“Ponyville.”

Honestly, by now I had to be surprised that I was surprised by the name. I'd heard so many names that were either subtle or blatant puns, plays-on-words and the like that it tended to stick out more when something actually sounded normal to me. And besides, it wasn't like America didn't have its own collection of goofy city names; Ponyville, Equestria wasn't much more ridiculous than Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

Sveti chuckled. “Interesting name, I know,” she commented.

“Yeah, yeah.” Twilight waved a hoof, even as she giggled. “Now, Peter, I don't have any objections to you visiting Ponyville- it really is a nice town, as I'm sure you saw when you were last there. But... as I'm also certain you saw, it has more than its fair share of strangeness going on. The chimera attack was probably one of the more extreme examples, of course, but that town does see some odd things go on sometimes.”

“I know. I asked some of the staff about the place.” I shrugged. “I'm thinking that if I want to wrap my head around how this world works, Ponyville might be the best place to do it. There's ponies I know that I can talk to there, which isn't the case anywhere else. I'm not going to learn a whole lot cooped up in here.”

“Well, it's definitely a much more natural environment than you're going to encounter here in Canterlot,” Shield- or rather, Shining Armor; I couldn't make heads or tails out of how ponies handled family names- told me. “Especially with those protesters promising to follow you around anywhere you go in the city.”

“Yeah, getting away from them is a nice little bonus.” I leaned back in my chair. “What are the ponies in Ponyville like, though?” I asked, trying my best not to crack up laughing at having to ask a question like that.

“Oh, there's all sorts,” Twilight said. “Some of them are... a little skittish, but most of them are fairly level-headed.”

“Not to mention that some of them are completely jaded from living in Ponyville for so long,” Shining added with a chuckle. “I can't imagine you'd even be all that interesting to, say, Granny Smith.”

“Who's that?” I asked.

“Applejack's grandmother,” Twilight told me. “She was one of the original founders of Ponyville! She's a little up there in years, but she's very forthright and wouldn't let anypony act up around her without setting them straight. I'm sure she'd be supporting of you.”

Sveti rubbed her beak. “Applejack invited me to visit her farm if I ever found myself in town. I'll have to ask her if Peter is invited as well.”

“I can't imagine she'd say 'no'.” Twilight's smile faded after a moment. “Peter, while you're gone, I'm going to be dedicating as much time as I can to investigating how you arrived here, and if a way to return you can be found. I'd really been hoping that all the tests I ran on you in the hospital would give me some kind of lead, but nothing's panned out- half the numbers don't even make any sense to me.”

“I appreciate you trying.” And I did. I knew squat about magic, but after what had apparently been an entirely random event that had brought me here several months ago, any potential clues would have to be ridiculously difficult to spot. “Though I think I'd like it if you visited too,” I added.

Her smiled returned. “I'll see if I can make a little time for that. And if there's an emergency, my assistant Spike is at the library and can send me a letter at any time.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Spike?” I repeated. “That's not a typical pony name.”

“Oh, he isn't a pony. He's a dragon.”

My jaw dropped... until I remembered the small reptilian creature I'd seen the last time I'd been there. “A baby dragon? Purple and green, about this tall?” I held my hand a short distance from the ground.

“Oh, you've seen him? Yes, that's Spike. And, of course, there's a small contingent of Royal Guards stationed in town, and there's always the Mayor and her staff. You've got a lot of ponies you can go to if you need.”

“That's what I was hoping for.” I slowly got out of my chair. “So I guess Sveti and I have some packing to do!”

(-)

Shining watched the train chug its way out of the station. Getting Peter out of the Embassy under the muzzles of the protesters- undercover guards had identified several ponies who were apparently watching the building during the times when the main group had gone home- had been far from the easiest thing, compounded by the fact that he had a sneaking suspicion some of Canterlot's Guard were sympathetic to the protesters' cause and might have been feeding them information, meaning that anything involving the human needed to be kept on a strict need-to-know basis. It made him singularly uncomfortable to need to be so secretive towards his own ponies in uniform.

