Fallen Eagle

Chapter V: Cougar's New Den

You guys, you guys are AWESOME! I've never had 16 favorites and 20 followers after only (technically) five chapters in a story. I'm really thankful that this many readers like my story that much. And to what Nomad King of Kyralia said, "I wish I had your talent for writing." That right there makes me so happy to hear. I honestly think I'm good, but not as great as some of the other authors on this site, but that compliment means a lot to me and it's stuff like that that keeps me coming back to tell stories.

Anyway, in this chapter, Applejack and Applebloom help Cougar fix up the old storage shed behind the Apples' house due to his back and wanting to be good hosts, though Applebloom is still rationally timid of Cougar. And it will be built in this chapter, I don't think fixing up a shed to live in would be entertaining to read for three chapters lol.

Also, just to let you guys know, I have now finally seen Equestria Girls, and it was alright. But this is important because the events of Equestria Girls and Rainbow Rocks never happened in my story's universe, just to keep up with the continuity that no pony knows what fingers are.

As Monty Python said, "GET ON WITH IT!" So let's read Chapter V shall we?

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(Normal POV)

Applejack rubbed the back of her head and let out a nervous chuckle. "Heh, so, maybe a li'l paint and lacquer'll spiffy this place up nice!" She exclaimed and kicked a little bit of the rotted wood which crumbled up into even smaller pieces. Applebloom rolled her eyes and shook her head at the situation.

"First yer old clubhouse, and then yer old storage shed, what else 'o yers are ya givin' away that needs fixin'?" Applebloom muttered. Applejack growled at her sister whom shut right up and sat down on the ground. Cougar just smiled and tossed the rusted door handle on the ground.

"Well, do you have the materials here Applejack?" He questioned while studying the shed.

"Ah think so. We might have some sidin' left over from when we put up the new barn, but Ah'm not so sure if we have any more windas left," she thought for a second. Cougar stepped in through the now open door way and tried to flick on the light, but it didn't come on. He gradually reached up and unscrewed the lone lightbulb from the ceiling. Luckily, it was still bright out and light was coming in through the open doorway and broken window.

"Burnt out," he commented and set the lightbulb on the window sill, "the framing actually looks really good and sturdy," he felt around the inner wood, "but that ceiling could use some new shingles," he said. "Other than the door, siding and the window, I think I can make this thing work." Cougar's eyes drifted up to see a ladder connected to an upstairs loft that he assumed was once used to house various farming equipment. He set his foot on the bottom rung of the wooden ladder and pulled himself up. There was a loud creak as he applied pressure onto the wooden rung. "Maybe a new ladder too," he added and stepped off before it crashed to the floor, "but it's just big enough for me. So, just tell me where the materials are and I'll get this puppy fixed right up," Cougar cracked his knuckles. He then looked down at his hands that were now caked with layers upon layers of dust. He shook off his hands and wiped them on his jeans. Applebloom held her mouth to keep from vomiting at having to witness Cougar cracking his knuckles.

"Ah don't think so Cougar," Applejack brought the human back out from the storage shed.

"And why not? I can do this myself," Cougar replied.

"Ah know you can Cougar, but remember whut Princess Celestia and them doctors said? Yer back is tweaked and ya need ta take it easy for at least two to three days," Applejack explained. Cougar rolled his eyes and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Sorry Applejack, but I'll go crazy if I'm not doing anything productive," Cougar countered, "and I want to be able to fix up a place that'll be mine." The orange mare threw her right foreleg onto Cougar's back lightly and patted it. The motion soothed his back that was still slightly sore, but it only reminded him of how limited he was in working.

"And ya will Cougar, jest with me and Applebloom here helpin' ya. Ah don't wantcha ta hurt yer back anymore than it is," Applejack explained to Cougar. The human sighed and adjusted his ball cap. "Cheer up Cougar, Ah still appreciate yer work ethic," Applejack smiled, "now come on, Granny Smith should have lunch finished, then we can start rebuildin' yer new Cabin."

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(With Spike and Twilight)

Spike sighed as he put away his broom and dustpan in the broom closet and shut the door. "Come on Twilight, are you really gonna study that Cougar guy?" Spike asked his best friend. The lavender alicorn failed to answer the purple dragon and kept leafing through a species book whilst using her magic to write with a quill. The dragon rolled his green eyes and picked up a book from the bottom shelf of one of the book cases and lightly let it hit the ground.

