The food in Equestria is not only delicious, but by far more healthy than anything back home. They don’t have preservatives, artificial flavors or high fructose corn syrup in any of their foods. Everything is fresh, no exceptions. They can and store their food though, but they don’t have a need for preservatives to keep them from going bad. They use—get this—magic in order to keep the food fresh. That’s right, magic. There is a small amount of magic laced through all the containers that keep the food as fresh as when it was packed.

How do I know this? Because I’m smart!

...and because Twilight explained it to me. Ever since I had revealed myself to Twilight, my diet had improved greatly. While it is true that Twilight had never starved me during the first week, she hadn’t been providing me with enough to be satisfactory. Now that we were able to communicate with one another, I had been able to get as much food as I liked. Since all the food is fresh and pure, my health had improved greatly. I wasn’t as heavy as when I had first been dropped into the desert, but I wasn’t skinny either. I was somewhere comfortably in the middle.

It wasn’t just my diet that was helping my health either. Another factor was at play as well: Rainbow Dash. It had first started during one of the girls’ “Pet Playdates”. Twilight’s pet owl, Owlowiscious (yes, she has a pet owl too. I found that out one dark night on my way to the bathroom. I made sure that I was the one to clean up after that accident though), was not feeling well (how the fuck could you tell? It’s a bloody owl!) so Twilight brought me instead. Luckily, Rarity was busy working on a massive order for a customer in Canterlot, so we didn’t need to worry about that.

It was during the play date that Rainbow Dash had accidentally crashed into me while flying with her pet tortoise (don’t even ask). Thinking she was attacking me, I wrestled with her until she broke free. We had both sat there, staring at the other in confusion. I have no idea what made her think of it, but Rainbow Dash decided on the fact that I had simply wanted to “play wrestle” with her, and she was more than happy to oblige.

From that day on, I was under a constant barrage of attacks from the prismatic mare. It could happen at any moment when Twilight and I were out and about. We would just be walking through the market when she would strike. Rainbow would crash into me, and the wrestle match would start. We would continue for several minutes, then we’d stop, catch our breaths and Rainbow would fly off until next time.

The first time she had done it after the play date, there had been mass panic in the marketplace. Ponies ran around screaming about the “mad human” and how there was a “rogue human attacking ponies”. It was only when the guards arrived and Rainbow and Twilight had explained the situation (it was mostly Rainbow, while Twilight glared at her) that everyone stopped panicking. Although, even with Rainbow Dash claiming it was her fault and that I was harmless, I still had to take a series of tests designed to assess a human’s aggression level. After having a piece of apple taken from me several times, as well as ponies poking and prodding me, I passed with flying colors.

It got to the point that no one seemed to care about our wrestling matches. They would simply step around our flailing limbs and go about their day. The constant play fighting (as well as my occasional attempt to run from her) caused me to slowly become more muscular. It wasn’t a lot of growth, just enough to become slightly noticeable. Rainbow Dash had definitely noticed.

It had been during one of our matches that it had happened. She had been sitting on my stomach after a particularly long fight when she had noticed my muscular abdomen and chest. She had just sat there, staring down at me, panting slightly. The longer she stared, the redder her face became. Suddenly, her wings had snapped open and she had rushed off. Several days had gone by before I saw her again. After that day, she became a lot more affectionate towards me.

Rainbow’s new affection aside, the wrestling matches as well as my new, healthier diet, had done wonders for my body. Although, there was one thing that I had come to miss: meat. Being herbivores, meat isn’t on the menu for ponies. It probably doesn’t help that most creatures in Equestria were sapient. Nonetheless, I found myself craving it. With Twilight’s feelings in mind, I tried my hardest to ignore the cravings, but eventually I decided to go out on a limb and tell her.

She had about leapt out of her skin when I first asked her if she knew of a place where we could get meat. With her back against the wall, and a knife in her hooves, she had demanded to know why I wanted meat. This had lead to an awkward conversation about my dietary habits. After informing her that all of the animals on my old world weren’t sapient, and Pinkie Promising not to eat her or anyone else, she finally started to calm down. It was only when she had reread the chapter that had information about feeding your human in Your Human and You (yes, she still had it. She had ‘rescued’ it from the trash shortly after she had threw it away) and saw that meat was part of a human’s diet that she finally believed me.