But now Peter and Sveti were on their way to Ponyville, where Shining hoped they would find some respite from everything that had been happening to them. “I never thought it'd take a covert operation just to get two creatures on a train without problems,” he murmured.

“Yeah, I know,” Twilight replied, shaking her head slowly. There was a burst of light from her horn, and a familiar twisting sensation- and then they were back in her office. “Shiny, what have you found out about these protesters? I mean, it's weird that so many ponies can manage to spend so much time out here. Don't they have jobs and responsibilities?”

“It's gotten to the point where I think somepony's bankrolling them.” He took a seat in one of her chairs, while she sat at her desk. “The guards have been keeping track of the protesters, and while a few have joined the initial ranks, it's the same primary crowd every day- sun-up to sundown, they're there.”

“This goes way beyond simple concerned citizenry. This is an organized effort. But why?”

“That's the sixty-four-thousand-bit question, I suppose.” He sighed. “Something's got to give. I thought a hoof-fight might break out eventually over this whole protest situation... but I didn't expect it to be between two guards overseeing it! Tempers are starting to flare in the ranks.”

“I'm hoping that Swift Wind will be ready to talk to us soon. Maybe if we finally get his word on what happened, things will calm down.”

“I sure hope so.” Shining tilted his head from side to side, until a sore spot in his neck finally loosened. “Y'know... I was going to bring Cadie out to Broncton to meet some old friends of mine, but there's nothing saying we can't stop by Ponyville too. She's wanted to meet Peter for a while, but between her being busy and him running into so many problems, there hasn't been a good time for that to happen.”

“That sounds like a plan!” Twilight smiled. “How does Sunday sound?”

“That should work out just fine.”

(-)

“Target's on the train to Ponyville. Phase Four is in effect.”

(-)

For all the traveling she'd done in her life, Sveti had never actually been on a train before. At first she found the loud squealing and heavy clacking of the wheels, and the deep chugging of the engine, to be annoying, but now that the conveyance was moving smoothly along the rails, it had become soothing to the point of almost putting her to sleep.

It helped things that the private cab they were in- reserved specifically for them, under Shining Armor's name- was incredibly comfortable and nicely shaded from the morning sun. With no one else in the cab, Sveti felt free to lean gently against Peter, half-dozing with her head on his shoulder as he read a book he'd specifically brought to help his language studies. She'd tried to follow along a couple of times, but fixing her attention on the book while the train was moving did funny things to her equilibrium, so she settled for closing her eyes and letting herself relax.

“Sveti?”

She half-opened the eye closer to Peter. “Hm?”

“You okay?”

She smiled. “I am, actually,” she told him. “I'm just relaxing. It's been a while since I felt like I really could.”

“Good.” He gently ruffled her crest with his hand. “I was a bit confused. I not see that look on your face much.” A small smile crept over his lips. “Would like to see it more.”

She knew she was blushing. “Well, I'll try. For you.”

“For you, too.” He tapped her beak, his face taking on a serious expression. “Sveti... you seem very sad sometimes. I been wanting to know why for a while.” When she opened her beak to respond, he shook his head. “Not now. Now is time to relax, not talk about sad things. But after?”

She let out a quiet breath and nodded slowly. “After. I promise.”

“Okay.” He smiled, and she couldn't help but feel warmed by it. “I trust you to keep a promise.”

When had his speaking gotten so good? It was obvious that he'd really been working on it; the speed at which he was improving easily eclipsed hers when she'd been learning the Equestrian tongue- and she'd had a professional tutor! I can probably chalk at least some of it up to Twilight, she thought. The mare could teach anyone anything. But I'm sure that Peter's been putting a lot of effort into it, too. She felt a warm sense of pride flow through her chest. Not too shabby for a 'yeti'.

