‘Ponyville’s not far now, I should be able to make it by tomorrow.’ he thought to himself. It was about 4 o’clock in the morning, and running on only 5 hours of sleep, Storm was determined to make it to his destination as soon as possible, as he walked through the dangerous rocky wasteland crawling with wild animals and bandits. It may have been a mission given to him by Princess Celestia, but this was nothing short of a personal affair in his eyes.

‘I hope quitting didn’t make you soft, I at least want a challenge before I make you suffer...’

*****************************************************************************************************************

Crimson woke, a silent scream engulfing him as he squeezed his eyes shut against the onslaught brought upon him by the sun. Working up enough mental strength, he thought, 'Why... Why did I let myself talk me into grabbing a drink last night?'

He rolled over, easing his eyes open, not recognizing his surroundings immediately. 'Heh. Guess I didn't look lonely enough to find myself waking up by a pretty mare,' he chuckled. ‘But that’s probably a good thing, sex is overrated anyway... even though I wouldn’t know.’ he sighed.

‘Wait...’ Crimson thought to himself, trying to recall what happened the day before. ‘Let’s see; finding Ponyvillle... meeting Pinkie Pie... chased by mares, not in the way most would like... got drunk... befriending Pinkie... I think that about covers it. Oh wait, I forgot ‘staying at cranky farmer’s home’. Though, she could have just thrown me out, so I guess I owe her one.’ Crimson was chalked full of bad qualities, but ungrateful wasn’t one of them.

He was finally able to pull himself out of the bed amidst much reminiscing, looking at the digital alarm clock that marked: 5:26 A.M; he never even set an alarm to go off, didn’t need to. Crimson started clumsily towards the bathroom, hoping a shower would lessen the crappy feeling he was suffering from. Through the months, Crimson used different bodies of water, from lakes to rivers, to get clean, so it had been a while since he’d used an actual shower.

‘Hey, it’s also been a while since I’ve been in hot water, too.’ This excited Crimson a bit, as he was eager to experience the touch of the warm water on his fur. As he entered the shower, Crimson sighed in pleasure as the water heated up little by little. The shower was also a bath as well, so he decided to lay down and relax for a bit. Running water did always make the colt drowsy...

‘Maybe a quick nap won’t hurt...’ he thought as he became more and more tired.

A half hour later, he started to towel himself off, ruffling his feathers and unfurling his wings to make sure that no water would remain to bog him down later. "Good morning, asshole." he said to the mirror. He flashed an easy smile, then winced as his brain throbbed against his skull in protest of the prior night's activities.

He took himself in. His messy black and red mane, and the dull sheen of his black coat. The scar that ran across his whole back a seething pink-white. And his weird cutiemark, a yellow Taurus symbol, a cutiemark that caused a life of torture for him growing up where he did. His eyes looked as nice as ever, he assumed. He'd been told that they were very dazzling, that they had a roguish quality that many mares found appealing. But, that didn't mean he could charm them too well, so he doubted the “complements” they gave him were true. To his name, all he had was 22 years of life, no fillyfriend, his cloak, his looks, his trusty martial arts, fighting tools, especially his katana, and his crappy memories along with his past remorse.

And Pinkie Pie...

It was around 6 o’clock now, as his stomach growled angrily. Crimson hadn’t eaten in almost three days. He had been toughing it out the best he could through these past few days, but was certain he would starve to death if he didn’t eat anything soon. Crimson put his cloak back on, as he didn’t want to scare anypony with his scar like many others, as he made his way to the kitchen.

‘Damn it, maybe I can find something to cook. I mean it is a farm and all. In fact, maybe I’ll make breakfast for the whole family, that’d be a good start at thanking them.’

He found some unfertilized eggs in the fridge, it was considered vegan, and some pancake batter as he got out all of the supplies for making it. While doing so, he noticed somepony trot sleepily into the room, but startled each other when they met eye contact.

“Um... hello.” Crimson said awkwardly.

“...Eeyup.”

Okay then.

It was another stallion like him, but he was very tall and muscled, a quality most colts would die for and most mares would swoon over. He had a short-cut orange mane and cropped tail that matched Applejack’s coat, a bright red coat that matched Apple Bloom’s mane, and emerald eyes that, once again, matched Applejack’s eyes. He also had a big yoke around his neck and his fetlock hairs were cut short to show his bare hooves, so he must have been a work pony, and his cutie mark was a green apple cut in half, so he must be apart of the family in some way, shape, or form. There was an awkward silence filling the room, the only kind of silence Crimson didn’t like, so he tried his hoof at starting a conversation, which he was never good at.

“So... are you like Applejack and Apple Bloom’s father or something?”

The red stallion chuckled, as he went to grab a seat at the breakfast table, which was a part of the kitchen. “Ah’m their older brother. Ah’m not that old, only 24.”

“Heh, I didn’t think you were quite that old myself, just trying to make sure.” he laughed as well.

“So... not to be rude, but what exactly are ya doin’ here and does it have to do with my sister?” asked the burly colt.

“It was Pinkie Pie’s idea actually, Applejack isn’t exactly happy about it.” Crimson answered.

The red stallion made a short laugh. “Pinkie’s quite the mare.”

“I have to agree!” Crimson laughed with him.

“But Ah do have to ask, why isn’t Applejack happy that ya’ll are here? She’s usually friendly with everypony.” the large colt asked.

“I- It’s a long story.” Crimson responded nervously.

