"What is it? Smells like Albert's cooking." Hank asked, wondering about the freshly opened jar of red jelly. From what he gathered he could see a few skins of some fruit on the surface.

"I resent that! I only used too much spice that one time, besides my cooking is normally outstanding." The Prince was massaging his ego as well as the sprained ankle, despite Fluttershy's request, which quickly became an order.

He watched, sitting by the table downstairs, as the one called Rainbow Dash giggled to herself. She recalled an episode in season 3 where the cook was gravely ill. As a result, the small group had to assemble a meal fit for a peace conference. Despite Hank's warning, he managed to pour too much chilli powder onto the mixture.

By the end of the episode the royal kitchen, the halls and every guard’s backside was on fire, Shadowman was engaged to a duchess against his will, and the prince smelt like garlic and skunk juice. He spent weeks soaking in the bath, just to remove the garlic stench.

"With my supervision. Ooh that's cold." shivered the titan. Fluttershy had, to her, bravely dipped her hoof in the foul smelling mixture, and was slowly applying it to the contorted arm.

Twilight had remained silent, not in the crazy way like before, but still confused never the less. She caught the occasional glance of Frank, who was looking back intrigued with her form, before quickly looking away. She was wondering if she was studying her physiology or judging her silently. He stopped looking when he could sense the awkwardness in her movements, and focused on the energetic pony and her small purple reptilian friend.

Pinkie was dragging her facial features around, groaning and blowing raspberries. Spike made his own attempts to pull humorous faces, and also directed them to Shadowman. He sat down on a chair at the back, elbow resting on the table to support his head. The pair had being trying for ten minutes to get him to laugh, or at least smile.

He appeared bored.

"Okay one more time Mr Hank, it says apply twice." Fluttershy said, gingerly reapplying the offensive mixture.

"Call me Hank." He realised his mistrust may have been misplaced after all. He warmed up, slightly, to the timid mare and the cyan pegasus. He didn't trust the quiet purple one, or the strange pink 'battery' he dubbed.

"Okay Hank. That's a nice name." she said, attempting to distract herself from the jelly. She scrunched her face up, and he smiled.

"My Full name is..."

Hank the Tank: the strongest man in all of Primane. the azure speedster mentally quoted, before he had even finished saying 'the Tank.' She was sitting next to him, eyeing up the size of the muscles on his working arm.

"That's a pretty cool achievement, but since Primane isn't real, you can't prove it." taunted the fan-mare, waiting for the results.

"It is real! I can probably take you with one hand, heck with only three fingers." He swiftly gave her that look. Her favourite look. One she knew had meant a challenge was waiting; a physical test to size each other up. She wouldn't admit it, ever, but one hearts warming eve she did ask for hoof wrestling match. It came two years late.

"Oh yeah? Prove it." She narrowed her eyes and grinned, he returned the gesture...until his arms started tingling.

Looking back, he spotted the red mixture bubbling, the strangely sweet smell from the burst bubbles, and the way his arm was moving itself. It slowly extended itself; he was worried not to be feeling any pain.

He wouldn't have to worry for much longer.

Everyone and pony winced as his arm crackled, jerked, and generally moved on its own accord. Hank was growling, gritting his teeth at the pain, scaring both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.

"Oh are you ok? I'm so sorry! I didn't..." The caretaker fluttered her wings and was pleading for Hank's forgiveness, when he shrugged off the immense pain.

"It's fine. Better than ever, had to be done. Thanks." He massaged his now functioning arm, testing it as if he never had one before.

"He's a big guy, I'm sure he's alright, right?" Rainbow added, nudging the giant by his shoulder.

"You'd think, but he still sleeps with that stupid spoon every night, he's so far from 'alright' he's all left." Franked remarked, earning a chuckle from Twilight. He looked over his shoulder and she stopped. He smirked a bit and looked back, just in time to miss her blush.

"Leave Splinter out of this, he saved us more times than you know." Hank passionately defended his pride and joy: his first cooking spoon.

"From what? Starvation? God forbid we nearly died from all the bullets, explosions, the Prince's cooking, but thanks to your servings of pies we survived." sniped Frank, causing the room to erupt a small fit of laughter. Well, Pinkie, Shadowman and Fluttershy remained silent. The cocky brother was chuckling at his own insult, until a book dived into his stomach. It, along with him, dropped to the floor.