"AH!" Twilight squealed in surprise, "careful Spike, you don't want to damage the spines," Twilight warned as her quill fell onto her wooden desk. Owluicious picked it up with his talon and inserted it back into one of Twilight's ink bottles.

"Sorry, I just wanted to talk for a bit," Spike said and sat down on top of Twilight's stack of books. Twilight smiled, marked the current page in her textbook and closed the cover. Twilight turned from her desk and faced Spike.

"So, what's on your mind Spike?" The alicorn questioned her dragon friend. Spike bit down on his lower lip and crossed his arms over his scaly chest. Twilight's face fell as she could tell what Spike was going to say. "Is this about Cougar?" She asked. Spike nodded, causing Twilight to roll her eyes and groan in frustration.

"Why are you studying him? I mean it's not like another one of him is gonna fall out of the sky again," Spike explained, "he doesn't even know how he got here, so what's the point?"

"You don't know that Spike. He may have accidentally found a portal to our world, and what if his friends in his Air Force come looking for him? And if this was a one-time freak accident, studying him can allow us to understand him better and then other ponies won't be so afraid of him; you saw how most of the town reacted to him just talking," Twilight pointed out. Spike rolled his green eyes and hopped off Twlight's stack of books, grabbing a few to put back on the shelves.

"Well, I think he's hiding something," Spike said while shoving books into their respective slots on the book shelves, "he didn't really tell us anything, and he keeps avoiding questions like what his world was like and he won't even tell us his name for Celestia's sake!" Spike exclaimed and shoved a book into the book shelf. Twilight scoffed and levitated her journal into the air.

"Don't worry about that Spike, Cougar just wants a fresh start, maybe something happened to him back in his world that traumatized him, he was in his world's military after all. And you heard Luna, she said he sacrificed himself to save his friend Reaper," the purple Alicorn pointed out, "so, he can't be all bad."

"Yeah, maybe his friend is the Grim Reaper and he just wants to kill us all for his sick amusement," Spike retorted and grabbed a handful of gems from a basket sitting on the kitchen table. Twilight glared at her dragon friend and levitated the gems from his claws and put them back in the basket.

"Would it kill you to be positive about this Spike?" She angrily asked. Spike pouted at having his snack taken away and rubbed his temples.

"If he doesn't trust us Twilight, then why should I trust him? Do you even remember what happened when he first woke up? He tried to attack you and Rarity at the same time!" Spike rose his voice.

"Maybe if you were paying attention, he was scared out of his wits and just wanted to escape from this strange new world; he calmed right down and let us heal him," Twilight explained and put her journal up near her bed. "Now, I need to go out and get some more ink, if I'm going to learn a lot about Cougar, then I need to write everything down to send to Celestia, and start thinking more positive about Cougar, you might find him pretty cool," Twilight left the library. Spike grumbled and grabbed another handful of gems and put some in his mouth.

"He's gonna have to do something pretty amazing for me to trust him," Spike said to himself and began dusting Twilight's desk.

---

(Back at Sweet Apple Acres. Cougar's POV)

Lunch was, interesting to say the least. It wasn't that awkward, but the food was quite surprising to me. "Dig in!" Granny Smith announced proudly and set various plates with sandwiches on the table. Big Mac strolled in and took the seat across from mine, glancing up at me every so often. Being the eldest member of the Apple family, Granny Smith took the head of the table whilst I took the left side of the table with Applejack seated next to me and Applebloom at near the bottom of the table. I know earlier I said I wanted these ponies to earn my trust before I told them much more about me, but because of her young age, I felt like I could have a friend in Applebloom. She looked innocent enough to not throw my trust under the bus, yet she was intelligent for her age, mainly due to the fact she lived on a farm. Throughout my life, I always valued street smarts over book smarts, and this entire family ran off street smarts, or maybe I was just a sucker for just how adorable she was.

"So Cougar, do ya eat hay in yer world?!" Granny Smith sort of shouted at me. I guessed that her hearing was slowly and slowly getting worse with her age, which I understood completely. I looked down at the sandwich on my plate and took the top piece of bread off to reveal a small stack of hay and some mayonnaise on top of the hay.

"Well, ponies in my world do, but not my species," I replied, trying my best not to offend anypony at the table. Applejack swallowed her bite before replying to me.

"Okay then, that's fine, but whut does your species eat Cougar?" She asked politely and took a swig of water. I opened my mouth to respond, but a thought crossed my mind. Would they take it well if I told them I ate meat before? I didn't mind some veggies and fruit now and then, but I mainly ate meat my whole life. I didn't want to scare them or make them think I was some sort of cannibal, even though I've never even thought of eating my own kind.