Some more research later, and we found that the local human store sold some pills that would give a human the nutrients they got from eating meat. Twilight had asked me if that was a possible substitute, as she really, really, really did not want to have to find, buy, and cook meat. I might be her friend, but that didn’t mean that she would willingly handle what used to be a living creature for me. I told her that if it stopped the cravings, I would be happy to take the pills.

Miraculously, it had actually worked. One pill a day, and I got the nutrients I supposedly needed, and the cravings for meat disappeared.

Needless to say, both Twilight and I were happy with the results.

~I hate mornings~

“Oh, stop whining. It’s not that early!” Twilight and I walked down the path that lead from the library to the marketplace. Well, Twilight walked; I had my eyes closed and was following Twilight, using the tugs on the leash to guide me. It was 7:30 in the morning, and I had just woken up only fifteen minutes ago. I was still asleep, if only in my mind.

It was Thursday, which meant that it was Twilight’s errand day and we were headed into the marketplace to get stuff done. Whatever the stuff was that Twilight needed to do. I wasn’t really listening when she had been listing it off. I had been trying to find my way back into the warm, gentle embrace of sleep.

“I'll tell you what,” Twilight said as we neared the marketplace. It was still relatively empty; most ponies were still waking up. “The faster we get our errands done, the sooner you can get home and nap.”

~Deal~ I suppressed a yawn and followed Twilight into the market. Due to us being there early (I don’t care what Twilight said, we were early), most stores and stalls weren’t open yet. Fortunately, a few of the stores that we need to stop at were already open, so it wasn’t a complete waste.

Our first stop of the day was the Quills and Sofas shop. Even though I no longer needed to write everything down, we still somehow went through quills at an alarming rate. This being a ‘no-humans-allowed’ type of store, I was left outside as Twilight went in. I didn’t really care, as it gave me an excuse to go back to sleep.

Twilight lashed my leash to the hitching post outside the store (don’t even go there. It’s too damn early for me to deal with the irony right now) and went inside. As the door closed behind her, I slid to the ground with a groan, my eyes still closed.

I’m not sure how long I sat there before a low growling sound caught my attention. Cracking open an eye, I glance around, looking for the source. There weren’t any ponies nearby, and most of those I could see were busy getting their stalls and shops ready. The local mailmare flew by, weaving through the air like she was drunk, but I had long since learned that that was normal.

My gaze continued to wander until I happened to glance across the street. What I saw caused me to sit up a little straighter and open both eyes.

Across the street from me, tied to the hitching post of one of the stores, was a female human. This wasn’t unusual; there were times that Twilight had to tie me next to another human. I just usually ignored them until Twilight returned. But there was something about this girl that held my attention.

She appeared to be young, probably about my age. Her short red hair fell down to just above her shoulders, and some strands stuck out at odd angles. Her body was thin, lanky and covered in dirt, and she was naked. Despite most humans being naked in Equestria, I still found myself blushing occasionally at the sight of a naked member of the other sex. This time was no exception, but it wasn’t her nakedness that caused me to stare. It was her eyes.

Her eyes were a deep emerald green and they were locked on me. As we looked at each other she growled again, flashing her teeth as she did so. Her gaze never leaving mine, she slowly rose to her feet. Moving forward, she strained at her leash, trying to get at me. Snarling, she swung her arms through the air, trying in vain to reach me.

She continued to strain against her bonds for several more minutes before giving up. Returning to her seated position with a huff, she glared at me before lowering her head and making several chirping noises.

What the fuck was that about? I continue to stare at her for several more seconds, but she didn’t look back up. It appeared that she was done with me. Twilight reemerged from the store as I sat there thinking.

“Okay, next stop is the human store,” she said as she untied my leash. “We need to pick up some more of your pills.” Standing up, I begin to follow after Twilight, but not before glancing back at the girl one last time.

