Rainbow Dash finds... something while on her early morning flight over the Everfree Forest. She has no idea what he is, but she's determined in making sure nopony knows about him!
Rainbow Dash finds... something on her early morning flight over the Everfree Forest. She's not exactly sure what this something is, but she sure will make sure to not only keep him safe, but also away from anypony! She doesn't need the whole town freaking out about him!
After all, who would believe her story that a deformed ghost was wanting to burn down the whole Everfree Forest as retribution?
Rainbow Dash had woken up on the wrong side of her cloud bed. Again.
It was weird. One moment, Rainbow Dash had been sleeping well, snoring all the while. And then, suddenly, she had rooooollllled to the other side of the bed. Then, everything had changed. Feathers? Bent. Back? Screaming. Neck? Snapped like a twig. Rainbow Dash was unsure how it had happened. All she knew was that her future self needed to get Cloudchaser to help her⊠again. Agh.
Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth. She was flying. Like, right now. An early morning flight; her usual Wonderbolts Approvedâą warmup. It was awesome, just like her, but also not awesome, which was not like her. She could barely see right now, and it wasnât because of some fog. It was that brain fog, because she couldnât sleep because she woke on the wrong side of her cloud bed. Again. Ugh.
Thatâs it! She had it. She was not going to think about the bed again. It stinked, just like her altitude! It was too low. Thatâs it. Higher, higher, higher. She flapped her wings⊠and she kept going up because she was pointed up. She smiled.
Thatâs the early morning flight routine she remembered! It was almost... what was the word that Twilight told her? Ewwphoric? Ehh... close enough. Awesome worked better anyway, and it was way cooler of a word. She chuckled as she felt the cool air hit her face. This. Was. The. Life! Ponies were going to be jealous of her!âwell, except the other girls... and Spike. Theyâre all awesome like her. Also the Wonderbolts⊠and Derpy.
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes for a moment. It was like everything made sense. Wait, what was she doing?
Oh, right! Flying. Early morning flight routine. Was she gliding or still pumping her wings? Why was she asking that? She knew what she was doing!
With one final pump of her wings, Rainbow Dash started her glide. She dipped down below the clouds, being mindful of her headâshe didnât want to hit the harder part of the cloud, puffing it would get vapor everywhere. She could see the ground, how it was covered with a canopy of trees. There was also this huuuuge mountain that had grown over the edge of the horizon. She could also see this winding path that darted in-between the trees. It went further into the Everfree, even darting where this smoke plume was. It was really, really big, and it wasâwait. WAIT.
Rainbow Dashâs eyes widened.
âSm-oke?â she said, her voice cracking a bit.
This was not normal. Not normal one bit. Sometimes it was normal, because Zecoraâs hut would smoke, but it wouldnât go this high up where she was, and she was pretty sure that Zecoraâs hut was not out this far, but she could be misremembering. She had a tendency to do that when she was this tired.
If Zecoraâs hut was out this far, it still didnât seem like it was coming from her hut. This smoke was thick, dark, and spreading wide, mostly due to the gust up at this height. And the times that Zecoraâs hut did smoke, it was mostly due to the cauldron being really, really hot. Like burning hot. Scalding. A âuse of chemicals that you would not seekâ she would sayâRainbow Dash couldnât rhyme so it definitely was loosely said.
So why was there smoke this far into the Everfree? And why was it this pronounced?
Rainbow Dash was confused. So, she decided to stop being confused and flew straight into the direction of the smoke.
It took her a few moments, mostly because she wasnât expecting to have to veer off course of her usual route. Her route was simple: home, the Everfree, Twilightâs Castle, Canterlot (if she was feeling it, but she skipped this most days because she really had no reason to fly all the way over there [except for practice with her fellow Wonderbolts, although thatâs an exception to the rule!]), Mayor Mareâs Office (taxes are so uncool, oh and by the way, she lived there too) and home, of course. Sometimes, she veered off that route to see Fluttershy if she was up, and sometimes she went to annoy Rarity on the way back home. Sometimes she also went to see AJ, but that was⊠how long ago? What day was it again?
Wow, was it really this early? Oh, right, the smoke. Now that she has veered off course, she was going to need to fly more. Whatever. Better to⊠to sate her curiosity for now t-then to continue flying and w-worrying about her cloudsâAUGH.