"As I was saying, thank you. Could you do the same to Prince Albert over there?"

"Of course." Fluttershy did just that, and also in a similar manner to how her name suggested. Fluttering slowly, she landed and timidly approached the member of royalty. "Your...majesty...cou...y...r..." she began to mumble, until only her lips were moving and no sound was produced. She had never worked on a Prince before, let alone one of these humans.

"No need to fear little one, I mean no harm. Such a beautiful creature should be on a pedestal, not harmed," her cheeks immediately burned with crimson, "If you would prefer, I will look away and allow to work. I'll take the boots of my dear. So unless you wish to converse, know you have my thanks." He turned away and gazed upon Frank and Hank rolling their eyes.

He also spied Shadowman, resting on the chair at the back, just staring at the two jesters. They were still trying to stir emotion in him, as the butter coloured pony applied the ointment.

"Boy' he's good." the assistant admitted, before sighing in defeat. He scratched the scales under his chin, before facing Pinkie. "Well I'm out of ideas, perhaps he can't smile." he shrugged. Pinkie Pie still continued pulling strange faces, flinging her tongue about, more determined than ever.

"That's terrible. We have to find something to make him smile!" She began to accelerate the amount of faces she was pulling; leaving Spike in both fear and awe of the speed she was able to create them.

Had Shadowman been awake since the start, perhaps this crusade for his grin could have been avoided.

He was jerked form his slumber when everyone gasped. A huge white light blinded everyone, besides the man in shades. He was once again the first to witness a new species of pony.

She stood there, grand an elegant. The pearl white coat emphasised the golden lace around her body. A chest plate, studded with a single purple gemstone, four horse shoes and a jagged tiara, resting just behind her horn. The flowing mane, riding an invisible current, consisted of four colours: warm pink, jade green, faded blue, and thin slither deep sea navy. Her wings remained folded, but clearly indicated an impressive wing span. He managed to get a look at her face, whilst the rest were still recovering.

He noted the worried look on her face, similar to a distressed mother, before spying the purple mare heading towards her.

"Twilight! I have received your letter and..."

"Princess Celestia! Thank goodness you here. I... Princess Celestia?" The lavender unicorn gave a concerned look at her mentor's facial expression. It was one crossed between shock and disbelief, and the purple mare noted who she was looking at.

Prince Albert.

He too looked back at the regal equine, both staring at each other. Fluttershy scampered away to the far corner, hoping not to break there line of sight.

"Princess?" Twilight asked in a soft brittle voice.

"Oh...yes Twilight I am sorry I was...distracted." she turned to give her student a sheepish smile. "I think I need to discuss things with my citizens. Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash, could you please join me in Twilight's bedroom." she asked, ignoring the confused expressions of the humans, for fear of also falling into the depths of madness.

With a flash of light, they were gone. The humans were stunned, Hanks arm just flopped, Frank brought the book to his chest like a pillow, Shadowman sighed and shook his head, and the prince froze.

"Does anyone else wish they just died this morning?" Frank asked.

"Uhuh." Hank's response represented the general consensus, as Shadowman and Albert nodded slowly.

"I think we need to re-evaluate the potential these ponies have." Albert finally added.

"Sir that last one was called Princess Celestia. Princess. I think the little pink pony was right." Hank said morbidly.

"Yes. We are no longer in...ouch." He grimaced and looked at his ankle. The swelling stopped, but the twitching was still causing a pulsating pain. It felt like he had been stabbed three times before the pain stopped. He sighed, releasing a clenched breath, and put his boot back on. He stood up, slowly applying weight to his repaired ankle, and moved over to the table.

He sat on one side, looked at the others with a dark mask, and they soon followed. Opposite him sat Frank, massaging his temples, trying find an explanation of the new pony. To the Prince's right sat Hank, he had stopped massaging his arm, and was leaning back. The phantom chose to sit to his left, not that he had a choice because he waited to see which seat was remaining. He calmly sat down, resting one hand on top of the other on the table, and craned his head to the Prince.

"It is clear we are not in Primane anymore. This land belongs to the Princess, and I do believe Miss Pie when she said there was another. What bothers me is why our lands have never heard of each other." He said calmly, although he stroked his chin at the last sentence.

