> The Human Hero of Ponyville
>  by Alex Rite
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1 Lets Meet Our Hero

Our story begins in a big city where very little interesting stuff ever happens (until now, anyway). This is the story of a human boy by the name of Alex Cooper. He was a pretty normal boy, at the age of 16, who, unfortunately, was an orphan, same as his older brother and twin sister. Thinking about his sister these days always mad him sad, for his little sister (he had convinced everyone that he was the first born twin) had disappeared about a few years ago. The only friends he had ever had were his brother and sister, and so by loosing one he had become more lonely. Honestly, though, he thought, what else should I expect. I'm an orphan. My whole life is centered around loneliness. Alex had thoughts like this all the time, for he didn't like the life he had. Who would? No, what Alex wanted was to live the life of a hero, full of danger and adventure. He constantly practiced fighting, and was very good. he was also very athletic and agile, so much that his gym teacher had asked him to join the gymnastics team, much to his embarrassment. But you can't really expect that from the life of an orphan, can you? So he just went back to the orphanage and decided he was too tired to do anything else. He went upstairs to his room and didn't even bother changing, he just lay down in bed in the same green shirt and tan shorts he had on. he didn't even bother to take off his shoes, red backpack, which contained his favorite book about everything you could learn about every magical creature ever, a favorite topic of his, and his favorite blue hat which was the last thing he ever got from his sister. Huh, I wish I could just go somewhere where I can be a hero instead of an orphan, he thought as he fell asleep. Just then a shooting star flew by his window, but there was something strange about it. It was green, had two tails, and suddenly disappeared in the middle of the sky.



Alex woke up later and noticed that something wasn't right. Instead of his warm, admittedly lumpy bed he was laying in the middle of a clearing in a thick woods. Those jerks back at the orphanage must have brought me out here as a joke, he thought. Oh well, better start walking now, and go joker on them later. So he started walking down what he believed was a path when he heard something strange.

"Help! Somepony help me," a girl screamed only ten feet away. Oh, wait now I get it, Alex thought, running tword the sound. This is one of those dreams. The ones where you get to be a hero to someone. I think I'm gonna enjoy this. Wait did she say some-PONY? Alex didn't have time to ponder this question, though, because he soon came across the problem. There was a pack of wolves attacking something, he could only assume it was the girl, which they had cornered. There was something strange about these wolves though. The were brown and instead of fur they seemed to be made out of a bunch of sticks. Timber Wolves, Alex thought, now I know I'm dreaming. Better get something to use to beat em back. Seeing a nearby tree limb on the ground, Alex picked it up and ran towards the Timber Wolves.

"Hey wood for brains," he called, "how about taking a crack at someone more your level!"

Hearing this the pack turned, visibly angry. they started running and trying to pounce on Alex, but he was fast enough to hold them off for a little while with his branch. Soon though one of them got in a lucky shot and clawed his arm. "Ouch," he yelped, although the scratch wasn't too bad. Alex hadn't been expecting it to hurt. Wait, that means this isn't a dream, he thought, I'm really fighting Timber wolves! Man, what I wouldn't give for a firecracker right now! As this thought he began fighting harder even though they were coming in at all sides. Eventually the pack understood that even though they could get a few good scrapes in, they couldn't defeat the creature before them. So they gave up and ran away, whining like they were on fire.

"That's right, you better run," Alex exclaimed waving the branch, seeing victory!

It was then that the person he saved began to speak.

"Um, thanks for saving me," she said, "I was about to get rid of them myself, but still, thanks. If I may ask, what is your name?"

Alex still had his back turned from the other person, making sure the Timber Wolves were gone, when he answered,

"My name is Alex Cooper. Yours?"

"Twilight Sparkle," she answered, "another question though, what are you? I've never seen a creature like you!"

"What do you mean you've never-," Alex began to say as he turned around. It was then that he saw the person he saved and two things happened after. The first was that he saw that she was a lavender unicorn standing in front of him.

The second was that he passed out.
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2 Meet the Ponies



Alex woke up in a strange place. He was in a room that was made entirely out of wood, and on a bed of the same material. Realizing he was in a new place he did the first thing that came to mind. He checked his head to make sure his hat was on, which it was. Thank goodness, he thought, I would hate to loose this thing. Just then someone came in through a door to his left. Taking a look he saw it was the lavender unicorn with a purple lizard right next to her. Now that he was prepared for her, he got a better look at her, noticing she had a dark purple mane with a light purple stripe in it, and her tail was the same. He also noticed that she had a strange marking on her flank. Then he took a look at the lizard, who he saw had green spines and a similarly colored under belly. A dragon, this is so cool, Alex thought. Just then, the unicorn noticed his alertness.

"Ah, you're awake. Thank goodness," she said. "Sorry for the unexpected change in location, but when you passed out I was afraid that you might have been hurt. Thankfully your injuries were minor, and I was able to treat them back here with my assistant, Spike." She gestured toward the baby dragon who mumbled, "Sup" and then walked closer to the side of the bed.

"I told you this earlier, but just in case you missed it, I'm Twilight Sparkle," she went on. "I believe you said your name was Alex right?"

Alex, trying hard, but failing, to act calm said, "yeah, that's me. Glad to see that your okay, too. From what I"ve read about Timber Wolves, they're a real nasty piece of work. Lucky for the both of us there weren't that many." Then, getting a little off topic he said, "Hey, your assistant, Spike right, isn't he a, uh, dragon?"

"Why, yes, Spike is a dragon, although he's just a baby," Twilight replied.

"Hey," Spike said.

"Wow a real living dragon," Alex said, "Back where i come from, although supposedly fictional, dragons are supposed to be one of the most incredible and intelligent creatures, like, ever."

At the sound of this, Spike smiled and said, "You hear that, Twilight? One of the most incredible creatures ever. I think I'm gonna like this guy."

"Yeah, yeah. Hey, how about you go finish cleaning the library Mr. 'incredible creature,'" Twilight replied.

Spike groaned but went off to do his chores anyway. As he left, Twilight started to giggle a little bit and Alex couldn't help but join in. After Spike left Twilight started asking Alex some questions about who and what he was, and Alex happily answered them all While also asking some questions about where he was, which was Equestria, and its inhabitants. Afterwords Twilight said, "Well I've got to go. I've got to check up with my friends and see if they need some help with anything. Oh, hey, you want to come with me?"

Alex, unable to refuse an offer to go outside and see a world full of magic, immediately said yes. They soon left the library, which Alex was surprised to find was a big tree, with spike following behind. They soon came to a huge apple orchard, which Twilight said was called Sweet Apple Acres, where her friend Applejack lived. When they got there they saw an orange pony with a blonde mane and a cowboy hat frantically running around looking for something. Alex noticed that she, too, had a marking on her flank like Twilight, which she had explained to him were called cutie marks, except this ones were three red apples.

Twilight said, "Whoa, Applejack. Whats going on?"

Applejack, noticing the three, ran up and said, "Twilight it's terrible. I put my list of apple trees that i had to buck today somewhere and I can't find it. Without the darn'd thang I cant remember where I'm supposed to go."

Twilight said that she, Spike, and Alex would be happy to help her, while introducing Alex at the same time, and asked where she last had it.

"I don't know. The only thing I can remember is that I put it somewhere that I thought I would remember, and now I can't," Applejack replied.

Hearing this Alex said, "Well in that case, I think I know where it is. Did you check to see if you put it in your hat?"

Both of the ponies looked at him like he was crazy, then looked at each other. Applejack shrugged as though to say, "might as well try" and then took off her hat. she let out a gasp and pulled out a piece of paper which was probably the missing list, put her hat back on, and asked Alex how he knew it was there.

"Well you see," Alex replied, "I find that when most people loose something important that they say they put in a place where they wouldn't loose it, they usually have said object on them."

"Well, however you knew, you knew, pard, you sure saved me a lot of grief. If you ever need any apples, you can always ask me," Applejack said and thanked him as she went off to do her job.

As Alex, Twilight, and Spike walked off to the next place, Twilight said she was vary impressed with his observation. Alex just replied by saying that growing up the way he did, you manage to learn a lot about what goes on in other peoples heads. The next place they stopped by was a small cottage where Twilight said her friend Fluttershy lived. The pink maned pegasus was outside at that moment watering some plants. When she saw the trio coming her way, she looked away but waved shyly.

"Hey Fluttershy, good to see you," Twilight said and she then pointed at Alex. "This is Alex, he's the guy you helped me carry out of the Everfree Forest."

Fluttershy whispered something that sounded like hello while trying to hide behind her mane. Alex saw that she had a cutie mark of three pink butterflies. Alex could tell that the name Fluttershy was well earned with this pony. he saw her flowers and suddenly came up with an idea.

Alex said, "These flowers are very nice. You take care of them yourself Fluttershy?"

At hearing this Fluttershy smiled a bit and said yes. Her voice was still very quiet but it was esier to understand what she was saying as she began to talk more about flowers. "You really have to be sure to give them plenty of sunshine and water, but never too much," she said. Twilight and Spike were watching this with their mouths open in shock, apparently surprised that he had been able to get Fluttershy to talk to him. After Fluttershy was done talking about flowers she started to talk about the animals she took care of but Alex and the others left soon. As they were leaving, Fluttershy started to wave goodbye. When they had walked a few feet away Twilight said, "Wow Alex, I'm impressed. I've never seen Fluttershy like that around someone she met for the first time. Well, except for Spike, but that was because he's a dragon."

"It's like I said before Twilight," Alex said, "I know how to make people open up. I'm aso pretty good at getting under their skin."

Just then a pink blur came out of nowhere and landed on top of Alex. It was a pink pony with a poofy mane that was a darker pink than her fur. She had a cutie mark of three balloons, two were yellow and one was blue. Alex could see it pretty well considering the fact that she was sitting on his back. The pink pony was facing towards a surprised Twilight and Spike and quickly said, "Hey Twilight. Hey, Spike. Words been going around Ponyville that you have anew friend, and I thought, "Hey I better meet this guy because if he's a friend of yours then he's a friend of mine," and you guys know how much I love making new friends. So I've been looking around for you guys so I could introduce myself and meet your friend. so I've been going all over the place looking for you guys and here you are, so wheres your new friend?"

Wow I'm impressed, Alex thought, she didn't even stop to breathe. Alex then said, "You happen to be sitting on me, and for the record 'Pinkie' I don't really like being used as a chair."

The pink pony noticed him then and apologized, but before getting up she said, "Hey, how'd you know my name? Do you have, like, some kind of freaky mind reading powers?"

Alex simply replied, "You're name is really Pinkie? I only called you that 'cause you're, you know, pink. By the way, I'm Alex."

Pinkie decided that that made sense and got off him. She then said, "Well, Alex, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I hope you like parties because I'm gonna be throwing you one at Twilight's. It's gonna be great. There'll be punch and cake and candy and games and music and candy. Wait, I said candy twice. Well there is gonna be a lot of candy. Anyways gotta go." Pinkie then ran off to who-knows-where for who-knows-why.

Alex got up and said, "Nice pony, but is she always that-" Nutty, crazy, a perfect match for Joker, Alex thought.

"Hyper," Spike tried. Alex nodded deciding that it was the least ifennsive way to describe Pinkie.

"Afraid so," Twilight said. They then came to a very fancy looking house where Twilight said her unicorn friend Rarity lived.

"Hmm. I'm guessing that Spike really 'likes' Rarity, right," Alex said.

"Actualy, yes, but how did you know that," Twilight said. Alex simply explaind by pointing to his left where spike was a few feet away, aparently checking his reflection in a birdbath. Seeing this, Twilight and Alex started laughing, which Spike noticed. He quicly ran over, blushing slightly. They then entered the building where They found a white unicorn with a purple mane working on something with her back turned to them. She had a cutie mark shaped like three blue dimonds. When Twlight got her atention she turned around and gasped, look ing straight at Alex. Fearing that he may have scared her he flinched, but she just walked over and started examining his clothes.

"Oh my, what an incredible sense clothing design," she said. She then looked Alex straight in the face and said, "The colours are simply smashing,too. I am Rarity, and if I may ask, who are you dear?"

Alex introduced himself and Rarity turned to Twilight and said, "Well, darling, your new friend certainly has a good sense of style. If you don't mind may I-" Rarity's words were cut off by a crash from upstairs. "Oh no," Rarity said, "Looks like Sweetie Belle and her friends have broken something again. Looks like we'll have to save this conversation for later."

Rarity said goodbye and went upstairs as the trio left. "Well that was... interesting," Alex said.

"I know, it always is when it comes to Rarity," Spike said, hearts in his eyes.

they soon came to there final stop, a large clearing where Twilight sid her friend Rainbowdash liked to practice. As soon as they got there they saw a Griffin following a cyan pegasus who was yelling at it. the pegasus had a rainbow colored mane and a cutie mark of a cloud with a red, yellow, and blue lightning bolt coming out of it. That has got to be Rainbowdash, no question about it, Alex thought.

"Come on Dash, I just wanna mess with you," said the griffin, chasing Rainbowdash.

"Yeah, well I've had enough of you for the rest of my life Gilda," R.D. Said. "Your really anoying me now."

"I agree. I mean, who wouldn't be annoyed if a giant talking chicken was following you around," Alex said, loud enough for everyone to hear. Gilda stopped following Rainbowdash and turned towards Alex, obviously shocked and angry. Rainbowdash stopped to, and started laughing at what Alex had said, only increasing Gilda's anger.

"Alex," Twilight said, "I know your trying to help Rainbowdash, but Gilda's not the kind of person you want angry at you."

"Don't worry about it, I have a plan," Alex said, "But you and Spike might want to step back a bit."

Still not happy about it, but understanding what he meant, Twilight and Spike took a couple steps back, and ended up standing next to Rainbowdash, who was still laughing. As they did this Gilda walked up to Alex and said, "What did you just call me?"

"A chicken," Alex said, "You know. Small flightless bird. Frighted by pretty much everything. Very smart, which is apparently something that can't be said about you."

Hearing this Rainbowdash started laughing harder and Spike joined in. Even Twilight giggled at it. Seing this, Gilda got so mad that her face was red.

"Oh, you are gonna regret those words, I'll be sure of that," she said.

She lunged at Alex who quickly got out of her way. "Strike one," Alex said.

Gilda had a look of confusion on her face. She obviosly wasn't expecting him to be fast enough to dodge her. She began to get even more mad as she lunged at him again. Alex dodged this one as esily as the first. "Strike two," he said.

"Hold still," Gilda yeald at him as she tried for a third time. Alex dodge her again, but this time as she flew past him, he gave her a sharp elbow inbetween her shoulders. Her bacbuckled an Gilda made a sound like a chicken being blown up before falling on her face, out cold. "Strike thre. You're out," Alex said. The other ponies (and dragon) stared at him with their mouthes open. Then Rainbowdash started laughing like crazy.

"Dude, that was awsome," Rainbowdash said when she had calmed down. "How'd you know how to do that?"

"Well it was pretty easy," Alex said, enjoying the praise. "It was easy to dodge her since she was too angry to concentrate, and I read in a book once that Griffins have weak spots between the shoulder blades. Guess it's true."

"Wow that was sweet! She was like 'Woosh' and you were like 'Bam' and you knocked her out," said an amazed Spike.

"While that was very impresive," Twilight said, "And I know none of us like her, but i have to ask, is she okay?"

"Oh, she'll be fine in an hour or two. A little dizzy, but fine," Alex answered.

"Well that was pretty cool," Rainbowdash said, "If you ever need a favor, kid, you just call me, got it?"

Alex nodded and Rainbowdash flew away. Soon after, the three soon got back to the library. "That sure was a crazy day," Twilight commented.

"Yeah, but it was, like, the best day ever," Alex said. He really did think it was a great day. As they opened the door they were surprised to find a party going on in the library. "Surprise," shouted Pinke, popping up from nowhere. "Welcome to the party, have some punch!"

"Ya know, I think I could get used to this," Alex said. After that he spent the whole night going party crazy with all his new friends. He decided that if he could he would always stay here.
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 3: a Lesson of Harmony and Friendship


Alex woke up on the floor in the middle of the main room of the library. Wondering what had happened, he soon remembered the epic party from last night, and quickly deduced that he must have passed out some time in the middle of the night. I'm starting to think that blacking out is gonna be a regular thing while I'm here, he thought. Alex looked around to see that the library was clean, despite the mess that was made last night. Spike must have cleaned everything up, the poor kid's probably worn out. This thought was soon confirmed when he found Spike out cold a few feet away, a broom clutched in his hand, mumbling something about 'fair Rarity' and 'ninja griffins'. Alex laughed at the sight and decided to go to the kitchen and make the three of them breakfast. A few minutes later he had a bunch of salads prepared, and was putting the finishing touches on them when Spike and Twilight walked in. Seeing that breakfast was put out they both smiled and all three sat down to eat. As soon as Twilight and Spike took the first bite out of their food they had a sudden look of surprise and enjoyment.