The rest of the train ride went quickly, and eventually the pair found themselves at Ponyville Station. Sveti waited until the other passengers had disembarked, then opened the doors of their cab- to find three ponies waiting in front of them. The one in the center, an older-looking mare with a grey mane, moved back half a step at the sight of Peter before catching herself. “Oh, um... hello,” she said, managing a smile. “Sveti Windwhisper? Peter Collins?” When they nodded, her smile grew. “Welcome to Ponyville. I'm Mayor Mare; Princess Twilight informed me you'd be coming.”

The mayor led them to the town hall, with Sveti having a good look at the place along the way. Peter had an obvious familiarity with the place, and she remembered that he'd actually been here before, for several days in fact. “Nicer visit for you this time, I hope?” she asked him playfully.

He didn't even have a chance to respond before a sharp gasp caught their attention; a yellow-coated mare with a rose cutie mark stood stock-still in the middle of the road, her eyes shrunken to pinpricks, with one hoof pointed towards the human. “The Everfree Yeti!” she yelped, before spinning in place to run off-

“Consarn it!”

-when a yellow line zipped past Sveti and curled around the still-attempting-to-flee pony, holding her in place. The hen turned to see Applejack gripping a rope in her mouth. “Get on back here, dangit,” the cowpony grunted, her voice somehow not affected by having her teeth clenched around the lasso.

“Rose!” Mayor Mare exclaimed. “What has gotten into you?! We had a meeting about this!”

Rose was doing her best to get away, her hooves digging lines into the dirt road as Applejack dragged her. “No! He's gonna eat us all and build a house out of our bones!”

“...out of what?!” Sveti heard Peter mutter.

“Rose!” The mayor's authoritative voice broke through the mare's panic, and she froze in place, making it much easier for Applejack to pull her close. “I am quite disappointed in you, young mare!” the mayor said. “Did you listen to nothing we discussed about this visit in the town meeting?”

“But... but look at it!” Rose pointed a shaking hoof in Peter's direction. “I've heard stories about what it does with those hands, with those teeth! I heard how it hunts ponies, how it tears them apart limb from limb-”

Peter made a quiet noise of exasperation, and then stepped forward with remarkable speed, startling the mare into silence. What he did next surprised Sveti- he knelt down in front of her, took the hoof that was still pointing at him... and shook it. “Hello, Rose,” he said softly. “My name is Peter. It is nice to meet you.”

She froze in place, her expression gone from fear to confusion in a heartbeat. “You... you talk?” she whispered.

“Yes, I talk.”

“Of course he talks, ya idjit,” Applejack grumbled. “He's an intelligent creature, jes like you an' me. An' I think he'd be really appreciative if ya treated him like one, instead of some pony-eatin' monster. Which he ain't.”

“Thank you, Applejack.” Peter let go of Rose's hoof and stepped back, folding his hands behind his back. “Mayor Mare, this was just mistake,” he said. “I think Rose was confused. Not mean any harm.”

“I, errrr.... right,” Rose said. “I- I was just confused!” She was doing a terrible job of hiding her sheepish expression, but everyone else seemed content to ignore it. “So, um... w- welcome to Ponyville! Well, um, i- if you'll excuse me, I think I left an oven in my cake. Bye!”

She slipped out of Applejack's lasso and was gone in a flash. “Some mares,” the cowpony said, gathering her rope up again.

Sveti scratched the back of her head. “Err, Applejack... not that I'm not grateful, but how did you just happen to come by while carrying a rope?”

“ 'Cause after Twilight let me know that ya'll would be comin' in today, I had a feelin' somethin' like this'd happen.” The earth pony shrugged. “Y' live in a town fer a while, y' get t' know the locals. Rose an' her two friends tend t' get a little... overanxious in new situations, an' I figured with the bad luck Peter seems t' have, he'd end up runnin' into one of 'em.”

Sveti blinked at that, then laughed. “Ancestors. I'll get you a crystal ball; you can tell me my future.”