"Oh, my species ate mainly fruits and vegetables, or pastas and breads. We loved ice cream too," I replied, not really lying, just not telling the whole truth. I heard a small belch and turned to see Applebloom wiping her mouth with a napkin.

"Who doesn't like ice cream? Even ponies who are lactose intolerant love ice cream!" She exclaimed. I chuckled at her response and politely shoved my plate towards the middle of the table so one of the others could eat it.

"What can I fix ya up then feller?" Granny Smith asked, starting to get up from her seat.

"Oh no, don't get up Granny, I'm very thankful for the sandwich, but I think I can find something to eat," I replied, not wanting her to make a big fuss over me. "Do you have peanut butter and jelly?" I questioned.

"Jelly's in thu fridge 'n peanut butter's in thu cupboard next to thu fridge," Applejack told me. I got the two jars out of their respective spots and spread them with a knife onto a piece of home made bread.

"Your bread is delicious," I commented after swallowing a bite of my sandwich.

"Why thank ya Cougar!" Granny Smith smacked me on my back, "yer manners sure are top notch," she added. Big Mac excused himself from the table and walked out of the kitchen while keeping an eye on me. I finally finished my sandwich and set the plate in the sink before turning back to the table. Applejack and Applebloom were patiently awaiting for me to start on fixing up the old shed.

"So, who wants to do some demolition?" I asked. Granny Smith had some errands to do in town and Big Mac went off to visit his Marefriend, somepony by the name of Cheerilee or something, since his chores for the day were completed. Applejack and Applebloom raised their forelegs and got up from the table. I smirked at Applebloom as I turned my ball cap around and took out my black aviator sunglasses from my duffel bag. "Weren't you afraid of me like twelve minutes ago?" I asked the little filly. Applebloom pondered upon my question for a brief moment before answering.

"Ah figure that if mah sister and mah Granny think yer a good guy, then Ah'll believe 'em, and plus Ah don't like basin' ponies off 'o their outer appearances, Ah've been there," Applebloom explained to me. I looked up at Applejack with a smile.

"She's been raised good Applejack," I complimented. The orange mare grinned and put her cowgirl hat back on.

"Are we gonna keep jabberin' or we gonna fix ya up a place to live?" AJ teased me, "AB, don't forget the spare lightbulb in the utility closet," she reminded her little sister. Applebloom trotted over to a closet and pulled a lightbulb out of it and trotted back over.

"AB?" I asked.

"It's sumthin' some ponies do to uther ponies that have two names," Applejack said, "sometimes I call her AB, but most 'o the time I call her by her real name."

"Do you think I could give her a nickname?" I asked Applejack.

"Only if she's okay with whut ya call her," Applejack replied. All three of us headed outside to the shed, but not before grabbing some sledgehammers, framing hammers, tape measures, nails and carpenter pencils.

"Any ideas in mind Mr. Cougar?" Applebloom asked me.

"Nope not yet, but if I live her long enough, then maybe soon," was all I replied. "Do you have any power tools Applejack?" I asked.

"Sure do, we got a miter saw and a table saw stored in thu barn. We put them there cuz we can use the excess saw dust to cover the barn floor," she explained, "oh, and Ah also have a reciprocatin' saw in our uther storage shed on thu other side 'o the house."

"Good, I've been using those kinds of saws since I was a kid," I replied, "and the reciprocating saw will come in handy," I added. We got back inside the shed which still had some sunlight shining through the cracked window. "Okay Applebloom," I said and curled my fingers around her torso, "don't be scared, I'm just lifting you up so you can put the lightbulb in the socket," I explained when she cringed at being felt by my fingers. Trust me, I'm no child molester, I even kicked a guy's ass once back in Anchorage when he tried to kidnap a kid from a playground. Slowly, Applebloom inserted the new lightbulb and instantly, the shed was bathed in a yellow glow. Even though I was 6'2"and had three foot arms, the shed was still about 10 feet tall, so I couldn't reach the light socket . The loft itself started at about the six foot mark, so I had about a good four foot space for head room, especially with the sloped ceiling.

"Okay, now we probably should brought the dusters," Applejack clicked her tongue now that the dust was much more visible.