As I watched, she looked up and glanced at me one last time. My eyes narrowed as I saw something that looked like sadness flash across her eyes. Turning back around, Twilight and I head off down the street.

As we walked off, I heard her chirp softly to herself. It sounded oddly familiar.

After the human store, we wandered around the marketplace. Most of the stalls were open, and the marketplace was starting to get crowded as Twilight and I worked our way from store to store. By midday, we had gotten everything that Twilight had needed to get and were heading back to the library. We were just passing by the spa when Twilight pulled up short, causing me to stumble as I avoided tripping over her. Looking down at her, I tilted my head to the side to show my confusion. She looked up at me sheepishly.

“Before we headed back home, I was hoping that we could do some bonding today,” she said, drawing circles in the dirt with her hoof.

~Bonding?~ Twilight pointed at a sign in the spa’s window. I leaned in close and read what it said.

~Ponyville Spa~
SPECIAL!!!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Relax with your human!
For each paid session, get one session for your human, FREE*.
-Only available for ponies living within Ponyville-

*Humans must be well-behaved.

After reading the sign, I glanced back down at Twilight. She looked up at me and smiled slightly. I point at the sign, raising one of my eyebrows slightly. Twilight nodded, a small blush slowly spreading across her face. I look back up at the sign, chewing on the inside of my cheek. I wasn’t entirely sure what a ‘session’ for a human was, but it couldn’t be anything too bad, right?

What the hell; let’s do it! Turning back to Twilight, I nodded once, flashing a quick smile when no one was looking. A huge smile appeared on Twilight’s face as she squee'd in delight. Pulling on the leash, she dashed towards the door of the spa, dragging me along.

What have I gotten myself into? I chuckled to myself.

As Twilight and I entered the spa, a bell above the door rang, signaling our presence. The pony behind the counter, a pink mare with blue hair, looked up and smiled.

“Good afternoon, Miss Sparkle,” she said with a heavy accent, “How are you doing today?”

“Very well, thank you Aloe,” Twilight replied, smiling at the mare. As the two ponies greeted each other, I took a tentative sniff. The air had a pleasant aroma to it; a mixture of scented lotions and the minerals from the baths. Just one quick sniff and I could already feel my muscles begin to relax.

“Vat can ve do for you today, Miss Sparkle?” Aloe asked, tilting her head to the side with a smile on her face.

“I was hoping to take advantage of your special today.” Aloe turned her gaze to me, looking me up and down with a thoughtful expression on her face.

“Vell,” she said, chewing her lip in thought, “I’m not ze ‘human specialist’. Zat vould be my sister.” Tearing her gaze from me, she turned her head and called into the back.

“Lotus! Could you come here, please?”

“Coming!” A few seconds later, and another pony emerged from the doorway behind the counter. She was nearly identical to the first, the only difference being the fact that her colors were reversed: she had a blue coat and pink mane. That, and there were some bandages wrapped around her stomach; the white bandages matching her headband.

They are definitely related, no question about that. Even their cutie marks are the same!

“Vat can I do for you, sister?” The blue mare asked, approaching the counter.

“Miss Sparkle is interested in our special today,” Aloe said, motioning towards me with a hoof. “I believe zat you are ze human specialist here. Vat do you think?” Lotus gazed up at me, her eyes widening slightly and an alarmed expression flashed across her face. As quickly as it had come, however, it was gone. Her expression returned to normal as she slowly walked around the counter and approached me carefully.

Her blue eyes flicked across my frame, taking in every detail. She began to walk around me, gently prodding different parts of me with her hoof: my leg, my knee, my stomach, my arms. As she slowly circled me, I remained completely still. She seemed tense and slightly uncomfortable with me, so I didn’t want to startle her with any sudden movement.

“Is he vell-behaved?” she asked Twilight, never taking her eyes off of me. Twilight shot me a knowing smirk before replying.

“He is the most well-behaved human I have ever seen.” Lotus seemed to relax at the response. Appearing satisfied with that answer, she nodded then walked back over to her sister.

“He is most certainly one of ze better looking humans I have ever seen,” she said, a soft smile on her face. “I do believe zat I can work vith him.”

