“OW!! Damn it!” Connor growled in pain.

He was on the ground, grabbing his knee while his longboard skidded up to him. However, his knee was not bleeding; he merely landed on it. Quite roughly. To add on to the pain, as his knee touched the ground, a rock managed to strike him in the soft area between his kneecap and his shin. It was now tingling with pain, feeling like the muscles were about to cramp into a pulp inside him.

He breathed through his teeth, trying to vent out the pain.

Suddenly, he froze. He felt a thousand eyes were staring at him. He whipped around.

Nothing...

No, somepony had to be there. There had to be.

No, there was nothing, except for the ominous orange glow of the sunset staining the buildings and reflecting off the windows.

If nopony was there, then why did he feel like he was being watched?

The emptiness of the town was what was staring at him. The ethereal, ghostly, invisible eye of solitude. It expressed no emotion. It expressed no pity. It expressed no joy. It only expressed isolation.

Worst of all, it was infecting his mind with its venom.

He swore he heard voices, whispering mockingly to him. His head whipped around to find whoever was whispering. Still, no ponies were visible. However, the voices sounded like they were coming from the town. It was no pony or a group of ponies; it was his own mind, viciously mimicking voices he had heard in his life.

“Oh no! The freak’s hurt his knee! Someone call a vet!”

“Ugh, it’s him again. Can’t he just give it up already? It’s hopeless!”

“Yo, that’s dangerous. You can get yourself badly injured... I never said to stop, though.”

“Stop. Just stop. We will never be friends, and you know it.”

“Are you trying to get our attention? It’s not working. Just give up."

“Just get the hell out of here. No one likes you.”

Trying his very best to obliterate the voices in his head, he stood up to spite them.

"Agh!!" he yelped, falling back down again. "Too fast..."

This time, he got up more slowly. His lips tightened, defying the voices in his own head.

"I'm not a loser..." he muttered as he picked his longboard up. He limped as he walked up the path for another downhill run.

"Nngh!" he grunted, falling onto one knee.

What was the point? He couldn't go for another run again. If he did, he would end up alone in a pony-filled town with a broken knee.

No need in achieving more misery than he was already feeling at the moment.

Plus, it was getting dark. The reflected rays of the orange sunset off the windows began to fade. There was no solitary figure of a pony anywhere in the street.

"I wonder if Twilight would let me in this time..." he grumbled.

Twilight sighed sadly as she read her book.

Not one single, solitary customer walked into the library. No money gained at all. She had been reading books while she was waiting. In fact, she was reading her sixth book. She had come by a word that read “money” in her book and literally slumped her forehead on top of the desk.

Connor had pretty much ruined her chances. She felt like he was going to be the death of the library. However, she knew he relied on her to help him become friends with Ponyville, but still…

She could not bear to see another glaring face from another pony looking at her. The ponies would not even go close to her. They would not even talk to her, except in mumbles, grunts, and monosyllabic words. It was bad enough that she was lonely before she met the other five, but she certainly did not want to be lonely again.

Knock, knock, knock!

Twilight snapped out of her sadness and grinned. Finally, a customer! She dashed to the door and flung it open. Was it bookworm, hungry for another book? A satisfied customer returning a book?

No. It was Connor.

Her face switched from happy to surprised.

Then, troubled.

“Oh…um, hey, Connor,” she said weakly.

“Hey, Twilight,” he responded, concerned of her attitude. “How are things going?”

“Just…dandy!” she smiled through her lie. She was not very good at covering it.

Connor was silent as he stared at her for another two seconds. There was definitely something going on with her. He just barely shifted his lip to one side in less than favorable thought.

“Okay,” he spoke softly.

"So, uhhh..." Twilight rubbed circles in the doorway with her hooves. "Any luck today? Did you make any new friends?"

He did not even try. All he did was ask the rest of the gang around to help him, being somewhat lazy and uninvolved as he was. However, he did not want to break the truth. He did not feel like getting a scolding from a pony who avoided him all day.

"No," he answered simply.

"Oh..." she hummed, looking awkwardly away. "Well, I'm... I'm..." With the guilt clogging up her chest, she could not force herself to say that certain apologetic word.

“Hey, Connor!” said a young voice from deep within the library.

The human’s mood brightened in a snap when he saw the young dragon descending the stairs.

“Hey, Spike! I thought you were sick.”

"Sick? Heck, no! I wasn't--."

“He got better!" Twilight broke in. "Yes, dragons recover from illnesses quickly. It’s in their DNA." She smiled nervously, hoping the human was gullible enough to soak in that little lie.

Spike crossed his arms and glared at her. Careful, Pony-occhio. You’ll poke his eye out with that growing muzzle of yours.

Connor stared at the unicorn once more. She was definitely hiding something, and it was less than pleasant. Because he felt bummed out already, he did not feel like playing “Sherlock Holmes” with her. Instead, he played along.

“I didn’t know that,” he falsely smiled. “That's pretty cool. Well, I’m gonna go hang with Spike for a while, then I’ll head back to Rarity's.”