“Ah’ve got some time before Ah start working, so Ah’m all ears.” the stallion offered.

“Well...” he started his explanation. “I’ve been hopping from town to town looking for a place to retire.”

“Retire, huh?” asked the stallion, “You look mighty young to be retirin’ I recon. What d’ya work in?”

“I... don’t feel comfortable answering that.” admitted Crimson.

“Tis fine, Ah understand entirely.”

“Thank you, I wish more people would. Now anyway, I haven’t had much sleep or food in a long time, so I was a bit cranky from traveling. Pinkie Pie tried her hardest to become my friend, but she unknowingly brought back a bad memory and I snapped at her. It didn’t go well at all, she was so heart broken and it felt like a stab to the chest. Before I could completely apologize, her friends jumped to conclusions and chased after me, though I can’t say I didn’t deserve it. When her friends finally caught me, Pinkie did all she could to defend me. She found me in a bar, we talked, we went to her place an- “

“Wait a minute...” He stopped when he saw the red stallion smile slyly at him. “No no no, it was nothing like that! We just talked, honest! Anyway, since I didn’t have anywhere to go, she said this would be a good place to stay before I got my own place. After Pinkie Pie begged Applejack to let me stay, she finally agreed, but didn’t like it one bit.” Crimson finally finished.

“...Eeyup.” the big stallion responded. He seemed to have an affinity with that word. “Well, they were just tryin’ to support their friend, but the mares jus’ got a little carried away is all. But ya’ll should already know how mares are.”

“Yeah, I know more then I’d like, but know less then I should. Weird, huh?” Crimson said, as the two shared another laugh.

“Heh, I like you. You’re a good listener, and you don’t constantly judge me and ask questions like most ponies.” Crimson said to stallion.

“Likewise.” he said back. “Ya seem pretty easy goin’ and down to earth, it’s rare Ah get to talk to another pony like that. Plus, another male that ain’t threatened by mah appearance is nice for a change.”

“Likewise. Most ponies find me scary, so it’s good to have at least one pony to talk to, since I’m sleeping here until I can find a place of my own. That is, if you feel comfortable with me here, I’ll leave if you tell me to.”

“Tis fine. Yer welcome to stay here, hospitality happens to run in the Apple family.”

“I see.” Crimson responded.

“Also, don’t worry ‘bout Applejack, she’ll warm up to ya sooner or later. She has a very big heart.” the colt reassured, “By the way, name’s Big Macintosh.”

“Crimson Rays.” Crimson responded back.

“Nice to meet you, Crimson. Now I think Ah’m going to get to work now, those trees ain’t goin’ to buck themselves.” Big Macintosh said as he went out the door from the kitchen that went straight outside.

“Sure you don’t want any breakfast first? Should be done in a couple of minutes.” he replied.

“Nah, I think Ah’m just gonna grab an apple or two as Ah get to the orchard.” answered the giant red stallion.

“Alright, nice talking talking to ya, man.”

“Eeyup.”

Breakfast was almost ready, and as he was about to set up the table, another figure of a pony came into the room. This one however, Crimson recognized.

“Morning, kid.” Crimson greeted.

Apple Bloom wanted to argue about him calling her that, but she was much too tired, as she sat down at the table and laid down her head, completely exhausted.

“Mrphnwrrdgyy...” she mumbled, Crimson guessed she meant “Mornin’, weird guy.” However, with a combination of her face scrunched between the tablecloth, and being too tired to form a fluent sentence, it was hard to tell. That is, until she sniffed the air.

“Wait, what’s cookin’?” asked the little filly. “Is that eggs an’... pancakes!?” She immediately perked up.

“Yup, it’s almost done too. You’re welcome to some if you’d like, well, this is your house, so you’re welcome to anything I guess.” the black colt replied like a true smart ass.

“Do you want to help me set the table, Apple Bloom?” he asked.

“Of course, mister... what’s yer name again?”

“Crimson Rays.” the colt once again answered. “And please don’t call me ‘mister’.”

“That’s fine! Applejack usually wants me to be on mah best behavior with strangers.” said the innocent little Apple Bloom.

“Does she now?” Crimson asked, ‘Well, I guess they can’t get much stranger than me.’ he thought to himself.

“Yeah, Applejack’s one of the friendliest ponies in Ponyville!” she exclaimed.

“Wow, then she REALLY must hate me.” he said to himself.

“What?” asked the confused Apple Bloom.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” the colt reassured. Apple Bloom just shrugged it off and went to give her assistance in preparing breakfast.

As they finally finished setting the table, another figure showed up once more.

“What in tarnation is goin’ on in here?” Applejack walked in, rubbing her eyes sleepily. They widened however, when she saw all of the food that was on the table. Four neatly placed dishes, each with a pancake and a side dish of eggs and toast. Each plate a fork and knife, both placed on top of a neatly folded napkin.

“What, did Rarity break into mah house an’ make us breakfast?” the astonished mare spoke. “Or’d ya’ll make all this, Apple Bloom?” she said, not even noticing the obvious insult on Crimson’s face. She found it easier to believe then Crimson making all thi-

“Heya, sis!” the filly greeted, already scarfing down her food. “Crimson made all of it, it’s so good!~” she exclaimed.

“Sorry for raiding your fridge, just wanted to show my appreciation for letting me stay here.” the colt spoke up.

‘What is that colt trying to pull?’ Applejack thought suspiciously, glaring at the colt with the nervous smile on his muzzle.