She growled at her stupid mind as she descended closer to the trees below. They were green and they were puffy. They were large too, and she was not happy that she had to find a spot to land with this many trees around. Timberwolves liked trees. Her wings didnât; getting leaves out of her feathers was not a pleasant experience.
The only trees Rainbow Dash liked were the trees at AJâs farm. Those were cool. Great to sleep in. Good view. Nice wind. Awesome. These ones were wild and were just⊠smoking. Crazy. Not cool. Forest fires.
Rainbow Dash continued flying. She descended lower, and spotted a nice clearing that she could land in. Perfect. Sheâll have to walk a bit to see where the smoke was poking out from, but it was better than landing right next to it where there were only trees. Branches, twigs, ack. Nope. Nope! Not one bit. Feathers being bent would be awful. Flying would be out of the question after that.
Shivers. Her body shivered all over the place. She guided herself close to the ground. She did her little tappies, her little hops as she landed, before she stretched those wings and cracked her neck. She furled those speedy pups back to her sides and grinned. Another successful landing.
âAwww yeah!â
Puffing her chest out, Rainbow Dash walked into the forest. The light that guided her was made hidden by the canopy. The path in front of her was filled with roots, twigs, and dirt. The dirt printed her hooves as she took each step into the forest.
What was she going to see? Whoever this pony was, theyâd better have a good reason to camp out here! It was wayyyyyy too early to be setting a campfire this big out here. Like, now that she had gotten closer to the smoke, this was definitely way past Zecoraâs hut. Like, how were theyâ
She paused. The bush rustled, before growling at⊠something. Was that a timberwolf?
Rainbow Dash stopped. She assumed the position. THE POSITION. That one, her wings unfurled, her legs bracing for impact, and her eyes scouring the brush.
Rustling there. Rustling here. A bit of hoofsteps pattering against dirtâshe heard it all.
Her brows furrowed. She continued to walk forward⊠sllllooooowwwly, while she kept her eyes peeled, just like her metaphorical bananas. And apples. Canât forget those, otherwise Pinkie would have her maimed (don't disrespect Applejack like that!)!
She walked for a bit longer. She didnât know how long since she lost the stopwatch Spitfire gave her from the Wonderbolt Barracksâstupid watch malfunctioned! It wasnât her fault they werenât built to sustain a barrel roll into a wingtip corkscrewâRainbow Dash shook her head and knocked herself back into commission. She blinked away her tired mind and looked ahead. She squinted, trying to get a better view of the forest, but the windiness of the path, the lack of lighting, and the animals that were messing with the bushes were making this harder than she wanted it to be. Not to mention that she was still feeling the brain fog and it was making her see double the brush sometimes, but she sighed and pressed on. Sheâll stumble upon the pony soon, right? Then she could tell them off and get back to flying andâ
Rainbow Dash froze again. Right in place.
The smoke was close. She could smell the burning sensation. It burned her nostrils just smelling that smell. That smelly smell. Thankfully it didnât smell like a dead body, so at least thatâs some good news, but⊠it was intense. Could it beâŠ?
She pressed on, keeping her gaze on the black smoke that filled the forest. It didnât take her long to find the scene of the crime: a large fire set in a circular ring. Rocks surrounded it, and wood stood in the center. It was burning, quite profusely. Yet⊠no ponies. Not one. Just a giant fire burning uncontrollably in a forest, yet controlled at the same time in the same forest, if the getup was anything to talk about.
Yeah, there was no way somepony wasnât behind this. It was too well made, which definitely ruled out any animal in the area. Where was this pony? Were they hiding? Did they hear her before she stumbled upon it? That couldnât be. She was being quiet! She was channeling her inner Mare Do Well there, which was all her friends combined so she couldnât have messed it upâ
CR-ACK!
A loud branch snapped in two. It wasnât her. It was loud and it was nearby.
Rainbow Dash, without any further consideration, dove head first into a nearby bush. The brush pinched her wings, her skin, her everything, and she was wincing as she tried to get further into it. It didnât matter if it hurt now, sheâd rather become a shish kebab skewered just right in a bush she called a temporary shelter than be found from whatever just snapped that branch in two! She yelped as a thorn poked her side as she thought all that. Stupid bush. All because she was trying to get her neck out a bit further, so she could get a better view! Also her tail felt cold. She hoped, no, begged Celestia that it wasnât sticking outâCelestia please make these things a bit easier to hide!âshe groaned.
