It took us a few minutes to get back to the center of town, but once there, I realized that there seemed to be a lot less ponies around for some reason. Either that, or they were just more spread out. Either way, Rainbow began our tour at a bakery called Sugarcube Corner, telling me about the place as well as the ponies (Mr. and Mrs. Cake) that run the place and live there.

I gave a small nod as I listened to her talk about the place before hearing her mention Pinkie Pie. “Wait, you mean Pinkie lives here?”

Rainbow gave a nod, still hovering in front of me as we traveled through the town. It seemed like she was always flying around, even when she could just simply walk. “Yea, she does. Wait, how do you know her?” She asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

I gave a nervous chuckle at the memory of first meeting the pink mare. “Well, Twilight and I kind of met her on our way back from the…what’s the name of it…Carousal Boutique when we ran into her. She was actually watching you before she saw us, then she suddenly gasped and ran off.”

The cyan mare gave a small chuckle at my explanation before nodding. “Yup, that sounds like Pinkie Pie to me.”

“Well, is she ok?”

Rainbow turned her head around as she looked at me curiously. “Huh?”

“I mean, she looked rather scared when she gasped, and I thought that, well…seeing me might have frightened her. I was kind of hoping I could go apologize to her about me scaring her like that. Honestly, I-”

I was suddenly interrupted by laughter, and looking at my flying friend, I saw that she was not flying anymore, but simply laying on the ground laughing. I raised an eyebrow at her as she held herself as she laughed, waiting for her to calm down so she could explain what she found so funny.

After another minute of her laughing, she finally calmed down enough to catch her breath and lifted herself off of the ground, giving her wings a good few flaps to shake off some of the snow before she was hovering in the air once again. “S-sorry Drakalian…heh heh...but I doubt she was afraid of you.”

I gave her a small look of disbelief as I heard this. “But she was clearly terrified of me, I mean, the look on her face was of fear and-”

“Listen, Drakalian. I know you think that she was scared, but trust me, if anything, she was more likely surprised to have seen somepony like you.”

“But…I could have sworn…” I said, feeling a bit confused with how I could mistake a facial expression that easily.

“Listen, maybe she was, maybe she wasn’t, though I’m betting that it was the latter. You said that both you and Twilight were watching me when you saw Pinkie, so maybe we can ask her later tonight when we all gather up here. Sound good to you?” She asked.

I was quiet as I thought it over for a few seconds before giving her a slight nod. “Yea, I guess that can work. Thanks Rainbow.”

Rainbow gave a smile and a small nod of her head. “Hey, no problem. Now how about we go and get a quick snack, my treat.”

I smiled at the sound of some food, even though we did have Fluttershy’s veggie soup an hour ago, it wasn’t really that filling for me. “Sure, sounds good to me.” With that, I started to walk towards Sugarcube Corner, but was stopped when Dash flew right past me and stopped right in front of me, hovering in place.

I once again raised an eyebrow in slight confusion as she stopped me. “I thought we were going to get a snack here.”

“Well yea, but…um, not here.” She stated, causing my curiosity to go a bit higher.

“Can I ask why?”

“Well, they’re closed at the moment, so-”

“But the lights are on.”

“They’re busy renovating.” She quickly spoke before giving me what I assumed was a sheepish smile. I just stared at her for a few seconds, shifting my gaze between her and the bakery as I thought over what she said. I had a high suspicion that the bakery wasn’t closed and that she was just pulling a fast one over me, but then again I had no idea how things worked here, so she could be telling the truth. Deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt, I gave a small sigh and a nod before turning around to look around the place. “Ok then, so where shall we go instead?”

As I turned around, Rainbow gave a small sigh of relief that went unnoticed by me before gaining her normal demeanor as she flew past me. “Just follow me, I know a great place to get some apples.” I gave a nod as I started to follow her away from Sugarcube Corner and into what seemed to be the town center.

I was a bit worried that the place would be just as crowded as this afternoon, but thankfully it seemed to be a lot emptier then before. As I looked around, I noticed that most of the stalls seemed to be closing down for the day, and it was at one of these stalls that Rainbow flew to, with me close behind her.

As we got closer, I was able to tell that it was indeed an apple stall, just like Rainbow said. Manning (Or would it be stallionning? Maring, maybe?) the stall was an orange Earth pony with a blonde mane and tail. Upon closer inspection, I was able to tell that it was indeed a mare, her mane and tail tied with red bands in what was ironically a ponytail. She also seemed to be wearing some sort of cowboy hat, and combined with the freckles on her cheeks it gave her a rather distinct country look, though not in a bad way, of course.

