, but I guess that's to be expected. Something like this is beyond explaining, even for her standards. "So what you're saying is, you have no frickin clue how you got here?". She shook her head, hiding behind her hair. "Ugh, damnit, should have guessed..." I huffed. That was the worst mistake of my life, me saying that. The moment I said that, she started to tear up. Frick, she was about to cry! "I-I'm sorry, I-I wish I could be m-more help.". She said blubbering like a baby, or foal I guess. Crap, looks like the Fluttershy fans are gonna wreck my crap again. "N-no it's not your fault!" I assured, trying to get her to calm down. "You're obviously in the dark as much as me, so don't worry about it.". She looked at me, drying her eyes with her hooves. "O-okay, t-thank you Mr. Zac.". Mister? That was new. "J-just Zac is fine Fluttershy.". She smiled at me, this time without hiding behind her mane, which I returned with a grin. Although, I knew we had a problem. If she didn't know how she got here, that means that finding out how to get her back would be frickin near impossible. Not only that, but if she's here, and if the others were in the same room as her, then that means they could possibly be in this world too. Ugh, how do I get myself into these messes? I glanced at her. She was basically hypnotized by the documentary on penguins that was playing on the Discovery channel. I have to come up with a plan. I still hadn't even been able to choose what to even do with her, let alone how to get her home. Let's see, I could kick her out and let some crazy ass freak show take her away. Naw, no telling what'd happen to her, plus she seems to already trust me. In my thinking, I didn't even notice her staring at me. I guess she was trying to read my emotions or something. Fat chance on that, I'm pretty good at hiding my emotions from people, or ponies in this case. "Zac, a-are you sure I can stay here?". What the hell, how'd she read me so easily?! That's crazy! What, was she a frickin mind reader too?! Getting past that though, what should I do? I mean, she could stay here, but wouldn't that mean I'd have to find the others too? Why me though?! I'm sure some other person would love to be on a My Little Pony adventure. I just wanna live life and make sure I'm able to pass my frickin college entry exams! Maybe I should just tell her to go and find another sucker to help her. Then again, she's already used to me. I mean, as used to me as one could get if they were talking to an other worldly being. Not to mention that it IS me. If she stays here, then I'll know that she's at least safe a bit. It's kinda like that one MLP fanfic I read. I think it was called "My Little Dashie". In a sense, I guess you could say that I've been thrown into this adventure because I'm not gonna do something... unthinkable. Brr, the thought brings a chill to my spine. That's it, she's staying, and I'm helping her; End of discussion. "Of course. I don't have much, but I'll help as much as I can.". She let out a small gasp. I guess she wasn't expecting me to say that. "R-really? I c-can stay, a-and you'll help me?" she squeaked. I nodded in response. She smiled brightly. Well, for all it's worth, seeing that bright smile was worth pressing the continue button on my "little" adventure. I yawned, stretching my limbs out. Judging from my tired body, and the clock that said 12:36 AM, I think it's about time I got some rest. This whole ordeal drained every layer of energy out of me. "Well, uh, it's getting late so lets head to bed. You can sleep on the couch, which I'll be sure to give you some blankets too.". She nodded with a small thank you escaping from her lips. A few minutes later, I had given her some blankets, and even tucked her in. Ha, bet you suckers wish you were me, huh? "Night Fluttershy. Call if you need anything, alright?" I said as I was walking to my room. "O-okay, t-thank you Zac.". I slid into my bed, not even bothering to change my clothes. I couldn't believe it. A cartoon pegasus was laying on my couch, and I had to find her friends and then get them all home. Huh, good thing it's Winter Break. Hopefully I can resolve this by then, I have college entry exams soon. ——————————————— "Z-z-z-zac! Please wake up!". The hell?! What's going on?! I sprung from my bed and ran to the living room. Was someone in the house?! My alarm system didn't go off, nor did I hear any noises! Well whatever it was, it was here! "What's the matter?!" I called, rushing into the living room. She only looked at me and pointed to the TV, her face white as snow. I glanced at the TV. It was the news, but I was on the Discovery Channel last night. It must have been breaking news. "This just in, we are getting reports that a strange creature wearing a cowboy hat has been spotted in the Walmart in downtown New York.". Strange creature? Walmart? Cowboy hat?! "It is not only very intelligent, but it is also very dangerous. Do not, I repeat, do not startle this creature and let the proper authorities handle it.". No doubt a frickin bout it. I know who that is, and I think Fluttershy did too. "Is that one of yours?" I asked jokingly. She nodded. "I think so. That has to be AppleJack. She must be so confused right now, that's why she's making a scene. You have to calm her down and bring her here to safety, please!". I sighed. I did promise, and I did have to get groceries too... "Alright, leave