“If you vould follow me,” Aloe said, motioning with her hoof.

The sisters lead us around the counter and farther back into the spa. Walking through a doorway, we entered a large, circular, spacious room. A large tub, big enough to hold several ponies, rested against the wall on the far side, steam rising up from the warm water within. Several massage tables were arranged in a semicircle just in front of the tub. Off to the side, there were several pits in the floor that were filled with mud that bubbled slowly. Several rooms were connected to the main room. They looked like they were private rooms, meant for privacy and comfort. The entire room smelled of lilacs.

“Now zen, before ve begin,” Lotus said as the sisters came to a stop in the middle of the room. “Ve must know: do you vant to have private rooms for both you and your human, or do you vant to be in ze same room?” She motioned with a hoof at the private rooms as she spoke.

“A private room won’t be necessary,” Twilight replied as she glanced up at me. “I think he’d prefer if we were together.” The sisters looked at each other at that statement, but shrugged it off.

“Very vell,” Aloe said. “Let’s get started.” Aloe motioned for Twilight to lie down on one of the massage tables. Removing her saddlebags, Twilight handed Lotus my leash before climbing onto the table and collapsing on her stomach with a content sigh. Lotus tugged on the leash, smiling up at me.

“Come along...um,” she paused, unsure what to call me.

“Max,” Twilight said, her voice muffled as her face was pressed into the massage pillow. She groaned slightly as Aloe began the massage.

“Max. Zat is a good name,” Lotus hummed, giving the leash another gentle pull. “Come along, Max.” She lead me to the table to the right of Twilight and patted the cushioned surface, encouraging me to climb up.

I move over to the table and climb up onto it, taking care to let Lotus lead me, as to avoid suspicion. Didn’t want them finding out that I was as smart as them, now did we? She removed my sack-shirt and placed it on top of Twilight’s bags. Thankfully, she let me keep my pants on. Turning around, I laid down on my stomach. It surprised me that even though this was a pony spa, the tables were designed to be large enough to hold a human comfortably. Lotus gently pushed my head into the pillow, careful not to accidentally smother me.

As Lotus prepared, grabbing various lotions and creams, I glanced over at Twilight. Her eyes were closed and there was a large smile on her face. Aloe was digging her hooves into Twilight’s shoulders, causing happy groans to escape the lavender mare. She seemed to be taking great care to avoid Twilight’s wings, which were spread wide by her side.

I frowned slightly as I watched Aloe work, her hooves turning Twilight into putty. Beside me, Lotus finished her preparations. Standing up on her back legs, she leaned against the table and placed her front hooves on my back. I shivered slightly as the hard surface of her hooves touched my flesh.

I’m all for a massage, but it can’t be very comfortable with hard hooves, can it? I can’t see any possible way that this is actually going to be relaxing. This particular thought immediately left my head as soon as Lotus started kneading my back muscles. As did every other thought that I could possibly have had. In fact, as she slowly and gently worked the kinks out of my back, the only thing I could think of was the thought, Oh god...this is gooooooood.

The gentle pressure of the hooves as Lotus located and worked out every single knot and twist in my back. The kneading motion as she slowly worked her way down my body, taking great care to not push too hard. The slow rubbing of my back as she worked the lotion she was using into my body. I didn’t know how it could possibly feel as good as it did, but I didn’t care; I was in heaven.

“I must say, Miss Sparkle,” Lotus said as she slowly worked her way up and down my body. “You certainly have a very fine human stallion here. Vherever did you find him?”

“He w-was a gift,” Twilight moaned as Aloe found a particularly sore spot on her back. “From P-p-princess Celestia.”

“He certainly is one of ze more muscular humans ve have seen,” Aloe added, glancing at me. “I vonder vhere the princess ever found him.”

“You can actually t-thank Rainbow Dash for that,” Twilight groaned, “She’s taken to play wrestling with him whenever she gets a c-c-chance.”

“And he allows zat?!” Lotus asked, the surprise evident in her voice as her hooves stopped for a second. “He doesn’t become violent vith her?”