"We should worry about that later, we got some rotten walls to bust down," I grinned while putting Applebloom down on the floor. I picked up a sledge hammer and Applejack picked up a smaller one with her mouth and Applebloom picked up a framing hammer. Instantly, we got to work, pounding away at the rotted siding. It came off easier than anticipated. Chunks of rotted and mossy wood flew off the 2x4 boards that served as the framing for the shed. We worked for about twenty minutes, and we already had one wall done.

"Wow, guess we haven't touched this shed in longer than Ah thought," Applejack scratched her head with her hoof. Applebloom set down her hammer and took a bit of a breather.

"Didn't work yourself too hard did you?" I joked.

"Nah, just need a breather," Applebloom replied. I set down my sledgehammer and thought for a minute.

"Applejack, should we just get the siding on now or should we demolish the rest of the walls first?" I asked.

"Ah think we should keep on demolshin', Ah mean, this only took us twenty minutes to do one wall," she explained, "and we can cut the sidin' right quick, though ya might be without a door fer a night since puttin' up the sidin' might take awhile," she said.

"That's fine, just need some walls and plywood for the inner walls and insulation," I replied.

"Come on Cougar!" Applebloom exclaimed and started pounding away at the back wall of the shed, "this is the fun part!" She shouted and continued to demolish the rotted wood, taking notice to miss the 2x4 framing. Applejack and I looked at each other before resuming the demolishing.

(1 hour later)

All three of us breathed a sigh of relief as we sat down on the little porch hooked onto the front of the shed. It took an hour of demolition, but we finally had the all the rotted walls gone. Since the nails and rotted wood fell away without clinging to the framing and the studs, the saw reciprocating saw was useless. I heard a gasp when Applebloom started trotting around and, chasing her tail? "Hey Applebloom, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Maybe I got mah cutie mark in demolition or construction!" She exclaimed and kept twirling around. When she saw her hindquarters were still empty, Applebloom pouted and sat down like a puppy.

"A cutie mark? Is that those butt tattoos on everyone's butt?" I questioned. Applejack snickered slightly before wrapping her foreleg around Applebloom in a hug.

"Not exactly Cougar, a cutie mark is a special symbol that appears on a pony's flank when they discover their special talent," Applejack explained to me.

"Wait, no one gets to choose their own destiny? What if a pony doesn't like their cutie mark?" I asked. AJ put her hoof on her chin and rubbed it slightly.

"Don't recall any stories like that Cougar, but Ah know when Applebloom gets her own Cutie Mark, she'll be happy," Applejack replied as she released her sister. Applebloom's eyes grew big as she seemed to suppress a sob. I don't know what in the world came over me, but I bent down to Applebloom's level and wrapped my arms around her. Only less than a week here, and I'm already giving out hugs, but how could I just let a little kid cry?

"Cheer up Bloomin' Onion," I blurted out, "so what if this didn't get you a cutie mark, you're still helpful and smart and downright adorable, I'm sure you'll get it soon; maybe I can help you if you want," I kept blabbering on and on. She wiped her nose to stifle a sniffle.

"B-bloomin' onion?" she giggled at what I called her.

"Sorry if you don't like it that name, my mom made me that for a snack constantly when I was a kid.

"N-no, Ah like it! It's funny and it's uh, unique," she smiled.

"That's good, now let's keep working, you can still help if you want," I replied and ruffled her mane.

"Ah'll start gatherin' up the sidin' for you 'n AJ to cut!" She declared and trotted out to the barn. I smiled and got up from the ground and looked over at Applejack.

"That was sweet 'o you," Applejack smiled at me, "Ah didn't think ya liked mah sister that much," she said. I sighed and scratched behind my neck.

"Well, she's just a kid, I don't want to see her sad or give her the cold shoulder like I've been doing to you guys, there's just some things I'm not ready to relive in my life," I admitted.

"Ah understand completely, and Ah think Applebloom is really startin' to take a shine at ya, and that nickname is adorable," she tacked on at the end. "Whaddya say we finish up yer house 'n then we can start to get all this Celestia forsaken dust outta here," she suggested.

"Good idea," I replied. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw what kind of siding the family had stored away. It was just like the siding my high school construction class used for the sheds we built instead of the horizontal siding my grandfather put up on his house. I took out a tape measure and measured out one piece of siding. "Alright, so the shed is ten feet long by ten feet wide and it's ten feet tall," I commented as I measured a piece. "And these are luckily ten feet tall and five feet long, so we only need two pieces on each side," I kept commenting as I scribbled down the mark where we needed to cut.