it to me. I'll rescue AppleJack!". Welp, this should be fun... Hopefully... > Applejack, and No Not The Cereal > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 6: Applejack, and no not the cereal As if things couldn’t get any worse. Not only was it now evident that Fluttershy wasn’t the only one who was brought here, but now one of them is causing a scene, at a frickin Walmart no less! Things were not okay, no beyond not okay! It was more like catastrophic! I sighed, calming myself down. Getting worked up was definitely not gonna solve things. If anything, it’d probably raise more questions. How did she not get found out by now? Crap, here come the questions. Now’s not the time for it! I ran to my room, the sound of Fluttershy mumbling to herself in worry filling the entire house. As I slid to a stop, I grabbed all the essentials: My backpack, a hoodie, and my skate shoes. These things will definitely come in handy, especially the hoodie, since I’ll need something to hide my face. With all those things collected, I bolted to the front door, as I slipped my shoes on. “Fluttershy, stay here, I’ll bring AJ back soon.” I called, to which she trotted towards me in a worried manner. “Z-Zac, let me go too! I-I know I could help i-in some sort of way!”. Hell no, that was not gonna happen! Not because she couldn’t help, but because it was hella dangerous to even think about taking her out of this house. With all the security cameras, police, and even nosey citizens with their cameras always ready on their phones, it’d be impossible to keep her from being spotted, and there would be no way to hide her in my backpack. Last time I checked, she wasn’t the same size as a frickin plushie. “Sorry Fluttershy, but that’s a terrible idea,” I stated bluntly, “If someone saw you, then all hell will break loose. It’ll be a miracle if I can even get Applejack out of this mess.”. She frowned, which caused my heart to literally drop all the way to my left foot, and yes I know that’s scientifically impossible. “But I-” I placed a finger on her lips, shushing her. “Just stay here. I don’t need anymore trouble to deal with. I’ll bring back Applejack safe and sound, so just wait here for a bit.”. And before she could say anything, I rushed off. I know I could have stated that in a more “sensitive” way, but facts are facts. If she came with me, I’d have to watch her and save Ponyville’s southern belle as well. Hey that rhymed! With my backpack in tow, I blasted straight toward my destination. Let’s just hope that there aren’t any issues like police cars, swat, TV crew, or a large crowd of people around. I mean, let’s be real here, this is New York, I’m sure that something bigger is going on somewhere in this city...right? --------------------------------------------------- Me and my stupid, jinxing, loud mouth. The entire Walmart parking lot was literally filled to the frickin brim with people! Camera crew, News reporters, civilians, police, just every type of person imaginable! I think I even saw hot dog vendors! Damn it, this was not just catastrophic, this was disastrous! Okay, let’s not panic, let’s just assess the situation. As they say, “Keep calm and flutter on.”. I glanced around the area, pulling the hood on my jacket over my head. There was a multitude of people everywhere. Police tape was around the front entrance, and camera crew has the entire place on, well camera. I pushed through the bumbling New Yorkers, all of them not even noticing me. As I got closer to the entrance, upon closer inspection, the police seemed to only have the front entrance taped off, so that means that the back entrance would be my best bet! I slithered through the crowd, making sure my face was completely covered. No one could see my face, not until I’d say, a month after this event. With everyone distracted, I slipped towards the back of the super store. That’s when I stopped. Wait a minute, this is strange. Police are usually more thorough when it comes to these situations, so why was the back, and even the sides of the store, not guarded. I shrugged. It wasn’t any skin off my nose. It's actually a hell of a lot easier now. With that in mind, I continued my easy trek to the back entrance. No one was there, not even a lost civilian. Perfect, this will be a piece of cake! I ran up to the back door and snuck my way into the store. Silence. Nothing but silence. “This is oddly creepy.” I muttered to myself. I mean it kinda was, right? Even in the wee early hours of the morning, the place would still be bustling with early shoppers going out for those early bird deals. To see it completely quiet was a bit of a strange site. “What the hay is this?!”. And there goes the silence. Wait, that voice though, and did it just say “hay”?! That was Applejack, no doubt! I sprinted towards the sound. It seemed to be coming from the produce section. Why am I not surprised? I skidded to a halt, the produce section in my sites, and there she was. The orange, blonde maned, cowgirl hat wearing, southern belle mare that I was looking for. Wait, this could be a trick... Just to be safe... “Raise this barn!” I shouted with all the energy and inner country boy that I could muster. It seemed to have worked, because she turned her head with a surprised and all around confused look. “You’re Applejack right?” I asked inching closer to her slowly. “What’s it to yah partner?”