“Alright then...” she said, sitting down at the table as the filly leaps from her chair, already finishing her plate.

“Alright, Ah’m off to meet Sweetie an’ Scoots’ so we can walk together to school! Bye guys!” said the suddenly energetic Apple Bloom, running outside to head off to see her friends.

“Man, she’s so full of energy, wasn’t like that a couple minutes ago.” Crimson said. “Why is everyone up so early anyway?” he asked.

“A better question might why yer up so early.” she responded with a hint of irritation in her voice.

“Touche’.” Crimson responded back, “Well, I went to bed pretty early, well for an insomniac at least, and I never sleep too long, so...”

“Uh Huh...” Applejack said dully and unbelievingly. “Just who are ya tryin’ to convince, and just what are you tryin’ to pull?” she accused.

“Wow, you really don’t like me. That hurts a little...” the colt said with a sarcastic grin.

“Yer gonna feel really hurt in a second if ya keep at it.” she threatened.

“Calm down, just trying to lighten the mood.” Crimson defended. “What exactly are you scared of, anyway?” he asked.

“Who said Ah’m scared of you?” Applejack said with an angry tone. “Ah’m afraid of what ya might do while ya stay here.”

“And what might that be?” he asked with a bored look to match his tone.

“Ah’m worried ‘bout Apple Bloom, she’s too innocent to see through yer nice guy routine. Mah brother an’ Ah could kick yer flank easily if we wanted!” she threatened once again.

Crimson simply chuckled. “Whatever you say, cowgirl. I bet you could.” He chuckled, not realizing at all how bad that came out.

Applejack slammed her hooves on the table as she got up from her chair.

“JUST WHO THE HELL DO YA THINK YA ARE?!?!?!” she screamed, enraged beyond belief.

“Crimson Rays at your service.” the unsurprised Crimson went on. “Now calm down. Don’t you think you’re overreacting just a little bit here?”

“Why ya little-” she grabbed her plate and threw it at the colt, food and all.

Crimson dodged plate, but the food was a different story. Better to let the mare win this round.

“Asshole!” was the last thing Applejack yelled, as she stormed back the way she came.

‘Good job, Crimson, now she hates you even more...’ he thought to himself, sitting there with food completely covering his face, as he sighed,. ‘Well, looks like I have to clean the broken plate pieces off the ground, along with taking another shower... but considering how hungry I am, I’ll get to it later.’

*****************************************************************************************************************

“Hey brat, where do ya think you’re going in such a hurry?”

“Frankly, that’s none of your business.” said the rather annoyed Unicorn.

Still in the wasteland, Storm was being blocked and “interrogated” by the masked bandits. There were exactly eight of them in sight, two Unicorns, three Earth ponies, and three Pegasi, all of their attention directed to the white Unicorn Lieutenant.

“Aren’t you from that Nichibotsu Clan? I thought Red had wiped you guys out a long time ago. Incompetent fool, can’t even do that right.” Storm rambled on to himself.

“Hey, I know you! You’re Celestia’s Highest ranking Lieutenant, Storm Scratch! Look guys, we’ve got a celebrity over here!” their burly group leader Earth pony yelled mockingly as they all began ear rapingly loud, obnoxious laughter. “Rumor has it that you and that hitcolt, Crimson, were buddy-buddy! How about you tell us where he’s hiding or we’ll make you regret you were conceived!”

“Don’t make me laugh, you shit-eating scum of the earth. Say another word and you die at my hoofs.” he said with a killing intent in his voice.

“HA HA HA HA HA!!! Are you kidding me?! What is a little pussy like you gonna-”

In a blink of an eye, Storm moved ten feet forward, and was now right behind the big-mouthed stallion. And he didn’t even teleport.

“But, how di-” the now rather nervous bandit tried to say.

“How pathetic. You talk trash, but your eyes can’t even keep up with me.” Storm said, as it was his turn to mock him.

The bandit spun around and punched at the white colt, but his hoof was blocked, as he punched the forearm of Storm, while not even fazed, as the bandit was shaking from the force he was exerting into Storm’s arm. The bandit was more than twice his size, but he did not budge an inch.

“You know my name, history, and rank, yet you know nothing about why I’m so well known.” Storm went on. “I’ve lead massive battles for Celestia, stopped enemy raids against her, beat all of her ‘Master’ generals single hooved, and have fought the feared Crimson Shadow hundreds of times, standing victorious through half of them. You’re nothing compared to me.”

Storm kicked the bandit’s hind-leg with such force, that a loud crack was heard from it, bending it the opposite direction. Before the giant stallion could even scream in agony, Storm brought his hooves to the back of the bandit’s head, brought it down, and slammed his knee into his face, causing a sickening crunch to be heard from the impact. He released the colt, now most likely dead, as he his body fell backwards into the dirt. The bandit’s face was completely caved in, as though his face was just one large crater, and left Storm’s knee soaked in the bandit’s blood. Many gasps and yells came from the “spectators”, but suddenly snapped out of it when the white Unicorn colt spoke up.

“So, who’s next?”

They all charged about simultaneously, while the two remaining Unicorn members stayed back as archers, with their weapons at the ready. Storm sidestepped a downward sword slash, ducked under a mace swing, and completely dodged a strike from one of the brave Pegasi who attempted to impale him with a spear while airborne. He grabbed the pole, jabbed the end of it into the holder’s stomach, and as he let go, Storm spun around and decapitated the original holder with his own spear. Storm quickly jabbed the incoming mace-wielding Earth pony in the throat, and hurled the spear through the skull of a Unicorn attempting to shoot an arrow at him, as his body pinned against a large rock.