âWhat was that?â
A voice that was not Rainbow Dashâs said. She could hear the thing move forward. She couldnât see it very well, mostly because a piece of the bush she was in was blocking her line of sight, but she could see something moving. It was wearing⊠something, and it was more lengthy than widthy. Egh.
Was it deformed? Was it a Bighoof? Also why was it wearing clothes? Was this some weird Grand Galloping Gala noble trying to channel their outdoor survival skills while standing only on their hindlegs? What theâŠ
Rainbow Dash squirmed in her bush. She tried blowing the pesky branch out of her vision but that didnât work, so she mustered a bit of strength to move her foreleg to push it out of the way. There. Thatâs it. MOOOOVE.
Snap. Snap. Gah! There. She could now seeeeeeeeeâ
She couldnât believe her eyes:
âMaybe it was a rabbit or somethingâŠâ
IT muttered in Equestrian. IT was tall. IT was not a deformed ghost. IT was actually really happy to be burning all that wood IT found. IT was really tall. IT was white, pasty, and looking like a cream filled donut that Pinkie made back at the Sugarcube Cornerâwell, not exactly, IT was tall. IT had weird hoovesâwait, those were hands, and they looked like Discordâsâwow IT looked really strangeâRainbow Dash could imagine Discord being friends with ITâwait, why was she thinking that; oh wow IT was moving again with only two legs, the others were armsâRainbow Dash was not into anatomy, especially of creatures she didnât know.
âYou know, I really donât understand why this part of the forest looks so different! I mean, this is only a few clicks from the campground but⊠for some reason, the forest looks off. Did I take my meds this morning or did that little twerp in 3C get into my bag again?â
3C? Twerp? Campground? What?
Rainbow Dash quietly observed from her temporary shelter.
IT was moving again, throwing another log onto the fire IT created.
âI really need to stop talking to myself. Iâm the only guy in the group who does this! And Iâm all alone, out here making this spooky bonfire that Admin Daenery wanted me to make so the kids have something to do other than twiddle their thumbs and throw giant piles of shit at each other! That took so long to clean the latrines out last timeâeugh. My hands were smelling like the Charlotte Bobcats' entire history for weeks!â
She was stunned. Her eyes were intently staring at the thingâs arms. IT was casually tossing logs into this bonfireâthatâs what IT called it right? She sighed. Well, IT sounded like a deep voiced type of guy, and IT sounded frustratedâŠ
Maybe she could help?
Rainbow Dash evicted that thought out with only her dignity and one thousand bits to her name. Was she dumb? Stupid, even? Thereâs no way that IT was friendly! Not a châ
âWish I had some help right now to get this all done. Maybe I can call Eric over my walkie-talkie to get some more help with this⊠Egh, maybe not. That dude NEVER moves out of the camp guide quarters! Swear, heâs only there to be on the staff sheet and screw that camp assistant from U of A. What a bum!â
âWhoâs Ericââ
Oh no. Oh no-no-no-no! NO. She spoke. Her brain spoke for her. Stupid brain fog. Sheâs going to die now. Sheâs going to DIE. And now IT was looking somewhere in her direction. IT nearly dropped the log on ITS leg.
âWhoa! Is there someone out here? I swear if this is Eric and heâs about to rat me out to his father, I hope he does. The scumbag.â IT kept talking as IT approached the bushes. The ones that included hers. âMan, that guy is the worst. And his father is too. I wouldnât be surprised if they were taking camp funds all this time. Those children deserve a better experience than what theyâre getting! If I was part of the committee, Iâd toss those guys out and get some nice well-to-do people who understand this whole thing. The digs would actually be promising. People would rate us five stars on Yelp! It would be great andâŠâ
IT was right over her bush. She could feel ITS presence. She was scared out of her mind. She closed her eyes, imagining herself back home, with her uncomfortable cloud bed, with her Wonderbolts memorabilia, with her⊠pictures of her friends. She was going to die here, wasnât she?
Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth.