Applejack snickered. “I wish. Ain't no foreseein', just knowin' what tends t' happen 'round here.” She doffed her hat towards them. “I best get back to th' farm. Sveti, that invitation still stands, an' Peter, yer welcome t' come by as well. Y'all ain't never had an authentic Apple family dinner, I reckon, an' I think it'd be proper t' fix that.”

“We'll definitely take you up on that. Thanks a lot, AJ.” She watched the cowpony give them a wave before cantering off.

Next to her, the mayor chuckled. “That was a fine bit of diplomacy, Mister Collins,” she said approvingly. “Though I'm truly sorry you had to see that display in the first place. I specifically held a town meeting yesterday to avoid this sort of thing.”

“Well, you can only do so much,” Sveti replied. “This is still a far sight better than what was going on in Canterlot.”

“Disgusting, that.” The mayor shook her head. “Twilight informed me of the whole protest business. I'll always support the right of a pony to express her beliefs, but I can't believe Peter here is such a threat that he deserves that kind of reaction.” She gave the human a smile as they came to the town hall. “So what is it you'd like to do while you're here in Ponyville, Mister Collins?”

He shrugged slightly. “I not sure,” he said. “Just want... peace and quiet, time with ponies who not angry with me.”

“That's certainly an understandable desire, and I hope that the ponies here will do everything they can to make that happen for you.” Mayor Mare opened the front door of the seat of government in Ponyville. “Come on inside, and I'll give you a nice overview of everything the town has to offer.”

(-)

“I heard that it steals foals in the dead of night and fattens them up to eat them!”

“I heard that it can make ponies explode with the wave of a forepaw!”

“I heard that it'll set a pony's house on fire so that it can dine on them when they're cooked!”

“And I heard that ponies who spread stupid untrue stories about an innocent creature tend to find themselves under rainclouds a lot.”

The three ponies whirled, mouths gaping as they stared up at Rainbow Dash. She was lounging on a small cloud just a few meters above them, her forelegs draped casually over its edge; she scowled down at them. “What do you know about it, anyway, Dash?” the lone unicorn in the group- Ember Flare, if she remembered correctly- snorted. “Being a Bearer doesn't make you an expert on monsters.”

“Maybe not. But I know that the creature you're talking about isn't a monster. And I'm getting a little sick of all these stories going around about him.” She hopped down from her cloud, landing with just enough force to give the ponies in front of her a little startle. “So where'd you hear about 'it', Embie?”

The stallion blinked. “Huh?”

“I want to know where you heard that the 'monster' sets ponies' houses on fire to cook the ponies inside for eating. Because, honestly, that's some sick stuff.”

“I, um....” Ember took a step or two back, raising a forehoof defensively. “I don't remember, exactly! It was in the market somewhere, a few days ago. Maybe Marigold's news stand.”

“Uh-huh. And you, Shoeshine? Where'd you get the 'stealing foals at night' bit?”

“It- it was Sea Swirl, when we were bowling last week.”

“Figures. What about you, Millie? Who told you he... what the hay was it? Makes ponies explode?”

“I heard that from Pampered Pearl when I was in Canterlot the week before last.” Millie scowled. “And that thing's been living in Canterlot, so she'd know!”

“No she wouldn't, because none of that is true.” Dash lowered her head just a little. “All of this crud is just second-hoof stories that you heard from a friend, who heard from a friend, who heard from somepony else, and there's not a feather's worth of truth in the whole bag of horseapples!”

All of the ponies flinched at her use of profanity. “And how do you know that, Dash?” Shoeshine countered, the false bravado in her voice not helped by the squeak that accompanied the word “you”.

“Because I've met him. I've talked to him. And for all the stupid stories going around about how he hunts and eats ponies, I know he's only ever hurt one- and that was by accident!” She prodded a hoof into Shoeshine's chest. “And he's here in Ponyville to get away from dumbflank ponies giving him grief for no reason, and I've made it my job to make sure that he doesn't have to deal with it here. So I'm going to squash every last 'I heard from a friend' story I hear, even if I have to drown it in rainwater.” She gave them all a meaningful look.