"Alex did you make this?" Twilight asked. When he nodded she said,"It's great! I never would have thought that you could make something so good!"

"Eh, I get it from my dad," Alex said. "From what my brother, Sam, said, our dad was a local chef who had a natural talent for making things taste great. I'm also a pretty good artist, which Sam says I get from my mother."

"Still, point is this stuff is great," said Spike.

Alex was noticeably happy with what his friends had said. Soon after breakfast, Twilight decided to ask Alex some more about his brother. Alex said that Sam was three years older than him, and that he was a pretty cool guy. He was smart, funny, and always knew how to use his charm and cleverness to get out of a sticky situation. Twilight seemed fascinated with what Alex had told her, and when he asked if she had any siblings, she immediately began going on about her big brother, Shining Armour.

"He was the nicest pony I knew," Twilight said. "I always called him my BBBFF, my big brother best friend forever. He had a wedding not to long ago to princess Cadence, the niece of princess Celestia, not to mention my old foal sitter. Unfortunately, the wedding was crashed by an army of changelings led by their queen Chrysalis, and me and the girls had to fight them off."

After getting an explanation of what changelings were, Alex said, "and you guys fought off an army of them?"

"Well it's pretty much a normal thing in the life of a bearer of an Element of Harmony. You see, me and the others each represent one of the elements, mine is magic, Fluttershy is kindness, A.J. has honesty, Pinkie's is laughter, no surprise there, Rainbow has loyalty, and Rarity is the element of generosity. In all honesty, it wasn't nearly as bad as when we had to fight Discord, Nightmare Moon, or King Sombra."

Twilight then told Alex the stories of these two villains. How Nightmare Moon wanted to create eternal night but was stopped by the mane six and turned into princess Luna. How Discord, the spirit of disharmony, had caused crazy things that he found funny to happen to the world, and almost broke apart the mane six. Sounds like Joker with mad powers, Alex thought, definitely not a good thing. She also told him about how King Sombra had tried to return to the Crystal Empire, only to be defeated by her and the others.

"And that's pretty much how we did it," said Twilight, finishing her tales.

"Wow, that is impressive," Alex said, having a newfound respect for his pony pals.

"I don't know about impressive, but it was very difficult."

Twilight took a glance out the window and noticed that it was about noon now. "Wow, I guess I really can talk alot," she said. Alex also noticed how long it had taken Twilight to recount her adventures, and seeing how it was nice out, he decided to take a walk around town. He had asked if Twilight or Spike wanted to come, but both said they had work to do in the library. Grabbing his blue cap and saying goodbye, Alex left the library. He walked around town, happily noticing all the friendly ponies who waved at him. He had walked up to the clearing where he had first met Rainbowdash, and saw her practicing in the air. Suddenly there was a huge BOOM from the sky as rainbowdas flew incredibly fast. Rainbow colored ring spread out from where she was and a rainbow was following right behind her. Alex couldn't help but marvel at the incredible sight before him. Rainbowdash then noticed him and landed in front of him.

"Impressive, isn't it," she said.

"Totaly impressive," Alex said, "what the heck was that?"

"A sonic rainboom," R.D. replied, "and I'm, like, the only pegasus who can do it, pretty good right?"

"Very nice, but I think I know a way to make it even cooler."

"And hows that," Rainbow asked, interested.

Alex walked closer to Rainbowdash and whispered his idea into her ear. As he was explaining it, a wide grin slowly began to appear on her face. As soon as he was done explaining, Rainbowdash got into position and made another sonic rainboom. Once she had done it and had the rainbow following behind her, Rainbowdash began to do a series of flips, twists, and turns through the air. About ten seconds later she landed in front of Alex, a twisted rainbow behind her spelling out Rainbowdash right behind her. She turned around to admire her work and said to Alex," you were right, man. That really does make my sonic rainboom even cooler."

"I know, right," Alex said, "and I'm sure that i could probably think of even more increddible things like that."

"Well any time you do, you tell me, deal?"

"Deal"


> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 4 Crusaders and Canines (part 1)


It is a nice, warm afternoon in Ponyville. Alex has been in Equestria for three days now, and has gotten used to the ponies that live there. He has even begun doing things like them, such as taking a nap in a tree. In fact, that's what he's doing right now. Alex is laying on a branch with his head on the trunk, and his hands behind his head. He had never felt so relaxed before. Its so peaceful and quiet, he thought, I could get used to this. Just then, he heard someone yell at someone to leave them alone, along with what sounded like a filly crying. Well, that lasted even shorter than I thought it would, he thought. Alex opened his eyes and looked over at the scene. What he saw were three fillies without cutie marks being bullied by a pink filly with a purple mane with white highlights. She had a cutie mark of a tiara, and a similar one on her head. He saw that two of the fillies, a yellow pony with a red mane tied in a pink bow and an orange pegasus with a messy purple mane, were apparently trying to comfort the third filly, a white unicorn with a purple and pink mane, who was sobbing uncontrollably. Immediately understanding that the three fillies were being bullied, and being the nice guy that he is, Alex jumped out of his tree and into the path of the single filly. Seeing him in front of them, the pink filly immediately flinched, and the other three, including the unicorn who had just stopped crying, were looking at him in shock.

"Hey! Leave these three alone," he said.

"Huh? Who-what the hay are you?" said the pink filly.

Alex, in an impressive Batman impersonation, said," I'm your worst nightmare."

The pink filly, now very scared, started backing up toworads a mud puddle. Alex noticed this and decided he would have some fun. he walked closer to her, leaned in, and said,"Boo."

"Eep," said the pink filly as she jumped back and into the mud puddle. Seeing this, Alex couldn't help but laugh, and was soon joined by the other three fillies. Seeing that they were laughing at her, the pink filly began to get mad.

"You jerk! My coat is filthy! Do you know who my daddy is?" she yelled at him.

Alex, suddenly serious (and seriously ticked off), replied," No I don't know who your daddy is, and I could care less, but now I see what your problem is." he leaned closer to the filly again and continued. "You're some kid whose parents are big, important, rich people who spoil you like a princess, when you're really a rotten, rude little filly who thinks that you're better than everyone, and that you can do whatever you want to anyone. Thing is though, and listen closely. You. Are. Not."

The pink filly was trembeling now, and Alex knew that he only had to say one last thing and she would leave. "Now go away." The filly 'eeped' again and ran faster than he had seen anyone, maybe even Rainbowdash, move.

Alex turned around to the three fillies and said," And that, my young friends, is how you take care of a bully."

The three fillies stared at Alex for about five seconds before screaming, "That was awesome!" The three fillies jumped on him and started praising him for getting rid of the pink filly.

"That jerk you freaked out was Diamond Tiara," said the orange pegasus. "Thanks again, by the way. I'm Scootaloo. The unicorn here is Sweetie Belle, Rarity's little sister, and this is Applebloom, Applejack's little sis," she said, pointing to her two friends.

"The name's Alex Cooper," Alex said," I'm the guy living at Twi's place."

"Oh yeah, I heard 'bout you," said Applebloom," You helped ma big sis when she lost her list. I heard you're a really helpful guy."

"That does sound like me," replied Alex.

"Hey, you should come to our clubhouse with us," said Sweetie Belle.

"I'd be happy to," said Alex, following the fillies. As they walked, the three fillies told Alex about their club, the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They told him about the first time they met, the time they entered their school talent show, and even the time Applebloom gave herself the cutie pox. Man, I thought my siblings and I got into crazy situations, he thought. They soon came to a tree with a small pink clubhose with a red roof. Before they could get into it, though, Alex heard another cry for help, but this time more serious.

"Wow, two in one day," Alex said, "What are the odds?"

"About a thousand to one," replied Sweetie Belle.

Ignoring her comment, Alex ran toworad the cry, the CMC following closely behind. They soon came to the edge of the Everfree forest, where they saw a black bear attacking a big, smoke grey dog, who appeared to have a broken leg.

"Hey fur ball, step away from the dog," Alex yelled. "Stay back girls, I'll take care of this guy."

The black bear turned to Alex and began to attack. Alex jumped to the right as it swung at him, and gave it a swift punch to the nose. The bear started to whimper and began to run into the forest. That was way easier than I thought it would be, thought Alex.

"Ooooh," said the grey dog. Alex looked over and saw that, along with the broken leg, it appeared to be completely exahsted.

"Wow he looks bad," observed Alex. "Girls, help me carry him back to the clubhouse."

As Alex moved to grab the dog, the Crusaders moved into his path.

"Are you crazy," screamed Sweetie Belle," Do you know what that thing is? Its a diamond dog! These things are really bad! They kidnapped my sister once!"

"Yeah, ya can't bring that there monster into our clubhouse," said Applebloom

"Come on girls," said Alex. "So what if diamond dogs kidnapped Rarity once? There's no proof that this is one of those ones." Alex then walked around the three fillies snd attempted to move the gray diamond dog, but he was having a tough time since it was almost as big as him, and weighed a lot more.

"Besides," Alex said, "the guy is injured, it wouldn't be right to leave him here. Back on Earth, we have a saying, 'a good person helps others, even when they've done you wrong,' or something like that."

As Alex kept trying to lift up the injured animal, the three fillies looked at eachother. After thinking about it for a few seconds, they all nodded together. Alex felt the diamond dog lift with him, and looked back to see the three fillies helping. They all smiled at each other, then began to take the diamond dog to the clubhouse.


> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 5 Crusaders and Canines (Part 2)


"Uuuuhhh," moaned the diamond dog.

"I think he's waking up," said Scootaloo.

The diamond dog slowly opened his eyes to see the CMC and Alex staring back at him.

"Oy, whatta you lookin' at?" the diamond dog said, with a noticeable Australian accent. The others in the room were surprised by this; not because the diamond dog could talk, but because of how rude it was behaving.

"Hey buddy," said Scoots, "We saved your life! You could at least be a little bit nicer!"

"Did wha-" it said. Then it noticed the bandage on it's arm. It took a quick look around and saw that it was in a room with yellow walls, with a table and chairs in one corner.

"Erm... my apologies," it said. "I was surprised ta see a bunch of ponies and a... thing... standin' in front of me."

"Well, I 'spose that's all right," said Applebloom. "I'm Applebloom, it's nice ta meetcha."

"The names Scootaloo," said Scoots.

"Sweetie Belle," said Sweetie.

"Cooper. Alex Cooper," said Alex, "and your name would be?"

The diamond dog began to laugh. "Name," he said, "I don't have a name! No diamond dog does!"

"Well for the moment you aren't among diamond dogs," said Alex, "So you need a name. You have gray fur, so how about Smokey?"

"Fine then. Smokey it is," the diamond dog said. "Now how long will I be here in this place?"

"A few days," said Scootaloo.

"You can't really go far on that broken leg," added Sweetie Belle.

"Huh, alrighty then," Smokey said. "I guess I might as well get used to it. Any chance you mates could get me a book or two?"

"Sure," Alex said. "Luckily for you, I live at the library here in Ponyville. I can grab some books and some food for you at the same time."

"Ah didn't know diamond dogs could read," Applebloom said.

"Most can't," replied Smokey, "Far as I know, I'm the only one. I never much liked digging like the other diamond dogs. I used to sneak around the schools, which is how I learned. Got kicked outta my pack for always reading instead of digging gems."

At hearing this, the others were shocked and felt very sorry for him. They all enjoyed reading (I mean who doesn't?), but they had never thought of what it would be like to be shunned for reading. As they left, Alex had an idea of how to make Smokey feel welcome. As he explained his idea to the three young fillies, they agreed that it was a good idea.



The next morning, Alex got up and made breakfast again. After that first breakfast he made, Twilight insisted that Alex make their meals each day, and Alex was happy to do so. After finishing his meal, Alex went to grab some books for Smokey. He grabbed some books titled 'Darring Do" just as Twilight came down the stairs.

"What are you doing with all those books?" Twilight asked.

Alex knew that he unfortunately couldn't tell Twilight about Smokey, given her past experience with diamond dogs, and said, "I'm just taking these books to, uh, the Crusaders. Yeah! The Crusaders. They wanted to see if they could get their cutie marks in, um, public reading, or something."

Even though it wasn't a very good lie, Twilight bought it and said, "Alright. Just remind them to return those books in five days."

"Okay. Will do. Gotta go. Bye," Alex said quickly, rushing out the door. Twilight stood there for a second, confused. She shrugged it off and went to eat her breakfast.



Alex met the CMC outside the clubhouse where they were waiting for him.

"Okay, I got the books," he said, "You guys got the other stuff?"

The three fillies nodded holding out two different boxes.

"Good. Smokey is gonna be so surprised," he said, giggling a little. Oh man, Alex thought, I sounded like Pinkie for a second there. Scary.

As they entered the clubhouse, they found Smokey asleep on the floor. He was snoring peacefully, his leg twitching in the air. It was so cute, they almost didn't want to wake him up. Almost.

"SURPRISE," the four shouted.

"Huh? What?" Smokey said as he jumped up in fright. Seeing it was only Alex and the girls, he relaxed a bit and said, "Whats up you guys?"

"Well, since you were kicked out of your old pack, we thought a party would make you feel better," explained Sweetie.

"Consider it a sort of, 'Welcome to your New Pack,' thing," continued Alex as he set the books down on the nearby table. Scootaloo opened one of the boxes to reveal a cake that said 'Welcome Smokey' on it. Smokey didn't know what to say.

"Well... thanks guys," he finally said.

"That's not all, though," said Applebloom, handing him the other box. Smokey opened it to find a red collar with his new name on it. He had a huge smile as he put it on.

"Thanks," Smokey said, "You guys are the best."

"Don't mention it," said Alex, "After all, this is what friends do for other friends."

"Yeah. Friends," said Smokey as they all began to eat the cake.

A few days later, after Smokey's leg was healed, he, Alex, and the CMC played outside the clubhouse together. Having nowhere to go, Smokey had told his friends that he was going to stay with them, especially since Alex kept bringing him books to read. They loved that idea. On that day, they were all having such a good time together. So much so, in fact, that they didn't see a certain tiara wearing pink filly sneaking around, watching them.

Nor did they see the evil grin she had at the thoughts she had of getting back at the three fillies and, especially, the human.
> chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

chapter 6 Crusaders and Canines (Part 3)


It was a nice sunny morning in Ponyville, with a pleasant cool breeze. Alex had gotten up early again, ready to go to the Crusaders' clubhouse to check on them and Smokey. As he was leaving, though, Twilight caught him once again.

"Going to the Crusaders' clubhouse again?" the unicorn asked.

Alex flinched a bit and said, "Uh, yeah. You know me. Always ready to help them out and... stuff."

Twilight was slightly suspicious of him for a second, but simply replied, "Alright, see you later."

Alex said goodbye and left the library. Barely ten seconds later, Diamond Tiara barged into the library, catching Twilight's attention.

"Twilight," she said, "Have I got some news for you..."



Alex soon made it to the clubhouse, finding the Crusaders and Smokey inside. Alex noticed that each of the girls had a small lasso.

"Hey girls," he said, "Whats with the lassos?"

"We're gunna see if we can earn our cutie marks in cattle ropin'," replied Applebloom.

"I volunteered to be the cow," put in Smokey. "Well, more like nominated myself then volunteered, really."

"Oh cool," said Alex, "Although I'm not so sure it's safe to do it on you, Smokey."

Alex was about to continue when there was a knock on the door. Everyone in the clubhouse panicked and froze for a second. Applebloom was the first to regain her composure, and she quickly grabbed a blanket and hid Smokey under it. Getting the idea, Smokey laid down quickly, and the way that he did so made him look like a table with a cover on it. With Smokey now hidden, Alex went over and opened the door. Outside, much to his fear, were Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity, who all looked angry.

"Oh hey guys. Whats up?" Alex asked.

"Well darling," said Rarity, "We have all heard heard from Diamond Tiara that you and the girls are hiding a diamond dog in here."

It was then that Alex noticed Diamond Tiara standing there behind them, a smug grin on her face. Note to self, Alex thought, dig Diamond Tiara a grave, because after this, she is so dead.

"So ya see sugarcube," Applejack continued, "We just wanted to see if she was tellin' the truth."

"Oh sure," Alex said, stepping out of their way, "As you can see, there is no such creature in here."