. She stared at me with a very serious look. Guess she wasn’t in the mood for games. “Look, just listen to me. I have your friend Fluttershy and-”. Without warning, a quick and painful sensation ran through my abdomen knocking me into a nearby shelf. This mare just frickin bullrushed me! Her glare was anything but calming. In fact, I think it could have probably killed me 7 times already! “What did y’all do to Fluttershy?! Y’all better not have touched ‘er!”. “N-no no! I didn’t,” I picked myself off the ground as I explained, “Fluttershy is at my house. She asked me to come and get you before you got hurt.”. She looked at me with a suspicious face. I guess she didn’t believe me, but let’s be honest, would you of you were in her shoes.... Er, hooves? Before I could open my mouth, the sound of crashes and footsteps could be heard. Crap, looks like the cops finally decided to take action. I got to get her outta here and fast! Without a second thought I grabbed Applejack and held her under my right arm. Her face was full of nothing but shock and confusion. “Hey, lemme go you creep!” She demanded, kicking her legs aggressively. “Look, you don’t have a choice here! I’m getting you out of this place, intact!”. And with that, I bolted back out the back door. The sounds of shouting and searching could be heard from behind me, as I skated my way out of the Walmart parking lot and through the allies of the town. Funny, not once did I get caught, Guess I was lucky back there. After a few minutes, although it felt like hours listening to AJ shout at me, I was back at the front door to my house. I unlocked the door and entered in one swift motion, shutting the door as I entered. “I’m not gonna tell y’all again, put me down now!”. As you wish, I thought, as I dropped her to the ground, causing her to fall on her stomach. I snickered as I made my way into the living room. “Fluttershy, come out! I brought Applejack, just like I promised!”. In mere milliseconds, she as embracing AJ, to which I smiled. Applejack’s face was priceless by the way. I basically just proved to her single handedly that I was telling the truth. Booyah! She hugged her friend tightly, smiling in relief that her friend was okay. “Y’all okay Fluttershy? This weird... Thing didn’t harm yah?”. Fluttershy shook her head. “Of course not. Mr. Zac was very helpful towards me. He even said he’d come and get you.” She explained. Applejack blinked a few times before blushing a light red from embarrassment. Ha, that’s what you get for making assumptions. She trotted towards me with an embarrassed smile, her face growing a darker shade of red. “Uh, sorry partner, kinda took yah for an enemy, and sorry for the, er, headbutt to yah stomach.”. I chuckled a bit. She at least apologized, so it’s not that big a deal I guess. I shrugged, smiling as warmly as I could. “Hey, you live and you learn as I always say.”. She smiled back with a nod in agreement. Hahaha... Wait... Hold on, this is bad! “This means there’s more of you here!”. To be continued... > Getting Closer To Fluttershy > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 7: Getting Closer To Fluttershy “This is bad. This is really bad. This is really really bad.”. It was. It was really really really bad! With Fluttershy here, I only had the assumption that she was the only one who was hit with whatever it was that sent her here! Now that Applejack is in front of me, in the flesh, this literally kicks that assumption out the frickin window! Damn damn damn! I was so annoyed and in thought that I didn’t even notice myself pacing around the room, which only confused Applejack and Fluttershy exponentially. This was normal for me. Whenever I’m in deep thought or just in my head trying to figure something out, everything around me is literally nothing but nonexistent, which has sometimes ended with me falling over a coffee table, stubbing my toe, etcetera. This was one of those times, which I dub, my anime thinking montage time. “Um, partner, you okay up there?” I heard. I looked down to see Applejack staring at me, an eyebrow raised in wonder. “Sorry about that. I kinda get that way when I’m in thought.”. I sat down on the couch, sighing. “Alright, so let’s recap here. We can probably assume that the others are here now, considering that both you and Fluttershy are in my world,” I started, “Now, you both don’t know what got you here, correct?”. They nodded, looking a bit disappointed. “I-I don’t remember anything strange. I-it was just a normal meeting really...” Fluttershy mumbled. I guess it couldn’t be helped. Whatever was the cause of this was nothing that they could see. “Right. Since that’s the case, that means that we... Are literally back at square one.” I huffed. The girls chuckled lightly, a bit of disappointment still lingering in their expression. Can’t blame them though. Being stuck in a new world without any idea how to get back will make anyone a bit depressed. I nodded in understanding, knowing exactly what we need to do. “Well then, I guess right now the best thing we should do is rest and rethink this situation.”. That was probably not a good thing to say out loud. “Now hold on there partner, what about the others!” she asked rather agressivly. “We can’t just leave them out there, they could get hurt!”