Twilight nodded, still smiling like a liar. As soon as the two non-equine creatures disappeared upstairs, she whirled around and bit her hoof. All of the pressure was driving her insane. She couldn't decide whether to have the entire town mad at her or Connor... Her friends who have been with since her arrival, or a new friend who trusted her so deeply to help him be friends with hers... Either way, somepony was going to feel hurt...

And cheated...

Angry...

She prayed to Celestia that Spike would not bring the entire dilemma up to the him...

"And that's pretty much why they were acting that way around you," Spike concluded.

"Really?" Connor said, leaning toward the young dragon sitting on the floor in front of him. "Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie were acting like that because they were having a sale?"

"Mm-hmm," he hummed unenthusiastically. "And they were afraid that you were going to scare away all of their customers. So, they had to act fast just to keep you away from them."

The human was silent as he stared into empty space.

"You have got to be kidding me!" he finally exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. "First, the entire town and now them? I thought they were my friends! If they wanted their stupid money, they could've just robbed a freaking bank!"

He slumped on top of the bed, expelling a big, stress sigh.

"Don't let them get to you," Spike coaxed his friend. "I'm sure they'll be over it soon. It's just one of their immature moments."

"Well, hate to break it to you, but it's really getting to me," Connor replied. "Jeez, I can't believe they would DO something like that! They said... They said... That they would help me become friends with this town, and they're doing the exact opposite! So what if they have businesses? That sure doesn't matter! They were supposed to give their full devotion into befriending me with Ponyville!"

The human tipped his back over onto the bed once again. His arms followed, spreading out to his sides like wings.

"Uhhh..." the young dragon said, raising his scaly arm up in the air like a student in class. "Can I... Object to that?"

"Object?" the human restated the word, lifting his head up to look at him.

Spike shifted on his seat, finding a more comfortable spot on his scaly rear.

"Well, you can't really tell them to ditch their businesses and do so without asking why just like that."

"Why not?"

"Well, think about it. Twilight and the others really enjoy their jobs here. (Well, maybe except Rainbow Dash, because she really wants to be a Wonderbolt, but that's not the point.) The point is they do their jobs so they could stay in Ponyville, because they love it here. I mean, who wouldn't? I love it here, too, other than the fact that there are hardly any gemstones around here for a dragon like me to eat. They need money to keep their business running, otherwise, their businesses would fail and they would have to leave Ponyville. It would break their hearts if that happened to them. They couldn't abandon their businesses just like that just to help you."

Connor's eyebrows lower in thought.

"And secondly," Spike continued. "I know how right it is that friends are supposed to help another friend in need, but after you say it like that, it sounds more like you are saying that they have to break their backs to help you while you do nothing but sit back and watch."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the human sat up, shooting a concerned glare from his eyes.

"Well, you can't really tell ponies to do something for you when you clearly have the strength to do it yourself. It's like telling a pony with no legs to pull a cart of hay for you."

"Just what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you could go out there yourself and try to make friends with Ponyville yourself."

"You're kidding, right? Myself? Alone??"

"Well... Yes."

Oh, great... Work.

"No..."

"Of course you can, Connor!" Spike exclaimed. "You've got the ability. How'd you think you were able to befriend me and the others?"

"But, this is different, Spike," the human responded. "You saw what happened! Everypony left me out in the streets all by myself. I even found some irresponsible mare's baby alone at a vendor, and what thanks did I get? Nothing!"

"But that was just one pony," the dragon said. "Sure, there are some ponies who wouldn't give you the thanks you deserve, but I'm sure somepony else would if you would just try."

"I just can't Spike," the human hung his head. "I can't do it."

"Yes, you can!" the young dragon argued. "You've just gotta try even harder. Why are you being so pessimistic about this? Friendship is something you can't turn your back on. You can't live the rest of your life without friends. Just keep doing what you did with me and the others, and you will be just fine. I believe in you!"

The human sighed heavily through his nose in disappointment with a hint of frustration. Why did friendship have to be this complicated? Why did it have sound like it was so much work? It was much easier sitting around in self-pity, hoping somebody would have the heart of an angel to befriend him.

However, the moment he saw the gleam of hope and trust glisten in Spike's emerald, slitted eyes, his frustration slowly diminished. He could sense no lies or cruel misleading in the dragon's expression. After all, he was the only one other than Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy who did not push him away.

Plus, he looked oddly adorable with his hopeful eyes staring at him. Not in a homosexual way.

To add onto that, it was like he was sitting with Joshua in purple scales, and he sure never turned his back on him back on Earth.

Connor sighed again, feeling less frustrated and more calm. "All right, Spike. I'll try. For you."

"Great!" he smiled, before suddenly looking stern. "First, you've got to promise to never back down, whatever the reason may be. All it takes is confidence, something Twilight had taught me a long time ago. Something as important as friendship should never be given up on. Stay the course, and you'll be alllll right."

"All right. I promise," the human responded, holding up an honest hand.

Spike smiled warmly as he cozily sat in his chair. "Hey, tell me more about metal. I've never seem to have learned enough from it."

"Hell, why not?" Connor laughed.

Connor walked down the stairs to the door, and he stopped to see Twilight lying prone in the middle of the floor, reading a book. She still had that sad look on her face. She did not get her money, which made the human frown. It was disgusting how she seemed to value money more than friendship. Still, he made his promise to never back down.