The CMC waved to the others. They were playing cards on top of the table Smokey was pretending to be. The three mares began to scowl at Diamond Tiara, who looked both shocked and defeated. Unfortunately, the floor was slightly dusty, and just then he let out a huge sneeze that flung the blanket and the crusaders off of him.

"Um... excuse me," he said.

Dang, it almost worked, thought Alex.

Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack were silent with shock. Unfortunately, their shock subsided into anger. Even worse, it was directed at Alex.

"Alex! I can't believe you!" said Twilight.

"Okay, I know this looks bad," said Alex, "but I swear, Smokey is actually a really nice guy! He's totally harmless!"

"Ha! As if!" said Rarity. "These creatures are nothing but dangerous brutes!" She walked up to Smokey, who was cowering in a corner. "Get out of here you horrible beast!" she yelled at him. Smokey freaked out and ran past all of them, out the door, and into the Everfree forest.

"Don't be thinkin' ya'll are outta the woods, either," said Applejack to the Crusaders.

"Correction," Alex said, "I'm going into the woods to find my friend."

"But Alex," said Twilight, "he's a diamond dog! They're no good!"

"You ever hear the phrase, 'don't judge a book by it's cover'?" Alex shot back a he ran after Smokey.

"Alex is right," said Applebloom, "ya'll are bein' mean to Smokey when he's a really nice guy, and our friend!"

"Yeah, and we don't abandon our friends," said Scoots as she and the rest of the CMC followed after Alex.

"Girls! Wait!" screamed Rarity as she and the others ran after them, leaving Tiara with a look of smug satisfaction.



Alex, Twilight, and the rest of the group were soon wandering around the Everfree. Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity had agreed to help look for Smokey since Alex and the CMC refused to go home without him.

"Uh! It's so horrible in this ghastly forest!" said Rarity.

"Oh relax," said Alex. "It could be worse."

"How could it be worse?" asked Twilight

Just then, the group was surrounded by ten angry, snarling brown bears.

"You had to ask," said Alex.

A black bear slowly walked into the circle.

"Alex," said Sweetie Belle, "isn't that the bear that you saved Smokey from?"

"I think so," said Alex.

The black bear roared and lunged at Alex, who quickly dodged it while yelling, "Girls! Get together and protect yourselves! I'll take care of poppa bear here!"

The others listened and fought back just as the other bears began to attack. Twilight kept them at bay with a shield spell and was able to protect the five others around her, but she couldn't do anything to help Alex. Alex fought well, dodging the black bear and getting in a few good punches, but the bear was able to get a good shot in and knocked Alex on his back. The bear roared, sensing victory, but just then it was attacked by a grey blur.

"Oy! You get your paws off my friend," yelled Smokey.

The bear roared again and started to attack Smokey. Smokey dodged the attack and ran over to a tree and broke off a branch. Using the branch, Smokey both blocked and attacked the black bear, eventually getting a good shot to the head and knocking the bear out cold. Seeing their leader defeated, the other bears ran away, allowing Twilight to let down her shield spell.

"Thanks for the save, buddy," said Alex as Smokey helped him up.

"Ya got that right, sugarcube," said Applejack.

"I suppose we were wrong about you," admitted Rarity.

"It's alright," said Smokey, "I don't blame ya."

"Well, considering we owe you now," said Twilight, "I guess you can stay."

Alex and the Crusaders cheered at hearing this, and Smokey thanked the girls.

"I have one question though," said Smokey. "Can I move to the library?"


> chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 7 Crazy Cupcakes


It's been three days since Smokey moved into the library. When he first came everyone liked him except Spike, because of the time they took Rarity (you'd think he'd of gotten over it by now), but as soon as Smokey gave him a bag of gems, you could't separate them. Right now, though, things are about to get crazy.

Alex was sitting outside of the library watching Smokey and Spike play together. Just then, Twilight began to walk up to Alex, a worried look on her face. Well, here we go, Alex thought, I was wondering when she was gonna get to it.

"Um... Alex," said Twilight. "Uh... I have something to say."

"No need Twilight," said Alex, "I already know what you're going to say. Now that both Smokey and I are here, it's beginning to get harder to afford the things we need. So, therefore, you are going to suggest I get a job, and I assure you, I am right now thinking of what I can do."

Twilight had a dumbstruck look on her face, but then she smiled, relieved that she wouldn't have to go through it with him.

"Well Alex, you are right, but I had an idea of what you can do," said Twilight. "You're a really good chef, so why don't you get a cooking job?"

"Well are there any-" A;ex began to say before something pink jumped on top of him.

Oh no, Alex thought.

"Hey guys!" said Pinkie. "My Pinkie Sense told me something big was going on over here so I... hey, wheres Alex?"

"I'm down here. Again," said Alex.

Pinkie looked down to see she was sitting on Alex, who didn't look very happy. She smiled sheepishly and got off of him before continuing her statement.

"Like I was saying," Pinkie said, "when I got over here and heard that Alex needed a job, I came over here to tell you guys that Sugarcube Corner just got a job opening!"

Oh no, Alex thought again.

"That's great!" exclaimed Twilight. "Alex is a great chef! It sounds perfect for him!"

"Uh, Twilight, can I speak with you privately for a second?" Alex asked as he grabbed Twilight and pulled her into the library, slamming the door behind him.

"Twilight, I know you mean well, but this is a horrible idea," said Alex.

"What do you mean?" asked Twilight.

Alex sighed. "Look Twi, Pinkie may be one of my best friends, but she's totally crazy! If I stay around her too long, I'll go insane! I do like Pinkie, but there is no way I'll take a job with her, and you can't talk me into it!"



I can't believe she talked me into it, thought Alex. He was standing over the sink of Sugarcube Corner's kitchen, washing the dishes. Mr. and Mrs. Cake, who had left earlier with their twin children, Pumpkin and Pound Cake, had been more happy to give Alex the job than he was to take it. They had given him a white apron to wear and, to his delight, said that he could keep on his blue cap. Pinkie was running around the kitchen behind him, gathering ingredients. Well, at least this couldn't get any stranger, he thought. Just then, he felt something bite his arm. Alex yelped and pulled out his arm to find a small, green alligator latching onto his arm with it's jaws. Alex panicked for a second before he noticed that he didn't feel any teeth. After a few seconds he began to get annoyed.

"Pinkie, could you come over here?" Alex calmly asked.

"Yes?" said Pinkie as she popped out of nowhere.

"What is this?" Alex asked, pointing at the alligator hanging from his arm.

"Oh, that's just Gummy. He's my pet alligator," replied Pinkie.

Pinkie has a pet alligator. Makes as much sense as anything else about her, Alex thought.

"Well could you please get him off of me?" asked Alex.

"Oh sure!" said Pinkie. Pinkie removed Gummy from Alex's arm and pulled Alex over to the other side of the kitchen.

"Okay Alex, so today, we're making cupcakes!" squealed Pinkie.

"Um, Pinkie, I... I, uh, don't know how to make cupcakes," said Alex, "the oven back at the orphanage was off limits so I, uh, never learned how."

"Don't worry Alex!" said Pinkie, "I have a song for that!"

"Oh please no," Alex said, but Pinkie began to sing anyway.

"All you have to do is take a cup of flour! Add it to the mix!"

Pinkie scooped up a cup of flour and poured it into a bowl.

"Now just take a bit of something sweet, not sour! A bit of salt just a pinch!"

Alex was starting to get the rhythm of the song and put a cup of sugar into the bowl.

"Baking these treats is such a cinch! Add a teaspoon of vanilla!"

Alex, now smiling, put vanilla and some other things into the mix.

"Add a little more, and you count to four, and you never get your fill of..."

Pinkie put the batter into a cupcake pan and then put the pan into the oven, then she continued to sing.

"Cupcakes! So sweet and tasty! Cupcakes! Don't be too hasty! Cupcakes, cupcakes, CUPCAKES!"

When Pinkie was done singing, she fell to the floor, laughing, and Alex joined her. After a few minutes, Pinkie took the cupcakes out of the oven, decorated them, and tasted one.

"WOW! Alex, these cupcakes are great!" said Pinkie, a huge smile on her face.

"Thanks. Not bad for a first day, huh?" said Alex.

"You bet! You're going to do great here!" said Pinkie.

Alex smiled, feeling proud of himself and deciding that having a job with Pinkie might not be so bad.
> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 8 BFF: Best Fiendish Friend


"... and then I said, 'oatmeal? Are you crazy?'" Alex told Rainbowdash, who burst into laughter. They were hanging out at the field Rainbow likes to practice at. Alex had just helped Rainbowdash to do some sweet new moves, and now that practice was over they were just hanging out in the field.

"That was hilarious! Its gotta be the best thing I've ever heard!" exclaimed Rainbowdash.

"I know! I told Twilight the same joke, but she didn't get it," said Alex. "That, Rainbow, is why you're, like, my best friend. You totally get me!"

"I'm you're best friend?" asked Rainbowdash.

"Yeah. The rest of the girls are great, but they're all so different than me. Twilight is into lectures about science and stuff, Applejack is all about working from morning to night, Rarity is a great designer but she can't stand the smallest mess, Fluttershy is a great animal person who has trouble with people, and Pinkie is too... well...Pinkie." Alex said. "But you, on the other hand, love to live wild and go crazy, enjoying what life gives you, just like me."

"Well... thanks Alex," said Rainbow. "I guess you're sorta my best friend, too.

Alex was about to say more, but a familiar pink blur landed on his back.

"Is this gonna be a regular thing with you, Pinkie?" Alex angrily asked the pink mare on top of him.

"Sorry Alex," said Pinkie as she got off of him. "But it's not my fault this time. Gilda threw me over here."

"Gilda is back!?" asked Alex and Rainbowdash in unison.

"Yeah, I just saw her! I was all like 'what are you doing here?' and she was like 'I could care less.' and then she threw me over here." exclaimed Pinkie.

"Well we better go find her!" said R.D.

"Agreed," said Alex. "Who knows what trouble she'll cause next."



The soon found Gilda standing under a tree by a lake, causing absolutely no trouble. Alex, Rainbow, and Pinkie hid behind a bush for a second to see what was going on.

"Come on, Alex," whispered Rainbowdash, "She's just standing there. Why don't you just go Kung-Fu on her like you did last time?"

"Because even an idiot like Gilda can learn from their mistakes," said Alex. "We'll need a new plan this time."

"Oh oh oh oh oh!" said Pinkie, waving her hoof in the air like a student trying to get the attention of their teacher.

"Yes... Pinkie," Alex said, deciding to play along.

Pinkie calmed down and said, "Why don't we all just ran at her. She can't take us all on right?"

"That... is actually a good idea," said Alex, a surprised look on his face. "Let's try that."

The three got into position for the plan. Alex gave the signal and they all ran towards Gilda. As soon as they got close to her, though, three nets fell on top of them, leaving them completely trapped.

"Well this isn't good," said Alex.

"You bet it isn't," said Gilda as she walked in front of him. Two black male Griffins landed on either side of her with smug grins on their faces. "Allow me to introduce my friends, Dan and Stan."

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you. I'd shake hands, but I'm a little tied up at the moment," said Alex sarcastically. Come on, there's gotta be a way out of this, Alex thought. What would Batman do?

"Oh we'll make sure you can go, after I get back at you for beating me that one time," said Gilda.

"I hope she doesn't plan on throwing Alex in the lake," said Rainbow. "After all, he is afraid of water."

What is she talking about? Alex thought. Oh, I get it!

"Rainbow! You just told them my worst fear out loud!" screamed Alex.

"Oops," was all R.D. said.

"A fear of water, eh?" said Gilda. "Boys, put Cooper over the lake. Oh, and thanks for ratting out your boyfriend Rainbow Crash."

"Boyfriend!?" said Alex and Rainbow in unison.

Before Alex and Rainbow could argue more about that topic, Gilda's 'Hench Griffins' picked up the net Alex was in and threw it into the net. For a few seconds, the only that happened was Gilda laughing like crazy. Then, a few feet away, Alex quickly jumping out of the lake and hiding behind a bush.

"Well, my hat may be wet, but at least I'm okay," said Alex as he rung out his hat. He began sneaking over to R.D. and Pinkie, keeping out of the griffins sight. Alex got to Rainbow and started to take off the net.

"You see, this is what I was talking about before. You and I are both tricky and clever," said Alex, "plus, I can easily tell what you're thinking."

"Guess we really are best friends," said Rainbow as Alex freed Pinkie Pie. Alex silently motioned for her to be quiet and follow him. The three of them snuck up behind Dan and Stan. Alex showed Rainbow where to punch to knock them out and then he and Rainbow punched them out cold. Hearing the commotion, Gilda stopped laughing and looked over right before Pinkie jumped on top of her, pinning her down. Pinkie quickly punched her between the shoulder blades and Gilda fell into unconsciousness.

"Well, what do we do now?" Pinkie asked Alex.

Alex smiled. "Hmm. Every artist should sign their work," he said. "Anybody got a brush and some paint."

Pinkie pulled out the requested items from nowhere, and Rainbowdash took them.

"I know just what to right," she said.

After she was done and showed it to Alex and Pinkie, they all smiled. Written on Gilda's wing were 'Beaten by Best Friends Alex Cooper and Rainbowdash.'




> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 9 The Princesses and Their Past

Gotta hide! Gotta hide! thought Alex in a panic as he runs through some bushes. A rustle behind him alerts him to the presence of his pursuer. Alex looks around as he runs and sees a tree out of the corner of his eye, and quickly changes course towards it. As he gets closer to the tree he hears the sound of something jumping out of the bushes to continue the chase. I'm almost there, he thought. Just as he was almost within jumping distance of the tree, though, he was pounced upon by his assailant. 

"Got ya! I win!" exclaimed Smokey, waving his hands in the air in victory.

"Yeah yeah, Another game of tag won by the diamond dog," replied Alex, a little agitated at how he had lost yet again. "Now would you please get off of me?"

Oh, right. Sorry 'bout that boss," said Smokey as he helped Alex up.

"Aw man! You were so close," said Scootaloo as she and the rest of the crusaders walked out from behind the tree. 

"I know," said Alex, "But in all honesty, he does have an edge in this game."

"Alex! There you are!" yelled Twilight as she ran up to him. "Where have you been? I need you and Smokey back at the library today! The princesses are coming to meet you today! Remember?"

"That's today?" replied Alex, "I thought you said it was tomorrow."

"Yes, but I said that yesterday! Come on, we need to get ready for their arrival quickly!"

"Well, I guess that's all for today girls," Alex said, turning to the crusaders. "We'll have to play again some other day."

"Don't worry, we get it," said Sweetie Belle. "If you need our help at all, we'll be hanging out back at the boutique."

"Eeeyup" Alex said, doing the impression of Big Mac that the girls enjoyed. "But you don't need to worry. After all, what could possibly go wrong?" It took a few seconds for Alex to realize that he had practically begged the universe to mess this up.





Alex was walking with Twilight from the library to town hall, where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would arrive to meet him and the girls. Alex was dressed in a nice black tux that Rarity had made for him. When she had told him that he probably shouldn't wear his hat, since it would clash with his tux. Alex said that he would wear it anyway, explaining that the hat had sentimental value to him and leaving it at that. Alex and Twilight got to town hall to find an eager crowd of ponies standing outside, waiting to see their beloved princesses. Twilight had informed him that the princesses wanted to meet him privately, so they were going to meet the others inside of town hall. As they entered Twilight told Alex that he should wait behind the stage until she was ready to introduce him, and he obliged. He went behind the stage and found a comfortable place to wait. He didn't have to wait long, though, for the cheering outside signaled that the princesses had arrived. When he heard the doors open and shut, Alex decided to peek out from behind a curtain to get a glimpse at the royal ponies. Alex saw Twilight talking to a very tall, white mare with a flowing pink, purple, green, and blue mane. The sun cutie mark that she had confirmed Alex's suspicions that this was Princess Celestia. Alex took a look at the pony to Celestia's left and decided that she must be Princess Luna. Luna had a dark blue coat and a Blue mane that looked like a starry sky. Her cutie mark was that of a crescent moon. It was then Alex noticed something strange. He felt an almost magical tingling sensation over his entire body, but passed it off as simple stage fright. After all, I am about to meet the princesses of Equestria, he thought.

"So Twilight, where is this human friend of yours?" asked Princess Celestia.

"That's my cue," Alex whispered to himself as he walked out onto the stage. The princesses and the girls gasped, and Alex was confused for a second. What Celestia said only confused him even more. 

"Discord!" she screamed. "How did you escape from your statue?"

Alex knew from what Twilight had told him about her and her friends adventures that Discord was a draconaquus who had spread chaos across Equestria until he was defeated by the princesses, and later the mane six. Alex looked around in a panic for a second, until he noticed that the spirit of chaos wasn't anywhere in town hall. 