"I thought we had found all of the land possible." Hank added.

"No, we're close, but there are still areas yet to be explored and charted. Nowhere like this though, surely we would have noticed talking horses by know." Albert replied.

"I think we're looking at this the wrong way. We should stop thinking this is even our world." The group swiftly focused their attention on Frank. He brought the book that hit him onto the table, and placed it in the middle.

Everyone looked at the cover. Hank had to do a double take, Shadowman slid his shades down enough to look over them, whilst the Prince reached for the book.

The cover read 'The Legend of Humans and their mythology.'

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"Now Twilight, I think you should start by explaining why there are fictional characters in your Library." the alicorn stated, despite the motherly tone, it had was laced with a hidden excitement. However, she had to focus and put her fang-mare aside...for the moment. If her instincts were correct this would be one of Twilight's biggest, albeit most commendable, blunder to date.

"Well Pinkie Pie found them, she said they were lost and hurt." Twilight responded, pointing to the smiling mare.

"Yeah, they said they were lost and hurt. They also said they were called humans. Not to be confused with humus, humourus, humid or hunger, they don't like that. They don't believe this is Equestria. Can you imagine! Not living in Equestria, silly fillies." She giggled, sitting on Twilights bed. Meanwhile Rainbow was snooping around, hovering, hunting for this chest Twilight had mentioned.

"Pinkie Pie, It was a kind deed you performed, bringing them here. Might I suggest a hospital nest time however?" chuckled Celestia, then she stopped and blinked. "You do recognise who these humans are don't you?" she asked curiously.

She shook her head, paused, and then nodded.

"I saw the dark one, the one with the coat, he was playing hide and seek in the hay pile. You two remember that cart with the hay right?" She switched from focusing on the Princess to look between Twilight and Rainbow dash.

"Err...I suppose why? Wait you mean to tell me he was hidden in the hay bale?" Twilight responded.

"Yes." she chirped. "He was really good, I had to chase him into the forest, but nopony beats Pinkie Pie at hide and seek. I chased him through the alleyway in my balloon, and over the bridge-where he nearly ran into Fluttershy- and into the forest. He's really fast." She finished off with a nod, agreeing with her own statement.

"That is an interesting tale, Pinkie Pie, but I mean do you recognise him from a TV show?" Celestia asked.

She tapped her chin, pouting her lip as she did so, and said "Nope. Why are they famous? Can I throw an 'I'm sorry I didn't know you were a famous actor, I don't watch TV because I work a lot' party?"

"Sadly no." Celestia felt a bit heartbroken to see Ponyville’s premium party hostess' hair deflate, "Not yet anyway." she chuckled as her hair twitched before once again returning to that signature frizzy style.

"What about dear Fluttershy, do you know of the program they come from?" the Princess asked, already knowing such a kind creature would never watch such a show.

"um....no. You mean they are not real?" The butterscotch mare moved out of the way of the investigating blue pegasus.

"No. They are fictional, what surprises me is how they managed to come to life." she responded, looking back towards the closed door. The worry stricken elder decided to explain the scenario to those who have no idea what the true gravity of the situation is.

"They are characters from a cartoon show. The last episode finished last night, and under depressing circumstance." She braced for the inquisitive stares, and then the inevitable epiphany to follow.

"Princess Celestia? Are you a..."

"Humare?...Prince Albert is best human." She shared a chuckle with the other humares, whilst Pinkie and Fluttershy looked at each confused.

"Wow, I never pegged you as one to watch a cartoon Princess." Rainbow dash added, landing beside the bed.

"Well it was the talk of Canterlot, Although Prince Blue Blood is very anti-brony. He often caused the bronies and humares of the castle to work a little extra. Anyway, I was curious by the second season. I watched the episode where Hank entered the championships and had to pull that train a whole mile. Truly inspirational." She replied.

"Oh that's my favourite episode. Gotta say, I prefer Hank to Albert, he's okay but..." she waved her hoof around, then spied something under the bed.

The Diarch giggled, "What about you Twilight?"

"Oh I love Frank." Celestia raised an eyebrow, as did Rainbow Dash, "I mean I love his character!" she yelled defensively.

"My sister is in favour of Shadowman, apparently he's cute when confused. How she picks that up I don't know, maybe she's looking into it too much."