He took a breath and resumed his way down the stairs. As soon as he touched bottom, he made a beeline for the door, but not before he wished Twilight "goodbye".

"G'night, Twilight," he said, politely.

"Oh… Good night, Connor. See you tomorrow…" she said with a depressed sigh.

The human scowled in his mind.

As soon as Connor stepped outside, he slumped his shoulders as he gazed at the dark ground before him. Not letting all of the crap that had happened earlier today get to him was going to be harder than he thought.

He looked up. The sky was a deep navy blue with white stars covering it like pepper on a steak.

"Nice night…" he mumbled to himself.

However, it did not feel all too nice with the funk he was in with the ridiculously shallow town.

He walked silently through the dark streets like a ghost. The atmosphere almost felt haunted with the moon's ethereal light shining down upon him. The cicadas' chirping filled his ears, making it feel as if his mind was whirling.

He started to hear the voices again.

“Ugh, there he goes again. Don’t expect us to stop and get involved with you.”

“Hey, creature! The swamp is that way. You’re welcome.”

“Can’t they just do something about him? I’m getting tired of him waltzing by every day.”

“I think I found the zoo’s exhibit for ‘Dangerous and Ugly Creatures’. Call them right now.”

“Why do I even bother?”

He scowled as he shrugged, hiding his head from the invisible jeerers.

"Damn it. This isn’t going to be easy, Spike. I sure hope you know what you’re saying," Connor thought.

“Rarity?”

Connor was standing in the opening doorway, seeing the fashionable unicorn standing deathly still like a statue. She sat nearby one of her showcased dresses. Her head was cocked straight up in the air, as if she was waiting patiently for sompony for many painful hours. That sompony definitely was not Connor. She was waiting for customers.

Not one came.

However, she did not move from her spot. Weren’t business hours over already? Connor saw mascara running slowly down her flushed, red cheeks. She was crying, but was standing still. Small sniffles were heard from her delicately small muzzle.

“Hey, Rarity?”

No response.

“Rarity!” he barked.

"Ah!" she gasped, startled. She whipped her head around to look at him with her teary eyes mixed with drooling mascara. It looked like there were huge, hairy, spider legs were pasted on her face. Her eyes twitched, focusing their attention on the human standing in front of her.

“I’m going to turn in for the night. You should, too,” Connor spoke.

She turned from his gaze and stared into space, weakly nodding. She was silent as a corpse.

“Good night,” he spoke.

She didn’t answer. More tears were flowing out from her red eyes.

“Good night,” he repeated.

Nothing.

He gave up. Trying to make as little noise as possible, he climbed onto his bed, and pulled the curtains surrounding the podium shut. After a few seconds, he heard sniffles and hiccups coming from behind his curtains. Then, they transformed into quiet sobs.

He cringed under his sheets. He should feel bad for her, but he was so disgusted by her self-centeredness, that he could hardly show any sympathy.

I will give all of you one more day… he thought as he trailed off to sleep.

“Come on, Rarity, hurry up! We’ve got to prepare Ponyville for Princess Celestia!” Twilight Sparkle shouted from behind the curtains.

Connor flinched awake. His eyes felt as dry as prunes. He pawed for his iPhone. When he grabbed it, he flicked it on. Holy crap! How early did she wake up?

“Twilight, it’s fahve in the mornin’! Ah wouldn’t blame her fer bein’ so slow, because she was waken up at a time like this,” yawned Applejack. "Even ah don't wake up this early to work in the barn."

“G'UUUUGHH! I’ve been up all night trying to clear out those huge, cumulonimbus clouds from the sky, thanks to those two dweebs!” grumbled Rainbow Dash. They were too scared of Connor to even finish their work with me! I hate being alone... Have you seen them looking at me? Not even my awesome tricks could get them out of their stinking attitudes! I have to admit, Connor is kind of ruining it for me.”

“Ah hafta agree with Rainbow. He visited me while ah was selling my apples, and then after that, nopony went near me for the rest o’ the day. Ah didn’t even make enough money fer today's quota!” said the cowmare.

“It happened to me, too,” Pinkie Pie sadly added in. “Nopony wanted to buy any of my yummy cupcakes. They've been sitting out for so long, that they got all crumbly and dry.” Her stomach made aggressive noises. “As much as I love-love-love cupcakes, it was not fun having to finish them off while they were icky like that. My tummy’s acting all maddy-waddy.”

“But…” Fluttershy squeaked quietly.

“Rarity! Let’s move!” Twilight called again.

The yellow pegasus squeaked in defeat.

“Ugh... I’m sorry, darling. It was such a horrid day yesterday, and I feel a little more tired than usual,” Rarity said as she descended from upstairs. “Still, why so early, Twilight?”

“Princess Celestia’s Royal Visit!” the librarian reiterated, losing her patience. “We have to prepare for her arrival! Everything has to be perfect!”

“Why couldn’t this wait until nine in the morning?” Rainbow Dash grumbled.

“Then, there wouldn't be enough time to prepare! How many times must I say this??”

“Ah’m pretty sure Princess Celestia would be okay with only a few welcome banners. She’s a lot more humble than she looks, ya know," Applejack pointed out.

