Author's Notes:

So MadMaxtheBlack and I hatched a semblance of an idea together, and here is the result. This is the interactions with Max from Max's perspective. This was written entirely by MadMaxtheBlack (send all complaints his way :P) and is just a little something extra for you guys out there.

I cannot guarantee this for any future chapters, but it is a possibility. Note that once the story progresses past the obvious barriers presented it may either seamlessly switch between Richard and Max, though Max's perspectives will only be in first person if MadMax writes it.

Hope you enjoy!

EDIT: Oops. Early publish. Sorry, ladies and gents. And ponies.

I couldn’t help but let out a sigh as I followed Twilight through town. As I had quickly learned during my couple of weeks of living with the mare, Twilight loved her lists… which made shopping with her boring as hell. Luckily, we were almost done for the day; one more stop then we could make our way back to the safety of the library. I wasn’t entire use to my newfound freedom since Twilight had discovered I was intelligent, and being out in the open for too long made me extremely paranoid.

“Would you relax?” Twilight whispered to me, her ear flicking in annoyance. “We’re almost done. I just have to pick up some quills; you’ve been going through them rather quickly.”

~Sorry. I not use to hoof-language in time~ I replied, glancing around at the crowd of ponies.

~Yet~ Twilight correctly quickly, a small smile on her face. I just looked at her in confusion. “You said ‘~in time~’; it’s suppose to be ‘~yet~’,” she explained, signing the correct word as she did so. Turning back around, she headed off towards the marketplace.

~Thanks~ I signed as I fell in behind her.

“No problem. I’m actually impressed with how fast you’re learning!” Twilight said softly, a chipper smile on her face.

We had barely made it a couple of meters when a unicorn mare almost ran into Twilight. The new mare seemed to be deep in thought, and only returned to the real world in time to stop just short of a collusion. The unicorn blinked, before a smile spread across her face.

“Oh, hello Miss Sparkle!” she said.

“Hello Dr. Song!” Twilight replied, a smile on her face as well. “I haven’t seen you around recently.” As the two mare talked, I glanced over the new pony. She was a pale green unicorn, her mane and tail a lovely brown color. Her blue eyes sparkled as she talked animatedly with Twilight. My eye flicked to her flank, where the image of a bipedal figure jumping through hoops was tattooed.

I wonder what that cutie mark means, I thought to myself, cocking my head to the side slightly. Slowly, my gaze drifted away from the new unicorn and over the market, different ideas flashing through my head about the meaning of the cutie mark.

“...two and a half weeks ago. Max!” I was snapped out of my thoughts by Twilight calling my name. I turned slightly, glancing back at the two mares with a blank expression on my face.

“Wow,” the new mare, Dr. Song, said as she began to circle me. “He’s certainly a specimen. He actually reminds me a little of Ulrich, though yours has a bit less… muscle. No offense.”

“None taken,” Twilight said.

~Speak for yourself; I think I insulted~ I signed, causing Twilight to laugh.

“You seem to take good care of him,” Dr. Song said, nodding at Twilight. This just caused Twilight’s smile to grow, and she shot me a quick smirk.

“Yes, well, he’s special. He’s certainly kept me sane, though he’s sometimes a hoofful.” I huffed, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. Oh, ha ha, Sparklebutt. Dr. Song just giggled.

“With one that large, I’d be surprised if he wasn’t.” This, in turn, caused Twilight to giggle. After a few seconds, they called down and Dr. Song nodded her head towards the market.

“I actually have to go. I have to re-stock my kitchen. I can’t believe I left the milk here,” she said, trotting off. “Goodbye, Miss Sparkle.”

“Goodbye, Dr. Song!” Twilight called after her, waving a hoof. “Come on; we have some shopping of our own to finish up with,” she said, returning her attention back to me. With a nod, I followed behind her as she too headed into the market.

~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~

“There, that’s everything,” Twilight said as we walked through the marketplace. “We can finally get you back home.” I nodded happily, overjoyed that we were heading back to the tree; my paranoia was really starting to act up.

I blinked, frowning slightly as a noise reached my ear. It sounded like someone shouting something like ‘stop him’. I had just enough time to wonder what was going on before a human came out of nowhere and slammed into Twilight, causing her to yelp. The human cried out as he went flying through the air, landing on his shoulder with a ‘crack’ that caused me to wince. The human proceed to scream, clutching at its shoulder in pain.

Ignoring the human, I turned my attention to Twilight. She was rising to her hooves, wincing slightly as she put weight on the right side of her body. I gave her a worried look, but couldn’t ask her if she was fine before, with a shout, Dr. Song appeared.

She was panting, a strained look on her face as she looked down at the human on the ground. I glared at the human as well, resisting the urge to punch him in the face. He winced as he stumbled to his feet, clutching his arm, which looked like it was dislocated. As I watched, the human clenched his teeth and pushed his arm up and in. Instantly, he collapsed back on the ground again, crying out in pain.

Dumb idiot, I thought as I watched the human writhe in pain. As Dr. Song reached us, her horn lit up and the human was encased in an emerald light. The doctor lifted the injured human into the air, where she quickly popped the arm back into place. The human immediately relaxed.

“I’m so sorry, Twilight!” Dr. Song cried, turning to look at the alicorn. “I didn’t expect him to come rushing out the door the moment I opened it. He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“I’m alright, thank you,” Twilight said as she waved off a pair of guards that were approaching quickly. “Just a bruised wing and a sore ego. I’ll be fine.” Wincing again, she turned and looked up at the human that had just run her over. “I take it this is Ulrich?” I thought I saw a small smirk flash across the human’s face, but when I blinked it was replaced with a scowl instead.

Easy, Max, I thought, shaking my head slightly. Remember: humans here can’t smile.

“Yes, this is Ulrich,” Dr. Song sighed, closing her eyes. If I didn’t know better, she looked tired. “I’m actually surprised he managed to make it out of the cage he was in. But, live and learn,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.

“Well, I can certainly see what you mean when you said he had more muscle. Those arms must be seventeen inches around at the least,” Twilight said. I glanced down at my arm, giving it a contemplative look. I had almost no muscle due to being in a cage for two weeks with nothing to eat. Thanks to Twilight (and the very generous Fluttershy) I was beginning to gain weight again, but still looked skinny as hell.

I hope Twilight doesn’t mind I’m not that muscular, I thought, poking at my arm. I blinked as I realized what I had thought. Why do I care if Twilight thinks I look good? Shaking the thought from my head, I instead turned my attention to the human currently floating in the air.

I scrunched up my face as I studied him. Something feels off about him, I thought. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something about this human made my stomach twitch slightly.

~If everything okay here, can we head back to library?~ I asked Twilight.

“Well, I should get Max home soon. He gets antsy if we’re out too long for some reason,” she said to Dr. Song. The unicorn nodded, glancing over at her own human.

“Alright,” she hummed. “Besides, I should get Ulrich home too. And I’ve still got shopping to do,” she moaned, sagging her shoulders. With that, we parted ways: Twilight and I heading towards the library, Dr. Song and the human, Ulrich, heading off towards the marketplace.

As we walked, I couldn’t help but look back at the retreating pair, chewing on my bottom lip. I had a feeling that this wouldn’t be the last time that human and I crossed paths.