"I'm sorry but what's a humare or a brony?" Fluttershy asked. She had been in deep thought about those words, ever since she first heard them.

"It's the name of the ponies that enjoy the show. A 'Brony' is a colt or stallion who likes the show; the word bro and pony put together. A 'Humare' is a mare, who likes the show too, but is made up from the words human and mare." chirped Twilight, as Celestia nodded sagely.

"Oh, well that makes...sense. So what's an anti-brony?" she replied.

"They're jerks! They pick on ponies who like the show. They say it's all violence and for the ponies who have lost it. They also say it's like corrupting ponies, making them all aggressive and stuff. That's a load of apples, how many times has a pony been arrested for hurting each other. Non, it’s not like the show can make you the worst pony ever." The sporty mare rambled.

"Like Rarity and Applejack?" Fluttershy pawned a hoof, whilst the other mare mulled over that comment.

"Well, sort of. They don't like the show because it sometimes violent, but until then they were happy with it. Applejack was starting to like Hank... until he beat a guy up...or five. They don't judge ponies for it, but they don't like ponies trying to talk them into it. They don't dislike bronies, but they dislike the show."

"I wish Blue Blood would think that way, I caught him trying to humiliate a guard the other night."

"Ooh, ooh, can I be a humare?" Pinkie Pie asked, waving her hoof around.

"Um...yeah, just watch the show. Channel 55 every Saturday, at 9:30 PM. Well not any more, you might catch a repeat now that the shows over." the cyan wonder, purple student and the party animal, all held a small frown. Pinkie Pie complained about missing out, to which point Rainbow Dash and Twilight face-hooved. Having spent the past five years talking about the show, it was a wonder why Pinkie was believing she never heard of it.

"Perhaps the story may have ended, but it appears the adventure has just begun." Celestia said nodding to the door. Everyone immediately perked up. "However I believe we should not inform them of their origins, such a life changing piece of knowledge may have untold effects on them. Perhaps a disguise may be in working order?" She pondered. To her, a truly wonderful idea entered her mind, one that might lead to a very, very interesting conversation. Given that she could find the required item.

A species altering spell.

"What? How do we stop them finding out about the show? How can you possibly disguise..."

"HUUMMMAAANNSSS!" a feminine scream rang out, from outside the tree-house.

"Oh what now?" Twilight groaned, she looked around and saw everypony's worried look. Especially the rainbow maned pegasus' face, caught trying to pull out a chest from under the bed.

"HEY! Get away from that!"

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"Creatures advanced in technology and intelligence, they were once used as symbols of wisdom, war, peace and nobility. The origins of these creatures stems from dreams many tribal ponies had, eons before the rule of Princess Celestia. Unlike the rest of the Equestrian mythology, there have been no sightings of any human recorded in history. All over the planet, in other kingdoms, they were/are still either feared, revered, forgotten, worshipped or loved, but have never been seen."

The squad looked back at each other. After what their leader had just read, they remained silent. Frank registered that he was on a different planet, attempting to comprehend how he wound up here almost sent him catatonic.

Hank thought he had the situation sussed out. If he was in a tribal ponies dream, pinching himself would wake him up? He tried 15 times before he realised the pony in question had to pinch themselves.

Shadowman massaged his forehead for the umpteenth time. It seemed the world was content with making him question his existence, and also threw in a migraine to boot.

Prince Albert was contemplating what he was going to do without any authority, any loyal citizens, whom he cared for greatly, and his kingdom. Gone, all of it gone.

"My reptilian friend, Is it true? Are there no other of our kind on this world." the Prince asked softly, not even removing his eyes away from the closed book.

"Err... I guess. You guys are the first I've seen." He rubbed the back of his head, realising how alone these men were. He didn't really know how to handle this delicately. "My name's Spike by the way. I'm a dragon."

As much a Frank wanted to comment on how he looked nothing like a dragon, whether it was a snide remark about height, the lack of wings, or how he was too weak to bear the title, he was simply lost in his mind.

"Where did Miss Twilight acquire this book? It is said to belong to a Miss Lyra Hearstrings." He lifted the cover and showed the purple dragon the name, the others leant closer attempting to follow his trail of thought.

"Lyra? She lives on Bridge Lane. It's the house with the Lyre door knocker but why do you want to see her?" He opened his arms out as if to say 'there's nothing here' or in this case 'there'.