“But, this is royalty we are talking about! The one who rises the Sun! The one who personally chose me to be her faithful student! We have to take it to extremes when preparing for something as important as this!”

“Ah realize that, sugarcube. Ah’m jus’ sayin’ it ain’t worth hurting yerself. Ah’m sure the princess would understand.”

“I'm not willing to take that chance, Applejack.”

The cowmare rolled her eyes. That Twilight, always worrying.

“Hush, girls! Connor is sleeping right over there, you know!” Rarity hissed as she pointed to the closed curtains.

“Should he come with us?” Pinkie Pie asked. "Seeing that the sale is over..."

“No, Pinkie. The sale is over, but not the event. This has to be done without anything in the way. I can’t take that risk," Twilight replied.

“But...” Fluttershy spoke up again.

“Let’s move, girls!”

“No!” the animal lover squeaked meekly.

Connor heard an ensemble of hooves and the "click!" of the door being shut.

“'Without anything in the way'? What, I’m considered an obstacle now?” he grumbled as he sat up.

Good thing the curtains hid the notion that he was awake; he heard everything. He clenched a portion of the bed sheet with his hand. Why the hell were they acting like that? Did they not devote their time to help him be friends with Ponyville? Connor furrowed his eyebrows, scowling in displeasure. Now, he had to do this all by himself

The nerve.

And they seemed so nice at first.

He pushed the curtains apart, sat up, and twisted himself around, hanging his feet over the side of the bed. He sat silently. He should try to understand the circumstances if he walked outside. That was somewhat considerable. What was not considerable was the fact that Twilight and the others were going back on their promise. It would be best to sit and wait.

But, he was alone.

Again...

In a friend’s house, for God's sake...

He really wanted to be with them. He wanted them to be happy around him. He wanted to be happy around them.

"Friendship is something you can't turn your back on," he heard Spike say.

His eyebrows lowered in thought.

"You've got to promise to never back down, whatever the reason may be. All it takes is confidence. Stay the course, and you'll be alllll right."

The human sighed, slacking his shoulders in fatigue. What a promise to make...

However, Spike was his only true friend here now. He did not want to lose him, too.

Oh, what it would feel like to be accepted without the slightest bit of hesitation. How could he make it feel alive?

Slipping on his pants, he walked over to Rarity’s desk and pulled out a sheet of paper from the pile. He grabbed a pencil.

“Well, that turned out pretty decent," Twilight positively stated without sarcasm. "We got all the decorations up in time for Princess Celestia’s Royal Visit. Whew, I’m tired!”

“Maybe you wouldn’t be so tired, if you didn't wake up so darn early,” Rainbow Dash sulked, crossing her forelegs. “Seeing how quickly it took us to prepare for the Royal Visit, we could have just slept in for two to three more hours!”

“But this way, we get time to relax in between. Plus, it’s good to get stuff done early.”

“Pfft! I can just get it done in ten seconds flat, like I always do.”

“Ah'm kinda surprised that we were able to git all of the decorations set up that quickly, seeing that they're startin' to dislike us,” Applejack added in.

“I as well, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are going to act continue to act like that, now that everything's done,” Twilight said in discomfort.

“Do y’all think it’s a bad idea to have Connor to participate in the Royal Visit?”

“Yes," Twilight nodded. "I don’t want Princess Celestia to arrive to an empty Ponyville.”

“Well, he could jus’ hide somewhere, until it is over.”

“I don’t want to risk it. He is likely to be found. He isn’t that hard to find.”

"Ah guess that's true. He's the least to look like a pony," the cow mare sighed.

“Girls," Rarity broke into the conversation. "Do you want to settle back in my boutique, just to cool off until Princess Celestia gets here? I could use cup of tea right now."

“Ooch, me, too," the librarian strained. "Let's go, girls."

Fluttershy wanted to say something, but she was too meek to even interrupt. She did not respond fast enough. She sadly walked behind them.

After two minutes of walking, they had reached the Carousel Boutique. The fashion designer craned her neck to look in the window. The lights were on. That could only mean one thing. She opened her door to find Connor sitting at her desk, scribbling onto a sheet of paper. He turned around in his seat to see the six ponies walking in.

He was elated to see them, but at the same time, he felt uneasy. He was still hurt by the things they said about him from earlier this morning.

“Hey, guys,” he smiled weakly.

“Ah, you’re awake. That’s good,” Rarity feigned interest. “The girls and I were just going to cool down here until Princess Celestia arrives.”

“Cool. When is she going to arrive?”

“She'll arrive soon, but I’m pretty sure we have some time to relax after helping with preparations," Twilight wedged in for her unicorn friend.

“Cool," he nodded, still weary from being waken up by the librarian's corny sense of waking up early.

He knew what the answer would be if he asked. However, what if it was the other way around? It was worth a shot.

“Can I come?”

“Oh!" the librarian gasped, startled by the question. Her eyes shifted to the side in uneasiness. "Uhhhhh..."

"TWILIGHT!" Spike screamed in alarm, jumping in from nowhere.

Everypony jumped, violently startled by the loud volume coming from the small dragon’s lungs.

“Spike! Don’t shout like that without warning! That’s rude!” Twilight scolded, twisting her hoof in her ear.