â...I hope Eric trips on a lego and gets stabbed by aââ
âGET OUT OF MY WAY!â
âHOLY SHIT!â
She had screamed on the top of her lungs, and was now out of her bush. She could imagine her mane looked like it was full of thorns and probably a nest created by a bird, but she wasnât going to worry. Her flight back could take care of it, if only IT lets her live. Her heart was beating right out of her chest right now, and her wings were unfurled. She bent a bit low, growling at the thing.
Meanwhile, IT was on the ground, looking up at her with ITS mouth wide open. Rainbow Dash could see ITS teeth, some were flat but some were sharp. Really sharp. Like a griffon.
IT ate meat.
âYouây-you talked?â IT stutteredâwait, stuttered?
Rainbow Dash tilted her head. âOf course, I do! And⊠and you were about to eat me!â
âUh⊠what?!â
She growled and made herself look bigger (she thought so at least). âYou knew I was there the entire time, right?â
âN-NoâŠ? What are you on about? I was just trying to make a bonfire and⊠wait. Was that you earlier? The one who was If you can talk, and youâre a horseââ
âPony, buster. If youâre going to eat me, at leastââ
âIâm not going to eat you! Horâerr, ponies are not something Iâd eat. Especially ones that talk.â It scratched the back of its head before shaking their head. âThis is crazy. Maybe I did take my meds, or maybe I took the wrong meds. My motherâs meds. How did I get her meds? Thereâs no wayââ
âDude⊠relax. Iââ
âRelax? How can I relax when I just got almost run over by a talking pony emerging from a bush?â
âAnd how could I relax knowing that you are a deformed ghost that wanted to burn down the Everfree Forest for the sake of divine retributionââ
âOkay, I do have a big nose and I do have two pinkie fingers on my right hand, but that does not mean Iâm deformed. I just got scammed by the gene pool!â it said, pointing its two small⊠fingers on its right hand directly at her. âAlso, burn down the Everfree? I thought this was a forest by my campground! Where in the blooming fuck am I?â
âEquestria.â
âEquâwhat? Iâve never heard of that.â
âWhere are you from⊠uhhâŠâ
It snorted and let out a little chuckle. âUm⊠sorry. Nameâs Brick. Brick Lancaster. Got it from my father who thought the name was funny. Not sure how he thought that was funny. His sense of humor was more submerged in a riverbed than most.â
That sounded like a guyâs name. ItâŠerrâhe gave me his⊠hand.
She slowly walked up to him and gave him her hoof. âR-Rainbow Dash. D-Donât wear it out.â
âGotcha⊠R-Rainbow Dash.â
She stared at Brick. Her heart was still beating fast. Now that she could see him moreâwow was she wide awake now!âh-he had this hair on his head. It was brown, and his arms were huge. More muscular than her legs! He was tall too, taller than most ponies. Maybe as tall as Celestia. Or Luna. Either or. His eyes were blue just like his leggingsâwhatever those wereâand his shirt was green. Oh, and it had this weird badge thing on it, and it had a large, bold, gold letter on it too. She didnât know what it was, but it was something.
She⊠didnât know what else to say. Her mind was too fixated on discovering something that she never saw before to really make any thoughts connect. Just jumbled ones. Or ones that are short. Like her compared to him. It wasâŠ
âSo... if you're not from Equestria, Brick, then where are you from?â
Brick paused, before taking in a deep breath. "I'm from a little town out in South Dakota.â
An alien. An actual alien. Right in front of her. In the flesh.
She blinked. Itâer, his name was Brick. She wasnât going to call him by his full name because one, it was a mouthful in her eyes, and two, he probably wouldnât like it if she did that, right?
She shook her head and took a step back to really get a good look at him. The pasty white alien had his hand cupping his jaw, while he tilted his head just enough to cr-ack his neck. Then, he turned his attention to the fire and sat down on a rather large log near it. He took a shaky breath and threw a nearby stick into it.
It incinerated almost immediately.
She sighed.
Brick looked just as stressed as she was! Why was she standing here doing nothing but staring at him? Not only did she need to make sure he wasnât going to make the fire bigger, but also, if she left him alone, she didnât know what he was going to do! Even though he made it clear he didnât want to burn the forest down, he could just be saying that to play on her good side! Nopony was going to manipulate her. Not even a non-pony like him.