"Well? Answer me Discord!" yelled Celestia again. She, Luna, and the rest of the girls began to surround him, and it was then that Alex realized that, for some reason, Celestia was talking to him. I don't know exactly whats going on right now, Alex thought worriedly, but whatever it is, I'd better get out of here! As soon as they were close enough to jump him, Alex ran past them and out the door. He was still very confused about what had happened in there, but before he could figure it out he heard a scream from the group of ponies in front of him. They all began to panic, running around like ants in a storm, and Alex used the commotion to slip away unseen, as he headed towards the only safe pace he could think of.





Alex ran as fast as he could towards the Carousel Boutique, where he hoped the crusaders would be able to help him figure out what was going on. As soon as he got inside he slammed the door shut behind him and leaned against it, breathing heavily from all the running he had done.

"Now I just have to figure out what happened with the princesses," Alex said to himself as he raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his brow.

Which, he was shocked to see, had become the talon of an eagle.

Alex almost screamed out loud, but he managed to cover his mouth with his other hand, which he saw was a lion paw. Wait a minute, he thought. A lion paw and an eagle talon? Oh no. Alex quickly ran over to one of the boutiques many mirrors, only to confirm what he had feared. He was a draconaquus. From the description Twilight had given him of Discord, he could see that he did look very similar to him, but there were a few differences. He was shorter than discord was, not as tall as Celestia, but about a foot taller than the girls. His face had a sort of younger look about it, had a single fang poking out of his mouth, and he didn't have a goat beard like Discord. His eyes, while mismatched, were a bright blue like they were when he was human. His horns were shorter than Discord's had been, and although his tux was gone, his blue cap remained snugly between them. He was most interested in the bird wing and bat wing he now had. As he gazed at himself, he heard three screams behind him. Alex turned around to see Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo quivering in fear at the sight of him. 

"Girls! Don't freak out! It's me!" Alex assured the three. They stopped trembling and looked at the figure before them in astonishment.

"Alex!?" They exclaimed.

"Eeeyup," said Alex. When they heard his Big Mac impression, the girls smiled as they understood that it really was Alex in front of them. They soon began to frown again, though, and asked him how he had become a draconaquus.

"I don't know," he said. "One moment I was waiting to meet the princesses, and the next-" Alex cut off his sentence as he felt the familiar tingling sensation from when he was at town hall. The crusaders gasped, and Alex turned back to the mirror to see that he was once again a human, still in his tux. 

"This... is weird," Alex said. Just then the boutique's door slammed open and Alex turned to find Twilight and the others, minus the princesses, walk in.

"There you are," exclaimed Twilight, "We were all worried about you for a second. We thought that Discord had you."

"I'm telling you guys, I don't think that was Discord," said Rainbowdash. "He looked kind of different, almost... handsome."   

"Oh please," said Rarity. "In case you don't remember, darling, Discord is the only draconaquus in Equestria!"

"Yeah, well that wasn't Discord," said Alex, getting their attention. "I don't know how, but that draconaquus was... me."

"What?!" exclaimed the six mares.

"It's true," said Applebloom, "We saw him change back to human!"

The girls were stunned, still unsure of what Alex had told them. Alex noticed that Rainbowdash was blushing a little bit, probably because she had just called her best friend handsome. Alex was trying to figure out a way to prove it to them when the answer was provided for him. The tingling had returned again and he became a draconaquus before their eyes. Everyone gasped, and Rarity looked like she was about to faint, but just then the princesses barged through the door.

"Ah ha! there you are," exclaimed princess Luna. Both Celestia and Luna used their magic to capture Alex in a magic bubble.

"Wait, that's not Discord!" shouted Twilight, and she quickly explained to the princesses what she had seen. As soon as Twilight had finished, Celestia and Luna looked at each other and frowned.

"Well, he is still a draconaquus," said Celestia, "but if he's your friend... then I suppose he's not a threat." And with that, the princesses let Alex go. 

As Alex got up and dusted himself off he said, "Thank you for not killing me,but I'm still confused about how I became a draconaquus. Any chance you know whats up?"

Celestia sighed and said, "I believe I do, although I hoped it wouldn't happen. I'm sure you all know the story of Discord?"
At everyone's nod she continued, "Well, he wasn't the only draconaquus here. Way back when, there used to be three draconaqi, to males and a female. One of them was Discord. When Discord started to create chaos and had to be locked up by the Elements of Harmony, I decided that it was too dangerous for the others to remain. I banished each to a different world, and hoped that hey would never come back."

As Celestia finished her story, Alex couldn't help being a bit agitated. 

"That's very interesting and all," he said," but what does it have to do with me? Why do I transform from a human to a draconaquus?"

"I was about to get to that part," replied Celestia. "I believe the reason you keep changing is because you are not completely human. I believe that you are half draconaquus, and that one of the banished draconaqi was one of your parents. Your human form seems to keep your chaotic magic locked up inside and it gets released whenever you are around strong magic, such as the kind Luna and I posses."

Everyone gasped, shocked at the princesses explanation. The princess then began to smile as she got an idea.

"Twilight," she said, getting the attention of her student. "I want you to train Alex in the way of magic, teach him how to harness it in his human form. He seems like a good person, so perhaps he can learn to use his powers for good."

Twilight nodded at her mentor. She understood that this might be hard, but if Celestia believed it could be done, then she might as well try. Celestia then turned to Alex.

"I am trusting you to learn to use your powers for a good use. I will be paying close attention to your progress, so be sure to do your best." At Alex's excited nod, she began to address them all. "It has been a very... interesting visit. I hope to hear more good things from you all. Farewell, my subjects."

Everyone bowed as the princesses left tho boutique. A soon as they were out the door, they all crowded around Alex, excited about the assignment the princess had given him.





"Sister, are you sure that your decision was a wise one?" asked Luna as she and Celestia flew back to Canterlot. 

"I'm sure Luna," replied Celestia. "Despite his draconaquus nature, I sense Cooper has a good heart. I believe this will all work out fine."

"But what about his relation to Discord? You didn't mention that the three draconaqi were all siblings, and how another one of them was more evil than Discord."

"You are also forgetting, dear sister, that one of them was very kind."

"No, I do remember," Luna said sadly. "I miss her very much."

"I miss her too, but it was the only way to calm everypony down. I couldn't tell which one he was born from, but whether or not he was spawned from the dark one, if he stays on the track he is heading, I don't believe we have anything to fear."
> Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 10 Draconaquus 101

It's a normal morning like every other in Ponyville. On this morning Alex Cooper was peacefully sleeping in his bed, Smokey lying by the side of it. Twilight came in with a frown on her face, mad that Alex hadn't woken up yet.

"Alex! Wake up!" yelled Twilight.

Alex jumped out of bed with a start. Smokey jumped too, landing right next to him.

"Oy! What's all this then?" asked Smokey. Alex was wondering the same thing.

"Today is the first day of your training, Alex," said Twilight. "Remember?"

Alex did remember. Yesterday he had met the princesses of Equestria, and after many... awkward... situations, it was discovered that he was half draconaquus. Princess Celestia had given him, Twilight, and the others the task of training Alex to use his powers. In other words, today was the first day of draconaquus school. Unfortunately, Alex really hated school.

Alex got out of bed, grabbed his blue cap, and walked drowsily towards the kitchen. As soon as he entered the kitchen, Alex noticed an unfamiliar but delicious smell. Alex looked over to where Spike was sitting, munching on some jewels. He was confused at first, but he began to wonder if this had something to do with his draconaquus nature.

"Hey Spike," Alex said, catching the attention of the baby dragon. "Do you mind if I maybe... try one of those jems?"

Spike shrugged and handed Alex a ruby. As Alex took a bite of the ruby, a single fang sprung out of his mouth. He was surprised at how easy it was to chew the ruby, and also at how delicious it tasted. Alex finished it in a few more bites, and when he was done his fang disappeared. 

"So you can get dragon teeth without completely changing into a draconaquus," observed Twilight, writing it down on a clipboard. "That's very interesting to know."

Alex, feeling full, said, "Well I guess we already learned something. What's next on the agenda?"

Twilight and Alex were standing outside the library, preparing for his next lesson. All the ponies who past stared at Alex, some with interest and others with disgust. Well, I guess that comes with being the same species as Equestria's most feared psychopath, thought Alex. 

"Okay Alex," said Twilight, getting the half-breed's attention. "We're going to start your magic training off with a simple transformation spell. You see that rock?" Twilight pointed to a large rock a few feet away. "I want you to change it into a vase. All you have to do is concentrate, understand?"

Alex understood, and began to concentrate on the rock. He imagined where the rock was and imagined a vase in it's place. Alex pointed his left hand at the rock, focusing on nothing but the rock. Alex could feel power building up through his arm to his hand. His armed turned into an eagle talon and his hand began to glow a dark purple. Twilight, Spike, and Smokey watched Alex with intense looks. Alex's eagle talon glowed brighter, and the rock began to glow the same color. The rock flashed brightly, and when the light cleared, It had been transformed...

...into a bowling pin.

"Aw, what?" exclaimed Alex, frustrated at his failure. His arm changed back to normal.

"It's okay Alex," said Twilight. "It takes time and practice to master magic. Although, I must admit you did better than I did the first time I tried that spell. I couldn't change it into anything that resembled a vase."

Alex smiled a bit, thankful for Twilight's encouragement, and asked what they were going to try next.





"Alright rookie, listen up and listen good," shouted Rainbowdash. She was here to help Alex learn how to use his wings. While he didn't exactly like being yelled at, Rainbowdash was most likely a better flight instructor than Fluttershy. "Now that your a draconaquus-"

"A 'handsome' draconaquus," Alex interrupted smugly.

"You're never gonna let me live that down are you?" replied Rainbowdash before she continued her speech. "It takes more than just flapping your wings to fly, you gotta put your heart into it! Understand?"

Alex nodded and began to concentrate on his wings, trying to get them out in his human form. After what he had done so far today, it was relatively easy to bring out his wings. The bat and bird wing were much bigger in Alex's human form than in his draconaquus form; most likely because he was heavier as a human. Following Dash's instructions, Alex was able to get off the ground and do a few laps around some clouds. After a while, Alex started to get a little daring, starting to do tricks he had watched Rainbowdash practice. After a few fast loops and flips, he carefully landed in front of Dash, whose mouth was opened in shock. 

"Wow. You're a fast learner," said Rainbowdash. 

"Eh. I try," said Alex.





Next was the part of the day Alex had been looking forward to all day: combat practice.

"Okay Alex, your draconaquus blood should have increased your physical abilities," said Twilight as she prepped the training dummies. "Also, I believe I can teach you some defensive and offensive spells. Lets start of with something offensive. Try to build up your magic, and the release it on the dummies."

"But I don't want to hurt Spike," said Alex, a grin spreading on his face.

"Ha ha. good one. Just start already," said Spike, a little aggravated.

Alex sighed and began doing what Twilight had said. Alex charged up his energy, his arms transforming into a lion paw and eagle talon. Each one glowed with his dark purple aura. Alex then released the power, shooting two dark purple auras at the dummies, leaving scorch marks. 

"Good," said Twilight. "Keep practicing."

Alex kept practicing this ability and it's use began to improve. After an hour or two Alex was able to charge up and fire quicker, and he had very good aim while moving. Twilight then demonstrated how to create a shield, and Alex copied perfectly. Alex then began to practice hand-to-hand combat, just in case enemies got in close. If only my siblings could see me now, thought Alex. After practicing, Alex saw Spike trying to copy some of his fighting moves, and he was actually pretty good.

"Wow Spike, never thought I'd see someone your age so good at fighting," Alex said, before realizing he didn't actually know Spike's age. "How old are you anyways?"

"Let's see. With the last birthday I had a few months ago, I'd say I'm about fifteen."

"What? You're kidding!"

"Nope. Twilight's about four years older than me, so she's nineteen."

"Really? well then how old are the others?"

"Well Applejack is eighteen. Pinkie Pie and Rarity are around seventeen. And I'm pretty sure Rainbowdash and Fluttershy are in the vicinity of sixteen."

Wow, learned two new things today, thought Alex. Rainbowdash and I are the same age, and Pinkie doesn't act anywhere near her's. Alex then got an idea. "Hey Spike, since I'm gonna be the hero around here, I'm gonna need a sidekick. How'd you like the job?"

"I don't know. Sounds kinda dangerous," Spike said unsure.

"Girls love sidekicks," Alex said bluntly.

"I'm in!" said Spike. 

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" asked Twilight.





It was soon dark, and after a hard day of training, Alex, Twilight, Smokey, and Spike went back to the library. 

"It's been a long day guys," said Alex, exhausted.

"Yeah, and we've got another one tomorrow," said Twilight. "Good night guys."

And with that, everyone went to sleep. As Alex lay down in bed, he couldn't help thinking about his siblings. I'm sure they would have liked it here. Sam is so smart, I'm sure he and Twilight would have a lot in common. And I'm positive the girls would have loved my sister, especially since we're twins. Ha. I'm sure she'd be so jealous of my powers. I really wish she was here. As Alex's thoughts wandered to the good times he had had with his sister, he fell asleep with a smile on his face.
> Chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 11 Twin Trouble (Part 1)

Written by THEPENMAN
with the help of the amazing ShadowWeaver

It was a normal day for Alex Cooper. It had been two weeks since the princesses had assigned him to learn to use his draconequus abilities, and so far it had gone very well. Alex could fly almost as well as Rainbow Dash, and his magic was so good, even Twilight was impressed. Alex's combat training was as good as ever, and he had even taught Spike a few moves. On this day they were both practicing their techniques when Twilight signaled to them that they were through.

"Good work guys," she said.

“Thanks Twi,” said Alex. “By the way, Spike, your form’s really improved.”

“Well, I take my job as your sidekick very seriously,” Spike said. 

Yeah right, Alex thought to himself. He then said, “So Twilight, what’s next on the agenda? Magic practice? Flight training?”

“Actually, we’re having a picnic lunch with the rest of the girls,” said Twilight. “Wanna come with?”

“Awesome!” said Alex, a grin emerging up on his face. “Let’s go!”





Alex had never been more hungry in his life. He was thankful for that picnic that the girls had invited him to, and couldn't help but dive into his food, yet his stomach still remained a little empty despite the egg salad sandwich and the fruit salad that he had practically inhaled.

“Whoa, pardner!” exclaimed Applejack, eyes bugged out at the human’s astonishing eating rate. “Otherwise, y’all are gonna – “ Alex had swallowed too suddenly, and his face started to turn a pale shade of blue. “...choke.” Applejack wrapped her hooves around his midriff and yanked up into his solar plexus, the betraying piece of kiwi from Alex’s fruit salad sailing high over the heads of the ponies and smacking into a tree.

“Ew...” Alex gulped and massaged his esophagus, sore from his throat’s feeble peristalsis.

“Alex, are you alright, dude?” queried Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah, I’m fine...” Alex scratched the back of his head, only to find a certain item missing.... “Where the hell is my hat?!” he hollered out of the blue, taking everypony by surprise. Panicking like a madman, Alex looked left and right for it, only to find his trusty azure beret in the punch bowl. “Oh, cripes!” He plucked it out, but it was too late: the punch had already set, and the hat had heavily absorbed the drink like a sponge in a pool. “Aw, you gotta be kidding me!”

“Alex, there is no reason for you to panic,” Rarity said calmly, despite the scare Alex had given her and the others. She then picked up his hat with her magic blue aura and, with a flash of light, got it back to it’s original state. “Lucky for you, I know a spell to get stains out of clothing,” she said, magically placing his hat on his head.

Alex took his hat off again, inspected it, and sighed with relief as he put it back on, seeing no trace left of the punch. 

“Thanks Rarity, you have no idea how much this hat means to me,” said Alex.

“No trouble at all, darling,” Rarity replied. She was happy to help, but it left her wondering what was so special about his hat. The most she knew about it was when he had kindly refused to take it off for his meeting with the princesses, despite the fact that it slightly clashed with his tuxedo, and all he had said about it then was that his hat had ‘sentimental value’ to him. She wasn't the only one curious about his hat. Spike and the girls could all see that he couldn't part with it, and their curiosity was so strong it was killing them. However, they all believed that Alex would tell them when and if he wanted to, so they all managed to hold back on the interrogation. 

Well... almost all of them. 

“So Alex, what’s so special about that hat?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Pinkie!” said everyone except Alex. They were shocked at how insensitive and outward Pinkie had asked about it. 