“But, Twilight! Princess Celestia is coming right now! It’s only a matter of minutes until she gets here!”

Twilight head drew back in utter surprise. “What?? How did you know?”

“She just sent us a scroll about it!" he replied, waving it in the air. "She said she will come at any minute!”

The purple unicorn clapped her cheek. “Holy horseapples! That soon?! Girls! We’ve got to move! No time for tea!”

Everypony scrambled to the door.

“Wait!" Connor called after them. "What about me? Can I come?”

“Oh, uhhh... No, you have to say here,” replied the librarian.

“What?!" he shouted, throwing his arms up in the air. "Why?"

“It... It's just... You just can’t come! I’m sorry, but that’s how it is.”

Spike glared at his adoptive sister.

Connor argued. “I can hide somewhere where nobo—nopony can find me! Come on! Can I? I would like to see the Princess again.”

“Ah’m afraid Twilight’s right, sugarcube. Ya hafta stay here. It’s for your good!” Applejack wedged in.

“Yeah, Connor. Sorry,” Rainbow shrugged in false apology.

The human's jaw went slack. He couldn't believe it. The air jock and the cowmare were taking Twilight’s side? Since when?? They were all right with having him around earlier. What in burning hell made them change their minds?

“But…” he tried to argue.

"Aw, come on, Twilight! Why not?" Spike stepped in for his friend. "The sale's over! Why can't he come? Princess Celestia would--."

Twilight yelped as soon as she saw a small, flying speck depart from the castle on the mountain. "GAH! Here she comes! Let’s go, girls! Sorry, Connor!”

Snatching Spike before he was going to continue, she ran out the door, leaving the slack-jawed human alone in the room.

Again...

He stared at the door in disbelief. Why couldn't he come? Did she forget that Princess Celestia knows him? If he was seen by her, she would call for him to approach her, allowing him to stand by her side. All of the freaking town would see it! They would see their leader, their ruler, give him her approval right in front of their eyes, thus ending all conspiracies shot at him. It sure sounded a hell lot easier than having to befriend every individual pony at a slow rate, one-by-one.

But, NO! He had to sit in Rarity’s boutique for even longer, thus, not making it any easier for him to befriend the stupid, prejudicial town. At a faster rate, that was...

He gazed at the floor underneath him. He closed his fists. All of this was getting closer to high school than before. He gritted his teeth. He stood amongst the silence of the empty boutique. Squeezing his fist, the flesh on his index finger ground noisily against his thumb.

No! I won’t stay here! Whether you like it or not, I’m going! I’m going to make sure the Princess sees me, and acknowledges me in front of everybo... (grrrumph!) everypony! Then, I will finally earn Ponyville’s respect. It’s time for this bird to break out of its cage and fly free. Just you wait, Twilight! Connor thought as he darted outside. I won’t be a burden any longer.

“The sky still needs work…” Twilight criticized. “I can still see rain clouds. Pretty big ones, too.”

“I’m sorry, Twilight! I tried my best to kick them away after those two blowhards ditched me. It’s not as easy as it looks, Twilight! I’d like to see you try it!” Rainbow Dash shouted, angrily pointing a hoof at her.

“I'm sorry, Rainbow. It’s just... I want this to be perfect for the Princess.”

“And it will be!” Applejack coaxed her. “Jus’ relax, sugarcube. It'll be all right.”

“You’re right. As long as things don’t go awry, all will be fine.”

She stretched her neck upwards, peeking over the the congregation of ponyfolk. Heads bobbed up and down in the ocean of colors. The air was scented with a mixture of smells residing on their coats: carrots, pastries, flowers, strawberries, and vanilla. Literally, the entire town had come to witness her arrival.

“I really hope this goes smoothly," she thought out loud.

Out of the many pairs of colorful eyes that were in the congregation, none saw a tall, bipedal being tiptoe behind the corner of a building thirty yards away from the crowd. He tiptoeing was more of limping because of his aching knee from last night. He craned his neck around to see the end of the crowd. If he crept up any closer, he would the sole person responsible for starting a stampede. Even though he was a head and a half taller than most, he was not satisfied with his view. Plus, some ponies had hair that could easily block his eye-view. Now that he thought about it, it was only a matter of time before somepony would occasionally look behind his or herself and see him.

Where else could I hide? he thought.

He noticed one of the houses had a low-hanging roof. He saw a garbage can conveniently placed underneath its lip.

Jackpot! Using the garbage can for support, he climbed up onto the roof of the house. Praying that his foot would not fall through it, he slowly pushed himself up the slope and up to the apex. He lied on his stomach on the slope facing away from the throng. He peeked his head over the edge. He breathed in the clear air in content. Man, did it feel good to be outside!

He scanned the crowd. He saw the gang standing in front of the congregation along the wall, facing inside the opening.

Sooo, Twilight, you said I couldn’t come? Well, look at me now! he gloated in thought. Connor, one. Twilight, zero!