Now, only four remained. One of the pegasi dove forward for another aerial attack, this time with a sword. Swinging a wild horizontal slash, the pegasus’ battle cry broke into a strangled scream as she was slammed into the ground by Storm’s kick, but not after he ripped off her wings as he snarled in anger.

Just as the bandit was going to get back up, Storm, with his blinding speed, dashed next to her and stomped his leg onto her back, completely shattering her spine and killing her on impact. As two sword wielding ponies, the Pegasus in the air and the Earth pony on the ground, were about to simultaneously strike Storm, sparks started to form over his horn. He formed two blue, powerfully sparking katana, which appeared to be completely made out of lightning. They levitated, pointed the tip of their blades at the two bandits, and shot at them at an incredible speed, impaling in the two and electrocuting them. But the horror wasn’t over yet. To make one hundred percent sure they would not survive, Storm forced the swords to explode into a giant blast of lightning too loud for the screams to be heard, leaving burnt rock, with charred and bloody pieces of the ponies falling from the sky, covering everything in pools of red liquid, except Storm. Cancelling the magic shield that bended the liquid away from him, he was about to advance towards his last, bloodsoaked foe.

She tried to load an arrow into her bow, but the arrow wouldn’t stop sliding on the string of the bow, as it was too drenched in blood.

“You and I both know that’s not going to work.” the colt said, facing the opposite direction from her.

The mare was too terrified to speak. She was very noticeably shaking, her eyes wide in fear as tears flowed out of them. Storm only turned his head toward her, but it was more then enough. His royal blue eyes were full of death and despair, almost looked as if he was stabbing right through her with his gaze. She couldn’t look away, as she noticed that deep into his cold eyes looked as though lightning was coursing through them. As she looked deeper, she felt as if her surroundings changed, as she felt like she was standing in the middle of a disastrous, tornado-surrounded lightning storm.

She failed to even notice that the colt was right behind her, as he grabbed her head and twisted it one hundred degrees, snapping her neck in the process, her lifeless body falling to the ground.

“What a waste of time, I wouldn’t have even called that a warm up.” Storm scoffed. “Red, you had better give me a good fight, your life depends on it.”

He turned around, heading toward his path of wrath and vengeance that was his goal. Nothing would stand in his way.

*****************************************************************************************************************

“Ah’m tellin’ ya, Pinkie, this guy’s nothin’ but trouble!”

The farm mare tried to convince her friend of what Crimson really is, a “complete and total asshole”, if that’s what I recall.

“Oh don’t be silly, filly! He’s not the nicest colt in the world, but he has a good heart in there somewhere, you’ve just gotta look deep!” the energetic mare bounced around the orange Earth pony. “You’re great at finding the good in ponies, so you should be able to find it sooner or later!”

“That’s what Ah’m tryin’ to say! Ah can’t find the good in him anywhere, I don’t think he has any, sugercube.” Applejack tried to explain. “He’s just... just a monster!”

“I told you to stop calling him that!” the pink mare defended. “Crimson’s done some really mean things in his life, but now he just wants leave it all behind and start over!”

“An’ what exactly would those ‘mean things’ be?” Applejack asked suspiciously.

“Sorry, but I can’t tell you that. I made him a Pinkie Promise that I wouldn’t, and I’d never break a Pinkie Promise!” she exclaimed.

“Pinkie Pie, this is much more important then one of yer Pinkie Promises!” the farm mare yelled angrily at her friend.

“I told him I wouldn’t break it, and I meant it!” the pink mare yelled back, standing up tall.

“Pinkie Pie, ponies could be seriously hurt by him, he’s dangerous-”

“He would never! I’ve only known him for maybe a day, but I was able to see the side of him that he didn’t show anyone else! He wouldn’t hurt any-”

“Like you said, you’ve only known him for maybe a day! How could you claim you know him?!”

“I just can, that’s long enough for me to get to know someone!”

“Um... the hell is...” came from a different voice entirely.

The two mares turned around, seeing the now freshly showered colt join the mares outside. Both mares blushed on sight, apparently wet manes were quite the fetish to some ponies. Crimson already knew what their argument was about, his ears have never failed him before. However, he figured it’d be a smart idea to play stupid, rather than fuel the fire even more.

“None of yer-” the flustered mare was cut off.

“We were talking about giving you a tour of Ponyville!” said the pink mare, covering up any signs that she was ever enraged with joy faster then you could utter her name.

“WHAT!” Crimson and Applejack yelled simultaneously.

“Awww~” Pinkie squealed, “You guys talk at the same time so often, it’s cute!~”

“Cute?!” the two spoke at the same time once again, blushes visible on their muzzles.

“Case in point!” she giggled. “Now come on, time’s-a-wastin’!” With that, the pink pony hopped into the air, and started bouncing down the road, a frustrated farm filly and a confused cloaked colt in tow.

“So, where do we start?” Crimson asked.

“How about Fluttershy’s cottage?” Pinkie answered, that answer not appealing to Applejack in the slightest.

“That might be the worse place to start...” she said, with clear dread in her voice. “Fluttershy’s gonna literally be scared to death once she catches first sight of him!”

“Who’s Fluttershy?” the colt was almost too scared to ask.