“It’s okay, guys,” Alex said, sensing the hostility directed towards the pink mare. “I don’t mind. Sort of. Really.” As everyone calmed down, they all watched Alex, waiting for him to tell his tale. Alex sighed. “This hat really means alot to me. It was a present given to me a few years ago by my twin sister.”

“Wait, twin sister?” Twilight asked, confused. Alex had mentioned having an older brother before, but he had never said anything to her or anypony else about a sister. “why didn't you ever mention her before?” 

“Well you see, that’s because a few years ago, a little while after she gave me this hat actually, she sort of... disappeared.” Alex said sheepishly. 

“Huh?” said Rainbow Dash, she and the others getting even more confused.

“I... suppose I should start at the beginning,” Alex said, preparing for the long story he was about to tell.

“My sister and I may be twins, but she was still a little bit different from me. Sometimes she could be bossy and boastful, but once you got to know her, she was actually a really nice person. As we grew up in the orphanage, we found out that we were natural born troublemakers. We'd always be playing pranks, stealing things, and just causing chaos in general, which is kind of ironic given my draconaquus nature.

“Ha! We almost never got caught, unless of course we were doing something really big. In those cases, while our plans were successful, we usually got caught later on and Sam would have bail us out of trouble. Another thing about my sister: she loved magic. Well, actually we all loved magic, but we each were fascinated by a different field. With me, it was all about the magical creatures. Sam was all about magical items, like talismans and potions and stuff. As for my sister, her interest was in magic spells. In fact, given the combination of her love of magic and the pranks that we pulled, I would sometimes call her Trix.

“The only problem with her love of magic, though, was that she was terrible at it. She could barely even do a simple card trick. She was always messed with for this, and she always got really angry about it. The night she had disappeared was actually right after one of her failed performances, and she had gone to take a walk outside and vent her anger, taking a spell book I had given her many years before, which was already really old, with her. She never came back. She had always dreamed of being a performing magician. so much so that she had already given herself a stage name. She liked to call herself The Great-”

BOOM!

A reverberating explosion blasted through the air, causing all the ponies’ ears to prickle and stand on end. Alex looked off in the distance, and saw a billowing stack of purple smoke swirl from the source of the blast, a little scorch mark in the grass about seventeen yards that was still smoking. “What the-!” Alex tried to get a closer look at the culprit: an azure unicorn with a mane and tail as silver as steel, her mauve cape singed in places and wizard hat askew. He and the others watched as the mare grumbled angrily and tried to redo whatever she had performed.

She seems familiar, thought Alex, still perplexed by the phenomenon of the blast as he tried to get a good glimpse of the mare. However, due to the blockade of ponies and dragon trying to get a good look at her, Alex couldn't get a good look at her, much to his irritation. The blue unicorn lets out an exasperated yell and stomps on the ground, a small squad of vials filled with different-coloured liquid bubbling as they swam around her via her periwinkle magic aura. Do I know her from somewhere?

“Greetings, Ponyville,” said the azure unicorn in a slightly familiar voice. “I've come back to grace you with my presence yet again!” 

“Oh, boy, here we go again,” hissed a surly Spike under his breath. “I thought that Twilight knocked her block off like last time....”

“Actually Spike, after she was freed from the Alicorn Amulet, she apologized for how she had acted,” Twilight told him. 

Okay, who the heck are they talking about? Alex thought. Just then, the familiarity of this mare suddenly came to his mind. No... it couldn't be. Could it?

Just then the blue mare shouted, “Be prepared to witness the awe inspiring, totally gorgeous, and completely incredible, Great and Powerful Trixie!”

It is, Alex thought blankly, despite the fact that he was completely astounded. Alex pushed past the other ponies, a scowl growing on his face, as he came face to face with the blue mare. When she saw Alex, her mouth opened in shock. 

“Wha... it couldn't... you... here... how... huh!?” the blue mare began to babble uncontrollably.

“Hello Trixie. Long time no see,” Alex said. 

At hearing her name, the blue mare’s eye’s shrank to pinpoints, then she jumped, blown off her hooves at the sight of the human. “Whoda- Whadda- I- HUH!? ALEX?!” Finally understanding that the person standing in front of her was completely real, Trixie ran back inside her trailer, locking the entire thing up. The other ponies looked at Alex with confused looks on their faces.

“Alex? You know Trixie?” asked Rainbowdash. “How?”

“While the answer is quite simple, it will most likely raise more questions,” said Alex, “so are you guys really sure you wanna know.”

“Let me think... Yeah pretty much,” said Spike. “So how do you know Trixie?”

“Simple,” said Alex. “She’s the sister I was talking about.”
> Chapter 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 12 Twin Trouble (Part 2)
Written by Alex Rite
with the help of the amazing Deyeaz
and the brilliant LikeaBaws

“Wait a minute,” Rainbow Dash said, still feeling shock from the information Alex had just told her and the others. “Trixie is your twin sister? How is that even possible?”

“I have no idea,” Alex replied, much to the dissatisfaction of the mares and dragon who had been expecting him to have the answer. “But one thing is for sure: that was most definitely my sister. Only Trix would have the nerve to just show up outta the blue in front of a group of random peop—er...” Alex was still getting used to the ways the Equestrian language was different from his own “...ponies, and stand up on a stage calling herself ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie’.” Alex scratched the side of his head as a confusing thought came to his mind. “There is something different about her though. Something that definitely changed since the last time I saw her. New hairstyle maybe?”

“Well, Alex,” said Spike, a bemused look on his face, “You ever consider that it might be that she’s—oh, I don’t know—a unicorn?”

"True,” Alex confessed. “But I still say she’s doing something different with her hair—er, mane.”

“But that’s just it,” commented Twilight. “She’s a unicorn—not a human or a draconequus. How is it possible that she’s your sister? I don’t even see any form of resemblance between the two of you.”

“Well I see it,” said Pinkie, a small grin on her face.

“You do?” everyone asked, turning their heads towards the pink mare.

“Yeah! It’s in the eyes,” Pinkie said, pointing to her own eyes to emphasize her statement. “Alex and Trixie’s eyes have a similar gleam of fun and mischief in them. And Trixie has that confident, lopsided smirk that Alex has all the time. Can’t you guys see it?” At this, Spike and the girls all took a close look at Alex’s face.

“Now that you’ve mentioned it,” said Rarity, “I actually do see it. I can’t believe I hadn’t noticed it before.” The others agreed.

“Okay, but that still doesn’t explain how she got here and became a unicorn,” said Applejack.

“Um, Alex, could she have gotten here the same way you did?” asked Fluttershy quietly. “How- uh- how exactly did you get here? I mean- if you don’t mind me asking.”

“I have absolutely no idea,” Alex answered her, leaning against the side of Trixie’s Trailer. “All I know is that one moment I’m asleep in my uncomfortable bed at the orphanage, the next I’m waking up in the Everfree Forest and getting attacked by Timber Wolves. Not exactly the best first impression for the new guy in Equestria. How Trixie managed to get herself here is beyond me.”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” said Twilight. “Lets see what Trixie can tell us about how she got here.”





The group, lead by Alex, stood in front of the door of Trixie’s trailer. Alex knocked on the door as hard as he possibly could.

“Little sis, little sis, let me in,” Alex said, much to the confusion of the group behind him.

“Not by the scrapes on your chinny-chin-chin.” replied Trixie from the inside. Alex smirked at the answer given to him, recognizing it. The same thought was obviously going through Trixie’s head after she let out a giggle, as an audible “Damn” was heard.

“What was that?” ask Spike, confused.

Turning to him, Alex replied, “Back at the orphanage, Trix would lock herself in her room whenever she was upset. One time, to get her to come out I said, ‘little sis, little sis, let me in.’ Now back at the orphanage, I was known to be a bit clumsy, often falling down on my face, so she always replied, ‘not by the scrapes on your chinny-chin-chin.’ She laughed so hard that she finally calmed down and opened the door. After that, anytime she got upset I just went up to her room and we made the same exchange.”

Turning back to the door Alex said, “Now let us in Trixie, or I will huff and puff and blow this door down.”

Trixie, no longer wearing her hat and cape, slowly opened the door with a sigh, a bemused look on her face. “Fine. You and your friends can come in.”

As Alex and the rest of the gang came in, Trixie had no reaction other than a small exchange with Twilight when she came in.

“Sparkle.”

“Trixie.”

Alex took a good look around the trailer as the others came in. Despite it being a little small, the interior was quite roomy, only having a single bed in the corner of the room by a back window and a small desk on the side wall, and would most likely fit everyone in with a little room to move around. Given that there were four solid walls on all sides of the trailer, Alex assumed that the stage that came out of the side was either very well compacted, or had some magical properties. Considering the lack of props cluttering the trailer, it was obvious Trixie magically stored them somewhere, although where Alex had no idea, as he was still trying to figure out magic storage himself.

“Well Trix, still tidy as ever I see.” Alex said to the unicorn as she squeezed through the small crowd of ponies, dragon, and human to sit down on her bed.

“Well, you know me, I’ve always been a bit of a neat freak. Having magical abilities does help out a bit, though.” Trixie replied, tapping her horn with a hoof.

“Ah, that reminds me, I have a very important question for you.”

Spike and the girls waited anxiously for Alex to ask the question that was on all of their minds, the question to which the answer would hopefully bring about some explanation for the strange events and odd occurrences of Alex and his Draconequus nature.

“...Are you doing something new with your mane?” Alex asked.

CRASH!

Everyone looked out the door behind them to where a random stallion who appeared to have been carrying a large box filled with fragile items had dropped it, everything inside shattering upon impact and scattering around on the ground. “Aw crap! My wife’s gonna kill me!”

Trixie magically closed the door and, seeing the bemused and annoyed looks of the dragon and ponies as the question Alex had asked finally registered in their brains (except for Pinkie Pie who had, of course, been wondering the same thing, and was sporting a goofy grin as she nodded her approval), smiled to them.

“I see you haven’t changed much either,” she said, turning back to Alex. “Still the lovable, ignorant guy who thinks he’s completely hilarious and tries to make others laugh by bringing your humor into any situation, no matter how serious it’s supposed to be.”

“You’d better believe it,” Alex replied smugly, the gleam in his eye Pinkie had mentioned earlier becoming more prominent.
Trixie turned to the others. “I’m guessing what you really want to know is how I got to Equestria and why I’m unicorn instead of a human?”
At their nod, Trixie continued. “Well, first things first...” Trixie turned her gaze back to her brother. “This is a new mane style. Like it?”

“Love it.”

CRASH!

“AW BUCK!!”

This time Twilight was the one who used magic to close the shade on the window, muffling the curses of the stallion who, after cleaning everything up, had dropped the large box once again, and causing the room to become a bit darker, as little light was able to filter through the dark blue shade.

“I’m beginning to see more of a resemblance between you and your brother.” Rarity said after she and the others (again, excluding a giggling Pinkie Pie) let out a group sigh.

Trixie and Alex both let out a small giggle, which sounded so similar that the others decided it must be another thing they shared as siblings.

“Well, on the bright, or should I say darker side, now we have a nice mood for me to tell my story.”
“Engage Flashback Mode!” Alex exclaimed, Trixie letting another giggle slip before telling her tale.





“After getting laughed off the stage on that fateful night those few years ago, I ran up to my room tears flowing from my eyes. Looking back as I ran up the stairs, I saw the figure of my brother begin to run after me, most likely wishing to comfort me, only to be stopped by the hand of our older brother Sam. Alex and I may have been twins, and may have cared for me more than almost anyone else, but Sam was the one who understood me better. He knew that I needed some time alone to collect myself before anyone should attempt to cheer me up.

“Unfortunately, with the sorry state I was in, it would take a lot more than just a little time for me to get over this one. Running into my room, I slammed the door shut and locked it, then huddled into the corner of my room where I always go after a failed performance. Written on this wall was the word performances placed over a set of rectangles, One labeled ‘Failed’ and the other labeled ‘Fantastic.’ When I had first failed a magic performance I had written this here to keep progress of how well I would improve after that first defeat. Picking up the pencil I had laying over there, I scratched another mark into the ‘Failed’ column. The failed column was now completely full, one hundred failed marks in all.

“One hundred. One hundred defeats at trying to be great at something. One hundred times of being laughed at. One hundred failures that I had acquired since the beginning of my attempts at fame. Slowly, I turned my head to the ‘Fantastic’ column to look at the number of good performances I had done. What I saw made my failures even more crushing. The ‘Fantastic’ column was completely blank. There was nothing.

“Zero.

“Zilch.

“Nada.

“Not. One. SINGLE.MARK.

“One hundred failed performances. Not even one single success.

“I curled up into a ball and cried for what felt like hours. I cried, and I cried, and I cried, and I cried. I cried until I couldn’t cry anymore. When I finally stopped crying, I looked over to my bed. Laying on top of it was an old green book titled ‘Magic Spells of the Magnificent Merlin the Magician.’ The old book of spells Alex had gotten me for our birthday last year. It was a very old book; much of the words on the cover and the cover itself were quite faded. The writing on the inside of the ancient tome appeared to be handwritten in a form of ink that looked black on first glance, but after close inspection was actually an extremely dark shade of green. A message was written on the inside of the cover in an ink that seemed to flash from bright reds to light oranges to dark yellows, almost as though it had been written in fire. The seemingly magical message read:

‘To those who possesseth this grandiose tome,
if thou art worthy of it’s knowledge known,
if thou canst handle nature’s truest powers,
if thou wishest to help in the darkest of hours,
if thou art brave and strong of heart and of will,
if thou rejecteth the villainous urges to kill,
if thou seekest power to protect thyself and thy kin,
then may this tome granteth ye the power of the wizard Merlin.’

“At the end of the message was what appeared to be the signature of Merlin himself, written in a purple ink that seemed to always sparkle, even with almost no light at all. Alex had taken one look at the book and knew that weather or not it was the real deal or just a very impressive looking fake, it was the perfect gift to make me smile. Alex had asked the man in charge of the bookstore how much it was worth, and the total cost was one hundred and fifty dollars. Alex felt it was fate for him to find that book, as he had saved up exactly that much with all the work he had done that year. Alex bought the book on the spot, not stopping to think that the book might not be worth that amount, not stopping to think of all the things he could by for himself with that money. The only thought that went through his head was how much he knew his sister would love it.

“I remembered opening that present the night of our birthday, the shock and awe on my face at the sight of the incredibly beautiful old book. That night had been one of the very few times that when I had wept they were tears of joy. Then my joy had come to a sudden stop when I thought about the present I had gotten for him, how pathetic it was in comparison. I remember I had watched worriedly as Alex opened the present I had gotten for him- a dark blue beret. At first, Alex had a confused look on his face that caused me to worry. I hadn’t done a lot to earn any money that year, and when time finally caught up with me I bought the first thing I could afford that I felt Alex might like. Now that we had exchanged presents and I had seen how much work and selflessness Alex had put into my present and all the nothing I put into his, I felt like the worst sister ever.

“But then Alex smiled and put on the hat, thanking me and telling me how thoughtful of a gift it was. I couldn’t tell if he was exaggerating or being sincere, but either way it meant that Alex liked it and that he didn’t think I was a bad sister. I was so happy to know that weather or not he liked the hat, he was kind enough to tell me he did. it was the best birthday we’d had together, and thinking about it always made me smile.

“The reminiscence of that day was enough to cheer me up, and I got up and sat on my bed, looking through the old book at all the intricate spells and masterfully drawn images. After a while, a knock on the door brought my head out of the books pages.

“‘Little sis, little sis, let me in,’ Alex said.

“Giggling, as always, I replied, ‘Not by the scrapes on your chinny-chin-chin.’

“After laughing at our joke for a minute or two, I went to the door and opened it, letting in Alex and Sam. Alex smiled, glad to see that I wasn’t feeling upset anymore.

“‘So, had enough time to cool down I see?’ said Sam, grinning. I nodded to him.

“‘Great,’ said Alex, now leaning against the wall. ‘Because you shouldn’t care about impressing those jerks out there. I mean, who cares? So what if you suck at magic? All that really matters is-’ Alex stopped when he noticed the shocked look on my face. ‘-What?’

“‘...suck...at...magic...?’ I said, tears beginning to well up behind my eyes.

“‘You idiot,” said Sam, facepalming.

“‘You think... I suck... at magic?’ The tears were now rolling down my face.

“Alex, realizing his slip-up, started to babble as he tried to take back his comment. ‘No- I didn’t- that’s not what I- I mean- I- uh-’

“‘SAVE IT!’ I screamed, running out of the room, my spellbook held tightly in my hands, tears rapidly flowing down my face.

“‘Trixie!’ I heard my brother yell as he tried to follow me.

“‘LEAVE ME ALONE!’ I cried at him, the intense rage I put into that yell stopping Alex in his tracks.