It seemed like the mare was busy packing some things onto a wagon, which was full of a few leftover apples that most likely didn’t get sold as well as a decent sized bag that seemed to be decently filled. As she was packing them, I was able to get a good look at her cutie mark, which was a picture of three apples. The sound of my footsteps seemed to alert her of my presence, for I noticed that her ear twitched before she turned around to face us, a smile on her face as soon as she saw Rainbow.

“Why howdy there Rainbow. How’s th’ practice comin’ along?” She said in a distinct accent of some sort (I’m assuming it was a country accent, given her look). As Dash flew up to greet her, I noticed that I was seemingly unnoticed by the new pony. I found it hard to believe that a new species would be as easy to miss as this, but apparently it seems to be much easier then it sounds.

“Eh, it goes well, though I did kind of crash into a new pony…well, a new thing, but everything worked out ok, so no harm done.” Said the cyan pony, rubbing the back of her head with a foreleg as she landed next to the orange pony.

The stall pony gave a slightly disappointed look at her before slowly shaking her head. “Tarnation Rainbow. ah swear tha’ one o’ these days when ya do hit somepony, you’ll send them righ’ to the hospital.”

“Heh, well…that kind of almost happened this time.” Rainbow stated, tracing the snow with a foreleg.

The orange mare looked up in surprise back at Dash. “What?! Ya mean tha-” However, before she could finish, her eyes went wide with surprise at what she saw behind her, which was of course me (though it did take me a few seconds to figure out what she was staring at). Upon noticing that I had been…well, noticed, I carefully approached the new pony and extended my hand in greeting. “Um…hello there. I’m assuming you and Dash know each other well?” I said, doing my best to try and break the ice, if somewhat awkwardly.

The new mare stared at me for a few seconds, her wide-eyed expression vanishing, only to be replaced with a raised eyebrow one of suspicion. After a few moments of staring at me some more, she slowly raised her own hoof and placed it in my hand, shaking it with a rather strong grip (I didn’t even know ponies could grip onto things). Once our hand/hoof shake was done, she turned to face Rainbow with a deadpanned look before saying, “Let me guess, this is the guy that you flew into?”

“Um…maybe?” She replied, giving another sheepish smile like the one before.

There was silence for a few moments as the orange pony stared at her for a few more seconds before replying. “What in Tartarus did ya do ta the poor thang? He looks like he tried ta grapple a bull by the horns…and the bull won! And what do ya mean he almost went ta th’ hospital? By th’ looks o’ things he should still be there resting.”

I decided to stop the blonde mane pony from continuing, not wanting her to blame it entirely on Rainbow. “Now hold on here, Miss…um…”

Rainbow let out a small sigh, glad that the scolding from her was over, even if she wasn’t completely out of the clear just yet. “AJ, this is Drakalian, a supposedly not so mythical human that has a really bad case of amnesia. Drakalian, this is Applejack, one of my best friends here and the owner of Sweet Apple Acres. If you ever want a good apple to eat, or just about any apple made product, then just come to her, she has the best apples in Equestria.”

“Now hold on there, missy. Don’t ya think that buttering me up with them compliments is going ta get ya out o’ this. Plus, ah don’t own Sweet Apple Acres, Granny Smith still does.” Applejack said, causing Dash to wince slightly at the intensity of her voice.

“Well, she actually didn’t do this. I kind of brought this upon myself, so no one is really at fault here.”

Applejack looked up at me suddenly, and the first thing that I noticed was that she was trying to look right into my eyes, as if she was searching for something. Out of instinct, I quickly averted my gaze somewhere else, causing the orange mare to give me a surprised look before shaking her head to clear it and then to look back at me again. “What ya mean, ya brought this upon yourself?

I rubbed the back of my head with my good hand as I recalled the events that took place in the Everfree Forest, explaining my fight with the Basilisk creature, along with me meeting and saving Trixie in the process. Applejack listened carefully, a neutral expression on her face the entire time. I was a bit worried that she wasn’t really listening to me, but every so often she would give a small nod of understanding, seeming to let me know that she was indeed listening.