“A mare that’s scared of her own shadow, that’s who.” Applejack answered fearfully. “An’ certainly not a pony Ah’d like somepony like ya’ll to meet!” Crimson saw that Applejack was very protective of her friends, almost like a mother to them.

“I think I have to agree with you.” the black colt responded.

“Yeah, well- wait what?” stuttered the shocked Applejack.

“I agree, it’d be a bad idea to meet her at the moment.” he repeated.

“Now that you put it that way...” the pink pony pondered. “I guess we’ll visit her later on, how about Rarity then?”

“That ain’t exactly a great substitute, but it’s better then any right now.” Applejack answered.

“You’re quite the motherly type, aren’t you?” Crimson asked the farm mare.

“Maybe Ah am, what exactly is it to ya?” Applejack responded in a bitter tone.

“Well, I just kinda gathered that from how protective you are,” he said. “and from what Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom said about you.”

“Wait,” said the suddenly shocked Applejack. “Did you actually have a conversation with my brother, and it wasn’t a series of one word answers?”

“Um... yeah? Why, is that a problem too?” asked Crimson, as he rolled his eyes.

“Well, it’s just that... Big Mac was never really a talker, especially around strangers. In fact, he rarely even talks around us! He’s a real shy an’ simple fella.” she explained.

“I can relate with him there. But you honestly could have fooled me, we had a pretty nice conversation.” the colt went on.

‘Wow...’ Applejack thought to herself. ‘Big Macintosh only really talks to the most warm-hearted ponies around, an’ even Pinkie Pie really seems to like him. Maybe Ah’ve been a little too harsh on him...’

Then, out of absolutely nowhere, Crimson was tackled to the ground, a grunt escaping from his lips as he slid across the streets of Ponyville. The sun seemed to be messing with eyes, the bright rays of light turning the pony on top of him into a mere silhouette.

‘Celestia, you sadistic bitch...’

“What are you still doing in this town, you prick?!” the hard to see pony growled at the colt. It was a mare, that much was obvious, but the voice sounded familiar...

“I thought we told you to get lost!” she continued. “Guess you’re going to have to learn the hard way, you... wha- wait, letmego!!! I’m not finished with him yet!!!” he heard her yell, as she was being pulled off by two other silhouettes, who Crimson had guess was Pinkie Pie and Applejack. As he finally managed to sit up, he immediately recognized the mare.

“So it was you!” Crimson growled back. “What exactly is your problem, you little dyke?!”

“Little WHAT?!” she screamed, as Applejack struggled to hold the mare in a chokehold, without the choking part of course, but Crimson wouldn’t have minded. It was the most infuriating pony he’s met in this town to date. He didn’t hate homosexuals at all, he just knew it’d make her pissed if he called her one.

“Rainbow Dash, what in tarnation has gotten into ya?!” Applejack yelled through her struggle.

“Are you blind?! Do you not see the colt right in front of your face?!”

“We know who he is, Dashie, he-” Pinkie Pie tried to get in.

“Then let me go so I can kick his ass out of here!” the cyan Pegasus interrupted.

“Like you could, you snot-nosed little brat!” the colt shouted back, not helping matters in the slightest. “Now get the fuck out of my face and join a gay pride parade, you’re mane could be their new flag!”

Very bad idea, my young colt.

Rainbow Dash broke out of the farm mare’s hold, fueled by pure anger. She flew up and punched the colt across the face, with the speed that she dashed at adding to the punch, it sent him flying back face first into the dirt road a good 10 feet.

“RAINBOW DASH!” the two mares said in unison, as they quickly galloped forward, this time both of them held the still enraged mare in a hold.

“LET ME GO, LET ME GO, LET ME GO!!!!!!!!!” the mare’s intense anger seemed to have taken over her whole body, as even both of her friends could barely even hold the mare still. “I’m going to smash his teeth in!!!!”

“Calm down, Rainbow! Yer gonna make things even worse!” Applejack pleaded with her friend, but it didn’t seem to do any good whatsoever.

The black colt sat back up, wiping the blood running down his mouth with his hoof as he spoke up again.

“You hit like a girl, but you still can’t fool me...”

…

“Ouch, could you stop that and go away?!”

“Quit being such a crybaby and hold still!”

After about three more attempts at murdering the colt, Rainbow Dash finally let her desire go though much reassuring, as they had made it to their next destination. Carousel Boutique. They, and by “they” I mean Pinkie Pie, figured it’d be a good idea to get Crimson’s bruise checked. And who else would be better then the mare of fine detail and generosity herself, Rarity?

Thankfully, Crimson’s face remained unswollen, but there was a bright red gash mark as clear as day on his left cheek. The white Unicorn mare tried to keep him still while she put rubbing alcohol from a washcloth onto his cheek.

“I said hold still, do you want this to get infected?!” asked the store owner, as well as one of the five mares from the other day. If he heard right, her name was Rarity. He was surprised he wasn’t kicked out on sight. However it did take some convincing on Pinkie Pie and Applejack’s parts.

‘She must be the epitome of generous...’ Crimson thought. That is, until she continue with his cheek.

“Well, what do you-gah!- expect? It feels like my cheek is on fire!”

“Good, now shut up and let me put the rest of the rubbing alcohol on it before I change my mind.” she responded.

“......”

“Thank you.”

After cleaning the bruise, they all lounged around a little at the Boutique. Applejack took a nap on Rarity’s couch, Rainbow Dash just quietly pouted in a corner, and Pinkie, Rarity, and Crimson shared a conversation with each other.