“N-no, he just plays along with her. He stops when she does, and they have yet to actually injure each other.” I heard Lotus and Aloe murmur to themselves, obviously impressed.

“Zis is ze first I have ever heard of a human actually tolerating a pony attacking zem, even if it vas only in good humor,” Aloe said as Lotus resumed her work. “He must have a great deal of patience to behave as such.” A peaceful silence fell across the room as the mares continued to work their magic, only broken by a soft groan from Twilight.

The silence continued until Lotus found a particularly sore spot just at the base of my neck. As her hoof pushed down upon the knot I let out a loud groan. She lifted her hoof immediately and jumped back, inhaling sharply. Confused, I raised my head and looked over at her, trying to get my mind working again after being caught up in a blissful haze. She gazed back at me, a terrified look in her eyes.

“Vat happened?” Aloe asked, her voice tense. I glanced over at her and found her eyes glued on me, apprehension on her face. Twilight head was up and she was staring at me as well, a worried and confused expression on her face.

“I-I don’t know,” Lotus stammered, “I found a tense spot, but vhen I started working on it, he growled at me.” At this Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed.

“I don’t think he was growling at you, Lotus,” Twilight said, laying her head back down. “If he isn’t violent towards Rainbow when she attacks him, I don’t think you have to worry about him getting hostile towards you.” The blue mare stared at me hesitantly, before slowly approaching me, her eyes watching for any sign of movement. As she approached, I laid my head back down, trying to look submissive. Reaching the table, she placed a tentative hoof on my back again. When I didn’t move or react, she slowly began working on my muscles again. I sighed as I slowly drifted back into a blissful state. Lotus giggled nervously as she resumed working on my neck.

“I apologize for my behavior, Miss Sparkle,” she said, “It vas rather unprofessional of me.” I groaned softly again as she worked the muscle. She paused for a second, but continued her work. I could tell she was trying to be more gentle than before, and apparently it showed as well, because after several seconds Twilight spoke up.

“Lotus, is something wrong? You seem to be tenser than before.” The hooves paused again and I heard a sigh above me.

“I’m sorry, Miss Sparkle. It’s just zat, vell, a few veeks ago I vas vorking on a human for one of our other clients. I’m not sure vat caused it, if I hit a tender spot or was overly rough vith him, but he suddenly attacked me.”

“What?!” Twilight exclaimed as she sat up, ignoring Aloe’s attempt to get her to lay back down.

“My sister and ze client vere able to gain control over him, but ze damage vas already done,” Lotus said, motioning to the bandages around her stomach. “I ended up in ze hospital, and he ended up having to be put down. And ve haven’t heard from ze client since.”

“How bad was the injury?” Twilight asked, allowing Aloe to push her gently back onto the table. “Nothing permanent I hope.”

“No, nothing permanent. Just some slight pain every now and zen,” Lotus sighed, absentmindedly stroking my back with a hoof. “It’s just zat ever since zen, I have been rather nervous around humans. I realize zat not all of zem are violent, but-”

“-but given what has happened, nobody can blame you for being nervous.” Twilight finished, turning her head to the side and smiling up at Lotus. Her gaze drifted down to me and the look in her eyes changed to something I couldn’t quite recognize. Her eyes closed slightly, her smile softened and a small blush appeared on her cheeks.

“But I don’t think you have to worry around Max here,” she said, the tenderness clear in her voice. “I don’t think he could ever hurt you.” I blushed slightly at her statement.

Where did that come from? I thought, averting my eyes from Twilight. The floor suddenly became very interesting. I know that Twilight and I are friends, but that seemed more personal.

“Yes,” Lotus said, stroking my back gently as she smiled. “I can see zat now. He truly is an amazing human. He is ze first human I have vorked vith since ze attack, and so far he has been more behaved zen any other human I have ever had ze pleasure of vorking vith.”

After that, the atmosphere of the room became a lot more relaxed as the sisters continued with the massage. Aloe chatted quietly with Twilight, the pair of them talking about this and that. I was only half-listening to their conversation as Lotus silently massaged away my stress. I couldn’t see her face from my downward facing position, but I could practically feel her stress leaving her as well, as she slowly and gently worked her hooves across my skin, tenderly making sure that she got every single knot.