Cautiously, Rainbow Dash tiptoed her way up to him. Each step felt coarse under her hooves but each step meant one step closer to ensuring a not-burnt-up Everfree Forest. The fiery aftermath clouded her vision, which made her tightly shut her eyes for a brief moment. She needed to get rid of this brain fog and fast.
So what was she tiptoeing for?
Mentally groaning, Rainbow Dash stopped and actually walked like normal, if her normal was still somewhat forced, her leg cramping as she took another step. With a tremendous amount of effort and her lip sucking in the pain, Rainbow Dash clip-clopped her way over to him, going behind him instead of in frontâgetting thwacked by a large stick was not a fun way to introduce a possible friendshipâand hopped over the log.
âBrick?â
He looked over at her and blinked. âYeah, Rainbow Dash?â
âIs it cool if I sit here?â
Her wings itched as she asked that question. Celestia, her flight or fight instinct was firing all at once and she was not having it right now. And neither was Brick as his nostrils flared and his brows furrowed andâ
âSure. Itâs a free countrââ He stopped himself and snorted. âSorry, itâs a saying where Iâm from. Yeah, you can.â
She was about to sit when she decided it would be best to lay down instead, so she carefully flopped onto the log and set her head on her forehooves. She then looked up at him and smiled (at least she hoped, her upper lip was about to fall off with how much it was twitching). âThanks.â
He looked away from her. âY-Youâre welcome.â
The two stayed silent for a bit, just watching as the fire raged on.
Then, Rainbow Dash mustered up enough awesome to change that. âSo, what did you do back home?â
She could feel his gaze on her. âWorking for the summer camp that you probably heard me ranting about.â
âI heard some of it. Eric was really mean to you, huh?â
Brick snorted. âHeâs like that with most people. His âMy fatherâs richer than yours!â attitude is about as insufferable as it gets.â He grabbed another stick from his pile beside him and rolled it in his hand. âAnd now that Iâm not there, Iâm hoping he doesnât screw up anything else for the camp.â
âSounds like some pony I know.â
âGuess trans-dimensional douchebaggery is consistent no matter where you are.â
âThose were words?â Rainbow Dash asked, feeling her ears go numb all of a sudden.
He laughed at her misery. âYeah. Just made them now. Look at me. I got teleported to another world and Iâm here teaching a pony, language.â He shook his head. âIf only my college professor who gave me a C in English 101 could see me now.â
âHey, just because I didnât know what that meant doesnât mean Iâm dumb or something!â
âYeah, I figured. Were you a linguistic wiz in your language class too?â
She cleared her throat. She totally aced her Equestrian class! She didnât want to make Brick feel badâyeah, thatâs it. âOf course! Iâm the best at speaking Equestrian!â
She could hear Applejack calling her a weaselly little liar in her head. âBe honest to him! He deserves that much.â And then Pinkie would jump in just to tell her sheâs not getting cupcakes for the next couple days (sheâs using them as weapons currently in their prank war anyway [a war named Sweet And Sour II: Party Harder for some reason], so Rainbow Dash would let that slide). Also Fluttershy would glare at her and say, âItâs not nice to lie to somepony!â While Rarity would just flip her mane at her and sheâdâ
She was getting off topic now and Brick was looking at her like she grew a second head! Sheâll leave that friendship lesson for later.
âRightâŠâ He threw another stick into the fire. âAnything else you want to talk about?â
She nodded. âSo what areyou?â
âA human.â
âA human?â
âYep. Ever heard of them?â
âNoâŠâ Her eyes widened. âAnd you said you were from a place called Earth?â
âYep.â
âYou really are an alien.â
âGuess so,â Brick chuckled and continued, âNever thought Iâd be an actual alien to someone.â
âReally?â
He nodded. âWeâre the only species that can talk back where Iâm from. I think itâs a load of crap though. Dogs, cats, and even dolphins totally have their own secret languages, we just canât interpret them.â
She laughed. âWe have pets here too, and they donât talk either.â She craned her head up to look at him. âSounds like Equestriaâs a bit like Earth, donât youâŠâ
She paused as she watched him lift his hand up toward her head. His fingers stretched out almost as if he was going to reach for her, but then he stopped, his hand almost frozen in place. Without a second more to comprehend it, Brick pulled his arm back. His hand propped him back up, making him grunt. âSorry.â
What was he going to do there? His hand was hovering over her head and then he took it away. âItâs okay.â
She gulped and shakily moved her forehoof towards his hand. She could see how it flexed while his other one moved through his shaggy mane.