“I decided that I needed some air, and despite the fact that it was already dark out, I headed my way out the door to take a walk around the block.

“As I was leaving, I heard the faint sound of Sam repeating to Alex, ‘You idiot...’”





“Wait.” said Rainbow Dash, interrupting Trixie’s retelling of the events of that night. Turning to Alex she said, “So it was your fault Trixie went outside the night she disappeared?”

“Please don’t remind me,” Alex said, a sad look on his face the likes of which the others had never seen before. “I still can’t help but hate myself for that. I mean, she wouldn’t have gone outside if I hadn’t been stupid enough to say that to her. I felt totally responsible for it, and honestly, I still do.”
The others, seeing how emotionally distraught he was over the events of that night, quickly attempted to change the subject.

“W-w-well, Alex, you shouldn’t feel t-too bad,” Fluttershy said, trying to comfort her friend. “I mean, j-just because you made one mistake, doesn’t make you a bad g-guy.”

“Yeah!” replied Spike, following Fluttershy’s lead to try and cheer up his mentor. “I mean, think about that part with the birthday present. You got Trixie that book to make her happy, you didn’t care how much it cost you.”

“That’s just another reason why you’re the best!” added Pinkie Pie.

Alex smiled at his friends attempts to cheer him up, feeling that he was the luckiest guy in the world to have such great friends. Alex turned to Trixie so she could continue telling her tale, only to get a small shock when he caught a glance of bitterness on his human-turned-unicorn sister. Before Alex had a chance to react to this unexpected reaction, the bitterness was gone from Trixie’s face, and Alex just shrugged it off as a trick of the light.

“So Trixie, you still haven’t gotten to the part about how you got to Equestria.” said Twilight, eager to learn about this strange occurrence.

“Yeah! Lets get this story rolling!” exclaimed Pinkie, shoveling popcorn from who-knows-where into her mouth.
Ignoring the oddity known as Pinkie Pie, Trixie continued to weave her tale...





“I had been walking around the block for about half an hour, the anger I had felt towards my brother, while still there, had dwindled by very much. My mind was filled with the thoughts of what had happened earlier, getting laughed at by the crowd, locking myself in my room, the one hundred failed attempts at performing magic for people, the stupid and hurtful thing my brother had said to me, whether intentional or just a major moment of stupidity. Looking down at the book in my hands, I thought once again of the events that transpired with it, and I calmed down enough to stop and think clearly. Alex may be a complete idiot sometimes, but if there was one thing I knew, it was that no one else cared about me and my happiness more than my twin brother, the book in my hands was proof enough of that.

“Leaning up against a lamppost, I began to think about how long I had been out. Knowing my brothers, by now Alex was probably freaking out with worry, and Sam would be doing whatever he could to keep Alex calm, but only being a few minutes from panicking himself. I laughed at the thought. If anybody in the world was worth caring about, it was my crazy brothers. I decided I should probably go home soon, but I stayed leaning against that lamppost for a while longer as I let one last thought through my head.

“‘So what if you suck at magic?’

“Alex’s words still ran through my head, crystal clear. He may not have meant it, it might have just been one of the stupid things that slip out of his mouth every once in a while, but that didn’t change the fact that he had said it, that he had thought of it at least once, and that, as I regretted to admit to myself, that he was right. I sucked at magic.

“Sighing, I looked up at the sky, wanting, hoping, for something, anything, that would tell me what to do. Suddenly, something caught my interest out of the corner of my eye. Looking over at it, I saw a shooting star. This one was a very strange star, however, as it didn’t look right at all. It was a bright shade of green, and it had two tails, almost as though the original one had been cut in half. Not taking a second to think about how strange it was or rethink what I was about to do, I gazed up at the star and made a wish.

“‘I wish I could do magic, magic that would silence people in a state of awe, magic so incredible that everyone would want to see it, to see me do it.’

“Feeling quite satisfied with myself, I stood there to watch the star arc all the way across the sky. However, to my surprise, instead of drifting out of my range of sight, it disappeared right before my eyes. Shocked and confused, I stood there for a second trying to figure out what had just happened. Before I could think of anything, I suddenly found myself in a swirling vortex of many colors, getting violently flung around like a ragdoll.

“I had no idea what was going on or how I had come to be here, but I hung on tightly to my spellbook as my thoughts bounced around the inside of my head. What was going on? What was going to happen to me? Was I dying? Was I about to die, all alone, never getting the chance to forgive my brother? All these thoughts ran through my head, ceasing only when everything went completely black.

“I woke up to find myself laying face down on the ground, my head hurting. The first thought that came into my head was that I must have tripped and fallen down. looking up, I noticed that my spellbook had fallen a few inches away from me. I reached out to grab it, only to notice that the hand I was reaching it with was no longer a hand, but a bright blue hoof. I screamed and jumped up, looking at my other hand to see that it, too, had become a hoof. I saw a reflection of moonlight coming from a puddle close by, and hurried over to look at myself in the reflection. However, the face peering back at me was not that of my own, but of a bright blue unicorn. I gasped, raising a hoof to touch my horn. I looked around and, finding that I was somewhere unfamiliar and devoid of life, I decided that I had to find some form of civilization.

“I picked up my book with more ease than i had expected, and began to walk towards what I hoped would be a town or city or something. As I walked down the path, I had the strange feeling that something was following me. My suspicions were proven correct when I felt the warm breath of some animal right behind me. I slowly turned around, hoping to find a stray dog or maybe a big cat standing behind me. I was partially right, as the horrifying creature behind me was part cat... and scorpion... and bat.

“I was looking right into the face of a manticore. And he did not look happy.

“I screamed, running as fast as I could from it, but the manticore was a very fast animal for something of it’s size. Before long, I tripped on the root of a tree, and before I could get back up, the manticore was over me, and I was paralyzed by fear. The manticore raised it’s paw to rip me to shreds, but before he could it was surrounded by a dark green aura, and he was flung across the woods by it. As the manticore ran away, tail between it’s legs, an old unicorn came up to me, asking me if I was alright. I answered him ‘yes’ and he smiled and helped me up. He introduced himself as Deimos, and showed me the way to his cabin. Once inside he asked me how I had ended up this far out in the woods, and I told him everything from the show, to the meltdown at my brother, to the strange shooting star, all the way up to him saving me.

“After hearing my story, he decided to tell me all about where I was and how I was a unicorn and, most important of all, how I could use magic. I was shocked and upset at first, realizing that my life, and my family, had been taken away from me not even an hour ago. But the idea that I could do magic, real live magic, was enough to inspire me to make a life in Equestria. I asked Deimos to teach me to use magic, and he happily agreed. Over the next year I put everything I had into learning magic. Deimos said that I was the fastest learner he had ever seen. I had confidence to spare, and after I had felt I’d learned enough to live my dream of being a performing magician, I decided it was time to leave. Deimos was happy to see me enthusiastically prepare for my dream, and gave me a bag of money to use once I hit the road. I traveled to a town of farming ponies who were depressed by the lack of rain they were getting because of a shortage on rainclouds. I could see that they needed something to cheer them up, and so I decided that this would be the first town I did my act in.

“It wasn’t much, just a few simple levitation tricks with animals and some card tricks, but it really lifted up the farmponies spirits. When I was done with the show they asked me how they could repay me, but I said that they didn’t have to, I had just felt that they needed some cheering up. They really felt like repaying me, though, so they decided to throw a party and invited me to stay in town for the night. They wouldn’t take no for an answer, so I agreed, and all through the night we danced and sang and had a really good time. When I awoke the next morning, I was surprised to see that the farmponies had done one last thing for me over the night. Feeling that somepony like me shouldn’t travel without some form of protection from the elements, the kind farmponies had built me a nice little wagon. They had even built it so that a stage could come out of it whenever I performed. I was shocked at their kindness and told them that it was far too much, but they explained how nothing had been able to cheer them up and make them forget about the drought until I had come along and showed them my tricks. They felt that this was the least they could do to repay me for reminding them how to smile. I thanked them for all the kindness they had shown me, and with my new trailer, set out to the next town I would do my show in.

“Over the years I spent traveling Equestria, I met new ponies and learned new spells. The shows I put on were loved by everypony, and my pride grew and grew. Unfortunately, after a while, all that pride began to make me boastful, mean, not at all the pony I had been when I had started out. I began to look down on everypony else, I began to tell people of my feats of bravery that never happened at all. I was so confident of myself I began to tell ponies that I had conquered an Ursa Major. That had been the first of my undoings.

“That- and coming to Ponyville.

“When I first arrived in Ponyville it was the same act as usual; tell of my great deeds, perform a few ticks, humiliate those who challenged me, but that all changed thanks to those utter morons Snips and Snails. Those idiots thought it would be a good idea to find an Ursa Major and bring it back to Ponyville for me to ‘vanquish.’ They weren’t able to find an Ursa Major, thank Celestia, but they did manage to bring back a cranky Ursa Minor. When they knocked on my door and asked me to defeat it, I knew I couldn’t stop it, and while I did try, I had no choice but to admit to my lies. If it weren’t for Twilight Sparkle coming in and calming it down, it probably would have destroyed the entire town. Unfortunately, that left me without face and having to run away before the town came after me.

“I continued to do my show in other towns after that, but my mind always returned to angry thoughts of Ponyville and, more precisely, Twilight Sparkle. I couldn’t stop thinking about how she had humiliated me and how much I wanted revenge. Soon I came across the answer to my desires.
“The Alicorn Amulet.

“An amulet of such great magical power it could increase a unicorn’s magical abilities enough that they could match even one of the Alicorn Sisters. After acquiring this talisman, I returned to Ponyville to seek my revenge. I challenged Sparkle to a magic duel, and with my increased powers, I won with ease. However, the amulet began to take control of my mind, turning me into something... evil. I kicked Sparkle out of ponyville, trapped and enslaved everypony, and even removed Pinkie Pie’s mouth. I would have kept at it if it weren’t for Sparkle’s quick thinking to trick me into taking the amulet off. After that, I apologised to Twilight Sparkle and left Ponyville...”





“Only to return today to find my twin brother, who for some reason is not a pony right now, hanging out with the rest of you,” Trixie said as she finished her story.

“Wait.” said Alex, taking a sip from his glass of chocolate milk. “You used a spell that removed Pinkie’s mouth? That’s very unkind of you Trix.” Leaning closer to his sister, he mouthed, Please teach me that spell.

“Teach you? What? And where the heck did you get that chocolate milk?”

“Dunno. Just got thirsty for a sec and next thing you know I’ve got a glass of chocolate milk,” Alex replied, taking another sip. “Man, that’s good.”

“Chocolate milk?” exclaimed Twilight. “Wait- does that mean all draconaqi like chocolate milk and not just Discord?”
Alex shrugged.

Trixie had a look of confusion on her face. “Draconaqi? Discord? What the tartarus are you talking about?”

“Oh right, I haven’t shown you yet,” Alex said to Trixie, grinning. “Check this out. It’s pretty cool.”

Alex focused his magic as he was surrounded by his dark purple magic aura. Slowly, Alex began to morph and grow until he had to hunch over his sister, as the trailer was a bit too small for his height in full Draconequus form. Alex waved his eagle talon to his sister, giving her a dragon-toothed grin. Trixie just stared up at him, mouth gaping and eyes bugging out.

“Like I said, pretty cool, huh?” Alex said to Trixie once he was comfortably back in human form.

“Wha- but- how- huh?” said Trixie, at a total loss for words.

“Isn’t it neat!” said Pinkie jumping, literally, into the conversation. “The Princesses said that Alex is half Draconequus and that one of his parents was a Draconequus and that Alex has chaos magic and they asked us to help him learn to use it and he already knows a whole lotta stuff like shapeshifting and flying and magic combat and all sorts of other neat stuff, and he’s only been at it for a few weeks!”

Despite the fact that Pinkie had said all that in one breath, the pink mare seemed absolutely unaffected. Trixie, on the other hand, was all too affected, as shown by the bitterness in her stare, which was for some reason directed at her brother.

“Of- course.” Trixie said, not a single hint of kindness in her voice. “Of- freaking- course.”

She stared up at Alex, who was beginning to feel like this was something that was not going to end well. Everypony else just stared at the two in silence as Trixie continued.

“I get dragged here through some vortex, get turned into a unicorn, and spend years learning magic, and then suddenly my twin brother shows up, and not only masters magic in only a few weeks and stays human, but he’s also a spirit of chaos with more power in his pinkie finger than I have in my whole body. OF- FREAKING- COURSE! I can’t have anything, can I? Whose always been more likable? You. Whose always been more athletic? You. Heck, which twin was born first? That would be, uh, you. I finally have something that I could do better, something I actually like and who comes in to prove me second best yet again? You. You, you, you, you, you, you, YOU!”

Trixie pointed her hoof in Alex’s face, and Alex was beginning to get a little worried. Alex could practically feel the rage emanating off of the blue unicorn. He knew about how unicorns were able to rage shift whenever they got really mad, and Alex could tell Trixie was pretty close to crossing that line. However, it wasn’t her being angry at him that was worrying him, it was that all that rage was coming from his sister and directed towards him. Alex had thought Trixie would probably be a bit jealous of his powers if she ever got to see them, but he would have expected her to get over it quickly and tell him it was pretty cool, not stare daggers at him until he felt like swiss cheese.

“Now, sis, I think you should calm down-” Alex said, trying to get Trixie to become calm and collected.

“Don’t call me that!” exclaimed Trixie, cutting Alex off. “I am not your sis. I have made a different life here in Equestria. I am Trixie Lulamoon, not Trixie Cooper. I have no brothers, and especially none who always surpass me at whatever I try and make me look bad, or tell me I suck at what I love. Get this into your brain. You. Are. Not. My. Brother!”

As Alex was being told this, he could practically feel his heart breaking. The sister he had loved and cared for his entire life, the one he had sulked over for years after she disappeared, the one who he had finally been reunited with here in Equestria... no longer wanted him to be her brother.

“O-okay,” Alex said sadly. He began to push past his friends, who all looked at him with faces of worry as his own face became a mask of pure sorrow, towards the door. He stopped in front of the door and took off his hat, giving it a good, long look. This hat had meant everything to him. This hat had been a gift from his sister, the person he had cared most for in the world. But now... he had no sister. So what value did it have to him?

Alex stuck his arm out to the side and let it fall to the floor. He left the trailer, followed by the others, leaving Trixie alone with nothing but the hat.





Somewhere dark and empty, a figure gazed at a crystal ball. Despite the fact that the crystal ball glowed with the images being shown on it, it did nothing to penetrate the darkness around it, leaving the figure watching it completely concealed except for a pair of glowing eyes a shade of purple so dark, they almost seemed black. The crystal ball was showing the scene of Alex as he left Trixie’s trailer, the mysterious figure growing a sinister, sharp-toothed smile at the scene playing out before him. He began to speak, his voice deep and rough and cold.

“Ah depression,” he said to himself, a malicious gleam in his eye. “Quite the business opportunity in my line of work. Especially with a business venture like Cooper. It’s like I always say, if your investments prove effective, then this is an opportunity worthy of my time. He managed to deal with the Timberwolves and bears I sent to test him, and he defeated them without the knowledge of the powers he possessed. Now he has chaos on his side, but this delicious dose of depression might be the difference between victory and defeat for poor, sad little Cooper. I think it’s time to give him another test.”

Snapping his unseen fingers, a light came on in front of the evil figure. A shadow slid into the light, and began to stand as it took on the shape of a dragon, roughly the same size as Alex in human form, and stood at attention.

“You, my little Shadow Puppet, are going on a little business trip to Ponyville, all expenses paid. I want you to survey our competition. I will, of course, supply you with the tools needed to secure our business venture.”

The figure rose a taloned claw, made visible by the dark green aura surrounding it. This same dark green aura levitated a long object from the darkness into the outstretched hand of the ‘Shadow Puppet.’ Once in the light, the object could clearly be seen as a spear about the same height as it’s wielder, tipped with a spearhead made of some unknown green stone that, in the concentrated light, gave off an ominous aura.

“Using this you shall test Cooper to see if he is a business venture worthy of my time. And if not, hey, no worries. There are still ways that this trip can be used to our advantage. Have some fun, burn down buildings, hell, even maim a few ponies if you're in the mood. All will work in our favor as long as you're able to spread TERROR.”
> Chapter 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 13 Twin Trouble (Part 3)

Written by Alex Rite
with the help of the amazing Deyeaz
and the brilliant LikeaBaws

As they were walking home, Alex couldn't help but feel...sad. He didn't think he would make her so angry. He didn't mean to, and now, this is the result of his mistake. He stared at the ground, seeing spots on the ground becoming wet. His vision became blurry and uncontrollable, his eyes burned, on the precipice of crying, his hands trembled, and he regretted every word he said.