"She has taken the liberty of writing she is 'Equestria's first, and so far only, anthropologist.' If this is the case, she would have more information and perhaps a way home. Could you please show where she lives?" Albert asked desperately.

"I don't know... I mean shouldn't you wait to see the Princess?" his suggestion fell on deaf ears, as Shadowman tapped the desk. He tapped his head, and made walking motions with his hand.

"You know where the house is? Pray show, how?" Frank asked curiously.

Shadowman again tapped his head, then his shades, then knocked on the air, before strumming it. The group understood that he recalls seeing a knocker shaped like a lyre and Albert smiled.

"I really really think you guys should stay here." Once again he was ignored, as the group silently headed towards the door.

The group were now being led by the phantom, followed closely by Albert, Frank and then Hank. Shadowman twisted the door knob silently and the group exited the building.

The sight they saw was one to flood back many nostalgic memories. Similar thatched homes, the ghostly lemon walls, the thick timber panels, gave them a sense determination; seeing a world so parallel yet so different was more than enough to give them hope of returning home. The cobbled stone roads, eroded by the many years of use, divided both sides of a busy street. The warm air and the burning sun, brought them out of their stupor when Hank poetically described the scene before him.

"Fuckin' Hell it's hot. I'm surprised all these ponies aren't ripe with sweat."

"Perhaps the light shades reflect the light all lot more, reducing heat intake. Could be a natural advantage in this warmer climate." Frank had only pondered why the ponies came in such a wide variety of colour for about five minutes. Too many pressing matters came before wondering why the indigenous population was an eyesore.

"Regardless, we must press on. On your lead Shadow." Albert tapped his new guide on the shoulder and he looked back. His short black haired still stood like stalagmites, despite the signs of perspiration on his forehead. He nodded, acknowledging command, and why it was a terrible idea to choose a thick, black, trench coat for his attire.

They managed to get a few paces down the road when they were spotted.

"HHUUMMAAANSSS!" an orange colt screamed, at an unusually high pitch. His bakers cap hit the ground as he ran away. The group were still stunned when he returned to pick it up, before repeating the action.

"Yet again, your voice does aid in our travels." Frank remarked, watching chaos ensue. Ponies running back and forth, some even walking up to them before crackling madly collapsing. Run away carts were seen either chasing, or being chased by, some pony. Doors were slammed, windows shut, many disappeared through the few alleyways. In the space of a minute the screaming had stopped, some of the psychotic chuckles were still heard, but the entire street was empty.

"That reminded me of when Hank was asking for a prom date in high school." Frank remarked. He soon found himself on the floor, eating cobble stone.

"Let's move. We should...encounter...less...now?" Prince Albert had finished glancing around when he spied a large group of ponies down the street to his left.

The mob of multi-coloured mares and a small cluster of colts appeared to be wearing strange outfits. A few had what appeared to be oversized coats. Black and draping over. The more stallion like stood in their hind legs at the back, wearing a black vest top. A few mares had swollen horns. A few turned to the side, revealing the horn to be...giant fingers. They were actually hats, or so he hoped.

What disturbed him the most were the amount of colts who had a similar blond hairstyle, especially when their tails were a different colour.

"Hello? We mean you know harm." Albert decided to speak up, perhaps conversing with this strange crowd will ease tension?

There was a sudden gasp, followed by another scream.

"ITS THEM! ITS REALLY THEM!" a rose maned mare yelled, wiggling that horn-finger-thing. Suddenly they charged, the thunderous noise of over twenty ponies galloping on stone filled the air.

"RUN! Run, my friends." Instantly the group sped off, sprinting down the street away from the pursuers. Flashbacks to that pink menace flooded Shadowman's mind, but he still ran. Frank was trying to push himself far enough to catch up his Prince.

"You...should...really...put a zipper...on that thing." he added, panting between each set of words. He soon returned to his original position in the running line. He thought Hank was behind him, until he couldn't hear his breathing.

"Hank?" The group momentarily stopped to see where the brute was. he was standing, waiting to embrace the stampede.

"Go, they're too fast. I knew we shouldn't have trusted them. Go! I can only hold them back for so long." He waved his arm, as if attempting to bat them away to safety.

"Hank..." Frank was slowly walking forward, trying to reach his elder.