Soon, the sounds of power saws cutting into fresh pieces of wood filled the air around us. Mounds of sawdust covered the barn floor where we were cutting the wood. It didn't bother me one bit that we had to haul the pieces one at a time about 500 feet away, especially since I had help. We found ourselves pounding in nails to get the pieces of siding up without a hitch. I finally had Applejack check the time and we found out it was already 5:00 in the evening, but we were done. The shed now had new walls to keep me warm in the winter time and keep me safe. I still needed a new window, but I'm sure we could find one at a hardware store in town.

"Good work Bloomin' Onion," I complimented Applebloom for helping us. I was shocked she didn't earn her cutie mark since she was amazingly talented at construction and wood working.

"Thanks Cougar," she hugged my leg before letting go, "Ah gotta git ta mah crusaders meetin', Ah'll se ya'll later!" She called while galloping away.

"Ya best be home 'fore sundown ya hear!?" Applejack called out to her.

"Thanks to you too Applejack, I couldn't have done this without you," I thanked my technical boss.

"Aw shucks Cougar, yer mah guest and it wouldn't be very neighborly 'o me to leave you alone to do this, specially with yer back," she replied, "speakin' o' which, we should get ya checked out with the local doc at the hospital to be sure." I nodded, knowing she was right.

"I'll go get my duffel bag and then I'll come back and help sweep," I said with a grin.

"Ok, Ah'll jest be here sweepin' by myself!" I heard Applejack call back. I got my duffel bag and put my aviator sunglasses back inside and wiped the sweat forming on my forehead. I took a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water from the sink before downing the beverage in about five seconds. I looked outside to see Applejack talking to someone, but because of where the house was situated, I couldn't see who it was. Curiously, I put my bag on my shoulder and walked back outside to see Applejack casually sweeping up the porch. "Back so soon?" She asked.

"Yeah, who were you talking to?" I asked her.

"Ah wasn't talkin' to anypony Cougar," she chuckled. I was so sure she was, but maybe I was just seeing things. The light inside the shed was off, so either it already burnt out, or Applejack turned it off for me.

"I got the extra broom and dustpan," I said before turning on the light and getting the scare of my life.

"SURPRISE!" A loud and high pitched squeal entered my ears and about raped my ear drums. "Happy 'Shed warming' Party!" Pinkie Pie hopped up and down with a huge cake on her hoof. I clutched my chest and thankfully held my bladder together as I looked around to see Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight, Spike, Rainbow Dash and Soarin' all waiting inside.

"When the hell did you set this up?" I asked. There was also a record player, a table filled with sweets and punch and various streamers hanging off the ceiling.

"When there's a party to be planned, time has to make room for me!" Pinkie replied and shoved a piece of cake into my mouth. "So, how do you like Applejack's farm? I mean you must like it since you already fixed up a place to live?!" Pinkie asked me whilst talking a mile a minute.

"I liked what you've done with the place Cougar, but you really should invest in a book collection," Twilight offered me a wrapped book. I took it and unwrapped the wrapping paper to see what looked like an Indiana Jones type pony hanging from a rope on the cover.

"Daring Do and the quest for the Sapphire Statue?" I asked.

"Yep, the first book in the most awesomest amazing book series of all time!" Rainbow exclaimed before sipping on some punch.

"I do like adventure books, thanks Twilight," I said, "but I don't have a bookshelf and I don't like leaving books on the floor. Twilight smirked at that and gave Spike an I-told-you-so look. Rainbow and Soarin' both gave me a Wonderbolt's hat and T-Shirt, while Rarity simply gave me the time her business was open because she insisted that I have an entire wardrobe makeover. Fluttershy, though shy still, gave me a book on the various creatures in Equestria and how to be kind to them.

"Thanks guys, but it's not my birthday," I commented at looking at the gifts I'd received.

"Come on dude," Soarin' started, "it's the least we could do, you're new here and we wanna show you that we're nice, most of us anyway," he replied.

"Oh, well thanks again guys," I said again before having a green scaly faces with purple eyes thrust into my own face.

"Gummy wanted to say hi!" Pinkie Pike shouted as she crammed the little gator's face into mine. He opened his jaws and clamped them down onto my nose which tickled since he had no teeth and his eyes didn't blink at the same time.

"Uh hi?" I patted his head as Pinkie Pie took him away.

"Isn't he just the cutest thing you've ever seen? I mean besides me anyways," Pinkie Pie gushed and crammed her face against Gummy's. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see Applejack standing behind me.