Trumpets sounded in the air. Everypony started to cheer. All of their eyes were fixed on a floating chariot, gliding down toward the landing. It was a golden-leaf chariot, pulled by two pegasus stallions covered in shimmering armor. On the chariot, sitting on a red velvet cushion was the Princess, waving to the pony folk down below. Behind the chariot was a five-stallion squad, branching out in different directions. Each of them landed on top of a building surrounding the area where the Princess was going to land. By the stern and vigilant expressions on their faces, they looked like they were security guards, making sure some punk pony would not try to do anything drastic to the princess.

Connor’s face beamed. This was his chance to make an impression in front of Ponyville. He leveled himself, getting ready to spring out and shout “hello!” to the princess. Then, she would wave back to him and invite him up to her chariot as a special guest of honor. Oh, man, would Ponyville feel like a bunch of mules when they found out they had been hostile to a friend of Princess...

Something had caught his eye on the roof of a building in front of him, across the road where everypony gathered. The building had a tall, pointed spire on its roof. The building's foundations were cylindrical. A sign that hung from the edge of the roof of its vast porch read "Town Hall of Ponyville" in gold, flowing letters.

He leaned forward, trying to get a closer look at it. Behind the spire of the town hall, he saw small movement. One of the shapes seemed to have nearly slipped off the roof, before it scrambled up again.

His eyes squinted at what he saw. The figure was wearing a blood-red cloak with gold marking. Around the area where the cutie mark was was an image of an upside-down crown with an image of an eye perched above it.

What were they doing? Whatever it was, it looked sketchy.

An orange glow emerged from behind the spire. A bright, orange line drew across the base, burning that area. Then, the line disappeared. The spire creaked, leaning forward toward...

"Holy sh--!" Connor hissed in alarm.

He sprung from behind the roof, slid down the slope, and landed into the crowd. He elbowed, shoved, knocked over, and even punched past ponies like a mad bull until he emerged from the wall of the crowd. When he was in plain sight, ponies started to clamor in panic. He launched at the Princess. He saw the spire's sharp point descend upon her like a nuclear bomb. By where it was pointing, it was going to skewer her down her back and out of her chest like a shish kabob.

“LOOK OUT!” he hollered, as he dove at her. She whipped her head around to see the human launching at her.

"Connor?! What--OH!" Celestia yelped as she was tackled off of her seat.

KA-CHANG!

The pike struck right where she sitting, impaling the chariot and pinning it down to the ground. Wooden shards and bits shot out in all directions like confetti packed into a frag grenade.

Celestia groaned as she lifted her head from the ground. He shifted her legs to push herself up, but could not do so. She struggled to get up until she had realized that something was pinning her down. Her horn glowed, about to use her magic to shove whatever was on top of her, until she saw that it was Connor. His eyes were shut tightly. His arms were squeezing tightly around the soft and warm torso of the royal alicorn, not letting go. His eyes blinked open to the hiatus of the commotion. He felt his cheek touching the soft white fur of her side. He looked up.

Their eyes met. Then, they traced back to the chariot, skewered by the fallen pike. It stuck up right where she was sitting. If Connor had not pushed her aside, it would have gored into her back, through her heart, and out her chest. Their eyes met again.

Celestia’s eyes opened wide. The human had saved her from a gruesome and tragic death. Out of all the ponies who could have saved her, it was him. Hell, he was not even equine! She cheeks glowed a bright pink, because a certain cute creature who had unknowingly flattered her was hugging her tightly.

Connor whipped his head around, looking at his surroundings.

A large grin cracked across his cheeks. A single chuckle escaped his throat.

He saved the princess... He freaking saved the princess! Best of all, the entire freaking town just saw it! He did it!

However, he wasn't greeted with cheers. All was silent. Gasps and whispers rung throughout the air, annexed by the stunned and gaping faces. All eyes were focusing and zipping between the fallen princess and the bipedal being him on top of her.

"He... He just saved her!" a voice whispered. "He saved the Princess!"

"How could I have not seen that spire? I can't believe I missed that!" another whispered. "Yet, he did? Man, am I bad..."

"Oh, dear... I always thought it looked strange and menacing, but... I didn't think it'd have the guts and heart to do that!"

"Did I miss something?"

However, these whispers were not loud enough for the human to hear. His smile slowly transitioned to a frown. Why were they all just standing there? Why were all just staring at him like that? Were they going to show any sign of gratitude or relief that he was there to save his or her beloved ruler?

Suddenly, he was enveloped in an aura of magic, lifted into the air, then hurled down to the ground again, landing on his upper chest. He groaned in pain as his collarbones and the bottom of his neck cringed in throbbing pain. Then, he felt heavy hooves relentlessly pinning him down to the ground.

“Get off of her, scumbag!” shouted a royal guard. “How dare you touch the princess with your filthy paws!”

“’SCUMBAG’?? ‘FILTHY’?? I JUST SAVED HER LIFE, YOU FU—!” His head was shoved into the ground by a massive hoof belonging to one of the guards.

“This will teach you a lesson to touch the Princess of the Sun without permission!” one snarled as he stomped on his bad knee.

Connor shouted in pain. Then, he was being peppered with stomps and punches. From a distance among the crowd, Fluttershy gasped in horror as she saw him get brutalized. She galloped into the scuffle, trying to pull the guards off of him.

“Stop it!" she cried. "Stop it! You’re hurting him! Please!”