"You okay there, big guy?" Rainbow asked, floating next to him in worry.

"Yeah, it's just--"

"You. Are. Not. My. Brother!”

His throat choked on the memory, and his whole body stopped. No matter how hard he tried, his body refused to move, and his emotions overwhelmed him. His mind repeated the words, ‘I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm so, so sorry...’

"I'm fine." He lied. "I just need to...have a walk to town."

His body obeyed his words and took him back to Ponyville, and the others worried. Rainbow, however, was a different story. She yelled in anger and stared at the sky. "Trixie's a JERK!! It wasn't his fault he became this way!!" She argued.

"Rainbow!" Applejack yelled, resting a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. "Ah know yer gettin’ angry an’ such, but this changes nothing!"

"It changes everything, Applejack!! Trixie's just angry that her brother Alex gets all the cool stuff and she's stuck being humiliated!" Rainbow argued back.

"While I do agree that is rather harsh on Trixie's side, Applejack's right. It doesn't change a thing. We're stuck in the back, letting them solve their own problems." Rarity said.

It was now Twilight's turn to step in, but nothing came out. Both sides were right. Trixie was humiliated, she can't get back on her hooves, and she's stuck in a paradigm of ignorance and neglect, like rancid mounds of trash. This changes nothing.

However, to play the devil’s advocate, Trixie was rude to her brother. It wasn't his fault, it just happened! Twilight regained her senses and sighed. 

"It's okay, girls. I'll handle this. Smokey's at home waiting for us. He's got nowhere else to go." Twilight said.

Rainbow huffed and crossed her fore legs. "You better. Otherwise, Trixie's gonna have to go through me!" She said as she took off into the skies. The ponies sighed, and their sorrow was back. 

"C'mon, let's go back home. We've got to find Alex before he gets into anymore trouble." Twilight says.

The ponies nodded and walked through the forest, hoping to find the friend they once had.





Back at the library, Twilight, Spike, and Smokey walked up the stairs. It had been a few hours since the gang's encounter with Trixie, and after they had all gone home, Alex had gone up to his room and hadn't come down since. Getting worried, the three went up and opened the door a crack, peeking in. They found Alex staring out the window at the late afternoon sun, a mournful look upon his face. Then, unexpectedly, Alex began to sing a sad, sad song. 

"Once as close as possible, 
two sides of a coin.
Could never be separate, 
since the day we were born.
Sharing what little we had, 
never letting our sorrows win. 
That is what life is like, 
when you have a twin.

"But what is one twin without the other?
Where is the other half of me? 
Together we were always optimistic,
but now there's no good that I can see.
How does she not see how I feel?
Can't she see that I have missed her? 
And I just can't help but think-
What am I without my sister?

"Sure, our lives weren't easy, 
And the world was pretty rough.
But we made each other smile
whenever things got tough.
We always stayed together,
'cause together we were strong. 
But what does all that matter, 
now that she is gone?

"For what is one twin without the other?
Where is the other half of me? 
Together we were always optimistic,
but now there's no good that I can see.
How does she not see how I feel?
Can't she see that I have missed her? 
And I just can't help but think-
What am I without my sister?

"And I just can't help but think-
What am I without my sister?"

Hearing Alex's song, the three friends' concern for him grew, and they knew they had to do something about it. Twilight walked into the room, followed by Spike and Smokey, and put a sympathetic hoof on Alex's shoulder. When he made no response, she began to talk to him. 

"Ya know, I've been situations like this with Shining Armor. Siblings have fights, that's normal, and I'm sure Trixie will come around eventually."

Alex sighed and replied, "Thanks, Twi. But you don't know Trix like I do. Her reaction to my powers, I... I've never seen her like that before. I don't know what to think, but right now... I just wanna be left alone." 

Twilight nodded to him, understanding his current position, and left the room with the others in tow. Once they were in the main library, Twilight turned to the dragon and diamond dog pair and saw the same concern she felt for the half-Draconequus in their faces. 

"This is bad," she told them. "It's like that's not even Alex in that room."

"I know! He's not even trying to add a funny comment to the conversation to lighten the mood! Not even a bad one like, 'she should grab some ice and cool down,'" replied Smokey. 

"Yeah, but the worst thing is the hat," added Spike. "Alex kept that hat close to him like it was his greatest treasure, and now he just threw it away like an old candy wrapper. It's like he's been discorded, he's not himself anymore."

"He hasn't been discorded Spike," said Twilight sadly, "but he has been seriously hurt. To find a sister that's been missing for years only for her to disown you... I can't imagine how much that hurts."

"What we need is something to take his mind off it," said Spike. 

Suddenly, a shadowy dragon wielding a spear broke down the library door.

"Ya mean like that?" asked Smokey. 

"What's going on down here?" Alex questioned, coming down the stairs in an alarmed manner at the sound of the intrusion. 

Seeing it's apparent target, the shadow roared and charged at Alex. Dodging it, Alex ran to the other side of the room. But, being persistent, the shadow attacked again, but Alex dodged it just as easily as the first time. 

"Hey! Stupid shadow figure!" Alex heard from across the room. The shadow turned around to see Spike standing tall and firm. The shadow looked at him, then back at Alex, then back to the purple dragon. Spike took as deep a breath as possible, and blew his green fire at the shadow. Alex rolled at the random attack, shocked as the baby dragon smirked. "Alex, I did it! I did...it?"

The shadow stared at Spike, unharmed and not burned in the slightest. The shadow dragon's curiosity at Spike shrunk to boredom as he went back for Alex. 

"Crap!" He yelled as the Shadow Dragon swung the spear overhead once more. "What does he want from me?!"

Alex swept his leg, only for it to pass through the shadow figure and sweep Spike instead. His face fell right onto the floor and Alex hissed at his misfortune. "My bad, Spike!"  Alex said apologetically.

The shadow looked at the dragon and held his spear high, only to miss inches from Spike as Alex quickly sidestepped to grab him. As he did, Alex turned around, his hand filled with his dark chaotic aura. He aimed it at his enemy, determined to finish it off. 

"I hope you know this is your last chance to talk. What do you want from me?!" He asked.
It did nothing but stare, the room was filled with quiet. 

"YoU REEK oF KinDNeSs, LoNE WaRRiOR." It said, it's voice filled with dark and almost unclear.

"Thank you. It's my new cologne, ode de Fluttershy. But you still haven't answered my question."

"MaSTeR toLD mE To FiNIsh YoU OfF, AnD i SHaLL."

"Who is he? Who is your Master?"

It glared, not wanting to answer that question. Alex didn't realize that his hand recoiled a bit, but he held it out firm despite that. 

"Well, time to finish you off." He said.

He could feel its smirk rise up as two things happened. One, his Chaos Magic fizzled out, and two...

‘So what if you suck at magic?’

Alex's eyes widened and his body went into a pause. Seeing it's chance, the shadow hit him in the head, forcing him and Spike out the door of the library and open to attack. Both Spike and Alex groaned as the shadow being stepped out. The Shadow still stood firm, even in the sunlight. Alex could hear its--no...he could almost feel the Shadow's hardy laugh. Laughing at his failure. The shadow tried to cut into his chest, and as Alex attempted to move, it made a shallow, bloody, PAINFUL cut on his left leg.

Alex almost screamed in agony, barely keeping it in. He looked at the cut, to see it quickly change into a lizard's leg. It's skin was red, and the line between it was white, but the Chaos Magic changed it back to human form before it could do harm.

'Great. Just what I need right now.' He thought. 'Draconequus Kryptonite.'

He grabbed Spike once again and set him straight as they took off. 

"Wait a minute, what am I doing here?!" Spike asked, running alongside him.

"You wanted to be my sidekick, welcome to your first day on the job!" Alex said, wincing each time he took a step.

"I didn't realize being a hero's sidekick would be so dangerous!"

"That had better have been a joke, Spike!"

"I could be asleep at home right now." Spike mumbled. 

"I'm sorry, excuse me?"

"The Shadow thing can run."

Alex turned back as Spike's statement was confirmed. he was faster than he looked, and he was closing very quickly. 

"Shit..." He looked around to see Sweet Apple Acres in his sight, and he smiled. "Quick, into Applejack's!"

They took a turn in that direction, the Shadow following. "YoU WiLL DIe PiTiFuL HoO-MaN!" It mocked under it's breath.

That's when things took a turn.





Alex ran into the orchard, Spike running along side. They ran into the forest of Apples, breathless, and confused. 

"That guy is relentless!" Spike said, sliding down the tree.

"No kidding." Alex said. He checked, and the Shadow was nowhere to be found. Alex sighed, and slid down as well. 

"He's gone. He's gone." Alex repeated with relief.

That is, until his shadow grew immensely as the Shadow slowly appeared. "You're kidding me." Alex said, slightly annoyed on how easy it was to find him. He raised his staff and Alex rolled to the side. The Shadow let it's staff fall with a hard ThUNk onto the tree, and Spike truly scared to bits. They ran into the forest of apples, further and further in as the apples slowly disappeared. 

"Where are we even heading?!" Spike asked.

"How should I know?! I'm following you!!" Alex shouted, his legs almost giving out. They looked back, to find the Shadow giving a big finger to Mother Nature and ran through the trees, each one flying into the air. 

"Now that's just bull." Alex said, more annoyed.

"LOOK OUT!!" Spike said, holding his hand out at the rushing lake. The water was to fast to move through, and rocks stuck out like a sore thumb. They looked as the Shadow got closer as he raised his weapon. 

"MoNKeYs LIke YoU SHoULdn'T ExIst In tHiS wOrlD." It purred.

It swung as hard as it could, but a loud *CLANK* rang out. 

"Smokey?!" Alex's eyes almost shot out from his face, followed by a smile. He grunted as the Shadow added more forced onto his weapon, and Smokey's weapon glowed brighter than the sun itself. 

"Oi! Ya think ya can hurt my friend like that, bugger?!" He said through with confidence.
Hooves were heard as Trixie slid in, her horn glowing bright. She jumped and slash the Shadow, killing it in an instant. The Shadow disappeared with a scream, dropping it's spear, and Smokey's light weapon disappeared from his hands. 

"Trixie, Smokey, you’re back!" Alex said with a smile.

"Yeah, and this belongs to you," Trixie said, placing Alex's hat back on his head. She smiled and added, "Fighting shadows 101: if there's one thing they hate, it's light."

Alex facepalms and says, "How the hell did I forget that?"

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?!" Spike asked during the confusion.

"Later, but right now, we need to find out what that weapon is, and why that Shadow chased us." Alex, said, staring at the discarded weapon.





"Alex! I found it!" exclaimed Twilight.

It had been a few hours since the battle with the Shadow Puppet, and Alex, Trixie, Spike, and Smokey had returned to the library, much to Twilight's relief. After showing her the green stone on the spear and explaining it's effect on him, they had all begun searching for an answer to what it was. During the search, Alex's chaotic magic had fully returned, and his leg was now healed.

"About time!" said Alex, crossing his arms, the spear still clutched tightly in his grasp. "Lay it on me, Twilight."

The group gathered around Twilight as she showed them the page in her book as she began to explain. 

"It's an extremely rare element known as Draconium, known for dispersing chaotic magic. Long ago, back when Discord was free, ponies used to use it to try and keep him away, but it didn't work because Draconium can only drain the magic of a Draconequus if it makes skin contact, and, apparently, a weapon made of Draconium can harm a Draconequus. Maybe even kill it!"

"Draconium, huh?" Alex replied, observing the spearhead of his new weapon closely. He smiled and said, "nice name. Kind of rolls off the tongue. I think that's what I'll call this thing. Draconium."

"You're naming your spear?" asked Spike.

"Yeah! All the great weapons have names. Excalibur, Riptide, Mjolnir, the list goes on and on."

"I think it's a great name!" Smokey stated.

"Thank you," Alex replied to the Australian-accented canine.

"Whatever," Twilight said, breaking the pointless conversation. "The point is, this stuff is seriously bad news for Alex, and it seems whoever has access to it is not friendly."

"Well now we know to look out for it," said Alex, who then turned to his sister. "And it's thanks to you that I'm still alive to do that." 

"Alex, we're family." replied Trixie with a small smile. "It's what we do." 

Trixie wrapped Alex in a big hug, which was happily returned. After they were done, she turned to Spike. "I have something for you, little dragon."

Trixie's horn began to glow, then an old green book appeared floating before her. She levitated the book into Spike's hands, and he looked at the cover, which read 'Magic Spells of the Magnificent Merlin the Magician.'

"If you're going to be my brother's sidekick, then I have to make sure you're able to protect him. During my time in Equestria I discovered that this spell book is the genuine article. However, the spells were meant for magically gifted humans, so I was unable to use them. I do believe, though, that a dragon such as yourself will be able to use it. Take good care of that book Spike..." Trixie glanced over at her brother with a small smile on her face. "...it was a birthday gift."

Spike nodded enthusiastically, a huge grin on his face. Satisfied with these events, Trixie left the library, promising her brother and new friends that she would come back and visit.

[hg]

Trixie returned to her cart and entered the door, glancing around to see if there was anypony nearby before shutting the door. Turning to her bed, Trixie levitated a glowing green crystal ball onto the bed. The silhouette of serpentine figure with glowing dark purple eyes appeared in the center of the crystal ball. 

"Did the meeting go as planned?" asked a deep voice from the magic orb. 

"Yes sir. The mission was a complete success. I have made contact with Cooper and his friends."

"Excellent! Given your performance reviews on that Ursa Minor incident and that unauthorized Alicorn Amulet venture, I was afraid I might have to... let you go."

Trixie shuddered at hearing that, but she quickly regained her composure. "That.. that won't be necessary. They trust me, and I'm sure I can convince my brother to join us. I will not fail you, Master Terror."

"Please, my dear. Business hours are over, no need to be formal. Call me..." 

The dark figure stepped out of the shadows. Standing there was a Draconequus, similar to Discord, but at the same time very different. It looked as though it was a discorded version of him, totally devoid of any color. Instead of a goatee, he had a pencil moustache. He wore a dark grey suit with a black shirt and a blood red tie, the only color on him. He had no protruding fang like Discord and Alex did, but a frighteningly sinister dragon-toothed grin. The Draconequus' calm demeanor radiated an air of evil that was truly terrifying.

"...uncle."

> Chapter 14
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 14 Have a Talk on the Wild Side



Written by Alex Rite
with the help of the amazing Deyeaz
and the brilliant LikeaBaws


We find our hero and his draconic sidekick practicing on his makeshift training ground with Twilight and Owlyicious, the latter being there for no real reason, on the sidelines. It was a few days after the attack of the Shadow Puppet and the discovery of Draconium, and Alex and Twilight had both agreed that he and his backup (a.k.a. Spike and Smokey) should have more training sessions together each day to help prepare them for anymore surprise attacks.

Smokey's absence at the training ground on this day was abnormal, as the Aussie-accented canine was quite fond of their activities, but the diamond dog had declined on this day because he already had made plans to help the Crusaders with another of their crazy Cutie Mark earning schemes. Smokey was let off the hook with only a warning to make sure they didn't do anything too dangerous. 

Spike was excited for training today. Since the attack, the three of them began to spar with each other to keep their fighting skills sharp. After Trixie had given Spike Magic Spells of the Magnificent Merlin the Magician in order to help him grow stronger, the young drake had closely and carefully been studying the spells of the mystical book, his confidence growing with each new useful bit of knowledge. Spike had recently learned a few new combat spells that he was dying to try out in a sparring session, and with Smokey absent from their group, his sparring partner automatically became the half Draconequus hero he greatly respected.

Before they began the sparring session, Alex leaned Draconium against a tree, deciding not to use the spear in this fight even though he had dulled the spear's point to make it less deadly, since it might still cause his little buddy a lot of harm. The two stepped into the chalk ring Twilight had made for their sparring, both hyped for the fight.

"You ready to check out my new spell, Al?" the magic reptile asked his mentor.

"You know it, bro!" Alex replied.

"Well check out this epicness!" Spike slammed his fists together and exclaimed, "Flammeum Colaphis!" The spell now cast, Spike's fists became cloaked in his signature green flames. The purple dragon smiled smugly at the impressed look upon the chaotic being's face.

"Not bad, little amigo! But now-" Alex intimidatingly cracks his knuckles and neck, bringing out his bird and bat wings, making his single, cool-looking fang grow, and morphing his arms into their lion claw and eagle talon forms, encasing them in his magic, dark-purple aura. "-it's time to cause some chaos!!!