"Go little brother." the elder replied softly. Hank looked him in the eyes, and understood what he meant. He wished he hadn't.

"Don't be stupid."

"GO SAVE THE PRINCE!" he roared in response. The crowd of pony were only seconds away now.

"Yes brother." he responded morbidly, before turning back and grabbing the Prince. The rest of the group soon departed, whilst hank turned back to face the hoard.

"WWAAARRRRGGGGHHH!" His booming voice was met by another.

"GGGLLOOOOOMMMMPPP!"

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"Hank..." Frank mourned to himself, grieving at his brother's textbook execution of self-sacrifice.

"We shall reclaim him, but for now we must hide. Mark my words, the human hunters will learn to fear us." Prince Albert reassured, earning scowling nod from the Frank. The thought of revenge gave a warm feeling in his heart.

The group were still running, even amongst other ponies scrambling to get out of the way. More panic induce riots were produced, albeit more calm in the sense nothing was trashed, and more 'human hunters' as they were dubbed arrived on scene. Some were wearing similar attire to those before, as well as the same dress sense as the humans too. Where as a new type arrived; they seemed to be more of a true mob, with pitchforks and torches, following the trio of men.

Shadowman realised running was no longer an option, and suggested hiding. Separately to be exact. After much debate, whilst still running for their lives, they soon parted.

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"Ggllooommmpp!" Another disturbing war cry, heard from outside the Library. There stood Princess Celestia, massaging her temples; Twilight Sparkle, glaring at Rainbow Dash; she was trying to give her an apologetic look. Pinkie Pie had mysteriously vanished, leaving Fluttershy standing with a bewildered look on her face.

The sight of in the distance was probably the strangest sight she, and the others, had ever seen.

"Why are ponies so fanatical about this show? I can see why many partitioned for it to be cancelled." Celestia sighed and began making her way to the swarming crowd, orbiting the giant.

"I know. I mean the Wonder bolts are way better than this show. You don't see me tackling them to the ground." Rainbow replied. Twilight and Fluttershy shared a look, but chose not to recall the time the speedster nearly destroyed the Grand Galloping, to get the attention of Soarin.

The group soon arrived, still dumbfounded by the spectacle.

"STOP HUGGING ME!" The titan was struggling to keep the ponies away. They seemed to just cling to anyway, and where one was peeled off two others took their place.

"Brofist!" Another annoying little remark, signalling a bombardment of endless jabs.

"They’re so tense, I wish my stallion was like this." Normally he'd bask in a woman commenting his muscles, but given the context he wasn't exactly in the mood.

"GET OFF ME!" Hank cried, slowly being brought to his knees.

"I FOUND SPLINTER!"

"Enough!" Celestia yelled. The crowd stopped, appearing like a picture. Many mares clung silently to arms and thighs, colts caught in the middle of punching the man, and a tower of stallions fighting over a spoon. All frozen in their action poses, looking back at her.

"Release him and return what is rightfully his." She brought her hoof down and her subjects immediately scattered, dropping the spoon. The last to fall was Pinkie Pie from the piggy back he didn't want to give.

"Pinkie Pie? How and why were you glomping him?" the azure pegasus asked curiously.

"Glomping? That sounds painful. I was helping give him a group hug."She beamed that signature smile, revealing an impossible amount of teeth.

"That is Glomping. Pinkie Pie, you are so random." Dash responded.

Hank slowly rose up, scouted around, and found his second brother.

"Splinter! Thank goodness you’re ok." he cradled the wooden utensil like a baby, placing it in a specially designed belt pocket. All but Celestia giggled at the affectionate sight. He turned to face them, flustered with rage, this was when Celestia stepped in.

"Hank, I understand you may be angry right now, and I am truly sorry." she spoke motherly, the giant still remaining silent.

He frowned, torn between his mistrust of ponies and how she had just 'saved' him. once again it wasn't clear cut if they were friendly or not. However he had a new mission to complete.

"Okay. We need to find the Prince, then you can send us home." he finally replied, before turning away. Celestia bit her lip, the mere thought of telling him she had no idea how to send him home filled her with dread.

"If they lost the crowd of...touchy...ponies then they will be hiding out, waiting for a time to move again." he informed the group, marching down the street. He scanned many of the many houses, no doubt locked up and sheltering many cowering families, before moving on.