“You... you talked to it?” Ember repeated incredulously.

“Him. I talked to him, yeah. And do you wanna know what he really is like?”

“...what?”

She let her expression relax. “He's just one creature, alone and scared and hurt because of what ponies did to him. And that makes me mad, because we're supposed to be better than that. So I'm gonna do what I can to make things right.”

The three ponies in front of her looked like they wanted to cry. “We... we didn't know,” Millie whimpered. “We just... well, there's just so many stories going around about how it- um, he is just some horrible menace to ponies.”

“I was really hoping the mayor's 'information campaign' thing would stop that. But look... now that you guys know better, I need you to start telling other ponies the truth. If they give you noise, send 'em my way and I'll straighten them out. Okay?”

“O... okay.” Shoeshine sniffled. “Is there... anything else we can do?”

Dash smiled. “Well, maybe you can say 'hi' to him if you see him. He's actually kinda cool when you get to know him. Just talk a little slow; he's still learning the language.”

“Well, okay, I guess... I guess we can do that, right?” Ember glanced between his companions and got uncertain nods from both of them. “I mean, if it- err, rather, if he isn't a monster, then it's only right to welcome a new visitor to town.”

“That's the Ponyville spirit! It looks like sunny skies all day long for you guys.” Dash gave them a grin as they cantered off; they looked maybe just a little nervous, but she was alright with that- it meant that she'd made an impression.

“It's good to see you clearing the air; the truth sits well with you,” came a familiar voice from behind her. “But I'm sad to say that darker tales are making the rounds, too.”

Dash turned to find Zecora standing a short distance away. “Oh, hey, Z,” she said, with a smile that didn't last long. “Yeah... it's like every time I turn around, I'm hearing some new stupid story about Peter. I guess that old saying's right- a lie can get halfway across Equestria before the truth can get its horseshoes on.” She frowned. “It kinda reminds me of how the town treated you way back when, and that's always been a bit of a sore spot for me too.”

The zebra smiled at that. “ 'Tis an old wound long healed for me, my friend,” she replied. “And now I can help see this tale to a happy end. The one called Peter seeks nothing more than rest and respite... and the wrongs done to him, I would also wish to see set right.”

“Awesome. You know I'm not gonna turn down your help, Z. Oh, hey- do you wanna meet him? I bet he'd like to thank you for all those potions you brewed for him when he was in the hospital.”

For the first time Dash had ever seen, Zecora looked a bit flustered. “It- it would be unseemly for me to seek praise for what I've done,” she stammered. “It is what I'd do for any creature under Celestia's sun.”

“Heh. You're a modest one- it's no wonder Applejack gets along with you so well. But I think it'd be good for him to see that so many ponies- and others- are pulling for him, you know?” She gave Zecora her best smile. “C'mon, you'll like him.”

“Well....” The zebra made a show of considering it, but Dash knew she had her, and the slight smile that spread over Zecora's muzzle a moment later confirmed it. “Alright, you've convinced me. Though for his sake, not mine! But a simple, friendly conversation will be absolutely fine.”

“Attamare.” Dash grinned. “C'mon, let's go find him.”

(-)

“Ohhhhh, Fluttershyyyyy!”

Fluttershy reflexively ducked her head at being called, before recognizing the voice. “Oh... um, hello, Discord,” she murmured, looking around for her friend. “Er... where are you?”

“Right here!” The draconequus, shrunken to the size of a bumblebee, appeared at the tip of her muzzle. “I just wanted to let you know that you're out of bubble bath again. I really do need to stop drinking it all.” He hiccuped, sending a cluster of tiny bubbles floating out of his nose.

“Oh goodness. I'll have to remember to buy more on the way back home. Right now I'm going to meet up with a new friend.”

“Ooooh!” The tiny avatar of chaos looked positively curious. “It's not often you make new friends. Finally coming out of your shell?” He vanished, only to appear a moment later as a turtle shell; his head popped out of one side.