âCrazy how Iâm having a casual conversation with a pony.â
âItâs crazy that youâre not Bighoof, Brick.â
He laughed. âBighoof? You thought I was a yeti?â
She threw her forehooves into the air. âCan you really blame me? How else was I supposed to explain what I was seeing?â
âLengthy pasty white thing frolics with fervor through the forest?â
She glared at him. âNo. You werenât frolicking.â
He facehoovedâpalmedâwhatever it was called and sighed. âYouâre right. Frolic is a terrible word for walking.â
She chuckled. âTwilight would agree with you there.â
âTwilight, you mean the movie?â
Rainbow Dash tilted her head. âNoâŠ? I didnât know she got her own movie. She didnât tell me!â
Brick raised a brow. âOkay, so who is this then? One of your friends?â
She slowly nodded, but realized what she had just told Brick and waved her hooves out in front of her. âYou canât see her though!â
âI canât⊠see her?â
âY-Yeah!â
âŠ
âWhy?â
She couldnât help but play with her forehooves. What was he going to tell him? Sorry, because youâre an alien Iâm afraid my friends would be allergic to you! Hmm⊠no, that wouldnât work. Maybe tell him that too many ponies could give him radiation? Nah⊠that wouldnât work either! She rubbed her chin before channeling The Egghead energy and grinning. This was going to be the best way to explain her hesitation away! And then heâll not ask that question again andâ
âBecause you need a special pass!â
âA pass?â
âY-Yeah⊠A pony pass!â
Brick was blinking like a strobe light at one of Vinyl and Octaviaâs raves. She just made him think he needed a pass to even talk to them. How did she come up with that? That wasnât what she was thinking of! All she had to say was âThey were on vacation and wonât be back until next week!â What was she going to say now?
Rainbow Dash waited as Brickâs expression stayed frozen, unmoving. He was staring at her now, almost like he was trying to process what she said and instead, he wasnât. Her heart stirred and her feathers burned an itch more annoying than the pony she was referencing.
âRainbow Dash, I have never in my life heard of someone needing a pass just to talk to someone else.â
She nearly facehooved, but she decided to give herself a headache instead, and mentally facehoof instead. She grimaced, holding her head for a second, before looking at him. âAlright, you got me. Iâm just⊠worried about what theyâd say.â
âWhy? Are they rude?â
âNoâŠâ
He hummed to himself. âAre they⊠too busy?â
âI mean⊠it depends on the dayââ
âAre they allergic to me?â
âNo! Iâd be sneezing around you right now if that were true!â
He nodded. âTrue, trueâŠâ A hum, again. What was he doing? Revving himself up or something?
Suddenly, he frowned and sighed. âAre they opposed to other species?â
Not only was that not true, but also opposed? Really? If somepony said that to her about⊠letâs say, Gilda, sheâd make sure theyâd hear her and then some! But here, it was an alien trying to understand Rainbow Dash and her friends. And eventually everypony else. All creatures.
Her mind couldnât wrap itself around the whole thing. Gah! She just needed to make sure she wasnât leading him in the wrong direction again. Public speaking wasnât the coolest thing about her and thankfully the Wonderbolts didnât require her to do a whole lot of it. Unless it was media day. She hated that day. Sheâll just let her flying do the talking for her.