“Get off, foal!” a guard yelled as he struck her face with a merciless hoof.

She cried out as she flew into the air and landed on the hard ground. Connor’s eyes shot open in shock. Through the kicking and stomping legs of the guards, he saw the frail pegasus cup her face with her hooves, twisting on top of the ground in pain. After a pained whimper, her hooves lowered, revealing a teary face stained with tears and blood from a flesh wound that resulted from the guard’s hoof.

Connor thrashed against the guards with the strength he never revealed before in his life.

“YOU BASTARD!" he shouted. "LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO HER! YOU’LL PAY FOR THAT, YOU LOUSY MOTHERF—!”

"Pin him down!!" the guard shouted, pressing his foreleg down on top of his head, having the rest to follow, only pinning his limbs. "Pin him down and keep him there!"

He turned his head to look at the rest of the gang. They were standing agape. Connor’s desperate expression shouted for them to help him. They did nothing. They just resumed to stare at him, equally as stunned as the rest.

So, that was how it was…

Celestia continued to stare at the destroyed chariot, deadpanned. How could she have not seen this coming? It was large, big...

Dangerous...

Then, she saw Connor being pinned ruthlessly down by the towering pack of guards. She gasped in fright. She had been so deadpanned and shocked from what just happened, that she did not notice the brutality that was being done upon her savior.

“Guards! Off of him!” barked Celestia.

“But, Princess! He touched you without your permission! He must be punished!"

“NOW!” she commanded loudly.

Like a timid litter of puppies, they split, revealing a dirty, bruised human. His head was ducked under his shoulder level.

She scowled as she glared at the tall, hulking guard. She never liked him from the start. He could not live a single day without beating something into a pulp.

“Connor…” she said softly.

His fingers clawed into the dirt as he clenched his fist. His breathing was shuddered.

"You... You saved my life," she said with a grateful smile. "And I thank y--."

With a pained and angry snarl, he clawed into the dirt to push his body forward, tearing himself away from her.

"Connor!" she exclaimed.

However, he wasn't running away, he was storming up to the crowd, stopping in front of them by a few feet. His fists were clenched with all of the strength he wielded in his forearms and his eye twitched with contempt as he gave all of who was in his sight a venomous hate glare.

"So this is it, huh?" he snarled. "So this is how you react to me, saving your princess from a gory death? Is it too much to show a little thanks?! A little approach to apologize? A little attention?! Anything?! Would a weird, scary, dangerous creature like me not do this for all of you ingrates?! WELL?!"

There was no answer, except for the guilt causing them to cringe back, staring at the ground with growing shame.

"WELL, YOU'RE GODDAMN WELCOME!" he roared. "You know what?! I'm out of here! SCREW ALL OF YOU!"

He whirled around, hurling himself back in the direction of the boutique.

"Connor! Wait!" Celestia called, reaching out to him.

He ignored her. His pain was too great for him to listen anymore. He disappeared around the corner of a building, separating himself from her sight.

"C'mon, girls! Follow him!" Twilight shouted, darting away. The gang followed behind her, chasing after their human. Rainbow Dash, however, turned around to retrieve her yellow pegasus friend. Grabbing her hoof, she pulled her up and escorted her to follow the rest.

The princess reached a hoof toward them, bereft of Connor leaving her just before she was about to thank him. Behind her, everypony was still silent. Her ears flattened against the back of her head. Her head slowly turned around to gaze at them. Her eyebrows furrowed in unpleasing concern.

“Princess, we must leave now! It’s not safe here!” a guard said as he used his magic to lift the spire out of the ground and reassemble the chariot in a matter of seconds.

"In a moment..." she replied with a grim glint in her eye, still focusing on the throng. "I need to say something first."

She turned around at funeral procession speed, facing the throng of silent ponies. As she stepped nearer, heads arose, noticing the regal, white alicorn approaching them. However, the expressions were far from happy as they gazed upon her frown.

She stopped directly in front of them, staring down at them like a vulture.

After a few seconds of silence, she finally spoke in a soft, yet unpleased voice.

"I don't know what happened between all of you and Connor, or what you had said and rumored about him, but seeing how he reacted, I can only assume that the damage you caused onto him is in levels far more than I expected. I am gravely and sorely disappointed in all of you. You all are in dire need of a change of attitude and heart. He is not what you say he is. Until you all change your short-sightedness towards creatures that are mysterious to you, don't ever expect me to visit you for a long time."

Everypony bowed his or her head, further crippled by guilt.

She turned around, facing the guard.

"Ready the chariot. We're leaving now," she said to him.

He nodded enthusiastically, feeling newly timid after hearing her scathing words directed at the town.

The alicorn elegantly climbed up the step and sat herself on her seat with the cushion now decorated with a big hole in the middle from the spire.

"I expect more from you, Ponyville," she said, turning back to the throng. "Get your minds out of the dirt."

With that, the chariot launched forward, gliding up into the sky. As she was flying, she heaved a stressed sigh. The nerve of them.

Her eyes flickered open. There was something else that she didn't understand.

A great, pointed spire falling down toward her...

How could that happen? How could she not notice that gargantuan spear falling down on her at once? Surely, it might have taken a while for it to tip over and collapse on her, yet, she failed to notice it.