“I honestly don’t see why Pinkie would befriend such a ruffian, but I’d never turn down a friend.” the Unicorn went told the colt.

“Uh... thank you?” came from the awkward colt.

“I wasn't talking about you, I meant Pinkie. As far as I’m concerned, you’re nopony I’d ever associate myself with.” she spat back. As angry as she got, Rarity never seemed to forget her manners.

“Yeah, I kind of figured...”

“Please, Rarity, don’t be so mean to him.” the pink pony spoke up. “He’s a really good guy, you just have to get to know him is all.”

“I really don’t think I’d ever want to get to know a colt so crude, and neither should you for that matter.” Rarity went on. “But I guess it’s not exactly my decision, now is it?” she said bitterly.

“He’s not that bad! Like I said, he’s really nice once you get to know him!” Pinkie repeated.

“You’ve said that already, darling.” Rarity said, getting quite irritated. “However, I think I’ll just take your word for it. He’s a very handsome colt, but too bad all of that handsome was given to somepony as dreadful as him.”

‘Handsome?’ the colt blushed.

“Don’t look too much into that, that wasn’t supposed to be a compliment.” she responded, as her face began to redden as well.

“I think we should go now,” Pinkie spoke up, as she tried to prevent an awkward silence. “We’ve still got two more friends for him to meet!” she yelled in ecstasy.

‘Great...’ was the negative thought that went through the mind of literally everypony, except for Pinkie Pie of course.

So, the friends, excluding Crimson, decided the next place to visit was Twilight Sparkle’s house. Or, tree in this case. Little did he know before Pinkie told him on the way, was that the mare he was going to meet was actually Celestia’s top protege, which made him feel as though there was pure fear boiling in his stomach acid. Crimson knew that if she told Celestia anything, he was finished. Their chat when they arrived went a little something like this:

“Um... hello?” the black colt “greeted” as the lavender mare opened the door.

“...YOU!”

Crimson was immediately covered in that rosy aura again, the Unicorn used her magic to levitate him up into the air and pin him against a tree. The colt refused to let a grunt escape from his mouth, but the pain was getting worse and worse by the second.

“Twilight, stop!” the pink pony demanded, butting in between the two.

“Pinkie, get out of the way, I-”

“DROP HIM!!!” she screamed, leaving everypony wide-eyed with fright.

“...Fine!” she gave up, as she released her magic grip from Crimson. The colt reacted with a coughing fit, but finally got back up, as Twilight directed her attention and anger towards him.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t tell Celestia to throw you into the Sun?!”

“Um... I’ve got nothing.” the colt shrugged in defeat. Once again, our protagonist, everypony...

“Please, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie begged, “He isn’t as bad as he seems, honest! On the inside, he’s a colt filled with a heart of sunshine and lollipops!”

‘That was bad even for her...’ thought Crimson, as he cringed from her bold statement.

“Uh... okay.” the confused lavender mare responded in disbelief. “Well answer this then, how am I supposed to forgive him so easily after what he’s done to you? And don’t even tell me that it was your fault, this was one hundred percent his!” she pointed at the guilt ridden colt.

“Cut him a break!” Pinkie Pie defended once again. “If you knew more about him, you wouldn’t blame him for being such a grump all the time!”

‘Thanks Pinkie, I think...’ thought the confused Crimson, not sure what to think about Pinkie’s statement.

“Crimson’s been through more than most of us have ever come close to! If you gave him a chance, you’d see that deep down, he just needs some friends and happiness in his life...” the pink mare tried her best to convince her friend.

Twilight considered this for a moment, but finally spoke.

“...Does anypony here actually feel the same way?”

“NOPE!!!” the rest of the mares said in unison.

‘Shit...’ the colt thought to himself. ‘They really hate me, huh? I can’t say blame them though, I probably hate myself more than they hate me...’

“But...” the farm filly started, perking Crimson’s ears in interest. “We’ve all learned that it ain't a mighty fine idea to doubt Pinkie’s intuition, so Ah’m going with whatever she is! Ya know, before her Pinkie senses make dangerous objects rain from the sky. Plus, who knows, he may turn out not to be as horrible a pony as most of us make him out to be.” Applejack said, leaving everypony’s jaws wide open.

‘...Did I just hear that right?’ the colt wondered to himself.

“... I agree.” the majestic white Unicorn joined in.”If Pinkie Pie believes it’s a good idea, then so will I! That’s what friends do, darling!~”

The two mares waited for a third response, which never came. Instead, very subtle sniffles could be heard from the cyan mare.

“Rainbow, are you alright, dear?” Rarity asked with concern in her voice.

“Yeah, what’s the matter, sugarcube?” Applejack asked with equal concern.

“.....” Rainbow Dash stayed quiet, keeping her head low, but the wet drip spots in the ground beneath her gave her all away. She was crying.

“...I think I know exactly what’s wrong.” Crimson finally spoke up.

“...j-just shut up...” the weeping mare said at a rather quiet volume.

“...I’m sorry.”

“JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!!!” Rainbow Dash screamed.

“You seemed so unfazable, like a brick wall, but a living being is still a living being.” he continued regardless. “You’re just a tomcolt, but I’m sure that not what many other ponies called you...”

“....stop....please...” she begged.