"Where would they hide? Where could they possible go afterwards?" Twilight asked, trotting alongside him. The group caught up to him in no time.

"If I knew that, I'd be able to find Shadowman's cider stash." He looked at her with a cocked eyebrow, she scowled back. "But I know where they would be going afterwards." The group listened intently.

"Bridge street; we were planning on finding a pony named Lyra Heartstrings." They had reached a cross roads, many knocked over carts, and littered fruit lay scattered along the roads.

"Why would you seek out Miss Lyra?" Celestia asked curiously.

"There was a book, the one I threw at Frank, it said humans were myths," the group stopped and stared at him as he continued walking, "It also said it belonged to her, well I assume it’s a girl, something about anthrolpity."

"Anthology." Twilight corrected, much to his annoyance.

"Either way, we planned on visiting her. If she was an expert on humans, then she would know the way home." He turned to face them, he had one question of his own.

"You mean Lyra actually studies humans? I mean she is a huge fan of the show, but don't worry. She researched it as a hobby way before the show started." Twilight quickly brought her hoof to her lips, the others quickly swapped glances between her and him, awaiting for the reaction.

"That's another thing. When I was being smothered, I heard a lot of things that shouldn't have been said," he stepped forward, a few feet away from the group, "Why did the know my name, about Splinter, and what was this show they were talking about?"

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After the divide, the trio of friends bid each other goodbye and parted to find a decent hiding place. Under the cover of night, they planned to reunite where they had separated.

So Prince Albert was creeping along the edges of town, constantly on the lookout for either the copycat human hunters or the mob who could do real damage.

Slowly he crept along the flora, the amount of trees was close to bare but the shrubbery made up for it, and soon reached a small empty looking house. Breaking and entering was not normally his thing, but neither was being hounded by ponies. The lilac shaded building resembled a carousel, rounded, pointed roof, and wooden horses dotted around. The sign, hanging above the doorway, read 'Carousel Boutique.'

Prince Albert took a deep breathe, hoping that the Frank's remarks about the effects his voice had on ponies were false.

As he reached the handle, he noticed a hanging door sign reading 'open' and stepped inside. Upon entering the doorbell rang out, startling Albert. Recovering, he took the time to register the vast quantities of clothes on offer; spotting the elegant gowns, jackets studded with gemstones, and a half-finished piece on a podium. The room was shaded similarly to the outside: lilac. Everywhere a different tone of lilac.

"One moment dear, I will be with you shortly." he heard a voice cry out. It sounded poised, clear and pristine, much like the glass in the windows. He stepped further in, taking a second the fix his hair in the mirror, before taking a seat.

"My lady I require your aid, but I can wait until you are finished." If he was going to meet a woman, or mare, the least he could do was make a good impression.

"Thank you, but if I continue my work, you'll be there all week." She giggled, hidden behind a closed door.

"I'm sure your presence is worth the wait, these clothes are simply beautiful. I withdraw that, they go beyond mere words." He pulled a smirk, twiddling his finger on a piece of stray yarn.

"Oh...why thank you." There was a sudden trotting, before it slowed to a calm walking pace. The door opened and out stepped another snow white pony. Long eye lashes, curling, but not as much as the deep purple mane. She kept her eyes closed and walked out with a merry smile plastered to that face. Her horn glowed, resulting in causding the door to shut.

"Well, it is clear you've managed to put your heavenly looks into your work." He cocked and eyebrow and a mirthful smile formed. He was anticipating her response.

"Thank you, it's so nice to meet a lovely gentlecolt..." Her face froze the moment she laid eyes upon him.

"I believe the word you’re looking for is Gentleman, and yes I am human." He was starting to think it was his appearance, not his voice, which was breaking the ponies. Then again, that should have been obvious.

"Your...Your..." she stuttered, still staring at him.

"Real yes, Miss Sparkle had a similar response," he rolled his eyes at the mention of her name.

Mentioning Twilight brought Rarity back from her stupor.

Of course she had something to do with a human being here. He must of got lost, well at least he's still polite... and has a good eye. I suppose I should return him, before he starts getting violent.

"I'm sorry, you’re the first human I gave ever met. Thank you for being such a gentlecolt." She gave a short bow and he rose out of the chair, stepping closer to her.