"This party was actually mah idea Cougar, I just wanted to give ya the warmest welcome to yer new home," she smiled at me. I smiled back and patted her head like a dog which she didn't seem to mind.

"Thank you Applejack," I replied.

"MUSIC TIME!" Pinkie shouted and started blaring music on the record player. It was sort of like techno pop, but I didn't say anything for fear of insulting her which could be the worst choice in my life if I did so. Somehow over the music, Twilight was able to talk to me.

"So, since you were in the Air Force in your world, was your country in many wars?" She asked me.

"Could we please leave that alone Twilight?" I replied politely.

"Oh sure, but at least tell me what your species was like. Were they like us, only looking like you?" She questioned. I simply sipped on some punch and ignored her, not being polite, but just avoiding her. She grumbling and trotted back over to talk with Fluttershy. I also heard Soarin' talking to Applejack about getting the cider and pie for his date with Rainbow Dash. I don't know why, but I felt rather comfortable with these ponies now, but both parties still had work to do for us to trust in each other. About an hour later, Soarin' and Rainbow left for their date and Twilight had some letter she had to send to Princess Celestia. Pinkie was sad, yet she claimed there will always be parties, always. Everyone packed up the remnants of the party and left, save for Applejack since she lived here too.

"That was the most fun I've had in a long time," I said to Applejack as I laid down on a cot I had discovered in the barn.

"Ah'm glad ya liked it Cougar, sorry 'bout Twilight drillin' ya fer questions again, she jest gits so worked up over studyin'," Applejack explained.

"Eh it's fine," I replied and pulled out the book Twilight gave me.

"Well, if ya need somethin', jest ask away," Applejack said before leaving the shed. I looked as her shadow slowly left my field of vision from where I was laying down before opening my new book. It was actually very well-written and very engaging. I read to about 3/4 of the book before realizing it was night time. That and Applebloom came home just before sundown to tell me goodnight.

"Sleep tight Bloomin' Onion," I said as she trotted back inside her house.

"See ya tomorrow Cougar!" She replied. I put my book on the window sill and rubbed my eyes, exhausted from the day's work. I fell asleep almost the instant my eyes shut tightly.

---

(Normal Point of View)

"Cougar, how was your first day at Sweet Apple Acres?" Cougar heard a voice calling from a distance. The Air Force pilot opened his blue eyes to see Princess Luna standing before him with a smile on her face.

"Luna, shouldn't you be in Canterlot?" Cougar asked.

"Remember Cougar, I am the Princess of the Night and can enter dreams, I just wanted to see how your first say faired," she replied with a knowing smile.

"Hey, you're talking more normally," Cougar pointed out. Luna smiled as Cougar sat up and looked around the dream world.

"I'm getting better, hopefully I can get to talking like my sister and her little ponies soon enough," Luna replied. Cougar was glad he had Luna to talk to since he had an interesting first day. He told her all about fixing up his own place to live and how they even threw a welcome to sweet apple acres party. "So, I take it thou enjoyed your first day?" Luna slipped back into her old ways.

"Actually yes I did, but I think I'm failing in my claim Luna," he replied.

"How so young Cougar?" Luna came to a dead stop.

"I didn't want to get too friendly with you guys so early on in case something happened, but these ponies are making me feel so, so," Cougar couldn't find the right word.

"Familial?" Luna inserted with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"You must remember that all of these ponies have been through a lot together in this half decade Cougar," Luna explained, "they value friendship over everything else and despite what you think, they are very trustworthy."

"I hate sounding like that," Cougar let his head droop, "but I learned at a young age to make people earn your trust because you don't want to wake up one day to find that you were friends with an enemy spy," Cougar said as an example.

"I understand Cougar, but please give these ponies a chance, I have even seen young Applebloom take quite the shine to your kindness," Luna gracefully lifted his chin up with her hoof.

"If that's what the Princess wants," Cougar bowed to Luna.

"Farewell Cougar, I must go and calm the nightmares of young Button Mash," Luna disappeared into a void.

And Cougar slept peacefully with a smile on his face for the first time in years.

End Chapter V

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Phew, that was a week in the making people! Sorry if it was boring, but I didn't want to rush anything. At least now Cougar will be more light-hearted with making more friends than besides Applebloom and Luna. Next chapter will take place in the morning after, but transition into about two weeks. And I hope you guys liked Applebloom's nickname that Cougar gave to her.! Please review