“I shouldn’t have went at your insecurities like I did. A strong willed, loyal mare shouldn’t be made fun of, but there are ponies out there who crave on others misery to make their own insecurities feel less significant. I should know, I was a subject to serious bullying, and I made others suffer to make myself feel more in control. I understand what you went through, and having past memories brought up that’d you’d rather stay dead is another thing we can relate with.” Crimson began to take a step closer and closer to her.

“...” she stayed quiet.

“I bet you also think your friends are sticking up for someone like me, and you feel betrayed, which is most likely the reason you lost it just now. Well don’t, they aren’t defending me. Hell, they hate me!” Crimson smirked. “They’re just defending the judgement of somepony who’s already your friend, Pinkie Pie. They’re not going against you in the slightest. Please accept my apology, I can’t stand to see mares cry...” he finally finished, hoping she would.

“...whatever, I get it, alright?” Rainbow Dash responded with a sniff, but with much less sadness in her voice.

“That’s good enough for me.” he said as he started walking away, feeling somewhat content from his actions.

“...Thank you.” the mare whispered.

As Crimson’s supersonic ears picked this up, he couldn’t help but smile.

…

“Alright, now be extremely careful with this one, we don’t want to give her a heart attack.” Twilight said.

“Yeah, just keep it slow an’ Ah think this might wor-”

“Lets just get this over with already!” the cyan Pegasus cut off Applejack.

“Rainbow, you’re not helping.” Rarity scolded the mare.

They were all standing outside the cottage of the graceful, kind, and not to mention extremely shy Fluttershy, hence the name. Everypony had the same general idea of what was going to happen, as they were all feeling tense.

‘Maybe she isn’t as shy as the others say.’ Crimson thought with forced optimism. ‘I mean, what pony could be as shy as they claim she is? It all sounds a bit exaggerated, if you ask me. And what kind of Pegasus is afraid of heights, anyway?’

“Good luck!” the Pinkie shouted.

Crimson nodded his head in appreciation, as he made his way to the door and knocked.

“Um... hello?” a small squeak was heard from the other side of the door.

As it opened up completely, Crimson managed to catch a good look at her appearance. It was the pale yellow mare from the day before, the one that figured tending to Pinkie Pie was better then chasing the colt for several miles.

“It’s... you.” the mare squeaked, as she looked as though she was about to faint. However, something unexpected happened next.

‘...no.’ went through Fluttershy’s head. ‘After what he did to Pinkie yesterday, I will not let him off so easy! I can’t. I WON’T!!!’ Fluttershy did something that was rarely done by her, she got angry. Angrier and angrier and angrier...

Fluttershy stood up tall, revealing much more confidence than earlier, as she delivered a stare that even sent a chill down Crimson’s spine.

“What you did to my friend was UNFORGIVABLE!!!” she shouted. “And I will not let hurt any of my friends again, so leave of this peaceful town right now, and take your dark intentions with you!!!”

‘I... I bet she could scare a dragon with that stare...’ For the first time in a very, very long time, Crimson felt scared. Even more sacred than a few of the battles he’s been in. He took a step away from the mare, only to have her take a step closer to him, keeping eye contact as she did so. She felt that this was the strongest stare she’s ever used on anypony.

“I don’t mean any harm, honest!” the colt responded. ‘Pull it together, Crimson! She’s just one mare.’

“Good, because I’m not going to let you.” she said sinisterly.

“Fluttershy, calm down!” a voice in the distance yelled out, trotting up to the scene at hoof. It was Pinkie Pie.

“STAY BACK!!!” Fluttershy warned, even managing to scare Pinkie. “He’s the same colt from yesterday, I need to make sure he leaves and never comes back!”

“You don’t need to, he’s a good guy!”

“He needs to su- wait, what?” Fluttershy seemed to snap out of her anger, quickly replacing it all with confusion.

The other four mares decided to reveal themselves, as Fluttershy seemed to calm down. Her tone seemed to be getting more and more timid, finally returning back to normal.

“As much as I don’t like it, it’s true.” Twilight was the first to speak up.

“From what Pinkie Pie’s told us, we all were given the wrong impression of him.” Rarity cut in as well.

“Yeah, we’re not quite sure about that yet, but from what we’ve witnessed so far, he doesn’t seem to be a threat to anypony.” Rainbow Dash spoke up next.

“Well, at least not yet. Though, he ain’t quite the monster we all thought him to be.” admitted Applejack.

“I...” Fluttershy began, she sighed. “I guess I’ll take your word for it, girls... Welcome to Ponyville... what was your name?”

“...Crimson Rays, mistress.” he answered, making the mare blush a bit. He was still a little worked up from what happened a few minutes ago.

Everypony was shocked how quick this one took, even though it was the most terrifying for Crimson anyway. Either Fluttershy seemed to be the easiest to convince, or what made it a whole lot easier hearing it from everypony’s mouth at once. Maybe friends did make challenges easier to conquer...

“Woooo!!!!” Pinkie Pie squealed, as she ran up hugged the colt, much like the time before. “Welcome to Ponyville, you’re gonna love it here, I Pinkie Promise!!!”

Crimson would have been embarrassed, if not for what he saw over Pinkie’s shoulder. All five mares glared at him with a look that said: “Hurt her, and things won’t end pretty.”

Welcome to the herd, Crimson Rays.

*****************************************************************************************************************

“... I’m almost there....”

*****************************************************************************************************************

The rest of the day went by fairly quick and painless, the mares just showed the colt the rest of the town. By the time they finished, the Sun was setting on the town.