"Prince Albert, ruler of Primane." He got down on one knee, gently lifted her hoof, and kissed it. She blushed at the 'Royal Introduction.' "A pleasure to meet you my lady."

"Oh my, thank you. I am Rarity, fashionista of this little town." She smiled happily, which he returned. "So what can I do for a Prince? Do you wish to return to Twilight, I can help you find her if you want." she replied, sympathy laced with every word in the last sentence.

"Actually I was hoping you could help me hide here till night fall. Me and my friends seem to have attracted a lot of attention." He grimaced at the thought of his lost comrade.

"Certainly, wait did you say there were more of you?"

"Yes. The human hunters and the ponies with torches and pitchforks pursued the others. They bought me time to escape. May I ask why they appeared so similar to our appearance?" he asked curiously, returning to his seat.

Rarity blinked, looked out the window and bit her lip. She realised he didn't know he was a fictional cartoon character. She had to convince him otherwise.

"It’s an old fashion trend, but ponies still enjoy it. I for one find the black jackets are rather dapper, but fashion will not stop, lest it becomes stale." she replied.

"Ah, I see. Mere coincidence then?" She nodded slowly, grinning painfully.

"Well, thank you for allowing me to stay to nightfall." He picked up the ball of yarn from before and passed it between his hands.

"No need," she beamed happily before letting her curiosity get the better of her, "Your highness, could you tell me how you came to Ponyville?"

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Elsewhere, the remaining duo parted; Shadowman still being chased by the human hunters and Frank hiding in an alleyway. He was breathing heavily, bracing against the wall, when he heard a voice to his side.

"Oh sweet Celestia. You're Frank!" He swiftly turned his head, slapping his ponytail against the wall, and shushed the mare. He registered that she was white unicorn, had navy blue hair with a cyan stripe, and large party glasses, obscuring her eye colour. She had a large grin on her face, one that worried him.

"Need a HAND?" She emphasised. He looked to see where she came from. It was a standard alley way; one way in, one way out, but it seemed to lead to a market place.

"That depends. Your not one of those human hunters are you?" He asked, tempted to run back out into the open.

"What oh no. It's ok dude, I'm not crazy. Most of us are cool, but some are..." she rolled her hoof around, and gave a sheepish smile.

"That grin on your face says otherwise."

"Wow. You are always moody." She responded, jabbing him in the stomach. She giggled as he flinched.

"Oof. Not exactly helping your case here."

"Look, do you need a place to hide?" She stated, tapping her hoof on a piece of newspaper.

He paused, noticed the shopping bags, the frown forming on her brow and pondered his options for a couple of seconds.

"Do you have cookies?"

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Meanwhile, Shadowman was still running. He was starting to wonder if he could actually escape what seemed to be the whole town. Regardless, he had a mission and that was all that was needed. That and an escape route would be nice. Despite countless climbs, leaps, and attempts to hide, he was always discovered by a pony.

He was running along the roof tops, quickly losing the unicorns and earth ponies below, when the pegasi would bother him. One tackled him onto the straw. He fell through the house, and tried to get to his feet. As tempted as it was to clip their wings, he kept the blades hidden. Even when they shouted for him to show them off. He ran down the stairs, and tried to navigate the ground floor. In his attempt to leave he managed to destroy a large cello and knock over three speakers, due to the pegasi chasing him around the house.

He leapt through a window, glanced around and had two options. A: Run into the large amount of torch wielding ponies or B: back up into the passage beside the house.

He ran into the alleyway, the town seemed full of them, but thankfully this one was a maze to navigate. Not that he had any idea where he was going.

Still, he brought a joyful smile to his face when he heard the crowd's yell slowly disappear. He didn't know if he had lost them, but he definitely was not going to wait about to find out. He came to an exit, he gave the surroundings a quick once over, and only spied an orange pony with her back to him.

She was standing by the stall, resting on her 'elbow'. She straightened her Stetson hat and returned to her moment of boredom. He spied an cart, on the edge of the alleyway, filled with barrels. He couldn't fit in one, nor could he hide amongst them. If he could get underneath it, however, he might have a safe ride out of the town.

"Now where in tarnation is everypony?"

Author's Notes:

Ah so the humans have dispersed and have met resistance. How will shadow man fare against this mare? More importantly what is Frank's taste in music like?

Tune in next week.