No, the security guards should have seen it. They were watching everything. How could they not have seen that spire fall on her? Worse, none of them dove to the rescue. She was insanely lucky that Connor had intervened. He was no security guard, but he noticed it?

What in the higher entities' names was going on?

She chewed her hooftip.

“Damn it! That thing has foiled us!” a Dragonfire pony stomped his hoof into the ground.

Hellfire's face was silent in the darkness of his hood.

“My lord,” the other turned to him. “Does this mean we have go with plan ‘B’?”

A sword spearing him in the belly was the answer he had gotten from the orange stallion. The other two ponies flinched in shock as they saw their comrade get slain in front of them.

Hellfire brought his muzzle close to his victim’s ear.

“Yes…”

He yanked the sword out from the pony’s belly. After a bloody death rattle, the unfortunate pony fell into dead silence.

"We go with plan ‘B’... Commencing now.”

SLAM!

The human busted through the doors of the boutique in rage. He paced the floor, breathing loudly. He kicked the base of a table.

Unbelievable! He was left out in the cold by the gang and beaten by the guards for saving the princess’ life. What the hell was wrong with those ponies?! Were they blind? Were they stupid? Did they not know a good deed when they see one?

Then, tearing the pillowcase of the pillow belonging to his bed, he stormed into the kitchen. He shoved most of the fruit that was in the fruit bowl into his makeshift traveling sack, spitting profanities under his breath.

“Connor!” exclaimed a familiar voice behind him.

He turned to the voice. Twilight, Spike and the five were standing in the doorway, staring at him. He snapped back around. He did not feel like looking at them at all.

"What do you want? You here to stare at me some more?" he spat, making his way to pack some more food.

They walked further into the boutique. Twilight noticed the pillowcase in his hand.

"W... What are you doing?" she asked shakily.

"I've had enough..." he grumbled loudly to himself. "I've had enough of this stupid place. There's no way to get it through their thick heads..."

"Connor!" the purple unicorn exclaimed. "Don't do this! Look, we were wrong to tell you to stay here, and we're sorry!"

"She speaks for all of us, darling," Rarity stepped in. "Don't do anything brash now!"

"Well, why not?!" he responded. "I've had it up to here with this place! I tried to win their hearts, but NO! All I ever got was nothing. I'm not staying here any longer if they going to give me nothing!"

"You don't need to leave! That all saw what you did. They'll come around. And if they don't, then we'll still be here for you! We're still your friends!" Twilight said.

"Oh, really?" he whirled around to face her. "Do friends turn their back on those who needed help? Do friends believe rumors from assholes who falsely accuse you? You were all becoming like them! Don't think I didn't notice! I asked you for help, but you never did! And because of that, you broke my trust! You broke it, kicked it, gnawed on it, and threw it into hell! I congratulate you all for being such insensitive PRICKS!! Haven’t I suffered enough?!”

“W-what? What do you mean?”

“Oh! I guess I forgot to tell you! It must be fault now for not telling you! Back on earth, I was alone! I was suffering! I was friendless! And now, that world has caught up with me again. In here! In a world full of freaking ponies! PONIES, FOR CHRIST’S SAKE! I can’t even make friends with ponies now?! THANK YOU! OH, THANK YOU, NATURE, FOR CRAPPING ON ME! How can I ever repay you??”

Twilight put her hoof on her chest in hurt. “Oh, Connor! I-I had no idea…”

“Now, you know! Nothing you can do about it now, can you? It’s too late to try to coax me, Twilight. You have done enough! All of you, for that matter!” He pointed at them. “Screw you! Screw you, screw you, screw you, SCREW ALL OF YOU! You’re not my friends anymore! You are all DEAD to me!” he stomped over to Rarity’s desk and picked up a sheet of paper. Holding it up so they could all see it, he tore it in half and threw the halves down on the ground.

“Well, since I'm being thanked for doing them a big favor, I guess I can go home now, right? Yeah, I should go home! It’s sure a hell lot better than staying here!”

He stormed to the door and flung it open. “Now. I’m going to find a way back to my world if it kills me! I haven’t got anymore time to hang around with backstabbers like you! Screw all of you!”

He turned to leave, but stopped when he saw the frightened face of Fluttershy, hiding behind Rarity’s legs. Her azure eyes shimmered with flooding tears, shouting at him to not leave.

He could not help but stare back at her. She looked so innocent, but above all, beautiful. He would do anything to be with her. However, now that he believed that she has fallen with them, the pain was even greater.

He felt his eyes prune up. However, he did not feel like tearing up in front of his traitors. Growling, he threw himself around and walked out, slamming the door behind him. Coincidentally, the thunder rolled the very second he slammed it.

To be continued…

Author's Notes:

Yeah, the part where they started laughing at him was just rather OoC and quite ridiculous. I made them all act like a bunch of assholes :/ It kind of surprises me to realize that I had missed that, or why I haven't thought of that while I was rewriting it.

Well, nobody's perfect, I guess. I'm not a professional writer. I'm just a storyteller still in need of perfecting the flow of the story XD

Anyhoo, I hope you guys enjoy this rewrite a lot better than the last one.