‘Maybe this is finally the town...’

Suddenly, Crimson felt another ominous shiver, he was sure Pinkie felt it too, she seemed to last time.

‘No, Storm’s getting closer! He’ll ruin everything if he makes it here!’ Crimson worried, but his worrying seemed to be attracting Pinkie’s attention.

“Did you feel that too?!” asked the pink mare, trying to get his focus, but it seemed to be elsewhere, as his wide-eyed expression of fear seemed to catch her off guard. “Hello, anypony there?!?! Crimson?!?!?!”

The stressed stallion snapped out of his thoughts, hearing Pinkie’s words echo to him.

“Wha- oh, it’s nothing! Really!” Crimson lied. He wasn’t a fan of lying, but now seemed like an appropriate time. He wanted them to know absolutely nothing about this...

“Hmm....... Okie Dokie Lokie!” her serious demeanor changed to a care free one in a split second. Crimson couldn’t even be surprised anymore, he just chalked it up to her being Pinkie Pie. Though he had to wonder, did she actually believe him?

Nightfall approached, and the group said their goodbyes, the only ones remaining was Crimson, Applejack, and who else, Pinkie Pie. It was about 7:00 p.m., Crimson and Applejack shared a home together temporarily, and Pinkie just wanted to see them off. She seemed to really be enjoying herself with him lately...

“Today went actually pretty well, to my surprise.” Crimson spoke up.

“Heh, it did, didn’t it?” Applejack agreed, both finally getting along. “Whew-y, I’m plum tuckered out! Today was exhausting’, wasn’t it Pinkie?”

“Are you kidding!!!” she shouted, happily bouncing once more. “Today was AWESOME!!! I think the girls might actually be warming up to him!”

“Ya sure seem to like him an awful lot, huh?” Applejack said slyly.

“Well DUH!!” she exclaimed, not at all catching it.

The colt rolled his eyes and put his hood over his face, trying to hide the red on his muzzle.

The trio finally made it back to the farm, Pinkie ecstatically crushing her friends with a bone breaking hug, before she bounced off into the night, still with as much energy as before.

“That’s Pinkie for you.” Crimson smirked. “Always so random!”

“Eeyup!” Applejack responded, mimicking her brother.

As they went inside it look like dinner was just starting. This nerved Crimson up quite a bit, as all three Apple family ponies getting ready to eat turned their attention to him. Crimson always did hate the spotlight. He noticed that most of the dinning table was filled with food. Crimson also never knew that there was still one pony he had yet to meet, which made him even more nervous.

It was a short old mare, with a lime green coat, white mane, and orange eyes that matched that of Apple Bloom, that’s probably where she got them too, as the other’s eyes are a green pigment. Neither seemed to have freckles either, so maybe Apple Bloom took after her more then anypony. Then again, he’s never seen her parents either, but he figured it was best not to ask.

The other two waved at them, but the old mare had something different in mind.

“Applejack, where in the world have ya been?!” she asked concerned. “Ya’ll ain’t buckin’ apples, an’ ya almost missed dinner! Ya’ll had me worried sick!” Crimson swore he was going to gain an accent by the time he left this place.

“Ah’m awful sorry, Granny,” Applejack apologized. “But mah friends and Ah were just showin’ our new friend around Ponyville.”

‘Friend?’ This shocked Crimson, since she had definitely hated him earlier today. Maybe this was just to get her grandmother off her case, but he secretly hoped she genuinely meant it.

“Friend, huh?” the old pony examined the colt, inch by inch. “Yer coltfriend?”

Crimson and Applejack blushed on cue, as they both scratched the back of their head nervously, Apple Bloom snickering at the scene.

“No, it ain’t like that, honest!” if she was anything, Crimson figured by now, it was honest. “He just needs a place to stay till he gets his own, he just moved here an’ all.”

“Ya don’t say...” she examined the colt carefully. Maybe a bit too carefully, as she was practically touching noses with him, making Crimson feel uncomfortable. “Ya’ll sure have low standards if ya go after the first colt ya meet!”

“GRANNY!” the embarrassed mare sighed in defeat, and the hysterical laughter coming from the little filly didn’t help the situation at all, and even Big Macintosh joined her.

”Well, help yerself to some of the food here, sonny!” she generously offered. “There’s plenty of it to go around!”

“..Thank you, ma’am.” he said, ever so grateful.

After dinner, the family, and Crimson, decided it was time to hit the hay. But before he did so, Crimson had to ask Applejack one last question.

“Hey, Applejack... did you really mean what you said back there?” he asked awkwardly. “You know... about us being friends?”

“Course Ah did!” se exclaimed proudly. “Ah never lie ‘bout anything’! An’ after the incident with Rainbow Dash at Twilight’s, Ah think ya’ll have more than earned it!”

Right as she finished, she spit on her hoof, gesturing Crimson to shake it. He did so with no hesitation, proud to have finally earned a friend.

The two said their goodnights, as they both went to their rooms. He had a lot to think about, so he was finally glad he had some peace and quiet.

“...Thank you.” he said to nopony in particular, as he drifted into a peaceful slumber...

*****************************************************************************************************************

“...Ponyville, huh?” Storm stood on a small hill, looking over the town with a critical eye.

“Seems pretty small; shouldn’t be too hard to find him.” He galloped forward, hoping to spot an inn, or anypony who might know of his ‘friend’s whereabouts. He smiled to himself. The sun had set. But, he wasn’t giving up yet.