She treated me with care, and I could almost feel her happiness as she massaged me into complete bliss.

Twilight and I emerged from the spa a few hours later, both of us feeling more relaxed than when we entered. I’m not sure about Twilight, but I don’t think I have ever felt this good before. While I wasn’t overly stressed before entering the spa, that massage was definitely needed. If I ever ended up going back home, no human hands would ever be able to compare to Lotus’s hooves.

Behind us, Lotus and Aloe waved from the doorway.

“Zank you for your business, Miss Sparkle,” Aloe called, a smile on her face. “Please come back anytime!”

“And bring your human vith you anytime as vell,” Lotus added. She wore a larger smile than her sister; her face seemed to glow with her happiness. “He is always velcome here!” Twilight waved back at the sisters as we walked off. When we were out of sight of the spa, she turned to look up at me, and smirked slightly.

“Well, it seems that you have made an unintentional friend,” she giggled, nudging me with her hoof. “You couldn’t see her face during the massage, but Lotus couldn’t keep her eyes off of you. She seemed taken with how ‘well-behaved’ you were being.” I rolled my eyes, but chuckled all the same.

~I’m just glad that she was able to relax around me. I would hate for her to be uncomfortable around me just because of what some other human has done~

“Yes,” Twilight agreed, “It’s horrible what happened to her, and I’m glad that you were able to help her get her confidence back.” Twilight fell silent as we reached the marketplace. It was late in the afternoon and the stores were beginning to close up for the day. We slowly made our way through the crowd, working our way in the direction of home.

“I’m glad that we were able to have a nice moment together,” Twilight said as we left the market. “It was relaxing, and you did look like you were enjoying yourself.” I snickered loudly at that, causing Twilight to look at me with confusion.

~I wasn’t the only one enjoying themself. You were moaning rather loudly~ Twilight’s face turned crimson and she stumbled slightly. Regaining her footing, she continued to walk along, refusing to meet my eye. I chuckled softly, bumping against the mare.

~Joking aside, I did enjoy getting that wonderful massage with you~ I scratched behind her ears and Twilight leaned into my hand, humming slightly.

“I’m sorry that you couldn’t get your nap today,” Twilight said, still leaning into my hand. Raising an eyebrow, I flipped my free hand around in a gesture of confusion.

~What do you mean?~

“I promised you that we would go home after finishing the shopping and you could nap then, but we ended up heading over to the spa instead.” I stopped scratching her head and bopped her gently on the nose.

~It was totally worth it~ Twilight smiled, gazing up at me. We reached the end of the street and proceeded to turn around the corner.

“I concur,” Twilight said, strutting playfully along. “It was a rather relaxing way to spend some time togeth...AUGH!” As we walked around the corner, Twilight plowed headfirst into another pony walking the other way. The other pony stumbled slightly, grunting in pain. Twilight was not so lucky. Losing her balance, she fell backwards onto her back. Laying sprawled out on the ground, she groaned as she held her head in her hooves.

“Ow...what’d I hit-”

“CAN’T YOU WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING, YOU STUPID UNICORN?!” Both Twilight and I flinched as the pony Twilight bumped into screeched at us. He was a normal pony; no horn or wings were on him. His coat was a dirty golden color, and he wore a black tuxedo over it. His mane, a slightly darker shade of gold than his coat, was slicked back, giving him a greasy look. He glared down at Twilight, his expression filled with rage.

“I-I’m sorry, sir,” Twilight stuttered as she got back up. “I w-wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“That much, my dear, is painfully obvious,” the stallion growled. The contempt was clear in his voice as he glowered down at Twilight. Call it an instinct, call it common sense, but I had the feeling that nothing we could’ve said would have calmed this guy down.

Snorting, the stallion ground his teeth in suppressed rage. “Slap a pair of wings on a unicorn, and they think they own the entire town.” At those words Twilight gasped, tears forming in her eyes. My eyes narrowed as I glared down at the twit.