By the time I finished my story, the three of us were all sitting in the snow…well, I was leaning against my staff, while the two mares were sitting down in the snow, not wanting to get my only clothing wet. They were both quiet once I was done telling my story, Rainbow simply listening with wide eyes like the last time, like she just couldn’t hear it enough, while Applejack still had a neutral expression the entire time, not giving me a hint of what she was thinking.

After a few minutes of silence, the orange mare finally spoke. “So, this amnesia thang…ya sure that ya can’t remember anything at all? Nothing comes ta mind after what has happened today?” As she spoke, she tried to once again look into my eyes, and I once again averted my gaze, feeling even more uncomfortable about it. Why was she trying to look into my eyes in the first place? It’s not like I need to keep eye contact when I talk to someone.

I gave a nod as I pulled my hood down a bit more over my head, somehow feeling a bit more comfortable when I did so. “I’m sure. The only thing that I did remember was my own name, and even then I don’t know if it is my name or not.”

Once again there was silence for a few moments before Applejack gave a small nod, getting up on her hooves, Dash doing the same thing. “Well, tha’ was an…interesting tale that ya told there, Drakalian sir, but ah can’t really stay and chat anymore right now. Gotta bring mah stuff back to the farm and such.” She said, stiffly turning around to put the final stuff back onto the wagon before she started to hook it onto herself.

I gave a nod of understanding as I was about to turn and leave, but Rainbow stopped us from doing so. “Hey, hold on a sec. We came here to see if you would sell us some of your apples for a quick snack before we went to the…well, you know.”

I raised an eyebrow upon hearing her say the ‘you know’ part, still not sure what it was they knew. However, Applejack did seem to brighten up slightly upon hearing that. “Oh, well tha’s fine by me. Let me just get some out o’ th’ wagon for ya.” Rainbow nodded and as the orange pony went to grab some apples from her wagon, the cyan Pegasus reached out behind her and took out a bag of what I assumed to be some sort of money from under her wing that I didn’t see before.

When the Earth pony turned back around holding a couple of apples in her hoof, she noticed the small bag and gave a small chuckle and a shake of her head. “Rainbow, ya don’t have ta pay for this one, it’s on the house, as it were.” She said, giving a small smile.

Rainbow only rolled her eyes as she kept her hoof holding the money out for Applejack. “Maybe, but it just doesn’t sit right with me taking your apples without paying you.”

“Ya don’t seem to have a problem just picking a few off of mah trees when ya nap in them every so often.” Said the farmer, giving her another deadpanned look.

Dash simply shrugged. “Yea, but this is different. I only take those because they’re still on the tree and you haven’t picked them yet. Besides, flying is a lot of work. Also, by seeing how many apples that you still have, I’m guessing that it was a bit of a slow day today, huh?”

Applejack was silent for a moment, staring at the rainbow maned Pegasus for a few more minutes. Finally, she reached out and took half of the bits from Rainbow before giving her the apples. “Alright fine. But ah’m only taking half price for it, ya hear me?”

Rainbow gave a nod, quickly biting into her apple before she tossed my apple to me making me react quickly to reach out and catch it. As I began to eat my sweet tasting snack, I noticed that the orange pony whispered something to Dash, but before I could ask what they were talking about, the cyan pony turned her head to face me.

“Hey, AJ needs my help with some things, just give me a moment, ok?” She asked.

I gave a nod before taking another bite from my apple, my mouth too full to make a proper acknowledgment. Satisfied that I would wait for her, both of the mares turned and walked to the wagon, leaving me alone with my apple and my thoughts.

(POV: Rainbow Dash)

As AJ and I walked to her wagon, I gave a quick look behind me to make sure that Drakalian was still waiting for me, but so far it seemed like he was just enjoying his apple, his eyes seeming to be staring off into space. Satisfied, I turned and faced my friend again, wanting to get to the bottom of what she really wanted me for.

“Ok AJ, what’s up? I know you don’t really need my help with packing up; you normally do this on your own in the first place anyways. What gives?” I asked, deciding to just get straight to the point.

AJ looked at me, a single eyebrow raised as we stopped next to the wagon. “Rainbow Dash, are ya suggesting that ah lied ta ya?”

My eyes went wide as I quickly shook my head, putting my hooves up in my defense. “What, oh no, not at all. I would never think that you would lie to me. I’m just curious, that’s all.”