“Well, um... this is kind of an unusual friend.”

“Do tell, do tell!” The shell sprouted strange rockets of some kind, and with a burst of fire and smoke, it lifted off to hover alongside Fluttershy. “I wonder who my shy little mare has met. Oooh... maybe you've finally found a coltfriend?”

“Eep!” She stopped in her tracks for a moment, trying to hide her blush with her mane. “No, that's not it at all!”

“Ahh. A fillyfriend, then? It's okay, Fluttershy; you know I won't judge you based on who you love. I mean, there's so many other things I could judge you on instead!”

“It's not that either! He's just a friend. An unusual friend. But that's all!”

“Oh, of course, of course.” The grin that flashed across Discord's face threatened to pop the top of his head off- and then it did. “Whoops,” he muttered, chasing off after it as it rolled away. “Lost my head again! Be right back.”

“Oh my.” Fluttershy watched for a moment as the reformed avatar of chaos zoomed off, then shook her head and continued on. I don't want to be late, she thought. I can see that Peter's going to need a lot of help with fitting in here in Ponyville, and I want to do as much as I can to lend a hoof!

It was fortunate that she arrived at her destination exactly on time. It might have been less fortunate that her other friend did so at exactly the same time- which meant that Peter and Sveti were unexpectedly introduced to Discord when he abruptly materialized in front of them, sending both griffin and human falling onto their backsides in shock. “What the pluck is that?!” Sveti sqwaked.

“Oh, come now, my dear griffin. Surely you've heard of the very avatar of chaos itself, Discord?” The draconequus bowed grandly.

Peter still looked dumbfounded, but now Sveti seemed confused. “...I thought you were a statue.”

Discord scowled. “I am so going to fire my publicist,” he grumbled, before plastering a smile on his face- literally, even going so far as to use a trowel for the plaster. “Anyway! I heard Fluttershy here talking about a new friend, and....” As if noticing Peter for the first time, Discord turned towards the human, and the smile on his face shattered, crumbling into powder. “...do you even know what you have here?” he said quietly.

Fluttershy blinked in confusion. “...no?”

“Neither do I! And that's wonderful!” Discord flung his forelimbs wide open. “I mean, with as much time as I've spent wandering around this rock- not counting the time I was a rock myself- I thought I'd seen everything it had to offer!” His spreading grin seemed to make Peter extremely uncomfortable. “So, buddy, where ya from?”

“Discord.” Fluttershy didn't like using her assertive voice, especially on her friends, but it was needed here. “You're making him nervous.”

“Hmm? Oh, well, he's probably shy and doesn't want to talk about himself in front of an audience. We should go someplace private and chat, mano-y-whatevero.” Discord laid a paw on Peter's shoulder, and there was a flash of light- and then the draconequus yelped, pulling his now-singed paw away and shaking it wildly as smoke drifted up from it. “Yeouch!” he exclaimed. “Okay, what gives? Didn't these ponies teach you how to treat a new friend?”

“Oh my!” Fluttershy rushed over to Discord's side, taking his paw in her hoof and examining it. “Um... oh goodness, I forgot to tell you. Don't use magic on Peter- strange things happen when you do.”

“You could've told me that one un-singed paw ago.” Discord pouted- a complete act, of course, Fluttershy knew- before shooting a glance at Peter. “Well. We'll chat some other time, mon ami! And you, miss-” he looked at Sveti- “as well. Ta ta!”

His body curled itself into an anatomically impossible pretzel shape, then pulled itself into some kind of hole in space and vanished. Sveti and Peter were still seated on the ground, staring at the point where he'd been, mouths hanging wide open. “Ummm....” Fluttershy murmured. “Maybe... I should explain Discord to both of you.”

Two pairs of eyes, one golden and the other grey, glanced at her for a moment before returning to stare at the same point. “Yeah,” two voices said quietly.