. And I should have known this would happen. With how thick headed Applejack can be when her friends are involved, it’s obvious she was gonna act this way. I sighed, knowing full well that I’d probably say the same if I was in her shoes... Er hooves. “Bad idea. If we go out there now, it’ll cause too much suspicion, and that’s the last thing we need right now.” I stated. “B-but we can’t j-just leave them out there...” Fluttershy retorted, her eyes staring into mine. I stared back into them for a good minute before patting her head, in attempt to calm her down. “Look, I understand that you girls are worried, but rushing out without thinking is only gonna cause issues. We need to slow down, and find them in a way that won’t draw attention towards us. If they find out who I am, they’ll search my house, find you, and then we’ll really be screwed.” I explained. They didn’t say anything back, but only looked down in defeat. They knew I was right, but that didn’t mean that they’d accept it entirely. “W-Will they be okay... Until we find them?”. I nodded. “Of course. It’s not like anyone is gunning for them, so I’m sure they’ll be okay until we find them.” I assured. They smiled at each other, nodding in agreement. I grinned, however something doesn’t sit quite right with me. Almost the entire building wasn’t guarded by any police officers, and not only that, but animal control was nowhere to be seen. It’s almost like they weren’t treating this like a “hostile animal’ situation. It’s a bit off-putting. I shrugged. It couldn’t have been anything big. I mean, it’s not like anyone knows of their existence or magic or even that Equestria is apparently real, so who would wanna hurt them? I must be over thinking things. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a growling stomach. I looked down to see that it was Applejack. Makes sense, she was probably starving from this whole ordeal. She chuckled, patting her stomach comedically. “Hoowee, I am starvin’! Got anythin’ to eat Zac?” She asked, her southern accent protruding like a single marshmallow in chocolate cake. Damn, I think I’m starting to get hungry too, hehe. I walked into the kitchen, grabbing my backpack in the process. “Welp, I’ve got apples.” I said, opening my bag to show dozens of apples inside, to which they stared at hungrily. Looks like it was a good idea to swipe some before I ran into Applejack. _________________😚________________ After dinner was over, I trudged myself to my room. This whole situation had me exhausted but I couldn’t sleep for some reason. It felt like my mind was racing and so many things were on my mind at one time. Why were they here? Why was I in this situation? How did they even get here? Did someone do this? Needless to say, I was definitely not in a peaceful state of mind. That’s when I heard a knock on my door. It was probably Applejack asking for another apple or something. “Who is it?” I called out. “Um, i-its me... I-is this a bad time?”. Fluttershy? Now that was odd. I thought she was asleep already. “Um, no it’s all good, come on in.”. She opened the door and walked in, her face hidden in her mane. I tilted my head in confusion. Was she alright? “Er, wanna have a seat?” I asked, patting a spot on the bed. She nodded and sat next to me, barely making a noise. I glanced at her, watching her fidget a bit. She definitely had something on her mind. “So uh, what’s up? Had a bad dream?”. She shook her head. “I-I was just.... Worried about something...” She stated. Ah, she was worried about her friends. Makes sense. “It’s okay Fluttershy, we’ll find them. It’ll be a piece of cake.” I said, giving her a thumbs up and a toothy grin. She smiled back shyly. “T-thanks... But... I’m worried about you too...”. Wait, what? She was worried about me? Why? Did I come off as some reckless guy? I don’t recall ever putting on that vibe. “Me? Why’s that?” I asked. She scoots closer to me, as I do the same, hesitantly. “Well, we have no way in knowing what’s going to happen. I-If something happens to you, well... You know...”. What the hell, what’s going on? Was she... Seeing me as a friend or something? Me, a human. I guess that’s to be expected with her though, considering she’s friends with all sorts of creatures in Equestria. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. It’s not like I’m gonna get hurt or anything. It’s not like some guy is trying to hunt you girls down so I’ll be okay.”. She giggled, fidgeting a tiny bit. I guess the thought still haunts her a bit. There was only one thing I could do... I wrapped my arm around her, giving her a gentle hug. She squeaked in surprise, her body tensing up before relaxing a bit. My chest warmed from her breath hitting against it. She was soft and warm around my arms, and she instantly made my mind calm and at ease. I yawned, my body feeling relaxed and tired. “W-well Fluttershy, we should get some sleep.”. No answer. “Fluttershy?” I called. Still no answer. I leaned my head closer to her, and the only thing I heard was soft, slow breathing. Did she... Did she fall asleep in my arms? I blinked in confusion. Was I that relaxing? Did I help her relax too? I yawned again. Well, I guess there’s no point in moving her. I layed myself down, setting her beside me. Her chest rose and fell in a soothing loop, as she slept peaceful next to me. Her breathing soon got to me too, as my eyes drooped, yearning for some shut eye. I sighed, my body finally shutting off for the day. Like I said before, bet you suckers wish you were me. To Be Continued...