AJ stared at me for a few more seconds, making me even more worried that I might have went too far, but before I could try to say something, she gave a small chuckle and a nudge to my shoulder. “Ah’m just messing with ya, Dash. Ah know ah could do all o’ this by mahself, but it goes a lot quicker when somepony helps me ta put on the harness. So, care ta lend a hoof?” With that said, she walked up to the front of the wagon and picked up the harness in her hooves, holding it out to me.

I gave a small sigh of relief as I nodded in agreement. “Oh, yea, of course.” I took the harness from her hooves and into mine before hovering over her slightly as I helped to put them on her properly. “I just thought that you were upset with me or something, you know?”

There was a bit of silence for a moment before I heard a small sigh. “No sugarcube, ah’m not upset with ya, I just…well…”

I was halfway with tightening one of the straps when she said that, causing me to stop for a moment and making me raise an eyebrow. “Well what? Come on, AJ, we’re friends here. You can tell me.” I responded as I continued at my task at hoof.

“Well, it’s just…I don’t trust that Drakalian fella.”

Now this caught me by complete surprise, causing me to accidentally tighten up one of the straps around her chest, making her give a surprised gasp. Upon noticing this, I quickly undid the mishap and tightened it properly. “Oh crap, sorry AJ!” I exclaimed, worried that I might have hurt her.

AJ took a few moments to catch her breath before responding. “It’s alright, just surprised me is all.”

“Surprised you? I’m surprised that you don’t trust Drakalian. I mean, he may be a new…well, everything, but he hasn’t done anything wrong. Hell, he was even nicer to Fluttershy then Gilda was, and that is a good mark in my book.” At this point, I finished strapping on the harness to Applejack and landed in front of her, giving her a questioning look. “But seriously, why don’t you trust him? I mean, he doesn’t seem that threatening to me.”

“Well, ya know how ah can tell if somepony is lying ta me and such?”

I gave a nod, still not sure where this was going.

“Well, th’ easiest way ta know if somepony is lying is by looking inta their eyes. Ya can tell a lot by looking inta somepony’s eyes, such as what they are really thinking.”

I gave a nod, wondering where this was going. “Yea, so…”

“So ah’m saying tha’ when ah went ta make eye contact with him, he just looked away. Now, ah learned tha’ nopony looks away from ya when ya asking em a question unless they have something ta hide.”

Now it was my turn to be surprised with what she said, while at the same time doing my best to try and not look back at Drakalian, in case it made me look suspicious. “So, you mean he lied about it? I mean those scars don’t exactly look fake.” I asked, still finding it a bit hard to believe her…but at the same time, what she said did make sense.

AJ shook her head. “Not necessarily. Ah think tha’ he’s telling the truth regarding the fight and saving Trixie, but as for the amnesia…well…” She then fell silent after that, leaving me just as confused as before. I waited for a few moments for AJ to continue but when she still said nothing, I decided to respond.

“Well, he seems like a nice kind of…human. I mean, I do understand what you mean, but I just…I don’t know if I agree with you, AJ.”

AJ was silent, staring off into the distance. I was worried that I might have hurt her feelings, but before I could do anything, my country friend shook her head and gave me a small smile. “It don’t matter to me tha’ much, Rainbow. All ah ask is for ya ta just stay a bit more alert with him. Besides, ah could be just over thinking all o’ this, but ah prefer ta play this safe, just in case. Now if ya would excuse me, ah do have ta bring these here apples back ta th’ farm. I’ll see ya later at Sugar-”

I quickly covered her mouth with my hoof before looking behind me to see if Drakalian heard her, but to my relief, the human seemed to be busy mulling in his own thoughts. With that little mishap taken care of, I turned to face AJ again as I took my hoof away from her mouth. “Careful, AJ. You know how Pinkie doesn’t like it when her surprise gets ruined.”

AJ gave a sheepish smile at the mistake that she nearly made. “Oops, mah bad sugarcube.”

I gave a nod of understanding before flapping my wings, lifting me back into the air. “Well, seya later AJ.” I said before turning around and flying towards Drakalian.

Applejack gave a wave of farewell before she turned and started walking towards the farm with her wagon in tow. However, as she did so, she gave a quick glance to the human, still feeling like something was off with him. Even if she did say she might have been mistaken, she still wasn’t going to trust this human just yet. And while she didn’t know for sure if he was telling the truth or not, there was one things that she did know.

One way or another, she was going to figure out why he avoided making eye contact with her and get to the bottom of the entire situation.

Next Chapter: Chapter 9: PARTY...Time? Estimated time remaining: 10 Hours, 22 Minutes