Unfortunately, she canât let her flying talk her way out of this one. She needed to make her point clear. SSlloowwwly, she started talking, âNo⊠theyâre not going to be opposed to you. Theyâre just⊠sensitive. J-Just like everypony else!â She suddenly bit her tongue and scrunched her muzzle. âActually, scratch that. Only some ponies are like that. I mean, I almost came out of that bush and rammed you butââ
âYeah⊠you almost did.â
She snorted. âIâm just saying! My friends are justâŠâ She groaned. âI canât think of a really good way of saying this, Brick. Iâm sorry.â
He slightly smiled. âI get it. Youâre just worried that theyâll do something that theyâd regret.â
âKind of⊠I know them really well, but this is a whole different thing. Like, a whooollle different thing entirely! I donât want them to be too worried, yâknow?â
âI guess. I mean, I donât know how Iâd be if you were put on Earth. The FBI probably would investigate or something.â
âFBI?â
Brick took a moment to think it over, at least, he was looking elsewhere, so she didnât get a great view of him, but it looked like he did that, if his brow twitching meant anything. âPolice but with way more funding⊠and a rather elastic history.â
She blinked. âOoookaaaayyyâŠâ She frowned. âI donât think thatâll happen here, but I donât want to get you in any trouble. After all, itâs not normal to be making friends with an alienâ
âA human, in this case.â
ââwhatever! Being friends with a whole new species is just not normal soâŠâ
She twiddled with her hooves again. Wow, the side of her hoof felt a bit sharp. Gotta be careful with this oneâwait, why was he humming to himself now? And why was he tossing another stick into the fire?
CL-UNK!
Her ears flicked up high after that toss. That was a loud one!
âSorry, I had to get that big one out of the pile I collected. It was taking up room.â
She rolled her eyes. âDonât be. Look, I think itâs best if we get you set up out here. Then, if you really want to meet my friends, I can get them to meet you one by one! Donât want to scare ponies off, yâknow?â
He sighed. âAlright. Plus, it might help me with my mental health at the moment.â
âGreatâwait, what do you mean by that?â
Brick looked at her like she just said something so incredibly insane it was not even funny. What? Was asking a question a bad thing now? He didnât look angry at her, thatâs at least something going for her.
He cleared his throat. âI⊠itâs nothing.â
âItâs not nothing if youâre just casually mentioning it!â She flicked her wings out (although her one closest to the fire remained a bit more furled than unfurled. Charred feathers were not something she wanted right now!) before she continued, âI know I get in my moods some days butââ
âItâs not a mood thing. Itâs justâŠâ He trailed off, his voice shaking like a leaf on a tree. She could see him visibly shiver. âIâm alone. Iâm just here. Like I said, casually talking to a pony isnât something youâd do unless you owned a stable and they were your pet or something.â
That image alone made her wince. âI⊠I see what you mean butââ
âAnd on top of that, Iâm stuck here for the foreseeable future.â He leaned down to pick up a couple sticks and toss them in the fire too. âI donât get it. Why me?â
âNopony knows, Brick.â She brought one of her wings and gently laid them on his shoulder. He looked at her rather suddenly, which made her think she did something wrong, but then he looked back into the fire. âBut youâre wrong about being alone. Iâm here, right?â
He sighed. âYouâre right. Itâs just⊠Iâm here, youâre here, and this is actually happening.â
âYepâŠâ
She pulled him closer with her wing and stayed there. She stayed there while his face did not change. And then he frowned again, just as she was thinking he was fine, and said the words that she dreaded to hear:
âI hope Iâm not stuck here.â
Suddenly, all that warmth disappeared. The fire was still burning, but none of it gave her warmth. She shivered as she held the distraught human.
Maybe this was more than she could take on.
Maybe this was just something that she needed her friends help with.
Maybe she was not the pony to help him.
Maybe she was notâ
Gritting her teeth, she let out a growl that made Brick nearly jump out of her wingâs grasp.
âWhoa, Rainbow Dash, did I say something wrong orââ
âYeah, you did. You wonât be stuck here! And even if you are and we donât know it yet, Iâm not abandoning you.â
âAbandoning? I didnât say anyââ
âYou were thinking about it! I saw how your nose crooked up andâsee, youâre doing it now!â
Brick uncrooked his nose and put his hands on his head. She let him have his moment, as he growled out whatever anxiousness was there. She would probably do the same thing if she was in his hoovesâer⊠feet. Right. Not a pony.
âAm I really that easy to read?â Brick said as he peeled his hands off his head.