“Do you even know who you are dealing with, you stupid unicorn?!” the stallion roared, stepping towards Twilight. The mare scrambled backwards, her eyes wide. She gaped up at him, mouth opening and closing wordlessly as tears rolled down her face. “I am Golden Ingot! I earn more bits in one day than you will ever see in a lifetime!”

What crawled up his ass and died? I didn’t know what this pony’s problem was, but there was no reason he should be talking to Twilight like that. I growled at the stallion but he ignored me, choosing instead to study a smudge of dirt on his suit in disgust.

“Great, look what you’ve done!” He snarled at Twilight, “You’ve gotten dirt on my suit, you worthless nag! Do you even know how many bits this was?!”

“I-I-I’m sorry,” Twilight squeaked, doing a rather good impression of Fluttershy. It would have been adorable if the situation would have been different.

I glanced around quickly. With how loud Ingot was being, we were starting to draw attention. Ponies were stopping and staring at the scene before them. Many were gazing at Ingot with clear disgust, while others looked at Twilight with sympathy. None of them, however, moved to help her.

Come on, someone do something! I shift back and forth on my feet, looking from Twilight to Ingot. I growled in frustration; I couldn’t do anything without getting in trouble for attacking a pony. Twilight was trying to form words, but Golden wasn’t having any of her excuses; he just steamrolled right over her.

“Of course, you wouldn’t care about that! You have everything handed to you on a silver platter, just like every other hornhead!” At that, a gasp went up from the crowd of ponies watching. I could wager from the reaction that ‘hornhead’ wasn’t something you were supposed to call a unicorn. Golden Ingot didn’t seem to care as he continued on.

“Always using your magic to get ahead in life! Not like the rest of us who have to work hard to get where we are!” He advanced towards Twilight with each word, slowly closing the gap. “In fact, if it weren’t for your magic, Princess Sparkle, you would be completely useless!” Twilight’s eyes opened wider and she gurgled slightly, her brain trying to figure out a proper response.

“In fact,” Golden said, shoving his face right into Twilight’s, “the only reason you even became Celestia’s pet was because she felt sorry for you when she saw you couldn’t control your powers! The only reason you are where you are today is because you were a complete and total failure!!!” I could see Twilight break completely with the last statement. She stared forward, eyes blank as rivers of tears ran down her face.

Something within me snapped.

That, I growled as I felt my anger boil up inside me, is going one step too far! As Golden opened his mouth to spew some more filth at Twilight, I made my move. Instantly stepping between him and Twilight, I crouched down and shoved my face into his, snarling loudly as I bared my teeth. Startled, Golden stumbled backwards, his expression changing from anger to fear instantly. Slowly, I raised myself to my full height, which compared to the ponies, was quite impressive. I glared down at Ingot, my mouth still open in a silent snarl. He gazed back up at me, terror-stricken.

Around us I heard whispers and gasps, but I didn’t care. Twilight was hurting, and this ass had overstepped his boundaries. Twilight may be many things, but a failure is not one of them. I didn’t care what happened to me after this, I was going to get rid of this bastard no matter what.

My face still contorted in rage, I stepped forward, causing the stupid ass to scramble backwards away from me. More gasps sounded, and a pony screamed in the distance.

“Stay away from me, you filthy animal!” Ingot growled at me, trying his hardest to sound tough, but the tremble in his voice and the shaking of his legs gave his fear away. His voice raised in pitch as he continued to try and regain his confidence. “Do you know who you are m-messing with?” I didn’t even give him a chance to continue.

Slamming my fists into the ground on either side of him, I leaned down and roared. Spittle flew from my mouth as I released my rage for this scum-of-the-earth in one, monstrous breath. Closing my mouth, I stared down at the stallion with all the rage of Hell itself in my gaze.

He cowered beneath me, his entire body shaking and ears splayed back. Silence fell around us as we stared into each other's eyes. His brown eyes gazed fearfully up into mine. Ingot opened and closed his mouth once, but no sound came out.

Growling, I made to grab the bastard with my hands.

When my arm twitched, life seemed to return to the stallion. Shooting out from underneath me, he was gone before I barely even moved. I watched the dust cloud that was Golden Ingot disappear into the distance. Turning, I gazed out across the crowd of ponies that had gathered around us. They gazed up at me with a mixture of horror and wonder.