"What the-? You have a catchphrase now?!" 

"Yeah. Cool, right?"

"It's really cool! Hold up, I need to think of one for myself." Spike thinks really hard about it. "Oh, how about I'm all fired up!!"

"Taken."

"Oh... Uh- how about flame on!!"

"Taken." 

"Dang it! Okay, what about, it's crime-fighting time!!"

"Surprisingly enough, taken."

"Aw man!" Spike exclaimed in frustration. Sighing, he said, "Forget it, I'll work on it later, let's just start the spar."

"About time," remarked Twilight. "Okay... Begin!"





Alex and Spike stood outside in a makeshift ring, feet planted around the edges. Spike flitted his tongue out like a snake detecting fear. Alex flexed his fingers nimbly like a Western gunslinger.

Suddenly, Spike moved towards Alex with his flaming fist ready to hit. Alex dodged the attack and swung his leg to knock the little dragon over, a trick that might have worked worked at one point in the past, but since he began training with Alex, the purple drake's reflexes and agility had significantly improved. Using these newly honed skills, Spike managed to jump over the half-human's leg and vault to a safe distance.

"You're getting better." Alex observed, acknowledging his student's skills.

"I learned from the best." Spike replied, quite pleased with himself.

"True, true."

Alex then attacked the dragon again, tricking him by flanking his left, then wrapping his dragon tail around his draconic opponent's right leg to trip him up. The ruse worked, as Spike attempted to dodge the false attack and stumbled thanks to his bound leg. He quickly recovered, however, and wrenched himself from Alex's grasp and get out of range only moments before his foe's eagle taloned hand could make painful contact.

"So that's how it's gonna be, eh?" Spike stated, jumping a further distance away from his opponent. "Then try this on for size! Flammeum Proiectum!!" At the utterance of the spell, the fire engulfing the dragon's hands pooled into two orbs of green flame slightly floating above his open palms.

"You can throw fireballs?! That is so cool!" 

"I know, right?" Spike replied. "How about you get a closer look." 

"...Crap."

Spike hurled the green flames at Alex, who knew he wouldn't be able to dodge them. Without even thinking, Alex's wings folded down in front of him into a sheild to block the oncoming attack. The wings withheld the attack, remaining undamaged aside from a few scorched areas and one burning feather that Alex quickly and calmly put out.

"Not bad," Alex said, grinning. "But it'll take a little more to bring me down."

Unfortunately for Alex, as luck would have it- bad luck to be precise- a very strong gust of wind chose to blow towards him at this time. Alex's wings caught the full force of the breeze, sending him flying backwards with great strength headfirst into a "conveniently" placed tree. The impact that resounded was strong enough to actually cause the tree to shake. Serious head trauma now inflicted upon him, Alex blacked out.





"Ooooohh..." said Alex. "Did anypony get the number of that truck that hit me?"

"Good sir? Are you alright?" asked an unfamiliar voice. It emanated a rather… sophisticated jingle, as though its owner has submerged itself in oceans of literature and knowledge

"What the? Who said that?" Alex opened his eyes to see Twilight and Spike worriedly standing over him, and Owlyscious standing on his chest.

"What?" Twilight said. "We didn't say anything."

"My word! Did you actually hear me?" exclaimed...

"Owlyscious?!" hollered Alex in confusion, now realizing that it was the avian standing on him who had been speaking. The shock of the realization was so great, Alex came to full attention and jumped up, throwing the owl from him in the process. Luckily, Owlyscious managed to save himself from the fall just before he landed on the ground.

"What about Owlyscious?" asked Spike, confused by his mentor's outburst.

“Heavens! I never expected such an anomaly!” the owl exclaimed.

"What the what?" Exclaimed Alex. "Do you guys not here that? Owlyscious is talking! And in a fancy accent too!"

“Alex, I think you’ve gone… I dunno, absolutely nuts?” Spike suggested.

“Spike! That’s not how you announce someone’s insan– I mean, sudden ailment!” seethed Twilight.

"Yeah! Besides, I was already insane before I hit that tree!" Alex barked. “If anything, I’ve probably gained a bunch of IQ points from that crash!”

"Wait... maybe you're not far off from the truth." Said Twilight, scratching her chin inquisitively.

"Oh, here we go!" exclaimed Owlyscious with elation. "My brilliant owner is about to use her intellect to solve a problem yet again! I love it when she does that!"

"Anyone ever tell you you sound like Ricky Gervais?" Alex asked the owl.

"Who?" Owlyscious replied.

"Ha!" 

“Oh, bother...”

“Maybe it has something to do with those Draconequus powers of yours. The blow to the head must of reactivated some strange surge of magic neurochemicals in your brain, mostly somewhere in your occipital lobe, awakening this… new power of animal communication.”

“English, damn it, English!” wailed Alex, her intellectual gobbledygook flustering him. 

"I think she's saying you got hit so hard, you got a new power and can talk to animals," translated Spike.

"Awesome." Alex replied. "See, Twi? Was it so hard to just say that?"

An angry grumble was Twilight's response. 

"Anyways," She continued. "We need to find someone who can help teach you to use this new power. And I know just the pony to do it."

Knowing exactly who she was talking about, the three of them all said it at the same time.

"Fluttershy."





Arriving at the timid mare's cottage a few minutes later, she had offered them all tea, so Spike and Alex waited on the couch while Twilight explained the situation to Fluttershy in the kitchen.

“I dunno if this will work,” Alex hummed, sipping anxiously at his cup of tea.

“Oh, please,” retaliated Spike, staring down at his now empty teacup, unamused by the bitter dregs of his cup.

"I'm just not sure how much Fluttershy can help." Alex reached over to the table to take one of the peanut butter cookies Fluttershy had lovingly baked as well, only to find the plate gone, vacant of all the delicious morsels. "Hey, where'd the cookies go?!" 

A gigantic burp answered Alex’s query. Looking for the source, he and Spike noticed a tiny white rabbit whose face was covered in crumbs. "Hey, those were ours!”

“What, are you gonna cry about it, you hairless orangutang?” the hare answered snarkily. Alex reared back, disturbed by the bunny’s crude response, before his anger kicked into overdrive.

"Why you little-" Alex said, prepared to give the rabbit a good conk or two on the head. Before he could, though, he was stopped by Spike.

"Dude, don't." The dragon said.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t make this little punk’s feet into good luck charms!”

"That's Angel Bunny! He's, like, Fluttershy's favorite animal! He’s like her golden calf: she pretty much treasures and worships the darn thing. So as much as you really wanna make him into a good stew, you gotta control yourself around the jerk. You harm one hair on that hare, and Shy'll never forgive you."

“You heard the lizard, big boy!” boasted Angel, jabbing himself in the chest with a furry thumb to emphasize his dominance of the situation. “Touch me with one of those… freaky tentacles on your arms, and I’ll make you regret it!”

“What are you gonna do, give me allergies?” Alex replied. "And if you don't like my fingers-" Alex shifted his arm to lion form and made his eyes glow a bit, just for effect. "-then how about my claws?"

“Oh, come on, Simba!” Angel hollered, putting up his fists Thai boxing style. Alex ignored the unusual reference to one of his more favorable movies. “When I’m done with you, you’ll be looking nice and cozy lying on my ground as a rug!”

"You really wanna die, don't you?" Alex hissed. But before any of them could perform any strike of some sort, in entered a humming Fluttershy, her mouth bearing a second plate of peanut butter cookies. She had overheard Alex announcing the sudden lack of confectionaries, and so she took it upon herself to whip up another batch.

"Ours!" Exclaimed Alex, snatching the plate before the white rodent could get his paws on it. He proceeded to then shovel handfuls of the cookies into his eagerly-waiting mouth. 

“Hey, don’t bogart the cookies, dude!” Spike barked, swiping the plate and helping himself to more than his fair share. After collecting his mass of cookies, Angel proceeded to dropkick him in his legs with no avail. The drake didn’t collapse, and instead gave the rabbit a disappointed look. Like a father who had to begrudgingly tell his son, who had developed a chronic love for interpretive dance, that ballet was for sissies.

"Boys!" interjected Fluttershy. The boast from the mare caused all motion between the three to stop.

"He started it," said Alex and Spike in unison, both pointing at the rabbit who, in turn, was pointing at them both. Twilight facehoofed, grumbling in angst.

“Now, now,” scolded Fluttershy. “It doesn’t matter who started it. One of you ought to be mature enough to end it, right?” Her words issued a miasma of guilt through Alex and Spike. Even Angel looked a little ashamed of his previous actions. “Now, if you could all apologize, that would be wonderful,” she finished, a comforting smile spreading upon her lips.

“Sorry, Angel,” Alex and Spike droned in unison. They were genuine in their apology, but they weren’t ready to be bouncing for joy about it.

"Sorry... ya shapeshiftin' rat." the rabbit half-apologized. Alex bit his tongue, refusing to retaliate. He felt like he needed to be the better man.

"So Alex, you can really understand the animals like I can?" asked Fluttershy, interest highly piqued.

"Yep." Shooting an unnoticed glare at Angel, he added, "Has its ups and downs."

“That’s wonderful!” cried Fluttershy, wings flapping in joy.

"Like I said: ups and downs."

Twilight gave Alex a quick slap to the head before saying, "We were hoping you could help him learn to use this new ability, Fluttershy."

“Oh, my! You’re relying on me for this?” The demure sun-colored mare felt rather surprised by the invitation to tutor Alex. She was surprised, but at the same time, she felt rather honored by the request. “It just feels like such a big responsibility."

"Well how many other mares do I know who talk to animals?" Alex retorted.

"Good point." Fluttershy replied.

"Is- is anybody even paying attention to me?" inquired Angel, peeved that his existence was going unacknowledged. "I'm still in the room, ya know."

"Angel, please, no need to be rude," responded Fluttershy. Angel pouted at the response, used to getting his way. Alex smirked. "What would you like to know first, Alex?”

The being in question contemplated her question. What did he want to accomplish first? Other than turning Angel into a nice house decoration, anyway.

"Well... I wanna learn how to use this ability to its full extent. Maybe to solve problems and make friends who could help me out if I'm in trouble. Utilize them to be very efficient in any way possible."

"Yeah, 'cause I take it you get into a lot of that," grumbled Angel smugly.

"Angel!" exclaimed Fluttershy. “It’s rude to interject like that, even if it is true.” Alex deadpanned at the pegasus. “What? Honesty is a good value in a friend. That’s why Applejack is such a great friend to us.”

"Eh. True." Alex admitted. Angel just snickered to himself.

"Well, Alex, if that's what you want to do then I know just who to start with. The chickens!"

"Chickens?"

"Yeah!" said Fluttershy. “Oh, wouldn’t it be just lovely if you could communicate and be friends with Helen and her chicks?”

“Helen?” Twilight reiterated.

“Oh! She’s the mama hen.”

Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Of course.”

"Welp, good luck with that," said Spike as he began to leave.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Alex inquired, holding the dragon by his tail.

Snatching his tail from the grasp of his mentor, Spike replied, "Well why should I be here? I'm not the one who can talk to animals."

"Yeah, but you are my official sidekick, and one of your sidekick duties include helping me develop any and all new powers I obtain."

Spike grumbled, but was clearly defeated.





Spike, Alex, and Fluttershy entered the chicken pen. Alex looked over to a hen hanging out in the corner of the pen, all alone.

"Hey, who's that one?" Alex asked the mare.

"Oh, that's Henriette. She's... not really social. And she doesn't talk much. She's at the bottom of the pecking order." She continued on with the rest of the fowls in their pens. “That one is Henry. He’s such a rambunctious little bird. He loves to play around with the others. That’s Henrique. He’s a little smart for his age, he always manages to teach me something new about anything, really. This little one right here is Sergeant Pecker. He’s a bit loud at times, but he’s such a real cutie when he’s asleep, and that one right there is Colonel Sanders!”

Alex was taken aback by the ironic name of the latter chicken. He even chuckled a bit.

"What's so funny?" inquired the yellow pegasus, intrigued by Alex’s amusement.

"Uh... trust me, Flutters, you don't wanna know.” Alex cleared his throat and started with Henriette. The feathered creature looked rather upset, depression clouding its being. “Er… Hi, there?”

“Hmm,” she grunted apathetically. 

“So, uh, what’s your name?” he asked rhetorically.

“Henriette,” she hummed.

“Henriette is a cute name.”

“Hmm. Thank you.”

“So, what do you like, Henriette?”

“I like to sleep. I like roosting sometimes. I like eating. I like to think.”

“What do you think about?”

“A lot of things. Mainly, I feel bored in this cage. But I feel bored anywhere else.”

“Well, what brings you your joie de vivre?” The chicken turned her head, clucking in confusion. “Your joy? Your entertainment in life.”

“Well… I like jokes, I suppose.”

Alex smirked. He could certainly make a funny or two. “Alrighty… you like jokes? I got one. What did the mother hen say to her chicks after she caught them swearing?”

“Uh… I dunno?”

“Watch your ‘fowl’ mouth.” Henriette put a wing to her beak, stifling a fit of snickers that threatened to burst through.

So chickens are easy to please, Alex thought. “Okay. What did the buffalo say to his child before he went to his university?”

“What did he say?” asked Henriette, a giddy grin on her beak.

“...Bison.” 

“PFFFF–” The fowl snickered again.

"Booooo," said Spike.

“Shut’cho mouth!” barked Alex.

"Shutting!" Spike replied.

"Okay, how do you organize a party in space?"

"How?" Henriette asked.

"You planet."

At this point, the hen fell to the ground in laughter.

"And once again, the comedy king has made yet another smile." Alex said. He could slowly feel the development of bonding with the chickens. He moved on to Henry, who was eager to meet this new friend of Fluttershy’s.

"So, you must be Henry."

"Yep, that's me!" The chicken replied.

"So, I hear you're a little crazy at times." 

"You bet!"

"Heh. You're my kinda chicken."

"And you're my kind of unknown thing." 

Alex proceeded to move on in this fashion to the next chicken, and the next, until he had befriended all of them and learned a bit from each. From Henrique he learned that there were myths about humans in Equestria, a thing Alex would look into in the future. From Sergeant Pecker he learned that not all chickens were as cowardly as people thought, though some could be overly paranoid. From Colonel Sanders he learned that the chicken liked to be referred to as Sandy, feeling that his full name was somewhat ominous to him, though he was unsure of the reason why (Alex felt it best not to inform the chicken to the reason behind his unease). And when he finally met Helen inside the chicken coop, she was delighted with him and how he had befriended the other chickens.

"We chickens are all about friendship, you see," said Helen. "'A friend to one is a friend to all,' as we like to say."

"How very interesting. Thank you, Miss Helen."

"Not at all, dear, not at all,"

Alex exited the chicken coop, feeling emotions of pride, success, and happiness at both how quickly he had managed to put his new power to use and that he had managed to make some new friends. Alex noticed that Fluttershy had disappeared from his side, although he was unsure of when that had happened, as he had been focused on interacting with the chickens. Seeing Spike standing outside the pen, loyally awaiting his mentor, Alex decided to aproach the purple dragon and ask him the whereabouts of the missing mare.

"Hey Spike, where'd Fluttershy go?"

"She came out a while ago. She said that at the pace you were going, she felt you'd be fine if she left to do some stuff. I take it it went well?"

"Very," Alex confidently replied, feeling prideful. "I think they really like me."

"I can see that."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, confused. The only response the young dragon gave was to point to the top of his scaly head. Taking the hint, Alex reached above his head to feel, instead of empty air as he would have expected, an object covered in feathers. 

"What the-?" Alex inquired, bringing the object into his visual range to discover the object was a chicken- Henriette to be precise.

"Hey." Henriette said.

"Henriette?" Alex said, confused. "Why were you sitting on my head?" And how did I not notice you were there? He wondered to himself.

"Well... ya see..." said Henriette, preparing to explain herself. "It's so boring here. I'm not like the other chickens. They're content with living their whole lives in that pen, doing pretty much the same thing every day, but that's not for me. I wanna do things, go places, have adventures. I'm no chicken! Er, figuratively speaking, of course. Anyways, you're a cool guy. I was hoping... maybe I could hang with you and your friends?"

"What's she saying?" asked Spike.

"She wants to know if I'll let her be a part of the crew," Alex replied.

"Will you?"

Alex looked at the chicken and thought hard about his answer. "Sure. Why not?"

Henriette clucked with joy and moved to sit on Alex's shoulder.

"Heh. A chicken that acts like a parrot." observed Spike. "Well, she'll definitely fit in with you and Smokey."

"And you." replied Alex, shooting Spike a lopsided grin. "C'mon, let's go tell Fluttershy."