âI donât know, it just looked like it was a tell.â She shook her head. âLook. No more brooding. We need to get your mind off this whole alien thing.â
He tilted his head. âAnd how do you suppose we do that?â
She scrunched her muzzle up for a brief moment, before relaxing and clopping her forehooves together. âWe got work to do.â
âWork? On what?â
âSetting up camp, duh! If youâre going to be living out here, you need a place to sleep! You were working for one, right?â
âYeah, but setting up a camp is different than working at one, Rainbow Dash.â
âOkay⊠so you know how to make one, right?â
He nodded. âYeah butââ
âThen letâs make one. You and me!â
âBut we donât have the necessary equipment to make one!â Brick shot back, waving his arm around the site. It was true, they had nothing but a large fire pit, but everypony starts out with nothing too at one point in their life, right? âI left majority of my gear in South Dakota andââ
She rolled her eyes. âCome oonnnn, dude! Thereâs a way to easily solve that problem! Iâll just get you some. What do ya need?â
Brick began to rev up again, and it made sense to her this time! He tapped his chin with his hand. âSome rope⊠a knife⊠maybe some food to tide us over and some stuff we can use to sleep with?â
âLike a blanket and a pillow or something?â
He snapped his fingers and gave her a smile. âYeah, thatâll work!â
She grinned and retracted her wing from his back. âEasy! Iâll get all that and some more stuff I just thought of faster than you can say XavlegbmaofffassssitimiwoamndutroabcwapwaeiippohfffX!â
âWas that even a word?â
Rainbow Dash wiped away her muzzle with a hoof. âSorry, I sneezed. What I meant to say was that I would get it faster than you could even use up the rest of the wood you got for the fire!â
Brick laughed for a bit before calming himself down. âAlright, well Iâm glad it wasnât you choking on something. And, by the way, what did you mean by âmore stuff?ââ
âItâll be a surprise, Brick! I canât tell you. Think of the other stuff as a welcome to Equestria gift!â
âYouâre something else, you know that?â
She just giggled in her hoof. âAwesome is the word youâre looking for.â
âAlright there, awesome,â Brick said with a chuckle. He folded his arms together. âHow are you going to get everything here and back?â
âFlying, duhhh.â She punctuated this by flexing her speedy pups on her back. They were itching to get some more flying in! âWhat do you think these puppies are used for?â
He blinked. âI mean I havenât seen you really fly soâŠâ
âWell, watch this!â
Turning around from him and hopping off the log, Rainbow Dash landed on all fours. She craned her neck just to make sure he was watching (which he was) and smiled. âAre you ready?â
She could feel her tail wag as he gave her a thumbs up. âReady as I can be!â
With a little wiggle of her back, she popped off the ground and zipped through the nearby canopy of the trees. She did a little loop around the clearing where the smoke was emerging from, before zipping back down to land just a bit beside him.
âSee! I can fly andâoof!â
Brick picked her up and hugged her close. âThat was awesome, Rainbow Dash! Wow, I didnât know you could actually fly, let alone like that!â
Hot. She felt hot. Really hot. In her cheeks. Was she blushing or did Princess Celestia just do a solar flare? No, no-no, not even Twilight could do that, and she knew a princess wouldnât just mess with the sun like that! She shook her head to get rid of the thought that just burned her. âAhhh yeah, I do that all the time. Professionally too!â
âReally?â
âY-Yep!â Stupid stutter. The burning sensation in her cheeks was so annoying! It wasnât going away! Ugh. âAnyway, Iâll come back in a few. You just need to stay here and keep that fire going!â
âGotcha,â he said, before letting her go, setting her down on the ground again.
She cracked her neck and stretched her legs. Phew! Brick could hug with a vice grip! âYou definitely did.â
âToo strong?â
âMy leg almost cramped up there.â
âMy bad,â he muttered and snorted. âWell, you better be off. Weâre burning daylight, right?â
She nodded. âYeah, probably. Iâll see you in a bit, okay?â
âYep!â
âDonât go wandering off. Donât need to find you getting in a fight with a bear or something!â
He waved her off with his hand. âDonât worry, I donât plan on wrestling a bear. Not even once.â
Thatâs not what she meant! She let out a brief blow. âAlright, see you!â
âYep!â
âŠ
The two couldnât stop looking at each other. It was weird. It was awkward. It was definitely not his fault, it was totally hers. She snorted and turned around.
It didnât take long to pop off the ground and flap her wings when she wasnât looking at him.
Egh. This was going to be a whole thing, wasnât it?