With my heart slowly rising into my throat, I tried my best to ignore the stares. Swallowing nervously, I turn my attention to Twilight. She was still just sitting there, staring blankly into space. Her eyes were red and the fur on her cheeks was matted from her tears. Ignoring the whispers of the ponies around us, I slowly approached my distressed friend and owner. Reaching Twilight, I sat down in front of her and pulled her into a hug, nuzzling the side of her face gently. My face became wet from her tears, but I didn’t care.

She flinched slightly at the initial contact, but didn’t shy away. Slowly, life seemed to return to her eyes. She slowly raised her head and gazed into my eyes. I could see the pain in her eyes, the hurt from everything Golden Ingot had said, but there was also something else there as well. The silent thanks for what I had done.

I pulled her closer, and she lowered her head. Burrowing her face in my shoulder, she wept as I held her. From the crowd of ponies around us the sound of stomping began. The sound grew louder and louder until every pony around us was stomping on the ground. It took me a second to realize what they were doing.

They were applauding. I didn’t know if they were applauding me, or what I had done, but I didn’t care. All I cared about was comforting Twilight.

The applause died down as Twilight and I just sat there, holding each other. The crowd slowly began to disperse. Some stayed behind to inform the guards, who had finally shown up, what had happened. Luckily, these were the same guards that had ‘tested’ me after the first incident with Rainbow Dash. After getting the story from several different ponies, the guards decided that I had acted in self-defense when I sensed that my owner was in danger, so I was not considered a threat to ponies, and they did not need to take me into custody.

Hurray for small victories. The entire time that the guards were doing their “investigation”, Twilight continued to cry into my shoulder.

The day had been going so well too. Why did it have to end this way? One of the guards, a pegasus mare with a pink mane, found a blanket and covered us with it, but other than that they left us alone. It was probably best that way: Twilight was too distraught to deal with anything right now, and they still (luckily) thought that I was just a stupid human.

By the time the guards were finished and left, Twilight had calmed down. Sniffling, she slowly pulled away from me. Rubbing her eyes with a hoof, she hiccuped slightly.

“T-thanks,” she croaked, her voice cracking slightly. I nodded, a strained smile on my face. Twilight just stared at the ground, looking broken. It tore my heart to see her like this.

Deciding that it was up to me to cheer her up, I cupped her face in my hands. Wiping her tears away with my thumbs, I stroke her cheeks gently and caringly. Despite my attempts, Twilight still refused to meet my gaze.

Releasing her face, I leaned back slightly and sighed. Smiling, I waved my hand slightly to catch her attention. Her ear flicked, letting me know she was paying attention.

~Hey, you want to go see if Sugarcube Corner is still open, and maybe talk to Pinkie?~ Twilight shook her head, sniffling again. A stray tear fell from her face to the dirt below. Chewing on my cheek, I tilt my head to the side, thinking.

~Do you want to go find Fluttershy and talk to her?~ Another shake of the head and another sniffle as Twilight continued to stare at the ground, her ears splayed back. I sat there with her, trying to think of some way to cheer her up.

Suddenly my intestines gave a low rumble, followed by a slight pressure in my lower abdomen. I looked down at my stomach, eyebrows raised. As I gazed down at my gurgling stomach, an idea popped into my head. Grinning, I raised my head and looked at Twilight.

~You want me to take a shit on Golden Ingot’s lawn?~ There was a slight pause, then Twilight nodded her head. She looked up at me, no longer crying, but her eyes were still red. I smiled at her and got to my feet, and she shakily rose to her hooves. I held out my leash for her and she took it in her magic.

~Okay. Let’s go let me take a shit on Golden Ingot’s lawn~ We began to walk down the road, slowly making our way along. As we walked, I placed my hand on Twilight’s head, gently stroking her disheveled mane. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small smile begin to spread across Twilight’s face. Quietly, she began to hum happily to herself as the sun slowly began to slip beneath the horizon, and the first star appeared in the evening sky.